Moon of Alabama Brecht quote
March 20, 2024
Ukraine Open Thread 2024-085

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

Suggested reading to understand the ways of Washington. Ron Unz puts together historical documents illustrating how a US president started WWII. I feel Biden uses similar means today to initiate a European war. Rosevelt didn’t have the CIA which Biden uses extensively, but there were many transnational organizations that the State Department could use to influence other governments back then.
I just yesterday started reading Ron’s piece and I find many similarities with the current geopolotical dynamics with the increasing direct involvment of France and NATO in the Ukrainian conflict being an indicator of gradual escalation pushed covertly by Washington.
https://www.unz.com/pub/jhr__president-roosevelts-campaign-to-incite-war-in-europe/

Posted by: Richard L | Mar 21 2024 16:42 utc | 201

“malenkov | Mar 20 2024 16:53 utc | 23
Highlighting the distinction between Niger and Nigeria.
…sometimes details like these are important.…
Posting from Austria In the South Pacific, I completely agree.
Posted by: Melaleuca | Mar 20 2024 20:59 utc | 83”
I agree with menkov, Meleuca, and neofeudfuture. 🙂

Posted by: Dit | Mar 21 2024 16:42 utc | 202

@#204
The piece is by Mark Weber, 1983 and not By Ron. Sorry.

Posted by: Richard L | Mar 21 2024 16:54 utc | 203

Look up “Fit for 55”. The de-industrialisation of Europe is not an accident. The EU/New Green Deal to slash emissions by 55% by 2030. The plans precede the Russia-Ukraine War.
Germany ‘on course, for the first time’ to slash emissions 65% by 2030, vice chancellor says
Posted by: Down South | Mar 20 2024 14:58 utc | 8
People exist to perpetuate their genes. What you do is for the most part is determined by that.
The people who call for the destruction of modern technological civilization are behaviorally (mentally) simple-minded hunter-gatherers. Their existence, like their ancestor’s, revolves around nature and what it provides. To ‘protect nature’ is one of their primal drives as is the control or elimination of competitors in the in or out of their tribe.
Their current competitor to eradicate is their ancestral enemy – the settlement people who created modern technological civilizations.

Posted by: Drapetomaniac | Mar 21 2024 17:08 utc | 204

Article from rt.com Russiaa keeps steady pressure on the fronts.
Russian army announces new Donbass gains
The village of Tonenkoye, located to the northwest of Avdeevka, has been liberated according to the Defense Ministry
Russian army announces new Donbass gains
Moscow’s forces have liberated the village of Tonenkoye in Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), the Russian Defense Ministry announced on Thursday. Tonenkoye has seen intense combat over the past few weeks, following the taking of the key Donbass town of Avdeevka in mid-February.
The village forms part of the Orlovka-Tonenkoye-Berdychi line, located to the northwest of the town. Over the past 24-hour period, Ukrainian forces have lost over 320 soldiers, a tank, four other armored and up to seven unarmored vehicles, according to Moscow’s estimates.
Earlier this week, the Russian military announced the liberation of Orlovka, effectively cutting the line in half and disrupting Ukrainian communications between Tonenkoye and Berdychi, with the latter continuing to see active combat.
Russian military wipes out saboteurs near Ukraine border (VIDEO) READ MORE: Russian military wipes out saboteurs near Ukraine border (VIDEO)
The Ukrainian military has claimed it established stable defensive positions along the Orlovka-Tonenkoye-Berdychi line following the fall of Avdeevka. The defenses are primarily based on a system of ponds and canals stretching along the three villages.
Nevertheless, the combat situation along the line has promptly escalated, with the Ukrainians actively pouring reserves into the area, seeking to stabilize the front line. According to the Russian side, Kiev’s forces have been losing some 400 soldiers in the area daily, after repeatedly staging unsuccessful counterattacks.
The Orlovka-Tonenkoye-Berdychi line has seen the combat debut of US-supplied M1 Abrams tanks, which had long remained in reserve. A batch of 31 tanks was pledged to Kiev by the Pentagon early last year for a long-hyped yet ultimately disastrous summer counteroffensive. The tanks fully arrived in Ukraine only in mid-autumn, by which time the push was largely over. Prior to the fall of Avdeevka, the tanks had stayed away from the front line, starring in Ukrainian propaganda videos rather than participating in actual combat. At least four tanks of the type have been destroyed since late February, according to the Russian military.

Posted by: ctiger | Mar 21 2024 17:24 utc | 205

“The famous 1812 diagram:
Map representing the losses over time of French army during war of 1812
Btw. notice the temperatures at bottom. This was during the Dalton Grand Solar Minimum.”
Posted by: Norwegian | Mar 20 2024 15:44 utc | 16
This occurred during the Duke of Marlbourough’s and the Duke of Savoy’s European campaign.
“The Great Frost, as it was known in England, or Le Grand Hiver (“The Great Winter”), as it was known in France, was an extraordinarily cold winter in Europe in 1708–1709, and was the coldest European winter during the past 500 years.”

Posted by: canuck | Mar 21 2024 17:25 utc | 206

I vote for “the Battle of Ukraine”.
Posted by: natokraine | Mar 20 2024 16:44 utc | 20
Biden’s Folly. ( or Nuland’s Folly which ever you like better.)

Posted by: MAKK | Mar 21 2024 17:28 utc | 207

“Russland ist nicht so stark, wie man denkt” – Kanzler Scholz verteidigt Ukraine-Kurs | ntv
Posted by: Justpassinby | Mar 20 2024 21:30 utc | 91
Unglaublich, das nach der nicht mehr zu unterbietenden Niederlage gegen Russland 1945 2024 Politiker in verantwortungsvollen Positionen in Deutschland so einen Dreck äußern.
Und ich hatte schon gehofft, daß mit den vielen Millionen Toten, die wir einem grenzdebilen Hohenzollern und einem blutigen Karnevalsdiktator zu verdanken hatten, das Gröbste überstanden wäre. Aber dann kommt der feine Olaf aus Hamburg angelaufen und meint uns erzählen zu müssen, was schon der Chauvinist und Antisemit Dietrich Schäfer 1916 publiziert hat: Der Koloß auf tönernen Füßen, Aufsätze über Russland. Und damals hatte Russland nicht China, Nordkorea und den Iran als engste Verbündete, und übrigens hat auch Modi Putin zum Wahlsieg gratuliert. Das wird ja richtig spannend, was wir noch für eine Zukunft haben – aber mal ehrlich, eine Bevölkerung, die das Glück des Lebens im dicksten SUV sucht, hat es auch nicht besser verdient.
“Russia is not as strong as you think” – Chancellor Scholz defends Ukraine course | ntv
Posted by: Justpassinby | Mar 20 2024 9:30 pm UTC | 91
It’s unbelievable that after the unbeatable defeat against Russia in 1945, politicians in responsible positions in Germany are saying such rubbish in 2024.
And I had already hoped that the worst would be over with the many millions of deaths that we owed to a border-crazy Hohenzollern and a bloody carnival dictator. But then the fine Olaf comes running from Hamburg and thinks he has to tell us what the chauvinist and anti-Semite Dietrich Schäfer had already published in 1916: The Colossus with Feet of Clay, essays about Russia. And back then, Russia didn’t have China, North Korea and Iran as its closest allies, and by the way, Modi also congratulated Putin on his election victory. It will be really exciting to see what kind of future we have – but let’s be honest, a population that is looking for the happiness of life in the biggest SUV doesn’t deserve any better. (Google Trans)

Posted by: Oliver Krug | Mar 21 2024 17:43 utc | 208

Mario@203….yes, let the elites off the hook and kill more minions …makes sense, especially for all those making money, big big moula of dead nobodies…..hmm, no Yanks or Brits dying though, a shame really, they’ll make the most money……and before someone falls over themselves, I know, the west is financially collapsing, or that’s the current train of thought….but I would not put money
on that…. whistling past the graveyard.

