Strana (machine translation):
The political scientist reported the death of more than a hundred Ukrainian soldiers on the way home from Avdiivka on Christmas Day

More than a hundred Ukrainian soldiers who went home for a week-long vacation from near Avdiivka on Christmas Day were killed on the way.
This was reported by political analyst Vitaly Bala.
According to him, in the brigade located near Avdiivka, 108 servicemen were allowed to go home for the Christmas holidays.
They drew lots to see who could leave, and those who didn’t were very upset, and even some of them asked to switch places with them. But no one agreed, because everyone wanted to see their relatives, after all, for about a year “at zero”.
“Everyone who drew lots got on buses and left, but they didn’t make it,” Bala said.
“If there were cars, perhaps such grief would not happen, but there is no money for cars,” he added.
According to the political scientist, there were no official reports of the death of 108 servicemen.
“I did not write, I thought that there would still be some message, mourning, there was no… I don’t know what needs to happen for the current government to stop hiding our losses and start honoring the dead. This can no longer continue, ” wrote Bala.

Posted by: b | Dec 26 2023 10:59 utc | 3

SO FAR ECHO HAS AVOIDED MY SIMPLE ASSET CHALLENGE (bok,bok)
CHALLENGE TO Echo Chamber | Dec 25 2023 14:42 utc | 145
I can’t be bothered to argue endlessly with you on the merits of gold or a gold standard for currencies.
On this topic I am quite confident that I won’t change your mind, nor that you won’t change mine.
However, we can take our acute differences on the subject and put them to a test, empirically; I propose a simple wager: A one year bet from Dec. 31 2023 to December 31, 2024.
I choose spot gold price as my bet you can choose any asset (you seem to love fiat Sovereign bonds) whatsoever as your choice.
The asset that gains the most or loses the least in value in the named period is the winner.
We can put the wager at a symbolic $1 or an amount or a thing that you choose.
Put your money where your voluminous mouth is!
Posted by: canuck | Dec 25 2023 19:25 utc | 171

Posted by: canuck | Dec 26 2023 11:50 utc | 5

“Also – call up 500,000 who dot want to fight and hand them weapons. Then order then into hopeless frontline positions. Who will die first? Likely the ones who give the orders. The scale of fragging will be epic.”
Posted by: b | Dec 26 2023 10:55 utc | 2
The only positive message one can possibly get out of this abomination is that once the SMO is over the majority of Ukrainian people will realize the West has sacrificed then only to weaken Russia not to give them, “freedom”.
I don’t think it will take long, maybe 5 years. Then there will be solidarity with Russia and their policies.
Look at how the Chechens came around as Russian nationalists after their wars. Look at Grozny today-it has been beautifully rebuilt-hopefully that same Renaissance will occur in most if not all (Western Ukraine probably won’t fit he bill) post SMO Ukraine.

Posted by: canuck | Dec 26 2023 12:01 utc | 7

Man, whatever Ukraine hit last night blew up real good. That was a massive explosion. Like many of us said, this war isn’t ending any time soon. NATO and its allies (Japan/South Korea) are still supplying arms and funds (and if you believe it warm bodies in the form of mercenaries).

Posted by: bored | Dec 26 2023 12:35 utc | 9

Like many of us said, this war isn’t ending any time soon.

Whatever you say Jake Sullivan. War for PR. A landing ship is meaningless to the war. I’m sure the other idiots who believe Ukraine has any chance of holding on love symbolic but meaningless strikes like this. It’s like the crowing over killing civilians. These clowns can’t help themselves.

Posted by: Doctor Eleven | Dec 26 2023 12:41 utc | 11

Posted by: Jim | Dec 26 2023 12:39 utc | 10
Posted by: bored | Dec 26 2023 12:35 utc | 9
They can get an occasional hit on a ship or whatever.
But zoom out a little and you see entire Ukraine is a very large concentration camp for its population, who have no more rights on anything, mobilization goals are continuously under target at around 20 % of required despite TCC officers making massive continuous raids in the largest cities of the country (so they might get 100 – 125k new conscripts of their new 500k goal), the state is running on life support, authorities are stealing everything they can, smuggling gold and western currency out of the country at record rates, and generally it’s hard to see any sort of future for the state which means there will be no state.
Considering Nato is throwing everything they got it’s not surprising to see an occasional hit on a ship. Nato threw everything for Ukraine, including its own industries in EU which are close to disappearing. But meh… landing ship omg lulz.

Posted by: unimperator | Dec 26 2023 12:57 utc | 13

Russia is definitely threading the needle in this struggle. They grow the domestic economy while essentially waging an increasingly broad conflict against the entire West.
So far, there is litle to suggest this is not succeeding.
Ukraine is steadily being pushed backwards on a broad front. Western rhetoric keeps trying to egg Kremlin to committ to a more “aggressive” offense. In a simplistic fashion painting unwillingness to perform a summer1941 Wehrmact’esque Blitzkrieg as a “failure”. The West keeps talking to it’s electorate about how Russias success is defined, while the latters military and leadership stick to their strategy. Never let your opponent define your success seems to have worked and kept Russia safe for many hundred years.
At this point, the EU is involved with an immense amount of resources, despite increasing dissatisfaction among it’s people. How much more the Europeans can endure remains to see.
As long as Ukraine keeps moving westwards, it is difficult to see how more of the same from the West will lead to anything but more of the same outcome.

