Bakhmut is for all intents and purposes occupied by Wagner and Russian army units.
And the MSM’s take via little Z.
The situation is difficult and a route (one mind) is being shelled.
I’ll remove troops yo save them.
One can only wonder!

Posted by: jpc | Apr 7 2023 17:39 utc | 3

Can someone post a link to the pentagon paper that got released on the counteroffensive war plans between US/Ukraine and Russia? The Russians already have the document, so we should be able to look at it too. Besides, the internet is forever, right?

Posted by: Trimalchio | Apr 7 2023 17:53 utc | 5

@Trimalchio | Apr 7 2023 17:53 utc | 5
There are many sites out there talking about it.
But this one here for example comes with an explanation attacked:
https://twitter.com/snekotron/status/1644158771155935233

Posted by: Roland | Apr 7 2023 17:58 utc | 7

Good Report on Documents at SONAR 21, Larry Johnson,,

Posted by: sigmund czerniawski | Apr 7 2023 18:03 utc | 9

@Trimalchio | 5
Perhaps you mean this:
https://t.me/DonbassDevushka/52857
Jiri

Posted by: Solo712 | Apr 7 2023 18:08 utc | 11

@ Trimalchio | Apr 7 2023 17:53 utc | 5
@ Roland | Apr 7 2023 17:58 utc | 7
The six extant Docu are linked and lengthy commentary & discussion in the previous Ukraine Open Thread 2023-83 here. Regrettably a number of the observations/commentary in the referenced twitter link are simply invalid. Not up to usual standard unfortunately.
@ Kaiama | Apr 7 2023 17:23 utc | 1
LOL 🙂

Posted by: Outraged | Apr 7 2023 18:10 utc | 13

Germany is into supporting Ukraine in the long term, which tells me that the main country of the EU will help keep this conflict going for years to come.
“Germany is to give billions of Euros of new military aid to Ukraine in the coming years to bolster Kiev’s fight back against Russia.
The German parliament’s budget committee on Wednesday approved spending about eight billion Euros ($8.7 billion) to buy weapons and equipment for Ukraine between 2024 and 2032.
The news represents a “very important step with which we make it clear that we are supporting Ukraine in the long term in its fight against (Russian President Vladimir) Putin,” said German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius.
Berlin will supply Ukraine with armored vehicles, tanks, and ammunition. Germany is the main supplier of weapons to Kiev in the EU.”
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2023/03/29/700649/Germany-sending-8-billion-Euros-of-military-aid-to-Ukraine

Posted by: Republicofscotland | Apr 7 2023 18:52 utc | 15

Looks like we have confirmation of the Kinzahl strike on the command center

Ukrainian sources report that NATO was very impressed by the 🇷🇺Kinzhal strike on their command post in Ukraine (near Lvov) Those NATO officers who were not hit and survived the strike became as cautious as possible, in particular, they stopped traveling to the front lines. Although, as we can see, they are well reached even in the deep rear, if only there were an order. 
The “Kinzhal” strike was extremely precise and effective. Of course, the number, names, ranks, and positions of the foreigners killed are not reported, but the Nazi General Staff says behind the scenes that this is the first time there have been “so many” high-ranking victims. 
The top of the Nazi General Staff was summoned to “debrief” at the U.S. Embassy in Kiev, where, among other things, they were accused of poor secrecy and inadequate implementation of counterintelligence measures. although both are handled by American intelligence services at NATO facilities. 
Of course, all measures were taken to prevent information about the incident from “leaking” into the Western media field. But it did happen, and at least two journalistic groups of American publications affiliated with Republicans are literally “digging the earth” in search of facts. And, given the corrupt nature of the Ukrainian military, they are likely to get it. 
In the meantime, a large part of the NATO contingent has left Ukraine under the pretext of rotations.
“Under the pretext,” because previously they didn’t leave until a replacement arrived and was introduced to the cause. Now, no one has arrived yet. So, judging by the reports of Ukrainian sources, the blow to the real decision-making center at the operational level, seemed much, much better.
#source (https://t.me/WarDonbass/106373)

https://t.me/Slavyangrad/40817

Posted by: Norwegian | Apr 7 2023 18:57 utc | 17

Posted by: Angelo | Apr 7 2023 18:54 utc | 16
The leaked document seems realistic. Nato has plans to equip 9 brigades but can fill them only half full. They don’t even have enough stuff to reinforce those ones fighting in Donbass, Avdeevka and Kupyansk, everything must go to the “spring offensive” and still not enough.

