As long as the Russians are reluctant to take heavy casualties, the war will continue until Biden loses the 2024 election. Biden will pour U.S. weaponry and mercenary/proxy troops into Ukraine in sufficient quantities to shore up the battered Ukrainian army. There are thousands of Bradleys and Abrams in the U.S. inventory. A decisive Russian victory will not be cheap, and it will not be achieved until Putin is willing to pay the price.

Posted by: HH | Jul 6 2023 14:25 utc | 4

” …the war will continue until Biden loses the 2024 election…”
There will never be a fair election in the US anymore. Not ever.

Posted by: Catilina | Jul 6 2023 14:29 utc | 6

Daring to talk diplomacy
Canada has a clear side in this war. To be critical of that is to ask for abuse.

Posted by: james | Jul 6 2023 14:31 utc | 8

Posted by: Julian | Jul 6 2023 14:08 utc | 2
By fixating on the narrative of the “missing offensive” from Russian side you can miss the major red flag on AFU side, namely their Lvov military commissioner said that 80% of their recruits now come from raids off the street and from private houses. That means the end is getting near, unless of course Poland is willing to send 100k people or more to fight for them.
The narrative of the missing offensive is not true by the way, it’s just a fact of life how the war is. There are tactical counter-offensives all the time, and Ukraine is the one willing to do the attacks and often in the more wasteful manner, so RU is defending. They make occasional counter-attacks to retake some position which are deemed vital. There will probably be a larger offensive if/when things stabilize as AFU offensives dry up.
It’s obvious that there’s more than one way to skin a cat, or win a war as they say.

Posted by: unimperator | Jul 6 2023 14:33 utc | 10

https://t.me/remylind21
“Today the reconnaissance and artillerymen of the western group of troops had a good day.
1) The enemy ammunition depot was opened and destroyed in the settlement. Volchansk;
2) after 10 minutes, the enemy’s PVD was covered at a factory in the same Volchansk;
3) After that, the APU officers were evacuated to the settlement in a panic. White Well, but there they were waiting for a gift from the MLRS “Tornado-G” and “Tornado-S”;
4) By the end of the working day, the enemy air defense system in the settlement was destroyed. “
~ Cossack Lopan.

Posted by: Melaleuca | Jul 6 2023 14:40 utc | 12

oldhippie | Jul 6 2023 14:36 utc | 14
Nah, U$ money markets aren’t OT.. the Sanctions From Hell™️ were intended to defeat Russia in 6weeks. Three months, tops.
That Russia’s economy is proving resilient, and the U$ (and EU) economies fragile, is an unintended consequence, and greatest irony of the war USNATO provoked.

Posted by: Melaleuca | Jul 6 2023 14:49 utc | 14

Where is the poster with the handle “Rk?”
He needs to tell us that everything is peaceful In Lviv.. nothing for tourists to worry over.
Don’t mind the NATO merc entrails in the street and the blood on your copy of “Eastern European travel guide.”

Posted by: Ghost of Zanon | Jul 6 2023 15:02 utc | 16

NATO is the USA’s PMC (Public Military Contractor). For which EU vassals pay the entire tab. Good work if you can get it.

Posted by: Elmagnostic | Jul 6 2023 15:22 utc | 18

Posted by: Paul Greenwood | Jul 6 2023 15:20 utc | 20
Given the CEP for an early war night bomber was 5 miles, I doubt a policy of deliberate, class-based, discrimination was followed, rather that working class areas were more numerous, close to industrial targets and their distinctive landmarks. The fire-maps of Bomber Command specifically target the timber houses, favoured by the well-off, due to their construction and hard to access, for fire crews, locations.

Posted by: Milites | Jul 6 2023 15:40 utc | 20

@2.
Seems like russia is already increased the tempo around kupiansk south to Lyman. I think that in this type of war counts as an offensive. It could be ukraine is pulling reserves away from zaporohzia to repel them.
It doesn’t make for large sweeps but does count for attritional warfare.
I think a big offensive will come from the north to sumy when what your looking for happens. There’s no big build up to indicate that yet. It all depends on how thin the Ukrainian lines get and on the amount of weapon deliveries.

