The Buildup To War In Ukraine - Thursday, February 17, 2022
On February 17 2022, a Thursday, the UN security Council held a meeting about the situation in Ukraine:
Speaking at the U.N. Security Council, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken revealed some conclusions of U.S. intelligence in a strategy that the U.S. and Britain have hoped will expose and pre-empt any invasion planning. The U.S. has declined to reveal much of the evidence underlying its claims.He told the diplomats that a sudden, seemingly violent event staged by Russia to justify invasion would kick it off.
“We don’t know exactly” the pretext — a “so-called terrorist bombing” inside Russia, a staged drone strike, “a fake, even a real attack … using chemical weapons,” he said.
It would open with cyberattacks, along with missiles and bombs across Ukraine, he said. Painting the U.S. picture further, Blinken described the entry of Russian troops, advancing on Kyiv, a city of nearly 3 million, and other key targets.
U.S. intelligence indicated Russia also would target “specific groups” of Ukrainians, Blinken said, again without giving details.
In an implicit nod to Secretary of State Colin Powell’s appearance before the Security Council in 2003, when he cited unsubstantiated and false U.S. intelligence to justify the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Blinken added: “Let me be clear. I am here today not to start a war, but to prevent one.”
We know today that there was no 'staged violent event'. There were also no cyberattacks and no attacks on specific groups. U.S. intelligence before the war seems to have been as bad as ever.
The increase in shelling that had happened the day before was finally noticed:
Separatist authorities in the Luhansk region reported an increase in Ukrainian government shelling along the tense line of contact. Separatist official Rodion Miroshnik said rebel forces returned fire.Ukraine disputed the claim, saying separatists had shelled its forces but they didn’t fire back. The Ukrainian military command said shells hit a kindergarten in Stanytsia Luhanska, wounding two teachers, and cut power to half the town.
The head of the monitoring mission for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Yasar Halit Cevik, said it reported 500 explosions along the contact line from Wednesday evening to Thursday. Cevik told the Security Council the tensions then appeared to ease, with about 30 blasts reported.
Unfortunately the OSCE's Cevik was wrong.
Also on February 17 2022 the Associated Press published a good explainer piece about the 'Russia-backed rebels'. I made a few points that 'western' media do not dare to repeat today (emphasis added):
When Ukraine’s Moscow-friendly president was driven from office by mass protests in February 2014, Russia responded by annexing Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula. It then threw its weight behind an insurgency in the mostly Russian-speaking east, known as Donbas.In April 2014, Russia-backed rebels seized government buildings in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, proclaimed the creation of “people’s republics” there and battled Ukrainian troops and volunteer battalions.
The following month, the separatist regions held a popular vote to declare independence and make a bid to become part of Russia. Moscow hasn’t accepted the motion, in the hope of using the regions as a tool to keep Ukraine in its orbit and prevent it from joining NATO.
The 2014 votes for independence were cited by Russia when it later recognized the prior Ukrainian oblast as independent countries.
Ukraine and the West accused Russia of backing the rebels with troops and weapons. Moscow denied that, saying any Russians who fought in the east were volunteers.
The former Swiss Intelligence officer Jacques Baud has said that most of the weapons and men on the rebel side had come from units of the Ukrainian army which had change sides. They did not come from Russia:
In 2014, I am at NATO, responsible for the fight against the proliferation of small arms, and we are trying to detect Russian arms deliveries to the rebels in order to see if Moscow is involved. The information that we receive then comes practically all from the Polish intelligence services and does not “match” with the information from the OSCE: in spite of rather crude allegations, we do not observe any delivery of arms and materials Russian military.The rebels are armed thanks to the defections of Russian-speaking Ukrainian units which cross over to the rebel side. As the Ukrainian failures progressed, the entire tank, artillery or anti-aircraft battalions swelled the ranks of the autonomists. This is what drives the Ukrainians to commit to the Minsk Accords.
...
However, let us remember, there were never any Russian troops in the Donbass before February 23-24, 2022. Moreover, OSCE observers have never observed the slightest trace of Russian units operating in the Donbass.
The AP piece also repeated a point I have previously made about the sequencing in the Minsk agreements. It was the Ukrainian side which blocked their implementation by demanding border control before guaranteeing self-rule for Donbas (emph. add.):
After a massive defeat of Ukrainian troops in the battle of Ilovaisk in August 2014, envoys from Kyiv, the rebels and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe signed a truce in the Belarusian capital of Minsk in September 2014.The document envisaged an OSCE-observed cease-fire, a pullback of all foreign fighters, an exchange of prisoners and hostages, an amnesty for the rebels and a promise that separatist regions could have a degree of self-rule.
The deal quickly collapsed and large-scale fighting resumed, leading to another major defeat for Ukrainian forces at Debaltseve in January-February of 2015.
France and Germany brokered another peace agreement, which was signed in Minsk in February 2015 by representatives of Ukraine, Russia and the rebels. It envisaged a new cease-fire, a pullback of heavy weapons and a series of moves toward a political settlement. A declaration in support of the deal was signed by the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany.
The 2015 peace deal was a major diplomatic coup for the Kremlin, obliging Ukraine to grant special status to the separatist regions, allowing them to create their own police force and have a say in appointing local prosecutors and judges. It also envisaged that Ukraine could only regain control over the roughly 200-kilometer (125-mile) border with Russia in rebel regions after they get self-rule and hold OSCE-monitored local elections — balloting that would almost certainly keep pro-Moscow rebels in power there.
Many Ukrainians see it as a betrayal of national interests and its implementation has stalled.
The U.S. and UK stalled the process and used the time to arm and train the Ukrainian army so that it could, in early 2022, try to take back the Donbas region by force.
The OSCE Special Observer Mission at the ceasefire line in southeast-Ukraine reported of February 17 2022 that the number of ceasefire violations had again increased significantly. Artillery exchanges took place along several parts of the front.
In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded 222 ceasefire violations, including 135 explosions. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 189 ceasefire violations in the region.In Luhansk region, the Mission recorded 648 ceasefire violations, including 519 explosions. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 402 ceasefire violations in the region.
In violation of the withdrawal lines both sides increased the deployment of heavy equipment to 'training areas' as well as towards the border line:
In violation of withdrawal lines, the Mission observed a surface-to-air-missile system in a government-controlled area of Donetsk region. It also spotted 21 howitzers, five anti-tank guns (four of which probable) and one probable multiple launch-rocket system, in two training areas in non-government-controlled areas of Luhansk region.Beyond withdrawal lines but outside designated storage sites, the SMM saw ten towed howitzers and two surface-to-air-missile systems in government-controlled areas of Donetsk region, in two compounds (of which one near a residential area). It also spotted two surface-to-air missile systems, 12 mortars and 41 tanks, in two training areas in non-government-controlled areas of Luhansk region.
After the quiet start of the week the further sudden jump in ceasefire violations and explosions was quite noticeable.
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The map shows explosions, the small black dots, on both sides of the ceasefire line. While only few of the hundreds of explosions were located and marked on the map a count of the black dots shows 23 impacts on the Donbas side and 13 on the government controlled side of the ceasefire line. The artillery duels thereby seemed to become more uneven than on the day before.
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Posted by b on February 17, 2023 at 15:49 UTC | Permalink
next page »Another drum beat of truth to power
Thanks b for your consistent and ongoing efforts to write about the realities of our world not portrayed by the MSM.
I believe your efforts make a difference
Posted by: psychohistorian | Feb 17 2023 16:09 utc | 2
No, Liz Truss did not text ‘It’s Done.’
In the previous thread:
Now I doubted Hirsch because he didn’t mention Truss’s ‘It’s Done’ message to Blinken.Posted by: DunGroanin | Feb 17 2023 15:22 utc | 205
The text message never happened. It was a rhetorical device invented by Kim Dotcom to illustrate a point. Namely, that everyone in the business knows everything. (And the Anglo-Saxons did it!)
Posted by: Petri Krohn | Feb 17 2023 16:11 utc | 3
What is this "Wagner troops are low in ammunition" and "Wagner troops got killed due to shortage of ammunition and weapon"? Are Ukrainian propaganda going at it again?
And in the meanwhile, Wagner troops are taking more and more lands around Bakhmut.
Posted by: KitaySupporter | Feb 17 2023 16:22 utc | 4
As usual, well done.
U.S. intelligence before the war seems to have been as bad as ever.
