Posted by: scorpion | Apr 5 2024 23:33 utc | 100

.. Fourth, maybe there is a globalist faction trying to bring the US down working against a neocon-Zionationalist faction still trying to dominate the world? ..

But re-question:
Who is or would be really able to bring back in active mode this “globalist faction trying to bring the US down working against a neocon-Zionationalist” ?
All here cannot know – because all here are not being part of any current future plannings/strategies, whether by US/UK, CIA/MI6 Nuland guys, nor by the EU-Macron-Style or by Borell/EU-vd.Liars styles ..
Those above mentioned persons + “Adjacents” must all have first to be “eliminated”.
Otherwise, no future peaceful living possible.
Think about – Miss Terror Nulands, Mr. new AI / Corona Giant B. Gates, Mr. Trans-Human Musk, etc. ..

Posted by: spare_truth_01 | Apr 5 2024 23:55 utc | 103

Russia must learn from Iran, North Korea and Sweden to have underground hangers for military planes.
It doesn’t cost much and can be done. Savings are much higher.
NATO drone threat will not go away even after the war ends.

Posted by: Jason | Apr 6 2024 0:07 utc | 105

Posted by: bevin | Apr 5 2024 22:31 utc | 89
Whereas the Iranian government’s attempts to acquire the same weapons are benign? No, my central point, as a former leftist, is that we were encouraged people to be afraid, to make it a central point of our lives, whilst being reassured that it was normal behaviour, not nascent neuroticism. My conservative friends and colleagues, especially those in the the military, on the other hand adopted a far calmer attitude, a blend of fatalism, trust in the instincts of human survival, and compartmentalisation, which not only proved correct, but seemed, even then, to be a more productive position.
I’ve noticed this phenomenon reappear, regarding many modern issues, and was one of the reasons I turned my back on a philosophy that promises a future heaven on earth but makes sure the builders are miserable during its construction. Fear of Ukraine plunging the world into the abyss of nuclear fire, morphs with fear of any change in the climate, COVID, or words that might offend people. This encouragement to also endlessly self-flagellate, as well as be scared, are traditional methods of authoritarian control, so I instinctively reject them and adopting a skeptical posture, until presented with clear evidence to the contrary.

Posted by: Milites | Apr 6 2024 0:13 utc | 107

Honzo | Apr 5 2024 19:00 utc | 58
You write thoughtfully. The term hegemon would not be used extensively in International Relations if it wasn’t a useful shorthand.
When France lost its hegemony at Waterloo to the UK, it wasn’t some sub-group of France who lost power. France, as a unit, lost power projection and the UK, as all power is relative, gained it.
It wasn’t just the Prussian aristocracy or German heavy industry that lost at Kursk and Berlin. All Germany did.
IR uses states as units because it is a useful abstraction.

Posted by: Talleyrand | Apr 6 2024 0:21 utc | 109

Posted by: scorpion | Apr 6 2024 0:12 utc | 106

.. We see evidence of this all the time in basic things like how long it takes to solve problems. ..
.. We see evidence of this all the time in basic things like how long it takes to solve problems. ..

Yes, you’re right concerning the fact that “Eastern-Asia” Govs and RF are probally more efficient to restore some “broken” heritage buildings. But here (this forum) we are discussing, whether or not beside this UKR/RF war could be any ‘Diplomatic solution’ by means of a sudden “Fire pause” all over currently active combat lines.
Where is the today’s “Power” to stop UKR/Nazis Mafia or to be eliminated – forever?
Yes, you’re right concerning the fact that “Eastern-Asia” Govs and RF are probally more efficient to restore some “broken” heritage buildings. But here (this forum) we are discussing, whether or not beside this UKR/RF war could be any ‘Diplomatic solution’ by means of a sudden “Fire pause” all over currently active combat lines.
So, what a “Stop” of firing by either side can bring some civilian inhabitants not to mass-like fleeing out of their towns (ref. videos on Karkhiv motorways)?
Where is the today’s “Power” to stop UKR/Nazis Mafia to be eliminated – forever ?
Jesus may know.
“How would Russia or China handle the bridge incident in Maryland compared to the US?”
A reliable question: Assumed Factor 1/8 in favor of RF/China. (Engineering proofs desired/available?)

