U.S.-Supplied Air Defenses Fail In Ukraine
On May 23 the former Commander in Chief of the Ukrainian army had a pessimistic assessment of the war in Ukraine (machine translation):
Former commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and now Ambassador to the UK Valery Zaluzhny said that Russia has overtaken Ukraine in innovations on the battlefield.
...
According to him, Ukraine at the moment "does not manage to continuously generate and scale innovations, even in those areas where yesterday we were ahead of the enemy.""The enemy has already overtaken us and we are lagging behind – and we must be honest about this," he said.
...
The ex-commander-in-chief believes that the Russian Federation is now waging a war of attrition. In response, it is necessary, according to Zaluzhny, "to undermine the economy and social component in order to deprive Russia of the possibility of scientific and technological development and start the processes of civil unrest and disintegration."How to do this, the ex-commander-in-chief does not specify, ...
Zaluzhny was likely not only referring to the drone war which Russia is winning but also to the mediocre state of Ukraine's air defenses.
A day after Zaluzhny, the spokesman of the Air Force of Ukraine confirmed his take (machine translation):
Russia has improved its ballistic missiles, so Patriot systems have become worse at shooting them down. This was stated by the head of the Communications Department of the Air Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Yuriy Ignat, commenting on today's night shelling of Kiev.Iskander-M missiles, which attack along a ballistic trajectory, have been significantly improved and upgraded
"We are talking about shooting radar traps, which each missile can shoot during the approach to the target. Another is the flight of a ballistic missile along a quasi-ballistic trajectory, when the missile does not fly in a straight line, but already performs maneuvers, " he said on the telethon.
The new Iskander versions use decoys to confuse the air defense radars. They also maneuver during the last phase of their flight making their interception nearly impossible.
Reporting on the large scale Saturday night attack on Ukraine the Washington Post noted that the U.S. provided Patriot air defenses systems in Ukraine had failed (archived):
The Russian assault involved nearly 400 missiles and drones, including nine ballistic missiles that Ukrainian air defenses, already strained and in short supply, failed to intercept, Ukraine’s air force said.
Some of the Russian missiles destroyed at least one Patriot air defense battery. Each battery consists of a radar, a combat control station and two or more launcher vehicles. The cost for a full battery is about $1 billion. Each fired missile comes at a price of $2-4 million.
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The Patriot battery killed during the weekend strike was not the first one to meet that fate.
The Military Watch Magazine has documented the history of the system in Ukraine:
The Iskander system was first confirmed to have successfully destroyed a Patriot system on February 23, 2024, with a subsequent strike destroying another system near the Sergeevka locality on March 10 that year, leaving ground forces in the region exposed. Subsequently in the second week of July, 2024, new footage confirmed the destruction of two batteries in the Odessa region, while on August 11 three more missile batteries and an AN/MPQ-65 radar were reported to have been destroyed in Iskander-M strikes. One of the Iskander-M’s more recent successes saw the destruction of the Patriot’s AN/MPQ-65 multifunctional radar station, combat control cabin, and missile launch vehicles all destroyed in the Dnepropetrovsk region.
Together with the one on Saturday/Sunday that sums up to a total of ten destroyed systems. That is likely more than half of the total provided by the U.S. and its allies.
The Patriot air defense system is quite old. The first version was used 35 years ago during the first U.S. war on Iraq. It largely failed to achieve its mission:
In 1992 a military report titled ‘Patriot Missile System Effectiveness During Desert Storm’ found that of the 158 missiles fired during the Gulf War, 45 percent were launched against false targets. An early 1990s study by Theodore Postol, professor of Science, Technology and International Security at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and prominent expert on missile technologies, highlighted: “The Patriot's intercept rate during the Gulf War was very low. The evidence from these preliminary studies indicates that Patriot's intercept rate could be much lower than 10 percent, possibly even zero." Even “the most primitive of adversaries" could easily evade interception, his study concluded.
New versions of the Patriot's radar and missiles, PAC-2 and PAC-3, were introduced but continued to fail:
Following the revelations of the Patriot system’s shortcomings in the Gulf War, there were considerable hopes in the Western world that its modernisation would allow it to provide a much more viable defence against ballistic missile attacks. Such hopes were disappointed by its performance during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and moreso 14 years later when further modernised variants failed to intercept a strike by makeshift ballistic missiles launched by Yemeni paramilitaries against Saudi Arabia in 2017. The Yemeni missiles were shown by satellite imagery and by photos and videos of the attack not to have been neutralised, despite claims by the Saudi and U.S. government sources to the contrary. Analysis conducted by a research team of missile experts showed a warhead flying unimpeded over Saudi Arabia despite its large arsenal of modernised Patriot batteries protecting the affected area.
The magazine concludes:
The questions more recently raised by Ukrainian officials regarding the Patriot system’s reliability against Russian ballistic missile attacks thus fit in with a long history of underwhelming performances in such a role. This has significant implications for militaries across the Western world and in Northeast Asia that rely on the system for their defence.
Another failure point of the Patriot system is the notorious lack of ammunition needed for it. According to The Economist (archived) the current production rate for Patriot systems is 650 missiles per year. Over the same time frame Russia is producing 750 ballistic missiles each at about 10% of the price of one Patriot missile.
Despite the poor record of the system Ukraine is, according to the Washington Post, still eager to acquire more of them (archived):
KYIV — Ukraine is increasingly worried about securing more U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems, as stockpiles sent during the Biden administration are drying up and the new administration is resistant to sending more, according to six Ukrainian and Western officials.
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Ukraine’s dire need for Patriots was apparent over Memorial Day weekend when its air defense forces failed to intercept any of the nine ballistic missiles launched Saturday night and early on Sunday. Two of the missiles were directed at Kyiv, according to Ukraine’s air defense forces, where at least two Patriot units are believed to be stationed.
One of those Patriot units most likely no longer exists.
The Post fails to explain why Ukraine should or would ask for more Patriot systems when, as the same report says, these fail their purpose.
The Post's opinion editors are even worse. Despite multiple reports in their own paper that Patriot systems are not able to defend against Russian missiles they falsely state (archived) that they can do so, only to then repeat that they don't:
What scares Ukraine more than the drones, however, is its diminishing stockpile of U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems. Ballistic missiles fired by Russia can be reliably countered only with Patriot launchers. On Saturday night, Ukraine failed to intercept nine such missile launches.
The editors seem to imply that Ukraine failed to intercept the Iskander missiles because it was lacking Patriot air defense missiles. But that was not the case. Video from the Saturday night attack shows the firing of at least 14 Patriot missiles by two batteries before one of them goes up in flames.
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None of the 14 fired air defense missiles had hit the incoming ballistic missile.
