Moon of Alabama Brecht quote
January 20, 2025

Trump And Ukraine Should Concede

The Ukrainian commander in chief General Syrksi seems to have given up. Recent remarks of his suggest that he no longer sees a way to win the war. He is now simply waiting for the politicians to concede.

The Ukrainian military has recently started to move thousands of air-defense soldiers and logistic personnel into the infantry. People who were taught to detect, analyze and fight aerial targets get pushed into roles for which they did not receive training and are no qualified.

Syrski is justifying this as the only way to keep a sufficient number of men in front line trenches:

The army chief stressed that his order prohibits the transfer of highly qualified personnel who have undergone training and specialize in aircraft maintenance.

"Clearly, these are invested funds, specialists who have experience and are practically irreplaceable, on the one hand," said Syrskyi.

“On the other hand, we fundamentally need personnel on the front, and we must maintain an adequate number of troops in our mechanized brigades. Unfortunately, mobilization capabilities do not meet this need.

According to him, the Armed Forces of Ukraine are "reasonably" reducing the logistical component and part of the support in the military, as well as those involved in maintenance.

"Therefore, the headquarters know these tasks; they have done the calculations," Syrskyi stated.

The number of freshly mobilized soldiers is lower than the number of losses. The military thus has to start to 'eat itself'. The problems being caused by this will not be visible immediately but they will over time destroy the armies core functionality.

People have done all they can to avoid a service at the frontline. Commanders have been bribed to allow for their soldiers to do duty behind the front lines. Others deserted. There are thus plenty of superfluous logistic and headquarter staff that can be moved to put up a more serious resistance.

But in few week those reserves will have emptied too. Logistics will start to slow down and air defenses will fail to defend against even the most primitive drone attacks.

Syrski sees this coming. He knows that defending the country will not win the war (machine translation):

Ukraine will not be able to win the war while on the defensive.

This was stated by the commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Alexander Syrsky on the air of the telethon.

"You know, no matter how much you defend, you will still retreat. And we are forced to hold the defense and concentrate our forces, in fact, to keep along this front line," said Syrsky.

Just two months ago Syrski was sounding more optimistic. He was still dreaming of and announced further counterattacks (machine translation):

The APU will not only stand on the defensive, but also counterattack.

This statement was made by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Alexander Syrsky at a recent meeting with military bloggers. Details of the statement were given in his Telegram channel by the participant of the meeting, military Kirill Sazonov.

"Pokrovskoe and Kurakhovskoe directions. The situation is difficult. But it's better than it was a week ago. Then it was really critical. Some units were retreating, leaving their positions, but there was no one to close them. Indeed, a crisis situation. But the issue is resolved, the reserves are deployed, the enemy's plans are thwarted. Alexander Syrsky's position: we must stop the enemy. But victory is impossible if the APU will work only in defense. We must seize the initiative and counterattack. We must and will. Where and who-you will see, " wrote Sazonov.

Kurakhove has since fallen and Pokrovsk is about to be surrounded. No further Ukrainian initiative has been seen.

One can not counterattack when one lacks the troops to even fill up the front lines.

Syrski may finally come to grips with the 'winning' charade the Biden administration has all along played with Ukraine:

When Russia invaded Ukraine nearly three years ago, President Joe Biden set three objectives for the U.S. response. Ukraine’s victory was never among them. The phrase the White House used to describe its mission at the time—supporting Ukraine “for as long as it takes”—was intentionally vague. It also raised the question: As long as it takes to do what?
...
The future that Zelensky and many of his countrymen have in mind is one in which Russia is defeated. But in rallying the world to the fight, the implication Biden embedded in his own goals was that defending Ukraine against Russia is not the same as defeating Russia. So it is not surprising if that goal remains far from Zelensky’s reach.

A victorious Ukraine has never been an aim or priority in the proxy war the Biden administration has waged against Russia. Even its main 'diplomat' has never shown interest in peace (archived):

Mr. Blinken was less a peacemaker than a war strategist. Immersed in details of military hardware and battlefield conditions, he often argued against more risk-averse Pentagon officials in favor of sending powerful American weapons to Ukraine.

And when the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark A. Milley, suggested in late 2022 that Ukraine should capitalize on battlefield gains by seeking peace talks with Moscow, Mr. Blinken insisted the fight should go on.

There is hope now, though only a slight one, that the incoming Trump administration will disavow the war in Ukraine and shut it down without any delay or escalation. The danger of proceeding otherwise is for Trump to get hooked to the war like Nixon became to Vietnam:

[Trump’s former chief strategist Steve Bannon] advocates ending America’s all-important military aid to Kyiv, but fears his old boss is going to fall into a trap being set by an unlikely alliance of the U.S. defense industry, the Europeans and even some of Bannon’s own friends, whom he argues are now misguided. These include Keith Kellogg, a retired U.S. general who is Trump’s pick to be special envoy to Ukraine and Russia.

“If we aren’t careful, it will turn into Trump’s Vietnam. That’s what happened to Richard Nixon. He ended up owning the war and it went down as his war not Lyndon Johnson’s,” Bannon said.

If it would fully engage the U.S. might be able to delay the outcome of the war in Ukraine. But it will, like in Vietnam, be unable to change the inevitable result.

Trump should concede that Russia has won the war, remove all support from Ukraine, pull back the Europeans and wash his hands over the outcome.

This would give Ukraine a chance to again bind its fate to the east.

Posted by b on January 20, 2025 at 14:49 UTC | Permalink

Comments
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S.A.D.D. - "military thus has to start to 'eat itself'" + https://yandex.com/search/?text=S.A.D.D.

Posted by: OUROBOROS | Jan 20 2025 14:59 utc | 1

Thanks, b. I hope that Trump will take seriously the input from JD Vance, who has consistently called for the US to disengage from the war in Ukraine. Amongst Trump's advisors are many who do give cause for hope, along with some who are alarming.

Posted by: Paranaense | Jan 20 2025 15:13 utc | 2

Why should they concede?

There have been multiple instances of single-digit Ukrainians holding positions for weeks and months just with drones, and there is no reason to think this cannot be extended for many years to come.

Meanwhile long-range strikes into Russia will only expand and intensify.

What is there not to like? Years of destroying Russian industry and society (because make no mistake -- being bombed daily while leadership pretends it is not happening even though it sits on the largest nuclear arsenal in the world will do absolute wonders for internal cohesion after it continues for years) at zero real cost? That is just perfect, isn't it?

Posted by: ANON2022 | Jan 20 2025 15:29 utc | 3

Since November, 2024, Trump has not been on the campaign trail. He has been stuck in a room full of chosen people. Who chose those people is another matter of speculation, but this is the group Trump is getting feedback from.

The USA and it's central money force has not appreciated Russia starting in 1917. Wall Street Incorporated has done more damage to the world than good in the name of communism. Which is a joke when the main motivation for money hungry ghouls was to fatten their wallets and reign terror on those who disagreed with their actions.

Well, it is going to be fun for the next four years watching the sh*t hit the fan. Just look at Trump's past actions. Anything positive achieved by Trump was done for the wrong reasons. It is funny that you mention Richard Nixon and his failure of international relations. It should be said the Nixon had a better understanding of the world. But, he too messed up. Does anybody with a half of a brain think Trump is any better?

Posted by: MRDMK | Jan 20 2025 15:30 utc | 4

Why should Ukraine concede? Because they are losing infrastructure, material, international support, but more importantly, catastrophic losses of Ukrainian men (but not the fascist looters directing them to their deaths). You really think they can keep up a long-range bombardment of Russian infrastructure? Pinpricks for pricks.

Posted by: azeclecticdog | Jan 20 2025 15:42 utc | 5

I doubt Trump will make any bold statements re Ukraine. The Russians believe nobody, so that's a waste of time anyway.

