Well in 2014 Ukrainian started the ATO (Anti Terrorist Operation) against Donbas which they predicted would last ... 48 hours

Posted by: w | May 8 2023 11:59 utc | 1

Baghdad Bob got a new job writing copy for Mr. Havrylov or Havrylov and David Petraeus went to the same military academy?

Posted by: jrkrideau | May 8 2023 11:59 utc | 2

I agree with your irony. Earlier today, I posted 'Bloody Bakhmut is Falling… into Zelensky’s Shame' (with a link to MOA regarding Ukraine burning through its resources).

"Since the beginning of the war, I've debated Zelensky's nature with myself, but what’s happened in Bakhmut assured the death of his ambiguity.

Zelensky knew that his men faced better trained and better equipped soldiers in Bakhmut. He knew they were surrounded by missiles and horrifying incendiary weapons. Ordering retreat and regrouping on higher ground was the logical choice. From Kyiv, despite what had happened to nearby Soledar, he effectively and repeatedly ordered his soldiers to die...

...Zelensky must accept that he’s damaged, and that his troops in other places will hesitate if they’re also given stay-until-you-die orders."

Posted by: Mike Hampton | May 8 2023 12:01 utc | 3

Real name is Vladimir Gavrilov. The person is ethnically Russian...

Posted by: shadowbanned | May 8 2023 12:08 utc | 4

What Havrylov means, is: We will continue to make money (sent to us by the West).

Posted by: Neven | May 8 2023 12:15 utc | 5

And gates of Moscow by August!

Posted by: Surferket | May 8 2023 12:21 utc | 6

"Keep the money rolling in boys, as long as we can."

I hope the Russians off these people after the war is ended.

Posted by: Judge Barbier | May 8 2023 12:23 utc | 7

Havrylov has certainly been a first-class pupil of Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf (Comical Ali) .... Sadam's information minister during the Iraq war.
Perhaps he'll learn.
Unlikely !!

Posted by: Engineer-John | May 8 2023 12:24 utc | 8

"This war will be won on the ground, not on the TV screens, not on the internet.”

Posted by: Jonathan W | May 8 2023 12:25 utc | 9

@shadowbanned #4

First, thanks for all your contributions here. Also, what you previously posted about Russian self-hate must apply here for Gavrilov too, eh?

Posted by: zeke2u | May 8 2023 12:31 utc | 10

Thanks b,

"This war will be won on the ground, not on the TV screens, not on the internet.”

Havrylov is correct.

Posted by: Forest | May 8 2023 12:31 utc | 11

Saw recently an interview of Henry Kissinger, who predicted that there would be some sort of ceasefire before end of year. I think it was Douglas Macgregor (or someone else well known) who said that US will try to use their economic leverage of SWIFT, USD, and their full control of EU (i.e. ability to influence EU and Chinese trade relations) to extort China and India to force Russia to make some sort of cease fire. Why? Because they know after a failed Ukro offensive they will be in a very bad shape and position to otherwise negotiate anything. So they want to end it sometime after the assumed offensive, and also the time to focus on Taiwan is pretty late to hit the 2025 deadline.

Posted by: unimperator | May 8 2023 12:43 utc | 12

https://usa.mfa.gov.ua/en/news/55964-atashe-z-pitany-oboroni-ukrajini-pri-pu-v-ssha-general-major-volodimir-gavrilov-proviv-shhorichnu-zustrich-zi-sluhachami-vijsykovo-morsykoji-akademiji-ssha

Are any posters on this board from USSR era ? Were the Ukrainians as retarded in Soviet times as now ? Last night apparently Andrei Melnyk the mad excuse for an Ambassador to Berlin, now a Deputy FM of the Kiev regime demanded countries in Europe donate 1% GDP to Ukraine as some kind of tribute !

Reading "Die Welt" comments was amusing as people exploded - saying they were sick of seeing top-flight SUVs and Teslas in Germany with "UA" plates............I have personally seen €100,000 Toyota Land Cruisers with shiny paintwork and UA plates........and very rarely do you see Ford or similar

Posted by: Paul Greenwood | May 8 2023 12:58 utc | 13

Let's see how your Zelensky is finished prediction goes. I haven't seen any dramatic change in his situation (leader of a nation being invaded). That prediction sounded like more hopium/wishcasting. Predicting things you want to happen, to happen.

And sure, the Urkainians do the same, a lot.

But instead of wishcasting with your emotions, try being analytical.

P.s. Oh...I must be a "concern troll" since I don't just click heels and drink Kool-Aid.

Posted by: Anonymous | May 8 2023 13:00 utc | 14

[12]

Saw recently an interview of Henry Kissinger,

Lovely to see a man of 100-1 with his faculties when Joe Biden lost his along the way and Kamala Harris never gained hers............but I think K's reputation for being two-faced gets him lost sometimes - after all Nixon recruited him from Nelson Rockefeller and trusted him so little he taped everything in The Oval Office

Posted by: Paul Greenwood | May 8 2023 13:01 utc | 15

what is this about? Oded Yaron in Haaretz this morning:

"Ukraine Downs Russian Hypersonic Missile With U.S. Patriot System. What Else Did the West Send?"

Posted by: Jonathan W | May 8 2023 13:06 utc | 16

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/06/world/europe/ukraine-russia-war-patriot.html

Ukraine Claims It Shot Down Russia’s Most Sophisticated Missile for First Time

The air force said it intercepted the hypersonic missile with a newly delivered U.S.-made Patriot air-defense battery. U.S. officials confirmed the strike.

Posted by: Jonathan W | May 8 2023 13:07 utc | 17

Posted by: Anonymous | May 8 2023 13:00 utc | 14

his basic situation of being a quisling who sold out his people to the US is unchanged, true. he's lost much of his army and much of the population of Ukraine has left, so that's a change.