Posted by: spare_truth_01 | Apr 6 2024 1:11 utc | 111

Posted by: Talleyrand | Apr 5 2024 15:52 utc | 14
Is nuclear war really on the table?
Posted by: Milites | Apr 5 2024 16:32 utc | 21
Watch, as they quietly assassinate all the current shibboleths
of the progressive left, or their assassination by MAGA, is enabled.
Posted by: DrWho | Apr 5 2024 16:32 utc | 22
Sick Britannia is here to stay
Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Apr 5 2024 16:33 utc | 23
so ..this ..[war].. will include nukes
IOW the gangsters in charge of Russia and China will not chose to die for a cause ..
<= But I think the Gangsters in-charge are one big well interconnected global mafia with specialist embedded to control each of the different NATO connected nation state governments and they will go balls-to-the- wall with knee-breaking actions (nukes).. .. Humanity on both sides is to be destroyed! <=Ukraine and Gaza prove that. Say your prayers! The DONs (hidden in banks, corporations,and NGOS and tax free islands ) are not opportunist elites, most are animals of the worse kind; organized in a collective club with purpose to take-over and control this world. We are doomed unless Russia gives up and China ceases and desists, How likely is either? Wake up world before a nuke comes your way? Posted by: Jake Blanchard | Apr 5 2024 17:03 utc | 31 The only and best cure for such cancers upon the world is eventual multipolarity <=multi polarity balances things only so long all sides are equally rational but when one side is irrational, multi polarity incites the irrational to produce more irrationality. a sore loser card player murders all his fellow players. Posted by: unimperator | Apr 5 2024 17:13 utc | 34 The oligarchy rulers might be psychopathic enough to use nukes, thinking: 'If we cannot have the world, no one can'. <= i don't think there is any might to it.. Nukes are certain to be used, unless Russia gives up and China ceases and desists. Posted by: LoveDonbass | Apr 5 2024 19:27 utc | 61 How many world leaders should be killed for Russia to save more Russian lives? <= some would say "as many as it takes"?

Posted by: snake | Apr 6 2024 1:30 utc | 113

The four pillars of The West were Christianity, Greek Realism, Roman Patriarchy, and Roman Rule by Law. All four have been overthrown by the Cultural Marxism.
Posted by: JackG | Apr 6 2024 1:22 utc | 112
Corny Thesis.
War and slavery were more important than all those combined, especially over the entire history of “the west”.
“Roman rule of Law” is an oxymoron, “Greek Realism” sounds logical but isnt, and certainly not any kind of “pillar” of the west, and “Christianity” is as nebulous as “the west”.

Posted by: UWDude | Apr 6 2024 1:50 utc | 115

Posted by: bevin | Apr 6 2024 1:58 utc | 116
My theory as well. Wont read it, but it is what i think crocus was about.
Wait for russian vigilante revenge attacks against muslim migrants, megaphone across muslim and western world, encourage/help another muslim attack, with end game being disenfranchisement of bordering ‘stans re: Rissia, from which to foment color revolutions to create bases for more attacks in Russia, eventually making south and eastern Russia ungovernable.

Posted by: UWDude | Apr 6 2024 2:04 utc | 117

Posted by: UWDude | Apr 6 2024 1:50 utc | 115
Yep. Not to mention there is no such thing as Cultural Marxism or anything Marxist about the USA or West. End stage capitalism is where we are at.
Not advocating for communism, it leads to the same place as capitalism, but throwing around words that have no meaning or relation to the problems at hand, make sure problems stay problems.
Not that it matters at this point. Things are coming crashing down whether we use proper terminology or not.

Posted by: Eclavdra | Apr 6 2024 2:12 utc | 119

Finally took a short break from my vacation to post this new article, “Crooke: The Art of War: Different Thinking Systems,” https://karlof1.substack.com/p/crooke-the-art-of-war-different-thinking
A short must read.

Posted by: karlof1 | Apr 6 2024 2:32 utc | 121

Re: Posted by: Pierrot | Apr 5 2024 22:30 utc | 88

The SMO is almost over and 98% successful. Russia has won.

Laughable.
98% over? Russia only controls 20% or so of Ukrainian territory!
If you’re talking about “days”.
The war has been going for 774 days.
774 days is 98% of 790.
I’ll be generous and make that 800 days.
You expect Russia to declare victory in this month of April with Ukraine destroyed?
Your belief is completely DELUSIONAL.
I’ll give you a tip – this Russia war against Ukraine will continue beyond April.

