Moon of Alabama Brecht quote
August 23, 2022

Ukraine Open Thread 2022-138

Only for news & views related to the Ukraine conflict.

Note: Stick to the topic or get banned.

The current open thread for other issues is here.

Posted by b on August 23, 2022 at 9:40 UTC | Permalink

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@all - Warning, I am in a 'ban everything' mood.

Stick to the topic. Do not respond to trolls. Otherwise I'll ban you from commenting at this blog.

Posted by: b | Aug 23 2022 9:42 utc | 1

Good news...

Posted by: Greg Galloway | Aug 23 2022 9:55 utc | 2

This is a dangerous week for us all. With Zelensky warning the population of Ukraine that Russia is going to pull something nasty on Independence Day tells me that he has something nasty for a false flag planned so he can blame Russia. The assassination of Dasha Dugin by the SBU/AZOV (of that I am in absolutely no doubt) and now Zelensky warnings show not only how unstable and paranoid he has become but how desperate are the collective West.

What seems to be forgotten is that the Donats are now setting up the 1st War Crimes Tribunals which are scheduled to start shortly and there will be many Azov POWS there giving damning evidence against Ze. Earlier this week he spoke out quite hysterically against them calling them show trials and a lot worse. He specifically defended Azov in his ramblings. The cages ate being erected in the Mariupal theatre for these trials.

I have a notion he doesn'the want them to give evidence.

Posted by: Jo Dominich | Aug 23 2022 9:59 utc | 3

Ukraine just managed to strike civilian apartment in Donetsk, just another proof tthat Russia is 1 step behind as usual. Of course proper protection of Donetsk should have been made back in february, march!

HAPPENING NOW⚡

Smoke FILLS THE AIR from Ukrainian artillery strikes in Donetsk city center, Donetsk Republic.

UPDATE: Donetsk mayor says residential apartment building suffers DIRECT HIT by Ukrainian strikes.


https://t.me/UkraineHumanRightsAbuses/8823

Posted by: Zanon | Aug 23 2022 10:23 utc | 4

Donetsk was shelled many times today. The city centre, shopping areas, administrative buildings and a hotel with journalists.
Still don't know why the trial takes place in a war zone. From the same geniuses who keep prisons within enemy fire range and are very surpised they're shooting at them.

Posted by: rk | Aug 23 2022 10:28 utc | 5

Quoting M K Bhadrakumar in Indian Punchline On August 23 2022
"Once again, while Russia is steadily winning the ground war in Ukraine, the U.S. is determined not to lose the information war. In Washington’s reckoning, in this Internet Age, the war is to be ultimately won in the Russian people’s minds." Bhadrakumar concludes that 'the US plans to go further up on the escalation ladder. Escalation is the Biden Administration’s last chance to stall a Russian victory'. This escalatory perspective is underlined by US approval of the drone attacks on Crimea, the Ukranian threats to attack the Kerch Bridge and most worryingly the shelling of the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant. In this context we can surmise that the SBU assassination of Darva Dugina was planned and conducted with the approval and likely assistance of the US/UK.

Posted by: Rick | Aug 23 2022 10:28 utc | 6

Posted by: Jo Dominich | Aug 23 2022 9:59 utc | 3

When are the trials going to start. I tried to find news about this on google but it seems impossible to get any results on this here in Canada.

Posted by: RiNS | Aug 23 2022 10:29 utc | 7

What's especially delicious about the war crimes tribunals in the ДНР is that the Azov prisoners will provide damning evidence not only against the neurotic roid-raging comedian in Kiev, but against the little man's foreign handlers, too. Think CIA-MI6-Mossad. Then tie in the revelations about the absolutely massive and unprecedented Biden/Clinton/Obama-sponsored biological weapons program, with its global tentacles spread across so many Eurasian, African, and Latin American states, and we've got a doozy of a set of tribunals to which to look forward. The world will be aghast at the magnitude, extent, and sadism of the colonial West's crimes against humanity.

Posted by: Nathaniel | Aug 23 2022 10:30 utc | 8

out of curiosity a question into the grand round...

Is the slow progress of the SMO intentionally? Analogous to biblical "Moses, the Israelites and the Desert" ?

So you hold your internally divided people for a long period under an external threat (hunger, war, economic pressure, etc) and therefore, unite them against the outer enemies? To ward of the sweet-but-deadly western disease of modern decadence? To alienate your people to the west... but let this done by the russophobe political idiots in the west themself.

Could this be the grand plan?

Of course I see the very slow progress of the SMO. But I do not see any usage of heavy "strategic" bombings of the trenches and fortresses in the abandoned cities, forests or open fields. Only artillery, attack planes and helos. The USA would use bombings from 10 km height in preparation for artillery usage. But Russia hold back this useful "fast and effective" tool in their toolbox... but why.

Posted by: Nemo | Aug 23 2022 10:34 utc | 9

Posted by: Nemo | Aug 23 2022 10:34 utc | 9

The SMO isn't a war by any conventional definition. The operation is called "special" for a reason; there's no other like it in history, and so assigning it an expected pace or intensity is a fool's errand. There's no answer because it's being defined in real time. We'll only know how to define it once it's concluded (and the conclusion is known only by the authors of the political objectives of the SMO - i.e., the Russian General Staff).

Posted by: Nathaniel | Aug 23 2022 10:41 utc | 10

RiNS @7. I read the information in RT uk using the TOR browser as it's banned here. It looked as though the trials were due to start in September. Ze was really quite hysterical about them.

Posted by: Jo Dominich | Aug 23 2022 10:41 utc | 11

The USA would use bombings from 10 km height in preparation for artillery usage.
Posted by: Nemo | Aug 23 2022 10:34 utc | 9

Which opens the question of where the four B52s that took off from their overnight stay at the UK's airbase yesterday are going... Does anyone have further information on their flight paths?

Posted by: Gt Stroller | Aug 23 2022 10:56 utc | 12

Some of the explosion videos on Azovstal looked like bombs, not missiles. Ukr aren't allowed to post images or videos of attacks anymore, zely banned it many months ago. Everything is blurred and even those videos are rare. The control he has over media and internet is complete. So you can't tell if bombs are used or not.

@Gt Stroller | Aug 23 2022 10:56 utc | 12
They were playing over the nordic countries, training to bomb them.
Two Russian bombers flew yesterday over Sea of Japan.

Posted by: rk | Aug 23 2022 11:03 utc | 13

Odd rumour, hope it’s not true:

Intel Slava Z
🇦🇹🇺🇦 Apparently, the perpetrator of the murder of Dasha Dugina - Ukrainian serviceman of the Azov National Regiment Natalya Vovk (Shaban) - has already left Estonia and moved further - to Austria.

According to concerned local residents, as of yesterday evening, a woman who looks like the killer of Dasha Dugina stayed at the Ibis Hauptbahnhof Wien in Vienna. The reservation was made for one night - most likely, the perpetrator of the terrorist attack will go even further.

With Natalia Vovk there are two more women and a child.

🔗rybar

Posted by: anon2020 | Aug 23 2022 11:29 utc | 14

I posted yesterday a tweet by ex-BBC and anti-Russian journalist John Sweeney which included a video tour of the extremely well put together trench system round Bakhmut,and also mentioned the Artemovsk Winery, which he also reported from and which has obvious shelter/storage capability, along with many other salt chambers in the area.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/17/eastern-ukraine-wine-tour-war-zone-artwinery

I go to see where he is today, and @sweeneyroar has vanished from Twitter.

Posted by: YetAnotherAnon | Aug 23 2022 11:37 utc | 15

YetAnotherAnon @15

Are you referring to this tweet?
https://twitter.com/johnsweeneyroar/status/1561739006546612224
It works for me.

Posted by: aquileia | Aug 23 2022 11:45 utc | 16

The B52s refuelled over Macedonia, someone on YT said they were headed to Albania fwtw.