Posted by: pretzelattack | May 8 2023 13:07 utc | 18

Havrylov in 2022:

Mr Havrylov has forecast further Ukrainian victories well into winter, arguing his country would not welcome peace talks until it had recaptured every inch of land.

All I can read into this, is NATO saying they will fight Russia to the last Ukrainian.

Posted by: Petri Krohn | May 8 2023 13:08 utc | 19

Zelensky must accept that he’s damaged, and that his troops in other places will hesitate if they’re also given stay-until-you-die orders."
Posted by: Mike Hampton | May 8 2023 12:01 utc | 3

Zely does nothing. US gave the orders to stay and will continue to do so, they know Russia is not even close to reach Donbass borders. With no losses, US will be meat-grinding Russian soldiers and exploding Nordstreams for years, until Minsk 3 will happen. They repeat Syria, a little invasion at a later time.
No Ukr troops will hesitate in large numbers to make any difference, they're disconnected from reality until they die. Because there's no war outside Donbass, civilians believe it too, easily. No one cares if they hear an explosion once a month, while on TV all they see are great victories, endless money and weapons from nato and so on, there are no power problems, no stress. At least until they're grabbed on the streets for the front line.

Posted by: rk | May 8 2023 13:19 utc | 20

Urkaine lied about the "Ghost of Ukraine," lied when their S-300 killed two Polish farmers and lied when they shot down a Russian airliner. Why would anyone believe them now?

The Patriot failed against ancient Iraqi Scuds as well as Houthis missiles in Saudi Arabia. The US has a long history of misrepresenting the Patriot's performance. I don't believe Ukraine shot down a Kinzhal. Neither does Ukraine's air force which has denied the claim.

Posted by: David | May 8 2023 13:25 utc | 21

yeah they had to prop up the Patriot's performance all along with rigged tests and propaganda. I don't believe that claim for a second.

Posted by: pretzelattack | May 8 2023 13:27 utc | 22

There are reports of Russia evacuating civilians along the Dnieper regions (MSM so huge grains of salt). Now I hope it isn’t the worse case scenario, which is that the Russians are planning a tactical retreat like they did with Kherson city. At this stage of the war, the idea of giving any more territory back to Ukraine (even under the premise of luring them into a trap) should be completely verboten. Consider that the Ukrainian strategy, once they take over, is to burrow in like ticks within the civilian infrastructure and use civilians as human shields. They can’t be allowed to do that anymore.

Posted by: Johnny Boy | May 8 2023 13:27 utc | 23

Mr. Havrylov: "you will see a lot of panic"

Do you really want Russia to panic? What do you suppose would happen next?

Posted by: witness matthias | May 8 2023 13:29 utc | 24

[17]

U.S. officials confirmed the strike.

and just how would they be able to do that ?

The radar on the Patriot system could not track a missile with an unpredictable flight path.......yet as Wikipedia notes.......

According to CNN US officials believe the claim. Prior to this interception, stopping an air launched hypersonic, like the Kinzhal was "theoretical"

CNN.........."believe the claim"..........so the old "We trust Kiev"

Posted by: Paul Greenwood | May 8 2023 13:29 utc | 25

With that startling level of accuracy he could get a job in any of the NATO think tanks after the collapse.

Posted by: Biswapriya Purkayast | May 8 2023 13:32 utc | 26

@16, @17. The Ukrainian General Staff have already retracted the claim, and admonished the dweebs who were promoting it.

Still, good enough to fool the Pentagon, apparently. And to get the foolish to salivate like one of Pavlov's Dogs.

Posted by: Yeah, Right | May 8 2023 13:36 utc | 27

Posted by: Paul Greenwood | May 8 2023 13:29 utc | 25

Fair enough. The NYT article gets muddy real quick:

The U.S. officials said that they had received information about the strike from the Ukrainian military through classified channels. One official added that U.S. military analysts were able to verify the claim using technical means. Nevertheless, independent analysts were reluctant to confirm the interception until more information was available about the type of missile Russia fired and whether it was hit by a Patriot.

...

Under the right conditions, a Patriot might be capable of taking down one of the fast-moving Kinzhal missiles, according to Ian Williams, deputy director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.

“Hitting a Russian Kinzhal with a Patriot missile would be tough but not impossible,” Mr. Williams said. “There are a lot of factors, such as where the Patriot is, where that Kinzhal was headed and whether or not it was maneuvering.”

Posted by: Jonathan W | May 8 2023 13:36 utc | 28

I see no signs of panic from the Russians. Far from it. In fact I would say quite the opposite. They seem to act quite as if they were in the drivers seat. The people of Russia if anything, are calling for a more aggressive posture, not less.

The one thing I am sure of is that globalists have staked everything on this fiasco, are on the clock with eroding public opinion and a deranged Biden facing an election he cannot possibly win without historic cheating. If that happens, then the US may well fall into anarchy. They are cornered and desperate and capable of literally anything no matter how monstrous.

Frankly, I will be very surprised if there isn't some kind of nuclear false flag event in Ukraine. I would also not rule out another pandemic from one of the US's numerous biolabs either. They are insane and they will not go down without playing every single card in their psychotic hand, regardless of the consequences to the world.

Posted by: JustAMaverick | May 8 2023 13:46 utc | 29

@rk

Bakhmut is damaging. The same way Ukrainians believe the TV you refer to, they believe Zelensky's giving the orders. Soldiers will hesitate to repeat that nightmare. Ukraine, like every country with war at its feet, is traumatised. More will want it to end than go on, but rightfully scared to appear unpatriotic by saying so. Those contrary actions are human nature. We should never think of Ukrainians as anything less human than us lest we become like propagandists who name all Russians as devils. If a similar war were in my country, I would hope for peace talks, and would understand soldiers not wanting to repeat Bakhmut, more so if I was one of them. The Bakhmut Dead will damage Zelensky amongst the living.

