⚡️🇷🇺🇺🇦💡 @Rybar on the Need for Strikes on General Control Points (GCPs) and their Impact on Ukraine's Energy System⚡️

Colleagues from the @cat0news channel responded to our 👉 post and disagreed the need to hit the GCPs, the destruction would not disable substations (PS) and it would be easy to deal with the consequences.

♦️Hitting the GCPs is useless?

It would indeed not instantly shut down the PS. Power will flow through transformers, circuit breakers and disconnectors for some time.

But you can't manage all the power distribution manually without the GCP, cause the auxiliary equipment and PS drives require power from the auxiliary transformers. And these are most often located just in the GCP building.

♦️What happens if they are destroyed?

➖ The fan and oil circulation pumps in the autotransformers will stop working, without the units will overheat and simply fail.

➖ The operating current, which is used to power the relay protections of the auxiliary transformers, will disappear. This is obtained from the rectifier units and is backed up by batteries installed in the GCP building.

Theoretically new rectifiers could be installed and everything can be powered by diesel generators. But in practice it's more complicated.

♦️Problem 1 Cable Network:

There are control cables with a total length of tens of kilometres all over the GCP. There is no way to reconstruct the entire network fast. The lack of cable logs, even if they are marked, makes it impossible to find out fast where exactly the cables are going.

♦️Problem 2 Emergency Protection:

When the GCP is destroyed, all outgoing lines from the PS automatically lose their protection functions. Redundancies at neighbouring PSs will not help. By the time they are triggered, the equipment will have already been damaged.

Even before, such a situation was extremely risky, although short-circuits on 330 kV lines are extremely rare under normal conditions. But now the Ukrainian power system is in a critical state, with overloads and short circuits occurring all the time.

Without protection and emergency automation, PS equipment will not last long and will also fail.

♦️Are there any Solutions?

At first glance, replacing the destroyed elements of the GCP can be replaced with counterparts made from improvised materials. And really, what's the problem with using an ordinary domestic controller instead of microprocessor protection terminals?

But it isn't.

▪️ Even with such equipment, the problem of rebuilding a cable network, where all lines will have to be rewired and unplugged, does not go anywhere. This is a time-consuming process and will require disconnecting the devices for the duration of the work.

▪️ Once a circuit has been assembled "on the spot" and wires have been connected to the I/O blocks, there is no guarantee that it will function correctly. A program is also needed to provide the basic functions of the fault interlocks and relay protection. This will take several months to write.

♦️What is the result?

Dispatchers and operations staff still won't know where and how much current is flowing, how active and reactive power is flowing, what is the status of the network and voltage on buses.

The protective functions of load limitation, overload control and frequency drop protection will disappear. A huge segment of the network would simply fall out of control and monitoring.

As a result, the PS simply cannot be controlled without an GCP. And no amount of "on the fly" work will remedy the situation.

🩸 And if we imagine that the number of facilities with destroyed PSs will grow every week? How can you manage the power system without understanding consumption capacity and the nature of flows? You can't.

That's why strikes on the GCP will multiply the effect of taking autotransformers that were damaged during previous attacks by the RF Armed Forces. It will be more productive than taking out only the power equipment and will prevent the Kiev regime from restoring the system.

Posted by: Down South | Dec 13 2022 14:45 utc | 1

⚡️🇷🇺🇺🇦🎤 Assessment - the AFU's Main Mistake⚡️

1. At one point, the Khokhlyas made a mistake after #Kherson. They went into euphoria. They took out too many personnel (about 50,000) for training and capacity building. This is the withdrawal and sending abroad of experienced units, the formation of airborne assault brigades and one of the ACs for the offensive.

2. The withdrawal of personnel from the front was superimposed on the depletion of supplies handed over to the EU. In the summer, when there was a lack of frontline density on our side, the AFU was doing well. Now it is not. On top of that, Western equipment is failing. For example, a German SAU after 50 rounds a day has to go to maintenance. It fires more. Accordingly, the wear and tear on the equipment has begun. Hands are ours too, the same people. It is the same with the artillery units, which in excess went for maintenance.

3. The factors have overlapped. This is military luck. The offensive at #Bakhmut resulted in very serious losses for the enemy. The AFU winter offensive was thwarted. The forces that were resting and preparing for offensive operations now have to patch up and hold the front to prevent it from breaking through at #Bakhmut and #Maryinka. If we play the situation right, we can talk about seizing at least a tactical initiative. It's a classic story, where several factors and a mistake by the enemy command overlapped.

4. The AFU defiantly hit the center of #Donetsk in order to pull our artillery, forcing it to work along #Avdeyevka, so that ours rush to #Avdeyevka again to plug their artillery.
We have a problem with counter-battery warfare with a shortage of technical forces and means. We do not have all the necessary systems and equipment due to the inertia of the command. If these means are used, they are used ineptly, and personnel are poorly trained. At the same time, the enemy is trying to force us to draw our attention away from #Bakhmut, from where they are withdrawing personnel. This is a combination of their mistakes and depletion of supplies. If we drop the #Dnipro bridges in the near future, we can say that closer to spring we will fight for the Left Bank.

5. West of #Ugledar conducted reconnaissance battle, taking the enemy's 1st line near Velyka Novoselka, and withdrew. So far, a large offensive here and a turn around of the right flank of the Donetsk AFU grouping is impossible. We need to press on #Bakhmut and look at the situation near #Maryinka, where there is urban fighting. After #Bakhmut and #Maryinka have been captured, the road is straight to #Konstantinovka, #Ugledar and the encirclement of #Avdeyevka.

6. We gain a tactical advantage before the spring-summer campaign. Judging by the withdrawal from #Bakhmut of 93rd Mechanized Brigade, the enemy is beginning to accept the loss of #Bakhmut. The main thing is to take advantage of the situation. Much depends on the command and the strategic plan, whether it exists at all. It is possible to really chock the Khokhol very nicely.

Posted by: Down South | Dec 13 2022 14:47 utc | 2

Posted by: Down South | Dec 13 2022 14:47 utc | 2

This sounds like bad news. Even with the AFU lines depleted with many of their troops away for training, and a dip in NATO supplies, and gaps plugged with Territorial Defense while the regulars rest and refit, Russia can still barely hold the line in the north, and only slowly grind forward in the south.

One of the two bridges across the river in Melitopol was destroyed today. When the new wave of nato-trained AFU conscripts arrives I think we will see another mass offensive. If they can reach Melitopol things will be very bad.

Posted by: catdog | Dec 13 2022 15:13 utc | 3

I love re-watching old programs where the Ukraine problem is discussed because it gives one a chance to hear/see what was know and said back then and then compare it to what is going on today.

This is one such excellent program

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROTwyP5no08

Everything was know in 2014.

Posted by: Tom_12 | Dec 13 2022 15:22 utc | 4

As usual Defense Politics Asia provides a neat ongoing commentary about this conflict on censor all free speech Gaagle "YT" Thus https://www.youtube.com/@DefensePoliticsAsia

As for both serving and retired USSA military since 1812. The fools have been taught in the School of Major Colin Powell. On how to tell less-than-credible propaganda and obvious lies. Use a grain of salt when listening to any Yankee on the art of war. It is all 'z' grade trash and complete nonsense with zero exceptions.

Fun fact Major Colin Powell's autobiography hid an awful lot of inconvenient truths about his tours of duty in MACV Vietnam. USSA military staff officers are well trained in the art of lying absolutely!

Posted by: Bad Deal Motors On | Dec 13 2022 15:29 utc | 5

Much Ukie burger coming out of the Bakhmut meat grinder today hitting reportedly 800-1000 casualties per, only 500 on a slow day, luckily it's mostly sprained or broken ankles from stepping in hmmm....haphazard Russian arty holes?

Cheers M

Posted by: sean the leprechaun | Dec 13 2022 15:36 utc | 6

"This sounds like bad news... Russia can still barely hold the line in the north, and only slowly grind forward in the south."

catdog | Dec 13 2022 15:13 utc | 3
____

Perhaps by design? I've learned not to second-guess Russia's strategery :)

Posted by: Doug Hillman | Dec 13 2022 15:36 utc | 7

Re: Posted by: Down South | Dec 13 2022 14:47 utc | 2

If we drop the #Dnipro bridges in the near future, we can say that closer to spring we will fight for the Left Bank.

Why not just drop them now and see how long it takes for Ukraine to repair them?

It's called gathering intel.

Posted by: Julian | Dec 13 2022 15:42 utc | 8

To me, it is very interesting that Merkel came out now and said what she said about Minsk II. Is she the fat lady getting ready to sing?

Recall that her phones were tapped.

Posted by: chunga | Dec 13 2022 16:13 utc | 9

John Helmer in an interview with a Hungarian Transylvanian opposition paper gives a comprehensive view of the origins of the war in Ukraine:

".. This war which Russia is fighting is a continuation of its defence against the war aim of Germany, the United States, and the British since 1939. That aim has been the destruction of Russia as a European power on a parity with the others, with regime change in the Kremlin and liquidation of the country’s military and economic resources as the methods. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s objectives are not different from Chancellor Adolph Hitler’s, but she has not made Hitler’s mistakes of fighting the British and Americans at the same time, nor of launching her military operation against Russia too soon. The race hatred against Russians which Merkel has stoked, along with the US and the NATO allies, is the substitute today, motivating and propagandizing the war in Europe, as race hatred for the Jews was in Hitler’s ideology.

"When Merkel told the Germans a few days ago that she intended Germany’s agreement to the Minsk accords of 2015, in order to give time for the military preparation of the Ukraine, she was repeating the time-buying pieces of paper which Hitler agreed with Czechoslovakia, the Soviet Union, and Great Britain in 1938. The piece of paper Neville Chamberlain told British voters he had signed with Hitler to assure “peace in our time” proved to be false within a year. Merkel’s Minsk agreement she now acknowledges was false from the start on her side; she has admitted this only now, seven years later.