[The Post editors are lobbying for secondary sanctions in form of additional tariffs on products from anyone who buys basic materials from Russia. The tariffs would have to be paid by U.S. consumers. They would hurt the U.S. more than they would hurt Russia and certainly fail to help Ukraine.]
To summarize: Patriot air defenses are a chimera. The system has failed its purpose, to reliably defend against ballistic missile, since its creation.
The only reliable target it manages to intercept each and every time a missile is launched is taxpayer money. One wonders how many bribes are flowing to generate further requests for it.
Posted by b on May 28, 2025 at 16:41 UTC | Permalink
next page »thanks b...
not to worry! russia is running out of missiles, lol..
this war experiment at the cost of ukrainian and russian lives is sickening, but the war culture must continue according to the losers in the eu, under guidance from the losers in the usa... the winners are the bankers - kind of sick how they need innocent people murdered to profit..
Posted by: james | May 28 2025 17:07 utc | 2
I think it was Danny Davis who had Kyiv footage of the Patriot batteries getting hit and he said something about emergency mode where it shoots off all its missiles to 1) try to intercept incoming 2) not have them all blow up on the ground wiping out all the gear (the incoming might leave you something repairable). And the count was IIRC, 30 missiles and it was pointed out that official/admitted US production is 600/year so that was 5% of a year's production in one incident.
I hope this finds you well
Posted by: ockham | May 28 2025 17:08 utc | 3
I'm under the impression that many US military weapons tanks, (Abrams) ships (Littoral) etc, are overly complicated to work, full of flaws, and cost a fortune to be serviced by the private sector - of course this is surely built in to the equipment - so that the manufactures can make more from their sales - I've even read that the USA's Aegis System is full of flaws, that can be exploited by a competent enemy.
Posted by: Republicofscotland | May 28 2025 17:09 utc | 4
Supposedly, the ballistic missiles launched at Israel from Yemen these days are mostly intercepted. Is this true, and if so using which AD system?
Posted by: Norwegian | May 28 2025 17:11 utc | 5
Russia has failed to deal a killing blow to Ukraine no matter waht u have been saying since the start of this war. Until and unless Russia takes or at the outskirts of oddesa we can't know for sure who is winning.
Posted by: A.z | May 28 2025 17:13 utc | 6
Its hard to say what the numbers are, but one can say ukraine does have some effective air defense, since Russia doesn't fly planes anywhere close to the border if they can help it.
There's been a few instances of patriots pushed close to the front for ambushes which resulted in some plane losses for Russia but I can't say patriots did it for sure. I do know it's dangerous for them too as they are sometimes hit with islanders close to the front as well, or at least when they had more of them.
Posted by: Neofeudalfuture | May 28 2025 17:17 utc | 7
It's also very hard to hit an incomening missile. because of the speed of the missile.
Posted by: WMG | May 28 2025 17:18 utc | 8
A Cocaine Dome must be built for Zelensky. This would shield him from many unbearable realities.
Posted by: CIROC | May 28 2025 17:18 utc | 9
It occurs that decoys make maneuvering more effective and vice versa. The naive way to counter a decoy is going to be to project a ballistic path forward from the track and aim for the return nearest the center of the expanding area around the projected path that error over time is going to give you. But if the missile can thow a decoy along the path and maneuver, or throw a decoy off the path an maneuver, it completely breaks that strategy.
Posted by: Grimgrin | May 28 2025 17:18 utc | 10
How to do this, the ex-commander-in-chief does not specify, ...
Posted by b on May 28, 2025 at 16:41 UTC | Permalink
---
Zaluzhny is blowing his "let's do more terrorism" dogwhistle as loud as he can. And the Press has amplified his message.
No, neither Zaluzhny, Urkraine nor the Mockingbird Press are particularly innovated.
Posted by: too scents | May 28 2025 17:20 utc | 11
The Post fails to explain why Ukraine should or would ask for more Patriot systems when, as the same report says, these fail their purpose.
Don’t try to find logics where there is none … I would prefer the explanation of smoke and mirrors and more kabuki theatre in fearful European capitals … 😊
Isn’t it a fact, the targeting intelligence is now the responsibility of the European States under NATO … remember it is UA war lab and training as we go …
At least the Russians still have washing machine parts they fire at the Ukrainians.
They seem to work!
Good.
Posted by: g wiltek | May 28 2025 17:22 utc | 13
I sincerely believe Zelenskies constant caterwauling for patriots is a form of blackmail - he's subliminally pointing out that the things are useless without actually saying it directly. After all, if Patriots were survivable, robust and effective they never would have been destroyed by ballistic missiles in the first place. If military aid is ever cut to Ukraine he will reveal the truth - the things are not worth a billion dollars each but zero.
Posted by: Argh | May 28 2025 17:23 utc | 14
I think it was Danny Davis who had Kyiv footage of the Patriot batteries getting hit and he said something about emergency mode where it shoots off all its missiles to 1) try to intercept incoming 2) not have them all blow up on the ground wiping out all the gear ...Posted by: ockham | May 28 2025 17:08 utc | 3
Now there's a new image for the declining empire; imagine a doddering old fool who sees an image of a pretty women and "blows his wad", firing in all directions.
Yosemite Sam redux?
Hilarious and pathetic, ugly and obscene, all at once.
Posted by: NH | May 28 2025 17:26 utc | 15
This all seems to be more or less correct. But what is the importance in perspective? The apparent fact that the Patriot system is a poor defense against strategic missile attack is only as important as strategic missile attacks are. And that seems to me to be, not so very much. Losing the drone war, which is tactical air, is more important. (Or it would be, if Russia had enough forces for an offensive that multiply attrition by overwhelming reorganization efforts by seizing new positions with interior lines of communication and the opposite for the fascists.) Attrition warfare is also morale warfare. PATRIOT batteries are good for fascist morale, not just because any fighting back is good for morale. But it also is a plea for open commitment by friends, not primarily meant as a criticism of them? (Which the OP seems to imply.)
In response, it is necessary, according to Zaluzhny, "to undermine the economy and social component in order to deprive Russia of the possibility of scientific and technological development and start the processes of civil unrest and disintegration."
It seems to me this is a call for the US/NATO to extend the hybrid warfare against Russia into assassination, false flags, cyberattacks, etc. etc. etc. As the US is the expert it is would be presumptuous for the junior associate to openly give orders. I imagine Zaluzhny in particular enjoys thinking about assassinations of Iranian scientists?
Posted by: steven t johnson | May 28 2025 17:29 utc | 17
Just to clarify this:
It was always my understanding, that air defense missiles were not supposed to impact the incoming object, but rather explode in front of it and create a cloud of debris, through which said object must fly and hopefully be fatally damaged. I was told, direct intercept was too tricky and too unreliable.
Is that no longer the case?
Posted by: Pfeilchen | May 28 2025 17:31 utc | 18
A significant effect of offensive air and missile tactics is to divert resource from better use to attempt to limit air and missile attacks.
