The Ukrainian 'Counteroffensive' Was Destined To Fail - Today It Did So
On August 24 the British prime minister Boris Johnson visited Kiev:
In comments made next to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the Mariyinsky Palace, Johnson said Ukraine “can and will win this war.”
Johnson's visit was the start signal for the long announced Ukrainian 'counteroffensive' towards Kherson.
In early April Johnson had called on and visited Kiev to stop well developed peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine:
“Russian and Ukrainian negotiators appeared to have tentatively agreed on the outlines of a negotiated interim settlement,” wrote Fiona Hill and Angela Stent. “Russia would withdraw to its position on February 23, when it controlled part of the Donbas region and all of Crimea, and in exchange, Ukraine would promise not to seek NATO membership and instead receive security guarantees from a number of countries.”The news highlights the impact of former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s efforts to stop negotiations, as journalist Branko Marcetic noted on Twitter. The decision to scuttle the deal coincided with Johnson’s April visit to Kyiv, during which he reportedly urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to break off talks with Russia for two key reasons: Putin cannot be negotiated with, and the West isn’t ready for the war to end.
Over the last months Britain has trained several thousands of Ukrainian troops and their officers. Together with Ukrainian special forces Britain's MI-6 secret service planned a special operation for Ukraine to regain control over the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant on the south side of the Kakhovka Dnieper reservoir. This was designed to coincide with a visit of IAEA inspectors, long held up by Ukraine, to visit the ZNPP.
The Kherson offensive started on August 30 on five axes. It was destined to fail. Three of these attempts to gain ground held by Russian troops failed. One axis was stopped after taking a few small villages of no strategic value. The only 'successful' attack was across the Inhulet river near Andriivka in the direction of the dam and river crossing that closes off the Kakhovka Dnieper reservoir.
bigger
Reportedly the Ukrainian military command was against this mission. But the Ukrainian political leadership, the Zelenski regime, ordered it to proceed. It was under political pressure from its foreign supporters to show at least some success.
The attack was launched on August 30. The Ukrainian military created three river crossings over the Inhulet near Andriivka. This already smelled bad. Why didn't the Russian airforce or artillery immediately destroy those crossings?
It was obvious that this was a trap.
In a CNN piece, co-written by the notorious 'intelligence' stenographer Natasha Bertrand, the U.S. military distanced itself from the upcoming catastrophe:
In the buildup to the current Ukrainian counteroffensive, the US urged Kyiv to keep the operation limited in both its objectives and its geography to avoid getting overextended and bogged down on multiple fronts, multiple US and western officials and Ukrainian sources tell CNN.Those discussions involved engaging in "war-gaming" with Kyiv, the sources said -- analytical exercises that were intended to help the Ukrainian forces understand what force levels they would need to muster to be successful in different scenarios.
The Ukrainians were initially considering a broader counteroffensive, but narrowed their mission to the south, in the Kherson region, in recent weeks, US and Ukrainian officials said.
...
Officials say they believe there is now increased parity between the Ukrainian and Russian militaries. But western officials have been hesitant to label the nascent Ukrainian operation -- which appeared to begin on Monday in the southern province of Kherson -- a true "counteroffensive."How successful Ukraine is likely to be in regaining lost territory remains an open question, sources familiar with the latest intelligence tell CNN.
For three days the Ukrainian military sent battalion after battalion into the salient. These were good professional troops trained by Britain. They were equipped with modernized Polish T-72 tanks and up-armored Dutch Infantry Fighting Vehicles (YPR-765 IFV). But while these force were able to create a deeper salient it would soon become their grave.
As I wrote on September 1.
The Ukrainian Kherson offensive continues despite extremely heavy losses. The Rybar map shows one of the axes where the Ukrainian army still tries to press forward after having been rooted from Bruskyns'ke.
biggerThe area is flat open steppe with no coverage for troops to hide. The Russian side is by far superior in artillery and has air supremacy. Whoever ordered the Ukrainians to press this suicidal campaign under these circumstance is guilty of murder and should go to prison for the rest of his life.
On September 1, the very day the IAEA delegation was to arrive, the Ukrainian side made a daring attack to seize the ZNPP. But the Russian side had been warned. The two waves of Ukrainian special forces, also trained by Britain, were killed while crossing the reservoir or were running into ambushes as soon as they had landed. They ended up dead. The IAEA inspection proceeded as planned.
Jeffrey Kaye @jeff_kaye - 21:18 UTC · Sep 2, 2022UN Secretary General's spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Thursday:
"We are glad that the Russian Federation did all to keep our inspectors safe"!
I expect mainstream press to not report this.
Link to Interfax report
On the third day of the offensive the bridges across the Inhulet river where still intact. The Russian tactic was obvious. A scheme that it had used previously on the Karkiv front:
Will Schryver @imetatronink - 22:28 UTC · Sep 2, 2022The truth of the Kherson "offensive" is written on the maps for all to see: AFU attacks; Ru hits 'em hard, then pulls back; AFU advances; Ru hits 'em again, but pulls back more; AFU adds forces to salient; Ru flanks them in force & cuts off their rear; trap closed; turkey shoot.
Late yesterday the Russian air force made its first real showing in this 'counteroffensive' affair. It attacked Ukrainian forces at the front of the salient in the tiny village of Bezimene with some 24 'dumb' 500 kilogram bombs. This ended the existence of the village and of all Ukrainian forces in it.
The Russian airforce then proceeded to destroy all river crossings over the Inhulet.
The Ukrainian forces are trapped:
bigger
They have one choice. Give up, wave white flags or die.
Here is the current Rybar overview of the larger Kherson region. All Ukrainian attempts in this 'counteroffensive' have failed to make any significant progress.
bigger
The number of Ukrainian casualties are huge. Reports from Odessa, Nikolaev and Kryvy Rih speak of thousands of wounded. Many more have died. Hundreds of Ukrainian tanks and infantry fighting vehicles were destroyed or captured by Russian troops.
The 128th mountain assault brigade from the Ukrainian Transcarpatia region was involved in the general attack and got destroyed. (Why use 'mountain assault' specialists in the open steppe?) The governor of the region reportedly ordered a day of mourning.
The Russian side has now launched some attacks of its own to gain areas and towns the Ukrainians had held for some time. The Ukrainians are scrambling to mobilize local reserves in Nikolaev to counter these moves.
In 'western' media, complicit with the Zelenski regime, neither the bloody defeat of the 'counteroffensive' in Kherson nor the attempted raid on the ZNPP ever happened.
The only mention of it I found in the New York Times is this:
In a statement, the [Russian defense] ministry claimed that Russian forces had intercepted two groups of Ukrainian commandos, up to 60 troops combined, who crossed the Dnipro River in boats to sabotage or seize the plant.
In total the 'counterattack' on Kherson was a complete failure that predictably ended up destroying Ukraine's main military reserves and a major part of the stock of heavy vehicles it had received from the 'west'.
The ZNPP, which was the main 'public relation' target of the whole affair, is still in Russian hands and now secured by the presence of a permanent IAEA delegation.
bruno bertez @BrunoBertez - 7:27 UTC · 3 Sep 2022"The IAEA is there to stay for as long as it is needed. We are not leaving.” [IAEA director] Grossi said. “For those who may have intentions on the plant, knowing that international inspectors are there, witnessing and informing immediately what is happening, has an important stabilising effect.”
Heads in Kiev should and will likely roll over this. But that is not enough. Those in London who came up with this lunatic idea should be removed from their positions.
Meanwhile U.S. President Joe Biden has asked for $13.7 billion in additional money for Ukraine.
He wants to fight Russia down to the very last Ukrainian. A fight Russia does not want but is assured to win.
Can Biden be held to account for this?
Posted by b on September 3, 2022 at 10:37 UTC | Permalink
next page »Good, timely reporting, b, forwarding. The suppression of this story is astonishing, the MSM is in full David Copperfield mode.