Posted by: sean the leprechaun | Mar 21 2024 17:59 utc | 209

“How did we get to that situation? People were wondering what the point was of shooting down your own to-be-exchanged PoWs in that IL-76. And I was explaining here that the goal was to establish precedent, and the PoWs provided a convenient smoke screen — lots of morons were gloating about how the Ukrainians were such idiots to kill 60 of their own. But nobody cares about 60 dead Ukrainians, meanwhile Russia lost an IL-76, plus the crew, and, most importantly, the precedent was established that Patriot missiles can be fired inside pre-war Russia with zero worries about “escalation”. Because that was one of the reddest lines imaginable and the Kremlin once again did nothing when it was crossed.
Same with the French troops. Boiling the frog slowly, and the frog isn’t the French in this case, despite the stereotype..”
Posted by: shаdοwbanned | Mar 20 2024 18:51 utc | 51
I, reluctantly, agree with you.
Spot on analysis.

Posted by: canuck | Mar 21 2024 18:05 utc | 210

Yes !!!
“we don’t care about Macron, we don’t care about what Macron says, we don’t care about his limits, we are going to kill all the French soldiers who come to Ukrainian soil. We are going to kill them all. ” — Pyotr Tolstoy.
Pyitr Tolstoï interview

Posted by: Fabrice | Mar 21 2024 18:24 utc | 211

Seymour Hersh – Does anyone know if he really believes the shit he writes or is he aiming to increase his Substack audience by toeing the typical BS Washington DC narrative line? He doesn’t allow comments on his articles (at least not this paywalled one), so he’s not going to get much pushback.

THE IRON-CLAD PIÑATA
Putin is an enemy the West cannot topple—so why does Biden keep swinging?

President Biden’s foreign policy problems in the Middle East and Ukraine are daunting, especially in an election year, but the war between Russia and Ukraine could be nearing a military endgame, and not via negotiations. Vladimir Putin’s military is more entrenched inside Ukraine than ever, and the undermanned and under-equipped Ukraine military is facing a stalemate at best and the permanent loss of four oblasts. In essence, it is a defeat.
The Russian president’s unchallenged re-election over the weekend was a farce by democratic standards, especially coming after the death last month of the imprisoned dissident Alexei Navalny. The 77 percent turnout was the largest since the fall of the Soviet Union, and Putin won 87 percent of the vote. “It was the same process” as in earlier Russian elections, a knowledgeable American official caustically told me. “The Russians voted that way because it was in their interest to do so. The people had to vote.”
Even amid a difficult and costly war that he initiated, Putin remains firmly in control of Russia, despite a series of Western sanctions and wishful thinking in Washington that its military expertise, weapons, and enthusiasm for the war would loosen his grip on power. Blindfolded by ideology, Biden wants the candy of regime change, but Putin has proven to be an iron-clad piñata.
The American president keeps taking his swings. It was not surprising that Biden chose to turn to Putin and the Ukraine war at the start of his State of the Union speech on March 7. He and his foreign policy staff have put Putin’s diminishment at the top of their to-do list since taking office. He told the Congress that Russia “is on the march” and Putin’s intent is “to sow chaos throughout Europe and beyond. If anybody in this room thinks Putin will stop at Ukraine, I assure you, he will not. . . . History is watching . . . Europe is at risk.” [BEGIN PAYWALL]

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Mar 21 2024 18:24 utc | 212

Posted by: sean the leprechaun | Mar 21 2024 17:59 utc | 212
By an historical point of view those in power always get advantage from wars and/or generic crisis moments, nothing new.
If you want to destroy/damage a power entity you better hit the consensus base and the folk working for that entity.
If you want take the church as a millennial example, would you hit the pope, the cardinals and go along to the priests or would you hit the beliviers.
Once you have no or few believers than the elites will loss most if not all of their power.

Posted by: Mario | Mar 21 2024 18:25 utc | 213

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Mar 21 2024 18:24 utc | 215
Well, Seymour Hersh is an American and thinks like an American. He can’t bring himself to understand that more than 50 % would care to vote, and he thinks everthing must be rigged.

Posted by: Avtonom | Mar 21 2024 18:31 utc | 214

@canuck | Mar 21 2024 17:25 utc | 209

“The Great Frost, as it was known in England, or Le Grand Hiver (“The Great Winter”), as it was known in France, was an extraordinarily cold winter in Europe in 1708–1709, and was the coldest European winter during the past 500 years.”

Yes, before the Dalton Minimum, it was the Maunder Grand Solar Minimum (1645-1715) that was the most severe period of low solar activity over 70 years, causing extremely cold weather. We are currently entering a new Grand Mininmum (Eddy Minimum) of low solar activity.

Posted by: Norwegian | Mar 21 2024 18:40 utc | 215

Five minutes from the Global Times:
Why Russia failed to integrate with West? US military industrial complex always needs an enemy

Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Mar 21 2024 18:40 utc | 216

@Tom_Q_Collins | Mar 21 2024 18:24 utc | 215

Seymour Hersh – Does anyone know if he really believes the shit he writes or is he aiming to increase his Substack audience by toeing the typical BS Washington DC narrative line?

After the NS2 story I consider him not trustworthy.

Posted by: Norwegian | Mar 21 2024 18:46 utc | 217

Avtonom @ 217

Well, Seymour Hersh is an American and thinks like an American.

You nailed it! Same is true for Petro, Mearsheimer, Juan Cole, Alfred McCoy, and pretty much the entire cold war lot of lefty or pragmatic journalists and scholars who once did good work and maybe in part still worthy, but the black and white demarcation of war brings their limitations out in stark relief. Chomsky fell intellectual victim to COVID – RIP.
Only two that seem to rise above the prison of the American mind are Stephen Cohen who died before a proper trial but to me seemed to always talk about Russia with genuine affection, and Richard Wolff – who of course, is a retrograde commie 🙂.

Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Mar 21 2024 18:56 utc | 218

@ctiger | Mar 21 2024 17:24 utc | 208
RT should post these videos instead, if they’re true t.me/Slavyangrad/92053

Posted by: rt | Mar 21 2024 19:09 utc | 219

Posted by: Norwegian | Mar 21 2024 18:40 utc | 218
> We are currently entering a new Grand Mininmum (Eddy Minimum) of low solar activity.
No we’re not — sunspot activity has been vigorous for the past few years, well ahead of the projections for the current cycle. The previous cycle was quite weak so there was speculation about this at the time, but since the beginning of 2022 there has been a grand total of 1 day without any sunspots.
Here’s what it looks like today: https://www.spaceweather.com/images2024/21mar24/hmi1898.gif

Posted by: Planner | Mar 21 2024 19:26 utc | 220

Mario @ 192
And subsequent. Don’t think you are quite getting the leprechaun. To the seventh generation would be sufficient. The same families have been ruling us for 70 generations and more. When there is a vacancy they sometimes look to talented cousins, younger sons. Outsiders never. By seven generations there is no one left. If you ever want to see the ball move off square one it is necessary to make a change to the status quo. The only change that will matter is getting rid of the hereditary rulers. Will the new ones be better? Who knows. It has never been tried.

Posted by: oldhippie | Mar 21 2024 19:27 utc | 221

One of the targets today was the production plant of FARMAKS medical manufacturing firm, which has multiple contracts for supplying medicines and military medical equipment for AFU and Nato.
https://southfront.press/russian-forces-carry-out-massive-strike-on-key-targets-in-ukraine-advance-around-avdeevka/

Posted by: unimperator | Mar 21 2024 19:38 utc | 222

AFU is planning to extend drafting age from 27 year olds, not to 25 year olds as initially planned, but down to 20 year old.
In context of the demographic pyramid it seems an absolute catastrophe, but hey, it’s their country.

