Moon of Alabama Brecht quote
December 30, 2023

Ukraine SitRep: Strikes On Ukrainian Weapon Production - Air Defense Lacking

Yesterday Russia has send swarms of missiles to strike Ukraine:

Russia fired more than 150 missiles and drones at Ukraine on Friday in one of the largest bombardments of the war, officials said, hitting schools, parks, homes, a hospital and other civilian infrastructure, and rupturing the relative calm of an otherwise quiet winter on the conflict’s static front lines.

The scale of the attack confirmed what many in Ukraine have feared for months — that Russia was conserving its missile stocks throughout the fall for massive strikes in the winter.

It were however not schools, parks, homes or hospitals that were the targets.

As Strana writes (machine translation):

Commander-in-Chief Zaluzhny said that "critical infrastructure, industrial and military facilities were attacked."

Indeed, judging by many sources, this missile attack was directed primarily at military enterprises and warehouses. Or on other infrastructure. At the same time, unlike last year's massive strikes, the current attack did not focus on energy facilities.

The Economist confirms the targeting of weapon production facilities:

[A] source in Ukraine’s defence industry suggests Russia had predominantly targeted defence facilities. Some were connected to missile and drone production. “The attacks had strategic meaning for the enemy, with the aim of reducing our capacity to strike,” the source says. Both sides are locked in a competition to degrade the enemy. “It’s a battle to see who can destroy more of the enemy’s long-range weapons.”

This comes three days after the Ukrainian president Zelenski boosted about domestic Ukrainian weapon production:

Ukraine tripled its domestic production of equipment and weapons in 2023 compared to the year before, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Dec. 27.

Amid rising uncertainty surrounding military aid from key partners like the U.S., Ukraine is looking to increase its own weapons production capacity.

Speaking at a meeting with Ukrainian defense industry workers, Zelensky said there has also been an "extremely significant" increase in domestic ammunition production, especially for artillery.

The production of drone ammunition is being "systematically expanded," Zelensky said. In 2024, "special attention will be paid to the production of explosives and gunpowder, which are in short supply in the world."

Zelenski is putting his hope on foreign cooperation:

According to Zelensky, Ukraine's defense complex will become further integrated with the international defense system. In 2023, Ukraine joined forces with German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall to repair Western-produced military vehicles and ultimately produce them domestically in Ukraine.

The joint Rheinmetall-Ukrainian Defense Industry enterprise was registered on Oct. 18. "The creation of a joint enterprise is, without exaggeration, a landmark event that takes cooperation between our countries to a qualitatively new level," Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said.

Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger said on Dec. 2 that the company plans to build the first armored vehicles on-site in Ukraine in the summer of 2024.

Later in December, Ukrainian and U.S. officials signed a statement of intent on the co-production of weapons.

I do not know what Rheinmetall's CEO Papperger is smoking, but if he believes that his weapon production facility in Ukraine can survive more than a few weeks it must be some very strong stuff.

More Strana (machine translation):

Judging by the locations of the strike, the main targets were warehouses and military enterprises.

A Ukrainian specialist in electronic warfare and drones, Sergey Beskrestnov, recently stated on one of the YouTube channels that "Russia is actively tracking down our defense enterprises," and among their employees there are many informants of the Russian Federation.

"We, unfortunately, have a lot of traitors, pensioners (factory workers - Ed .) merge where, what, where is sent... A hangar with finished products was destroyed at one production enterprise, and very large damage was suffered. When they began to deal with the counter-measures, it turned out that my grandfather, who was the chief engineer there, for a ten - dollar bill (10 thousand - Ed .) reported when it was necessary to do this (strike)," said Beskrestnov.

"Hunting" for enterprises is a predictable strategy of the Russian Federation in light of the fact that Ukraine has announced its intentions to develop military production on its territory and increase the production of drones and ammunition, as well as the capacity to repair armored vehicles.

Those problems will occur again and again.

There is hope to get more air defense systems from other countries. However, their international availability is limited. The U.S. had to put strong pressure on Japan because it itself can not produce enough for Ukraine to survive:

Japan is set to announce that it will approve the sale of advanced air defense systems to the United States, a significant shift in its postwar policies restricting the export of weapons and military hardware, and a move that could help Washington support Ukraine in its fight against Russia.

Those systems, when delivered, will also get destroyed.

Just recently a complete Patriot system, which had previously taken down some Russian jets, was eliminated at the Kherson railway station. Russia also announced the elimination of an IRIS-T and other such shorter range systems provided by western countries:

Operational-Tactical and Missile Troops of the Russian Groups of Forces eliminated combat vehicles of air defence systems, namely, one Norwegian-made NASAMS, one German-made IRIS-T, one French-made Crotale-NG, one S-300 air defence system radar, and three U.S.-made AN/TPQ-50 counterbattery warfare radar stations.

There are not enough air defenses to cover each and every production facility in Ukraine and Russia can send a practically unlimited amount of missiles:

Therefore, it is likely that the Ukrainian command will try to cover important defense facilities with additional air defense systems as much as possible in the near future. Although here a big role will be played by the ability of the allies to supply them in the necessary volumes. As well as Russia's ability to further increase the intensity of strikes.

But what about those schools, parks, homes or hospitals that were hit and damaged?

They are simply collateral losses caused by Ukrainian air defenses:

Ihnat, the air force spokesman, said that it was unclear what exactly the Russians were targeting, as some missiles were intercepted by Ukrainian air defense, and damage was caused by falling fragments.

“When certain objects get hit, you can conclude that they were trying to aim for it,” Ihnat said. “But there are also things like debris.”

“If a flying rocket is hit, this is a large mass of metal, burning rocket fuel and so forth,” he said. “And the explosives can also still be undetonated. So when the debris of this rocket falls down, it can still have serious consequences on the ground. The work of air defense, even when it’s successful, can still have serious consequences.”

Air defense systems In Ukraine are just like all those other western super-weapons. Their alleged supremacy gets defeated by Russia before they are able to do any serious damage.

Posted by b on December 30, 2023 at 12:33 UTC | Permalink

Comments
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Russia must proactively destroy all Ukrainian defense facilities without waiting for Ukies to attack first.

Posted by: Jason | Dec 30 2023 12:37 utc | 1

Posted by: Jason | Dec 30 2023 12:37 utc | 1

One does not strike dozens of targets across the whole country with hundreds of missiles and drones on a whim. This took months of preparations and wasn't saved for some kind of "revenge strike".

Posted by: boneless | Dec 30 2023 12:52 utc | 2

> Just recently a complete Patriot system, which had previously taken down some Russian jets, was eliminated at the Kherson railway station.

---

Telegram channel "fighter_bomber" claimed that the Kherson Patriot system is rail mobile.

Elsewhere on Telegram it was mentioned that Ukraine consumed 1600 interceptor missiles in their defense against the Russian barrage.

Posted by: too scents | Dec 30 2023 12:52 utc | 3

Absurdism looks set to continue into 2024 so. A for profit german enterprise is going to open a factory in Ukraine to make weapons to defeat Russia which is blowing up all arms manufacturing plants in Ukraine. I'm sure it is.
Zelensky hails the super amazing increase in arms manufacturing in Ukraine while at the same time his front line soldiers haven't a pot to piss in.
It's a good job the Russians stopped reading French philosophy in the 19th century , unlike us poor assholes who are stuck with Albert Camus' teenage ramblings till the day very soon when we die.
Happy New year all.

Posted by: Eoin Clancy | Dec 30 2023 12:59 utc | 4

Ukraine claims the large landing ship hit by StormShadow missiles which exploded at a dock in southeast Crimea was loaded with Iranian drones. If correct they may have been intended to take part in the latest wave of strikes, further overloading the defence systems. Whatever was on the ship, it made quite a large explosion, so a couple of hundred drones plus other munitions was likely the cargo, or part of it. So if not for the untimely loss of the ship, the strike may well have been significantly larger. Good intelligence or lucky timing on the part of Ukraine/NATO.

Posted by: Saturna | Dec 30 2023 13:21 utc | 5

Arestovich, calls for mass protests and open rebellion

You cannot mobilize 300k people, who are rebelling, what fool would hand them weapons? - he says of the new mobilization laws that's come into force.

Posted by: Hankster | Dec 30 2023 13:24 utc | 6

Doesn't hurt to have realistic expectations of Russian air defense either, even with its denser saturation and proven effectiveness. Debris from intercepted targets appears to be an unresolved issue on both sides, in addition to geographic factors preventing a timely intercept of low to medium range strike systems by ground-based systems. The Russians have very capable air defense systems, and perhaps in terms of protecting their specifically assigned strategic targets there's still room to argue that their performance is second to none, but there's been a sufficient number of incidents to put strain on such an argument and raise questions about how Russian air defense would fare against a mass-saturation attack by NATO.

Before the SMO, going solely on a small number of incidents in Syria and the stated characteristics and test results of Russian systems, public discourse made it out as if missile strikes were comprehensively countered. Post SMO I'd wager there's a far more critical view of the effectiveness of air defense, despite the fact that the overall effectiveness of Russian air defense is no doubt increasing due to hands on experience and system tweaks.

