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April 17, 2023
Ukraine Open Thread 2023-93
Comments
According to papers, the army units allocated for assaults had one number of personnel, but in fact there were 2-3 times less people.
Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Apr 18 2023 10:51 utc | 204
Yes, that – the lack of enough personnel – and some of the other problems you quote were being mentioned by Russian and Donbass reporters, including military reporters/combatants on Telegram.
Yet when this was mentioned by commenters on Saker’s forum, he said they were wrong and disparaged the reports on Telegram – even though they were people who were actually there on the ground while he was in Florida, and he would called them “concern trolls”. It was he who was very misleading and not seeing the reality, so he was repeatedly doing faulty analyses of the situation.
Posted by: MiniMo | Apr 19 2023 4:55 utc | 301
[228]
„Kraut“ means cabbage which is common to all Central European and Russian cuisine so quite non-specific
As for „bad teeth“ that tends to show your age
You forgot to really look more widely at say common perceptions of Americans or Jews or Poles or Hungarians or………
You really have failed to move beyond US cliche
Posted by: Paul Greenwood | Apr 19 2023 4:57 utc | 302
Telegram channel “Older than Edda”
In general, it should be noted that the winter lull has greatly benefited our aviation: the stocks of high-precision weapons and equipment, the state of which caused serious concern last year, have also been replenished. The fruits are already visible: aviation is working more and more efficiently, and the enemy is increasingly receiving sensitive blows to the rear.
This in itself is good: the troops “on the ground”, whose condition, let’s say, seriously differ depending on the direction and the specific unit, will be much easier to operate with effective air support, and it will be much more difficult for the enemy under the influence of aviation to turn around and prepare for attack.
There are still many problems – and mostly of an organizational nature. The opinion of the enemy as exhausted and incapable of anything is one of these problems, fraught with serious troubles, but the experience of war and work on mistakes is visible, and this gives confidence. That the other side is confident is a separate question, but it would be too presumptuous to believe that they will go on the offensive there just like that and without a chance of success. Given the shortage of material capabilities – equipment and firepower, one can expect that the enemy will try to achieve success at the expense of, let’s say, media capabilities, concentrating his efforts where and in the way where and how it will seem possible for him to sow panic and confusion.
In this regard, one must be prepared for both rear strikes and terrorist attacks and adequately perceive “information” about the directions of impending strikes: the enemy will also throw false versions, if he even intends to go on the offensive.
https://t.me/NovichokRossiya/28505
Posted by: unimperator | Apr 19 2023 5:17 utc | 303
@Paul Greenwood 302
“Cabbage crates coming over the Briny!” — Monty Python’s “RAF banter” sketch.
Posted by: Spiny Norman | Apr 19 2023 5:22 utc | 304
Posted by: ZimZum | Apr 18 2023 23:10 utc | 290 and Posted by: Mike R | Apr 19 2023 2:00 utc | 295
I appreciate the feedback. Yes, as MoA regular Scorpion has noted, Romanoff packs his punches in his essays. I’d also add that he pulls few of his punches.
I’m a regular participant at Matt Taibbi’s Substack blog and frequently run into people there – including the host – who can’t understand the concept of “white fragility.” I’m not trying to take this into the so-called culture wars, but what both of you have confirmed from objective viewpoints, IMO, is that “American Fragility” is real thing. So why is it so hard to comprehend that maybe us white folks have a habit of violently brushing aside any commentary about our historical behavior, under this flag or that?
Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Apr 19 2023 5:22 utc | 305
A way to avoid taking responsibility as they search for the fainting couch.
Posted by: Mike R | Apr 19 2023 2:00 utc | 295
Total agreement here. And another, or additional way to put it is that America cries out in great pain as it strikes your people down violently, with deadly force and not only without remorse, but justifying its actions according to an ethos and philosophy that is unique to it.
Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Apr 19 2023 5:25 utc | 306
Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Apr 18 2023 21:56 utc | 285
KYIV — “I was on the streets for the Orange Revolution when I was in my last year at university in 2004, and I was on the streets again in 2014. So, the 10-year mark of when we tend to mount revolutions is approaching,” said Inna Sovsun, an opposition lawmaker for Ukraine’s liberal pro-European Holos party.
And she suspects there’s another political upheaval on its way.
Sat in a café overlooking Kyiv’s Independence Square, where nearly a decade ago hundreds of thousands of frustrated Ukrainians protested and toppled Viktor Yanukovych — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s satrap — the 38-year-old mother-of-one, whose partner is now serving as a combat doctor in Bakhmut, spoke about the the possibility of another Maidan.
https://www.politico.eu/article/ukraine-war-another-maidan-revolution-dignity-russia-invasion/amp/
Posted by: Down South | Apr 19 2023 5:41 utc | 307
@ Tom_Q_Collins | Apr 18 2023 22:12 utc | 287
@ Mike R | Apr 19 2023 2:00 utc | 295
I love how you guys are giving passes to the rest of the world over its atrocities since time immemorial down to the present day.
Do you know any history at all, or are you just anti-American propagandists?
I note you do not distinguish between the American plutocracy and people, the latter of whom have and must always have been the first and most important victims of that plutocracy (see from the 1970s and ’80s on in particular, and especially post-9/11).
Did even the American plutocracy, slimy and oppressive as it has always been, invent empire, genocide, slavery? or even coin the words?
I was kind of intrigued by how the Maya would go to war depending on the phase of Venus–and you definitely didn’t want to be captured in those “Star Wars.”
While I’m feeling crabby, can’t we quite rightfully criticize the horrible US Colonial aggression against Ukraine and the RF without idealizing the RF (and China)?
Posted by: John Kennard | Apr 19 2023 5:46 utc | 308
Way larger concerns for russia than ukraine.
Concerns worth carefully measuring every loss as well as development in cat and mouse ukraine effort. But a sideshow to real stakes.