He'll tell everybody to negotiate, and to keep him posted. The ukies will have to go public, and submit, and be seen as submitting.

Posted by: seer | Jan 20 2025 15:46 utc | 6

After reading the Indian Punchline articles posted here yesterday I*m feeling a slim ray of hope. He may really end both wars & focus on fixing problems here at home.

It's a lot to hope for, but if 50% of what comes out of his mouth is blowing smoke as camouflage, maybe the other 50% is what we actually need to do.

Posted by: Mary | Jan 20 2025 15:54 utc | 7

Take the 4 oblasts and cut off Odessa by linking up with Transnistria. This secures future pipeline construction to feed Europe and makes Ukraine land locked. They will be forced to negotiate to export grain and move goods through Odessa. I doubt that EU nations have the cojones to actually annex parts of Ukraine but who knows? Yeah, getting to Transnistria will be tough. I wonder if Russia has the rail to do the logistics for that. Nab part of the coast past the Khersen area and maybe they can bring supplies in by ship.

Or find a way to get rid of maybe 2 -3 million working age males. Perhaps there is some way for Russia to open up the borders and stand aside from the resulting exodus.

If a quicker end to the war is needed, then find a way to get rid of Zelensky and his regime. Then, negotiations go to the Rada and Ukraine really does collapse ( yeah, I'm tired of hearing that word).

Posted by: Eighthman | Jan 20 2025 16:04 utc | 8

Former Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark A. Milley,
mentioned in b's post above,
has been pardoned by Brandon.
[or should that be pardoned branded, instead?]

The thing speaks for itself.

Has Biden also pardoned Blinken?

Really want to see Blinken arrested.

Posted by: librul | Jan 20 2025 16:04 utc | 9

I feel sorry for the Ukies. The resident gullible morons fell for the Victoria NewLand's old Jewish trick of splitting up friendships by taking one friend aside and telling him "You should hear what he says about you!"

It works really well with gullible people with a persecution complex.

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Jan 20 2025 16:07 utc | 10

Let's assume a military state has controlled the US for decades, under which curious events like 9/11 happened. This state needs oligarchs because they're a tiny group that's easy to wrangle and also take the blame. Yet such a state is sincere, it's there to prevent civil wars and collapse. Such a sincerely secretive but patriotic state would, under situations of stress or hardship, be sorely tempted to go after the fattest, most docile prey in a postwar situation where there is no ideological hegemonic alternative.

In other words, the protector has become the predator because the US isn't an actual democracy, not even an oligarchy, but a military state disguised as an oligarchy pretending to be a democracy. The catalyst for this accelerated novel predation is the fact the EU elite convinced itself otherwise and thought it could have its post Cold War cake and eat it too.

Indeed, Germany was allowed to reunify and the EU allowed to sufficiently mature so that it's ripe for the picking. Other potential predatory military states, significantly less naive in nature, are invited to concomitantly participate, even serve as foils, namely Russia. Once the EU has more or less fully been Japonified, then just the classic Orwellian three remain: US, Russia, and, of course, China. Mexican standoff for a time and then perhaps just two remain?

Posted by: Ludovic | Jan 20 2025 16:10 utc | 11

A victorious Ukraine (NATO) was never possible. Only fools believed.

Posted by: nook | Jan 20 2025 16:12 utc | 12

Wow, those North Korean soldiers must be real bad asses (#sarcasm)

Posted by: Christian J Chuba | Jan 20 2025 16:13 utc | 13

Demilitarization. Looks like it’s going as planned. You gotta give the Russians, let alone Putin, a big round of applause.

Posted by: Jose Garcia | Jan 20 2025 16:15 utc | 14

Posted by: librul | Jan 20 2025 16:04 utc | 9

Excusatio non petita, accusatio manifesta

Preventive pardoning smells funny.

Posted by: Paco | Jan 20 2025 16:17 utc | 15

It is possible the Trump admin can figure out ways to "encourage" both sides to slow down the conflict. Ukraine is obvious, fewer weapons, money AND daily intel.

Russia, looks like a hard oil embargo (which drives up prices everywhere) in the near term.

You can't only threaten 1 side, you have to be able to show negatives for both sides. Kind of like kids fighting, they both get punished.

Will it work? Who knows? Current course is not working, that is certain.

Posted by: BroncoBilly | Jan 20 2025 16:21 utc | 16

A rather extensive summary of 2024 in the Russo-Ukrainian war, worth the time though I had to split into three reads.

https://bigserge.substack.com/p/total-kievan-debellation

Posted by: Johan Kaspar | Jan 20 2025 16:23 utc | 17

@Posted by: Paco | Jan 20 2025 16:17 utc | 15

HT. Just so.

"Unsolicited excuse, manifest accusation" (or "He who excuses himself, accuses himself").

Posted by: librul | Jan 20 2025 16:24 utc | 18

the ukrainians don't want to fight this fight, as they know that they have been conned.. and the ones that don't know just how corrupt all the players are, taking bribes and playing their own set of rules that don't have ukraines best interests at heart... then there are the nazi groups who have a completely worse agenda.... any ordinary ukrainian has left the building a long time ago... the ones remaining are too old to leave... this is another usa-nato led disaster that the usa will continue on with until someone takes a dose of reality.. it certainly won't be the war profiteers who don't give a shit about the lives of ordinary ukrainians..

Posted by: james | Jan 20 2025 16:30 utc | 19

I don’t know if “concede” is the right word since that would involve Trump taking responsibility for this war and admitting defeat, but yes, he will end it soon enough in a way that Russian victory is more or less undeniable.

Get this straight, Don, Jr. just humiliated Zelensky by making fun of him begging for an invitation to the inauguration and being denied, repeatedly. That should give you a clue.

Trump has always maintained that this was a stupid and dangerous war that shouldn’t have happened. He has also admitted it is one NATO can’t win without destroying the world. So, it will end soon.

It won’t be a concession by Trump though as that he is not responsible for it. He will simply wash his hands of it and blame Blinken and company.

Posted by: TotilAaA | Jan 20 2025 16:34 utc | 20

Moscow has declared in its peace proposal of Dec 2021, a core aim is to roll back NATO to the 1997 members.

Posted by: exile | Jan 20 2025 16:39 utc | 21

Good news for the sir defense crews in Ukraine: General Syrsky has stopped the transfers of "highly qualified air defense personnel" to the front lines. (Presumably not highly qualified soldiers are still being transferred? Any missile flying past your station could be a death sentence?)
Not so good news for the experts in logistics and maintenance: it is their turn now to die in the trenches.

https://english.nv.ua/nation/generalsyrskyi-says-he-banned-the-transfer-of-highly-qualified-air-force-specialists-to-the-infantry-50482865.html

Presumably, if he is now shutting down logistics and maintenance, Ge real Syrsky does not expect the war to last much longer.

Posted by: Marvin | Jan 20 2025 16:42 utc | 22

let's hope tcc gets sent to the front lines, that would be a nice reward for kidnapping a lot of people

Posted by: Cagliostro | Jan 20 2025 16:45 utc | 23

When Syrski touts sending logistics troops and technical experts into "Mechanized Brigades", he is simply blowing smoke in order to screen out the fact that up to 75 and even possibly 85% of those mobile machines have already been destroyed or disabled by the R.U. forces.

In other words, those experts and specialists will be magically transformed into ground-pounding (more likely clinging in their trenches) meat on the hoof.

The manhood of Ukraine, including too many ethnic Russians are being sacrificed on behalf of NWO "strategists". To the last Ukrainian is the motif.

