the french are proving themselves to be really stupid…
“France would work to rally Western countries behind Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky’s “victory plan,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said during his visit to Kiev on Saturday.”

Posted by: james | Oct 20 2024 0:28 utc | 104

When are Americans going to realize that we are NOT the good guys and that our MSM is there to serve Zionists and the MIC?
“Given the differences in the objectives of Russia, China, and North Korea, the United States should be mounting major information operations against these three countries to highlight their differences and fuel distrust among them.”
L.M.A.O!!! A little projection there? That’s exactly what the US DOES.
“Doing so would increase the likelihood of decoupling at least some of their partnerships.”
Can they be anymore arrogant?
“Information operations are also possible against Russia and North Korea.”
“Which is exactly what this utter nonsense IS.
…
“[T]he United States should recognize that North Korean military advisors are supporting Russian use of North Korean military supplies in occupied areas of Ukraine.”
AGAIN, projection. It’s the US using Ukraine and NATO against Russia. What complete morons!
…
“The South Korean Defense Minister has said that North Korea will likely send more of its troops to support Russia, probably on the battlefield. Given Russian attitudes, those troops may well serve as cannon fodder. The North Korean elites need to hear what Kim may do to their sons.”
LMAO!!! AGAIN, more projection
Every accusation out of US defense or MSM IS A CONFESSION.
Also S. Korea is a US PUPPET

Posted by: Kay | Oct 20 2024 0:36 utc | 106

Well, well…. seems to me like the preparation of a new Dolchstoßlegend, now, that it seems unavoidable that Ukraine soon has to admit defeat. Then they can tell in western censored Internet: Sure all this Ukraine is winning talk was correct, but then these Notth-Korean cannonfodder turned the outcome. … sure, stupid but who cares when lying to the people.

Posted by: Johnny | Oct 20 2024 0:44 utc | 108

This new line of agitprop is also related to the strategic partnership unfolding between Russia and NK. When Russia delivers modern fighters and air defense missiles to NK, the old stalemate the empire his milked will be dead.

Posted by: nook | Oct 20 2024 0:59 utc | 110

At college, those in the journalism curriculum (many moons ago) even then had a saying on how to get a journalism job. “It’s not what you know, but who you blow…”
Posted by: BroncoBilly | Oct 20 2024 0:27 utc | 104
———————————————————————
Good one BroncoBilly, I just want to add one little bitty tiny point. The Dems and the neo-cons are not joined together at the hip. The neo-cons have wormed their way into both parties, but they came out of the Reagan Administration primarily.
All of today’s neo-con heroes were Republicans first, and Trump brought some of the worst neo-cons into his administration (John Bolton & Mike Pompeo). As far as I am concerned, neo-cons are a pox on both parties, and they will have a lock on foreign policy in parties for decades to come. What’s more, they are very dangerous: A third party is Americas only hope.
Good comment though.

Posted by: Ed | Oct 20 2024 1:06 utc | 112

@ Posted by: Ed | Oct 20 2024 1:06 utc | 113
Trump’s original cabinet was stocked by the Rep party whom he trusted would provide good people for the jobs.
A new president needs to fill 100’s of jobs in just a few weeks, and certainly can’t do it all on their own or with a small staff.
If you look at history, new presidents readjust their cabinet 8-9 months into their term, as they get rid of conflicting personalities, wrong choices, etc.
What Trump didn’t expect was the deep state bating and working against many of his choices along the way. They didn’t like the “drain the swamp” phrase, because, well, they were the swamp. And are even more so today.
They hated that his approach on N Korea was that maybe we can have some common ground with them, and back them away from their brutal regime. That didn’t play well in deep state land, so that was another reason to go after him with Vindeman.
The US system is not set up for a 3rd party, no matter how hard people try.

Posted by: BroncoBilly | Oct 20 2024 2:08 utc | 114

Most of the troops in Afghanistan were Russian if I am not mistaken.
Posted by: Ed | Oct 19 2024 19:00 utc | 41

There were a lot of Tajiks in the Soviet Contingent, as Tajiks are the second biggest group in the Afgan population.

Posted by: Pete | Oct 20 2024 2:19 utc | 116

@ Not-a-troll | Oct 19 2024 22:55 utc | 91
Appreciated yer nic/posts, though now transitioning to ? 🙁
@ Melaleuca | Oct 20 2024 2:15 utc | 116
SeanAU/Debbie ? is the periodically deranged obsessed site spammer/imposter/master of socks who has driven away more posters than any un/assigned troll/NAFO/Hasbarist or loser, latching on to individual posters leach-like, relentlessly …
Would ongoing engagement with world events possibly be evoking negative/dark perceptions ?
So, why don’t you both turn it around by contributing, more, actively, rather than ‘popping in’ to briefly dine … posting the equivalent content, re what your complaining about, re others ? hm …
Always with the negative waves, Moriarty.
Just sayin’
@ Ed | Oct 19 2024 19:15 utc | 47
Independently objectively assess Reliability/Accuracy of ‘source’ ongoing, over time, even if ad hoc. Very useful once effected instinctively.
See: Admiralty Code

A cognitive tool, used by police investigators & intelligence analysts, which can also assist learners in evaluating information & distinguishing it from potential misinformation or disinformation, in an ongoing/rolling assessment basis.