Or he was mentioning other options the US had to give a final push.
Maybe even the attack by the ukrainian troops wasn't to come at all, they emulated the preparations for it very well, believable. Because if they attacked, they might have encountered enough resistance to hold the attack, while the fact could not be hidden that easily from the rest of the world.
It would be nice to see the figures for observed ceasefire violations for this whole time, how they developed, for each side.
Posted by: MM | Feb 17 2023 16:22 utc | 5
Thank you b very much for writing your own People's History of "The War in Ukraine."
After the Lie of Minsk, the Sabotage of negotiations, the Destruction of Nord Stream, and the continued Provocation by the Empire of Lies, Russia knows its cause is existential and just.
The 'west' on the other hand thinks it's playing a video game. That illusion is going to be shattered when this war hits home.
cheers!
Posted by: gottlieb | Feb 17 2023 16:37 utc | 6
The entire Russia-Ukraine conflict as it has so far occurred has been Western orchestrated - including when it began - Q1 2022.
Posted by: Julian | Feb 17 2023 16:07 utc | 1
NATO sock puppet told us recently that it started in 2014.
Posted by: irish al | Feb 17 2023 16:43 utc | 7
thank you b!
the cease fire violations chart says a lot.... regarding this quote from your report -
The 'west' stalled and used the time to arm and train the Ukrainian army so that it could, in early 2022, try to take back the Donbas region by force." this has basically been proven true thanks merkel and hollande commentary... sad, but true... they never really agreed to the minsk agreement, but instead thought they could find a way around it... the west, euro leaders in particular here, are very duplicitous and dishonest.. it is the same today... scholz and macron could stop this war if they said no to it... but none of them have an once of character or conviction on important matters... paper pushers is all they are and in full servitude to the usa - nato agenda..
Posted by: james | Feb 17 2023 16:43 utc | 8
the Biden blob running usa Stan is dangerous, not capable of tilting the ‘burglar game’ with Russia.
they seem to think that Russia would not destroy the world if they were taking Russia apart.
blob needs to disarm before nuclear winter denies climate change.
Posted by: paddy | Feb 17 2023 16:52 utc | 9
indian punchlines take on hersh's norway involvement angle..
Norway’s atonement for Nord Stream sabotage
Posted by: james | Feb 17 2023 16:55 utc | 10
james @ 10
If what Bhadrakumar is saying in your link is correct Norway's politicians are dumb. Real dumb. As dumb as "Biden".
Hate to say that is very possible.
Posted by: oldhippie | Feb 17 2023 17:13 utc | 11
scholz and macron could stop this war if they said no to it...
Posted by: james | Feb 17 2023 16:43 utc | 8
---
A fanciful notion, but what would deciding the war against the Atlanticist's interests entail? Trillions of dollars of debt would have to be discounted.
Consider the sad Munich Security Conference, about which the Global Times has to say:
The US ambition to dominate Europe is strong, as it is not willing to make any compromise on European security issues, which means that it will be difficult for the MSC to achieve an ideal result, namely a constructive solution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict and a rational view of the current international security situation, Li said."Washington wants to use Kiev to defeat Moscow. But defeating a nuclear power puts the world at enormous risk. The US is engaging in adventurism, but Europe will pay the price," he noted.
While prospects for the MSC are somewhat bleak due to its transatlantic saboteur, they would be even more disastrous without talks… That is why China and other peace-loving countries are willing to participate in an effort to resolve the crisis constructively, Li added.
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202302/1285685.shtml
It is just such a shambles. The only way out is down.
Posted by: too scents | Feb 17 2023 17:16 utc | 12
Thanks for this episode of the History of the Last War to be.
james@10
Everyone should follow your link- this is the government which presides over the Peace Prize deliberations.
There is an excellent editorial at Strategic Culture
https://strategic-culture.org/news/2023/02/17/nord-stream-sabotage-backfires-with-historic-demolition-of-us-image-and-lies-over-ukraine-war/
And Media Lens recalling the Iraq War discusses the news blackout in the AngloReich
https://www.medialens.org/2023/a-beautiful-outpouring-of-rage-the-observer-the-great-peace-march-and-nord-stream/
Those who believe that the media blackout is working understand nothing- the more that the NY Times, The Guardian and the CBC pretend that Hersh and his story are unimportant the more rapidly the 'soft power' of imperial liberalism and openness diminish.
The media, the Academy, the culture have all entered into a compact with the devil. We are past the stage of incredulity and approaching the point at which the Mighty Wurlitzer is simply an embarrassing noise in the background. A noise of the sort that undertakers are familiar with.
Posted by: bevin | Feb 17 2023 17:17 utc | 13
@ oldhippie | Feb 17 2023 17:13 utc | 11
yes... sad, but definitely possible, even probable..
@ too scents | Feb 17 2023 17:16 utc | 12
the way i see it, the debt is going to be written down anyway.. it is one big bubble, ponzi scheme... if anyone had some balls they would call it what it is and end this madness...
@ bevin | Feb 17 2023 17:17 utc | 13
thanks.. i will take a look!
Posted by: james | Feb 17 2023 17:23 utc | 14
Namely, that everyone in the business knows everything. (And the Anglo-Saxons did it!)Posted by: Petri Krohn | Feb 17 2023 16:11 utc | 3
LOL - Putin also blamed the Anglo-Saxons, apparently betraying some ignorance of who they really are. Among the central cast identified by Hersh; Sullivan (Irish-American), Biden (Surname of French origin), Nuland/Blinken (Neo-con Khazars), who is the Anglo-Saxon.
My father was an Anglo-Saxon and an RAF pilot in WW2. He knew who really won the war and respected the USSR, not than the Americans.
Posted by: Opport Knocks | Feb 17 2023 17:32 utc | 15
Posted by: Petri Krohn | Feb 17 2023 16:11 utc | 3
I read your link, and although it says it was a rhetorical device there is no proof that Kim Dotcom meant it to be so.
Kim is a computerguru ,so his words would be taken at face value on things to do with iCloud accounts and TXT messaging etc. Has he ever said he was making it all up or just speculating? Especially a clarification soon after his initial post?
In any case, a rhetorical question by definition means we know the answer. The one he provides.
No,I don't think we can confidently say that Kim meant it other than as a statement of fact when he said it.
Posted by: Brother Ma | Feb 17 2023 17:33 utc | 16
Posted by: KitaySupporter | Feb 17 2023 16:22 utc | 4
Wagner themselves are saying they're low on ammunition. And hohols pushed Wagner back a bit from the H-32 highway in a counteroffensive yesterday, pro- RU sources say.
Posted by: catdog | Feb 17 2023 17:39 utc | 17
"U.S. intelligence indicated Russia also would target “specific groups” of Ukrainians, Blinken said, again without giving details."
Excuse my pointing out the obvious.
I'm going to disagree with b's take on this one. Russia did have a specific group in mind. That would be Nazis.
Posted by: David G Horsman | Feb 17 2023 17:39 utc | 18
What is this "Wagner troops are low in ammunition" and "Wagner troops got killed due to shortage of ammunition and weapon"? Are Ukrainian propaganda going at it again? And in the meanwhile, Wagner troops are taking more and more lands around Bakhmut.
Posted by: KitaySupporter | Feb 17 2023 16:22 utc | 4
No, Wagners complain that they no longer receive ammo and that they are not allowed to hire prisoners anymore, which will lower their numbers when contracts end or soldiers die. If it's true or not I don't know, but we can see what Wagners or Chechens do and the absolute mess done by the general staff everywhere else. This message is from tonight:
“The settlement of Paraskovievka is completely under the control of the subdivisions of the Wagner PMC. Despite the blockade of ammunition, despite heavy losses and bloody battles, the guys completely occupied the entire territory of Paraskovievka. Thank them! Heroes!" - Prigozhin
Posted by: rk | Feb 17 2023 17:42 utc | 19
Khazarian vampire firms dont plan on investing in something unless the returns are almost guaranteed, so why are BlackRock, Morgan Stanley, and JP Morgan quickly signing deals with Zelensky ?
We all know that when Russia wins the West's investments, agreements, and loans will be null and void. Or will they ?
Posted by: Deplorable Commissar | Feb 17 2023 17:43 utc | 20
I may be going out on a limb here, but at the end of the day I think depends on the Black Sea and who lays claim to the northern coast. I've said it once, I'll say it again, I'll never deny it.