Posted by: Et Norden | Dec 26 2023 13:32 utc | 15

reply to 2
Over at Sputnik,a former US official spoke about Ukraine drafting from 17 to 70. Is this the same as sending them to the front? Maybe not but given their desperation, I think it may be likely. There was a report of a named 17 yr old killed at the line of contact recently.
I do wonder about why Russia hasn’t shut down the Ukraine grid especially in response to the ship loss. If they are thinking about post war politics, why concern themselves with North and Western areas that will likely hate them forever, regardless?

Posted by: Eighthman | Dec 26 2023 14:02 utc | 17

b 2
All the Ukrainian schmucks regardless of age, sex or disability are suitable cannon fodder to keep the war going a bit longer.
Zelensky got all his co religionists out to safety in Israel on Day One, and that’s what matters. No Chosen Folk anywhere near the front line.

Posted by: anon | Dec 26 2023 14:04 utc | 19

anon | Dec 26 2023 14:04 utc | 19
*** Zelensky got all his co religionists out to safety in Israel on Day One, and that’s what matters. No Chosen Folk anywhere near the front line.***
Ready to return and claim everything once the rest of the former population of Kiev-Ukraine have been conveniently disposed of.
Any *real* Ukrainian nationalist should be opposing NATO and its Kiev-zionazi regime.

Posted by: Cynic | Dec 26 2023 14:20 utc | 21

Ukrainian Air Force is stronger every day. They aim at Crimean bridge now. How long is chessmaster going to wait before he reslizes that there is no option left but the nuclear one.
Posted by: zorge | Dec 26 2023 14:24 utc | 22
He has lots of options left beside the nuclear one.
If you are looking forward to dying, I suggest you take matters into your own hands instead of waiting for the chessmaster to put you out of your misery.

Posted by: Martina | Dec 26 2023 14:48 utc | 23

Regarding battleship sinkings.
The Royal Navy of England – the Senior Service as it’s known as – which has its aristo inbreds in charge of this proxy war on Russia has made an attack upon Crimea.
There is no weapon that the Ukrops supposedly have that could go that far.
So it is clearly a nato, British attack. A direct escalation that invites a direct response.
They have no reverse gear – they always ratchet up. There will always be a suicidal charge of the light brigade. The Expendables. Something to hold onto for future generations of meat for the grinders. A response is what is begged.
They do so at the behest of THEIR Masters , the Money, the Hidden Hand , going back centuries.
How do those people ever cease ? They have no natural compulsion to reform? There can only be a real solution for the aristoclass , largely unelected , across the Collective Waste – extermination. Let the Daleks descend upon their stately homes. Let the friendly Kinzhell visit their Towers and Bunkers. They’re holiday homes on the beaches and islands. Their luxury super yachts.
Let their Heads roll as the First King Charles’s did. The Turd made a speech yesterday – he too was trained in Naval ways as his Dad was and his uncle the Battenberg who stole the throne! Buggers to the man all!
These ancients Nazis , Zionazis , Fascists , Frau Von Der Layens – the unelected who espouse ‘democracy’ but not for themselves – must be denazified for ever.
Let the happy cries of ‘You Sank My Battleships! Boo boo’ rise in their circles

Posted by: DunGroanin | Dec 26 2023 14:57 utc | 25

The destruction of the Russian ship at Crimea was one cut of a thousand cuts, given the time Russia has allowed this war to flourish. Wait for the Bum’s Rush, though. Or fight.

Posted by: Elmagnostic | Dec 26 2023 15:02 utc | 27

The vid of the big booom-boom on the Rus ship even made Fox News but down past 0820+ in the hour. Still doesn’t change the fact that the Ukies have admitted that 20,000 of their kind are getting chewed up every month. Look at the nice shiny exterior of the car but don’t check under the hood or under it on what’s leaking on the driveway.
Is zorge actually zanon re-labeled…?

Posted by: DakotaRog | Dec 26 2023 15:12 utc | 29

The Royal Navy of England – the Senior Service as it’s known as – which has its aristo inbreds in charge of this proxy war on Russia has made an attack upon Crimea.
There is no weapon that the Ukrops supposedly have that could go that far.
So it is clearly a nato, British attack. A direct escalation that invites a direct response.
Posted by: DunGroanin | Dec 26 2023 14:57 utc | 25

These are non-MTCR compliant missiles. Under MTCR you’re not supposed to export missiles with range beyond 300 km to other countries. They shot this one from at least 370 km.
Then there is the real-time guidance etc.
This is a blatant and open act of war.
The minimum warranted response at this point would be to start shooting down all NATO ISR assets in the Black Sea.
What is also deserved is for the Royal Navy to lose at least half a dozen ships, including one of the aircraft carriers, and for its HQ in Portsmouth to receive a couple Kinzhals or Kh-101s (conventional for now).
But this is cucktain-in-chief Putin in charge, so Russia will just keep taking hits.

Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Dec 26 2023 15:26 utc | 31

@Et Norden. That this game company would stoop so low only tells me that they kissed the ring that pays its checks.

Posted by: MoT | Dec 26 2023 15:35 utc | 33

We shouldnt pretend that this war is over abd that Russia already won. This is just the begining.

Posted by: zorge | Dec 26 2023 15:40 utc | 35

The strike on the Crimean port was entirely predictable and they will surely try for the bridge again. This is the premier remaining capability that Ukraine possesses to gain PR points and do some damage to the Russian side. Drone and missile attacks, and sabotage require few people to execute, and as long as the west can provide the technical means and the intelligence necessary they will continue. I’ve said as much several times. The f16s will be used to continue these efforts as best Ukraine is able to.
The war on the front is going badly with no realistic way to improve the situation. Just try to hold on as long as possible and do as much damage as you can with the means available. This is the reality.

Posted by: the pessimist | Dec 26 2023 15:45 utc | 37

“Let their Heads roll as the First King Charles’s did.”
Posted by: DunGroanin | Dec 26 2023 14:57 utc | 25
“The tragedy of the English conquest of Ireland in the 17th century is that the Irish can never forget it and the English can never remember it.”
G.K. Chesterton (1)
Oliver Cromwell took over the Kingdom and what happened? No dancing, Christmas was banned. Puritans outlawed basic fun. Cromwell began a military campaign in Ireland in 1649 that killed tens of thousands of Irish Catholics. (2)
“The impact of the war on the Irish population was unquestionably severe and although there is no consensus as to the magnitude of the loss of life, most modern estimates generally fall in between 15 and 50% of the native population. The war resulted in famine, which was worsened by an outbreak of bubonic plague. Older estimates of the drop in the Irish population resulting from the Parliamentarian campaign reach as high as 83 percent. The Parliamentarians also transported about 50,000 people as indentured labourers to the English colonies in North America and the Caribbean. Some estimates cover population losses over the course of the Conquest Period (1649–52) only, while others cover the period of the Conquest to 1653 and the period of the Cromwellian Settlement from August 1652 to 1659 together.(3)”
So Charles I’s head did ‘roll’ but the the New Regime was far worse than the former- it was extremely deadly to many of my Irish ancestors.
Obviously, you haven’t fully thought out your idea of ‘head rolling.’
In my opinion, you need to restrain your primitive, violent solutions to regime change as they do not (see above) solve the problem, rather they exacerbate it. Violence begets violence.
Gandhi liberated 320 million Indians from the UK without firing a single shot.
Time for a rethink.
1.https://www.olivercromwell.org/wordpress/ireland/
2 “Cromwell, for example, is famous for banning Christmas and Maypole dancing, both due to his strict Puritan beliefs, which urged restraint in religious observance, and a burning hatred of Pagans.”
3.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cromwellian_conquest_of_Ireland#:~:text=The%20Cromwellian%20conquest%20of%20Ireland,Rump%20Parliament%20in%20August%201649.

Posted by: canuck | Dec 26 2023 15:49 utc | 39

“The strike on the Crimean port was entirely predictable and they will surely try for the bridge again. This is the premier remaining capability that Ukraine possesses to gain PR points and do some damage to the Russian side. Drone and missile attacks, and sabotage require few people to execute, and as long as the west can provide the technical means and the intelligence necessary they will continue. I’ve said as much several times. The f16s will be used to continue these efforts as best Ukraine is able to.
The war on the front is going badly with no realistic way to improve the situation. Just try to hold on as long as possible and do as much damage as you can with the means available. This is the reality.
Posted by: the pessimist | Dec 26 2023 15:45 utc | 37”
That Russia wasn’t prepared for the entirely predictable strike on Feodosia is telling. Of course, the West is already proclaiming this as the greatest victory at sea since Salamis and they will use it as an excuse to keep the goodies flowing.
Meanwhile, Russia continues to dither.

Posted by: Feral Finster | Dec 26 2023 15:54 utc | 41

@ MoT, #36
“20k simply to “maintain” is a damning admission. I’m surprised there haven’t occurred more frequent fragging of the press gangs. They deserve to be shot on the spot and they know it.”
When I watch the Ukie conscription patrols in action, I’m often struck about those guys carrying rifles instead of sidearms. That always strikes me odd, given that the rifles can get in the way of their wrestling matches and gives the unwilling recruits something easier to grab than a holstered pistol. To me, the reason they carry rifles is that at least down deep, they fear the local population. Not the sign of a “free and democratic” society…

Posted by: DakotaRog | Dec 26 2023 16:00 utc | 43

RUAF claimed they shot down one or two of the Su-24 aircraft that struck the ship, btw. Apparently the strike was made with two aircraft from Nikolaev or beyond.
My guess is AFU air defense shot down one of the Su-34 some days ago (albeit they claimed 6, but 80% of claims are made up as usual), RUAF reduce the fighter activity temporarily SE of Kherson, which could have created a window for the Su-24 to launch the Storm shadow over Crimea and Kherson region.