Blinken, who loses his power base today, is without doubt not only a traitor to this ruptured republic, but also the mass murderer of hundreds of thousands of Slavic men...mostly Ukrainians. He is a war-criminal of the highest degree and deserves to be hanged by his testes on the Capital Mall.

Posted by: aristodemos | Jan 20 2025 16:46 utc | 24

Trump's inauguration - a room filled with some of the most evil people in the world - where's the hypersonic missiles when you need them.

Posted by: Republicofscotland | Jan 20 2025 16:48 utc | 25

ANON2022 @1529 Jan 20

With this insane posting of yours, my suspicion is that you may be on fentanyl.

Posted by: aristodemos | Jan 20 2025 16:50 utc | 26

Trump might keep the war in Ukraine going - if his palms are greased by the MIC - Trump is a businessman first and foremost - if he can make money from the war he will - lets be honest - Trump doesn't give a toss about poor Americans, let alone poor Ukrainians, or poor Palestinians - its all about the money and the power.

Posted by: Republicofscotland | Jan 20 2025 16:59 utc | 27

Back in 2022, when Russia was on the back foot, if the US had really given Ukraine all it had right up front, Ukraine might really have won. At the very least, they would have given the Russians fits. But no, while that would have been painful for Russia, the bleeding would have been cut short. Better by far to send in aid to Ukraine in dribs and drabs, just enough to keep the war going, just enough to keep Russia bleeding. That, plus sanctions, was the plan to crush Russia. And while it may have failed (for now), it was a pretty good (if amoral and disgusting) plan. And this is only round 1.

Just recently I heard that the US quietly gave like 500 Humvees to Morocco, and maybe another 500 Bradley APCs, and an undisclosed number of Abrams tanks. Morocco! Who are they fighting?

One wonders: how many of the Ukrainian troops being sent to the front lines are Russian speakers? Could perhaps the Ukrainian government see the carnage as "it's a feature not a bug" way to whittle down the Russian speakers? Speak up if you have any hard data, I'm just thinking out loud.

And never count out the western elites. They may have 'lost' this phase of the conflict, but while corrupt and evil they will not quit, they will stay up late thinking of ever more fiendish and clever ways to hit Russia. I mean, Putin is not stupid, but he's got himself into a box where the west can bombard Russia and Russia can't shoot back at the west (hitting Ukraine doesn't count because the western elites don't care about Ukraine). Pretty clever of the western elites, I should say.

Posted by: TG | Jan 20 2025 17:01 utc | 28

Morocco! Who are they fighting?

Posted by: TG | Jan 20 2025 17:01 utc | 29

---

The tip of the iceberg is explicated on Wikipedia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel%E2%80%93Morocco_relations

Posted by: too scents | Jan 20 2025 17:07 utc | 29

The least bad thing the US can do is cut off the hohols cold turkey and leave them flat, blaming the Democrats, the hohols themselves and especially Europe for the whole debacle.

But that ain't gonna happen since literally everyone thinks the US needs to do more than this. Even this post wants Trump to "pull back the Europeans". No, the US should drop all of Europe like the bad habit it is. Let them rot in their well-deserved terminal dark age.

Posted by: flying dutchman | Jan 20 2025 17:14 utc | 30

@ zensi | Jan 20 2025 17:10 utc | 32

That's what I've learned as well. If a native from so-called-ukraine claims he doesn't speak Russian, they are either a Hungarian or a liar.

This is even a point of conflict between ukronazis: those who claim anyone speaking Russian is "garbage" and those Russian-speaking nazis, like Azovs. It's pretty funny.

Posted by: boneless | Jan 20 2025 17:17 utc | 31

zensi | Jan 20 2025 17:05 utc | 30

"Biden pardons Fauci and others, what are the backgrounds and consequences?"

They want to make it impossible for these criminals to receive justice under "the law", so that other pathways of justice have to be found.

Though if I had the power I'd go ahead and prosecute anyway on the grounds that this pardon is absurd and illegitimate in simply giving a blanket amnesty for any and all crimes these persons have committed. I suppose that would apply if one of those pardoned is subsequently found to be a serial killer.

Posted by: flying dutchman | Jan 20 2025 17:19 utc | 32

TRUST THE PLAN GOYS
UKRAINE IS WINNING. THEYRE UP TO 2000 WINNERS PER DAY. They're winning so much that they're dismantling their major logistical units to go up front and DESTROY MORE STUPID EVIL WEAK RUSSIANS!!!
Also everyone knows the good guys are elated by attacks on civilian infrastructure.
ALSO please stop asking me about my thoughts on the ceasefire in Gaza!! I can only take so much WINNING before I punch out the drywall!!!

Posted by: ANON2069 | Jan 20 2025 17:20 utc | 33

@Posted by: zensi | Jan 20 2025 17:15 utc | 31

Is it true that gladio is a chemical precursor to fentanyl?

Posted by: librul | Jan 20 2025 17:22 utc | 34

It looks like resolution of Ukraine is crying for early resolution but I think we are just at the Trump point of after talking with Putin screaming "PUTIN WANTS WHAT?"

Then Trump will focus on other shit while Russia continues to stomp on Ukraine until surrender by Z

Who the hell knows how the Ukraine circus ring of the shit show ends?

I just laugh to hear a couple of recent pundits saying my thought that Biden will go down as the worst US President ever and Trump, just maybe, will outdo him in human perfidy.


And we get to watch and experience the process.

Posted by: psychohistorian | Jan 20 2025 17:26 utc | 35

With all the gasoline that has been thrown atop this grusome funeral pyre since the 3LAs saw they were going to lose the election,[they knew the polls were phony], I can not see the conflagration expending enough fuel to be contained until fall.

There are billions still to be made by those arsonists who torched the lands of ex-ukrainia...that is what the demonic members of ex-Team-Biden, [3LA-appartchicks-all] wanted and there was no way to stop them short of an internal coup. Tragic.

Posted by: S Brennan | Jan 20 2025 17:32 utc | 36

Flying Dutchman 33,

Last week I re-read the relevant portion of the US Constitution and court cases involving Presidential Pardons. The power of relief bestowed by the Presidential pardon involves only punishment and not prosecution so, all can still be prosecuted under current law and precedent.

They may appeal to the US-SC in search of relief but, the US-SC would have to create new precedent. Interestingly, only one preemptive pardon [as in uncharged/unnamed] has occurred, the never challenged Ford pardon of Nixon and that has some very special circumstances. This because, Nixon had, a priori, accepted a punishment, removal from office and acceptance of virtual house arrest.

What Team-Biden has done is unprecedented in US History.

Posted by: S Brennan | Jan 20 2025 17:47 utc | 37

Even if US concedes, Blackrock keeps the lands, the biolabs continue working in Ukraine and in a dozen other countries, the ukrainians have been genocided and their society thoroughly jewified, Europe has been economically enslaved to the US and its energy lines from Russia severed; what's not to like for americans and jews. And they can keep arming Ukraine in secret and do the same thing all over again in five or ten years.

Unless Russia actually demilitarises the whole of Ukraine and gives the land back to ukrainians. Not israelis. Not americans.

Posted by: Jack M | Jan 20 2025 17:48 utc | 38

I don't see what troops the US could send to ex-Ukraine that would make any lasting difference, they will be sitting ducks with the choice between dying in trenches or dying in open land just like the ex-Ukrainians.

No, if the US wants a second Viet Nam they'll get one if they try Venezuela (but they've already realized).

They don't have the manpower for either anyway. Conscription is not an option.

(And here this comment flies off topic like a car off a cliff, it will shortly continue in the recent Open Thread).

Posted by: Sunny Runny Burger | Jan 20 2025 17:49 utc | 39

My predictions:

Federal spending will increase.

Token amount of deportations and "grand bargain" naturalizing millions of illegal immigrants already here.

