https://abload.de/img/ukro_meme_3qjeu6.png

Posted by: Apollyon | Jul 15 2023 16:08 utc | 4

Can anyone offer any differing opinions to what is being proposed in this video ? If its assertions are correct, it would go long way in explaining the strange war in Ukraine.
https://rumble.com/embed/v2wmv0k/?pub=jj93z

Posted by: Shocked | Jul 15 2023 18:00 utc | 6

Posted by: Shocked | Jul 15 2023 18:00 utc | 6
FEI :
NOTICE TO USERS IN FRANCE
Because of French government demands to remove creators from our platform, Rumble is currently unavailable in France. We are challenging these government demands and hope to restore access soon.
Western Democracy in full swing.

Posted by: Pierrot | Jul 15 2023 18:36 utc | 8

” Rense? A stopped clock is correct twice a day. Rense far less than that. I, personally, am of the opinion Jews have lots of power in Russia. And elsewhere. Not even curious what Rense has to say.
Posted by: oldhipie | Jul 15 2023 18:24 utc | 7 ”
Its just a video from his platform, not his opinions. Either way, the video is a speech from a meeting of prominent Jews. Basically, its a Jewish speaker expressing his thoughts.
Why shoot the messenger and ignore the message ?

Posted by: Shocked | Jul 15 2023 18:45 utc | 10

@Pierrot 6
Probably you have read this.
More censorship announced by Thierry Breton starting August 25.
https://lesobservateurs.ch/2023/07/10/cest-la-loi-le-commissaire-europeen-non-elu-thierry-breton-annonce-la-mise-en-place-de-la-censure-pour-le-25-aout/

Posted by: FromFrance | Jul 15 2023 19:17 utc | 12

Kyiv Cries Foul As Bulgarian Pres Blames Zelensky For Putin’s War; ‘Ukraine Insists On Fighting…’
[3 mins]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_5RGvcVHVM
Small fissure in NATO’s dam!

Posted by: Don Firineach | Jul 15 2023 20:27 utc | 14

Western propaganda stooping lower and lower in a desperate attempt to keep the Western public supporting the war in Ukraine. AP News has moved directly onto claiming torture etc., with the same crew of “journalists” that have been involved in so many bullshit AP News stories about Ukraine. The same crew that keep getting Western awards for “journalism”, pretty much on a par with the “Peace” prize given to Obama.
Thousands of Ukraine civilians are being held in Russian prisons. Russia plans to build many more
Lots of pictures of empty rooms taken from emotive angles which we are told were used by the Russians to hold people with no actual evidence. Its very easy to find such rooms in a war zone, or just to stage them. Then even the same style satellite pictures that were used to “prove” that China had lots of camps in Xinjiang (in that case a 19-year old intern was used to do the identifications). Then quotes from a wife of a Ukrainian soldier, and a Ukrainian military official. Then another woman who was found to have pictures of Russian military on her phone (espionage perhaps?).
Oh and they interviewed dozens of people. This is a bloody war zone involving millions of people and all they could find was “dozens”. If there were massive numbers I am sure that the Ukie authorities would be parading them around. Quite a few contributors were involved in making the risible “20 days in Mariupol” and one of the photographers took that completely debunked picture of the injured woman outside the hospital in Mariupol. Another was the defence lawyer for Petro Poroshenko! Some detained were “denounced by neighbours”, but we are never told what for.
In related news we have the BBC trying to smear Assad as a drug dealer, completely debunked by Vanessa Beeley. After she pointed out that the BBC were actually breaking the UK anti-terrorism laws the “documentary” was rapidly pulled off the BBC player!
BBC normalises a terrorist organisation to frame Syrian President

Posted by: Roger | Jul 15 2023 20:52 utc | 16

Don Firineach no. 16
Agree. I clicked on the link but didn’t even open it. What garbage. However this is worth seeing the replies from Ukraine to Ben Wallace’s criticism:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jul/15/ben-wallace-defence-secretary-ukraine-gratitude

Posted by: ThusspakeZarathustra | Jul 15 2023 21:07 utc | 18

@ ThusspakeZarathustra | Jul 15 2023 21:07 utc | 19
Read the Guardian piece. Wallace is basically correct – Like a Dickensian child Zelenski keeps pleading for more more more more etc. in that irritating Donald Duck voice … that said, the Guardian has lost all cred with its shameless propaganda …
–
Wallace is probably fed up – a prime ministerial candidate – a NATO head-honcho candidate – and lined up to lose his seat in next election – he has, wisely, decided to quit … and yes, he did, allegedly, serve in Northern Ireland
Ta for link in #1 on the sample of Nietzschean ‘eternally recurring’ war games people play …. what a bloody waste of ‘value’ … US defense budget is obscene … and now Europe also locked-in to the like of Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Boeing etc …