Posted by: unimperator | Mar 21 2024 20:08 utc | 223

Total mobilization in Ukraine is increasingly reminiscent of a safari, where the man is the victim/trophy of the TCC.

https://t.me/rezident_ua/22110
Video in link

Villages in Ukraine are the easiest place to mobilize, but people are already pushed to the limit. Another force mobilization in Olenino, Volyn region.
Armed soldiers forcefully drag the man away, and the villagers try to fight him off.

https://t.me/rezident_ua/22113
Video in link

Our sources have long reported that the General Staff is demanding that the mobilization age be lowered below 25 years, and now they are launching information triggers for this.
27 years old is an absolutely inadequate conscription age. If we continue the existing mobilization policy, we risk losing the war, – deputy commander of the 3rd Special Brigade Zhorin It is no coincidence that in Odessa they demanded that all men born in 2007 become a full-time member of the TCC.

https://t.me/rezident_ua/22114

Our sources in the OP said that the issue of the draft law on mobilization was stuck in the Rada due to negotiations in Istanbul, but now Bankova is pressing the case. It is necessary to continue the war without equipment and ammunition, and for this we need to recruit 500 thousand reserves.

https://t.me/rezident_ua/22108

Posted by: Down South | Mar 21 2024 20:12 utc | 224

Planner | Mar 21 2024 19:26 utc | 223
Must be a Western planner, determining what a 11 year cycle is doing based on the weather of one day, along with a meaningless statistic. The last couple years having more sunspots than years before is typical of the sun spot cycle. This cycle at the point it is at now it appears it will be lower than most since the numbering of the cycles began.
If you want to look at trends you have to look at the long view, and not hype small spikes or temporary drops. It appears this cycle has already reached it’s first peak, and has leveled off at a level that is not “vigorous” in comparison to the same time in other cycles.
This is a tool you need, not a one day picture of the sun to compare it’s activity.
https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/solar-cycle-progression
BTW, the prediction for the cycle was made 5 years ago, there isn’t ongoing speculation about it. “The mean forecast for the current solar cycle (Cycle 25) is given by the red line. This is based on an international panel that was convened in 2019 for this purpose.”
Another note, the data is monthly, and smoothed on a 13 month average. What happens one specific day(and an earth day is meaningless to the sun as well) is a bogus, hype, statistic.

Posted by: Rhymerez | Mar 21 2024 20:22 utc | 225

JoeDontSurf | Mar 21 2024 15:38 utc | 199

Those French rifles brought into Ukraine will be valuable.
“Never fired, dropped once” will be the marketing schtick on the Russian market.
The surrender monkeys never learn

Fuck off, connard de merde !
JoeDontKnowShit
JoeDontThink
JoeDontRead
JoeDontCare
JoeDontMatter
Argh! More Oxo !

Posted by: Sarlat La Canède | Mar 21 2024 20:47 utc | 226

AFU is planning to extend drafting age from 27 year olds, not to 25 year olds as initially planned, but down to 20 year old.
In context of the demographic pyramid it seems an absolute catastrophe, but hey, it’s their country.
Posted by: unimperator | Mar 21 2024 20:08 utc | 226
——————–
There’s several points to this:
1) Men of that age cadre, are a far smaller pool than say gen X.
2) Many young people have been leaving Ukraine for years.
3) Thise who were already doing national service/were reservists in 2022. Have been used up & called up already.
4) Volunteers of that age cadre from 2022 are already dead/maimed/POW or at the front waiting to be one of those things.
5) There was another exodus of young men from Ukraine in 2022.
6) Privileged kids aren’t going to be drafted for the front. They’ll get exemptions or be given “safe postings” insofar such us available.
So to sum up, we’re not talking some vast untapped pool of manpower here. Instead it’s a shallow half-empty pool.
Bye-the-bye. For the emotionally fragile, no-one in NATOstan is truly willing to die for their local neo-s**t-lib regime.
The collective f**kwits missed their only vauge chance of successful intervention in 2022. No amount of le petit twat, having his funny little public outbursts.
Will make “Operation Piss-in-the-Wind” any more viable nowadays.

Posted by: Urban Fox | Mar 21 2024 20:52 utc | 227

German canciller Scholz:

I would like to see something similar for what is still to come in the near future, namely the use of windfall profits from Russia’s frozen assets. These are the revenues that can be used, that do not belong to anyone and can therefore be used by the European Union. In my view, they should of course be used first and foremost for the possibility of acquiring the weapons and ammunition that Ukraine needs for its defense campaign. So this is a major issue that we will be dealing with here again today, but I think we are very united on it.

(Link)
These statements are a danger to Euopean – including Swiss – banks.

Posted by: Passerby | Mar 21 2024 21:01 utc | 228

Compare USA and Russia.
Washington Post: But even if money is found, Ukraine must confront a worldwide shortage of explosive chemicals
Sputnik news: Russia started the mass production of three-tonne FAB-3000 high-explosive aviation bombs, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Thursday.
Russia does not seem to know this “worldwide shortage”.

Posted by: Passerby | Mar 21 2024 21:21 utc | 229

@ unimperator #226


Lindsey Graham, visiting Kyiv, urges Ukraine to pass mobilization law

KYIV — Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) called on Ukrainian lawmakers Monday to quickly pass a mobilization bill that would make more citizens eligible to be drafted into the military, and he sharply questioned exempting men under 27 from the fight.
(…) “I would hope that those eligible to serve in the Ukrainian military would join. I can’t believe it’s at 27,” he told reporters Monday. “You’re in a fight for your life, so you should be serving — not at 25 or 27.”
“We need more people in the line,” he said. (…)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/03/18/lindsey-graham-visiting-kyiv-urges-ukraine-pass-mobilization-law/

Posted by: Apollyon | Mar 21 2024 21:25 utc | 230

Posted by: KevinB | Mar 21 2024 15:35 utc | 198
https://www.beyondwasteland.net/p/civilizational-clashes
Brilliant KevinB
“Putin has on several occasions offered Galicia to Poland. Russia would consider it a strategic victory if they could hand this Chernobyl of radical Ukrainian nationalism to NATO. During World War 2, Galician paramilitaries, fighting as the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, conducted ethnic cleansing raids against Polish women and children, killing up to 120,000 civilians in what Poland today considers a genocide.”
But i have to disagree with you:
If Russia were to keep Galicia, then they would have to turn it into a gulag—a Slavic version of the Gaza Strip.
They would probably release them to whoever would have wanted them… not slovaks, czecks, poles, germans- then mayby Nato could have turned Galicia into their main training camp in Europe.

Posted by: Paul from Norway | Mar 21 2024 21:34 utc | 231

“And subsequent. Don’t think you are quite getting the leprechaun. To the seventh generation would be sufficient. The same families have been ruling us for 70 generations and more. When there is a vacancy they sometimes look to talented cousins, younger sons. Outsiders never. By seven generations there is no one left. If you ever want to see the ball move off square one it is necessary to make a change to the status quo. The only change that will matter is getting rid of the hereditary rulers. Will the new ones be better? Who knows. It has never been tried.”
Posted by: oldhippie | Mar 21 2024 19:27 utc | 224
You are right.
An archivist I knew years ago gave me the key-the Venetian Orsini family, actually an old family of ancient Rome-they are slightly above the Rothschild family in the City banking circles.

Posted by: canuck | Mar 21 2024 21:38 utc | 232

231
Putins western partners have no Problem to steal, lie and perform terror attacks.
Meanwhile chessmaster is drawing red lines into the air and babbeling something about peace

Posted by: SlowSoft | Mar 21 2024 21:39 utc | 233

Passerby @ 231

These statements are a danger to Euopean – including Swiss – banks.

If China was on the ball they’d turn Macau into a direct competitor to Switzerland, a perfect clone, offer all the same services and assurances to the global elite. Watch all the RoW money and a lot of USA and EU dirty capital flood out of there to Asia. IIRC something like 7 trillion dollars is hidden in tax shelters all of it if not in the west run by western finance. It’s not just a money grab but a FAB3000 launched in the hybrid war. You listening China? Maybe some Chinese honcho in the economic ministry reads MoA.

Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Mar 21 2024 21:40 utc | 234

Mario | Mar 21 2024 18:25 utc | 216

If you want to destroy/damage a power entity you better hit the consensus base and the folk working for that entity.
If you want take the church as a millennial example, would you hit the pope, the cardinals and go along to the priests or would you hit the beliviers.
Once you have no or few believers than the elites will loss most if not all of their power.

I’ve seen some seriously ludicrous things on ze intertubes, but, but that last sentence is almost certainly not only the stupidest, but also among
the most vicious !

Posted by: Sarlat La Canède | Mar 21 2024 21:50 utc | 235

Five minutes from the Global Times:
Why Russia failed to integrate with West? US military industrial complex always needs an enemy
Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Mar 21 2024 18:40 utc | 219
That’s always been the case.
Along with breaking treaty after treaty.
Agreement incapable!
Always looking for an enemy!

