Moon of Alabama Brecht quote
August 29, 2023

Ukraine SitRep: Topography Shapes The Battle Field - Abysmal Medical Service Causes Death

The New York Times repeats claims by the Ukrainian government that it 'liberated' Robotyne. The account though is more pessimistic than earlier reports:

Ukraine’s military said on Monday that its forces had retaken the southern village of Robotyne, a tactical victory that underlines the immense challenge Kyiv’s counteroffensive faces in punching through deep and dense Russian defenses.
...
[T]he Ukrainian counteroffensive that began in early June has advanced only a few miles southward to reach Robotyne, in intense fighting with heavy casualties and equipment losses, and a similar distance on another axis to the east. The ultimate target of the thrust to Robotyne is the city of Melitopol, about 45 miles farther south, and more layers of Russian defenses lie in the way.
...
About 15 miles south of Robotyne lies the Russian-controlled city of Tokmak, a road-and-rail hub whose recapture would be strategically significant.

But satellite images show that to reach Tokmak, Ukrainian forces will have to breach two more Russian defensive lines made up of trenches, dense minefields, earthen berms and anti-tank barriers.

Those defense lines are not an easy problem to solve. They are on the hills following the contours of the land while the Ukraine army has so far stuck to the low lands.

Big Serge ☦️🇺🇸🇷🇺 @witte_sergei - 19:53 UTC · Aug 28, 2023

I love to advance along the floor of the battlespace into a fire bag.


bigger

In my usual effort of trust but verify I checked the topographic map of Ukraine and compared it with the deployment map. You can see the town Orikhiv (Opixia in Cyrillic script) on the upper left of these pictures:


bigger
---

bigger

Big Serge is of course largely right. The Ukrainian forces are mostly stuck on the low ground at about 170 feet above sea level while the Russian forces occupy the hills of some 450 feet height to the left and right flank of the Ukrainians. Robotyne was already an uphill battle which may explain why it took so long. (I have unfortunately failed to recognize this previously because most online maps lack contour lines.)

Being at a higher ground allows one to see further - and to shoot further. A mortar fired from a hill to the ground below will fly further than one fired from the low ground to the heights above. Running and storming uphill is more difficult than running downhill.

Unless the Ukrainians manage to control the hillsides their progress in Robotyne will by a short and bloody endeavor.

---

I have stated previously that the ratio of wounded versus dead soldiers on the Ukrainian side is not at the usual 3 to 1 ratio that many estimates use. Based on anecdotal reports and various video clips I concluded a year ago that the ratio on the Ukrainian side is more like 1 to 1 because evacuation and medical care in Ukraine is extremely substandard:

The evacuation of wounded soldiers from positions under artillery fire is extremely difficult and Ukraine's military medical service is not exactly up to date. There are no helicopter evacuations and no tracked medical transport vehicles that could take the wounded out.

A lot of wounded will thereby miss the 'golden hour' and simply die before they can be brought into effective medical care. We can also assume that the Ukrainian staff only counts the heavily wounded and that people who get patched up and send back to the front line are likely not included here.

Western media had so far avoided the theme. The British Spectator has now breached the silence with an on-the-ground report of the wars first aid crisis:

I am told by those working here that many of those lost in the war die while they are being moved back to safety rather than on the front line. The long journeys to hospital, sometimes up to ten hours, can be lethal, and the availability of adequate first aid is the difference between life and death.

Ukrainians believed that the very best care would be available for their soldiers. But the stark truth is emerging: soldiers are dying in their hundreds or even thousands due to poor medical provision. The problem is being ignored by the military hierarchy, whose focus is on sourcing weapons and pushing the counteroffensive rather than prioritising injured fighters.

Ukrainian front line medics are often untrained and are expected to join the fighting until their service is needed. They lack vehicles to evacuate the wounded. Their supplies are unreliable and of bad quality. Bureaucracy and, of course, corruption is unbound:

One example is the proliferation of low-quality medical supplies being used to treat Ukrainian soldiers. A few weeks ago Volodymyr Prudnikov, the head of Ukraine’s Medical Forces Command’s procurement department, was accused of supplying 11,000 uncertified Chinese tactical medical kits to the front line. It is alleged that Prudnikov awarded £1.5 million-worth of contracts to a company co-founded by his daughter-in-law and was attempting to pass the Chinese kits off as Nato standard. He has been fired and now faces an investigation, but has yet to comment.

It is just one example of the profiteering that is needlessly risking the lives of soldiers. Another example of corruption occurred last year in Lviv, where 10,000 tactical first aid kits worth £700,000 were sent by American volunteers and then mysteriously disappeared. It was recently reported that the US is investigating this case.

More questions arise when it comes to the contents of the first aid kits that do make it to the front line. Tourniquets are perhaps the most-needed first aid tool, particularly when the evacuation process is prolonged. But if tourniquets are badly made, they can be lethal. There have been complaints from the front line about Chinese-made tourniquets that either gradually lose pressure or come apart, leading to renewed bleeding with fatal consequences. A Chinese tourniquet costs just £2, while a Ukrainian ‘Sich’ tourniquet is £15. An authentic American CAT tourniquet comes in at around £35.

In my last weekly review I had linked to a Ukrainian piece about tourniquets. It reported how a doctor who criticized the bad quality of the supplied tourniquets was punished for speaking out:

Anton Shevchuk, Head of the Medical Service of the 82nd Separate Air Assault brigade, who requested that Medical Forces Command replace poor-quality Chinese tourniquets and asked social activist Oksana Korchynska to help with this, has been given a "severe reprimand."
...
The number of poor-quality tourniquets that the Medical Forces Command initially issued to the 82nd Brigade exceeds 10,000.

The 82nd brigade is fighting within the artillery fire bag around Robotyne.

Tourniquets well applied to wounded arms and legs can cut off blood vessels and thereby stop bleeding. If they can not hold pressure the wounded will bleed to death.

The medical evacuation on the Russian side is reportedly much better. A few months ago Russia's defense minister Sergei Shoigu stated that the time to a first aid point for a wounded soldier was down to ten minutes while the time to reach a medical operation center was down to one hour (machine translation):

Russian military doctors involved in the special operation achieved a mortality rate in hospitals of less than 0.5% – the lowest figure in the history of military medicine, said at an expanded meeting of the board of the Russian Defense Ministry, the head of the military Department, Army General Sergei Shoigu.

"Military medics especially showed themselves during a special military operation. First aid is provided within 10 minutes. The wounded get to medical units within 1 hour, and to military hospitals - within the first day. We achieved a low mortality rate at the stages of evacuation of the wounded. In the hospital unit, the mortality rate was less than half a percent. This is the lowest figure in the entire history of military medicine, " he said.

I have no way to verify that data. But I also have not found even one complain about medical frontline services on the Russian side while the sorry state of medical help on the Ukrainian side has received some notice.

This only confirms my take that the 10 to 1 artillery superiority on the Russian side and other factors, like medical services, guarantee that the numbers of Russian casualties in the war are much lower than the Ukrainian ones.

Posted by b on August 29, 2023 at 11:36 UTC | Permalink

Comments
next page »

And yet, the Ukrainians are still pushing forward with no stopping in sight. They have unlimited supplies and money coming in from their sugar daddies in NATO/the US. Apparently, they have an unlimited supply of cannon fodder to throw at the Russian front line till they break through and continue on.

Posted by: bored | Aug 29 2023 11:56 utc | 1

The Ukraine is run by people who consider most Ukrainians cattle.

Posted by: Sentient | Aug 29 2023 12:00 utc | 2

I wonder if one can still take a train across the Deniper River? The needless slaughter, now press ganged into a fight they don't want, and the kids, Cadets, all lives matter.....oh well just another day in the SloMo Slaughter.

Cheers M

Posted by: sean the leprechaun | Aug 29 2023 12:07 utc | 3

From August of last year article from the Gray Zone (Max Blumenthal news org) showing how far down corruption goes with medical supplies.

Ukraine war veterans on how Kiev plundered US aid, wasted soldiers, endangered civilians, and lost the war

Samantha Morris*, a doctor from Maine, went to Ukraine in May to try to help provide medical training for soldiers. “The first time I crossed the border from Poland, I had to hide my medical supplies under mattresses and diapers to prevent them from being stolen,” she said. “The border guards on the Ukrainian side will just take things, and tell you, ‘we need this for our war,’ but then, they just steal the items and resell them. Honestly, if you don’t hand-deliver donations to the intended recipients, the items will never reach them.”