Posted by: YetAnotherAnon | Aug 23 2022 11:46 utc | 17

thank you aquileia, I got his handle wrong.

Posted by: YetAnotherAnon | Aug 23 2022 11:48 utc | 18

In regard to the use of strategic bombers I recall seeing a video of the steel plant in Mauropo being hit with a string of explosions that looked as though it could’ve been from up from a larger airplane.

The thing which concerns me the most is the peak insanity of of repeatedly bombarding an active nuclear facility as well as claiming to have every right to do so and promising not to cease-and-desist

Posted by: Chevrus | Aug 23 2022 11:49 utc | 19

Current mainstream narrative seems to be that Russia will strike Ukraine from Belarus with cruise/ballistic missiles. They then seem to be calling for Nato to strike Belarus if that's the case. I think those stray US B-52s might strike at Kiev or Lvov cities with cruise missiles claiming it to be Russian strikes, and Nato might then strike Belarus.

There's probably a good reason why there are (AFAIK) at least a dozen S-400 AD complex gathered in Belarus.

Posted by: unimperator | Aug 23 2022 11:55 utc | 20

YetAnotherAnon [17]

https://www.dvidshub.net/image/7383527/nato-demonstrates-assurance-albania-with-b-52-fly-over

You mean this event ?

After the turn of the century
In the clear blue skies ............
Came a roar and a thunder men had never heard
Like the screamin' sound of a big war bird

Up in the sky, a man in a plane........

Posted by: Paul Greenwood | Aug 23 2022 12:01 utc | 21

Summary of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation on the progress of a special military operation on the territory of Ukraine (08232022)

As a result of offensive actions in the Kherson-Mykolaiv direction in the Alexandrovka area, Allied troops destroyed units of the 28th Mechanized Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and reached the administrative border of the Mykolaiv region. 36 square kilometers of the territory of the Kherson region were taken under control.

The Komsomolskoye settlement was liberated, the advance into the depth of the enemy's defense in this direction was three kilometers. Control over the territory of the Mykolaiv region with an area of 12 square kilometers has been established.

In addition, significant losses were inflicted on the 35th Marine Brigade and the 46th Airmobile Brigade of the AFU in the Andreevka area. The enemy was knocked out of the village of Blagodatovka and nearby settlements.
The offensive in the Donetsk direction is developing successfully.

The liberation of the settlement of Maryinka, more than 75 percent of which is already under the control of Allied troops, is coming to an end.

Actions are continuing to encircle the AFU grouping in the Avdiivka area.

In the area of the settlement, Kodema is blocked from three sides and the planned destruction of the elite unit of the Armed Forces of Ukraine – the 214th battalion "OPFOR" is being carried out.

In the area of Artemovsk, the allied forces, as a result of successful offensive actions, advanced closely to the settlement of Zaitsevo, which is an important node of the city's defense.

High-precision weapons of the Russian Aerospace Forces in the areas of the settlements of Slavyansk and Konstantinovka of the Donetsk People's Republic hit the temporary locations of the 81st airmobile and 95th airborne assault brigades. Up to 200 nationalists and 18 pieces of military equipment were destroyed.

As a result of heavy losses in the area of the settlement of Novomikhailovka, the 2nd mechanized battalion of the 66th Mechanized Brigade of the AFU lost its combat capability. The military personnel of the unit left their positions and departed in an unknown direction.

Strikes by operational-tactical and army aviation, missile troops and artillery against military facilities on the territory of Ukraine continue.

During the day, twelve AFU control points were hit in the areas of the settlements of Yakovlevka, Soledar, Podgornoye, Artemovsk, Kodema, Georgievka, Romanovka, Dobrovolye, Vodiane and Pavlovka of the Donetsk People's Republic, Dorozhnyanka and Kamenskoye of the Zaporozhye region, as well as manpower and military equipment of the AFU in 164 districts.

Destroyed: seven warehouses of rocket and artillery weapons and ammunition in the areas of the settlements of Bereznegovatoye of the Mykolaiv region and Soledar of the Donetsk People's Republic, as well as four fuel depots for military equipment in the areas of the settlements of Kharkiv and Chuguev of the Kharkiv region, Markovo and Podgornoye of the Donetsk People's Republic.

In addition, the following were destroyed: a self-propelled firing installation of the Buk-M1 anti-aircraft missile system in the area of the Gornyak settlement of the Donetsk People's Republic, a radar station for detecting low-altitude targets in the area of the Dymovskoye settlement of the Mykolaiv region, as well as a US-made radar system for counter-battery warfare in the area of the Rogan settlement of the Kharkiv region.

During the counter-battery struggle, three Ukrainian platoons of Grad multiple launch rocket systems were suppressed in the areas of the settlements of Razdolovka and Opytne, four platoons of D-30 howitzers in firing positions in the areas of the settlements of Petrovskoye, Krasnogorovka, Pervomaiske and Dzerzhinsk of the Donetsk People's Republic, as well as two American M777 howitzers in the Manganese region of the Dnipropetrovsk region.

Russian air defense means shot down during the day: a SU-27 aircraft in the Barvenkovo area of the Kharkiv region, as well as six unmanned aerial vehicles in the areas of the settlements of Small Passages, Kapitolovka, Kochubeyevka, Balakleya of the Kharkiv region and Shirokiy in the Donetsk People's Republic.

In addition, fifteen Ukrainian multiple rocket launchers were intercepted in the areas of the settlements of Vernopolye, Kharkiv region, Antonovka, Daryevka and Chernobayevka, Kherson region.

In total, since the beginning of the special military operation, 268 aircraft, 148 helicopters, 1796 unmanned aerial vehicles, 369 anti-aircraft missile systems, 4377 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 818 multiple rocket launchers, 3335 field artillery and mortars, as well as 5024 units of special military vehicles have been destroyed.

Posted by: Summary | Aug 23 2022 12:17 utc | 22

Energodar /Zaporizhe nuclear power plant employee appeals to all sides not to shell around the plant. Energodar is built on ground that can shift relatively easily from vibrations.

https://twitter.com/ivan_8848/status/1562001050504134657

Posted by: unimperator | Aug 23 2022 12:19 utc | 23

Very interesting times. The Russians have essentially admitted that they are in a duel with the "Western globalist elites" and will attempt to overthrow them, that is resist and defeat the "hegemony of neo-liberal totalitarianism", that, and they are calling the world to join them.

So they have defined their enemy actually quite clearly. The next question from a Clausewitzian strategic theory perspective would be whether this conflict is limited or unlimited. A struggle for limited goals, or one that endangers the actual existence of one side or the other. For the Russians, this is an existential struggle for them in political terms, since the goal was/still is the overthrow of the current Russian state and its replacement with an entity or entities that can be endlessly exploited.

Posing an existential threat, the enemy would have to be overthrown. This requires the identification of an enemy center of gravity, and our third question. What would the center of gravity of this Western globalist elite that seeks hegemony via neo-liberal totalitarianism be? Try to reduce it to one point, upon which everything thing else relies? Think of this source of power as having a form, a substance, that is a Gestalt, and how it all would be balanced or able to function? Consider the character of the leadership, the means they use and what those are based upon, and finally past behaviour and what patterns these indicate? This center of gravity is obviously not the Ukrainian state or military. However the Ukrainian state does provide Russia with a "valve" in which the wider war can be modulated, putting tremendous pressure on Western globalist elites. If the center of gravity had been the Ukrainian state, Russian strategic behaviour would have been much different.

In regards to the actual center of gravity, consider their near total reliance on weaponized narrative . . .

Posted by: seydlitz89 | Aug 23 2022 12:20 utc | 24

The B-52 overflights of NATO countries are simply another manifestation of US 'freedom of navigation' show-offs, and not to be taken seriously. The US is all-show and no-go, China and Russia understand that.