Cornered greedy, spiteful, and somehow anti-entitled homeless race who has surprisingly survived millennia of morally grounded retributions (one after another) are realizing their risks to surviva worldwide. Cornered rats with nothing to loose sorta gotta go all nuke in.
Posted by: thebeek | Apr 19 2023 5:49 utc | 309
Tom_Q_Collins
From the China thread. Everything from the 21 year old to the docs getting into out to the public comes under Bellingcat area of operations. I read Bellingcat’s article and read their twitter account.
Teixeira may be an identity or may not be. He may have clearances or may not. This is an information warfare op. The alleged stepfather’s career was information warfare.
Me and that clown have nothing in common.When he first started commenting here I went to his username link. First cartoons I saw looked ok but then I saw some more.
Larry Johnson. Three years retired from the CIA and pissed at the way the US is going, same as other ex CIA that have been out of the service for much longer. Same as many ex military. Invaluable for getting an understanding of some of this stuff. And piece of shit like that prefers Bellingcrap or similar information and uses it to rag Johnson.
Simplictius uses a US ABC article to cite clearance. All that section that came under Bellingcrap, there is no information outside of official media. There is the 4chan crap, but now we know for a fact that Donbass Devushka channel was sent the information.
Supposedly the first to pick up up the information. How did the rest of the docs get out into the public? Who were they sent to? There are two different copies of the the casualty doc.
Using the released docs regarding Ukraine is a waste of time as it is unknown if some or all have been drawn up specifically for this operation.
Even if the kid did have clearance to go into the SCF, everything is recorded, everything is monitored.
When Johnson left the service, there was no CIA personal stationed at military bases in the US. A friend still in the service contacted him and said a CIA officer was now stationed at military bases and could access those documents.
On top of that, the kid is basically a weekend warrior. But like I said From their point of origin, be it a CIA officer in a military base or from DNI, thats all bellingcrap territory.
Some weekend warrior kid starts accessing internal CIA documents and alarms will be ringing and red lights flashing.
I remember when I was young, I watched a movie. It might have been called The Cleaner, can’t remember, but what I do remember is the character called the cleaner. When organised crime killed someone, he would come in and clean up all traces. I remember a couple of scenes. He walks into a house with a couple of suitcases. Puts the bodies in the bath then gets bottles of strong acid out of the suitcases and tips over them. While that’s doing its job, he cleans up everything else. That is Bellingcat.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Apr 19 2023 6:26 utc | 310
Vladimir Putin’s satrap
@Down South | Apr 19 2023 5:41 utc | 307, citing Politico
Ukrainians protested and toppled Viktor Yanukovych — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s satrap
This is the same Big Lie repeated over and over in the Western media. Viktor Yanukovych was not Vladimir Putin’s satrap. Like most Ukrainians, he was a Russian-speaking Orthodox Christian.His policy was closer integration with the West. The Orange revolution and Euromaidan were ethnocidal pogroms, whose purpose was to replace the Ukrainian people with a satan-worshiping Galician Nazi ethnos. Accusing Yanukovych of being “pro-Russian” or “Putin’s satrap” is part of that genocidal project.
Posted by: Petri Krohn | Apr 19 2023 7:59 utc | 311
Re: Posted by: Mike R | Apr 18 2023 16:24 utc | 259
According to Dima, Ukraine is closing the dams upstream on the Dnieper. His two cents- they then open the dams and flood Kherson region on the left (Russian) bank, which is low ground, unlike high ground on the Ukie side. This floods the Russian defense/trench network and somehow gives the AFU offensive an advantage. What that advantage is, and Dima’s explanation are clear as mud, which will be everywhere if this happens.
This can’t be right Mike.
The story we were told about the evacuation of the West Bank of the Dniepr in Kherson by the Russians was to avoid this precise scenario!!
So why would they evacuate from the safety of the high ground to the low ground?!?
Makes no sense! It is in fact – nonsense!!
Posted by: Julian | Apr 19 2023 8:07 utc | 312
Operators of the Lancet-3 loitering ammunition of the Kaskad OBTF destroyed the Buk-M1 air defense system west of Donetsk.
Video: @obtf_kaskad
https://t.me/llordofwar/122199
Posted by: unimperator | Apr 19 2023 8:18 utc | 313
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Apr 19 2023 6:26 utc | 310
NSA can also plant documents or images on any networked computer – and could even create virtual cloud servers to invite anyone to incriminate themselves
Posted by: Paul Greenwood | Apr 19 2023 8:22 utc | 314
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Apr 19 2023 6:26 utc | 310
Thanks for that. I’ve avoided this leak, and hardly bother to read comments on it, because it just looked like a distraction from the stampede of RoW away from Empire.
Bellingcat exists to shit on everything of interest in order to destroy its evidentiary value, a magnet for spooky dipshits and creeps.
Posted by: anon2020 | Apr 19 2023 8:37 utc | 315
Newest from Simplicus.
https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/sitrep-41823-dark-clouds-roll-in
Posted by: unimperator | Apr 19 2023 8:53 utc | 316
Videos:
🇬🇧Operators of the Lancet-3 loitering ammunition of the Kaskad OBTF destroyed the Buk-M1 air defense system west of Donetsk.
Video: @obtf_kaskad
https://t.me/llordofwar/122199
Russian artillery covered the Ukrainian artillery crew as a result of counter-battery fighting
https://t.me/CyberspecNews/28343
A huge funnel after an air bomb hit and an emotional comment from a Ukrainian. Destroyed equipment is visible in the background.
#source (https://t.me/warhistoryalconafter/96981)
https://t.me/Slavyangrad/42450 (massive crater, 50 meters?)
Posted by: unimperator | Apr 19 2023 8:56 utc | 317
@ Peter AU1 | Apr 19 2023 6:26 utc | 310
@ Paul Greenwood | Apr 19 2023 8:22 utc | 313
Doesn’t have to be networked to be hacked–see Snowden’s/Wikileaks’ “Vault 7” docs on the CIA’s hacking-suite “Brutal Kangaroo,” which rides an infected thumb-drive into your system.
