Posted by: AI_Revenger | May 12 2024 20:40 utc | 102
in the german piece it is said that putin “fired” shoigu.
this is the quality reporting i do not like.
thats not news reporting, thats exactly an “opinion piece” masquerading as a “news report”.

Posted by: Justpassinby | May 12 2024 20:47 utc | 104

The council of the elders. Shoigu moves from a position of working according to instructions, to helping formulate geopolitical policy which the president will mostly act on.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | May 12 2024 20:36 utc | 100
Not only: a key role is this one:
“Shoigu, in his capacity as secretary of the Security Council, will serve as the president’s deputy within the commission on the military-industrial complex.”
So… even closer to Putin as ever. And the weapons and ammunitions productions are most important, as anyone can guess.

Posted by: Naive | May 12 2024 20:55 utc | 106

Regards Mr. Putin’s re-assignments of his key officials:
Here in the U.S. it is common to change many cabinet-level posts (heads of major departments) at the end of a four-year presidential term.
Those officials that have demonstrated great promise are assigned to more prestigious or consequential jobs, those that are tired or have become political liabilities are politely asked for their resignations. This is common practice.
Some other commentators noticed that Shiogu’s replacement, Mr. Andrei Belousov, has little military experience, but has a lot of economic policy and industrial production background.
The big surprise to the world re: SMO and the Sanctions from Hell was how rapidly Russia increased wartime production, and adjusted to all the sanctions. That’s economic and industrial policy in action.
While it’s likely that Russia is preparing for a great deal more war, it’s a certainty that Russia is preparing for a major increase in industrial production.
=== A bit more background on Belousov which I bet you’ll find interesting ===
This is the first two paragraphs of an official announcement by the Russian Government News Service dated November 2023:

The 10th meeting of the Intergovernmental Russian-Chinese Commission on Investment Cooperation chaired by First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Andrei Belousov from Russia’s side and by Deputy Prime Minister of the State Council of China Ding Xuexiang from China’s side was held in Beijing.
“Today Russian-Chinese relations of comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation have reached an unprecedented high level and continue developing in all areas. They are built on a firm foundation of mutual respect, equality, and trust, non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, and cooperation in each other’s development and prosperity,” Andrei Belousov noted.

==== For your further consideration, this was copied from LightYearsFromHome’s post above (thanks LYFH!):
Andrey Belousov — the new Defence Minister of Russia
▪️ Andrey Belousov was born in 1959 in Moscow. His father fought in World War II in the air force.
▪️ Since 2020, he has served as the First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia.
▪️ Held positions including Minister of Economic Development (2012-2013) and advisor to the President.
▪️ Belousov is known for advocating government intervention in the economy and supporting state-led initiatives.
▪️Educated in economics and holds a doctorate, specializing in economic planning and analysis.
▪️Played a significant role in shaping Russia’s economic policies during his tenure in various governmental roles.

Posted by: Tom Pfotzer | May 12 2024 20:58 utc | 108

Every failure to advance is on purpose.
Posted by: Anonymous | May 12 2024 16:56 utc | 23
That is correct. In attritional warfare you only advance if the costs will be very low, otherwise you grind until a pocket opens up.
Sorry it’s frustrating for your theories you peddle here, but that is the way attritional warfare works. And if it takes ten years, it takes ten years.
Winning the war, Losing 200,000 men in ten years is better than winning the war and losing 200,000 in one year, and definitely better than rushing in foolishly and losing 200,000 and the war in one year.
Attritional warfare is very slow, and conservative, now a part of fifth gen warfare, which is also slow, and conservative, as other “battlespaces” develop on a slower timeline than war usually does.
And attritional warfare can be very frustrating for defenders. They are all pinned down on the front, slowly bleeding away, hoping for the attacker to do something stupid, like charge their defenses.
That is why there would often be soldiers sent to try and insult the other side into attacking.
Not only is attritional warfare conservative, it is also relatively easy to implement compared to other forms. All you have to do is fire/behead your hothead commanders who make assaults.

Posted by: UWDude | May 12 2024 21:10 utc | 110

The reassignment of Shoigu doesn’t sound like a demotion to me. Myself, I’m curious to find out what happens to Patrushev.