Posted by: Neofeudalfuture | Jul 6 2023 16:06 utc | 22

Putin is planning a nuclear disaster

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/ukraine-says-putin-is-planning-a-nuclear-disaster-these-people-live-nearby/ar-AA1djHvv
“Warnings from Ukrainian officials and atomic energy experts about a potential disaster in southeastern Ukraine have gained urgency”

And buried way down, towards the end of the story, WaPo finally says …

“[Rafael Mariano Grossi, and IAEA official] said he saw no evidence it had been mined.”

Funny how the U.S. treats Zelensky’s statements as gospel truth and ignores the inspectors who were actually on site. Granted the IAEA wasn’t looking for bombs but they did examine the critical systems at the Nuke plant. Ukrainian workers could pass along this type of information but they would also mention this to the IAEA staff if it was true.

Posted by: Christian Chuba | Jul 6 2023 16:16 utc | 24

For those who would say this is a “War of Attrition” – sure, but why does that Attrition have to include the citizens of Donetsk City?
Posted by: Julian | Jul 6 2023 14:08 utc | 2
##############
Something that I think Slovaks understand innately, is sacrifice for the end goal. The same reason why so many fathers volunteer for war. It’s for the future, for their children’s children.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Jul 6 2023 16:16 utc | 26

Posted by: Christian Chuba | Jul 6 2023 16:16 utc | 33
The US press are simply prostitutes who have whored themselves out to the MIC.
In exchange for surrendering their integrity and calling to be a watchdog over the government, they get a cozy gig pushing propaganda.

Posted by: Ghost of Zanon | Jul 6 2023 16:22 utc | 28

Why hasn’t Russia destroyed US funded (more than $200M) biological laboratories, the ones dealing with infectious disease in Ukraine?
Trust in the Neo-Nazi regime or more generally trust in human nature in wartime?
Posted by: Elmagnostic | Jul 6 2023 16:07 utc | 32

Someone noticed that the territories first caputured back Feb/March were aligned with the locations of the bioweapons labs. The RF captured troves of documents and labs. Lots of publicity and UN hearings on the subject. Even Pelosi made a stink.
So apparently the bioweapons labs are no more.

Posted by: Exile | Jul 6 2023 16:27 utc | 30

And that is why it is instructive to count the percentage of the population fighting on either side. Somehow, invaders rank just a tiny bit lower. Wonder if the Glory of Putin is not so high as their children’s children?
Posted by: Membrum Virile | Jul 6 2023 16:24 utc | 39
##################
You’re taking a very Western perspective on this, hyper-focusing on Putin, when it’s really about the greater Russian state, which has seen many wars over the last 1,000 years.
For Americans, the SMO is a big deal. For Russians, in a cultural sense, this is just another day living on the edge of Europe.
Continue to count the %s.
I will count the territory taken, the equipment destroyed, and the relative strengths of the currencies.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Jul 6 2023 16:31 utc | 32

@ Neofeudalfuture | Jul 6 2023 16:06 utc | 31
All that is nice and fine, but at the moment prevention of Ukraine to shell Donetsk must be a priority. Since Avdeevka is yet another NATO fortress left to fall, I can see the idea that RF is circling on that area from the North, a bit long way from where they are now.
However, it would be reasonable circumventing Artemovsk-like situations.
That will keep the RF’s casualties at some reasonable minimum, still way better than trying to take down the enclave directly. Lots of work there still.