Posted by: Skiffer | Dec 30 2023 13:33 utc | 7

Posted by: Eoin Clancy | Dec 30 2023 12:59 utc | 4

The only reason why a foreign company would set up any production line in Ukraine is because they get subsidies from EU or US. The subsidies must be larger than the cost to setup the line, so regardless whether a single product ever rolls off the line, the company will be left in profit, anyway.

Posted by: unimperator | Dec 30 2023 13:35 utc | 8

"It's a good job the Russians stopped reading French philosophy in the 19th century(1) , unlike us poor assholes who are stuck with Albert "Camus' teenage ramblings"(2)....

Posted by: Eoin Clancy | Dec 30 2023 12:59 utc | 4

Criticism of Camus? I guess you have a Nobel prize for literature as well?(1)

Stalin had a huge library where he read voluminously ; he indeed read French philosophy in the 20th century:

"There is very little in the way of fiction but Stalin’s great interest in the history of the ancient world is reflected in the presence of a translation of Flaubert’s Salammbo, a novel set in Carthage at the time of the First Punic War.'(2)

1.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/1957/camus/biographical/

2.https://www.stalindigitalarchive.com/frontend/node/135125

Posted by: canuck | Dec 30 2023 13:46 utc | 9

It is extremely sad to the point of crossing ideological boundaries... All real men on all sides can agree that it is disgusting and pitiful to send brave honest Ukrainians by the hundreds of thousands to die as cannon fodder in the interest of propaganda to appease foreigners so that they can fool their populations to keep using dead Ukrainians as a financial mechanism to transfer hundreds of billions of tax dollars from 30 of the worlds richest countries to Zionist corporations in the American military industrial complex who are more concerned with genociding Gaza than they are with taking the slightest action in the interest of Ukraine actually winning, as they blame "America" for both of these crisis situations despite the American people being victims of the same policies from different angles, because the globalist borg happens to run things from the USA (as it must, because the US military is the most powerful and the population is the largest).

Posted by: Dalghak | Dec 30 2023 13:51 utc | 10

subsidies

Posted by: unimperator | Dec 30 2023 13:35 utc | 8

---

Practically all industrial commodities depend upon subsidies to be rentable.

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

The "free" market is fake. Its cartels all the way down.

Posted by: too scents | Dec 30 2023 13:51 utc | 11

Thanks b. It's all very sad .. for Ukraine. On the other hand, one has to admit that the team led by Victoria NewLand(<) were extremely good at finding an abundance of exraordinarily incompetent Ukranian half-wits and promoting them to positions of power.

I mean SOMEONE in Ukraine should have been able to realise that if Hitler didn't have enough Nazis to defeat USSR, then Ukraine didn't have a snowflake's chance in Hell of doing so.

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Dec 30 2023 13:51 utc | 12

Posted by: Skiffer | Dec 30 2023 13:33 utc | 7

The first time Tiger tank crews went into combat they suffered greater than expected losses. After an investigation it was found that the crews had believed the descriptions of the tanks invulnerability, subsequently abandoned their training and suffered accordingly. Never believe the hype, no weapon is 100% effective, every system has its vulnerabilities that will be exploited by an opponent, or revealed in specific situations or environments.

Posted by: too scents | Dec 30 2023 12:52 utc | 3

Clever way of giving mobility to a static system, but once the tactic is discovered the death clock is counting down, due to the obvious restrictions imposed by rail transport.

Posted by: boneless | Dec 30 2023 12:52 utc | 2

Yup, a battle space shaping operation to support either a passive strategy of targeting Ukrainian units, as they retreat and redeploy, or a more active attempt at exploiting the withdrawal. It’s the same strategy employed by any army with the upper hand, destroy equipment when it’s in vulnerable concentrations, instead of the far riskier, resource intensive arena of front-line combat.

Posted by: Milites | Dec 30 2023 13:55 utc | 13

canuck@9
Salammbo is not about the history of the ancient world. It was, like most of M Flaubert's output all about young ladies.
As to the notion that one needs a Nobel Prize in order to be able to criticise a Nobel Prize winner- just think about the implications, starting with the members of the jury awarding the prizes.

Posted by: bevin | Dec 30 2023 13:56 utc | 14

Indian Punchline today deals with the same subjects. Bhadrakumar explains the reasons, and their are many, why the SMO has proved to be a triumph for Russia.

If Europeans could muster enough sense to wipe their arses properly it would signal the rapid demise of NATO and the entire US post war strategy for global domination. But with Europe's politicians it makes more sense to hold your nose to suppress the stench than your breath to allow them to act rationally.

"....The heart of the matter is that the West all along perceived Ukraine as a geopolitical project targeting Russia. Today, even with defeat staring at its face, the West’s priority lies in forcing Russia to agree to a ceasefire on the basis of the existing line of contact without any geopolitical or strategic obligations on the part of Washington or the transatlantic alliance — which, de facto, would mean leaving the door for the rearmament of the battered Ukrainian military and for Kiev’s accession to NATO through the back door.

"Suffice to say, the discredited agenda of using Ukraine as a pawn to pursue the West’s anti-Russian policy is still very much around. But Moscow will not fall for the US’ trap a second time, risking another war that may erupt at a time that suits NATO..."
https://www.indianpunchline.com/putin-lifts-the-fog-of-war-in-ukraine/

Posted by: bevin | Dec 30 2023 14:03 utc | 15

like most of M Flaubert's output all about young ladies.

Posted by: bevin | Dec 30 2023 13:56 utc | 14

---

Gustave Flaubert : Wank Like an Egyptian ==> https://youtu.be/vIG99qPEuy0

Posted by: too scents | Dec 30 2023 14:04 utc | 16

But what about those schools, parks, homes or hospitals that were hit and damaged?

They are simply collateral losses caused by Ukrainian air defenses:

Ihnat, the air force spokesman, said that it was unclear what exactly the Russians were targeting, as some missiles were intercepted by Ukrainian air defense, and damage was caused by falling fragments.
“When certain objects get hit, you can conclude that they were trying to aim for it,” Ihnat said. “But there are also things like debris.”

“If a flying rocket is hit, this is a large mass of metal, burning rocket fuel and so forth,” he said. “And the explosives can also still be undetonated. So when the debris of this rocket falls down, it can still have serious consequences on the ground. The work of air defense, even when it’s successful, can still have serious consequences.

Posted by b on December 30, 2023 at 12:33 UTC |


As I had previously mentioned , debris , but also AD missiles from the AFU. If they throw hundreds (or more) they fall somewhere after a failed interception (best case scenario as debris, worst as a full missile)

Posted by: Newbie | Dec 30 2023 14:06 utc | 17

Ukr and Israel have exactly the same style, since day one and never changing. They can't fight soldiers so they only hit civilians. RIA says 6 dead 45 wounded in Belgorod after missile hit (tass.com/politics/1728239), 61 buildings (tass.com/emergencies/1728251) and in Bryansk (tass.com/politics/1728225).

because they get subsidies from EU or US
@unimperator | Dec 30 2023 13:35 utc | 8

From EU, Borel's "Peace Fund" probably. US only gets paid, they don't pay and surely won't help European companies sell more weapons when they want to be the only provider for nato. But it can also be preparation for foreign troops. Can also hide the delivery of other types of weapons, pretending to be manufactured locally by the great ukroscientists, the direct descendants of Adam.

Posted by: rk | Dec 30 2023 14:08 utc | 18

Did Stalin read?

Stalin’s Library by Geoffrey Roberts review – the marks of a leader

Joseph Stalin owned about 20,000 books, many with jottings in the margin. Does his library hold the key to his character?

'After Khrushchev’s denunciation of Stalin in 1956, plans to preserve the library in his dacha were abandoned and his books (which included volumes on child psychology, sport, religion, syphilis and hypnosis as well as works by Turgenev and Dostoevsky) were dispersed, so it has become challenging to make an exhaustive study of what he enjoyed reading. Geoffrey Roberts acknowledges that many academics before him have scoured the remnants of his collection, hoping to glimpse Stalin’s true nature or find the “key to the character that made his rule so monstrous”.

Roberts finds no smoking guns, but suggests: “By following the way Stalin read books, we can glimpse the world through his eyes. We may not get to peer into his soul, but we do get to wear his spectacles.”

In the abstract, Stalin admired writers, telling the Soviet writers’ congress in 1934 that while civil engineers were needed to build socialism, the country also required “engineers of the human soul, writer engineers, building the human spirit”. He insisted that his family and colleagues should be equally well read. He gave his adopted son a copy of Robinson Crusoe, inscribing it with “the wish that he grows up to be a conscious, steadfast and fearless Bolshevik”. He gave his daughter a Short Course History of the Communist Party, commanding her to read it. Svetlana said she never bothered because “It bored me so.” (She later defected to the west). Sergo Beria, the son of Stalin’s security commissar Lavrenty Beria, claimed that when Stalin visited someone from his inner circle he would go into their library and start opening the books, to check for signs that they had actually been read.'

