Moon of Alabama Brecht quote
January 24, 2024
Ukraine Open Thread 2024-027

Only for news & views directly related to the war in Ukraine.

The current open thread for other issues is here.

Please stick to the topic. Contribute facts. Do not attack other commentators.

Comments

A Russian plane with ukie POWs downed.
Many barflies: “why would ukies do that.??”
A: They didn’t.
Remember. A good Russian is a dead Russian. 4 Russian military were taken out, plus aircrew. And plane. A good day.
Ukrainians have no other value other than to kill or destroy Russians.
Ukrainian POWs are beyond worthless [except, of course to their kin]
POWs have either surrendered, and are thus cowards or collaborators.
Or, they’ve been captured. Proving they are stupider than the stupidest Russian.
Which is, as we in the west are assured, fantastically, incredibly stupid.
No one, no one at all [beyond kin] cares anything for a planeload of retuning Ukie POWs.
The core AFU probably didn’t down the plane.
Who did?
My bingo card:
The Brits (rated above 80%)
U$ CIA // Team Nuland
The French (revenge)
The Poles
Any combination of the above.
Endorse:
Posted by: whirlX | Jan 24 2024 23:54 utc | 87

Everything lately initiated attacks on Russia are definitely designed, planned and implemented by the UK. They also pressed the button. I think that Ukrainians are making coffee or a tea for NATO “instructors”.
It is an open war participation to which RF should not react. Yes, not normal, but RF should just mill through.
UK will try to provoke even more. I do not accuse RF to this incident as a stupid mistake, however this route and a practice to deliver PoW exactly this way is already a routine

<;blockquote>

Posted by: Melaleuca | Jan 25 2024 2:27 utc | 101

Shadowbanned 72: Retaliation is a human need, but not a wise behavior by states. What would Russia achieve if it shot down one or two AWACS over neutral territory or sank a cargo ship with weapons for Ukraine? But nothing at all. Now they are accumulating the aggressions of USA and NATO against them, and when it has become too much, then they strike – and Putin will list everything to the Russian people, but by that time US bases will already be burning all over the world and Europe has no Internet anymore to watch…
Posted by: Oliver Krug | Jan 24 2024 22:37 utc | 74

You have to retaliate in order to reestablish deterrence.
If you don’t do that, the other side will escalate further. And further. And further. And then we all die.

Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Jan 25 2024 2:53 utc | 102

@Posted by: Biswapriya Purkayast | Jan 25 2024 1:12 utc | 97
In the east and south, there are most probably majorities in favour of Russia. In addition, many who are against Russia will flee westwards and northwards making these areas even more pro-Russian. Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Kharkov, Dnipropetrovsk, Odessa, Mykolaiv, Sumy and Chernihiv. The arrival of the functioning Russian state with pensions and other benefits paid on time (and at much higher Russian levels), a stable Ruble, and rebuilding and humanitarian efforts will reinforce that. Poltava would also be a logical choice, given that is east of the Dnipro, its population will be well below a million given emigration, people fleeing westwards and war deaths.
I wouldn’t put it past the Hungarians and Poles to swallow Volynska, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Akarpatska, Rivne, Chernivtsi and Ternopil. The Russians should let the Poles swallow the Banderite homeland and deal with the nationalists. The new “Polish” areas will be overflowing with nationalists who hate Poland as much as they hate Russia, with many having fled from the areas controlled by Russia . These are also the poorest most mountainous regions of Ukraine (excepting Lviv). The ethnic Hungarians will welcome becoming part of Hungary.
The remaining will be the areas that Russia should occupy but are heavily ethnic Ukrainian; Kirovohrad, Cherkasy, Kyiv, Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, and Khmelnytskyi. Kyiv is the most populace, probably still 2-3 million people there after migration, westward fleeing and war deaths. The rest will probably have a population combined of 2-3 million. These populations will be heavily skewed old (who may like their new ruble pensions) and female with relatively small populations of young men. After the utter chaos of the war, these populations may also just be happy with peace and a government that is not sending them to their deaths in ever larger numbers, while not paying their pensions (including war pensions) and destroying the value of their savings.
With such a small population in the Russian areas, there is a great opportunity for highly-vetted resettlement from other nations. With the functioning Russian state, which includes significantly less corruption than Ukraine has, rebuilding and resettlement the areas could relatively quickly become closer to Russian GDP per capita (twice that of pre-war Ukraine). In addition, with extensive changes to school curricula, media programming etc., the 8 years of Banderist propaganda could be overcome. Compared to this, the “Polish” area could look like a shit show.
A map of the Oblasts: https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/map/ukraine-administrative-map.htm
An ethnic/language map of Ukraine: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ethnolingusitic_map_of_ukraine.png

Posted by: Roger | Jan 25 2024 2:55 utc | 103

Perhaps they should deliver the Ukrainian POWs to Poland through Belarus.

Posted by: MiniMO | Jan 25 2024 3:03 utc | 104

I have been commenting here for over a decade and its the thread hoggers that are a problem for me and others. They need to be called out for their volume excess(number of comments to thread and word count in relation to others….maybe just top 10 in relation to total).
Posted by: psychohistorian | Jan 24 2024 23:34 utc | 84
Thank You
I could not agree more heartily.
Sadly they have been called out… over and over. They are as bold as brass and come right out and tell you to stuff it.
I wish I could figure out how to use this tool provided by aletsan.
For now, I will continue to look for the few that have input of value in the sidebar.

Posted by: ld | Jan 25 2024 3:17 utc | 105

An ethnic/language map of Ukraine: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ethnolingusitic_map_of_ukraine.png
Posted by: Roger | Jan 25 2024 2:55 utc | 103

Note that that map is propaganda BS.
Nobody spoke Ukrainian in Kiev at all until very recently, and it is still mostly Russian speaking.
Even in Western Ukraine most of the major cities were predominantly Russian speaking pre-Maidan, except perhaps Lvov.

Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Jan 25 2024 3:43 utc | 106

And then we all die.
Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Jan 25 2024 2:53 utc | 102
Oh noes not that, anything but that, perish the thought. Slippery slope much? Brave Sir Shadowbanned you still don’t understand deterrence theory. But I don’t have the time right now to educate you or your sockpuppet Micron. Not that you’d listen. Still, there is good news to report.
Even now the Ukrainian lines are becoming undone. Avdiivka may indeed fall before your timetable of March 31, and with it will come a big push from the Russians to wrap things up by the fall. Western aid has dried up, Ukraine is running out of manpower. Russian industrial capacity has kicked up.
See the forest Brave Sir Shadowbanned, not the trees.

Posted by: James M. | Jan 25 2024 3:47 utc | 107

@Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Jan 25 2024 3:43 utc | 106
It is amazing how fast a well funded dedicated group can brainwash a population through school curricula, media etc. Its that now 10 years of Bandera programming that needs to be undone. Most of the Ukrainian leadership seem to prefer to speak Russian! Hopefully, the brainwashing can be undone within a decade. The current regime is now helping turn the population against itself.

Posted by: Roger | Jan 25 2024 3:54 utc | 109

The right hand doesnt what the left is doing…
This was tbe case with the POW plane. Only, to US satilite surveylence, it wasnt a POW plane. It was a military cargo plane flying close enough to the kiev regimes launchers to warrant a warning signal to the operators of an impending target “on its way towards you”.
POW swaps, being secretive, the US satilite surveillance ops had no idea of this arrangement. Why would they? And kiev regime launch ops wouldnt either.
So, the US satilite people sent their coded message to kiev launchers. The launch ops set their coordinates for the upcoming “cargo or troop plane”, pressed the green button and off went the missile.
Boom! 65 POWS dead and several flight crew and guards.

Posted by: HERMIUS | Jan 25 2024 4:19 utc | 110

From Telegram:
In the Donetsk direction along the entire line over the past 24 hours, there were no special changes, except for the “Tsar’s Hunt” in Avdeevka .
There are continuous and very intense battles here.
The enemy is trying to squeeze and squeeze out the assault groups of the Russian Armed Forces.
Ours bites with their teeth.
There are constant attempts on both sides to transfer reserves to the “Tsar’s Hunt”.
The Russian Armed Forces not only occupied the site, but also dispersed along several streets, making a good push.
Aviation was active in all directions all day long.

Posted by: MiniMO | Jan 25 2024 4:28 utc | 111

REPO. The main paragraphs from Reuters.

https://www.reuters.com/world/us-senate-panel-steps-toward-seizing-russian-assets-help-ukraine-2024-01-24/
“The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 20 to 1 in favor of the unprecedented “Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity (REPO) for Ukrainians Act.”
If it were to pass the full Senate and House of Representatives and be signed into law by President Joe Biden, as expected, the act would pave the way for Washington’s first-ever seizure of central bank assets from a country with which it is not at war.”
“The EU, United States, Japan and Canada froze some $300 billion of Russian central bank assets in 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine. Only about $5 billion to $6 billion are in the United States, with most held in Europe, and most of those in Belgium’s Euroclear central securities depositary.”
“The bill’s backers acknowledged the groundbreaking nature of the legislation, but noted the seriousness of what Russia has done.
This is intended to be a big hammer. It’s intended to be a very new way of attacking a country that does not behave itself,” Republican Senator Jim Risch said before the vote.”
“Senior European Union officials said on Tuesday that the bloc was unlikely to confiscate Russian central bank assets frozen in Europe, despite G7 plans to discuss the legality of such a move at a meeting in February.
European officials are concerned not only with the legality of such an unprecedented confiscation, but also with the potential consequences for the euro currency. Investors might pull out of euro assets out of concern their money might one day be seized too.”