Posted by: Don Bacon | Aug 23 2022 13:03 utc | 25

"In general, I strongly advise the citizens of Ukraine to really stay at home all week. Everything was supposed to start yesterday, but for a number of reasons (the weather in the south of an Eastern European country), the order was postponed for several days. There is no task to get to the date of August 24, although it would be beautiful.

That is why, by the way, in recent days the Ukrainians have finally lost all the shores. A direct hit to apartment buildings and the administration of the head of the republic in Donetsk is the agony before death.

There are no more agreements and there will be no more."

Posted by: Zsaid | Aug 23 2022 13:10 utc | 26

Posted by: Nemo | Aug 23 2022 10:34 utc | 9

Good questions. It's unclear how much material exactly can be deployed under the SMO legal flag. The law would be meaningless if you could wage a full scale war and tell your civilians and elected politicians that it's just some operation. There's also the reality of the physics of high altitude bombing. Some precision can be done by laser guided bombs but the majority of the ammunition is way too dumb. The main difference with the Iraq theater and the like is that the Ukrainian forces have been deployed extremely distributed. For this reason! They've been digging away for years, training tactics in keeping connected without bases, fortresses, airfields and other troop concentrations. They learned well from ISIS, who were commanded by former Iraqi commanders who learned the hard way.

Posted by: John Dowser | Aug 23 2022 13:12 utc | 27

From Telegram
ASB Military News. https://t.me/asbmil/4265
>Large amount of long range anti-aircraft systems, as well as full umbrellas of SHORAD systems are being amassed in Belarus, all in range to cover Ukraine. Belarusian airfields are showing high Russian Armed Forces activity.
>This suggests Russia is preparing for a large scale attack on Ukraine.
The United States also suggested that Russia is preparing for something big, a “big attack” on Ukraine.
>Looking over satellite imagery, there’s definitely unusual activity in Belarus, although we don’t see any clear indications of a “Russian Armed Forces attack on Ukraine” — at least not yet.
Belarusian military convoys have been spotted all over the country, carrying equipment to different airfields.
We can confirm unusual activity at Ziabrovka airfield which is around 40KM from the Ukrainian borders.
We saw 12x S-400 Systems with around 40 missiles for them, with more likely to be delivered based on logistics reports from Belarus.
That is an unreal amount of S400s — definitely not something normal to field in one place.
Multiple KASTA 2E2 & 48Y6 Podlyot radars have also been deployed.
2x Pantsir S1 systems have also been put in service at the airfield.
END QUOTE.

Posted by: Melaleuca | Aug 23 2022 13:16 utc | 28

Posted by: Don Bacon | Aug 23 2022 13:03 utc | 24

The B-52 overflights of NATO countries are simply another manifestation of US 'freedom of navigation' show-offs, and not to be taken seriously. The US is all-show and no-go, China and Russia understand that.

---

Unfortunately I have to disagree here.

Everything the US government does must be taken very seriously. Taken seriously in the sense of a rampaging monkey running around with a hand grenade.

Posted by: Nobody | Aug 23 2022 13:26 utc | 29

ASB Military News …§SOURCE:>>
Kiev broke off an agreement with the Russian Federation on measures to ensure parallel operation of the energy systems of Ukraine and Russia, said a representative of the Cabinet of Ministers in the Rada.
§§§§§

>Ukrainian Armed Forces carry out an artillery attack on the building of Denis Pushilin’s administration, the head of the DPR.
It appears the building has been damaged & a fire broke out. There are no reports of injuries at this time.
> Direct hit on the administration of Pushilin as a result of Ukrainian shelling, the administration of the head of the DPR reports. According to the Donetsk News Agency, a fire started in the building due to a shell hit.
> Ukrainian Armed forces hit a hotel in Donetsk where journalists are staying.
> The US diplomatic mission in Ukraine’s capital has advised Americans to leave the country, warning that the security situation could deteriorate rapidly.
“The US Embassy urges US citizens to depart Ukraine now using privately available ground transportation options if it is safe to do so,” the embassy said on its website on Tuesday.
“The Department of State has information that Russia is stepping up efforts to launch strikes against Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure and government facilities.”
> The Armed Forces of Ukraine are attacking Kherson, Gornostaevka and Chernobaevka. Russian air defense systems are working on targets. Situation unclear at the moment.
> Powerful explosions reported in Sevastopol — air defences active. Unclear if these explosions are interceptions. Sonic boom sounds from aircraft also reported.
> Ship based air defense systems are reportedly active in Crimea.
> Open sources all state that the sounds of explosions are interceptions in the sky.
> The governor of Sevastopol issued a statement on the explosions in the city:
"At 6:15 p.m. in the Verkhnesadovo district, the anti-aircraft defense system was triggered. The target was shot down at a great height, so the sound was heard in different parts of the city. Preliminary - a drone again.
We urge citizens to stay calm, the city is under reliable protection," said Razvozhaev.

> Ukrainians have attacked the hydro electric power station in Energodar.
[images include murdered taxi driver]
https://t.me/asbmil/4232

Away games:
> Su-34 jets of the Russian Aerospace Forces carried out 12 strikes on militant targets west of Idlib, Syria. (Turkish controlled territory).
> The Libyan National Army [Wagner PMC] have shot down an American made strike drone MQ-9 Reaper over Benghazi.
> Russian PMC “Wagner” shot down an American MQ-9 Reaper attack drone over Libya using Russian Pantsir S1 Air Defense system.
https://t.me/asbmil/4251

Posted by: Melaleuca | Aug 23 2022 13:37 utc | 30

The source for that info is nato propaganda channel. They claim to have satellite images from Belarus and they often post "movement" of troops in Belarus. They don't show any photos or proof, just text.
That channel is quoted in MSM in the west as the source. I've recently read a post where they said that after Russia is defeated in Ukr, they'll attack Belarus! These days they promote an imminent attack on civilians in Ukr. And they constantly ask locals from Belarus to provide info about strange things like construction areas.

Posted by: rk | Aug 23 2022 13:38 utc | 31

Boeing 747-446(BCF), REGISTRATION N936CA, landing at Rzeszow from Anchorage, presumably more weapons.

https://www.flightradar24.com/multiview/2d2c2ee4

Posted by: YetAnotherAnon | Aug 23 2022 13:39 utc | 32

Dugina funeral has devolved into Nazi sloganeering. "Ein reich, ein fuhrer"...

https://twitter.com/maxseddon/status/1562046268884631552

Meanwhile, Russia's MFA celebrates the anniversary of Molotov/Ribbentrop

https://twitter.com/mfa_russia/status/1561963305320779776

Interesting times.

Posted by: Yenwoda | Aug 23 2022 13:50 utc | 33

Zelenskyy goes pro-Nazi and nixes talks as if there were such a possibility -- Russia will cut itself off from negotiations if it organizes a show trial of captured Ukrainian defenders - address by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy . .here

Posted by: Don Bacon | Aug 23 2022 13:55 utc | 34

One is becoming beyond disgusted by this latest, interminable iteration of bloodlands Slav-on-Slav extirpation and the running commentary thereon. Banning would be, unfortunately, no deliverance.

War, and events, will unfold as they must.

Posted by: quasi_verbatim | Aug 23 2022 13:56 utc | 35

Wann beginnen die Versuche. Ich habe versucht, auf Google Neuigkeiten darüber zu finden, aber es scheint unmöglich, hier in Kanada irgendwelche Ergebnisse zu erhalten.

Gepostet von: RiNS | 23. August 2022 10:29 UTC | 7
.
Tip :
Browser Opera provides a VPN by default...in this select Asia as a virtual access point and your search results will change very quickly 😏because Europe and even the USA are heavily censored in terms of search results that have been deleted from the index... ..I wonder why ????