Morris and a few other American medical professionals began to hold training courses in Sumy, a mid-sized city in northeastern Ukraine. “We drew up a contract with the governor in Sumy, though all they provided to us were meals and lodging, and the lodging was just us sleeping in the same public university we held our training courses in,” she said. “The Sumy governor had a friend, a local businessman, and he demanded that this businessman be added to the contract as a ‘liaison’ between us and the city of Sumy. And as a liaison, he would get a percentage fee of the contract. Our lawyers tried to negotiate the businessman out of the contract, but the governor of Sumy wouldn’t budge. We ultimately just signed the contract so we could hold our trainings.”

In the two months she spent in Ukraine, Morris says she encountered theft and corruption more times than she could count. “The lead doctor at the military base in Sumy has ordered medical supplies from and for the military at different points in time, and he has had 15 trucks of supplies completely disappear,” she said. The military first aid kits she had intended to give to soldiers once they graduated her training program were stolen. She saw the same kits for sale at a local market days later.

Posted by: Erelis | Aug 29 2023 12:09 utc | 4

reply to 1

I wouldn't say they had unlimited supplies. The MOD list this morning is the usual 700 or so KIA and no tanks in the claims. The media acts as if this was Kursk and I can't see it.

OTOH, they can throw away Ukraine men without limit or care. No fragging or big protests or coup. Amazing how expendable they truly are.

Posted by: Eighthman | Aug 29 2023 12:13 utc | 5

Sounds like they may be purposely buying cheap kits from China, fudge the numbers and then pocket the difference. They can buy high quality ones too, just have to pay up.

Posted by: Al | Aug 29 2023 12:19 utc | 6


When a man with a knife fights a man with gun, the knife wielder must close the distance to zero. Likewise, When infantry fights artillery, the infantry must close the distance to near zero. Infantry against artillery has never worked well; think Pickets Charge at Gettysburg. The Russians have been very adept at withdrawing to avoid such "up close and personal" encounters while inflicting huge losses. When Russians hold the line, it is because they know that Ukrainians are committing suicide,when they withdraw, Ukrainians suffer death by a thousand cuts, or artillery rounds as the case may be.

Posted by: ja | Aug 29 2023 12:20 utc | 7

Erelis | Aug 29 2023 12:09 utc | 4

"Samantha Morris*, a doctor from Maine, went to Ukraine in May to try to help provide medical training for soldiers...Morris and a few other American medical professionals began to hold training courses in Sumy, a mid-sized city in northeastern Ukraine...

In the two months she spent in Ukraine, Morris says she encountered theft and corruption more times than she could count."

These kinds of people are such extreme Nazi sympathizers that no amount of actual experience of the indelible corruption and criminality of the hohols disillusions them. I suppose that gives some insight on why the hohols themselves continue to fight so fanatically and suicidally while being treated with such contempt by their own commanders and government.

Posted by: Flying Dutchman | Aug 29 2023 12:38 utc | 8

Indeed, it is astonishing to see Ukraine being devastated like this. And yes, the Ukrainians are truly disposable. When you think of it, if you let a wounded soldier die at the front, you also save the costs of keeping them in a hospital etc. You also avoid the moral killer of having lots of badly wounded soldiers being evacuated past fresh troops - this can keep moral up. If (hypothetically) it take ten Ukrainians to kill one Russian, that's still one dead Russian, right? Ukraine still has millions of men left - and if that runs out, the ruling class can just replace the population with third world refugees, like they are doing int he United States.

A couple of years ago all of this could have been avoided if Zelensky had just told Putin "OK sure we'll be neutral and not join NATO, no go away and let us live our lives in peace." Now the country is being devastated to get a fraction of what they could have had for free.

Posted by: TG | Aug 29 2023 12:38 utc | 9

"The Ukraine is run by people who consider most Ukrainians cattle."

Same as most western civilizations these days.

Posted by: Drewby | Aug 29 2023 12:41 utc | 10

If Ukraine and Russia are going to fight "to the last Ukranian," rather than tracking KIA, shouldn't we have a count down to the last Ukranian? The war will end when the count reaches zero.

Posted by: DarlingtonDino | Aug 29 2023 12:51 utc | 11

While wounded Ukrainian soldiers can't get critical treatment at the battlefield the US keeps pushing Ukraine to be less casualty averse. I wonder just how much of US aid to Ukraine is for medical treatment of their wounded. I'd guess it's mostly an afterthought. After all, it's their guys dying, not ours, all for the greater glory of the US empire.

Posted by: Mike R | Aug 29 2023 13:00 utc | 12

hi b, you're probably right about everything, but the images, scaled and overlayed, see link, don't really support the story.

Posted by: Michael | Aug 29 2023 13:03 utc | 13

From the Spectator article linked to.

Russia is, of course, responsible for the lives lost in this war.

Don't see how they work that out. If the Russians hadn't moved when they did the Kiev forces would have been in the Donbass killing or driving out half the population there.

Until that is understood in the West we're always going to view this war as "unprovoked" Russian aggression.

I don't think that will be understood in Europe, ever, and therefore we're heading for Cold War II.

I've no idea how the Russians intend to neutralise remnant Ukraine. I don't think it'll be as difficult a job as Sleboda insists because most of the ultras will be dead or will have moved to Germany. But neutralise it they must unless they are prepared to accept remnant Ukraine remaining an irritant - we can't give the Ukrainians much in the way of equipment and ammunition at present but there's no saying what we'll give them once our armaments industries have got their second wind.

So neutralising remnant Ukraine looks to be a foregone conclusion. Those Bandera monuments recently erected all over Ukraine will be gone and the ultras with them. Then what?

Been saying this for maybe a year now but it's a problem that could be staring us in the face fairly soon. The Russian late 2021 European security demands.

Unless the Russians forget about them they're going to look to see those demands met. They will for example want to see missiles that could be nuclear moved further back.

They won't get that. I believe there is a possibility that when they don't get that they will bring in counter-sanctions.

If so, the damage inflicted on us in Europe by the European sanctions will be worsened by the damage inflicted by the Russian.

I see no European politicians discussing their response should that happen.

Posted by: English Outsider | Aug 29 2023 13:07 utc | 14

Ukraine is shifting more and more stuff from elsewhere on the front into Orekhov. Apparently they obey the masters orders to concentrate everything to a single 10km section of the front between Robotyne and Verbove.

Russia has stepped up monitoring of AFU rail logistics, as they destroyed a second ammunition train in a week in Donbass, tens of kilometers behind lines.

Posted by: unimperator | Aug 29 2023 13:18 utc | 15

Superb reporting, thank you, B!

---

Erelis | Aug 29 2023 12:09 utc | 4

Great info!

---

TG | Aug 29 2023 12:38 utc | 9

"If (hypothetically) it take ten Ukrainians to kill one Russian, that's still one dead Russian, right?"
Sad but true...

---

I believe it's Standard Operating Procedure to also start soldiers wounded in the field on a course of antibiotics. At least it seems to me that would be done, since in the West they even do that right away with people who have open wounds from a car accident. I suppose that could be another angle where the Ukrainian Armed Forces are failing their soldiers, runaway infections even if a wounded soldier does make it to a field hospital in time to receive proper wound dressing. It's a nightmare.

Posted by: Scotch Bingeington | Aug 29 2023 13:36 utc | 16

"Ukrainian front line medics are often untrained and are expected to join the fighting until their service is needed."

This would mean that they have no protection under the rules sparing medical personnel from attack.

I agree totally with the assessment that the Ukranazi dead: wounded ratio is 1:1 or possibly even lower. Jacob Dreizin repeatedly insists that the number of Ukranazistani dead cannot possibly be as high as claimed because the number of wounded would then exceed 1.5 million. That's obviously true only if Ukranazistan could evacuate and treat its wounded in the same manner as a NATO military could in Afghanistan or Iraq where the opposition had no superiority whatsoever. Besides which there is absolutely zero evidence that the Ukranazi coup regime gives a damn about its cannon fodder.

As for Robotyne, I suppose the Ukranazis have now shifted to the stage of making up fictional victories on Twitter so as to get Bidet to keep paying them. Expect them to take Melitopol on Twitter by next Tuesday.

Posted by: Biswapriya Purkayast | Aug 29 2023 13:41 utc | 17

I've not seen this mentioned at the bar:

If you go to BitChute and search for "ryota ukraine" and sort/relevance by new, he frequently posts the daily MoD video clobber report (English translation).

Also, Simplicius76 has his own channel, search for "december1991" and sort by new.

Hope this is useful.

