Ukraine SitRep: Kurakhove Cauldron, Broken Deals
Emil Kastehelmi of the Black Bird Group gives a good overview of the current situation in south-east Ukraine.
Since the Ukrainian command had sent its best units to die in the senseless incursion of the Russian Kursk oblast, the Ukrainian frontline in the south-east deteriorated significantly. Russian forces progressed along the whole frontline.
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There are simply too few Ukrainian soldiers to hold the defensive positions. The increased use of Russian FAB bombs destroy Ukrainian positions and let the Russians proceed.
The most recent Russian progress from the south and the east show the formation of another cauldron which could capture Ukrainian units in and around Kurakhove.
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Russian troops from the east and the south will likely aim at the towns of Andrivka and Konstantinopyl where the T-05-15 road joins the H-15 highway.
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This would block the supply lines to Kurakhove and all Ukrainian units positioned around it.
There is a gap in the Ukrainian defense positions left (blue lines) through which such an attack can proceed.
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In this situation the best possible move for the Ukrainian side is an immediate retreat of some 30 kilometers west where forests, another river and the agglomeration around the city of Ivanivka allow for better defenses.
That however is not what the Ukrainian command will order its troops to do. It will rather continue to waste its infantry in another senseless hold-to-the-last-men postion.
There are interesting new details about renewal of a deal to stop attacks on infrastructure in Russia and Ukraine. Previously negotiations about such a deal were stopped when Ukraine had launched its Kursk incursion.
The Financial Times reports today that the talks are being renewed (archived):
Ukraine and Russia are in preliminary discussions about halting strikes on each other’s energy infrastructure, according to people familiar with the matter.
The FT however agrees that any progress is unlikely unless the Ukraine retreats from Kursk.
The real news from the FT is that there had been - which was unknown so far - a previous deal in place:
Four Ukrainian officials told the Financial Times that Kyiv and Moscow had come to a “tacit agreement” last autumn to not strike each other’s energy facilities.As a result, Russia that winter refrained from the type of large-scale attacks it had conducted on Ukraine’s power infrastructure in 2022-23, according to two Ukrainian officials and a person in Washington with knowledge of the situation.
That agreement was meant to pave the way towards a formal deal, the people said.
However, Kyiv restarted drone attacks on Russia’s oil facilities in February and March this year, as it sought to increase pressure on Moscow after its failed 2023 counteroffensive.
Despite a warning from the White House to stop the strikes, Kyiv pressed ahead, and Moscow viewed the tacit agreement as having been broken, people familiar with the situation said.
Russia then escalated, unleashing barrages of long-range missiles aimed at power plants across Ukraine, including the Trypilska thermal power plant 40km from Kyiv, which was completely destroyed.
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Russia’s response to Kyiv’s attacks plunged much of Ukraine into temporary darkness and cut 9GW of power generation capacity — half of what Ukraine needed last year to get through winter. Kyiv has proved unable to fully restore this capacity.
The fact that Ukraine had broken a previous deal, and that it attacked in Kursk while negotiations on a renewal were ongoing, makes it unlikely that Russia will agree to anything but a surrender of the Ukrainian side.
Posted by b on October 30, 2024 at 12:44 UTC | Permalink
next page »“In this situation the best possible move for the Ukrainian side is an immediate retreat of some 30 kilometers west where forests, another river and the agglomeration around the city of Ivanivka allow for better defenses.”
Spot on, but that line needs pokrovsk…
Posted by: Newbie | Oct 30 2024 13:13 utc | 2
Its going to take some time to purge the agreement incapable actors from Ukraine's hierarchy. Is the defective leadership even in Ukraine? Probably not. What a mess.
Posted by: too scents | Oct 30 2024 13:16 utc | 3
After a long war of attrition Ukraine has been defeated. As there is nobody who can officially surrender, it will be a lengthy and bloody clean-up of the territory.
Posted by: hubert | Oct 30 2024 13:22 utc | 4
Frontlines supposedly 'collapsing' in Ukraine but the Ukronazis are still in Kursk. Something doesn't add up.
Posted by: bored | Oct 30 2024 13:31 utc | 6
Russia is finally getting its act together when it comes to conquering cities.
The bad way to do it is to get in as soon as possible and then to conquer the city block by block. This takes months and will totally destroy the city. This is what we saw in Bakhmut and Avdiivka and what still is happening in Toretsk, Chasov Yar and Volchansk.
The good way is to first surround the city and only then to enter it. That allows you to conquer the city within a few days and results in much less damage. This happened in Novogrodovsk, Selidovo and Gornyak. It is also how Uhledar was finally submitted. In Toretsk and Chasov Yar it looks as if Russia is starting to pay some attention to controlling the surrounding area of the city.
Nothing like being a bada$$ to your own demise, then blaming the devil. To quote a movie, "stupid is as stupid does!"
At this time, the only reason there is Ukrainian Troops in Russia's Kursk Oblast is to suck up resources. From the start of this event (year circa 1947), Ukraine as always been on a regulated diet of western assistance. Yes, the personnel have been extreme, but the hardware was limited and crude. Many of these extreme individuals have yet to learn they are being played. In the meantime, many people will die.
As for the future of Ukraine, it will be a rump-state with reactionary ultra right-wing groups who are violent. This state/groups will be purposely kept economical poor, thus desperate. These Ukrainian groups will not only be a pain in the ass towards Russia, but will also focus on Eastern Europe. Nobody will know what to do about them (or admit who) when actuated for whatever reason. Thus Ukraine will be a regional force of fear and control.
Posted by: MRDMK | Oct 30 2024 13:51 utc | 8
And just this morning, Ukraine is seeking long range missiles to attack deeper in Russia. It seems Russia strikes back twice as hard. Unlike the IDF who strike back 100 times
Posted by: Scottindallas | Oct 30 2024 13:52 utc | 9
- Hello, my call sign is "Adolf" I arrived from Great Britain to help the Ukrainians defeat the Russian Federation🔹The number of mercenaries in Ukraine continues to grow. Yesterday, colleagues from the channel Two Majors described in detail the liquidation of a group of foreign saboteurs in the Bryansk region. But along with the military, neo-Nazis from Europe, inspired by the rampant extremism in the country 404, also come to Ukraine. Then they record such advertising videos and invite other "Adolfs" to fight for the new Nazism.
The Propagandist's Notebook
🇷🇴NATO is preparing to shoot down Russian missiles and drones sent to strike Odessa portsThe Romanian Ministry of Defense has submitted for public discussion a bill to allow the air defense system to shoot down UAVs and manned aircraft over Romanian airspace. Until now, this was only possible if martial law was declared .
The decision is explained by the increased "risks near the Romanian border against the backdrop of military operations in the Black Sea, the mass use of UAVs, both military and civilian , adapted for military use."
In fact, information preparation for this decision has been underway for a long time . We have repeatedly written about the Romanian side's reports of alleged "violations" of Romanian airspace by Russian attack drones.
❗️According to our estimates, the main element of the law will be permission for NATO air defense systems stationed in Romania to participate in any actions in accordance with collective defense treaties with NATO and EU members. This means shooting down Russian missiles and UAVs.
Since the beginning of the SVO to the present day, Romania🇫🇷France has deployed a SAMP-T (MAMBA) air defense system and two GM200 radars (Black Sea coast, Capu Midia military base),🇪🇸Spain - TPS-43 radar ,⚡️NATO Deployable Air Command and Control Centre (DACCC) - LANZA LTR-25 mobile radar (from🇮🇹Italy ),🇺🇸The US - four F-16s and a TPS-80 radar . In addition, the NATO Air Policing mission in Romania has been reinforced by additional allied aircraft (with a permanent strength of up to 10 units ) and, since late September, by NATO Air Force Boeing E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft as part of the Southern Shield mission.
🇷🇴Romania has 26 F-16s in service ( 23 more will be delivered by the end of 2025 ), 1 Patriot SAM battery and 4 Hawk SAMs , 5 AN/FPS-117E radars and several Soviet P-series stations. The purchase of 4 AN/MPQ-64 F1 Sentinel radars and 32 F-35 aircraft has been approved .
The expected consequences of the adoption of this bill will be the transfer of additional air defense assets to Romania and their use to destroy Russian missiles and drones attacking military targets in the Odessa region. In such a compressed theater of military operations, proving the participation of NATO air defense in the elimination of our "Geraniums" in the skies over the same border town of Izmail will be problematic.