Posted by: unimperator | Dec 26 2023 16:06 utc | 45

@ Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Dec 26 2023 15:26 utc | 31
@ Posted by: canuck | Dec 26 2023 15:49 utc | 39
Thankyou both for your learned contributions and suggestions to which there are obvious answers. I won’t bite.
I am making a clear point about who exactly is directly responsible. Whatever your response to that : Nuking the ever diminishing Royal Navy and innocent civilians (what is required to escalate the losing propaganda war..) or whatsabbouttery of the Round Heads and Cavaliers in response to my direct accusations may be of interest to some not me. Royalist scum are just as bad as Republican scum – they both dance to the same Masters Money.

Posted by: DunGroanin | Dec 26 2023 16:10 utc | 47

LoveDonbass@40
Of course I have seen those videos and many others of similar vein. Many of the perpetrators and their kin are still around, unfortunately. The attacks with long range weapons are the doing of the US and British along with their Ukrainian counterparts.

Posted by: the pessimist | Dec 26 2023 16:12 utc | 49

We shouldnt pretend that this war is over abd that Russia already won. This is just the begining.
Posted by: zorge | Dec 26 2023 15:40 utc | 35
Ukraine is toast. Don’t pretend otherwise.
That part of the war is over.
The NATO war might drag on longer. You might even get your wish to see your home country nuked.
I want to thank you. My mother died of cancer just before Christmas. She didn’t want to die. But at least she doesn’t need to be scared of war anymore. That war you are looking forward to won’t impact her anymore.

Posted by: Martina | Dec 26 2023 16:23 utc | 51

What the TrollTeam chooses not to realize is that each little propaganda victory, including Kerch Bridge attacks, causes little harm to Russia and only inflates Little Russian delusions of invincibility. The inevitable result: a longer and more thorough Little Russian defeat and a more thorough devastation of Western economies and military supplies.

Posted by: malenkov | Dec 26 2023 16:36 utc | 53

That Russia wasn’t prepared for the entirely predictable strike on Feodosia is telling. Of course, the West is already proclaiming this as the greatest victory at sea since Salamis and they will use it as an excuse to keep the goodies flowing.
Meanwhile, Russia continues to dither.
Posted by: Feral Finster | Dec 26 2023 15:54 utc | 41

The obvious question is how prepared are they for a nuclear exchange? One would think they would be in the highest state of preparedness, but so would they be in Crimea, and yet you see what happens regularly.

Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Dec 26 2023 16:41 utc | 55

“or whatsabbouttery of the Round Heads and Cavaliers in response to my direct accusations may be of interest to some not me.”
Posted by: DunGroanin | Dec 26 2023 16:10 utc | 47
So, “whatabouttery”, doesn’t matter to you, yet your beloved ‘head rolling’ ends up with my ancestors being exterminated is irrelevant
because ‘a head rolled’.
Wow.
So it follows that your moral compass only registers the genocides that interests you are of importance.
I understand why you wouldn’t want to post a proper rebuttal when you are working with such a ignoble, illogical argument.

Posted by: canuck | Dec 26 2023 16:45 utc | 57

Circumstances of attack
Tass today:
– Head of Crimea Sergey Aksyonov reported an attack on the port of Feodosia at 4:16 a.m. local time (1:16 a.m. GMT). According to him, by then explosions from detonations of ordnance stored at the port had ended and the resulting fire was contained.
– The Russian Defense Ministry specified that Ukrainian aircraft had fired guided airborne missiles.
– The two Ukrainian Su-24 aircraft that had fired missiles at Feodosia were destroyed by Russian air defenses near the village of Zhovten (125 kilometers northeast of Nikolayev), the ministry added.
Only Tass knows about the two downed Su-24 ?

Posted by: Oliver Krug | Dec 26 2023 17:03 utc | 59

According to the article, there are 30,600 Canadians fighting for the Kiev regime, although the article implied earlier that they were mostly there as death squad and terrorist enforcers.
“According to current data from the Foundation to Battle Injustice, confirmed by an official at the Ukrainian Embassy in Canada, as of November 2023, there are at least 30,500 Canadian Ukrainians fighting against Russia in Ukraine, at least 90 per cent of whom were granted Ukrainian citizenship by secret decree of Zelensky in order to disguise the participation of foreign nationals in hostilities against Russia and to circumvent Canadian legislation prohibiting the participation of Canadian mercenaries in hostilities on the territory of another country.”
https://fondfbr.ru/en/articles/canada-ukrainians-nazis-en/
We also know that there is at least one unit of Georgian volunteer mercenaries, and lots of Poles.
And I have no doubt that US soldiers are also on the ground. I remember seeing a video way back in 2014 or 2015 with a man fighting in Donbass, who was speaking US English.

Posted by: wagelaborer | Dec 26 2023 17:11 utc | 61

@LoveDonbass
It makes the elites nervous.
It’ll make kidnapping someone’s high school age son into some neocon war much more costly. Not in every case, but in enough cases to make the elites nervous.