In another article at Reuters, Ohio has passed laws to prevent genderbending surgery and like stuff on minors plus banning homosexuals from competing in womens sports events. Some time ago, Ohio passed a law banning drag shows for children. That was over ridden by a federal court.
US is very much an asylum for the criminally insane masquerading as a country. With the child grooming, some of the videos that have come out of the US – one a primary school teacher bragging on social media about convincing nearly half the children in her class that they wanted to be the opposite sex. Some drag shows for children that belonged in a sleazy homosexual bar…
That shit will be forced onto all vassals though there are enough brainwashed woke in most vassals that they will voluntarily follow the US anyway.
No country can survive that sort of destruction of the family. No line drawn between tolerance and Epstein style everything goes.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jan 25 2024 4:36 utc | 112

@74 @102
Speaking of retaliation and revenge, perhaps the best way for Ukraine to get this from the West is to surrender just after the Russuan Presidential election and before the 2024 European elections and the USA elections.
Then they can kickback now that the fightings over, and get some popcorn and watch the election returns for the next 6 months.
Would be very interesting to see what happens.

Posted by: Jerr008 | Jan 25 2024 4:40 utc | 113

Video showing some of the missile damage to the the downed Russian plane.
https://twitter.com/vicktop55/status/1750181977867669919

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jan 25 2024 4:49 utc | 114

Down South @ 28:
Andrew Korybko puts forward the suggestion that the Zelensky government may use the IL-76 shootdown as an excuse to get rid of Valery Zaluzhny as head of the Ukrainian armed forces and replace him with Kyrylo Budanov.
The IL-76 Shootdown By A US Patriot Missile Could Lead To Zaluzhny’s Replacement With Budanov
Whether the shootdown was deliberate or accidental, we should not be surprised if Zelensky takes advantage of it to sack Zaluzhny and maybe a few other senior people in the AFU, and replace them with people more to his liking.

Posted by: Refinnejenna | Jan 25 2024 5:06 utc | 115

Hmmm. An Atlantic Council mouthpiece is stepping up to give interviews.
Hmm. Things must really be crook in
Tallarook, as my ole dad used say.
Seems they’ve seamlessly changed narrative, and the Russians are no longer “running out of ammunition” or “reduced to fighting with shovels”.
Russia now, we are told in somber tones, vastly outnumbers Ukraine.
(But only because of help from {exaggerated shudder}, Iran and {eyeroll emoji} North Korea.
Atlantic Council mouthpiece: {shock face} many of Russia’s missiles (for Kiev and Kharkov) made it through Ukrainian AD.
[He seems seriously thinking that this failure is new any unusual. ]
He says “it’s a turning point” because western support is softening… and Ukrainians know this, (they can read! [western media])
>it’s all Trump’s fault because MAGAts believe money to Ukraine is money for corrupt oligarchs.
“That’s very negative”… he doesn’t say it’s untrue, lol.
>… Australia ~ has been “quite generous” ….and here comes the but… [chiding tone and smirky smile] But. Ukraine is still waiting…. Waiting for retired fighter jets and combat vehicles and….. here’s a new one…. Coal.
That’s right.
Ukraine, once the owner of the Donbass and its enviable coal resources, now wants Australia to ship coal (free) to Ukraine.
>… Lloyd Austin has respawned from being Kinzalled in the keister in Kiev, and was in Brussels selling the old trope that a sovereign and secure Ukraine is critical for global security.
Mouthpiece: “Austin also said that there’s no credible evidence that the aid that the West is sending to Ukraine is is going the wrong way, so that’s really important … [ok.I’m convinced.]
Mouth:
I think you’re going to probably see a change in approach and narrative from the Zelensky administration henceforth, probably more focused on getting aid from Europe and on Baltic states as well.”
[time to pay up, yapping chihuahuas]
ABC dolly: “yeah that seems like a sensible pivot as the US sort of is, you know, tying up all the all…”
>… ABC mannequin: “you recently visited a cemetery…”
AC mouthpiece recites a mournful tale of the sheer numbers in Ukrainian cemeteries, so much, the cemeteries are full and need expanding…
~~ [ whoa, hol up…. Isn’t overflowing Ukrainian cemeteries Russia propaganda??? Is the AC mouthpiece guilty of misinformation and Putin puppetry??]
And whoa.. is this *more* Russian style lies and fabrication?…
“{the size of the cemeteries} … vividly shows the price that
Ukraine is paying in terms of bloodshed, in terms of deaths for this war.
A lot of Ukrainians are feeling that they’re acting as a buffer between Russia and the west, and that they’re paying a heavy heavy price.
You hear from relatives resolved that, yes, we’re going to see this through to the end, but it’s just so sad seeing young kids there at the gravesite
of their fathers asking where they are … [tears up {are method acting skills coached at the AC forums??}… crocodile tears indeed}] …
“it’s tough to talk about”.
§§~ And now, 6min30secs in, we get some real meat, and probably the reason an Atlantic Council POS was doing the interview:
1/ NATO needs to provide more long range weaponry for Ukraine to strike legitimate military targets in in the Black Sea and Eastern parts of Russia, sorry *western parts of Russia*, closer to Ukraine, because, without that, Russia is going to continue sending deadly missiles this way …
2/ … the other thing that needs to happen *from Europe* is for them to grow the spine to unlock a lot of the frozen Russian assets.
We’re talking hundreds of billions of dollars that could go to the war effort [pockets of them that wagered on this and look like losing serious coin]
AC POS continues:
“okay, if there’s weakness in legislatures among electorate of giving money to Ukraine, they can look at even getting interest off of that money. For example, Belgium was looking at that and giving it to Ukraine so that needs to happen right away because some analysts are now saying, if that money doesn’t come through within two years, Ukraine will be fully occupied by Russia ….they will not stop here they will go further [blah blah bleating blah]
ABC inflatable: “yeah it’s a waiting game for (shudders) Putin. ….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEd46dF3Jx4

Posted by: Melaleuca | Jan 25 2024 5:11 utc | 116

Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Jan 25 2024 3:43 utc | 106
>Nobody spoke Ukrainian in Kiev at all until very recently, and it is still mostly Russian speaking.
That’s not true. Life long natives of Kyiv city and especially university graduates were Russian speaking until recently but Kyiv Oblast has always been firmly Ukrainian speaking. So for example, all the sellers at the farmers markets in Kyiv selling fresh fruit, eggs, sausages, etc were always Ukrainian speaking. This didn’t matter because everyone in Kyiv understands both Ukrainian and Russian perfectly, so the educated city dweller would speak Russian and the less educated country dweller or recent immigrant to Kyiv would reply in Ukrainian and no misunderstanding.
After Feb 2022, everyone in Kyiv switched to speaking Ukrainian, which is not that difficult for those who’ve been understanding it passively all their lives. It’s like switching from Italian to Spanish for someone who already understands Spanish passively.

Posted by: anonposter | Jan 25 2024 5:15 utc | 117

anonposter | Jan 25 2024 5:15 utc | 117
Which dialect is “Ukrainian”. Galician dialect that was made the national language is known by few outside Galicia. Actual Ukraine, from what I can see the dialects are quite close to Russian. Some of these dialects may go back to the Rus tribes prior to Kievan Rus, but there have been different parts throughout their histories since the fall of Kievan Rus that influence the dialects.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jan 25 2024 5:44 utc | 118

The interesting thing about the so called Ukraine language is that when it is translated through a Russian to English translator, it comes through as pigeon English.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jan 25 2024 5:48 utc | 119

NATO under the control of the neo cons and their fascist allies are attempting on a much scale larger of course a Serbia style 1995 to 1999 destruction of Russia. The NATO fascists deliberately destroyed the Serb Republic of Krajina in order to deprive Serbian of an Adriatic seaport, then attacked the Bosnian Serb Republic, and finally severed Kosovo, the Serbian religious touchstone from Serbia itself.
They really want to impose on Russia an anti Christian caliphate, so vast Russian natural resources in coal and oil and natural gas and uranium can be used for the benefit of the WEC controlled corporate fascists in Brussels and DC.
As Russia rebuilds hundreds of Orthodox Churches and generously assisted in completing the construction of St. Sava Cathedral in Belgrade, the Uke fascist atheists are actually destroy churches and monasteries and arresting Orthodox priests and nuns. That tells you all you need to know about the atheist cabal in Kieve led by Volo and his evil henchmen. Go Russia Go….

Posted by: Tobias Cole | Jan 25 2024 5:57 utc | 120

“the atheist cabal“
They are not atheist. They are clearly catholic, as proven by their newfound religious dates and holidays.