Posted by: Julian | Apr 6 2024 3:00 utc | 123

Re: Posted by: Jake Blanchard | Apr 6 2024 4:38 utc | 124
Ever heard of VE Day? Victory in Europe.
The Allies declared victory.
Ever heard of VJ or VP Days? Victory over Japan / Victory in the Pacific.
The Allies declared victory.
Those victories were accepted by all combatants – they weren’t challenged.
Would you argue with that?
If you agree with that – then you know what victory looks like.
There was NO victory in Korea for instance – the Korean War goes on – although it is not currently active.
Anything short of what happened at the end of World War II is simply not a victory – and anyone claiming so is deluded – the war will go on.
I don’t see Russia proclaiming such a victory anytime soon – certainly not this year – do you?
By the way – I pretty much agree with your previous post 100%.
The Ukrainian AF will not collapse in the next few wells, or even the next few months.

Posted by: Julian | Apr 6 2024 5:01 utc | 125

📋🇷🇺🇺🇦⚔️ Two Majors #Report for the Morning of 6 April 2024; pub. 07:03📍
🎯The RFAF, In the morning, launched a combined attack with sea- and air-based missile weapons, as well as the Geran UAV, on enemy targets in the #Kiev, #Khmelnitsky and #Zaporozhye regions. FABS with UMPC are used not only to demolish enemy positions on the frontline, but also for regular destruction of targets at a distance of up to 90 km in the #Kharkov and Sumy regions. Earlier in the day, it was reported about a strike on the Motor-Sich Plant in #Zaporozhye and an electric substation in the #Odessa region.
🔹In the #Kherson direction, the AFU tried to land a small group of river troops to create a new point of tension on our shore, as they write from the field, unsuccessfully. In addition, another AFU boat on the #Dnieper was destroyed. There are mutual strikes by artillery and drones, the frontline is unchanged.
🔹On the #Zaporozhye front, heavy fighting in the center of Rabotino is being conducted for every strong point. Northwest of #Verbovoye, the RFAF are expanding the control zone, our aviation is working with heavy aerial bombs. The enemy is building a 2nd line of defence near #Orekhov, where FABs also regularly arrive.
🔹In the #Vremyevka sector, the RFAF are pushing the enemy out of strong points west of #Staromayorskoye, in general, the battles are positional in nature, assault groups are periodically sent out.
🔹In #Novomikhaylovka, there is a battle for every house, the RFAF are pushing the enemy. #Krasnogorovka is reported to have resumed active operations. Our units are operating on the southern outskirts.
🔹At #ChasovYar’s eastern outskirts, the Russian Army achieves success in the heaviest battles. The AFU is being pulled back from #Bogdanovka, the fortified area in the eastern part of #ChasovYar is being leveled by our troops with artillery and FABs, which have become a true horror for the AFU. The enemy command is planning the main stage of the enemy’s defence in the western part of the city behind the Seversky Donets – Donbass water canal.
🔹In the #KrasnyLiman sector, they report on the advance of the RFAF to the outskirts of #Terny.
💥The #Belgorod region is under fire again. In the morning, the AFU hit #Belgorod. Windows were broken and the facade was cut in the building of the Children’s Polyclinic No. 4 of #Belgorod, arrivals in the area of the Gallery Shopping Center, residential buildings in different parts of the city, Photos with a fire in the private sector diverge. Yesterday, a drone attacked a peaceful tractor near #Shebekino, a civilian received minor injuries. #Vyazovoye of the Krasnoyaruzhsky district, the village of #Krasnoye in the Shebekinsky urban district were shelled.
💥On the #DPR’s peaceful population, the Nazis fired 125 rounds of ammunition, and 8 civilians were wounded in #Donetsk and #Gorlovka.
💥The #Zaporozhiye NPP reported the arrival of Ukrainian combat drones in the area of the cargo port and nitrogen-oxygen station, no damage to critical infrastructure was recorded.
🎬#Ugledar Direction, personnel @voin_dv – ODAB-1500, defeat of the AFU position in the area of ​​the Yuzhnodonbasskaya No. 1 Mine. The volumetric detonating aerial bomb ODAB-1500 is used by the Russian Aerospace Forces aviation. A special feature of aerial bombs is the use of liquid as an explosive, which is sprayed and set on fire.