Posted by: Fred777 | Dec 26 2023 17:25 utc | 63

Dakota Rog@1600
One wonders about all those AK-47’s which the Kiev regime passed out to any man who wanted one at the time in 2022 when Russian forces were parked in the northeastern suburbs of that city. Could any of those assault-rifles be in the hands of men increasingly opposed to the regime? Would the Russians enable shipments of firearms by way of Hungary and Slovakia to their ethnics trapped in Ukie controlled Transcarpathia?
Its surprising, almost shocking, that those pressgangs and border guards are not taken down in increasing numbers as the war goes from worse to badder for the Judeo-Nazi-Banderite regime in Kiev. One significant breakthrough by RU forces, whether on the 2,000km front or in the Sum region, should result in a general collapse of the Maidan regime. At that juncture, covert opposition forces…or individuals…would make life miserable for the Banderites and their minions…at least east of Galicia.

Posted by: aristodemos | Dec 26 2023 17:28 utc | 65

LoveDonbass @1637
“What has the 2nd Amendment done for the American people”, you ask. In the first instance, you may take note that the crackdown on the Canuckistani people to the north of most of the ruptured republic has been far more extensive than the one here in the $tates. Secondly, consider the poor, damned Dominionated folks Down Under and in Kiwistan. They have lost almost all their rights. Just do a bit of research on state-terrorism in those disarmed lands.
So why all the gubmint and mass-media calls for gun-control? Simple answer. Those bass-turds and their Bank$ter overlords are deathly afraid for their own mortality. Materialists of the First Order are terrified of death.
The numbers of firearms in the ruptured republic are skyrocketing. Perhaps that is the reason why the fully controlled Biden regime in the Di$trict of Corruption is encouraging all those military-age aliens to swarm across the border and are even providing them with money and housing.
To be sure, there will be more mass-shooting events here in the $tates..mostly by hypnotized and otherwise mind-controlled individuals who have long been targeted as potential Lee Harvey Oswalds and Sirhan Sirhans.

Posted by: aristodemos | Dec 26 2023 17:40 utc | 67

zorge @1609
An interesting historical note is that a significant factor behind the Soviet victory in the Battle of Kursk in ’43, was the workings of a crypto-communist working in the German embassy in Tokyo. For some reason, the Berlin regime, had sent operational plans to that embassy. Richard Sorge (pronounced “Zorge” had access to the embassy safe and managed to transfer those plans to Moscow.
At the same time period a very covert of fairly high ranking Germans who called themselves “Der Rotte Kapelle” (the Red Chorus) were so placed that they too informed Moscow of the plans.
Stalin and his war cabinet organized accordingly in the Kursk Salient. Their defense in depth was totally textbook. Years ago, I read about this in a paperback titled “The Tigers are Burning”. More likely than Sorge (Zorge) was the information that the touted Konig Tigers (King Tigers) created by Porsche himself, had such dense frontal armor that no machine-guns to use against infantry could be mounted. That made them highly vulnerable to well dug-in sappers and infantry. The Russians were totally ready for the onslaught by the Wehrmacht. That failed offense was their last hurrah. From then on, the Soviets held the offensive.
My question to you, Zorge, is whether or not you are aware of your chosen namesake and his role which was instrumental in the Soviet victory in the Battle of the Kursk Salient. It may be one of the ironies of history sometimes actually repeating itself is the high probability of the Maidanites getting their asses whipped by the RU and all your protestations cannot do a single damned thing to reverse the cascade of events.

Posted by: aristodemos | Dec 26 2023 17:54 utc | 69

⚡️🇷🇺🇺🇦⚔️ Front #Summary for 26 Dec 2023 by 18:36⚡️
🔹In #Kherson Direction, the AFU is making efforts to expand their foothold. And it must be recognised that to date the attempts of our forces to push them back have not been successful. The move of the AFU by strengthening the air defence on the right bank and near #Kherson also helps them so far. Our aircrafts have not made combat sorties in this area for the last few days. The tight work of the AFU’s electronic warfare service also complicates our military’s efforts. Whether it is a potentially promising direction for the enemy or not, they are squeezing the maximum out of it.
🔹In #Zaporozhye Direction, fighting has intensified again near #Gulyaypole. The enemy is suffering significant losses, but so far our troops have not been able to advance, but near #Rabotino they continue to do so.
🔹In the #SouthDonetsk Direction, our forces are literally dismantling the enemy’s positions in #Novomikhaylovka with FABs and artillery, and are preparing for a ground assault. The AFU are trying to counterattack, without success. The loss of the so-called “#Menagerie” (#Zverinets) zone in the southeast of the village has significantly complicated the position of the AFU. Advances are also being recorded in the direction of #Pobeda.
🔹In #Donetsk Direction, on the #Avdeyevka front, it is reported that the AFU command is moving headquarters, rotation points and hospitals from the city itself to #Ocheretino, which is the last major fortification. Then only the steppes of #Donbass up to #Pokrovsk, where the AFU headquarters was recently hit. There is an opinion that Kiev plans to withdraw the main forces from #Avdeyevka itself, leaving only mercenaries and special forces. The decision may be influenced by the encirclement of #Berdychi on the northern flank by our army. From #Stepovoye, which is now being fought over, to its outskirts is about 1.5 km. Near #Gorlovka, the AFU again tried to attack. Our units confidently repulsed them. At #Ocheretino, our forces have taken a number of positions. There is heavy fighting on the southern flank, with no changes in the frontline.
🔹In #Bakhmut Direction our forces are advancing west of the city. The enemy is not trying to counterattack yet, he is giving up his positions. At #Bogdanovka, our forces advanced and took a number of other positions. But at #Kleshcheyevka our forces repelled a major AFU counterattack. The enemy had no success, lost men and two IFVs. At #Andreyevka ours attacked with the support of artillery, without success.
🔹In #Svatovo Direction, the enemy tried to counterattack at #Torskoye and #Dibrova, our forces held their positions. In the #Kupyansk sector in #Sinkovka our stormtroopers continue to advance. Now our attacks at #Sinkovka, unfortunately, resemble the frontal attacks of the AFU at #Rabotino in the summer.