Posted by: malenkov | May 12 2024 21:15 utc | 112

the new defence guy..ideal for cutting off the west from any remaining stuff that Russia supplies to the west ..eg the uranium that actually insane USA seems to be thinking of themselves to stop…that sensible people realise would be disastrous to USA power energy supplies….and for any revenge activities in response-retaliation to seizure of the 300billion foreign reserves and other seizures…ie consolidating a total war economy against the west…..

Posted by: Jo | May 12 2024 21:18 utc | 114

Posted by: UWDude | May 12 2024 21:10 utc | 110
Ukies should have fallen back in 2022 in order to stretch out RF supply lines and open up opportunities for counterattacks and even encirclements of a very undermanned RF force. Instead they held the line at a 10-1 artillery disadvantage and the RF just sat there and dropped shells on their heads. Now they do not have the time equipment or trained personal for that to work. They played a losing hand and should have at least read On War once to avoid this trap they are now in.

Posted by: badjoke | May 12 2024 21:24 utc | 116

malenkov @ 112

The reassignment of Shoigu doesn’t sound like a demotion to me. Myself, I’m curious to find out what happens to Patrushev.

Peter AU1 @ 100 nailed it, it’s a promotion to the strategic inner circle.
I’m not the least bit of a Kremlinologist but Patrushev always came across as very sharp, direct, and staunch, I don’t think he fell out of favor. Maybe he’ll be made the guy who picks up the red phone when a nervous Pentagon calls. Unless they’ve already promised that to Medvedev.
What’s going on in the world now is very serious, it’s existential to Russia, after two years of trial by fire Putin is shuffling people around to where they are best fit but keeping everyone, MoD too. There’s no margin for mistakes anymore, you have to figure Putin knows what he’s doing and trusts his crew or you don’t. Compare that to the grotesque cockfight that is the Zelensky regime.

Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | May 12 2024 21:40 utc | 118

Has anyone else noticed that since the fall of Avdiivka that Donetsk city hasn’t been “shelled”, and that the attacks have increased in Belgorod direction?
Posted by: BroncoBilly | May 12 2024 16:07 utc | 15
—-
Not at all true. It was hit just last week and several times in the last few months. The US ATACMS can go that far from outer unsecured areas.

Posted by: Jake Blanchard | May 12 2024 21:46 utc | 120

^

The head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Kirill Budanov, laid the blame for the failure in the Kharkov direction on the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Syrsky.
“>https://t.me/ZandVchannel/112903

A grotesque cockfight with USA/UK/NATO/EU gangsters shouting, calling bets, and throwing their money down.

Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | May 12 2024 22:02 utc | 122

@Nasir is clearly a LLM output. Not sure why you guys even engage with (it) him.
This will become an important skill in the years to come: differentiate actual human input from LLM filler.

Posted by: darkmoon | May 12 2024 22:03 utc | 124

Posted by: Perimetr | May 12 2024 19:30 utc | 59
Is it a good idea to appoint a bureaucrat with no military background to be Defense Minister in the middle of a war?
It seems to indicate that Russia is preparing in advance in case to have to place the whole economy on a war footing. It would explain the selection of a numbers guy.

Posted by: Jon_in_AU | May 12 2024 22:08 utc | 126

A grotesque cockfight with USA/UK/NATO/EU gangsters shouting, calling bets, and throwing their money down.
Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | May 12 2024 22:02 utc | 122
The greater Idlib.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | May 12 2024 22:17 utc | 128

Posted by: Jake Blanchard | May 12 2024 22:13 utc | 127
1) “KGB agent” is not an insult, if it is commenting on cunning and intelligence,it is a compliment.
2) Many in Russia would see it as a plus Putin was kgb.
3) he said “agent”, you changed that to “spy” for strawman hay. They are different. He was not a “spy”.

Posted by: UWDude | May 12 2024 22:18 utc | 130

Belousov has the look of some Katherine the Great minister (just add the wig).
He might become the next tsar.
In the mean time he may impugn the slomo SMO.
May be promote the trepidant colonels and brigadiers into fast paced advance …
or not and just content himself with becoming Putin’s successor.

Posted by: Greg Galloway | May 12 2024 22:29 utc | 132

The discussion in this thread regarding Shoigu’s reassignment has been edifying. Thank you.
Scott Ritter’s latest on Vladimir Vladimirovich 2.0 portrays a new Russian president, rolling up his sleeves. Meanwhile, this Ritter character becomes a pretty good writer, imho. He’s certainly unafraid to express open admiration for Putin. In these times, that’s outstandingly atypical.
https://scottritter.substack.com/p/meet-the-new-bosshes-not-the-same
A major theme here is how western sanctions have immeasurable strengthened Putin’s hand in working to cleanse the system of grift, by clearing away pesky, west-leaning oligarchs.