Odessa beckons.
She beckons to me.
And really, if that aspect of it can be agreed upon, I suspect this whole conflagration could be over in a day.
So, when you are beat, ask yourself this - do you want to be beaten into a pulp and take the whole mess of it down with you, or can you admit you have been defeated and then commence efforts towards peace and a better future?
Cause when you are beat, and the weapons of your adversary are better than yours, could sink carriers on a whim at a very low cost-ratio, do you really want to double down again?
Eventually, gamblers keep doubling down - they get killed by debt and foolishness.
So, consider that.
Myself, I'm just trying to get a peppa garden going, but I'm indignant and sick of blinking dimwits and contaminated places and fuckwits making choices they got no call to make.
Eff em.
Odessa beckons.
Posted by: Buffalo_Ken | Feb 17 2023 17:45 utc | 21
No, I don't think we can confidently say that Kim meant it other than as a statement of fact when he said it.Posted by: Brother Ma | Feb 17 2023 17:33 utc | 16
Kim Dotcom's tweet alluded to "iCloud Admin access" as his source. Regardless of his past hacking prowess, I seriously doubt MI-6 would have not shut down Truss's access to insecure communications devices after the previous hack when she was Foreign Minister.
Then there is the obvious inconsistency with Hersh's account. If the USA was the lead and instigator of the operation, there would be no need for Truss to inform Blinken that "It's done".
Posted by: Opport Knocks | Feb 17 2023 17:46 utc | 22
It may not make any difference at all but it is very important for all of us to pick our phones and contact politicians to impress upon them how bad they are to support project Ukraine and destroying pipelines. We have an obligation to at least try. Just do it.
Posted by: chunga | Feb 17 2023 17:49 utc | 23
"..My father was an Anglo-Saxon and an RAF pilot in WW2. He knew who really won the war and respected the USSR, not the Americans..." Opport Knocks@15
My experience is the same-my father, who later returned to the Army and served until the 1970s, was also an RAF pilot during the war. Not only he, but every soldier and civilian in Britain knew that they owed victory to their Russian comrades.
It made brewing up the Cold War a very slow and tedious process. It was only when a new, indoctrinated, generation, born after the war came to dominate British politics that the rapid submission of the UK to Washington became possible. As in Canada, in the 1970s anti-Americanism was an important element of politics in the UK.
The view, put forward by GDH Cole that Britain though it should be wary of any compromising of its sovereignty should be particularly on guard against the US in Europe, was very widely held.
The American government, headed and symbolised by the Kansas City machine pol Harry Truman, was extremely wary of British reforms, from nationalisation to the NHS. Cole understood that the hardball financial policies promoted by Dexter White and the insistence on Lend Lease repayment on schedule, were designed to hobble the "socialists' whose policies so disgusted American Business.
Posted by: bevin | Feb 17 2023 17:53 utc | 24
in spite of rather crude allegations, we do not observe any delivery of arms and materials Russian military.
Stoltenberg said that peace is possible only through supply of weapons. This only means that Russia not supplying weapons wanted war. They got sanctioned.
Then Russia started supplying weapons to the guys NATO didn't like and they got sanctioned again.
And then the countries who refuse to supply weapons to the guys NATO likes should get sanctions.
Its the rule based order.
Countries are perfectly free and sovereign to do exactly as US/NATO says.
Posted by: Vikichka | Feb 17 2023 17:59 utc | 25
“The Roman government appeared every day less formidable to its enemies, more odious and oppressive to its subjects.”
~Edward Gibbon (1821). “The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire”, p.313
Posted by: Exile | Feb 17 2023 18:03 utc | 26
Selenskyj: "Goliath will definitely fall this year"
The Ukrainian president appears confident of victory during his speech at the security conference, drawing a biblical comparison. At the same time, he calls for more speed in arms deliveries.
At the start of the Munich Security Conference, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenskyj called on Western allies to speed up aid to his country. "We need to hurry, we need speed," Selenskyj, speaking via video feed, said Friday, referring to the military situation nearly a year after Russia launched its war of aggression. Commenting on a possible entry into the war by Belarus, which is allied with Russia, Selenskyj said he thought the likelihood of that was "quite low."
Selenskyj went on to say in his speech that Kiev and its partners must "quickly come to an agreement," and that further arms deliveries must be made "quickly." There is "no alternative" to a Ukrainian victory, Selenskyj said. "There is no alternative to speed, our lives depend on it," Selenskyj said.
Selenskyj: "There is no alternative to Ukraine becoming part of NATO"
He also said there is "no alternative to Ukraine becoming part of the EU. There is no alternative to Ukraine becoming part of NATO," Selenskyj continued. Referring to the security interests of today's NATO countries, Selenskyj said Ukraine "will not be the last country Putin attacked." All countries that "were part of the Soviet bloc" are threatened, he said.
After his speech, in response to a question from Security Conference leader Christoph Heusgen about a possible entry into war by neighboring Belarus, which is closely allied with Russia, Selenskyj said he thought the likelihood of that was "quite low." Die Menschen in Belarus wollten „nicht gegen die Ukraine kämpfen“, ein Kriegseintritt der Minsker Regierung wäre Selenskyj zufolge ein „historischer Fehler“.
Selenskyj on war: "We can do it"
Regarding the recently opened corruption investigations against high-ranking Ukrainian representatives and oligarchs, Selenskyj said in response to a corresponding question from Heusgen that there was "no endemic corruption" in Ukraine. There were "many things that came to the surface in the course of the war," he said, adding that in times of war there is "always corruption." Ukraine is reforming "our country despite the war," he said, adding that he is sure it will be able to cope after the war.
Referring to the biblical story of David defeating the overpowering giant Goliath with a slingshot, Selenskyj said Ukraine must "defeat Goliath, who wants to destroy our lives." The Russian Goliath has already started losing, he said. "Goliath will definitely fall this year. We can do it," the Ukrainian leader said.
David, however, had defeated Goliath not by determination but by "courage and the use of a slingshot." This slingshot must now "become even stronger, and now," Selenskyj said.
right click self translate
Posted by: Bonfire Night | Feb 17 2023 18:08 utc | 27
From B's post:
U.S. intelligence before the war seems to have been as bad as ever.
Only if you see "U.S. intelligence"--or Blinken's representation of it--as disinterested pursuit of the truth. In practice it is a species of public relations, otherwise known as propaganda or the manufacture of consent. Here, Blinken both gets in front of the story, which he can do because he knows of "Ukrainian" provocations to come, and gaslights culpability, pinning blame on the object of U.S. aggression. It's perception management. Business as usual.
Like others I've wondered what might've been if Russia had refused to take the bait by waiting for a full-on Ukrainian push into the Donbas. I won't second-guess that, however, and I doubt the Russians were any less aware of the downsides, as a matter of public support, in firing "first" than the German general staff and diplomatic corps were in 1914. We see the aftershocks to this day among antiwar intellectuals who can't get past indignation over even provoked aggression. In that sense "U.S. intelligence" did exactly what it was meant to do. It divided. Whether it can conquer, for some definition of "conquer," is another matter.
Posted by: dingusansich | Feb 17 2023 18:11 utc | 28
Seymour Hersh live now @ Consortium News
https://consortiumnews.com/2023/02/16/watch-seymour-hersh-on-cn-live/
Posted by: suzan | Feb 17 2023 18:14 utc | 29
Posted by: Petri Krohn | Feb 17 2023 16:11 utc | 3
The [Liz Truss "It's Done"] text message never happened. It was a rhetorical device invented by Kim Dotcom to illustrate a point.
Complete and utter nonsense. While neither you nor I can say for sure whether that text was indeed real, your claim that Kim Dotcom invented it to illustrate a point is absurd.
Posted by: Jax | Feb 17 2023 18:17 utc | 30
German Chancellor Bethmann Holweg was quite aware of the dangers of going to war in 1914. He called it a "leap in the dark (Sprung ins Dunkle)".
Posted by: Lysias | Feb 17 2023 18:17 utc | 31
⚡️🇷🇺🇺🇦⚔️ Battle for #Bachmut - 17 Feb 2023, 20:00⚡️💀 Prigozhin said that #Paraskoviyevka village is completely under Wagner control. Despite the ammunition blockade, heavy losses and bloody fighting, the guys have fully occupied the entire settlement. Thanks them! Heroes!