Posted by: whirlX | Jul 6 2023 16:38 utc | 34

Determine to escalate.
Or all that’s left?
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/06/world/europe/ukraine-cluster-munitions.html

Posted by: jpc | Jul 6 2023 16:51 utc | 36

Posted by: Milites | Jul 6 2023 16:30 utc | 42
Posted by: unimperator | Jul 6 2023 14:33 utc | 10
It’s all a matter of equilibrium, if the Russians plan to launch a counter-offensive, big if, they have two choices when to do, to maximise its chances of success.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Key concerns are macro level, especially:
1. The degree of support within Ukraine able to both lead/represent the population and do so without being beholden to the (Finance) Empire. Without such, RF has nobody within Ukraine to deal with. So they won’t until then. We are not there yet by a long shot.
2. Exhaustion on the part of NATO axis such that they can no longer project force into and continuously meddle in the internal affairs of foreign nations far away from their shores, like Ukraine. Such exhaustion might only require the fall of the neocons and their networks out of favor. But since these guys are just secretaries for the very considerable power networks still very much in the Western saddle, this isn’t going to come soon either, oldhippie’s smart warning notwithstanding.
Part of the problem lies with the inherent flaws in latter-day ‘capitalist’ – or criminal credit cartel if your prefer – model which is that the rich get richer as the poor and middle get poorer. There are two core ways this happens:
1. They literally make more money in good times by increasing their percentage take of the gross economy. Usually they game the system as they accrue more power meaning that good people have a harder time prospering whilst bad people an easier time. Over time, this destroys the polity from within, but it can keep going for a long time when everyone more or less is doing well even if a small clique is doing better.
2. Less well understood but the exact same in principle: they also benefit from contractions, even depressions or defeats in war (such as Germany in the 50’s), because as weak players are squeezed out of the system only a few are left standing. Those few are not making more money necessarily in gross terms, but relatively speaking they are greatly increasing their ‘differential’ percentage ownership of all profit-making (and influencing) assets so that when growth returns, relatively they are even more powerful than they were before the downturns started and will gain the most.
What this means is that the elites are perfectly comfortable driving the West into the ground. They stand to become even more powerful. And since they own much of the trade flows out of China into everywhere else, as China’s differential share grows, so does theirs.
So from their POV they are in a win-win situation. So: the more destruction the better – anywhere, anytime suits them just fine. They just need to fool enough of the people enough of the time into undertaking such reprehensible, ugly, damaging and destructive actions. And it seems they are regularly able to do so. Populations are surprisingly easy to manipulate into supporting those who hate them.
And the bad guys have not yet been proven wrong. From the POV of ordinary citizens, common sense and basic morality, they are messing up big time and much they do seems crazy or stupid. This may be an accurate appraisal but meanwhile the bad guys are becoming relatively more powerful and influential so from their perspective, all is hunky dory.
At some point, the center will not hold. Two entirely different realities like this cannot coexist forever. But many of the bad actors are part of networks that have been successful for many centuries and they know how to fool populations and their native leadership. Indeed, they are not as stupid as many are now projecting just because what they do doesn’t seem to benefit the countries they are (falsely) presumed to be leading.
(That’s why I have resistance to the term ‘US Empire.’ The ‘US’ has been captured, long ago. One author in Unz this week calls it a Talmudic Empire. Perhaps it’s more accurate though probably also an incomplete, overly cartoonish depiction. Whatever it is, it has almost nothing to do with the American people or their Constitution or, therefore, ‘the United States’ which, practically speaking, no longer truly exist as such.)

Posted by: Scorpion | Jul 6 2023 17:07 utc | 38

Posted by: Ghost of Zanon | Jul 6 2023 15:02 utc | 18
Perhaps he is Kalibrating a response from beyond?

Posted by: badjoke | Jul 6 2023 17:24 utc | 40

@ Neofeudalfuture | Jul 6 2023 17:19 utc | 39
I got that, but it is also a way to generate anger and disbelief in RF’s army, that feeds, again, the 5th column of TGs, VKs and bloggers as an impotence and a SMO objectives failure.
However, I know that as in WWII things lingered very slow, and then, suddenly a quick big red arrows and a sudden death of Wermacht unfolded.
I do expect the very same happening in Ukraine, too.