Posted by: Aleph_Null | May 12 2024 22:44 utc | 134

Didn’t have time over weekend to pretty up a post. Take it unpolished:
1/ IKEA. Left Russia back as part of the Sanctions From Hell™️ era. The idea that Russians would be so enraged they couldn’t buy a Billy bookcase they’d overthrow Putin.
Evidently IKEA used manufacture furniture in Russia for export to Asia [use Russian raw materials, pay wages in rubles].
Now, Russia has taken over the IKEA factories and is opening IRL and online stores. The furniture and branding look very IKEA. The Russians are also introducing new color palettes and products.
The yt vid didn’t say if Russia was exporting its looks-like-IKEA products.
But if IKEA now has to source wood and manufacture outside Russia, and set up new manufacturing… Russia’s “looks just like IKEA” furniture surely could be priced to undercut IKEA in Asia (and Africa?)
2/ BRICS: spent some time on their website. The non-USD trade is in the multi billions now, and more countries are getting a taste for not-USD transactions.
All it would take now is for the U$ to actually steal Russian foreign reserves….
3/ Matt Gaetz is steaming furious the U$ has been kicked out of Niger.
Guess they were planning on stealing the uranium they need, after they weaned themselves off dirty, nasty, commie Russian uranium.

Posted by: Melaleuca | May 12 2024 22:55 utc | 136

Ukrainians will blame the Russian?
Lev Davidovich | May 12 2024 22:48 utc | 135
If someone in the west misplaces a sock, it’s Putin’s fault…

Posted by: Melaleuca | May 12 2024 22:57 utc | 138

The minister of defense is a civilian who gets a uniform. The statements from Peskov say it all. The idea is finish the military-economic reforms and harness the economic power of the Russian military industrial complex. Putin has repeatedly said he will not choose guns over butter, but it’s clear that guns will be necessary. There is also the opportunity to return more industry to state control under the relative emergency of the SMO.
And there is clearly still corruption in MoD. The appointment is a clear signal following the clear signal of arresting a high ranking officer that corruption is going to be addressed.

Posted by: Lex | May 12 2024 23:04 utc | 140

Where’s Nikolai Patrushev going? IMO, he’s always been a redoubtable guy, capable of fighting efficiently to protect Russia’s security interests in times of conflict.

Posted by: GW | May 12 2024 23:10 utc | 142

The appointment is a clear signal following the clear signal of arresting a high ranking officer that corruption is going to be addressed.
Posted by: Lex | May 12 2024 23:04 utc | 140
I doubt if that is the case. In the major reshuffle back in 2018, Putin said something in a speech. Not sure how to find it now. But those that proved their worth in pulling Russia out of the collapse of the Soviet Union were moved upwards and a younger generation were pointed in their places to take Russia into the future.
That initial reshuffle could be termed a milestone – Russia was then ready to take on the US. What we a seeing now will most likely be seen in hind site as another milestone.
The defeat of the US and the emergence of the multi-polar world.
Russia withstood everything the US could throw at it after the beginning of the SMO, and it was touch and go, but US didn’t go nuclear.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | May 12 2024 23:18 utc | 144

Is that supposed to be a snarky putdown? Who wouldn’t be proud of being erudite? Beats being proud of being stupid.
I know, don’t feed the trolls. Front lines collapsing, troll army has received marching orders.
Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | May 12 2024 20:56 utc | 107
Well, to be fair.
They at least have reserves.

Posted by: Urban Fox | May 12 2024 23:23 utc | 146

Trolls all swarmed in to to re-parrot standard western propaganda.
VOA from 2018
https://www.voanews.com/a/russia-putin-reshuffle/4330260.html

Posted by: Peter AU1 | May 12 2024 23:24 utc | 148

US debt/gdp during WW2 more than doubled, from 42% in 1941 to 106% in 1946. US debt in 2023 is 123% and rising exponentially. Russia debt/gdp in 2023 stands at 19%. Apart from the offshoring of american industry, the US cannot afford to take on Russia in a full scale ’conventional’ war. It would do to the US what WW2 did to the UK. Time is on Russia’s side.
Just a note on today’s curtis le may, lindsey graham, calling for Iran to be nuked because it was ok to nuke hiroshima and nagasaki. A true madman who should be sectioned under mental health.
I considered Ukrainian casualty figures, when they reached 1k per day, unsustainable, now it appears they are way beyond that. And the Russian offensive has hardly begun. This is becoming gruesome.