Posted by: smashsc | Aug 29 2023 13:45 utc | 18

The Quora site is totally deluded or taken over with relation to the Ukraine situation.

Posted by: jpc | Aug 29 2023 13:47 utc | 19

Posted by: bored | Aug 29 2023 11:56 utc | 1
"And yet, the Ukrainians are still pushing forward with no stopping in sight."

Not really. Zoom out and you see that they've taken only a tiny chip out of the red zone. They have much, much further to go both in depth and in width. And their supplies are not unlimited. We've barely seen any UA tanks for weeks. The recent collision of their trainer aircraft is a sign that they're forced to use trainers for combat missions like a 3rd-world airforce.

Posted by: catdog | Aug 29 2023 13:57 utc | 20

Another reason one shouldn’t go to war with China - they will supply their enemies with cheap medical kits.

Posted by: WG | Aug 29 2023 13:58 utc | 21

Posted by: Flying Dutchman | Aug 29 2023 12:38 utc | 8

############

Normies are disgusting but surely you have family and friends that are Normies.

They aren't active sympathizers because they do not understand the scope of the situation or have the street smarts to interpret it.

Most people in the West are Normies. No matter how corrupt or deranged their government, they will show up to vote reliably, like clockwork. And regardless of the history and record of the media, they will still listen to NPR and read the NYT because once upon a time there was a perception that these were credible outlets with integrity.

The sort of adults who cannot understand people who don't listen to the press and get 5+ injections for their children. The people who sincerely believe that reporting their neighbor's children for playing outside without a mask is being a "good" person.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Aug 29 2023 14:05 utc | 22

Does anyone believe Zelensky will still be President this time next year?

Posted by: Roy Walker | Aug 29 2023 14:12 utc | 23

English Outsider | Aug 29 2023 13:07 utc | 14

I see no European politicians discussing their response should that happen

A new article in Der Spiegel purports that six Ukainians on that sailboat we all read about are the ones responsible for the NS destruction.

The entire article is pretty unconvincing...the only takeaway for me is that European politicians(German) ARE, in fact, discussing some kind of a response, even if misguided.

Posted by: john | Aug 29 2023 14:15 utc | 24

Posted by: ja | Aug 29 2023 12:20 utc | 7

When the situation was reversed in Stalingrad, Chuikov told his men to ‘hang onto the enemy’s belts’ to reduce the German fire-support’s effectiveness. Drones though significantly reduce the chances of such infiltration techniques working, due to enhanced surveillance and the use of FPV’s as guided munitions.

The point about the advantages of holding higher elevations cannot be stressed enough, modern, direct fire, weapons are limited by LOS, as the saying goes if they can see it they can hit it, and as b has noted elevation increases range. A Kornet ATGM has a range of up to 5km, a 125mm tank gun firing HE 4km+ away, an AGL 3km, a KA-52, firing pop-up with its missiles can strike targets 10km away, four times the effective range of WW2 systems and far more destructive when they hit (the Ka-52’s missiles are 10X the range). Height though also bestows another advantage, it’s harder to hit defenders, especially dug in. All this means that coupled with the electro-optical sensors, an increasing number with TI capability, and GSR systems available to the Russian defences, the Ukrainians, with far worse troops have a task an order of magnitudes harder than the Germans faced at Kursk. The cherry on the cake is the US demand to reduce ammo consumption, just at a time when the only way to effectively neutralise these strongpoints is with indirect fire.

Posted by: Milites | Aug 29 2023 14:20 utc | 25

We've barely seen any UA tanks for weeks. - catdog

The official channel of Russian airborne SF (Rusich_Army) just released today new footage of UA tank getting destoryed by Kornet

Posted by: T6 | Aug 29 2023 14:21 utc | 26

Today, MSM is gloating CNN "Ukrainian military claims further gains in the south".
Russia is trying to spare her soldiers but the suicidal human waves from the Ukro side are unstoppable.

Posted by: simplex | Aug 29 2023 14:23 utc | 27

Posted by: English Outsider | Aug 29 2023 13:07 utc | 14

It needs to end with land locked Ukraine. The EU efforts in the Balkans are cracking already. The only thing that's holding them up is coercion by military and economic force, or sanctions.

Republic of Sprska wants to join the BRICS, Serbia would like to join the BRICS (they are surrounded and extorted by EU to take part in western apparatus), and Bosnia-Hertsegovina would like to join BRICS instead of EU.

If Russia ends up with a land border with Hungary and/or Romania would get a more neutral government, the EU will begin its unraveling starting from the Balkans and SE Europe. There is a lot of discontent, in southern and western Europe which is just waiting to explode, provided right conditions.

Posted by: unimperator | Aug 29 2023 14:23 utc | 28

Ukrainian front line medics are often untrained and are expected to join the fighting until their service is needed."

This would mean that they have no protection under the rules sparing medical personnel from attack.

===> Good point. It also means that they most likely will be among the wounded and dead, and won't be able to help. As for training: why would Ukraine train them any better than they train the rest of their soldiers? <===

I agree totally with the assessment that the Ukranazi dead: wounded ratio is 1:1 or possibly even lower. Jacob Dreizin repeatedly insists that the number of Ukranazistani dead cannot possibly be as high as claimed because the number of wounded would then exceed 1.5 million. That's obviously true only if Ukranazistan could evacuate and treat its wounded in the same manner as a NATO military could in Afghanistan or Iraq where the opposition had no superiority whatsoever. Besides which there is absolutely zero evidence that the Ukranazi coup regime gives a damn about its cannon fodder.

===> The regime doesn't. Which is the reason that larger groups of soldiers surrender to the Russians in order to get treatment for their wounded. Which in all likelihood is better than what they can expect back home. <===

As for Robotyne, I suppose the Ukranazis have now shifted to the stage of making up fictional victories on Twitter so as to get Bidet to keep paying them. Expect them to take Melitopol on Twitter by next Tuesday.

Posted by: Biswapriya Purkayast | Aug 29 2023 13:41 utc | 17

===> The entire Ukrainian war was written and directed by script writers and actors. "From the makers of Hamburger Hill: Bradley Square!!!". I saw "The Battle for Rabotino" mentioned in some post, and immediately realized that we will be treated to a Hollywood production (or two) of the same name. Just think of the possibilities. Victory or not, definitely Oscar material. Fake victories and happy endings included. <===

I liked Zelensky's demand for 5 billion Euros for staging elections in Ukraine next year. Including his demand for international "election observers" to visit the front lines so that the votes get counted correctly.

Weird actually that the EU insists on elections being held in Ukraine. I seem to recall that we considered the elections in Syria during war time invalid. Of course Ukraine is a totally different kind of case. A basket case.

Posted by: Martina | Aug 29 2023 14:24 utc | 29

The BBC has been obliged to acknowledge the casualties...

"There has been a dramatic rise in Ukraine's number of dead, according to new estimates by unnamed US officials. The BBC's Quentin Sommerville has been on the front line in the east, where the grim task of counting the dead has become a daily reality."

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66581217

Posted by: dh | Aug 29 2023 14:25 utc | 30

reply to 11

That's what I've been thinking and it gets rather scary for Russia, as the last ploy Ukraine can use to 'win'. They have maybe 2 - 3 million males left and killing them at 700 a day .......well, do the math. It gets crazy.

OTOH, I think we are seeing an exhaustion of any strategy. Think about a teacher with an unmotivated, ignorant class who faces an official exam. So, she 'teaches to the test'. The same goes with an abusive employer - you just follow his rules blindly to stay out of trouble.

So, Zaluzhny and the others just do exactly what they're told by the West - regardless of how stupid and horrific it is. Meat grinders and conserving equipment at the cost of many lives. Neglect areas and blindly move forward towards Robatino. Just do as they say and keep your head down while your people lose theirs.

Posted by: Eighthman | Aug 29 2023 14:28 utc | 31

Let me suggest that top-of-the-line Chinese first-aid kits are as good as any other. They are not inferior. But having many dealings with Chinese firms, I can say you get what you pay for. Obviously, like anything else you buy, especially in China, quality is measured by price. So you want to buy the cheapest Chinese first aid kits for a pittance. Then bad quality is what you will get. I am absolutely certain that China produces first-class first-aid kits/ But the price won't be that much lower than the market rate. What you have on the Ukrainian side is pure profiteering based on profit for a few resulting in the death of 1000s. The nazi regime in Ukraine are truly a demons. Anyone who knows their culture would concur.

Posted by: Topolcats | Aug 29 2023 14:31 utc | 32

Re: “Another reason one shouldn’t go to war with China - they will supply their enemies with cheap medical kits.”