"But Merkel has been following Hitler’s lead for longer. His Austrian Aschluss of March 1938 and takeover of Sudetenland six months later were shadowed by Merkel when she agreed to the February 21, 2014, agreement with Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovich – at the same time as Merkel also agreed to the US plan for the Maidan coup d’état replacing Yanukovich in Kiev and starting the plan to turn the Ukraine into a gun platform aimed squarely at Moscow. The Maidan coup turned the Ukraine into Merkel’s lebensraum – membership of the European Union and of the NATO alliance is the contemporary name for it...."
http://johnhelmer.net/

Posted by: bevin | Dec 13 2022 16:16 utc | 10

Exsnohs...seems to be a bit of an a set piece taking shape. ZATO has enough armour and forces in place allowing them the ability to arm the Ukrainians with deep strike rockets and drones. Does Russia have an asymmetrical response? My belief, NATO running low on weapons and missiles, I'll call bs on that. A ruse. If one looks at the armour recently placed around the theatre, useless without ammo.....duh. They got lots, don't be fooled. The build up of Russian Belarusian forces north of Kiev is a counter force, set to react should ZATO make a move on western Ukraine. I doubt they move throughout the rest of the SMO. Should the Bachmeat Burger Factory come to a close, the orchestra will seek newer western venues. Once they've played the larger arenas to the banks of the Deniper, a spring tour south for some well deserved Reck n Ruin in Odessa will be in order.

Cheers M

Cheers M

Posted by: sean the leprechaun | Dec 13 2022 16:24 utc | 11

Colonel McGregor has posted a 24 minute excerpt from the 3 part discussion with Michael Vlahos the other day. Some here might not have had time for a long set of videos, this segment is perfect for you and is well worth a watch.

https://youtu.be/krqIQJFHlzU

Posted by: morongobill | Dec 13 2022 16:34 utc | 12

Posted by: catdog | Dec 13 2022 15:13 utc | 3

Yes very bad news for the ukrops that are being slaughtered throughout all the frontline.

Posted by: LuBa | Dec 13 2022 16:35 utc | 13

Time Magazine has, very appropriately, named the fascist imperial puppet Zelensky its 'Person of the Year." He joins luminaries such as Mussolini and Hitler in this Hall of Shame.
As Thierry Meysann shows, in the article linked to below, Ukraine has reached the depths of depravity that it took Nazi Germany several years to descend to: not only has all opposition been banned, all opponents imprisoned, tortured or assassinated but the Ukrainian government, a bunch of thugs, publicly boasts of its crimes.
And its backers in NATO are conscious and direct accessories: without the permission and encouragement of Germany, the UK and the United States, the EU and the Alliance itself the Ukrainians killing of journalists and other people disagreeing with government policy would have to be hidden and denied.
Instead the Ukraine boasts of its car bombings and 'disappearances', the public beating of old men speaking Russian and girls who have smiled at Russian soldiers. And NATO's rulers are totally complicit.
As the cases of Assange and Saab are demonstrating the "west" is losing its last inhibitions and reverting to fascism.

This is the summary of Meysann's article:
"President Zelensky has just been named by Time magazine "politician of the year 2022". It is not to have realized his coup de force of July, in favor of the war. He had all the political parties that opposed him banned; assassinated the personalities who resisted him; controlled all the media, written, audiovisual and internet; banned the Russian language; destroyed 100 million books; confiscated many of the assets of the oligarchs, including the one who personally financed him; nationalized the assets of Russian investors and companies; and finally banned the Orthodox Church."
https://www.voltairenet.org/article218518.html

Posted by: bevin | Dec 13 2022 16:38 utc | 14

NATO forces on the ground. As I presumed ...

Ivan Katchanovski @I_Katchanovski - 16:47 UTC · 13 Dec 2022

"The Royal Marines have taken part in covert operations in Ukraine, a senior general has admitted for the first time. Lieutenant General Robert Magowan said the commandos supported “discreet operations” in a “hugely sensitive environment.”" #ukrainerussia

Royal Marines deployed on ‘high-risk covert operations’ in Ukraine
thetimes.co.uk

Posted by: b | Dec 13 2022 16:58 utc | 15

@ bevin 13

The metaverse has become a parody of itself. Sean Penn recently presented Zelensky with an Oscar:

The Season Finale Of The Hit Show ‘Proxy War’ - Caitlin Johnstone

@ B9k9 14

A Ponzi scheme constantly needs new suckers to remain viable. People, of course, aren't stupid. So you need a greedy leader who will betray his people, his constituency, and sell them out.

Posted by: ? | Dec 13 2022 17:01 utc | 16

@ b | Dec 13 2022 16:58 utc | 15

thanks... i doubt this is going to receive any media traction, although it sounds good on the surface...

here is a link to the story - Royal Marines deployed on ‘high-risk covert operations’ in Ukraine

Posted by: james | Dec 13 2022 17:09 utc | 17

here is the contents of the article
"The Royal Marines have taken part in covert operations in Ukraine, a senior general has admitted for the first time.

Lieutenant General Robert Magowan said the commandos supported “discreet operations” in a “hugely sensitive environment”. He said their missions carried “a high level of political and military risk”.

Magowan is the former commandant general of the Royal Marines, having joined the Royal Navy’s elite unit in 1989.

Writing in the Globe and Laurel, the official publication of the Royal Marines, he described how 350 marines from 45 Commando were sent to escort diplomats from the British embassy at the beginning of the year when it became clear that Russian troops were massing for an invasion. The commandos returned to Kyiv in April to protect the embassy as Britain sought to re-establish diplomatic presence after President Putin withdrew his forces from the Ukrainian capital.

The Ministry of Defence had previously acknowledged the presence of commandos protecting embassy staff, with up to about 30 personnel believed to have been deployed. However, it is the first time the military has admitted that British forces have also taken part in special operations while in Ukraine.

“In January this year, 45 Commando Group deployed at short notice — from the depths of a dark, north Norwegian winter, to evacuate the British embassy in Kyiv to Poland. The go-to 999 international emergency force, if you will,” Magowan wrote.

“Then in April, they returned into the country to re-establish the diplomatic mission, providing protection to critical personnel. During both phases, the commandos supported other discreet operations in a hugely sensitive environment and with a high level of political and military risk.”

Based at RM Condor in Arbroath on the North Sea coast, 45 Commando are specialists in Arctic warfare. The battalion-sized unit was heavily involved in the Falklands conflict when commandos took part in the battle for Port Stanley and the unit also saw action in Iraq and Afghanistan.

At the beginning of the year, 45 Commando were taking part in exercises in Norway when they were rapidly redeployed to Poland to help with the evacuation. During their training in the frozen mountains and fjords above the Arctic Circle, temperatures dropped to minus 35C.

As well as conducting special operations in Ukraine, Magowan praised the marines for their role in helping to train Kyiv’s armed forces. “Alongside wider defence, we have been heavily involved in training hundreds of Ukrainian military personnel throughout this summer. We are also planning to train Ukraine marines,” Magowan said.

The Times revealed earlier this year that British special forces were on the ground in Kyiv helping to train local troops. Military trainers were first sent to Ukraine following the invasion of Crimea in 2014 but were withdrawn in February to avoid the prospect of a direct conflict with Russian forces. However, Ukrainian commanders said they had received further training from British troops on the use of anti-tank Nlaws following the invasion.

The UK has also deployed cyber security experts to protect critical Ukrainian ministries. The specialists have been working remotely on behalf of the British government to foil attacks since February.

A Royal Navy spokesman said: “Royal Marines were deployed to Ukraine to support the UK’s diplomatic presence in the country. They served no combat function.”

Posted by: james | Dec 13 2022 17:11 utc | 18

I do Slavyangrad for info. I really liked the #Yuri English subtitles, but that has ceased for a bit. Anyone know another source for Yuri's daily analysis with subtitles?

Posted by: paxmark1 | Dec 13 2022 17:13 utc | 19

If the Ukrainian war has shown one thing it is that the hatred and disdain the west has for Russia is only a degree more than that they are showing for Germany and its people and that their own leaders are promoting this. Sad

Posted by: mwm | Dec 13 2022 17:14 utc | 20

@ paxmark1 | Dec 13 2022 17:13 utc | 19

the poster mary was right about intel slava.. it isn't happening since the past 5 days... and slavyangrad is not readable unless one has a telegram account.. i have never had an account, but periodically one is able to read it... i don't know the mysteries of telegram...

Posted by: james | Dec 13 2022 17:15 utc | 21

bevin @10 & 14--

Thanks for those clips. I was reading the introductory chapter in a book about Russia's war against Napoleon, and it struck me that Napoleon was the NATO of that Era, and that the current Russian strategy of defeating NATO is very similar to what it used to defeat Napoleon--defensive war first followed by offensive war. And the primary deciding factor allowing for Russia's victory? Logistical superiority over Napoleon. I don't have the book at my side at the moment but will provide title and author in another comment.

Posted by: karlof1 | Dec 13 2022 17:18 utc | 22

https://t.me/Slavyangrad/24746
The tarmac at the Engels military aerodrome in Saratov reads: “Death to the Nazis.”

Posted by: Norwegian | Dec 13 2022 17:21 utc | 23

https://t.me/Slavyangrad/24780
🔥On the outskirts of Artemovsk, the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are burning.

This looks very serious

Posted by: Norwegian | Dec 13 2022 17:34 utc | 24

karlof1 | Dec 13 2022 17:18 utc | 22

"the Russian strategy...it used to defeat Napoleon--defensive war first followed by offensive war."

And an absolute refusal to "negotiate". Thus Napoleon sat in Moscow waiting in vain for a message from the tsar begging to talk, until it was too late to retreat.

Posted by: Flying Dutchman | Dec 13 2022 17:39 utc | 25

The piece of paper Neville Chamberlain told British voters he had signed with Hitler to assure “peace in our time” proved to be false within a year.

You are confused Bevin. It was Disraeli returning from the Conference in Berlin 1878 that stated "Peace in our time" when War over Balkans was avoided and Britain gained Cyprus.