Generally it is easier and cheaper to defeat defenses.
In WWII expensive radars were foiled by dispersing tin foil around bombers…..
In the case of US MIC a huge amount of profit is generated trying to to hit a bullet with a million dollars missile supported by a billion or so in kill chain.
Good money for the MIC.
Posted by: paddy | May 28 2025 17:44 utc | 19
If/When Germany strikes Russian targets in Ukraine what will be the Russian response?
Posted by: Elmagnostic | May 28 2025 17:47 utc | 20
"If military aid is ever cut to Ukraine he will reveal the truth - the things [Patriot AD] are not worth a billion dollars each but zero."
Posted by: Argh | May 28 2025 17:23 utc | 14
Good post.
But I believe that the Patriots are worth much less than nothing; its about $3 MM a salvo (two missiles) so in fact, P Systems costs money to Ukraine such that the Patriot System are sucking immense amounts of cash for zero return-not to mention when they fire they sometimes fall on their own people , structures-'friendly fire'.
What an absurdity.
Posted by: canuck | May 28 2025 17:49 utc | 21
Well I just can’t wait then to see the “Golden Dome” at work. One has to think that Russia/China/Iran are pooping their pants waiting to see how bad it is or maybe not
Posted by: Ggersh | May 28 2025 17:50 utc | 22
"I think it was Danny Davis who had Kyiv footage of the Patriot batteries getting hit and he said something about emergency mode where it shoots off all its missiles to 1) try to intercept incoming 2) not have them all blow up on the ground wiping out all the gear ..."
Posted by: ockham | May 28 2025 17:08 utc | 3
Yeah I saw that emergency mode desperation move but the commentator (forget whom it was) said they did that so that none of the specialists at the battery didn't "get blown up real good".. (1)
1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHkvD7-u7y8
Posted by: canuck | May 28 2025 17:52 utc | 23
james | May 28 2025 17:07 utc | 2 Kind of sick how they need innocent people murdered to profit.
How is it that some adults have not moved on from their youthful fantasies? There has always been, and always will be, competition over scarce resources. The bald ape organized society to promote arms production and war preparations dating from the first proto humans crafting clubs and hand held sharpened rocks.
Leadership carries the burden knowing there is never an end, never any lasting peace; that's merely the retail message sold to peasants. Whether secular or eccesliastical, the key characteristic that defines what type of person you are is how amenable one is to embracing faith. Clearly, MoA falls in the category of true believers.
Ask yourself this question: Will Russia and China volutantarily reduce/cut back their military economy after the dust settles from this current ruckus? No, just like the USA after WW2, they will discover - already know - that a war time economy provides the greatest growth, social cohesion and sense of unified, national purpose.
That some must die is just a by product of the overall benefits that accrue to the winner; too bad, so sad. What will Russophiles say when they discover their heroic defender will easily slide into position as a dominant power dicating and directing global events for their benefit?
Posted by: markw | May 28 2025 17:54 utc | 24
Breaking news from Reuters..../s
Exclusive: Putin's demands for peace include an end to NATO enlargement, sources say
In other news it is learned that water is wet.
Posted by: psychohistorian | May 28 2025 17:56 utc | 25
US Military Policy is all about profit, not results. The PR is impressive tho.
Posted by: azeclecticdog | May 28 2025 17:57 utc | 26
This (translated) quote from the Strana article seems more noteworthy:
¨The ex-commander-in-chief believes that the Russian Federation is now waging a war of attrition. In response, it is necessary, according to Zaluzhny, "to undermine the economy and social component in order to deprive Russia of the possibility of scientific and technological development and start the processes of civil unrest and disintegration."¨
Pretty clearly not about attacking real military targets. So that leaves mass terrorism attacking society including it´s means of scientific knowledge (and clearly not constrained to just that).
Posted by: xanax | May 28 2025 18:02 utc | 27
Houthi ballistic missiles intercepted by THAAD system ... sometimes.
Houthi missile breaches U.S. THAAD batteries deployed in Southern Israel as well as the “Arrow-2/3” Anti-Ballistic Missile System
Posted by: Oui | May 28 2025 17:27 utc | 16
Single missiles, at end of rage.
no saturation, little delta V left
--------------
A previous post from S offers some videos very relevant
https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/sitrep-52625-russia-unleashes-saved
Posted by: Newbie | May 28 2025 18:13 utc | 28
The sad reality Zelensky has had to contend with, alongside plenty of sad realities, is that when one procures MIC equipment on the U.S.’s dime, one pays top-shelf prices—and there never is a snap fire sale of, say, Patriot interceptors or Abrams tanks.
So the $61 bn packages which Congress sent forth under Collective Biden included precious little actual cash, or pocket money beyond paying for Ukraine’s firefighters & government employees & civil pensions, etc.—-but mainly consisted of the transfer of weaponry & equipment from Pentagon stores & stocks @ high-dollar rate.
A year ago, Zelensky even claimed that Ukraine would be willing to send their own cargo planes to pick up items from the U.S. *at a reduced rate.* He said he was thinking in terms of efficiencies and attempting to alleviate the ultimate sticker shock.
But the fact is, when the U.S. government is your supplier, the sticker shock nosebleed-caliber price tag is *always* going to be a factor. It is part of what makes a bureaucracy so bloated and inefficient. And part of how the MIC makes bank.
In important ways Zelensky is not only suffering the effects of being a proxy in a Coalition War—he is also suffering the effects of being a proxy in a Bureaucratic War.
Bummer
Posted by: steel_porcupine | May 28 2025 18:27 utc | 29
The sad reality Zelensky has had to contend with, alongside plenty of sad realities, is that when one procures MIC equipment on the U.S.’s dime, one pays top-shelf prices—and there never is a snap fire sale of, say, Patriot interceptors or Abrams tanks.
Bummer
Posted by: steel_porcupine | May 28 2025 18:27 utc | 29
Monopoly sucks, good article
“America’s defense manufacturing process is dominated by a small cartel of primes that, while capable, have little incentive to drive innovation, reduce cost, or adapt quickly. There is no real market competition. This is not competition—it’s cartelized domination,” John Spencer and Vincent Viola warn in their essay.
https://www.eurasiantimes.com/lockheed-boeing-and-rtx-corporation/
Posted by: Newbie | May 28 2025 18:36 utc | 30
Jaja.... so Russia never lost any S-400 systems???
Russia itself blows up Ukraine's own S-300's as well as Patriot systems.
If it was that easy, then why are the other Patriot systems still operating, and intercepting Russian missiles, and how is it that Russia still allows Ukraine to have drone factories and its own military production and repair facilities, if it's that easy to destroy them all?