Posted by: Mike Hampton | May 8 2023 13:50 utc | 30

Let's put this claim about the Patriot missile to rest, shall we?

https://www.newsweek.com/ukraine-russia-hypersonic-kinzhal-missile-downed-1798659

The money_shot: "Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ignat said in a statement: "I have already refuted a thousand times, you should have seen it yesterday. There was a possibility of using ballistic missiles, but no ballistic missiles were recorded.". "

No. Ballistic. Missiles. Were. Recorded.

It's a fake story. Even the Ukrainian air force admits that.

Posted by: Yeah, Right | May 8 2023 13:51 utc | 31

Posted by: Jonathan W | May 8 2023 13:07 utc | 17

"https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/06/world/europe/ukraine-russia-war-patriot.html

Ukraine Claims It Shot Down Russia’s Most Sophisticated Missile for First Time

The air force said it intercepted the hypersonic missile with a newly delivered U.S.-made Patriot air-defense battery. U.S. officials confirmed the strike."

Why post rubbish days after it has been already officially refuted by Ukraine itself, aside being of zero credibility?

Posted by: DS | May 8 2023 13:51 utc | 32

re: Patriot Missile. . .from defenseone. . .
In Ukraine, A New Chance to Judge the Patriot Missile
The much-lauded air-defense system has a decidedly mixed record. The Pentagon should watch its performance carefully.

. . .The weapon has a checkered past. In 1991, U.S. officials and media excitedly reported a 100-percent success rate for the system, with claims that Patriots had intercepted Scud missiles launched from Iraq at Israel and Saudi Arabia. But the following year, Congressional hearings found that these claims were misleading and highly inaccurate. I was the lead staffer for the House Government Operations Committee investigation.
Rather than destroying 41 of 42 Scuds engaged, as President George H.W. Bush claimed at the end of the war, investigators from the Congressional Research Service and the General Accounting Office determined that Patriots only hit between zero and four of 44 Scuds engaged. . .here

Posted by: Don Bacon | May 8 2023 13:53 utc | 33

Interesting. The date on the Newsweek story (refuting the claim): May 5. The date on the NYT story (confirming the claim): May 6. The date on the Haaretz story (confirming): May 8 (today).

Hard to believe that MSM could be so sloppy (laughing out loud).

Posted by: Jonathan W | May 8 2023 13:54 utc | 34

why would anybody believe what Ian Williams says? his background looks like a typical Washington war shill.

Posted by: pretzelattack | May 8 2023 13:56 utc | 35

It's a good thing the Patriot is working so well cause the Pentagon did not get what it really wanted!

"Turkey over the weekend announced that it has rejected a US request for Ankara to provide Ukraine with Russian-made S-400 missile defense systems, which it controversially acquired from Moscow in 2017, and which resulted in strained relations with the United States."

Posted by: SwissArmyMan | May 8 2023 14:06 utc | 36

The reason thr Kinzhal is in the news is that Ukraine has no good news stories anymore. They definitely don't want the news cycle to linger on how a Bayraktar was allegedly hacked and they had to shoot it down over their own capital.

Hence next we will hear about how they blinded Russian satellites with some laser pointers, shot down a Su25 with a bbgun or killed 1000 spetznaz with a pickle jar.

It's all just fucking lies for the credulous..and the media are burning their credibility faster than the dollar is losing reserve currency status.

The only thing Ukraine is doing now other than their press ganged forces dying en masse to Russian standoff weapons is terrorism. Not exactly the tools of a campaign that's ascendant.

Posted by: Doctor Eleven | May 8 2023 14:09 utc | 37

Real name is Vladimir Gavrilov. The person is ethnically Russian...
Posted by: shadowbanned | May 8 2023 12:08 utc | 4

Havrylov. Another deplorable anti-commissar with an appalling track record in prediction.

Thank you shadowbanned. I don’t agree with everything that you post, but especially recently I have really enjoyed and benefitted from reading your contributions.

Posted by: Lev Davidovich | May 8 2023 14:11 utc | 38

OK, the Kinzhal story may not be true but this one must be: "Russia’s energy sector hit as Kremlin forced to increase tax. Putin raises levies on oil and gas groups after G7 imposes price cap on Russian crude." (Financial Times today).

Posted by: Jonathan W | May 8 2023 14:17 utc | 39

As the war goes increasingly bad for the Ukraine, I expect to hear Kiev's version of Baghdad Bob announcing the immanent fall of Vladivostok.

Antoinetta III

Posted by: Antoinetta III | May 8 2023 14:19 utc | 40

Ukraine officials making stuff up while losing a war are no different from US officials in the same general situation. Recall the repeated claims of "turning the corner" in Afghanistan.

Posted by: Don Bacon | May 8 2023 14:23 utc | 41

" Most people believe that the 20th century was a death struggle between Communism and Capitalism, and that Fascism was but a hiccup. But today we know better. Communism was a fool's errand. The followers of Marx gone from this earth, but the followers of Hitler abound and thrive. Hitler, however, had one great disadvantage. He lived in a time when Fascism, like a virus... like the AIDS virus... needed a strong host in order to spread. Germany was that host. But Germany did not prevail. The world was too big. Fortunately, the world has changed. Global communications, cable TV, the internet. Today the world is smal"ler and a virus does not need a strong host in order to spread. The virus... is airborne. One more thing. Let no man call us crazy. They called Hitler crazy. But Hitler was not crazy. He was stupid. You don't fight Russia *and* America. You get Russia and America to fight each other... and destroy each other.

-The Sum of All Fears

Posted by: AL Tru | May 8 2023 14:23 utc | 42

Hard to believe that MSM could be so sloppy (laughing out loud).
Posted by: Jonathan W | May 8 2023 13:54 utc | 34

No mistake, it's by design in msm. That military guy spoke too soon, unaware of the current's day story for natostan. Last year they also said the ghost of kiyyyvvv was a fake story, to boost troops morale or something like that. It was even on their official twitter. Almost a year later still no one cares in msm, it is how they say it is and how wikipedia editors want. You have to learn fast the new approved truths so when the social credits appear you know what to say. Like Cleopatra is black, women now are called "chest feeders", "bleeders", "womb owners", "cis women", "womin".