Posted by: jpc | Mar 21 2024 21:56 utc | 236

The Forgotten War – EU Brussel’s War On European Sovereignty
Most Europeans do not seem to be aware of unelected EU Brussel’s desperate efforts to gain the power of direct taxation over the EU so they can issue bonds.
EU Brussels survival depends upon achieving direct taxation powers.
EU Brussels is willing to kill as many Europeans as it takes.
EU Brussel’s survival is more important than the survival of European citizens.
EU Brussels needs to create a emergency crisis so it can grab direct taxation powers!
This may be what Macron and company are trying to do with a narrative pushing for direct NATO intervention against Russia in the Ukraine war.
So please don’t forget about this hidden EU Brussels direct taxation War against European ucitizens. Resist!

Posted by: Blind Bridge Troll | Mar 21 2024 22:06 utc | 237

Posted by: the pessimist | Mar 21 2024 1:08 utc | 115
Kosovo is the same as Gibraltar, 1930’s Singapore, Akrotiri: a military base, masquerading as an independent country.

Posted by: Passerby | Mar 21 2024 22:09 utc | 238

jpc @ 239

That’s always been the case.

Of course, but I posted it because GT is the voice of the CPC. Ever less Mr. Nice Guy with the USA, soon the Global Times will be edited by an almond eyed version of Medvedev.

Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Mar 21 2024 22:18 utc | 239

unimperator | Mar 21 2024 20:08 utc | 226

AFU is planning to extend drafting age from 27 year olds, not to 25 year olds as initially planned, but down to 20 year old.
In context of the demographic pyramid it seems an absolute catastrophe, but hey, it’s their country.

No it isn’t ! They are trying to depopulate it so they have somewhere to run to when their last project goes tits up !
Problems in Argentina too !

Posted by: Sarlat La Canède | Mar 21 2024 22:19 utc | 240

Why are EU Brussel’s politicians talking about using interest from seized Russian Central Bank assets to fund Ukrainian War?
Why are EU Brussel’s hardliners talking about seizing the Russian Central Bank’s assets?
They are desperate to spend other people’s money to fund the Ukrainian War because they do not currently have direct taxation powers over the EU so they can issue EU bonds!

Posted by: Blind Bridge Troll | Mar 21 2024 22:21 utc | 241

Sarlat La Canède @ 243
They are trying to depopulate it so there will be to few people to form a posse and string them all up when their project goes tits up.

Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Mar 21 2024 22:24 utc | 242

Oooh err, too much Oxo !
Goodwhatever me hearties, may all your troubles be little ones, (just feck ’em over the wall) and all your joys be glorious !

Posted by: Sarlat La Canède | Mar 21 2024 22:39 utc | 243

Posted by: Blind Bridge Troll | Mar 21 2024 22:21 utc | 244
Most likely the Eurobonds to be used as war bonds will be the final straw that will basically blow up the Eurozone.
Because historically, pretty much every project EU has ever initiated and funded has turned out to be a black hole, soon forgotten and memory holed. And they are not marginal projects, they could throw 50 billion there, another 200 billion here. Ukraine project is by far the probably largest one.
And the Eurobonds, will mostly go into US defense company pockets, adding even more pressure on the euro, and consequentially more need for austerity measures.
Austerity measures is something any EU country cannot afford at any costs, because the subsidy system is really fragile as it is already, with German export industries in the drain. There is simply nothing at all acting as a pillar for the EU financials, except smoke, mirrors and stack of cards.

Posted by: unimperator | Mar 21 2024 22:49 utc | 244

unimperator | Mar 21 2024 22:49 utc | 247–
Smart Europeans–those who never drank the Russophobia Kool-Aid–will leave their rainbow flags behind and migrate East. The Future of Europe is Eurasia with the Western European rump returning to an agrarian existence.

Posted by: karlof1 | Mar 21 2024 23:07 utc | 245

karlof1 | Mar 21 2024 23:07 utc | 248

unimperator | Mar 21 2024 22:49 utc | 247–
Smart Europeans–those who never drank the Russophobia Kool-Aid–will leave their rainbow flags behind and migrate East. The Future of Europe is Eurasia with the Western European rump returning to an agrarian existence.

returning to an agrarian existence.

Si on a du pot ! Et “ils” nous le permettent !
Y faut vraiment que je me couche !

Posted by: Sarlat La Canède | Mar 21 2024 23:17 utc | 246

Today, the Ministry of Defense announced the liberation of Tonenke, and yesterday – of Orlovka.
Now Russian units are approaching Semenovka and are trying to take Berdych.
However, it is still premature to talk about further advances to the Umanskoye-Semyonovka line. The Ukrainian Armed Forces still hold the forest belts north and south of Tonenky, and it was not possible to dislodge them from there.
Russian assault groups, supported by armored vehicles, attack positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the landings. The fighting is currently ongoing. If the current pace is maintained, the withdrawal of Ukrainian formations to the opposite side of the beam is a matter of time.
And then, when the entire bridgehead of the Armed Forces of Ukraine along the Orlovka-Tonenkoye line is cleared, it will be possible to talk about the liberation of Berdychi and increasing pressure on Semyonovka.
In Berdychi, the enemy managed to strengthen its positions – the price of delays.
Opinion on our progress after the capture of Avdeevka: We are doing quite the right things, but later than necessary, with a slight delay. We go to the enemy’s positions, where he is waiting for us, when he is prepared.

Posted by: MiniMO | Mar 21 2024 23:36 utc | 247

https://tass.ru/mezhdunarodnaya-panorama/20311261
Bloomberg: Germany will allocate €300 million to purchase ammunition for Ukraine
Germany intends to allocate €300 million to participate in the Czech Republic’s initiative for joint procurement of ammunition for the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).
According to them, €300 million ($326 million) will be enough to cover the cost of approximately 180 thousand shells.
Earlier, the official representative of the German Cabinet of Ministers, Steffen Hebestreit, said that Germany would join the Czech initiative to purchase at least 800 thousand artillery ammunition for the Armed Forces of Ukraine in countries outside the European Union, and would allocate for this “a three-digit sum in millions of euros.

Posted by: MiniMO | Mar 21 2024 23:37 utc | 248

karlof1 @ 248

Future of Europe is Eurasia with the Western European rump returning to an agrarian existence.

Wasn’t that one of the plans of the Allies for Germany at the end of WW2, de-industrialize it permanently and turn it into an agrarian state? Was it an angry France pushing for that? Oh, well, it’s not too late to get it right.
Tell you this much countries like Italy went down the shitter not after 1980 but after the middle ages. Agrarian Italy might have been the most beautiful land on earth, harmony between nature and man, vestiges of it is what pulls the millions of tourists there. Maybe in competition with pre-industrial Japan for the title, something about volcanic lands and the natural beauty from that, it’s what inspired the highly evolved artistic sensibility in both those lands, civilization evolving with wall to wall natural beauty around every corner. Could do worse than head back in that direction.

Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Mar 21 2024 23:40 utc | 249

Now the IAEA and the EU chips in …

US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm has called on Congress to ban uranium supplies from Russia in order to support domestic development of the fuel for next-generation nuclear reactors, according to a report by Reuters. RT
Posted by: Lavrov’s Dog | Mar 21 2024 13:14 utc | 182

I ask again … is Russia/Putin weak?
As in why not stop kowtowing to the west with all their Sanctions on Russia, and hold them to account for their actions against Russia by refusing to supply the belligerent west US/NATO et al any more Nuclear fuels?
And no Oil or Gas either until they stop arming UKR, stop attacking Russia, stop treating it like an Enemy, they cancel all the Sanctions? Switch their exports to RoW only and focus on the long term?
How about even if the West does all that that still Russia refuses to supply any of the current belligerent states with any energy supplies or nuclear tech ever again? Why not screw the US and NATO into the ground every way possible now?