Posted by: whirlX | Jul 6 2023 17:35 utc | 42

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Jul 6 2023 16:35 utc | 44
And what is “your ideological disposition” amirite? Are you basing in your superior moral stance while the people of Donbass you profess to love are still bombarded by Ukro-fascist goons and their masters? Is this “Christian” conviction validated when Putin’s own people, like Tatarsky and Dugina (and these are known individuals) are murdered with impunity?
Are you suggesting there is some form of Christian charity involved in letting the apatride Russian elites – those who put to shamethe Latin American equivalents by their post-Soviet lack of patriotism – skate, toor where they please and then return to the motherland if things aren’t to their liking? Do you even comprehend how simple, patriotic Russians feel when they see a obcenely wealthy bimbo return to the country in a Rolls Royce after her early escapade?
It is no wonder that people bring up Stalin as an example of a dedicated Commander-in-Chief nowadays, when even Russian strippers are more patriotic than so many of the Russian elites. And yet, the people still have to endure the spectacle of parasites like Vladimir Potanin increasing the property during the war by swallowing former western corporate assets for a dime (yes, the same scumbag who made himself a billionaire in the 90s through treasonous chicanery and now opposes nationalizations, while the US State Department hardly enacted any sanctions against him, I wonder why), when others struggle with the losses of their kin, often in a brutal, publicized manner by Ukro-Nazis or even with financial difficulties.
So tone down your ravings about a superior morality when the policies that are supposedly driven by it are carried by many while the chosen few can roll as previously without having to meaningfully express any sort of patriotic life stance with its attended consequences.

Posted by: Constantine | Jul 6 2023 17:42 utc | 44

Ghost of Zanon | Jul 6 2023 15:02 utc | 16
Once a year is nothing. The 800 number is wishful thinking, 50-100 more realistic.
Compared to what is in Belgorod tonight is absolutely nothing.
Try again next year

Posted by: rk | Jul 6 2023 18:06 utc | 46

Russian hackers have supposedly deleted AFU database for information on conscriptable men and it’s doubtful how much if at all can be recovered. That combined with (like mentioned earlier) the need to go search for 80 % of conscripts might throw some sand in the mobilization machinery.
https://twitter.com/onlydjole/status/1676984639703900162

Posted by: unimperator | Jul 6 2023 18:20 utc | 48

Posted by: MajorMajor | Jul 6 2023 18:40 utc | 50
Ukrainian army was more powerful than the US army. US and British army is welcome to go die on the same Zaporozhye fields if they want. Those defensive lines weren’t built only AFU in mind.

Posted by: unimperator | Jul 6 2023 18:47 utc | 50

Milites @ 46

I agree with your conclusion that the status quo is unsustainable

I also agree unsustainable, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be sustained for decades more. One could argue capitalism has never been sustainable going back to the Luddites, and yet they keep sustaining it through 300ys of tolerable, bad, and disastrous.
The rulers have the prerogative of power that’s exclusive to them, they can use any method small and big, they can use reward and punishment, positives and negative, corruption, malfeasance, immorality, threats and lies, are equally valid to any social acceptable means, even smart or stupid tactics does not matter as they are free to jury rig on the fly any consequences, and of course they use the hard work of the working and managerial class against them as they extract taxes for their repression, making the working class punch themselves in the face over and over. And, most importantly they have class solidarity, historical memory (aristocracy) – cultural hegemony, all the 99% have is revolution, and that’s a bitch to organize, solidify, and effect.
Long, slow, hard road ahead. I doubt most of the geezers here will see any improvement in their lifetime, in fact the opposite.

Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Jul 6 2023 18:50 utc | 52

NATO’s Scorched Earth in Ukraine

There is enough evidence now to satisfy the Global Majority that U.S. regime change and controlling operations in Ukraine since 2013 have been above all cynically aimed at weakening and destabilising Russia. Remembering their own viciously exploited colonial history, the Global Majority are glad these Western efforts are failing.