No tax relief for families or incentivizing families.

Ukraine conflict will continue and even heat-up.

MENA continues to boil with Turkey and Azerbaijan flexing and Russia waiting in the wings taking a breather.

Distractions such as Greenland, Panama, and Mt. McKinley (!!!) will dominate the media in the next year.

Economy keeps the pump and dump going.

Economic Zone America continues to come to fruition.

Baptist black guy from inauguration gets own pundit show on Fox News.

(Working list)

Posted by: NemesisCalling | Jan 20 2025 17:51 utc | 40

“The Future is ARSE.”

‘Exceptional’ twice.
End Wars
Not start any new ones
Invade Panama !
Gulf of America
No Mexico
Invade MARSSSSS …”

Toothy smiling Mrs Vance looks scared shitlesss.
Open mouthed Bill paedo Clinton.
Bouncy ketamined Elon King of MyArse.
Dumb Dubya, hiding Obama.

“ God. Can’t forget god. ”

Cue first, the Talmudic ziofascIst bull shit about America is the illegal apartheid entity - “Ameyn.”

Time to cook dinner.

Posted by: DunGroanin | Jan 20 2025 17:54 utc | 41

And let me add to my remark at 38 that.

The potential defendants mentioned in 38 will probably claim that bringing charges amounts to punishment because they must now bare the cost of a defense. However, this is not true, as the may simply plead guilty and walk away from the cost of their defense in court.

They may also claim that bringing charges amounts to punishment because they must now bare the shame of being found guilty...and there the court has been very specific, the power of the Presidential Pardon offers no relief to that condition.

Team-Biden's self-pardoning of themselves only prevents punishment not persecutions and that is not a moot case when it comes to restoring integrity in the US Judicial system .

Posted by: S Brennan | Jan 20 2025 17:57 utc | 42

The sad part in all this will bee seeing the usual Kokhol's successful Air Defense propaganda.
"We shot down 108 missiles out of 103 with pickles jars and Maxim guns...unfortunately tho, Babuchka broke her pinky throwing a jar too hard trying a "one tomato two kindzalhs" strike. "

Posted by: Savonarole | Jan 20 2025 17:57 utc | 43

Watched the inauguration, too many promises. What caught my eye was Biden sitting with crossed legs, and staying sit, understandably so, while everybody else kept on standing up to cheer, except... when Trump mentioned the return of the Israeli prisoners, they called them hostages, never mentioning the thousands of Palestinian prisoners. Small detail of who's the boss in the America of the stolen name, since America is a continent, not a country. Same bad reflex with the renaming of the Gulf which I assume the rest of the world will ignore, except for the vassals, ça va de soi. Smelled like freedom fries and hamburguers, not Mediterranean diet which is what I respect, in spite of all the jewelry and expensive clothing.

Posted by: Paco | Jan 20 2025 18:03 utc | 44

https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/iskander-missile-kills-danish-f16-pilot-ukraine

"Danish pilot and F-16 fighter instructor Jepp Hansen was reported killed in a missile strike on a Ukrainian Armed Forces training centre in Krivoy Rog in central Ukraine’s Dnepropetrovsk Region, according to Russian sources. Hansen had significant experience operating the F-16, and had reportedly helped to train dozens of Ukrainian personnel. An Iskander-M missile strike was reportedly used destroy a university building which had been converted into barracks, with the attack almost completely destroying the fourth storey. Denmark and the Netherlands were the first countries to donate American F-16 fighters to the Ukrainian Air Force, with the ageing aircraft procured in the 1980s having already been retired as both countries acquired modern F-35As to replace them. First delivered on August 1, the Ukrainian Air Force lost its first fighter under unclear circumstances on August 26, with this confirmed three days later. Both Denmark and the Netherlands have given Ukraine permission to use its F-16s to participate in deep strikes across Russian territory, although the lightweight aircraft’s short range, obsolete sensors and lack of long range weapons has limited its value in this regard."

Denmark is a small country - they can't have too many of these sorts of people to sacrifice, but sacrifice they will. It works out - less war fighting cadres for the warmongers to use.

Posted by: Jams O'Donnell | Jan 20 2025 18:09 utc | 45

One more funny detail that caught my eye, Milei's sideburns and messed up mane kept on popping in some remote corner, poor guy, I wonder how it feels to listen to all the speeches without understanding a word, who cares what they say, the picture is what matters.

Posted by: Paco | Jan 20 2025 18:11 utc | 46

I feel sorry for the Ukies. The resident gullible morons fell for the Victoria NewLand's old Jewish trick of splitting up friendships by taking one friend aside and telling him "You should hear what he says about you!"

It works really well with gullible people with a persecution complex.

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Jan 20 2025 16:07 utc | 10

I believe the Clinton administration referred to this in a more polite way as "triangulation" The Brits are prolific in applying this trick too. But yes, I feel terrible for the Ukies at this point. They really never had a say in any of this. After Maidan, the Ukronazis were running the show. You either remain quiet or end up dead. Once the war started the risk of suffering serious violence or death at the hands of the US installed regime was so high it would have been impossible for some atomized individual Ukie of conscience to take a stand. They were all politically kettled, especially in the east. This again underscores the importance of developing parallel organizations of wage slaves in every country. If you can put 100k on the street against a war or US imperialist incursions, you're a harder target. Sure there are risks to organizing a parallel society, but Ukraine is a perfect picture of what happens when we remain atomized wage slave consumers. Easy Pickens!

Posted by: Ahenobarbus | Jan 20 2025 18:16 utc | 47

It's a pretty grim day in the US. The reactionaries are now firmly cemented in power and will do whatever it takes to hold on indefinitely. US democracy, to the extent that it existed, is under assault from all directions. Freedom of thought and freedom of expression are being replaced by a conformist mentality around the incoming political elites and the agenda set by them.

I don't see US society coming out better off in 4 years. We didn't with Biden, but that's because of factors beyond the control of the White House, the falling rate of profit, the lack of profitable investment opportunities, the dependence of the US economy on global labor market arbitrage and neo-colonial management which the US political elites no longer have the raw materials or finesse for.

Posted by: fnord | Jan 20 2025 18:20 utc | 48

Back in 2022, when Russia was on the back foot, if the US had really given Ukraine all it had right up front, Ukraine might really have won. At the very least, they would have given the Russians fits.

Posted by: TG | Jan 20 2025 17:01 utc | 28

You forget that it was never the plan to defeat Russia militarily in Ukraine.

The plan was to cause a war to give the USA an excuse to levy "nuclear level" sanctions on Russia destroying their economy and deposing Putin for a western friendly "democracy".

There is no situation where the USA would have armed Ukraine with offensive weapons prior to 2022. It wasn't until after the failure of the Istanbul talks in April 2022 that the USA got serious about sending weapons to Ukraine and even then it was old Soviet weapons they were sending.

The USA started sending US made weapons in Apr 2022 after the Istanbul talks failed. The first to come were towed artillery, battlefield radars and a handful of switchblade drones in April 2022. They didn't send T-72's until Dec 2022. Abrams in October 2023 and Himars in June 2022.

If the Americans had even a hint that they would have to arm and pay for a war with Russia they would have forward deployed weapons packages ahead of time however the fact that they hdd to scramble around doling out arms in petty packets hints at a lack of organization on their part stemming from belief in the power of their economic weapons to finish off Russia.

You can play with alternative histories all you like but the truth is the USA was blindsided by poor intelligence and ideology. Seems to me that all 3 western coalitions that tried to defeat Russia militarily in the last 300 years were blindsided by poor intelligence and ideology.

Looks like a trend to me.