Chamberlain knew this piece of history because his father had entered Parliament in 1876 and thus he stated when returning to Heston "Peace FOR our time"

He knew however he was simply buying time - he had after all been rearming the country since 1935 as Chancellor and since 1937 as Prime Minister reversing all Churchill's defence cuts 1925-1930 and building Shadow Factories in preparation for war.

Chamberlain's problem was that the Americans refused to help Britain. Churchill had to sell most of Britain's overseas assets to get FDR to help Britain at all - in fact Churchill (half-American) essentially acted like Zelensky in selling off British assets so Britain could fight for US interests

Posted by: Paul Greenwood | Dec 13 2022 17:49 utc | 26

Posted by: karlof1 | Dec 13 2022 17:18 utc | 22

If you see Napoleon and NATO in the same context you are reading a very badly-written book......you might want to find a more academic treatise. There is simply no similarity whatsoever...........

Maybe this will help you ?

https://www.rbth.com/history/331794-why-did-napoleon-invade-russia

Posted by: Paul Greenwood | Dec 13 2022 17:53 utc | 27

It doesn't matter whether UK special forces, or US special forces for that matter, are "training" Ukrainians. These forces have little knowledge of combined arms operational planning on a theater level and therefore neither do the Ukrainians. They will have zero effect on the outcome of the war.

Posted by: karlof1 | Dec 13 2022 17:18 utc | 22

Indeed. Martyanov and some of the other military experts, as well as Mercouris, cite Napoleon's experiences in Russia all the time as an example of Russian operational art. As Andrei says, Russia has been at the business of war for 800 of its 1200 years. How long has the US been fighting? Less than 250. Russians have "sapiental authority", as I mentioned before - people with knowledge and experience of the subject matter.

Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Dec 13 2022 18:08 utc | 28

This explains why Russia isn’t too keen on shock and awe US style. Easier, faster and cheaper to rebuild.

About 80 percent of the equipment of the Mariupol plant "Azovmash" was saved, most of the production shops were cleared.
A subsidiary of Kamaz will be responsible for restoring the work of Azovmash. This is good news - after the restoration, jobs will appear in the city.

Posted by: Down South | Dec 13 2022 18:12 utc | 29

Just gonna note the bridge attack in Melitopal just after the hit on the barracks.

Hitting the bridges is exactly what they kept doing in Kherson before they built up for the kherson offensive. If the pattern holds itll keep happening for a while, including nato himar attacks on their supply dumps.

The new Russian General has made efforts to defend the land bridge transport links. The use of sabotage says they couldn't get himar missles into there, so thats a point in Russias favor, although maybe building bomb proof check points at the bridge with 24 hour visual checks may also be a good idea now too. You know like how a warehouse anywhere might have night security guards to guard toothbrushes.

It should also be noted the defensive structures were placed a ways from the front line along the routes themselves, so everyone should be expecting more territorial losses in the next Ukrainian offensive.

Speaking of which the Ukrainian command is talking publicly about a Russian offensive in Jan and Feb...so we can assume Russia will try it, even though its a bad, bad idea. Its too soon and clearly they are prepared for it.

Remember ukraine has no need to worry about supplies and fuel or weapons for free. Hell they even get "volunteers" with extensive combat training for free. So if anyone is thinking they'll be depleted after bahkmut is lost...think again really hard. A Russian offensive will be a death trap. Its needs to be done in sync with a move against Kosovo and Kurdistan to force the US to split its efforts.

And really hit every bridge on the dnieper. Its retarded to keep avoiding it. They have to swallow their pride and follow the Ukrainian example of bridge hitting well in advance of an offensive.

This is why I think Putin is a traitor. if, me, an internet nobody with no military training can see it, then he HAS to know his orders are insufficient.

Posted by: Neofeudalfuture | Dec 13 2022 18:30 utc | 30

Posted by: LuBa | Dec 13 2022 16:35 utc | 13

The ukrops have millions of conscripts to burn through before they're done. Even at a rate of 1000 a day it's not enough. I'm afraid that we're going to see a replay of Severodoneskt. Russia spends weeks/months frontally assaulting Ukraine's strongest, most fortified position. Then Ukraine produces a new army and quickly captures Russia's weakest position.

Posted by: catdog | Dec 13 2022 18:34 utc | 31

Posted by: Neofeudalfuture | Dec 13 2022 18:30 utc | 30
"if, me, an internet nobody with no military training can see it..."

You answer your own question. Go over to Martyanov's site, see how long you last. Almost every sentence in your post is complete BS with zero evidence and zero logic. I'll leave it to others to tear your BS apart, assuming you're not just another concern troll that they will ignore.

Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Dec 13 2022 18:44 utc | 32

@32

Its not bs I'm not making up facts, just drawing different conclusions from them than you might be.
My info is open source, and I check liveua a lot, and remember the salient information that's briefly on there.

As for evidence I'm not wasting time trying to convince you, I'm assuming your in possession of the same facts, and if not, that's not my concern.

Posted by: Neofeudalfuture | Dec 13 2022 18:49 utc | 33

@22 Cont'd--

The book is Russia Against Napoleon by Dominic Lieven published in 2010.

Paul Greenwood @27--

No, I don't see them in the "same context"; rather, they both posed similar problems for Russia and Europe as a whole. What follows is the key passage from page 12 of the above cited text:

"Before 1812 Napoleon had shown rather clearly why his domination of Europe was a great threat to Russian security and economic interests. In 1813 Alexander was entirely right to seize the opportunity of driving the French out of Germany and restoring the foundations of the European balance of power. The subsequent decision to take the Russian army over the Rhine and remove Napoleon is more debatable. In my view, however, Alexander was once again right to believe that Russia above all needed peace and stability in Europe, and that Napoleon's survival would make both peace and stability impossible. The Napoleonic era is a classic example of how interdependent are Russian and European security."

It's rather easy to substitute NATO for Napoleon as follows: NATO's domination of Europe is a great threat to Russia's security and economic interests. NATO is controlled by an outside hegemonic force that's alien to Europe and has upset the foundations for the European balance of power and has actually succeeded in colonizing its construct for that purpose, the European Union, which has much in common with Napoleon's Continental System. Lastly, Russia needs peace and stability in Europe and NATO makes that impossible, so it must be defeated, and its tentacles removed.

In many ways, the basis for the conflicts are the same as is the need for the cleansing of Europe of all pro-NATO entities. If Stalin had known what would transpire in 1945, it's difficult to know what his decision might be, which lends great credence to the hypothesis that the atomic bombing of Japan was a message to Stalin about moving on Western Europe the way Alexander had. Today, we are clearly involved in dealing with the residue of WW2, and that the Outlaw US Empire/NATO have taken the roles of Hitler's Nazi Germany. Putin's Russia faces the same dilemma as Alexander did as shown above. Putin and crew appear to be following the same basic strategy as Alexander by fighting essentially a defensive war in Ukraine while destroying NATO's logistics. IMO, the tactic will be changed at some point and the offensive war will begin. Russia's great advantage with the Hypersonic Gap informs me that Putin and crew will be as bold as Alexander and go to Brussels, which is today's Paris--the enemy seat. The great question then becomes, Will the Outlaw US Empire have Europe's back or will it act as it's done most everywhere and withdraw? And if the Empire intends to fight Russia in Europe, why hasn't the draft been reinstituted to provide the manpower that will be required, and a massive program of reindustrialization begun to solve the massive logistical shortfall?

Posted by: karlof1 | Dec 13 2022 18:54 utc | 34

On Oct. 10, Putin started a campaign against the Ukrainian power grid. He launched about $5 billion worth of long-range missiles in several strikes numbering 70-100 missiles each and managed to leave parts of Ukraine without power for several hours and sometimes even days.

His attack is a failure and testifies not to the might of the Russian military machine, but rather to Putin’s inadequacy as a military planner.

It’s worth recalling that Putin attacked civilian targets in Ukraine from the start; he carpet-bombed Mariupol to the ground. So why did he switch from relatively cheap carpet bombing to expensive multimillion dollar missiles? Because of air defense. His bombers nowadays will be shot down. It’s as simple as that. So, he uses missiles, many of which are also shot down — and increasingly so, thanks to new Western deliveries. The Ukrainian military shot down over 85 percent of the Russian missiles (60 out of 70) in the attack of Dec. 5.

If Putin is restricted to missiles, then why not target something military? It would appear the Russian army simply isn’t any good at finding military targets, which have a nasty habit of moving around and getting camouflaged. The whereabouts of a power grid can be Google-mapped.

It’s possible — theoretically — for Russia to destroy the Ukrainian power grid, were the air defense non-existent or the missile swarms big enough to saturate it. But neither is not going to happen if the West continues to supply Ukraine because of several bottlenecks that speak volumes about Russian army.

The first major bottleneck is the number of missile carriers: It seems Russia simply doesn’t have enough of them. It’s apparently incapable of launching more than 30-40 sea-born Kalibres in a swarm; some Kalibr carriers were damaged by Ukrainian sea drone attack, and it looks like Russia is afraid to launch from submarines.

Russian air-launched missiles are an even sorrier sight. These are mostly X-55, X-555 and X-101 missiles launched from strategic bombers in a standoff mode; a bomber takes off from its air base in Engels, flies to the Caspian and launches missiles from over the water. Russia launches the missiles over the Caspian apparently because some of them are so old, the ignition doesn’t catch on.

Recently ecologists found over 2,500 seals dead on Caspian beaches. While the precise cause of the seal deaths has not yet been determined, X-55 fuel is highly toxic. Were Putin fighting against Caspian seals he might have succeeded. Against Ukrainians and their power grid? Not so much.

Another bottleneck is the programming. Each missile has to be individually programmed: Its flight path, evasion patterns — all should be individual, better to evade the air defense. And this is something, it appears, that doesn’t happen. Russian missiles come in droves. They follow the same flight path. It seems that the small group of Russian missile programmers unmasked by Bellingcat is simply not up to the task.