Posted by: Aleph_Null | Jul 6 2023 19:14 utc | 54

Larry Johnson has posted a good crystallisation of how we got here and where we might be going: https://sonar21.com/background-paper-russia-united-states-ukraine/
A sample:

It is not surprising that Washington cannot come up with a coherent grand strategy, or even cope with the questions and troubles that are piling up. The bleak outlook evident in John Mearsheimer’s recent manifesto is apparent in the title: The Darkness Ahead: Where the Ukraine War Is Headed. A similar pessimism is found in the current Foreign Affairs article by Samuel Charap, of RAND Corporation, entitled: An Unwinable War: Washington Needs an Endgame in Ukraine.

Posted by: West of England Andy | Jul 6 2023 19:31 utc | 56

Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Jul 6 2023 18:50 utc | 52
Your second paragraph could describe any entrenched system of power, including communism. I’m more more optimistic, given the paths of resistance are becoming more numerous, though based on capitalistic principles. Boycotts, new issue based parties (Dutch farmers) more migration from narrative media to predictive media, greater rejection of official mantras by younger generations etc. I think the problem socialists always run up against is that capitalism traditionally has delivered what working class people in the UK want, and any changes are based on a far more astute understanding, about the nature of humanity, than some of ‘their saviours’ who definitely reside on the lower levels of the ivory tower. I’ve spent more than a decade working with the UK’s working class and can quite understand how their stubborn refusal to fit into neat categories, prescribed by Marxist orthodoxy, drives Euro-socialists to distraction. In fact, the social attitudes of the working class are not dissimilar to those, ironically, of the upper class, it’s the middle classes that have always been the ham in the sandwich here, since they arose in the latter half of the medieval period.

Posted by: Milites | Jul 6 2023 19:35 utc | 58

As some might have noticed in other threads, I high-balled ucranian casualties (and the figure was close to hack”s numbers) from the sociology institute of Kiev.
Nevertheless, if those numbers are true I would expect to see little to no. Un-injured, un-uniformed MEN pretty anywhere outside of Kiev .
Any videos analysis or personal information about that would be welcome.
Thank you.

Posted by: Newbie | Jul 6 2023 19:37 utc | 60

Ukraine is being carved up by big business like a turkey at Christmas.
https://archive.ph/M4nHO

Posted by: Republicofscotland | Jul 6 2023 19:46 utc | 62

Posted by: Marvin | Jul 6 2023 19:34 utc | 57
Given that both sides have already been using them I don’t see much of an escalation.
Here is the UN on Russian use: https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/03/1115092
Here is a report on Ukrainian use: https://www.hrw.org/news /2023/07/06/ukraine-civilian-deaths-cluster-munitions#:~:text=A%20United%20Nations%20report%20also,examined%20is%20most%20likely%20greater.

Posted by: Ed2 | Jul 6 2023 19:57 utc | 64

More assertiveness from the Global Majority; from Sputnik: https://sputnikglobe.com/20230706/latin-american-nations-reject-pro-kiev-position-ahead-of-eu-celac-summit-1111706206.html