Posted by: Don Firineach | Jul 15 2023 21:38 utc | 20

ThusspakeZarathustra | Jul 15 2023 21:07 utc | 19
It was the people like Wallace, that convinced the Ukraine to wage the war in the first place. They promised Zelensky that they would have his back and supply Ukraine with whatever it took to slay the evil beast called Russia. Now that Ukraine is losing and the west is running out of weapons and starting to pull back because they do not want to join the war themselves, they are going to leave Zelensky and Ukraine to face the hangman’s noose alone.
Zelensky and Ukraine will be destroyed because they believed Washington and NATO…because they wanted to believe. But they should have known better. When you make a deal with the Devil, you should expect to get screwed.

Posted by: JustAMaverick | Jul 15 2023 21:51 utc | 22

” nice try – but I’m not biting – this thread is about Ukraine
Posted by: Don Firineach | Jul 15 2023 21:44 utc | 23 ”
His speech relates to Russia and Putin, hence it has relevance to whats happening in Ukraine. Pure cop out on your part especially after the antisemitic accusation, you cant just slander someone without backing it up with evidence.

Posted by: Shocked | Jul 15 2023 21:56 utc | 24

Shocked @ 10
I wasted 5 minutes on that. What the rebbe is saying is commonplace. If people don’t know that already they won’t. Impossible to discuss any of that as a goy. The excessively windy hysterical intro by Rense is sickening. Entirely detracts from what he presents.

Posted by: oldhippie | Jul 15 2023 22:38 utc | 26

Posted by: Shocked | Jul 15 2023 18:00 utc | 6
Posted by: Shocked | Jul 15 2023 18:45 utc | 10
Posted by: Shocked | Jul 15 2023 18:45 utc | 11
Posted by: Shocked | Jul 15 2023 21:29 utc | 21
Posted by: Shocked | Jul 15 2023 21:56 utc | 26
You are Deplorable Commissar masquerading under a new handle, I claim my 5 shekels…
But never mind all that… here, have a ‘clobber list’ to soothe your frayed nerves: https://eng.mil.ru/en/special_operation/news/more.htm?id=12473043@egNews

Russian Defence Ministry report on the progress of the special military operation (15 July 2023)
The AFU continued to attempt offensive actions in Donetsk, Krasny Liman and South Donetsk directions.
In Donetsk direction, as a result of the coordinated and courageous actions of units of the Yug Group of Forces, 17 enemy attacks have been successfully repelled close to Severnoye, Kurdyumovka, Novomikhailovka, Maryinka, Kleshcheevka, Maloilyinovka (Donetsk People’s Republic), and Belogorovka (Lugansk People’s Republic).
The actions of one Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group have been suppressed near Kurdyumovka (Donetsk People’s Republic).
The enemy losses were up to 315 Ukrainian servicemen, two armoured fighting vehicles, three pickup trucks, and one D-30 howitzer.
In Krasny Liman direction, as a result of active actions by units of the Tsentr Group of Forces, aviation and artillery, enemy manpower and hardware concentration areas have been hit near Terny (Donetsk People’s Republic), Nevskoye and Chervonaya Dibrova (Lugansk People’s Republic).
Two enemy attacks have been repelled close to Torskoye (Donetsk People’s Republic) and Makeevka (Lugansk People’s Republic).
The actions of one Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group have been suppressed near Chervonaya Dibrova (Lugansk People’s Republic).
The enemy losses were over 70 Ukrainian servicemen, two armoured fighting vehicles, three pickup trucks, and one D-20 howitzer.
One ammunition depot of the AFU 100th Territorial Defence Brigade has been destroyed near Yampol (Donetsk People’s Republic).
In South Donetsk direction, the active actions by Ground-Assault and Army aviation, and artillery of the Vostok Group of Forces have resulted in the neutralisation of the AFU manpower and hardware near Makarovka and Rovnopol (Donetsk People’s Republic).
Two attacks by units of the AFU 37th Marine Brigade have been repelled close to Urozhaynoye (Donetsk People’s Republic).
The actions of two Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance groups have been suppressed close to Staromayorskoye and Rovnopol (Donetsk People’s Republic).
In Zaporozhye direction, as a result of selfless and coordinated actions of Russian troops, an enemy manpower and hardware the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade have been hit near Pyatikhatki (Zaporozhye region).
One Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group has been eliminated near Sherebyanki (Zaporozhye region).
The enemy losses were up to 120 Ukrainian servicemen, five armoured fighting vehicles, two motor vehicles, and two D-20 howitzers and one D-20.
One ammunition depot of the AFU 129th Territorial Defence Brigade has been destroyed near Makarovka (Donetsk People’s Republic).
In Kupyansk direction, the attacks, launched by Operational-Tactical and Army aviation, and artillery of the Zapad Group of Forces, have resulted in the neutralisation of the AFU manpower and hardware close to Krasnoye Pervoye, Novomlynsk and Molchanovo (Kharkov region).
The enemy losses were up to 20 Ukrainian servicemen, two armoured fighting vehicles, three motor vehicles, one D-20 howitzer, and one Gvozdika self-propelled artillery system.
In Kherson direction, the enemy losses were up to 30 Ukrainian servicemen, three motor vehicles, one Msta-B howitzer and one Akatsiya self-propelled artillery system.
Operational-Tactical and Army aviation, Missile Troops and Artillery of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have neutralised 73 AFU artillery units at their firing positions, manpower and hardware in 93 areas.
Ammunition depots of the 33rd mechanised and 44th artillery brigades of the AFU, as well as the 5th Brigade of the Ukrainian National Guard, have been hit close to Yampol (Donetsk People’s Republic), Malaya Tokmachka and Novosolyonoye (Zaporozhye region).
Air defence facilities have shot down three projectiles launched by HIMARS MLRS.
In addition, eight Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles have been destroyed near Zhovtnyovoye (Kharkov region), Zaliman, Pshenichnoye, Kremennaya (Lugansk People’s Republic), Klyuchevoye (Donetsk People’s Republic) and Pologi (Zaporozhye region).
In total, 455 airplanes, 242 helicopters, 5,015 unmanned aerial vehicles, 426 air defence missile systems, 10,711 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,138 fighting vehicles equipped with MLRS, 5,462 field artillery cannons and mortars, as well as 11,678 special military motor vehicles have been destroyed during the special military operation.