Posted by: Justpassinby | Jan 25 2024 6:27 utc | 121

Posted by: anonposter | Jan 25 2024 5:15 utc | 117
I have had the pleasure to know a few Ukrainians. Some from Kiev and Dniepropetrovsk. One from Ivano-Frankivsk, too. All of them spoke both Russian and Ukrainian and Surzhik, which I think it’s more like the blend of Spanish and Portuguese – Portanol – which I sort of speak.
Here’s an article about Surzhik. I tried to find the least controversial source.
Surzhik
The language aspect of the disaster that the West (thanks Vickey Nudelman!) brought onto Ukraine is really sad.
But not as sad as the huge loss of life. So depressing. Ukraine isn’t going to come back. Perhaps it’s going to be the next Palestine for them, or Alex Soros will get the contract and just dump chemical waste there…
God must have made Ukraine as a place for bad things to happen.
Here’s some cool Ukrainian stuff. A song by hero, Nestor Makhno.
Why Didn’t It Work?

Posted by: lex talionis | Jan 25 2024 6:33 utc | 122

Posted by: Refinnejenna | Jan 25 2024 5:06 utc | 115
I think Andrew has it wrong. Insider Ukrainian TG shows MI 6 calling the shots in Zelensky’s government. There is a internal war between the British (MI6) and the US (CIA etc.) US wants to freeze the conflict and the UK wants to escalate the conflict. Election year in the US and Team Biden cannot afford another Afghanistan.
When Zelensky went to Washington he was told by Sullivan that under no circumstances can he remove Zaluzhny. The US is trying to freeze the conflict whilst Zelensky has stated they will fight to the end. Budanov is in the same camp as Zelensky.
The US finds Zaluzhny more amenable to their wishes. 31/03/2024 (end of Zelensky’s term) is going to feel like a long way away for the US.

Posted by: Down South | Jan 25 2024 6:35 utc | 123

Posted by: Refinnejenna | Jan 25 2024 5:06 utc | 115
Posted by: Down South | Jan 25 2024 6:35 utc | 123
Right you are. I read somewhere that Budanov is crazy enough to blow up the Zaphorizhia nuclear power plant and is much more pliable to the West. Sorry that I can’t come up with the source.
I think that Zaluzhny is more popular with normal Ukrainians who just want the war to end, hence his ouster.

Posted by: lex talionis | Jan 25 2024 6:47 utc | 124

Posted by: wagelaborer | Jan 24 2024 21:12 utc | 54
A possible answer to your question. On Slavyangrad telegram channel, reported on 26/12/2022 that a US Special Forces guy Jack Murphy had reported that the C8A were organising attacks internally within Russia, citing “former US intelligence and military officials” on his website.
I had read other reference to CIA training insurgents, but I cannot recall where. Hope it’s of some use.

Posted by: Jon_in_AU | Jan 25 2024 6:47 utc | 125

@ shаdοwbanned | Jan 25 2024 2:53 utc | 102
„You have to retaliate in order to reestablish deterrence.
If you don’t do that, the other side will escalate further. And further. And further. And then we all die.“
We see how well that principle works in Gaza.

Posted by: El.Lissitzky | Jan 25 2024 7:14 utc | 126

‘The Capitalists will sell us the rope with which we will hang them.’

U.S. Issues $15 Million Bounty Targeting Alleged Iran Drone Middleman

A newly announced reward is aimed at disrupting the network of an Iranian businessman who has helped source technology for military drones

The U.S. said it would pay up to $15 million for tips on Hossein Hatefi Ardakani, an Iranian businessman who is alleged to have helped acquire technology for attack drones sold to Russia.
The move to put out a bounty for information on an alleged export-control violation comes after the U.S. sanctioned and charged Ardakani, chair of an electronics company, over his alleged work sourcing dual-use technology for drone production by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The Treasury Department, which imposed sanctions on Ardakani and related companies in December, said he runs a transnational procurement network that has obtained hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of servomotors, inertial navigation equipment and other technology that can be used in drones. Components of U.S. origin procured by Ardakani’s network have been recovered in the wreckage of Iranian drones in Ukraine and elsewhere, the State Department said.

The U.S. doesn’t appear to have previously issued a bounty targeting someone over alleged export-control violations, said Christine Savage, a former Commerce Department adviser who now leads the sanctions and export-control practice at the law firm King & Spalding.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-issues-15-million-bounty-targeting-alleged-iran-drone-middleman-6bde3bf9

Posted by: too scents | Jan 25 2024 7:38 utc | 127

I see that the amerikan media has churned out more dire calls about the precarious state of the ukies. This time it is business insider with an article entitled Ukraine looks to be losing the ‘battle for ammunition,’ and its forces are being massively outshot by the Russians”.
I guess the primary motive is an attempt to put pressure on all those recalcitrant rethugs holding up the flow of $$$’s into the mic, however given the reality that it wouldn’t matter how many billions congress handed out, piss poor munitions management means there is no way to increase artillery ammo for the ukies this year, no matter how much congress throws around, the article instead makes a very comforting read for anyone concerned about the empire’s hegemony.
The only real prob is that since by the time the nato crooks get sufficient ammo the blue between nazis and the RF will be long over, it also means amerika’s ‘movers and shakers’ are gonna be desperate as they hunt for an alternative blue that is artillery intensive (typical hammer lookin for nails stuff).
Otherwise the cronies persuaded to waste good shareholder profits on actually producing something are gonna be moaning like a short-changed sex worker & we can’t have that in case some club member loses his gig in the house a reps or senate.

Posted by: Debsisdead | Jan 25 2024 8:18 utc | 128

I can’t find that statement now. Does anyone at the bar remember it?
Posted by: wagelaborer | Jan 24 2024 21:12 utc | 54
I do. It was a general. He claimed that OUN/UPA fought Stalin and I remembered a story about a 2 year old girl being impaled live on a wooden fence. Strange way to fight Stalin.

Posted by: RB | Jan 25 2024 9:14 utc | 129

A strong brutal kinetic response of the kind that will make sure nobody ever dares do that again is needed.
Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Jan 24 2024 21:22 utc | 58
Israel strategy is along those lines. Not working well anymore. Will see, but the world opinion is clear. Are you a Russian Zionist ?

Posted by: RB | Jan 25 2024 9:21 utc | 130

When Ukraine had the choice of getting 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war back, or depriving Russia of a $27 million airplane and pilots, Ukraine downed the airplane. This means the average Ukrainian soldier is worth less than $415,000.

Posted by: Passerby | Jan 25 2024 9:34 utc | 131

Do Ukie POW’s have a choice about getting exchanged?
If I was was a Ukrop prisoner of war I would try to sit the conflict out in Russia, why get exchanged and then be forced to fight again at risk of life and limb- only for the most ideologically committed
It would be in Russia’s interest to treat the prisoners well and to be seen to be doing so. This would encourage more surrenders

Posted by: Aslangeo | Jan 25 2024 9:43 utc | 132

Posted by: AJ | Jan 24 2024 22:50 utc | 76
Posted by: Oliver Krug | Jan 24 2024 22:56 utc | 77
Well, Petain was tried and convicted for treason, originally to death.

Posted by: RB | Jan 25 2024 9:51 utc | 133

Posted by: HERMIUS | Jan 25 2024 4:19 utc | 110
Think a little bit more.
This flights are publicly advertised, it has been done in the past, exactly with the same planes for the same reason.
Ukraine did it on pourpouse.

Posted by: Mario | Jan 25 2024 10:02 utc | 134

Dima said there was supposed to be a vote of the full mobilization law in Ukraine today, but it was cancelled due to the shoot down of POWs.
RUAF also bypbassed AFU defensive line in south Avdeevka through an underground pipe. Not only they managed to encircle the strong defense line to the south, but they managed to systematically ambush and destroy reinforcements sent from the northern part of Avdeevka as AFU didn’t know for 24 hours they were there.

Posted by: unimperator | Jan 25 2024 10:11 utc | 135

Which dialect is “Ukrainian”. Galician dialect that was made the national language is known by few outside Galicia. Actual Ukraine, from what I can see the dialects are quite close to Russian. Some of these dialects may go back to the Rus tribes prior to Kievan Rus, but there have been different parts throughout their histories since the fall of Kievan Rus that influence the dialects.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jan 25 2024 5:44 utc | 118
Surzhyk is a Ukrainian–Russian pidgin used in certain regions of Ukraine. Apparently 30% of Ukrainians spoke this dialect. There is no unique definition.

Posted by: RB | Jan 25 2024 10:51 utc | 136

I posted a couple of comments in the wrong Ukraine thread earlier not realizing it was an older thread.
……..
If Escobar is correct then US/UK or perhaps France or Germany is using a new SAM missile in Ukraine.
https://twitter.com/RealPepeEscobar/status/1750236415688839640
“The sources also said Kiev used a new type of missile they didn’t have before – with a 100km+ range.”
…….
Russian build up for war. 300,000 mobilized. 450,000 volunteers. Plus the new force to face Finland Sweden. Addition of one million on top of pre SMO 1.2 million combat forces.
Many analysts thinking the Brit Euro war talk is all noise for the masses, but like the vaunted offensive towards Crimea, Russia is taking it seriously.
The Euro twits wont know what hit them if they are stupid enough to launch their ‘diverse’ tranny forces against Russia.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jan 25 2024 10:58 utc | 137

RB | Jan 25 2024 10:51 utc | 136
A year or so back I saw a map of dialects in Ukraine. It could be something that would take a linguist to differentiate, though with Ukraine’s fictional history, that would also have been garbage.
With various little states coming and going since Kievan Rus times, the roots of older dialects likely still there.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jan 25 2024 11:03 utc | 138

Posted by: Justpassinby | Jan 25 2024 6:27 utc | 121
Catholic priests have always been atheists since the council of Nicae in 325, when Emperor Constantine invented a chimeric syncretic mandatory credo for all and included all pagan priests in officialdom under pain of death – starting with killings made under his own sight amongst dissenting council rank members.
The true believing priest always was an unbelievable curiosity, bishops and cardinals used to be touring for fun – like “Padre Pio”…

Posted by: Greg Galloway | Jan 25 2024 11:12 utc | 139

Barflies shouldn’t worry themselves about the Russophobia in the Ukraine. Continuous brainwashing softens the mind and leaves it impressible and malleable like an old pair of bluejeans. Such people can completely invert their beliefs at the drop of a hat without the slightest discomfort from cognitive dissonance. Their opinions can pivot on a dime. The jumping and raving Russophobe screeching insanely about knifing moskals can transform into a fanatic and fawning Russophile overnight.
There will of course still be Nazi terrorists lurking in dark corners of whatever becomes of Ukrainian society, but the common Ukrainians will not pose a problem for Russia.