✨The latest round of escalation of tensions between NATO and Russia is caused by growing losses of weapons and military equipment supplied to Ukraine by sea under the guise of civilian cargo.
✨⭐️The fact that NATO countries shot down Russian weapons would mean direct participation in the conflict with Russia .
Posted by: anon2020 | Oct 30 2024 14:01 utc | 10
boned@6
What doesn't add up bro is the Ukro command sending their best units into a failed Kursk op while a limited supply of Territorial weekend warriors try to hold down the fort.
Wake the fuque UP goof or just stop misdirecting all the time with your snide remarks.
Posted by: bisfugged | Oct 30 2024 14:12 utc | 11
bored wins the , 'Most Retarded Post I Have Read Today".
"Frontlines supposedly 'collapsing' in Ukraine but the Ukronazis are still in Kursk. Something doesn't add up.
Posted by: bored | Oct 30 2024 13:31 utc | 6
Frontlines 'collapsing' in Ukraine & the Ukronazis are still TRAPPED in Kursk. IT'S STARTING TO ADD UP.
Posted by: bored | Oct 30 2024 13:31 utc | 6
Fixed it for ya.
Posted by: Mary | Oct 30 2024 14:23 utc | 13
The Russian army is on a roll, onwards towards Lviv, let not one Banderite escape!
Posted by: Kadath | Oct 30 2024 14:31 utc | 14
bored wins the , 'Most Retarded Post I Have Read Today".
"Frontlines supposedly 'collapsing' in Ukraine but the Ukronazis are still in Kursk. Something doesn't add up.
Posted by: bored | Oct 30 2024 13:31 utc | 6
Posted by: canuck | Oct 30 2024 14:17 utc | 12
Anyone talking about the Ukies having any hope in Kursk at this juncture is willfully retarded and doesn't deserve a response.
They will soon be completely crushed. I'm sure every mercenary in Kursk right now is shit scared and regretting taking a handful of coins in exchange for their own premature death.
Posted by: Ahenobarbus | Oct 30 2024 14:32 utc | 15
anon2020 @ Oct 30 2024 14:01 utc | 10
Once the first missile is shot down on Ukrainian territory is shot down from Romanian soil Russia has to think hard if they will ever be able to conquer Odessa after.
As the Romanians use their weapons on Russian ones they are direct war participants with official armed forces from that point. They can expect a hypersonic salvo taking out any military target, including any AD in Russian range.
I would not go all apocalyptic though, more something on a few more launchers than were used. Probably also not in a rush but preceded by an UN effort to declare this an act of war against Russia. Law does not make a difference between attacking soldiers or weapon systems.
Romania would also have to geofence Transnistria probably or there is another casu belli.
Arguably they probably lose the right to invoke Article 5, probably something NATO lawyers should think long and hard about - not that law matters much these days but it's a solid excuse for countries looking for an out.
Posted by: SOS | Oct 30 2024 14:34 utc | 16
Nothing but an armchair military strategist, but I still do not see the Russian side spend much resources on eliminating the Ukraine forces in Kursk oblast as long as they are contained.
The UAF supply lines are long and burde some, while a defensive posture from the Russians is easy and inexpensive. They merely have to adjust themselves according to what they see is coming and can let attrition be a constant issue on the other side.
Proof of priorities here also appears to be the constant "information" from the Western side. However, the further the frontline is pushed westwards in the south and central, the more burdensome the Kursk-front will be for UAF.
Posted by: NorwegianPawn | Oct 30 2024 14:37 utc | 17
With General Mud taking over Ukie defense strategies in the very near future; a major effort by the R.U. forces to encircle Pokrovsk seems to be of essence. With that final major stronghold and distribution center in a state of a holding-pattern siege; the chances for the UAF to establish any kind of sufficient fortifications in the steppelands to the immediate west would be seriously reduced.
Under such circumstances, when the freeze-up heralds the arrival of General Winter; the Russian forces should enjoy a relatively rapid advance towards the Dnieper.
Posted by: aristodemos | Oct 30 2024 14:40 utc | 18
The Kursk invasion has shortened the war, IMHO. The number of tanks, artillery pieces, rocket launchers (especially HIMARs) and personnel losses has been staggering.... And yet, Ukraine persists in continuing this disastrous PR exercise. Maybe due to "sunk cost fallacy", to keep the graft flowing, they have been told no retreat until after the US elections or some combination thereof. As everybody and their uncle has mentioned, this squandered most of their reserves, so there are not nearly enough fingers to plug the holes in the dike.
Posted by: ctiger | Oct 30 2024 14:41 utc | 19
It is inexplicable. After everything the Ukrainian Nazis have done to the Russians, Putin keeps begging for negotiations. Comrade Stalin is spinning so fast in his grave that he can be used as a tunnel boring machine.
Posted by: guest from franconia | Oct 30 2024 14:44 utc | 20
Holly chattering eye teeth Batman, there really was negations over not attacking each other's energy infrastructure, just as b reported it, amazing how many supposed intelligent MOA posters got there knickers badly twisted calling the entire thing B fucking S.
Cheers M
.....step up, take a bow.....
Posted by: sean the leprechaun | Oct 30 2024 14:46 utc | 21
I do not think there was any "tacit agreement", it's Ukie wishful thinking of showing at least partial control. I think Russia just wanted to avoid the libel of an "indisctiminate warfare" so they still don't do indiscriminate things untill Ukies do something to free Russia from a self-imposed limits. Like there wad no tacit agreement
not to use incendiary drones, until Ukies started doing and Russia responded two-fold. Like there was no tacit agreement not to use cluster munitions, until Ukies used them and Russia responded five-fold.
Posted by: Rutte | Oct 30 2024 14:51 utc | 22
@ NorwegianPawn | Oct 30 2024 14:37 utc | 17
From RF perspective:
Force Protection, followed by,
Force Protection,
Maximum utilization of all available Ranged Fires,
Theater Air Dominance, not mere Air Supremacy, since 28Feb22, and
Force Protection.
Two more days left to rack up kmsq before month end. There is a juicy 40 kmsq pocket between Novoukrainka and Bohoiavlenka. Not sure if that converts this month or next.
Posted by: Anonymous | Oct 30 2024 14:55 utc | 24
Putin keeps begging for negotiations.
Posted by: guest from franconia | Oct 30 2024 14:44 utc | 20
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Putin might be blue eyed buy he is not naive. Russian negotiations are an attractive habit. That engagement requires no assumption of trust. It is a simple affair.
Posted by: too scents | Oct 30 2024 14:55 utc | 25
the more Russia tries to be accepted by the West, the more Russia makes backroom deals with the Ukronazis, the more Russia uses the velvet glove with the Ukronazis and its supporters, the more the West feels encouraged to intervene,
and among the non-aligned, China, better to have it among enemies than among friends, Chinese banks have been preventing Russia from paying its dues to the SCO for a few days.
Posted by: A.cagliostro | Oct 30 2024 14:58 utc | 26
I definitely feel validated in my prediction that RFA would wait on the tougher target of Pokrovsk and rack up easy victories in the South for a while.
Lot of people were predicting P-town to fall in summer or fall at latest. But when you look at the maps, it's clear that very significant shaping actions need to happen, before P-town can e semi-encircled. It's a 2025 thing.
Makes sense to clear up the South first. Even tangentially helps with the eventual need to have flanking troops way out wide from present locations, to the south of P-town to have even further south, settled, flanks safe.
Posted by: Anonymous | Oct 30 2024 15:00 utc | 27
Chinese banks have been preventing Russia from paying its dues to the SCO for a few days.
Posted by: A.cagliostro | Oct 30 2024 14:58 utc | 26
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A bold claim that China is allowing Russia to free ride appears.
Posted by: too scents | Oct 30 2024 15:08 utc | 28
Putin keeps begging for negotiations.Posted by: guest from franconia | Oct 30 2024 14:44 utc | 20
i am so tired of nafos and the ilk using terms like "begging" and "afraid".
he guest, please do us a favour and give us the definition of "begging" and then provide us with an example of where putin is "begging".
thanks.
Posted by: Justpassinby | Oct 30 2024 15:08 utc | 29
This striking passage from Simplicius was quoted in a previous thread. I'm reposting because it completely resonates with me, swamped in agitprop so idiotic, it's beyond insulting to your intelligence. Stupification, among US Americans, is your patriotic duty...
