Russia Announces Partial Mobilization
Updated below (8:45 UTC)
The expected TV speech by the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, advertised for yesterday evening, did happen only this morning.
Putin announced a partial mobilization of military reserves:
Only citizens who are currently in the reserve and, above all, those who served in the ranks of the Armed Forces, have certain military specialties and relevant experience will be subject to conscription for military service.Those called up for military service before being sent to the units will necessarily undergo additional military training taking into account the experience of a special military operation.
Additionally all military service contracts currently in force (usually 3 to 12 months) are extended indefinitely.
Putin said that the current conflict was instigated by the West, noting that the Western countries seek the destruction and disintegration of Russia. He said that the West had been supporting international terrorists, promoted the infrastructure of the NATO offensive close to Russia's borders and fostered Russophobia.
Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said (video, Sputnik report) that 300,000 reservist will be mobilized. Conscripts and people currently studying will not be send to Ukraine.
He also said that, so far, 5,937 Russian soldiers have died during the war in Ukraine. (This number does not include the militia of the DPR and LPR, or the Wagner group, who have done most of the frontline work and thus have had higher losses.) Shoigu puts Ukrainian losses at some 62,000 killed and some 50,000 wounded. (I regard this as a low estimate.)
Russia's total military reserve, people who have previously gone through military training, is 25 million. It also has the equipment to arm those forces.
There are rumors that the Ukraine is preparing for an all out offensive, mobilizing and preparing new units from Kiev and further west for one big push against the Russian and allied forces. It will take a few months to prepare for this. The Ukraine will need much more equipment and ammunition from the 'west', including 'western' tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, and has yet to train troops to be able to use it. It is likely intending to start the offensive only in spring.
The call up Russia announced now may have the intent to draw Kiev into a premature launch of its general offensive. The mobilized Russian troops will take about three months to be ready for war. Russia could thus launch its own offensive during the winter season. In the meantime constant defensive work will continue to severely degrade the Ukrainian units which are currently on or near the frontlines.
With a force of an additional 300,000 troops, far beyond the 100,000 to 150,000 engaged now in the war, the Russia forces could change their tactics from the slow grind that is happening now into a larger scale maneuver war with heavy strikes into the operational depth of the Ukrainian army.
Belarus, allied with the Russian Federation, is also in the process of getting ready for war. It could, as it had threatened before, cut of the supply lines from the 'west' into the Ukraine in the western part of that country.
Should current Ukrainian attacks on civilians and infrastructure in Russia and the Donbas regions continue, we can expect that the Russian forces will start to degrade Ukrainian infrastructure on a large scale. The electricity and railway networks would be the primary targets.
Update:
Some two weeks ago a successful Ukrainian offensive led to the retreat of Russian troops in the Kharkov region. That at least is the 'western' version of that story. A different narrative is that the Russian troops intentionally withdrew from the region to raise Russian calls for an escalation of the war. The Izium withdrawal was thus probably a mere catalyst for 'starting in earnest':
The Russian public, which at first did not fully understand why the war was necessary, has since grown in its awareness. It now understands the big game that is played against its country. It may soon demand to adjust the level of resources put into the war to the one needed for a decisive victory. Polls will clarify if or when that point is reached.That is why Dima concludes that: "We can say that today was the best ever [..] day for the Russians in the territory of Ukraine."
It is now probably assured that they will be liberated. One way or another.
I also believe that the withdrawal from the Izium region, which left behind a significant number of pro-Russian civilians under deadly threats from fascist 'filtration' groups, will be the catalyst for a significant escalation on the Russian side.
Finally the gloves are coming off.
Update:
Yves Smith just published an English version of Putin's speech and the decree on mobilization:
Below is the Russian transcript of Putin’s morning speech announcing a partial mobilization of Russia starting September 21. There is apparently not an official English translation up yet, and in any event, the Kremlin site is blocked in the US (which it hasn’t been since early in the Special Military Operation) and even to friendly VPN users in some countries in Asia. So we are also posting a machine translation and will replace it with an official English translation when one becomes available.We are also posting an English version of the mobilization order, which here and apparently in the original Russian has Item 7 missing. You can theoretically find the order here: http://kremlin.ru/events/president/news/69391.
As you can see, Putin refines and extends his critique of the “collective West” and its campaign to preserve the unipolar order at the expense of the Global South, and its campaign against Russia. Towards the end, Putin states: ...
Posted by b on September 21, 2022 at 7:44 UTC | Permalink
next page »Finally........
This is some of the news I've been waiting for months.
I hope they will teach Ukraine some decency.
And I would even wish they would teach the Poles, Baltic Finns and all of Europe good manners.
We are happy to leave our politicians to them to let them practice organic farming in Siberia.
One can still dream...... despite the beginning dictatorship of the EU.
Walter Roth / Switzerland
Posted by: Roth Walter | Sep 21 2022 7:54 utc | 2
This is the storm before the calm. As the EU reaps what it sows during the winter, they will look to throw whatever is left at the Russian lines before it all implodes. It'll be futile and the outcome will be an EU surrender in the hopes of resuming hydrocarbon deliveries.
Posted by: Jon | Sep 21 2022 7:56 utc | 3
SMO to total war so if the coke king of Kiev doesn't start negotiations. I don't believe he'll be allowed to make peace and will instead go all in. For the people of Ukraine and Russia this is terrible news, for the nazi loving west elites it means more chaos and austerity for their subjects, more profits and more uncontrolled power.
Posted by: Eoin Clancy | Sep 21 2022 7:56 utc | 4
Posted by: Rudi Ruessel | Sep 21 2022 7:51 utc | 1
Poland is NATO.
If NATO enters, that is WW3, yes.
Belarus is indepenend.
I am very afraid, 28 tanks M55s, which my country is "donating", will not be sufficient to win that war...
So, Putin made all clear in 15 minutes.
In western media they don't dear to publish his speech. At least in my country not...
Yet.
Posted by: preseren3 | Sep 21 2022 8:00 utc | 5
Once the referendums in the 4 Ukrainian provinces confirm their wish to reunite with Russia, I wonder if Moscow will activate CSTO to join the fight against NATO?
Posted by: Dick Lenning | Sep 21 2022 8:02 utc | 6
Who is not afraid of escalation and atomic warfare soon?
How can this war ever end?
Posted by: Rudi Ruessel | Sep 21 2022 8:02 utc | 7
i wonder why putin has not turned off the oil and gas faucet to europe. that will make them bend their knees and stop all their support for kiev, or at least the EU Leaders would be removed. there must some practical reason.
Posted by: toxik | Sep 21 2022 8:05 utc | 8
@Rudi Ruessel | Sep 21 2022 8:02 utc | 7
I am not afraid. I welcome the whirlwind.
Posted by: too scents | Sep 21 2022 8:06 utc | 9
I hear that the most summonces have been delivered and handed over already. It seems to have been prepared in advance.
Posted by: Poslan | Sep 21 2022 8:06 utc | 10
Which country can you recommend to emigrate to?
Must be self-reliant on energy and food, and no, China is not an option.
Posted by: Rudi Ruessel | Sep 21 2022 8:07 utc | 11
Can Ukraine really make an another big push? I find it hard to believe that they have the hardware available for that. Slovenia donating modernized WW2 era relics suggests that the stock of Soviet weaponry is running low.
They could start to receive western tanks but that seems to be a red line for now.