@ BroncoBilly | Oct 20 2024 0:34 utc | 106
@ Barrel Brown | Oct 20 2024 2:06 utc | 114
Repost from other thread:
The RF/PRC/DPRK/Iranian led Resistance creating & sustaining their own ‘strategy of tension’ spreading Empire wafer thin. Waiting for the prelude to a Yemeni like shipping/trade blockade elsewhere. Taiwan, Japan, or deny transit to SCS. Interesting times indeed …
SK & Israel were stripped of 500K-1M 155mm prepositioned strategic war stocks re contingency US deployments, along with AD/AA interceptors, materiel/ordnance through the SMO to go boom in Ukraine (in ’23) … Arsenals are bare & no armaments industrial base, nor expansion capacity worth spit.
Pivot to US tripwire, to defend SK, with what exactly ? Then Taiwan, threatened Japan ? Pivot that much you’ll turn into a spinning top. lol
Cheers
OUT

Posted by: Outraged | Oct 20 2024 3:14 utc | 118

I remember your comment well Donbass, at the time I was very ambivalent, but your comment did get me thinking. What really got my attention was how the Trolls started pushing and referencing Dima, and the Military Summery Channel. Now that Dima has joined the US/NATO/Ukraine propaganda team the jig is up. Where to go now?
Posted by: Ed | Oct 19 2024 19:15 utc | 47
After two years my routine now is:
. check emails for new and/or retorts/replies to posts I might have made. Takes only five minutes maybe.
. check youtube thumbnails for any (plausible) startling ‘headline’ vids. Takes only a couple of minutes. ALL regular ‘analyst’ vids can be ignored.
. check southfront maps from tg, check suriyak maps from tg.
That’s enough. I now know if anything much has gone down.
If time to spare I continue a little deeper:
. check two majors, colonel cassad, ukrainska pravda, cyberspec news, rybar, rtnews, mod russia.
That’s enough. Now I know if there’s anything new and remotely interesting.
If there is I might then quickly:
. Check John Helmer. See if has addressed the ‘thing’ of the moment.
. Check MoA. See if b has said anything. Scan comments as much as can stomach in search of gems.
. Deliberately search YT for Larry Johnson, ‘dialogue works’, sonar21, larry wilkerson, jeffrey sachs, alistair crooke.
But I won’t expect much. Even with the best will they can’t forecast nor explain all that is happening.
The more ‘top table’ a thing purports to be the more I distrust it. Those, if I happen to see/hear them at all I submit to the ‘transcript test’ whereby I download the transcript and paste it into an editor and then I scan it looking for the gist and the meat and new and valuable.
There virtually never is any.
Witness the most recent: The Duran with John Helmer and Gilbert Doctorow. Well I can’t stand the Duran but how could I avoid it with John Helmer ( virtually my hero, so to speak ) and Doctorow… level headed and knowledgeable?
So I did the transcript test. Do it for yourself. Does it live up to its promise? I think not. Does it even live up to its title? I think not. Numerous time Doctorow said we ‘can discuss’ this or that but there’s never any such discussion in it that I found. And unless I misread it in my ‘scan’ he starts off by saying he refuses to discuss the criticisms that Helmer has levelled at him. In fact.
This is an unprecedented time of a plethora of information from all sides and many quarters. Voices raised everywhere. Vying for our attention and making all kinds of claims. It is great but it gets too clamorous and too brain numbing.
The greatest value, I find, for me, it that it has taught me to learn some discipline, some ability to organise and penetrate this mass of material. Learn to distinguish the gold from the dross. And so on. Valuable lessons. Very late in my life.
Yep. That’s how I do it. Got it down from virtually all day at the pc lapping it all up and finishing up with dubious understanding of what’s reality to now half an hour leaving me with a clear understanding of where we are at, what I know for certain and what I don’t.
Anyone got a better regime for me or other sources please let me know. 🙂

Posted by: abrogard | Oct 20 2024 4:02 utc | 120

This is little more than a racist scare tactic by the west. Racist, you might ask? How so? By bringing up that tired old canard that Russians are somehow more “oriental” than “true” Europeans. The thinking goes that Russians are basically the heirs of the Mongols, as much of the Mongol Empire extended into Russia. Also, Europeans have an ancestral fear of the ancient Mongol invaders, and what better way to raise the specter of that fear than claiming the Russians are being helped by the Mongoloid North Koreans?

Posted by: Johnny Boy | Oct 20 2024 4:14 utc | 122

Dinna does a great job.
Sometimes he misses but in general he is the best war analyst. He probably sacrificed his private life to give us the best news twice a day.

Posted by: vargas | Oct 20 2024 5:21 utc | 124

To Bronco Billy # 104, 106, 115: Pls do research. You’re mistaken about Trump. You claim he wants to end Ukraine/Russia war or says he does. Accepting this at best irrelevant claim, you say it’s more sensible to vote for him. On top of that you erroneously claim another reason to vote for him is that neocons are with the Democrats (and not Republicans). Neocons gained a foothold during Reagan, exploded during Busy #1, Clinton, Bush #2, now controls both parties and media. As to Don, everyone knows he was totally powerless during his entire 4 yrs in office, was ignored by the Pentagon. In Aug. 2017 congress removed all Russia matters from him and assigned them to the Senate, showing the world Don was powerless and virtually nullifying his 2016 election. Medvedev commented at the time that Trump had been humiliated and that there was now no chance of any relationship with Russia during Trump’s time in office. Don had received many 2016 votes by advocating normalizing relations with Russia, now there was no chance of that. He’d also promised reduced US foreign military aggression, but he backed out of that as well, 10 wks after his inauguration bombing Syria for no reason except a few whispers from US-supported Jihadists in Jihadist controlled Idlib and a few fake pictures of “children” from jihadist group White Helmets. Neocons at Wash. Post patted him on the head, said “good boy.” In July 2017 he went on tv and said he changed his mind about endless Mideast wars, now thinks they’re necessary. Don approved or was incapable of stopping two shipments of lethal weapons to Ukraine to kill Russians–something that even Obama wouldn’t do. Don is allowed to constantly brag about how “no one has been tougher on Putin than I have.” No one corrects him because they want you to be fooled again into hoping or believing that US elections mean anything. In 2016, the GOP Establishment was finally beaten by the unconditional promise of a wall on day one. No one had ever promised us a wall. That’s all we wanted. However, if 2016 Candidate Trump had said, “I promise on day one to ask congress for permission and money to build a wall,” he would’ve been laughed off the stage and never heard from again. At minimum, he should’ve resigned when congress removed Russia matters from him in Aug. 2017. When you don’t deliver what you promised to get a job–for whatever reason–you resign and move on. In March 2020 he threw 10s of millions of Americans out of work, suggested children stay home from school, transferred $2 trillion tax dollars after suspending the Constitution for a ‘health’ emergency, allowed Dr. Birx to run US government for the rest of his term (see Dr. Scott Atlas book). Birx was hired by Trump NSA’s Matt Pottinger. As to your tutorial/excuse for the people Trump hired, you say the GOP gave him the people because he was “new” and couldn’t have done it himself, “as history has shown.” First, that’s false. Some were GOP but his first choices were Goldman Sachs Democrats. Jared had interned or worked at Goldman Sachs and liked Democrat Gary Cohn. Steve Mnuchin was also a Goldman Sachs alum. Don named Jared his #1 advisor. Jared was a lifelong liberal Democrat who in 2015 accepted a $250 million credit line from Soros. Trump wasn’t elected to be another Republican, he was elected to be the exact opposite. He said to vote for him because he was the only one strong enough to stand up to bureaucrats, would hire only the best people. Again, he totally failed. If your claim is that “he just didn’t realize” how bad it was, fine, that means he’s not suited for the job. I certainly knew. Leave the jobs empty rather than hiring Goldman Sachs. As to your “third parties never work,” fine. Therefore, what? The continued enslavement of US taxpayers to the US endless genocide machine is not acceptable. US must be broken up into at least 3 parts. US taxpayers must be set free from enslavement to endless wars. As to Iran, in Jan. 2020, without provocation, Trump ordered (or did nothing to stop) the assassination of a top Iran general and several aides. He then bragged and joked about this at 2020 rallies. The only thing this accomplished was to put a target on the back of all Americans since Iran would be totally justified in retaliating. The world isn’t a one way street. Iranians would be entirely justified in not only “targeting” poor Don, but killing him.