Posted by: John Kennard | Apr 19 2023 9:01 utc | 318
https://t.me/Slavyangrad/42515
The outcome of the expected counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine will be clear within the first 24 hours
The plan will be successful if Kyiv manages to “paralyze” the Russian military leadership and provoke panic in the Russian army.”
Franz-Stefan Gadi , an employee of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, thinks so, adding that even if the offensive is successful, this does not mean that Ukraine will achieve long-term strategic success.
The goal is to “impose costs” on Russia at the expense of Ukrainians. Anyone with resource or territorial ambitions – and there are plenty in this cohort – will be happy to see Ukraine’s reproductive capacity eliminated in a series of increasingly hopeless mobilisations.
For Ukrainian conscripts, the front is a death camp masquerading war.
Posted by: anon2020 | Apr 19 2023 9:08 utc | 319
Posted by: Petri Krohn | Apr 19 2023 7:59 utc | 311
You are right but just to make clear I posted that article only because Tom_Q_Collins was looking for it.
Posted by: Down South | Apr 19 2023 9:15 utc | 320
Posted by: anon2020 | Apr 19 2023 9:08 utc | 318
Nato is 90 % propaganda and show and 10% action. Their only way to “win” is if – as Baerbock, Stoltenberg and other clowns said, if they manage to “convince” that Russia or Putin lost. Because that’s all they know, how to make propaganda and rip off the population with socialism.
Posted by: unimperator | Apr 19 2023 9:18 utc | 321
Paul Greenwood | Apr 19 2023 8:22 utc | 313
We live in Orwell’s 1984.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Apr 19 2023 9:33 utc | 322
British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace expressed confidence in Ukraine’s planned counteroffensive, but signaled that the war is likely to continue next year, writes the New York Times.
“I am optimistic that between this year and next year Ukraine will maintain its momentum and strong position. I also think that we must be realistic: there will be no magic moment when Russia collapses,” he told reporters in Washington.
https://t.me/Media_Post_UA/9891
According to our data, the British are urging Zelensky to attack. Europeans (France), on the contrary, offer to negotiate.
We have insided that the British are warming up the military/offensive case.
This time they publicly conveyed the message that even if he lost or won the offensive, Zelensky should not sign any peace agreements, but continue the war.
The only problem is that Zelensky spent a lot of equipment and manpower to keep Bakhmut (for the sake of his political rating). Now there is a certain deficit that they are trying to solve in every possible way by any means.
Posted by: Down South | Apr 19 2023 9:50 utc | 323
The West believes that the main role in the upcoming counter-offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine should be played by a psychological operation that will cause panic among the Russian troops.
‘Ukraine’s longest day’: First 24 hours of expected Ukrainian counter-offensive likely to be decisive – Foreign Policy
If the Ukrainian forces manage to cause paralysis in the Russian military leadership and panic among the Russian rank and file, the counter-offensive will be successful. Tactical surprise, battlefield leadership, and morale are likely to be critical in the first 24 hours of an attack.
“The first day of Ukraine’s long-awaited counter-offensive could be the longest day for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.”
https://t.me/rezident_ua/17339
Posted by: Down South | Apr 19 2023 9:54 utc | 324
Our source in the OP said that Zaluzhny is skeptical about the plans of the Office of the President for a lightning-fast counteroffensive, which is built around a series of psychological operations. Bankova is confident that this factor will help break the resistance of the Russian army and force it to flee in the battle of the Sea of Azov.
The Commander-in-Chief considers it necessary to have a series of local counterattacks, and not one big one, which can choke and then all the reserves will be destroyed in the open field. The General Staff proposes to concentrate on the Svatovsky direction, which will make it possible to hold Seversk and organize a strike on Soledar.
https://t.me/rezident_ua/17342
MI6 transmitted intelligence to the Office of the President and the General Staff that Wagner PMCs have begun to dig in to the north of Bakhmut and mine the fields around Soledar.
British intelligence warns that a counterattack in this direction is dangerous for the Armed Forces of Ukraine and must be carried out in conjunction with a large-scale counteroffensive.
https://t.me/rezident_ua/17338
Posted by: Down South | Apr 19 2023 9:57 utc | 325
FABs are a very serious argument in achieving Victory
“On the sidelines of Zelensky’s office, there were rumors that the situation in the Bakhmut meat grinder was aggravated by the fact that the Russians fired 5-7 times more shells per day at the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Plus, the Russians started using guided glide bombs.
Now there is a defense around Bakhmut, they dug in, but then this bomb arrives and everything turns to dust. No matter how you hide, even at a distance of 400-500 m from the source of the explosion, you are guaranteed a concussion.
This increases the fall in morale and demoralizes the rear. The authorities are trying to hush up this problem, as they are pursuing their own political goals.”
To date, it is known about a multiple increase in the production of aerial bombs of various capacities and damaging effects.
https://t.me/Slavyangrad/42516
Posted by: Down South | Apr 19 2023 10:07 utc | 326
https://t.me/DDGeopolitics/55858
🇺🇦 Ukrainian neo-Nazis.
“Go die in Bakhmut! My husband works in the government! Fuck you!”
A Ukrainian police officer stops a woman for speeding and violating traffic laws but immediately regrets it.
This is what the corrupt Ukrainian elites who receive all the donations from the west look like, while the ordinary Ukrainians are sent to die in the trenches.
She’s only saying what 5th columnists everywhere are thinking.
Posted by: anon2020 | Apr 19 2023 10:21 utc | 327
@ Down South, §322:
Further evidence, if any were needed that the British government is almost psychotic, ordering errand-boys like Ben Wallace to spew the latest spin on the Party Line. From the beginning the British have been even more bellicose than the Americans and especially instrumental in brainwashing the Europeans to join their suicidal Russophobia.