Without tanks and aviation and with a roughly numerically equivalent Russian army on the other side by mid-winter, I don't see what they're going to push with.
Posted by: V87 | Sep 21 2022 8:07 utc | 12
I am surprised that b did not mention two elements from Shoigu’s speech delivered after Putin’s. After stating that Russia was fighting not Ukraine but in fact the collective West, Shoigu noted:
1. That western command centers exist in Kiev and contain foreign leadership of war.
2. The entire array of NATO military and “civilian” satellites are being used actively against Russia.
I take these two points as clear warnings.
If US/NATO advises Ukraine directly to continue to attack Russian territory after referendums, these western command centers will be destroyed.
If US/NATO continues to use satellites for actively hostile purposes against Russian territory, these satellites will be destroyed.
Posted by: WJ | Sep 21 2022 8:11 utc | 13
"The mobilized Russian troops will take about three months to be ready for war."
Those will not be sent to the Donbas, current already trained troops will be sent (for example those involved in recent exercises) and the reserves will replace them in doing border and garrison roles.
Posted by: Blissex | Sep 21 2022 8:13 utc | 14
Bah! Humbug! Red lines have been crossed multiple times and Putin just grin and bear it.
That's why US is constantly escalating.
Just look at China and DieOne. Same thing happening. And US is turning DieOne into a huge fortress with a tank and artillery in every civilian home. The Chinese will end up having to kill 1 million DieOnese to liberate DieOne. That's what US wants to see happen.
Posted by: Surferket | Sep 21 2022 8:16 utc | 15
If the numbers that Shoygu gave for casualties on both sides are correct - and i guess they are - they mean the west and NATO are not collapsing - they have already collapsed.
Posted by: Franz Beckenbauer | Sep 21 2022 8:17 utc | 16
V87 @ 12
Ukraine has zero fresh troops and zero effective units. Nothing will happen on the Ukrainian side unless there is an influx of NATO troops. How any significant number of those can be found, equipped, transported to front is a mystery. The sorts of troops NATO has sent so far are not that useful, just a little better than Ukrainian Territorial rabble. And the supply of those NATO/mercenary types is very limited.
Posted by: oldhippie | Sep 21 2022 8:29 utc | 17
any estimates on losses sustained by the Wagner Group? as i understand it, the DPR and LPR aren't nearly as well trained.
Posted by: pretzelattack | Sep 21 2022 8:36 utc | 18
I would interpret this in connection with the referendums to be held in the donbass regions. These regions will join Russia within a week or so. It still does not appear very reasonable to me that Russia would start an offensive into western Ukraine. But after the unification with the former eastern parts of Ukraine, expecting the Ukraine's offensive against the donbass, as obviously intended, it makes a lot of sense to me to fortify Russia's new western border. I would really hope that this mobilisation has such a kind of defensive purpose. Let them shoot first.
I also think that a Russian large-scale offensive is what the NATO masterminds want to happen. They want Russia to overextend and break up. Same for Belarus, by the way, which will sooner or later enter such an escalated war.
Still, there is nothing right in warfare. Nothing. When I wonder how all of this could be put to an end, I can only imagine the peoples of the NATO countries firing their governments as a possible game-changer. But after two years of corona regulations, people are simply too desperate. Nothing like this will happen, I'm afraqid. At least, the NATO governments appear to hope so.
From the beginning of the corona crisis, I was wondering why our western governments exaggerated so much in their reactions. Why, for instance, is it even necessary to introduce censorship in social media to fight a pandemic? I always thought that it was a preparation for something bigger that would follow the corona crisis. Here we go. The plan is the destruction of Asia's northwestern corner (as I would prefer to call "europe"), just to provide the US big money companies with a playground for gaining profit in the foreseeable future when the rest of the world has freed itself from NATO's claws and 500 years of european imperialism.
Posted by: Ralf | Sep 21 2022 8:40 utc | 19
Up to now MI6 / CIA / Erdoğan have conned the Muslim world into thinking that Western Gangster Capitalism is a secular version of right wing jihadist piracy. Or as the comedian once said , I rubbed myself all.over with tuna fish oil so that
we smelt the same.
Muslims revere raw power and mistake Western fascist ruthlessness for their own Genghis Khan savagery.
But the recognition by the Chechnyans that Russian socialism implements the basic tenets and principles of Islamic governance might change this right wing - Islamist love affair.
If the Muslim world switched sides from the deplorable excesses of greed of Western capitalism to Russia, the world would rapidly majority Muslim, and the fascist Westerners can go lick their wounds in the bungalows of New Zealand
Posted by: Giyane | Sep 21 2022 8:42 utc | 20
It seems that this all was planned from the beginning - we underestimated the Russians again:
I am from Germany. Frist Putin wrecked our economy & industry, than Putin disarmed us by making us donate our weapons to the Ukrainians. And now the final push... Nato lost and is out of options. Well done, President Putin!
Posted by: Klaus | Sep 21 2022 8:43 utc | 21
OUR junta wrecked the economy & industry and those clowns continue to destroy the country and the society.
Posted by: @Klaus | Sep 21 2022 8:51 utc | 22
This is very concerning. One can well understand the wishes of the LPR + DPR residents to join Russia. The Kremlin will have to accept them. Thus, Russia extends her border into eastern Ukraine, or "closer to the west". This is a sudden escalation.
I have a very bad feeling about this.
What we need is a negotiated settlement and ceasefire.
Thanks, b. for the concise update.
According to the German press, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution keeps hundreds of right-wing extremist fake accounts (SZ), for information-gathering.
With all respect to b., but how can one be sure this blog has not been set up for the same purpose? I am beginning to understand East-Germans better by the day.
Posted by: Passerby | Sep 21 2022 8:59 utc | 24
One could see this one coming. Progress in the SMO has been slow lately with more and more western weapons and mercenaries pouring into Ukraine. At the same time the SMO keeps drawing a lot of military resources. Moscow obviously decided to end the whole thing. I really wonder if this stocking up on menpower also means the Russian Federation will be going for the big cities.
Posted by: Arminius | Sep 21 2022 9:03 utc | 25
A mechanism for foreign volunteers and simplified citizenship also created. This could be built most with Serbians in mind.
Posted by: unimperator | Sep 21 2022 9:14 utc | 28
The west wants war. In fact is desperate for it to hide its own incompetent economic mismanagement, increasing risks of systemic collapse and to promote their green agenda.
The west will only escalate its arms shipments, troops dressed up as mercenaries and general support.
The only question is:
When will the kinetic part of this world war start?
Posted by: Justin | Sep 21 2022 9:16 utc | 29
According to the German press, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution keeps hundreds of right-wing extremist fake accounts (SZ), for information-gathering.
With all respect to b., but how can one be sure this blog has not been set up for the same purpose? I am beginning to understand East-Germans better by the day.
This blog has an archive you can read through. Find the pieces that may support your suspicions. I doubt that there are any.
@ WJ 13
Escalation into either Nato command posts or Nato satellites will cause an equal counter attack by USUKIS on Russian command and control such as those assembled in Belarus.
USUKIS would send a mininuke which would take out much of Rusdian capability in this war.
USUKIS wants and according to some here planned this proxy war against Russia since 1945. Their military think they can win and are daft enough to try it.
I myself don't understand the lethargy of Little England. Maybe the launching of an Israeli mini nuke in Europe might be enough to shock the quaint village dwellers into reality. Today I am off to quaintest of the quaint, victorian Cheltenham.