🔹 The liberation of #Paraskoviyevka, which was an important tactical node in the AFU defence, significantly improves Wagner's situation in the north of #Bakhmut.
The clearing of the Krasnaya Gora - #Podgorodnoye - #Paraskoviyevka triangle will increase pressure on #Berkhovka, where fighting took place for the past few days, and secure a strong foothold in the north of #Bakhmut.
📌 Control of #Berkhovka, as well as the neighbouring village of #Yagodnoye, could leave the AFU without northern supply routes, which currently run through the #Berkhovka - #Khromovo line. In the long term, this would seriously hamper the AFU's ability to defend #Bakhmut.
https://t.me/sitreports/4670
Posted by: Down South | Feb 17 2023 18:19 utc | 32
Escobar just posted a cryptic tweet:
PENTAGON INSIDER CONFIRMS SY HERSH
Biden ordered the bombing.
Told Norway, Sweden, Denmark.
NOT Germany.
Planning leader: Sullivan.
Members from CIA, NSA, Joint Chiefs, Treasury, State.
Bombs detonated by Raytheon buoy.
2 out of 8 failed.
Posted by: mk | Feb 17 2023 18:21 utc | 33
Zelensky may be right in saying that Goliath will fall, but he has misidentified Goliath.
Posted by: Lysias | Feb 17 2023 18:23 utc | 34
Video from the liberated Paraskovievka near ArtemovskThe storming and "clearing"of Paraskoveyevka on the northern outskirts of Artemivsk is complete, and the village is under the full control of Wagner PMC fighters. The liberation of Paraskoveyevka opens up broad opportunities to cut off supply routes for personnel and weapons to the AFU Artemovsk garrison, as well as the prospects for the development of an offensive in other important directions.
https://t.me/Slavyangrad/33870
Posted by: Down South | Feb 17 2023 18:24 utc | 35
@mk | Feb 17 2023 18:21 utc | 33
If this can be verified, 4 governments must resign
- US Government
- Swedish Government
- Danish Government
- Norwegian Government
And NATO must be dissolved, and Stoltenberg arrested
Posted by: Norwegian | Feb 17 2023 18:26 utc | 36
Once again, why Russia doesn’t just drop thermobaric bombs on UAF positions in built up areas to speed up the progress of the war
⚡️Ukraine's Deputy PM urges "patriotic" residents in Artyomovsk-Bakhmut to leave city urgentlyIrina Vereshchuk additionally expressed "surprise" at what 6,000 civilians were doing remaining in the city.
https://t.me/IntelRepublic/14411
Posted by: Down South | Feb 17 2023 18:30 utc | 37
Selenskyj: "Goliath will definitely fall this year"
Posted by: Bonfire Night | Feb 17 2023 18:08 utc | 27
Three thoughts on David
1. You don't beat Goliath if you spend all your time in front of a video camera, talking about what you will do after you have beaten up Goliath. Kill him first, then celebrate. On the other hand, in case of Selensky, celebrating first might be the only chance to celebrate at all?
2. The only way for David to beat Goliath is to make absolutely, 100 %, no-way-this-can-go-wrong certain that the very fist shot kills the monster. Selensky/NATO have fired dozens of shots and missed dozens of times. Oh, and they don't have a slingshot, either (Malcolm Gladwell has published a good analysis that showing that in those days, a slingshot in the hands of a superb fighter like David was the equivalent of a firegun. Goliath brought a knife and thought he could win ...). Selensky doesn't have a firearm, he has a knife, just like the other guy.
3. If you are David and the other guy is Goliath, or, more plastic, if you are a mouse and you are fighting an elephant, you don't, under no circumstances, fight a war of attrition.
Thank you, Bonfire Night, thank you, President Selensky, for this very nice picture illustrating what Ukraine/NATO's chances of victory are in this fight.
Posted by: Marvin | Feb 17 2023 18:35 utc | 38
https://ura.news/news/1052626976
The founder of the Wagner PMC, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has promised to obtain ammunition at any cost for the PMC fighters, who have asked their colleagues from the Ministry of Defence to resume the supply of resources. He told about this in social networks.
"Went around every office I know in Moscow and will continue this until the guys get what they need," Prigozhin wrote on Telegram. He added that he would not stop even if he was jailed for "discrediting the army".
Earlier, a video appeared on the network in which soldiers from the Wagner PMC are appealing to the Russian Defense Ministry to resume the supply of ammunition. According to the soldiers, they are cut off from supplies, which may affect the entire course of the special operation in Ukraine. Prigozhin himself stated that for the Wagner PMC the shortage of ammunition is not as terrible as corruption and bureaucracy.
??????????????????????????????????????????????????
Posted by: Oberbayer | Feb 17 2023 18:39 utc | 39
@
Posted by: Petri Krohn | Feb 17 2023 16:11 utc | 3
So much for Nit-Picking and can’t see the forest for a single tree.
What was done is an Act of War.
Ray McGovern,
Ex-CIA Analyst Says Mainstream Media Killed Nord Stream Bombing Story
The bombing of the Russian Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines supplying Germany has directly benefitted business interests in the two countries now accused of the terrorist act: the US and Norway have both increased natural gas sales to Europe.Western media suppressed the revelation that the White House ordered the bombing of two Russian gas pipelines, a former CIA expert has alleged.
Award-winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh published his bombshell exposé on his personal blog last week detailing how last September's attack on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 submarine pipelines to Germany was organized.Russia has requested a meeting of the UN Security Council on February 22 to discuss Hersh's revelations, while China has called on the UN to investigate.
Ray McGovern, a former CIA analyst and co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity, told Sputnik the security council presidency, currently held by Malta, could block that request."It's hard for the Russians to depend on the UN now since it has been pretty much co-opted by the US, but they still play by that rule," McGovern said. "They prefer the old way to what the US calls the 'rules-based international order'."
[.] the most interesting aspect of Hersh's exposé was "the fact that US media, German media have been silent on all these things."
"How long can the major media keep this quiet?" McGovern asked, pointing to the continued longevity of the 'Russiagate' hoax years after it was debunked. "It's been over five years since the US government knew that there was no Russian hacking of the DNC. Five years plus. Does the American people know that?"[.]The intelligence expert said the American people had been "inculcated with a deep hatred of Russia and Putin personally" to drum up support for the proxy conflict in Ukraine.
But now the wheels were coming off.
"Things are coming to a head in the next month or two and how the US reacts to what is likely to be the abject defeat of Ukrainian forces," McGovern said."The people running our policy are naive. They're arrogant. They think the US is exceptional. And Putin himself has said, you know, they think they can be completely immune to the consequences of their activities. That is no longer the case."of the Pentagon-orchestrated military campaign, the media narrative was crumbling.[.]
"There are lots of people that know how stupid and how unconstitutional this act of war was," McGovern said. "So what we have is not only a lack of courage."
The former CIA insider said government surveillance was now "so pervasive" that few sources would take the risk of tipping off reporters like Hersh.
"I imagine Sy Hersh, every stroke of his pen is recorded, and they can trace back as they try to trace back to who the, quote, culprit, end quote, and reality, who the patriot was," McGovern said.
He compared Hersh to persecuted whistleblowers like Chelsea Manning, Edward Snowden and Wikileaks founder Jullian Assange.
"They'll double down on stupid for as long as they can," McGovern said. "Next thing you can expect is to find out that Sy Hersh slept with some Swedish women."
Exactly. Legacy media, no longer the 4th estate, are on government dole. Moreover, considering the persecution of Assange facing 175 years in the Rebar Hotel, Legacy media will not touch this top secret leaks.
= = = = = = = = =
@Posted by: mk | Feb 17 2023 18:21 utc | 33
Many thanks for that Escobar tweet. Much more to be revealed. Sy Hersh said, he is only at 1st base.
Posted by: Likklemore | Feb 17 2023 18:41 utc | 40
Posted by: catdog | Feb 17 2023 17:39 utc | 17
Posted by: rk | Feb 17 2023 17:42 utc | 19
Thanks.
Posted by: KitaySupporter | Feb 17 2023 18:46 utc | 41
"We know today that there was no 'staged violent event'. There were also no cyberattacks and no attacks on specific groups. U.S. intelligence before the war seems to have been as bad as ever."
That is not "bad intelligence." The neocons were lying, just like they lied to the UN and all of us about "weapons of mass destruction" in Iraq.