Posted by: Oh | May 12 2024 23:30 utc | 150

“the Putin regime ”
LOL
“conquer Ukraine in preparation for ethnic cleansing and Russification”
LOL
“All this despite the foot-dragging by NATO in failing to provide Ukraine with enough weapons ”
LOL
“Putin’s most recent nuclear threats show that he is rattled ”
Posted by: Mr B | May 12 2024 23:10 utc | 141
Is it just me, or does this read out like it is an 4.1.?

Posted by: UWDude | May 12 2024 23:37 utc | 152

Peter AU1 | May 12 2024 19:53 utc | 81
Ah. Serbs are not angels, Russia knows that, luckily.
Posted by: whirlX | May 12 2024 19:59 utc | 82
———-
whirlX, I can’t figure out why you are biased when it comes to any Serb topic, but your above given statement is poor generalization based on Reuter’s article linked in Peter AU’s former comment. Did you read this article by the way?
I anticipate you will have arguments to explain, and I could easily counter them, but I will refrain in order to prevent converting this bar into Balkan pub.
Have a nice day.

Posted by: Tanger | May 12 2024 23:40 utc | 154

The West loves to see Russia as a ‘one man band’ led by evil Putin. As with so much else, they fail to see the meritocracy he’s building. He is not a Saddam Hussein who might shoot a minister on the spot for reporting a shortfall. I don’t see a collection of lackeys and ass kissers ….or the delusional (Blinken) or diversity ‘picks’.
Patrushev and Mishustin look like skilled hard asses. This sort of structure suggests a leader who does not greatly fear being overthrown by a competent rival. Russia will challenge and trouble the West for many years, I think.

Posted by: Eighthman | May 12 2024 23:55 utc | 156

petra | May 12 2024 23:26 utc | 149
…upgraded chamber of elders along with the elevated VVP, Lukashenko, Lavrov, Shoigu, Patrushev père and the yet-to-be-revealed governor of cleansed post-bellar Ukraine.
I noted Kazakhstan President Tokayev seated beside Putin (and Lukashenko) at the Victory Day march.

Posted by: Melaleuca | May 13 2024 0:04 utc | 158

Matt Gaetz is steaming furious the U$ has been kicked out of Niger.
Guess they were planning on stealing the uranium they need, after they weaned themselves off dirty, nasty, commie Russian uranium.
Posted by: Melaleuca | May 12 2024 22:55 utc | 136
Gaetz is one of only a handful of sane politicians in CONgress (member of the Freedom Coalition). Contrary to your assertion that he’s “steaming furious”, Gaetz has been openly critical of the presence of US troops in Niger.
Let’s see how your characterization tallies with this excerpt from MSN:

Rep. Matt Gaetz claimed victory after the Pentagon declared on Saturday that it was pulling nearly 1,100 troops out of Niger.
Gaetz, a Fort Walton Beach Republican, has in recent days spotlighted how those troops were increasingly abandoned by the Biden administration — even as Niger’s regime was becoming more anti-American.
“Today, the Biden Administration has announced they will be pulling 1,100 troops out of Niger following my report earlier this week. For too long, the Biden administration has allowed our troops in Niger to languish while it has tried to cover up reality and avoid embarrassment. This is yet another extraordinary Biden foreign policy failure,” Gaetz wrote, journalist Simon Ateba posted on X on late Friday.

Melaleuca, if this is opposite day, then you’re absolutely correct.

Posted by: chronic | May 13 2024 0:17 utc | 160

@ Melaleuca | May 13 2024 0:04 utc | 158
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is trying to sit on two chairs at once. He is providing token respect at Moscow’s Victory Parade (after once again cancelling their own), at the same time as signing “strategic partnership” agreement with UK. Not to mention the unchecked NGO rampancy targeting the nation’s identity, clearly setting up for a color revolution. Central-Asia is under US Empire’s crosshair and it is already worming in deep.