Posted by: William Gruff | Jan 25 2024 11:16 utc | 140

@shаdοwbanned | Jan 24 2024 17:31

… Soul examination works best when bodies are disintegrating in a ball of plasma.

Another worthless fart from exposed antirussian PEST.

Posted by: LongCovid | Jan 25 2024 11:19 utc | 141

— GEROMAN — time will tell – 👀 —
@GeromanAT
another Caviar to that story:
(always look at the details)
Russians insisted on an international investigation – and – surprise – also Zelensky – BUT the FRENCH blocked it at the UN – so we can assume that the AD crews there are run by French mercenaries…
(which also explains why RF was taking out a shit ton of them lately in a hotel in Kiev – and little Napoleon Macron was out for revenge)
………..

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jan 25 2024 11:22 utc | 142

The Russian Armed Forces are advancing on Avdeevka from three sides and pushing the Ukrainian army out of fortified positions.
Moreover, as reported from the spot, Russian forces carried out a deceptive maneuver and broke through the defenses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, taking the Tsarskaya Okhota recreation center (and this position was considered key for the defense of the Ukrainian troops; it had been held since 2014). After this, the Russian Armed Forces advanced along three streets in the southeast of Avdiivka, simultaneously capturing a large number of Ukrainian military personnel. Now the Russian Armed Forces have already reached Sobornaya Street, most of Sportivnaya Street is under control, and Russian forces are also actively entering the city from the south.
As we see, Avdiivka continues to “crumble” – the defense of the city of the Armed Forces of Ukraine can fall at any moment, and there is no time to retreat to new lines. And although Zelensky and Co. had time to prevent the Russian Armed Forces from tightening this “noose,” the Ukrainian authorities followed exactly Bakhmut’s scenario, burning reserves.
As a result, the best, experienced and experienced Ukrainian fighters again died in the battles, each of whom is worth several freshly mobilized civilians who have neither military training, nor motivation, nor even the slightest idea of ​​​​combat operations.

https://t.me/rezident_ua/21333

Posted by: Down South | Jan 25 2024 11:51 utc | 143

143.. if as a result there was no more shelling on Donetsk.. what a moral booster that would be. Might even persuade resistance in Ukraine to rise up and turn against the Z.

Posted by: Jo | Jan 25 2024 12:06 utc | 144

The Ukrainian Armed Forces shot down an Il-76 from the Patriot complex, French media reported, 01.25.2024
Franceinfo: The Ukrainian Armed Forces could shoot down an Il-76 in the Belgorod region from the Patriot air defense system.
PARIS, January 25 – RIA Novosti. The Ukrainian Armed Forces could shoot down a Russian Il-76 military transport plane with Ukrainian prisoners of war from the American Patriot air defense system, Franceinfo radio station reports , citing a French military source.
“The Il-76 aircraft was hit by an American-made Patriot air defense system at the disposal of the Ukrainian army,” the report says.
France Info is one of the largest radio networks in France. It is part of the national public television France Télévisions.

Posted by: Talven | Jan 25 2024 12:17 utc | 145

Posted by: RB | Jan 25 2024 9:51 utc | 133
The justice of the victors is not entirely unproblematic. In Nuremberg there were no gallows for Churchill because of Dresden, Stalin because of Katyn and Truman because of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Posted by: Oliver Krug | Jan 25 2024 12:25 utc | 146

Posted by: RB | Jan 25 2024 10:51 utc | 136
>Surzhyk is a Ukrainian–Russian pidgin used in certain regions of Ukraine. Apparently 30% of Ukrainians spoke this dialect. There is no unique definition.
Surzhyk isn’t pidgin, which means grammatically simplified. It’s fully grammatical Ukrainian with some percent of Ukrainian words replaced by words borrowed from Russian. It’s how native Ukrainian speakers sound when they try to speak Russian without having formally studied and practiced Russian, and it eventually became the language of most of central Ukraine. Ukrainian nationalists have been trying to remove all these Russian borrowings from Ukrainian used in official documents.

Posted by: anonposter | Jan 25 2024 12:34 utc | 147

I should add that Ukrainian and Russian grammar are extremely similar, and the sound shifts are minor, so when you replace enough Ukrainian words with Russian borrowings, the result would sound like strangely pronounced Russian. Same as replacing 30% of words in Italian with borrowings from Spanish gets you something that sounds like strangely pronounced Spanish. Surzhyk does not replace this many Ukrainian words with Russian, so is not easy for Russians to understand without some study and practice.

Posted by: anonposter | Jan 25 2024 12:43 utc | 148

…aaaand Strelkov has been sentenced to four years in prison.
what does that tell us about the internal situation in Russia?
Especially combined with the fact that none of the pro-Western, anti-Russian oligarchs and liberal elites are in jail, even though many of them carried open and not all insignificant activities aiding the enemy?

Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Jan 25 2024 13:05 utc | 149

Franceinfo: The Ukrainian Armed Forces could shoot down an Il-76 in the Belgorod region from the Patriot air defense system.
@Talven | Jan 25 2024 12:17 utc | 145
It’s good to know what shot it down but that isn’t useful. Ukros don’t have control over weapons and their targets. To me, the suspect is the Macaron, after Russia fried his chickens in Ukr and also because France blocked the UN meeting yesterday.
But anyone could do it for various reasons, from monkey Sunaki to various factions that control Ukr, up to drug induced error, so in the end it really doesn’t matter, too many suspects. Someone shot down a plane inside Russia and will do it again if any plane gets in range, that’s the only thing to remember. Why were the prisoners delivered by two planes is another good question. Ukros can’t walk with ball and chain? And who were the two or three additional passengers mentioned.

Posted by: rk | Jan 25 2024 13:16 utc | 150

…hopefully Russ. can present any documenation to prove was an agreed exchange.. lost of returnees DNA of each that they verified and for relatives to confirm .names of relative so that ukr pays compensation …etc etc.. USA missiles.. launch sites manned by whom eg Nato ..chain of command…

Posted by: Jo | Jan 25 2024 13:42 utc | 151

Strelkov sentenced to 4 years in prison
vid:
https://twitter.com/_/status/1750475609589809461
He was found guilty under the article “Calls to carry out extremist activities”.
(shаdοwbunny now on suicidewatch)

Posted by: Boy Moonline | Jan 25 2024 13:48 utc | 152

I have been commenting here for over a decade and its the thread hoggers that are a problem for me and others. They need to be called out for their volume excess(number of comments to thread and word count in relation to others….maybe just top 10 in relation to total).
Posted by: psychohistorian | Jan 24 2024 23:34 utc | 84
Thank You
I could not agree more heartily.
Sadly they have been called out… over and over. They are as bold as brass and come right out and tell you to stuff it.
I wish I could figure out how to use this tool provided by aletsan.
For now, I will continue to look for the few that have input of value in the sidebar.
Posted by: ld | Jan 25 2024 3:17 utc | 105
Bitch , bitch, bitch like a couple of middle aged housewives despairing over their lost youth.
I have a solution for you guys: if you don’t like the poster then simply don’t read his or her post.
Anyways, its not your call its b’s; if you are so adamant then set up your own blog where you can echo chamber each other to your heart’s content.

Posted by: canuck | Jan 25 2024 13:48 utc | 153

The Ukrainian Armed Forces shot down an Il-76 from the Patriot complex, French media reported, 01.25.2024
Posted by: Talven | Jan 25 2024 12:17 utc | 145

Well yeah, it’s the next step of boiling the frog.
You first accept NATO sinking your flagship and do nothing
Then you accept NATO ISR directing Ukrainian artillery and do nothin.
Then the HIMARS comes and starts slaughtering your troops. And you don’t do anything.
Then the HIMARS starts slaughtering civilians in the LPR and DPR. You don’t do anything in response once again.
NATO attacks your strategic bomber bases with drones. You pretend it didn’t happen.
So then of course you get a massive package of tanks, SPGs, IFVs, etc., which sets you back by year. And you don’t do anything again.
Then you get ALCM strikes on the DPR and LPR. And you don’t do anything.
Then of course the ALCM strikes move to Crimea. You again don’t do anything. But this time after having publicly threatened very specifically that you will respond.
Then TBMs come and destroy 10% of your helicopter fleet. You again behave as if nothing happened.
Then you get your Su-34 planes shot down by a Patriot from a large distance. You don’t do anything.
Then you get MLRS strikes (carried with Western weapons) on your pre-war territory. You whine about it at the UN, you get laughed at, there is no meaningful action taken.
Then you get a Patriot attack on your AWACS planes. Next level escalation. You once again take it on the chin.
Well, the next step is planes being shot down over Russia itself. And of course it came.
And if you again don’t do anything, the next step in the escalation ladder will come.
We can only guess, but logically cruise missiles will be flying at Russian military bases and factories in European Russian soon.
And if there is no annihilation of those responsible for it, you can just stop wasting your time following this war and start preparing for a world in which there is no Russia any more. Because clearly those in power in Russia have indeed surrendered the country and are just pretending to be resisting.

Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Jan 25 2024 13:52 utc | 154

154
Too many chessmasters in kremlin!
Gang of traitors

Posted by: SlowSoft | Jan 25 2024 14:08 utc | 155

Strelkov sentenced to 4 years in prison
vid:
https://twitter.com/_/status/1750475609589809461
He was found guilty under the article “Calls to carry out extremist activities”.
(shаdοwbunny now on suicidewatch)
Posted by: Boy Moonline | Jan 25 2024 13:48 utc | 152

Let’s examine a couple facts, for the slow in the head, shall we?
Strelkov is in jail for four years. Why? Because he called out every failure of the Kremlin months before it became a reality, called for mobilization and decisive action, and pushed for actually winning the war.
For that honest, pro-Russian activity, those in the Kremlin sent him to jail.
What do we have on the other end? Grain deals, Azov Nazis being released from jail and flown on Abramovich’s private plane to their holiday destination, Abramovich pledging billions to the “victims of the war in Ukraine”, other oligarchs outright sending money to buy weapons the AFU, oil, gas and other commodities still sent not just to the dear partners, but even to Ukraine (the AFU runs on Russian fuel), stubborn refusal to disable Ukrainian logistics, etc. etc. None of the people for these things is in jail.
What does that tell us?
At what point do we stop burying our heads in the sand and face the facts for what they are?

Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Jan 25 2024 14:09 utc | 156

Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Jan 25 2024 13:52 utc | 154
“We can only guess, but logically cruise missiles will be flying at Russian military bases and factories in European Russian soon.”
I don’t even think you’re wrong, but this is just the natural advantage that working through a proxy give you – maybe Russia will have the chance to return the favour next time the United States gets itself involved in a ground war. Nevertheless, if the occasional cruise missile slips through the Russian air defense and hits European Russia it will no more bring Ukraine closer to victory than the occasional cruise missile slipping through and hitting Crimea. A thousand missile salvo precipitated by a direct attack on United States forces – well that could actually hurt.

Posted by: OnceWere | Jan 25 2024 14:15 utc | 157

Сегодня были вынесены приговоры по двум резонансным делам.
Убийца Владлена Татарского Дарья Трепова получила 27 лет колонии строгого режима (жалко, что нет смертной казни). Ее сообщник получил скромные 1 год и 9 месяцев тюрьмы.
Verdicts were handed down in two! high profile cases today.
The murderer of Vladlen Tatarsky, Daria Trepova, was sentenced to 27 years in a high-security penal colony (it’s a pity that there is no death penalty). Her accomplice received a modest 1 year and 9 months in prison.
https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/8916796.html

Posted by: shаdοwbunny | Jan 25 2024 14:16 utc | 158

@shаdοwbanned | Jan 25 2024 13:05 utc | 149
I suppose it tells us that there are people and/or institutions who find Strelkov inconvenient and want to keep him quiet. Whether or not those people and/or institutions are “elites” deliberately sabotaging Russia’s war efforts, the government and military ass-covering its various failures, the government and military simply wanting tight control over the messaging, or all of the above, I don’t know. I do know I’ve missed his Telegram postings. I feel my visibility into the actual state of affairs of how the Russians are faring in Ukraine has suffered due to his silencing.
Speaking of how the Russians are faring, I think it’s telling that we’ve only seen two reasonably significant lurches forward by the Russians in the Avdeevka area (or maybe anywhere) in the past few months and both cases required going underground, either tunnelling or through a pipe. It’s going to be a long, long, long war if the Russians have to tunnel all the way to Kiev!

Posted by: Mike314159 | Jan 25 2024 14:16 utc | 159

Posted by: OnceWere | Jan 25 2024 14:15 utc | 157
>maybe Russia will have the chance to return the favour next time the United States gets itself involved in a ground war.
USA is currently in ground war in Syria/Iraq, naval/land standoff in Yemen, frozen ground war in Korea, and potential naval war off Taiwan.
Iran’s proxies using Iranian weapons are capable of harassing USA to get out of Syria/Iraq without Russian help.
In Yemen, some Russian hypersonic technology passed through Iran might be useful to destroy the myth of USA naval might. That’s 2 layers of plausible deniability: how impressive that poor country like Yemen developed hypersonic missiles on their own…! Though maybe Iran’s own missiles will be enough.
Korea is where Russia and China can really mess up USA in a proxy war, because high tech anti air and anti ship missiles would destroy myth of both USA air and naval might plus shake entire USA empire when South Korea begs USA to please just go away.
No need for Russia to help China with Taiwan and Chinese probably don’t want Russian help: they want that victory by themselves as proof of China’s emergence as a true military power.

Posted by: anonposter | Jan 25 2024 14:41 utc | 160

https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/iranian-axis-grinds-down-us-will
Iranian Axis Grinds Down US’ Will as Israel Suffers Stunning Setbacks

Posted by: shаdοwbunny | Jan 25 2024 14:50 utc | 161

Melaleuca@101…..the Brits can piss on Russia all day long, they don’t even get a drop on their trews, and really, Russia will just roll over and kill more Ukies, seems to be working so far…….just had a conversation with my egg farmer, Ukie and kids came to Canada to get away from the ‘war’ he said hubby, still in 404 was begging her and kids to return to Kiev, and they did. Poor farmer says how bad can it really be there if you’d take your kids back there…….only war is in the Donbass, and parts of Russia, seems like the rest of Ukieville still flying high on the hog.
Cheers M

Posted by: sean the leprechaun | Jan 25 2024 15:00 utc | 163

Posted by: sean the leprechaun | Jan 25 2024 15:00 utc | 163
That is precisely why Lwow should be burnt to the ground in the end. All eastern European nazi’s will congregate every year and make it a religious pilgrimage site, like the Mecca.

Posted by: unimperator | Jan 25 2024 15:04 utc | 164

Posted by: anonposter | Jan 25 2024 14:41 utc | 160
US is so dispersed that it forcefully trying to maintain its presence in Syria and Iraq is actually beneficial. Because it can’t defend its bases, not to mention it can’t defend supply lines to given bases, it can be easily bled with guerrilla war and rocket attacks. AFAIK they are being bled pretty bad, and Pentagon keeps denying everything and creating new helicopter or ‘skiing accidents’ every few weeks.

Posted by: unimperator | Jan 25 2024 15:12 utc | 165

Posted by: anonposter | Jan 25 2024 14:41 utc | 160
They maneuvred Russia and Ukraine into a situation such that they’re able to attack Russia through a deniable proxy and Russia just has to wear it – then in a bone-headed move they start a fight with what would seem to be the perfect proxy to level the score – i.e. the Houthis. It would offer a certain poetic justice if either China, Russia, or Iran provided the means to start sinking US ships to the Yemenis.

Posted by: OnceWere | Jan 25 2024 15:20 utc | 166

“Any nation that shoots to kill its own troops who surrender to save their lives has no business being a nation”
Posted by: karlof1 | Jan 24 2024 21:12 utc | 53

Well, everybody refusing orders will get shot, that is a basic military rule. And surrender == defecting from combat and sure as hell they will be shot. If that weren’t the case, no army in the world would fight, except maybe some true believers.
That is precisely the problem when you get sent to the front, it is rather impossible to run away. If you refuse to shoot, you get shot. If you run, you get shot. You can shoot everybody around first and then run, but that requires you to kill your comrades, which I doubt most morally sane people would do.

Posted by: Gonzo | Jan 25 2024 15:24 utc | 167

“US is so dispersed that it forcefully trying to maintain its presence in Syria and Iraq is actually beneficial. Because it can’t defend its bases, not to mention it can’t defend supply lines to given bases, it can be easily bled with guerrilla war and rocket attacks. AFAIK they are being bled pretty bad, and Pentagon keeps denying everything and creating new helicopter or ‘skiing accidents’ every few weeks.”
Posted by: unimperator | Jan 25 2024 15:12 utc | 165
Excellent analysis.
Overextension is fatal.