Posted by: Giyane | Sep 21 2022 9:22 utc | 31
@22 yesxorno
"What we need is a negotiated settlement and ceasefire."
with zelensky, kolmojski, blinken, nuland? good luck
Posted by: xeen | Sep 21 2022 9:25 utc | 32
Once the referendums in the 4 Ukrainian provinces confirm their wish to reunite with Russia, I wonder if Moscow will activate CSTO to join the fight against NATO?
I mean, they just ignored Armenia's request for help under CSTO against a renewed attack by the Azeris (Not in CSTO but still a fellow CIS member) who attacked the day after the Izium collapse. Now granted they did so because they feared the Turks (Whose duplicity continues to astound me with it's lack of consequences from all the powers and countries they betray over and over) and US/Israel would arm the Azeris again (Despite any talk from the US about condemning Azerbaijan) and turn it into a second front proxy war if they got involved. (Something Azerbaijan is counting on)
Posted by: Altai | Sep 21 2022 9:28 utc | 33
So, this is it, it looks like it going to really happen, I didn't think it would come to this, however Russia needs to defend itself from the West, moreso the US and the UK. From here on in, it is entirely possible that a full-scale war with Europe could breakout and with the weapons on offer in this day and age no country is outwith the reach of them.
Posted by: Republicofscotland | Sep 21 2022 9:30 utc | 34
Disappointing that it’s come to this. The western junta must be pleased with requiring Russia to do more than break a sweat. From the POV of a limited number of western mass murderers, they probably consider this a success. They’ll bleed more Europeans.
Posted by: dfg | Sep 21 2022 9:32 utc | 35
This mobilization could also be used in reference to the Pelosi warmongering visit to Armenia, Georgia waving their - fight Russia referendum threats, and with Turkey stopping the Russian tourists from using any Bank cards { MIR } in their country this week, the potential Enemy list is growing.
Russia played this pretty well really. As a country that is selling a multi- polar world with a sovereignty angle, they certain;y couldn't head into Ukraine the same way the Americans and their proxy armies did in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria etc. They had to go slow, give the Ukies and the rest of the World a chance to see that it was a SMO with a Humanitarian end game. Unfortunately, Kiev is run by the same type criminals as Washington, London, Tel Aviv , BruSSels and Germania, so any diplomacy or Peaceful negotiations is out of the question, or should be, until the End is achieved. We'll see.
Posted by: GMC | Sep 21 2022 9:35 utc | 36
@ SeanAU
Didn’t read all comments from the last thread but enough to appreciate your comments, even if some don’t probably due to honest misjudgment.
Posted by: dfg | Sep 21 2022 9:37 utc | 37
I for one do NOT want another world war, especially a nuclear one.
Millions of dead, millions of young lives truncated or disrupted, nations laid waste.
Obviously I am not qualified to be a neocon.
Posted by: Digital Dinosaur | Sep 21 2022 9:38 utc | 38
@Altai
Armenia is a bit of a complex situation. The Armenian government keeps on trying to get Russia to intervene on its behalf, but it has previously signalled that it intends to flip to the US (even now with the Pelosi visit) and has been building up those ties and emphasising them. There are now numerous articles from the usual suspects calling on the US so support Armenia. The US only really needs Armenia as a bludgeon against the Turks and to expand its influence. I think that the Russians don't want to expend resources to support a government they find inherently untrustworthy.
Posted by: V87 | Sep 21 2022 9:44 utc | 39
This is escalating towards the war no one wants – in their right mind – and no one can win. The last chance to avert WWIII and change the course of history is slipping away.
https://patternofhistory.wordpress.com/
Posted by: peter mcloughlin | Sep 21 2022 9:44 utc | 40
"...the Kremlin site is blocked in the US (which it hasn’t been since early in the Special Military Operation)..."
I live in Rockbridge County, VA USA. I can still pull up the Kremlin.ru site. And no, I'm not using a VPN.
S//
Posted by: SFC Barry USA RET | Sep 21 2022 9:48 utc | 41
Posted by: Altai | Sep 21 2022 9:28 utc | 32
The second Armenia - Azerbaijan conflict has a rotten smell to it. Whatever it is, PM Pashinyan is "in" on it. What provoked Azerbaijan to attack? Why are Turkey and Israel supporting Azerbaijan? Was the goal to get Russia into conflict with them?
All problems stem from Ukraine, as long as it remains "unfinished business" i.e. not finished in a decisive way where it poses no more threat, such issues will keep popping up.
Posted by: unimperator | Sep 21 2022 9:51 utc | 42
An African perspective (Angola, machine translation):
In recent days, the most relevant thing that has come out of the already long and tiring conflict in Eastern Europe has been the discovery of mass graves in Izium, with 500 bodies, after the Ukrainians had pushed the Russians from the region, and the alleged evidence of torture by of the occupants. The truth, however, is less evident: at least most are bodies of victims of the conflict, military and civilian, buried by the Russians, mostly with identification, and the Christian ritual of placing a cross over the grave. And the allegations of evidence of torture made immediately by President Volodymyr Zelensky, are, after all, another demonstration that the truth was the first casualty of these combats.As already happened in Bucha, when the Ukrainians managed to convince the world that the Russians killed and tortured dozens of Ukrainians during the siege of Kiev, right at the beginning of the war, at the end of February, whose solidity of evidence is fading every day passing by, also now in Izium, one of the cities reconquered by the Ukrainians in their most recent and successful counter-offensive in the east of the country, President Zelensky was quick to talk, in his daily videos, about bodies found with ropes around the neck and other evidence of torture.
The Western media quickly and without contextualizing resumed Volodymyr Zelensky's accusations or even reproduced the Russian Ministry of Defense, which immediately came to say, quoted by the Russian media, that those bodies are victims of the conflict, civilians and military, that Russian forces they proposed to hand them over to the Ukrainians but they refused to accept them and were forced to bury them, although with the identification of people on crosses to top the graves, whenever possible.
And the situation became so untenable for Ukraine's version of mass torture that Reuters, the world's largest news agency, and one of the most prestigious, came to announce - which is a rare thing in this agency - the withdrawal of an article about these signs of torture because its journalists on the ground did not confirm the existence of ropes around the necks of some of the exhumed bodies.
Kremlin spokesman Dmytri Peskov reinforced the idea that it is a Ukrainian invention to blame Russia, counting on the collaboration of the Western media to repeat the same scenario as Bucha, spreading a lie in a programmed and professional way, but promised that Moscow will do everything to dismantle it.
Alongside this episode, which makes it even clearer that, on both sides, the truth is a negligible element when it comes to obtaining propaganda gains for the fighting in progress, as was the case, for example, when Moscow, in the face of the evident advance of Ukrainian forces on strategic territories for the whole of Donbass, in eastern Ukraine, came to say that this was not a forced loss of territory that they had already controlled for months, but a maneuver to reconcentrate forces and regroup combat units to better to get back on the offensive, when, in fact, your troops left in a stampede leaving tons of military material behind.
But not only is Russia losing vast territories in the Kharkiv region, which are essential for controlling Moscow's positions in the independence republics of Donetsk and Lugansk, in the Donbass, but it is also seeing Ukrainian artillery succeed, with increasing insistence. , scourge the city of Donetsk, daily, with American and French long-range rocket launchers, thanks to the repositioning of these units in the areas now reconquered, causing dozens of civilian casualties in the capital of that pro-Russian republic, which Moscow considers to be a treat- war crimes because these shots are aimed only at civilian areas in the center of the city.