https://t.me/sitreports/20036

Posted by: Down South | Dec 26 2023 18:08 utc | 71

On the sidelines there were rumors that in one of the villages in western Ukraine there was a conflict between military commissars and locals.
As rumors have it, military commissars came to the village to catch a portion of “cannon fodder,” but the gathered people blocked the bus, and the arriving police could not do anything.
TCC had to leave.
Now officials are afraid that rumors will spread and a video will be posted, which will provoke an increase in public protests against Zelensky’s illegal mobilization.

https://t.me/skosoi/6141

We partially confirm this information that the TCC again ran into a riot.
Now the TCC has gone to storm villages where national minorities live (Romanians, Bulgarians, Moldovans, Hungarians, etc.). They rarely visit the villages themselves; they catch cars on the highway and usually on the road leaving the village.
Whoever comes to the villages quickly leaves. People are really on edge right now. You look and they raise the pitchforks.
Well, Zelensky’s rating continues to slide down.

https://t.me/legitimniy/16944

We just published information yesterday that there will be no demobilization, no one will be changed at all, since Bankova needs to cover the deficit in equipment and ammunition by increasing manpower. The message that a new boundless wave of mobilization is needed to send those who have been fighting for a long time to rest is just a publicity stunt. Another lie from Zelensky.
Today, Minister of Defense Umerov spoke about this, saying that complete demobilization for the military is possible only after the war.
It turns out they are catching them for the next “successful offensive.” Back in the summer we wrote: “run while you have time…”!

https://t.me/legitimniy/16945

Posted by: Down South | Dec 26 2023 18:12 utc | 73

Put your money where your voluminous mouth is!
Posted by: canuck | Dec 26 2023 11:50 utc | 5
Why bother ? It will prove absolutely nothing. Unless you naively think gold holding it’s value is a good thing ? Which after listening to you, you clearly do.
Why on earth would you think that is a good thing as it is exactly the same as hording US treasuries. Dollarisation ?
But gold is even far worse that Canuck and we don’t need to take part in a phoney asset pick to prove it. You have decades worth of actual real history to prove it.
Case in point:
Gold can be hoarded without loss which is what your phoney challenge is trying to prove, which means that output capacity that could be otherwise engaged today is not. Since there are a million ways to lose an hour but none to gain one the economy runs below capability.
That was the huge issue under Gold .That tended to cause depressions which would not self correct – due to a lack of monetary circulation and your obsession with a ” fixed amount”. So those countries that ran trade deficits had to The adjustment on the domestic population – austerity.
Your mistake is always believing money is a thing to be exchanged, when really it is just a receipt for a promise an IOU. Money then grows and shrinks based upon what is going on and what needs to be done – as a discount of all physical items available for sale in that denomination.
Which of course brings us full circle to what I think. The Job guarentee.
A far superior price anchor is the labour hour, since that CANNOT be hoarded. Once labour hours can be sold at a fixed price to the currency issuer, simple competition sorts the relative value of everything else out.
The best system is a Full Liquidity system policy with a labour hour price anchor and floating exchange rates. That guarantees the most physical output is achieved at all times. While keeping prices stable as well as creating the maximum policy space for the elected rulers of the nation.
It’s not just the West that suffers from political indoctrination in their economics. Metalism has precisely the exact same problem.
Generally what happens to gold but not “always” during the 6 seasonal inflection points.
Here:
https://seekingalpha.com/instablog/7143701-salmo-trutta/5308783-6-seasonal-inflection-points
Is around about the 3rd and 4th pivot you can sell gold and not buy again until around the 6th pivot. So the sell in May and walk away applies more to gold than stocks.
With Gold being an inflation edge against inflation and inflation drops as expected and the FED starts cutting interest rates. I will probably win your pointless challenge anyway. Which would prove absolutely nothing even if I did.
There are very good reasons the world came off gold. Suck it up and get back to reality, instead of trying to rewrite history.
The best of it is Canuck which I see as tragic. Others would ridicule you for it. Is you don’t even understand money. The thing we use today. You are using gold to argue against something you don’t even understand. That’s just tragic and very, very stupid.
There are very good reasons why BRICS are really taking their time to try and come up with an alternative. They know fine well the pitfalls and trouble with gold that I have highlighted above.