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/feb/16/stalins-library-by-geoffrey-roberts-review-the-marks-of-a-leader

Posted by: Don Firineach | Dec 30 2023 14:12 utc | 19

It's not even worth responding to the insane ramblings about a landing ship being loaded with drones or the 'weakness' of Russian air defense..which is such projection as to be outright laughable.

You can keep sending in the clowns..it doesnt change the outcome. Maerica and her vassals have been categorically defeated. Their hubris and stupidity will ensure they make the defeat as catastrophic as possible. Get those Abrams in there! Then we can get some images of Abrams stuck in the mud and getting lanceted. Genius.

Posted by: Doctor Eleven | Dec 30 2023 14:25 utc | 20

As an aside I feel anything Beria or his descendants may claim should be taken with a enormous grain of salt.

Posted by: Doctor Eleven | Dec 30 2023 14:26 utc | 21

Wake me up when Avdiivka, heck, even Stepove, is captured.

Odessa is so close...

Posted by: Anonymous | Dec 30 2023 14:34 utc | 22

[email protected] Prize, eh.....well if it's a cup one can pee in it at night, and if it's of the paper kind one could wipe ones arse with it.....what are they worth, really, when a fucktard like big Mike's boyfriend can get one....

Cheers M


Posted by: sean the leprechaun | Dec 30 2023 14:46 utc | 23

At least 10 dead and 45 wounded civilians in the center of Belgorod after the Ukronazis bombed the Christmas market and the skating rink.

Putin "was informed about the situation".

Zelensky, Zaluzhny, Budanov, Sunak, Nuland, Blinken, Austin and Biden are alive and well.

Great job, Mr. Putin.

Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Dec 30 2023 14:47 utc | 24

In response to Milites@13,

You're right of course, although there's hype, which I'd say is a byproduct of military-porn for the general public, and then there are reasonable technical expectations by professionals, which oftentimes serves as the basis for formulating defensive strategy. It's not easy to gauge from the outside whether a weapons system performs below expectations or whether it just doesn't live up to the hype, and those are two very different things on the order of importance, since the latter case means fuck all, whereas the former could mean a paradigm shift.

Posted by: Skiffer | Dec 30 2023 14:48 utc | 25

Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Dec 30 2023 14:47 utc | 24

It is what, 20km from Kharkov to the border and 20km more to Belgorod? Hard to defend it against low cost rockets MLRS fired towards the general vicinity of the city.

Compared to the Iron Dome in Israel, which shoots down almost all Palestinian homemade rockets, Russian air defense seems to be lacking here.

Also, as Kharkov is a large metropole that dominates the region, this is a weakness of the Russians.

Posted by: alek_a | Dec 30 2023 14:59 utc | 26

Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Dec 30 2023 14:47 utc | 24

I'm quite happy that Putin is in charge of Russia and not you.

Posted by: Verdant | Dec 30 2023 15:00 utc | 27

I've been following MoA daily now for about 7 years, principally as a lurker, rarely posting. MoA is my main source for geopolitical info.

I often see 3 and 4 letter abbreviations/acronyms that I'm unfamiliar with and am obliged to look them up. I have collected a list of nearly 100 of these and have posted this list on the internet for anyone interested to consult this collection for any abbreviation/acronym that you might come across and not know. Click the link below to access this list.

http://bit.ly/3GXu2iT

Posted by: Alchemist | Dec 30 2023 15:07 utc | 28

@shаdοwbanned | Dec 30 2023 14:47 utc | 24

Putin may pay a political price for keeping those losers in the general staff, but he is not supposed to intercept cluster bombs himself. Or maybe Shoigu and Gerasimov are la crème de la crème, the best he has to fight with.
The question is why people in Belgorod and other border regions, after two years of almost daily shelling and many deaths, live like there's no war. Children in public places? This is the result tass.com/russia/1728263 . Don't they know about Donbass or Gaza?

Posted by: rk | Dec 30 2023 15:14 utc | 29

... [re] test results of Russian systems, public discourse made it out as if missile strikes were comprehensively countered. Post SMO I'd wager there's a far more critical view of the effectiveness of air defence, despite the fact that the overall effectiveness of Russian air defence is no doubt increasing due to hands-on experience and system tweaks.
Posted by: Skiffer | Dec 30 2023 13:33 utc | 7

I think that's all accurate. All existing AD systems are vulnerable to saturation attacks and the use of decoys.

It's my belief that with each month, Russia is building a larger stockpile of missiles. The planes, trained pilots and AD are all important, but inventory and production volume this is the key factor.

In an exchange with NATO I think Russian AD could and would get overwhelmed at times. However, Russia is far more capable in this regard and can engage at standoff distances. Once its missile ranges exceed that of NATO they will have air superiority. Do they already?

The same applies to drone technology. The goal being advanced swarm tech but rapidly ramping up production is winning the day. I don't see the west catching up for a number of years, if ever.

Posted by: David G Horsman | Dec 30 2023 15:14 utc | 30

Russian Ministry of Defense on the attack on Belgorod:

Сегодня киевский режим предпринял попытку нанесения неизбирательного комбинированного удара по городу Белгород двумя ракетами «Ольха» в запрещенном кассетном снаряжении, а также реактивными снарядами РСЗО «Vampire» чешского производства.

Средствами ПВО ракеты «Ольха» и большая часть реактивных снарядов РСЗО «Vampire» были перехвачены.

Несколько реактивных снарядов и кассетные части от сбитых ракет «Ольха» попали по городу Белгород.

В результате на данный момент погибло 12 взрослых и два ребенка, а также пострадало 108 человек.

В случае прямого попадания ракет «Ольха» с кассетными боеприпасами по городу последствия были бы неизмеримо более тяжелыми.

Киевский режим, совершивший это преступление, пытается отвлечь внимание от поражений на фронте, а также спровоцировать нас на подобные действия.

Подчёркиваем, что Вооруженные силы России работают только по военным объектам и непосредственно связанной с ними инфраструктуре.

Будем действовать так и дальше. Это преступление не останется безнаказанным.

Today, the Kyiv regime attempted to launch an indiscriminate combined strike on the city of Belgorod with two Vilkha missiles in banned cluster munitions, as well as Czech-made Vampire MLRS rockets.

Air defense systems intercepted the Vilkha missiles and most of the Vampire MLRS rockets. Several rockets and cluster munitions from downed Vilkha missiles hit the city of Belgorod. As a result, 12 adults and two children have died so far, and 108 people have been injured.

In the event of a direct hit by Vilkha rockets with cluster munitions on the city, the consequences would be immeasurably more severe.

The Kiev regime, which committed this crime, is trying to divert attention from the defeats at the front, as well as to provoke us to such actions.

We would like to emphasise that the Russian Armed Forces are working only on military facilities and infrastructure directly related to them.

We will continue to act in this way. This war crime will not go unpunished.

Posted by: Belgorod | Dec 30 2023 15:18 utc | 31

Agree #24

I'll assume there are at least 200,000 horses waiting in Russia that are all trained and could blast a hole in that Ukie defense line the size of the Crimean borders, a hole just waiting for 1000 tanks and tankers ready to head to Kiev with an air force/missile force that could wipe out everything in their way. But that doesn't seem to be the plan, so Zelensky, Zaluzhny, the Jew Oligarchs and Cookies Newland,Ambassador PyRatt, Blinken and the rest - will be drinking champagne tomorrow night.And with another Trillion in Defense spending , who knows how many slavs they will/can " Sacrifice" to their Zionist Cabal.

I fully understand the Chess/waiting Game that Russia is playing on the West, that is supposed to fall apart, but letting Zelensky and the rest of the puppets get away with 1 million slavic murders/casualties - outweighs the political and mental Game and should be met with the true force of the Russian Military.

I will never defecate on the service record of my father, my Uncles and Aunt , muchless all the veteran men that lived in my neighborhood in Chicago, with my father and uncles that served in WW II against the Axis of Evil. They would stand with with Russia if they were still alive - so they sent their Son to speak for them.

Posted by: GMC | Dec 30 2023 15:26 utc | 32

@Alchemist | Dec 30 2023 15:07 utc | 28

GPT = A kind of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Nope, no intelligence of any kind involved.
GPT = Generative Pre-trained Transformer.
A pre-trained digital monkey.

Posted by: Norwegian | Dec 30 2023 15:27 utc | 33

Ukraine just bombed the center of Belgorod killing at least 10 people and wounding 45. So Ukraine isn't the only one with air defense issues.

Posted by: bored | Dec 30 2023 15:30 utc | 34

Russia should have interdicted all materiel entering Ukraine from the start. If they had, the war would have been over months ago.

Posted by: Realist | Dec 30 2023 15:35 utc | 35

Posted by: unimperator | Dec 30 2023 13:35 8

Thanks for expanding on absurdism, the list is endless anyway.

Posted by: canuck | Dec 30 2023 13:46 utc | 9

Stalin read mountains of books, but I'm sure we're all pretty clear which German author he followed. The knobel prize is a prize decided upon by a bunch of unknown Swedish turnips. Obama has a Nobel prize for peace! Absurdism at the highest level.

Posted by: Eoin Clancy | Dec 30 2023 15:44 utc | 36

"Ukraine claims the large landing ship hit by StormShadow missiles which exploded at a dock in southeast Crimea was loaded with Iranian drones."