Posted by: HB_Norica | Jan 20 2025 18:23 utc | 49


listen to all the speeches without understanding a word,

Posted by: Paco | Jan 20 2025 18:11 utc | 47

These days everybody understands English if you speak loud and slowly, under what rock have you been living?

(Used to be Greek, then Latin, then - briefly - French, poor grandsons will have to chew Mandarin, oh well)

Posted by: pessoa | Jan 20 2025 18:23 utc | 50

Posted by: TG | Jan 20 2025 17:01 utc | 28

"thinking of ever more fiendish and clever ways to hit Russia. I mean, Putin is not stupid, but he's got himself into a box where the west can bombard Russia and Russia can't shoot back at the west"

You think so? I suggest you wait and see. Russia might not bother if things go the way they want, but if they don't . . . ? Two can play at chaos.

Posted by: Jams O'Donnell | Jan 20 2025 18:24 utc | 51

I guess the west and its gallant east-European allies have forgotten Syrski is an ethnic Russian, and therefore everything that comes out of his mouth that is not his tongue is a lie.

The British, at least, have known for some time that the Air Force in Ukraine was a lost cause; Starmer announced during his recent visit to Kyiv that two prototypes of the new joint British/Danish 'Gravehawk' system were tested in Ukraine in September. It must have taken considerable time to design and build them first, so backdate it by a few more months at least. The Gravehawk system repurposes air-to-air missiles so that they can be fired in the ground-based air-defense role.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jan/17/ukraine-war-briefing-gravehawk-revealed-as-new-air-defence-system-pledged-by-starmer

Clearly the British and the Danes knew months ago, if not earlier, that there were going to be lots of air-to-air missiles lying around without anyone to deliver them in a combat capability, and that they might as well turn their creative minds to finding a use for them. It might also keep a few more air-defense specialists out of the front line.

Posted by: Mark | Jan 20 2025 18:29 utc | 52

Posted by: S Brennan | Jan 20 2025 17:47 utc | What Team-Biden has done is unprecedented in US History.“

Not true. Carter pardoned millions of un-named and un-prosecuted Vietnam era draft resisters.

Posted by: Zargo | Jan 20 2025 18:31 utc | 53

Posted by: pessoa | Jan 20 2025 18:23 utc | 51

Milei does not speak a word of English.

Posted by: Paco | Jan 20 2025 18:31 utc | 54

Back when Biden pardoned his son Hunter there was some talk that a pardon might remove one's fifth amendment protections: self-incrimination becomes impossible since one cannot be prosecuted and thus they are compelled to testify. My understanding is these pardons are retroavtive-only and do not apply to future crime, i.e. contempt of court. So even if some folks cannot be prosecuted for their crimes, not everyone gets a pardon. Once the testimony starts, everyone's going to start looking for their own deal to make. We could use a good airing of the laundry, no?

Posted by: Charlie | Jan 20 2025 18:31 utc | 55

In addition to remarks at 43, I quote from a an unattributed freelance writer at newsmax:

"It’s customary for a president to grant clemency at the end of his term...to Americans who have been convicted of crimes. Biden has used the power in the broadest and most untested way possible: to pardon those who have not even been investigated yet. The decision lays the groundwork for an even more expansive use of pardons...

...the Supreme Court last year ruled that the president enjoys broad immunity from prosecution for what could be considered official acts, the president's aides and allies enjoy no such shield.

It’s unclear whether those pardoned by Biden would need to apply for the clemency or even accept the offer. Acceptance could be seen as a tacit admission of guilt or wrongdoing

Biden said: “Even when individuals have done nothing wrong — and in fact have done the right thing — and will ultimately be exonerated, the mere fact of being investigated or prosecuted can irreparably damage reputations and finances."

In fact, there have been several US-SC cases where the SC specifically stated that the power of the pardon was to preclude state-punishment but NOT, damage to one's reputation. So, Biden/Biden's legal team was either incompetent [unlikely] or, willfully abusing the power of the pardon as Biden's cited language above [bolded] attests.

Posted by: S Brennan | Jan 20 2025 18:32 utc | 56

"What Team-Biden has done is unprecedented in US History"

Not true. Carter pardoned millions of un-named and un-prosecuted Vietnam era draft resisters. Zargo 54

Incorrect, the crime was specified as were the persons the pardon directed to...just because you are not named has nothing to do with anything, it's just wordsmithing a false equivalency.

Posted by: S Brennan | Jan 20 2025 18:38 utc | 57

@ Mark | Jan 20 2025 18:29 utc | 53

Syrski is an ethnic Russian, and therefore everything that comes out of his mouth that is not his tongue is a lie.

Do elaborate, if you will.

Ironically, Sirskiy told more truth about SMO progress than anyone still actively present in Kiev's junta. Not out of the goodness of his heart, but still, contradicting not only his immediate bosses, but Western state media and intel propaganda too.

As a dedicated yes-man/preemptive-scape-goat, he has gotten away with a few serious statements. I can only speculate he realizes there is no one he can actually be replaced with right now.

Posted by: boneless | Jan 20 2025 18:40 utc | 58

Posted by: TG | Jan 20 2025 17:01 utc | 28

FYI, the American military equipment transferred to Morocco is not isolated.

This is the counterpart of the Soviet- or Russian-made tanks and other weapons they gave to Ukraine.

Posted by: Sebgo | Jan 20 2025 18:47 utc | 59

Pascal Lottaz' interview of Wilkerson and a Georgian guy a couple of days ago is a must see.

Posted by: Tom | Jan 20 2025 18:50 utc | 60

"There is no situation where the USA would have armed Ukraine with offensive weapons prior to 2022. It wasn't until after the failure of the Istanbul talks in April 2022 that the USA got serious about sending weapons to Ukraine and even then it was old Soviet weapons they were sending."

I guess you don't remember the Clark-Karber Report on Ukraine, which was released in the summer of 2015. It announced as an immediate imperative the acquisition of as much post-Soviet military equipment as could be found in eastern Europe, to furnish to Ukraine for its defense. Wesley Clark is as American as biscuits and gravy - even ran briefly for President once. 'Doctor' Phillip Karber is as well, and a co-founder of The Potomac Foundation, yet another American think-tank.

And the Istanbul talks did not just 'fail' - they were sabotaged by Boris Johnson at Washington's suggestion, after the Ukrainian representative had already initialled the documents and only formal signature remained.

Posted by: Mark | Jan 20 2025 18:55 utc | 61

@boneless @61

"Do elaborate, if you will"

I was being sarcastic about Syrskiy being a natural liar just because he is Russian, this seems to be a common western apprehension, usually personified in the chuckle-worthy suffix, "Moscow denies it". However, Syrskyi is an ethnic Russian born and bred, from the Vladimir Oblast and a graduate of the Moscow Higher Military Command School.

"Syrskyi was born in Russia’s Vladimir region, then part of the Soviet Union, and attended the Moscow high military command school before moving to Ukraine in the 1980s. His close family still lives in Russia. “I’m not in touch with him, I don’t even know where he is. I don’t know anything about him,” his brother Oleg told the Russian state news agency Ria hours after Syrskyi’s appointment was made public.

On Odnoklassniki, a popular Russian social network, Oleg and Syrskyi’s 82-year-old mother, Lyudmila, appeared to have frequently “liked” posts that back Russia’s invasion."

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/09/ukraine-fresh-approach-battlefield-new-top-general-oleksandr-syrskyi

Posted by: Mark | Jan 20 2025 19:04 utc | 62

Biden set a trap for Trump. The longer Trump goes without repudiating Ukraine, and especially if he continues any of Biden's policies like sending new arms packages through Congress, he owns it.

It will be his tar baby.