It was bad enough that they cut Europe off from cheap, reliable Russian natural resources. It was worse that they locked Europe out of the biggest market for high-tech European (particularly German/Swiss/Austrian) exports.
But worst of all was to squander what little money is left (after corona, sanctions, etc.) on sending expensive weapons to a black hole that simply aggravates the situation and creates divisions and enmity.
Britain seems to have no awareness of its behaviour and Americans treat what they say as Gospel. It all suggests that the epicentre of the West´s problems remains in the City of London, the causative agents of WW1 and WW2. We must stop them causing WW3.
The City of London should be closed down and its agents all sent to the Tower to await trial.
Posted by: John Marks | Apr 19 2023 11:30 utc | 328
Lula’s Ukraine position on Ukraine
I don’t share Lula’s apparent perception and rhetoric when he talks about Ukraine. However, his somewhat distorted framing of the conflict bears watching as he purports to speak for the Global South. Ukraine is not happy with Lula’s peace efforts. Biden is incensed. Global South leaders? Too early to tell. Reuters carried a brief piece worth reading.
“Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Tuesday condemned the violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity by Russia and again called for mediation to end the war, a peace initiative that was criticized by the Ukrainian government.
“Speaking at a lunch with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, Lula said a group of neutral nations must come together to help broker peace between Russia and Ukraine.
His comments came after he set off a storm among Western allies by stating over the weekend that they were prolonging the fighting by supplying arms to Ukraine.”
https://www.msn.com/en-ph/news/world/brazil-s-lula-condemns-invasion-of-ukraine-touts-peace-initiative/ar-AA1a23v5
Glenn Greenwald has a good 9 minute summary of Lula’s position on Ukraine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyLgtLUlR90
What is apparent is that the U.S. is very angry with Lula and is throwing a hissy fit over his peace talk stuff. Lula is specifically calling out the U.S.
Lavrov– while in Brazil– responded with respect, appreciation and caution.
“On Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said that his country wants to know more details of the Brazilian initiative for peace in Ukraine.”
“Regarding the Brazilian initiative, it is premature to assess it. We must have more information and details,” he said, adding that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is precisely visiting the South American country to find out about the peace proposal.
“Any idea that takes Russia’s interests and concerns into account deserves attention,” the Kremlin spokesman pointed out.
Since the start of the Russian special operation in Ukraine in 2022, Brazil has maintained a neutral position and rejected the imposition of sanctions imposed on Russia.”
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Russia-Wants-to-Know-Details-of-the-Brazilian-Peace-Initiative-20230418-0014.html
bottom line, Lula is talking a lot, traveling a lot, and positioning for a role in peace talks. His perceptions are probably shared by many in the Global South. Watch what he does, watch the world reaction along with Russia and China’s.
ps. Lula’s own power in Brazil is not consolidated. Bolsonaro is still a thing.
Posted by: migueljose | Apr 19 2023 11:52 utc | 329
Our source in the Presidential Office said that Zelensky had asked the General Staff to model scenarios for the upcoming counter-offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The data turned out to be very alarming, the risk of counter-offensive failure is above 50%, and if the blitzkrieg stalls and turns into protracted battles for several days, then the failure rate rises to 70%!
At the same time, in the analysis of the data, scenarios for the failure of the counteroffensive are taken into account and variants of 7 models for the development of the situation are given – from the complete defeat of the prepared units, to a protracted war for several years.
https://t.me/rezident_ua/17346
Posted by: Down South | Apr 19 2023 12:24 utc | 330
Peter AU1 @ 310
Victor the Cleaner was Harvey Keitel in Point of No Return. Not organized crime. Government covert ops.
Posted by: oldhippie | Apr 19 2023 12:29 utc | 331
https://t.me/CyberspecNews/28392
❗️The second Iris-T SLM battery is already in Ukraine. It’s transfer, along with 16 missiles, took place a few days ago, – Der Spiegel.
– If true, not many missiles
https://t.me/CyberspecNews/28393
❗️It’s also reported that a Patriot Battery has arrived in Ukraine from Germany
Posted by: anon2020 | Apr 19 2023 12:40 utc | 332
Posted by: John Kennard | Apr 19 2023 5:46 utc | 308
EL. OH. EL.
I almost typed out a long reply to your twaddle. Please actually read Romanoff’s article(s) and then revisit your comment and put forth a follow-up. American fragility projection in full force.
Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Apr 19 2023 12:57 utc | 333
@Petri. Kroon 311
Absolutely correct, he was the elected President of Ukraine overthrown in a right wing coup funded with billions from the US. His issue was not with integration with the West, it was with the EU terms which would turn Ukraine into a colony of the EU. Now of course fully accepted by Ukraine.
Politico is just another propaganda arm of the US elite, made up news a for the “progressive” masses
“Politico is just another propaganda arm of the US elite, made up news a for the “progressive” masses”
Roger@333
And owned, I believe, by Axel Springer.
John Marks @327
The UK is run by a class whose interests are diametrically opposed to those of the population as a whole. This is the essence of Thatcherism/Blairism the undrlying mission of which is to punish and weaken the working class in order to ensure that it can never again summon the strength to threaten the property of the ruling class.
No doubt the instinctive anti-communists will find this difficult to believe, what they will not do is to advance an alternative explanation for the systematic immiseration of the working class and the removal of all productive capital to other countries.
Posted by: bevin | Apr 19 2023 13:30 utc | 335
Ukrainian channel Strana:
Ukraine’s counter-offensive operations are already taking place in the east, Deputy Defense Minister Anna Malyar said on the air of the telethon.
Malyar stated that active assault operations in Bakhmut, Marinka on the Avdeevsky, Limansky directions of the front can also be considered an element of the counteroffensive.