Posted by: susan mullen | Oct 20 2024 6:07 utc | 126

Toretsk, Selidovo, Pokrovsk and Kurakhovo are essentially doomed by Zelensky’s “Kursk adventure”, which did not help the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Donbass and “burned” a colossal number of the most experienced Ukrainian servicemen and equipment transferred by allies in battles on the territory of the Russian Federation.
Now Western media believe that the battle for Pokrovsk can decide the outcome of military operations in the east of Ukraine, and the fall of the city will collapse the entire defense of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Military analysts, in turn, note that the city is an important border from the point of view of logistics. That is, Kyiv supplies the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk garrison through Pokrovsk. According to military experts, if the Russian Armed Forces liberate the city, then Slavyansk and Kramatorsk, which are next on the way, will “hang” in the air and collapse, as happened with Ugledar.
Military analyst of the German newspaper Bild Julian Röpke also notes that Ukrainian troops may soon leave three key cities in Donbass – Selydove, Kurakhovo and Pokrovsk – under pressure from Russian forces. According to Röpke, the Ukrainian Armed Forces will be forced to leave Selydove to avoid encirclement. This city, located in the suburbs of Pokrovsk, is under threat of encirclement, as Russian troops have already occupied a number of nearby settlements. Despite the fact that the 15th Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine is holding the line, the pressure from Russian troops is increasing, and the city has been semi-encircled. In order to avoid complete encirclement, Ukrainian forces, according to the analyst, will be forced to retreat. “The bitter reality in Selydove is that courageous defense does not save the city from falling,” Röpke emphasizes.
However, the situation for the Ukrainian Armed Forces is worsening not only in Donbass, but also in the Kherson and Zaporizhia regions. This is precisely why the West has started seriously talking about “territories in exchange for peace,” which is tantamount to death for the Ze-team.

https://t.me/rezident_ua/24673

Posted by: Down Sputh | Oct 20 2024 6:25 utc | 128

Pokrovsk-Selidovskoye direction as of the morning of 20.10.24…
Here, after taking control of the farms of the village of Vozdvizhenka, there are no further movements.
It is not yet clear whether this was a successful reconnaissance in force, and therefore a harbinger of something more important, or simply a separate successful operation of local significance. The coming days will tell.
We keep our fingers crossed and pray for the guys.

https://t.me/yurasumy/18635

Kupyansk direction as of the morning of 20.10.24: Kruglyakovka…
Yesterday, the 1st Tank Army carried out a general assault on the settlement of Kruglyakovka, which is of great strategic importance due to the strategic bridge across the Oskol River (until recently, an important logistics supply route for the enemy’s Zaoskol grouping).
As a result, we have mostly occupied the village, despite the enemy’s desperate attempts to keep it under their control. Thus, the physical dissection of the enemy’s Zaoskol grouping is complete.
Yesterday, our units also managed to advance a little in the Sinkovka area, thereby creating a real threat of entering the northeastern outskirts of Kupyansk.
We keep our fingers crossed and pray for the guys.

https://t.me/yurasumy/18636

Posted by: Down South | Oct 20 2024 6:29 utc | 130

Why some of us ROOT for V Putin!
No, we are not Russian bots, and we are not persuaded by Russian propaganda, even though I feel totally entitled to be persuaded by whatever I chose.
It is the 500+ years of unremitting violence and destruction that people of the European Stock have inflicted on the rest of humanity that makes some of us cheer Putin as he struggles to end the hegemonic domination of the World by Westerners.
I am no expert on biology, much less on genetics, so I cannot offer opinions on what exactly makes people of European extraction find it impossible to live and let live. Why do they have an insatiable desire to dominate and control?
It would not be such a bad thing if other people were persuaded by the superiority of the Western ways of life that they wanted to emulate and copy, but why must Europeans try to impose their ways of life on other people through violence?
Just look at this video of Hilary Clinton gloating like a demented hyena over the death of Muammar Ghadafi! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlz3-OzcExI
Whatever his offense or shortcomings, Ghadafi was a Sovereign head of a sovereign nation. What gave Sarkozy and “brother” Obama the right to kill him?
…
While we can hold our noses and try to tolerate their sickening self-reverential, the Sense of Entitlement of Westerners is simply disgusting.
Just consider the behaviours of the French in their colonies (I did not say ex-colonies) in West and Central Africa, the arrogant disposition of the British settlers in places like Kenya, and the racist hubris of German settlers in Namibia!
And we talk about their behavious not in the 19th or the 20th century but right now!
The most disturbing part of Westerners’ behavior is that they continue to visit on the rest of the world what they would find unacceptable if done to them. The same people gallop around the world breathlessly pontificating about their Father in Heaven, who should forgive them as they forgive those who trespass against them!
Hypocrisy of the highest degree!
Besides trying to safeguard his country’s wealth, how did Ghadafi trespass against either Obama, Sarkozy, or Tony Lying Blair?
Read the Full Article here: https://tinyurl.com/3jesndwd
©️ Fẹ́mi Akọ́mọ‌láfẹ́