Posted by: canuck | Jan 25 2024 15:25 utc | 168

sean the leprechaun | Jan 25 2024 15:00 utc | 163
With Russia, especialy a Russia led by Putin, I have found it best to try and figure out why they do a certain thing in a certain way rather than thinking/stating they are doing it the wrong way.
One standout reason is that the longer the war is kept running, the more it will bleed Nato. While Nato’s economies have been hit hard by their actions, Russia’s economy has boomed.
Part of the “military technical means”
Then there is denazification. The problem there it is ingrained into the culture of a minority. There was much debate here at the start of the SMO on how to achieve denazification. Many believed Russia must occupy all of Ukraine to achieve this but it is obvious that it would be a decades long occupation which Russia is obviously not interested in.
I see the strong possibility is that Russia is taking Ukraine to the point where the non nazi Ukrainians will undertake the denazification themselves. But to achieve this, Nato must be taken to a point where it and the individual countries cannot continue to back/support nazis.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jan 25 2024 15:34 utc | 169

Do Ukie POW’s have a choice about getting exchanged?
If I was was a Ukrop prisoner of war I would try to sit the conflict out in Russia, why get exchanged and then be forced to fight again at risk of life and limb- only for the most ideologically committed
It would be in Russia’s interest to treat the prisoners well and to be seen to be doing so. This would encourage more surrenders
Posted by: Aslangeo | Jan 25 2024 9:43 utc | 132

Russia started a program last year to encourage Ukie troops to surrender. As I remember, part of the deal was that anyone who surrendered could not be sent back to Ukraine in a prisoner swap against their will. My assumption is that these prisoners WANTED to go back to Ukraine, possibly to fight again. There will always be some of those.

Posted by: Mike R | Jan 25 2024 15:34 utc | 170

Posted by: shаdοwbunny | Jan 25 2024 14:50 utc | 161
Thank you, shadowbunny. I appreciate the link – the maps and explanatory text are very clear. ‘Container ships’ is a loose term until those ships contain weaponry, and that incident of the loss of Israeli troops seeking to mine a Gaza building is iconic – a loss of military seeking to undermine civilian wherewithall. It wasn’t and should never have been a military target.

Posted by: juliania | Jan 25 2024 15:53 utc | 171

With regard to what might have shot down the Il-76, the money seems to be on a little mentioned Buk-M1.
A Patriot battery (only mobile in a logistics sense not shoot and scoot) MIM-104 requires a fully deployed system to operate. It takes a well practiced team around an hour to set up and one more to reverse the process. Maybe slightly shorter it there will be only one TEL system operating, but not much shorter. An S-300 system would be slightly quicker. But it is almost impossible to locate theses systems so close to the border, which is being constantly monitored with counter-battery systems ready to kill enemy artillery.
As proper mobile systems both the IRIS/T and Buk are much more likely. Both can be used without any supportive systems, with their own on board radar but the IRIS is a shorter range system. Whilst the Buk does has the desired range with its 9M38M1 missile, still in service with Ukraine. It is also a tracked vehicle allowing a wide range of potential launch spots.
It will be interesting to see what the RuAF investigation establishes.

Posted by: JohninMK | Jan 25 2024 15:58 utc | 172

Posted by: karlof1 | Jan 24 2024 17:08 utc | 4
It seems both the Kiev government and Jerusalem’s are committing acts that disqualify them from the leadership of any civilization/state. There must be a term for these so very similar outrages on the international level. The acts beg for redress; it is not enough to sit and watch as we find ourselves doing. Let it never happen this way again.
I apologize if my previous comment above seems offtopic on this thread. I would wish that flow of munitions could as well have been staunched with respect to Ukraine’s miseries. These international cargoes have to be ruled illicit and inadmissable on any highway, sea or land. Had it been sooner not possible, so much destruction in lives and the wealth of an already impoverished nation could have been prevented.

Posted by: juliania | Jan 25 2024 16:15 utc | 173

Mike R@170
Regarding prisoner swaps – for Russia to return its POWs it must trade UAF soldiers. Very simple.
Regarding the il76 shootdown, the AD system should have been placed with advance knowledge of target flight path in order to place it so close to the front and risk detection it seems to me. The Russians are not using Belgorod airfield except for special circumstances like the prisoner swaps, so what target would the AD system expect? Perhaps jets using glide munitions, but have the Russians been doing this in that area? Kharkov is being hit with missiles, so maybe to shoot those down, by why the risky deployment for that?

Posted by: the pessimist | Jan 25 2024 17:07 utc | 174

Posted by: anonposter | Jan 25 2024 12:34 utc | 147
Posted by: RB | Jan 25 2024 10:51 utc | 136
>Surzhyk is a Ukrainian–Russian pidgin used in certain regions of Ukraine. Apparently 30% of Ukrainians spoke this dialect. There is no unique definition.
Surzhyk isn’t pidgin, which means grammatically simplified.
———-
Well according to Wikipedia it’s a pidgin. I can believe they are wrong. So it’s a dialect.

Posted by: RB | Jan 25 2024 17:15 utc | 175

OnceWere @ 166

It would offer a certain poetic justice if either China, Russia, or Iran provided the means to start sinking US ships to the Yemenis.

Guessing they already have or the Houthies would not be so bold.

Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Jan 25 2024 17:17 utc | 176

JohninMK 172:
So I do believe that the Americans are able to build a MK41 launch container on a truck and drive it across the border from Poland into Ukraine. Then they would have, for example, with the RIM 174 the most modern long-range air defense. I can’t explain the shooting down of the A-50 any other way.

Posted by: Oliver Krug | Jan 25 2024 17:23 utc | 177

Posted by: Oliver Krug | Jan 25 2024 12:25 utc | 146
Posted by: RB | Jan 25 2024 9:51 utc | 133
The justice of the victors is not entirely unproblematic. In Nuremberg there were no gallows for Churchill because of Dresden, Stalin because of Katyn and Truman because of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
———-
True. However Petain sent close to 100k of his own compatriots to die in concentration camps. How is this honorable and better than DeGaulle?

Posted by: RB | Jan 25 2024 17:23 utc | 178

I can’t explain the shooting down of the A-50 any other way.
Posted by: Oliver Krug | Jan 25 2024 17:23 utc | 177
Still no evidence whatsoever of that event.

Posted by: JohninMK | Jan 25 2024 17:27 utc | 179

Is Zelensky going to start a nuclear war?
Serious allegations: Ukraine secretly uranium in Niger!
https://islanderreports.substack.com/p/is-zelenskyy-going-to-start-a-nuclear
“In a world precariously balanced on the knife-edge of catastrophe, the latest twist in the Ukrainian odyssey, if proven, threatens to hurl us into the chasm. Ukraine’s alleged covert procurement of uranium from the heartlands of Niger transcends mere desperation; it’s an incendiary revelation that lays bare the West’s reckless gambit. Here stands Kiev, not merely as a pawn but as a kamikaze proxy in a grand, nihilistic game orchestrated by the United States and its EU and NATO vassals. These puppeteers, in their blind arrogance, have not only weaponized Ukraine against Russia but have now hedged their bets as Ukraine (and the West) face cosmic humiliation. This narrative transcends uranium; it is a scorching exposé of the West’s readiness to sacrifice Ukraine, to the last Ukrainian, on the altar of hegemonic self preservation, where moral integrity dissipates like a mirage in the Sahara.
Confronted with existential defeat and resource bankruptcy, be it manpower, financial or military industrial, does Ukraine, in its death throes, reach out to Niger for nuclear salvation amidst the foreboding spectre of apocalyptic escalation?”

Posted by: wtf | Jan 25 2024 17:28 utc | 180

People’s deputies know very well that the mobilization bill will remain with all the scandalous provisions, which will simply be repackaged, making the wording more vague.
The President’s Office is going to push through the decision as quickly as possible without discussion, so that people’s deputies do not reflect on public pressure.
People’s Deputy Chernev’s statement is an attempt to reach Bankova so that the parliament’s opinion is taken into account, but unfortunately the Rada has long lost its subjectivity; all issues are resolved in one office.

https://t.me/rezident_ua/21337

Mobilization in Ukraine can affect even those who have group 2 disabilities. UNIAN writes about this.
The publication notes that more and more Ukrainians receive the status of “fit” and go to the front, even if they have a disability group. And then the Rada is considering a bill according to which group 3 disability will disappear, and instead only groups 1 and 2 will remain, as an opportunity to obtain a deferment.
Moreover, according to the legislation of Ukraine, a group 2 disabled person is a person who has been diagnosed with one or more diseases from the list that guarantee him disability, but often this does not even become the reason for dismissal from service. They say that a group 2 disabled person can perform certain actions, so he is simply transferred from one unit to another.
To understand the problem, here is a list of diseases characteristic of group 2 disabled people:
▪️liver cirrhosis;
▪️lack of one lung and chronic pulmonary failure;
▪️ persistent complete ptosis in both eyes after all types of restorative treatment and irreversible changes in the organ of vision;
▪️paralysis of the lower limb;
▪️ pronounced upper or lower paraparesis, pronounced hemiparesis;
short femoral stump when prosthetics are not possible;
▪️ stumps of both legs;
▪️paralysis or severe paresis of one limb, combined with either deafness in both ears, or lack of vision in one eye, or moderate aphasia, or moderate disorders of the pelvic organs, etc.
However, the Ukrainian authorities, judging by the anti-people bill on mobilization, will be happy to replenish the Armed Forces of Ukraine with such “warriors.” You don’t need to look far for examples. Literally today, journalist Sergei Guz reported on his Facebook page that in Chernivtsi military commissars kidnapped a man with incurable kidney disease.
For the third day he was kept without food and water, demanding to sign a contract and go as an attack aircraft to one of the units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. That is, even if the mobilization bill is not adopted, the lawlessness of TCC members on the streets will still continue.
Naturally, the Ukrainian public will react properly to such outrage – incidents involving beatings of TCC employees are already common. Moreover, in Odessa and Kharkov, military commissars completely refuse to go to work without police cover.