Posted by: West of England Andy | Jul 15 2023 22:43 utc | 28

”
I wasted 5 minutes on that. What the rebbe is saying is commonplace. If people don’t know that already they won’t.
Posted by: oldhippie | Jul 15 2023 22:38 utc | 28 ”
What about this direct quote from the ” rebbe “, I dont think its common knowledge.
” Putin may not be good for Russia, but hes definitely good for the Jews of Russia.”

Posted by: Shocked | Jul 15 2023 23:31 utc | 30

I don’t think they can go down this road much longer. They’re gonna run out of bodies by Fall.
Posted by: Ghost of Zanon | Jul 15 2023 21:14 utc | 20

Doesn’t matter. They have been successfully brainwashed and for the West it is a win — even if the war ends in the most optimistic for Russia way, it will be with KIAs well into 6 figures and several times that seriously wounded.
And of course many times that in casualties on the Ukrainian side, most of them Russians too, although brainwashed.
But this isn’t the early USSR with a TFR of 6, it is demographically depressed post-Soviet societies. The USSR was severely weakened by WWII even if it won in the end, that is always forgotten.
The question as usual is why the Kremlin allows this to happen — absolutely no effort has been made to stop weapons transfers, which are only escalating. At least the DU ammo was blown up before it made it to the front, but the cluster munitions will permanently spoil vast tracts of land.
Putin gave absolutely retarded answers to such questions on multiple occasions — when asked about DU he said Russia has a lot of it too, and now with the cluster munitions the response has been the same. As if that is the issue — the problem is the very use of them, not who uses them.
Meanwhile the likes of Lindsey Graham are walking free with not a care in their wicked souls that something might happen to them.

Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Jul 15 2023 23:35 utc | 32

Excellent article by Dmitri Orlov. Why did Ukraine fall in disfavor of Nato?
Nato is a captive club for participants meant to buy only US weapons. It is the main, if not sole purpose.
Ukraine has proved that US weapons are fragile, unmaintainable in war conditions, and not meant to fight or sustain real wars. Crap in other words. Therefore US MIC wants to immediately cut the negative flow of news coming out of Ukraine, and as a result a lid has been placed on Ukraine.
The British tanks are hiding in Lvov because their public opinion and manufacturers could never handle the truth, the fate of Leopards.
https://globalsouth.co/2023/07/15/the-incredible-shrinking-nato/
Posted by: unimperator | Jul 15 2023 20:59 utc | 18