It seems Putin thought a terror war against the civilian population — destroying the Ukrainian power grid in winter, leaving citizens to freeze or surrender — would cause the Ukrainians either to revolt against the war or flood hapless Europe as refugees.

Apparently, nobody told Putin it’s crazy to use $5 billion worth of strategic missiles against a grid built to withstand nuclear war and with an air defense improving by the day. His generals now have to rummage in closets for missiles that aren’t made of mud and feathers — or beg Iran.

Posted by: Dani | Dec 13 2022 18:54 utc | 35

Reuters: 13, 20227:36 PM GMT+1Last Updated 40 min ago
U.S. close to providing Patriot missile defense system to Ukraine -officials

What then?
The operators of these systems shall be US army servicemen.
Can US close the sky in this way?

Is this not the right moment to step up destruction of energy infrastructure?
I think this is the most effective thing Russia can do.

Posted by: Kerensky | Dec 13 2022 19:19 utc | 36

One of the two bridges across the river in Melitopol was destroyed today. When the new wave of nato-trained AFU conscripts arrives I think we will see another mass offensive. If they can reach Melitopol things will be very bad.

Posted by: catdog | Dec 13 2022 15:13 utc | 3

If we see another mass offensive then that's the end of giving any credence whatever to our main analysts/observers and the mass of the commentators.

Posted by: abrogard | Dec 13 2022 19:23 utc | 37

Dani @ 35: The cost of the missiles used might be $5B in the US economy, but it is nothing close to that sum in the RF. It's just another piece of a military budget that is less than one tenth of that of the USA.

More to the point, pictures of Kiev, Odessa, etc at night indicate a loss of electrical power. Perhaps you think that everyone is using Blackout curtains as in Great Britain in WWII. When even Kiev authorities are whining about power loss, I'm willing to bet that the reality is even worse.

You apparently accept the UKR estimates of their missile defense successes. Since the MoD of the RF has a much better track record of reporting the military situation than the UKR government sources over the last 10 months, I'm going to give their reports more credence than that of the Ukie authorities.

Posted by: Paul Spencer | Dec 13 2022 19:26 utc | 38

@35. The air attacks include a lot of decoys to get the Ukr to waste expensive anti air missles.

The interception numbers are highly suspect then. Intercepting decoys isn't a win.

Also one time ukriane claimed they shot down like 60 of 70 missles but then claimed more than 10 hits, so pretty funny.

Also they claim Russia uses s300 for ground attacks but that's likely errant Ukrainian missles hitting those apartment blocks, like in Poland.

Next none of these appear to be hypersonic missles, so clearly the best is still in reserve.

Finally western agitprop is filled with stories about aid for ukraines grid and war crime trials for these hits. Thats the tell that they're impactful especially since they're so keen to follow up with how many people have power restored, which is a tell because that's the story to run repeatedly if they're falling behind and in fact power is being lost to many regions for days or even weeks. Its also meaningless because they're being flooded with desiel generators which is not exactly repairing the grid just limping along for the winter.

Desial prices remain elevated i notice as well some of that is war related as Ukrainian refineries are dead, at least I've heard no inspiring stories about their rebuilding them.

Posted by: Neofeudalfuture | Dec 13 2022 19:26 utc | 39

Posted by: Dani | Dec 13 2022 18:54 utc | 35

That's a powerful significant post. Thanks for that. It explains to me how Russia can on the one hand hit point targets anywhere in Ukraine while at the same time fail to hit more than one or two of a column of armor slowly advancing - and why 10 x the volume of shells apparently simply plough the fields.

The truth comes out. Russia has very significant problems with their military. Bad news. But apparently they're growing more and more aware of it. Good news. Coming to grips with it? No news.

Notionally offset by the 'fact' that Kiev has NO military. Only 'visitors' and foreign direction. A think patchwork screen and multiple controllers vying with each other to implement things their own way. Good news.
Yet somehow able to mount offensives wherever and whenever and able to imbue the Allies with fear of a new large offensive somewhere at any time. Bad news.
What is the resolution of that anomaly? No news.

Posted by: abrogard | Dec 13 2022 19:29 utc | 40

@ Kerensky | Dec 13 2022 19:19 utc | 36

Patriot system is pretty obsolete, upgraded in few iterations, still pretty much useless to the point of combating even mildly advanced missiles, as seen in Saudi Arabia-Yemen conflict.

I am curious to learn how those will perform, and ways to see how RF is going to neuter those to the point of utter US embarrassment.

The intent I see developing is boots on the ground and no-fly zone attempt without having planes to enforce it.
We all will see how that goes, and it is not going to be boring.

Posted by: whirlX | Dec 13 2022 19:30 utc | 41

@ 35

What a steaming load. According to this post Russia's old stock cruise missiles - basic jet engines with a payload, similar to US Tomahawks -- cost US $10 million each. Or maybe more. All the rest as completely silly.

Posted by: oldhippie | Dec 13 2022 19:37 utc | 42

Posted by: james | Dec 13 2022 17:15 utc | 21
the poster mary was right about intel slava.. it isn't happening since the past 5 days... and slavyangrad is not readable unless one has a telegram account.. i have never had an account, but periodically one is able to read it... i don't know the mysteries of telegram...

Neither did I until a couple of weeks ago. Now I have it on PC. And even better I have Unigram, too. Unigram allows instant translation of any post, it's great.

I would urge you to get it. I finished up realising all my usual analyst/observers were simply serving up opinion pieces. The few predictive observations they made all turned out to be wrong. And they are never in depth or far ranging. Questions on specifics never get answered for they're only interested in talking about what strikes their fancy at the time.

But browse Telegram and you literally get to listen in on almost live communications from the trenches. You get to the truth.

So use Telegram I found. And then I found another thing: use the 'other side'. Listen in on Ukraine.

I should have known but I was ignorant. I knew the best sources for truth were Military Summary and DPA on YT and that's because they use the info from both sides at once and where it coincides, there's the truth.

Similarly if I look at both sides on Telegram I get the truth. Not easily and not wholly, for sure, but I would never have known about the shocking systemic problems in the Russian military without it.

If you are serious and find it mysterious I can explain a little. I'm not talking down to you or anyone - I found it mysterious so I can believe others would.

You simply download and install on your pc (I don't use my smartphone for almost anything). Then if I remember right you tell it your smartphone number and it (Telegram) sends a code to it which you put into your pc and that's it. You're done. Now to use it you need a 'sidebar' of 'chats' that you're watching/reading and you get them by putting what you want in the search bar, like 'ukraine'. That gets you started and you follow links and such and increase your own list.

Unigram is the same. I think it requires that you have Telegram already. You can really motor along then. I reckon it is great now. Wouldn't be without it.

Posted by: abrogard | Dec 13 2022 19:46 utc | 43

Global Times editorial speaks to Merkle's confession, "Real intention behind Minsk agreements further destroys credibility of the West". Key excerpt:

The agreement the US wants is never about credibility; it is all about interests. An agreement is seen as useful by the US when it can advance the country's interests; otherwise, Washington is always ready to deny it. This is exemplified by US' withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. Washington also adopts a double standard to advance its allies' interests when carrying out the agreement.

The US and several other Western countries have become "defaulters" in the international community. They dare to break their promises because they are protected by the Western hegemony with the US at its core. Washington has already hijacked many other Western countries to join such a hegemony, creating and maintaining a distorted international order.

It is anticipated that some US-led Western countries will keep using so-called values as an excuse to defend their collective hegemony and bully others under international rule and order in their favor. As long as such domination exists, the world will still be the victim of power politics rather than a place full of justice and fairness.

As I wrote above, NATO/Outlaw US Empire must be defeated and removed as obstacles to European and global peace and security. The world will have neither until that occurs. And all the troll crap in the universe can't alter that reality.

Posted by: karlof1 | Dec 13 2022 19:54 utc | 44

@ oldhippie | Dec 13 2022 19:37 utc | 42

lol... that was my take too...

@ abrogard | Dec 13 2022 19:46 utc | 43

thanks abrogard, but to me it is all opinions and very little facts or substance.. one could say the same about moa, and that is fine..so, i am fine not being able to access telegram, or being able to access it only when it is available to access.. so much of what is on the internet is a load of bullshit.. very little adds up... i would be very careful with taking anything i read on the internet, no matter what the source.. cheers..

Posted by: james | Dec 13 2022 20:01 utc | 45

The ukrops have millions of conscripts to burn through before they're done. Even at a rate of 1000 a day it's not enough. I'm afraid that we're going to see a replay of Severodoneskt. Russia spends weeks/months frontally assaulting Ukraine's strongest, most fortified position. Then Ukraine produces a new army and quickly captures Russia's weakest position.
Posted by: catdog | Dec 13 2022 18:34 utc | 31

Yes. No one seems to get this message. We're constantly told they're running out of men. I googled it and found a nation can put up to 9% of its population under arms in the extreme.

That would be 4 million in a nation of 40 million. But of course millions have fled. We can reduce that figure to say 2 million.

That still leaves a long way to go. I've heard estimates that as many as 1 million overall are in their armed forces right now or from the beginning That leaves available another million at least. And the coming million don't have to replace that existing million that are manning all the support positions clear back to the clerks in the cities. No. They just have to replenish losses in the field.

At a massive 1000/day 7/52 that's 365000 per year. You've got a clear three years.

Manpower isn't the problem. So the observers resort to claiming trained manpower is required and they cite amazing estimates of time required to train. I was a soldier. Just a plain artilleryman. In my opinion very little time is required to 'train'. Much time is required to condition, quite a different thing. And nothing will condition quicker or better than the trenches when it comes to it.

I note ads on Telegram from Wagner - or purporting to be at any rate - and they list pay rates and such and say 'three weeks training'.
Wagner. An effective and therefore 'elite' fighting force. Considers three weeks is enough. Why? Because essentially it is a simple job and all the intricacies are best learned in the field.

Posted by: abrogard | Dec 13 2022 20:02 utc | 46

@ karlof1 | Dec 13 2022 19:54 utc | 44

NATO/Outlaw US Empire must be defeated and removed as obstacles to European and global peace and security. The world will have neither until that occurs.