Change of tactics in sightThe strategy for this war is being questioned with increasing insistence within Russian military and political society, with the state media echoing doubts about the Kremlin's options - which is to say they were allowed to do so with the intention to measure and test the pulse of civil society -, making heard the voices that want to see Moscow go up a level in this offensive, leaving aside the inherent limitations of the "special military operation" defined by Vladimir Putin, employing only professional troops, without resorting to reservists, with a clearly limited range of military targets, which could, for example, lead Russia to target railway and road infrastructure, rendering them useless, dams, power stations, or even move towards aerial bombardment with the use of supersonic heavy bombers such as the TU-160 (Tupolev) etc., which has not yet been seen, except for occasional cases, such as the last year to stop enemy troops from crossing the river.
Ricardo Bordalo in Novo Jornal, 19 de Setembro de 2022
Posted by: António Ferrão | Sep 21 2022 9:51 utc | 43
via RT
Ukrainians may face up to five years in jail for taking part in referendums on whether to become part of Russia, Deputy PM said
Vereshchuk signaled that even ordinary Ukrainians may be punished for attending polling stations.
“This [may] mean imprisonment for up to five years. So, once again I strongly advise residents of the temporarily occupied territories: do not take a [Russian] passport, do not go to referendums, do not cooperate with the occupiers and leave, if it’s possible,” the official stated.
Last week, the Ukrainian government proposed legislation that would impose a prison sentence of up to 15 years on its citizens for obtaining a Russian passport.
----
Even without the 8 years of shelling, deaths and destruction, is it any wonder so many want nothing to do with Ukraine. Talk about not being welcome in your own country.
Posted by: SeanAU | Sep 21 2022 9:55 utc | 44
Two Carlos Latuff cartoons nailed Erdogan for me, , Erdogan's mouth ' Abandon hope all ye who enter here ' and an xray of Erdogan's heart showing the Star of David.
Erdogan has stuck his flag on the Crimea, anticipating USUKIS victory over Russia.
No wonder Mr Putin's speech mentions the punishment for betrayer / Qiyanat. Erdogan housed the Nato HQ for destroying Syria in Adana, while thieving Iraqi oil by ranker from Daesh controlled territory.
Erdogan's calculation of a Russian defeat against Nato is based on his weird idea that all Muslims are like him, love terror.
A foolish analysis by a power drunken gambler.
Turkey backed Germany in WW2 and ended up on the wrong side of history.
It looks like he wants to repeat that error by backing Nazi Biden.
Posted by: Giyane | Sep 21 2022 9:55 utc | 45
The key point about recent events is:
The strategy for this war is being questioned with increasing insistence within Russian military and political society, with the state media echoing doubts about the Kremlin's options -
by Ricardo Bordalo in Novo Jornal, 19 de Setembro de 2022
Posted by: António Ferrão | Sep 21 2022 9:51 utc | 42
No one's perfect. No point in denying the obvious.
Posted by: SeanAU | Sep 21 2022 10:02 utc | 47
Posted by: Giyane | Sep 21 2022 9:55 utc | 44
not disputing your opinion of Erdogan,but I don't think Turkey backed Germany in World War 2.
Posted by: pretzelattack | Sep 21 2022 10:02 utc | 48
Will the ukronazis dare to physically attack with their forces on newly integrated territories directly or will they reduce themselves to hit and run terror operations which they then deny responsibility for, as in Crimea?
Posted by: Night Tripper | Sep 21 2022 10:03 utc | 49
@Giyane | Sep 21 2022 9:55 utc | 44
Erdogan is a hostage of finance.
Posted by: too scents | Sep 21 2022 10:03 utc | 50
@Rudi Ruessel #7:
Who is not afraid of escalation and atomic warfare soon?How can this war ever end?
People like you must go into the streets and protest, explaining to your clueless fellow citizens that this war is not a result of “Putin’s thuggery”, but a result of the West carrying out a violent coup in 2014 and installing an extreme Russophobic regime in the Ukraine, whose territories have been part of Russia for hundreds of years (since 1503 for the north-eastern part, since 1654 for most of the rest—and that is if we ignore the times of Rus’), where 70% of population speaks Russian, where a third of population have relatives in Russia, all of whose eastern and southern cities were founded during the times of the Russian Empire and populated with people from all over Russia who spoke Russian and Russian only since the day these cities were founded, etc. As a result of Russophobes’ cultural genocide, there is now not a single school in the Ukraine that teaches in Russian, Russian language is either severely limited or outright banned on TV, radio, cinema, in government institutions, in service industry (cafes, restaurants), etc.
Not only that, but even though 6 million Ukrainians served in the Red Army and fought and won against the Nazis during WW2, while only up to 150 thousand (maximum claim) Ukrainians served in the UPA and helped the Nazis, the extreme Russophobes are now white-washing and even glorifying Ukrainian Nazis, destroying the monuments to Red Army soldiers, preventing May 9 celebrations of Soviet victory over Nazism, etc.
You must also explain to your clueless fellow citizens that in 2014, Donetsk and Lugansk oblasts have refused to recognize the new illegal authorities, refused to be forced to stop speaking Russian, refused to break economic relations with Russia, refused to engage in anti-Russian propaganda, refused to study Ukrainian Nationalists’ distorted “history”, refused to stop celebrating Soviet victory over Nazism, refused to white-wash and glorify Ukrainian Nazis, etc., and for that the new “democratic” Ukraine has sent tanks, artillery and warplanes against them.
If you don’t want to do this at times exhausting, but crucial work of explaining basic facts to your fellow citizens, then don’t complain if one day your window suddenly turns bright as the Sun, then the glass bursts out, and when you look outside, you see a gigantic mushroom of radioactive dust rising on the horizon, realizing that you will die of hunger in a few weeks.
Posted by: S | Sep 21 2022 10:03 utc | 51
Transcript now up http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/69390
Posted by: SeanAU | Sep 21 2022 10:05 utc | 52
The comment sections of the "reknown" German mainstream online newspapers are completely stuffed with NATO-brainwashed comments. It is hard to bear.
"Russia is desperate", "Putin is loosing", "Russian hardware and military is crap", "Ukraine will win soon", "Sanctions are working", "Clear sign to deliver even more weapons", "Putin is the personified evil" ....
and all the while calling for more escalation.
If I would not know better - as lots members of my family and most of my (former) circle of friends thinks exactly the same as stated above - I would assume this is only being NATO-bots writing.
Posted by: Vollhonk | Sep 21 2022 10:09 utc | 53
dfg | Sep 21 2022 9:37 utc | 36
Much appreciated that, thanks for saying so. Best to you too.
Posted by: SeanAU | Sep 21 2022 10:13 utc | 54
This will make me pretty unpopular here, but this is what I think.
The whole "referendum to join Russia' thing is a way of trying to *terminate* the SMO *and any further kinetic action*.
Because, suddenly, it's all Russia. And no one is gonna cross our Russian red lines, huh?
Hardy ha ha. Ukraine will immediately start shelling what is now actual Russian territory, and the 56D-chess thinkers in the Stavka will go: "Fuck, didn't work. Now we have to go balls out or walk back all that red line stuff. Such that *getting our own territory attacked* is a red line we need to walk back."