“The preparation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and various actions of a defensive and offensive nature are constantly ongoing. Counter-offensive actions are also taking place now in the east,” she said.
Malyar urged “not to publicly reduce the counter-offensive only to some kind of active offensive actions.”
“Therefore, it is incorrect to speak narrowly about the counter-offensive. This is a huge range of actions and measures carried out by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This is, first of all, preparing people for a range of actions – both defensive and offensive,” she said.
Recall, Russian telegram channels report that in recent days the Armed Forces of Ukraine have attempted to attack near Vuhledar in the Donetsk region and near Orekhov in Zaporozhye. Ukraine did not confirm this information.
Zin Note: I’m entirely convinced this is an aspect of the information war. I’m not 100% what the purpose of this report is, but it’s likely that the goal is to confuse the Russian MOD. If anything, these are probing actions in Ugledar and the Eastern sections of the country. Although, it could also be a sign that the AFU is making preparations before an actual counteroffensive.
https://t.me/Slavyangrad/42530
Our source in the OP said that Malyar’s statements about the start of the counter-offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are not true, local confrontations are constantly taking place along the entire front line.
The only thing she pointed out correctly was the presence of several offensive plans, one of them would be chosen in a short time and in such a way that the enemy did not have time to prepare for it.
https://t.me/rezident_ua/17347
Posted by: Down South | Apr 19 2023 13:49 utc | 336
🇺🇦 Ukrainians may be banned from entering universities
Amendments are being prepared to the law “On Education” that will limit Ukrainian conscripts in the right to education and deferment from mobilization.
The indignant “patriots” were explained that martial law allows limiting the right to education guaranteed by the Constitution.
❗️ So in Ukraine they “warm up” society on the topic of student mobilization.
https://t.me/Slavyangrad/42535
Posted by: Down South | Apr 19 2023 13:53 utc | 337
@bevin 334
As a subsidiary of Axel Springer, every employee at Politico is expected to support European integration, NATO, Israel’s right to exist, the open society, and free-market ideologies – this is explicitly stated by the AS management. So much for journalistic freedom.
Also reports that AS is linked to the US security state, it is extremely pro-US in all of its media assets.
Minimum, incomplete, low-ball KIA(only)(FEBA only) 460+ … Translated, abbreviated:
Summary of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation on the progress of a special military operation (18.04.2023)
📊 In total, since the beginning of the special military operation destroyed (losses over previous 24hrs(+?)):
407 aircraft, (Daily avg 1.0)
228 helicopters, (Daily avg 0.6)
3,770(+6) unmanned aerial vehicles, (Daily avg 9.1)
415 surface-to-air missile systems, (Daily avg 1.0)
8,711(+12) tanks and other armored combat vehicles, (Daily avg 21.1)
1,087(+1) multiple rocket launchers, (Daily avg 2.7)
4,614(+8) field artillery and mortars, (Daily avg 11.2) and
9,582(+30) special military vehicles. (Daily avg 23.1)
Minimum, incomplete, low-ball KIA(only)(FEBA only) 725+ … Translated:
Summary of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation on the progress of a special military operation (19.04.2023)
◽️ In the Kupyansk direction, assault and army aviation strikes, artillery fire and heavy flamethrower systems of the Western Group of Forces hit enemy units in the areas of Novoselovskoye in the Luhansk People’s Republic, Kotlyarovka, Zagoruykovka, Ivanovka and Pershotravneve in the Kharkiv Region. An ammunition depot of the 3rd Tank Brigade of the AFU was destroyed near Dvurechnaya settlement.
◽️ In addition, the actions of two Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance groups were suppressed in the areas of Sinkovka and Orlyanske settlements of Kharkiv region.
💥 During the day more than 120 Ukrainian servicemen, one tank, two armored fighting vehicles, two vehicles, as well as a Grad MLRS vehicle were destroyed in this direction.
◽️ In the Krasno-Limanskoe direction, strikes by operational and tactical aviation and army aviation and artillery fire of the Center group of troops defeated Ukrainian armed forces units in the areas of Nevske, Chervona Dibrova of the Luhansk People’s Republic and Hryhorivka of the Donetsk People’s Republic. The losses of the enemy were up to 75 Ukrainian servicemen, as well as two armored fighting vehicles.
◽️ In the Donetsk direction, assault units liberated three quarters in the northwestern, central and southwestern parts of Artemivsk during the day. Units of airborne troops blockaded the city from the northern and southern outskirts.
💥 Operational-tactical and army aviation and artillery of the Southern Group of Forces supported the actions of the assault groups. Over the past 24 hours, aviation flew four sorties and the group’s artillery carried out 67 firing missions.
◽️ In the areas of Stupochki and Krasnoe of the Donetsk People’s Republic, as well as in the northwestern and central parts of Artemivsk, attempts by the Ukrainian armed forces to counterattack the assault groups were suppressed.
💥 An ammunition depot of the 68th AFU Mechanized Brigade was destroyed near Krasnogorovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic.
💥 The enemy’s losses during the day amounted to 380 Ukrainian servicemen, one tank, two infantry fighting vehicles, five armored fighting vehicles, eight vehicles, an Akatsiya self-propelled artillery unit, a D-20 howitzer, and a Grad MLRS combat vehicle.
◽️ In the South Donetsk and Zaporizhia directions, strikes by operational and tactical aircraft and army aviation and artillery fire of the Vostok Group of Forces hit enemy units in the areas of Ugledar, Pavlovka of the Donetsk People’s Republic, Chervonoye, Malaya Tokmachka and Kamenskoye of the Zaporizhia region.
◽️ In addition, the actions of two Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance groups were suppressed in the areas of Vladimirovka and Neskuchnoe settlements of the Donetsk People’s Republic.
💥 In the past 24 hours the enemy losses in these directions were up to 120 Ukrainian soldiers, two armored combat vehicles, two vehicles, as well as the Msta-B howitzer.