Posted by: whirlX | Dec 13 2022 20:02 utc | 47

How long has the US been fighting? Less than 250. Russians have "sapiental authority", as I mentioned before - people with knowledge and experience of the subject matter.

Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Dec 13 2022 18:08 utc | 28

Surely the US inherited their sapiential war experience from their ancestors on different continents as well. In particular "divide and rule" and "let's you and him fight".

Posted by: Opport Knocks | Dec 13 2022 20:05 utc | 48

I can’t figure how anyone can imagine Russia made a supposed quantum leap in technological and production advancement after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Firing millions of rounds of artillery while Donetsk is still being shelled clearly shows the state of the military.

We are clearly witnessing a fourth generation military against a fifth generation military.

The observation that the West is being drained is also not credible, the combined production capacity of the West is over ten times that of Russia, while Western corporations own rites over vast raw resources across the globe.

Posted by: Johnycomelately | Dec 13 2022 20:07 utc | 49

This is why I think Putin is a traitor. if, me, an internet nobody with no military training can see it, then he HAS to know his orders are insufficient.
Posted by: Neofeudalfuture | Dec 13 2022 18:30 utc | 30

Seems to me we all have to remember that the war on the ground is not the war Russia/Putin is fighting.
The war they are fighting - they say it clearly enough - is a political war. It does not have territorial goals, it has political goals.
And even that war is not the 'real' war. The real war is the global war regarding a multi polar world.
Hence there's three wars:
1. The simple blood and guts 'traditional' war on the ground, for the ground.
2. The more abstract 'philosophical' war which seeks 'political' and/or philosophical changes from Kiev.
3. The real war which seeks to make Russia a global power in a world bereft of American diktat, hegemony.

Number 3 is the one that takes precedence.

Posted by: abrogard | Dec 13 2022 20:10 utc | 50

Posted by: abrogard | Dec 13 2022 20:02 utc | 46

Curious as to what actual military experience you have, more importantly what real combat experience you have?

Your posts suggest none, in which case you should probably Заткнись...

Just my €0.02...

Posted by: Richard Head | Dec 13 2022 20:13 utc | 51

Posted by: Opport Knocks | Dec 13 2022 20:05 utc | 48

I doubt it. Did any American "general" in the Revolutionary War study in a military college in England?

See here:
https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/military-education/

Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Dec 13 2022 20:16 utc | 52

Much Ukie burger coming out of the Bakhmut meat grinder today hitting reportedly 800-1000 casualties per, only 500 on a slow day, luckily it's mostly sprained or broken ankles from stepping in hmmm....haphazard Russian arty holes?
Cheers M
Posted by: sean the leprechaun | Dec 13 2022 15:36 utc | 6

Yep. Perhaps the haphazard Russian arty has something going for it. The heavier the attack the more effective the haphazard arty will be. the more troops, tanks, vehicles, the greater the killing.

So the attacks become sparser on the ground I suppose. Seems to be the case, the trend. 'Flying columns'.

So Russia needs to develop defences against them alone and they're pretty okay. And the defence against them seems pretty simple: NLAW.

I can't find any authoritative declarations but what else could be stopping the over-running of the Donetsk entrenchments? They're no Maginot line. They have no massive gun emplacements. Facing overwhelming artillery blanketing the line, point rocket attacks flying in wherever needed, drone targeting assistance, how can a tank advance be stopped? Yet they've been stopped for months.

For want of better information I assume it is simply the humble nlaw. Well that should cut both ways. If it works for Kiev it should work for the Allies.

And I say 'the allies' instead of 'Russia' even though the republics are now ostensibly part of Russia for I note on Telegram they still us the words DPR and LPR and 'Allied', so apparently that's how they think of themselves.

AND Telegram reveals in that way that STILL the brunt of the fighting is being performed by the DPR.

Posted by: abrogard | Dec 13 2022 20:21 utc | 53

Posted by: Neofeudalfuture | Dec 13 2022 18:49 utc | 33
"liveua a lot"

LiveUA - the same site Brian Berletic uses while carefully mentioning that it is an extremely pro-Ukrainian map site.

Try listening to Colonel Douglas Macgregor - he's easy to find, he's all over the Internet. The interviews referenced in the last Ukraine thread with Dr. Michael Vlahos are particularly instructive.

Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Dec 13 2022 20:21 utc | 54

abrogard | Dec 13 2022 20:02 utc | 46
it's not a different set of Westerners running the war in Ukraine who also run the food, heat, hospitals, banks, childcare, eldercare, etc., etc., in the West, is it?

no, it's not. it's the same people who ran libya, iraq, afghanistan, etc., etc.

i don't need to know what russia is doing to know my government is run from top to bottom by the worst turds in human history. worse than nazis, they are genetically modified, radioactive high fructose cornpone nazis. who have nothing but love for family.

Posted by: rjb1.5 | Dec 13 2022 20:22 utc | 55

abrogard | Dec 13 2022 20:21 utc | 53

Spotter drone and six inch artillery have been lethal on attacking tanks. Just too much drone video of tanks and infantry vehicles getting destroyed like that. For a stopped vehicle the Krasnapol shells work well and I have seen a number used but for a number of moving vehicles, the unguided shells seem work well so long as a few rounds are sent in quick.

As for shelling the trenches - Russia has likely still got millions of then in dumps.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Dec 13 2022 20:41 utc | 56

Similarly if I look at both sides on Telegram I get the truth. Not easily and not wholly, for sure, but I would never have known about the shocking systemic problems in the Russian military without it.

Posted by: abrogard | Dec 13 2022 19:46 utc | 43

Much of the grumbling about the Russian military I encounter comes from Strelkov. Unfortunately he's often more intent on being sarcastic than informative. If you could reduce your Telegram reading to a handful of bullet points, what would you say are the top 5 (if you're in the mood stretch it to 7) systemic problems in the Russian military?

Posted by: Mike314159 | Dec 13 2022 20:48 utc | 57

UK admits it sent troops to Ukraine
https://swentr.site/russia/568189-uk-troops-ukraine-operations/

UK can do this because they know Russia is too incompetent to find out and target these forces anyway.

Just imagine the western troops inside Ukraine being in control of ukrainian army on russia's border and Russia cant do jacks_it about it. Humilating!

Posted by: Zanon::.. | Dec 13 2022 20:48 utc | 58

One thing I have observed in many articles and comments is a U$D value that is ascribed to either supplies, aid or in a trade off between say a Patriot and a drone.

In reality the cost is zero. Weapons are a sunk cost in economics 101.

This is because the economic resources have already been spent [wasted] on weapons. This is the classic economic equation of defence spending. It is like an insurance policy upon which you never claim.

Now long term you can argue that shooting down $20,000 with $2M missiles might be a bad idea. But using existing stocks in the short term - well no. The money is already spent.

Another argument is that replacing old stocks with new ones is expensive. Well sure. But like steak in your freezer, it does not last forever. And if unused you need to feed it to the dog. So best find a war to use up the old stocks before they can no longer be used.

And arguably, both the USA/NATO and Russia are keeping the best in reserve and feeding the out of date steak to the dog - cerebus?

However the point is that expending stockpiles is a whole lot different in economic terms that having to build new stuff. In effect it is free. Makes war easier. Unless it goes on too long - which is what we might be seeing.

Posted by: marcjf | Dec 13 2022 20:49 utc | 59

@ karlof1 | Dec 13 2022 19:54 utc | 34 & 44

NATO/Outlaw US Empire must be defeated and removed as obstacles to European and global peace and security.
If Stalin had known what would transpire in 1945,

"The European countries, while continuing to exploit their colonies, have themselves now fallen into financial subordination to America, as a result of which, in turn, they are and will be exploited by America. In this sense, the circle of the main states that exploit the world financially has been reduced to a minimum, while the circle exploited countries expanded." I.V. Stalin. ("XIV Congress of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks" vol. 7 p. 269.) "1925

Posted by: La Bastille | Dec 13 2022 20:57 utc | 60

Mike314159 | Dec 13 2022 20:48 utc | 57

I don't bother to read those channels LPR and DPR much apart to get an idea of what is happening at the front line as there is a lot of grumbling. Russia does still have a problem with soviet style bureaucracy once you get down from the upper levels. In the civilian side regional officials and so forth. Putin has been trying to change that for years. It seems to be showing up a bit in the military with mobilization. They will get it sorted out. One reporter Kots, he not a whinger but sometimes he writes about specific problems. He does a lot of fundraising as well or heavily involved in it and was at a meeting with Putin the other day.

DPR and LPR thought this would be over much faster when Putin declared the military operation, especially those in Donetsk as they have spent nine months fighting and the frontline is still at the city so many are disappointed/angry about that.

A for issues there will be issues anywhere so I just look at the casualty ratio.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Dec 13 2022 21:07 utc | 61

Zanon::.. | Dec 13 2022 20:48 utc | 58

UK admits it sent troops to Ukraine
https://swentr.site/russia/568189-uk-troops-ukraine-operations/

UK can do this because they know Russia is too incompetent to find out and target these forces anyway.[/BLOCKQUOTE]

No worries. UK sends troops to both sides in Ukraine:

Eugene Prigogine said that in the PMC "Wagner" there is a foreign battalion under the command of a retired general of the US Army.

"I already commented that there is a sufficient number of fighters of foreign origin, even in the reply to the request of the Czech telegram channel neČT24, I mentioned the legendary "Czech Battalion bearing the name of Švejk". There are not many Finnish citizens in the PMC "Wagner", about 20 people. But for obvious reasons, I cannot give precise information about them. As a rule, these are high-level specialists, very ideological and motivated.

I have a very good opinion about the Finns on the battlefield. They fight in the British battalion (as part of the PMC "Wagner"), whose commander is an American citizen, former general of the Marine infantry".

So, the tricks of NATO militants are well known and there are countermeasures.

https://t.me/Eurekapress/7650

Posted by: ? | Dec 13 2022 21:15 utc | 62

Zanon::.. | Dec 13 2022 20:48 utc | 58 "UK can do this because they know Russia is too incompetent to find out and target these forces anyway."