Putin will appear in the media, all cheery grins, wot me worry? "Yes, I said before that the Ukranians were shelling us, and now they still are. Nothing is different. No need to change anything."
Posted by: Herr Ringbone | Sep 21 2022 10:21 utc | 55
Posted by: António Ferrão | Sep 21 2022 9:51 utc | 42
More on this African Perspective
Russia/Ukraine Crisis: Nuclear Threat Shadows War Again - "The consequences would be devastating", Biden told Putin - South Africa shows Biden a red line...
Change of tactics in sightThe strategy for this war is being questioned with increasing insistence within Russian military and political society, with the state media echoing doubts about the Kremlin's options - which is to say they were allowed to do so with the intention to measure and test the pulse of civil society -, making heard the voices that want to see Moscow go up a level in this offensive, leaving aside the inherent limitations of the "special military operation" defined by Vladimir Putin, employing only professional troops, without resorting to reservists, with a clearly limited range of military targets, which could, for example, lead Russia to target railway and road infrastructure, rendering them useless, dams, power stations, or even move towards aerial bombardment with the use of supersonic heavy bombers such as the TU-160 (Tupolev) etc., which has not yet been seen, except for occasional cases, such as the last year to stop enemy troops from crossing the river.
But in Moscow there is no question of resorting to nuclear munitions, as some Western analysts have admitted can happen in the face of obvious losses at the front of Russian combat forces, such as, for example, the "small" range tactical nuclear warheads, whose felt only in a limited area, and which were designed to contain sudden enemy advances with threat of destruction of combat capability, being part of the arsenals of both the Russian Federation and the USA.
Also, weapons of widespread destruction such as chemical or biological ones are not in the range of possibilities, being, like nuclear, a clear element of the red lines drawn by US President Joe Biden, who returned, in a recent interview with CBS , warning of the risks of a devastating response to Moscow if it takes that step in this war, in which Washington and its European allies are directly interested in providing vital and unlimited arms and financial support to Kiev with the admitted objective, as they said without faltering Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin from bending Russia and weakening it until it becomes irrelevant in the world.
By the way, a sign that nobody knows for sure what will happen in the next few days, and when winter is already knocking on the door of the Northern Hemisphere, with its temperatures, in that part of Europe, easily reaching minus 30º, is that the US military leaders ordered the elevation of the state of readiness of their forces (NATO) in Eastern Europe, especially in Poland - the biggest supporter of a direct war of the Atlantic Alliance with the Russian Federation -, for fear of a large scale reaction by part of Moscow in the face of the crippling difficulties for a military superpower felt on the front.
From Moscow it did not take long to respond. Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, responded to Joe Biden saying that Moscow does not even understand the US President's words because its Russian nuclear doctrine is very clear and written, accessible to all interested, and limits the use of the arsenal nuclear - the largest in the world, by the way - when faced with an existential threat to the Russian Federation, which, he concluded, is not the case with what is currently happening in the conflict in Ukraine.
But it is equally true that Vladimir Putin also drew red lines to the Americans and their European allies, especially the United Kingdom, when he told them that everything would change perspective if they provide long-range missiles to the Ukrainians, and recalled, what Biden agreed, that on the day that NATO and Russian troops directly target each other, little or nothing will be able to prevent an escalation to nuclear and the more than certain end of Humanity as we know it.
In truth, although it is not a thing for now, this possibility grows with each passing day without seeing an end to this conflict, largely because of the massive Western/NATO support for Ukraine as a means of defeating the Russians, as, for For example, the President of the European Commission, the German Ursula Leyen, has also said this, having even guaranteed last week that the European Union will increase and not reduce financial and military support (individual countries) to Kiev, as well as increase sanctions , the most violent ever applied to one country, Russia, even if this will tragically increase the galloping economic crisis that is ravaging western Europe, the USA, with devastating effects on almost the entire world.
And with negative prospects for the coming months, because Moscow's sanctions and reprisals are reducing the volume of natural gas and crude exported by Russia, leaving the European Union on the brink of an unprecedented energy crisis, which could have economic and financial losses impossible to anticipate right now.
TBC
Ricardo Bordalo in Novo Jornal, 19 de Setembro de 2022
Posted by: António Ferrão | Sep 21 2022 10:27 utc | 56
Giyane | Sep 21 2022 8:42 utc | 19
I’m sure you are aware of this site
https://russia-islworld.ru/search/?q=english
I have read about the respect that some figures in the Middle East, in particular in Iran, have for the way that Prsident Putin has resolved, has started to resolve, age old tensions with the Muslim majority RF regions : and of course it is significant that many have volunteered for service in the SMO
In parallel his patient ME diplomacy particularly with regard to Turkey Syria Iran and SA has certainly help to start a new configuration and alliance of ME countries who can be drawn into co operation rather than endless quarelling largely encouraged by the usual suspect
In Africa it can be stated that the similar Muslim Christian fault lines have been exploited exarcebated only for profit by the USEU, but the Russians are already welcomed as those who can counter and defuse this ; witness a security alliance with Cameroon, which is ‘split in two’ ; a language divide coupled with a religious split coupled with geographical
As for Erdogan - it seems necessary to accept that he is just too important/involved in many sensitive areas to be treated as a fool or an outcast: politicians as able as Putin and Raisi seem convinced of the use of co operating with him, and despite some hair on fire he has proved amenable in crucial areas
Posted by: Gerrard White | Sep 21 2022 10:33 utc | 57
LIke Putin more or less said a while back , you haven't seen anything yet.
Posted by: Buford T Justice | Sep 21 2022 10:34 utc | 58
b: "Russia's total military reserve, people who have previously gone through military training, is 25 million."
I... what????? Did I just read that right?
Putin could put twenty-five million fully-equipped soldiers into the field, should circumstances require it?
I... what????? Why on Earth is Biden provoking the Russians?
Are the neocons really that crazy?
Posted by: Yeah, Right | Sep 21 2022 10:36 utc | 59
Posted by: António Ferrão | Sep 21 2022 10:27 utc | 55
(continuation)
Beijing and Moscow, the same fight?Probably yes. Probably, China and Russia share an important global objective, which is the reduction of North American hegemony in the world, with an evident strategic rapprochement taking place between the Asian giant and the largest country in the world, which extends across Eurasia, as became clear at the beginning of the war, when the Chinese and Indians were willing to buy the crude and coal that Europe sanctioned, and even inflamed the importance of international organizations that seek to gain vital space in a North American-Eurocentric world, such as the BRICS , which includes Brazil, South Africa, China, India and Russia, or the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization), which includes, in addition to Russia and China, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.
It was on the basis of this organization that the Russian Presidents, Vladimir Putin, and the Chinese, Xi JInping, met last week, both having once again reinforced their commitment to strengthening cooperation between the two Nations, reinforcing the anti-Western front, although without doing so. define themselves, mutually promising to increase cooperation in all areas, making it clear that China is less and less equidistant from this conflict, although always without taking the missing step, which is declaring support for Moscow, maintaining the call for the war to end in serious and quick negotiations.
Ramaphosa's clear messageAnd if the question of dividing the world between the pro-Western and the "others", although there are many shades of gray in this black and white world map of geopolitics, it is not always clear between them, and there are even advances and setbacks, as was seen in the declaration on the war in Eastern Europe by the Angolan President at the inauguration, defending - in a slight inflection in João Lourenço's position - that it is up to Moscow to end the war, the President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, was more objective and said that the US cannot say what South Africans should or should not do in the context of global cooperation.