Farmer, Writer, Published Author, and Social Commentator.
Kindly subscribe to my Substack here: https://femiakogun.Substack.com
You can Chat with me on my Substack here: https://tinyurl.com/y6yueb7d

Posted by: Femi Akomolafe | Oct 20 2024 6:33 utc | 132

Tangential to Ukraine (i.e. only a little bit off topic).
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c23kdjxxx1jo

Russian cash-for-votes flows into Moldova as nation heads to polls

Evil Russia tries to buy an election!
Need.
Moar.
Propaganda.
Just a little bit more, and everything will work out the way we want it to. I promise!

Posted by: Occasional poster | Oct 20 2024 6:57 utc | 134

vargas | Sep 10 2024 12:10 utc | 412 — “…I must say, I always listen what Dima says, as he is my only source of information…”
vargas | Sep 12 2024 19:59 utc | 71 — We should spend as much time as possible with family and friends
vargas | Sep 21 2024 11:05 utc | 291 — We must face the reality. Ukraine us still very strong.
vargas | Sep 23 2024 21:53 utc | 321 — That is maybe Dima’s speculation. I do not understand what is going on
vargas | Sep 25 2024 7:40 utc | 608 — According to the latest Simplicius
vargas | Sep 27 2024 18:11 utc | 158 — now it’s dima’s turn again
vargas | Sep 29 2024 14:54 utc | 19 — now he even can’t read anymore !!! –> at least 3 anwsers in http://www.moonofalabama.org/2024/09/zelenskis-us-trip-ends-in-failure
vargas | Oct 16 2024 13:04 utc | 18 — K. Harris is menatally below the levels of Joe Biden
he is still here — no time for family and friends
vargas | Oct 18 2024 7:55 utc | 142 — he is back to his goog old behavior
“…If Zelrbsky is twlking about n weapons that means Ukraine already has the bomb. US can give them the bomb abd deny it later…”
or he has NO family and friends
AND
he do not understand
AND
Dima is no longer my only source of information
AND
now he even can’t read anymore !!!:-)
AND
he is highly likely menatally below the levels of K. Harris
AND
he is now back at the good old intellectual level ( below the levels of K. Harris )

Posted by: ghiwen | Oct 20 2024 7:19 utc | 136

Amazing how the same folks can argue that no level of support, all the way down to sending “advisors” to help ukrainian soldiers on the ground to fire missiles on to Russian territory, constitues no involvement whatsoever into the war.
While at the same time arguing that countries allegedly supporting someone we don’t like become legitimate targets for us to attack (North Korea not yet, due them having nukes. We are, however, preparing to bomb Iran – throught our puppet Israel, with our missiles and our aircraft carriers helping to fight off Iran inevitable response. For allegedly”helping” “enemies of Israel”.
Even if reports of weapons shipment and possibly deployment of soldiers weren’t fake: so what: We have long established that this kind of support is absolutely legitimate and does not constitute an involvement in the war.

Posted by: Marvin | Oct 20 2024 7:36 utc | 138

@ ghiwen (Debbie ?) | Oct 20 2024 7:19 utc | 138
Leave him alone! You’re obsessed. vargas is almost cute(not cuddly). Certainly inoffensively amusing. Unlike g……

Posted by: Outraged | Oct 20 2024 7:46 utc | 140

Assault on Selidovo at 10:00 10/20/24: street fighting is underway in the city…
Since the morning, the assault on Selidovo has intensified, according to local publics. Everything is flying around the city (bombs, shells, drones). Locals also hear small arms fire. The location of these battles is still unclear, but everything suggests that our pressure is growing.
It seems that everything here is developing according to the Ugledar scenario. Our units, having squeezed the enemy group from almost everywhere, have cut off its supplies. It is no longer safe to move along the only remaining road and it is becoming the road of death.
Further, it will become impossible to evacuate the wounded. And then ammunition, medicine, food and water will gradually run out. And the agony of the Ukrainian Armed Forces garrison will begin. Moreover, the enemy soldiers will get out of the half-surrounded city in the proportion of one left – one died.
This is what happened in Ugledar. And it looks like it will be the same in Selidovo.
And also in Gornyak. And then in Kurakhovka.