They did not make any mistakes. They just lied. It was successful. Their lies got them the war they wanted, again.
Posted by: Mark Thomason | Feb 17 2023 18:46 utc | 42
# 26 I have an affinity for that sentence. That’s the course of the fall, it’s inescapable.
Posted by: Dingo | Feb 17 2023 18:53 utc | 43
Posted by: chunga | Feb 17 2023 17:49 utc | 23
Agree (although in this forum you may be preaching to the choir). Sadly, even now the canned responses I get from letters to my US midwest red state Congress reps invariably begin with a preamble about “unprovoked” Russian aggression in UKR. Their blind obedience to the Washington Uniparty is appalling. So much needless death and destruction…
Posted by: UBAH | Feb 17 2023 18:54 utc | 44
??????????????????????????????????????????????????
Posted by: Oberbayer | Feb 17 2023 18:39 utc | 39
Something is definitely fishy.
Prigozhin said that #Paraskoviyevka village is completely under Wagner control. Despite the ammunition blockade, heavy losses and bloody fighting, the guys have fully occupied the entire settlement. Thanks them! Heroes!
The RIA article informing of Paraskoviyevka had a link to Prigozhin's telegram post and an 8n article quote ot the post, but RIA simply deleted the "Despite the ammunition blockade" part.
Prigozhin may have his own agenda, but people admire him. Theyd get upset. And having soldiers lost because of political struggles is just stupid.
I wonder what Putins role is. He cannot not know what's going on.
Posted by: Vikichka | Feb 17 2023 18:56 utc | 45
Addendum @ 40
Ex-CIA Analyst Says Mainstream Media Killed Nord Stream Bombing Story
For those who can access:-
Source:
https://sputniknews.com/20230217/ex-cia-analyst-says-mainstream-media-killed-nord-stream-bombing-story-1107533843.html
Posted by: Likklemore | Feb 17 2023 18:56 utc | 46
Posted by: dingusansich | Feb 17 2023 18:11 utc | 28
That is an interesting comment that merits thought.
Myself, after I sensed the writing on the wall, I wanted Russia to show an act of defense....for the sake of the Motherland, because lets be honest - what do bullies respect?
Posted by: Buffalo_Ken | Feb 17 2023 18:58 utc | 47
Sometimes, in the game of WAR, an act of defense might be interpreted as "offensive", but those paying attention no the difference and so do I, and I have no respect for bullies - none whatsoever. I like to KILL bullies - one at a time.
but that is just me....others might have different ideas, if they are peaceful, then please describe in more detail the best way to push a bully back on his heels.
I'm all ears.
Posted by: Buffalo_Ken | Feb 17 2023 19:00 utc | 48
I mean the concept of "turn the other cheek" I think it makes sense in family matters, but when it comes to geopolitics, I think it is a fools game. Sometimes bullies need to learn lessons hard, and usually after that occurs, they are bullies no more and everybody cheers.
Posted by: Buffalo_Ken | Feb 17 2023 19:03 utc | 50
,,,Just some Questions . Russia has air superiority over Ukraine . So, why not stop Nato weapons coming from Poland by Rail and Truck ? Also, why not stop Ukraine shelling of the Donbas ? Surely this is in their power to do so ..Are they deliberately letting Nato supp[y the weapons to, weaken Nato stocks ? Anyway, just wondering ..
Posted by: Leocz | Feb 17 2023 19:05 utc | 51
Leocz - please go back and read some of the comment sections from previous blog entries and you will find what you are looking for.
Posted by: LGB! | Feb 17 2023 19:26 utc | 52
@rk #19
He is trolling the Ukrainian soldiers who occupied the new Russian territory and are now gone.
"Despite the ammo blockade and heavy losses"
Posted by: OohCanada | Feb 17 2023 19:33 utc | 53
Having read this account as to how in 2014, the Ukrainian army was defecting with its weapons towards the rebels, it struck me what a huge mistake the Minsk accords were. The Russian government, in its apparent zeal to make nice with its toxic Western ‘partners’ implicitly gave the coup regime in Kiev a legitimacy its own army was clearly denying. A terrible move which was to be made obvious years later.
Posted by: Peter Fenton | Feb 17 2023 19:36 utc | 54
Selenskyj wants war with Russia to end this year, demands massive aid to do so
Published 27.06.2022
Volodymyr Selenskyj wants the war in his country to end before the start of next winter, according to diplomatic sources. He called on G-7 leaders via video link to "do everything."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenskyi has called for a show of force from G-7 countries to end the war in his country this year. Via video call Monday, Selenskyj called on G-7 leaders to "do everything" to achieve that goal, according to G-7 circles at the summit at Schloss Elmau. Continuing the war through the winter would pose major problems for his country.
To end the war, the G-7 countries would have to further tighten sanctions against Russia, Selenskyj reportedly said. The president was connected to the G-7 summit in the Bavarian Alps via video line.
In the link, Selenskyj reportedly asked summit participants to provide Ukraine with air defense systems and security guarantees. In addition, he said, the G-7 should ensure further sanctions against Russia, help Ukraine export grain and provide the country with financial aid for reconstruction.
According to a message posted by Selenskyi's office on the Telegram messaging service, the president also thanked the G7 for its financial and military support during the video call. "Ukraine has felt the support of the states of the 'big seven,'" he said, according to the statement. For Kyiv, tightening sanctions against Russia is important, he added. The discussed cap on the price of exported Russian oil was highlighted.
source:
Posted by: BonfireNight | Feb 17 2023 19:38 utc | 55
leocz
distances in ukrastan are long, the expenditure of fuel, and wear and tear are large, the chance of serious results is small.
see ussistan in Vietnam, they tracked the ho chi minh trail, bombed like airplanes were cheap and the Nvda hardly slowed
Posted by: paddy | Feb 17 2023 19:41 utc | 56
I wonder what Putins role is. He cannot not know what's going on.
Posted by: Vikichka | Feb 17 2023 18:56 utc | 45
Well... Putin's favorites are Shoigu and Gerasimov aka Dumb and Dumber (Biden is Hot Shots part WW3)
But let's see first what Putin says next week in his speech, should be interesting.
Posted by: rk | Feb 17 2023 19:46 utc | 57
You can tell what's going on backstage, if you watch the musical on stage for long enough.
Russia's biggest enemy is an overblown bureaucracy. Petty envy/jealousies and infighting between government military officials are Russia's Achilles heel.
Wagoner? Perhaps Russian military are attempting to clandestinely sabotage Wagoner efforts, because Wagoner makes them look like incompetent sissies. At the last minute Russian military will step in place of Wagoner-taking charge- just in time for media victory parade.
Posted by: Ramsey Glissadevil | Feb 17 2023 19:47 utc | 58
«provide Ukraine with air defense systems and security guarantees.»
The constant requests to "close the skies" and for "security guarantees" by the ukrainians mean that the USA, UK, etc. to enter a proxy war of attrition against the Russian Federation for the benefit of the ukrainian fascist government. Really weird inversion of reality :-).
Posted by: Blissex | Feb 17 2023 19:51 utc | 59
Dima on Military Summary speculates that the "shortage" of ammo near Bakhmut is related to that they are building stockpile (like, very excessive stockpiles considering potential of Ukraine to destroy ammunition depots with himars) for the new coming offensive from the north which could temporarily sap all production. So there's very little possibility that they would ever run out of shells in the northern offensive.
There has also been a big build-up in the Mariupol Berdyansk area (Azov sea coast).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiMMPkLfelg
Posted by: unimperator | Feb 17 2023 19:54 utc | 60
RIP to the brave RF Patriot here. Heads up, this is going around the Ukie channels now and they are gloating:
https://twitter.com/TheDeadDistrict/status/1626502016041189378
Posted by: LGB! | Feb 17 2023 20:18 utc | 61
Bevin
Nice to see G D H Cole mentioned ……… better times …… better writers
Posted by: Paul Greenwood | Feb 17 2023 20:20 utc | 62
If anyone is on Twitter, please report that guy's videos. I have never seen so much disinformation and highly edited gore. Would love to get this guy shut down.
Posted by: LGB! | Feb 17 2023 20:27 utc | 63
This is just to say thanks to B for his detailed series of posts on the context surrounding Russia's decision to initiate its SMO in Ukraine nearly a calendar year ago. This is in addition to his other regular posting for which he already spends considerable amounts of time and energy researching and writing.