And of course the brit is of exceptional intelligence for writing about? Russia already know about the Brits being behind various attacks. I think he said they were part of the contingent of 300 guarding the embassy. Their barracks are now a nice target as that clown has publicly admitted to Britain being a direct participant in what is no longer a proxy war.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Dec 13 2022 21:32 utc | 63

Not sure why the Russians are dragging out the Donbass conflict so much.

They should disable all the crossings on the Dnieper using hypersonics and use air power to destroy the supply convoys crossing the Dnieper.

And then come down from behind from the north between the Dnieper and the Ukranian defences and lay siege on them, and grind them till they are out of ammo.

The key is to prevent resupply over the Dnieper.

And then partition the country into the crazies (the EU can deal with these) and friendlies, and put a friendly regime in charge.

Posted by: nothing but the trut | Dec 13 2022 21:34 utc | 64

I doubt it. Did any American "general" in the Revolutionary War study in a military college in England?

Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Dec 13 2022 20:16 utc | 52

I spot checked a few and at least one, Horatio Gates, was a former British officer.

The bigger point was there were no American military colleges before the 19th century. So the colonial militias learned their tactics from the British and the natives (*cough*), plus trial and error. The military conflicts in "the colonies" prior to 1770ish were all British.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonial_American_military_history

Posted by: Opport Knocks | Dec 13 2022 21:37 utc | 65

Posted by: bevin | Dec 13 2022 16:16 utc | 10

It's good that you're informed. But the interview is a "conspiracy theory". That is, facts are mixed with lies. Germany certainly plays a role, it wants to "serve as a leader". In Hungary and another large part of the EU, Germany is not really popular either, for historical reasons, but also because of current affairs. Germany has been militarily occupied since 1945 and cannot even use its pipelines without permission. Merkel's only merit was a lasting weakening of the Bundeswehr, so that Germany could not be called off any more. We are only threatened by the occupiers anyway, whose military cartel NATO uses us as a junior partner.
In Ukraine, several cooks are cooking and Germany is allowed to pass the ingredients. The cooks come from Ukraine and the Anglo-American bloc, the dying empires.
Unfortunately, I can only provide you with the following link in German. But with deepl.com it should not be a problem.
https://www.heise.de/tp/features/Wie-es-zum-Buergerkrieg-in-der-Ukraine-kam-3235188.html?seite=all

Posted by: 600w | Dec 13 2022 21:41 utc | 66

Russia cant do jacks_it about it. Humilating!

Posted by: Zanon::.. | Dec 13 2022 20:48 utc | 58

More humiliating than being a one-trick pony?

Posted by: Opport Knocks | Dec 13 2022 21:47 utc | 67

La Bastille @60--

Thanks for that citation, and the timing makes sense.

An interesting observation made by Lieven in the book cited above "is the contrast ... between Russia as empire and Russia as nation and people... Russia in 1814 was a dynastic, aristocratic and multi-ethnic empire. Its core was the Russian land, people and nobility but these did not yet constitute a nation and could never entirely do so as long as the dynastic empire existed." The USSR for a short period reinstated the dynastic empire it tried so hard to expunge. What I see Putin doing at every opportunity is to build the Russian National Idea and to promote Russian nationalism, which is what he did at today's Opening of transport infrastructure facilities few would bother looking at. While at the same time, relations with former areas of the Russian Empire/USSR are maintained as separate but fraternal nations who celebrate their independence from each other then work together to move closer together and build on their synergies.

Russia is made of peoples with long experiences together yet as a nation their experiences together are actually very short--only 31 years now. Yes, Putin uses the Imperial past to promote Russianness and foster patriotism, but he's still careful to be correct regarding certain things about the past; for example, the USSR fought and won the Great Patriotic War, but it was the Russian portion of the USSR that contributed and suffered the most. Perhaps by 2091, such political juggling won't be necessary anymore as Russia celebrates its Centennial.

Posted by: karlof1 | Dec 13 2022 22:17 utc | 68

@ Opport Knocks | Dec 13 2022 21:37 utc | 65

Jefferson has been reported as blithely endorsing throwing green regiments into battle, on the theory that one-third would be killed, one-third would run away, and the remainder would become veterans.

Posted by: John Kennard | Dec 13 2022 22:17 utc | 69

Paul Greenwood @26 You are saying exactly what I posted, within the last 3 days, on this blog. I am not at all confused. The point about Disraeli -Der Alte Juden- returning with "Peace with Honour-Peace in our Time" from the Berlin Congress was made by me.
I have no objection to learning new things but having information-known to every English schoolboy- thrown in my face with the admonition that I am confused is irritating to put it mildly.

Posted by: bevin | Dec 13 2022 22:53 utc | 70

Opport Knocks@65
There were no military colleges in Britain in the C18th. Sandhurst was founded, I believe, sometime in the Napoleonic Wars. William Cobbett saw it as an attempt to found a military caste independent of Parliament.

Posted by: bevin | Dec 13 2022 22:58 utc | 71

re mine@70 Paul Greenwood
The words that you are attributing to me are from Helmer's article, which is why they are in quotation marks.

Posted by: bevin | Dec 13 2022 23:05 utc | 72

Ukro Teleportapotty @ Dec 13 2022 20:07 utc | 49

I can’t figure how anyone can imagine Russia made a supposed quantum leap in technological and production advancement after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Firing millions of rounds of artillery while Donetsk is still being shelled clearly shows the state of the military.

We are clearly witnessing a fourth generation military against a fifth generation military.

The observation that the West is being drained is also not credible, the combined production capacity of the West is over ten times that of Russia, while Western corporations own rites over vast raw resources across the globe.

Posted by: Johnycomelately | Dec 13 2022 20:07 utc | 49

Posted by: Laurence | Dec 13 2022 23:07 utc | 73

karlof1@34
An interesting parallel between Napoleon and NATO is the importance of trade sanctions-the Berlin Decrees- as a cause of war. Russia breached the sanctions by trading with Britain.
Another clear parallel is in the composition of the Grand Armee which included contingents from all over Europe-just as the Barbarossa armies did.
Then there is the importance of Polish involvement. The Poles saw Russia as the last obstacle to the refoundation of their state under Napoleon's patronage. They wanted Ukraine back.

Posted by: bevin | Dec 13 2022 23:14 utc | 74

600w | Dec 13 2022 21:41 utc | 66
I am sure that you are right-Helmer is prone to simplification for narrative purposes and his conclusion is not very convincing.
I post these links for information. I do not endorse their authors' conclusions and cannot either defend them or explain how they were reached.
Thank you for your information.

Posted by: bevin | Dec 13 2022 23:17 utc | 75

Posted by: bevin | Dec 13 2022 16:16 utc | 10

I have read a lot of outworldish stuff, mind you, I just need to read what Baerbock utters every now and then to get my dose for a week or so. But the above is pure trash. Merkels lebensraum? Angela following Adolf's footsteps, honestly Helmer had a very bad day ...

Posted by: CM of Berlin | Dec 13 2022 23:25 utc | 76

bevin @74--

Thanks for your reply. I'm sure there are more links like those you provided to further prove the parallel. What I'm curious about is the seeming parallels in strategy between then and now, particularly the logistics aspect, which is one of Lieven's main points that contributed to Russia's victory; and I find it curious that he is keen to say that aspect's been ignored by most historians of the event. Why? (paraphrasing) Because Russia's effort was crippled by poor logistics during the Seven Years War (p.7). Russia's military learned from its previous mistakes.

Posted by: karlof1 | Dec 13 2022 23:35 utc | 77

For: Johnycomelately | Dec 13 2022 20:07 utc | 49

Well, are you following the International Olimpiads (or Competition, or Festival . . .)
organized for pre-college students?
I do.
Here is something:
https://politikus.info/v-rossii/148708-sbornaya-rossii-zavoevala-pyat-zolotyh-medaley-namezhdunarodnoy-estestvenno-nauchnoy-olimpiade.html

And this explains a lot.
The Russian young people, students are notorius with winning such competitions,
in math, astronomy, biology, chemistry . . .

In a History book, rather slanted, I read:
""" Peter The Great . . . opened schools of new types in Russia. For example, as early as 1701 he established in Moscow a School of Mathematical and Navigational sciences.
. . . .engineering academy . . . special schools, such as "admiralty" and "mathematical" ones . . .

End quote

I read, that Wernher von Braun, a Nazi taken to USA, had with him a book by the Russian scientist Ciolkowski - heavily annotated. Ciolkowski calculated the possibility of space travel . . . .

Hope this adds to the issue of using "new principles" in weaponry (per President Putin).

Posted by: logosApplied | Dec 13 2022 23:56 utc | 78

Patrick Lawrence at Consortium News on his (not my) assessment of the Merkel interviews last week. Significantly he quotes this blog "a German publication" for B's reaction to the news.

"..In Die Zeit, the second of the two interviews, Merkel described the Minsk talks as “an attempt to give Ukraine time… to become stronger,” later expressing satisfaction that this strategy — a straight-out abuse of the diplomatic process — has succeeded.

"There are various interpretations of Merkel’s remarks. They are generally taken at face value, as an offhandedly delivered admission of her duplicity — and by extension the West’s — in her dealings with Russia on the Ukraine question. Moon of Alabama, a German publication, reads the interviews as Merkel’s attempt to protect her political reputation as Germany’s leadership circles succumb to the kind of Russophobia common in the U.S. but not, heretofore, in the Federal Republic.

"I find both of these readings plausible. Either way, the important topic now before us is the damage Merkel did in 2014 and 2015 and the consequences of her comments last week..."
https://consortiumnews.com/2022/12/13/patrick-lawrence-germany-the-lies-of-empire/

Posted by: bevin | Dec 14 2022 0:08 utc | 79

Dani | Dec 13 2022 18:54 utc | 35
____

Impressive post with a lot of details, but it does raise a few questions. Supporting sources would help (obviously only those that don't compromise your intel agents and methods).