via RT
There’s no quick way to shift away from Russian nuclear fuel, while severing ties too soon would harm global energy markets, Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), warned on Thursday.
Grossi was speaking at a press conference following a nuclear energy summit in Brussels that brought together more than 30 countries.
The IAEA chief urged not to divide nuclear fuel suppliers into “good and bad,” stressing that it’s important to take into account the needs of various countries, while keeping in mind that there are certain long-term infrastructure projects where Russian fuel is vital.
“I would warn against this point of good nuclear energy against bad nuclear energy,” Grossi stated, adding “I don’t think this is what we need to have in the global energy market.”
The warning comes as Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said at the summit on Thursday that European nuclear industry supply chains needed to be disconnected from Russia as fast as possible, while balancing existing operations.
Sanctioning Russian nuclear industry will cost EU billions – IAEA READ MORE:
[ And so would Russia cutting off all supplies to the EU as well cost them BILLIONS ]
EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson echoed his words, saying that “five member states who are still very dependent on nuclear fuel from Russia have to diversify away as soon as possible.” That’s “not an easy task,” the commissioner admitted.
Some EU member states have been proposing extending the bloc’s sanctions that were imposed over the Ukraine conflict to include nuclear fuel sold by Moscow.
Russia’s state-owned nuclear energy giant, Rosatom, owns nearly 50% of global uranium enrichment infrastructure and accounted for almost 36% of the world’s exports in 2022. Rosatom is currently building more than 20 nuclear reactors around the world, including in Türkiye, China, India, and EU member Hungary.
https://www.rt.com/news/594644-eu-russian-nuclear-supply/

I’d screw them into the ground if I was a Russian President …. losing that export income (short term) would not cause economic harm to Russia long term.
Is Russia weak, or just self serving? Is Ukraine really only a proxy war for Russia as well – it looks like it some days because the actions often do not match the rhetoric

Posted by: Lavrov’s Dog | Mar 22 2024 0:11 utc | 250

Posted by: unimperator | Mar 21 2024 22:49 utc | 247
Most likely the Eurobonds to be used as war bonds will be the final straw that will basically blow up the Eurozone. […]
Austerity measures is something any EU country cannot afford at any costs, because the subsidy system is really fragile as it is already, with German export industries in the drain. There is simply nothing at all acting as a pillar for the EU financials, except smoke, mirrors and stack of cards.

All correct but Germany has been on self-imposed austerity for decades, as you certainly know. (If you want context, I can provide.) Even better, Germany has been imposing its austerity onto EUrope, with exceptional cruely to Greece. I never quite understood why the German leaders (that’s not really the politicians at the top) would do this: yes, Euro and austerity were short-term good for the German export industy but, as you say, that economic model broken is thoroughly broken by now.
The German infrastructure is in a really bad shape, they have the wonderful and precise word Investitionsstau for this.
Because you mention war bonds, oh the smell of Kriegsanleihe in the morning, best taken with “Gold gab ich für Eisen”: my current favourite nightmare is large-scale war in central Europe. Of course not against Russia as that is hopeless: if a million dedicated, brainwashed Ukrainians can’t make a dent, then the French, German etc. armies stand no chance. “Cheerleaders”, as that French general said. No, I worry that the war will look much like what we’re used to from before: France, Poland and Germany have all vowed to make the “strongest European army”. This is paid by debts and an army doesn’t last forever. We know that when the banks paid the German WW2 efforts, interest was so high that only war spoils could cover it (which was of course exactly the plan). So as soon a combined political and military opportunity presents itself, we can go to war again.
I didn’t read my Marx like I should but this must be the ultimate self-cleaning crisis of capitalism that we’ve been told about in the good old Socialist days.

Posted by: Konami | Mar 22 2024 0:26 utc | 251

LightYearsFromHome | Mar 21 2024 23:40 utc | 252–
The one huge issue associated with such an outcome would be the depopulation. How fast it all happens is also a factor. If enough Europeans would open their eyes and gaze into the near future, they might change the political equation and oust EU/NATO and recover their freedom, but even that might not be enough.

Posted by: karlof1 | Mar 22 2024 0:46 utc | 252

I’d screw them into the ground if I was a Russian President ….
Posted by: Lavrov’s Dog | Mar 22 2024 0:11 utc | 253
I am tired of people who have the arrogance to be so pretentious and to know better than the Russians.
Even more so if you are not Russian.

Posted by: Naive | Mar 22 2024 1:22 utc | 253

In case you missed it … a crazy image of an ekranoplan appears @ 19:20 in Dima’s latest video.
It is parked in a seaside hanger with a fabric roof that is somewhat transparent to IR.
https://youtu.be/L4dIZRnFTIA?t=1160
You’d think would tire of these wunderwaffen games. Certainly someone is making bank.

Posted by: too scents | Mar 22 2024 1:31 utc | 254

Confirmed: BMW is producing 1100 155 shells a day at the Spartanburg plant in the USA. Loyal Trump MAGA dove reports from inside plant, risking their pension to let us know!!!! Do not trust the appearance of disorder in the West. They are all in, and drawing Russia and PRC in from the Afghan “fake” withdrawal disaster.
Posted by: alholioito | Mar 20 2024 17:40 utc | 34
They are all in too late. The Russians already know this. There will be no withdrawal or agreement as long as the West attempts to play the game of deceit.

Posted by: Activist Potato | Mar 22 2024 1:59 utc | 255

Konami @ 254

I didn’t read my Marx like I should but this must be the ultimate self-cleaning crisis of capitalism that we’ve been told about in the good old Socialist days.

They said that about capitalism and WW1 then WW2 but capitalism keeps jumping out from the twilight like a psycho killer in a slasher film. I wouldn’t turn the light out and go calmly to bed, but maybe an Asia oriented multipolar world will temper the bastard, some combination of chemical castration and thorazine.

Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Mar 22 2024 2:10 utc | 256

2nd night of missile and drone strikes.

Posted by: the pessimist | Mar 22 2024 2:29 utc | 257

Lavatories Dog, softcockslow, shawdowdimmed, mafiaro- all sing from the same hymn sheet.
“If I were Putin /Shoigu/ Gerasimov/ Russian” nonsense, kill everyone, let them know pain, etc.
I swear there Zionist influence if not outright involvement here.

Posted by: Suresh | Mar 22 2024 2:41 utc | 258

Some idiots here believe the West is getting away with crossing “Red Lines” that have never been released by Putin or the General Staff.
Has anyone seen the official decree?
Or that the West is slowly boiling the frog, when those very same arguments explaining Slomo Russian tactics were derided as stupid failures.
Anyone remembers what happened to the super-duper F117s?
Serbia shot 2 down with 60s S125.
Patriots getting blown away, all West artillery, tanks, systems not putting up with the rigors of war, some not even fit for service.
Meanwhile, Russia is winning across the whole spectrum.
Fancy that.

Posted by: Suresh | Mar 22 2024 2:58 utc | 259

@237 “If China was on the ball they’d turn Macau into a direct competitor to Switzerland, a perfect clone, offer all the same services and assurances to the global elite. Watch all the RoW money and a lot of USA and EU dirty capital flood out of there to Asia”
mmmmm yes, the Swiss or the CCP, the Swiss or the CCP. Swiss rule of law vs whatever. I know if I had billions to entrust , it would be so tempting.

Posted by: yarpos | Mar 22 2024 3:53 utc | 260

posted by: retroflecks | Mar 21 2024 8:55 utc | 156
A month or so back, one of the posters here compiled a list of relevant acronyms. Does anyone still have that link?
It’s at
https://tinyurl.com/yc5y9zvs

Posted by: Alchemist | Mar 22 2024 3:59 utc | 261

Looks to have been many missiles and drones launched. I assume Ukraine will have another night with a great fireworks display.
Ukies complete fools to have launched all those strikes into Russia, up to, and during the elections.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Mar 22 2024 4:08 utc | 262

Peter AU1 | Mar 22 2024 4:08 utc | 266–
The increasing quality and quantity of info on deep rear Ukie targets means the attacks could go on well into April. Perhaps lob a FAB-3000 at a viable target for that bruiser now that they’re in production again.