Posted by: unimperator | Apr 7 2023 19:02 utc | 19

Posted by: HH | Apr 7 2023 18:59 utc | 18
The reports in TG say that those guided bombs are dropped every day on the Zaporozhye front. Some kind of hangar building was completely destroyed today in Orekhov, no doubt housing some equipment.

Posted by: unimperator | Apr 7 2023 19:19 utc | 21

Re: leaked documents; just some outlandish speculation on my part, but I’m wondering if the leak might be from sources close to the German chain of command, who might still be quietly fuming about Nordstream and sought to deliver some partial payback.
In his piece here: https://sonar21.com/nato-intel-leak-or-disinformation/ Larry Johnson describes the documents as appearing to be authentic. He also decoded some of the references and acronyms and these indicate that NATO member countries would have had access to the documentation, obviously including German officers and analysts.
Too outlandish? Or good bar gossip!

Posted by: West of England Andy | Apr 7 2023 19:26 utc | 23

About those “leaked” documents. Most Russian channels are poohpoohing them, Readovka for example. Poorly constructed from open sources with lots of contradictions in them.

Posted by: Boo | Apr 7 2023 19:28 utc | 25

@ unimperator | Apr 7 2023 19:19 utc | 21
A short video of Shoigu making a visit to a munitions factory was posted to the internet yesterday in the context of increasing gliding bomb production 7 fold.
https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video/1643943107921100802/pu/vid/854×480/OSqvwPaLlz8EnMNL.mp4

Posted by: too scents | Apr 7 2023 19:33 utc | 27

About those “leaked” documents. Most Russian channels are poohpoohing them, Readovka for example. Poorly constructed from open sources with lots of contradictions in them.

Posted by: Boo | Apr 7 2023 19:28 utc | 25
Well, the Pentagon seems to be scrambling quite hard to get them taken down. Even Elon Musk has chimed in:

Yeah, you can totally delete things from the Internet – that works perfectly and doesn’t draw attention to whatever you were trying to hide at all
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 7, 2023

From: https://www.bizpacreview.com/2023/04/07/pentagon-scrambles-to-remove-top-secret-ukraine-war-plans-from-twitter-elon-musk-responds-1348135/

Posted by: West of England Andy | Apr 7 2023 19:44 utc | 29

New cartoon episode of Ukraine Inc.
https://twitter.com/MyLordBebo/status/1644340208647778305

Posted by: unimperator | Apr 7 2023 19:56 utc | 31

@ too scents | Apr 7 2023 19:33 utc | 27
FAB500’s, FAB1500’s even some FAB3000’s. Further info here & here (Outraged | Mar 25 2023 23:11 utc | 19).

Posted by: Outraged | Apr 7 2023 19:56 utc | 33

Posted by: unimperator | Apr 7 2023 20:01 utc | 34
*lot of higher up people in Ukraine
*makes the entire SMO moot

Posted by: unimperator | Apr 7 2023 20:03 utc | 35

Germany increases its military aid to the nazis from 3 to 15 billion € and admits:
“Due to the high material losses of the Ukrainian armed forces, new supplies of material are required.”
archive.is/sGHDo#selection-10661.0-10661.104
It’s a continuation of WW2:
“Top Secret
Führer’s Headquarters, July 16, 1941
…
Never again must it be possible to create a military power west of the Urals, even if we have to wage war for a hundred years in order to attain this goal. All successors of the Führer must know: Security for the Reich exists only if there are no foreign military forces west of the Urals; it is Germany who undertakes the protection of this area against all possible dangers.”
ghdi.ghi-dc.org/pdf/eng/English59.pdf

Posted by: p3t3r | Apr 7 2023 20:18 utc | 37

How can your news mag have both the excellent article by Jim Kavanagh and this blatant apologia for Nazism?
The Kidnapping of Europe According to Kundera
BY MONIKA ZGUSTOVA

“A Kidnapped West” is one of the most lucid and influential essays Kundera ever wrote, and which today, in the midst of the Russian war against Ukraine, has acquired a particular significance, as well as a new relevance. According to him, Central Europe enjoyed maximum diversity within a minimum space. This concept horrified Russia, which is based on the opposite concept, that of seeking the minimum diversity in the maximum space. Nothing could be more alien to Central Europe and its passion for heterogeneity than standardizing and centralizing Russia, which had transformed with fearful determination all the nations of its empire (Ukrainians, Belarusians, Armenians, Lithuanians, Latvians, Estonians) into one great Russian people. With its centralizing tendencies and imperial dreams, Communism was the culmination of Russian history. And today, forty years after this essay was first published, those tendencies are still intact.
Kundera speaks of Russia’s imperial dreams, of the desire to take over as many nations as possible. At the end of the essay he states that in the nations that “have not yet perished,” (in the words of the Polish anthem), the vulnerability of Europe – of all Europe – becomes visible. In the years when Kundera wrote his essay, and also today, all European nations run the risk of soon becoming small nations and suffering the fate of such nations. In that sense, the fate of Central Europe is clearly an anticipation of the fate of Europe in general, and its cultures have quickly become immensely relevant.