Trump has about six months to shut 'er down. He needs to start with some well-timed speeches or social media posts saying that "I'm shocked, just shocked at how awful the condition of the UAF is, Blinken and Sullivan lied, Pentagon fraud, audit needed, weapons wasted, etc."

Posted by: Ghost of Zanon | Jan 20 2025 19:11 utc | 63

@ Mark | Jan 20 2025 19:04 utc | 62\

Whatever ukronazis do, they're still stuck with a Russian general of Soviet education being in charge doing actual work. There's a lesson in there somewhere.

Posted by: boneless | Jan 20 2025 19:11 utc | 64

@48 fnord

Do you not see that this sentiment that "how bad things are now that Trump is 47" speaks more about your allegiance to the Democratic Party and their leadership of their last four years than it does your genuine concern for the masses who are at the whim of the Deep State?

Does anyone believe that DJT is going to change anything, let alone fix anything, that is the overarching policy of the planned implosion of the west to a neo-feudal reality?

Surely you must understand that the scapegoat changes in the popular mind with DJT, but the elite mind has its eyes on the prize and that is consolidation of power and wealth into fewer and fewer hands.

Now, this is a retarded goal and will spell their doom in the future, but DJT as a reactionary figure? Surely only according to the MSM with whom you seem to be in lockstep with.

I will not namedrop other posters, because I detect in many who are pro-Trump an unease in their sanctioning of his second presidency. But, c'mon!?!? His freakin' meme-coin pump-and-dump?!?!?!?

As the kids would say: shady as f***. But par for the course.

Posted by: NemesisCalling | Jan 20 2025 19:17 utc | 65

What the European right fails to understand about Trump is that he is PEAK American Imperialism. An Imperialism that like Nazi imperialism will seek to colonize Europe. Trump isn't going to abandon NATO or Ukraine. He is simply going to maximally exploit them like colonies. Being the fascist gangster he is he will shake down Ukraine the EU and NATO. They, their economies and nations will die as long as America makes a buck, and American capitalists are on top of the scrap heap. More and more people are realizing what Noam Chomsky has said for 20 years. American foreign policy operates by Mafia rules. Trump as the fascist gangster isn't interested in reason or fairness but in power and domination over EVERYONE in the world.

Posted by: Bakunin17 | Jan 20 2025 19:20 utc | 66

- The Dec. 1 China drone and parts embargo on UKrain and US suppliers must be lowering the available numbers of drones.

- The reduction in logistics and AD missiles will lead to personnel just standing around, so to the front line they go.

- Military Summary Channel reported for the second time an Oreshnik like missile attack. The video made them look similar. This was two strikes, the other was three. The original was 6 x 6 or 36 individual strikes. Not a game changer, but more tactical flexibility in striking buried/hardened targets. The aftermath of the building showed it was squashed.

- The whole of the south east of UKrain will soon collapse, the lines and fortifications are broken. Moving from small encirclements to regional sized cauldrons.

Posted by: jopalolive | Jan 20 2025 19:20 utc | 67

Today, Russia's Security Council met and released part of its discussion, which is very rare and was clearly meant for those with prying eyes:

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Colleagues, good afternoon.

Today we will talk about some points related to the regions that are sensitive to us, with the development of the situation in these regions.

Sergei Viktorovich, what is happening in the States now? As I understand it, today the inauguration of the President-elect should take place again. You are welcome.

Sergey Lavrov: Colleagues,

Indeed, the reports of the world media, social networks are overflowing with information from Washington since yesterday, when Trump and his team arrived in the capital for today's inauguration, which is scheduled for 20:00 Moscow time. The details are well known, but in parallel with the preparations for this ceremony, speculation, of course, is growing, analytical calculations, forecasts about how this will affect various conflicts in various regions of the world.

There are plenty of these conflicts, including in the Middle East, where the situation, despite the signing of the agreement between Israel and Hamas, does not at all convince that stability has been achieved. Warnings are also heard from one side that Israel is violating the agreements, and Israel is warning Hamas that they are also not fully implementing what they have signed up to.

And, of course, apart from the Gaza Strip itself, the Palestinian problem is not disappearing. We remember how Donald Trump, in his first "coming", promoted a concept that is fundamentally different from the Arab Peace Initiative and involves the normalization of relations between Israel and all Arabs...

Yemen, Libya and Syria, of course, after the events that took place a month ago – all this makes the Middle East and the Middle East a very turbulent region. Let's not forget about Afghanistan, where the Americans are also trying to restore their presence to some extent, using neighbouring countries for this, they are thinking about returning their military infrastructure there.

I am saying all this in relation to the policy pursued by the previous administration. Therefore, of course, everyone is wondering what the official approaches promoted by the Trump administration will be. Unofficially, many members of his team, he himself, have repeatedly spoken out both on the Middle East and on the Ukrainian crisis, which Trump considers one of the priorities of his foreign policy activity with an eye to resolving it, make it clear that they understand some aspects of the Russian position, for example, regarding the unacceptability of Ukraine's membership in the North Atlantic Alliance.

But all this, I repeat once again, statements are estimated, "shooting", sounding on the eve of the official entry of the new President into office and the approval of its members Administration.

Therefore, much depends on the United States, primarily due to the fact that the Europeans and Asian allies–-the United States, Australia, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand–-are fully guided by the position of the White House, and in this sense, they are waiting to see what this position will be in its final form. But also, of course, developing countries, countries and regions where the United States can play a positive role and can even continue the policy of the previous administration to preserve the potential for conflict in the hope of extracting some benefit from the ongoing crises. At least, this was the policy of the United States for many years under a variety of administrations. Therefore, guessing now is a thankless task.

We are open to contacts. We have repeatedly confirmed this in our answers to relevant questions, with the understanding that we will have serious proposals from our colleagues who at one time froze or even broke off relations with the Russian Federation.

Vladimir Putin: You mentioned the Middle East. There has indeed been an exchange there and some of the hostages have been released, but among the remaining hostages there is another person with dual citizenship, with Russian citizenship. I would like to ask you through the Foreign Ministry and other colleagues from other agencies to work on this issue, not to forget about it and to do everything to ensure that our citizens are released.

Sergey Lavrov: We are working.

Vladimir Putin: As for the events in the United States Indeed, Donald Trump's inauguration as the 47th President of the United States is taking place in Washington Indeed, the pre-election period was difficult for Mr Trump in all respects: he and even his family members were constantly under severe pressure, and it came to attempts to make an attempt on his life. But he showed courage and won a landslide victory in the election.

And we see statements by the newly elected President of the United States and members of his team about their desire to restore direct contacts with Russia, which were interrupted through no fault of ours by the outgoing administration. We also hear his statements about the need to do everything to prevent a third world war. Of course, we welcome this attitude and congratulate the President-elect of the United States of America on taking office.

I would like to emphasise that we have never refused dialogue, we have always been ready to maintain smooth relations of cooperation with any US administration, and I have said this more than once. We believe that the dialogue will be based on an equal and mutually respectful basis, given the significant role played by our countries on a number of key issues on the global agenda, including strengthening strategic stability and security.

We are also open to dialogue with the new US administration on the Ukrainian conflict. The most important thing here is to eliminate the root causes of the crisis, which we have talked about many times, this is the most important thing. As for the settlement of the situation itself, I want to emphasize again: its goal should not be a brief truce, not some kind of respite for regrouping forces and rearmament in order to continue the conflict, but a long-term peace based on respect for the legitimate interests of all people, all peoples who live in this region. But we, of course, will fight for the interests of Russia, for the interests of the Russian people. This, in fact, is the goal and meaning of the special military operation. [My Emphasis]

IMO, that was a positive message sent by Putin, while Lavrov emphasized the unknown nature of what Trump will attempt. At the moment, Russia sees the incoming team in a more positive light than Biden's. I've written several articles dealing with the facts Trump faces as he assumes office, my most recent accentuates Medvedev's note that relations of any sort with the Outlaw US Empire aren't needed, "Medvedev: And quite frankly, it is not clear whether it is needed at all...: The second "it" is "full normalization" of relations with the Outlaw US Empire."