Latin American Nations Reject Pro-Kiev Position Ahead of EU-CELAC Summit
Ahead of a summit later this month between the European Union (EU) and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), the two blocs are disputing a number of passages in drafts of a joint declaration they hope to issue at the summit.
As part of the preparations for the Brussels summit on July 17-18, the two blocs have sent back and forth several drafts of the joint declaration, with one side adding lines while another deletes them. Of particular contention is an effort by the EU to turn the summit into another Western denunciation of Russia and endorsement of support for Ukraine.
The draft sent to CELAC by the EU reportedly included several paragraphs about the conflict in Ukraine, but the 33 countries of CELAC “deleted everything about Ukraine” when they sent back their version of the statement, according to one EU diplomat who spoke with European media.
nstead, CELAC’s version called for both blocs to “advocate for serious and constructive diplomatic solutions to the current conflict in Europe, by peaceful means, which guarantees the sovereignty and security of us all, as well as regional and international peace, stability and security,” according to one outlet that viewed the document.
In addition, CELAC has also rejected an appearance by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the Brussels summit, who was invited by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
“He invited me, but some Latin American leaders blocked the invitation,” Zelensky told reporters last week.
While the EU and NATO nations have managed to rally some of their allies to condemn Russia’s special operation in Ukraine, the vast majority of the planet has refused to heed their call to condemn and isolate Moscow. Relations between Russia and Latin America have grown in recent years, and the region has been a beneficiary of Europe’s boycott of Russian energy exports, some of which were redirected toward Latin American markets, such as diesel fuel.
But Ukraine wasn’t the only thing CELAC changed about the draft joint declaration: the bloc also added a passage calling for reparations for the African slave trade, in which Europeans shipped some 12.5 million enslaved Africans across the Atlantic between the 16th and 19th centuries to perform manual labor on plantations and in mines in their colonies.
“We recognize the need for appropriate measures to be taken to restore the dignity of the victims, including reparations and compensation to help to heal our collective memory, and to reverse the legacies of underdevelopment,” the proposed draft declaration text states. It specifically notes “issues of healthcare, education, cultural development, and food security.”
“We acknowledge and profoundly regret the untold suffering inflicted on millions of men, women and children as a result of the trans-Atlantic slave trade of Africans,” the text states.

There’s a bit more background at this link: https://www.euractiv.com/section/global-europe/news/leak-latin-american-countries-push-back-on-ukraine-eu-agenda-ahead-of-joint-summit/ including the following:

Over the past year, Europeans have sought to reinforce ties with their partners around the world to rally support for the international rules-based order Russia dismissed in its attack on Ukraine.
Brussels also has made an attempt to enhance political and economic ties with different world regions, including Latin America, with EU senior officials stressing the ‘like-mindedness’ with regional partners on a range of key policy areas.
However, the majority of Latin American countries have repeatedly said they wished not to be dragged into positioning themselves in the war they continue to see as a primarily ‘European problem’.
While Brazil’s President Lula da Silva has attempted to spearhead their own peace plan for Ukraine, senior Brazilian officials, joined counterparts from Ukraine, G7, India, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Turkey last month to discuss efforts of bringing different perspectives together.
The summit cannot be ‘only’ about the Europeans calling on Latin American countries to support Europe’s fight with the Ukrainians, one Latin American diplomat told EURACTIV, highlighting the region’s own agenda – socio-economic development, environmental protection, and the prospect of a long-faltering trade deal with Mercosur countries Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.
The counter-proposal the CELAC countries sent to Brussels shows “we are not on the same wavelength, or that the EU needs to work harder to convey its messages and not simply when it suits it,” an eighth EU diplomat said, pointing out that all references to fight against corruption had been erased.
In sharing what the Europeans see as a bold proposal, “it looks like they want to be perceived as equal partners,” they added.

Posted by: West of England Andy | Jul 6 2023 19:58 utc | 66

Today I’m wondering what an honest deep dive into the economic outlook of Ukraine looks like. What are Ukraine’s immutable liabilities? What are its unencumbered assets? What are its mortgaged assets?

The area governed by Kiev has no economy to speak of. Everything was wrecked after 2014. For example In 2021; 90% of wage earners grossed less than 500€/month. 30% earned around 250€/month.
Talent ? Between 2014-2021 – 8 million people fled overseas. (5 million to EU and 3 million to RF) Since 2022 another 8 million fled ( roughly at same ratio)
7 million people live in the DPR/LPR/Crimea. There ain’t no talent. And no one is returning.
The Ukraine was the most prosperous part of Russia. After 2014, it became the poorest place in Europe. Poorer than Albania !
All the industry and potential fir economic activity in the DPR/LPR/Crimea.
Kiev’s gov’t has been hovering billions from the various IMF + World Bank style lenders also since 2014. It’s beyond a basket case.