Posted by: dadooronron | Sep 3 2022 10:54 utc | 2
LEAVE WHILE YOU CAN. Not when you have to.
Check residencies.io for the easiest places to go. It’s the only place I know that provides so much information on one web page.
Some of you certainly have ties. But, if things get really bad in EU, UK, or US, wouldn’t it be nice — if it ever becomes necessary — to give your family or friends refuge somewhere else?
Just something to think about.
Posted by: dfg | Sep 3 2022 11:04 utc | 3
What is going on is neurotic/psychotic/insane. These news on one hand, and these "news" on the other.
What is the plan? Why is Ukraine commiting suicide like this? Why is the Ukranian army still listening to Zelensky? Why is the EU commiting suicide over Ukraine? Why do Europeans, and Germans in particular (?), still defend this? Why the hell is the US still behind this, even now when it's clear that the Ukraine op is a giant blunder and people should be busy controlling the damage?
Back to the alcohol... any ideas on nice things to do? You can't read news like this all the time...
Posted by: pachinko | Sep 3 2022 11:08 utc | 4
I would say, as a military leader, BoJo is indeed a lot like Winston Churchill. Both very belligerent and very incompetent. A plunger, out of his depth. Sad.
Posted by: Bemildred | Sep 3 2022 11:16 utc | 5
In early April Johnson had called on and visited Kiev to stop well developed peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine:
“Russian and Ukrainian negotiators appeared to have tentatively agreed on the outlines of a negotiated interim settlement,” wrote Fiona Hill and Angela Stent. “Russia would withdraw to its position on February 23, when it controlled part of the Donbas region and all of Crimea, and in exchange, Ukraine would promise not to seek NATO membership and instead receive security guarantees from a number of countries.”
If that's true, thank God for Boris. The Russians really were going to chicken out in exchange for a Minsk III even more worthless than the first two?
Posted by: Flying Dutchman | Sep 3 2022 11:17 utc | 6
In the end, Russia will be faced with a failed state on its border. Torn down slowly by the neoliberal economics of the IMF, the oligarchs, the Washington Consensus, etc. Then all at once by a war they had no chance of winning.
If these were indeed the last professional troops AFU had, then the way is open for a Russian occupation of the entire country. Which would be a humanitarian operation of the kind the US always claims for their aggression. But that would be expensive.
With the warning nobody can predict the Russian moves.
Posted by: jhill | Sep 3 2022 11:19 utc | 8
Posted by: Bemildred | Sep 3 2022 11:16 utc | 5
at least Churchill didn't leave Britain for a photo shoot in the US. but then he didn't have a rich estate in Florida.
Posted by: pretzelattack | Sep 3 2022 11:21 utc | 9
I don't think anybody in a position of power in the US will hold Biden to account. I keep thinking of a general strike, but how to organize it, and how to support people living paycheck to paycheck? this isn't going to end well.
Posted by: pretzelattack | Sep 3 2022 11:23 utc | 10
at least Churchill didn't leave Britain for a photo shoot in the US. but then he didn't have a rich estate in Florida.
Posted by: pretzelattack | Sep 3 2022 11:21 utc | 9
Both drunks too ...
If you want to defend Winston as better than BoJo, that's OK with me.
I suppose I should shutup, so I will now, we get too far afield from the topic, but it has always mystified me why the British say such nice things about Churchill, who was disastrous in all he did. I suppose they have different priorities.
Posted by: Bemildred | Sep 3 2022 11:28 utc | 11
All of this crap from the US, NATO, EU and Ukraine is going to spectacularly backfire when winter comes and people go bankrupt because they can't afford heating, food, mortgage payments and so on. An economic nuclear holocaust is coming to Europe. Sad thing is that it was their sanctions that caused this, along with US foreign policy meddling in Ukraine since 2013.
Posted by: Kaiama | Sep 3 2022 11:29 utc | 12
They have done a fairly large push in a short amount of time and are still attacking from the north. It's not over, Ukraine has decided to go all in on one small section of land. I expect the ukies to force tens of thousands to death and it will be hard for Russia to hold that land.
Posted by: OhhCanada | Sep 3 2022 11:31 utc | 13
From IntelSlava
🇷🇺🇺🇦 Dead Ukrainian SOF soldiers in Energodar after thet tried to capture Zaporozhye nuclear power plant
https://t.me/intelslava/36343
Graphic but it shows the UAF troops didn’t stand a chance
Posted by: Down South | Sep 3 2022 11:32 utc | 14
They keep the suicide attacks going. Looks like Bojo, Borel and the rest of gang are using the same white powder Zely is using.
"On September 2, at about 11.00 PM (Moscow time), two groups of a total of 42 cutters and motor boats with over 250 servicemen from special operation forces and foreign mercenaries on board made an attempt to disembark at the shore of Kakhovka reservoir near Energodar and Dneproprudnoye. The manpower was attacked by 4 Su-30 and 2 Ka-52 helicopters of Russian Aerospace Forces that has resulted in the elimination of 20 cutters and boats. The rest of the vessels turned back and headed towards the Ukrainian coast."
Posted by: rk | Sep 3 2022 11:38 utc | 15
@Kaiama | Sep 3 2022 11:29 utc | 12
An economic nuclear holocaust is coming to Europe. Sad thing is that it was their sanctions that caused this, along with US foreign policy meddling in Ukraine since 2013.Will the Zombies in Europe ever understand that this was caused by the criminal EU, UK and US?
Posted by: Norwegian | Sep 3 2022 11:39 utc | 16
Posted by: Bemildred | Sep 3 2022 11:28 utc | 11
well, it's a low bar, which both drunks should appreciate.
Posted by: pretzelattack | Sep 3 2022 11:41 utc | 17
Great article plenty of facts but concase. Highly informative. I have a deep sadness but also utter contempt and disgust for Bojo MI6 & the other collective West warmongers that their gross incompetence lack of compassion and utter hubris is sending young and old forced conscripts to the meat grinder where they are and most certainly will meet certain death or severe life changing injuries. Zelensky needs to be arrested as the evil tyrant that he is and sent to the War crimes Tribunals. Either that or dragged to the front line to meet artillery fire.
Posted by: Jo Dominich | Sep 3 2022 11:41 utc | 18
From IntelSlava
🇷🇺🇺🇦 Ukrainian forces getting slaughtered in Kherson steppe
This video shows how flat the steppe is and how easy it was for Russian artillery to destroy the “counter-attack”. There really is no place for the UAF to hide.
Not as graphic as the previous video.
Posted by: Down South | Sep 3 2022 11:42 utc | 19
No Joe Biden will not be held to account. That is not the way it rolls in USofA. Many folks are not engaged with politics or government. Many are just trying to get through the day, and have not the time to wade through propaganda which is more prevalent (in my opinion) than ever in my 70 plus years. Please don't assume all or even a majority of folks support USofA imperialism. We don't. But those that don't are ostracized if they speak up. So we don't.
Good luck to all.
Posted by: horatio | Sep 3 2022 11:42 utc | 20
The Guardian reports:
07.44
Ukraine exploiting poor leadership in Russian military, says UK
Ukrainian forces have “likely achieved a degree of tactical surprise” with the ongoing counter-offensive, the UK’s Ministry of Defence has said.
“likely achieved a degree of tactical surprise”
LOL
Posted by: too scents | Sep 3 2022 11:43 utc | 21
Posted by: horatio | Sep 3 2022 11:42 utc
the propaganda this time dwarfs that of the Vietnam War or the second Iraq War.
Posted by: pretzelattack | Sep 3 2022 11:49 utc | 22
@Norwegian: My friends in Frankfurt-am-main are praying for a mild winter. I asked them if the chimney in their building still worked, and whether they had an axe to cut firewood. They confessed they had checked the location of the nearest civilian bunker in case war broke out, and checked they had an axe and a saw. They are worried, but don't voice their opinions loudly because they are scared. At their work places everyone still supports Kiev. And my friends are from East Germany.