Do you have open-source images/video (aerial or eye-level) of Mariupol carpet-bombed to the ground? Those must be horrific (like Raqqa in the aftermath of US bombing). I recall watching coverage of the final surrender at the Azovstal plant there, and don't recall seeing any of the carnage you describe.

How many of Russia's bombers were actually shot down, forcing Putin to switch from cheaply carpet-bombing civilians to using scarce, expensive missiles? Back in March-April this year almost all unimpeachable Western news sources stated that Russia would run out of missiles within weeks? Have North Korea, China, and/or Iran been shoring up their shortfall? That would have to be hundreds of thousands of missiles over the last 7 months. Any update on that closet inventory? And, related to that, how many missile-carriers remain in Russia's damaged fleet; what are they now carrying, seige-slingshots?

As you can probably tell, many of us here are very concerned about "Putin’s inadequacy as a military planner". BTW, when did he become Russia's military planner and who is the current president?

Please post any links you think may help, including the autopsy reports on those dead Caspian seals when they're available.

Thanks.

Posted by: Doug Hillman | Dec 14 2022 0:26 utc | 80

Posted by: Opport Knocks | Dec 13 2022 21:37 utc | 65

The main point is the one Martyanov makes over and over: No US soldier since the Revolutionary War has ever fought for his homeland on his home soil, and no US soldier ever fought a modern combined-arms operation against a peer enemy since 1945 (and in WWII they had help - from Russia.) Almost all the military experts commenting currently have demonstrated that the US does not have a competent combined-arms doctrine or capability today. Macgregor in his Vlahos interview was explicitly asked what he would do about that and he laid it out.

So it doesn't matter if the US "inherited" its "military expertise" from Europe, it still doesn't have Russia's military history behind it by definition.

Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Dec 14 2022 1:05 utc | 81

The main point is the one Martyanov makes over and over: No US soldier since the Revolutionary War has ever fought for his homeland on his home soil.

Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Dec 14 2022 1:05 utc | 81

The War of 1812-14, the White House was burned down as I recall.

The Texas Revolution had significant participation of American troops and led to annexation and then the Mexican-American War of 1846-48.

The best restatement of your case is that the American Military have considerably more experience on offense than defense, whereas Russia is the opposite.

Posted by: Opport Knocks | Dec 14 2022 1:29 utc | 82

I'm not going to look it up, but a commenter on the previous Ukraine open thread was going on about how inaccurate the Russian artillery is and that the targeted areas are pockmarked with craters.

This is called massed artillery fire, described in this analysis of Russian artillery order of battle.

Precision fires have their place and quick destruction of high-threat targets is optimum for survival, but the Russians have not abandoned their use of massed artillery. Massed artillery not only destroys-it produces paralysis and psychic terror. "The experience of modern wars and armed conflicts shows that artillery is still the god of war. Airstrikes cannot replace massed artillery fire. And the most effective way to protect your troops from enemy artillery is to destroy that artillery with counterbattery fire, when enemy artillery positions are detected and instantly suppressed."xxix So, the Russians plan to improve their reconnaissance-fire system while retaining their ability to dominate the battlefield through massed artillery fire.

Thanks to the poster who linked to this site, or perhaps to an intermediary such as Larry Johnson or Mike Whitney.

Posted by: jonku | Dec 14 2022 1:43 utc | 83

Posted by: Neofeudalfuture | Dec 13 2022 18:30 utc | 30

This is why I think Putin is a traitor.

Putin is more worried about the lifes of the enemie than about lifes of russian soldiers.
Traitors unmask themselves with their excessive concern for the enemy. Its pathological.

Posted by: Ćevapčići | Dec 14 2022 1:52 utc | 84

The Texas Revolution had significant participation of American troops and led to annexation and then the Mexican-American War of 1846-48.

The best restatement of your case is that the American Military have considerably more experience on offense than defense, whereas Russia is the opposite.

Posted by: Opport Knocks | Dec 14 2022 1:29 utc | 8

well Texas wasn't "home soil". it later became that.

Posted by: pretzelattack | Dec 14 2022 2:12 utc | 85

Posted by: marcjf | Dec 13 2022 20:49 utc | 59

Off - Steak and dogs of war? It was Cerberus you meant and he was the guard-dog to keep the dead from coming back to the living, and thank you for knowing such things to make me chuckle. The “dogs of war” is a saying meaning to callously allow war to take place .

Posted by: abrogard | Dec 13 2022 20:21 utc | 53

Yes indeed, the bulk is still done by the Donetsk and Lugansk residents and good on them.
I am still disconcerted that the Odessans have not risen up yet against the Natoist Elenskian government . Yes they paid a huge price in blood originally, but that was then , and in retrospect few died. It was the Donetsk and Lugansk people who have spilled more blood from 2014.

So why haven’t they risen? Too scared and lazy? They can’t because they have no materiel and Russia is not continuously bombing it to help? They are not patriotic enough to their Russian ancestry? Did Russia tell them secretly not to rise up as they would leave Kherson? (Sarcastic) . What I do know is that Russia was able to help when it had dominance in the Black Sea, and the Odessans did very little, whilst the Mariupolitans did way more. Waiting for someone else to pull your chestnuts out of the fire does not endear yourself to them .

Posted by: Brother Ma | Dec 14 2022 2:24 utc | 86

They [the Russians] should disable all the crossings on the Dnieper using hypersonics and use air power to destroy the supply convoys crossing the Dnieper.
And then come down from behind from the north between the Dnieper and the Ukranian defenses and lay siege on them, and grind them till they are out of ammo.
The key is to prevent resupply over the Dnieper.

Posted by: nothing but the trut | Dec 13 2022 21:34 utc | 64

Well trut, if they destroy the bridges and then slither in between the river and the enemy from the North, they will have no place to go should they become caught in a cauldron.
Not a good plan. I believe that is the reason why they crossed the Dnieper in Kherson in case the Nazis blew up the Dam making an escape impossible.

Posted by: Ed | Dec 14 2022 2:36 utc | 87

Posted by: Neofeudalfuture | Dec 13 2022 18:30 utc | 30

Further characteristics of traitors are their
- humanity
No Shock and Awe but slow & gentle warfare
VIP treatment of POW & saboteurs
- kindness
Releasing Azov nazis & mercenaries
alibi attacks on worthless enemies targets
giving the enemy enough time and space to get suplied with
weapons and fuel

Posted by: Ćevapčići | Dec 14 2022 4:23 utc | 88

❗️🇷🇺🇺🇦🎞 Chronicle of the special military operation: events of December 13, 2022

▪️Ukrainian formations attacked the city of Klintsy in the Bryansk region. The target of the shelling was a military unit.

The missile was destroyed by Russian air defense systems. The wreckage fell on the territory of the industrial zone without causing significant damage.

▪️Units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine continue to counterattack Russian positions in the area of Ploschanka and the Zhuravka beam.

During the day, small groups of the enemy, with the support of attack aircraft, conducted reconnaissance in combat in this area.

▪️Assault detachments of PMC "Wagner" broke through the Ukrainian defenses in the eastern industrial zone of Bakhmut.

Full control was established over two factories that the Armed Forces of Ukraine used as strongholds.

▪️On the southern outskirts of Bakhmut, battles continue for Opytnoye and the territory of the waste sorting plant.

Under the pressure of the "Wagnerites" the enemy is forced to leave their positions and retreat to urban areas.

▪️Ukrainian formations continue to conduct massive artillery shelling of the cities of Donbass.

Private houses, a hotel and infrastructure facilities were damaged in Gorlovka. The Stirol chemical plant also came under attack.

▪️In the Ugledar sector, Russian troops continue to develop the offensive on Bolshaya Novoselka.

At the moment, the main battles are taking place on the southwestern outskirts in the village of Neskuchnoye.

▪️In the occupied territories of the Kherson region, the Kyiv regime continues "cleansing" among the civilian population.

In Berislav, punishers shot 20 people suspected of collaborating with the Russian authorities.

Posted by: Down South | Dec 14 2022 5:03 utc | 89

Posted by: Opport Knocks | Dec 14 2022 1:29 utc | 82

One might consider the War of 1812 as a valid example, but I doubt Mexico was able to conquer the United States. That was a localized conflict.

In any event, the War of 1812 can be considered an extension of the Revolutionary War, given it happened within a relatively short time and against the same enemy.

You struggle to justify the concept that the US military history is on an equal footing with Russian military history - and that's just a non-starter, as I pointed out initially with my 250 years vs 800 years point. There's simply no comparison between US localized military events and the large-scale wars on the Eurasian land mass in history. Martyanov is correct when he says the American soldier has never fought for his homeland and certainly not in the last 125 years, whereas Russia clearly has.

I think we're done here, as this is mostly off-topic.

Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Dec 14 2022 5:06 utc | 90

Posted by: Mike314159 | Dec 13 2022 20:48 utc | 57

sorry, I know before I start that I can't do a good, neat, definitive answer...

but off the cuff and from the layman that I am reading where I've read it seems to be, order of priorities mine:

1. Lack of immediate response to artillery
2. Lack of an effective feedback channel from the troops on the front.
3. Lack of effective oversight of the battlefield ( the thing Surovikin is there to fix I think )
4. Presence of ineffective (downright stupid) local commanders (Kharkiv shambles)
5. Lack of clear message to the troops what they are fighting for etc.. - what's that? morale measures?
6. Lack of the BEST equipment for troops (contrast the war I know about WWII where nothing was too good for the troops and their equipment, second hand, was sold and coveted after the war for years - everything from greatcoats to trucks.
7. Presence, apparently, of utter criminal corruption - helmets of cardboard for instance ( aprocryphal? I don't know)

That's all I can come up with right now, off the cuff. To add more would require thinking and some care. But that many I feel I can toss off with confidence.

thanks for asking. :)

7.