i’m no expert in these things like J St Clair and this here author, but i’m pretty sure those cultural diversity warriors sent by Herr Hitler took over first all the nations mentioned in this article. Soviet takeover was self-defense from Hitler’s supporters.
btw, St Clair started his Damascene journey of conversion to Hitchens-ism during what he calls to this day, the “Syrian Civil War.” Assad bad, he needs to go. but i don’t recall him or CP advocating the West arm ISIS at any time, as CP does almost everyday for Ukraine. and we often find all kinds of advice for the West in CP these days on subjects like: how to contain China in Africa.

Posted by: rjb1.5 | Apr 7 2023 20:30 utc | 39

Half a year fighting for one little town, still not completely taken. On all the other fronts, some tiny advances, a meter there, a centimeter there. That’s all.
Hard to imagine a successful Uki offensive, either. But none of you expected a successful Uki offensive last year, yet it happened. A successful Uki offensive. Russians turned tail and ran.
Will it happen again? Will the Russians run away again?

Posted by: Thim | Apr 7 2023 20:38 utc | 41

Posted by: BroncoBilly | Apr 7 2023 20:36 utc | 41
He cited Oryx claiming Russia has lost 2000 tanks. However, multiple sources say Oryx can often count the same tank destroyed as twice or even three times, the real number of which is closer to 600.
The reason tanks from storage are decreasing because they have the large T-72 modernization program, also in case of T-55 (or T-64) go some serious modernization. The program is supposedly very large in size.

Posted by: unimperator | Apr 7 2023 20:48 utc | 43

@ james | Apr 7 2023 20:31 utc | 40
Is an imposter.
@ BroncoBilly | Apr 7 2023 20:36 utc | 41
Oryx ? Zero credibility. In the 80’s USSR also had underground storage re reserve war stocks … today ?
Commercial imagery is not sufficient resolution for effective imagery analysis re subject.
@ Thim | Apr 7 2023 20:38 utc | 42
FOS.

Posted by: Outraged | Apr 7 2023 20:59 utc | 45

Posted by: Thim | Apr 7 2023 20:38 utc | 42
stop spreading lies. There was no offensive by the ukroturds, because if there was one a lot more Russian soldiers would have been captured.

Posted by: Boo | Apr 7 2023 21:04 utc | 47

Posted by: gottlieb | Apr 7 2023 17:54 utc | 6
Blinken says Ukraine’s vaunted ‘counter-offensive’ is going to begin in a matter of weeks.
——————————————————————————————
I guess that Blinken ordered it.
The hodgepodge of weapons will be thrown into battle. The Abrams, Challenger and Leopard tanks have been ordered to stay in the background. Any pictures of their destruction might interfere with arms sales.

Posted by: Acco Hengst | Apr 7 2023 21:08 utc | 49

Been reading since 2012. Maybe earlier. Can’t recall.
In all this time, it’s been heavy, angry, sad reading. But, this month, I feel a little better. No, a lot better. There are many, many data points making me feel this way. But, rather than articulate them — you all know them anyway — let’s just say my gut has been speaking to me. It’s been speaking to me all along. But, lately, it’s telling me to cheer up.
Unfortunately, I don’t yet see “the light at the end of the tunnel”. I read the occasionally expressed legitimate concerns here and do worry. Much can go wrong. More escalation — perhaps with real wunderwaffen so far withheld — and more fronts might materialize. Many will continue to suffer.
But, still, something is different. For the first time, I see the Gegenschein — a faint glow in a dark sky as the light of the sun bounces off of dust particles in the atmosphere until it makes its way halfway around the globe. I think I’m seeing the Gegenschein of Victory. I feel it is, as silly as that sounds.

Posted by: natokraine | Apr 7 2023 21:09 utc | 51

@42
you don’t have a clue (and probably don’t want to have one). It’s not about fighting for square meters, it’s about destroying an army. The Ukrainian army has been destroyed, now NATO remnants are being destroyed.