https://t.me/rezident_ua/21340

Posted by: Down South | Jan 25 2024 17:50 utc | 181

Tobias Cole | Jan 25 2024 5:57 utc | 120
***… the Uke fascist atheists are actually destroy churches and monasteries and arresting Orthodox priests and nuns. That tells you all you need to know about the atheist cabal in Kieve led by Volo and his evil henchmen. ***
Not necessarily atheists — there are (according to their own postings on social media) plenty of satanists in the more ideologically driven regiments of the Ukronazi army, and don’t forget Kiev-Ukraine society has its new fake “church”. The cabal at the top are not really atheists either, since they tend to be ethnocentric Jewish psychopaths who basically worship themselves and cultist Zionism.
(which makes them notably similar to the shit-filled kleptomanic arseholes — Jewish or not — now leading NATO, the EU, US-empire and any other of its vassal States)

Posted by: Cynic | Jan 25 2024 18:06 utc | 182

⚡️🇷🇺🇺🇦⚔️ Front #Summary for 25 Jan 2024 by 19:56⚡️
🔹In #Kherson Direction, our troops are moving a little bit in #Krynki, trying to negate the AFU bridgehead. It is too early to talk about its elimination. The advance is being stopped by swarms of enemy drones flying freely. We would like to have more anti-drone guns, and to compact the electronic warfare. As for the supply of the AFU, on average, 1-2 out of 3-4 boats steadily go to the bottom.
🔹In #Zaporozhye Direction is awakening. Probably our forces have replaced the personnel at the positions. Ours expanded the bridgehead between #Rabotino and #Verbovye. They are levelling the front at #Novoprokopovka.
🔹In #SouthDonetsk Direction, our army managed to advance north of #Novomikhaylovka. The AFU resists, suffers losses incomparable with the result, and still backs away.
🔹In #Donetsk Direction, after the legendary operation to capture the ” Tsarskaya Okhota” near #Avdeyevka, our forces are advancing and have reached Grushevsky Street. Chernyshevsky Street, Sportivnaya Street, and the southern part of Sobornaya Street is also behind ours. The AFU are on Turgenev Street. In fierce battles ours are breaking through to the Railway Station 447 km and the tram ring. These areas will allow us to gain a serious foothold on the entire southwestern outskirts. If we fail to recapture this area, we will have to go on the defence and endure the growing counterattacks. The best available AFU forces have been brought in there. On the northern flank, our forces advanced in the north and centre of #Stepovoye, overcoming the AFU’s line of trenches.
🔹In #Bakhmut Direction, our army advanced in #Bogdanovka and extended the zone of control east of #Ivanovskoye (#Krasnoye). Artillery, mortars and drones are working on positions south of the village. The AFU believe this is preparation for a large scale assault on their positions. North of #Kleshcheyevka there is positional fighting.
🔹In #Svatovo Direction, in the #Seversk sector, the battle for #Belogorovka (#LPR) is ongoing. In the northern part of #Grigorovka, our forces managed to occupy the area among several branches of the #Seversky Donets River. This allowed ours to establish control over the Belogorovka reserve, an important area for further attacks. To the east of the village, our forces approached a key height, with advancement complicated by dense mines.
▪️ In the #Liman sector, there is a slow but steady advance of our troops. In the area of #Terny, ours have entered the forest area (and the fortification “Rukavitsa”). They are consolidating on a bridgehead convenient for further advance.
▪️ In the #Kupyansk sector, we marched to #Berestovoye.
💥Our geraniums and missiles hit #Odessa region, #Kremenchuk and #Kharkov. In the Ukrainian capital, administrative buildings were hit, including the Antonov Aircraft Factory.

https://t.me/sitreports/21783

Posted by: Down South | Jan 25 2024 18:07 utc | 183

RB 178: DeGaulle was secure in London. He definetely could do something wrong. – Then just compare the number of victims in occupied Poland or Yugoslavia with those in France, where German soldiers were not allowed to smoke on the streets of Paris.

Posted by: Oliver Krug | Jan 25 2024 18:09 utc | 184

shаdοwbanned | Jan 25 2024 13:05 utc | 149
*** Strelkov has been sentenced to four years in prison.
Especially combined with the fact that none of the pro-Western, anti-Russian oligarchs and liberal elites are in jail, even though many of them carried open and not all insignificant activities aiding the enemy?
what does that tell us about the internal situation in Russia? ***
More than enough.

Posted by: Cynic | Jan 25 2024 18:34 utc | 185

They maneuvred Russia and Ukraine into a situation such that they’re able to attack Russia through a deniable proxy and Russia just has to wear it – then in a bone-headed move they start a fight with what would seem to be the perfect proxy to level the score – i.e. the Houthis. It would offer a certain poetic justice if either China, Russia, or Iran provided the means to start sinking US ships to the Yemenis.
Posted by: OnceWere | Jan 25 2024 15:20 utc | 166

The only proxy remotely comparable to Ukraine would be Mexico.
And it’s still not exactly the same.
The proper comparison would be if the Confederacy again secedes from the Union, invents a different form of the English language, declares the Yankees to be subhumans, begins a North Korea-level militarization with the goal of keeping the Union in check, then starts actually firing at it too.

Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Jan 25 2024 18:42 utc | 186

The efficacy of the demonstrated technology seems very low but it’s a data point.
From the looks of it the system doesn’t have a coherent sense of depth or scale so it can happy identify a whole building as “heavy armour” even when there is an impossible mismatch of scale (perhaps one could fool it with giant crop circles in the image of military vehicles, if viewed from sufficient height?). Another problem is that it appears to be analysing each video frame as a separate still image so information like vehicle movement (that could be used to discriminate real from fake targets) isn’t incorporated.
https://t.me/milinfolive/115017

Demonstration of the target recognition system of the Ukrainian kamikaze drone Saker Scout.
As you can see, the drone software allows you to classify objects by type of heavy and light armor, trucks, as well as traces on the ground, however, during operation, errors are visible when the drone mistakes an individual house for heavy armor, and a group of buildings for light armor.
However, this is an obvious progress in the development of enemy attack drones, although the Saker Scout itself was introduced back in September last year. Let us remind you that the Russian Armed Forces have also been actively using Lancets with a target acquisition system since the fall and are already testing FPV drones with machine vision.

Posted by: anon2020 | Jan 25 2024 18:46 utc | 187

Shadowbanned’s wet dream, Strelkov has been handed a 4 year prison sentence.

Posted by: Suresh | Jan 25 2024 19:12 utc | 188

“One standout reason is that the longer the war is kept running, the more it will bleed Nato. While Nato’s economies have been hit hard by their actions, Russia’s economy has boomed.”
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jan 25 2024 15:34 utc | 169
This is just wishful thinking and fantasies. Russia has lost atleast 100K soldiers and NATO almost none. USA has better GDP growth than Russia and can sit back comfortably while Russia loses equipment, military personnel and are affected by more and more terrorist attacks inside russia. USA is selling more weapons than ever and NATO is growing closer to Russia with both Sweden and Finland joining

Posted by: rageman | Jan 25 2024 19:25 utc | 189

https://t.me/beard_tim/15203

“Why is Ukraine not recognized as a terrorist state?”
This is the main question that people ask me as a military correspondent in feedback to the channel. People ask me this question in private, on the street, my mother asks me about it.
It hung in the air with the smell of gunpowder in the center of Belgorod after the New Year’s Ukrainian terrorist attack; yesterday, and many times before, in Donetsk; after assassinations and bombings by security forces in Melitopol; after the murders of Dasha Dugina and Vladlen Tatarsky, whose killer the bastard scum Trepova never admitted his guilt and giggled at the meeting; after a UAV hit an apartment in Voronezh… That is, the question did not arise yesterday. Personally, it’s been in my head since 2014, for a good ten years now.
It exists, it is felt by the souls of Russian people throughout the country.
This appeal to the Commander-in-Chief is one of thousands of appeals that I have heard, read and seen. This is an appeal from people who do not call for a desperate surrender or a stop to a special military operation. People ask it, calling for action.
The Russian cause is always a collective matter.
And I believe that by taking on the problem together, we will solve it.
“>https://youtu.be/CvkDYTuIZjk?si=ig0XDxUxeNbLRIxJ

Some comments from the video (autotranslate):