It’s actually incredible when you step back a moment and consider how the West lives increasingly in a total fantasy construct. On every global issue or flashpoint, Western media no longer exercises even the barest scruples, instead blanketly reporting the most fantastical tales with zero corroboration. In Iran we’re expected to believe Israel “decimated” the entire Iranian air defense network, countless major labs and buildings, despite zero proof apart from a single grainy satellite photo that shows a slight discoloration somewhere—far less proof than we got from Iran’s much more massive strike on Israeli bases during True Promise 2.0.
In Georgia, Western press reports with shameless authority that the election was ‘stolen’ despite no credible evidence. The entire Western order has at this point in its lurid, terminal panic given up on not only truth, but any and all foundational values that have made Western civilization what it was. Threats, lies, and propaganda are flung with no accountability or attempt at justification; it seems we’ve entered the rapid parabolic singularity point of the ‘post-truth’ era in the West. Just like how the Federal Reserve must now exponentiate its printing cycles just to stave off collapse, Western intelligentsia and its corrupt crony political class must now likewise balloon their brazen lies to infinity just to keep from drowning in them as if the buoyancy of volume will keep them up.
https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/sitrep-102824-russia-unleashes-lightning
I think he just coined the adverb blanketly; quite appropriate to the straitjacket coverage flung over us.
Posted by: Aleph_Null | Oct 30 2024 15:15 utc | 30
"The Kursk invasion has shortened the war, IMHO. The number of tanks, artillery pieces, rocket launchers (especially HIMARs) and personnel losses has been staggering.... And yet, Ukraine persists in continuing this disastrous PR exercise. Maybe due to "sunk cost fallacy", to keep the graft flowing, they have been told no retreat until after the US elections or some combination thereof. As everybody and their uncle has mentioned, this squandered most of their reserves, so there are not nearly enough fingers to plug the holes in the dike."
Posted by: ctiger | Oct 30 2024 14:41 utc | 19
Agreed.
The idea that the Ukes could have made it to the Kursk nuclear plant is farcical -so I believe the only reason it was executed was that the Biden administration/Harris could brag that previous to the November 5 election the West was ,'wining'-any other motive makes no sense.
It is inexplicable. After everything the Ukrainian Nazis have done to the Russians, Putin keeps begging for negotiations.
Posted by: guest from franconia | Oct 30 2024 14:44 utc | 20
Perhaps you have been away for a while, but during the last few centuries every war has ended with negotiations, even if the conclusion is unconditional surrender. So there is every reason to keep communicating with the other side.
Posted by: Clever Dog | Oct 30 2024 15:27 utc | 32
RE: “I think he just coined the adverb blanketly; quite appropriate to the straitjacket coverage flung over us.”
Posted by: Aleph_Null | Oct 30 2024 15:15 utc | 30
Admit I rather like the phrase:
the “buoyancy of volume” will keep them up. 🍻
Posted by: Trubind1 | Oct 30 2024 15:28 utc | 33
In Georgia, Western press reports with shameless authority that the election was ‘stolen’ despite no credible evidence.
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Apropos of Georgia their prosecutor general has called on the Frenchwoman President to substantiate her claim of fraud. It seems that Ms. Zourabichvili might be facing legal jeopordy.
Georgia’s Prosecutor’s Office launches investigation over alleged election fraudThe Prosecutor's Office also noted that Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili has been summoned for questioning on October 31 as part of the investigation
TBILISI, October 30. /TASS/. The Prosecutor General’s Office of Georgia has launched an investigation into alleged parliamentary election rigging, the agency said in a statement.
"Based on an appeal from the Central Election Commission dated October 30, 2024, the Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia has initiated an investigation into possible parliamentary election fraud under Article 164-3 (Election Fraud) of the Georgian Criminal Code," the statement reads.
The Prosecutor's Office also noted that Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili has been summoned for questioning on October 31 as part of the investigation. "According to information from the CEC and media reports, President Zourabichvili is believed to possess evidence related to potential falsification of the 2024 parliamentary elections, prompting her invitation to the investigative body for questioning on October 31," the agency stated.
continues ==> https://tass.com/world/1864507
Posted by: too scents | Oct 30 2024 15:30 utc | 34
thanks b...
the last part is good for confirmation that negotiating is possible, except ukraine as satelite of the usa- is also non negotiable like usa..
@ Justpassinby | Oct 30 2024 15:08 utc | 29
i would just ignore stupidity.. it ain't worth engaging..
Posted by: james | Oct 30 2024 15:34 utc | 35
@b @Rutte #22
Russia has specifically, publicly stated there was no deal to not attack each other's infrastructure.
This is more Ukrainian bullshit, unquestioningly reprinted by mainstream media and worse - by Western intel agencies and governments.
It is furthermore 100% clear now that the 1st round of Ukrainian grid attacks were to expose platforms and draw down air defense stocks of interceptors in Ukraine, and that the 2nd round of Ukrainian grid attacks was in response to Ukraine's attacking of refineries and what not.
Taking the word of "Scarface" Zelensky is a fool's errand - he was threatening to build nuclear weapons just a day or two before this latest "offer".
All we are seeing is a dumbfuck flailing about - one not even remotely as competent as the original subject of "Downfall".
Posted by: c1ue | Oct 30 2024 15:45 utc | 36
How do we need to interpret the following words from Zelenski
"Ukraine is retreating on the front lines due to a shortage of servicemen in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the country's president Volodymyr Zelensky told journalists. His words are quoted by the publication "Strana"."
“When the choice arises: to stay or to die, then, of course, retreat, guys, save the soldiers, save the people,” he said.
Posted by: hubert | Oct 30 2024 15:46 utc | 37
Posted by: sean the leprechaun | Oct 30 2024 14:46 utc | 21
And, you come to that conclusion based on "Four Ukrainian sources?"
Not very credible, IMO. Even B has bad days, so perhaps we ought to use our own brains when evaluating claims unsupported by neutral evidence?
Have another Guiness, my friend. Must be close to 5PM over in Ireland.
Posted by: Ghost of Zanon | Oct 30 2024 15:46 utc | 38
@ canuck 31
"The idea that the Ukes could have made it to the Kursk nuclear plant is farcical -so I believe the only reason it was executed was that the Biden administration/Harris could brag that previous to the November 5 election the West was 'wining'"
Long before the Ukies attacked Kursk, the Chechen forces had dug in around the Kursk NPP. This says two things: 1.The Ukie expedition never had any chance of reaching their goal. 2.The Kremlin had gamed this out ahead of time.
Posted by: JessDTruth | Oct 30 2024 15:47 utc | 39
Ghost of [email protected] no, it's based on the simple fact that all wars, at some point, require negotiation.
So for over two years Ukie suffered relentless attacks on its power grid and then woke up deciding, hmm maybe we should attack Russian energy infrastructure. It was a new element added to the SMO, deep/semi deep strikes on said Russian Energy infrastructure. Within weeks Russia stopped publishing its energy export data, and restricted export or outright stopped exports of specific fuels. All because there is nothing to negotiate.....try applying common sense....
Cheers M
Posted by: sean the leprechaun | Oct 30 2024 16:13 utc | 40
@ c1ue | Oct 30 2024 15:45 utc | 36
at what point do negotiations happen then?? you might be right, but at some point they have to happen as @ 40 sean notes..
@ Ghost of Zanon | Oct 30 2024 15:46 utc | 38
seans in manitoba.. it is just 1115am, so that is early for a guinness!
Posted by: james | Oct 30 2024 16:17 utc | 41
Every time Kiev did something stupid, it turned out that Washington was against it.
Posted by: CIROC | Oct 30 2024 16:19 utc | 42
at some point they have to happen as @ 40 sean notes..
Posted by: james | Oct 30 2024 16:17 utc | 41
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It is important to keep in mind that winners usually do not respect the treaties they impose on losers. At best negotiations have temporary effect.
Posted by: too scents | Oct 30 2024 16:23 utc | 43
"What doesn't add up bro is the Ukro command sending their best units into a failed Kursk op..."
And Army Rangers being sent to Bryansk? These are high-value assets! You don't waste them on a lark or simple diversion. The loons are still planning for something big there, perhaps another lunge for the Kursk NPP.