Posted by: rk | May 8 2023 14:24 utc | 43

Posted by: Anonymous | May 8 2023 13:00 utc | 14

Zelensky is nothing but a product of the western media. Anyone who has followed Ukraine since 2014, knows that the president of Ukraine has very little control when it comes to war matters. It's all the US funded neo-nazis calling the shots. Zelensky is in for the ride and saying the stuff he is told to by the PR team.

And regarding the kinzhal story, the fact that it was picked up and spread even after Ukraine air force spokesman Ignat denied them ever recording a use of Kinzhal, really speaks of desperation. Like really bad desperation. It's only for western consumption, the lambs will believe anything.

In fact I think the western military establishments in Europe will go on and start ordering more Patriot missile systems based on the lie that it would be capable of intercepting any sort of intra-atmospheric hypersonic missiles. This will really hurt Nato air defense in the long run. Same story with F-35 wunderwaffe program which they are now stuck with for many decades to come.

Posted by: unimperator | May 8 2023 14:27 utc | 44

At the outset of this conflict(2014) the the US has been very busy meddling and engineering things.
They have admitted that they are essentially running things in terms of funding, training and command. The most relevant big ticket item here are the 100 or so PR firms that are feeding off US tax dollars trying to spin the entire operation to make it seems as though Ukraine is winning the noble battle for freedom and democracy while Russia is the evil genocidal land grabber. And due to the seemingly limitless ignorance of the general public in the west, it has worked quite well.
Have-re:Love is just an extension of the Big Lie Factory. But in the end, "Metal Talks, and BullShit Walks".

Posted by: Chevrus | May 8 2023 14:28 utc | 45

Alexander Mercouris of The Duran captured the DC War party best: “If you’re a neocon you have no reverse gear, they are going to double down, triple down, quadruple down,” and right on cue:

https://jamesburrillangell.substack.com/p/strange-diplomacy-victoria-fck-the

Posted by: Doim | May 8 2023 14:32 utc | 46

For a moment I thought the Byraktar UAV getting shot in Kiev might have been a compliment to the Kremlin getting tagged by a UAV. Basically after hitting the Kremlin optics spread, they would then show how the brave fighting people of Kiev defeated the Rooskies attempt at retaliation!! Of course astute observers quickly pointed out that the UAV was not infact Russian....

Posted by: Chevrus | May 8 2023 14:33 utc | 47

Are Ukrainians retarded?

@Paul Greenwood | May 8 2023 12:58 utc | 13

Were the Ukrainians as retarded in Soviet times as now?

A professor at the Donetsk National Technical University explained this to me in 2016. He was Ukrainian, his parents were Ukrainian, but he now considers himself Russian. To him, being "Ukrainian" was a state of unsophisticated agrarianism, a lack of civilization and high culture. He preferred to use the high register of the language spectrum.

If Ukrainian actually was a language distinct from Russian, instead of merely a dialect continuum, then the Soviet people would have elevated it into a language of high civilization (they tried). But why translate foreign high literature into Ukrainian, if translations already existed in Russian? And why would anyone buy or read these books? The dialect spoken by most agrarian Ukrainians may be closer to Russian than the extremely Polonized form of language that serves as standard Ukrainian.

Modern Ukraine, celebrated in the West with the blue and yellow flags, is an ideology. It is the same racist theory about the inferiority of the Russian people, that also manifests itself as Nazism, and more recently, as "European values".

Ukrainian language is promoted by nationalist ideologues who hate "Russia". It is enforced by coercion by Nazi death squads. The language serves as a medium of distortion and lies, isolated from any outside criticism. Ukrainian art and literature may exist, but like Nazi art, it lacks any universal value.

Posted by: Petri Krohn | May 8 2023 14:37 utc | 48

The dialect spoken by most agrarian Ukrainians may be closer to Russian than the extremely Polonized form of language that serves as standard Ukrainian.

That is not far from the truth.

Were the Ukrainians as retarded in Soviet times as now?

The problem is that Khrushchev amnestied the Banderites after Stalin didn't kill them all down to the last man as he should have:

https://ninabyzantina.com/2023/01/30/why-did-soviet-leader-khrushchev-pardon-thousands-of-banderites-in-the-1950s/

Posted by: shadowbanned | May 8 2023 14:41 utc | 49

Are any posters on this board from USSR era ? Were the Ukrainians as retarded in Soviet times as now ?
Paul Greenwood | May 8 2023 12:58 utc | 13

They were held as not exactly the sharpest pens in the case.
"In all Russian jokes Ukrainians portrayed as dumb. To be fair in all Ukrainian jokes Russians portrayed as dead"

Posted by: Catilina | May 8 2023 14:42 utc | 50

If he is making a few bucks on the side by these predictions, those who paid him should ask for their money back. It’s called Flim Flam.

Posted by: Jose Garcia | May 8 2023 14:45 utc | 51

I think the Ukraine offensive already started. I believe it also already fizzled.

Posted by: Robert ZZ | May 8 2023 14:48 utc | 52

It's a silly business, with obvious racist undertones, but the reputation of Ukrainians as backward country folk is the basis of the "Polack' jokes from the US- the 'Polacks' being Ukrainian immigrants.

In the real world, however, country people driven by circumstance to look for work in urban industries, Irish, Somerset born, Newfoundlanders, Sicilians or whoever are not stupid, they simply come from different cultures and have developed different skills.