Posted by: WG | Aug 29 2023 13:58 utc | 21

Seen a lot of these kinds of posts.

I’m certain these “cheap kits… particularly tourniquets come with a rating system, and there’s not ANY tourniquets with a rating permit of 8 hours!

It is taking Ukrainians up to 8 hours (sometimes longer) to transport a wounded, with tourniquet bound soldiers.

The expected time frame after applying a tourniquet before removing it is rated 15 mins-to 1.5 hours TOPS.

The expectation is your reach your medical facilities and the tourniquet is removed promptly or you will definitely bleed to death. Obviously, by Ukrainian admission, not only are they not arriving timely, they’re stacked up and waiting, sometimes more hours, for treatment.

Second, you get what you pay for. Ukraine got what it paid for… but no medical practitioner would expect a tourniquet bind to be effective any longer than an hour or so. Nor want it to.

Although obvious China smear by US effective.

Posted by: Trubind1 | Aug 29 2023 14:33 utc | 33

It's getting pretty hard to not see the instigators and the financiers of this war for what they really are.

Posted by: Josh | Aug 29 2023 14:39 utc | 34

Posted by: catdog | Aug 29 2023 13:57 utc | 20
"The recent collision of their trainer aircraft is a sign that they're forced to use trainers for combat missions like a 3rd-world airforce."

No, i dont believe that their starpilot was killed in a training fligth.

2 days earlier Russia attacked the airfield at nigth where the figherplanes were stationed.

Sorry for being suspicious

Posted by: Paul from Norway | Aug 29 2023 14:41 utc | 35

English Outsider | Aug 29 2023 13:07 utc | 14--

No Western media outlet is going to tell the truth that the West--the Outlaw US Empire specifically--started this conflict with the 2014 Coup, and of course the decades long Anti-Communist Crusade could be added to that. The West Good, all else Bad decades long Narrative cannot be allowed to fall, although the more it tries to uphold it the more alienated RoW becomes.

Posted by: karlof1 | Aug 29 2023 14:43 utc | 36

Posted by: unimperator | Aug 29 2023 14:23 utc | 28

If Bosnia/Hz were to join BRICS that would be poetic justice indeed. Imagine that ! Ungrateful Jihadis -who the US and its deputies helped carve out a fake nation in the heart of Christian Europe- biting the hands that feed them. Next thing you know , Kosovo will want to join as well! Out go the Americans of Camp Bondsteel , like the Frenchies in Niger. The Americans will then need to find another secluded base to handle the opium,child-prostitute ,murder-for-organs and jihadi-training trades . Won’t that be something to see! Of course Russia will likely allow such an admission only if Serbia regains most of its rights there.

Posted by: Wondrous | Aug 29 2023 14:46 utc | 37

The Ukrainian's actions seem driven primarily by the emotion of hate and impatience, while the Russian's actions are driven by logic, reason and patience. Soldiers are treated as expendable cattle by Ukraine, while they are treated as valuable assets by Russia. Russia is systematically destroying 15-20 Ukrainian artillery pieces per day, or 400+ per month. NATO cannot re-supply that level of losses, either in artillery or ammunition. Ukraine in their hate filled impatience has stepped into another fire pocket in Rabotyne. Ukraine will run out of heavy artillery and ammo before it runs out of soldiers. Russia is bleeding them out while minimizing its own personnel losses. Not complicated.

Posted by: JustTruth | Aug 29 2023 14:46 utc | 38


Ukrainians believed that the very best care would be available for their soldiers. But the stark truth is emerging: soldiers are dying in their hundreds or even thousands due to poor medical provision. The problem is being ignored by the military hierarchy, whose focus is on sourcing weapons and pushing the counteroffensive rather than prioritising injured fighters.

vs.


The medical evacuation on the Russian side is reportedly much better. A few months ago Russia's defense minister Sergei Shoigu stated that the time to a first aid point for a wounded soldier was down to ten minutes while the time to reach a medical operation center was down to one hour (machine translation):

This is debunks conclusively, the NAFO narrative that "Putin is a Psycopath"

(We can ignore the "reportedly" bit. If this were not true, extensive details to the contrary would have been made available in the Western media maelstrom. Besides, the mere presence of Russian helicopter forces on the battlefield is sufficient to infer a superior capability to provide medivac services)

In other news:

Child labour has been legalised in Russia. Russian children in Tatarstan have been mobilised to assemble shahid drones (courtesy of [Propaganda] Operator Starsky).

The Ukrainians remind me of the israelis with the propensity for outright and very dramatic lying. Is this genetic? Cultural?

Posted by: Arch Bungle | Aug 29 2023 14:46 utc | 39

It's almost as if the real point of prolonging this war is to eliminate as many Ukrainian men as possible...

Posted by: elkern | Aug 29 2023 14:47 utc | 40

Posted by: Josh | Aug 29 2023 14:39 utc | 34

Shhh. That's anti-semitic ...

Posted by: Arch Bungle | Aug 29 2023 14:48 utc | 41

Posted by: Trubind1 | Aug 29 2023 14:33 utc | 33


Second, you get what you pay for. Ukraine got what it paid for… but no medical practitioner would expect a tourniquet bind to be effective any longer than an hour or so. Nor want it to. Although obvious China smear by US effective.

You don't understand. Here in The West we expect our tourniquets to double as garrotes (in case medical aid doesn't cover the service).

Posted by: Arch Bungle | Aug 29 2023 14:52 utc | 42

The Russians took back Melitopol in WWII from the German at a terrible cost because of the terrain disadvantage. English Wikipedia does not tell the full story - perhaps they don't want us to know? But Russian Wikipedia has casualty figures that were very high for the Russians (and who had a vast numbers advantage) https://ru.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9C%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%BB%D1%8C%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D0%BE%D0%BF%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%86%D0%B8%D1%8F

The direct URL to the Russian site is: https://ru.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9C%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%BB%D1%8C%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D0%BE%D0%BF%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%86%D0%B8%D1%8F

Posted by: Peter M. | Aug 29 2023 14:53 utc | 43

1.5 million wounds?

@Biswapriya Purkayast | Aug 29 2023 13:41 utc | 17

Jacob Dreizin repeatedly insists that the number of Ukranazistani dead cannot possibly be as high as claimed because the number of wounded would then exceed 1.5 million.

It is likely that Ukrainians have received 1.5 million wounds. Many soldiers have been wounded multiple times.

Most wounds on the battlefield are shrapnel wounds, often light skin or flesh wounds. These require stitches, good hygiene, and antibiotics. In 19th century wars such wounds would often lead to death, but with modern medication lightly injured soldiers can return to the battle in a month or less.

Russia achieves it low mortality rate in hospitals by evacuating everyone with a scratch to the rear. On the Ukrainian side lightly wounded are simply patched up an told to fight on.

Posted by: Petri Krohn | Aug 29 2023 14:56 utc | 44

Posted by: Trubind1 | Aug 29 2023 14:33 utc | 33

The problem seems to be that, according to the quoted doctor, the tourniquets do not apply sufficient pressure because of sub-standard materials that the restrictor strap is made from. I’ve used Chinese PPE and it was largely junk, variable QC, shoddy construction and poor protection offered, I’ve also used Chinese tools, same story. I suspect the budget was for Western kit that suddenly became an order from the PRC and the difference pocketed, perhaps Hunter is involved?

Posted by: Milites | Aug 29 2023 14:57 utc | 45

Have you guys noticed one thing? The West (CNN/BCC) glorifies war and death. These are choking revelations.

Posted by: AI | Aug 29 2023 14:58 utc | 46

Major Gen. GD Bakshi (Retd):

Russia-Ukraine War Heading Towards Final Intensification? | Grand Strategy With GD Bakshi

To be honest I have previously thought of Bakshi as just another mildly informed spectator to the war but it appears that he has actually visited the UK military establishment in recent weeks and been directly informed by them that the Ukrainian offensive is not going well.

If true, we are not merely seeing this grudging admission from the western media establishment but from the armed forces of The Empire itself ...

Posted by: Arch Bungle | Aug 29 2023 14:59 utc | 47

In Ukrainian Cyrillic, Orikhiv should be Opixib, consistent with New-Greek rho (p) for r, khi (x) for kh and beta (b) for v (since Byzantine times, Greeks pronounce beta as v). b made a typo...

Concerning inadequate medical care for wounded, it is inevitable when attacks are performed without air domination. Heavy wounds cannot be taken care of in field conditions, they require more advanced care than any field kits can give, and without air domination, every vehicle is in danger, ESPECIALLY vehicles without armor that can be destroyed with lighter drones and lighter artillery. Thus wounded and medics are combatants that are easier to target than other combatants...