Of course we MoA barflies did know or suspect that Russia had reason to go into Ukraine, and that this reason encompassed more than Kiev's 8-year campaign of terror and violence against Russian-speaking Ukrainians and other minority groups in the Donetsk and Lugansk oblasts. But on the eve of the first anniversary, it is good for us to be reminded of what is actually at stake, and to remember that Ukraine is a pawn in a now-continuous existential conflict, in which there are now several battlegrounds on many levels (physical, psychological, spiritual, environmental), across the globe and all of them increasingly linked to one another.
Thanks again to B.
Posted by: Jen | Feb 17 2023 20:27 utc | 64
"The pen is mightier than the sword"
~~
unfortunately nobody practices writing with pens today anymore :/
Posted by: Macpott | Feb 17 2023 20:32 utc | 65
Wagner and Chechen Spetsnaz are being used extensively in fighting in built up areas because they are specialized light infantry...but also for the psychological effects on the Ukrainian forces....a bunch of mercenary convicts and the other bloodthirsty godless moslems that hung live Russian soldiers up in front of their positions in the Chechen war....the theatrics coming out of the mouths of their respective bosses is misinformation in my opinion....there is no leaked unofficial Russian information released to the public ...it is highly vetted...not like the Ukrainian Reddit and TikTok addiction coming from horrible operational security....not sure how they have not figured out their cell phone radiation is being tracked. It's seems plausible that Russia is leaving corridors open for men and material to make their way to the front to be destroyed....that is attrition after all....there is not a square meter that surveillance satellites cannot see on earth. It's like leaving open an escape route for surrounded soldiers so the psychological need for escape takes over their inclination to fight to the death. Looks like the stacking of logistics on the southern coastal area is beginning...I am of the opinion that cutting off the coast and linking with Russian forces in Transnistria is a vital goal...and of course those 1000 M1 series tanks sitting in Romania will want to contest that occurrence
Posted by: Joe | Feb 17 2023 20:38 utc | 66
What can the replacement of General Lapin with another general mean ??
Wagner ??
https://ria.ru/20230217/spetsoperatsiya-1852795269.html
Posted by: FZappa | Feb 17 2023 20:40 utc | 67
"The pen is mightier than the sword"
~~
unfortunately nobody practices writing with pens today anymore :/
Posted by: Macpott
"I give you the state of statesmen
And the key to what motivates them
On the left, on the right, on the nail
Still I don't see a man in a mansion
That an accurate pen won't puncture..."
-Greg Lake, ELP Works Vol 1, "Hallowed Be Thy Name"
Posted by: Ramsey Glissadevil | Feb 17 2023 20:40 utc | 68
The Ukie boards love to show "Night Vision" shots when they don't really have all that much Night Vision. The reason? Much easier to fake/augment with CGI.
https://twitter.com/TheDeadDistrict/status/1626502016041189378
Posted by: LGB! | Feb 17 2023 20:55 utc | 69
Weeb Union explained that once Wagner can capture Yahidne, a few km south of Paraskovivka, and which they are advancing toward at present, they can advance along a ridgetop that extends almost to Chasiv Yar and crosses the one remaining road that the Ukies can use to supply Bakhmut.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_011QF2cVo
Posted by: Mike R | Feb 17 2023 20:57 utc | 70
Sorry, meant to post this "Night Vision" one:
https://twitter.com/Flingan67/status/1626500787785302016
Posted by: LGB! | Feb 17 2023 20:58 utc | 71
Minor quibble, perhaps.
In the linked Jacques Baud piece, there is something problematic without being further addressed (IMO, anyway).
Where he writes that the OSCE observers say not even the slightest trace of Russian involvement has been documented, the article (both at Scheerpost and the original at The Postil) contain an embedded hyperlink to this bit at Foreign Policy: https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/10/25/counting-the-dead-in-europes-forgotten-war-ukraine-conflict-donbass-osce/
The article was edited on October 25, 2018. One of the edits reads as such:
Clarification, October 25, 2018: In an earlier version, Hug stated that OSCE had not seen direct evidence of Russian involvement in eastern Ukraine. We have removed this remark, as it did not convey his intended view. He goes on to cite facts and observations that his monitors have recorded.
Within the text of the interview he says the following (current version of article):
FP: What’s the OSCE’s official stance on Russia’s involvement in Eastern Ukraine?AH: If the question is what we have seen on the ground … we have seen convoys leaving and entering Ukraine on dirt roads in the middle of the night, in areas where there is no official crossing. In one border area, we’ve also made this public, including some footage we have put out. We have seen specific types of weapons that we have described in detail, including electronic warfare equipment. We have spoken to prisoners taken by the Ukrainian forces who claim to be members of the Russian armed forces fighting on rotation in Ukraine. We have seen men with the insignia of the Russian Federation, but you can buy this jacket anywhere. We have also seen the insignia of Germany, Spain, and others—but also of the Russians.
Hmmmkay....so I decided to pull up the original article text at the Internet Archive here: https://web.archive.org/web/20181025173036/https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/10/25/counting-the-dead-in-europes-forgotten-war-ukraine-conflict-donbass-osce/">https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/10/25/counting-the-dead-in-europes-forgotten-war-ukraine-conflict-donbass-osce/">https://web.archive.org/web/20181025173036/https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/10/25/counting-the-dead-in-europes-forgotten-war-ukraine-conflict-donbass-osce/
The Q&A about Russian involvement said:
FP: What’s the OSCE’s official stance on Russia’s involvement in Eastern Ukraine?AH: If the question is what we have seen on the ground, we would not see direct evidence. But we have seen convoys leaving and entering Ukraine on dirt roads in the middle of the night, in areas where there is no official crossing. In one border area, we’ve also made this public, including some footage we have put out. We have seen specific types of weapons that we have described in detail, including electronic warfare equipment. We have spoken to prisoners taken by the Ukrainian forces who claim to be members of the Russian armed forces fighting on rotation in Ukraine. We have seen men with the insignia of the Russian Federation, but you can buy this jacket anywhere. We have also seen the insignia of Germany, Spain, and others—but also of the Russians.
The "Clarification" (and removal of text - my bold above) was made about an hour and a half after original publication. "Does not reflect his intended view"? WTF does that mean - did he ask them to make the change? I highly doubt it. Rather I'm sure some higher-up at FP demanded that part be stricken.
In any case, it's my opinion that the FP piece no longer says, in a definitive manner, what Baud saw when he likely first read it.
Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Feb 17 2023 20:59 utc | 72
“The Roman government appeared every day less formidable to its enemies, more odious and oppressive to its subjects.”
~Edward Gibbon (1821). “The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire”, p.313
Posted by: Exile | Feb 17 2023 18:03 utc | 26
------------------------------
And just think, that was before the world had Radio, TV, and the internet, or even newspapers, magazines, and international translation software. With all this technology, an Empires life expectancy must be reduced exponentially. No wonder the deep state money mongers are desperate to control the technology and the narrative.
Posted by: Ed | Feb 17 2023 21:00 utc | 73
Norway- Greed über alles or It's all about the euros.
https://www.indianpunchline.com/norways-atonement-for-nord-stream-sabotage/
Posted by: Elmagnostic | Feb 17 2023 21:02 utc | 74
Oh What a Paradise It Wasn't
"Cold in the bedroom, waiting list for a year, cosmetology. What Ukrainian refugees do not like in Britain"
Ukrainian refugees size up Late Britain:
https://strana.news/news/423463-na-chto-zhalujutsja-ukrainskie-bezhentsy-v-britanii.html
Posted by: Elmagnostic | Feb 17 2023 21:05 utc | 75
https://www.indianpunchline.com/norways-atonement-for-nord-stream-sabotage
@ james | Feb 17 2023 16:55 utc | 10
Excellent link, thanks. I'm discovering an unexpected optimist somewhere in there, always grasping for that silver lining around lowering clouds.
Right now I'm hoping Norway's collusion in an historic crime of geoterrorism might raise the risibility quotient of Oslo's Nobel Peace Prize to such fragile heights that the absurd spectacle crumbles entirely.
Norwegian quislings of imperial geoterrorism, please stand up.
Posted by: Aleph_Null | Feb 17 2023 21:07 utc | 76
Tom_Q_Collins | Feb 17 2023 20:59 utc | 72
interesting the forgotten war on russians in donbas attracted nazi larpers from western europe......
did osce, no so neutral, do any observing on that? or any of the "black/classfied budget' armaments sent to kiev going to kill russians in donbas?