It seems very unlikely that such supplies would be sent from Iran to Russia by ship, unless it was across the Caspian Sea, and through the Volga-Dneiper Canal to Crimea.

Ukraine takes every opportunity to accuse Iran of supplying Russia only because Iran is tainted in the eyes of the Zionist West.

Posted by: Rhinoskerous | Dec 30 2023 15:46 utc | 37

https://t.me/boris_rozhin/107921

Russian Ministry of Defense about the attack on Belgorod:

Today, the Kiev regime attempted an indiscriminate combined strike on the city of Belgorod with two Alder missiles in prohibited cluster ammunition , as well as Czech-made Vampire MLRS rockets.

Air defense systems intercepted the Alder missiles and most of the Vampire MLRS rockets.
Several rockets and cluster parts from the downed Vilkha missiles hit the city of Belgorod. As a result , 12 adults and two children have been killed so far and 108 people have been injured. In the event of a direct hit by Vilkha missiles with cluster munitions on the city, the consequences would be immeasurably more severe. The Kiev regime, which committed this crime, is trying to divert attention from defeats at the front, and also provoke us to similar actions. We emphasize that the Russian Armed Forces work only on military facilities and the infrastructure directly associated with them. We will continue to do so. This crime will not go unpunished.


Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Dec 30 2023 15:47 utc | 38

Ukraine just bombed the center of Belgorod killing at least 10 people and wounding 45. So Ukraine isn't the only one with air defense issues.

Posted by: bored | Dec 30 2023 15:30 utc | 34

There was massive shelling during the night, which was almost completely repelled. They may not have reloaded yet, though if that is the case nearly 12 hours later, there is indeed an issue

Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Dec 30 2023 15:49 utc | 39

Posted by: bored | Dec 30 2023 15:30 utc | 34

translatation--Russia launched successful attack on Ukrainian military targets, Ukraine responds by attacking and killing a few Russian civilians.

Posted by: pretzelattack | Dec 30 2023 15:50 utc | 40

unimperator 8: And the German federal government could confirm to you that Pappberger knows how to spell profit.

Posted by: Oliver Krug | Dec 30 2023 15:50 utc | 41

A practically unlimited amount of missiles? if that were the case the strikes would be a lot more frequent. Russia doesn't even seem to be producing large numbers of Geran drones. If Russia could produce 1500 Gerans a month that would allow a 50 drone strike per day.

Posted by: abel | Dec 30 2023 15:50 utc | 42

I forgot to mention the strikes on the electric infrastructure. it seems like the Russians have given even trying to disable the grid

Posted by: abel | Dec 30 2023 15:51 utc | 43

@shаdοwbanned | Dec 30 2023 14:47 utc | 24

Putin may pay a political price for keeping those losers in the general staff, but he is not supposed to intercept cluster bombs himself. Or maybe Shoigu and Gerasimov are la crème de la crème, the best he has to fight with.
The question is why people in Belgorod and other border regions, after two years of almost daily shelling and many deaths, live like there's no war. Children in public places? This is the result tass.com/russia/1728263 . Don't they know about Donbass or Gaza?

Posted by: rk | Dec 30 2023 15:14 utc | 29

It was Putin's job to make sure nobody would dare shell any object on Russian territory, by swift extermination of the responsible for that dear partners.

Instead he treated the dear partners as more valuable than Russian (and Donbass, and later Kherson and Zaporozhye) civilians, so here we are.

I have outlined the algorithm for putting an end to this:

1. A list is put out of targets including administrative buildings and individuals. The individuals include the key political, military and oligarchic figures.
2. A public threat is issued that for each shell that crosses the border or lands in Donetsk, those targets will be destroyed one by one
3. Ukraine still shells
4. The first targets are taken out
5. Go back to 3 and 4 (if they dare)

This should have been done on Day 1. It wasn't.

At this point Putin should be overthrown for the fact that Zelensky, Budanov and Zaluzhny are still alive alone. Denazification my ass...

Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Dec 30 2023 15:54 utc | 44

It is what, 20km from Kharkov to the border and 20km more to Belgorod? Hard to defend it against low cost rockets MLRS fired towards the general vicinity of the city.

Compared to the Iron Dome in Israel, which shoots down almost all Palestinian homemade rockets, Russian air defense seems to be lacking here.

Also, as Kharkov is a large metropole that dominates the region, this is a weakness of the Russians.

Posted by: alek_a | Dec 30 2023 14:59 utc | 26

It wasn't in the general vicinity, it was precisely targeted at the city center and hit the targets directly. It was cluster munitions too, for maximum civilian casualties.

Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Dec 30 2023 15:56 utc | 45

Thanks b. It's all very sad .. for Ukraine. On the other hand, one has to admit that the team led by Victoria NewLand(<) were extremely good at finding an abundance of exraordinarily incompetent Ukranian half-wits and promoting them to positions of power.

I mean SOMEONE in Ukraine should have been able to realise that if Hitler didn't have enough Nazis to defeat USSR, then Ukraine didn't have a snowflake's chance in Hell of doing so.

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Dec 30 2023 13:51 utc | 12

To be fair, the US system is extremely good elevating incompetent half-wits to positions of power, most of them psychopaths and narcissists. For example Cookies Nuland. One can make the case that this dynamic is a feature, not a bug. Not surprising that US incompetent halfwits are at least competent at finding and cultivating their own ilk in other places. The perpetuation of craven, mouth-breathing dunces, part of US DNA.

Posted by: Mike R | Dec 30 2023 15:57 utc | 46

Ukraine Weekly Update: May be useful to some: https://robcampbell.substack.com/p/ukraine-weekly-update-3c5

Posted by: Dr. Rob Campbell | Dec 30 2023 16:01 utc | 47

Better yet, the much-boasted-about "destroyed Russian planes" were confirmed intact back at their bases, so it's a classic 0-1 advantage not-NATO all over again.

That's the very reason why Kiev is now firing Western cluster missiles at Belgorod - no military production or significant bases there, but in what they always try to ascribe to Russians, the Kiev goons just want to kill people.

Posted by: Red Outsider | Dec 30 2023 16:05 utc | 48

Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Dec 30 2023 15:54 utc | 44

Killing the president (i.e. the head of state), regardless of his legitimacy, would be the most stupid thing that Russia could possibly do.

Posted by: Verdant | Dec 30 2023 16:10 utc | 49

Posted by: unimperator | Dec 30 2023 13:35 utc | 8

Subsidies and insurance. Although insurance premiums could be subsidized.

Posted by: Johan Kaspar | Dec 30 2023 16:13 utc | 50

The direct attack on civilians without any pretence is the madness of a rabid dog or film monster, evil guy who terrorises some innocents.

It’s funny (queer not haha) to see that the panic in ukropia is matched by the derangement in the Zionazis in all their centres of imperial colonisation.

It’s better to see the scales falling from the eyes of the smug liberal woke subjects in these imperial nations. Daily they have a more befuddled look when the subject is raised or actually deliberately avoided now. Hardly anyone is saying ‘evil Putin’ , ‘backward Russians’ anymore in my circles. They know better than trying it on with me by now.

It is the mask falling, the bloody sheepskin being abandoned and the vicious snarling shapeshifters being seen for what they are.

There is much movement and harrying amongst the gatekeepers and sheepdogs trying to reclaim the Narrative control.

Is anyone fooled by the Tucker Carlson repositioning from a small audience at Fox to the mass attraction by tens of millions at Elons new eyeball pinning social media industrial complex - made as if it were for the sole purpose of launching that fishing net that is Tucker?
He really may be being groomed to high office! Imagine that!!
When some one like Russell Brand gets cancelled by the same forces - happened just after the visit of Tucker too! Not a coincidence.
Just a grab of Russell’s followers.

So are the blind yet ready to see the construction of the fake religions through the centuries for what they were? Economics, capitalism/AntiCapitalism/, media and culture, proxy wars , proxy armies , fascism and Nazism , now Covid and Climate GND vacuousness
Even the starlet, the little elfin princess seems to be abandoning her programming. Or maybe she is being saved for a reboot to emerge as a grown queen of Europe! To take over from Frau Genocide and partner Borrel and the unelected Nazios of the EU Commission.

Their problem is that much true information is now almost impossible to whack a mole with.

There is a final solution - it is prepped and ready to be rolled out - it will happen in rump Ukraine and basket case Argentina before being rolled out to the rest of Europe.
The digital wallets and draconian shit down of movement and freedoms of opinions.
The removal of access to media and web by personal targeting. A lot of the AI is about just that. They’re upset at the Chinese refusing to play ball by having the IT controlled threatens all their plans.

The Empire attempts to strike back and even when seemingly dead , will rear up one more time ! just like the scarey moment in movies where the supposed dead enemy suddenly rises to fire one more shot! Before we end this real life documentary.

Posted by: DunGroanin | Dec 30 2023 16:13 utc | 51

The number of dead in Belgorod has risen to 14.

There is a price to be paid for waging war in a half hearted fashion - in this case 14 bereaved families just before the new year.

The moderation and restraint shown by Russia is understandable in terms of avoiding another global war, desire to avoid unnecessary civilian casualties, slowly grinding down and degrading the capacity of Ukraine and its western sponsors.