Posted by: mac998 | Aug 23 2022 14:08 utc | 36

EU does not want to send new loan tranches to Ukraine. Or maybe Ursula wants, but parties that matter do not.

Meanwhile Borrel under probably under influence of some mush rooms tells that they will create new training camps for ukrops in either Poland or Romania.

"The financial assistance of the West to Ukraine continues to decline — the last major subsidy was €1 billion of the planned and "suspended" €9 billion, and so far the money is not coming even in the form of loans, not to mention gratuitous financing.

Yes, there is an option that the United States will continue to financially support Ukraine in the fighting, but things are not so smooth with European partners: the camp of supporters of dialogue in the war, led by the leaders of Germany, France and Italy, will gain more and more influence, putting pressure on the Ukrainian authorities to resume negotiations with Russia. A protracted war in Ukraine is not an option for Europeans — inflation and rising prices are increasingly "hitting" EU citizens, as a result of which one of the most financially secure regions has faced mass poverty, and an increasing number of people are slipping into poverty. Inflation in the euro area reached more than 9% in July 2022. It is expected that in winter the figure will already become double digits due to a sharp increase in energy prices. So in the near future, the Europeans will not be up to Ukraine. And we are beginning to observe this already now, looking at the situation with "interruptions" in the financing of Kiev."

https://t.me/azmilitary11/15655

Posted by: unimperator | Aug 23 2022 14:08 utc | 37

add: US will be financing Ukraine's "war machine" by itself soon.

Posted by: unimperator | Aug 23 2022 14:12 utc | 38

Posted By: Gt Strollers | 23 Aug 2022 10:56 UTC | 12
.
Which raises the question of where the four B52s that took off from their overnight stay at the British Air Force base yesterday are going... Does anyone have any more information on their flight routes?
In addition :
This system B52, which is outdated in view of modern air defence, may have been interesting in Iraq in Afkanistan but is already ridiculous today!
Possibly these things are good as PR victims?

Posted by: mac998 | Aug 23 2022 14:15 utc | 39

For those who can’t access
unimperator | Aug 23 2022 14:08 utc | 36
Telegram link:
Money Talk is cheap. V Putting money where mouth is.
…the pledges of $€£$ to Ukraine. As opposed to what has actually been deposited into Ukraine coffers..
From iearlgrey vblog

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9j9oD2OEm0

Posted by: Melaleuca | Aug 23 2022 14:16 utc | 40

I just recently published this article:

https://m-weddle.medium.com/ukraine-catalyst-for-multipolar-advocacy-over-unipolar-hegemon-609561b6a811

Posted by: Michael R Weddle | Aug 23 2022 14:18 utc | 41

Why is Russia not using bomber aviation against Ukr. tranches?
They have many types of the conventional big bombs but they are not using them.

Posted by: Mario | Aug 23 2022 14:20 utc | 42

@Yenwoda | Aug 23 2022 13:50 utc | 32
Again filth, shit and fake. Total lack of decency an dignity. Filthy troll.

Posted by: aquadraht | Aug 23 2022 14:33 utc | 43

@Mario because Ukrainian air defenses are active and effective, with more coming (NASAMS) to fill the gap from the systems that Russia has managed to knock out - that airspace is unsafe for Russian aviation.

Posted by: Yenwoda | Aug 23 2022 14:35 utc | 44

The Pentagon is sending equipment to Ukraine from as far away as Alaska. Makes no sense unless they're running out of non-reserved equipment on the mainland USA?

https://t.me/azmilitary11/16317

Posted by: unimperator | Aug 23 2022 14:37 utc | 45

Re: the comments upthread about Russian use or non-use of high altitude bombing from strategic-type bomber aircraft, the RuAF used TU-22M aircraft in an attack on the Azov battalion neo-Nazi militants in the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol back in mid April. One flew over Donbas en route.

There was also footage of the strike taken from a TU-22 or possibly an accompanying recon aircraft.

TU-22 over Donbas: https://t.me/NewResistance/7469

TU-22 strike on Azovstal: https://t.me/intelslava/25407

Posted by: The Osprey | Aug 23 2022 14:44 utc | 46

Posted by: Yenwoda | Aug 23 2022 14:35 utc | 43

On basic parameters, NASAMS seems to be about on par with the S-125 system, designed in 1961.

Per MOD reports, Russia seems to be taking out US counter battery radars every 1-2 days.

Posted by: unimperator | Aug 23 2022 14:44 utc | 47

@12
Which opens the question of where the 4 B52's that took off from their overnight stay at the UK's airbase are going . . . . .

Probably some Euro LGBTQ + rainbow NATO air-show.

Posted by: WTFUD | Aug 23 2022 14:48 utc | 48

Melaleuca | Aug 23 2022 13:37 utc | 29

Ukraine is fast running out of cannon fodder. All these provocations recently are building up to something. US and UK may be intending direct involvement in the war. There has been some noises in that direction coming out of UK recently.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Aug 23 2022 14:50 utc | 49

These poor trolls ask a dumb question and reply with a dumb answer.
ShitWoDa

Posted by: rk | Aug 23 2022 14:50 utc | 50

At the Edge of the Abyss (FRAGMENTS OF THE FILM).

"The battle for Mariupol through the eyes of a witness...

We offer you the opportunity to watch this through the eyes of shock troops belonging to the Somali Battalion and understand the price of every such moment. Here and now, you will see the war as it really is, and understand why the people of Mariupol were waiting for the Russians to come."

(note - contains disturbing imagery)

Posted by: farm ecologist | Aug 23 2022 14:59 utc | 51

Posted by: Mario | Aug 23 2022 14:20 utc | 41

Why is Russia not using bomber aviation against Ukr. tranches?
They have many types of the conventional big bombs but they are not using them.

---

The use of bombers and fighter-bombers is very selective (nevertheless quite effective) for the following reason.


Under the sky of Ukraine, everything was pretty good. The main thing is that the radars were thinned out, and thinned out very high quality. From the military in narrow circles there were laudatory reviews about the work of the Su-35 with anti-radar missiles, and their cruise counterparts did a pretty decent job. There are a lot of air defense systems left, but anyway, what is an air defense system without an early warning radar? Head candidate.

In the sky of Ukraine, everything was also decent. Russian more modern aircraft and air defense systems have significantly reduced the number of combat-ready aircraft of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

In addition, real experts (of those who are not shown on TV) noted a certain pattern and predictability of the actions of Ukrainian aviation and air defense.

And suddenly, somewhere at the turn of April-May, everything changed.

Now we can quite calmly say that it was in early May that the United States and its NATO allies began to fight on the side of Ukraine.

There, across the ocean, they assessed the efforts and combat capability of the Ukrainian army, and since it was not possible to put the Armed Forces of Ukraine in a certain uncomfortable position in a month, since the war continued in Western brains to the last Ukrainian, our potential opponents decided to start supporting the Armed Forces of Ukraine, thereby entering the war on their side.

Let me give you one more quotation from our past.

“If we see that Germany is winning, then we should help Russia, and if Russia is winning, then we should help Germany, and thus let them kill each other as much as possible. But under no circumstances do I want Germany to win."
Senator Harry Truman, future US President from a speech on June 23, 1941


Translation, I think, is not required. Everything is exactly the same.

Instead of the destroyed radar stations and air defense command posts, American means of airspace control took over their role. We already know the role of AWACS aircraft, which are on combat duty in the air almost around the clock along the border with Ukraine. And besides AWACS, there are also heavy reconnaissance UAVs, there are also satellites in near-Earth orbit, radio interception facilities located on the territories of neighboring NATO countries such as Poland and Romania. In general, a whole system for collecting data that was transmitted to the command posts of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

That is, the Armed Forces of Ukraine received a luxurious gift from NATO. A well-established and stable information surveillance and tracking system. I am sure that as soon as a pair of Su-34s in Voronezh take off from the runway, a signal is sent from the satellite to the appropriate satellite information processing center, say, on the island of Maui (Hawaii), which is processed and transmitted further.