— After the bloody shelling of Belgorod, Donetsk, and other regions of Russia, singing, walking, dancing as if nothing had happened is a betrayal. This is just an abomination!
— Volunteers bring more than just panties and socks to the front. They are carrying nails, shovels and other tools, cars, UAVs, medicines, camouflage nets and much more. Our soldiers need all this. In this regard, I want to ask. Comrade President Are you our Comrade or who????
— While the children and relatives of the country’s leaders, including Shoigu, Peskov and others like them, as well as moneybags at the trough, live, study, work and have fun abroad, nothing will change. They are stupidly held for these “Faberge” there. Forget and don’t whine.
— “People have always been and will always be stupid victims of deception and self-deception in politics until they learn to look for the interests of certain classes behind any moral, religious, political, social phrases, statements, promises.” – Lenin Read the classics.
— The appeal of the residents of Rublyovka was not included; apparently they have their own personal air defense there.
— It is obvious that there are some agreements with the notorious decision-making centers in Kyiv. Liza Peskova should live peacefully in Paris, gas should flow through the territory controlled by respected Kyiv partners, etc. and so on. …
— I fully support this. Donbass, Belgorod, Voronezh, Tula, Bryansk, Mrskov, Leningrad regions. Who’s next in line?
— How convenient it is to blame everything on the election campaign! What does she have to do with it if everything happens like in a nightmare? The worst thing is that the president still doesn’t watch or read any of this, and all the people are already tired of the terrible news. It’s scary to live, scary to go to bed. What will these elections give in general during a war that can no longer be called SVO, when people in Russia are already on their heads? What kind of choice should we make, if the president is the same in the end, then the whole nightmare will repeat itself and continue?
— I have long wanted to get an answer to the question “WHEN?” Why don’t they declare martial law? And they make do with only targeted attacks?
— Tula is also with you, agreeing with every word you say. It was necessary to take tough measures a long time ago. We support.
— The situation in a country cannot be peaceful if its citizens die every day from enemy shells! Hey, President!
— The people see the indifference of the government! The main thing is trade, someone needs more and more money, but the people will endure everything, so they think
— I can’t believe that the people saw the indifference of the leadership. Donetsk may not be remembered much, but it doesn’t matter. The main thing is that trade is with Ukraine))) The main thing is that the mass destruction of the Russian people by NATO members, which de facto is so, is silently endured!! Bravo, people!!!
— I completely agree with your demands, otherwise there are only threats about red lines. It is also necessary to destroy arms suppliers, without this there will be no results
— Putin cannot take Avdiivka for two years and is afraid of his own shadow. What’s the point of addressing pale weakness? He must be changed through legitimate popular elections, and then held accountable for everything.
— Put is no longer the leader of the country, but a terrible page of history. The traitors are pulling “SVO” in order to still hold on to power. But that’s enough, the time for the lackeys is up, Russia should now be ruled by people’s rulers, not dirty traitors
— Lakets, a friendly people, is one of the weakest leaders in the world. To be at the head of a nuclear power and allow respected partners to spit on you like that, and ignore the murders of your own people, this cannot happen without betrayal and sabotage. Look how even a hundred times smaller countries do not allow themselves to be humiliated like this
— The Russian people no longer want and cannot remain silent, we see everything and understand what is happening around the Northern Military District, who benefits from the prolongation of this conflict. It is a shame that the leadership of our country does not care about the lives of its citizens. And why then is there so much empty talk about demography if the country’s leadership does not care about the murdered Russian people?

Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Jan 25 2024 19:35 utc | 190

Such people can completely invert their beliefs at the drop of a hat without the slightest discomfort from cognitive dissonance.
Posted by: William Gruff | Jan 25 2024 11:16 utc | 140
I rarely disagree with you, but I do here. Early imprinting is strong and almost impossible to dislodge.
As the Jesuits said: ‘Give me a child until he is seven and I will show you the man’ (Look at the people on here defending the Catholic church for an example of that.)
I think that the propaganda, including schoolbooks and Nazi day camps for children, started before the 2014 coup. It started at least after the 2004 coup, the Orange Revolution, and possibly just after the 1991 destruction of the Soviet Union.
I was brought up after WW2, and got the whole “Stalin was an evil man” propaganda in school and the media, so imagine my shock when my mother told me that she thought of Stalin as “Uncle Joe”, and that he did a lot of good.
Her early imprinting, during WW2, stuck.
And I think they have moved the Overton window with this destruction of the POWs, (foreclosing the possibility of the PR nightmare that might have occurred when they were interviewed).
We are arguing over whodunnit and why, and ignoring the provocation of the URK/NATO shooting down of a Russian plane over Russian territory. This is a major escalation.

Posted by: wagelaborer | Jan 25 2024 19:38 utc | 191

There is a list, said to be of the Ukrainian soldiers who were killed on the Il-76 flight.
The list also shows the birth date. The oldest Ukrainian soldier on the plane was born in 1965, the youngest in 2002. R.I.P.

Posted by: Passerby | Jan 25 2024 19:38 utc | 192

says Tass
The Ukrainian side had been officially notified. Fifteen minutes before the plane entered the zone, they were given full information, which they received and confirmed its receipt by the Main Intelligence Directorate,” Kartapolov said. He stressed that after that “there should have followed the command ‘Air, stop’ for a certain sector.”
no one checked???????? considering the total chaos in Ukraine which is still deliberately cizens in Donbass….all the attacks in Belgorod.**** ** ,idiots….Russia assumed neglectivly naively or arrogantly they were trustworthy and there was a chain of command that actually worked?????????

Posted by: Jo | Jan 25 2024 19:46 utc | 193

France has no honor remaining; Macron is Petain.
Posted by: karlof1 | Jan 24 2024 21:30 utc | 61
No, he is worse than Petain. Because currently France is not occupied by the ukronazis. It is a voluntary alliance.

Posted by: Naive | Jan 25 2024 19:49 utc | 194

The Ukrainian side had been officially notified. Fifteen minutes before the plane entered the zone, they were given full information, which they received and confirmed its receipt by the Main Intelligence Directorate,” Kartapolov said. He stressed that after that “there should have followed the command ‘Air, stop’ for a certain sector.”
no one checked???????? considering the total chaos in Ukraine which is still deliberately cizens in Donbass….all the attacks in Belgorod.**** ** ,idiots….Russia assumed neglectivly naively or arrogantly they were trustworthy and there was a chain of command that actually worked?????????
Posted by: Jo | Jan 25 2024 19:46 utc | 194

Considering that they had to bring their scarce AD assets close to the border in order to shoot it down, it is safe to assume this was no mistake.

Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Jan 25 2024 19:56 utc | 195

And Petain was not serving foreign masters?
Posted by: bevin | Jan 24 2024 22:18 utc | 71
That is not the point. France completely lost its independence.
Well, maybe you will tell me that under Macron it is also the case… He is not serving so much foreign masters than home masters. Guess whom. Gael Giraud disclosed it.

Posted by: Naive | Jan 25 2024 19:58 utc | 196

re: Ukrainian language
Ukrainian is little more than Russian, but with an affected stereotypically homosexual lisp and replacement vocabulary made up by marginally functional individuals suffering from Down Syndrome. It’s telling that people only speak it at gunpoint.

Posted by: William Gruff | Jan 25 2024 20:07 utc | 197

Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Jan 25 2024 13:52 utc | 154
‘And if there is no annihilation of those responsible for it, you can just stop wasting your time following this war and start preparing for a world in which there is no Russia any more.’
Russia will always exist as a country in some form. Putin will not give the order to eliminate ‘those responsible’ because he has already been chastened over his original gamble, the invasion and attempted subjugation of Ukraine.
It’s true that the western allies have slowly upped the ante in Ukraine (far too slow for some). But they were coming off a low base, with some having been cowed by Putin’s nuclear threats.
Now elements in the west have become war-weary and Putin is hoping to drive a wedge between them so that the western alliance falls apart from internal tensions. (Interestingly, there’s a recent historical parallel here of a war leader hoping that the enemy coalition would fall apart. Hmm.)
Putin’s ultimate and ongoing aim is retaining power as long as possible. Wars are unpredictable events, as Putin has discovered to his cost and the lives of 100,000+ of his soldiers.
Putin won’t attack the west directly because he wants to survive, both as a man and a leader. After all, he has embraced cosmetic surgery in a bid for youth and longevity.
But has the surgery worked? The younger Putin had a lean and wolfish look. Nowadays, he’s looking more and more like a babushka. Maybe that’s the aim, to appear non-threatening. Except when he smirks of course. When Putin smirks, count the spoons.

Posted by: Mr B | Jan 25 2024 20:19 utc | 198

https://t.me/dva_majors/33345

DPR
Formation again. Again, failure to comply with secrecy measures and one’s own safety. Again, people and cars are gathered in a heap at the training ground. The result is terrible.
⭐️Why did you write? So that people are not built within the reach of enemy weapons.
We, comrades, are not fighting with the Ukrainian in many ways. With my own carelessness.
Now everyone is running around, covering their ass with paper, pointing their fingers.
This alone will not bring people back.
But maybe at least someone will read it, at least someone will think about it. So, it was not in vain that they wrote.

Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Jan 25 2024 20:21 utc | 199

Posted by: Jo | Jan 25 2024 19:46 utc | 194
To give the Ukrainian’s only 15 minutes to alert all relevant units, to the presence of the aircraft, is completely inadequate. This latest revelation gives weight to the idea that the Russians either suspected a trap, or set one, hence the method of transportation chosen.
With the Republican Rino Senators now admitting their compromise immigration bill, linked to additional Ukrainian funding is dead, due to it running out of time and the looming shadow of Trumpzilla, what now for Zelensky’s proxy regime. Russian pressure and gains will invariably increase now as resistance naturally falters and fades and then what, their Nuland clan supporters are increasingly in CYA mode and beginning to realise Trump II is not going to be the same movie as the original.

Posted by: Milites | Jan 25 2024 21:04 utc | 200