Posted by: boneless | May 13 2024 0:31 utc | 162

If you have any respect for the man, drop the cheesy label.
Posted by: Jake Blanchard | May 12 2024 22:13 utc | 127
“They” do not have any respect for the man, for he was able to assure the security of Russia. Which is making them extremely furious.

Posted by: Naive | May 13 2024 0:36 utc | 164

[https://southfront.press/military-situation-on-ukrainian-frontlines-on-may-12-2024-map-update/%5D
The Russian army expanded the buffer zone in the Kharkiv region and took control of the villages of Krasne, Morokhovets, Oliinikove, Hatyshche;
Clashes continued near Stelmakhovka; Russian forces repelled attacks near Sinkovka; Russian forces advanced north of Ocheretyne; Russian forces advanced west of Krasnoe;
Russian forces advanced northwest of Verbove; Russian forces captured half of Krasnogorivka;
Russian forces eliminated 190 servicemen, two armoured vehicles, four pickups, one M777, one Msta-B howitzer, one M119 howitzer in the Kupyansk area;
Russian forces eliminated 620 servicemen, two tanks, 18 motor vehicles, one Braveheart artillery system, one M777, one D-20, three L-119 howitzers, three Gvozdika systems in the Donetsk area;
Russian forces eliminated 415 servicemen, two tanks, one Bradley infantry vehicle, one Kozak armoured vehicle, three motor vehicles, one Paladin system in the Avdeevka area;
Russian forces eliminated 125 servicemen, three motor vehicles, one M777 howitzer, one Msta-B howitzer, one artillery system in the Southern Donetsk area;
Russian forces eliminated 50 servicemen, two motor vehicles, six M777 howitzers, two Gvozdika artillery systems, three 122-mm D-30 howitzers in Kherson region;
Russian air defense forces intercepted 36 Ukrainian drones over the past day;
Russian air defense forces shot down eight Tochka-U missiles, one Hammer bomb, 23 Vampire, Grad, and Olkha projectiles over the past day;
Russian air defense forces shot down one MiG-29 warplane over the past day.
Russian forces advanced and took control of Krasnoye, Morohovets, Oleynikovo; Gatishche village; Clashes began in Volchansk; Russian artillery suppressed AFU units in Kazachya Lopan;
Up to 100 Ukrainian servicemen, two tanks, one Kozak armoured vehicle, four motor vehicles were eliminated during the Russian offensive in Kharkiv region.

Posted by: Acco Hengst | May 13 2024 0:42 utc | 166

Posted by: vargas | May 12 2024 19:06 utc | 49
Fuck off, agent provovateur who is supporting the ukronazis.
Posted by: Naive | May 12 2024 20:09 utc | 88
————————————————————
Agreed.
Posted by: Ahenobarbus | May 12 2024 21:50 utc | 121
————————————————————-
He/him/itself talks like a 14-year old.
The SB Collective seems to be on break. Welcome treat.

Posted by: Acco Hengst | May 13 2024 0:45 utc | 168

If you have any respect for the man, drop the cheesy label.
Posted by: Jake Blanchard | May 12 2024 22:13 utc | 127
Oh, please! Putin was an agent of the KGB. Fact. He has led a team that has rescued Russia from the collapse of the Yeltsin coup. He is the leader of a team who is prosecuting an all-spectrum war against the west- the west that raped Russia after 91. How did he get that position? He was known to people who wanted to protect and preserve Russia, and had the access to knowledge and power necessary to work toward that. In other words, they were powerful people from the security services. Everything they have collectively done since has been one hundred per cent compatible with a slow-burn restoration of Russian socialism, within the constraints of the situation inherited from Yeltsin and the hostility of the west. He is where he is now because THEN he was already wise, knowledgeable, brilliant, subtle and had the backing of powerful people who recognized that, who were RUSSIAN PATRIOTS. That combination really points to a preponderance of communists.
I have infinite respect for VVP, and I reject the western propaganda line, which you seem to embrace, that Putin ‘saw the light’ and became an Atlanticist, and that only the ‘unexpected betrayals’ and rejection by the west made him turn to a ‘nationalist’ platform. Only a complete idiot would think that a brilliant man with a long career in the security services would think the west was anything but hostile to Russia. They were trying to rob it, hack it apart, and make sure it could never be a unified state again. Putin, at least, does not get his understanding of the world from reading the MSM.