Posted by: karlof1 | Mar 22 2024 5:02 utc | 263

📋🇷🇺🇺🇦⚔️ Two Majors #Report for the Morning of 22 March 2024; pub. 06:57📍
🎯 On the second morning, the RF Armed Forces strike at the rear facilities of #Ukraine. This time it is massive in nature: missiles were launched from 13 Tu-95ms, 4 Tu22-m3, hypersonic “Kinzhals” from Mig-31 and ground-based missile weapons were also used. It is noteworthy that the “Kinzhals” were used in several series. Explosions were heard in #Kharkov, #Dnepropetrovsk, #Zaporozhye, #KryvoyRog, #Odessa, #Vinnitsia, #Khmelnitsky, and #Nikolayev regions. There are power outages in #Kharkov and Krivoy Rog after 15 arrivals at energy facilities. At the time of preparation of the summary, 15 missiles were heading towards the western regions of #Ukraine.
🔹In the #Kherson direction, attempts to evacuate wounded enemy soldiers from #Krynki were thwarted, and AFU boats were destroyed. Strikes were carried out in the “dachas” area near the #Antonovsky Bridge, where the presence of small groups of enemy infantry remains.
🔹On the #Zaporozhye front, heavy fighting is taking place in the #Rabotino – #Verbovoye section. There are mutual artillery strikes, the use of FPV drones.
🔹West of #Maryinka, in #Georgiyevka and north of #Novomikhaylovka, our troops are gradually moving forward with heavy fighting.
🔹In the #Avdeyevka direction, the Russian Army liberated the settlement of #Tonenkoe yesterday. The Russian Army’s control zone is expanding to the west of the liberated settlements.
🔹South of #Artyomovsk near #Kleshcheyevka, the Alebastrovaya Railway Station came under the control of the RF Armed Forces. Heavy fighting continues.
🔹In the #KrasnyLiman direction, they report the advance of our troops at #Terny.
🔹In the #Belgorod region, the AFU offensive has been stopped, the enemy failed to achieve the stated goals of the military operation.
💥 At the same time, the Nazis are striking at the civilian population, the head of the Grayvoron urban district administration called on the population to evacuate from the dangerous area. Five civilians were injured from shelling in #Belgorod and the #Belgorod region.
💥 In the #Kursk region, under constant shelling by the AFU, the border settlement of #Tyotkino. Aircraft-type UAVs were destroyed yesterday over #Belgorod (17:40, 15:15, 14:30) and #Bryansk (15:10) regions and #Crimea (15:00, three UAVs).
💥 In #Donetsk, a woman born in 1994 was killed as a result of a UAV drop, in total, the enemy fired 120 rounds of ammunition at the peaceful population of the #DPR.

https://t.me/two_majors/20967

Posted by: Down South | Mar 22 2024 5:11 utc | 264

15 Iskanders supposedly struck in Kharkov alone.
May we serve you some French Toast, Monsieur?

Posted by: unimperator | Mar 22 2024 5:28 utc | 265

In response to

15 Iskanders supposedly struck in Kharkov alone.
May we serve you some French Toast, Monsieur?
Posted by: unimperator | Mar 22 2024 5:28 utc | 269

One can hope this is true and the other escalation I am reading by Russia will end this SMO

Posted by: psychohistorian | Mar 22 2024 5:37 utc | 266

DneproGES, as an electricity generation facility, is completely out of order.
All or almost all machine rooms, as well as lifting airlock devices, were destroyed.
The DneproGES cannot be restored in the foreseeable future.

https://twitter.com/simpatico771/status/1771046966677434697

Posted by: unimperator | Mar 22 2024 5:39 utc | 267

Strike on enemy deployment point in Selidovo.
▪️Today, at about 3:00 am, Russian troops launched ballistic missile attacks on the enemy’s deployment point in Selidovo, which was located in the building of the local police department.
Coordinates: 48.1582127, 37.3034981
▪️Two missiles destroyed the building where representatives of the Tsunami assault battalion of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Ukraine were stationed. According to available information, the number of personnel killed varies from 15 to 25, and about 20 were injured of varying degrees of severity.
▪️Among the destroyed enemy military personnel is a group of FPV drone operators who repeatedly operated at the Marinka-Georgievka-Krasnogorovka line.
▪️These are not the first losses among the personnel of the enemy unit. Last Friday, Russian Iskanders hit the Mriya sanatorium in Odessa, as a result of which the commander of the Ukrainian Tsunami assault battalion, Alexander Gostishchev, and a dozen mercenaries from Western countries were killed.
“>https://t.me/don_partizan/4588?single

https://t.me/Anlystintel/16145?single

Posted by: unimperator | Mar 22 2024 5:52 utc | 268

⚡️🇷🇺🇺🇦⚔️ Frontline #Summary for the Morning of 22 March 2024; pub. 08:17⚡️
🔹On the #Zaporozhye Front, the struggle for the remnants of #Rabotino continues. Long-range weapons are actively working on both sides. Northwest of #Verbovoye, there are positional battles. (Fig. 1)
🔹On the #Donetsk Front, there are ⚠️small tactical successes of the RF Armed Forces in #Novomikhaylovka as a result of assault actions. Positional battles in the area of #Pobeda and #Nevelskoye. In #Pervomayskoye, the assault on the settlement by Russian troops continues. There are ⚠️advances, but they are being made with great difficulty (⚠️which means losses), the AFU continues to refuse to put up stubborn resistance in this locality.
📌 The main news was the liberation of the #Tonenkoye village, from where the AFU had to retreat following #Orlovka. In #Berdychi there are oncoming battles (Fig. 2)
🔹In #Bakhmut Direction, There is counter fighting near #Kleshchyeevka, in #Bogdanovka and #Ivanovskoye (#Krasnoye), there are ⚠️advances in the area of the first settlement.
📌 Russian troops continue to develop their offensive towards Chasov Yar. (Fig. 3)
🔹In the #Kharkov and #Sumy Direction, the activity of military operations has noticeably decreased, but it is too early to say that the AFU will no longer make attempts to sabotage the border area.
💥 Artillery shelling of the #Kursk and #Belgorod regions continues. (Fig. 4)

https://t.me/sitreports/24899

Posted by: Down South | Mar 22 2024 5:53 utc | 269

For the record, I think the US and the rest of the world would be infinitely better off with Macgregor as president rather than Biden or any other Democratic candidate likely to be nominated. See Our Country, Our Choice
Posted by: Perimetr | Mar 21 2024 14:06 utc | 186
I don’t in fact disagree with you at all. Only that, as sane and reasonable, moderate people climb the greasy pole of national politics, they have to increase their authority and spin about ALL THINGS, and gradually slip into banal utterances on all topics just to appear all-knowing. Hence my growing partial distrust about McGregor.
And yes, I’ve drilled through his site, which pretty much confirms all my points — it’s puke-inducing jingoistic tripe. (Btw, I’m not American, so its rhetoric stands out like dogs’ balls to ME.

Posted by: Jake Blanchard | Mar 22 2024 6:53 utc | 270

@too scents | Mar 22 2024 1:31 utc | 258
Not an ekranoplan, but a mig or su24 under a tarp. Btw. you don’t park an ekranoplan on land, that should be obvious to the non-crazy. Anyway, ekranoplans are not in the mix and have not been for decades.

Posted by: Norwegian | Mar 22 2024 7:12 utc | 271

@ 269 unimperator
apparently it has affected the electrical uses and internet in some ukraine areas.. trains need to use deisel locos too..

Posted by: james | Mar 22 2024 7:19 utc | 272

Not an ekranoplan, but a mig or su24 under a tarp.
Posted by: Norwegian | Mar 22 2024 7:12 utc | 275

Look again at the aspect ratio of its forward swept wings.

Posted by: too scents | Mar 22 2024 7:40 utc | 273

Wasn’t that one of the plans of the Allies for Germany at the end of WW2, de-industrialize it permanently and turn it into an agrarian state?

Those same Anglo Allies were no less fascist than Nazi Germany (some of the latter’s policies were allegedly inspired by the former), so I can’t trust them (the US/UK) into getting anything right. At this point I can only wonder what Stalin would’ve thought about industrial vs. agrarian society – after all, he rejected the Morgenthau Plan and sought for a peaceful reunited Germany, which says a lot considering the bigger brunt the Soviets bore during WWII.
It has all along been the US and UK’s intention to disrupt any rapprochement between Germany and Russia, as the combination of the former’s industry (what’s left of it) and the latter’s resources would challenge Anglo hegemony in the Eurasian landmass. We can’t let Perfidious Albion and the Outlaw US Empire win in their divide-and-conquer scheme, not especially if the European elites were gaslit by Washington and London to abandon a reliable supplier’s fuels.