Posted by: Anthony | Apr 7 2023 21:15 utc | 53

BAKHMUT (ARTEMOSVSK)
Last week it was obvious from the more accurate reporting of Weeb Union, Defense Politics Asia, The Duran, Dima at the Military Summary Channel, Levan, NWE, and many others that the Russians had made rapid progress in Central Bakhmut. At that time, I questioned that the Russian troops would be able to keep up their advance momentum.
Well, another week has passed and sure enough the Russian troops have kept up their advance momentum. They have taken almost the rest of central Bakhmut up to the main rail line during the last week.
If the Russians keep up their current advance momentum, Bakhmut will be taken in not so many more weeks.
As the AFU (Army Forces of Ukraine) lose more territory within Bakhmut, they become more concentrated. With fire power superiority the Russians can and will heat up their Bakhmut meat grinder in the remaining areas of Bakhmut.
Whenever Bakhmut falls, a lot of the more aggressive Wagner and other Russian troops will be able to focus on other military objectives within the Donbas.
For now the main battle on the zero line is in Bakhmut for at least another month or so. I can’t imagine that Bakhmut would fall sooner. However, that is possible at the current rate of Russian advances within Bakhmut.

Posted by: young | Apr 7 2023 21:34 utc | 55

Regarding winning and then occupying territory:
When I was young I first read John Brunner’s Stand on Zanzibar, an excellent SF novel.
But only the title is important here. “in the early twentieth century it was calculated that every single member of the world’s population could fit shoulder-to-shoulder on the Isle of Wight, but given the population growth since then, Brunner estimated that a bigger island, like Zanzibar in the Indian Ocean, would be required for 2010’s seven billion inhabitants.”
Russia could field a million infantry troopers in Ukraine (which would require a few million support troops), and in reality they might only occupy the ground on which they stood, which in a country as large as Ukraine would be only the tiniest percent.
What did it take to occupy the not very large islands of Japan in 1945, and just how badly did the Nazis have to disgrace themself before the vast armies of Russia and the rest of the allies could occupy Germany?
Yadda yadda yadda, Russia isn’t going to drop two atomic bombs on Ukraine’s cities, nor is it willing to spend years inflicting epic damage on Ukraine’s infrastructure and population, in order to have all of Ukraine abject at its feet. No, afaik they have a plan that is an order of magnitude simpler, and less destructive, and that is to destroy the ability of Ukraine to produce a military threat to Russia, and to destroy every army that the West manages to field within Ukraine.
If things continue along the current trend then the West can before too long relatively painlessly cut their losses, and a state of relative normalcy could be restored within a year two between Russia and the West. Ukraine would be fubar, that seems inevitable, and hundreds of thousands would have been killed and wounded, and millions been dispossessed, but that is already a sunk cost.
Conquering Ukraine, and then occupying it, would involve a hell on earth that would make the cost of everything proceeding it look like chump change by comparison. By the end of all of this the world might have cause to thank God that it was Putin leading Russia after they had been pushed to the brink, and were forced to defend themself.