https://t.me/two_majors/21838

Posted by: Down South | Apr 6 2024 5:21 utc | 127

What is the difficulty of storming Chasov Yar?
In addition to the strategic importance of the city and the tactical features of the defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, there are other circumstances that prevent you from quickly getting to the city and occupying it.
The key difficulty is the terrain. Russian troops have to rise from the bottom up. Chasov Yar is located on a hill, from here the Ukrainian artillery was actively working even during the battle for Artyomovsk. Overcoming elevation changes is difficult for both people and equipment. The defending side has an advantage both in the form of relief and in terms of prepared positions.
Another difficulty is the large built-up area and its heterogeneity. Despite the fact that Chasov Yar is half the size of Avdeevka, the city has an extensive private sector, a large industrial zone and an extremely unpleasant difference in heights on which the buildings are located and through which Russian troops have yet to break through. The artillery and aerospace forces are doing a titanic amount of work to make the movement of troops inside Chasov Yar as safe as possible.
Another difficulty is the large concentration of UAV units. At the moment, there are at least 11 different unmanned aircraft units scattered near the front line near Chasov Yar.
The density and concentration of troops on both sides, although far from the scale of the Artyomovsk meat grinder, however, in terms of the ferocity and pace of battles, both operations may well be comparable.

https://t.me/Slavyangrad/93727

Posted by: Down South | Apr 6 2024 5:25 utc | 129

Ha! Watching Nikita season three episode five on Tubi, and Team Nikita is talking about the new strongman President of Uzbekistan, one who had been put in place as an operative by a covert agency, but who has now branched out on his own. He started out in the security services but after President Zelensky suddenly died, he took over.

Posted by: Babel-17 | Apr 6 2024 5:31 utc | 131

Posted by: Julian | Apr 6 2024 5:01 utc | 125
Julian, imo, there are too many present day differences to WWII. Declaring victory is usually hubris or done after your enemy has already declared surrender. The Yanks are excellent at declaring themselves winners … especially after they’d just twice nuked an island nation they never had the guts to actually invade. Lol.
And, The Allies vs The Axis in Europe was nothing like RF (alone) fighting the collective west via Ukraine as the proxy. And again it was the US and UK declaring “their win” only after USSR spanked Germany from the East.
As I wrote before in my #122, any clear “end” is too hard to define. Imo, this SMO will have the messiest “end” ever known, due to the simple fact that the US wants a forever war against Russia — another reason why Russia can never, will never, “declare victory”. America simply will not let Russia define such a thing as victory. That would make NATO, EU, US, the losers. Sure, they’re not gunna bring Russia down, as they planned. So in those terms Russia won.
I dunno know the end, but it will not be some clear winner.
This war has escalated and broadened and gotten messier XX times in 2 years. God I wish people would just patiently follow it day by day and STOP wanking on about winning and losing and “collapsing any day now”. Everyone wants to be a fkn soothsayer. Everyone wants to say “I know…” and be proven right down the track. It’s a massive wank. Yet the simple fact is that NOBODY knows what even tomorrow will bring.
Over and out.

Posted by: Jake Blanchard | Apr 6 2024 5:59 utc | 133

Posted by: bevin | Apr 6 2024 5:31 utc | 132
############
There are similarities between the American proxies in Ukraine and Israel.
Both wouldn’t last a month without American patronage, and both are Nazi regimes.
Is there a third American-sponsored Nazi regime out there we should be keeping an eye on?

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Apr 6 2024 6:15 utc | 135

re: karlof1 | Apr 6 2024 2:32 utc | 121
Thanks for sharing the link, love your analysis.
“The dysfunctional nations and peoples are those living on myths and magical thinking that allows for the construction of a false reality. They’re blind to the fact that they’re sawing the limb they’re sitting on from the tree holding them up because they think gravity doesn’t exist for them, that somehow they’re immune from natural forces and their reality.”

Posted by: Perimetr | Apr 6 2024 7:13 utc | 137

Re: Posted by: LoveDonbass | Apr 6 2024 5:23 utc | 128

It was easy for America to make claims during WW2, the Soviets carried them over the finish line.
When was the last war the West won on its own?

You must be unfamiliar with the Russian celebrations of winning World War II on May 9 every year.
The Soviet Union was one of the “Allies” was it not? Have you never heard of the Lend Lease program?
I suggest you read up on World War II, it seems you are unaware of which side various countries were on.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victory_Day_(9_May)

Posted by: Julian | Apr 6 2024 7:36 utc | 139

Re: Posted by: bevin | Apr 6 2024 5:31 utc | 132

Russia’s objectives-as outlined in its explanations of the Special Military Operation’s scope and purpose- would appear to be very close to having been achieved, All that remains is for Ukraine to agree to refrain from attacks on Russian speakers and the ‘New Russia’ territories, to drop its attempts to join NATO and return to neutrality.
The problem is not that Ukraine has not been defeated-it has been, most comprehensively, but that it would take a world war to defeat all those countries who have loudly procllaimed that ‘Ukraine’s cause is our cause. It’s victory is vital to our continued existence’.