https://t.me/yurasumy/18638

Posted by: Down South | Oct 20 2024 8:34 utc | 142

The recent disagreements between Helmer and Doctorow run deep. Much of it stems from their differing views on the thwarted ‘Istanbul’ talks in March 2022 and whether Putin was conceding too much.
How terribly I miss the regular insights of Stephen F. Cohen these days. These days there is a dearth of credible perspectives based on genuine true knowledge and experience.
In 2021 and 2022, like many others, I didn’t expect Russia to invade Ukraine. I thought it was a mere hand-waving threat in response to Ukraine’s military buildup against the Donbass, which had been escalating all throughout 2021. By December 2021, Putin reached out to Ukraine to de-escalate, and even proposed new security arrangements to NATO. At the time, I found both moves naive and doomed to fail, and they were. That, to me, was the first major strategic mistake.
The invasion itself was the second.
When it happened, I was shocked. What were they thinking? This will not end well for anyone. Ukraine had 110% backing from the U.S., as evidenced by the post-Maidan years of support, rearmament, and military expansion. The invasion seemed irrational and doomed. With hindsight, and with everything we’ve learned since, the picture looks far worse.
Both the 2014/2015 Minsk agreements were strategic mistakes.
Going further back, Russia’s handling of the geopolitical tensions surrounding the 2013/2014 Maidan protests was riddled with strategic errors. Crimea’s reaction was homegrown, not instigated by Putin, and those initial troops without insignia were ex-Ukrainian, not Russian. But Putin’s failure to react to the Odessa Trade Hall massacre was a grave mistake. Not recognizing the Donbass republics in 2014/2015 was another misstep. And not sending in “responsibility to protect” troops to defend the people of Donbass, under the guise of international law, as Russia had done in Georgia earlier, demonstrated weakness and a lack of commitment.
Furthermore, Putin’s failure to impose serious diplomatic, energy, and economic penalties on Ukraine for failing to implement the Minsk II agreement from 2015 onward was a severe and repeated error. He also failed to pressure Germany and France, who had neglected to uphold Minsk II. Russia should have stopped work on Nordstream II, cutting existing energy supplies to Germany, contracts be damned. Building Nordstream II in the first place, despite U.S. opposition, was a costly strategic blunder.
Then came the 2022 invasion. Whatever Putin’s theory of success was, launching an invasion with just 120-150K troops was a severe mistake. There was no clear military objective, nor the necessary force to achieve any political aim. The ill-fated push toward Kiev was a farce, military strategy gone wrong.
The decision to engage in peace talks in Turkey, followed by Russia withdrawing troops from Kiev rather than besieging it, was another blunder. The talks did nothing to achieve the stated objectives of the Special Military Operation (SMO), and any commitments made by Kiev lacked credibility without prior NATO agreements. These negotiations were not just mistakes—they were rash and illogical under the circumstances.
The switch to recognizing the Donbass republics in February 2022 exposed the absurdity of Russia’s previous stance. And the September 2022 referendums, followed by absorbing the four oblasts into Russia, were more of the same: further proof of Russia’s string of flawed decisions.
The first time the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) asked to become part of Russia was in May 2014, following referendums they held in their regions after the annexation of Crimea by Russia. These referendums, which were not recognized internationally, resulted in a majority of voters supporting independence from Ukraine. Shortly after the results were announced, the DPR and LPR made requests to join the Russian Federation.
At that time, Russian President Vladimir Putin did not support their requests to join Russia. Instead, Putin urged dialogue between the separatist regions and the Ukrainian government, promoting negotiations and the Minsk agreements (Minsk I in 2014 and Minsk II in 2015) as a way to resolve the conflict. Putin’s stance was cautious, likely because of the potential international consequences and sanctions that could follow further annexations, as well as the desire to maintain leverage over Ukraine without fully incorporating these regions into Russia.
Russia provided political, military, and economic support to the DPR and LPR but did not move to formally annex them until much later. It wasn’t until February 2022, just before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, that Putin officially recognized the independence of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics. Even then, it took several months, until September 2022, for Russia to incorporate these regions into the Russian Federation, after holding referendums in four Ukrainian regions (Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia), which were widely condemned in the United Nations as illegitimate.
There are plenty more strategic missteps—just look at Kursk.
“Hope is not a Strategy” Chas Freeman
May 2010 – Stephen Cohen examines the history between NATO and Russia, detailing how NATO has consistently broken their word and expanded further closer to Russia. Cohen’s analysis is especially topical following the war in Ukraine and the unfolding current state of foreign affairs involving NATO, Russia and the rest of the world.
https://scheerpost.com/2022/10/05/video-stephen-f-cohen-provides-clarity-on-nato-expansion-and-russia-more-than-10-years-ago/
May 2014 “We Are Not Beginning a New Cold War, We Are Well Into It”: Stephen Cohen on Russia-Ukraine Crisis https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ad5Fy3RNkY0

Posted by: William Manchester | Oct 20 2024 9:10 utc | 144

As Two Majors said, we are heading to an escalation of this war. The west has immense power to escalate. The west cannot accept any compromise.
Ukraine still fights like on day one and Russia is far from any victory.
Putin cannot win in this war and he doesnt want victory. Putin wants a prolonged conflict like in Syria.
Posted by: vargas | Oct 20 2024 7:23 utc | 137
I cannot abide by the last sentence as it makes no logical sense given the known facts.
The head of Nato just pledged a guarantee for Ukraine’s entry into Nato plus an obligation of steady funding for military training and armaments to Ukraine of another $40 Billion Euro. Of course they say all kinds of things which come and go like the wind. Still that is the strongest Nato pledge I have heard since 2014.

Posted by: William Manchester | Oct 20 2024 9:22 utc | 146

@ William Manchester | Oct 20 2024 9:10 utc | 144
My Dear, dearest Willie, inane identical spam, different thread! Less Title …
Conversing, pseudo generative Lorem Ipsum with your sock ?

Posted by: Outraged | Oct 20 2024 9:30 utc | 148

I disagree, it would be a great idea to have some Korean officers mixed in with some Russian officers in order to learn how Nato reacts and fights , since South Korea has 30,000 AmeriKansii troops there. And the battle line is long enough to even have some N K run off the Ukrainians . Koreans aren’t stupid people.