Posted by: Kaiama | Sep 3 2022 11:53 utc | 23
"Those in London who came up with this lunatic idea should be removed from their positions."
In the American Civil war, the famous disaster of Pickett's Charge happened when General Sir Arthur James Lyon Fremantle, military observer for England, nagged General Lee into 'A Napoleonic charge.' England was likely the cause of the Secession, or at least cheered it on, so he was listened to when the Confederate generals knew better. History repeats.
Posted by: jhill | Sep 3 2022 11:55 utc | 24
On the Ukrainian mountain assault brigade: Alexander Mercouris yesterday explained that the name comes from the fact that Transcarpathia, where these men come from, is a mountainous region -- nothing to do with their training or expertise.
Posted by: Susan | Sep 3 2022 11:56 utc | 25
When I see names like Fiona Hill I think of someone from England who seems to have been co-opted into the Harvard Pentagon budget.............not many know that Harvard is one of the largest US defence contractors along with MIT and has a lot of sinecured positions for White House staffers - especially at Kennedy School
She is as untrustworthy as Johnson.
The fact is Germany is at war with Russia but cannot face up to the fact even though the Greens are obsessional - but they are funded from outside Germany.
Johnson is evil. He is demonstrably evil. He entertains people before he destroys them. He despises people especially women and treats them with abject contempt. He has neither respect nor love for women but seeks advantage and insinuates himself into people's graces to disarm them.
The fact that is overlooked too often is the confluence of Dangerous Personalities at the same time - Biden is an old crotchety man on drugs; Scholz is a vacuity of low intellect who believes he is cunning; Macron is a narcissistic nonentity; a slew of female secretaries made in as Prime Minister of a series of nonentity countries
Posted by: Paul Greenwood | Sep 3 2022 12:01 utc | 26
Report of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation on the progress of the special military operation on the territory of Ukraine as of September 3, 2022
🔻 The Kyiv regime continued unsuccessful attempts to gain a foothold in certain areas in the Nikolaev-Krivoy Rog direction.
▪️During the day of hostilities in this direction, the enemy lost 23 tanks, 27 infantry fighting vehicles, 14 other armored fighting vehicles, 9 pickup trucks with heavy machine guns and more than 230 military personnel.
▪️In addition, in the SERGEEVKA region of the Kherson region, Russian Aerospace Forces fighter aircraft shot down two Ukrainian Su-25 attack aircraft, and in the NOVOSELOVKA region of the Dnepropetrovsk region, a MiG-29 of the Ukrainian Air Force, converted to use HARM anti-radar missiles.
▪️High losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine led to an acute shortage of beds, medicines and blood supplies in the medical institutions of Nikolaev and the Nikolaev region, the department added. To identify and detain the increased number of deserters in Nikolaev, the number of military patrols has been increased and additional posts have been set up at the entrances to the city.
🔻The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue a special military operation in Ukraine.
▪️ The high-precision weapon of the Russian Aerospace Forces hit the temporary deployment point of the company tactical group of the 95th airborne assault brigade in the village of SLAVYANSK, Donetsk People's Republic. More than a hundred Ukrainian servicemen and 14 units of armored and motor vehicles were destroyed.
▪️In the area of the settlement of KONSTANTINOVKA of the Donetsk People's Republic, concentrated fire strikes hit the points of temporary deployment of units of the 93rd mechanized brigade. Eliminated up to 120 militants and 11 units of military equipment.
🔻 Operational-tactical and army aviation, missile forces and artillery continue to strike at military facilities on the territory of Ukraine.
▪️During the day, 53 artillery units in firing positions, manpower and military equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were hit in 157 districts. Six ammunition depots were destroyed in the areas of the settlements of VELIKOYE ARTAKOVO, Voznesensk in the Mykolaiv region, NUTS in the Zaporozhye region, MELOVAYA in the Kharkiv region, KURAKHOVO and KRAMATORSK in the Donetsk People's Republic, as well as the fuel depot of the 60th Infantry Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the region of KRAMATORSK.
▪️In the area of KONSTANTINOVKA of the Donetsk People's Republic, a launcher of a US-made HIMARS multiple launch rocket system with an ammunition transport vehicle, as well as up to 30 combat crew members, was destroyed.
▪️ Russian air defense systems shot down three unmanned aerial vehicles in the areas of the settlements of VOLNOVAKHA, NOVOPAVLOVKA of the Donetsk People's Republic, including Bayraktar-TB2 in the area of KAKHOVKA, Kherson region.
▪️Three tactical missiles "Tochka-U" were destroyed in the air in the areas of CHERVONY MAYAK, CHERNOBAEVKA and TYAGINKA of the Kherson region, as well as 60 shells of multiple launch rocket systems, including 44 - HIMARS MLRS, 12 - "Alder", 4 - "Hurricane" » in the areas of the settlements of ANTONOVKA, BERISLAV, NOVAYA KAKHOVKA, SAGI of the Kherson region, crossings in the area of the Darevsky bridge, KAPITOLOVKA, KUPYANSK, KAMENKA of the Kharkiv region and TOKMAK of the Zaporozhye region
▪️In total, since the beginning of the special military operation, 286 aircraft, 151 helicopters, 1867 unmanned aerial vehicles, 372 anti-aircraft missile systems, 4776 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 824 combat vehicles of multiple launch rocket systems, 3366 field artillery guns and mortars, and also 5250 units of special military vehicles.
🔻Despite the presence of representatives of the IAEA at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, the Kyiv regime once again attempted to seize the nuclear power plant.
▪️ On September 2, at about 23:00 Moscow time, two groups of boats and motor boats with a total number of 42 units with a landing force of over 250 people from among the special operations forces and foreign mercenaries attempted to land on the coast of the Kakhovka reservoir in the region of ENERGODAR and DNEPRORUDNY.
▪️The Russian Air Force attacked by four Su-30s and two Ka-52 helicopters, as a result of which 20 boats and boats were destroyed. The rest of the boats and boats turned around and left in the direction of the Ukrainian coast.
▪️Russian artillery, including howitzers of high power "Malka", struck at the Ukrainian part of the coast in the areas of the settlements of Vyshetarasovka, CHERVONODNEPROVKA, where the remnants of the landing force came ashore.
▪️According to available information, during the failed provocation, Ukrainian nationalists lost 47 militants killed, including 10 foreign mercenaries, 23 wounded.
Posted by: Summary | Sep 3 2022 12:01 utc | 27
You have to wonder what will happen if Dizzy Ms Lizzy (Truss) succeeds BoJo as UK Prime Minister. Will she too become a frequent flyer to "Keeev", once she learns that Poland borders the Baltic and not the Black Sea, and become President Zelensky's close personal military advisor?
As for BoJo himself, at a loose end, I hear Jens Stoltenberg will soon be vacating the position of NATO Secretary-General. The mind boggles at the thought of BoJo replacing Stoltenberg, now that Kaja Kallas has formed a new govt in Estonia and become Prime Minister again. BoJo, Truss and Zelensky - what an unholy trinity they will be!
Posted by: Jen | Sep 3 2022 12:02 utc | 28
Thanks for the update, b. It helps make sense of what has been happening on the Kherson front, where the 'incompetent, poorly-led'(as the MSM keep telling us) Russians seem to have outsmarted the Ukrainian attack - more through the fault of the Kiev politicians than their military, as you point out.
I would have just one quibble - where you include a quote about a negotiated interim settlement on the brink of being made in April: “Russia would withdraw to its position on February 23, when it controlled part of the Donbas region and all of Crimea, and in exchange, Ukraine would promise not to seek NATO membership and instead receive security guarantees from a number of countries.” I find it unlikely that Russia would have made any agreement, even interim, which did not include the complete liberation of the LPR and DPR, which they had recognised just two days before the start of the SMO.