Posted by: paddy | Feb 17 2023 21:08 utc | 77
Posted by: mk | Feb 17 2023 18:21 utc | 33
Also in the comments to Escobar's tweet is the following:
https://twitter.com/JohnBasham/status/1626078491560099840
Apologies in advance for any wonky line breaks; cleaning that text up was a real PITA.
The @CIA Informed @JoeBiden Our Navy Had A Way To Place Bombs On Pipelines & Use A @Raytheon Air Dropped Sonar Trigger At A Later Time.The Navy Had Concerns That A Long Delay Between Placing The Explosives (C-4) & Detonating With A Sonar Drop Buoy Would Cause A Bomb Failure.
The Team That Planned The Sabotage Of #Russia's #NordStream Pipelines Was Lead By @JakeSullivan46 & Had Members From The @CIA @NSAGov @thejointstaff @USTreasury & @StateDept.
The Secret Team Would Meet At The #Eisenhower Executive Office Building In A Secure Room Across From The @WhiteHouse.
The @USNavy @USSOCOM Team That Placed The 8 Bombs Trained At The Naval Diving & Salvage Training Center In #PanamaCity #Florida.
8 Bombs Were Successfully Placed In June Of 2022 With A Pre-Planned @USNavy @NATO Excercise As Cover.
The Divers Were Recovered By A Norwegian Navy Submarine.
The Bombs Were Detonated On September 26,2022 By A @Raytheon Low Frequency Sonar Drop Buoy After @JoeBidenBecame Upset At Progress #Russia Was Making & A Fear #Germany Would Drop Their Sanctions On #Russia To Allow #NaturalGas To Flow During The Cold Winter Months.
Just As The @USNavy Professionals Predicted 2 Of The Eight Bombs Failed To Detonate Due To The 4 Month Submersion In Salt Water.
After @JoeBiden Ordered The Bombs Detonated WITHOUT PRIOR INFORMING GERMANY, There Was Serious Derision In The Ranks... ESPECIALLY In The #IntelligenceCommunity & Military Special Operations Community.
Everyone Saw This As A Direct Act Of War Against #Russia & Even Against Our @NATO Partner #Germany.
Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Feb 17 2023 21:09 utc | 78
Posted by: paddy | Feb 17 2023 21:08 utc | 77
Very true of course. But there would be no observable western "border" for the OSCE to use as a basis for frequency and number of Natostan Not-Zee larpers similar to what the interviewee said about there being no border control on those coming in from the east.
Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Feb 17 2023 21:11 utc | 79
One more "Night Vision"/computer graphics to report. This one helpfully has the Nazi/Azov logo that should make it easier for Twitter to take down. I know there isn't much some of us can do for the war effort from the US when we are so far away (until we can get GEOTUS45 returned to his rightful place) but reporting Nazi disinfo videos is something I take pride in. Now that Elon is in charge, reporting really works!
https://twitter.com/PaulJawin/status/1626623148601876481
Posted by: LBG! | Feb 17 2023 21:20 utc | 80
Odessa beckons.
@ Buffalo_Ken | Feb 17 2023 17:45 utc | 21
...like a tumbling perambulator...
Posted by: Aleph_Null | Feb 17 2023 21:22 utc | 81
Well... Putin's favorites are Shoigu and Gerasimov aka Dumb and Dumber (Biden is Hot Shots part WW3)
But let's see first what Putin says next week in his speech, should be interesting.
Posted by: rk | Feb 17 2023 19:46 utc | 57
_____________________________________________________
Hey! rk! You're a regular G**D*** Laff riot! When's your next gig on The Comedy Channel??
Though don't leave us stranded here at the Bar...Whatever would we do for such comic relief???
Posted by: Garry Owen | Feb 17 2023 21:22 utc | 82
How the world polity has already fundamentally changed itself:
"The most remarkable result so far is that the US failed to recruit any country beyond its official allies to join the anti-Russian coalition. Given the severity of the crisis and the heavy human consequences of it, one could expect the broader scope of countries to support Western attempts to punish Russia. It did not happen."
-- Fyodor A. Lukyanov
https://eng.globalaffairs.ru/articles/ukraine-russia-world-order/
Posted by: Elmagnostic | Feb 17 2023 21:31 utc | 83
mk @ 33
Assuming for the moment that information is accurate. Project planning by Sullivan could mean many different things. If Jake Sullivan was nuts and bolts on this that is some high level planning. He does not have any experience with this. Looks a lot like a personal grudge. Even if he is simply top of reporting chain it is still high level involvement.
One more time Sullivan is Hillary's man, not Biden's. Whole operation smells like a spiteful hateful old crone.
Posted by: oldhippie | Feb 17 2023 21:32 utc | 84
If this can be verified, 4 governments must resign
- US Government
- Swedish Government
- Danish Government
- Norwegian Government
And NATO must be dissolved, and Stoltenberg arrested
Posted by: Norwegian | Feb 17 2023 18:26 utc | 36
####################
Yeah, I am sure the UN or the Avengers will get right on that. /s
Posted by: LoveDonbass | Feb 17 2023 21:42 utc | 85
He is trolling the Ukrainian soldiers who occupied the new Russian territory and are now gone.
"Despite the ammo blockade and heavy losses"
Posted by: OohCanada | Feb 17 2023 19:33 utc | 53
############################
Not necessarily. I've seen videos on Telegram of Wagner front-line troops pleading for more ammo.
Posted by: LoveDonbass | Feb 17 2023 21:44 utc | 86
Dima has noticed on his Military Summery channel for the last two days, and possibly longer, that there are no reported tank losses by the UA. He thinks they may have been destroyed or some other reason such as saving them for a later offense/defense. I think it is likely many of the tank crews have been sent to Poland for training on the Leopards. It would be more effective to train crews who are somewhat experienced in the field. What they have remaining of the older tanks could also be used for training new crews as I believe they require a three man crew instead of four. This is pure speculation of course.
Posted by: Quid Me Vexare | Feb 17 2023 21:47 utc | 87
Not necessarily. I've seen videos on Telegram of Wagner front-line troops pleading for more ammo.
How can you be sure it wasn't Ukie propaganda, lots of that going around now. I see that this video from last week is now going around, mislabeled as Russians getting f'ed up and retreating, but I know it is Ukie mobilized:
https://twitter.com/PaulJawin/status/1626463147333767169 (report this one for disinformation)
Posted by: LGB! | Feb 17 2023 21:48 utc | 88
I loved the way that Prigozhin used the build-up of artillery reserves (DIMA@ unimperator | Feb 17 2023 19:54 utc | 60) to trick the Ukrainians into sending more men into Bakhmut, by suggesting that they were unable to continue to fight. (Plus lack of convicts, etc etc.)
OK, any joke has an element of truth, but in this case it shows that the Ukrainians believe all they are told about weaknesses or winning against the enemy.
It now appears that the encirclement is much larger than expected by most people.
Note that one big problem the Russians/Wagner have is the huge amount of interconnected tunnels and mines in Ugldar, and around Bakhmut etc.
****
One comment about the other "partners in crime" blowing up NS 1 and 2.
Note that the only underwater photos that we have been shown - have a clean vertical cut and no "wreckage" on the side of the destroyed segement. This implies that Sweden (with the help of Denmark or Poland?) deliberately cut out the segment to stop any forensic examination, and then totally removed it to enable a cover-up.
The constant requests to "close the skies" and for "security guarantees" by the Ukrainians mean that the USA, UK, etc. to enter a proxy war of attrition against the Russian Federation for the benefit of the Ukrainian fascist government. Really weird inversion of reality :-).
Posted by: Blissex | Feb 17 2023 19:51 utc | 59
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"...the USA, UK, etc. to enter a proxy war of attrition against the Russian Federation for the benefit of the Ukrainian fascist government. Really weird inversion of reality :-).
Blissex, the US proxy war has nothing to do with the "benefit" of the Ukrainian fascist government. Long before the 2014 Maidan coup, the US (CIA/NED) were looking for viable force (or group of citizens) that sufficiently hated Russia to form a Color Revolution in Ukraine.
The US has had a relationship with the various WW2 Nazi leftover groups in Ukraine, and anywhere in Soviet Eurasia that they could find them after 1945.