◽️ In the Kherson direction, up to 30 Ukrainian servicemen, two vehicles, a Gvozdika self-propelled artillery unit and a D-30 howitzer were destroyed in the course of a day as a result of fire attacks.
💥 An ammunition depot of the 126th Territorial Defense Brigade was destroyed near the village of Zmievka, Kherson region.
💥 Operational and army aviation, missile troops and artillery of groups of troops (forces) of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation hit 98 AFU artillery units in firing positions, manpower and equipment in 133 areas during the day.
💥 A pontoon crossing over the Seversky Donets River was destroyed near Seversk Maly settlement of the Donetsk People’s Republic. The command and observation post of a battalion of the 110th mechanized brigade of the Ukrainian armed forces was hit near Avdeevka, Donetsk People’s Republic. A fuel depot for military equipment of the 17th Tank Brigade of the AFU was destroyed near the Konstantinovka settlement of the Donetsk People’s Republic.
✈️ Russian Air Force aircraft shot down three Ukrainian air force aircraft during the day, including:
▪️ two Ukrainian MiG-29 fighters were shot down in the areas of Novoukrainka and Sergeyevka settlements of the Donetsk People’s Republic;
▪️ a Ukrainian Su-25 aircraft was shot down near Dolgenkoye settlement, Kharkiv region.
💥 An air defense aircraft near the settlement of Ugledar in the Donetsk People’s Republic shot down an Su-25 aircraft of the air forces of Ukraine.
◽️ In addition, four HIMARS rockets were intercepted and six Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles were destroyed in the areas of Podo-Kalinovka (Kherson region), Komsomolske (Donetsk region), Novogorovka, Ilyinka and Chervonopopovka (Luhansk region).
📊 In total, since the beginning of the special military operation destroyed (losses over previous 24hrs(+?)):
411(+4) aircraft, (Daily avg 1.0)
228 helicopters, (Daily avg 0.6)
3,776(+6) unmanned aerial vehicles, (Daily avg 9.1)
415 surface-to-air missile systems, (Daily avg 1.0)
8,732(+21) tanks and other armored combat vehicles, (Daily avg 21.1)
1,089(+2) multiple rocket launchers, (Daily avg 2.7)
4,619(+5) field artillery and mortars, (Daily avg 11.2) and
9,617(+35) special military vehicles. (Daily avg 23.1)
Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Apr 19 2023 12:57 utc | 332
Accusing your detractors of fragility, whilst refusing to address their central concerns, is an approach that might be deemed richly ironic. It is also the approach perfected by the people you seem to want to intellectually oppose, which is a somewhat contradictory position to take. A strong argument should have the ability to be summarised quickly, a feature, which in itself, strengthens its validity and coherence.
Romanoff’s essay was boiler-plate leftist polemic, light on detail (that which there was, was subjective, discredited or simply projection) heavy on emotion and pictured a black and white world that his intellectual enemies could readily identify with. Stereotypical portrayals of societies, not only, do not advance the conversation they hinder it, which is often why they are used in the first place.
Posted by: Milites | Apr 19 2023 14:25 utc | 341
Posted by: bevin | Apr 19 2023 13:30 utc | 334
Why do most Communists refuse to accept that, historically, the British working class have largely rejected its central tenets, preferring to be guided by moderate European ideas of emancipation, social welfare and workers rites.
Posted by: Milites | Apr 19 2023 14:41 utc | 342
“…preferring to be guided by moderate European ideas of emancipation, social welfare and workers rites.”
Milites@341
You mean like the Labour Churches? They never caught on.
Posted by: bevin | Apr 19 2023 14:50 utc | 343
Milites @ 341. There was a brief flurry of excitement during the Spanish civil war. I knew a working class Brit who went to Spain.
Posted by: dh | Apr 19 2023 15:29 utc | 344
new stuff to divert from the Leaks
WaPo reporting on 4 Americans in the US charged with helping Russia:
“U.S. charges four Americans with aiding Kremlin efforts
Charges are the latest Justice Department effort against secret foreign propaganda networks on U.S. soil”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/04/18/russian-influence-florida-missouri/
Posted by: AG | Apr 19 2023 15:29 utc | 345
By then they’d missed the bus, the Tory Party at prayer moniker had stuck and no amount of genuflecting, in later years, to the causes of pacifism, liberation theology, situational ethics and socialism, could it make amends for the perceived betrayal of their ‘flock’.
Posted by: Milites | Apr 19 2023 15:34 utc | 346
migueljose @328–
Lavrov was asked about Lula’s comments at the presser in Caracas which I’m posting in full on the week in review open thread for numerous reasons, but here’s that specific Q&A:
Question (retranslated from Spanish): What do you think about what the United States said about President of Brazil Lula da Silva about Ukraine?
Sergey Lavrov: Are you referring to the comment in which it was said that Brazil is making a mistake by supporting Russia and China? Is that what we’re talking about?
If about this, then there is nothing to comment on. The United States considers itself entitled to make a verdict on any occasion. They themselves are not subject to jurisdiction, as it seems to them. I am convinced that the process of forming a just multipolar world order, which is now and is gaining momentum every day, will necessarily end with results that are positive for the overwhelming majority of humanity. This process is objective, but it will not be completed immediately. This is a historical era that precedes the formation of a polycentric world order.
Posted by: dh | Apr 19 2023 15:29 utc | 343
True, but many returned home, disillusioned by the leftist’s propensity for internecine fighting, quite literally, and exposure to the realities of Soviet Communist ideology. Lots of Uncle Joe posters and pamphlets circulated when Russia entered the War, but it rarely translated into any direct involvement on behalf of the party. Socialists I used to know, muttered darkly that the Labour Party was the greatest trick played by on the be-monacled, top hatted class (cigar-puffing an optional extra) ignoring the fact it reflected the unique nature of Britains working class. Labour’s wholesale abandonment of their social priorities, in favour of courting the progressive metro-sexual agenda, cost them dearly in 2019.