Regarding the future, it should be recalled that in his speech announcing the SMO last February, Putin specifically and pointedly mentioned the Odessa massacre on May 2, 2014, and promised to bring the perpetrators to justice. If anyone has learned anything from Putin's presidency, it should be that he does not indulge in idle talk - in fact, he has frequently complained that he has not been listened to by Western leaders. I would be very surprised if the liberation of Odessa were not one of Russia's strategic objectives.
One last point - I hope this thread is not hijacked, like other recent threads, by long-winded, repetitive OT discussions (the Jews, the DNA of Jews, Republicans v. Democrats, the definition of facism, the lifespan of empires, who is a troll and what to do about it, etc., etc., etc.)
Posted by: B. Wildered | Sep 3 2022 12:02 utc | 29
Posted by: too scents | Sep 3 2022 11:43 utc | 21
British MoD is farcical. It has a top-heavy military with a bloated caste of generals all going to the office in civilian uniforms to shuffle paper and attend conferences. It is run by nonentity ministers who sign off on bloated contracts to fund their retirement jobs at BAe or some private equity defence conglomerate.
Modern Britain is like Italy - there was an empire in there somewhere - some of the buildings are there - but Rome is no more
Posted by: Paul Greenwood | Sep 3 2022 12:04 utc | 30
Does anybody have information on a second commando raid on the ZPP? I've seen it reported...even mentioned by the Russian MoD, but the information is so scanty that it is hard to draw any conclusions. The lack of information...especially on the Russian side on this seems strange. They claim to have destroyed 20 boats out of 40 but no more information other than that. I would think Russia would be crowing about this latest victory, but they are not.
Posted by: JustAMaverick | Sep 3 2022 12:06 utc | 31
My friends in Frankfurt-am-main are praying for a mild winter. I asked them if the chimney in their building still worked
Ask them if they know what happened to the people in Ahrtal ?
Still waiting.....waiting....after floods in 2021 swept away their homes and livelihoods.........but the politicians shovel money to Kiev and leave them to rot.
Frankfurt has other problems - most of southern Germany depends on French electricity generation - I doubt Mainova will be keeping the coal burners running unless someone gets the Rhine and Main filled with water
Posted by: Paul Greenwood | Sep 3 2022 12:07 utc | 32
Good analysis of how Russian military tactics succeed and Russia won’t stop soon:
https://bigserge.substack.com/p/the-russo-ukrainian-war
My favorite:
„The logic of the proxy has been reversed; Ukraine has become a vampiric force, draining the west of equipment and munitions.“
In other words:
Russia’s military superiority and economic resilience are so proven that the war can only be waged at the propaganda level. What we experience is the propaganda of losers.
Posted by: njet | Sep 3 2022 12:17 utc | 33
Good analysis of how Russian military tactics succeed and Russia won’t stop soon:
https://bigserge.substack.com/p/the-russo-ukrainian-war
My favorite:
„The logic of the proxy has been reversed; Ukraine has become a vampiric force, draining the west of equipment and munitions.“
In other words:
Russia’s military superiority and economic resilience are so proven that the war can only be waged at the propaganda level. What we experience is the propaganda of losers.
Posted by: njet | Sep 3 2022 12:17 utc | 34
Makes you wonder how many of these foreign 'merceneries' are dying under NDA. Western reporting,like Resident Joe's distopian speech,is pure projection. The two things the west excells at, are projection and, hypocrisy.
Posted by: Bob | Sep 3 2022 12:21 utc | 35
What was that golden rule... never interrupt an enemy making a mistake.
Posted by: unimperator | Sep 3 2022 12:23 utc | 36
Re: Posted by: Flying Dutchman | Sep 3 2022 11:17 utc | 6
If that's true, thank God for Boris. The Russians really were going to chicken out in exchange for a Minsk III even more worthless than the first two?
I agree, and perhaps this explains why the contact line in Kherson has not moved in over 6 months.
Why not take Nikolaev (and the southern Nikolaev coastline for that matter) and by doing so clearly threaten taking the entire Ukrainian coastline?
If the Russians were prepared for Minsk III, it sounds like their objectives really don't extend much past securing the Donbas and retaining the other areas they already hold in Kharkiv, Kherson & Zaporozhye.
Posted by: Julian | Sep 3 2022 12:23 utc | 37
I would not say the expected Ukraine offensive failed. Where did it fail, the Brits have the Ukrainians right where they want them.....dying for Mother England's glory....that is not a failure....for the Russian hating Brits...for the Ukrainians....brains in short supply.
Cheers M
Posted by: sean the leprechaun | Sep 3 2022 12:25 utc | 38
"Why is Ukraine committing suicide like this?... Why is the EU committing suicide over Ukraine?
Posted by: pachinko | Sep 3 2022 11:08 utc | 4
Exactly. And not just Ukraine. Why are the ~34 Western countries committing suicide like this? Continuing to listen to & follow their "leaders" instead of stringing them up? It makes no sense. After decades of conditioning for just such a day, the people in those countries appear to be in a deliberate, unshakable trance, marching to their own ruin, while the WEF rejoices, as the "useless eaters" meet their ruin - as planned. Whatever happened to skepticism & suspicion and the instincts of survival & self-preservation?
Westerners have no concept of the violence inherent in the human heart. We built high-trust societies after WW2 - meritocratic, technologically skilled but historically & socially ignorant
We defang'd ourselves & no longer recognize predators. It was bread out of populations as we progressed towards societies of leisure and liberation. We thought we started the world anew with a new model of human being.
Now we're going to pay. The people who run our world are wolves. They are going to rip the throats out of billions in the years ahead (already well underway). And sadly there appears to be nothing we can do about it because you cannot change the genetic & intellectual makeup of those around you with rational argument or evidence. They are incapable of seeing it. As with the herds of buffalo years ago, we are being corralled towards our own extinction - towards a cliff we refuse to acknowledge...
Posted by: xLemming | Sep 3 2022 12:32 utc | 39
@ Paul Greenwood
The other day, you mentioned “$380 oil” and probably didn’t see my followup question. I’d like to ask for your opinion on which countries that would damage most/least and whether your instincts suggest that’s actually the plan.
Posted by: dfg | Sep 3 2022 12:33 utc | 40
@Kaiama | Sep 3 2022 11:53 utc | 23
Thank you for replying!
My friends in Frankfurt-am-main are praying for a mild winter. I asked them if the chimney in their building still worked, and whether they had an axe to cut firewood. They confessed they had checked the location of the nearest civilian bunker in case war broke out, and checked they had an axe and a saw. They are worried, but don't voice their opinions loudly because they are scared. At their work places everyone still supports Kiev. And my friends are from East Germany.
Being scared requires some understanding of the gravity, but it does not imply proper understanding of the cause. There is a big difference between the "Putin did it"-crowd and those who understand that it is all a result of the Western illegal sanctions. Maybe not voicing their opinions means they do understand.
I just attended a technical conference (supposedly completely not political) here in Norway and one of the speakers was german. He had ~200 slides and every single slide had a Ukrainian flag in the top left corner with the text "Stop Putin / No war". That kind of behaviour is infuriating. Obviously I complained to the conference.
At my end the understanding between friends/colleagues is even poorer. There is little or no understanding of there being problems, except electricity has become more expensive. I don't think many people I know understand the number of casualties in Ukraine, the existence of the sanctions or why energy is suddenly expensive, people still pretend that everything is normal. I think many are suffering from cognitive dissonance, they have a subconscious understanding that big problems lie ahead but since it is painful then reality is being denied so far.
Posted by: Norwegian | Sep 3 2022 12:34 utc | 41
Yes Joe Biden is responsible for the killing and destroying Ukrainian people and property as much as responsible for the stealing Syrian oil and wheat starving the Syrian children who need it the most , the American soldiers sitting in Syria illegally training and supporting ISIS and Israel to destroy the Syrian people and land .
The west has been criminals in their acts against humanity, people and land .
It is high noon that the UN desolved because it is A tool of the west to occupy, kill and murder people whom are different than they are .
Posted by: Bobby | Sep 3 2022 12:44 utc | 42
Those in London who came up with this lunatic idea should be removed from their positions.