The CIA used the Ukrainian fascist groups in the failed 2004 Color Revolution, and they brought them back for the 2014 coup. This group of fascists were a readymade, off the shelve, militia groups, many of whom possessed some military training and they existed in sufficient numbers to format a coup for the benefit of the Obama/ Biden administration who represents and exist as the public face of the US Ruling Class who are the only real benefactor of this war.
I only say this because everyone here at MoA knows this, but you seem to think that the US/NATO proxy war is somehow a war for the benefit of the Ukrainian fascist. How did you ever get that idea?
Posted by: Ed | Feb 17 2023 21:58 utc | 90
Posted by: Quid Me Vexare | Feb 17 2023 21:47 utc | 87
I don't think it makes sense to train crews experienced on Soviet tanks to be retrained on Leopards. The leopards are not an upgrade on the soviet tanks, and new crews would have to be trained for the soviet tanks. But perhaps experienced crews are to be broken-up and integrated with freshly trained crews.
Posted by: catdog | Feb 17 2023 22:11 utc | 91
How can you be sure it wasn't Ukie propaganda, lots of that going around now. I see that this video from last week is now going around, mislabeled as Russians getting f'ed up and retreating, but I know it is Ukie mobilized:
Posted by: LGB! | Feb 17 2023 21:48 utc | 88
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They were wearing Wagner gear, and one of them was on the official Wagner Telegram channel.
Posted by: LoveDonbass | Feb 17 2023 22:12 utc | 92
Posted by: LGB! | Feb 17 2023 21:48 utc | 88
The thing about this war is they are both using same equipment. It's very easy to pass your own losses as the other sides losses. It's been done a lot, but imho a lot more on the Ukraine side. Just the other day they tried to pass Ukrainians in coffins as Russians. Prigozhin said earlier they will send UAF bodies back with dignity, which is what it is. Zelensky got so mad at this that he asked CIA to "take out" Prigozhin. Why was he mad? Because returning actual bodies means the MIAs turn into KIAs, which means that State coffers will actually need to pay benefits to families.
It would be much easier for everyone if there were Nato tanks vs. Soviet tanks, but there aren't, only T-72, T-64 etc.
But we know loads of these M-777 and counter-radars have been hit. They still compose a minor part of Ukrainian artillery, still made up mostly out of D-20 and D-30 howitzers and other Soviet howitzers.
https://twitter.com/11Knuk123/status/1625907341571895304
As far as UAF reported numbers, the Ukrainian minister of defense probably still has the 50 or so fighter aircraft Ghost of Kiev shot down in the first weeks in their numbers. These are then used by people like Ben Wallace or Mark Milley as proof that US has won.
Posted by: Stonebird | Feb 17 2023 21:57 utc | 89
The truth is, that's the only reason I could think of if it's psy-op. It's to encourage pull more reserves in Bakhmut area, then open a new front where token resistance is left somewhere else. But Uaf did make a "counter attack" W of Ivanovske and got some better control of that highway, between Bakhmut and Konstantinovka. Who know, guess we'll see soon enough. I'd guess that it is a more or less real problem, though.
Posted by: unimperator | Feb 17 2023 22:15 utc | 93
Rob Urie, with meditations on the legitimacy of law:
Any fool with a map can see that the problem. The US defending Ukraine against Russia is roughly analogous to Russia ‘defending’ Canada from the US. Who would find it plausible that the Russian interest in launching a land war in North America was the wellbeing of the Canadians, rather than the destruction of the Americans? Then add back in that the Americans spent the last decade calculating how to draw the Russians into a land war on Russia’s border. Should this read as unduly conspiratorial, how are those Minsk Accord(s) coming along?
https://www.counterpunch.org/2023/02/17/russia-ukraine-and-international-law/
Posted by: Aleph_Null | Feb 17 2023 22:25 utc | 94
Thanks for your reassurances unimperator and LoveDonbass. I have had my suspicions, but always nice to hear it from others. I learned early on in this thing not to trust the Ukie vids because they pretty much just steal RF/Wagner/Chechen vids and put their dang logo on it and the blue and yellow flaggots just eat it right up.
Posted by: LGB! | Feb 17 2023 22:29 utc | 95
Ukraine Fake Number 2,207: Russian Armed Forces suffer huge losses
A video showing dozens of bodies in wooden boxes was published by a number of Ukrainian Telegram channels.
Ukrainian propagandists are once again turning facts upside down. They accompanied the video with a fake description.
In fact, it is a recording in which Russian soldiers are preparing dead Ukrainian Armed Forces fighters for their final journey in accordance with all Christian traditions. Perhaps the Ukrainian army psychological operations center really did not believe that the Russian side had such a thorough and cultured approach to handing over the bodies of Ukrainian soldiers to Kyiv. However, when the fake authors’ deception was revealed, the news was removed from the feeds of the largest Ukrainian pubs.
the pro-Kyiv Telegram channel Trukha promptly replaced the video in the post and removed part of the text, which stated that the recording confirms the huge losses of the Russian side.
Fakes about Russian military losses in the course of the special military operation are one of the main areas of Ukrainian propaganda. Similar stories are published on a daily basis, but are always limited to unsubstantiated claims without any evidence, photos or videos to back them up. Among others, we debunked fakes about the Crimean crematoria secretly burning military bodies, and Russian schoolchildren who were put on mobilization lists due to high Russian losses in Soledar.
Courtesy: War on Fakes 17.02.23
Posted by: HERMIUS | Feb 17 2023 22:31 utc | 96
By the way here we are in February, Norway is making a killing on gas sales and no one is freezing in the EU because of lack of Russian gas in spite of so many predictions to the contrary. Russia in turn has new markets. Seems like the sabotage helped everyone, especially the owners of the gas companies.
This war like all wars is over resources not ideology. $$$ come first then ideology is a handy tool to sway the masses. I support Russia in this mess however I do not believe that Russia is any more in the hands of its own people than anywhere else. It's bureaucracy is more mature, humane and benign. I've also noticed a tendency of the Foreign Affiairs team to whine a lot about how evil the west is. While that may be music to our ears here at MOA the problem with that is psychopaths don't give a shit. I do not think any outcome is assured, just like the EU citizens freezing to death. it didn't happen. What else might not happen as we wish it to?
Posted by: K | Feb 17 2023 22:46 utc | 97
to K - way to inject FUD into the conversation. Do you know what that acronym means? How about this one? FOAD
Posted by: LGB! | Feb 17 2023 22:48 utc | 98
Doctorow today in an interview with Geopolitics and Empire. Canadians please note.
"...For me the most depressing thing about the last 20 years is to find that everything that I disliked and I found so awful about the Soviet Union has now moved to the United States. The United States has not gone all the way, of course, and you are fortunate, in a way, to have had such limited deprivation of income compared to what was experienced by a close colleague in Canada, a retired Canadian diplomat who spent time and he had never seen Moscow and who had a very influential blog. He was visited by the Canadian Intelligence Services, they told him that if he kept this up, his pension would be terminated and his life savings would be confiscated. He very wisely threw in the towel. In Canada with all those Ukrainian Bandera kids, grandkids, it is much more difficult place to find freedom of speech than United States is. So in a sense, let us be fair to Uncle Sam in a period of relative repression, still freedom of speech manages to hold on in the States..."
He is clearly referring to Patrick Armstrong- threatened by CSIS with the loss of his pension and life savings. And just for telling the truth.
Posted by: bevin | Feb 17 2023 22:54 utc | 99
Someone already suggested it.
But the Milley statement really seems like a case of US "declaring victory and getting out". They produced a one, maybe one of the last massive propaganda sweeps produced so far.
But notice that the Nato narrative has already, in a few days shifted from "Russia has lost strategically, tactically and operationally" to "neither side can win the war, we need a peace agreement". What's next?
US wants to prioritize war with China by 2025, as they stated. They need this thing to end.
Posted by: unimperator | Feb 17 2023 23:01 utc | 100
The comments to this entry are closed.
The build up to war was sealed as soon as Biden made the decision to blow up Nord Stream during 2021.
Everything after that was "shaping the battlefield" and provoking Russia to "invade" Ukraine and provide the needed pretext.
This is the subtext of what the Sy Hersh story is saying.
The entire Russia-Ukraine conflict as it has so far occurred has been Western orchestrated - including when it began - Q1 2022.
Posted by: Julian | Feb 17 2023 16:07 utc | 1