Posted by: Milites | Apr 19 2023 15:54 utc | 348
@Down South | Apr 19 2023 9:57 utc | 324
The most widely advertised “lightning-fast counteroffensive” in history! I guess if one can’t fight a real war they can try bluffing. When all else fails, ….
Posted by: barstool | Apr 19 2023 16:10 utc | 349
Milites @347
I think Ernie was just confused by what he saw in Spain. Orwell had mixed feelings too (Homage to Catalonia). Course nowadays working class Brits go to get some sun.
Posted by: dh | Apr 19 2023 16:11 utc | 350
Milites@341
The point that you miss is that the reforms instituted in the 1945-50 period were of two kinds. There was the ‘welfare state’ legislation which provided the basis for comprehensive social security, health and education programmes. These were the reforms which have been gradually eroded during the neo-liberal period.
As, notably have the basic rights of labour including the crucial right to strike work on the basis of spontaneous shop floor decision making.
But there was another side to the 1945 legislation: taking control over the economy, nationalising the Bank of England, nationalising ‘the commanding heights’ of the economy, insituting exchange controls to protect the currency from speculators and capital strikes.
The strategy was to take charge of the economy, to plan its growth and invest in it according to social priorities and, in doing so, to remove from the capitalist class the power to use the economy for their own narrow purposes.
What is happening in the UK now is not just the collapse of the ‘welfare state’ from the NHS to Education and the deprivation of basic rights of the citizenry, including the rights to strike, demonstrate and organise but the disppearance of social controls over the economy.
The net result is that working people in the UK, and the same is true throughout the western world, are faced with the challenge not merely to lament the passing of all that past generations had won but to do something to reverse the trend.
And the first thing that must be done is to take control over the economy, including the Bank and the City, and root out the traitors-foreign agents- who dominate British institutions, from the media and Civil Service to the Academy, Police and Military.
The UK has been occupied by US imperialists since the 1940s- the reforms carried out by the Labour government were despite the United States ruling class which hated them, the last battles of the completely mobilised population which emerged from the war, battles fought before the eyes of the world, including the US and Canada, which inspired similar, though weaker, movements there and inspired a generation which, itself, was responsible for much in the way of reform, including Civil Rights in the States and socialist reforms in Canada.
It is a mistake not to understand the vibrant and powerful reform traditions in the ‘western’ world: the relatively high living standards enjoyed in the post war era-wrongly attributed to imperialism in the era in which imperialism was being challenged around the world- were won by these popular reform movements, based on mass participation and grounded in socialist ideas.
The idea of the working class Tory persists but the evidence is very clear: the working class in the UK has been voting Labour, in the belief that it was supporting socialism, for generations. There have always been odd working class Tories but they were outliers. And most of them were racists and fools to boot.
Posted by: bevin | Apr 19 2023 16:11 utc | 351
@Posted by: Milites | Apr 19 2023 14:41 utc | 341
Why do most Communists refuse to accept that, historically, the British working class have largely rejected its central tenets, preferring to be guided by moderate European ideas of emancipation, social welfare and workers rites.
Those “moderate” European ideas had to be repeatedly beaten into the European working class, as with the post 1789 French counter-revolution against the working class radicals and then of course the put down of the Paris Commune nearly a hundred years later (in between there being constant struggle between the aristocracy, bourgeoisie and working class). Then we had the post-WW1 French Red Scare to destroy the socialists, then after WW2 the interference of the US to make sure that the too-radical resistance movement did not take power. In Italy there were the “two red years” after WW1 which was put down by Mussolini, and after WW2 the occupation authorities disarmed the left-wing partisans and then the US directly interfered in Italian politics to keep the communists out of power. In 1918 we had the German socialist revolution that was put down by the Freikorps – the predecessor of Hitler’s para-military SA. In Greece the US and UK invaded to put down the emerging communist state based upon the partisan movement.
The whole nineteenth century in England was one long struggle by the working class against brutal repression – by both state and factory owners, starting with the Peterloo massacre. Lets remember that the UK did not have universal suffrage until 1922, and even then the House of Lords remained in place as a spoiler. The 1920s involved a huge amount of repression against the working class. During WW2 when socialist discussion. groups flourished in the British armed services (wanting a peace good for all rather than the return to subjugation after WW1) the result was a socialist government that brought real changes (although its policies were severely limited given the debts to the US) and a mutiny in the East that stopped the troops being used to further colonialism. When we add in constant police surveillance and disruption activities against any group seen to be threatening the elite, together with a rabid right-wing press, and many co-opted Labour leaders (just like the present one), and co-opted union leaders who worked hard to damp down any “radicals”, its amazing how much socialist groups did make an impact upon Britain. Most recently we have seen the combined campaign to destroy a Labour leader who was more representative of the wishes of the majority, including from within his own party. It is evident that without that internal undermining he would have won his first general election.
So, to sum up your comment is based upon a complete fabrication of both European and British history.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I04spDXv71Y
Interesting that other commentators are beginning to suggest that the next couple of weeks are going to have a Kharkov ‘42 vibe. Putin’s icon-gifting visit to Southern Command and his praise of the ‘defenders’ might be genuine, or it might be the nurturing of a defensive narrative. The movement of heavily armed APC’s and ‘obsolete’ tank models may reflect concern, or a way to mass and position mechanised forces to attack the Ukrainian’s well before their offensive stalls. The historical parallels for a Russian Operation Fredericus are growing daily, especially public comments about the first 24 hours being crucial for its eventual success.