The drawback to all this is the scope is gives the Banderites and the US/ EU/ UK to cause mischief in the form of numerous terror attacks inside Russia on people like Dugina and others.

If I were a Russian soldier at Bakhmut or elsewhere, I would find it difficult to understand why Russia was still supplying Ukraine and its western backers with oil and gas, why the Dnieper bridges were still standing, why Russia still maintained diplomatic relations with Biden and VD Leyen, and many other things.

The outcome of the war is probably inevitable, but as Ukraine and its western backers become more desperate it is likely they will resort increasingly to terrorism. There is a cost to proceeding at a glacial pace.

The British Admiral Fisher said that moderation in war is an imbecility.

Posted by: anon | Dec 30 2023 16:16 utc | 52

Posted by: Skiffer | Dec 30 2023 14:48 utc | 25

Knew some people who sat on a barge, on a freezing Scottish loch, testing the Seawolf, Short Range Air Defence Missile (SHORAD) Thing was, for the late 70’s, incredibly accurate, being able to intercept 4.5 inch naval shells, mid-flight. During the Falklands it worked as designed, one day though two A4 Skyhawks came in low to attack, HMS Broadsword, both aircraft were flying equidistant to the Seawolf armed target, causing a problem that had never been considered by the designers. Seawolf’s algorithm was simple, being a SHORAD it was designed to engage the closest target (the theory being the closest is the greatest threat, be it plane or munition), because both closing targets were equidistant it tried to follow its programme, failed and shut down. This necessitated a full systems reboot, which in the early eighties required time the target did not have. End result, they initiated the reboot but were too late, the ship was bombed but luckily only suffered moderate damage.

It’s a serious issue regarding the confidence troops have with their equipment that used to concern many during the Cold-War, given it would be a come-as-you are affair, with no time to deploy improved models of any weapon. A reason why any conflict was examined to determine if real battlefield performance matched expectations, leading to many tweak, including: not using highly flammable hydraulic fluids in tanks, the development of composite and reactive armours and numerous upgrade programmes. This is why the SMO is invaluable, as the Russians are sometimes confronting top-tier NATO equipment, that has necessitated upgrades for multiple platforms and targeting algorithms.

Posted by: Miltes | Dec 30 2023 16:18 utc | 53

Posted by: Red Outsider | Dec 30 2023 16:05 utc | 48

Usuk are mad to kill as many Russians as possible, correct.
The reason, apart from their clear psychopathic disorder, is to goad Putin into a greater escalation of the war.
This greater escalation would only benefit usuk in that it would deplete the Russian arsenal and tip the financial balance of the Russian economy.
The strategy of Russia has worked so far and will keep on working as long as cool heads prevail. Time is irrelevant to the Russians, whereas for usuk, the clock is ticking.

Posted by: Eoin Clancy | Dec 30 2023 16:18 utc | 54

Most of the casualties of the Blitz on London were causes by AA-fire returning to earth. Only a complete duffus [or the legion of 3LA-paid-off media-shills] would infer that Russians are wasting ammo on targeting empty schools.

Posted by: S Brennan | Dec 30 2023 16:20 utc | 55

@ Eoin Clancy 4
"It's good the Russians stopped reading French philosophy in the 19th Century, unlike us poor assholes who are stuck with Albert Camus' teenage ramblings"

Best comment in the last few days. Thanks.

Posted by: JessDTruth | Dec 30 2023 16:32 utc | 56

https://t.me/Slavyangrad/82043

By Andrey Medvedev (https://t.me/MedvedevVesti/16302)

While various experts pompously argued that Ukraine could no longer fight, that even the West was talking about this and issued other pompous falsehoods, the enemy was preparing attacks on Crimea and Belgorod.

It is impossible to strike the city from the RZSO complex (and most likely it was this one) spontaneously. It is necessary to secretly drag a complex, like the Hurricane or Alder, to the border. Prepare the position in advance, provide security, and take into account all our mistakes - where there are weak points on the border, where control is a little worse.

That being said, we understand. The enemy was preparing a strike on a peaceful city. He planned where the missiles would be fired so that the number of dead would be as high as possible.

Our enemy will not give up. It won't be almond-shaped. He will only act more and more harshly and fearfully. It’s just in the logic of the entire Ukrainian history. After the burning of people in Odessa and the killing of children in Donetsk in 2014, each next step can only be even bloodier.

The strike on Belgorod is a completely invented, clearly developed crime. Maniacs don't stop. They are stopped. So it will be. It is only important for us not to create illusions, but to always remember that the path to victory will be difficult and long, and the turning point in the war is still far away. It's too early to think otherwise.

Our most sincere condolences to the people of Belgorod.

Posted by: Norwegian | Dec 30 2023 16:32 utc | 57

Posted by: David G Horsman | Dec 30 2023 15:14 utc | 30

>The same applies to drone technology. The goal being advanced swarm tech but rapidly ramping up production is winning the day. I don't see the west catching up for a number of years, if ever.

What's certain about the future is that wars will be between machines and deciding factor will be combination of quality and quantity (as it was back in the stone age, when quality and quantity of men is what decided the outcome).

Right now, we use drones as synonym for either winged aircraft or quadcopters, but there are vast number of possible machines, plus vast number of possible defenses against these machines. Ultimately, physics determines cost to run and operate machines. Flying always much more expensive in power consumption than sitting quietly on the ground waiting, so expect lots of drones to do the latter. Maybe quadcopters that sit and wait then suddenly fly up to attack when a foe drone appears.

You can't win an industrial war of attrition if your cost per attack/defense exceeds enemy cost in opposite direction (defend/attack). Simple rapid fire automated anti-aircraft guns are cheapest way to take out any flying object, but you need vast quantities if the flying objects are skimming along in swarms at 1cm above the vegetation, or perhaps between trees and bushes. There will also be sea drones to swarm carriers with smart drone torpedoes fired by drone subs versus swarming with air missiles.

Future is easy to imagine, but design and manufacturing all these machines not so easy, and you can't be certain what's works until you try in reality, much less what costs will be, and cost is an essential aspect of wars of attrition.

Right now, USA/EU/Pacific Rim dwarfs Russia in industrial capacity and probably is way ahead in artificial intelligence, though all I know about AI is what is public information and militaries obviously don't reveal everything. Just compare the massive auto industries of USA/EU/Pacific Rim to the puny auto industry of Russia. So Russia would be almost certainly be crushed in conventional war if USA/EU/Pacific Rim got serious about drones. Which is precisely why Russia must go slow to avoid awakening that sleeping giant, contrary to the advice of shadowbanned et al.

On the other hand, China possibly already outweighs USA/EU/Pacific Rim in industrial capacity and we know very little about where China stand regards to military AI, other than that they are working on it. We also know that China can move very fast, far faster than USA/EU/Pacific Rim. So if China goes all-in on drone production, then China (backed by Russian and central Asian natural resources) is soon going to be the dominant conventional military power. It remains to see what China will do with its power.

Posted by: anonposter | Dec 30 2023 16:32 utc | 58

@Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Dec 30 2023 15:54 utc | 44

You dislike Putin but he's not responsible for this. The only price he'll pay will be in votes and trust, and exactly the reason why nato puts cluster bombs in cities (they also wanted to put DU but so far that didn't work). You can kill as many budanovs you want, if you don't control Ukr missiles will keep falling. I'm sure it'll be much worse in the next months, closer to elections in Russia. And if that wasn't enough, they went again to cry at UNSC like all losers do: tass.com/politics/1728303 , tass.com/politics/1728307

Posted by: rk | Dec 30 2023 16:33 utc | 59

"It is extremely sad to the point of crossing ideological boundaries... All real men on all sides can agree that it is disgusting and pitiful to send brave honest Ukrainians by the hundreds of thousands to die as cannon fodder in the interest of propaganda to appease foreigners so that they can fool their populations to keep using dead Ukrainians as a financial mechanism to transfer hundreds of billions of tax dollars from 30 of the worlds richest countries to Zionist corporations in the American military industrial complex who are more concerned with genociding Gaza than they are with taking the slightest action in the interest of Ukraine actually winning, as they blame "America" for both of these crisis situations despite the American people being victims of the same policies from different angles, because the globalist borg happens to run things from the USA (as it must, because the US military is the most powerful and the population is the largest)."

Posted by: Dalghak | Dec 30 2023 13:51 utc | 10

Very well put-the only thig I disagree with is "happens to run things from the USA"; its the City of London than runs the USA ...

Posted by: canuck | Dec 30 2023 16:33 utc | 60

Killing the president (i.e. the head of state), regardless of his legitimacy, would be the most stupid thing that Russia could possibly do.

Posted by: Verdant | Dec 30 2023 16:10 utc | 49

Zelensky wouldn't be #1 on the list. He would be somewhere in the 30s.

You give them enough time to reconsider whether they want to continue with terrorism.

First you take out some buildings of note (doesn't even have to be buildings -- why is the big Bandera statue in Lvov still standing with no Gerans having visited it?) to show them you are serious, then some lesser individuals, only then you get to the higher ranking leadership.