It is clear that Ukraine was included in the NATO information network, and from the corresponding information processing center it very quickly gets to the Ukrainian military.

That is, it turns out a very unpleasant situation for our pilots: the planes are flying, the observation and detection devices of the radar are silent, but the planes are visible to the enemy, who is practically aware of where the “dryers” are flying.

And the radars of anti-aircraft missile systems are extinguished and do not reveal themselves in anything. They are simply not needed, they even harm, unmasking the air defense system. Target designation is practically issued by the Americans and air defense systems fire missiles "in the dark."

https://en.topwar.ru/199937-gospodstvo-v-nebe-ukrainy-mif-ili-ne-sovsem.html

Posted by: Nobody | Aug 23 2022 15:00 utc | 52

@Nemo

A reminder that in a mere 6 months Russia has taken control of 1/3 of a country with the largest army in Europe, backed by 10 of billion$ in NATO weapons, cash, training and intelligence. Meanwhile NATO failed to win against 30,000 goat herders in Afghanistan in 20 years with a trillion dollars expended.

Posted by: nwwoods | Aug 23 2022 15:07 utc | 53

Posted by: nwwoods | Aug 23 2022 15:07 utc | 52

Hardly surprising when the man practises judo
The application of a smaller military force to a larger force on its home territory requires tactical and strategic skill

It is sufficient that Russia plays to its overwhelming strength in artillery without need to recover territory as in 1942-43

Posted by: Paul Greenwood | Aug 23 2022 15:15 utc | 54

@aquadraht | Aug 23 2022 14:33 utc | 42
Do not reply to trolls. My three-letter remedy: 言龌达 - Paste it into Google Translate, select Chinese, read it on speaker, memorize the English translation. This will curb, if not cure, any urge to reply. You used "filth", which is the the meaning of the middle character (dirty, narrow minded) according to the Hanping Pro App...

Posted by: OttoE | Aug 23 2022 15:15 utc | 55

US and UK may be intending direct involvement in the war.

Of course they are NOT

British Army barely has 27,000 combat soldiers
US Marine Corps has 30,000

Posted by: Paul Greenwood | Aug 23 2022 15:16 utc | 56

But : Why will the trial of these Azov fighters that is announced take place within the reach of the Ukrainian arms ?
Also provocation ?? Because no leadership can be that stupid... unless there is hope for attacks, and that this tribunal, as it now turns out, should be occupied internationally.... with then international press !!
In that sense, a trap for Sylenski !!!
And HE will be hard to resist !!
But then it would be the international END for him !!
No matter what the excuse is, NO ONE would still believe it, no matter what PR is used in the West!
Ergo: Is it a trap?

Posted by: mac998 | Aug 23 2022 15:19 utc | 57

Posted by: nwwoods | Aug 23 2022 15:07 utc | 52

On US defence they said they just got bored after thousands of US soldiers dead and 20 trillions USD spent. Definitely not because Taliban encroachment make their stay unsafe and untenable.

As for Donetsk shelling its been reiterated a lot in this site.
-Hitting military targets will cause them to reinforce their protection of them.
-reinforcing protection on them would draw air defence assets from elsewhere.
-when military targets became impossible, softer targets such as unguarded infrastructures and civilians would be found.
Ukrainian present them operational dilemma.

The correct answer should be evacuating civilians away from those areas.

Posted by: Lucci | Aug 23 2022 15:27 utc | 58

@unimperator, I think a better comparison with respect to role & capabilities is Buk rather than S-series. NASAMS-3 with extended range AMRAAMS missiles is roughly comparable to Buk-M3

Posted by: Yenwoda | Aug 23 2022 15:30 utc | 59

TASS/. Halting the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant (NPP) would deal a devastating blow to the Ukrainian economy, member of the main council of the military-civilian administration of the Zaporozhye region Vladimir Rogov said on Tuesday.

"The energy blow will be fatal for the economy and for ordinary people, because it will really be dark and cold in homes," he said in an interview with Soloviev Live TV channel.

"You have to understand that today Ukraine is an exporter of electricity <...>. If a nuclear power plant stops supplying electricity, they turn into importers," Rogov added. He noted that Ukraine currently uses 60% of the budget on military spending, and the rest is not enough to cover existing needs.

Rogov stressed that stopping the operation of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant would be a "bad scenario" for everyone. But the territories controlled by Kiev would "plunge into absolute darkness".
.
Question :
Why don't the Russians do it?
Energy away in Kyiv also means something?
Have you seen how these people in Kyiv in the sunshine yesterday marveled at the supposedly broken Russian tanks like at a summer festival with music and smiling faces?
Energy gone, these people would quickly remind who is being sacrificed for them, the simple worker, the simple poor sod!
.
I personally don't understand that!
Drive around the nuclear power plant, done!
.
But with Putin's strategy, I understand that we probably don't have some things?

Posted by: mac998 | Aug 23 2022 15:35 utc | 60

@Mario #41
High altitude bombing, even medium altitude bombing, is extremely inefficient when attacking trenches. Ditto long range artillery.

These types of attacks are not line of sight.

In contrast, another method of bombardment is line of sight. Putting artillery alongside attacking infantry/armor.

Why is line of sight bombardment better than non-line of sight? I don't remember the precise term, but it is something like range of possible error (RPE).

The further away the attacking aircraft/artillery from the target is, the larger the inherent RPE because of atmospheric variation, ammo variation, lag between observation and firing, etc etc.

In practice, this means both that distant attacks are less precise and more importantly - for safety purposes - it is necessary to stop bombardment a lot sooner before an assault on the target position.

Artillery that is line of sight can see, in real time, where the assaulting force is, where the target is, where the rounds are hitting, etc.

That is one reason why the TOS is pretty short range. In theory, they could certainly build an ATACMS type TOS but what's the point? TOS is meant to go in with the assaulting forces - to target enemy infantry strongpoints and take them down.

Line of sight vs. not line of sight can also be seen as a proxy for US/NATO military doctrine vs Russian:
US/NATO military doctrine is to bomb the crap out of everything from as far away as possible, then send in some troops to comb over the smoking ruins.
Russian doctrine is to suppress/attrit the enemy troops, then send in assault troops at the right time to take the position.

That's why Mariupol fell so quickly:
Western doctrine would have required months to bomb all the stone buildings in Mariupol flat, then the basements they all tend to have, then finally send in some troops.
Russian doctrine had LDPR and Chechen troops probing for enemy strongpoints - as well as drone surveillance - and then LOS artillery would suppress the strongpoints to the last possible moment before the assault goes in.

Even with the Russian doctrine, though, there are use cases for high altitude bombing and long range artillery strikes. The Azovstal plant in Mariupol got hit by very large, penetrating bombs from high altitude bombers for example. Not really clear how much good that did, but regular artillery or missiles can loft only so much (hypersonic may be an exception).

Similarly, Russian doctrine uses long range missiles to attack rear areas: ammo depots, combat formation assembly points, headquarters, etc vs. US/NATO doctrine of using piloted airplanes.

Posted by: c1ue | Aug 23 2022 15:36 utc | 61

Posted by: Mario | Aug 23 2022 14:20 utc | 41

And others.

Guys, what is cheaper? Airlift or railroad?
How many aircrafts would it take to substitute for one single train full of shells?

Barrelled artillery is MUCH cheaper to operate than free falling bombs.
They also do not risk to fall out of the skies with all hands lost after struck by a single Stinger or S-300.

Truly, it is like you are playing a RTS videogame, moving this unit and that unit and they doffer in nothing but picture and few coefficients.

But we are back into "industrial warfare" where efficiency of production and logistics (including cost efficiency) translated into scaling up capability is ultimately important.