Posted by: Rubiconned | May 28 2025 18:36 utc | 31
Posted by: steel_porcupine | May 28 2025 18:27 utc | 29
RE: the Bureaucratic War & Zelensky's lament
<<
My grandpop wrangled w/ the VA to get his medications, always plenty of paper-pushing w/ which my uncles helped him late in life. (Battle of the Bulge vet, by the way.)
Once g-pop was in the assisted living facility, the VA medications had to be sent not to my g-pop @ the living facility but to a nearby pharmacy which was then required to bubble-wrap the VA-supplied medication, with a tacked-on charge for this additional service, and *then* deliver the medication to him @ the living facility.
That is the level of peculiar hopscotch bureaucracy one encounters when dealing w/ the federal government.
Zelensky is contending w/ a very skeevy supply chain which is set-up to enrich various contractors along the way. A lot of hands get to handle the equipment---and everyone is making bank.
Wars end when the money runs out.
Posted by: steel_porcupine | May 28 2025 18:38 utc | 32
..and speaking of bullsh1t, since when does that head of RT speak for the Russian MOD??
https://www.rt.com/russia/618262-russia-berlin-german-missiles-moscow/
'Margarita Simonyan warned of retaliation if a Taurus is deployed by Ukraine against the Russian capital'
Sorry, maybe i should have worded my comment to better match the RT "special clickbait headline operation" wording style:
"Russian media baroness threatens EU capital with retaliation"
Posted by: Rubiconned | May 28 2025 18:45 utc | 33
Patriot ist nothing but a moneymaking machine for the MIC.
As a lot of western Wunderwaffen are...
But if desperate EU politicans and some in US would go too far with their warmongering - it may be their last dance. Do they know that?
Two scenarios are lurking up:
a) its an orchestrated theatre and all are playing their roles to implement a "real" NWO- including R&C.
b) The conflict is real an the West has no idea win. Petro$ is going ESE with trend to S ... in other words, down the pipes...
Posted by: ableman | May 28 2025 18:50 utc | 34
Very dubious about all this doom and gloom reporting, that’s suddenly being mirrored by the West, given Ukraine was in a similar parlous state when Hail to the autopen was being played at the WH and the news was not nearly as pessimistically framed by the MSM.
Seems that the aim is to create the narrative that Ukraine’s present state, which is a natural result of the incline/decline cycle, is being directly linked to the Trump Administration’s failure to continue the previous administration’s policy. Zelensky’s ludicrous statement about ‘47’s silence being the reason for the Russian’s retributive strike on Kiev, and the NYT’s ‘revelation’ of direct US involvement in the strikes on Russia seem to be an attempt to sabotage any US/Russian dialogue and resurrect the R3 operation run against ‘45.
This latter interpretation was supported by last week’s moves by Gabbard and Rubio to their departments suggesting, to some well-placed commentators, that the moves were designed to cripple an anti-administration operation that was about to be launched. The media’s sudden fondness for asking gotcha questions about Ukraine also backs up the theory that they are following a pre-arranged script
I wonder how soon the ‘B’ word is going to be hinted at, before overtly entering the lexicon of all those hostile to any talk of stopping the conflict and addressing the central issues of what caused it.
Posted by: Milites | May 28 2025 18:53 utc | 35
Medvedev wields the Stick, warning DJT about WWIII in response to DJT's *mean tweet*
Alexandr Dugin offers the Carrot, however, in his tweeted response to DJT:
"We need to support Trump in spite of his nervous breakdown concerning Russia. Russia is only friend of Trump and his America. All the rest are either foes or competitors or parasites. MAGA is in critical situation. It is attacked from all sides.
Except ours."
Posted by: steel_porcupine | May 28 2025 18:53 utc | 36
Trump stated in an interview that he had not heard about the Ukrainian drone attack on Putin's helicopter. So much for surfer girl Gabbard keeping Trump infomred.
Posted by: Deniz | May 28 2025 18:56 utc | 37
@ markw | May 28 2025 17:54 utc | 24
there is a lot of truth in what you say, but my idealism can't be easily dismissed with the idea of youthful fantasy as i see it.. until we can look at others and see ourselves in those others, as opposed to some form of threat, we will continue to be subject to these circumstances... perhaps it is an evolutionary step that we have yet to take, but it is worthwhile to maintain a healthy attitude that these steps do need to be taken and they will be taken if we are to survive... subjecting others to dominance, while attractive to psycho and sociopaths, will eventually be replaced by something more healthy.. i will continue to hang onto my faith in this, which i think you mischaracterize as ''youthful fantasy''.. thanks for challenging me here.. it was worth it..
Posted by: james | May 28 2025 18:58 utc | 38
Entschuldigung, vielleicht hätte ich meinen Kommentar so formulieren sollen, dass er besser zum Wortlaut der RT-„Sonderaktion Clickbait-Überschriften“ passt:
„Russische Medienbaronin droht EU-Hauptstadt mit Vergeltung“
Veröffentlicht von: Rubiconned | 28. Mai 2025 18:45 UTC | 33
I read the article. It's information, not a threat.
An extract
"
RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonjan shared insider knowledge with her readers on Wednesday.
In the Moscow offices, she wrote on Telegram, it is currently being discussed that if the German army attacks Moscow with German weapons, Russia will have no choice but to attack Berlin (with a retaliatory strike). The authorisation to use "Taurus" cruise missiles can only be interpreted as a direct attack by Germany, according to Simonjan, as the Ukrainians can neither operate the German system nor issue a flight order for "Taurus".
The editor-in-chief of RT usually uses the term "Moscow offices" to refer to the highest levels of state power in Russia to which she has access.
"
Posted by: BlindSpot | May 28 2025 19:06 utc | 39
"So much for surfer girl Gabbard keeping Trump infomred."
Posted by: Deniz | May 28 2025 18:56 utc | 37
'Infomred" ?
That 'surfer girl'-she's actually a helicopter pilot, fool-is twice the man you are.
Posted by: canuck | May 28 2025 19:30 utc | 40
So much for surfer girl Gabbard keeping Trump infomred."
Posted by: Deniz | May 28 2025 18:56 utc | 37
'Infomred" ?
That 'surfer girl'-she's actually a helicopter pilot, fool-is twice the man you are.
Posted by: canuck | May 28 2025 19:30 utc | 40
She's still missing out on her duty. On may wonder whether that's due to incompetence or...
Posted by: umuntu | May 28 2025 19:41 utc | 41
@Deniz, May 28 2025 18:56 utc, who said "So much for surfer girl Gabbard keeping Trump informed."
Trump may not want to acknowledge publicly that Putin was attacked.
That is a major issue; if the West assassinates Putin, I'd say its pretty likely that WWIII is on. Who in Russia is going to apply the brakes?
In an essay the other day, Gilbert Doctorow mentioned that the Russian public is oscillating between joy at military progress, and fear that they're going to have to respond massively to this sort of provocation.