Yeah, not really.
Artillery and tanks may be crap, but the GMLRS has had a huge impact on the war, as has the very act of replenishing Ukrainian supplies.
RU has been creeping up on the outskirts of Kupyansk for more than six months now and is nowhere close to retaking it, after giving it up without much of a fight. And that is only the first significant town of half a dozen they gave up without a fight back in September. How much blood has been spilled so far to retake the first <5% of that territory and how much will be spilled for the rest?
None of that happens if Western weapon transfers were stopped as they should have been.
Of course you will see various idiots talking about how this was all a grand scheme to on one hand deplete the West of weapons and on the other, to demonstrate the weakness of those weapons and boost the morale and self-belief of Russians, blah-blah-blah. Absolute nonsense -- what would have boosted morale is to seal the borders, either by actual force, or by a sufficiently meaningful threat towards the West and save the lives of all those Russian soldiers and civilians (on both sides).
And right now we are playing another round of the same game, that will once again have devastating consequences. Sure, they are sending cluster munitions because they ran out of regular shells, but it isn't just for that reason -- UA will soon exhaust its offensive potential and will have to turtle up and defend. And the cluster shells are not very good in attack mode because fortifications protect even better against them than against large single explosions, but when RU has to attack, they are a much more powerful weapon, because then RU will be out in the open, where the cluster munitions are most effective. So by allowing unimpeded weapon transfers the prospects for taking territory back in the near future have once again been greatly diminished, and many thousands will again needlessly die.
Just sickening.
What Wagner did three weeks ago wasn't the way to do it, but something absolutely needs to change in Moscow.
P.S. Go back to what Orlov was writing back in February-March 2022, compare to the current situation, and think about how much his analysis is really worth.

Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Jul 15 2023 23:48 utc | 34

Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Jul 15 2023 23:48 utc | 36
I’m actually starting to think that big offensives and big arrow moves are a thing of the past. Will never be used in modern warfare because of drones.
How many videos have we seen now from both sides that when one side attacks with a group of military vehicles they are virtually obliterated by modern day weapons even before they get going.
Only way to do it is in huge numbers knowing that you are going to take huge losses during the attack. Putin is definitely against that idea. Forest lines in Ukraine remind of the hedge rows in Normandy an absolute nightmare.
You can see it on the videos, not many of these Ukrainian defensive lines have a lot of troops defending them. But to get to them you have to cross open fields and in modern warfare you’ll be lucky to get to the other side. Unless you go big and accept heavy losses.
Yeah, I agree way too many red lines were so easily crossed at the start, that if prevented it would be a different ball game now. Don’t forget Russia is still ramping up from spending a very small % of GDP spending on the military compared with the US. That takes time.

Posted by: Echo Chamber | Jul 16 2023 0:09 utc | 36

Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Jul 15 2023 23:48 utc | 36
It does make you wonder why all of the airfields haven’t been taken out when they easily could be, as the Ukraine air defence is isn’t that great.
Drones and other modern warfare capabilities might be showing everyone that air superiority also isn’t cracked up to what it used to be.

Posted by: Echo Chamber | Jul 16 2023 0:21 utc | 38

Weeb Union did what I thought was a good video on that topic today.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=J9yfyI0RwN0
Sending 12 tanks and 6 vehicles at a time is utterly pointless. Just to get losses Every time and then retreat and rinse and repeat. You gotta go very big accept heavy losses before you start and keep going.

Posted by: Echo Chamber | Jul 16 2023 0:31 utc | 40

Politicians have large egos, and a tendency to think that a downfall couldn’t happen to them. But at the same time they are fascinated by the stories of those who came before them, and who were brought to ruin. Louis XVI, Napoleon, Richard III, and Charles I.
But more to the point are the arcs of those from the 20th century, like Czar Nicholas II, and Kaiser Wilhelm II.
And the two who are probably most uppermost in their minds are George W. Bush, and Tony Blair. The lesson to drawn from those two that must be making them uneasy, and inciting them to want distance from Zelenskyy, and even start giving him the stink eye, is that you really, really, don’t want to be associated with a war that was given vast publicity, and which later ended in abject failure, and which united normally opposed factions in seeing those who orchestrated the botched effort as pariahs.
Right now in America and most of Europe “the left” seems to have undergone a transformation into becoming “pro-war”, and “pro-surveillance state”. The hows and whys are important, and so too will they be when things do a 180 degree turn.
I won’t try to give reasons why things are going to change, I’m not an analyst. But I do in my own limited way try to follow trends, and I see a trend emerging where the anti-establishment, anti-war, sentiment of the 1960s are going to experience a renaissance.
Politicians can often at times behave like venal idiots, but the ones who’ve survived for decades often demonstrate great survival instincts. I think many of them have picked up some new scents, and they can tell that a change is in the air.
If Biden dies, or even worse turns into a bowl of pudding, at the worst possible time for the establishment, then the currently sacred cow of the war in Ukraine could get put up on the chopping block, and those seeking office would feast on its flesh.
There’s a whole lot of politicians who don’t have their fingerprints and DNA all over the control center that’s been running the war for the West, and if they see an opportunity in gutting those who do, out will come the knives.
Those politicians who’ve only been peripheral enablers of the war could become its most ardent foes, as they’d have the most to prove. As many have surmised, calling out the Zelenskyy regime as having been hopelessly corrupt and inept, and infiltrated by Neo-Nazis, could make for a great excuse for cutting ties with it.
Social media would abandon Zelenskyy in a flash if those who shaped opinion started talking up Zelenskyy as being surrounded by right wingers, and Neo-Nazis. The New York Times caused a stir a while back they pointed out some inconvenient facts along those lines. Imo that piece demonstrated how easy it would be to get the ball rolling on baling on Zelenskyy.
God help him if some Democrat firebrands in the House promised to divert the funds to the inner cities, to take money currently going to white right wing nationalists in Ukraine, to poor brown and black people living in districts in America suffering from economic distress.
If Biden is seen as on the way out, people could start becoming very bold.