Posted by: Babel-17 | Apr 7 2023 21:45 utc | 57

RT
Russia & Former Soviet Union
Here’s why the leaked ‘secret plan’ for a Ukrainian military offensive doesn’t add up
Published: 7 Apr 2023 | 19:56 GMT
The release looks like an attempt to distract Russia’s attention from what’s really going on
Here’s why the leaked ‘secret plan’ for a Ukrainian military offensive doesn’t add up
FILE PHOTO. Ukrainian Army replacement troops go through combat training on February 24, 2023 in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. © John Moore/Getty Images
By ‘Military Chronicle’ Telegram channel
On Friday, photos appeared of a document allegedly containing details on a planned imminent Ukrainian offensive on territories controlled by Russia. The ‘leak’ coincided with suggestions that the NATO Defender 2023 exercises – planned for the end of this month – could be a cover for an operation to supply and support Ukrainian units. However, upon closer examination, doubts arise concerning the document’s authenticity.
When did it appear?
The supposed secret plans to support an offensive by Kiev’s forces hit the internet the day before Anthony Blinken made a statement on the subject. The US Secretary of State said the operation will begin “within a few weeks.”
What information does it contain?
There hasn’t been a leak of this nature since Moscow’s military campaign in Ukraine began, over 13 months ago. It is noteworthy that the published plans contain not only a schedule for supplying Ukrainian units with NATO weapons and ammunition, but also information about the structure of the brigades and battalions allegedly preparing for the offensive.
The document, dated March 1, says Kiev’s brigades need 253 tanks, more than 380 infantry fighting vehicles and APCs, 480 vehicles, 147 artillery pieces, and 571 HMMWV armored vehicles to carry out the offensive.
Ivan Timofeev: Can Russia really break away from the West?READ MORE Ivan Timofeev: Can Russia really break away from the West?
Which information is most suspect?
The probable locations of Russian units, indicated on the combat map in red, appear to have been collected from open sources. Several pro-Kiev resources that track military operations contain almost identical information.
Also, the ratios of killed and wounded for the Ukrainian and Russian Armed Forces which initially appeared in these ‘secret plans’ have since been changed. When first posted, the losses for the Ukrainian side were underestimated at about 16,500 –17,000 people. Then (probably to be more realistic), they increased almost fivefold, up to 65,000 – 75,000. At the same time, the numbers given for Russia’s purported losses of vehicles and equipment coincide with data published by Kiev’s Ministry of Defense.
What else is wrong with the published AFU offensive plans?
The blatant falsification of data on the readiness of Ukrainian military formations catches the eye. The document states that, of the nine supposedly to be trained up to US and NATO standards by March 31 and April 30, five of Kiev’s brigades have had zero training: these are the 82nd Airborne, the 32nd, 117th, and 118th Territorial Defense, as well as the 21st separate mechanized.
Even if only two or three companies in these brigades were trained, and self-preparation wasn’t completed, their level of training couldn’t be zero. At the same time, the highest percentage of readiness was recorded only in the 47th mechanized(40%) and the 46th airborne assault (60%).
Sergey Poletaev: Why the battle for a ‘strategically unimportant’ town may decide the outcome of the Ukraine conflictREAD MORE Sergey Poletaev: Why the battle for a ‘strategically unimportant’ town may decide the outcome of the Ukraine conflict
What’s the upshot?
The plan also gives perplexing figures for military equipment.
For example, out of 109 M2 Bradley BMPs sent to armed forces, for some reason only 99 are to participate in the offensive. Moreover, the vehicles are not distributed among the brigades and only assigned to one formation – Kiev’s 47th mechanized brigade, which doesn’t have heavy tanks.
Rather than Soviet T-72s or T-64BVs, this grouping has only Slovak T-55Ss with 105mm guns, which are difficult to use in a large-scale offensive.
The small, but important, errors and inaccuracies in the calculations of equipment, the adjusted accounting of losses, as well as the presence of units with ‘zero’ readiness, indicate that this document, which was issued as a ‘secret plan,’ was probably prepared and distributed not by the military but by a group of civilians, probably pro-Kiev analysts.
The purpose of this planted misinformation may be to underreport the actual number of combat-ready Ukrainian units to be deployed for the offensive or to distract attention from other events related to the real operation.
This article was first published by ‘Military Chronicle’ Telegram channel
mixi.media
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Posted by: oldrepublic | Apr 7 2023 21:58 utc | 59

Posted by: Thim | Apr 7 2023 20:38 utc | 42
###################
Cope, in any form, and in any domain, always brings a smile to my face.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Apr 7 2023 22:07 utc | 61

@ oldrepublic | Apr 7 2023 21:58 utc | 60
None of the points raised discredit the documents authenticity, the casualty figures have been discussed above, the classified Docu was at a past, not current, evolving point in time, ~6 weeks ago.
No sale.

Posted by: Outraged | Apr 7 2023 22:12 utc | 63

The latest from the Military Summary channel, confirms that the southwestern road into Artemovsk now controlled by Wagner. 15K UAF soldiers are in imminent risk of encirclement in a cauldron in the western part of the city.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdfsVqWtYl0

Posted by: Chris | Apr 7 2023 22:14 utc | 65

There is going to be NO COUNTER OFFENSIVE.
Kiev has not the manpower to seriously conduct such an offensive. By continuing the pretence they are merely kicking their overall defeat into the long grass.
They cannot afford the bad PR that a failed offensive would generate in the western media.
They will create new defensive lines and hold on to what they have.
IMO

Posted by: HERMIUS | Apr 7 2023 22:28 utc | 67

@ BroncoBilly | Apr 7 2023 22:24 utc | 67
No such assertion re yourself. Was questioning the linked ‘Covert Cabal’ credibility. All good. 🙂