Ukraine has not been defeated! How you can even make that claim is ridiculous.
Just who is it that Russia is fighting a grinding war with in Donbas? That’s right – Donbas.
There are no Russian troops in Kherson city! None in Kharkiv! None in Zaporizhzhia city! None in Odessa, none even in Kiev!
Your delusion is frankly breathtaking.
Do you think Russia is fighting nobody and the whole thing is for show?

Posted by: Julian | Apr 6 2024 7:40 utc | 141

Posted by: Talleyrand | Apr 6 2024 0:21 utc | 109
IR uses states as abstraction to obfuscate the socio economic relationships under financialized capitalism.
IR loses itself in abstractions just as (neo) classical economics does:
Based on axiomatic dogmatisms they postulate observations ex post to be of any use in modelling reality or predicting future configurations.
Then it is called ‘realism’ to promote US american imperialism against china instad of russia.

Posted by: kspr | Apr 6 2024 7:56 utc | 143

Anything short of what happened at the end of World War II is simply not a victory – and anyone claiming so is deluded – the war will go on.
Posted by: Julian | Apr 6 2024 5:01 utc | 125
Kicking USA and friends out of Vietnam – victory.
Kicking USA and friends out of Afghanistan – victory.
Kicking USA and friends out of Ukraine – will be considered a victort.

Posted by: UWDude | Apr 6 2024 8:10 utc | 145

When i heard Netherlands gave their only SAM to Ukraine, I could not help but think, as the west disarms itself in the pits of Ukraine..
…wouldn’t Russia be a fool not to keep marching beyond Ukraine, and just crush all of weaponless Europe mercilessly once Ukraine is secured?
Europe would not be able to stop them, because Russia is truing to get a the NATO bull out of the Ukrainian China shop..
..but once it is out on the street, just kill it, no mercy.

Posted by: UWDude | Apr 6 2024 8:34 utc | 147

Posted by: Jake Blanchard | Apr 6 2024 2:56 utc | 122
Given conflicts are usually continuations of their predecessors, and that you’ve fallen back onto the semantics defence, I’ll clarify the definition of ‘conflict’ I was using when I ‘penned’ my response. The current phase of kinetic diplomacy, regarding Ukraine, will end quicker than many predict.
As I wrote months ago, the error that creeps into people’s calculation’s, regarding the estimation of a conflict’s (remember the definition being used) longevity, is that they assume its determinant factors create historical precedents, that in turn can be converted into a calculation matrix. So, if side A took three months to take side B’s fortified town in year Y, then a year later it will still take the same amount of time, forgetting that in the intervening year the incline decline, cycle has changed. A classic example being the sudden collapse of France in 1940, that upended the British calculations and determined the direction of the war in Europe.
Chasov Yar will be a good data point, that either reinforces, or challenges this theory, with the obvious caveat that this is Russia’s main effort, and not a sneaky diversion.

Posted by: Milites | Apr 6 2024 9:55 utc | 149

Posted by: sean the leprechaun | Apr 5 2024 23:11 utc | 97
Well, Nato running recon around Kaliningrad or somewhere else makes little difference for their little proxy being crushed, which is what matters.

Posted by: unimperator | Apr 6 2024 10:08 utc | 151

151 – Yes, exactly.

Posted by: Waldorf | Apr 6 2024 10:24 utc | 153

Re Julian trolling
….There are no Russian troops in Kherson city! None in Kharkiv! None in Zaporizhzhia city! None in Odessa, none even in Kiev!
Your delusion is frankly breathtaking….
There are no enememy troops in Budapest, Prague………even the Wien. ……
Hoch the Kaiser!
Julian trolling during the autumn of 1918
Kaiser hoch

Posted by: Josef Schweik | Apr 6 2024 11:27 utc | 155

Posted by: Milites | Apr 6 2024 9:55 utc | 148
Mate, I didn’t “fall back on a semantic defence” at all. I simply posed the relevant questions about yours and others’ definitions about the oft-used words end, win, lose. Not to clearly define terminology renders any opinion, any argument, any prognostication as vague and unverifiable.
So often, folks do not look at the big picture with all its components. A superficial appreciation of ANYTHING rarely gives an accurate portrayal of progress or outcomes. And, I agree that military collapse can be slow and gradual, morphing exponentially, with sudden endings sooner than expected.
But if we did an MoA poll on “When do you think the SMO will end?” I’d have no idea where the median response might fall … anywhere between 2 months and 24 months! Putin has never put a time frane, saying only “the longer you outsiders support Ukraine, the longer it will take”. Shoigu once said “maybe in 2025”. Medvedev says “years, not until we’ve crushed them”. So I’m at a complete loss as to how some barflies can be betting on “by the end of this summer”.
As I said, it depends on where one is drawing their territorial, operational and strategic perimeters of “success”. That’s not semantics — it’s just realism.