Posted by: Echo Chamber | Dec 26 2023 18:20 utc | 75

lets see…….. Putin inaugurated 3 new powerful naval ships.
Russia liberated the entire town of Maryinka in the Donetsk.
Russia shot down 2 Ukraine SU 24s.
Yet some are claiming a great victory for Ukraine. That Ukraine is now winning the war, just because they scratched the paint on an old Troop ship, Stationed in Port where it can be easily repaired?
The vastness between some peoples ears is very broad indeed.

Posted by: golddigger | Dec 26 2023 18:24 utc | 77

Posted by: aristodemos | Dec 26 2023 18:05 utc | 70
Well, I dont have too much confidence in Russian ISR capabilities well outside the borders. They lack in satellites (just look up the number of satellites by country/block). But it doesnt matter, power projection from those Eastern European bases does not need to be kinetic. That may come from within Ukraine for starters.
What I meant by threshold is exactly that situation. Where Russia knows that e.g. Romanian bases are deeply involved in operations in Kherson and against the Black Sea fleet around Crimea. And NATO knows that they know. Kinetic or not, what does it matter? What will the Russians do, knowing that the situation is actually NATO air denial against them?

Posted by: alek_a | Dec 26 2023 18:34 utc | 79

An interesting historical note is that a significant factor behind the Soviet victory in the Battle of Kursk in ’43, was the workings of a crypto-communist working in the German embassy in Tokyo. For some reason, the Berlin regime, had sent operational plans to that embassy. Richard Sorge (pronounced “Zorge” had access to the embassy safe and managed to transfer those plans to Moscow.
Posted by: aristodemos | Dec 26 2023 17:54 utc | 69

Sorge was arrested in October 1941.

Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Dec 26 2023 18:43 utc | 81

A 3rd rate country like england comes to crimea And sinks black sea ship. Moscowa and now another ship with impunity knowing that cuck Putin will do nothing. What a loser. That will encourage pirate English race to rachet up. Unless Putin is removed by likes of strechkov of cassad fame, Russia is doomed now.

Posted by: Sam | Dec 26 2023 18:46 utc | 83

Russia claims it shot down the planes which attacked the ship. It also claimed to have shot down 4 planes a few days ago
“Air defense systems shot down three Ukrainian Su-27s and one Su-24 in the Zaporozhye and Dnepropetrovsk regions”
So obviously Ukraine’s air force wasn’t destroyed 21 months ago as people said. I think it is almost 550 war planes Russia has claimed it’s shot down, yet on forums like these, people said, back in 2021, that Ukraine only had around 150 planes maximum.

Posted by: MiniMO | Dec 26 2023 18:50 utc | 85

Canuck,
Accordingly, as trade unfolded, imbalances in trade (imports and exports) arose and this necessitated that gold be transferred between nations (in boats) to fund these imbalances.
Trade deficit countries had to ship gold to trade surplus countries. For example, assume Australia was exporting more than it was importing from New Zealand. In net terms, the demand for AUD (to buy the Australian exports) would thus be higher relative to supply (to buy NZD to purchase imports from NZ) and this would necessitate New Zealand shipping gold to Australia to fund the trade imbalance (their deficit with Australia).
This inflow of gold would allow the Australian government to expand the money supply (issue more notes) because they had more gold to back the currency. This expansion was in strict proportion to the set value of the AUD in terms of grains of gold.
The rising money supply would push against the inflation barrier (given no increase in the real capacity of the economy) which would ultimately render exports less attractive to foreigners and the external deficit would decline.
From the New Zealand perspective, the loss of gold reserves to Australia forced their Government to withdraw paper currency which was deflationary – rising unemployment and falling output and prices.
The latter improved the competitiveness of their economy which also helped resolve the trade imbalance. But it remains that the deficit nations were forced to bear rising unemployment and austerity and vice versa as the trade imbalances resolved.
The proponents of the gold standard focus on the way it prevents the government from issuing paper currency as a means of stimulating their economies. Their complete insane obsession of only having a ” fixed amount ” of money.
Yet, completely ignore, Under the gold standard, the government could not expand base money if the economy was in trade deficit. It was considered that the gold standard acted as a means to control the money supply and generate price levels in different trading countries which were consistent with trade balance. The domestic economy however was forced to make very harsh adjustments represented by the trade imbalances.
Just imagine and think for yourself, what that would have looked like when the pandemic hit and the economies closed down. Governments around the world would have been unable to issue currency to save the nation and their own populations.
Or after any deep recession or depression for that matter and world demand collapses. Nations can’t issue money to save themselves.
The gold standard is just ideological drivel by people who despise the state and government spending. Who want to put business and the banks and exporters as the Gate keepers of democracy. By pass elected institutions.
Why the neocons and neoliberalism decided just to hijack the state institutions for themselves anyway as it was a lot easier. Then Carry out gold standard, fixed exchange rate policies for neocolonial and imperialist purposes.
But you will never understand that Canuck as you don’t understand money and the “self imposed political constraints” they have deliberately put on money to achieve their psychopathic goals.