Posted by: Honzo | May 13 2024 0:59 utc | 170

chronic | May 13 2024 0:17 utc | 160
“Opposite Day”. Nah. I was watching Gaetz performance on c-span. (Ie, not reading a report of what he’s alleged to have said. But what he was actually saying)
He’s furious the U$ is being pushed out of Niger, furious the Russians “are inside the wire”, furious “Biden”/State Dept have hidden what’s happening in Niger and furious the Pentagon have been “abandoned” in Niger.
Go watch his actual theatrics.
[my search history isn’t spitting out the clip I watched yesterday. But this is close.] (if I find the actual clip I watched. I’ll post it)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAIuWbBQ9GM

Posted by: Melaleuca | May 13 2024 1:19 utc | 172

The West is blithely unaware of how its actions towards Russia appear over time. Putin asks to join NATO and is refused. He may have tried to join the EU more than once and been refused. The US dumped valuable treaties that affected Russia such as Open Skies, ABM and INF (they offered on site verification and were refused).
Russia pursued Minsk I and II while the West acted in bad faith. Russia helped the US with logistics in Afghanistan and warned the US about the guys who did the Boston Marathon bombing. Russia was explicitly rejected about a security pact for Europe in knee jerk fashion. They were utterly rejected in pursuing peace with Ukraine in Istanbul. The West has gone to extremes – never seen or done before – in regard to sanctions, weapons transfers, and every sort of animosity imaginable.
It looks very, very odd to observe the equivalent of fanatical hatred of Russia by the West and its depth and consistency across GENERATIONS, apparently. Look at Britain’s attitude ! What is their problem? Why? They don’t have enough trouble of their own?
Either Putin has been blind to this Eternal animosity or very patient with it, perhaps deceived by the West’s moral pretensions. If every attempt at negotiation is refused, it looks viciously crazy, giving Russia no choice – causing the West to react as they were bullies who are outraged because they got punched in the face, exclaiming, “He hit me !”

Posted by: Eighthman | May 13 2024 1:34 utc | 174

https://t.me/llordofwar/347538
The head of the Social Democratic Party of Germany sharply criticized the idea of shooting down Russian missiles from the territory of NATO countries
“The desire to protect Ukrainian airspace through a NATO operation means abandoning the principle that we do not want to actively intervene in a war.
I consider such proposals irresponsible and extremely dangerous,” Rolf Mützenich said in an interview with Tagesspiegel.
He noted that the protection of Ukrainian airspace by the German army would turn Germany towards the conflict. According to Mützenich, his party will never agree to this.

Posted by: Melaleuca | May 13 2024 1:43 utc | 176

Dmitry Peskov’s full comment on the reasons for appointing Andrey Belousov as Minister of Defense
The budget of the Ministry of Defense and the military-industrial complex was recently around 3%, but recently it has grown to 6.7%.
This is not yet a critical figure, but due to known geopolitical circumstances, we are gradually approaching the situation of the mid-80s when the share of expenditure on the military-industrial complex in the economy was at the level of 7.4%.
It is very important to integrate the economy of the military-industrial complex into the country’s economy. To integrate it so that it corresponds to the current moment.
Today, the one who is open to innovations, more open to maximum operational implementation, wins on the battlefield.
Therefore, it is natural that at the current stage, the president decided that the Ministry of Defense should be headed by a civilian.
And this is not just a civilian, but a person who has very successfully headed the Ministry of Economic Development, who has been an assistant to the president on economic issues for a long time.
And in the previous cabinet of ministers, he was the first deputy chairman of the government.
The Ministry of Defense must be absolutely open to innovations, to the implementation of all advanced ideas.
Telegram: @DDGeopolitics

Posted by: Melaleuca | May 13 2024 1:50 utc | 178

This shifts in Russian government must be the signs of despair in Russia.
The same situation as in Ukraine.
In NATO we see no personal changes, no criticism, no signs of war fatigue.
Slavs are killing each other and the West is laughing (both, elite and the wage slaves)
Posted by: vargas | May 12 2024 19:06 utc | 49
It must be easy to be you. Just take the latest news from Russia and draw the opposite conclusion. Take the propaganda of the West as fact. Mistake the stasis of NATO as stability. Ignore strategic setbacks. Don’t offer an argument of any kind – just say contrary things. It must be easy to be you.
I am ashamed to have even bothered to respond to you, as you are so obviously a troll.