Posted by: Babel-17 | Jul 16 2023 0:39 utc | 42

On Wagner.
Tbey are an essential weapon for any State. They have recently overstepped the mark and are being fine tuned. They are not being disbanded as they have tasks in Africa now and in future, training to do in Belarus, western pmc’s to destroy or discredit.
Putin seems capable of keeping them focused, Prigorzhin on short leash and their western equivalent pmc’s eclipsed.
When it comes to other states selecting weapons systems, Russia seems to have an affordable and effective range.

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Jul 16 2023 0:50 utc | 44

Roger #39
Thank you, not only is the exhaustion cycle under Putin’s hand effective in it’s denazifying and demilitarising but it is excellent at demonstrating the systemic failure of NATO to perform it’s primary function.
Indeed Russia need only maintain it’s suppression of Ukraine’s terrorist government for another year to have immeasurable effect on the USA election neurosis.
Imo it is vital to destroy the Biden warhorse.

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Jul 16 2023 1:03 utc | 46

uncle tungsten | Jul 16 2023 1:03 utc | 48
biden will be president.
the jan 6th protests were about election fraud and insisting the us senate not certify the votes.
the protesters were correct!
that they were called enemies of the state and persecuted means that no election in usa will ever be trusted.
biden is the neocon, ‘euro-atlanticist situated’ establishment puppet!

Posted by: paddy | Jul 16 2023 1:18 utc | 48

Babel-17 #44
There are of course those opportunist Democrats of the AOC (Democratic Socialist Party) klan who would turn in an instant if so instructed.
They no doubt perceive their demise is possible if they persist with this present course. The hard liners in the Dem machine don’t give a shit, they just intend to hold their own seats and will use anyone to that end.

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Jul 16 2023 1:37 utc | 50

Roger #39 – Thank you, not only is the exhaustion cycle under Putin’s hand effective in it’s denazifying and demilitarising but it is excellent at demonstrating the systemic failure of NATO to perform it’s primary function.
Indeed Russia need only maintain it’s suppression of Ukraine’s terrorist government for another year to have immeasurable effect on the USA election neurosis.
Imo it is vital to destroy the Biden warhorse.
Posted by: uncle tungsten | Jul 16 2023 1:03 utc | 48
———————————————————–
The slow and steady going by the Russians has been a recurrent theme at MoA, with pros and cons being revisited, even today.
I cannot see anything more important than getting Biden and the neocons out and showing NATO to be an empty tiger.

Posted by: Acco Hengst | Jul 16 2023 1:47 utc | 52

I’m actually starting to think that big offensives and big arrow moves are a thing of the past. Will never be used in modern warfare because of drones.
How many videos have we seen now from both sides that when one side attacks with a group of military vehicles they are virtually obliterated by modern day weapons even before they get going.
Only way to do it is in huge numbers knowing that you are going to take huge losses during the attack. Putin is definitely against that idea. Forest lines in Ukraine remind of the hedge rows in Normandy an absolute nightmare.
You can see it on the videos, not many of these Ukrainian defensive lines have a lot of troops defending them. But to get to them you have to cross open fields and in modern warfare you’ll be lucky to get to the other side. Unless you go big and accept heavy losses.
Yeah, I agree way too many red lines were so easily crossed at the start, that if prevented it would be a different ball game now. Don’t forget Russia is still ramping up from spending a very small % of GDP spending on the military compared with the US. That takes time.
Posted by: Echo Chamber | Jul 16 2023 0:09 utc | 38

So stop weapons transfers.
How can you be fighting a war of attrition when you are allowing the other side free replenishment? Doesn’t make absolutely any sense.
The Polish, Slovakian and Romanian borders can be sealed tomorrow if the political will is there. Just fucking do it — how many tens of thousands of KIAs more before serious measures are taken???

@Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Jul 15 2023 23:48 utc | 36
Russia is not that strong a player, its done well to resist the sanctions regime with the help of 7/8ths of humanity. It cannot afford to take huge losses, that would be exactly what the West wants.
Posted by: Roger | Jul 16 2023 0:16 utc | 39

Well, it indeed can’t afford them, but it is taking them now.
Have you see how many AD and artillery systems were blown up by HIMARS strikes the last few days? And this isn’t just the equipment, it is the trained operators inside who died and who are even more valuable than the hardware.
Why? Because the grandpa in the Kremlin thought there is no need to block the transfer of HIMARS to UA.
If you are fighting with one hand tied behind your back against a determined ruthless opponent, it is most natural that you will eventually lose.

Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Jul 16 2023 2:01 utc | 54

Right now in America and most of Europe “the left” seems to have undergone a transformation into becoming “pro-war”, and “pro-surveillance state”. The hows and whys are important, and so too will they be when things do a 180 degree turn.
Posted by: Babel-17 | Jul 16 2023 0:39 utc | 44

There is no “left” in America and Europe, there is right wing and ultra-right wing, and a whole bunch of idiots who don’t understand how they are being played as the suckers that they are by the continued use of such labels.

Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Jul 16 2023 2:02 utc | 56

The slow and steady going by the Russians has been a recurrent theme at MoA, with pros and cons being revisited, even today.
I cannot see anything more important than getting Biden and the neocons out and showing NATO to be an empty tiger.
Posted by: Acco Hengst | Jul 16 2023 1:47 utc | 54

The pros are mostly hypothetical. In reality, post-hoc rationalizations to cope with the cognitive dissonances caused by the mismatch between what is actually happening and deeply held beliefs/hopes.
The cons on the other hand are very real:
1. The situation has escalated to the point where either RU will have to surrender or it will have to launch a preemptive strategic nuclear strike against the US and Europe
2. Countless ethnic Russians are dying on both sides of the war, for no reason, when it all could have been stopped with more decisive actions from the Kremlin.

Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Jul 16 2023 2:06 utc | 58

One more thing:
I have been trying to explain here for many months that before the war with Ukraine and the West can be won, the internal conflict inside Russia has to be resolved. The one between the pro-Western oligarchic forces and the patriotic circles.
I have no inside information, but the last few weeks very much look like the wrong side of that fight is gaining the upper hand, with the purges of various commanders the decrease in intensity of strikes on the UA rear, and various other signs coming from Moscow.
It’s a more intense version of what happened in January after Surovikin was removed as commander of the SMO.
Things looked optimistic back in May and early June, just as they did in December, but now it does not look good at all.

Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Jul 16 2023 2:13 utc | 60

Mike Jones iEarlGrey telegram:
“The volumes of grain imported to Poland from Ukraine are shocking, Arkadiusz Artyshak, a professor at the Warsaw University of Natural Sciences, told Rzeczpospolita .
At the beginning of this year, uncontrolled imports of grain poured into Poland from Ukraine. This led to many protests from local farmers. Since April this year, by decision of the European Commission, grain from Ukraine can only pass through Polish territory in transit.
According to Artyshak, the amount of wheat imported from Ukraine for the entire last year is 168 times more than the same indicator for 2021, the import of corn increased 300 times over the same period. And in the first four months of this year, 610 times more wheat was imported from Ukraine than in the same period last year, he calculated.
“The results of grain imports from Ukraine over the past year and a half shock me,” the professor admitted. At the same time, he noted that these data are unlikely to take into account the import of “technical” grain into Poland, adding that this name was invented to bypass border controls and speed up import procedures.
“Buying companies refrain from signing contracts, hoping that from September 15 the ban on grain imports from Ukraine will be lifted, and they will be able to buy even cheaper grain,” Artyshak complained, adding that such a scenario would mean “collapse” for Polish farmers .
By decision of the European Commission, the ban on importing to Poland, as well as Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia is valid until September 15, 2023. It does not apply to transit.”
t.me/iEarlGreyTV/6389
Posted by: Melaleuca | Jul 16 2023 2:12 utc | 61

Forget about the grain, the fact that there is a single usable border crossing between Poland and Ukraine should mean hundreds of thousands of Russians on the Red Square demanding Putin’s head unless he destroys those tomorrow. Instead nobody thinks much about that glaring omission…

Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Jul 16 2023 2:16 utc | 62

reply to 54
The slow approach by Russia is worrisome because it suggests that Ukraine can fend off defeat indefinitely by simply throwing people into the meat grinder. First, any males who can be kidnapped, then pensioners, women, children.
It might be more humane to create a huge encirclement and force a mass surrender. Maybe trigger collapse of Kiev government that way

Posted by: Eighthman | Jul 16 2023 2:27 utc | 64

Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Jul 16 2023 2:16 utc | 64
SB It is not necessary to repeat post an *entire* previous comment to reply.
Shits up the thread, m8