To be precise, Ukraine seemed to have tactical parity and sometimes superiority in drones in chosen direction, but not to the degree that would solve this problem.


Posted by: Piotr Berman | Aug 29 2023 15:02 utc | 48

Roy [email protected] course he will still be alive, he is protected by the Diplomatic Seal of Apartheid Israel....so he gets to live out his life in luxury.

Cheers M

Posted by: sean the leprechaun | Aug 29 2023 15:04 utc | 49

Chinese manufacturers will make products exactly as they are specified, to a certified standard if requested. It’s disingenuous to equate all Chinese manufacturing to low quality. This is done through ignorance or is a wilful and subtle of Sinophobic propaganda.

For those who want maximum profit then Chinese manufacturers have the lowest labour costs and they will make the goods with inferior quality materials if you so specify. These will likely be the cheapest of their type and the user experience will be poor.

Posted by: Lev Davidovich | Aug 29 2023 15:04 utc | 50

Although I don't know how much training the basic infantry soldier gets in first aid nowadays, when I served it was very rudimentary--I learned more getting my Red Cross First Aid Certification as a teenager than what I was taught in Basic Training. And the individual first aid kit we were issued that attached to your pistol belt or web gear contained just a tourniquet, a pressure bandage, and two sulfa packets. The incidence of blast wounds versus rifle wounds is extreme from both artillery and drone-dropped grenades, the latter being applied in vast numbers. Russian capabilities in drone offense and defense is one of the big differences in this conflict. Russian troops suffer far fewer drone related casualties because their defensive measures are vastly superior.

Posted by: karlof1 | Aug 29 2023 15:05 utc | 51

Roy Walker @ 23

Does anyone believe Zelensky will still be President this time next year?

Does anyone believe in honest elections in Ukraine? As for offing him that wouldn't look too good unless you can convincingly blame Putin, even the slightest doubt he was killed by his political opposition or eliminated by his western handlers would have a terribly corrosive effect domestically and abroad.

Just as bad visuals would be having Zelensky resign or voted out and living in luxury in exile in Florida, London, or Israel while the war is raging. He definitely jumped the shark with the BIG counter offensive, he drives viewers away now instead of bringing them into the carnival tent, domestically and externally he's an irritant. A man at the top with no power, no leverage, no friends. Beats me where he'll be a year from now.

Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Aug 29 2023 15:06 utc | 52

50,000 amputees

@Trubind1 | Aug 29 2023 14:33 utc | 33

The expected time frame after applying a tourniquet before removing it is rated 15 mins-to 1.5 hours TOPS.


Using the tourniquet for longer than that will result in an amputation. Western media now admits that Ukraine has 50,000 amputees.

Posted by: Petri Krohn | Aug 29 2023 15:10 utc | 53

e United States.

A couple of years ago all of this could have been avoided if Zelensky had just told Putin "OK sure we'll be neutral and not join NATO, no go away and let us live our lives in peace." Now the country is being devastated to get a fraction of what they could have had for free.

Posted by: TG | Aug 29 2023 12:38 utc | 9

What Peace? There were Minsk1, Minsk2.
It was Poroshenkos time.
Do you remember how Zel won his election? After that the comedian changed to drama.
The coup regime from 2014 sold the country. Only the east of ucraine fought back.

Posted by: 600w | Aug 29 2023 15:10 utc | 54

Posted by: T6 | Aug 29 2023 14:21 utc | 26

Yes, armour is noticeable for its absence; however, since the Falklands ATGM’s have also been used as bunker busters and anti-personnel weapons, with some Russian helicopter mounted missiles having thermobaric warheads.

Posted by: Milites | Aug 29 2023 15:11 utc | 55

So then aid to Ukraine should emphasize medical training and medical supplies as well.

Posted by: Biswapriya Purkayast | Aug 29 2023 13:41 utc | 17

Besides which there is absolutely zero evidence that the Ukranazi coup regime gives a damn about its cannon fodder.

"Cannon fodder" is the basic strategy of the Russian army. Many people here praise the Russian army's strategy of throwing tons of convicts and other untrained unlucky soldiers into the meat grinder to wear the enemy down enough for the "elite" fighters.

Posted by: Inkan1969 | Aug 29 2023 15:11 utc | 56

Posted by: Inkan1969 | Aug 29 2023 15:11 utc | 56


"Cannon fodder" is the basic strategy of the Russian army.

And day is night.

Just to remind you that one of the first things the Ukranazi regime' did when the SMO began was let criminals flood out of the jails and hand them boxes of arms just dumped in the streets.

Put that in your propagandist pipe and vape it.


Many people here praise the Russian army's strategy of throwing tons of convicts and other untrained unlucky soldiers into the meat grinder to wear the enemy down enough for the "elite" fighters.

Nobody here has praised this strategy. Stop lying.

Posted by: Arch Bungle | Aug 29 2023 15:14 utc | 57

Posted by: Trubind1 | Aug 29 2023 14:33 utc | 33
Trubind I respectfully disagree. Combat casualty care standards do not have specific time limits for tourniquet duration of application.
I've been training and teaching combat medicine/paramedicine and we had no such limits. The times you mention are for use of tourniquets in a civilian environment, where 15 minutes to 1.5 hours is a reasonable time frame from patient contact to delivery to the trauma chute in a major hospital.
In combat medicine, the tourniquet gets removed when the patient is on the table. Time limits are irrelevant as you risk killing a patient when you remove a tourniquet.

Posted by: Madmarc | Aug 29 2023 15:16 utc | 58

Posted by: Roy Walker | Aug 29 2023 14:12 utc | 23

Does anyone believe Zelensky will still be President this time next year?

People said that about Abraham Lincoln in 1864.

Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Aug 29 2023 15:06 utc | 52

Does anyone believe in honest elections in Ukraine?...Just as bad visuals would be having Zelensky resign or voted out and living in luxury in exile in Florida, London, or Israel while the war is raging. He definitely jumped the shark with the BIG counter offensive, he drives viewers away now instead of bringing them into the carnival tent, domestically and externally he's an irritant. A man at the top with no power, no leverage, no friends. Beats me where he'll be a year from now.

Bring in the UN observers then. Let them see everything in the election procedures so they can report how honest they really are.

At the moment, you sound like you're just making up descriptions of how you want the "viewers" to feel.

Posted by: Inkan1969 | Aug 29 2023 15:21 utc | 59

Posted by: AI | Aug 29 2023 14:58 utc | 46


Have you guys noticed one thing? The West (CNN/BCC) glorifies war and death. These are choking revelations.

A culture of heroism is necessary to mobilise the serfs for war.

What would our rulers do without our carefully tailored 'heroes'?

Posted by: Arch Bungle | Aug 29 2023 15:21 utc | 60

… The EU efforts in the Balkans are cracking already. The only thing that's holding them up is coercion by military and economic force, or sanctions. …

Posted by: unimperator | Aug 29 2023 14:23 utc | 28

Agreed, if the following story is anything to go by things might be very different behind the scenes that they currently appear in public:

https://www.politico.eu/article/kaja-kallas-husband-russian-business-ties-estonia/

Prime Minister Kaja Kallas is facing growing criticism after Estonian media reports revealed her husband's business ties to Russia, which will now be discussed by a parliamentary committee. ….

Posted by: anon2020 | Aug 29 2023 15:21 utc | 61

Posted by: Inkan1969 | Aug 29 2023 15:21 utc | 59


Bring in the UN observers then. Let them see everything in the election procedures so they can report how honest they really are.

Yes, tell your nazi handlers to bring in the UN 'observers'. Hurry along now.

Posted by: Arch Bungle | Aug 29 2023 15:23 utc | 62

Posted by: Petri Krohn | Aug 29 2023 14:56 utc | 44

It’s one of wars many ironies that conflicts are a significant driver in improving medical practices and the concomitant technologies. Russia will be a world leader in a number of trauma related disciplines that then feed into the civilian sector, a colleagues wife was saved from bleeding out by a technique pioneered in a war zone. Sad that it often takes the destruction of life to improve those of future generations, but then when have humans been logical?

Posted by: Milites | Aug 29 2023 15:24 utc | 63

Posted by: Arch Bungle | Aug 29 2023 15:21 utc | 60

What would our rulers do without our carefully tailored 'heroes'?

Right, the people fighting to be the "best in Hell" and to beat the "nazis" in the SMO are never "heroes".