Ramaphosa was received at the White House last week, having heard from Biden a clear request for South Africa to support the West in the process of isolation of Moscow, condemning the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. The US President did not get what he wanted, because his African counterpart refused to condemn Moscow.
Pretoria, it will be recalled, abstained in the motion, in the two motions, condemning Russia that went to the UN General Assembly since the beginning of the war, making it clear that the historic ties of this African country with Moscow, especially in the time of apartheid , where the then Soviet Union unconditionally supported the ANC struggle, are hard to crack for Washington.
By welcoming the South African President to the White House, Biden makes it even more evident that the US is making an extra effort to please Africans, because it was on this continent that most of the votes against or abstentions in condemning Russia were concentrated. sought after by the United States, having, since then, started a series of charm initiatives in these latitudes that are not sensitive to everything that is to pinch their old and favorite, albeit with exceptions, ally, which are the Russians.
Despite the fact that Ramaphosa's interest in consolidating cooperative relations with the US was clear, and he was pleased to have Biden's approach, the South African leader could not have been, as can be seen from local media reports, clearer to show Joe Biden that the red line is precisely what the White House tenant wanted most: Moscow's condemnation of South Africa.
Full text in Portuguese in:
Ricardo Bordalo in Novo Jornal, 19 de Setembro de 2022
Posted by: António Ferrão | Sep 21 2022 10:37 utc | 60
Martyanov’s latest
https://smoothiex12.blogspot.com/2022/09/they-wanted-war.html?m=1
Posted by: Down South | Sep 21 2022 10:38 utc | 61
An added dimension to the timing this came just after patrushev visited China( I doubt it very much putin and Xi would discuss in detail any plan of action in Uzbekistan( the chances of wire tap is too high and Chinese and Russians can't guarantee secure communications within Uzbekistan).
A storm is coming and now I m actually getting worried.
Posted by: A.z | Sep 21 2022 10:41 utc | 62
@Yeah, Right | Sep 21 2022 10:36 utc | 58
"I... what????? Did I just read that right?"
I suspect it might need a dot = 2.5m?
Posted by: imo | Sep 21 2022 10:42 utc | 63
Posted by: imo | Sep 21 2022 10:42 utc | 62
No 25 Million is correct, without new recruits
Posted by: Macpott | Sep 21 2022 10:44 utc | 64
Mortality is up 15% across the west. This is an unprecedented catastrophe. If the Dems win the midterms there will be an investigation. This would be a catastrophe for the psychopaths currently in charge. They will do anything to prevent it, including risking nuclear war. Mercouris observes the great haste of this announcement and speculates that the US has threatened a big strike against Russia behind he scenes, which calls for this massive response. I read somewhere that Putin said the West was threatening the use of nuclear weapons.
In summary; the hypothesis is that US is threatening massive escalation behind the scenes in order to avoid defeat in the mid-terms, which would expose the crimes of the previous years and this is the Russian response. Any thoughts?
Posted by: Tim | Sep 21 2022 10:47 utc | 65
@V87 | Sep 21 2022 9:44 utc | 38
The Armenia thing seems very fake. nato diversity hire thought that CSTO, that is mostly Russia, will go in 24h, Kaz. style, and fight while Armenians do nothing. Brain fail.
If Armenia goes against Russia, Russia will have to leave them and their trade route and Azer. will take anything they want, backed by Israel and Turkey. There are constant cargo flights going from Israel to Azer. Erdo is flying drones all day long. This will also affect Iran, apparently they're moving an army towards borders, saying these events are directed against them
Posted by: rk | Sep 21 2022 10:50 utc | 66
The NATO tactic was to push Russia by shelling Donbass again. It was simply not tolerable and Putin knew it. The mobilization allows army command to use reservists to replace forces currently tied down backing up the defensive line, which should address the problem of size disparity. I don't see a single 'big push' coming, but I do see remaining Ukr forces taking a pounding, especially if they attempt another counteroffensive. This demonstrates, on the eve of the plebiscites, that Russia is indeed committed to supporting the Donbass and integrating it if it chooses. It also demonstrates resolve to any other state partners concerned that Russian determination might be wavering. The real battle is still between Straussian economics and multipolar trading relationships.
Posted by: TPaine | Sep 21 2022 10:58 utc | 67
"integrating it if it chooses" - sorry, should be "integrating it if the oblasts choose".
Posted by: TPaine | Sep 21 2022 11:00 utc | 68
@Gerrard White | Sep 21 2022 10:33 utc | 56
RT did a 30minute special a few months back on the Chechen fighters joining up for the SMO - I found it humbling to watch. The Chechen have Kadyrov, Russia has Putin, Mevdevev and Shoigu whilst there is not a leader of note in the EU.
The collective west's heads must be exloding at the thought of all of the (muslim) Chechen joining up to fight for Mother Russia. Most westerners have been poisoned by the MSM with 20 years of "Islam bad" whilst the reality of Islam is nothing like the Radical Islam that is presented.
I for one look forward to the day when Nato and the EU are completely shunned by the rest of the world and fade into insignificance.
Posted by: Al Dossary | Sep 21 2022 11:01 utc | 69
@64
My thoughts are that this is Russian escalation in response to military setbacks, specifically in the Karkhov region, to appease Russian nationalists and to assure China and India that Russia will finish this quickly. Although, I am not convinced China and India will be overjoyed at linking the use of nuclear weapons to the territorial integrity of areas that have been ‘Russian’ for five minutes. Yes, it’s an attempt to stop the West sending the Ukrainians weapons, but it’s unlikely to work and leaves everyone concerned.
Everything else about mid-terms, US about to use nuclear weapons etc is just nonsense. The US still hasn’t sent its best in convention weapons so as not to escalate the conflict, so why would they jump to nuclear weapons? Makes no sense.
Posted by: Tom UK | Sep 21 2022 11:01 utc | 70
Posted by: Rudi Ruessel | Sep 21 2022 8:07 utc | 11
"Which country can you recommend to emigrate to?
Must be self-reliant on energy and food, and no, China is not an option."
Fight or flight hormones are kicking in here in rural Midwest US and apparently in Germany as Rudi indicates. Wife and I just had a widow lady neighbor over for supper a couple evenings ago. Her life story is interesting-- born in Chile 1950, dad was an American mining engineer, family moved to Lima in 1956, then Boston in 1960, basically lived a rich life of privilege atop the US imperial mafia system, evolved into a cultural lefty so we share a certain amount of common values. Anyway, she talked about her recent trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, where she visited her ailing 82 year old brother (mining engineer). Brother ate some street food, got typhoid and then another bad bacterial infection, almost died. Turns out that non citizens living in Mexico lose their health insurance at age 80 so must pay cash for medical which triggered a "go fund me" plea from brother and the wife. My neighbor (the younger sister) asked how much money they needed and the wife said total $40,000 for a week of intensive care plus all the doctors' bills. Very reasonable compared to the US.
Turns out, however, that the "poor old brother" wasn't so poor. The wife let it slip that they had been trying to sell their estate (equipped with gardener, pool boy, maid) for 6 months. 5 months ago a California man offered above the asking price but then backed out when he discovered his yacht wouldn't fit in their back yard canal which supposedly connected to the ocean. Estate went back on the market two months later (around June) and sold for double the asking price. Little sister kept her money, got into an argument with the wife and came home. She said lots of Americans are heading for Mexico and other places and housing prices are skyrocketing for them.