Posted by: Melaleuca | Jul 16 2023 2:36 utc | 66

Cyberspec telegram
Grain Deal = “it’s complicated”
“Cyberspec News
Turkish political analyst Kerim Has shared his vision of the reasons for such a strong interest of both the West and Ankara in the grain deal.:
– Everything is clear with Turkey: it buys grain mainly from Russia and Ukraine (according to the UN, 10% of Ukrainian grain delivered under the grain initiative goes to the Turkish market). Ankara has a lot to gain economically in this regard.
Secondly, it is one of the most important agreements where Turkey in general and Erdogan in particular play a key role. This increases its rating, its international status. From the West, this gives Erdogan big bonuses.
Russia, of course, does not benefit economically here. However, in my opinion, why the Russian Federation agreed and agreed to extend the deal several times is a geopolitical and military aspect of the issue.
What do I mean by that?
If Russia withdraws from the agreement, there is a risk that the leading NATO countries (primarily the United States and Great Britain) may send warships to the Black Sea to escort grain ships.
There is a caveat here: whether or not Turkey will allow foreign warships to pass through the Bosphorus.
Ankara will be in a difficult position. If it allows the passage, then there will be a negative reaction from Russia. If it does not allow it, then Erdogan may have problems with the West and NATO.
The expert believes that Russia, understanding all this, will not want to put Turkey in a difficult position: “Choosing from two options, it is clear that Erdogan will choose the Western bloc.
And this is risky for Russia, since the passage of foreign warships can lead to provocations in the Black Sea.
This may provoke a direct military clash between NATO and the Russian Federation. I think it is precisely because of such geopolitical issues that Moscow will not want to withdraw from the deal.”
Statistics that show that food goes mainly to Western countries, according to the expert, directly indicates that when promoting the agreement, these countries took into account their own interests.
But there is another point, adds Kerim Hass: “It is important for the North Atlantic Alliance to maintain at least one open channel of communication with Russia through a NATO country. This is in the interests of the West.
If suddenly there is another stab in the back of Russia from Turkey, it will already be a stab in the heart. It will be more painful than in 2015.”
Leading NATO countries, the expert emphasizes, maintain contacts between Erdogan and Putin.
Given the recent steps of the Turkish leader, Kerim Has believes that Russia, unfortunately, will face such surprises more and more often: “Before the election, Erdogan was a problem for Russia, and now he is becoming an even bigger problem. We’ll see more of that in the near future.”
Polina Konoplyanko
t.me/CyberspecNews/36033

Posted by: Melaleuca | Jul 16 2023 2:52 utc | 68

I’m sceptical of captured POW vids from both sides.
But there’s this one.
Guy was forced mobilizer. Trained 1month, sent to front.
Injured. Left to die until the Russians found him.
https://files.catbox.moe/wjfag3.mp4

Posted by: Melaleuca | Jul 16 2023 3:09 utc | 70

@uncle tungsten | Jul 16 2023 1:37 utc | 52
About fifty Democrats in the US Congress are Marxists, including AOC. They form the Progressive Caucus.
The rest of the Democrats are National Socialists, like Ukraine. All of the RINOs, Republican IN Name Only, are also National Socialists. It’s more accurate to call them Globalists because the Nationalists from different nations work together and share a common goal.

Posted by: barstool | Jul 16 2023 3:29 utc | 72

barstool | Jul 16 2023 3:29 utc | 74
If there really were 50 Marxists in Congress US politics would be a lot more interesting!

Posted by: S.P. Korolev | Jul 16 2023 4:42 utc | 74

nice try – but I’m not biting – this thread is about Ukraine
Posted by: Don Firineach | Jul 15 2023 21:44 utc | 23
Eh, don’t lie in the first place then? “Not biting”? Cowardly. Besides, it’s the Ukraine thread, not the hand-wringing apologist thread.

Posted by: Mike | Jul 16 2023 5:41 utc | 76

Do I detect yet another little fissure in Western MSM – UK
The Observer
Nato
The Observer view on Nato summit’s failure to offer Ukraine membership
Observer editorial
While leaders dined out on a half deal with Turkey’s Erdoğan, Volodymr Zelenskiy was left looking like a poor man at a feast
Sun 16 Jul 2023 06.02 BST
[…]
Crucially for Erdoğan, superficially improved relations with the west may help him revive Turkey’s ailing, ill-managed economy. Yet given his ongoing double-dealing over Russia, this sort of additional horse-trading does nothing overall to enhance Euro-Atlantic security in tangible ways. Likewise, the leaders’ declaration fiercely condemned Putin’s “illegal war of aggression”, but summiteers offered no new ideas about how to stop it.
That’s disappointing. The world’s most powerful military alliance could and should be more directly and forcefully engaged in defending Ukraine’s people from Russia’s criminal predations. By that urgent measure, the Vilnius summit was a flop.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jul/16/observer-view-nato-summit-failure-offer-ukraine-membership