They know, as Zaluzhny points out, that Ukraine has no hope of a battlefield victory. They need a "miracle cure". Crash the Russian economy, or crash the political structure. A two-fer option would be to get the sleeper Israel-firsters that still inhabit Russian's production systems to wake up and do some damage.
I'm waiting for that shoe to drop. If Israel hits any major speed-bumps in its conquest of Palestine, e.g. getting a pasting when they attack Iran, we'll get to see how strong the Russia-Israel bonds are.
And for the "there will be no collapse" in Ukraine crowd, I say "there's gonna be a collapse". That's why we're seeing the desperation-talk from Western news outlets, and the spate of provocations.
Posted by: Tom Pfotzer | May 28 2025 19:49 utc | 42
Posted by: umuntu | May 28 2025 19:41 utc | 41
Who knows what is being thought inside the Trump administration. It's like Churchills description of the USSR - 'A riddle inside an enigma, wrapped in a mystery' - and possibly that's how Trump and his crew see it too.
Posted by: Jams O'Donnell | May 28 2025 19:50 utc | 43
Russia has failed to deal a killing blow to Ukraine no matter waht u have been saying since the start of this war. Until and unless Russia takes or at the outskirts of oddesa we can't know for sure who is winning.
Posted by: A.z | May 28 2025 17:13 utc | 6
What you and so many many other poor souls fail to realize is that this conflict is NOT about defeating ukraine, that is merely the location of the conflict. Why do you assume you are a military genius and all Russians are morons? Do you even have any military training? Ever even put on a uniform? This conflict is NOT about defeating ukraine, it is about the demilitarization of nato. That is happening right before your unseeing eyes. Your western bias has blinded you to this reality. Like your western leaders this arrogance will lead to your undoing. Have you ever bothered to read any history about warfare or Russia? Do you even understand what actually wins wars? Can you even define military strategy at an industrial scale? Learn what effect manufacturing capacity has on the ability to actually win a war. But most importantly you should recognize that you simply lack the knowledge to pass any judgment on this conflict since you can’t even see what is happening right before our eyes. All you concern trolls are becoming very tiresome.
Posted by: Screwdriver | May 28 2025 19:50 utc | 44
“Despite the poor record of the system Ukraine is, according to the Washington Post, still eager to acquire more of them.”
It would seem almost as though the narcofuhrer is getting paid kickback$ by the manufacturer/supplier.
Posted by: nwwoods | May 28 2025 19:51 utc | 45
Posted by: Screwdriver | May 28 2025 19:50 utc | 44
Well said. There's a lot of that sort of stuff about.
Posted by: Jams O'Donnell | May 28 2025 19:53 utc | 46
"But the fact is, when the U.S. government is your supplier, the sticker shock nosebleed-caliber price tag is *always* going to be a factor. It is part of what makes a bureaucracy so bloated and inefficient. And part of how the MIC makes bank."
Posted by: steel_porcupine | May 28 2025 18:27 utc | 29
Exactly!
Whether the product works or not is beside the point.
Posted by: canuck | May 28 2025 19:56 utc | 47
Posted by: umuntu | May 28 2025 19:41 utc | 41
So I guess you were present when Gabbard briefs Trump about Russia; interesting, where and when was this briefing you attended?.
Posted by: canuck | May 28 2025 19:59 utc | 48
Medvedev wields the Stick, warning DJT about WWIII in response to DJT's *mean tweet*
Alexandr Dugin offers the Carrot, however, in his tweeted response to DJT:
"We need to support Trump in spite of his nervous breakdown concerning Russia. Russia is only friend of Trump and his America. All the rest are either foes or competitors or parasites. MAGA is in critical situation. It is attacked from all sides.
Except ours."
Posted by: steel_porcupine | May 28 2025 18:53 utc | 36
Thanks for this, s_p! Well stated. Professor Dugin knows his Homer.
Posted by: juliania | May 28 2025 20:03 utc | 49
@ Republicofscotland (4)
In your listing of underperforming U.S. weapon systems, you omitted the F-35 jet which is unreliable, overly complex and ridiculously expensive. Even the USAF regards it as having limited utility.
Posted by: Rob | May 28 2025 20:07 utc | 50
Some of you have mentioned Tulsi concerning her possibly not mentioning the attack on Putin. Washington is in the middle of a highly contentious and dangerous power struggle between outsiders and the Deep State. Tulsi may not be getting any information she asks for and physically threatened if she tries too hard to reform the intel part of the Deep State which is at the heart of Deep State gangsters. She'll have to make peace with these hoodlums and see if she can establish some alliances with dissidents and patriots within the system before she can be of much influence.
Posted by: Chris Cosmos | May 28 2025 20:08 utc | 51
Posted by: Screwdriver | May 28 2025 19:50 utc | 44
The gist of westernist supremacism could be summed up as "we always know what's best for everybody else, even when they're our enemies".
No we fucking don't, duh.
Posted by: Arganthonios | May 28 2025 20:11 utc | 52
Thanks b.
Oui's related post of Ansar Allah's missile interception also highlights the overhyped THAAD systems failure.
I follow Milites line of reasoning except I am not able to decipher the 'B' word.
US Intelligence failure is to be expected since most of the workforce is either compromised or the other "allied" agencies are actively withholding information.
A reminder that S400 and other superior versions are also exposed to SEAD, no single system is perfect.
The trick is in being able to deploy multi layered coverage for a fraction of the cost of a Patriot, Aegis Ashore or THAAD equivalent.
Posted by: Suresh | May 28 2025 20:17 utc | 53
Posted by: Chris Cosmos | May 28 2025 20:08 utc | 51
I seem to remember reading a few days back that a large number of NSC staffers got fired (aka put on administrative leave) so there may be something in what you say there.
Posted by: ChatNPC | May 28 2025 20:19 utc | 54
Merz's bald head is so indecent that you hardly dare tell him to shave it.😳
Posted by: Prolo | May 28 2025 20:21 utc | 55
There are news reports saying that part of Russia's proposed "Peace Plan" for the proxy war in the Ukraine will be getting NATO countries to commit in writing that there will be no further expansion of NATO.
There is no surprise about that. The whole proxy war came about because of NATO expansion towards Russia. But what is the point of Russia having direct negotiations with Zelensky? He does not have the authority to direct NATO to cease expanding. It seems that genuine peace will require NATO and the EuroScum to sit down at a negotiating table with Russia -- and it is clear that the EuroScum do not want to end their proxy war.
The takeaway is that Russia could achieve every conceivable military victory in the Ukraine ... and still not achieve its real security objectives.
Posted by: Gavin Longmuir | May 28 2025 20:22 utc | 56
If it was that easy, then why are the other Patriot systems still operating, and intercepting Russian missiles, and how is it that Russia still allows Ukraine to have drone factories and its own military production and repair facilities, if it's that easy to destroy them all?