Posted by: Outraged | Apr 7 2023 22:30 utc | 69

Commentary on the oil price rise:
https://tomluongo.me/2023/04/06/davos-runs-into-the-opec-buzzsaw/
“…Davos declared war on oil the second Russian tanks crossed the border into Ukraine last February. They attempted to bully OPEC into isolating Russia, kicking them out of OPEC+.
They failed spectacularly.
The defection of the Saudis is the biggest strategic defeat of this entire war. Without a compliant KSA there is no controlling oil prices and, by extension, the ability to control asset prices worldwide through currency trading.
Here we are 13+ months into this fight and Ukraine has all but lost the war. Bahkmut is done. Zelenskyy has lost the support of the military and only the warmongers at the top of NATO and the EU want this war to continue.
And continue it will. Finland’s Davos government fell on its sword on its way out the door to make it a combatant by joining NATO. There is too much smoke out there that the West is gearing up for an industrial war against Russia and China in the 2024-25 time frame. They may lose in Ukraine but another front is just around the corner.
But for all of the focus on Ukraine and the insane tragedy of it, the oil pits and the diplomatic backrooms is where the war is really being fought. …”

Posted by: the pessimist | Apr 7 2023 22:43 utc | 71

The latest documents are photos of top secret documents. The photos contain dubious information contained and must be considered disinformation. The document release has no real impact on either side. However, the top level US media is trying to set the table with latest headline and weak article Reuters. April 7, 20235:15 PM GMTLast Updated 13 min ago
Ukraine seeks to prevent military leaks after NATO assistance plans reportedly appear on social media

Posted by: Bill Miner | Apr 7 2023 22:48 utc | 73

From Slavyangrad telegram channel….
https://t.me/Slavyangrad/40836
Bakhmut has been liberated!
Artemovsk has come under Russian control — The Armed forces of Ukraine are trying to break through to the defense line near Chasov Yar.
Artemovsk (Bakhmut) has fallen; the city has come under the full control of the fighters of the Wagner PMC. Readovka’s (https://t.me/readovkanews/56462) source reports that the AFU is actively destroying abandoned equipment; some personnel are retreating to the defense line at Chasov Yar but are suffering heavy losses.
At the moment, the artillery is actively working. The head of the Wagner PMC, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has not yet confirmed information about full control over the city. Part of the AFU fighters still remain within the populated area and are trying to get out to the western positions.
If confirmed…. Ukie defense collapsed…
I agree with earlier posts …. the Ukies don’t have resources necessary for a counter-offensive of any size…
INDY

Posted by: Dr. George W Oprisko | Apr 7 2023 23:05 utc | 75

Posted by: Dr. George W Oprisko | Apr 7 2023 23:05 utc | 76
Ukraine still has reportedly 15k troops on the west and south part of Bakhmut. If true, the wide main street falling under Russian control (controlling the highest point / building, effectively controlling SW corner of that area and the large street) may be the final straw. Obviously, those 15k will try to make a break through west if they feel situ hopeless. There were also claims that Zelensky gave permission to retreat. Also, Khromove in the NW or W side of Bakhmut is another final straw.
We’ll see, but Chasov yar and Ivanovske are next. Ivanovske is already in contact, but doubt the RU can project enough power there to take it while Bakhmut is not under control. Ivanovske might not be viable and already compromised to defend much longer.

Posted by: unimperator | Apr 7 2023 23:10 utc | 77

Could “the accidental release of our shush! battle plans” become a justification for either “must cancel the counteroffensive!” or “our counteroffensive failed”?
Either way, could be followed by “must protect our democratic freedoms! by dusting off this old legislative bill to lock down more of the net — you’re welcome, citizens”.

Posted by: natokraine | Apr 7 2023 23:14 utc | 79

“…Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba pointed out last week that Kiev is concerned that the planned advance would not result in Russia being “100%” pushed out of the territories that Ukraine intends to reclaim. He urged Kiev’s Western backers not to treat the counteroffensive as a make-or-break moment, and called on them to maintain their support regardless of its outcome…”
Outraged@24
Isn’t this where we came in? Ukraine was prepared to attack (with 200,000 men) the Donbas more than a year ago, which is why there is an SMO.
Is this the same attack postponed a year to give Russia a sporting chance to build defences?
Or is it just more bullshit to keep the media happy and distract attention from the price of groceries and the shortage of decent jobs?
Perhaps the real target of all these “we’re coming to get you!!” plans, documents, press conferences and Presidential addresses is the lily livered Fifth Column of Russians keeping alive the grand tradition of the cargo cult of ‘westernisers.’