You still think in Blitzkrieg terms, which SMO is no more. It is about outproducing enemy in total, not about making one lucky run

Posted by: Arioch | Aug 23 2022 15:43 utc | 62

@ Nathaniel | Aug 23 2022 10:30 utc | 8 quote

"The world will be aghast at the magnitude, extent, and sadism of the colonial West's crimes against humanity."

i don't believe that is true... as i have said many times - none of this will be covered in the western msm... people in the west will remain inoculated from any truth of this matter... the trial for the azov folks -whenever it happens - will not be revealed on the pages of nyt, wapo or any other western msm, or only in some very slanted manner which will cast blame and negativity on russia... that is the script and narrative and it ain't gonna change, no matter what here... cheers and thanks for your commentary..

@ nwwoods | Aug 23 2022 15:07 utc | 52 and @ Paul Greenwood | Aug 23 2022 15:15 utc | 53

thanks you two... that sums it up well!

------------
remember what b said up top - Do not respond to trolls.

Posted by: james | Aug 23 2022 15:43 utc | 63

@mac998 #59
My view is that - in this situation - there is no significant benefit to bombing an opponent into the Stone Age, and very likely significant harm (to self).
You need to understand that what Russia is demonstrating in Ukraine is a radical change in warfare doctrine.

Russia isn't sending in huge masses of a combination of trained, half-trained, and barely trained soldiers to beat an opponent into submission. Scott Ritter, Douglas MacGregor and many others have pointed out that the SMO is using forces literally a fraction of the nation they are attacking, but that these attacking forces are either 100% professional (Russian regular army) or highly motivated and at least moderately well trained (Chechens, LDPR militia, etc).

So think about it. If there is no benefit to having more warm bodies in the new style of combat Russia is demonstrating - what is the benefit of alienating more of the opposite side population by inducing massive economic suffering that is directly attributable to the attacker? This applies to bombs just as much as it applies to cutting off electricity. Every hospitalized person who dies because their medical equipment failed due to lack of electricity - some percentage of their surviving relatives are going to be radicalized much as bombing wedding parties radicalizes some percentage of everyone related to the victims.

Note I am not saying Russia is not doing anything to create radicalization; deaths in the territorial militias in combat will do that. But is there a need to maximize all possible forms of radicalization? It seems Russia doesn't think so.

I also think Putin recognizes that Ukraine's policies are not an outcome of the majority of its people - whether Russian speaking or Ukrainian speaking. See above.

Posted by: c1ue | Aug 23 2022 15:47 utc | 64

russia is doing things differently and it confuses the fuck out of those who identify with doing things "the amerikkkan way"..

Posted by: james | Aug 23 2022 15:49 utc | 65

War Theatre, by the laws of theatre, cannot produce so much dramatic tension without an equal and opposite release. Empire is pushing every limit to the limit. Empire caused the special operation. Now we're escalating to direct attacks on Crimea, the Moscow oblast, possible chemical attacks against Russian troops, nuclear plant attacks...

something wicked this way comes.

Posted by: gottlieb | Aug 23 2022 15:50 utc | 66

Regarding the alledged artillery attacks on the nuclear reactor, I have a suggestion. Apologies if it has been covered before. Send in a radar unit normally used for counter fire which picks up the incoming rounds and plots the point from which they came and is monitored by a coalition of international observers. I don't think either side would risk the international outrage that would fall on them if it was proven that they risked firing on that power plant.

Posted by: rjb | Aug 23 2022 15:58 utc | 67

Here is the thoroughly professional and objective Associated Press on Ukraine casualty figures:

"Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has already killed some 9,000 Ukrainian soldiers since it began nearly six months ago, a general said..."

"Monday’s announcement of the scope of Ukraine’s military dead stands in sharp contrast to Russia’s military... U.S. military officials estimated two weeks ago that Russia has lost between 70,000 to 80,000 soldiers, both killed and wounded in action."

https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-fires-eac13f4bb47663c9769696029ecc257d

Posted by: jayc | Aug 23 2022 16:01 utc | 68

Posted by: jayc | Aug 23 2022 16:01 utc | 67

...killed some 9,000 Ukrainian soldiers since it began nearly six months ago, a general said...

---

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ra_cUTmQykc

Posted by: Nobody | Aug 23 2022 16:15 utc | 69

jayc | Aug 23 2022 16:01 utc | 67 "Monday’s announcement of the scope of Ukraine’s military dead stands in sharp contrast to Russia’s military... U.S. military officials estimated two weeks ago that Russia has lost between 70,000 to 80,000 soldiers, both killed and wounded in action."

That is what is so dangerous about the current situation. The western propaganda has boxed the west into a corner. Painted themselves into a corner. US/UK are losing bigtime in Ukraine and the world. They are cornered rats. As Putin said, never corner a rat.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Aug 23 2022 16:30 utc | 70

I there a point in 'retaliation' for the death of a journalist? Of course not. The speculation of a widened target list being implemented is, however, being hung on that very peg. It seems that Moscow is to target 'civilian infrastructure.' We remember from the misconceived NATO Kosovo intervention that bridges in ... Montenegro were destroyed even though Montenegrins were not a party to the conflict. However, Serb forces were supposed to be using or intending to use that civilian infrastructure... Moscow is unlikely to be diverted from its desired end-state by going on a targeted killing spree. Journalists sacrosanct? Doubtful. The NATO rationale for bombing Serb TV is that it was notionally involved in promoting 'war crimes.' In sum, journalists aren't equal. Some are exceptional, thus benefiting from exceptionalism. :-)n And on the subject of 'massacres', have we already forgotten the Big Lie of the Timisiora Massacre, supposedly perpetrated by the falling Ceaucescu??

By the by, it is difficult to imagine a NATO (read US) operation permitting the arrival with fanfare of sundry politicians in an 'enemy' capital to honk political support.

Posted by: DilNir | Aug 23 2022 16:34 utc | 71

Ergo: Is it a trap?
Posted by: mac998 | Aug 23 2022 15:19 utc | 56

Zely shelled a hotel with journalists in Donetsk today (as well as a shopping area, local administration buildings and various random apartments).
Western MSM still says Russians are attacking themselves, both at ZNPP and Donetsk. Foreign journalists who don't lie are excluded, bank accounts blocked or can't return home because they'll be sent to jail.
They can say the same when zely shells the location, it was the Russians, again attacking themselves. There is no benefit from organizing a tribunal in a war zone, they are just dumb.

Posted by: rk | Aug 23 2022 16:38 utc | 72

@c1ue, look out your window in a random direction. How far is your line of sight? Virtually all uses of artillery are non-line-of-sight ("indirect fire"), including shorter-range systems like TOS-1A that don't need to be very accurate anyway. Direct fire is what tanks are made for, with their heavy armor. You really don't want a towed or self-propelled gun with a big pile of ammunition riding alongside your infantry assault. Actually, both sides (but more the Ukrainians due to the imbalance in artillery) have been using tanks as indirect-fire platforms, to some success.

I think you are wrong about training, as well. Russia is using loads of minimally-trained reserves and conscripts from LDNR to do the brunt of assaulting, alongside Wagner - less blowback at home from using those guys as cannon fodder. And in the northern campaign, there were huge contingents of OMON riot police thrown into combat scenarios, to predictable effect.

I would like to second @james' call to NOT FEED THE TROLLS. I've found that a pretty reliable way to identify a troll is to see if they refer to the SMO as a "war" or "invasion", or call SMO itself a "euphemism". This is done intentionally to create a sense of tension between someone's self-identification as anti-war, and their support for SMO. But just use your head - Russia is anti-war, and Russia launched the SMO. Therefore, logic dictates that the SMO is NOT a war.

Perhaps we could create a "commenters' catechism" to prepend to replies, so that readers know that someone has the correct understanding of these events. Something like, "I accept that the SMO is not a war, I believe in the Clobber List, I affirm that all crimes against Ukrainians are false flags". Just a humble suggestion!