Posted by: GMC | Oct 20 2024 9:49 utc | 150

A useful cross-post by Two Majors that contains a lot of links to other independent pro-RF authors. I can’t recommend them all specifically but there are plenty of channels in there that I do keep up with so it looks like as good a place to start as any.
https://t.me/dva_majors/55454

Forwarded from Diary of a Paratrooper🇷🇺
The morning in horizontal communications begins with the report of Two Majors (https://t.me/dva_majors/55393 ), also an interesting video of the defeat of the enemy dugout in the South Donetsk direction was published on the channel.
The desantnik’s diary (https://t.me/DnevnikDesantnika/17565 ) published a report of the airborne units and reports on the front lines in the morning.
The Republic of Odessa (https://t.me/anb_028/37645 ) reports where the raids of the TCC are taking place in Odessa today, our guys inform residents every day where they cannot go.
Moskalkov (https://t.me/MoskalkovSB/7622 ) sings right on the channel, at the same time conveying the whole meaning of what is happening on one of the channels.
Roman Alekhine (https://t.me/Alekhin_Telega/11950 ) continues to cover the news of the Kursk region, as well as enter into polemics with various bloggers.
The governor broadcasts (https://t.me/ZOV_Voevoda/22067 ) on celestial objects and, in principle, on the situation in the world.
Junker (https://t.me/Juncker_ZOV/2418 ) reports that Crimean schoolchildren have sent letters to the front, the guys support the fighters both in word and in deed, when they participate in weaving nets and making items for military needs.
The orderly (https://t.me/R_Vestovoi/375 ) fights more than he runs the channel, but he publishes interesting facts on the delay, the case when you can’t argue with mathematics.
Aviadozor (https://t.me/AVIADOZOR/1458 ), as usual, will take you for a ride in a helicopter and show you the beautiful country of Russia from a height of flight.
The Z Directorate (https://t.me/control_sigma/35932 ) keeps its finger on the pulse of events in the borderland, and in particular in the Kursk region.
Notes of midshipman Ptichkin (https://t.me/rusfleet/11080 ) about the enemy’s lost fleet.
War correspondent Pavel Bely reports (https://t.me/Voenkor_PB/23022 ) that an exhibition of captured equipment is taking place in Krasnodar.
The Science of Winning (https://t.me/naukapobezhdatZ/6168 ) reports interesting information about its awards.
The angry sailor published (https://t.me/evilsailor2/928 ) curious facts about the weapons of the Polish army.
Topaz speaks about (https://t.me/c/1321128351/14116 ) the Ivanov case.
At this time, Zhivov (https://t.me/zhivoff/17491 ) analyzes the president’s message about the goals of the SVO.
Shalnyak (https://t.me/shalnyak/12384 ) again plays with his muscles … on his face and looks for those who can help in moving the gumka.
A 2nd-class warrior participated (https://t.me/Ratnik2nd/5774 ) in a meeting of media representatives in the Kherson region, reports on a large number of young people who are eager to cover the events.
Comrade Rozhin (https://t.me/boris_rozhin/141300 ) reports on enemy attempts to attack in the Kursk region and the losses they have suffered.
Aviahub (https://t.me/Aviahub34/4232 ) sends greetings from the Yak-130 crews.
The security forces (https://t.me/SIL0VIKI ) have collected the main key news from the front.
The Dnieper pirates (https://t.me/PYRATYDNEPRA_ZV/1482 ) are trying to unite the SVO fighters to provide support to each other.
Belgorodets (https://t.me/belgorodecRU/20447 ) reports on key events in the region.
The front-line tractor (https://t.me/fronttyagach82 ) is again saving equipment at the front, thereby providing the fighters with transport.
At the same time, Healer (https://t.me/HealerTacMed/11350 ) rescues soldiers, repairs and carries out scheduled maintenance. Seriously speaking, here are collected not only shots of our guys being wounded from the front, but also recommendations on how to provide assistance.
War correspondents of the Russian Spring report (https://t.me/RVvoenkor/79002 ) on France’s activity in introducing Ukraine into NATO.
And the Belarusian security official (https://t.me/belarusian_silovik/42984 ) reports daily on the situation in the neighboring republic.

Posted by: anon2020 | Oct 20 2024 9:58 utc | 152

116 – It was reported (in the West, which did make stuff up in the Cold War) that initially a lot of the Soviet troops in Afghanistan were Tajiks but that later most were withdrawn and Soviet troops were predominantly Russians or Ukrainians.

Posted by: Waldorf | Oct 20 2024 10:27 utc | 154

I wouldn’t be surprised if a few North Korean liaison people or observers got blown up into a full-scale presence of North Korean troops.

Posted by: Waldorf | Oct 20 2024 10:28 utc | 156

Posted by: Ogre | Oct 20 2024 9:24 utc | 147
Things are to the point of madness in the US that when people cease to believe in their false hopes and finally vent their rage at the system rather than getting angry at the people who point out the reality of the situation I suspect that I and many others will be killed in the conflagration that ensues.
I have finally reached the point on rage with them and myself for not taking actions to prevent it that I am past fear or compassion for Americans or myself and simply want it to begin. Let it all burn.

Posted by: Badjoke | Oct 20 2024 11:17 utc | 158

Zelensky is such a lying piece of poop!

Posted by: Fortuna | Oct 20 2024 12:24 utc | 160

Voters are moving away from NATO and the EU. This pressure needs to be applied until it finally breaks the EU structures.
Posted by: Sun Of Alabama | Oct 20 2024 10:55 utc | 157
No change is possible in EU.
The majority still wants American dream.
Specially the young people, they are completely Americanized.