Posted by: bevin | Apr 7 2023 23:21 utc | 81

Has anyone a way to bypass this paywall?
https://www.wsj.com/articles/pentagon-says-it-is-reviewing-social-media-posts-that-purport-to-reveal-classified-documents-on-ukraine-4d7524f
I tried the Wayback Machine but to no avail.
Here’s the text that’s visible:
Pentagon Investigates More Social-Media Posts Purporting to Include Secret U.S. Documents
Documents include details on Ukrainian forces, U.S. arms provided to Ukraine

The Pentagon is investigating social-media posts that purport to reveal highly classified U.S. government documents on the war in Ukraine and other key international topics, in what could be one of the most dangerous intelligence breaches in decades.
Well over 100 images, marked with “Top Secret” and other classifications indicating they represent highly sensitive U.S.-produced intelligence, were posted in the Discord message board of fans of the Minecraft computer game around March 1. While many of them were deleted recently, open-source intelligence researchers have managed to download more than 60 files.

Looks like it might shed some light on things, officially anyway.

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Apr 7 2023 23:57 utc | 83

@ Bill miner 74
The empire of lies always lies. Thatvus its sole remaining function. It is so predictable that you can set your clock by the opposite of what they say is going to happen.
In a couple of month’s time there may be a Nato only counteroffensive . This fake document is purely a military distraction from the UAF ‘s pressure from RF in Bakhmut.

Posted by: Giyane | Apr 8 2023 0:04 utc | 85

@ Tom_Q_Collins | Apr 7 2023 23:57 utc | 84
Four variant snapshots here: archive.today

Posted by: Outraged | Apr 8 2023 0:07 utc | 87

So much for various opinions the classified Docu are not authentic …
Pentagon Investigates More Social-Media Posts Purporting to Include Secret U.S. Documents WSJ, archive.today

Documents include details on Ukrainian forces, U.S. arms provided to Ukraine
Ukrainian forces prepared a mortar behind military positions this week on the outskirts of Bakhmut, Ukraine.
Updated April 7, 2023 6:23 pm ET
The Pentagon is investigating social-media posts that purport to reveal highly classified U.S. government documents on the war in Ukraine and other key international topics, in what could be one of the most dangerous intelligence breaches in decades.
Well over 100 images, marked with “Top Secret” and other classifications indicating they represent highly sensitive U.S.-produced intelligence, were posted in the Discord message board of fans of the Minecraft computer game around March 1. While many of them were deleted recently, open-source intelligence researchers have managed to download more than 60 files.
The documents, which appear to originate from within the U.S. military and intelligence agencies, include details about the disposition of Ukrainian forces, air defenses and military equipment, classified information about arms and support the U.S. has provided to Kyiv in its fight against Russian invaders, and intelligence on internal matters in a variety of nations, including Israel and South Korea.
The Pentagon on Friday referred to its statement from Thursday evening, when the first tranche of six leaked documents appeared online. “We are aware of the reports of social-media posts, and the department is reviewing the matter,” Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said.
A CIA spokesperson said the agency is aware of the social-media posts and is looking into the matter.
The Wall Street Journal wasn’t able to independently authenticate the documents, but they contain enough detail to give them credibility, and the leak has rattled Pentagon officials. This week, the U.S. has already changed how military personnel access such documents, defense officials said. But Pentagon officials have yet to determine how the documents appeared online or which military installation they could have come from, defense officials said.
Even before the scope of the disclosures emerged, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that Kyiv would take fresh steps to prevent leaks about its planned spring offensive.
Mr. Zelensky said that he convened the country’s top military commanders and security officials on Friday to discuss the planned push to regain the 18% of Ukraine that remains occupied by Russia. The meeting, he added in a statement, also discussed new “measures to prevent leaks of information about the plans of Ukrainian defense forces.”
Aric Toler, head of research and training with the Bellingcat investigative consortium, said he found the cache of new documents on Friday, a day after at least six purported images of classified U.S. documents were published on the Telegram platform by pro-Kremlin war commentators. At least one of these images had been altered—to lower an estimate of Russian casualties and to inflate Ukrainian losses.
Those and some additional images had been posted on the 4chan messaging platform on Thursday.
Dozens of newly discovered images viewed by The Wall Street Journal contained highly valuable information for America’s adversaries, particularly Russia.
The documents, some of which appear to be briefing materials, outline details of the purported locations and operations of Ukraine’s air-defense systems, quantities of each type of air-defense missiles and sobering predictions of when Ukrainian forces would run out of each kind of munition.
Other documents contained detailed information on the schedules and routes of U.S. and allied reconnaissance aircraft in the Black Sea; the vulnerabilities of some of the American weapons provided to Ukraine; and the composition and armaments of the nine Ukrainian army brigades being trained by the U.S. and allies for the upcoming spring offensive. Russian jets forced a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone to crash into the Black Sea on March 14, two weeks after these files were posted.
In addition to documents pertaining to the war in Ukraine, the leaked files included purported copies of the daily intelligence report provided to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Mark Milley, Central Intelligence Agency reports on leaders of Israel’s Mossad spy service, and intelligence on discussions within the government of South Korea on sales of artillery ammunition to Kyiv. Most of the documents are dated in February and appear to have been posted online shortly after their creation. Many contain details of future operations.
“If some guy on Minecraft Map Discord was able to find these and share them a few days after they first appeared on March 1, there is a pretty good chance that Russian intelligence was able to get a glance at them, too,” Mr. Toler said.
At the margins of some pages are printed markings common to top-secret documents, including the government agency that produced them and the level of classification. Documents include updates from the CIA’s Operations Center, as well as material from a host of other intelligence units.
Those include the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency; the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, which analyzes data from spy satellites; the eavesdropping National Security Agency; and the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research.
U.S. defense officials said they believe at least some of the images were leaks of documents produced by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, which is composed of top military commanders for each of the services and advises the president.
Gen. Milley was briefed Wednesday afternoon about the first batch of leaked documents to surface, as was Mr. Austin, the defense officials said, before the discovery of the latest suspected leaked documents.
The U.S. and its North Atlantic Treaty Organization partners have been training and equipping nine Ukrainian Army brigades with Western heavy weapons, including the Leopard-2 and Challenger tanks, and Stryker, Marder and Bradley fighting vehicles. Ukraine is separately training several other combat brigades, under the auspices of the army, the national guard, the border service and other security agencies.
The photographs that emerged online earlier this week appear to be of printed presentation slides and maps. Because classified documents can only be printed on approved systems, the U.S. government will likely have some record of who produced them, said Aram Gavoor, associate dean for academic affairs at George Washington University Law School and a national-security expert.
Documents receive a Top Secret designation when U.S. officials believe their disclosure could cause exceptionally grave damage to national security. “That means that the unauthorized release of these could lead to loss of life inside Ukraine,” said Mr. Gavoor. Many of these documents are marked NOFORN—meaning that they cannot be released even to America’s closest allies.
While both U.S. and Ukrainian officials were wary of sharing information with one another early in the war, fearing their plans might be compromised, mutual trust had improved in recent months. It is unclear to what extent this incident will sour exchanges between the two nations.
The war in Ukraine has led to a large volume of regularly updated classified documents that have been shared widely within the U.S. government.
“Keeping in mind that a great majority of classified documents are never leaked, the risk of a leak increases in an environment like this one where the United States is engaging in an unprecedented intelligence, advisory and logistics operation in support of Ukraine,” said Mr. Gavoor, the national-security expert at George Washington University Law School.