My advice, Rudi is the same as S. Stay home and fight. Mexicans don't want you or me, nor does anyone else in the global south.
Start with neighbors. Draw them out. Ask them what they know about history, specifically Russia, Ukraine, Euro/US history. Plant questions in their stories/fairy tales. Practice articulating your personal red lines. Get a list of links/references to recommend depending on the person's level of awareness. Jaques Baud would be a good starter. But stay home.
And prep like hell.
Posted by: migueljose | Sep 21 2022 11:01 utc | 71
I know it is probably viewed as no more than a formality, but in the interests of democracy, at least as a principle, I would have liked to see some mention of voting for all those refugees from The Dombass now living in Russia - even if just a postal vote. The entire population of the region, even in absentia, should be given the chance to vote on this vital issue.
Posted by: Gerry Bell | Sep 21 2022 11:07 utc | 72
I posted this, about the futility of worry, on another thread just before the news came in of President Putin’s speech and partial mobilisation and other actions
In this connection- One point many emphasise is a decision to recalibrate & speed up the integration of 4 oblasts into the RF – this reaction, even if delayed, is understandable
Besides the mobilisation will take three months to put in place – and it may be assumed that PP prepared for such a winter, not that winter caught him off guard
PP is such a careful patient planner that the manner of this announcement has worried (!) one or two – however it can been seen that the mobilisation must have planned for some time
Now some are worrying that nuclear weapons will be used….the least one can say is that there will be nothing more for them to worry about after that
Whatever happens the feeble will worry, while the RF proceeds to execute their plans, come what may
SeanAU | Sep 21 2022 9:21 utc | 309
Your posts consist of endless speculations about that which the RF intended and in what timeframe and why, and how, now all of a sudden as it were, they have realised their mistakes and seek to correct them
« They got it badly wrong etc, my best guess, etc »
This might pass if you posted this set of opinions once – but you go on and with variations and variants, again all speculative, ditto your homegrown solutions
You are writing as if a would be military expert from, I take it, very far away, and with little direct knowledge of the events on the ground, I take it you do not read Russian and have no live sources etc etc
In other words your tactical and strategic advice to the RF is very ill informed amateur, but written in capital letters exclamation marks, strident
Many of those commentors whose opinions and reporting are followed/admired have not only sources, military experience, russian language etc – but a reasonable tone of voice which always emphasises two basic points
--No one knows the RF plans for war – President Putin has always expressed very limited goals for the SMO and emphasised it’s nature as not war but as a special operation :
and
--PP has also stressed that this is a major turning point in history and that the US and the now the EU have effectively declared war on Russia
I’ll not go to the trouble of providing you with links to the Kremlin website – but you can read all this there
If you think that anyone will take seriously your statements that The RF did not better anticipate how this operation would develop than you are able to point out to them, I would say that you are misguided
President Putin does not go to the lengths of providing a timescale, nor make comparisons by reference, say, to the Afghan debâcle, but he discusses events in such terms
This war is, very probably a 10 year war or at least a many year war – it is the opinion of those often cited experts I refer to above, the RF has long been preparing for this many year war, and is in much better shape than the USEU, on the evidence so far, to weather this :Putin has said as much himself
You, par contre et au contraire, are in a very great rush to get it done – this attitude applies to the Ukies to the Ynaks and to the EU, but not to the RF (not the CCP, not the Iranians etc)
Your attitude is thus the attitude of the enemies of the RF, but expressed with an apparent concern pity and the need to take care of the RF
So rethink where your interests and loyalties lie : if with the RF learn to express yourself accordingly, and I mean better : if with the fiveyes keep on worrying concerning and lamenting
PS the bucket of shit thing is worthy of Zelensky, bravo!
Posted by: Gerrard White | Sep 21 2022 11:10 utc | 73
Last week the Head of States Council of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization met in Samarkand. Yesterday Putin made a public statement.
--
I want to emphasize that we know that the majority of people living in the territories liberated from neo-Nazis, and these are, first of all, the historical lands of Novorossia, do not want to be under the yoke of the neo-Nazi regime. In Zaporozhye, in the Kherson region, in Lugansk and Donetsk, they have seen and are seeing the atrocities that neo-Nazis are doing in the occupied areas of the Kharkov region. The heirs of Bandera and Nazi punishers kill people, torture them, throw them in prison, settle scores, crack down on, torment civilians.
The first time he mentioned Novorossia which is more than what is actually under Russian control.
Posted by: alex | Sep 21 2022 11:11 utc | 74
@71
Agreed. The people of those areas should be allowed to choose their path and be seen to be doing so.
I would extent this sentiment to the whole of Ukraine and its people.
Posted by: Tom UK | Sep 21 2022 11:15 utc | 75
"There were no decisions made on changing the status of the special military operation and imposing martial law following the announcement of a partial mobilization in Russia - Peskov"
Well... the operation actually ended. Next week those regions will be inside Russia, any himars salvo in the middle of a city will have a different response. What remains from Ukr will have to be demilitarized 100% and turned into an empty buffer land. If nato keeps shooting over the border the empty land will move inside Rromania, Pooland or Baltic nothings.
Posted by: rk | Sep 21 2022 11:19 utc | 76
Why all users with names with fictive countries are so dumb?
tomuk, all bars are closed around your hospital?
Posted by: rk | Sep 21 2022 11:21 utc | 77
Reactions from the UK have been predictably foolish.
Apparently, Putin being able to call up a force that's more than 3 times the size of the current British Army is a sign of "weakness", the Russian Hitler is "rattled" that his "3 day war" is now a "quagmire", the sanctions are about to work "any day now" and we shouldn't worry when the head of state of a country with the world's largest nuclear arsenal talks about nuclear war because we've "heard it all before".
All stuff we have, indeed, heard before, but the propaganda value of recent Ukrainian advances is priceless. The denizens of Western countries really do believe that victory in Ukraine is within reach. They're spending themselves into penury to try to defy the financial reality of the energy crisis they created, but trust me - victory is within sight.
Could the West be about to die in an atomic flash fire of stupidity? Looks possible.
Posted by: ZX | Sep 21 2022 11:23 utc | 78
It is not only about increasing army...
Russia has to sort out things in its home!
I am watcing German media, today is very interesting.
There is corresponder working for NTV in Moscow....
With the view on Kremlin in the back, he is openly inviting mobilized persons to flee from Russia!! Talking only, how to avoid military service!!
As I am following these news for months now, I don't know how this person is allowed to work in Russia...
Russia is still naive...
Posted by: preseren3 | Sep 21 2022 11:25 utc | 79
The stage seems to be set for WW3. Because Washington wants it. The West is supplying ever stronger weapons forcing Moskow to commit ever more resources. While Putin is left with little choice or leeway to manoevre, and the USA and UK are firmly committed to following their criminal ways, Europe is the only player who seems to have some choice. The problem is, though, everybody seems to be supporting Washingtons narrative, and those independent minds that it takes to bring about some change for the better, are nowhere to be seen. Von der Leyen and Borrel are a ticket straight to hell. The likes of Sarah Wagenknecht or Victor Orban are very few and marginalized - so who could lead us out of this dead end situation?