I think the evidence is pretty clear: they can't be removed. The MI6 decides who's in government on the Island of Doctor Moreau, not the other way around.
Maybe the CIA can try to remove them, when they realize that the Brits are so batshit crazy that they jeopardize CIA interests in Europe.
Posted by: veto | Sep 3 2022 12:59 utc | 43
Ratko Mladic when fighting outnumbered against NATOland in Bosnia 1992-95 often used similar operational tactics -.first orderly narrow retreat. Fiercely Hold the shoulders of the salient, wait until the NATOland troops overextend themselves - and then close the shoulders and destroy the attackers.
Remarkable that NATOlans militaries didn’t learn their lesson and are repeating their errors. Tragic
Posted by: Exile | Sep 3 2022 12:59 utc | 44
I hope the Russians appreciate the tremendous help British training has given Ukraine in flailing and failing
It is a tragedy to see decent troops so misused
Posted by: Thomas Lipscomb | Sep 3 2022 13:00 utc | 45
JustAMaverick | Sep 3 2022 12:06 utc | 31
4 Su-30s and 2 Ka-52 helicopters attacked the Ukrainian landing force detroyed half the forces the rest turned back. Yes info is short. I guess theres lots going on and RF isnt in the PR war. The mere fact western media wont report on the landings at all speaks for itself.
Posted by: hankster | Sep 3 2022 13:01 utc | 46
This is sickening what zekensky,uk,NATO usa,nuland and the rest are doing to poor conscripts from Ukie army. The rich and middle class fled.
Intel Slava Z had a report from uk trainers of 10,000 ukies trained in uk. They said they were good at medical for wounded but hopeless and unmotivated as soldiers or using weapons. They said essentially that against a normal army they would be destroyed. Really sad. This is mass murder. The Ukie's and west murder those who surrendered at Azovstal with himars
Posted by: Tommy | Sep 3 2022 13:07 utc | 47
Re. Intelslava
I stopped reading it after he posted a video of a poor soldier being flung through the air in an explosion, with a comment that gave the idea it was something to enjoy. Also they call the Ukrainians "khokols" or something, which seems to be a pejorative term. In short they are jingoistic revellers in bloody victory for Russia. I sympathise with Russia generally, which is why I am here, and at the Saker and Andrei Martyanov. But I don't think a site that dehumanises the enemy and revels in slaughter deserves an audience.
Posted by: John | Sep 3 2022 13:08 utc | 48
6 - The Russian negotiating team seemed rather irresolute and I wondered if Minsk III was indeed around the corner.
Posted by: Waldorf | Sep 3 2022 13:12 utc | 49
Ukraines "Battle of the Bulge". Strategically doesn't make any sense.
One last push for glory?
Posted by: Heavymetal101 | Sep 3 2022 13:18 utc | 50
Like you, John, it saddens me to see this. The West pitted Ukraine against Russia and probably sees a silver lining here in pitting against each other people with a lot of common history and social relationships. I so hoped to see Ukrainian villages and forces secede from the NATO-Elensky regime and throw themselves into the arms and even armies of their neighbors to the east rather than die in vain for the satanic west.
Posted by: dfg | Sep 3 2022 13:22 utc | 51
Another thought (not initially my own but I read the beginnings of it in a comment in the last couple of days) on Why is "the West" doing this, imposing futile sanctions, etc.
If all the small and medium firms go out of business, the rich bank/Blackrock et. al. owners will simply buy them up at cheap prices, just like they were doing during the Covid crisis. For example, I read that many smaller independent hospitals in Germany went under and were bought out because only the larger hospitals got subsidies for treating Covid patients. So the oligarchs win if the European economy crashes. They end up owning even more of the means of production. This could be an explanation.
As for the people, they seem to be too naive/brainwashed/ignorant/vaxx injured etc. to stand up. Anyway, in the current system you only get to choose once every five years who you allow to tell you what to do for the next five, regardless of what you say or think. Mass demos do seem to have an effect at least.
My tuppence-worth for now.
Posted by: John | Sep 3 2022 13:26 utc | 52
Will events in Pakistan sink Ukraine? The outrage mob can only deal with one 'current thing'.
Posted by: Bob | Sep 3 2022 13:28 utc | 53
Interesting
So sad! Country 404 died at birth in 1991.
For the remaining oligarchs and the remaining ruling party members of Kiev. Is a total unconditional surrender. Then go straight to jail facing fifty to one hundred years for their assorted crimes.
That which goes around comes around.
Posted by: Bad Deal Motors On | Sep 3 2022 13:28 utc | 54
44 - Chinese tactics in the Korean War used a variant of that, though as an attack method rather than defence. The attack, typically at night, would go in in a V formation, with the flanks of the attacking formation forward and the centre back. It meant that the enemy position targeted stood a good chance of being enveloped on both sides by the prongs of the V and even surrounded when the centre caught up.
Posted by: Waldorf | Sep 3 2022 13:47 utc | 55
"Can Biden be held to account for this?"
Surely your joking.
He's fighting to save the USA against an aggressor, Putin, who has intentions of landing at Jones beach on Manhattan Island.
That kind of threat to the worlds icon of liberty requires destruction, bloodshed and sacrifice.
Posted by: Johnny Dollar | Sep 3 2022 13:55 utc | 56
47 - Well, they've banned Communism, which also means they treat any sort of class analysis of warfare (or anything else) as illegal. The poor are cannon fodder but saying so is against the law.
Posted by: Waldorf | Sep 3 2022 13:55 utc | 57
Current UK PM Boris Johnson won't care one bit on how many Ukrainian troops have died in that suicide mission, for he stands down as PM in a couple of days, and his most likely successor will be Liz Truss, who will just be, replacement wise, like for like.
US and UK ideology on this, is that Ukrainian's are a disposable asset, to be used to further whatever agenda is on the table with Russia in mind.
Posted by: Republicofscotland | Sep 3 2022 13:57 utc | 58
Ukraine was expected to show some potential. The implication being that failure would lead to changes.
It seems they have people (men even), but that the people are not highly motivated and are afraid and as result are not receptive to training. This suggests to me that they are actually aware of the realities are are passively waiting for the collapse of thier government.
Biden being a selfish idiot, removed from the inconveinience of conflic, knows only to double down. Time to discredit / sideline him - midterms cometh.
Posted by: jared | Sep 3 2022 13:58 utc | 59
@54 Bad Deal Motors On
U mean like Kolmojski, who is sitting on the beach in Tel Aviv, sipping his brandy?
After he robbed the savings of ordinary Ukrainian bank clients, and took his cut of the gas pipeline transfer fees. Now he probs gets his cut of the western military and other "aid". And I read somewhere that he has already positioned himself with Erdogan's sons in the construction companies which will likely end up getting the reconstruction contracts for Ukraine, to be paid for again by the clueless and willing Europeans. So the oligarchy like Kolmojski first of all fleeced Ukraine from what was left from the Soviet era. And then will end up having fleeced Europeans thrice:
- gas transit fees
- military and other aid during the conflict
- reconstruction contracts obtaind by subterfuge and bribery
Great business model if you have the right ethnicity, ruthlessness and criminality to play in this league.
Posted by: xeen | Sep 3 2022 13:58 utc | 60
Britain will need to be held to account for their war crimes. After we win, UK must pay trillions in reparations to the world. The British people will be forced to labor for generations to pay off their debts to humanity.
Posted by: FVK | Sep 3 2022 14:02 utc | 61
If a tree falls in a forest and the mockingbird media doesn't report it 24/7, did it happen?
No. Not according to the vast majority of people in the west.
As Harold Pinter pointed out: "It never happened. Nothing ever happened. Even while it was happening it wasn’t happening. It didn’t matter. It was of no interest."
And the ability of the Mighty Wurlitzer to completely invent a story is equally powerful. Millions of people can be made to believe absolute absurdities, stories so wild that any sensible person would reject them as blatantly illogical. And then they support atrocities based on the absurdities.