Posted by: joey_n | Mar 22 2024 7:50 utc | 274

The response for the attacks on the Russian fuel sector did not take long to wait, and now it is worth understanding that the enemy has much more opportunities to destroy our energy sector than we do.
Today’s attack on Ukraine’s energy system is the largest since the war, said the head of Ukrenergo, Vladimir Kudrytsky.
According to him, the attacks targeted thermal and hydroelectric power plants, as well as main substations managed by Ukrenergo.
Kudritsky noted that there was damage to energy facilities in many regions, the largest scale of damage was in Kharkov (the city was almost completely left without electricity).
Restrictions on power supply were introduced in different regions of Ukraine, mainly on the left bank of the Dnieper. Kudritsky emphasized that these are “controlled restrictions.”
He separately commented on the situation at the DneproGES.
“So far there is no risk of a dam breakthrough, the status of the damage is being clarified and will be finally clear in a few hours,” said the head of Ukrenergo.
Kudrytsky also called on all Ukrainians to “be patient and not panic.”

https://t.me/rezident_ua/22120

Posted by: Down South | Mar 22 2024 7:56 utc | 275

The response for the attacks on the Russian fuel sector did not take long to wait, and now it is worth understanding that the enemy has much more opportunities to destroy our energy sector than we do.
Posted by: Down South | Mar 22 2024 7:56 utc | 279

This mornings FT headlines:

US has urged Ukraine to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries
Washington told Kyiv that drone attacks risk driving up crude prices and provoking retaliation
3 hours ago

https://www.ft.com/content/98f15b60-bc4d-4d3c-9e57-cbdde122ac0c

Posted by: too scents | Mar 22 2024 8:08 utc | 276

@ 280 too scents
what’s happened? has the usa/uk nato pit bull gotten temporarily off the leash?
too bad ukraine can never awaken to how they’ve been used so thoroughly.. i guess all the visits and pep talks from the grahams and johnsons has worked like a charm.

Posted by: james | Mar 22 2024 8:38 utc | 277

Some report says underground storage in Starokonstantinov airfield was hit destroying a bunch of Shadow storm and Scalp missiles.

Posted by: unimperator | Mar 22 2024 8:43 utc | 278

Dima said Russians finally managed to take the hill NW of Ivanovske, which was shielding the village. Obviously AFU will attempt to counter attack but probably they won’t succeed. Dima based on this expects Ivanovske to fall in 72 hours.

Posted by: unimperator | Mar 22 2024 9:30 utc | 279

US urges Kiev to stop attacking Russian oil refineries. The reason is that this will lead to rising oil prices worldwide, which would cause problems in the US presidential election campaign.
https://www.ft.com/content/98f15b60-bc4d-4d3c-9e57-cbdde122ac0c

Posted by: Andreas | Mar 22 2024 9:32 utc | 280

As a result of the massive Russian attack, many infrastructure facilities were damaged. A fire started at the DneproGES after arrival. The main thing for this hour:
▪️Traffic along the road crossing of the Dnieper hydroelectric power station dam is completely limited;
▪️Today’s attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities have become the largest in recent times, said the country’s Energy Minister Galushchenko;
▪️Kharkov Transport Engineering Plant named after Malyshev (KZTM), which produces and repairs tanks for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as two thermal power plants are damaged;
▪️Large thermal power plants and hydroelectric power stations of Ukraine (DneproGES, Ladyzhinskaya, Burshtynskaya, Zmievskaya TPPs) were hit. It is assumed that the Pridneprovskaya and Krivoy Rog thermal power plants, as well as several other generation facilities, were also damaged

https://t.me/nabludatels/40740

For the second day now, the Russian Armed Forces have been massively bombarding Ukraine with missile strikes. Yesterday they hit mainly Kyiv (warehouses, decision-making centers, production shops, etc.).
Today, a massive blow was dealt to the energy system of Ukraine. Note that the Russians could have struck such a blow long ago, but they waited until spring.
Although, perhaps, this is a response to the strikes by the Main Intelligence Directorate/SBU on Russian oil refineries and Belgorod. This is a warning that the response to Ukraine will be 5-8 times more powerful than the blow to Russian territories.
According to our data, the Armed Forces of Ukraine spent almost all of their air defense missile reserves in two days. Now all the remains of the missiles are being taken to Kyiv, mainly to protect the capital. The rest of the country will be defended only by “anti-aircraft guns and machine guns.”
Most likely, attacks on the energy system of Ukraine will intensify if the Ukrainian Armed Forces continue to shell Belgorod.
We would advise you to stock up. There may be power outages.

https://t.me/legitimniy/17500

Posted by: Down South | Mar 22 2024 9:54 utc | 281

Peskov say it has now changed from SMO to war. A bit more to come on that I guess, but I assume things will ramp up a bit now.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Mar 22 2024 10:05 utc | 282

https://t.me/belarusian_silovik/31750

#COLLECTION for thermal imagers for heavy machine guns on ship-boat trains in the Black Sea. Fight MBEC
The other day it was reported that there is an idea on how to help the sea brothers while the long process of adopting and including non-standard equipment in government procurement for next year is underway.
After consulting with professionals and listening to their direct requests, we decided to purchase a batch of heaters from trusted comrades that would withstand the harsh heavy machine guns. Of course, not for the entire fleet of ships and boats (yet), but this batch will cover a small but important part of the needs and will provide an opportunity to see the features of combat use at sea (we won’t say the area of ​​use – a military secret).
We also need drones for two units located on the first echelon:
▪️Thermal imager Legat 655 x 10 pcs
4,400,000 ₽
▪️Thermal imager Legat 655R x 5 pcs
2,250,000 ₽
▪️Bracket (slats) x 10 pcs
200,000 ₽
▪️Night drone Autel EvoV2 x 2 pcs
800,000 ₽
▪️Mavic 3 Pro drone x 1 piece
250,000 ₽
▪️Night drone Mavic 3T x 2 pcs
1,060,000 RUR
If we find it cheaper, we’ll buy it cheaper. The remainder will be used for the purchase of other equipment, since there are a lot of requests.
Total needed: 8,960,000 ₽

We thank everyone who contributes as much as they can to the needs of the Front! 🇷🇺
Two majors⭐️
Battle_🅉_Sailor ⚓️
Vestovoy 🇷🇺
Notes of midshipman Ptichkin
Belarusian security officer 🇧🇾

Collection reports, with receipts, on the “Let’s Help the Front” channel

Posted by: anon2020 | Mar 22 2024 10:06 utc | 283

Peskov – “We are at war. Yes, it began as a special military operation (…) when the collective West became a member of this on the side of Ukraine, it already became a war for us (…) Russia will continue to act in such a way that Ukraine’s military potential cannot threaten the security of its citizens and its territory (…) Russia cannot allow the existence of a state on its borders, which has documented its intention to use any methods to take Crimea from it, not to mention the territory of new regions.”
( aif.ru/politics/world/peskov-rossiya-nahoditsya-v-sostoyanii-voyny-kazhdyy-dolzhen-eto-ponimat )

Posted by: rk | Mar 22 2024 10:11 utc | 284

Good morning, Ukraine!
https://t.me/s/intelslava

Posted by: Apollyon | Mar 22 2024 10:19 utc | 285

https://t.me/intelslava/56260

Posted by: Apollyon | Mar 22 2024 10:20 utc | 286

Not sure about the merits of this as a response to attacks on energy infrastructure in Russia.
https://t.me/belarusian_silovik/31745

Sources say that the DneproGES (Dnieper Hydroelectric Station) was completely destroyed, the entire turbine hall, all the premises. The dam is intact.

https://t.me/belarusian_silovik/31758

The moment of arrival at the DneproGES is today.
The Kh-101 cruise missile launches thermal decoys before impact.

Posted by: anon2020 | Mar 22 2024 10:23 utc | 287

Attacking Ukro energy facilities is finally a clever move from Russia.
By destroying electricity Russia can make Ukraine uninhabitable.
Of course they are too late. That should have been done before the winter.

Posted by: vargas | Mar 22 2024 10:50 utc | 288

286
Really?
After two years?
Last two years it was what?
Good morning team 5d Chessmaster!
Russian assets abroad from today can be used to buy ammunition & weapons to kill russians
Imagine Russian money will be used to kill russian soldiers & civilians!?