Posted by: bevin | May 8 2023 14:56 utc | 53

. . .Remembrance Day
President Volodymyr Zelensky has submitted a draft law to the Ukrainian parliament proposing that May 8 be the Day of Remembrance and Victory over Nazism in the Second World War.
"This is pure history, without ideological admixtures. And this is the history of our people, our allies, the entire free world. Today we return it to our state," Zelensky said in his video address on May 8. . .here

Posted by: Don Bacon | May 8 2023 14:58 utc | 54

Listen to the George

https://youtu.be/_D6hYJkBQ0g

Posted by: Andrew | May 8 2023 15:00 utc | 55

If Ukranians are retarded what does that make Americans? LoL

I have not met a stupider group of people except for Australians and Canadians.

Posted by: Comandante | May 8 2023 15:05 utc | 56

Posted by: Doim | May 8 2023 14:32 utc | 46

Thanks for this. An excellent overview.

Posted by: Mexicana | May 8 2023 15:06 utc | 57

Hrmm could this be the internal coup brewing? I can hear the hands greasing from here. Princess should capitulate before he no longer needed...wait...has that already happened...ohoh

where is princess zlenki? Only takes a few hours to fly back! as a women to re-enter his own country... priceless

Posted by: Sandman | May 8 2023 15:09 utc | 58

They were held as not exactly the sharpest pens in the case.

Let's put it this way:

National animal and symbol of Russia? The bear

National animal of Belarus? The European bison

What people associate Ukraine with? Pigs.

And their national food is salo (which is basically salted lard -- at least American bacon has some meat on it, but salo is just fat).

Which reminds me -- everyone should watch the Свинка В Обмороке cartoons:

https://vk.com/video/playlist/-212026411_5?section=playlist_5

They just dropped a new episode the other day.

However, despite that association between Ukrainians and swineherding, it only really applies in reality to rural Ukraine. In Soviet times Ukraine was actually the high-tech industry center of the USSR. But that was the big cities -- Kiev, Kharkov, Dnepropetrovsk, etc. Which were Russian speaking (yes, including Kiev; still is -- watch the video of something hitting Kiev last night and the curses in pure Russian in the background).

The main institute of cybernetics in the 1950s and 1960s was in Kiev, and surprisingly, it still exists, and it still bears Victor Glushkov's name (Glushkov was Russian; expect them to rename it if Kiev is not Russian again soon). Gluskov was the guy who wanted to create OGAS -- a Soviet version of the internet through which all the bureaucracy and logistics of the country would be run (imagine Amazon-like logistics system and e-government, but in the 1970s and 1980s; what could have been...) but was blocked by the bureaucrats because that would make corruption impossible and take away their power.

Dnepropetrovsk was a closed city in Soviet times because that is where Yuzhmash was, which made ICBMs. And so on. Ukraine was the most developed and most industrialized part of the USSR.

All of that has been destroyed by now.

Posted by: shadowbanned | May 8 2023 15:18 utc | 59

"This war will be won on the ground, not on the TV screens, not on the internet.”

The irony in that statement is breathtaking.

Posted by: Christian Chuba | May 8 2023 15:26 utc | 60

Posted by: Comandante | May 8 2023 15:05 utc | 57

Stupid people don’t achieve what the American have historically achieved.

Posted by: Milites | May 8 2023 15:26 utc | 61

Two Volods of Kiev are worth more than any Baghdad Bob..

Posted by: Et Tu | May 8 2023 15:29 utc | 62

Posted by: bevin | May 8 2023 14:56 utc | 53

So what’s the basis for Swedes telling Norwegian jokes, apart from every society wanting to believe it’s superior to it’s near neighbour.

Posted by: Milites | May 8 2023 15:29 utc | 63

Posted by: Paul Greenwood | May 8 2023 13:29 utc | 25 "The radar on the Patriot system could not track a missile with an unpredictable flight path"

There is no problem with phased array radars tracking the Kinzhal, unpredictable path or not — as long as the missile is in the radars field of view. The issue with tracking these missiles is that the field of view for earth based radar is pretty small.

As noted here the West has satellites and aircraft up which would enlarge the view of a Kinzhal launch quite dramatically. Also as noted, the West passes launch information on to Ukraine. Ukraine can keep their radars in standby mode and with notification of a launch that appears to be headed to a unit's engagement envelope, that unit can switch their radars.

If a Kinzhal is headed for a location close to a Patriots radar, it could see it. It is even possible to launch the Patriot missile without that launchers’ radar seeing the missile. If the Kinzhal is tracking close to where the Patriot missile, now launched, is, an intercept against a closing missile is possible.

So not impossible.

Posted by: Response2 | May 8 2023 15:34 utc | 64

@shaddowbanned #49

Thanks for that nina byzantina link. I've always had suspicions about Krushchev. I think he should have been shot, along with Yezhov, back in the late '30's. Stalin was too nice a guy. He liked and didn't want to have Bukharin shot, either. I think he was losing his revolutionary edge. But releasing all those Banderites and "gifting" Crimea to Ukraine was the icing on the cake after all the lies he told at the 20th congress. I find it hard to believe someone like Voroshilov went along with all this and how Krushchev was ever elected to his position. It only strengthens my argument that the war really was responsible for diluting the ideological purity of the party, so much so that people weren't able to see through and resist the revisionism Krushchev promoted.

Posted by: zeke2u | May 8 2023 15:35 utc | 65

My guess is that the offensive will look like this:

Tet Offensive - Vietnam - 1968

1] When the main operation began during the early morning hours of 31 January, the offensive was countrywide; eventually more than 80,000 PAVN/VC troops struck more than 100 towns and cities, including 36 of 44 provincial capitals, five of the six autonomous cities, 72 of 245 district towns, and the southern capital.

2] Hanoi had launched the offensive in the belief that it would trigger a popular uprising leading to the collapse of the South Vietnamese government.

3] Although the initial attacks stunned the allies, causing them to lose control of several cities temporarily, they quickly regrouped, beat back the attacks, and inflicted heavy casualties on PAVN/VC forces.