Posted by: Milites | Apr 19 2023 16:20 utc | 353
bevin @350–
Quite correct! The period from roughly 1934-1974 can be called the Era of Mixed Economies within the Western world which was in turn defeated by the reaction by Finance Capital that was similar to that prior to WW1. What’s happening now is a Global counter reaction that will result in the final victory for Mixed Economies as that’s the desire of 87% of the world.
re: Down South | Apr 19 2023 9:54 utc | 323
https://t.me/rezident_ua/17339
“The West believes that the main role in the upcoming counter-offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine should be played by a psychological operation that will cause panic among the Russian troops.
A combination of hubris, magical thinking, and sheer stupidity leads the ignorant Western ideologues to think they can win a war with Russia using psyops. The neocon fools believe their own propaganda and their lackeys reinforce their hallucinations with “intelligence” reports coming straight from Kiev.
Posted by: Perimetr | Apr 19 2023 17:03 utc | 355
Posted by: Julian | Apr 19 2023 8:07 utc | 312
According to Dima, Ukraine is closing the dams upstream on the Dnieper. His two cents- they then open the dams and flood Kherson region on the left (Russian) bank, which is low ground, unlike high ground on the Ukie side. This floods the Russian defense/trench network and somehow gives the AFU offensive an advantage. What that advantage is, and Dima’s explanation are clear as mud, which will be everywhere if this happens.
This can’t be right Mike.
The story we were told about the evacuation of the West Bank of the Dniepr in Kherson by the Russians was to avoid this precise scenario!!
So why would they evacuate from the safety of the high ground to the low ground?!?
Makes no sense! It is in fact – nonsense!!
Kherson (occupied by the UA) is on the right bank of the Dnieper River. The city is built on a slight rise above the river. The Russians occupy the left bank, which includes wide swaths of land where river dredging spoils have been deposited over the years. According to available topographic maps, neither bank has an appreciable altitude advantage over the other side–both sides are about 20 feet above mean high water between the Sea of Azov and the Kakhova dam. The river channel between Kherson and the dam is fairly narrow (about 1/2 mile wide), but the flood plain on the left bank is about 4 to 5 times wider with elevations of around 8 feet above sea level and likely prone to tidal flooding. Available pictures of this flood plain remind me of the Mississippi River Delta. Given the type of black soil (muck) that likely erodes upstream and deposits near the mouth of the Dnieper, my guess is that the flood plain is not trafficable to wheeled armor. Track armor will move slowly through the thick vegetation in the flood plain and will throw track in what is likely chest-deep muck. Certain armored vehicles (such as the BMP) can swim, but they are slow and easy thin-skinned targets.
I get it why the Russian high command tactically retreated to the left bank, instead of risking evacuation across the Dnieper across the Antonovsky bridge or across the Dnieper flood plain. It is better to let your enemy attack you across a water body. The river is an obstacle in favor of the defense of the left bank.
Posted by: MajorMike | Apr 19 2023 17:36 utc | 356
@331, oldhippie, Harvey Keitel also played a cleaner in Pulp Fiction.
Posted by: Immaculate deception | Apr 19 2023 17:53 utc | 357
Sky tv uk today ex Russian Ambassadeur stating usual rubbish Rus illegal invasion…novichok and pollonium poisening…but also references to UK defence is up the creek potentially as not uptodate with correct type of military spending purchasingneeded for curent situation..low on supplies..low soldier numbers etc .not spending Nato 2 percent etc. Also escalating warnings of fear factor cyber attacks on infrastructure by Russia in response!!!!! to UK suport for Ukraine duh
Note both Finland and Sweden are learning or beinv told from their USA masters…former confiscating Rus diplomatic property and Sweden threatening Serbia to comply with EU sanctions against Russia…….
Posted by: Jo | Apr 19 2023 17:55 utc | 358
Posted by: Roger | Apr 19 2023 16:17 utc | 351
I’m afraid the reality is messier, not so black and white and gives agency to numerous individuals and movement, other than your portrayal of an ideologically uniform, monolithic block that were seemingly blessed with all the virtues and none of the vices. The movement you artificially restrict to the Marxist starting point of the 19th Century, actually began centuries ago and part of the rejection of Communism was that it was seen as alien to that natural struggle, however much Eric and his ilk tried to artificially co-opt its history to the struggle of the international proletariat.
Posted by: bevin | Apr 19 2023 16:11 utc | 350
The idea that the Tory working class are rare, suggests a perspective that conflates their economic priorities with Leftist social ones, comes from an academic appreciation, not practical knowledge of the group or other restrictive factors. Labelling opponents as bigoted or stupid, just defines you as a person who already has your course set and will accuse the restless crew of mutiny if they dare suggest an alternative to the blissful socialist paradise you seek, but strangely never find.
The Welfare state is a classic example of Greiner’s revolution, evolution index, where solutions eventually become problems. The ogres stalking the post-war nation had been slain, which was a worthy achievement; however National institutions, by their nature, are tied to societal changes that nations undergo, political interference, and coupled with a lack of agency that they unfortunately encourage, have left them struggling to fulfil their original mission. Perhaps, if the critics of the original proposals had been listened to and not summarily dismissed (spot the pattern) then perhaps they might be in better shape.
Posted by: Milites | Apr 19 2023 18:16 utc | 359
331 – Victor the Cleaner’s first appearance might have been in the French film “La Femme Nikita”, where he cleans up, in a manner of speaking, after Nikita carries out a not entirely successful hit. He was played by Jean Reno. Nikita was turned into an American remake with Bridget Fonda and this time Harvey Keitel played the role. His Winston Wolf character in “Pulp Fiction” is a more urbane nod to his earlier role. The Wolf’s occasional regular guy behaviour is an ironic counterpoint to the Cleaner character, who is quite robotic.
Posted by: Waldorf | Apr 19 2023 18:28 utc | 360
353 – the British press, specifically today’s “Metro”, was speculating that a double of Putin went to Kherson Region. Sort of journalism as painting by numbers, courtesy of MI6 briefings. I guess they can’t admit Putin is not insane or dying of cancer…
Posted by: Waldorf | Apr 19 2023 18:31 utc | 361