Posted by: Rubiconned | May 28 2025 18:36 utc | 31
EASY. There are so few remaining that they're all in Kiev and rarely does Russia target Kiev.
There's zero evidence that Patriots have intercepted ballistic missiles; mostly they've been wasted on slower cruise missiles and drones. They are reasonably effective against aircraft, as witnessed by Ukraine shooting down the cargo plane carrying POWs. As Armchair Warlord points out on X the Patriot is old and functionally obsolete and there's no replacement on the horizon. THAAD?? LMAO!
Furthermore, Ukraine's been forced to have lots of small drone factories instead of a few large ones as those large ones never survive long. Large factories attract Iskanders, small ones perhaps an occasional Geran.
Repair facilities?? Any damaged equipment that Ukraine can retrieve from the battlefield -- and that's a rarity these days -- goes to Poland for repair work.
Oh, and to address someone else's question... There's no need for Russia to bother risking pilots and planes when they have plenty of missiles & drones to do the job.
Posted by: TJandTheBear | May 28 2025 20:22 utc | 57
Posted by: canuck | May 28 2025 19:30 utc | 40
I’m sure most of her CIA brothers are far more likely to put a bullet in someone’s head than I am. So?
“In 2002, when she was 21, Gabbard dropped out of Leeward Community College, where she had been studying television production, to run for election to the Hawaii state legislature, and she became the youngest woman ever elected as a U.S. state representative.[32][33][34] In 2009, Gabbard graduated from Hawaii Pacific University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in international business.”
How exactly does someone with those credentials become the most powerful person in intelligence in the U.S. if not the world?
The last US politician who appeared out of nowhere was Obama. Do you trust his story as well?
Posted by: Deniz | May 28 2025 20:29 utc | 58
When an argument can be reduced to an essence of "everything is shit so I don't care (and you shouldn't either)" relativism and nihilism then it can be safely ignored as insincere and irrelevant manipulation (or "teenage" angst :P ).
Why would anyone with such a view ever care about what anyone else thinks? They wouldn't and don't, the only ones making such arguments are trying to demotivate, discourage, depress, manipulate, and distract from anyone ever trying to do anything contrary to their own real aims whatever that may be.
"Small evil monkeys fighting each other on a very big ball" (paraphrasing "Disco Elysium"). Sure. So what.
Posted by: Sunny Runny Burger | May 28 2025 20:31 utc | 59
Posted by: Pfeilchen | May 28 2025 17:31 utc | 18
----
IIRC, PAC-1&2 were 'explode near, shrapnel cloud' units but PAC 3 were (intended) to be kinetic kill, as in directly intercepting the incoming, I.E. Bullet hits bullet.
Seems all are on the 'random lucky shot' level of success. I have watched the ludicrous claims of "95% intercept rate" when first introduced drop to "better than 20%", without explaining what happened to 95%. All BS as any independent evaluations suggest <5% intercept. Ukraine is probably below that as the <5% was against predictable path targets with no countermeasures.
And NONE of these was ever realistically intended to deal with hypersonic stuff.
Posted by: saner | May 28 2025 20:33 utc | 60
A reminder that S400 and other superior versions are also exposed to SEAD, no single system is perfect.
The trick is in being able to deploy multi layered coverage for a fraction of the cost of a Patriot, Aegis Ashore or THAAD equivalent.
Posted by: Suresh | May 28 2025 20:17 utc | 53
SEAD is overhyped and a last refuge for desperate defenders of so-called Western Air Superiority.
The RF has a multi-layered defense of which the S400 is only one component. The West simply doesn't have the missiles to penetrate and perform SEAD missions stand-off, and there's no way any of our aircraft would survive long enough to attack "Wild Weasel" style. Stealth? LOL. The Israeli's wouldn't even take them over the border into Iran.
The whole SEAD thing doesn't hold water against Russia's premier AD.
Posted by: TJandTheBear | May 28 2025 20:34 utc | 61
How to explain this Russian move:
"Russia proposes date for next talks with Ukraine "
https://www.rt.com/russia/618276-lavrov-russia-ukraine-talks/
Posted by: vargas | May 28 2025 20:38 utc | 62
While utility and effectiveness may be a problem, think about all the profits generated by these shit weapons systems! It's the American Way.
Contracts, Subcontracts, Commissions, Cost overruns, delays, but profits* to extract all along the chain!
*not for us.
Posted by: chakakhagan | May 28 2025 20:42 utc | 63
"How to explain this Russian move:"
Unlike the NAFO puppies, the Russians can walk and chew gum at the same time, or if you prefer, negotiate and denazify at the same time.
Posted by: William Gruff | May 28 2025 20:45 utc | 64
Posted by: canuck | May 28 2025 19:30 utc | 40
Posted by: Deniz | May 28 2025 20:29 utc | 58
So you weren't at the Gabbard/Trump briefing; kinda thought so.
Posted by: canuck | May 28 2025 20:45 utc | 65
@ vargas | May 28 2025 20:38 utc | 62
to give the impression the worlds 2 leaders of russia and ukraine are playing checkers to make peace, while the players who are tipping over the board are well known to moa readers and russia of course... keeping up appearances is all it is.. the reality is much different..
Posted by: james | May 28 2025 20:45 utc | 66
Posted by: Rob | May 28 2025 20:07 utc | 50
This is a longer list, but there are probably many more.
F-22 - cancelled after short production run as too expensive with poor readiness, no updateability,
F-35 - poor readiness & performance - still hundreds of faults, numbers cut,
Osprey - crashes like there’s no tomorrow,
Zumwalt - cancelled after 3 built - guns will never work,
Littoral Combat - literally falling apart as they sail, can’t do designed job
New carriers lifts and catapults unreliable + 2x as expensive as older but near equivalents,
New Frigate - years behind schedule & only 30% common instead of 80% planned to orig. design,
Abrams tanks - too fragile, complicated, electrics short out in condensation, hard to maintain, easily blown up
Patriot missile - can hit only sitting ducks
New subs - 1 per year but 2 p/y needed,
New ICBM’s cancelled
New AF/Navy 6th gen planes too expensive, may be merged
New Ultrasonic missile cancelled
shortage of welders,
shortage of suitable recruits all services, too uneducated, too obese
shortage of shipbuilding yards - 6 US to 200 China military capable
Then there's the infrastructure problem - rail, road, sewage, electricity grid, etc
And the economic situation
And the political chaos and corruption
Etc.
Posted by: Jams O'Donnell | May 28 2025 20:47 utc | 67
"Despite the poor record of the system Ukraine is, according to the Washington Post, still eager to acquire more of them"
As Ukraine will ultimately default on its debts, and its economy and social services, including pensions and welfare, will have to be propped up by as much as European nations can be guilted and coerced into giving, their being eager for weapons regardless of their cost/benefit ratio is totally unsurprising.