What our ruling overlords have learned in the last 20+ years is not only that the stories don't have to make any sense, but the laws don't have to be followed, at home or abroad, and that the dumbed-down population is so easy to confuse and divide it is psychopath's play.
Sometimes I look at the latest bs the media trumpets and I think that it has to be some sort of mass psychology experiment, to see just how much absolute nonsense they can get the people to swallow. Maybe they make bets among themselves "No way they'll fall for that one. $20 says you'll fail!" And then the population falls for it and the bet has to be paid off. At least, that's how I picture it.
Posted by: wagelaborer | Sep 3 2022 14:04 utc | 62
It seems that a split is developing between civilian leadership and 'intelligence' services in both US, Britain and Ukraine, along with the British military one one side (all of whom who are determined to fight to the last Ukrainian) and, on the other, the US and Ukrainian military chiefs, who appear somewhat more pragmatic. It appears BoJo and MI6 - not the White House - are actually running this blood-soaked clown show.
Posted by: jmj59 | Sep 3 2022 14:08 utc | 63
The waves of Uki suicide squads will eventually turn into waves of blow-back using the western supplied weapons on the western planners once they realize that Russia is over-running what they want from the remains of the Ukraine. USA/UK should prepare for this blow-back.
Not sure about the nationality/language makeup of the 128th mountain assault brigade from the Ukrainian Transcarpatia region.....................but they may look at a return to sober Hungarian rule differently now.
The carving and the blow-back is just beginning.
For the carving, the Russians, Poles and Hungarians just need to wait till hunger and cold make the locals beg for help.
For the blow-back, well, it could be organized or random........but it too will come for the USA & UK.
Posted by: James Cook | Sep 3 2022 14:13 utc | 64
The only head that suppose to roll in Kiev is that of the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, Volodymyr Zelensky.
Posted by: Steve | Sep 3 2022 14:15 utc | 65
Gorbachev's choice was to recognize and accept a failed, corrupt, inhumane, militaristic system moving in wrong direction.
Posted by: jared | Sep 3 2022 14:21 utc | 66
I often wondered why 'decision making centres' in Kiev and Lvov were never attacked.
It is clear now that attacking them, would either result in the death of many valuable informants, or their uncovering should any conveniently fail to turn up to work on that day.
Posted by: Et Tu | Sep 3 2022 14:27 utc | 68
#48 - Khokhols (or Hohols) is, indeed, a bit of a derogatory term. It technically means "topknot" in reference to the way the Zaporizhian Host (Cossacks) used to wear their hair a couple of hundred years ago, so it's slang for (Ukrainian) Cossacks, and, by extension, Ukrainians who fought (and lost) against Russia in 1709.
Posted by: Sam | Sep 3 2022 14:30 utc | 69
I live in a small EU country. 80 % of people here are utterly brainwashed by MSM, they blame Putin and Russia for everything, and ofcourse also Trump is to blame for everything that is bad and wrong in the world, and the media still uses Trump daily as their punching bag.
This 80 % worships the jab, its the new saviour, if you talk bad about the holy jab or are unvaxed, then you are the target of slander and disgust. Most of them have 3 or 4 jabs , and they are sicker than ever - my co-workers are constantly on sick leave for different ailments, many have had the coof twice or some even have supposedly had it 3 times but they still thank the 'safe and effective' jab every day, funny that.
That same 80 % believe that Putin is sick and soon to die of his illness, that Biden is the light of the universe, and Trump is the devil himself. They also believe that Rus army will collapse any moment now and Ukie army will ride all the way to the Russian border with ease.
Inflation is in their minds mostly Putins fault, but also Trumps and maybe the US Republicans fault too, Joe Rogan may also be the guilty party and Spotify should be boycotted because they host him.
These 80 % cannot see the truth no matter what. The amount of media induced trance is unbelievable. Whatever does not fit the propaganda narrative they have been fed, they blame it to be lies and they get very angry if you try to explain clamly, as for this reason, i dont even try anymore, they are so totally brainwashed that they would rather beat you up than listen to reason. It's sad , really.
Most people were normal, until 2015 when the daily MSM anti-Trump barrage begun , there was literally nothing else in the news but 'orange man bad' for the next 5 years - and i live in small EU country - not in the US. After that it was only maybe 1/5 anti-Trump and 4/5 'coof bad - everyone will die - jab immediately - use double mask and bathe in hand sanitizer' until the Z operation, when the MSM propaganda was geared against Putin and Russia, now only maybe 1 in 20 articles degrades Trump anymore, but they still remember to do that too daily.
I cannot understand how people fall in these MSM narratives so easily, even if we have supposedly good education here, but seems education does not equal critical thinking...
Posted by: Disgusted European | Sep 3 2022 14:35 utc | 70
Posted by: dfg | Sep 3 2022 12:33 utc | 40
Oil at $380/bbl is because of shortage of supply - Peak Oil was 2018 apparently. It is not simply "oil" but what grades from which wells. Refineries are not configured for "universal oil" and it is refinery capacity that is very limited. New Zealand has/had 1 refinery - I think Australia may have 2 - UK has maybe 6. Each is different and configured for specific feedstock and output.
So at $380/bbl the world goes into deep deep Depression. Global trade freezes and Banks collapse across the world. Half the household heating in Germany is oil.
Without oil no plastics, no chemicals industry, no industry.
There are 16 refineries in Germany but Leuna and Schwedt close down without Russian piped oil and gas..........the Rhine is low water so fuel products do not get to Switzerland
Posted by: Paul Greenwood | Sep 3 2022 14:35 utc | 71
When is BoJo not BoJo. Last night I watched a new episode of Capture in which a senior Minister in Britain's BBC interview is hijacked by a hostile foreign state. 24/7 digitally recorded info is harnessed to algorithms to create a fully walking, talking replica of the Minister, but saying the opposite of what the Real Minister would have said.
A Minister who has been brainwashed into supporting neo-conservative illegal war can be detained in a safe house, while MI6 or CIA creat a virtual clone that speaks non-neo-conservative tripe.
So yer BoJos of this world can now hide behind a shield of algorithm-created, not-me-Guv. It was China wot Dunnit.
Since we already have election by algorithm I can't see that that deception by algorithm makes the situation much worse.
Posted by: Giyane | Sep 3 2022 14:39 utc | 72
Ukraine made another effort to attack ZNPP last night? after all that failure/ that's insane, completely unmoored leadership.
Posted by: annie | Sep 3 2022 14:39 utc | 73
It’s a mistake to view Brandon as the leader of anything. Even worse than the second Bush, “w”, simply a weak puppet controlled by those who also placed him there. What do they want? Total dictatorial control of the wealth of the planet. Russia is not bending over for them. They hope for a fate for Russia akin to that of the Soviet Union. Bleed it dry, then take over ownership of Russian resources. It’s a long game but recently being ramped-up with some urgency. Uke suffering, or Europeans’for that matter, does not matter to the Gods in London and Brussels .
Posted by: dpy | Sep 3 2022 14:42 utc | 74
Exile @44
What particular forces do you refer by those "destroyed attackers" in Bosnia 92-95? You use name "NATOland forces"?
The foreign forces in Bosnia between 92-95 were UN troops, which had no UN mandate nor ROE to attack anyone, only use self-defence against clear attack against the Un personnel. UN forces had no heavy weapons, and there was also unarmed UN military observers in the AOR.
There was of cource active clandestine operations by US but no NATO contributed as such.
Please, clarify. What forces between 92-95 do you refer as "NATOland forces"? We want to be fact riding here, right?
Posted by: Tigger | Sep 3 2022 14:42 utc | 75
There is another excellent interview with Jacques Baud on The Postil site, I recommend reading it. Someone has probably posted it already but anyway here is the link. It makes a positive contribution to the balance.