Posted by: Outraged | Apr 8 2023 0:16 utc | 89

Shady ANONYMOUS memes against “lying Lavrov”

Posted by: persiflo | Apr 8 2023 0:28 utc | 91

Posted by: Outraged | Apr 8 2023 0:16 utc | 90
It’s a dumb psy-op. Nobody in the Russian camp takes it seriously.

Posted by: Boo | Apr 8 2023 0:40 utc | 93

Posted by: rjb1.5 | Apr 7 2023 20:30 utc | 39
Jeffrey St. Clair is an idiot. CounterPunch has been mostly shitty, and gradually getting worse, for over a decade, ever since Alexander Cockburn died.
At the risk of revealing too much information, either about him or myself, St. Clair lives about a mile and a half uphill from me. You are the company you keep, and I’ve been through his neighborhood before; it’s very cushy upper middle-class. His neighborhood is literally gated, with the gates closed at night, largely to keep all the many, many homeless who live and travel up and down the nearby main street out.
On that note, I do extensive charity and nonprofit work in Oregon City. I have never, not once, witnessed or even heard of St. Clair attend any of our events, donate to any organization, or give any of us any kind of PR or advertisement, via CounterPunch or any other outlet. Dude is a complete ghost locally.

Posted by: OC Anonymous | Apr 8 2023 1:24 utc | 95

@ Outraged
There’s a Hole in the Bucket | Nursery Rhymes by Little Fox
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijc1eJVR9Qw

Posted by: Don Firineach | Apr 8 2023 1:41 utc | 97

OC Anonymous @96–
Welcome to the bar! If my count’s correct, you make the twelfth Oregonian to identify as such. Do, please, stick your oar in more often.

Posted by: karlof1 | Apr 8 2023 1:44 utc | 99