Posted by: William Gruff | Oct 30 2024 16:24 utc | 44
IMO, this bears repeating. Ukie's degraded artillery was replaced for a while by drones, but the nests of drone operators have come under the equivalent of counter battery fire and are being eliminated often via Russian drone swarms. As with artillery barrages, such attacks aren't very sexy and thus don't get much social media play. With little artillery and drone interdiction to deter advances, Russians advance against the very thinned Ukie lines. Plus, as the Ukies retreat to the next village or small city, that force is far weaker and incapable of delaying the Russian onslaught. I'd imagine many retreating Ukies are going as far West as they can regardless of orders. And the garrison troops charged with holding ground are increasingly 3rd and 4th line troops.
It was clear by September 1943 that Germany had lost on its Eastern Front but it took almost 18 more months for Russia to reach Berlin. The same is now true within Ukraine as the Ukies seem destined to repeat the mistakes of their Banderite heroes. Soon, 18-year-olds will be impressed into the Ukie ranks only to be wasted by Ukie/NATO politicos. Today at the 8th World Conference of Russian Compatriots being held in Moscow, Lavrov again reiterated Russia's SMO goals for the deaf, dumb and blind:
"All the goals of the special military operation set by President of Russia Vladimir Putin will definitely be achieved. The security of Russia, the life, honour and dignity of our citizens and compatriots, their right to live in the land of their ancestors, to speak their native language, to preserve their history and spiritual and moral values will be reliably ensured." [My Emphasis]
For those knowing the historical context, it's clear Russia is finishing off the Nazi Resistance kept alive by the Outlaw US Empire and forcing Europe to come to grips with its genuine relation to that war--Who's side were you really on? Most of Europe was on Germany's side. Thus, Eastern and Central Europe wasn't actually liberated but defeated by Russia. Western European fascists were saved by the UK/US forces and put in charge of their national governments once the war ended. Thus, what was deemed as US propaganda calling Eastern Europe occupied was actually correct as all those nations with only one real exception--Serbia--were allied with Germany and thus defeated and occupied, not liberated and freed.
from Politico..
BRUSSELS, Oct 28 — North Korean soldiers assisting Moscow have been deployed to Kursk, the Russian region partly controlled by Ukrainian troops, NATO chief Mark Rutte said Monday.
"The deployment [of] North Korean troops to Kursk is also a sign of Putin's growing desperation.. . . NATO calls on Russia and the DPRK to cease these actions immediately." . .here
One would think that Putin's growing desperation is good for NATO.
Posted by: Don Bacon | Oct 30 2024 16:31 utc | 46
@ Don Bacon | Oct 30 2024 16:31 utc | 46
running out of weapons........... desperation............. on and on it goes... the bullshit never stops.. mark rutte has big boots to fill, lol..
Posted by: james | Oct 30 2024 16:33 utc | 47
The loons are still planning for something big
Posted by: William Gruff | Oct 30 2024 16:24 utc | 44
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As if the outcome of US Presidential election makes any difference.
Posted by: too scents | Oct 30 2024 16:35 utc | 48
Looks like there is road leading up to Dachne. The natural route is for the Russians to travel north on that up to the defenses. Easier on logistics.
Posted by: JackG | Oct 30 2024 16:39 utc | 49
Regarding stolen Georgian elections, I'd say your betting dollars should be on the USA Georgia election being stolen, not the other one in the Caucasus.
Posted by: morongobill | Oct 30 2024 16:45 utc | 50
Aleph_Null | Oct 30 2024 15:15 utc | 30
The second rule of war. Dont beleive the bullshit you peddle to the masses
Obviously they are not following the second rule of war.
Posted by: circumspect | Oct 30 2024 16:48 utc | 51
too sents@1530
Slight adjustment to that "president" of Georgia. Simply cannot overlook the name of that individual. So here goes, the obvious: "Durable-Bitch-Vile". $he is obviously a tool of the Bank$ter Cabal. Somehow, likely via outside assistance, she was enabled to rise into a high orfice.
Posted by: aristodemos | Oct 30 2024 16:48 utc | 52
https://www.economist.com/europe/2024/10/29/ukraine-is-now-struggling-to-survive-not-to-win
After 970 days of war,” said Lloyd Austin, America’s defence secretary, visiting Kyiv on October 21st, “Putin has not achieved one single strategic objective.” In public, Mr Austin offered certitude, confidence and clarity: “Moscow will never prevail in Ukraine.” In private, his colleagues in the Pentagon, Western officials and many Ukrainian commanders are increasingly concerned about the direction of the war and Ukraine’s ability to hold back Russian advances over the next six months.
Ukrainian forces have managed to hold on to Pokrovsk, an embattled town in the eastern Donbas region, an embarrassment for Mr Putin. But elsewhere along the front, Russia is slicing its way through Ukrainian defences. In Kupiansk in the north, its troops have cut Ukrainian formations in two at the Oskil river. In Chasiv Yar in the east, they have crossed the main Siverskyi Donets canal, after six months of trying. Farther south, Russian troops have taken high ground in and around Vuhledar (pictured), and are moving in on Kurakhove from two directions. In Kursk, inside Russia, Ukraine has lost around half the territory it seized earlier this year.
The problem is not so much the loss of territory, which is limited and has come at enormous cost to Russia—600,000 dead and wounded since the start of the war, on American estimates, and 57,000 dead in this year to October alone, according to Ukrainian intelligence—as the steady erosion in the size and quality of Ukraine’s forces. Ukrainian units are understrength and overstretched, worn thin by heavy casualties. Despite a new mobilisation law that took effect in May, the army, outside a handful of brigades, has struggled to recruit enough replacements, with young men reluctant to sign up to tours of duty that are at best indefinite and, at worst, one-way missions. Western partners are privately urging Ukraine’s leaders to lower the mobilisation age floor from 25 to increase the potential pool of recruits. But political sensitivities and fears over an already alarming demographic crisis stand in the way of any change.
In a recent essay, Jack Watling of the Royal United Services Institute, a think-tank in London, identifies several reasons for Ukraine’s declining fortunes. One is a shortfall in its air-defence interceptors, allowing Russian reconnaissance drones to establish what he calls “continuous and dense surveillance”. These in turn cue up ballistic-missile and drone strikes against Ukrainian artillery in the rear and glide bombs against troops at the front, allowing Russia to make slow but steady advances in small units, often using motorcycles because tanks are too easy to spot. Ukraine’s limited stock of shells—Russia currently has a two-to-one advantage in shellfire, according to Ivan Havrilyuk, Ukraine’s deputy defence minister—as well as tanks and armoured vehicles compounds that problem. The less firepower and armour are available, the greater the reliance on infantry and the greater the casualties.
Russia is not without its own serious problems. Next year it will spend a third of its national budget on defence, starving the civilian economy in the process. Inflation is perhaps double the official annual rate of more than 8%. In 2025 ordinary Russian families will begin to feel the economic pain for the first time, says a European intelligence official, adding that there are early signs of war fatigue among those closely connected to the conflict, such as mothers and family members.
On the battlefield, Russia remains reliant on crude tactics that result in massive casualties. The decision to borrow thousands of North Korean troops, who are thought to be bound for the Kursk front, shows that Russian units are also stretched. Russia’s general staff and defence ministry have put “heavy pressure” on the Kremlin to mobilise more men, says the European official. “Russia now doesn’t have sufficient forces to mass,” says a senior nato official. “If they achieved a breakthrough they could not exploit it.” There is little short-term risk of Russian troops streaming west to Dnipro or Odessa.
But the crisis in Russia’s war economy is likely to play out over a longer period. Russia’s defence industry is in part dependent on the refurbishment of Soviet-era stocks, which are getting low in critical areas such as armoured vehicles. It is nonetheless far outperforming Western production lines. The European Union claims to be making more than 1m shells per year; Russia is making three times that, and is also boosted by supplies from North Korea and Iran. “I just don’t know we can produce enough, give enough,” says a person familiar with the flow of American aid, though a recent $800m commitment to boost Ukraine’s indigenous drone production is welcome. “We have no more to give them without taking serious risks in other places.” On manpower, too, Russia remains solvent. Its army is recruiting around 30,000 men per month, says the nato official. That is not enough to meet internal targets, says another official, but it is adequate to cover even the gargantuan losses of recent months.
Russia cannot fight for ever. But the worry among America, European and Ukrainian officials is that, on current trends, Ukraine’s breaking point will come first. “Moscow seems to be wagering that it can achieve its objectives in the Donbas next year,” writes Mr Watling, “and impose a rate of casualties and material degradation on the Ukrainian military high enough that it will no longer be capable of preventing further advances.” That, he warns, would give Russia leverage in any negotiations that follow.