Here is an extract:
There is strong evidence that the attacks on Energodar are Ukrainian. The fragments of projectiles fired at the site from the other side of the Dnieper are of Western origin. It seems that they come from British BRIMSTONE missiles, which are precision missiles, whose use is monitored by the British. Apparently, the West is aware of the Ukrainian attacks on the ZNPP. This might explain why Ukraine is not very supportive of an international commission of inquiry and why Western countries are putting unrealistic conditions for sending investigators from the IAEA, an agency that has not shown much integrity so far.
Posted by: BM | Sep 3 2022 15:02 utc | 76
@Norwegian | Sep 3 2022 12:34 utc | 41 … technical conference… one of the speakers…had ~200 slides and every single slide had a Ukrainian flag in the top left corner with the text "Stop Putin / No war"...
In case that this German speaker was representing a company (as opposed to an institute or university), please tell the name / branch. If suitable, I will put it on my private boycott list.
Boycott, divestment and “voting with the feet” is underrated. In March I withdrew my sponsorship for Greenpeace over their incredible anti-Russian (“Putin’s war”) propaganda. In June I left NABU (Nature conservationist association) for their propaganda in the quarter-annual magazine. Still looking for a worthwhile recipient of the freed funds. My favorite is the Los Alamos Study Group, who seem the most determined, realistic, credible and influential nuclear disarmament group. In their bulletin 305 (Aug. 09), Greg Mello wrote "…Leave political parties, and tell them why. Drop all financial contributions to them, and tell them why. Use those funds in accountable local organizations…". Though having been in SNL Albuquerque for a while, they are not exactly local for me…
Posted by: OttoE | Sep 3 2022 15:10 utc | 77
Exile @44
... to clarify, if you did not know: UNPROFOR operated in Bosnia from February 1992 to December 1995, after which NATO IFOR took over.
UNPROFOR was composed of nearly 39,000 personnel. It consisted of troops from Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, the Russian Federation, Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United States. According to the UN, there were 167 fatalities amongst UNPROFOR personnel during the course of the force's mandate. Of those who died, three were military observers, 159 were other military personnel, one was a member of the civilian police, two were international civilian staff and two were local staff.
Dear "Exile", which of these you refer as "destroyed attackers" who "Radko Mladic..." "Fiercely hold the shoulders of the salient, wait until the NATOland troops overextend themselves - and then close the shoulders and destroy the attackers."
Maybe you should get the facts correct before spreading views that have nothing to do with facts.
Posted by: Tigger | Sep 3 2022 15:23 utc | 78
Funny how BoJo and other NATO/EU Heads won't send in more "Volunteers" from their own Countries.
Just read the RUS_MoD Briefing for 03Sep2022CE. The Beatings continue; and RUS are cutting through.
There was an alleged leaked Intel Document citing the First Batch of GBR-Trained UKRoNazi Troops - Unmotivated, Poor Performers; but did do well in First Aid Trng. They were the allegedly sent into the GBR-Schemed "Commando Raid Waves" to the NPP.
Nasty. Figure the AFU would Kill Off Zelenskyy+BoJo next time they meet for this ClusterFail.
Posted by: IronForge | Sep 3 2022 15:25 utc | 79
@OttoE | Sep 3 2022 15:10 utc | 80
In case that this German speaker was representing a company (as opposed to an institute or university), please tell the name / branch.I believe he is a private consultant.
Posted by: Norwegian | Sep 3 2022 15:26 utc | 80
OttoE @80
I had the same problem when I dropped so many organizations for excessive PC bull or pro-war propaganda.
I like Organic Consumers because they are focused on shutting down the bioweapons labs.
We spend too much time arguing over the "vaccines" and not enough time demanding that they shut down the gain-of-function bioweapons labs that are responsible for the problem in the first place.
https://www.organicconsumers.org/bytes/bioweapons-synthetic-biology-food-medicine
Posted by: wagelaborer | Sep 3 2022 15:32 utc | 81
These Cheks know the score (protesting)
https://t.me/asbmil/4700?single
Posted by: jared | Sep 3 2022 15:35 utc | 82
John @ 52
Good point. It's another variation of disaster capitalism and "savvy business sense". The history of financial depressions and downturns shows that while the general populace suffers and many businesses fail during such upheavals, there are always segments of the business/financial elite that come out with consolidated wealth and power.
Posted by: Objective Observer | Sep 3 2022 15:36 utc | 83
I wonder how long this will stay up
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_Ukrainian_southern_counteroffensive
From the article:
"Military analysts consider the counteroffensive to be the third strategic phase of the war in Ukraine, after the initial invasion and the Battle of Donbas"
Posted by: Vince | Sep 3 2022 15:38 utc | 84
@OttoE, Norwegian. #80, #83
Voting with your feet is effective against organizations, but less so against freelancers -- these are hit most effectively with substantiated (fact-based) negative reviews, say, at Amazon or Google Maps.
ADAC is the oldest and probably the largest automobile club of Germany. Contrary to state stock company Deutsche Telekom, the ADAC board answers to the members, not the shareholders. Both ADAC and Telekom were heavily engaged in waving #supportUkraine banners on their media, and even offering free services to those who were already able to bribe themselves out of their rotten country. Guess who's paying for these "free" services.
Posted by: Nervous German | Sep 3 2022 15:39 utc | 85
Re: Posted by: Disgusted European | Sep 3 2022 14:35 utc | 71
I live in a small EU country. 80 % of people here are utterly brainwashed by MSM, they blame Putin and Russia for everything, and ofcourse also Trump is to blame for everything that is bad and wrong in the world, and the media still uses Trump daily as their punching bag.
80%! That is far higher than in the United States.
Which little European Country is this? Spain? Italy? Poland?
Posted by: Julian | Sep 3 2022 15:42 utc | 86
b wrote above
"
In 'western' media, complicit with the Zelenski regime, neither the bloody defeat of the 'counteroffensive' in Kherson nor the attempted raid on the ZNPP ever happened.
The only mention of it I found in the New York Times is this:
In a statement, the [Russian defense] ministry claimed that Russian forces had intercepted two groups of Ukrainian commandos, up to 60 troops combined, who crossed the Dnipro River in boats to sabotage or seize the plant.
"
The quote above was also available in a ZH posting that I quoted in a comment here but can't find easily....the point being that it seems there is some central point of control about what limited info is let out of the MSM...at least in this case.
Wouldn't it be nice to have someone or a group on the inside of the empire media control center go rogue?
Posted by: psychohistorian | Sep 3 2022 15:42 utc | 87
Some of you certainly have ties. But, if things get really bad in EU, UK, or US, wouldn’t it be nice — if it ever becomes necessary — to give your family or friends refuge somewhere else?
Just something to think about.
Posted by: dfg | Sep 3 2022 11:04 utc | 3
A few months ago I rented my German family a small house in Mexico just in case. Cost: $1250.00 US per annum (not per month!). It's nothing fancy but actually quite nice; 10 minute walk to small town downtown, surrounded by neighbour's large garden and lovely view of nearby mountain range with 2 BR's, hot water, internet. Not bad!
@John #48 re: intelslavaz
Hard to understand you don't understand the increasing schadenfreude (for lack of a better term, since every Russian also knows very well that most of these poor Ukrainians are forced conscripts) on the Russian side after all the Ukrainian crimes against humanity starting 2014.
This is war. Every side cheers their success. Germans frenetically cheered London civilians burning to death not even 100 years ago. American soldiers were happy about every burning g**k in 'naam back in the days. Oh, and Abu Ghraib! Just as a kind reminder to the actual meaning of "war".
You may want to check out ASB Military News. Facts minus the gore.
Posted by: Nervous German | Sep 3 2022 15:51 utc | 89
RF strategy brings two examples to mind.
If you watch enough boxing matches, you will see a boxer employ the RF strategy. He will retreat, and appear to be taking a beating, all the while encouraging the enemy, causing the opponent to step up his attack while coming forward. When the opponent gets satisfied with his attack, the boxer has drawn him in and lowers the boom. Announcers often miss the strategy in real-time, but it is obvious after the fact, in replay.