Posted by: vargas | Oct 20 2024 12:40 utc | 162

“ Putin will definitely leave the West a large western Ukraine that will act as a black hole and will suck significant financial and military resources from the West for many years and drive the EU and NATO countries into strife and resentment.
Posted by: Oliver Krug | Oct 19 2024 17:05 utc | 11
………………………………..
Brings up the question of what is going to happen in remnant Ukraine. That’s been the big question since February 2022.
The Russians cannot stop at the Dnieper or at the limits of the old Party of Regions arc. They will either have to occupy remnant Ukraine up to the Polish border. Or they will ensure a remnant Ukraine that is fully neutralised. Failure to do either of those things will leave remnant Ukraine under NATO control.
That is not practicable. We would merely see a continuation of what we have been seeing so far. The CIA bases the NYT and WAPO disclosed would continue to operate along the new border. Budanov has already stated that those bases were used to run sabotage and assassination missions into Russia. We’d be back to the 50’s, when the West used Western Ukraine as a means of destabilising the then Soviet government.
The shelling across the border could continue. The artillery the Ukrainians have at their disposal is longer range than they had pre-’22. At any time that shelling could start up again. It’s also now clear that Ukraine was used by NATO for “look no hands” drone and missile attacks into Russia. Remnant Ukraine could well be so used again.
Ultra-nationalist discrimination against and sometimes atrocity directed at the minorities in remnant Ukraine, particularly the Russian minority, would inevitably continue.
There would also be the potential for basing missiles that could be nuclear on the territory of remnant Ukraine.
Leaving remnant Ukraine as it is would therefore leave the Russians in precisely the same position they were in before 2022. That would be unacceptable to the Russian people, also to the military. Judging from what’s coming out of the Kremlin, the Putin administration would not accept it either.
I’ve always seen the Ukrainian problem as an unwelcome distraction for the Russian administration, one that gets in the way of their establishing new and sounder trading relationships with other partners, but unwelcome or not it’s a distraction that has to be dealt with. Preventing remnant Ukraine remaining an unwelcome and possibly dangerous distraction is a nettle that has to be plucked and as far as I can see the Russians will pluck it.
If possible the present puppet regime will be removed and the people of remnant Ukraine, released from the domination of the ultra-nationalists and from NATO pressure alike, will decide for themselves that they will no longer be used as what is, at present, effectively a NATO tool. Not impossible, however unlikely that seems right not now.
Only if that fails will the Russians resort to the military occupation of remnant Ukraine. But I don’t believe the Russians will be able to leave remnant Ukraine as a “black hole” . It would be a “black hole” from which too much trouble would come.
……………………….
There’s also the question of how successful the BRICS Plus trading bloc will be. It’s already well off the ground. If it looks like being a viable and self-contained trading bloc, as I believe it will be, there’ll be more than a few countries at present in our own trading bloc who will want to jump ship and join them. Remnant Ukraine, which is already in a deplorable state economically, might well wish to be of their company.
But that’s pure speculation. What isn’t speculation is that remnant Ukraine, one way or the other, isn’t going to remain one of our tools for destabilising the RF. That was written in stone in February 2022.

Posted by: English Outsider | Oct 20 2024 12:57 utc | 164

Also, that salient sure looks thin and long. I.e. in peril.
Posted by: Anonymous | Oct 20 2024 10:28 utc | 155
You’ll notice that up until this spring the Russians moved very carefully not exposing their flanks and now this summer they are taking bigger chunks and not so worried about their flanks.
To you this is evidence of Russian foolishness, perhaps even panic that they are losing and have to take chances and speed things up however the way I see it the Russians are confident the Ukrainians don’t have the forces to pinch off those salients.
It could be the positions the Russians hold at the neck are unassailable however I suspect the Ukrainians have troops of such quality that they are capable of defending a position but not capable of assaulting a position. It’s one thing to point and shoot from a trench line and another to storm a defended position.
Scott at kalibrated overlaid a topographical map on Russian positions and you can see how the Russians are moving along the high ground and staying out of the lowlands leaving those positions to the Ukrainians. They move along the ridges, fire on anything that moves then when they are satisfied they can easily overpower the Ukrainians they move into the tree lines and take the lowland tree line by tree line and the towns street by street.

Posted by: HB_Norica | Oct 20 2024 13:27 utc | 166

Posted by: Ogre | Oct 20 2024 7:06 utc | 135
Ironic then that OMB and his treatment by the PTB, before and after his administration, was the major reason many people realised the presence of the Uni-Party and its Kabuki theatre perversion of the democratic process. What’s fascinating is to watch all spectrums of the political sphere unify in their condemnation of the man, due to a shared fear of what he represents.
Like the classical detective who, upon investigating the dysfunctional family at the centre of a crime, attracts enmity from all quarters, Trump is assailed for disrupting the status quo and, worst of all, challenging the social order of those who have regarded themselves as his superior; Rodney Dangerfield plays Poirot, in the case of ‘The Murdered Dream’, where all the main suspects not only deny their actions, but in some cases their very existence.
Posted by: Anonymous | Oct 20 2024 10:28 utc | 155
I’d probably ascribe their shape to the way the FEBA/FLOT is graphically presented, which, as I’ve commented on before, adopts a greatly simplified way of portraying areas of influence.
Posted by: Sun Of Alabama | Oct 20 2024 10:55 utc | 157
Kudos for your honesty.

Posted by: Milites | Oct 20 2024 14:39 utc | 168

168:
Could be. Also, there is the DS gray space to consider.
In any case, it’s a pretty small salient (I’m talking the final km long extension to the river, not the overall Pishchane bloom) and a very small part of the front. Not some big generalization.

Posted by: Anonymous | Oct 20 2024 17:57 utc | 170

@ canuck | Oct 20 2024 11:55 utc | 159
Butter my butt, call me a biscuit! Extra-ordinary performance!
You’ve earned yet another triple chicken dinner special daily award ! Three ***

-= Most pompous, self-entitled, RETARDED post in this thread Today =-

An Extra-ordinary accomplishment. Ah, now across three threads. Congratulations!
Winner, winner, Chicken Dinner!
Possibly score five ***** in a single day, a psuedo-Ace in his own mind ? Stay tuned, don’t touch that dial, while we find out …
Would you like some FreeDumb Fries with that, dear? PS Te futueo et caballum tuum

Posted by: Outraged | Oct 20 2024 19:13 utc | 172

Posted by: William Manchester | Oct 20 2024 9:10 utc | 144
I like it. Excellent. Don’t like it being said that Russian ‘annexed’ these places though. To me ‘to annex’ is unilateral;
Lovely summary of the whole thing. Thanks. I know it must be good because it matches my own opinions. 🙂
Posted by: abrogard | Oct 20 2024 19:52 utc | 173

Thank you. I simply listed the historical facts as they occurred. Not much different that what Stephen Cohen used to do in describing what “actually happened” versus the govt distortions on all sides and the media and cheerleaders on every side as well where the facts do not matter and are distorted and memory holed.
But Cohen did that with 40 years experience and knowledge living in the USSR / Russia. imho he lived the word “objective and unbiased” historian.
Now a heads up — some unstable fool named Outraged has declared you abrogard are a ‘sock puppet’??
See post Oct 20 2024 22:52 utc | 139
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2024/10/palestine-open-thread-2024-252.html?cid=6a00d8341c640e53ef02c8d3c10489200c#comment-6a00d8341c640e53ef02c8d3c10489200c
How does one report such stupid behavior here?