Posted by: Echo Chamber | Dec 26 2023 19:02 utc | 87

Unless Russia start annihilating the real enemy which plots this and all wars, namy enish race, nothing useful will come out of the war even if Ukraine capitulate. Then england parasite will look for another vassal to fight her war against non anglo’s

Posted by: sam | Dec 26 2023 19:07 utc | 89

23rd Oct 2023.
Due to Russian timidness, england forced Ukraine to allow British pirate navy to be stationed in black sea port of Odessa. This is what happens when Putin has been pretending not to fight nato even though england has been sponsoring and inciting Ukraine for war against Russia. What a loser Russia is! Putin should have sunk English ships for sinking of Moscowa of black sea fleet.
Putin’s folly in not sinking English ships and killing English mercenaries in black sea and in Ukraine will come to haunt Russia. Putin has given free hand to English plotters to wage war on Russia through proxi with no consequence to enish pirate race. Russia should have heavily bombed england by now.

Posted by: Sam | Dec 26 2023 19:08 utc | 91

@ aristodemos, #65
aristodemos, good to see you posting again over the past few weeks. If I remember correctly, you were missing in action for a good number of months. Are you still being a contrarian in the wokeistan of Minnesota…?

Posted by: DakotaRog | Dec 26 2023 19:14 utc | 93

Posted by: MiniMO | Dec 26 2023 18:50 utc | 85
The thing is, they can have a handful of aircraft left. Handful of aircraft are enough to strike occasional targets.
Occasionally, they can bunch up the aircraft and hit a single target. Since Su-24 can carry 2 (?) Storm shadow missiles, then there can be 4 – 8 missiles for a single target. It doesn’t matter if 3/4 or 6/8 is shot down, once they hit any explosive material they will achieve their goal. Like this ship.
Regardless, RU MOD claims they shot down two Su-24 on the same day in Nikolaev and Dnepropetrovsk region. Apparently the missiles were launched from Krivoy Rog direction, after all, not over Nikolaev.
So they gained a headline victory and paid 2 aircraft with it. They are keeping the rest of the aircraft out of action and doing only very low risk stuff with them. Nevertheless, a supply ship is a supply ship, too bad if it had the drones on board. But by now the drone production must be pretty high anyway.
Long term Ukraine is losing, and even tactically you could argue this ship event isn’t a victory since they lost the strike craft.

Posted by: unimperator | Dec 26 2023 19:31 utc | 95

Canuck,
Gold standard, fixed exchange rate thinking makes people believe
a) China and Russia funds the US – nobody to buy the bonds and balance of payments constraints etc, etc, etc.
b) Strong currency good – weak currency bad
c) Trade surplus Good – Trade deficit bad as Those running a trade deficit are said to be living beyond their means.
I could go on and on but it is all gold standard, fixed exchange rate nonsense. That doesn’t apply today.
Balance of payments constraints
https://billmitchell.org/blog/?p=32931
Trade Deficit: Who’s Funding Whom?
https://moslereconomics.com/mandatory-readings/the-innocent-fraud-of-the-trade-deficit-whos-funding-whom/
If you are an exporting nation state who relies on exports how does a strong currency help you ? It doesn’t it kills some of your exports.
The myths are all linked and intertwined and created a mythical story. A fantasy Walt Disney would be proud of. That benefits the West exponentially and geopolitically if other countries fall for it.
Remember, the West attacked Russia for saying the rouble was weak. A gold standard, fixed exchange rate belief. We had Russian telegram channels and Russian commentators playing their game, screaming loudly and proudly when the rouble got really strong. A gold standard, fixed exchange rate belief.
Putin didn’t care he didn’t play the gold standard, fixed exchange rate game. He knows how things changed with floating rates.
That the only strategic reason to export is to obtain imports, why should Russia continue to export anything if it is getting nothing material in return from the West?
If that means layoffs in Russian export industries, then there is now plenty of work supplying armaments and equipment to the war machine, as well as substitute industries to replace imports – which will gain greater momentum thanks to elimination of foreign competition. People in Russia are not going to be unemployed. He can Issue rouble to achieve his goals.
What about those in the West who were supplying exports to Russia? Where is the untapped source of demand in the world that will take those goods and services they can now no longer supply to Russia?
There isn’t one, and to believe in it is to believe in a fallacy of composition. Instead those businesses will shrink, laying off people. The West don’t have a national goal that will employ these people instead.
Putin Doesn’t want a strong rouble he knows it is bad for exports to other places in the world.

Posted by: Echo Chamber | Dec 26 2023 19:35 utc | 97

“Gandhi liberated 320 million Indians from the UK without firing a single shot.”
Utter nonsense. Nobody was “liberated”, and certainly not by Gandhi.
After WWII, the red jacket and shiny hat style empires were obsolete and replaced with modern business suit and tie empires. Boardrooms replaced throne rooms and CEOs replaced viceroys and imperial governors. The center of imperial power moved to the United States, and the chains were internalized and codified as the supremacy of big business authority into the “rules-based order”.
In some respects you can think of Gandhi as the leader of one of the original “color revolutions” that bound India into the new western imperial sphere that emerged after WWII.

Posted by: William Gruff | Dec 26 2023 19:58 utc | 99