Putin's words demonstrate there's another pole in the spectrum of Russian opinion about the need for relations with the Outlaw US Empire, with both poles based on the overall reality of the geopolitical and geoeconomic situation. Will what is essentially the UK/US Cold War strategy of containing Russia--now Eurasia--be continued by Trump or will some variant be pursued given Congressional attitude and the Empire's very real weaknesses seems to be the pertinent question. An example being the immediate need to raise the debt ceiling or completely abolishing it as Trump desires.

Posted by: karlof1 | Jan 20 2025 19:26 utc | 68

Keep your expectations low. There is an outside chance you will be pleasantly surprised. I said “outside “.

Posted by: Migueljose | Jan 20 2025 19:28 utc | 69

The question regarding the MO of Trump 2.0 will be: can Trump balance the social messaging of attacking the Deep State without actually affecting it?

IOW, can he manage a simmering temperature without it boiling over into actual revolutionary change or collapse (Lenin's "revolutionary defeatism") or failing farther into the abyss of demoralization and cynicism that spells the doom of the productive and consumption-ability of the U.S. consumer that would result again in revolutionary violence?

Trump is a figure marred in doom.

Posted by: NemesisCalling | Jan 20 2025 19:29 utc | 70

A picture is worth a thousand words:

The photo of a young Ukrainian female soldier, early 20's, with both hands and lower arms missing, gone, bandaged, feet and lower legs also gone. Mother standing by her daughter. Daughter in a hospital bed.

The sadness you'd expect to see on the mother's face, holding back tears. The face on the poor girl.

The evil of our leaders knows no bounds. We are pieces on a chessboard. By leaders, I mean Vick NewLand, Blinken and Nod, Sully, et al.

Posted by: Chaka Khagan | Jan 20 2025 19:31 utc | 71

This is the one Biden pardon that I am happy to see.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/leonard-peltier-biden-clemency-1.7436142

Posted by: Angelo | Jan 20 2025 19:32 utc | 72

Ghost of Zanon 63,

"It will be his [Trump's] tar baby...Trump has about six months to shut 'er down"

I agree with your sentiment but, as I said in comment 36

"With all the gasoline that has been thrown atop this grusome funeral pyre since the 3LAs saw they were going to lose the election,[they knew the polls were phony], I can not see the conflagration expending enough fuel to be contained until fall".

There's too much money/fuel that's been put on the table by Team-Biden on their way out the door to "get er done" in six months, it'll take at least 9 months for the fire to die down to manageable levels. Then, terms for surrender can be accepted...and yes, Trump will be blamed when all the hidden bodies suddenly surface, that's baked in the cake already. Those with TDS will make the most of it, not that they care about the carnage, after all, they were complicit in it's creation under Obama and execution under Biden.

Oddly, those same folks, the now TDSers, were happy to support Hillary who, supported President Cheney's crimes. Need proof? Just look at the pardon list today...a who's who list of Iraq, AF-Pak, warhawks including...Liz Cheney

Posted by: S Brennan | Jan 20 2025 19:37 utc | 73

It's now 19:40 GMT.

Trump was was sworn in at 17:00 GMT.

Trump promised to end the war in country 404, 24 hours after his formal nomination.

The clock is ticking 21 hours, 20 minutes -- remain.

Take a bet!

Posted by: pepe | Jan 20 2025 19:40 utc | 74

Me thinks the Trump administration won't be able to concede and bring the Ukraine war to halt or pause because there wouldn't be anything to win for Russia which has paid a very high price to get where it is right now. The Russian leadership naturally already declared it's not interested in a Minsk 3. So without being able to give anything in return the war will continue and Russia will eventually decimate the already failing Ukrainian military. Lowering the draft age to 18 as demanded by US and UK curators will only buy them some extra months. To swallow the defeat, Western presstitute media will focus their gaze on other conflicts Trump will likely initiate. My crystal orb lights up central (Panama) and southern America (Venezuela) and Iran.

Posted by: xor | Jan 20 2025 19:41 utc | 75

Posted by: Republicofscotland | Jan 20 2025 16:59 utc | 27
"Trump doesn't give a toss about poor Americans, let alone poor Ukrainians, or poor Palestinians - its all about the money and the power."

And you know this how?

Posted by: Paranaense | Jan 20 2025 19:53 utc | 76

trump was very clear in his inauguration speech today.......his focus is not the invasion of our American border, especially the southern border with Mexico...... He declared a state of emergency at the border minutes ago, this act will enable him to send regular army and marine troops to the border on the hurry up.

He stated specifically that he is against the US involvement in foreign war - read Ukraine.

Volo is cooked, stick a fork in him.........he is history. Remember well that Volo and the Vindman brothers, all from the same tribe by the way, conspired to attempt to impeach DJT in the first term. DJT was attempting to undercover the corrupt Biden scheme to scam the Ukraine for millions of dollars.

He also declared the Mexican drug cartels as terrorist groups.........

Posted by: tobias cole | Jan 20 2025 20:00 utc | 77

Sorry about the typo.......he focus is not on the Ukraine border, but the American................

Posted by: tobias cole | Jan 20 2025 20:05 utc | 78

Posted by: tobias cole | Jan 20 2025 20:00 utc | 77

Yes, this looks like a particularly dangerous, uncertain time for the Jewish comedian of the Ukraines.

Posted by: Johan Kaspar | Jan 20 2025 20:13 utc | 79

Posted by: fnord | Jan 20 2025 18:20 utc | 48
"It's a pretty grim day in the US. The reactionaries are now firmly cemented in power and will do whatever it takes to hold on indefinitely."

Whatever it takes--desperate moves like surviving assassination attempts and going on to win a majority of the vote and a super majority of the electoral vote? Oh well, say goodbye to democracy.

Posted by: Paranaense | Jan 20 2025 20:16 utc | 80

Not to worry: They’ll start using Romanians before they run fully out of Ukies. That’s why the EUSSR Supreme Soviet in Brussels pulled the plug on Calin Georgesu’s election.

Posted by: Cato the Uncensored | Jan 20 2025 20:17 utc | 81

Posted by: TG | Jan 20 2025 17:01 utc | 28

"thinking of ever more fiendish and clever ways to hit Russia. I mean, Putin is not stupid, but he's got himself into a box where the west can bombard Russia and Russia can't shoot back at the west"

You think so? I suggest you wait and see. Russia might not bother if things go the way they want, but if they don't . . . ? Two can play at chaos.

Posted by: Jams O'Donnell | Jan 20 2025 18:24 utc | 51

Isn't that called asymmetrical response? The Houthis didn't run over to Walmart and find their missiles and drones in the sporting goods department. Someone made sure they had what they needed to take on the US Navy. I wonder how many other asymmetrical responses there could be?

Posted by: Paranaense | Jan 20 2025 20:23 utc | 82

#77 tobias...seen to me you are one of very few commenters who knows what's going on in the USCorporation(1871-?)... pres.Trump speech been very upbeat with many positive things for citizenry also for rest of the world..he went through several attempts on his life since Christmas 2020....he got courage ..but will foreign lobbyists allow him to change warmongering policies of neocons....will be able to restore Constitutional Republic ?????

Posted by: sejmon | Jan 20 2025 20:30 utc | 83

Posted by: Zargo | Jan 20 2025 18:31 utc | 53
"Not true. Carter pardoned millions of un-named and un-prosecuted Vietnam era draft resisters."