Posted by: Yenwoda | Aug 23 2022 16:42 utc | 73

Yenwoda @72

No offense, but screw you and your catechism. Also, you don't seem to know what a troll is. Shit, I think I just fed one.

Posted by: aquileia | Aug 23 2022 16:52 utc | 74

I am reading that independence day in Ukraine may not work out the way Z wanted...what a shame.

The shit show needs to end and the sooner, the better.

Posted by: psychohistorian | Aug 23 2022 16:54 utc | 75

@Yenwoda #72
You have not before demonstrated one iota of credibility; you continue your trend.

Line of sight on land is 3 miles for a human, unaided, and with no terrain features or other obstructions. LOS is far, far shorter in most combat situations but isn't a few hundred feet.

Nor is your assertion about the Russian and LDPR/Chechen troops in Ukraine any more credible. There is an abundance of video showing Ukrainian, Russian, LDPR, Chechen, and Russian "mercenary" troops; it is transparently clear the difference between professional, somewhat trained and conscript troops.

Perhaps some day you will stumble over some truth; in the meantime, fail yet again.

Posted by: c1ue | Aug 23 2022 16:58 utc | 76

From today's news:
The Ukrainian armed forces have been carrying out the most intense strikes on Donetsk in the last eight years, the mayor of Donetsk said. Antipersonnel mines PFM-1 have been discovered again.
The forest near ZNPP is burning from shelling.
US to announce $3 billion military aid package by Ukraine's Independence Day.
Canada and Germany have agreed on a new package of military assistance to Kiev, including air defense systems, missile systems, tons of ammunition.

I'm sure they won't use any of that for terrorism. Slow is best!

Posted by: rk | Aug 23 2022 17:15 utc | 77

@Yenwoda | Aug 23 2022 16:42 utc | 72
Yenwoda, if there is any troll here in the bar, and a notorious liar and faker, then it is you. And your babble about artillery is absolutely clueless. "line of sight" or "direct fire" (German: im direkten Richten) is artillery firing withing the observation range of the artillery observer which is not the operator of a single gun or battery. Those guns are usually shooting in relatively flat angle, at ranges up to 3 or 4 miles.

Today, line of sight is extended by reconnaissance UAV which allow faster correction. Short range artillery also cannot be intercepted in the way the Russians do it whith Tor and Pantsir complexes able to intercept single shells albeit not always. As to the TOS-1A, they are fairly accurated, salvoes usually hitting exactly in the middle of a trench system or building complex. Rarely all 24 rounds are fired at a time, as this would be waste and overkill. But you do not understand and do not even try to.

Rather you wallow in dirty fakes which turn the "Unitede for the president, united for the people, united towards victory" into a totally different nazi slogan (ein Volk ein Reich ein Führer), which is much closer to the "one Ukraina, one people, one language" of the Ukronazis. That is because you are devoid of honesty or decency.

And it is not forgotten how you weaseled away from the discussion about the "clobber list" when all you rants were disproven. Coward.

Posted by: aquadraht | Aug 23 2022 17:18 utc | 78

The B-52 overflights of NATO countries are simply another manifestation of US 'freedom of navigation' show-offs, and not to be taken seriously. The US is all-show and no-go, China and Russia understand that.

Posted by: Don Bacon | Aug 23 2022 13:03 utc | 24

It is hard to imagine a bigger, slower moving target, except perhaps an aircraft carrier. Even those have built in missile defense.

Posted by: Opport Knocks | Aug 23 2022 17:21 utc | 79

Posted by: Yenwoda | Aug 23 2022 16:42 utc | 72

"But just use your head - Russia is anti-war, and Russia launched the SMO. Therefore, logic dictates that the SMO is NOT a war.

Perhaps we could create a "commenters' catechism" to prepend to replies, so that readers know that someone has the correct understanding of these events. Something like, "I accept that the SMO is not a war, I believe in the Clobber List, I affirm that all crimes against Ukrainians are false flags". Just a humble suggestion!"

Very amusing lol.

The "Clobber list" being posted daily without any scepticism is my favourite thing in this echo chamber.

Posted by: evilsooty999 | Aug 23 2022 17:26 utc | 80

@mac998 | Aug 23 2022 6:23 utc | 253

If you don't understand that America is a continent then I can't help you, but i'll try:

*about 4400 km (from San Diego, California to Maine}
*about 4600 km (from Washington state to Miami, Florida)
*about 7300 km (from Miami, Florida to Alaska). Yes, this traverses Canada, but Canada and the US are one entity where continental defense is concerned.

Posted by: Brevski | Aug 23 2022 17:26 utc | 81

B52 v s500. anyone care to offer a analysis of the technology. i would think a flying whale wouldnt be an option in todays hypersonic realities. but who knows

Posted by: hankster | Aug 23 2022 17:28 utc | 82

Posted by: rk | Aug 23 2022 16:38 utc | 71

Foreign journalists who don't lie are excluded, bank accounts blocked or can't return home because they'll be sent to jail.

---

Not just the journalists themselves, but even their parents, as was the case with Alina Lipp here in Germany.

Sippenhaft seems to be en 'Vogue' again. Especially among our transatlanticist brown shirts, you know.....the ones with the green magic hood.

Posted by: Nobody | Aug 23 2022 17:37 utc | 83

@jayc | Aug 23 2022 16:01 utc | 67 ...already killed some 9,000 Ukrainian soldiers...

Let's take it at face value for a moment. Then compare: The overall number of confirmed deaths between April 2014 and December 2021 in the War in Donbas was estimated at 14,200–14,400. The majority of victims were civilians in Donbass. Add the fact that NATO supported this war while politicians and MSM didn't bat an eye. Then you know who the guilty cold blooded killers and their henchmen are.

Posted by: OttoE | Aug 23 2022 17:38 utc | 84

Posted by: Brevski | Aug 23 2022 17:26 utc | 80

.
" Yes, this traverses Canada, but Canada and the US are one entity where continental defense is concerned. "
.
That's not what it was about!
And if the USA are 10 x a continent, an island as they say.
Against hypersonic technology you have no defenses like no aircraft carrier has!
Disadvantage of an island without aircraft carriers and planes a dog without teeth!
And the only reason why the US hesitates with nuclear weapons, why?
Biden the first president with bombs on Boston or New York!
Without this fear, the USA (Biden) would whistle on the battlefield Europe!
Because only a nuclear war could save the financial system, the existence of the West! That's why the West is escalating, but what does the West mean, they have to go bust with it... And because no nATO country would agree to that, there has to be a reason !!

Posted by: mac998 | Aug 23 2022 17:41 utc | 85

Posted by: mac998 | Aug 23 2022 17:41 utc | 84

Looks like the schizophrenics are out in force today....

Posted by: Skeek | Aug 23 2022 17:45 utc | 86

I just browsed through the current Reuters page and read a couple of the latest gems from Mr. Zelinski. It is just stupifying! Some guy in a green T-shirt who is the ostensible head of a currupt, politically broken and bankrupt country being ground up by the Russian army making speeches and acting as if he runs the world. It has been noted in the bar that he has all the signs of a delusional coke-head, but this his latest rants are too much. Surely he is living in an alternative universe. It makes me wonder if there is some kind of dirt on old Grampa Joe personally that he is holding. Even the well known backing of the NATO war from Wall Street, the City of London, the oil companies, war contractors, etc. etc, don´t seem sufficient for the level of pure arrogance that is on display.

Posted by: c | Aug 23 2022 17:48 utc | 87

hankster | Aug 23 2022 17:28 utc | 81

The B-52 is a subsonic bomber. The S-500 (production units yet to be deployed) is SAM optimised against ICBM. Russia has several SAM systems that would be used against B-52 of which the S-500 is unlikely to be one. Your question does not make sense.