Posted by: Jake Blanchard | Apr 6 2024 11:58 utc | 157

Posted by: Milites | Apr 5 2024 21:42 utc | 74
Poetically framed in rhyming couplets in iamabic pentameter:
Empire Flailing
In uniting coalitions, threats abound,
Demographic shifts on battlegrounds found.
Artificial divides, Woke policies ignite,
Awakening communities with the fright.
No effete fighters, bound by rules obscure,
But mercenaries with weapons sure.
Steel, not wood, their tool in hand,
Threatening power, across the land.
Brought to knees by tactics sly,
In 2020’s echo, they rely.
Radical policies, their own demise,
Disdain for those beneath their eyes.
At the bottom table, crumbs they take,
Elite masters’ remnants, in their wake.
Nervous whispers, outside walls,
Chinking armour, as the country calls.
Incompetent guards, their only shield,
Facing a foe they cannot yield.
Elites, ready to betray their own,
When the ironclad warrior is shown.
Psychotic clowns, their puppetry done,
Stabbed by masters, one by one.
Claiming support, in treachery’s embrace,
Yet seeking to disarm, to debase.

Posted by: canuck | Apr 6 2024 12:13 utc | 159

Posted by: Jake Blanchard | Apr 6 2024 11:58 utc | 156
The more wide ranging your definition the longer the duration, is the simple answer. Though It’s true that you should take a holistic view on conflict, the danger then becomes, if the radii of contributory factors is drawn too large, that it ultimately becomes a self-defeating process, as no conflict would ever end, just smoulder.
As for predicting an exact time, why even bother, unless this conflict directly impacts you or a loved one. Russia is ascending, Ukraine declining, (Chasov Yar being a key indicator of the rate of both cycles) that’s all that matters for most people, because that’s when the post-conflict implications and consequences stage will really kick in. Probably also cutting and prepping the kindling for the next regional conflagration. On that depressing thought real life intervenes and I must go and live it.

Posted by: Milites | Apr 6 2024 12:24 utc | 161

Oh boy, as I said, everyone here has NATO sussed out. Once Ukie is rolled up, NATO will run home with their tail tween their legs…
…..everyone here knows NATO is a paper tiger, everything they do is so dumb, silly clowns don’t they know nothing…..too bad they didn’t hire half the commenters on this board…..they be clued in in seconds…..
Cheers M

Posted by: sean the leprechaun | Apr 6 2024 12:45 utc | 163

Posted by: sean the leprechaun | Apr 6 2024 12:45 utc | 162
I was away and could not respond to a post of yours a few days ago. Marty from America banned me (and a number of others) when I expressed disgust at the Russian withdrawal from around Kiev. Because of the abandonment of the fraternizing citizenry to Ukie reprisals. Like so much of this war, the Russian action seemed incomprehensible. To encourage regular Joe’s to take selfies…then leave them to their dates. I share your feelings about the slaughter of brothers by brothers. It seems war is the greatest of all Pandora’s boxes. Best to you.

Posted by: Robert E.Smith | Apr 6 2024 13:06 utc | 165

everyone here knows NATO is a paper tiger, everything they do is so dumb, silly clowns don’t they know nothing…..too bad they didn’t hire half the commenters on this board…..they be clued in in seconds

Emphasis mine. Yes actually, given they seem to be advised by the likes of you. They are a bunch of strutting peacock know nothings who have become political in action instead of technical. They became yes men and now face the result of not telling the idiot politicians ‘no’.
And yes, NATO are a paper tiger. Worse, if they do get involved, their forces are going to get annihilated and probably bring the world down with them in their rage.

Posted by: Doctor Eleven | Apr 6 2024 13:20 utc | 167

I share your feelings about the slaughter of brothers by brothers.
Posted by: Robert E.Smith | Apr 6 2024 13:06 utc | 164

The dumbest BS in search of ways to declare NATO the winner, like “Russia killed so many Slavs that they lost even after conquering the whole Ukraine.”
When Dems come to lock Trumpers to a reeducation camp, Trumpers are not going to defend themselves, because this would mean “hurting brothers”? Who are the main enemies of Rural Americans – Equadorians?