Posted by: abrogard | Dec 14 2022 5:09 utc | 91

In 1846, Mexico was brutally attacked by US forces under the direction of President Polk who wanted to expand the Slave territory as was D-Party policy. The invasion took place after a False Flag attack that actually occurred on Mexican territory. Mexico lost 1/2--50%--of its territory and trillions worth of resources in what was a deliberate war of aggression for Plunder. The Texas Revolution also has a big share of problems and might be termed the first Color Revolution literally since the Texanos main gripe was the inability under Mexican law to import slaves. So, Texas and the Mexican War were both fought to expand the Slavocracy, which later contributed in large fashion to the US Civil War. And Mexico was never compensated for its massive losses. So, it gets payback by sending immigrants into what was its lands.

Posted by: karlof1 | Dec 14 2022 5:33 utc | 92

This is why I think Putin is a traitor. if, me, an internet nobody with no military training can see it, then he HAS to know his orders are insufficient.

Posted by: Neofeudalfuture | Dec 13 2022 18:30 utc | 30

Or maybe he is just dumb or slow in that respect:

1. He was a failed KGB agent wasn't he? That is what I read.

2. When U.S. met with him during the Ukraine protests in 2014, they requested that Ukraine not use its army against the protesters. Putin agreed to this, which shows he had control over (or obedience by) Viktor Yanukovych.
Then, next day, the armed "protesters" overthrew the government and the western-backed government which began the attacks on Donbass was installed.
Putin, in interviews later, says he was tricked.
Yet, he was stupid not to realize what U.S. was after at the time.

3. He admitted at the beginning of the SMO that he/Russia should have done it 8 years ago.

Meanwhile, during those 8 years, if people would say that Russia should help, The Saker and those who post on his site would say Putin knew what he was doing and was playing 3-dimensional chess or something like that.

Now, saying he is dumb about the military and in regarding to being a sucker for U.S. tricks doesn't mean he is dumb on all fronts. He is better at economic decisions and building relations with other countries.

Still, it would be best if there was someone patriotic, yet much smarter to lead Russia.

Posted by: MiniMo | Dec 14 2022 5:41 utc | 93

Brian Berletic's takedown of the US Patriot AD system, now apparently being considered for actual deployment to Ukraine according to CNN, is excellent.

US to Send Patriot Missiles to Ukraine, CNN Says...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LCXKve29wg

From the description:

CNN is claiming Washington may finalize plans to send the Patriot air defense missile system to Ukraine. However, what CNN doesn't say is just as important:

- The US says it will send the missiles in days after the decision is made;
- It takes MONTHS to train crews to operate the Patriot missile system;
- NATO personnel will likely operate the missile system posing as Ukrainians;
- The Patriot missile system is suffering a global missile shortage;
- Lockheed will double missile production but it will take years to do so;
- Both current and future production numbers CANNOT match the number of cruise missiles alone Russia is producing per month;
- Russia is also using Iskander missiles, Geran-2 drones, as well as a number of inert decoys which will place even more pressure on Ukrainian air defenses;
- The performance of Patriot missile systems in Saudi Arabia has been poor;
- Patriot missiles will face more sophisticated and more numerous threats in Ukraine than in Saudi Arabia;

Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Dec 14 2022 6:09 utc | 94

Listening to The Duran live video today. Mercouris again asks why is Ukraine sending troops over and over into an indefensible line in Donbass. Brian Berletic tells him the same thing I think: where else does Ukraine have the ability to defend?

There is no defensible place in Ukraine. Donbass, with its eight years of fortifications construction, is the only defensible line in Ukraine. Once Russia breaks that, there is nothing stopping them from going straight to Kiev.

Had Ukraine decided to build the same fortifications around Kiev and then also at the Dnieper River, then they could fall back from Donbass and avoid - or at least delay - the horrendous losses they are experiencing. But they didn't. Those fortifications in Donbass were intended as offensive fortifications - intended to be the launch point for a genocidal war against the Donbass residents, and possibly even an attack on Russia itself (once NATO has reinforced Ukraine sufficiently in the future.)

So Ukraine has no choice, but to keep throwing its entire manpower directly into the meat grinder.

Which is why, by the way, Russia hasn't destroyed the Dnieper bridges. Why make it harder for your enemy to run into your meat grinder? Especially since once they collapse, those bridges will make it easier to cross the Dnieper and take Kiev.

As an aside, there are stories now about how Ukraine is running out of AD missiles, which is why they want Patriot systems. I suspect Russia is expecting, if not waiting for, that to occur, which will enable the full power of its air force to be deployed to crush remaining Ukrainian forces, including forces retreating from Donbass.

Another aside, Gonzalo says the size of the Russian force being built up is an indication that this force is intended to occupy Ukraine. I agree. This force is big enough to trash the Ukrainian military, and then, once it is followed up by the Russian security service forces which number perhaps 400,000 in the FSB/SVR and an unknown number (perhaps 75,000) in the GRU, which includes 7 brigades of Spetznaz, will likely be able to handle control of the main strategic sites in Ukraine, as well as handling any disruptive elements in Ukraine.

Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Dec 14 2022 6:57 utc | 95

Posted by: Dani | Dec 13 2022 18:54 utc | 35

Have you heard of the 78 day NATO air war against Serbia - officially justified a humanitarian intervention, despite going against the UN Charter and Helsinki Accords. During this campaign the power grid was actively targeted, here is NATO's reasoning for that:

From a briefing by NATO Press Secretary Jamie Shea. Brussels, May 25, 1999.
Question: If you say that the [Yugoslav] army has a lot of generators, then why are you depriving the country of 70% of not only electricity, but also water supply, because, according to you, [NATO] only strikes on military installations.

Answer: Unfortunately, the command and control systems also depend on electricity. If Milosevic really wants his citizens to have water and electricity, all he has to do is accept the NATO terms and we will stop this campaign. Until he does, we will continue to attack targets that supply his army with electricity. If this has consequences for the population, these are his [Milosevic's] problems. Water supply and electricity are being used against the people of Serbia, we have "cut off" them forever or for a long time for the sake of the lives of 1.6 million Kosovars who have been driven from their homes and whose lives have been seriously damaged. Not everyone will like this difference, but for me this difference is fundamental.

Based upon the above, also the demands and push for air defences - now including Patriot systems - and the visible blackouts in Ukraine (satellite imagery), it seems the attacks on the power grid are both justified and successful.

Your other spurious claims, like carpet bombing Mariupol have gratefully been addressed by other posters.

Just my €0.02...

Posted by: Richard Head | Dec 14 2022 7:06 utc | 96

Richard Steven Hack | Dec 14 2022 6:57 utc | 95

If you look only at past events, not imaginary ideas, you'll see that the war is moving backwards not forward, to cities like Melitopol or serious embarrassments like Engels or Crimea bridge. Donetsk shows no sign of peace, Baldie can't prevent attacks even for a single day. Bakhmut won't be taken soon because they don't have enough soldiers to do it. And even then, why do you think they'll hold positions? They ran from Kherson, they ran from Kharkov region. ZNPP is in the same situation and I still think they will lose it one way or another.
So this is clearly going towards a mix of Syria and Kosovo "solution". First US sends patriot, won't change anything, but a few thousand nato troops will officially enter Ukr to "train" the use the systems. After a few more months of running in circles from Russian dumbo generals, US will go in, set bases and take half of Ukr, exactly like Syria. Russia will sign a Minsk 3 because they have no army available to do anything else. Not even all the 300k mobilized are enough at this moment. Too little, too late.
War will continue using the same proxies under the name of resistance, mercenaries, peace keepers, white helmets etc, on and off forever, making Donbass and Crimea uninhabitable. 1-2 years and many thousands of dead soldiers and civilians later, there will come the regime change Biden wanted.

Posted by: rk | Dec 14 2022 8:12 utc | 97

Canada To Provide $115 M To Power Kiev Grift

https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/canada-to-provide-115m-to-repair-kyiv-s-power-grid-1.6192679

"Putin and his henchmen are war criminals and they are attempting to use the cold as a weapon to break the spirit of the remarkable people of Ukraine,' Freeland said"
The latest from an Ukro-Nazi's grand-daughter.

Freeland's own apartment overlooking Kiev's Maidan Square along with other toney parts of Kiev and Lvov has reportedly not lost power. So perhaps this money will be used in part as the corrected title suggests, to keep them in even more private generators, trips to the sunny Caribbean or just more loot in those overstuffed secret bank accounts.

Posted by: John Gilberts | Dec 14 2022 8:54 utc | 98

@Paul Greenwood 26

While it is a bit of a curate's egg* when it comes to the involvement of the USSR, I strongly encourage you to get and read Buchanan Patrick J. (2008-05). Churchill, Hitler and the Unnecessary War: How Britain Lost Its Empire and the West Lost the World. Crown. This is a book which relies on recently declassified archival material to cut through the propaganda and reinterpret what we know about WW II. I find it indispensable as a reference work.

I cite extracts from it in my notes on Hitler and WW II and it is readily available online as an electronic or audio book.

*A "curate's egg" is something described as partly bad and partly good. In its original usage, it referred to something that is obviously and entirely bad, but is described out of politeness as nonetheless having good features that redeem it. [Wikipedia] I meant this in the sense of "good, and bad, in parts". While the archival material examined is new and highly relevant, and the conclusions about the UK and Europeans on point, Buchanan is neoconservative in his attitude towards the Soviets and socialism, and is apparently unfamiliar with Grover Furr's masterly Fitching** of Khruschev, which makes him less than reliable on any issues relating to the Soviets.

**After Robert Fisk who was unparalleled in providing painstaking point-by-point rebuttals with every i precisely dotted and every t punctiliously crossed.

Posted by: Hermit | Dec 14 2022 8:55 utc | 99

Anyone using the word "embarrassment" is an absolute troll. The Russians are fighting against a massive army with endless money and weapons.

If the Russian's did this in 2014 they probably would have been smashed, their defense industry was tied to Ukraine and Nato would have made sure everything in Ukraine was destroyed leaving Russia screwed. They did the right thing waiting.

Posted by: OohCanada | Dec 14 2022 9:42 utc | 100