4] The offensive was a military defeat for North Vietnam, as neither uprisings nor ARVN unit defections occurred in South Vietnam.

5] The offensive had a strong effect on the U.S. government and shocked the U.S. public, which had been led to believe by its political and military leaders that the North Vietnamese were being defeated and incapable of launching such an ambitious military operation; American public support for the war declined as a result of the Tet casualties and the ramping up of draft calls.

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

Thus we are likely to see lots of small operations in multiple directions, directed at soft targets, special ops operations, sabotage, bombings, terror attacks, etc. All designed for maximum psychological impact and headlines, rather than conventional military victories. I think we are starting to see this now with train derailments, drones targeting the Kremlin, car bombings, etc... ...which may have been a part of it but were non-postpone-able, as the start date was delayed.

Posted by: Rokossovsky | May 8 2023 15:39 utc | 66

It only strengthens my argument that the war really was responsible for diluting the ideological purity of the party, so much so that people weren't able to see through and resist the revisionism Krushchev promoted.

Posted by: zeke2u | May 8 2023 15:35 utc | 67

That is correct. The war focused everyone's attention on survival. Ideological purity was an afterthought. Then they emerged from the war exhausted and in ruins, and while it gave a moral boost for a few decades, there was simply no appetite for sacrifices and harsh enforcement of rules anymore. What was completely unacceptable previously became permissible. And it was a one-way road to ruin after that.

One more reason why the war was a win officially, but a loss in reality.

Posted by: shadowbanned | May 8 2023 15:42 utc | 67

All of that has been destroyed by now.

Posted by: shadowbanned | May 8 2023 15:18 utc | 60

Lithuania used to make TV's, Bulgaria was computer manufacturing. All of this was destroyed.

Under Russian rule the population of Lithuania and Bulgaria increased; under American rule the population decreased. And then there are those who claim the Russians werebad, and the Americans good.

Posted by: Passerby | May 8 2023 15:43 utc | 68

Volodymyr Havrylov will continue to say anything and the Ukies will continue to make up stories because that is the only way the money will continue to flow into their pockets. The EU is the loser.

Posted by: Steve | May 8 2023 15:45 utc | 69

Ever wonder why Kiev so willingly sends wave after wave of Ukrainian soldiers into the "meat grinder" to die every day? I have heard that Kiev has been conscripting its new soldiers almost exclusively from the Russian speaking areas of Ukraine. If true, that would mean that Kiev has been using the "meat grinder" to ethnically cleanse Ukraine, to get rid of its Russian-speaking population. See what I mean? Anyone here ever think about that?

Posted by: Mountain_Stream | May 8 2023 15:53 utc | 70

Posted by: Forest | May 8 2023 12:31 utc | 11

how so? pls articulate, thanks

Posted by: DS | May 8 2023 15:53 utc | 71

population of Lithuania and Bulgaria
Posted by: Passerby | May 8 2023 15:43 utc | 68

---

The population of the Baltics is less than the population of the Khartoum Urban Agglomeration. Tiny little puffed up countries.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Khartoum,+Sudan/@14.9078058,32.847244,191537m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m6!3m5!1s0x168e8fde9837cabf:0x191f55de7e67db40!8m2!3d15.5006544!4d32.5598994!16zL20vMDRkX20

Posted by: too scents | May 8 2023 15:55 utc | 72

I see no signs of panic from the Russians. Far from it. In fact I would say quite the opposite. They seem to act quite as if they were in the drivers seat. The people of Russia if anything, are calling for a more aggressive posture, not less.

The one thing I am sure of is that globalists have staked everything on this fiasco, are on the clock with eroding public opinion and a deranged Biden facing an election he cannot possibly win without historic cheating. If that happens, then the US may well fall into anarchy. They are cornered and desperate and capable of literally anything no matter how monstrous.

Frankly, I will be very surprised if there isn't some kind of nuclear false flag event in Ukraine. I would also not rule out another pandemic from one of the US's numerous biolabs either. They are insane and they will not go down without playing every single card in their psychotic hand, regardless of the consequences to the world.

Posted by: JustAMaverick | May 8 2023 13:46 utc | 29

Right On, JustAMaverick, thanks for the sane and sound synopsis of what we are up against. Refreshing departure from the CIA trolls chanting Baghdad Bob blurbs for the 4th Reich Schwab Nazi agenda, or the pollyannish fantasyland hopium-smokers who think 'deep state Orange Hair will save us even though he death jabbed us at warp speed and put the ultimate swamp creature Bill Barr in charge of sanctifying Biden's election fraud."

We are captives of a Satanic elite that is worshiped by the 97-percenter masses who joined a Zombie Death Cult - They are mindlessly walking a cliff with a blank stare because the Kool Kids on CIA-TV told them to.

Yes the US-EU Nazis will stage a nuclear false flag and blame Russia because false flags are the ONLY thing they do effectively. And it will 'work' in the sense that it will garner universal '5 Eyes-nation' support for global suicide among the idiot masses who suck Lindsay Graham or Chuck Schumer knob (i.e nearly everybody).

But it will also prompt Moscow to play the Strategic Nuclear Ace hand that they hold. Unlike the US masses who are brainwashed to worship the suicidally stupid MAD doctrine that in a nuke war "killing all people on earth is good" and "killing weapons is bad," the Russian strategists (like Suslov in the old cold war and now Gerasimov in this new hot one) believe that DIS-ARMING your global death wish enemy is better than mass suicide. That means counterforce knockouts of Columbia class subs, junky old Minuteman IIIs etc. We are begging to get Sarmats up the ass so that is what we will get.

It does not take a rocket scientist to see this will end in apocalyptic disaster of rthe 5 Eyes Neo-Nazi nations (i.e. Deagel saw it coming). It just takes someone with the balls and awareness to face the obvious truth.