Posted by: Activist Potato | May 13 2024 2:00 utc | 180

He noted that the protection of Ukrainian airspace by the German army would turn Germany towards the conflict. According to Mützenich, his party will never agree to this.
Posted by: Melaleuca | May 13 2024 1:43 utc | 176
_____
(*yawn*) Well, that’s what he says today…

Posted by: malenkov | May 13 2024 2:02 utc | 182

Melaleuca | May 12 2024 23:15 utc | 143
You are of course right — MoA is just a place for “talk”. But … it’s only a whisky bar if that’s what one believes it to be. Btw, I’d be no fun in a real whisky bar either, as I’m not a drinker anyway. I like to say what I mean and mean what I say. I’ve noticed that alcohol gets in the way of such candidness and clarity.

Posted by: Jake Blanchard | May 13 2024 2:14 utc | 184

Posted by: karlof1 | May 12 2024 23:19 utc | 145
Well said, sir. Too much meaningless armchair conjecture. All VVP wants is a BETTER Team Russia.

Posted by: Jake Blanchard | May 13 2024 2:17 utc | 186

“I mean and mean what I say. I’ve noticed that alcohol gets in the way of such candidness and clarity”
That is a funny statement from one who uses so many strawman arguments and takes umbrage when someone calls you out on imprecise language. Agent and spy are two very different things, that isn’t splitting hairs, that is being precise.
As far as USA nuking itself, that is definitely a possibility. Perhaps you don’t know what factions control which parts of the nuclear triad or realize the schism in the military is deeper then the one in society? How unstable and unhinged the USA currently is?
Fairly long odds, sure, but not an unreasonable prediction.
OK, carry on with your weak arguments and petty insults. Later days.

Posted by: Eclavdra | May 13 2024 2:23 utc | 188

More RT

Nuland explains why US didn’t want Ukraine to talk to Russia
Ukraine has never been in a position to get a favorable settlement to end the enduring conflict with Russia and so Washington has never actually encouraged Kiev to negotiate with Moscow, former US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs and former acting Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland has claimed.
The ex-official and one of the key proponents of supporting Ukraine through military means made the remark in an interview with Politico published on Saturday.
A vast part of the interview revolved around the Ukrainian conflict, with Nuland producing a typical mainstream American assessment of it.
“Let’s start with the fact [*fact*;lol.Ok] that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin has already failed in his objective.
He wanted to flatten Ukraine. He wanted to ensure that they had no sovereignty, independence, agency, no democratic future – because a democratic Ukraine, a European Ukraine, is a threat to his model for Russia, among other things, and because it’s the first building block for his larger territorial ambitions,” Nuland asserted, without providing any supporting evidence.
The official insisted that Kiev can still “succeed” in the conflict, though she dodged the question of whether she believes Ukraine could seize its former territories from Russia, including the Crimean Peninsula, which broke away from Kiev in the aftermath of the 2014 Maidan coup and joined Moscow after a referendum. 
“It can definitely get to a place where it’s strong enough, I believe, and where Putin is stymied enough to go to the negotiating table from a position of strength. It’ll be up to the Ukrainian people what their territorial ambitions should be,” she said, adding that “whatever is decided on Crimea, it can’t be remilitarized such that it’s a dagger at the heart of the center of Ukraine.”
The former official revealed Washington has never actually pressed Kiev into negotiations with Moscow, claiming its “negotiating position” was never actually strong enough, including in late 2022.
“They were not in a strong enough position then. They’re not in a strong enough position now. The only deal Putin would have cut then, the only deal that he would cut today, at least before he sees what happens in our election, is a deal in which he says, ‘What’s mine is mine, and what’s yours is negotiable.’ And that’s not sustainable,” she claimed.
Victoria Nuland has been widely perceived as one of the key figures behind the whole Ukrainian crisis that started with the Maidan events, which ultimately brought down Ukraine’s democratically-elected president, Viktor Yanukovich, in 2014.
The diplomat, who at the time was Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, infamously showed up among Maidan activists, handing out pastries.
The affair became widely known as “Nuland’s cookies,” serving as a textbook example of direct US involvement in the coup.

Posted by: Melaleuca | May 13 2024 2:28 utc | 190

He’s furious the U$ is being pushed out of Niger…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAIuWbBQ9GM
Posted by: Melaleuca | May 13 2024 1:19 utc | 172
Welp, at first I thought you were just being careless and didn’t understand Gaetz’s position, but now I see you’re just plain old lying. Gaetz didn’t say one word in the clip you provided that suggests “he’s furious” or that he’s “steaming furious” about leaving Niger.