Posted by: grunzt | Sep 21 2022 11:25 utc | 80
@79 While Putin is left with little choice or leeway to manoevre
Putin has a choice. He had the choice or not to launch the SMO. He has the choice or not to escalate the conflict. Great powers have choices. If they are continually being ‘forced’ into choices by others then they are not great powers. They are weak.
Posted by: Tom UK | Sep 21 2022 11:30 utc | 81
grunzt | Sep 21 2022 11:25 utc | 79
Yes, the vaunted "independent EU foreign policy" never actually seemed to materialise.
Posted by: YetAnotherAnon | Sep 21 2022 11:31 utc | 82
Troll UK | Sep 21 2022 11:30 utc | 80
"If they are continually being ‘forced’ into choices by others then they are not great powers. They are weak."
Even a strong person is ‘forced’ into choices by others if those others, unprovoked, hit him in the face, as the West (in practice the US) has been doing since 2014.
Posted by: YetAnotherAnon | Sep 21 2022 11:35 utc | 84
Posted by: Rudi Ruessel | Sep 21 2022 8:07 utc | 11
"Which country can you recommend to emigrate to?
Must be self-reliant on energy and food.
For Americans ? - South or Central America seems to be a good choice with plenty of options.
Europeans ? - Ireland or Serbia appear to be best solutions.
Posted by: Exile | Sep 21 2022 11:40 utc | 85
I disagree with those who say "stay and fight the political battles".
Most of these idiots still believe in the miracle of "2 planes, 3 buildings". For two years, they wore a flimsy mask to protect against a flu. They're programmable bots.
Save yourselves. Move when you can, not when you must.
Check out residencies.io
I suggest the edges of continents in *uncontested* areas with temperate climates (so you don't need HVAC). Look for other sustainable qualities.
Posted by: dfg | Sep 21 2022 11:42 utc | 86
Shit show continues. Now act two: Misery for many and profit for few.
Posted by: nrg-2u | Sep 21 2022 11:54 utc | 87
@86 Do Your Part: ...."but conscripting convicts and random 18 year old kids off the streets is a desperation move."
Indeed it would be.
But is that what Putin is planning?
Putin: "Only citizens who are currently in the reserve and, above all, those who served in the ranks of the Armed Forces, have certain military specialties and relevant experience will be subject to conscription for military service."
You, sir, are a f**kwit.
Posted by: Yeah, Right | Sep 21 2022 11:54 utc | 88
The plan is the destruction of Asia's northwestern corner (as I would prefer to call "europe"), just to provide the US big money companies with a playground for gaining profit in the foreseeable future when the rest of the world has freed itself from NATO's claws and 500 years of european imperialism.
Posted by: Ralf | Sep 21 2022 8:40 utc | 18
Not sure if this is a good forecast but it's a very interesting take. Thank you.
If you don’t want to do this at times exhausting, but crucial work of explaining basic facts to your fellow citizens, then don’t complain if one day your window suddenly turns bright as the Sun, then the glass bursts out, and when you look outside, you see a gigantic mushroom of radioactive dust rising on the horizon, realizing that you will die of hunger in a few weeks.
Posted by: S | Sep 21 2022 10:03 utc | 50
In the US, I am better off trying to teach a squirrel about the internet than trying to do what you propose.
I'm better off keeping to myself, preparing for disaster and trying to get out of here.
Posted by: Michigan Dude | Sep 21 2022 11:57 utc | 90
@80 Tom UK " If they are continually being ‘forced’ into choices by others then they are not great powers."
This rule of thumb should also be applied to the USA's and UK's response to the events of 9/11, I assume?
And if not, well, why not?
Posted by: Yeah, Right | Sep 21 2022 11:59 utc | 91
300K is still a half-assed move.
Posted by: Mao Cheng Ji | Sep 21 2022 11:32 utc | 82
Not really. Russian troops, due to training and supports from Russian Arts/AF/AD, fought in Ukraine at an effectiveness ratio of one to ten.
Of course, after its demise since February, newly installed Ukrainian conscripts using unfamiliar western equipments also degraded Ukrainian military effectiveness. Ukraine doesn't have enough NATO troops acting as pretend foreign mercenaries.
Posted by: KitaySupporter | Sep 21 2022 11:59 utc | 92
Posted by: too scents | Sep 21 2022 8:06 utc | 9
I am not afraid. I welcome the whirlwind.
Agreed and it's about time. 300,000 extra troops is exactly what was needed. Russia is flexing it's "escalatory dominance."
Posted by: Ivan | Sep 21 2022 12:01 utc | 93
"Some two weeks ago a successful Ukrainian offensive led to the retreat of Russian troops in the Kharkov region. That at least is the 'western' version of that story. A different narrative is that the Russian troops intentionally withdrew from the region to raise Russian calls for an escalation of the war."
What baloney. I might as well say "rationalization"if it deserved it.
Posted by: Elmagnostic | Sep 21 2022 12:01 utc | 94
Last week, the Ukrainian government proposed legislation that would impose a prison sentence of up to 15 years on its citizens for obtaining a Russian passport.
----
Even without the 8 years of shelling, deaths and destruction, is it any wonder so many want nothing to do with Ukraine. Talk about not being welcome in your own country.
Posted by: SeanAU | Sep 21 2022 9:55 utc | 43
Good grief! RF better not withdraw from any territory again!
Ukrainian offensive attempt in Peski (48.07160, 37.65978). DPR claim to have destroyed more than 100 personnel.
https://t.me/denatofication/3397
A large #Ukrainian column attempting to attack the village of #Pravdyne (Kherson oblast) appears to have been wiped out by #Russian troops.
https://t.me/chris_759/86
Posted by: unimperator | Sep 21 2022 12:07 utc | 96
Scorpion | Sep 21 2022 12:05 utc | 95
This is terrible news! Heaven's above what is the world.....never again!
Posted by: Gerrard White | Sep 21 2022 12:08 utc | 97
Posted by: unimperator | Sep 21 2022 12:07 utc | 96
Multiple failing offensives simultaneously is usually unsustainable... but what else is new.
Posted by: unimperator | Sep 21 2022 12:09 utc | 98
I would normally say: "Iam surprised". But I am not, anymore.
Because Russia is still naive, how western propaganda influences Russian space.
And they allowe it.
DO YOU READ?
Air tickets rised to 80,000$ to flee from Russia...
That is result of western propaganda, reaching some individuals....
I once a bona time commented on RT. When it was still possibble...
Writing what I write here...
I was deleted and blocked permanently!!!!
And the comment which was spitting on Russia, survived...
There is so many traitors, mercenaries, because of language barrier, that Russian authoritis are not aware.... Yet..
Takes time...
Posted by: preseren3 | Sep 21 2022 12:14 utc | 99
@KitaySupporter 92,
Meh. If they really did want to end it, they should've moved in with overwhelming force.
It's clear that in February they expected Kiev to fold immediately, like the Afghan government last year. But now it's obvious that it won't happen. So, it's either an overwhelming force (much, much larger than 300k), or more of the same, a kilometer/day advance, at best.
But hey, maybe a kilometer/day advance is the plan? Who knows. It would seem weird, though...
Posted by: Mao Cheng Ji | Sep 21 2022 12:17 utc | 100
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Belarus entering the war can only mean that Poland does the same.
WW3, here we go.
Posted by: Rudi Ruessel | Sep 21 2022 7:51 utc | 1