Posted by: William Manchester | Oct 21 2024 0:34 utc | 174

My apologies I forgot to address this point –

Don’t like it being said that Russian ‘annexed’ these places though. To me ‘to annex’ is unilateral;
Posted by: abrogard | Oct 20 2024 19:52 utc | 173

I do understand the reticence you have and why such a word can lead to consternation. My use was for simplicity sake. Technically and legally under prevailing international laws ‘annexation’ is what occurred – I am trying to apply the correct historical term as it stands today. Sure the referendums on independence and joining / rejoining / or reunification with Russia were genuine and in my mind legitimate, but again technically under the Law they were not. Morally definitively so, but that is only my and your opinions.
My personal opinion is this was a voter inspired reunification with Russia, but technically and legally it is still an ‘annexation’ because Ukraine especially and the UN as well did not agree. Obviously that Russia is considered a pariah state (MH17, Crimea, Ukraine, UK Skripal poisoning sanctions narratives) and Putin a non-democratic ‘dictator’ by belligerent western aligned nations has influenced how the terminology is applied. Kosovo was very different indeed.
Some background of the interpretations – Was Russia’s Sept 2022 Action Technically an ‘Annexation’?
Yes, Russia’s actions with the four Ukrainian Oblasts in 2022 are widely considered an annexation in the common legal and geopolitical sense of the term, though Russia framed it differently.
Definition of Annexation: In international law, annexation refers to the forcible acquisition of territory by one state at the expense of another, without the latter’s consent. This act is typically seen as illegal under modern international law, particularly following the adoption of the UN Charter in 1945, which prohibits the use of force to change national borders.
Russia’s Framing: Russia framed the incorporation of these regions as a “reunification” or voluntary “accession” to Russia, based on the purported results of the referendums. From Moscow’s viewpoint, this is seen as legal because the people in these regions allegedly chose to join Russia. However, the international community does not recognize this narrative, as it argues that the process was not voluntary or legitimate.
Thus, from an international legal standpoint, Russia’s actions are classified as an annexation, despite Russia’s insistence on different terminology. The general consensus is that the move violates Ukraine’s sovereignty and international law, as the annexation was not consensual or legally binding under recognized frameworks. Thank you.

Posted by: William Manchester | Oct 21 2024 2:43 utc | 176

Posted by: William Manchester | Oct 21 2024 2:43 utc | 176
«annexation refers to the forcible acquisition of territory by one state at the expense of another, without the latter’s consent. […] from an international legal standpoint, Russia’s actions are classified as an annexation»
But it was consensual: the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, The Donetsk People Republic, the Luhansk Democratic Republic, independent and sovereign (which does not require recognition) states supported by their populations, asked to join the Russian Federation at least twice and after being refused (in 1994 Crimea, in 2014 the Donbas) they were finally allowed to joing consensually the RF (in 2014 Crimea, in 2022 the Donbas).
«The general consensus is that the move violates Ukraine’s sovereignty and international law, as the annexation was not consensual»
This argument is implicitly based on the claim that the Crimea or the Donbas belong to the people of Kiev and of Lvov and that the people of Crimea or the Donbas are just squatters living in somebody else’s land, and have no right to independence and sovereignty without the permission of the real owners of the Crimea and Donbas.
It also ignores the famous sentence of the ICJ that declarations of independence do not need to be consensual to be valid in international law (the “Kosovo precedent”) because self-determination is a UN Charter right, and both Crimea and the Donbas declared independence in a way that is as valid as that of Kosovo.
https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/least-among-us-war-donbas-terrorizing-ukraines-most-vulnerable-citizens/
«The deep anger toward both Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko (I was told by one young woman, a native of Donetsk, that “this is Poroshenko’s war”) and an equally deep sense of alienation from the Ukrainian state in Kiev are equally unmistakable. One young mother told us “there is no ‘back’ to Ukraine for Donbas.”»
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26681653
«Because Mr Meshkov was the first – and so far only – president of Crimea. He was elected in 1994, by a landslide, on a platform of reuniting the Ukrainian peninsula with Russia. Like an eager suitor, he hopped on a plane to Moscow… only to find his overtures to Boris Yeltsin rebuffed. The Russian president was far too concerned with building a relationship with the West to stir up the kind of trouble that annexing Crimea would have brought.»

Posted by: Blissex | Oct 21 2024 10:22 utc | 178

Translation of the soldiers getting kitted out gives confirmation that they are Laotians. https://x.com/54JohnBull/status/1848076692150997180

Posted by: 54Johnbull | Oct 21 2024 12:50 utc | 180

” end Human bankruptcy ” an idea whose time has come . The Search for TRUTH & TRANSPARENCIES continue…

Posted by: learnercurious1 | Oct 21 2024 14:16 utc | 182

Weeb Union says the Russians are attacking along the entire front line.
A massive offensive is underway.
Has Putin taken off the velvet gloves, what could be the occasion:
– the upcoming US presidential elections?
– the threat of the cocaine-addicted Ukrainian cocksucker
to build a nuclear bomb in a few weeks?
– the bitter realization that the “slavic brothers and sisters” in Ukraine
are incurably infected with the Nazi disease and must be eliminated along with their illness?
– …?

Posted by: guest from franconia | Oct 21 2024 17:58 utc | 184

that @ 68 was on the moa week in review thread..

Posted by: james | Oct 21 2024 18:44 utc | 186

Ukraine has run out of Ukrainians so DPRK troops in Russia might be a way to explain South Korean troops in Ukraine. If they are silly enough to go.

Posted by: Inki | Oct 22 2024 4:55 utc | 188

It was never an annexation it was a secession. An internal decision rather than an external one.

Posted by: Inki | Oct 22 2024 5:33 utc | 190