Posted by: Don Firineach | Jul 16 2023 5:58 utc | 78

Annalena Baerbock made a bizarre statement recently. She said every day she is negotiating to end the war. These people are sniffing something extra spicy.
https://twitter.com/DagnyTaggart963/status/1680187580589940740

Posted by: unimperator | Jul 16 2023 6:13 utc | 80

@KS | Jul 16 2023 2:05 utc | 59

Re Wagner in Belarus: Does anyone know the purpose of the slanted wooden structures outside the tents in this? “>https://southfront.org/wagner-takes-foothold-in-belarus/

I am guessing stands for polishing boots. Very important in the field.

Posted by: Norwegian | Jul 16 2023 6:22 utc | 82

The Ukro losses are huge but on the nationalist country they are aceptable. Ukrainian familiees, brainwasged asvthey are, gladly accept deaths of their sons. Therevis no unrest about it.

Posted by: Simplex | Jul 16 2023 6:30 utc | 84

Reality has arrived for the EU post-Vilnius explaining the utter lack of substance and escalation of hot air, “The EU is Broke: Ukraine Ate Its Budget”.
Posted by: karlof1 | Jul 16 2023 3:49 utc | 75
If needed, the EU could cut discretionary spending. In practice, that means the green energy policy, solar and wind energy subsidies.
If that is not enough or impossible, the sacred cows will have to be eaten. On EU level, that is the common agricultural policy. Using round numbers, the agricultural subsidies are a quarter of the EU budget for 1% of the EU GDP. On a national level, the sacred cows are pension benefits and social security. Given recent riots in France, cutting social security spending might have side effects.

Posted by: Passerby | Jul 16 2023 6:36 utc | 86

Posted by: Passerby | Jul 16 2023 6:36 utc | 88
Don’t think EU can afford to eat pensions and social welfare without a serious risk of, countries physically fracturing apart. They could do that and try to suppress it anyway, who knows.
It will cause chaos in western and southern Europe. New de-facto independent Islamic states will be born.
In northern Europe people are already so brainwashed, domesticated and passive that they might simply say oh-well as a response to frozen bank accounts or loss pensions.

Posted by: unimperator | Jul 16 2023 6:45 utc | 88

@Norwegian | Jul 16 2023 6:33 utc | 87
Speak softly and fire large caliber artillery.

Posted by: barstool | Jul 16 2023 6:47 utc | 90

Tangentially related to the Ukraine conflict: de-Dollarisation is progressing.
Lavrov Says Discussed With Thai Foreign Minister Russia’s Mir Payment System

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Saturday that he discussed the use of the Russian Mir payment system in Thailand at a meeting with Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai.
“Today, with my colleague, the Thai foreign minister, we discussed the steps needed to ensure that the Russian Mir Payment System cards can be used here without any problems. This will give an additional impetus to increase the flow of tourists,” Lavrov said at an opening ceremony of the Russian general consulate on Phuket.

For sure this will happen. Tourism from Russia and China are much more important than before.

Posted by: Norwegian | Jul 16 2023 7:21 utc | 92

I have been providing friends and family with a Ukraine Update (or summary) on a weekly basis for over a year and have recently placed it on substack because the quality is better than gmail. The Update reports on issues connected with the war viewed in the wider sense as an economic and political conflict between NATO/The West on the one hand and Russia and the Emerging Multi-polar world order on the other. It draws on many sources people on the MoA will be familiar with including the MoA itself. It is not exhaustive but may be useful to some.

Posted by: Dr. Rob Campbell | Jul 16 2023 8:05 utc | 94

Forgot the address: https://robcampbell.substack.com/

Posted by: Dr. Rob Campbell | Jul 16 2023 8:10 utc | 96

Don Firineach@45….but unlike the Russians, we haven’t controlled our fate since Niall of the Nine Hostages.
Cheers M
Posted by: sean the leprechaun | Jul 16 2023 1:14 utc | 49
And the current crop of political mediocrity want pat’s on the heads and jobs for being the bestest boys and girls in the euro team.

Posted by: jpc | Jul 16 2023 8:25 utc | 98

Ukraine’s population according to official number was 45 million pre-2014 Maidan coup regime.
After that, 2014-2021 8 million have left. Another 8 million has supposedly left 2022-2023. Over 4 million living in Donetsk and Lugansk, nearly 2 million in Crimea.
That means Ukraine could still have 23 million citizens left, or the population might have potentially halved in 9 years. And at this rate it won’t last 5 years.

Posted by: unimperator | Jul 16 2023 8:38 utc | 100