Genghis Khan often employed a similar strategy. Present a believable attack then retreat, enticing the enemy to excitedly chase. The Mongols would retreat into the Mongol's prebuilt cauldron, the Mongols came at the enemy from all sides, whereupon the unsuspecting chasing forces lost their enthusiasm and their lives.
Posted by: Richard Whitney | Sep 3 2022 15:51 utc | 90
thanks b... good overview and summary... thank you..
@ Summary | Sep 3 2022 12:01 utc | 27
thanks again for these..
@ B. Wildered | Sep 3 2022 12:02 utc | 29
excellent comment regarding putin... all you say is bang on.. thanks..
@ Norwegian | Sep 3 2022 12:34 utc | 41
there are a lot of brainwashed people out their.. the guy doing the video display is one of the many..
@ veto | Sep 3 2022 12:59 utc | 43
i think your analogy is bang on... the Island of Doctor Moreau for those who have read the book - excellent analogy here..
@ John | Sep 3 2022 13:08 utc | 48
- totally agree.. thanks for saying that. your @ 52 - read michael hudsons latest book for a deeper understanding of the game at work (if you haven't already)..
@ psychohistorian | Sep 3 2022 15:42 utc | 92
part of the empire media going rogue? i wish... i think what happens is they become independent investigative journalists, if they are independently wealthy already..
Posted by: james | Sep 3 2022 15:55 utc | 91
Scorpion @93
"A few months ago I rented my German family a small house in Mexico just in case. Cost: $1250.00 US per annum (not per month!). It's nothing fancy but actually quite nice; 10 minute walk to small town downtown, surrounded by neighbour's large garden and lovely view of nearby mountain range with 2 BR's, hot water, internet. Not bad!"
So things seem relatively cosy in Mexico. What do you do when this same artificially imposed inflation, foreign-organised riots (like already in Panama), etc. reach that US-puppet-run country of Mexico (it will happen)?
Would it be time to just gather your friends and start something to change matters in your own country? I mean, thanks to Germans taking such a good care of mama Merkel, the Europe is today where it stands? The change never starts if everyone in the Europe is just looking after their own arse and well-being? What do you think would happen in Russia, if everyone just chose to run to Mexico when people in Eastern Ukraine needsed their fellow country man's support?
Posted by: Tigger | Sep 3 2022 16:01 utc | 92
Part of the reason maybe the west isn’t reporting the utter failures of the Uky military is because they are only ‘instructed’ to report successful operations. They removed all journalist templates of Uky failures so the illusion and lie keeps being told to the sheep.
Russians employed the best tactic, by constantly luring Uky to try to retake Donbas it keeps marching its army to death.
So why go further, when the enemy comes to you, shorter resupply lines for Russia and less casualties.
It is quite sad and unfortunate to see how the Ukraine is being used, senselessly massacred, and all for what? Russia is your neighbour and family regardless. The G7 governments should be all held accountable for these massacres and removed from power. You would be a fool to believe that nato is not the aggressor.
Posted by: CrazyCanuck | Sep 3 2022 16:04 utc | 93
Wouldn't it be nice to have someone or a group on the inside of the empire media control center go rogue? - Posted by: psychohistorian | Sep 3 2022 15:42 utc | 91We have b; he may not be on the inside, but he helps to inform us about the goings-on of the inside. And he’s most definitely rogue.
Posted by: DocHollywood | Sep 3 2022 16:06 utc | 94
Churchill's Big Boo Boo:
"The attempt by the Allied fleet to force a passage through the Dardanelles in February 1915 failed and was followed by an amphibious landing on the Gallipoli peninsula in April 1915. In January 1916, after eight months' fighting, with approximately 250,000 casualties on each side, the land campaign was abandoned and the invasion force withdrawn. It was a costly campaign for the Entente powers and the Ottoman Empire as well as for the sponsors of the expedition, especially the First Lord of the Admiralty (1911–1915), Winston Churchill. The campaign was considered a great Ottoman victory."
BoJo's Big Boo Boo:
3 patrol boats(?) and 2 barges sunk 1200 casualties. Duration: 3 days.
(Some might argue that this entire fiasco in Ukraine is his doing but I wouldn't give him that much credit.)
As to why so many venerate Churchill:
1. He became the icon of leadership, resistance and Great British Spirit in the face of an existential crisis. When the nation needed a strong leader he was up to the role and entered the status of icon akin to royalty which dwells in the heart of most Britons alive during that time. Most, not all.
2. He was a genius with language and wrote the most influential accounts of the 1914-45 period after the war. He also gave great speeches which he composed himself often taking many hours or days to do so. So he was a gifted wordsmith who fashioned his own myth and played the starring role.
1 & 2 are a powerful combination. Like many great leaders he did many bad things including instigating war atrocities which are unforgivable. But he was also a Great Man who uplifted many spirits which helped galvanize an entire nation - no small thing. And genuinely brave too: when he got canned for the Dardenelles he went straight to the front and fought - as an officer (Colonel?) - in the trenches.
We see similar contradictions today. With Trump for example who is both uplifting to many and anathema-gargoyle to many others. Biden might be the same though am not sure how many really like him or just prefer him to Orange Man Bad.
Bojo is being whisked away before things get really bad. He will then be brought back to usher in a Brave New Reset World and will need all his considerable skills as gifted writer and speaker to persuade people into whatever ghastly dystopia they are trying to push.
Sorry, preceding in reply to:
I would say, as a military leader, BoJo is indeed a lot like Winston Churchill. Both very belligerent and very incompetent. A plunger, out of his depth. Sad.
Posted by: Bemildred | Sep 3 2022 11:16 utc | 5
Posted by: Scorpion | Sep 3 2022 16:07 utc | 96
Nuclear power plant taken off the grid again.
Report on German TV at 6 p.m. NTV / WElt /RTL
On the advice of the specialists (International on site !!
Kyiv is dark !!
That's why they seem to report it!
Posted by: mo3 | Sep 3 2022 16:08 utc | 97
"'...Johnson said Ukraine “'can and will win this war.'”
Clarification:
The Ukraine must and will surrender.
Just say 'no' to Nato expansion. Just say 'no' to Atlantic Alliance imperialism.
Posted by: GW | Sep 3 2022 16:09 utc | 98
Slavangrad has a video of what they think is the new third core being deployed in the Donbass. The US and Britain knows that attacking a large Russian force with no air cover and little artillery is not sound doctrine. The Anglo American NATO death cult's human sacrifice gives them more power in their minds and spirits.
Ordering Russia to sell them energy at discounted prices is trying to get even for not being able to create a new soft colony in Russia. All this sickens me. I sit here comfortably while my leaders commit murder.
rp @ 78
I have to laugh about the compressor oil leak. I have seen compressors come out of turn around and leak oil their whole run.
Scorpion @ 93
The Mexicans I work with say its a bad time to go to Mexico. Things are falling apart. Once the cartel identifies you they are coming to your door for protection money. They recruit poor children as lookouts and have a massive network of on the ground intelligence. There is nowhere to hide.
Posted by: circumspect | Sep 3 2022 16:10 utc | 99
@Norwegian | Sep 3 2022 15:26 utc | 83
A member of the C++ Standard Committee (>20 years) -> isocpp.org Washington 501(c)(6) not-for-profit organization. - Reason enough to guess that this Snoopy has a side job or two. "I can smell a rat", my favorite American proverb.
@Nervous German | Sep 3 2022 15:39 utc | 90
OK. Thanks for tipping me off. ADAC was never worth a single thought for me. My instinct always told me that they were superfluous assholes. Telekom pretty similar.
Posted by: OttoE | Sep 3 2022 16:12 utc | 100
The comments to this entry are closed.
Russia "played a blinder". Hard defence on the flanks and a 'weak' centre.Drawing the Ukrainian force into a killing ground.
Posted by: Bob | Sep 3 2022 10:53 utc | 1