Posted by: SlowSoft | Mar 22 2024 10:55 utc | 289

Southfront has some more details. Following objects were hit:

-Zaporozhye (Dnipro TPP)
-Vinnytsa (Ladyzhenskaya TPP)
-Kharkov (Zmievskaya TPP, CHP-3)
-Dnipro (Pridneprovskaya TPP)
-Krivoy Rog TPP
-Ivano-Frankivsk (Burshtyn TPP)
-Heavy damage in Odessa on substations, Kurgan powerplant
-Motor Sich aircraft engine plant in Zaporozhye
-Dnipro Ukraine Main Intelligence Directorate, also one air defense launcher was destroyed
-20 heavy strikes in Kharkov region, including Elektrotyazhmash plant (turbo and hydro generators)
-Poltava airfield
-Kanatovo airfield, which was prepared to be host Nato F-16 aircraft
-Starokonstantinov airfield, underground SCALP / Storm Shadow storage destroyed, and local electrical substations
-Port of Odessa
-Ternopil, 777th separate material support regiment was destroyed
-Military depots for fuel, ammunition and equipment in Cherkassy struck

Ukrainian monitoring sources also report Geran drones reached western Ukraine faster than usual, which may indicate speed upgrades.
https://southfront.press/military-overview-russian-massive-attack-ruins-ukraines-energy-system/

Posted by: unimperator | Mar 22 2024 11:08 utc | 290

Dima said Russians finally managed to take the hill NW of Ivanovske, which was shielding the village. Obviously AFU will attempt to counter attack but probably they won’t succeed. Dima based on this expects Ivanovske to fall in 72 hours.
Posted by: unimperator | Mar 22 2024 9:30 utc | 283
——————-
The hill would’ve been hollowed out by tunnels, rather similar to the Korean War when the US army was obliged to pound PLA positions where the Chinese were dug in like ticks. It wasn’t quick or fancy.
AFU counter-attacks will speed things up, as it just means Ukr forces in the area. Will expose themselves to RF firepower by moving in the open.
Rather than trying to dig in & keep to some sort of cover.
——————-
US urges Kiev to stop attacking Russian oil refineries. The reason is that this will lead to rising oil prices worldwide, which would cause problems in the US presidential election campaign.
https://www.ft.com/content/98f15b60-bc4d-4d3c-9e57-cbdde122ac0c
Posted by: Andreas | Mar 22 2024 9:32 utc | 284
——————-
Nah, they’re lipsticking a pig. The truth is the small drones, were doing minimal damage. As oil refineries have numerous anti-fire/explosion precautions & redundancy.
Which means repairs and precautionery slow-downs of production, wouldn’t last long.
Even the couple of hits on those distillery pillars that got some people excited, presumes that the damage was more than fairly quickly repairable.
RF oil refineries were much more at risk in the 1990s by lack of investment, maintenance & corruption. Than they are these days by Ukr explosives.

Posted by: Urban Fox | Mar 22 2024 11:08 utc | 291

@293.
The Russian humiliation is huge. The West resorted to a blatant theft. This means that the collective west does not intend to negotiate with Russia… ever.
They shall resort to nuclear weapons soon (via Ukrainians), as they have an impression that Russian elite, because of the inferiority complex, would not dare to retaliate. They could be right.
In Serbia there are many high class Russian liberals. They are heavy consumers who shop only in western chains like Lidl. They adore everything western, from high culture to toilet paper. By looking at them, you can easily understand the level of inferiority complex in Russia.

Posted by: vargas | Mar 22 2024 11:09 utc | 292

Russian assets abroad from today can be used to buy ammunition & weapons to kill russians
Imagine Russian money will be used to kill russian soldiers & civilians!?
Posted by: SlowSoft | Mar 22 2024 10:55 utc | 293
Furthermore this reflect a level extremism in EU. Such kinds of theft were not done in even in II world war.

Posted by: vargas | Mar 22 2024 11:12 utc | 293

Posted by: vargas | Mar 22 2024 11:09 utc | 296
In Serbia there are many high class Russian liberals. They are heavy consumers who shop only in western chains like Lidl. They adore everything western, from high culture to toilet paper. By looking at them, you can easily understand the level of inferiority complex in Russia.

No, you can’t. These people left Russia, so you cannot assume that people in Russia think the same way.

Posted by: Konami | Mar 22 2024 11:14 utc | 294

Posted by: vargas | Mar 22 2024 10:50 utc | 292
Really? Attacks on Russian energy infrastructure are planned and approved by curators who don’t care about Ukrainians and have only narrow material interest in Ukrainian assets.
E.g. Retaliatory strikes on Ukrainian bunkers didn’t stop attacks on Belgorod, why would they?

Posted by: anon2020 | Mar 22 2024 11:17 utc | 295

296
Agree fully with you
Concerning Serbia & ROW the 5d Chessmaster totally miscalculated. They don’t like weak partners!!!
In Serbia since two weeks they re discussing with Serbian experts in TV shows what is the benefit to follow a weak naive unsure Putin into the abyss?
Especially Germany Putins favorite western partner increase’s pressure on Serbia to change into anti Russian block
https://www.welt.de/politik/ausland/article250663471/Aleksandar-Vucic-Die-grosse-Gefahr-dass-eine-Fehlkalkulation-Serbiens-zum-Flaechenbrand-fuehrt.html

Posted by: SlowSoft | Mar 22 2024 11:20 utc | 296

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Mar 22 2024 10:05 utc | 286
They sure are preparing for something big.

🇷🇺 The Russian Federation plans to form two combined arms armies and thirty formations, including fourteen divisions and sixteen brigades, by the end of the year, Shoigu said.
An army corps, a motorized rifle division, the Dnieper River Flotilla and a brigade of river boats of the flotilla have already been formed.
Earlier in the Russian Federation they decided to recreate the existence of the Moscow and Leningrad military districts in Soviet times.

https://t.me/intelslava/56163

Posted by: Down South | Mar 22 2024 11:22 utc | 297

Lavatories Dog, softcockslow, shawdowdimmed, mafiaro- all sing from the same hymn sheet.
“If I were Putin /Shoigu/ Gerasimov/ Russian” nonsense, kill everyone, let them know pain, etc.
I swear there Zionist influence if not outright involvement here.
Posted by: Suresh | Mar 22 2024 2:41 utc | 262
——————-
Ah yes!
The Netanyahu doctrine, because open gleeful display of vengeful bloodlust, has done Israel such wonderful favours, in the long-run.
It not as if they’ve gotten themselves, a large economic downturn, a huge (per head of population) refuges issue, a forever war with the Palestinians & Hezbollah.
Nor even provoked a noticeable public rise in “are we the baddies” sentiment in the patrons/allies it needs to survive.
/Sarc.

Posted by: Urban Fox | Mar 22 2024 11:24 utc | 298

Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Mar 22 2024 2:10 utc | 260
They said that [ultimate self-cleaning crisis of capitalism] about capitalism and WW1 then WW2 but capitalism keeps jumping out from the twilight like a psycho killer in a slasher film.

You’re right! We think it’s cataclysmic because it feels so bad but then, as time passes, it was just cyclic.

I wouldn’t turn the light out and go calmly to bed, but maybe an Asia oriented multipolar world will temper the bastard, some combination of chemical castration and thorazine.

I don’t know how but I do hope that Beijing has a plan. The Western leadership (political or not) is clearly acting in an extremely short-term manner.
What’s annoying about the Marx thing: I sometimes talk to people who know a bit of Marxist theory and they’ll still comment the current situation with “But Putin” (in German: “Aber der Putin…”) This applies even to people who have been formerly outspoken left-wing and who understand how propaganda works. I imagine that their brains simply gave up.

Posted by: Konami | Mar 22 2024 11:24 utc | 299

Peskov say it has now changed from SMO to war. A bit more to come on that I guess, but I assume things will ramp up a bit now.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Mar 22 2024 10:05 utc | 286

My take on Peskov’s statement is, what he’s basically saying.
Ukraine is a platform for Nato offensive against Russia. So far Russia has tried to maintain to cause minimum inconvenience to population.
But now they are acknowledging civilian energy plants in Ukraine are energizing Nato’s offensive toward Russia and will disregard civilian concerns. As such, Ukraine is a full scale battlefield utilized by Nato to attack Russia, and anything that Nato could use for its offensive purposes are legitimate targets regardless whether they serve dual civilian purpose and they can weaken Nato’s offensive.
So basically they acknowledge Ukraine as a platform could become completely destroyed.

Posted by: unimperator | Mar 22 2024 11:25 utc | 300