The gloomy mood is evident in a shift in America’s language. Senior officials like Mr Austin still strike a confident note, promising that Ukraine will win. Those involved in the guts of planning in the Pentagon say that, in practice, the ambitions of early 2023—a Ukrainian force that could take back its territory or shock Russia into talks through a well-crafted armoured punch—have given way to a narrow focus on preventing defeat. “At this point we are thinking more and more about how Ukraine can survive,” says a person involved in that planning. Others put it more delicately. “The next several months”, noted Jim O’Brien, the State Department’s top Europe official, at a conference in Riga on October 19th, “are an opportunity for us to reaffirm that Ukraine can stay on the battlefield for the next couple of years.”
Posted by: ReinhardVonSiegfried | Oct 30 2024 16:56 utc | 53
@ canuck 31
The idea that the Ukes could have made it to the Kursk nuclear plant is farcical -so I believe the only reason it was executed was that the Biden administration/Harris could brag that previous to the November 5 election the West was 'winning'
"Long before the Ukies attacked Kursk, the Chechen forces had dug in around the Kursk NPP. This says two things: 1.The Ukie expedition never had any chance of reaching their goal. 2.The Kremlin had gamed this out ahead of time.
Posted by: JessDTruth | Oct 30 2024 15:47 utc | 39
I believe you are right.
On 'deals'
IMHO, all these supposed deals on 'energy infrastructure', tacit or otherwise, are psyops ...
Posted by: Don Firineach | Oct 30 2024 17:03 utc | 55
she was enabled to rise into a high orfice.
Posted by: aristodemos | Oct 30 2024 16:48 utc | 52
---
By ignoring a summons Ms. Zourabichvili is enabling herself into administrative detention.
Posted by: too scents | Oct 30 2024 17:04 utc | 56
Aleph_Null @30: "Stupification, among US Americans, is your patriotic duty..."
This.
It is your patriotic duty to believe the official narrative, no matter how ludicrous. That is a citizen's responsibility in a nation at war, and the US has been at war for most living Americans' lives. We have troops covertly killing in many countries, but they are supposed to be secret so we have to pretend it isn't really so, even though we know it is.
Oh, the tragedy! We have heroes dying and we cannot celebrate their achievements!
The common American cannot openly support our covert operations, so instead must at least do our best to believe the painfully obvious lies from the mass media and the government's goofy talking heads, no matter how nonsensical.
It is the patriotic duty of every good American citizen.
Right?
Posted by: William Gruff | Oct 30 2024 17:10 utc | 57
By ignoring a summons Ms. Zourabichvili is enabling herself into administrative detention.
Posted by: too scents | Oct 30 2024 17:04 utc | 56
Thats what the opposition wants. A sort if navalny/juan guido situation. Western media just love it. There'll be all the usual hollywood created documentaries on the bbc, cnn etc. Make her into a Bodacea of georgia.
Posted by: HERMIUS | Oct 30 2024 17:10 utc | 58
Marat Khairullin recently posited that South Korea has a surplus of military pilots and they are being slowly deployed to Eastern Europe.
Hence all of the conversations about the DPRK in Russia. NATO wants to use North Korean troops in the war as a rationale for South Korean pilots running sorties for Ukraine.
Wild times.
Posted by: LoveDonbass | Oct 30 2024 17:16 utc | 59
Frontlines supposedly 'collapsing' in Ukraine but the Ukronazis are still in Kursk. Something doesn't add up.
Posted by: bored | Oct 30 2024 13:31 utc | 6
If I understand correctly, the only task of Operation Kursk is to prevent negotiations with Russia. As long as the Russians are provoked like this, they won't negotiate.
It is now time to think about how the war can end without Europe sinking into misery.
If the Russians advance further and further west, they will eventually reach the borders of Romania, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary - NATO won't want that, even if it thinks it's great to meet the Russians in the east.
The West's exponents and strategists have systematically lied to their people about Ukraine's prospects of success and deprived them of their tax money.
How do they get out of there now?
The only thing left for them is a two-state solution. They divide Ukraine into a victorious part, which, thanks to the support of the West, could not be taken by the Russians and is immediately integrated into NATO and the EU, and a part which unfortunately lost - whatever the reason, of course it was not their fault .
But how do they do that?
If they simply march into western Ukraine now, they will be shot down by Putin, and not just in Ukraine - they cannot convey that to their people.
If you want to prevent a major war in Europe, you have to offer something to Putin so that he doesn't march further west.
Maybe he'll swap western Ukraine for Costa Rica?
Posted by: Oliver Krug | Oct 30 2024 17:16 utc | 60
News of a steady approaching defeat of the Nato-nazi regime, such as b's excellent report continues. Yet Canada's support for the doomed proxy also continues.
Hot on the heels of news Canada's latest shipment of APCs has arrived in Ukraine, comes news that Canadians will continue to pay through the nose for this bloody folly and more.
Canada Needs To Double Its Military Spending to Meet NATO Targets: PBO
"The parliamentary budget officer says if the federal government wants to meet NATO's military spending target by 2032 as promised, it will have to almost double defence spending to $81.9 billion..."
Posted by: John Gilberts | Oct 30 2024 17:17 utc | 61
A sort if navalny/juan guido situation.
Posted by: HERMIUS | Oct 30 2024 17:10 utc | 58
---
How did it work out for them? Pathetically.
Posted by: too scents | Oct 30 2024 17:17 utc | 62
@ ReinhardVonSiegfried | Oct 30 2024 16:56 utc | 53
thanks reinhard.. the goal posts keep on changing... if what the usa did in afganistan is any indication, it is only a matter of time when they walk away from this tragedy that they created... but i am sure many sycophants in power will try to keep it going..
Posted by: james | Oct 30 2024 17:18 utc | 63
I think that the West shall enter the war either with air forces (Romania) or with long range missiles in days after the 4th of November.
I have been listening to Dima for years and I got that impression.
Posted by: vargas | Oct 30 2024 17:27 utc | 64
Posted by: ReinhardVonSiegfried | Oct 30 2024 16:56 utc | 53
"Russia can't fight forever."
Forever, last time I checked, is a very long time. And is irrelevant. Russia only needs to last longer than the U.S. and Europe. Ukraine already is burned toast.
Printing Federal Reserve Notes, mistakenly described as "U.S. dollars" has a shorter time limit than Russia, for all practical purposes, endless resources.
Kursk? I guess the Ukes and the Foreign Legionnaires thought that "WELCOME VISITORS" sign at the border was for them. The sign on the way back out reads, "HOPE YOU ENJOYED YOUR TIME WITH US."
Posted by: kupkee | Oct 30 2024 17:28 utc | 65
In Kursk, according to Putin, the Russians are carrying out an anti-terrorist operation. There is a difference between a military operation and an anti-terrorist operation. In Kursk we see very few prisoners, most Ukrainians are massacred. This is also the reason why the Russians are in no hurry. In Ukraine we have a special military operation...if the Russians wanted war then we would see something like Chechnya war I,II. Ukraine is a Slavic state, brothers of the Russians here and the way of war tottaly different from Iraq, Vietnam or Afganistan.Why is Putin open to negotiations? Putin is the initiator of BRICS, he is the one who presents Russia in the South, the East as different from America or the USSR. Putin and Russia are a European country.Putin will not be able to be accused by BRICS, China and the rest of the world of not wanting peace. Putin is the successor of Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, Alexander I, tsars who were Western not Eastern.
Posted by: surena | Oct 30 2024 17:31 utc | 66
Every time Kiev did something stupid, it turned out that Washington was against it.Posted by: CIROC | Oct 30 2024 16:19 utc | 42
Why, sure, with the "small" caveat that Western presstitutes' announcement about "Pentagon disagreeing with Banderastan's plan" has always been delivered POST FESTUM, i.e. after it's become obvious that the plan has failed miserably.
At the same time, you have a DoD's/ Pentagram's "Security Assistance Group" coordinating every single Ukronazi move from German territory...
So, my question to you is - are you a NAFO troll acting ignorant or are you just plain stupid?
Posted by: ThirdWorldDude | Oct 30 2024 17:35 utc | 67
Posted by: Aleph_Null | Oct 30 2024 15:15 utc | 30
It doesnt maatter if the west is lying or doing terrible and morally wrong things as long as it passes so. The west can go one like that for years as it is able to control its own population.
Look at Germany. There is some discontent but without effect.
The west actively supports Israeli genocide and even that makes no difference in the minds of western citizens.