But at this point they need to be taken out. It is a crime to not have done it.

How many war crimes will it take?

Chemical weapons were used on dozens of occasions (and I am not talking about tear gas in trenches, but lethal stuff), civilians were shelled with cluster munitions, and now with grenade drops and FPVs, i.e. precisely targeted, PGMs were used against civilian gatherings, POWs were tortured and killed, Nazi death squads killed many thousands of pro-Russian civilians, it is endless.

How can you leave these monsters alive when you have the power to hand out justice within minutes of deciding to do so?

I can tell you what the concern here is though -- Ukraine isn't completely powerless to strike back and Russian internal security is seriously compromised because nobody bothered to prepare properly for war (even after it started -- where is the new SMERSH, FFS?). So some Russian elites will be targeted too in retaliation.

And it is for this reason that Ukrainian elites are not touched, not matter what monstrous crimes they commit. Elites don't hurt other elites, while the plebs can eat cluster bombs in abundance on New Year's eve.

Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Dec 30 2023 16:36 utc | 61

The lattest Umro attacts show how weak Russia is.
Instead of destroying Ukro 750 KV el. network infrstructure Russia is targeting factories.

In the end nuclear weapons shall be used.

Posted by: zorge | Dec 30 2023 16:37 utc | 62

Milites 53: "This is why the SMO is invaluable, ..". Mmm, and not only for Russia, for China too... I'm actually wondering why we don't see North Korean and Iranian units in Ukraine practicing fighting against USA/Israel/NATO. This is probably only because Putin wants to claim this victory for himself and Russia.

Posted by: Oliver Krug | Dec 30 2023 16:38 utc | 63

There is a price to be paid for waging war in a half hearted fashion


Posted by: anon | Dec 30 2023 16:16 utc | 52


Another aspect you have to consider is it's one thing to go total war against an enemy that's trying to destroy your people and take your land but something else if your trying to liberate kin.

The Russians are at war with the Ukrainian regime and NATO ... not the Ukrainian people. The Russians could turn Ukraine into radioactive rubble in an afternoon ... or take out the entire electricity grid, sewer and water pumps and leave the nation in the dark, knee deep in shit without clean water like the USA did in Iraq but how does that achieve their objectives of liberating Russian in Ukraine?

As a human being I would much prefer to live under Ukrainian rule than having to choose between watching my children die of dehydration or e coli infection in a freezing flat in Kiev.

"It became necessary to destroy the town to save it." anon US major quoted by Peter Arnett ... we all know where this attitude got the USA in Vietnam ... no sense in making the same mistake.

Posted by: HB_Norica | Dec 30 2023 16:44 utc | 64

Posted by: anon | Dec 30 2023 16:16 utc | 52

There is a price to be paid for waging war in a half hearted fashion - in this case 14 bereaved families just before the new year.

These families will receive compensation and be treated with honour by the Russians.
Inevitably, civilians will die in war.
This war is really special though in the low number of civilians killed so far.

The moderation and restraint shown by Russia is understandable in terms of avoiding another global war, desire to avoid unnecessary civilian casualties, slowly grinding down and degrading the capacity of Ukraine and its western sponsors.

The drawback to all this is the scope is gives the Banderites and the US/ EU/ UK to cause mischief in the form of numerous terror attacks inside Russia on people like Dugina and others.

Numerous? What's the number in your head? It seems to me the number of attacks inside Russia in 2 years of war has been extremely low, almost negligible.

If I were a Russian soldier at Bakhmut or elsewhere, I would find it difficult to understand why Russia was still supplying Ukraine and its western backers with oil and gas, why the Dnieper bridges were still standing, why Russia still maintained diplomatic relations with Biden and VD Leyen, and many other things.

Mmh. Have you been a soldier during war operations? Were you thinking of the big picture and diplomatic discussions or the day to day operations and risks?

The outcome of the war is probably inevitable, but as Ukraine and its western backers become more desperate it is likely they will resort increasingly to terrorism. There is a cost to proceeding at a glacial pace.

Thank you for your concern. Please keep yourself concerned and post long comments expressing deep concern.

The British Admiral Fisher said that moderation in war is an imbecility.

Probably because he was an imbecile? Sorry, couldn't help myself, no idea who this bloke was.

It is not moderation, it is calculation. Clearly the attack of the Ukrainians on Belgorod was (1) a provocation seeking a fierce attack on Ukrainian civilians to make headlines in the West and then secure the grabbing of more Western treasure and (2) revanchism for the great harm to the Ukrainian military caused by the latest barrage of Russian missiles and drones.

The thing to do is to compensate families and honour the civilians killed and continue with the previous plan. This thing in Belgorod has no military significance at all.

Posted by: Johan Kaspar | Dec 30 2023 16:45 utc | 65

tass.com/politics/1728303 , tass.com/politics/1728307

Posted by: rk | Dec 30 2023 16:33 utc | 59

This is just schizophrenic at this point:

''We have requested an UNSC meeting on Belgorod at 3:00 p.m. New York time (8:00 p.m. GMT) today, December 30. We also demanded that the Czech permanent representative be present to explain his country’s supplies of weapons, which are used to kill civilians,'' he wrote on his Telegram channel.

Donetsk became official Russian territory more than a year ago. It has been shelled with Czech, German, French, American, British and who knows what other weapons continuously throughout that time, but that wasn't a problem.

Now they hit Belgorod and suddenly it is.

What is the difference between Belgorod and Donetsk in the eyes of the Russian state then? Clearly there is such a difference...

Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Dec 30 2023 16:46 utc | 66

"Most of the casualties of the Blitz on London were causes by AA-fire returning to earth. Only a complete duffus [or the legion of 3LA-paid-off media-shills] would infer that Russians are wasting ammo on targeting empty schools."

Posted by: S Brennan | Dec 30 2023 16:20 utc | 55

You are quite correct but here where I live in Canada we were fed by the MSM this morning how Russia was 'targeting schools and hospitals' and your average moron here, however educated, eat it up.

So there duffuses here in the Toronto area seem to be the majority.

Posted by: canuck | Dec 30 2023 16:47 utc | 67

"Milites 53: "This is why the SMO is invaluable, ..". Mmm, and not only for Russia, for China too... I'm actually wondering why we don't see North Korean and Iranian units in Ukraine practicing fighting against USA/Israel/NATO. This is probably only because Putin wants to claim this victory for himself and Russia."

Posted by: Oliver Krug | Dec 30 2023 16:38 utc | 63

I don't think Putin would say no to more Axis help. In my opinion the SMO is in the early innings of WW3; later on in a year or two, Putin will go to the bullpen as the war expands.

Posted by: canuck | Dec 30 2023 16:51 utc | 68

@ Don Firineach 19

Yes, Stalin's Library is one of Roberts' best books because he used primary materials rather than repeating other historians. The review in The Guardian Of Zion is good until the last two short paragraphs where she tacked on the obligatory denunciations of Stalin.

This is a haha funny item: "Sergo Beria, son of Lavrenty Beria, claimed that when Stalin visited someone from his inner circle he would go into their library and start opening the books, to check for signs that they had actually been read." Indeed, when visiting people's libraries of impressive books, it's worth seeing if they were ever read. Paperbacks make this so much easier now than back in Stalin's time, and I wonder if the anecdote is true.

Guardian Of Zion's Review of Stalin's Library

Posted by: JessDTruth | Dec 30 2023 16:53 utc | 69

@ Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Dec 30 2023 16:36 utc | 61

J F C fella! Wtgor! Can you not give it a rest? How many times per thread do you have to keep making the same point? We got it. We don’t believe it. Here try someone else trying to explain to opinions like yours. See if you can get your brain cells around it without a knee jerk reply, mkay??

“ Clandestine
@WarClandestine
20h
So here’s how the scam works.

NATO send Ukraine longer-range British missiles that Ukraine use to strike a Russian ship at harbor in the Black Sea.

Russia respond by bombing the piss out of Ukraine. Then Biden uses this as an excuse to call for more US funds for Ukraine.

Biden and Ukraine also lied, and claimed civilians were targeted, which Russia denied. Ukraine claim Russia struck a “maternity hospital”. Just like the tossing babies out of incubators hoax and the decapitated babies hoax, the West are using atrocity propaganda to ONCE AGAIN manipulate your emotions to garner your support for the war machine. It’s the same playbook.

The West fund an attack, the recipient of the attack responds, which creates the illusion of victimhood thus the perceived need for more funding for “defense”, then the cycle repeats and the laundry mat stays open.

If you fall for this again, at this point, it’s on you. “

https://nitter.net/WarClandestine/status/1740829254600843693#m

Get it ? ‘ITS’ ON YOU’

Posted by: DunGroanin | Dec 30 2023 16:55 utc | 70

Posted by: Oliver Krug | Dec 30 2023 16:38 utc | 63

Russia and China are in an alliance of convenience, both will help, but only up to a certain point. Reminds me of the famous Low cartoon, ‘Rendezvous’. Russia does not want to be a vassal of China and is more than aware of her economic weakness compared to the People’s Republic, so is perhaps looking forward to regime change in the US.