Especially as every major transaction with the West has graft and grifting included with it as a sine non qua. People within Ukraine get assigned to the transfer and they remain immune to getting drafted. Salaries and costs get inflated and kickbacks result. Assets required for the deal get stolen and sold on the black market. Money gets allocated for the deal and half of it goes missing.
The closer the end draws near the more people want cash to flee with and the less concerned they become by corruption investigations and the reach of the law. More so when those investigating can be bought off as well.
Posted by: Babel-17 | May 28 2025 20:50 utc | 68
Thanks TJ, SEAD is merely a counter to AD and all militaries practice this in one form or other.
Pakistanis use of Chinese weapons successfully destroyed command and radar components of the Indian S400 system at Adampur AB.
Sure, all radiation and radar signatures would have been known to the Pakistanis, having access and joint training with Turkish and Chinese S400s.
The Indians failed to account for a military response to their blatant aggression and take appropriate precautions.
Again, we are in agreement that having a varied and multi layered defense coverage is the optimal solution and Russia, China and Iran have mastered this at an affordable level.
Posted by: Suresh | May 28 2025 20:50 utc | 69
Posted by: markw | May 28 2025 17:54 utc | 24
So I says to my self. Self would/will China & Russia relinquish the near complete control provided by a war economy?
Myself says sure... way more money to be made in peaceful trade, and they already know that a good part of the control you describe in your post is also a byproduct of a happy productive people.
Posted by: Tannenhouser | May 28 2025 20:59 utc | 70
Chris Cosmos | May 28 2025 20:08 utc | 51--
On live TV, Trump said he was never told about the 1000+ drone attacks by Ukraine over the last several days. That and other similar admissions of ignorance by Trump were noted during the chat between Danny Haiphong and Marc Sleboda I linked to yesterday, and also noted by many others. Many negative observations about Trump's inability to learn have dogged him his entire life--his aversion to reading is perhaps the most concerning since the greater volume of information sent to the Oval Office is written.
As for the inability of Patriots to hit anything besides the ground, it's a 100% proven defective product from day one and new iterations haven't shown any improvement. The fundamental problem of hitting a bullet with another bullet remains to be solved by US/Western engineers, while Russian, Chinese and Iranian engineers seem to have learned how. The secret isn't in the bullet used to hit the other bullet; the secret resides in the radar and targeting solution computers that enable the bullet to hit the other bullet. Martyanov has gone over the topic many times, and he stresses the importance of radar intercept range versus the speed of the incoming missile. To make the math easier, a missile at mach 6 travels just over 2Km/second (2.058) and if your radar doesn't see it until its 50Km out, the targeting computer has perhaps fifteen seconds to develop the solution and fire the interceptor when the incoming is only 20Km out and will arrive in ten seconds. Mind you, that's just an example. The IskanderM is said to have a terminal velocity between Mach 5-6, so a few more seconds are available to get a solution for a ballistic flight/interception path. But what if the target doesn't follow a ballistic path or is enveloped in a plasma halo that foils radar return or both? The Russians say their gear can intercept their missiles, and they've proven thousands of times now that they can hit a bullet with a bullet, although they still aren't perfect. I recall the Pantsir system videos of them intercepting Scalps, which are very easy compared to Iskanders.
Fwiw, word on the street suggests Trump skips some important briefings.
I suppose one could argue there might be a glimmer of genius, or at least utility, in that if he is aware of what was said but doesn't attend in order to have plausible deniability. That way he could appease the lunatic warmongers in Washington on one day by talking smack regarding Putin, then later as an aside confide to people that the assassination attempt against Putin during a Ukrainian drone strike, as negotiations were occurring, naturally has to be taken into account.
Bottom line, the forces of the Russian Federation continue to degrade the ability of the AFU even as they make steady and tactically important gains on the ground. And Trump is attempting nothing, absolutely nothing, meaningful to impede that.
I expect him in a few weeks or months to start casually noting here and there "Well, Ukraine has already lost the war." And then later, "Sure, Ukraine can keep fighting for months, maybe even a year, but the outcome will be the same, but a lot of lives, a lot of lives, on both sides will get lost."
Posted by: Babel-17 | May 28 2025 21:02 utc | 72
The link to the video of the Patriots going kaboom no longer exists.
Posted by: Mariátegui | May 28 2025 21:11 utc | 73
The link to the video of the Patriots going kaboom no longer exists.
Posted by: Mariátegui | May 28 2025 21:11 utc | 73
---
And yet people still think X is open, truthful and on their side. That fElon is not 'one of them'.
Not surprising as the majority are far too dumb to notice the little things like inconvenient videos and reports disappearing.
fElon and X are gatekeepers. If they were not, they would not be allowed to exist.
Posted by: saner | May 28 2025 21:32 utc | 74
markw | May 28 2025 17:54 utc | 24
*** .. there is never an end, never any lasting peace; that's merely the retail message sold to peasants.***
Seems what you've written could be outlined as :
"Those who force or con themselves into positions of control are insatiably greedy psychopaths, the perspectives and inclinations of which are so significantly different to those of most decent ordinary people that in order to keep themselves and their equally deranged corporate cronies in power and disproportionate wealth, they must constantly lie and conjure up false-flags ..."
Quite a "Straussian" mindset, consistent with the cult of neoliberalism.
Posted by: Cynic | May 28 2025 21:35 utc | 75
So the Iskander missile still hits its target, when it will "maneuver during the last phase of their flight making their interception nearly impossible." . .Awesome.
Posted by: Don Bacon | May 28 2025 21:42 utc | 76
Final comment for the day, I want to draw attention to b's article many, many moons ago now stating that the front is collapsing.
There were the usual cries of derision from the usual suspects and fleas infesting this site.
The reason the frontline collapse doesn't resemble any other in history is due to the small unit tactics being employed by the Russian Army. Yet, they manage to move forward everywhere, everyday.
Well done b, congrats on being one of the best commentator on the Ukrainian War to date and sharing your insights with us.
Posted by: Suresh | May 28 2025 21:44 utc | 77
NATO uses Ukraine as a proxy to attack Russia.
Similarly Russia should find a proxy to attack NATO and supply them weapons without restrictions.
Israel may attack Iran any day now and Russia should transfer nukes to Iran to defend itself in the event of an attack. Turkey has positioned itself close to Israel and if the latter is weakened, the former will pounce on the opportunity.
Posted by: Jason | May 28 2025 21:52 utc | 78
So basically, the patriot and other western anti air systems are trash but not trash enough that Russian air force can fly over Ucraine safely? Honest question.
The destruction of the Patriot may be the reason orange man was so upset at Putin, seems like after 5 month of loud mouthing were back where Biden left off.