Posted by: Inkan1969 | Aug 29 2023 15:24 utc | 64

Question:

Amidst the talk of the Ukranian regime' preparing to announce a general mobilisation:

What is the probability of NATO soldiers being infiltrated as the bulk of the mobilised fighting force under cover of the mobilisation?

Posted by: Arch Bungle | Aug 29 2023 15:26 utc | 65

On the subject of the Balkans being coerced by EU/NATO to be Anti-Russian/Pro-Ukrainian, we have Maria Zakharova answering a question on that issue: "Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova's answer to a question from Mezhdunarodnaya Deli magazine in connection with the adoption of the so-called Athens Declaration by a number of European countries":

Question: How would you comment on the Athens Declaration adopted following the meeting of the leaders of Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, North Macedonia, Moldova, Romania, Serbia, Ukraine, Croatia and Montenegro, as well as the Prime Minister of Kosovo in Athens on August 21?

Maria Zakharova: The Athens Declaration has once again clearly demonstrated that the current leadership of the European Union continues its policy of total Ukrainisation of the agenda of all multilateral formats of cooperation. At the same time, a selective selection of participants in each such event is carried out, which once again confirms the double bottom of any EU agenda.

Through political and economic pressure and blackmail, the EU are trying to pull the countries of the Western Balkans to their aggressive line towards Russia. Bind candidates for EU membership with mutual responsibility. To force it to become more active in helping the neo-Nazi Kiev regime, supporting its ultimatum and absolutely unviable demands according to V. Zelensky's completely absurd "peace formula". That is why the Ukrainian topic was artificially put "at the forefront" at the Athens summit, directly related to the European integration dossier, and the document on the results of the event dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the EU-Western Balkans summit turned out to be almost entirely devoted to Ukraine.

The real problems and aspirations of the Western Balkans are not taken into account by the European Union. In order to further confront our country, the EU members are ready to sacrifice the true interests of the development and security of the countries of the Western Balkan region in violation of one of the fundamental principles of the UN Charter regarding respect for sovereignty and the right to independent development. In the final document, they hypocritically refer to our country's violation of the norms and principles of European security, which they, together with the United States, trampled on by interventions in Yugoslavia in 1999, Iraq in 2003, Libya in 2011, and Syria in 2014. the principle of indivisibility of security of a legally binding nature, rejected the draft international treaties on security guarantees prepared by us in 2008. They cynically introduce wording about the "territorial integrity" of Ukraine into the general document, completely forgetting about attempts to separate Kosovo from Serbia. They are trying to consolidate the pro-Western orientation of the states of the Western Balkans, putting them on a par with the anti-people governments in Kiev and Chisinau. They promise the countries of the region a "bright future" as part of the European Union in exchange for supporting the anti-Russian course, in fact making it one, if not the main, criterion for joining the EU. These are obvious manifestations of ideological, bloc thinking, which in no way contribute to the return of peace and security to the European continent.

They don't give up trying, which means they'll need to suffer a massive political defeat. AS I noted above, the more they continue to lie, the further they remove themselves from the rest of humanity.

Posted by: karlof1 | Aug 29 2023 15:27 utc | 66

My take on what is going on is that Ukraine is keeping up appearances for the sake of pleasing its sponsors. The problem is the need to show some success in the much announced offensive, so they are throwing everything they have into getting some gain, even if the gain is minor and body count be damned. That's all.

As for Russia, predicting what they will do next has not been a success for anybody I am aware of. I suppose the two choices are either they are loading up for a big arrow offensive move, or perhaps the steady as she goes is deemed as the method most likely to produce a good outcome for Russia. The certain thing is that they are surprisingly sensitive to causalities and are keeping down the losses in the high cost military assets. They are more preserving their army than using it.

The Russians in general now seem to have keeping down the body count as military doctrine. It shows up both in the design of the military hardware and how they are running this war. As I am reluctant to attribute high moral purpose to any government, I'm thinking that perhaps there is a remembrance in the population of how many people died both as a result of Stalin's ruthless methods and the horrible losses taken when expelling the Nazis from Russia. That in turn creates a need for the government to be self aware of how many people it gets killed by its methods.

Posted by: Jmaas | Aug 29 2023 15:27 utc | 67

AI @ 46

Have you guys noticed one thing? The West (CNN/BCC) glorifies war and death. These are choking revelations.

Revelations? They have always glorified war and death. CNN/BCC are Anglo culture propagators, a culture which believes itself a warrior culture, like ancient Rome, it comes from having to justify colonization and empire building.

Reality is that most of Anglo and western successes came from geographic and technological superiority over the last centuries, Jared Diamond covers it Guns, Germs, and Steel. Not to take away from the bravery of western individuals who fought the good fight when those moments occurred but the supremacy of empire builders is finished, there are now technological military peers that have a much longer history of being warriors, Russia preeminently, without the need to rationalize and glorify a warrior society.

What you are noticing in western media, in the waning decades of empire, that you would not have noticed in the past is that glorifying war and death has become pointless and crude.

Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Aug 29 2023 15:29 utc | 68

Posted by: Inkan1969 | Aug 29 2023 15:24 utc | 64


Right, the people fighting to be the "best in Hell" and to beat the "nazis" in the SMO are never "heroes".

You have it ass-backwards usual. Truth-distortion circuit on the fritz?

The proposition was not that they're not heroes.

In fact the proposition was quite the opposite:

Their heroism serves the goals of the State.

Which is empirically true: It was a recruitment video after all!

Posted by: Arch Bungle | Aug 29 2023 15:32 utc | 69

Robotyne was already an uphill battle which may explain why it took so long. (I have unfortunately failed to recognize this previously because most online maps lack contour lines.)
I didn't know that either. These are the words I long to hear. These are the words of someone who understands he is competent but is still occasionally unaware of certain details, and readily admits it when relevant. I trust people like this.

Posted by: Lurker666 | Aug 29 2023 15:35 utc | 70

A couple of years ago all of this could have been avoided if Zelensky had just told Putin "OK sure we'll be neutral and not join NATO, no go away and let us live our lives in peace." Now the country is being devastated to get a fraction of what they could have had for free.

Posted by: TG | Aug 29 2023 12:38 utc | 9
---------------------------------------------------------------
Seems not to have been up to Z, even if Biden today pretends that it is and was.

Z says today that all the lands, including Crimea have to go back to Ukraine. Then he will talk.

Posted by: Acco Hengst | Aug 29 2023 15:37 utc | 71

Milites | Aug 29 2023 15:24 utc | 63--

Upgrading and vastly expanding Russia's medical services to Russians is one of Russia's Strategic Projects along with becoming sovereign in pharmaceuticals and precision medical equipment of all types. In that regard, Russia's medical realm is superior to that of the West, and Putin placed a high priority of getting the new territories up to Russian standards, which is where battlefield casualties are first treated. Ukrainian standards are very poor by comparison reflecting its status as a fourth world nation.

Posted by: karlof1 | Aug 29 2023 15:37 utc | 72

The Ukrainians remind me of the israelis with the propensity for outright and very dramatic lying. Is this genetic? Cultural?
Posted by: Arch Bungle | Aug 29 2023 14:46 utc | 39

I am old enough that I remember the debates that took place in the Cold War period. Back then the Russians were so imbedded in their own propaganda that it was impossible to have anything like a meeting of the minds because they lived in a false reality of their own creation. Now it would seem it is our turn. Our current news is such a load of bull that it is no longer connected with reality.

Posted by: Jmaas | Aug 29 2023 15:39 utc | 73

Posted by: karlof1 | Aug 29 2023 15:27 utc | 66


They don't give up trying, which means they'll need to suffer a massive political defeat. AS I noted above, the more they continue to lie, the further they remove themselves from the rest of humanity.

I don't think a massive political defeat is sufficient.

No matter the outcome of the SMO is one thing is clear:

The Anglo-American Empire has succeeded in drawing an indelible line between the RF and the entire western world that will last for generations to come.

Whether Russia wins this war or loses it, it will be clear to Russians that almost the entire European civilisation stood as one against them with the sole objective of the utter destruction of Russian civilisation.

There is no turning back from that other than the passing of decades, perhaps centuries or horrors so dark that the memories of past must be collectively expunged for people to continue living ...

This suggests that the only light at the end of this tunnel (from the Russian perspective at least!) is a military defeat of the West, concurrent with it's civilizational collapse.

Posted by: Arch Bungle | Aug 29 2023 15:43 utc | 74

Bring in the UN observers then. Let them see everything in the election procedures so they can report how honest they really are.