Posted by: CrashDavis | May 8 2023 15:56 utc | 73

13 - I studied Russian in Kiev in late Soviet times and there was a fair amount of black market stuff, people wanting to buy Western jeans etc. Not "retarded" but corrupt. If post-Soviet Ukraine has been a gangster paradise, I may have seen some of the beginnings back then.
I rarely heard the Ukrainian language in Kiev though there was a Ukrainian-language TV channel. I was there to study Russian and it was mostly Russian I heard.

Posted by: Waldorf | May 8 2023 15:58 utc | 74

66 - Tet pretty much destroyed the VC. The NVA were very much in the Communist driving seat after that, and the 1972 Easter Offensive was not only NVA-dominated but quite conventional, with extensive use of tanks. (Most of the crews trained in the Soviet Union.)

Posted by: Waldorf | May 8 2023 16:06 utc | 75

"The Czech president, Petr Pavel, a decorated retired general who was previously Nato’s principal military adviser, has privately warned Ukraine’s leadership against the disaster of a rushed counteroffensive.

In recent meetings in Kyiv with Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and prime minister, Denys Shmyhal, Pavel cautioned that they no longer had the element of surprise that aided successful assaults on the eastern city of Kharkiv and southern region of Kherson last year."

7th May

Posted by: ThusspakeZarathustra | May 8 2023 16:08 utc | 76

76 - This has got to be one of the most telegraphed-in-advance "counteroffensives" in military history.

Posted by: Waldorf | May 8 2023 16:14 utc | 77

He is predicting Russian panic because causing Russian panic is the true goal of the offensive.

Posted by: catdog | May 8 2023 16:15 utc | 78

Rokossovsky #66

Yeah, like Wikipedia is the be all and end all of sources of info. Militarily it was an operational defeat for the NVA and Vietcong. But in the end, was it a strategic victory?? The Marines spent days getting their opponents out of Hue, the old capital. The flattened it. More long term resentment of the population.

There are random saboteurs in RF liberated cities, but I doubt platoon sized armed soldiers to engage at sites, no storming of Russian mayoral or oblast buildings. They can not swim in the sea of people in Melitipol, etc.

The events at the US embassy in Saigon seen in a timely manner (I believe film flown as fast as possible to a satellite uplink) were crucial in shifting the narrative and the beliefs in the usOfa.

As a final thought, think of the steadfast solidarity of the NVA (mostly volunteers early on) and the Vietcong as opposed to the state of the present 2nd or 3rd army of UA.

Posted by: paxmark1 | May 8 2023 16:15 utc | 79

First it has to be understood that this war is a life or death struggle for America. The opportunity to break up Russia and defeat it will never come again.

And so now- America must soon play its hand to reverse the tide of war that's going to egregiously bad for the Ukraine. The question is on what American can do to inflict pain on Russia, without stepping over the bounds of the mutually agreeed upon limitations of the war.

As for Zelensky objecting to the slaughter of the Ukrainian armed forces, America will have him eliminated if he does.

Posted by: Up North | May 8 2023 16:18 utc | 80

Simplicius has a photo of the supposed kinzal within his latest update, and it's a howler. He does a good job of explaining and showing why the last corner of Bakhmut is called The Citadel and is being bypassed.

Posted by: karlof1 | May 8 2023 16:19 utc | 81

Posted by: shadowbanned | May 8 2023 15:18 utc | 59

All of that has been destroyed by now.

A tragedy caused by the insatiable uncle Sam and its european stooges. It is not fair to make fun of Ukrainians, after all they're only victims of the exceptionalists, it is a civil war, Russians against Russians and all caused by the evil empire of lies. My hope is that this time around and at big cost for Russia the empire will pay, it is about time, all the places that I've lived at and love bear the marks of the empire's greed and antihuman essence, before I leave this world I'm sure I'll see the bastards pay.

Posted by: Paco | May 8 2023 16:19 utc | 82

53 - The sort of person who liked to tell such jokes probably could not really tell one nation of Eastern Europe from another.

Posted by: Waldorf | May 8 2023 16:21 utc | 83

It can be said of America in the same way it can be said about America: They won't submit to losing a war that will determine world domination, while sitting on one of the world's greatest nuclear forces.

Posted by: Up North | May 8 2023 16:26 utc | 84

Given the way people on this forum have being shitting their panties about Depleted Uranium which has a radioactivity of nearly zero, he might be right if only one platoon of tanks assaults a Russian position.

Posted by: Elmer Fudd | May 8 2023 16:28 utc | 85

64 - lol. The plasma surrounding hypersonic missiles masks them from conventional radar. I guess arrayed radar is your hopium?

Posted by: Arcticman | May 8 2023 16:33 utc | 86

Posted by: Petri Krohn | May 8 2023 14:37 utc | 48
I wonder why Dmytro Dontsov has never been translated into English? I am curious to read him. I read Mein Kampf, too, so I can stomach these people. Russians can probably understand 80% of Ukrainian. It seems to me that the differenced is like that of Spanish or Portuguese.
Posted by: shadowbanned | May 8 2023 14:41 utc | 49
That is a very interesting link. Thank you.

Posted by: lex talionis | May 8 2023 16:33 utc | 87

This is not a prediction. This is undiluted delusional hopium. Not even a priest attempting to read the rotting entrails of a long dead bird could get everything so wrong.