Posted by: Poslan1 | Apr 6 2024 13:29 utc | 169

Milites@160….have we not been smoldering for hundreds of years, nay, thousands? With the odd break in between? Is not the current Euro conflict just a continuation of Feudal States attempting to steal the others resources to support their exceptionalism? Perhaps too big a picture. The past having nothing to do with the future?
Cheers M
Cheers M

Posted by: sean the leprechaun | Apr 6 2024 14:08 utc | 171

unimperator@169….due to the Law of Unforseen Consequences I just point out what I see actually taking place, Russia wins hands down. At what cost to a neighboring country. The human carnage.
Someone laments the killing of the elite, they worry where one might stop…..well we already know its a very small group, some say a few thousand……they’d be missed? Only if you are one of them. Actually if rather than pamper the rich Bankfrieds, the Madoff’s, let’s adopt the Chinese Model. You diddle the money and get caught, you swing in the wind. Bankers Wars? What banker? Swing them in the wind.
Cheers M

Posted by: sean the leprechaun | Apr 6 2024 14:17 utc | 173

Posted by: sean the leprechaun | Apr 6 2024 12:45 utc | 162
#########
Sean, NATO isn’t dumb. They are incompetent and irrational.
How else do you explain invading the graveyard of Empires and leaving 20 years later having enmity with the previously occupied while gifting them billions in military hardware?

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Apr 6 2024 14:25 utc | 175

The war in Ukraine ends when Russia says it does. The new Cold War between Russia/China and the usual “West” will go on. 4 degrees will really mess up the happy status quo. We can’t help ourselves.
Quick, Pollyannas! Grab your sticks and hoes and attack!! CRY, “FUSION IS OUT THERE!!”
Whatever.

Posted by: wilsonK | Apr 6 2024 14:47 utc | 177

LoveDonbass@174…isn’t the equipment junk? Not much use outside a scrap yard?
Lots of theories of why the US ran from the graveyard….my bestest guess, they already knew Ukie was blowing in the wind and were forced to make a snap decision….
….any money people, econ grift tabulators in the house…anyone want to venture a guess on the amount of graft sucked from the Ukraine via every evil under the sun from body part trafficking, live human stock…..fuck the list is huge….. bio weapons? What bio weapons?
In Afghanistan the US stabilized, then restarted the illegal drug trade….dozens of pics with allied troops strolling through poppy fields. Protection racket?
Now last I read, might be lies, Talibs are not destroying the existing fields, they are managing them…..ffs, ain’t commerce grand?
NATO is not dumb. They are incompetent and irrational and they have nuclear weapons, flying over the Cuckoo Nest, that’s very reassuring!
Cheers M

Posted by: sean the leprechaun | Apr 6 2024 14:49 utc | 179

“NATO is like 30 countries dude they can bring a massive army if need be.”
In the event of all-out hot (but not radioactive) war, by the time NATO “brought” that “massive army,” Russian troops would be popping champagne corks in Paris.

Posted by: malenkov | Apr 6 2024 15:00 utc | 181

Julian is wrong and Julian is trolling, but some of the observations of “Julian the Apostate” deserve to be taken seriously if only because they challenge some weak assumptions sometimes posted here.
Ultimately, in order to win the war, Russia has to make the Ukrainian government surrender, or alternatively, defeat Ukraine so comprehensively that its government collapses (and is perceived to have collapsed, and been discredited, by its population). It seems clear that over the last year Russia has been trying to persuade the Ukrainian government to surrender without making a last-ditch stand, and this does seem to have failed. Hence the current talk about the attrition of the Ukrainian military; Russian supporters hope that this will make the next major attack, which will probably come within the next couple of months, such a success that a breakthrough and some kind of mobile warfare will become possible. Hence, again, the talk of taking Kharkov and Odessa (which will have to be done if the war is to be brought to a conclusion).
I’d say this is possible. Julian, of course, insists that it is impossible. In reality, we shall simply have to wait and see what happens. It does seem that Russian tactics have improved and small-scale offensives have shown some success, but what of a large-scale offensive? What some commentators call, disparagingly, “big arrow” offensives are probably the way to go, but are they practical in an era when there are so many guided weapons on the battlefield?
Alternatively, what would happen if NATO troops arrived in numbers? The assumption is that they would be ineffective, but NATO technicians in anti-aircraft and anti-shipping units have shown some striking successes, even if they have not been in any way decisive. I don’t think one should assume that NATO’s electorate would be in any position to block a large-scale EuroNATO deployment of combat troops. We may yet see the US fighting to the last Western European in Ukraine.