I’m wondering if the Belgorod attack was officially sanctioned, or are the fascist militias getting nervous about talks of peace-deals and want to exacerbate the situation.

Posted by: Milites | Dec 30 2023 16:57 utc | 71

Local weapons production is great but ... it makes your supply more vulnerable since Russia can bomb any part of Ukraine. Smuggling in weapons from NATO was actually more safe.

Why not have Ukraine make their own weapons in NATO countries? I mean what could go wrong, let's have a grand old war.

Posted by: Christian J Chuba | Dec 30 2023 17:00 utc | 72

Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Dec 30 2023 16:46 utc | 66

What is the difference between Belgorod and Donetsk in the eyes of the Russian state then? Clearly there is such a difference...

The new oblasts are not regarded as Russian in international arenas like UNSC, but Belgorod is clearly within established RF territory. So this motion will force the UNSC's hand making them either admit that what is going on is wrong in which case they then have to do something about it or they openly enable it thereby revealing themselves as entirely without principle. Win-Win for RF.

No matter what, the UNSC is a busted flush, ever since it enabled the Israeli landgrabs and ethnic cleansings in Palestine with the first couple of years of its existence. The banksters were behind these global institutions then and they still are now.

The UN should be closed down and reconfigured after the current geopolitical (Not Quite) War is settled. If it goes one way (Israel-BIS joins the Multipolarists) Jerusalem can be the new UN HQ; otherwise, maybe Samarkand, Lhasa or New Delhi. New York's days as an international hub are numbered...

Posted by: Scorpion | Dec 30 2023 17:07 utc | 73

I would take Zelensky out.
Why that hasn't been done yet is a mystery to me.

Posted by: g wiltek | Dec 30 2023 17:11 utc | 74

S [email protected]'d you get that tale? AA fire causing most of the deaths.....reads like Empire damage control. Large sections of London were flattened by German bombs. The areas of London where most destruction and death occured were quickly walled off by the authorities. Not wanting Gerry to wallow in pride seeing the utter
destruction he caused.

Part of the issue and cause for many civilian deaths was how tenament housing is built in long straight rows, cobble stone roads, slate roofs. Form 10k feet at night they look like rail yards, great targets, unless you are Russia in the Ukraine where they are used for mobile Patriot rocket systems which are used to shoot down Russian planes......speaking of tales.

Cheers M

Posted by: sean the leprechaun | Dec 30 2023 17:11 utc | 75

@Scorpion | Dec 30 2023 17:07 utc | 73

Move the UN to a small country in Asia, e.g. Laos (Vientiane or Luang Prabang)

Posted by: Norwegian | Dec 30 2023 17:17 utc | 76

In April 1945, even as the Third Reich was collapsing around their heads (quite literally, from Allied bombing and Soviet shelling), Göring, Himmler, Goebbels, and Bormann were all scrambling for power in an effort to succeed Hitler. In today's Ukranazistan, Timoshenko, Poroshenko, Zaluzhny, and Arestovich are all already jockeying to replace Elensky. One wonders what they imagine they'll inherit.

Posted by: Biswapriya Purkayast | Dec 30 2023 17:19 utc | 77

New Year Card.

Posted by: Biswapriya Purkayast | Dec 30 2023 17:20 utc | 78

Norwegian 76:

I suggest Mongolia or Kyrgyzstan.

Posted by: Biswapriya Purkayast | Dec 30 2023 17:22 utc | 79

Posted by: Milites | Dec 30 2023 16:57 utc | 71

>I’m wondering if the Belgorod attack was officially sanctioned, or are the fascist militias getting nervous about talks of peace-deals and want to exacerbate the situation.

Zelensky/Ermak are afraid of peace deals because they means elections must be held and then Zelensky and the fanatics out of office. So office of the President is definitely behind the attack, perhaps by GUR or SBU with Zaluzhny/military possibly out of the loop.

Posted by: anonposter | Dec 30 2023 17:27 utc | 80

Move the UN to a small country in Asia, e.g. Laos (Vientiane or Luang Prabang)

Posted by: Norwegian | Dec 30 2023 17:17 utc | 76

____

Nice thought until you realize how much environmental damage the infrastructure buildup would cause.

Maybe a nice desert somewhere? I see Mr. Purkayastha has nominated Mongolia and Kyrgyzstan.

Posted by: malenkov | Dec 30 2023 17:38 utc | 81

Posted by: Norwegian | Dec 30 2023 17:17 utc | 76

>Move the UN to a small country in Asia, e.g. Laos (Vientiane or Luang Prabang)

Don't we have the internet? What is the reason for any in-person international organizations? Make them all distributed and virtual (internet based). The UN facility in New York then become the USA physical branch of the non-physical and distributed international UN.

Posted by: anonposter | Dec 30 2023 17:41 utc | 82

Bevin @1403

Any agreement made by Russia with those who give the orders to Z. will be strictly on Russian terms.

It is probable that those terms will axiomatically include all ethnic Russian and historically Russian Oblasts will revert to the RU; that a rump Ukrainian state, given the same level of independence as Belarus, will include such oblasts as are majority Ukraine dialect speaking...and that Uniate, Banderite Galicia will be allowed to be swallowed whole by Poland. Meanwhile some of the Transcarpathia regions where Hungarian or Slovakian majorities persist, will be enabled to re-join their ethnic brother nations.

Posted by: aristodemos | Dec 30 2023 17:41 utc | 83

So office of the President is definitely behind the attack, perhaps by GUR or SBU with Zaluzhny/military possibly out of the loop.
Posted by: anonposter | Dec 30 2023 17:27 utc | 80

In my post above there is a link with madam complainer Zakharova saying that UK is behind the attack in Belgorod: tass.com/politics/1728303
Other attacks haven't stopped either: Ukrainian drone drops explosives on ambulance team in Donetsk (tass.com/emergencies/1728313).

Posted by: rk | Dec 30 2023 17:46 utc | 84

Don't we have the internet? […]

Posted by: anonposter | Dec 30 2023 17:41 utc | 83

____

But certainly diplomats are entitled to the occasional conversation that won’t be eavesdropped/recorded by the NSA/CIA/FBI/etc.

Posted by: malenkov | Dec 30 2023 17:46 utc | 85

Sean...@1446

LOL. "Big Mike's Boyfriend" is a classic. Looks as if someone rubbed the lamp and the mischievous Genie popped out.

Posted by: aristodemos | Dec 30 2023 17:47 utc | 86

The UN should be closed down and reconfigured after the current geopolitical (Not Quite) War is settled. If it goes one way (Israel-BIS joins the Multipolarists) Jerusalem can be the new UN HQ; otherwise, maybe Samarkand, Lhasa or New Delhi. New York's days as an international hub are numbered...

Posted by: Scorpion | Dec 30 2023 17:07 utc | 73

Jerusalem would be a good place symbolically. Uniting the major religions, etc.

It is also geographically close to the center of the world. Samarkand would be the choice if we go by the technical population mass center because of how much China skews things, but if you want to minimize travel for everyone, Jerusalem would be ideal. Definitely not NYC.

BTW, a bit off-topic, but if you take the super zoomed out grand history view of things, it is not a coincidence that this precise small piece of land has had such an outsized influence over the world. It is where the African and Eurasian landmasses join and everything goes through it. Of course, human beings not being able to take such a big-picture view, some people decided that geographic accidents in fact equate divine preferences, which has been a never ending source of trouble...

Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Dec 30 2023 17:51 utc | 87

Alek@1459

The whole notion of the Ironic Dome shooting down masses of missiles from the heroic Hamas and the highly organized Hezbollah is pure fucktardery. Even back in the U$$A assault on Iraq on behalf of their masters' Talmudist Agenda, that Ironic Dome system couldn't hit shit...shit being those Scuds sent to Occupied Palestine by the Iraqis.

Whatever you are smoking is neither green nor organic.

Posted by: aristodemos | Dec 30 2023 17:52 utc | 88

Terrorist attack on Belgorod: Russia knows what to do with terrorists

For Russia, the year ends with the terrorist attack of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Belgorod: a rocket attack was carried out on the city center — at the time of writing, it is known about fourteen dead (including two children) and more than a hundred injured (about twenty minors). And in general, the area was shelled more than 90 times during the day.

Despite the apparent senselessness of this barbarism, Kiev's motives in this case are quite rational and diverse.

First, to smooth out the loss of Marinka and the success of the Russian massive strike on the military-industrial infrastructure on the night of December 28-29, and in general, at least a little dispel the depression of Ukrainians by the end of 2023. Judging by the reaction of local publics, the latter was quite successful: it's been a long time since there was such a level of euphoria as over the Russian children killed at the New Year's skating rink.

Secondly, to provoke — well, what if you get lucky! — Moscow's response to a symmetrical or even excessive in its non-selectivity, that is, instead of targeted strikes on military targets, the transformation of Kiev and other Ukrainian cities into ruins in the image of Gaza. By the way, Israel, of course, put a big pig on the Ukrainian authorities — and the West, too - with its operation against Hamas: all Western propaganda is crumbling like a house of cards, as the world has the opportunity to compare the results of the work of the Russian Armed Forces and the IDF with its own eyes.