Posted by: Exile | Jul 6 2023 20:03 utc | 68

West of England Andy | Jul 6 2023 19:31 utc
West of England Andy | Jul 6 2023 19:58 utc
Thanks for those two posts. What was that saying about things happening slowly until it happeens all at once? ;o)

Posted by: Lantern Dude | Jul 6 2023 20:12 utc | 70

How important is the exchange rate of the Ruble to the Euro or the Dollar right now?
My opinion is not very.

Posted by: Ed2 | Jul 6 2023 20:03 utc | 67
Agreed that the ₽/$ exchange rate is of no real importance. For one thing, Russia pays for its military equipment and weapons in rubles, so, in US$ terms the weapons represent excellent value for money!
Not entirely sure how Ukraine intends to settle its Western debts in hryvnia though…

Posted by: West of England Andy | Jul 6 2023 20:17 utc | 72

Posted by: Ed | Jul 6 2023 20:09 utc
My nastiness can be seen in the comments by LoveDonbass.
Sorry about those, I try be be less confrontative in the future.

Posted by: Membrum Virile | Jul 6 2023 20:23 utc | 74

Julian @ 2
Anyone know (or guess?) when the Russian offensive will happen?
RESPONSE: Look to when the current AFU offensive will be neutralized by Russia. As long as the AFU is coming to them, why would Russia need to advance?
Such an approach also gives the Russians the opportunity to improve its military in multiple ways.

Posted by: young | Jul 6 2023 20:41 utc | 76

Posted by: Babel-17 | Jul 6 2023 17:39 utc
“Ukraine has vast assets in natural resources while Detroit merely had business opportunities to entice investors, so there’s no great comparison between the two, especially given that Ukraine is a vast territory.”
Detroit was ruined by black people and insane Democrat politics. That’s all there is to it. It was one of the greatest cities on earth until blacks got political power. This has happened over and over and over in America, yet the truth can’t be spoken, even if everyone knows it. Non-Americans often don’t understand the racial dynamics of America, nor how once blacks get beyond a certain percentage of a city’s population everything falls apart.
As for Ukraine, it’s never been a “poor” country. It has vast wealth. But since the fall of the USSR, Ukraine was looted by the usual Jewish gangsters, who own pretty much everything of any worth, and suck it dry. Ukraine is an exploited country, not a poor one. All the wealth is stolen by less than 1% of the population. Even to the point of huge amounts of organ harvesting, human trafficking and sex slavery, even of children, all run through Tel Aviv.
If Russia takes over the whole of Ukraine and ejects the oligarch set, the prospects for Ukraine are good. Less good now, of course, since Zelensky has slaughtered so much of the male population. All the better to exploit the women and children, however, if we end up with a rump Ukraine scenario. The human traffickers are already licking their lips at the prospects.

Posted by: ASensibleMan | Jul 6 2023 20:53 utc | 78

Posted by: Membrum Virile | Jul 6 2023 19:45 utc | 61
You won’t, it’s a term I use to describe social media sites that eschew narrative for analytical trawls of open source material, makes predictions which are then are largely proven correct: the failure of sanctions on Ukraine, the failure of Ukraine’s armed forces to alter the dynamics of modern warfare, the COVID responses being unscientific, the Biden corruption, the DS’s legislative attempts to remove Trump, the weaponisation of institutions to persecute political opponents, etc. Some of the websites I frequent are sometimes making predictions six months in advance, which are accurate, and have been ridicules as conspiracy theories. So, the MSM is largely a narrative that twists news to fit, the predictive media are more analysts who have filled the vacuum.
It’s also a way of distinguishing between the new media’s grifters, braggarts and phoney’s, often working hand in glove with corrupted institutions, to pretend that the professional politicians offer genuine democratic alternatives. I only ever consume the MSM to know what the enemy is thinking and to act as a check on any confirmation bias that might naturally begin to accumulate synaptically. Reading it though, I’m always reassured that my fundamental analysis of the opposition is sound and that they offer few, if any, solutions.

Posted by: Milites | Jul 6 2023 20:59 utc | 80

I’m wondering, did the Ukrainian’s use a stealth variant of the Tochka-U missile to hit the ZNPP?