Posted by: Inkan1969 | Aug 29 2023 15:21 utc | 59

##############

If you had any credibility, that was lost with the UN comment. The last people who should speak on election integrity is anyone from the West.

People who think that shadow puppets on the cave walls are in fact real animals.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Aug 29 2023 15:46 utc | 75

b - thanks for the grisly overview.... it is very depressing and saddening.. there is no need for any of this... capitalism sucks..

Posted by: james | Aug 29 2023 15:51 utc | 76

Posted by: ja | Aug 29 2023 12:20 utc | 7

Pickett's Charge wasn't really about infantry against artillery - not like stone, scissors, paper. It was (mostly) a charge of confederate infantry over open ground and against other, entrenched, union infantry. Numbers and armament of troops are comparable and there certainly was a massive artillery barage by the confederates before the charge.

Problem was that Lee wanted to force a decision at this point and place. And firmly believed the union forces would break right in the middle where the charge would push the hardest. He was wrong and it basically broke the back of the confederate military.

And the very same is true about the military situation in Ukraine. They had the best NATO-army in 2022 and completely wasted it because OUR leaders falsely believed they could force a decision against Russia at exactly that point and time. Lee was willing to accept his mistake. They will NEVER do that.

Posted by: RobRob | Aug 29 2023 15:52 utc | 77

Posted by: Jmaas | Aug 29 2023 15:39 utc | 73


I am old enough that I remember the debates that took place in the Cold War period. Back then the Russians were so imbedded in their own propaganda

I wonder how many of those "Russians" were actually 'Ukrainians' ...


Now it would seem it is our turn.

We were never much better. The difference was that our lies were profitable.

Posted by: Arch Bungle | Aug 29 2023 15:53 utc | 78

“ Time limits are irrelevant as you risk killing a patient when you remove a tourniquet.”

Posted by: Madmarc | Aug 29 2023 15:16 utc | 58

“A battlefield study, published by Lakstein et al., provides real data on pre-hospital tourniquet applications (using a silicone or improvised tourniquet rather than a pneumatic tourniquet). In this study, 5.5% of 110 pre-hospital tourniquets led to neurological complications, all of which were applied for between 109 and 187 minutes. None of the affected limbs required amputation.

***The mean time for tourniquet application with no complications in this study was 78 minutes.”***

After 3 hours, partial neurological damage, after 6 hours, neurological damage complete, amputation required.

And no one suggested removing a tourniquet without being in a medical facility.
The failure is not being in a medical facility, not the tourniquet. That was my emphasis.

Posted by: Trubind1 | Aug 29 2023 16:04 utc | 79

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/08/29/aexr-a29.html

This one almost convinced me prigs was taken out by the west.. almost.

Posted by: Ahenobarbus | Aug 29 2023 16:08 utc | 80

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Aug 29 2023 15:46 utc | 75

Inkan1969 should just stay on Deviant art, or some of the other places I find his name with a little search. Don't waste your time.

Posted by: lex talionis | Aug 29 2023 16:09 utc | 81

The crappy chinese tourniquets sounds shitty to me.

It either works or doesnt. Those things are not built to last 10+ hours maybe thats the problem.

Reminds me of the Kn95 mask debacle. Those masks are not made to be worn 24/7 in extreme temperatures. You will breath so many toxins and cancerigens that it defeats the purpose.

Same with the 10+ hour tourniquet shit. No matter where its made its not made to last forever.

Posted by: Comandante | Aug 29 2023 16:10 utc | 82

Posted by: lex talionis | Aug 29 2023 16:09 utc | 81


Inkan1969 should just stay on Deviant art,

I shouldn't have looked. He appears to have an unhealthy obsession with cartoon butts ("favourites").

Posted by: Arch Bungle | Aug 29 2023 16:17 utc | 83

AI @ 46
Have you guys noticed one thing? The West (CNN/BCC) glorifies war and death. These are choking revelations.

The way to glorify war is to glorify the warrior. In modern societies it is done to make it easer to get men to go into the army. In more primitive societies it was done by having male status depend on success in combat. That made war necessary because it was the means by which the status of the male half of society was determined. War used to be tribal. The goal: to kill off or drive off the neighboring tribe.

I am fond of a line that comes from the movie Watchmen. The speaker is talking about an anticipated nuclear war. He says, "Mankind has been trying to kill itself off from the beginning of time, and now we finally have the means to get it done."

When it comes to death, what I have noticed is that for some reason the hard left comes down on the side of death with frequency. They not only want abortion, but would like to celebrate the practice. Euthanasia a no brainer, and when they come to power they kill people a lot. Unlike the hard right that wants to murder the enemy, they tend to kill their own.

Posted by: Jmaas | Aug 29 2023 16:21 utc | 84

reply to 72

I had hope that Putin would order a dismissal of western drug patents and manufacture anything in Russia for export. I think he's probably too legalistic for that. It could really upset the US.

As for Ukraine casualties, perhaps we have missed a critical point here. It sounds as if deaths among the wounded are huge and common because they have poor medical support and glacial transport away from the battlefield. If about 700 are KIA per day, how many are wounded and how many of those eventually die? Suppose it was 700 wounded per day with half eventually dying - thus being missed in the MOD figures. They could be losing over a 1000 per day plus the permanently disabled. More horrific than we have imagined.

Posted by: Eighthman | Aug 29 2023 16:21 utc | 85

Zelensky himself said that the energy infrastructure is approximately 30% repaired / ready for winter usage, and that he may nationalize the generation and transmission. It's a good marker of the true state of things inside Ukraine. Collapse is coming. Both Zelensky and Biden are to the point of just trying to hold on and hope that some sort of miracle changes the trajectory. Although there's a reasonable possibility that Biden thinks most things are fine and there'd be victory if the stupid Ukrainians would just do what they're told.

But let's be clear about something. Biden and his troop of neocons don't have some deeper, complex plan to depopulate Ukraine. We've all had pretty good information access to their entire careers. They are neither smart nor serious people. This is just them fucking things up the same way they've always fucked things up. The difference is this time they're in too deep. Because they've never had to fix their fuckups, they're incapable of doing so. So here we are, watching them hold on and hope that something changes.

Posted by: Lex | Aug 29 2023 16:21 utc | 86

@Ahenobarbus | Aug 29 2023 16:08 utc | 80

This one almost convinced me prigs was taken out by the west.. almost.
It is 'interesting' that nothing has been said about a potential cause. It would seem to exclude the missile hypothesis, IMHO.

Posted by: Norwegian | Aug 29 2023 16:27 utc | 87

The Ukraine is run by people who consider most Ukrainians cattle.

Posted by: Sentient | Aug 29 2023 12:00 utc | 2


Correction: The people that want to run the world consider most people cattle.

The Ukrainians just happen to be in their cross hairs right now.

Posted by: Mary | Aug 29 2023 16:28 utc | 88

Posted by: RobRob | Aug 29 2023 15:52 utc | 77

‘They had the best NATO-army in 2022’ Not even close, their army was trained by NATO but only at brigade level or lower and only to perform a limited number of combat tasks that were needed to attack the separatists and supporting Russian BTG’s. I know some posters want to suggest NATO trained armies are poor, by extrapolating Ukraine’s performance but it’s shoddy analysis at best. What NATO tried to cover up, with high-tech support, was that the Ukrainian Army was only able to function at low levels, therefore restricting any chance of major breakthroughs. Even when they outnumbered their opponents by 12-20:1 in the Kharkov offensive they were only capable of a strategically limited breakthrough.

The festung Uikraina strategy was a desperate attempt to buy time, after the original trap and pounce strategy failed, so that units could go through an accelerated corps level training scheme, but that failed because the replacement rate demanded an acceleration of the already accelerated training programme. Scott Ritter and Brian Berletic have been constant voices about the time it takes for NATO soldiers, especially specialists, to become competent in their roles and any Ukrainians that came close to that level are long since dead. Ukraine had manpower, few NATO countries have anything close, a defensive line, space to trade, a high esprit-de-corps in the ‘elite’ units’ and relatively high overall morale at the start; however, one thing they did not have was a NATO armies core capabilities.

Posted by: Milites | Aug 29 2023 16:31 utc | 89

According to the state run BBC

"DOZENS OF UKRAINE TROOPS ARE DYING EVERY DAY"

The beeb are trying to play down reports that HUNDREDS, not dozens, are each day on the frontline.

Posted by: HERMIUS | Aug 29 2023 16:32 utc | 90

And yet, the Ukrainians are still pushing forward with no stopping in sight. They have unlimited supplies and money coming in from their sugar daddies in NATO/the US. Apparently, they have an unlimited supply of cannon fodder to throw at the Russian front line till they break through and continue on.