“Ie, not reading a report of what he’s alleged to have said. But what he was actually saying.”

On the clip you provided and in the direct quotes various media have published, not just MSN, he claims victory for the US leaving Niger, the exact opposite of what you claim. Guess I’ll just have to not believe my lying eyes (and ears) lol. I get it that you don’t like Gaetz (“Go watch his actual theatrics.”) But this is making you look non-credible.

“…furious the Pentagon have been ‘abandoned’ in Niger.”

The Pentagon? Really? The Pentagon has been abandoned? By whom? Gaetz is “furious” that the SOLDIERS have been abandoned BY the Pentagon by not giving them adequate food, water and medical supplies and keeping them there while Russian troops are present.
I don’t think you’re American, otherwise you’d know better than to try to paint Gaetz as a globalist, which he definitely is not.

Posted by: chronic | May 13 2024 2:46 utc | 192

I like to say what I mean and mean what I say. I’ve noticed that alcohol gets in the way of such candidness and clarity.
Posted by: Jake Blanchard | May 13 2024 2:14 utc | 184
____
You mean that you talk about people sticking fingers in their asses when you’re sober? and not even engaged in erotic adventures?…
Hope I never see you drunk!

Posted by: malenkov | May 13 2024 2:50 utc | 194

Posted by: Eighthman | May 13 2024 1:34 utc | 174
good comments by you, I agree, I understand that info, and the questions it raises.
fwiw (as to why?) i think it has a lot to do with “projection” of biases, and an idea I believe that “it is not what are looking at which defines reality we can see, but from where we are looking from instead” iow our own values/perspectives determines what we see “out there”.
simply put a conman and a fraudster will tend to be default wary of others trying to con them, to defraud them. Someone who lies, assumes everyone else does to and for similar reasons. Someone who will steal $100 from the Till assumes most other people would too, given the same opportunity. People who are honest and have integrity usually assume most other people are just like themselves honest and trustworthy – that;s how people get conned by those who are not.
Why? Because we tend to project our own values and experiences onto others and think most people are just like us. Criminals rarely trust other criminals — because they know what criminals do.
Now consider for a very very long time the US state does not operate in a trustworthy or honest way in international affairs (see wikileaks US diplomatic cables) – it is the norm since before WW1. And Russian (orthodox/social) values are different when it comes to making agreements and honesty.
I can imagine a situation where the Russian might assume the information about the Boston Marathon bombing was dismissed by some incompetent lower level operative … but that had the President known they would have taken action and trusted the information. This may be how the Russians thought about things in the past.
Hopefully after Syria, MH17, Salisbury Novichok, Minsk agreements, the Donbass civil war, Crimea, drones striking the Kremlin, US arms hitting Russian forces and terrorist attacks on civilians in Russia and Donbas crimea, dams and gas pipelines being blown up, drone surveillance, broken treaties, and Ukraine etc etc etc they no longer do.
Usually it takes a long time to believe the unbelievable … eg in marriage breakdowns on a basic human level or your best friend tells you your new lover has been cheating on you.

Posted by: Lavrov’s Dog | May 13 2024 2:51 utc | 196

chronic | May 13 2024 2:46 utc | 192
The Pentagon has been abandoned? By whom?
A: The Dept of State.
I stand by what I posted.
Posted by: Melaleuca | May 13 2024 2:53 utc | 197
Sure you do. And what about all your false claims of Gaetz being furious at the US leaving Niger? If you’re sticking by that one, why not give us a direct quote that supports your assertions?

Posted by: chronic | May 13 2024 2:58 utc | 198

Honzo | May 13 2024 0:59 utc | 170
You’re a loony. Your reply to mine made absolutely no continuity sense — completely full of strawmen and off topic nonsense, such that I thought you must be replying to someone else. But that’s ok. You have a script, and you’re sticking to it.
Posted by: Jake Blanchard | May 13 2024 2:27 utc | 189
Jake the Snake lost me when he playfully speculated on conspiracy theories about b’s unannounced absence. Those he targets in the forum deserve special attention. Of course, VP was a KGB agent. That doesn’t mean he wasn’t fucking brilliant and a patriot for his country and cause.

Posted by: Activist Potato | May 13 2024 3:02 utc | 200