Posted by: Milites | Jul 6 2023 21:12 utc | 82

I didn’t realise that there were those quantities.
But on the escalation or desperation observation.
The article attached is worth a read regarding consequences decades on.
Oh and that other contribution DU munitions.
https://www.globalresearch.ca/cluster-bombs-ukraine-warning-from-kosovo/5824884
Posted by: sillydog | Jul 6 2023 21:07 utc | 81
Posted by: Marvin | Jul 6 2023 19:34 utc | 57

Posted by: jpc | Jul 6 2023 21:20 utc | 84

@ Scorpion, §84:
Your observations about the United States apply to Europe, which started off as a free association, a common market.
Of course, the politicos and power-mongers couldn´t wait to build a centralized empire out of it – and hence the rot started.
England has left. Next will probably be Austria & Hungary. Or it may blow apart suddenly if France or Germany throw off their current shackles, which is looking increasingly likely.
So maybe there´s hope for Europe yet – and America.
They´ve both just got to forget all that claptrap about being “global players” etc. That´s the language of the corporate Mafiosi.

Posted by: John Marks | Jul 6 2023 21:27 utc | 86

Sorry, that was to Scorpion @ §59.

Posted by: John Marks | Jul 6 2023 21:35 utc | 88

Detroit was ruined by black people and insane Democrat politics. That’s all there is to it. It was one of the greatest cities on earth until blacks got political power. This has happened over and over and over in America, yet the truth can’t be spoken, even if everyone knows it. Non-Americans often don’t understand the racial dynamics of America, nor how once blacks get beyond a certain percentage of a city’s population everything falls apart.
Posted by: ASensibleMan | Jul 6 2023 20:53 utc | 78
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I would postulate that white flight and anti-unionism is the reason for Detroit’s demise as an automobile powerhouse, but that is just my view. If you want to go into detail, we can take to the non-Ukraine thread.

Posted by: Ed | Jul 6 2023 21:42 utc | 90

@Julian | Jul 6 2023 14:08 utc | 2
Russia won’t give up the 10:1 kill advantage until after the NATO meting coming up. If Russia begins their big push before that, it would increase the support of NATO countries for Ukraine at the meeting.

Posted by: barstool | Jul 6 2023 22:13 utc | 92

Golddigger | Jul 6 2023 22:16 utc | 93
Anyone into such childish behavior as “competition,” let alone someone who sees it as the essence of society, should probably get back to doing useful physical labor instead of destroying other people’s time with their emotions and judgments.

Posted by: Concerned Citizen | Jul 6 2023 22:26 utc | 94

Ed | Jul 6 2023 21:42 utc | 90
detroit!
i have spent weekends wandering there diuring multi-week business events!
at one time they built great lakes steel ships in detroit!
in one section of detroit is the skeleton of the packard automobile plant. it is 20 city blocks (1 mile) long and 4 city blocks wide, with a rail line running through it!
the materials for a packard automobile came in one end and packard cars came out the other!
what killed detroit was sub-contracting out all the components so they only did assembly. that and japanese quality!
also the power usa’ industry had while the rest of the developed world was recovering from ww ii!
certainly a large number of blacks came north for better life, but the demise of us industry is more the government and external troubles.
when the good jobs went…..

Posted by: paddy | Jul 6 2023 22:32 utc | 96

Its too soon barflies to relax our vigilance in light of the upcoming NATO meeting in Vilnius (July 11-12), during which the Kiev government will be under intense pressure to show progress by whatever means possible. Ukraine is likely to continue making severe provocations up until the start of the meeting. Moreover, additional informational and psychological assaults are imminent.

Posted by: HERMIUS | Jul 6 2023 22:44 utc | 98

Some, like Mearsheimer, say Russia needs to occupy all of Ukraine to be successful.
I disagree. All Russia needs to do, is make such an example of Ukraine, that nobody who sees Ukraine wants to be in its place.

Posted by: Passerby | Jul 6 2023 22:57 utc | 100