So, if it turned out to provoke Russia to respond to Belgorod with a cruel and indiscriminate response, it would simply be the best gift for Kiev for the New Year. And because it would provide a tool for raising the patriotic spirit of Ukrainians, which has faded a lot over the past year, which, in turn, would facilitate the process of mobilization, which in recent weeks has taken quite bizarre forms. And because it would inspire a new Western interest in the Ukrainian issue-which, you see, would push the process of allocating military aid and new financial tranches, the lack of which is beginning to critically affect the performance of basic state functions by Kiev.

Third, to strike at the spirit of Russian society. Given the excellent state of health of the Russians and the record-breaking optimistic assessments of the people of the outgoing year, according to sociologists, this is simply a vile way of doing something disgusting in its barbarism and bloodiness: we can't beat you at the front, but we can kill you and your children on street festive festivities.

But what they can't understand in Ukraine (and in the West, too): Russia has extensive experience in fighting and defeating terrorism. Our country knows exactly what needs to be done and how to do it. The fact that this time we are facing a terrorist State only adds to the nuances, but does not change the essence in any way.

You don't negotiate with terrorists — you destroy them. Or put them away for a very, very long time.

Moreover, if someone is lucky enough to escape and hide in a blind hole on the other side of the world, this does not guarantee anything. Russia pursues terrorists to the last minute of their lives. Our country has already given dozens of examples of how for decades-literally decades-it has been searching for and finding those who have the blood of its citizens on their hands. And all the others will never know peace now, realizing that at any moment Russia may come for them.

The latter is especially true for the Armed Forces of Ukraine servicemen who give and execute criminal orders to deliberately fire at civilian targets.

As for the terrorist state, of course, you can't put him in jail. This means that Russia has only one way to neutralize the threat posed by it: the state of Ukraine itself signed its own verdict.

https://smoothiex12.blogspot.com/2023/12/hey-canada.html#comment-6355372172

Posted by: rpst | Dec 30 2023 18:00 utc | 89

abel@1550

Do please bear in mind that the RU does not exhaust its inventory of advanced missilry in those assaults upon the Ukie infrastructure. The chess masters in Moscow are full well aware that there remains a possibility that the Collective Waste would chance to open up direct involvement in the war. Thus, they retain a plentiful supply just in case. Over time, the Russians have become very conservative in being capable of dealing successfully with all contingencies.

Though it has not been formally declared by any party; there is a World War going on in numerous iterations: Direct military conflict; threats; false-flag possibilities; the entirety of the economic sphere and general geopolitical considerations.

Posted by: aristodemos | Dec 30 2023 18:04 utc | 90

I don't think Putin would say no to more Axis help. In my opinion the SMO is in the early innings of WW3; later on in a year or two, Putin will go to the bullpen as the war expands.

Posted by: canuck | Dec 30 2023 16:51 utc | 68

Since the war is about breaking US hegemony, western neocolonialism, and global financial system, this is certainly true, but rather than 'as the war expands,' I would say 'as the west expands the war.' At this point the global war of economic attrition clearly favors Russia/China, there is no reason from their POV to escalate to more kinetic arenas. As useful as blooding Chinese troops and technology in Ukraine might be, it would be an invitation to an unpredictably large escalation from the west. It would also fuel the idiots who blame Putin's restraint every time a civilian gets killed in the RF, but targeting Xi, as well- 'with all China's power, the failure to win the entire SMO in 24 hrs proves that Xi is a warmonger who shares US/Israeli interests in depopulating central Europe so that it can be liebensraum for Han Chinese.'

I think the Russians and their allies are happy to grind on slowly as long as the west is willing to spend its resources in a hopeless struggle, strangling their own economies with sanctions and destabilizing their own domestic politics and international alliances. Since they are winning the game, they'll avoid changing the game if possible.

Posted by: Honzo | Dec 30 2023 18:07 utc | 91

aristodemos | Dec 30 2023 17:41 utc | 84

"some of the Transcarpathia regions where Hungarian or Slovakian majorities persist"

Now which would those be?

"Uniate, Banderite Galicia will be allowed to be swallowed whole by Poland"

Why would Poland want to swallow it, or be allowed to do so? While there are next-to-no ethnic Hungarians, Romanians or Slovaks in today's Ukraine, there are even less ethnic Poles - simply none. Galicia would only be an alien and hostile 'Fremdkörper' for Poland.

That said, I believe it will unfortunately be Russia's burden to come up with a workable plan to set lesser Ukraine straight once and for all, when the active military phase of this conflict is over.

Posted by: Scotch Bingeington | Dec 30 2023 18:08 utc | 92

Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Dec 30 2023 16:36 utc | 61

But at this point they need to be taken out. It is a crime to not have done it.

How many war crimes will it take?

Speculation:

1. Occasional attacks doing relatively little damage to infrastructure featuring casualties in the dozens not thousands serve to unite the Russian people around a popular, competent leader. They are a net plus.

2. Whilst Russia is on a war footing, the patriot-conservative types, though the most critical of him for reasons you often bring up and more, are also the most loyal to Mother Russia and by extension her much admired President who is making the nation proud for the first time in ages. Without this war footing, there would be much more resistance to the emerging, though generally under the radar, digital-surveillance society in which Russia is now a trail-blazer (digital currency, biometrics etc.).

Russia is resetting under patriotic color of War; the US is resetting under anarchic color of discordant politico-social turmoil, the remedy for which will be firm centralized (i.e. post-federal) control.

The whole world will soon be run by strong single-party states akin to the successful Chinese model. It might end up being as good as Xi makes it out to be, and as barflies resident in China here attest, but it also has all the fixin’s to turn into 1984 on steroids which the Covid period gave us a taste of and which was most likely only just an initial practice run.

Posted by: Scorpion | Dec 30 2023 18:13 utc | 93

Moreover, if someone is lucky enough to escape and hide in a blind hole on the other side of the world, this does not guarantee anything. Russia pursues terrorists to the last minute of their lives. Our country has already given dozens of examples of how for decades-literally decades-it has been searching for and finding those who have the blood of its citizens on their hands. And all the others will never know peace now, realizing that at any moment Russia may come for them.

Is this why the terrorists have been globetrotting the world for more than a year while Putin doesn't leave friendly airspace, and is this why the terrorists have visited the frontlines on numerous occasions, right within the view of Russian artillery, yet nothing ever happened to them?

If Russia pursues terrorists as described, there is quite a backlog for someone to get to work on clearing it.

Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Dec 30 2023 18:17 utc | 94

Norskie@1632

Those decision-makers in Kiev, even while raking in their "share" of incoming dollars; are looking over their shoulders, quite fearful of those looming days where massive Russian breakthroughs and a possible military coup in Kiev, would surely find them in a courtroom dock, duly charged for attacks on civilian populations rather than direct military objectives. They will take so much of their ill-gotten gains as they can and get outta Dodge lackey-split...rats deserting a sinking ship.

But will these alleged humans ever be without fear that their safety in exile will be comfortable and worry-free.? Justice, as perceived by the RU has very long arms and tends to make discrete, yet sudden actions.

Posted by: aristodemos | Dec 30 2023 18:19 utc | 95

Maybe its my perception, but Russia seems to protest alot more about the strikes on its civilians then it does about the strikes on Palestinian civilians, when in fact both are equivalent war crimes. Additionally, why doesnt Russia file charges on Ukraine like South Africa did about Israel ?

Posted by: Moonie | Dec 30 2023 18:19 utc | 96

Victor vicktop55
@vicktop55

At these moments, Russian missile forces are wiping out enemy firing points in Volchansk, Kharkov region.

It was from this area that the terrorist shelling of Belgorod took place.

Also under massive fire from our army is the Kupyansky district.

Posted by: Belgorod | Dec 30 2023 18:23 utc | 97

The Ukrainian terrorist shelling of Belgorod is a wake-up call to the Russian Authority that it is not over until it is over. Both the US and the UK should get some physical scars sooner than later to taste some consequence. This kind of thing will continue until it becomes obvious that there is a price to pay for encouraging and assisting terrorism against a super power nation.

Posted by: Steve | Dec 30 2023 18:23 utc | 98

Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Dec 30 2023 14:47 utc | 24

You've been reading too many 'Superman' comics. Real life is kind of different. Kindly wake up.

Posted by: Jams O'Donnell | Dec 30 2023 18:25 utc | 99

Scotch@1808

Though the Ukies have actively been drafting ethnic Hungarians and Slovaks in Transcarpathia as a form of ethnic-cleansing, some of the districts within those Oblasts do retain numbers of those ethnicities.

As for Galicia, sure, the Banderites "cleansed" tens of thousands of Poles, so that, as you point out, there are none such remaining in that tortured land. But the Poles do retain a revanchist attitude towards the Banderites and may well love to get their hands on them...even if they happen to be the grandsons of the original WWII and postwar perps.

Galicia is a rogue culture...a pus filled running-sore. Polish migration into that Oblast, along with a major re-eduction campaign for the unindicted residents, might be in their planning.

Ethnic cleansing can be a double-edged sword...whether or not we personally approve.

Posted by: aristodemos | Dec 30 2023 18:28 utc | 100

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