Posted by: JohninMK | Aug 23 2022 17:50 utc | 88

Posted by: c | Aug 23 2022 17:48 utc | 86

Its a combination of the US-backing and the drugs, I think. The former creates a sense of power and the latter narrows his focuses. It is a fascinating analog for what happened in Germany after Stalingrad.

Posted by: Bleethe | Aug 23 2022 17:55 utc | 89

c | Aug 23 2022 17:48 utc | 86

I think it was a Dutch parliamentary party that investigated the actors finals. He was wearth 850 million then. That will be well over a billion now. All than money pouring in, this is the gig of a lifetime for a coke snorting comedian. Mansion in Miami, British passport. What more could a US/UK asset ask for other than a snort of novichuk.

He will be dead before this is over and all carrots will be reclaimed by US and UK.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Aug 23 2022 17:57 utc | 90

Don't drones make line-of-sight artillery pretty obsolete? People sit in a bunker on the reverse slope of a hill and call in target corrections... DJI must be making a fortune - hasn't one or both sides developed and mass produced a jamming kit yet?

Posted by: YetAnotherAnon | Aug 23 2022 17:57 utc | 91

Despite b's warnings, some barflies just don't have self-control.

On the B-52s, IMO they're to intimidate Serbia and bolster Kosovo. They'd get shotdown if they entered Ukrainian airspace.

Russian AD build up in Belarus could serve several purposes depending upon where they're deployed, turning Poland and/or Baltics into No Fly Zone would be one. Could also be a feint.

The advance in the Kherson front seems to be the biggest news amongst many snippets.

Posted by: karlof1 | Aug 23 2022 17:58 utc | 92

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Aug 23 2022 17:57 utc | 89

Yes, and in his subconsious mind (and perhaps his wife's) he knows this. That is where the paranoia comes from. He will ride the wave until it comes crashing down over him, with only a few seconds of awareness that the end he fears has arrived. His own military and security services, likely.

Posted by: Bleethe | Aug 23 2022 18:03 utc | 93

Does Serbia have Russian Air Defense equipment on the ground? If so, what prevents Serbia from shooting down B52's?

In any case, whether Serbia or Ukraine were to shoot down "NATO" B52's escalation would result.

One can imagine the hyperbolic freak out in the "Western" Media

Posted by: Chaka Khagan | Aug 23 2022 18:12 utc | 94

@aquadraht, it's hard to parse your babbling nonsense, but are you trying to say that UAV-corrected artillery fire counts as direct fire? If so, thanks for the hearty laugh. That is no more direct fire than some guy on a hill waving flags to correct the guns in 1750, or a forward observer radioing back to his battery in 1940.

Posted by: Yenwoda | Aug 23 2022 18:13 utc | 95

@YetAnotherAnon | Aug 23 2022 17:57 utc | 90

Don't drones make line-of-sight artillery pretty obsolete? People sit in a bunker on the reverse slope of a hill and call in target corrections... DJI must be making a fortune - hasn't one or both sides developed and mass produced a jamming kit yet?

Line of sight artillery usually denotes shorter range flat angle guns. Their advantages are the short time between fire and arrival, and the practical impossibility of interception or dodging. "Line of Sight" does not mean or not necessarily mean that the gunner sees the target, or the target sees the gunfire. That is considered disadvatntageous and unpleasant. The times when artillerists and target saw one another are gone since the times of American Civil War at least.

The role of UAV rather extends the line of sight, and allows the observer and the battery to correct fire, and reach a higher degree of correctness in the first place.

Posted by: aquadraht | Aug 23 2022 18:13 utc | 96

I read that the US are evacuating their citizens from Ukraine again. Don't know if it's true or not.

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Nemo | Aug 23 2022 10:34 utc | 9

"Is the slow progress of the SMO intentionally?"

Yes and no. The slowness is intentional now, but wasn't part of the original planning. It's just that the civilian side of Russian leadership doesn't know what else to do, how to wrap this thing up. They're at a loss. At the beginning of the military intervention, they were banking on the quick surrender of the whole of Ukraine. They weren’t merely hoping for it, as the optimal outcome, but took it as a given. When the surrender just didn’t happen, they settled for the next best thing that came to their minds. Which is not at least some kind of result instead of the perfect result, but an open-ended process in place of everything. And in this process, they forego their own means for escalation dominance, and instead hand over escalation dominance over to the enemy. Around here, this is considered “brilliant” and “masterful”.

“Could this be the grand plan?”

What if there isn’t any, but just “Notlösung” after “Notlösung”?

“But Russia hold back this useful "fast and effective" tool in their toolbox... but why.”

Please tell me if you find an answer to that! I’d also like to know.

Posted by: Scotch Bingeington | Aug 23 2022 18:19 utc | 97

Posted by: mac998 | Aug 23 2022 17:41 utc | 84

Looks like the schizophrenics are out in force today....
.
Which of these is not true...
Or believe whoever risks the USA Boston or New York for Warsaw or Balten not even for Berlin!
Biden = USA will duck if it escalates and blame everyone else to avoid Kynschall!
It's always the others who are to blame in the Pentagon!
But YOU.....blind or denier of facts?
Or just a troll?

Posted by: mac998 | Aug 23 2022 18:22 utc | 98

"Hackers" published the stolen plans of the WHOLE AFU offensive in the Kherson direction, which was drawn up at the headquarters of the operational group "Primorye".

Of the notable moments:

1. The combat order for the offensive was given on August 10.

2. The main goals are to disrupt the logistics of the grouping of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in the Krivoy Rog direction and ensure fire control over the Kakhovskaya HPP and Novaya Kakhovka.

3. At the stage of preparation of the offensive, various imitation actions are provided for misleading the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, as well as strikes on the positions of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation to ensure the achievement of the tasks set.

4. The direction of the main strike is Murakhovka-Berislav. Auxiliary strikes in the direction of Estuaries, Sofiyevka, Novonikolayevka, Novokiyevka.

5. From August 13 to August 14, imitation of actions in other directions should be provided, and by August 14, shock groups should be concentrated, as well as fire damage to parts of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation,

6. On August 14, at the signal of STORM 3485, the offensive begins directly. During which it is planned to advance to the Dnieper in the direction of Berislav, with the simultaneous infliction of maximum damage to the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and the occupation of the planned positions.

7. After achieving the intended tactical goals, it was envisaged to switch to defense to repel the counterattacks of the BTG of the 76th Brigade of the Airborne Forces of the Russian Federation.

8. During the operation, it was envisaged to gain temporary dominance in the use of UAVs by defeating UAV control points. Similarly, it was envisaged to achieve superiority in artillery by defeating the positions of the barrel and rocket artillery of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

9. In case of a successful offensive, by the end of the 2nd day of the offensive, it was supposed to defeat the reserves of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in counter battles and continue the offensive on Berislav.

10. The 35th Marine Infantry Brigade, the 46th odshbr, parts of the 59th ompbr, the 36th obrmp + a combined solyanka of various special forces, artillery, rocket and air defense units were to take part in the offensive. Units of the 28th ombr and 59th ombr were held in reserve.

11. To achieve their goals with losses of no more than 30%, they requested 6 artillery batteries, several Bayraktars, several Tor air defense systems, as well as 3 regular ammunition for artillery and the ability to provide 4 aircraft / departures per day per car.

12. The authors of the plan are Brigadier General Gnatov (Commander of the operational group of the Primorye troops) and his chief of Staff, Colonel Viktor Brignets.

Posted by: AFU offensive | Aug 23 2022 18:25 utc | 99

Excellent Analysis Again by Prof. Richard Wolff Ukraine, Politics, China, Woke or The End of Capitalism

https://www.democracyatwork.info/globalcapitalism_july2022

Posted by: oscar haffmans | Aug 23 2022 18:31 utc | 100

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