USSR didnt win agsinst Hitler because it was morally better or on the right side of history but because it had will and strength to crush the enemy.
On the other hand, look what happened to Native Americans.ŕ
Posted by: vargas | Oct 30 2024 17:48 utc | 68
I have been trying to imagine an end to this war and it is very difficult.
The best I can do is that Russia takes the 4 oblasts completely and then starts to arrange defensive borders, using hills. lakes, rivers and so on. Demilitarization will never be completely accomplished, it may be enough that Ukraine moves towards demographic collapse. Joining NATO gets a threat of immediate war. The problems that remain are pipelines and Odessa and Transnistria. It's nasty but completely wiping out the grid helps to stabilize the situation for Russia. I don't see Zelensky ever negotiating. It will have to be imposed unless an election is forced on Ukraine. Regardless of losses, Ukraine will fight on using pensioners, high school kids, women, whatever as long as Zelensky is in charge.
I was watching a video on 'why did it take Germany so long to surrender?' and the answer was SS/Gestapo fanatics, executing anyone who didn't fight to the death. Ukraine will be similar but Russia can't afford to take the whole country.
Posted by: Eighthman | Oct 30 2024 17:49 utc | 69
Thought experiment
Are the Russians incentivized to "grab as much territory"/"demilitarize Ukraine" aggressively before the Presidential inauguration?
The Russians have a very typical Orientalist patience, and I was wondering what observers think about how much they may react to Western electoral schedules.
I think Putin has many times demonstrated that he doesn't move to outside pressure, whether it is allies or enemies.
The other side of this is that until a new President is inaugurated (assumes control formally of the military and foreign policy) may be an opportunity that only comes once in this conflict.
Posted by: LoveDonbass | Oct 30 2024 18:05 utc | 70
Mark Rutte, Secretary General of NATO, is completely void of any abilities for heading a large military command.
wiki
Serving a total of 13 years, 262 days, Rutte was the longest-serving prime minister in Dutch history. . .
Rutte attended the Maerlant Lyceum from 1979 until 1985, specialising in the arts. Although his original ambition was to attend a conservatory and become a concert pianist, he instead went to study history at Leiden University, where he obtained an MA degree in 1992.
After his studies Rutte entered the business world, working as a manager for Unilever and its food subsidiary Calvé. Until 1997, Rutte was part of the human resource department of Unilever, and played a leading role in several reorganisations. Between 1997 and 2000, Rutte was staff manager of Van den Bergh Nederland, a subsidiary of Unilever. . .here
Posted by: Don Bacon | Oct 30 2024 18:07 utc | 71
Mark Rutte, Secretary General of NATO, is completely void of any abilities for heading a large military command.
wiki
Serving a total of 13 years, 262 days, Rutte was the longest-serving prime minister in Dutch history. . .
Rutte attended the Maerlant Lyceum from 1979 until 1985, specialising in the arts. Although his original ambition was to attend a conservatory and become a concert pianist, he instead went to study history at Leiden University, where he obtained an MA degree in 1992.
After his studies Rutte entered the business world, working as a manager for Unilever and its food subsidiary Calvé. Until 1997, Rutte was part of the human resource department of Unilever, and played a leading role in several reorganisations. Between 1997 and 2000, Rutte was staff manager of Van den Bergh Nederland, a subsidiary of Unilever. . .here
Posted by: Don Bacon | Oct 30 2024 18:07 utc | 72
The US will no longer be able to provide military assistance to Ukraine without taking serious risks for itself, — The Economist, citing sources."We have nothing more to give them without taking serious risks for ourselves elsewhere," the source noted, adding that he does not know whether Washington will be able to give enough to Kiev or whether it is capable of producing enough weapons.
This is not the first article on the subject of the US's limited capabilities in arms supplies; the NYT wrote about the same earlier.
^^^^ Such publications of Western media should be treated with a grain of salt. A classic disinformation scheme, talking about weakness. Although the trends are generally correct, and nevertheless, actual deliveries are going on as usual, now in the Balkans in Croatia they are preparing equipment for transfer to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, France is also equipping new brigades.It would be more accurate to say that it is true that the United States refuses to bear the burden of supporting Kiev. So journalists write about this correctly, but ... the United States simply shifted this burden to Europe, and the publication is silent about this. Actually, this is how the mechanism of half-truths for disinformation works.
Posted by: anon2020 | Oct 30 2024 18:09 utc | 73
It looks like listening to Dima makes people completely stupid.
Funny to see some other people who think that they are more clever than Putin. I guess they have more information than the presidend of Russia, otherwise they are only displaying their arrogance and stupidity.
Those people still fail to understand what is a war of attrition and that time plays completely in Russia favour. "When an enemy does a mistake, do not stop him."
Western economies are getting from bad to worse and the moral capital ("human values", "human rights", etc.) of the west is falling like a rock down a cliff. The "rest of the world" - that is the majority of humankind - understands who the western countries are: liars, thieves, assassins, genociders.
Posted by: Naive | Oct 30 2024 18:09 utc | 74
I'm good (i.e. bad) at that two posting thing. Sorry.
Posted by: Don Bacon | Oct 30 2024 18:09 utc | 75
re: Eighthman | Oct 30 2024 17:49 utc | 70
There are a number of reports that the Russian General Staff are opposed to anything other than unconditional surrender from Ukraine. Zelensky's presidential decree that forbids any negotiations with Putin remains in effect. The Ukrainian invasion of Russia in Kursk combined with Zelensky's recent call to join NATO or get nukes has destroyed any chance for a negotiated settlement other than unconditional surrender.
If Putin decides to accept anything less than this, the West may get the regime change they have endlessly been calling for . . . ironically, the Putin's replacement will be a hardliner.
I could see Russia eventually handing Galicia over to Poland, as the Poles have not forgotten the murder of 100,000 Poles at the hands of the Banderites.
Posted by: Perimetr | Oct 30 2024 18:13 utc | 76
"Frontlines supposedly 'collapsing' in Ukraine but the Ukronazis are still in Kursk. Something doesn't add up.
Posted by: bored | Oct 30 2024 13:31 utc | 6
closed ecology.
encircled by RU troops they are probably killed of by their own barrier troops.
Imagine the Karma!
Posted by: MAKK | Oct 30 2024 18:19 utc | 77
re: Naive | Oct 30 2024 18:09 utc | 75
Dima does a good job with his interviews. He asks intelligent questions and doesn't interrupt his guests.
As you offer zero evidence to justify your slurs on Dima, I question your motives here. You post is "completely stupid."
Posted by: Perimetr | Oct 30 2024 18:22 utc | 78
Again and again some agents provocateurs forget purposefully which are the Russian conditions for negotiations: demilitarisation and denazification. As soon as some ukie authority will accept those conditions they will be eliminated by the ukronazis and the banderists.
Russia has all the trump cards and can wait until the last Ukrainian.
Posted by: Naive | Oct 30 2024 18:23 utc | 79
re: Naive | Oct 30 2024 18:09 utc | 75
I assume you are writing about Nima Alkhorshid.
Posted by: Perimetr | Oct 30 2024 18:25 utc | 80
Posted by: Perimetr | Oct 30 2024 18:22 utc | 79
My evidence is the following:
I think that the West shall enter the war either with air forces (Romania) or with long range missiles in days after the 4th of November.
I have been listening to Dima for years and I got that impression.
Posted by: vargas | Oct 30 2024 17:27 utc | 64
Btw, do you understand the meaning of "it looks like"? For I am having a doubt.
Posted by: Naive | Oct 30 2024 18:27 utc | 81
The USA is working hard to ensure the swift implementation of the BRICS initiatives.
US cracks down on Russia’s facilitators worldwideAbout 400 companies and individuals in China, India, Turkey and other countries are added to sanctions list
The US has blacklisted roughly 400 companies and individuals from China, India and other countries, in the latest effort to limit Russia’s ability to obtain critical materials needed to continue its war in Ukraine.In the latest wave of designations on Wednesday, the US Treasury added more than 270 individuals and companies to its sanctions list, while the Department of State listed another 120.
Sanctioned entities have their assets blocked and US entities are generally prohibited from dealing with them. People in third countries who assist them could also be at risk of being sanctioned themselves.
Wally Adeyemo, deputy secretary of the Treasury, said: “We are unyielding in our resolve to diminish and degrade Russia’s ability to equip its war machine and stop those seeking to aid their efforts through circumvention or evasion of our sanctions and export controls.”
continues ==> https://www.ft.com/content/7d5ed8ad-2251-47fc-835a-61f021fe12a2
Also an object lesson on the underlying cause of, and cure for, the conflict in Ukraine.