Posted by: MFB | Apr 6 2024 15:07 utc | 183

NATO is not dumb. They are incompetent and irrational and they have nuclear weapons, flying over the Cuckoo Nest, that’s very reassuring!
Posted by: sean the leprechaun | Apr 6 2024 14:49 utc | 178
#####
That’s only an issue if you fear death. If you do not, like say many Palestinian and Russian martyrs, then it is part of the cycle of life.
None of us are getting out of this alive.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Apr 6 2024 15:16 utc | 185

Alternatively, what would happen if NATO troops arrived in numbers?
Posted by: MFB | Apr 6 2024 15:07 utc | 182
#####
A Zircon missile doesn’t ask for nationality before detonating.
Meat is meat. The rest is exceptionalism and regalia.
Sure some militaries have better esprit de corps and equipment, but at the end of the day, a bullet to the head will kill anyone.
If anything, Russia can go even harder and with less restraint when fighting non-brothers.
Until now, the Russians have tried not to give NATO an excuse to intervene. Once NATO is obviously and publicly in, I suspect it will be “on like Donkey Kong”.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Apr 6 2024 15:25 utc | 187

Russians just do what they have to do to stop more killings of their own and if those who are supposed to kill more Russians are carrying Ukranin passports – too bad, they have had their fair chance to avoid it but they decided to play Moskal Safary, so FAFO.
Posted by: Poslan1 | Apr 6 2024 15:22 utc | 185
I know that. And nowhere did I say otherwise.

Posted by: Robert E. Smith | Apr 6 2024 15:29 utc | 189

Posted by: Innuendo | Apr 6 2024 14:47 utc | 177
North Korea exceeds the US shell production. A single artillery and tank shell factory in Russia out of several exceeds the entire Nato production.
That tells you everything you need to know about Nato and their supposedly hyper super dooper superior GDP exceeding the BRICS gas stations masquerading as a country.

Posted by: unimperator | Apr 6 2024 15:34 utc | 191

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Apr 6 2024 15:25 utc | 187
People don’t understand that if Nato tries to pile in Ukraine, Russia will remove every potential advantage which Nato could use in Ukraine to feed its forces. That means bridges, power plants, utilities and not give a damn about civilian effects. Let Nato deal and pay with humanitarian concerns.
Russia will use scorched earth and attrition against Nato, destroy their permanent air bases and logistic hubs, hit their camps and kill them all without earlier restraints concerning preservation of infrastructure. In other words, stacking environmental and strategical odds against Nato and for Russia.

Posted by: unimperator | Apr 6 2024 15:41 utc | 193

About the Krokus terror attack, Medvedev has it for Macron:

3. Accomplices. There are many of them. Their circle is expanding and includes those who gave property, money, organized movement, taught shooting, etc. Everything is clear with them too, and they will answer. Other accomplices or international sponsors of terrorists are much more interesting. And here, alas, the situation is as follows – they include senior officials of NATO countries. They are different. Yes, at least the same Macron. His rhetoric, his actions, and most importantly, his sanctions on covert operations with the Bandera regime may well be qualified as complicity in the March 22 terrorist attack. That is why the lover of oysters with champagne was so fucked up that he had to publicly deny France’s involvement in the terrorist attack himself s well as through his subordinates. It is obvious that Macron and a number of other Western leaders are the sponsors of this terrible terrorist attack. There is no excuse for this. You can’t hide behind immunity here. And from now on, they are not just enemies of Russia.

https://t.me/medvedev_telegram/476

Posted by: Paco | Apr 6 2024 15:46 utc | 195

Just testing !
🙄

Posted by: Sarlat La Canède | Apr 6 2024 15:47 utc | 197

It’s still a tragedy that if there must be industrial scaled death, it’s the Slavs that must do the dying instead of those responsible for all of this horror.
Posted by: Robert E. Smith | Apr 6 2024 15:46 utc | 194

For me Buryats and Tatars who are fighting side by side with Great Russians against Nazies are more brothers than Slavs from Azov and Lyut who are fighting on the other side.
Once again, the graviest enemies almost always share their genotype. The war in America will be Reds vs Blues, not Whites vs Browns.

Posted by: Poslan1 | Apr 6 2024 16:19 utc | 199