Posted by: bored | Aug 29 2023 11:56 utc | 1

The Ukraine is run by people who consider most Ukrainians cattle.

Posted by: Sentient | Aug 29 2023 12:00 utc | 2

All probably true. So what does Russia propose to do about it?

Posted by: Feral Finster | Aug 29 2023 16:35 utc | 91

All probably true. So what does Russia propose to do about it?

Posted by: Feral Finster | Aug 29 2023 16:35 utc | 91

#############

I just got off of the phone with Vladimir Putin, and he told me everything.

And ... he authorized me to tell you in the MoA comment section!

Exciting, right?

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Aug 29 2023 16:37 utc | 92

Does anyone believe Zelensky will still be President this time next year?

Posted by: Roy Walker | Aug 29 2023 14:12 utc | 23\

Of course he will be. That's how it works when your opponents are all blacklisted and opposition media banned. The Free And Democratic West will proclaim this a Triumph Of Human Rights and a clear signal that The War Must Continue.

Posted by: Feral Finster | Aug 29 2023 16:37 utc | 93

I would like to see the Ukranian army spokesperson. Tranvestite Nazi Sarah Ashton-Cirrillo as the next president of Ukraine. It would be entertaining. And a logical step after the Cokehead Comedian.

Posted by: Comandante | Aug 29 2023 16:41 utc | 94

@Feral Finster | Aug 29 2023 16:37 utc | 93

The Free And Democratic West will proclaim this a Triumph Of Human Rights and a clear signal that The War Must Continue.
In the spirit of Der Triumph des Willens I presume.

I believe the probability that Zelensky is still president a year from now is less than 50%.

Posted by: Norwegian | Aug 29 2023 16:43 utc | 95


Posted by: karlof1 | Aug 29 2023 15:27 utc | 66

Posted by: unimperator | Aug 29 2023 14:23 utc | 28
‘The EU efforts in the Balkans are cracking already. The only thing that's holding them up is coercion by military and economic force, or sanctions…
Republic of Sprska wants to join the BRICS, Serbia would like to join the BRICS (they are surrounded and extorted by EU to take part in western apparatus), and Bosnia-Hertsegovina would like to join BRICS instead of EU’.

This does not correspond to reality. Bosnia and Hercegovina (BiH) has not expressed a desire to join BRICS.
It is only a proposal of the head of the Bosnian-Serb entity Republika Srpska. There are currently no reactions in BiH to his suggestion.

Here is the state of affairs in the territory of the former Yugoslavia:
As of last year BiH is an EU candidate country, and is participating in the NATO Membership Action Plan (MAP)
North Macedonia is in EU accession negotiations and is a NATO member
Croatia is an EU and a NATO member
Slovenia is an EU and in NATO member
Montenegro is in EU accession negotiations, and a NATO member
Serbia is in EU accession negotiations. It is neutral. It t does not seek NATO membership has cooperative relations.
See: https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_50100.htm

Although pressure on these states (that came out of the Yugoslav federation) to align with western interests has been consistent, it is far from correct to believe that the decisions of these states to join the EU and NATO are due solely to
“military and economic force, or sanctions…”. The ruling circles in these states have been, and are pro-Western and anti -Russian. A large percentage, a majority, of the population also.

In Serbia it is mixed, but the current government is resisting EU pressure to follow EU policy and measures (sanctions) regarding the war in Ukraine. In Serbia there is a considerable sympathy for Russia (Mother Russia) but an equally strong hostility and even detestation, typically among the more liberal minded and educated, including the anti-war groups and public figures which were active during the Yugoslav war.
In these circles there is an entrenched dislike of everything Russian which eclipses their ability to analyse anything involving Russia dispassionately. Quite remarkable, but not exceptional.

(A couple of months ago in Belgrade a dear colleague and friend, a well-educated media professional, said to me that when it comes to Putin, she doesn’t want to hear anything because she can’t stand the mention of him.Period. Same thing I heard from my American journalist friends in the Netherlands. I asked them all - what do you actually know about Putin, where do you get your information, have you ever listened to any of his yearly press conferences, read his interviews with Oliver Stone. I got scornful looks and a shaking heads).

The media in all ex-Yugoslav states are a mirror of the Western main stream. Most are owned by foreign capital, a lot of it German.

As I have said here before, there is very little if any knowledge, let alone understanding, of the former Yugoslavia, the war in which it was destroyed, and the processes and serious difficulties in the successor states, but a lot of grand claims and pronouncements. Not only here at MoA but in many of the independent web portals and twitter feeds. That,
however, is another, albeit very important topic.

Posted by: JB | Aug 29 2023 17:07 utc | 96

@ all

This is where the SMO ends:

The final frontier.

Posted by: whirlX | Aug 29 2023 17:09 utc | 97

But let's be clear about something. Biden and his troop of neocons don't have some deeper, complex plan to depopulate Ukraine. We've all had pretty good information access to their entire careers. They are neither smart nor serious people.

This is just them fucking things up the same way they've always fucked things up. The difference is this time they're in too deep. Because they've never had to fix their fuckups, they're incapable of doing so. So here we are, watching them hold on and hope that something changes.
Posted by: Lex | Aug 29 2023 16:21 utc | 86
-----------------------------------------------------
Well said. My sentiments exactly.

Not said is where the lamp posts will be and who will hang them.

Posted by: Acco Hengst | Aug 29 2023 17:21 utc | 98

“When it comes to death, what I have noticed is that for some reason the hard left comes down on the side of death with frequency. They not only want abortion, but would like to celebrate the practice. Euthanasia a no brainer, and when they come to power they kill people a lot. Unlike the hard right that wants to murder the enemy, they tend to kill their own.”

Posted by: Jmaas | Aug 29 2023 16:21 utc | 84

There is a preferred “method” difference between them. The Right prefers wars, blowing things up, assassinations, majors fires, car bombings, those “display” types of methods, where the Left as you stated, prefers abortions, drugs, manslaughter, chemical releases, alcohol, brutal one-on-one murders, drownings & suicide.

Both of them prefer violent thoughts, violent movies, violent videos game & violent speech.

Together they make up the “Collective West” Death Pact.
The sooner they are “collectively” literally in ashes, the better for the rest of the globe.

Like Jonah… I’ve done my warning and got my lawn chair pulled up and ready, even though delayed, it’s still coming…

Now that I managed to depress myself, time to hit the jukebox!

(…please, just cause I mentioned the famous Jonah account, don’t go leaving religious messages or response.
There’s not a single one of us that hadn’t been experienced a “hardened heart moment”… if only in our head)

Posted by: Trubind1 | Aug 29 2023 17:26 utc | 99

Posted by: AI | Aug 29 2023 14:58 utc | 46
«Have you guys noticed one thing? The West (CNN/BCC) glorifies war and death. These are choking revelations.»


https://irrussianality.wordpress.com/2018/01/10/war-propaganda/
“Article 20 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which was ratified by the United Nations General Assembly in 1966, obliges states to impose certain restrictions on freedom of speech. [...] The final wording of Article 20 states clearly: “Any propaganda for war shall be prohibited by law.”
In the aftermath of the Covenant, communist countries in many cases enacted suitable provisions in their domestic law. For instance, a Soviet law entitled ‘The Defence of Peace’ stated that ‘war propaganda’ of any sort was a criminal offence. East Germany similarly made propaganda for a war an offence punishable by up to eight years in prison. To this day, many post-communist states retain similar provisions in their law. Moldova’s constitutions, for instance, prohibits incitement to war; Armenia’s constitution bans speech ‘for the purposes of … propaganda for violence and war’; and the criminal codes in Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzia, and Latvia similarly ban any ‘advocacy for war’. Some other countries, such as Morocco and Kenya have also enacted legislation to this end. Apart from Germany, however, states in the Western world have not met their obligation under the Covenant.”

BTW I guess that's one reason why the SMO cannot be called "war" in the RF (and indeed it is just an expeditionary force, not a war force, that is now deployed in western RF).

Bonus quote on the likely reason why the USA etc. have not implemented the convention against war propaganda:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/commentisfree/2023/feb/24/people-ukraine-vladimir-putin-trial-war-crimes
“war tribunals can sentence criminals in their absence, making it difficult for them ever to travel abroad again. The US military will probably be advising Biden to resist, worried that such a tribunal would open the door to attempts to prosecute it for actions elsewhere.”

Posted by: Blissex | Aug 29 2023 17:26 utc | 100

next page »

The comments to this entry are closed.