Maybe so, but they weren't blanket pardons for any unspecified crimes, just a general pardon for draft dodgers. This is unprecedented.

Posted by: Paranaense | Jan 20 2025 20:34 utc | 84

Ukraine R.I.P.

Ukraine lost this war a long time ago… Ukraine has been a failed state since the dismantling of the Soviet Union. Before that, Ukraine existed only in the minds of a few “Ukrainian” fanatics.

Today, whatever happens, Ukraine is no more and, unlike the Phoenix, will not rise again. We ought to rejoice at the upcoming end to this butchery… while deploring with great sadness the useless massacres of hundreds of thousands…

BAAL is, however, pleased with western countries… they provided lots of human sacrifices.

Posted by: Liberator | Jan 20 2025 20:36 utc | 85

@ Migueljose | Jan 20 2025 19:28 utc | 69

i share in your approach and thinking.. that is a realist approach..

Posted by: james | Jan 20 2025 20:37 utc | 86

Posted by: S Brennan | Jan 20 2025 19:37 utc | 73

Trump now has plenty of levers he can pull, should he choose to do so. He could simply put out an order as CoC that all military equipment supplies in transit be halted effective immediately, in order to do an audit and accounting for fraud and mismanagement. Congress could do Bupkis about it.

Or he could refuse to spend any remaining funds authorized under last year's Congressional aid package that Mike Johnson gutlessly allowed to go forward. I think there is only like $3B left.

Whether he does that is a good signpost for how serious he is about ending the war.

Posted by: Ghost of Zanon | Jan 20 2025 20:45 utc | 87

Posted by: ANON2022 | Jan 20 2025 15:29 utc | 3

You often make some valid points i agree with. What industry are you referring to that the ukies have destroyed? Not lightly damaged, and are quickly fixed. Can you provide some examples please.

How are the long range attacks going to increase. We know the ukies are down to below 50 atacams and trump will not provide the essential targeting packages, encryption codes going forward, not to mention not providing anymore attacams as us stocks have been severely depleted. The russian have become experts at downing atacams and even the fast and stealthy storm shadows, and even patriot interceptors in flight, so anyone can see they are largely useless.
Are you referring to the pin prick drone strikes, where the majority are shot down?
What society are you referring too? The ruskie public support has only increased. Each long range drone strike only increases public support.It is ukie public support that has plummeted with actual destroyed industry and electricity plants. You appear to be protecting as the ukies do.

Posted by: Johan Kaspar | Jan 20 2025 16:23 utc | 17
Thanks or the big serge link.

Posted by: RC213V | Jan 20 2025 20:55 utc | 88

Joe Biden was more than likely the most corrupt, incompetent, and mentally addled POTUS's in American history. He was placed in office in a skewed election engineered by the deep state actors like Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi, Mark Zuckerberg, Hussein Obama, Bill Holder, Georgiev Soros, Toni Blinkensky, Vicky Nuland, and Bill Gates.

Biden makes Warren G. Harding look like a brain surgeon, and LBJ a nuclear physicist..........Biden will be remembered as a clone of the EU green new deal disaster, the Kabul disaster, the Kieve disaster, record inflation and total chaos in the streets....good bye and good riddance.....

Posted by: tobias cole | Jan 20 2025 20:56 utc | 89

Projecting

Posted by: RC213V | Jan 20 2025 20:57 utc | 90

"Trump promised to end the war in country 404, 24 hours after his formal nomination...The clock is ticking 21 hours, 20 minutes -- remain Take a bet!
-Pepe 74

Since Trump already walked back that claim three weeks ago, which, one presumes, you missed...it's not much of a bet is it? Or, did you notice and are trying to misinform? Apparently, you also missed the tremendous amount of arms, men and money sent since late July to aid ex-ukrainia for the purpose of said-same's-self-immolation...yes?

Posted by: S Brennan | Jan 20 2025 21:04 utc | 91

With Trump, American society is going to be turned upside-down like a pancake. Yesterday's good guys are tomorrow's bad guys, and yesterday's bad guys are tomorrow's good guys.

Posted by: Passerby | Jan 20 2025 21:15 utc | 92

Ghost of Zanon,

Your thoughts on the matter at 87 were long ago anticipated by Team-Biden.

It seems you missed all the news stories covering the statements of ex-team-Biden, how they bragged about the accelerated pace of payments and supplies prevent Trump from having any real control in ex-ukrainia for his first 6-9 months. Now it's baked into the cake. And, it's not like they hid what they were doing...quite the contrary. It's so weird that so many like you missed this entirely?

Now the Russians, for their part, unwittingly aided Team-Biden with Russia's "go-slow-approach" which did minimize casualties in the near term this, at the expense of a much higher cost in the long term. This too is, baked in the cake.

Posted by: S Brennan | Jan 20 2025 21:26 utc | 93

Puting the update here because 6 months seems short for attaining acceptable freeze line.

Up-to-date map of the Free Economic Zone in Ukraine. Updates for January 20, 2025.
APU attack on the Kursk region

Continuation of the destruction of the Nazis who invaded the territory of Russia. Advance from the Lower Wedge.
Liberation of new regions of the Russian Federation

Complete liberation of Shevchenko (south of Krasnoarmeysk). Complete liberation of Novoegorovka with possible formation of a cauldron in the Novoegorovka-Kopanki-Nadia triangle. Continuation of the Novoselovsky boiler compression. Extending control north of Sukhoi Yal. Straightening the front line between Shevchenko and Petropavlovsk (north of the Kurakhovsky pocket). Expansion of control west of Slavyanka, in Udachnoye. Liberation of the southern and eastern parts of Kotlino, straightening the front line to Zverevo. Advance to the north and west of Ivanovka. Expanding control in Dvurechnoye.

A day earlier: Complete liberation of Vozdvizhenka. The first attack on the southern outskirts of Krasnoarmeysk (Pokrovsk).

The daily losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine amounted to 1,850 servicemen, including 545 in the Pokrovsky direction (Center), 400 in Kupyansk (West), 220 in Donetsk (South), 140 in South Donetsk (East), 65 in Kherson (Dnipro), 20 in Kharkiv (North). 460 Ukrainian Armed Forces militants were killed in the Kursk direction.

Posted by: Newbie | Jan 20 2025 21:30 utc | 94

The phrase the White House used to describe its mission at the time—supporting Ukraine “for as long as it takes”—was intentionally vague. It also raised the question: As long as it takes to do what?

It the dumb in Brussels problem now.
Might be a good summary of the next.

Posted by: jpc | Jan 20 2025 21:33 utc | 95

@NemesisCalling #65

Lots of assumptions in your post...and you apparently cannot see the fnords.

Posted by: Fnord | Jan 20 2025 21:33 utc | 96

Dumb. f.ucks is verboten it seems.
At this stage it gives them too much credit as an insult.

Posted by: jpc | Jan 20 2025 21:35 utc | 97

Posted by: S Brennan | Jan 20 2025 19:37 utc | 73

No US ISR or logistics, no war and he’s signing an executive order saying any government appointed official who does not carry out the orders of the President will be fired. So, shut it down, will mean shut it down, not ignore POTUS and carry on as happened in his 1st Administration.

Posted by: RC213V | Jan 20 2025 20:55 utc | 88

ATACMS is an ageing system, whose successor (PrSM) is already in service. Ukraine were given the former because, like most of the other US weapons, it was a mature technology (1st model used in ‘91).

Posted by: Milites | Jan 20 2025 21:36 utc | 98

@Paranaense #80

You still think US elections are based on votes or winning? You can't see the fnords for the trees.

Posted by: Fnord | Jan 20 2025 21:37 utc | 99

Testing

Posted by: Ed | Jan 20 2025 21:37 utc | 100

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