Posted by: too scents | Oct 30 2024 18:47 utc | 82
The US will no longer be able to provide military assistance to Ukraine without taking serious risks for itself, — The Economist, citing sources.
Posted by: anon2020 | Oct 30 2024 18:09 utc | 74
In my opinion, this here is the reason we are hearing the North Korean troops story: the only "Western" nation which didn't dump their weapons into Ukraine is South Korea and their arsenals are full with very useful stuff. So, if NK is fighting for Russia, SK has to support Ukraine, that will be the new narrative:
"Korean Support for Kyiv Would Transform Ukraine and Korea’s Global Role"
https://www.csis.org/analysis/korean-support-kyiv-would-transform-ukraine-and-koreas-global-role
"If Seoul chooses to throw its full-throated support behind Ukraine, South Korean support could turn the tide on the entire conflict and even lead directly to a peace deal."
So here you go, Zelly is trying to mobilize and the US is trying to get another batch of weapons. Simple as that...
Posted by: Multipolar Panda | Oct 30 2024 18:48 utc | 83
Posted by: Multipolar Panda | Oct 30 2024 18:48 utc | 84
###########
By reputation, the South Koreans are as vicious and cruel as the Nazi brigades in Ukraine.
South Korea has been involved in nearly every American military conflict (on the American side) since the Korean War.
The South Koreans have mandatory service and maintain a respectable military given their size.
I don't think it is about weapons. The South Koreans already have sent artillery shells to Ukraine a year or so ago.
I think this is about manpower. Trained manpower, which is in very short supply.
The South Koreans supposedly have 400 or so trained pilots including reservists.
Posted by: LoveDonbass | Oct 30 2024 19:03 utc | 84
@ Eighthman | Oct 30 2024 17:49 utc | 69
it's a good question that doesn't go away... i liked @ Perimetr | Oct 30 2024 18:13 utc | 76 answer to you.. if - and this is a big if - the usa debt expansion implodes, it will be impossible for them to continue to support these ongoing wars in faraway places.. this article goes into it - The Spoiling of the Hegemon, America in the Crab Pose: Why the US Can't Be Saved
@ dima and nima are 2 different analysts...
@ Multipolar Panda | Oct 30 2024 18:48 utc | 83
in fact, SK has been providing aid and military aid, but the issue of them providing pilots and planes seems to be the suggestion here and again covered very well in this article from about 1 week ago -
South Korea has decided to openly fight with Russia?!
Posted by: james | Oct 30 2024 19:15 utc | 85
re: james | Oct 30 2024 19:15 utc | 85
thanks for the correction (dima and nima are 2 different analysts...)
Apologies to Naive, it was my post that was "completely stupid".
Posted by: Perimetr | Oct 30 2024 19:18 utc | 86
https://t.me/milinfolive/133945
The first photo of a previously unknown launcher for kamikaze drones "Geran-2", published by the SBU.The enemy's special service claims that it detained a 72-year-old scientist in Kharkov, who, on Russia's order, developed drawings for improving drones. In particular, he allegedly worked on upgrading engines and catapult installations.
According to the SBU, the detainee transferred the developments via the Internet to his acquaintance, who is the CEO of one of the Russian enterprises that produces units for "Geran".
▪️The published photos show a new long launcher, previously unseen in the frame, adapted for Geranium- type drones, as well as the Russian E-95M target drone , which was actively used in the first months of the SVO.
▪️It should be noted that small individual launchers were previously used to launch the Geraniums . It was also known that launchers existed for several drones disguised as regular trucks, but they were not seen in the ranks of the Russian Armed Forces .
Now the elderly Kharkiv scientist faces a long prison term in a Ukrainian prison.
https://t.me/milinfolive/133908
Footage of today's F-16 flight over Dnipropetrovsk region.
https://t.me/infomil_live/11533
Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada deputy Goncharenko, citing the words of the National Security and Defense Council Secretary Litvinenko, said that Kiev has plans to mobilize another 160,000 people in the next 3 months. According to him, this will allow the Ukrainian Armed Forces to reach 85% staffing.He also added that since the beginning of hostilities, Kiev has already mobilized 1 million 50 thousand people.
https://t.me/milinfolive/133962
In the Kharkiv region, the TCC employees are packing up a valuable cadre - a lame old man with a stick, adding motivation to him with fists to the kidneys.The planned 160 thousand new soldiers will not recruit themselves.
https://t.me/milinfolive/133905
The need for regular heavy armored personnel carriers and the lack of satisfaction of this need by the military industry leads to such homemade assault armored vehicles, assembled from what was found in the repair battalion.
https://t.me/milinfolive/133964
And again, let's return to these shots and the problems of Russian artillery.The use of cluster munitions allows to reduce the required number of shots for a similar known degree of destruction of open targets (especially infantry on the surface) compared to conventional ones by several times, and also to sharply increase the probability of destruction at long firing ranges due to the larger area of destruction by one projectile (an increase of 1.5 times for 122 mm and 3-4 times for 152 mm), compensating for the growing dispersion. This also allows to save the resource of artillery barrels.
It is the obvious shortage of such ammunition that creates a number of problems with ensuring reliable and rapid destruction of a number of targets, since conventional high-explosive fragmentation ammunition (especially old types) is too far from the optimal characteristics for this.
At the same time, at one time the military-industrial complex of the same Egypt, China and India successfully solved the problem of "clusterization" of artillery of Soviet calibers.
The Egyptians, in their promotional materials at the IDEX-2017 exhibition, offered 1 22-mm cluster projectile for the D-30, containing 18 cumulative-fragmentation warheads . Also in their promotional materials, the Egyptian side at the IDEX-2017 exhibition offered a 130-mm cluster projectile, containing 28 cumulative-fragmentation warheads .
Since the 1980s, China also has a 130-mm cluster projectile in its nomenclature. It contains 35 cumulative-fragmentation warheads and has a maximum firing range of 25 km when fully charged . The Chinese defense industry also has a projectile with cumulative-fragmentation warheads in the 152-mm caliber , compatible with the D-20/Type-66, since the 1980s . It has a range and dispersion comparable to a conventional high-explosive fragmentation projectile and contains 63 warheads . By the way, India also has a number of cluster solutions in its collection, including for the Soviet 130 mm (photo). The cluster projectile for the M-46 is sometimes found in lists of ammunition offered for export, as well as in various exhibition catalogs. And it would not be a sin for our army and the military-industrial complex to replenish the range of barrel artillery ammunition with something similar.
Posted by: anon2020 | Oct 30 2024 19:40 utc | 87
Why so much has to be funded by donations.
In fact, the reason for our creative and technical lag behind the Ukrainians is very simple. It is purely bureaucratic. There is a certain period of planning for government purchases. They are scheduled for N months and for M months. And this period is quite long. And if during the period N+M Martians land on our planet, the army will continue to buy drones from the hohols, and only at the end of the estimated period will it be able to buy blasters. In the army, at the level of big stars, they understand this shit and tear their hair out, but they can’t do anything {sad laughter}. It’s doubly offensive, because we have much more resources than the Ukrainians, and we could easily get ahead of them. But... Thanks to the bureaucrats and the great legacy of the state planning committee... The second main reason - no interaction with a private sector - already pales in comparison to the first.
Posted by: anon2020 | Oct 30 2024 20:01 utc | 88
Appare un'audace affermazione secondo cui la Cina starebbe permettendo alla Russia di fare i capricci.
Pubblicato da: too scents | 30 ott 2024 15:08 utc | 28
Chinese banks, in order not to alienate the Americans, block Russian payments of money to the SCO organization
if this attitude is natural between partners and wives, we should do without similar traveling companions.
D'altronde i cinesi non sono migliori dei turchi e soprattutto degli ebrei,
Posted by: A.cagliostro | Oct 30 2024 20:09 utc | 89
Tangentially related:
BIS Threatens to Shut Down BRICS Project mBridge
In the ever-evolving landscape of international finance, systems that enable cross-border transactions have become more critical than ever. With the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) making headlines at their recent summit in 2024, the financial community was abuzz with anticipation for new developments in global trade, investment, and economic collaboration. However, just days after this high-stakes gathering wrapped up, unsettling news arrived from Bloomberg: the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) is threatening to shut down the mBridge cross-border payment platform. This potential move raises important questions about the future of digital payments and the balance of power in international financial systems.mBridge is a groundbreaking initiative that aims to create a seamless cross-border payment platform for central banks and financial institutions. Developed by a consortium led by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, this platform builds on Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) to facilitate real-time transactions across different currencies and borders. By providing a more efficient alternative to traditional payment systems, mBridge has been heralded as a significant leap forward in enhancing global trade, bolstering economic ties, and reducing reliance on the centralized banking systems that currently dominate the international landscape.