Posted by: Hermit | May 8 2023 16:34 utc | 88

Posted by: Petri Krohn | May 8 2023 14:37 utc | 48
"what god hath joined, let not man sunder..."

lots about Ukraine people like me don't know. but the obvious fact remains the nazis stepped in to stop the interbreeding.

the manufactured linguistic division is proof of this.

marriage and sex:

as reported by wsws, the NYT had a glowing article the other day about the Aryans saving their sperm, so that, among other things, when the rapey russians are wiped out, pure bloods can be bred.

while in reality, the sex crimes will not be committed by the party that is fighting for its home. this is a capitalist enterprise, which is why the west won't ever stop, it can't. but just like in iraq (Shia vs Sunni) and everywhere, they destroy the unity that already exists and the criminalize it.

at the linguistic level. lest we be infected, by the Russian language.

what's to be done w/the nazification of the West?

join the Jehovah's Witnesses (in the US), just for conscientious objector status?
signifying one will never fight, never ever, never, for the USG.

something more proactive in this heavily-armed nation of obese underachievers so obsessed w/the transgressions of others' sex lives.

take the outcast, the immigrant, into the home, treat them like family, ie, marry them, love "the enemy", rebuild the home, and defend the family. and then put your guns to good use.

Posted by: rjb1.5 | May 8 2023 16:34 utc | 89

Elmer Fudd @85

The deformed babies in places like Basra beg to differ.

Posted by: aquileia | May 8 2023 16:35 utc | 90

From a ZH article. "Turkey Angrily Rejects US Request To Give Ukraine S-400 Air Defense System"

So far Turkey has said no. But going by Turkey's past "NO's" to NATO, this is extremely likely to be accepted soon. In fact, none of the "NO's" by Turkey have ever lasted more than a few months before they acquiesced.

That means, Russia had better get used to the idea of facing S-400's in the near future by NATO provision.

Not what I would call a positive development for Russia although how much of a winning move by NATO/Ukraine it will prove to be remains to be seen. Still, there will be many in Russia now seriously regretting selling the S-400 to a NATO country.

Posted by: JustAnotherAussie | May 8 2023 16:36 utc | 91

DW News is reporting that Usula von der Shekel will be in Ukraine on Tuesday for talks with (US puppet & 'Acting' President) Zelenskyy.

DW is also reporting that Sudanese citizens are blaming the international community for the unrest in Sudan.

I'm wondering if all the MSM 'news' about conflicts everywhere is deflection from the widespread rumours that ~ 2000 US banks have liabilities exceeding their assets. Conspiracy Theorists are painting the looming banking meltdown as a deliberate plot to consolidate Ownership of the US banking sector.

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | May 8 2023 16:37 utc | 92

Up North | May 8 2023 16:18 utc | 80--

There's nothing the Outlaw US Empire can do to cause great harm to Russia--the economic war was supposed to accomplish that and was a complete failure. Now, it's the Empire that faces a massive crisis as Hudson reveals in this recent interview, "The Hard Iron Financial Fist", and is depicted in this political cartoon. The Neoliberalcons refuse to look at the fire burning at their feet that's slowly spreading and will soon engulf their entire house--they are defeated but incapable of admitting the truth. And in their insanity, they think they can pivot and escalate their attack on China. The only explanation I've been able to arrive at is that those behind the curtain are afflicted with a combination of Megalomania and Pleonexia, which only seem to have one cure--the death of those afflicted.

Posted by: karlof1 | May 8 2023 16:38 utc | 93

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | May 8 2023 16:37 utc | 92
I copied this from some thread yesterday:

"BREAKING: Scientists warn that Earth could run out of conspiracy theories by 2025 if they keep coming true at the current rate."
Posted by: Grieved | May 7 2023 22:15 utc | 59

Posted by: lex talionis | May 8 2023 16:46 utc | 94

It it just me or does it appear that a bunch of sock puppets have sidled up to the bar. Lots of shaddowbanned love goin' on...
What a daft banner to march under, heh heh

Posted by: comrade simba | May 8 2023 16:48 utc | 95

Posted by: karlof1 | May 8 2023 16:19 utc | 81

He works hard that Simplicius guy, a wide range of info but I would not lose any time with Strelkov-Girkin, after all he was offered a job with Wagner, but he refused.
There is a clip with Prigozhin in his usual manner giving the Strelkov curriculum, not a pretty picture. In Russian, but maybe somebody that speaks the language in your town can discuss it with you over a beer, or coffee or whatever you prefer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ILoGBgrzdg

Posted by: Paco | May 8 2023 16:52 utc | 96

On the principle of hope for the best but plan for the worse.

That neatly explains Russias action or in action so far. It's a prudent policy going forward.

Second worse possibility is full on war with NATO. (Worse for everyone).
If that kicks of ther will be no warning from the west. Hours.
That would explain Russias massive build up of weapons and army, so far unused.

So the worse worse possibility is nuclear.
No winners, all losers.
Russia is ready for that to minutes not even hours.
If that happens Russia would have so far kept the moral high ground.
That to some of us means a lot.

Posted by: Mark2 | May 8 2023 16:54 utc | 97

karlof1 | May 8 2023 16:38 utc | 93

I would suggest that there is a lot that America can do to turn the tide, without resorting to nuclear. When America's world supremacy is at stake, as it certainly is with the obvious China/Russia alliance coming, America resorting to even chem/bio warfare can't be ruled out.

First understand that it's a life or death struggle for America, then don't bet on the defeat of an empire. The Ukraine had nothing to do with bumbling into this situation for the advancement of their agenda. This was America putting in action a plan to take down Russia!

Posted by: Up North | May 8 2023 16:55 utc | 98

These cyber kids, these information warfare crétins remind me of Robert McNamaras Pentagon "whiz kids" who won the contest on how Vietnam would be conducted. Flash....it did not work then and it will not work now. Those who for decades have been "perception building" through what has become a mind-fucking media, are now victims of their own vices. Remember "for whom the gods destroy they first make mad."

Posted by: WT Baker | May 8 2023 16:58 utc | 99

Well, Ukraine to win the Eurovision is still 9 or 10 to 1 right now. Given the 8 million Ukrainians all over Europe now and the expected sympathy votes from others should images of massive fighting come out, might be worth considering a bet if the offensive coincidences this week with the contest.

Posted by: Altai | May 8 2023 17:03 utc | 100