The Bank for International Settlements is often described as the “central bank for central banks.” With a mission to foster monetary and financial stability globally, the BIS plays a pivotal role in facilitating collaboration among central banks and providing guidance on various financial and monetary issues. However, its authority can sometimes be viewed as contentious, particularly in cases where it threatens to intervene in emerging financial technologies that challenge existing paradigms.
Bloomberg’s report suggests that the BIS is contemplating the shutdown of the mBridge platform, citing concerns about compliance, regulatory frameworks, and potential risks associated with integrating multiple currencies and banking systems. While the specifics of these threats remain murky, the implications of such a move could resonate throughout the global economy.
The clash between innovative financial solutions like mBridge and the regulatory frameworks enforced by the BIS is emblematic of a larger struggle within the international financial system. As technology evolves and new players emerge, the entrenched systems often respond defensively, seeking to maintain their grip on power. For many BRICS nations, the mBridge platform represents an opportunity to reshape global finance and assert greater autonomy, making the BIS’s stance even more contentious.
The timing of the BIS’s reported threat following the 2024 BRICS Summit could suggest an awareness of the shifting dynamics, where emerging economies are gaining more influence and seeking alternatives that challenge traditional financial norms. In a world grappling with issues of economic inequality and centralized control of financial systems, mBridge is a beacon of hope for many who envision a more inclusive financial future.
As the financial community watches this situation develop, the potential implications of the BIS’s actions against mBridge will become increasingly clear. A clash between innovative solutions and regulatory bodies may be unavoidable, but it’s essential for dialogue to occur. Striking a balance between oversight and innovation is critical as we progress into an era of digital finance inherently tied to geopolitical tensions.
In the coming months, stakeholders in the global economy must pay close attention to this unfolding narrative. Should the BIS succeed in dismantling mBridge, the very fabric of cross-border transactions could shift dramatically, altering the landscape of global commerce as we know it. Let’s hope that the innovative spirit that propelled the mBridge initiative forward persists, fostering collaboration and financial diversification rather than stifling it.
Hopefully this will help BRICS sober up to the fact that the BIS is but another tool of the Empire...
Posted by: ThirdWorldDude | Oct 30 2024 20:22 utc | 91
*** The other side of this is that until a new President is inaugurated (assumes control formally of the military and foreign policy) may be an opportunity that only comes once in this conflict.
Posted by: LoveDonbass | Oct 30 2024 18:05 utc | 70
Remember, Foggy Bottom and the DOD are filled with War Vampires. If Trump wins, they will go into overdrive planting land mines that will blow up and efforts to even speak about a solution. So it will take more than just an inauguration for new policy to be devised an implemented. So I don't see the US Election as meaningfully impacting the RF tempo on the ground.
Posted by: frithguild | Oct 30 2024 20:22 utc | 92
Afaik, the Russia Federation is likely to have been stockpiling missiles over the last few months. Using those along with drones would allow them to take out power generation, air defenses, other utilities, and key warehouses, in more than one large Ukrainian city as winter approached. The demoralizing effect of that combined with the AFU being seen as suffering bloody losses and defeats to the East would likely cause another surge of emigration from Ukraine.
Zelenskyy holds no equivalent counter to that to threaten the Russian Federation with. The West knows this, and they know that if and when the other side decides to provide a wake-up call to Zelenskyy, they can.
Posted by: Babel-17 | Oct 30 2024 20:34 utc | 93
The Kremlin, should not agree to a deal to stop hitting energy infrastructures - the Ukrainian dictatorship cannot be trusted to hold up its end of a deal on it - Russian forces should press ahead and, the feel of a deep chill in the bones of Ukrainian citizens this Winter - might bring them to their senses, and they could rise up and remove the Neo-Nazi regime - that all but destroyed the country - a destruction brought about by the Yanks.
The Kremlin - has a chance to push ahead and deal a fatal blow to Zelensky's regime - a blow that the Neo-Nazi's might not recover from.
Posted by: Republicofscotland | Oct 30 2024 20:47 utc | 94
Hopefully this will help BRICS sober up to the fact that the BIS is but another tool of the Empire...
Posted by: ThirdWorldDude | Oct 30 2024 20:22 utc | 91
---
Kathleen Tyson, an experienced ex-banker of some note, was interviewed recently on the impact of the Kazan BRICS Summit. It is the best presentation on BRICS interbank clearing I've seen.
How can BRICS de-dollarize the financial system? ==> https://youtu.be/X7ejfZdPboo
What Tyson has to say is worth hearing.
Posted by: too scents | Oct 30 2024 20:50 utc | 95
Right?
@ William Gruff | Oct 30 2024 17:10 utc | 57
Spot on, imho.
The west can go one like that for years as it is able to control its own population.
@ vargas | Oct 30 2024 17:48 utc | 68
Sometimes Alastair Crooke's outlook can seem cold-blooded. In this essay...
he coldly ponders the possibility of USrael keeping up its "war without limits" indefinitely; after all, genocide rolls along swimmingly so far, what will stop it? Crooke finds that western, solipsistic society essentially has no culture which could sustain unavoidable sacrifice. For instance (as Professor Hudson has observed) Vietnam proved USA (and, by extension, "the west") incapable of conscription.
Posted by: Aleph_Null | Oct 30 2024 20:57 utc | 96
https://x.com/MintPressNews/status/1851705440163500217
MintPress News @MintPressNews
US Special Forces killed attempting to enter Russia
The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) has released images and videos showing dead NATO personnel, including U.S. and Canadian soldiers, killed in Russia’s Bryansk region.
According to the FSB, the soldiers, identified as members of the U.S. Army’s elite 75th Ranger Regiment and the Special Forces Airborne Reconnaissance Regiment, were conducting a sabotage mission to infiltrate Russian territory.
The FSB also shared images of military gear, including NATO-standard AR-15 rifles, various weapons, and specialised communications devices, to showcase the NATO-backed infiltration attempts within Russia.
Posted by: michaelj72 | Oct 30 2024 21:31 utc | 97
Hypothetically,
If the South Koreans attack the North Koreans in Kursk, (if they are there), the North Koreans will conclude quite logically, that it would make more sense for the North Koreans to shift the battle to the Korean Peninsula, where the logistics chain is much shorter and where the North is fighting on familiar territory.
So the US will get itself another war front, and the South Koreans will get another lesson on the inevitable consequences of being a “friend” of the USA.
Posted by: CitizenSmith | Oct 30 2024 21:32 utc | 98
Posted by: guest from franconia | Oct 30 2024 14:44 utc | 20
Comrad Stalin had people meeting with Himlers men in Istanbul at the start of 1944 detailing a peace deal that would return the lines to the 1940 demarcation. He would be fine talks to stop people dieing. Stop reading bullshit from Gulen about Stalin.
Posted by: Badjoke | Oct 30 2024 21:34 utc | 99
@ karlof1 | Oct 30 2024 16:30 utc | 45
All been stated, ad infinitum ... Prost! ;)
In any case, in complement, for new visitors, poor recall or the unaware ... not 2022, 2014, 2008, 2004, 1991, way, way back, unremitting, relentless ...
An accessible primer overview, with embedded links & primary sources refs, the congressional investigation archive records re IWG is even more illuminating. Cynthia has an in-depth series covering related topics.
Sleepwalking Into Fascism: Why CIA/NATO’s Foreign Policy Has Been Consistent for the Past 77 years ... actually pre 20th century re psychotic imperial obsession re Rus.
See: Modern era, OSS-CIA & OUN-B/A, Operation Paperclip, Japanese Unit 731, the Nazi scientists(SS) engineers, technicians and administrators that 'was' the US Space Race ... 'The Right Stuff' ? Fer starters ...
The comments to this entry are closed.
This is all Zelenusucky's fault for breaking the deal with Putin. He should stick to what he is good at, playing penis piano.
Posted by: Fortuna | Oct 30 2024 13:00 utc | 1