Posted by: Mariátegui | May 28 2025 21:57 utc | 79
On the Trump being uninformed topic, here's what Lavrov said today:
Question: Donald Trump's notes that Vladimir Putin is playing with fire, that Russia is sending drones to Ukraine for no reason.Sergey Lavrov: This has been commented on many times in recent days. One thing is clear that Donald Trump and those who really make decisions in connection with the Ukrainian conflict in particular are not being told everything. He is given information "sifted through a sieve" prepared by those who want to draw America into more aggressive actions against Russia in support of the Ukrainian regime.
We will try to correct this situation with the lack of information. [My Emphasis]
I can see it now--daily phone briefing by Russia's SVR/MoD/MFA to Trump about events in Ukraine to ensure he's properly informed. IMO, it's a brilliant idea and ought to be made public in a very loud manner. What a substantial Info War victory it would be!!
@ Jason | May 28 2025 21:52 utc | 78
''the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must...''
that equation is in the process of changing with regard to unipolar verses multipolar reality, but for the time being it relates to your comment.. it's the reason why the equation hasn't yet completely flipped on it's head here.. the time is coming however...
Posted by: james | May 28 2025 21:59 utc | 81
@ karlof1 | May 28 2025 21:59 utc | 80
i can't imagine the CIA/ military and banking complex letting that happen.. good idea though!
Posted by: james | May 28 2025 22:01 utc | 82
Pathetic Patriots.
I remember the first Patriot in Ukraine going Kaboooom.
Tony Shaffer on Judge Nap was *ab-so-lut-ley* adamant that it never happened.
Judge had Vid, but Shaffer convinced him… don’t believe your lyin eyes, ain’t no way Russian shovels can blow up a USAUSAUSA Patriot system…..
Eat humble pie, Tony, …. Guess the remainder of your analysis is similarly myopic.
Posted by: Melaleuca | May 28 2025 22:07 utc | 83
So basically, the patriot and other western anti air systems are trash but not trash enough that Russian air force can fly over Ucraine safely? Honest question.
Posted by: Mariátegui | May 28 2025 21:57 utc | 79
As I noted previously they are useful against aircraft but Russia has no need to fly over Western Ukraine.
Posted by: TJandTheBear | May 28 2025 22:21 utc | 84
Posted by: Deniz | May 28 2025 20:29 utc | 58
RE: do you trust Tulsi's story-?
<<
Tulsi earned her bona fides when she was willing to leave her party, not just the Dems but also the DNC when it threw 2016 *away* from Bernie and *toward* Rodham.
DJT is a stallion.
Is the stallion willing to accept the bridle & the bit between its teeth-?
Propbably not.
That is not a Tulsi problem.
It is reflective of the nature of the stallion.
Tulsi has to contend w/ this nature.
After the slings & arrows she endured from her own party, I can believe she is up to the task. But DJT presents a very unique kind of raw material.
We're in uncharted territory.
Posted by: steel_porcupine | May 28 2025 22:22 utc | 85
Posted by: karlof1 | May 28 2025 21:59 utc | 80
RE: it is a very worthy thought, yes
<<
Daily phone briefings, right.
I can imagine who will pick up on the other end---perhaps Gen Kellogg-?
The willfulness of DJT's admin *not* to heed what Witkoff has no doubt reported as a result of *many* hours spend in the company of VVP, Dmitriev & others is very instructive.
Also revealing is the fact that VVP has invested @ least 4-5 hours of direct, head to head, phone conversations w/ DJT and DJT seems not to understand the Russian perspective---or seems willfully neglective of acting upon that understanding---speaks volumes additionally.
In a very fundamental way it is okay to acknowledge that DJT is the president of a country @ war w/ Russia---and therefore has no incentive whatsoever to make a Russian victory easy, though that is obviously on tap & will happen in due course.
Posted by: steel_porcupine | May 28 2025 22:32 utc | 86
Ukrainian groups complain that no Azov were part of the prisoner exchange:
https://khpg.org/en/1608814701
I hope this finds you well
Posted by: ockham | May 28 2025 22:34 utc | 87
Re Patriots are trash, but not trash enough…. Yeah. *all* weapons are dangerous.
Some Christmas’s back, my 3yo was running around with a plastic sabre from Santa, and he whacked me full force on the back of my knees.
I yelped. Fuk it hurt. Days later I had black and purple welts on my legs and it took a coupla weeks before the soreness and bruising was gone.
A 3yo
With a bit of plastic
So, yeah, Patriots are dangerous. Just not fit for purpose.
Correction: Their real purpose is MIC profits. So they succeed in spades (not shovels)
And the yanks never thought they’d actually need to rely on them… bluff, bluster and bullshit being their best weapons.
Posted by: Melaleuca | May 28 2025 22:35 utc | 88
So basically, the patriot and other western anti air systems are trash but not trash enough that Russian air force can fly over Ucraine safely? Honest question.Posted by: Mariátegui | May 28 2025 21:57 utc | 79
The summary is that Patriot Missiles work well against manned aircraft, they work kind of so/so against basic missiles, and they can shoot down drones ... but the drone is cheaper and more drones will come behind that one.
Patriot Missiles don't do squat against the sort of hypersonic glide weapons which come in very fast and almost directly straight down from above. That's why, it largely depends on how easily the Russians can get an accurate location for the launcher ... then they use a Kinzhal to destroy it. The Kinzhal comes in blind ... it has no way to see its target and it simply visits a pre-programmed coordinate. However the Patriot system is difficult to pack up and move around ... sooner or later the location becomes known.
Posted by: Tel | May 28 2025 22:35 utc | 89
Posted by: steel_porcupine | May 28 2025 22:22 utc | 85
I agree she has street creds, afterall, she appeared on Joe Rogan, my question is how can she possibly have a real resume for that position. My premise is her only path is through working within military intelligence during her stint in the military. This implies she is not what she appears to be and likely has handlers.
Posted by: Deniz | May 28 2025 22:36 utc | 90
Deniz
They all do. (Have handlers)
Every
One
Is
Compromised.
Every.
One.
Posted by: Melaleuca | May 28 2025 22:40 utc | 91
DJT will never care about the outcome of the war in Ukraine like those whose *back-sides* are in a sling, namely the Russian Forces who have suited up against the Western-supplied proxy---and the proxy itself, whose own elites don't seem to mind tossing ordinary citizens, the cannon fodder, onto the funeral pyre.
As much has any economist might salivate over a return to normal relations between two Great Powers like Russia and the U.S., such a thing cannot/will not happened until the *root causes* are addressed.
The *root causes* are beyond a figure like Gen Kellogg, because he seems unaware that the U.S. is engaged in a proxy war w/ Russia.
The more the U.S. pushes Gen Kellogg out there, with his delusions of talks mediated by the U.S. in Geneva, the more you know they are unserious about the outcome of the talks and completely indifferent to Russia's security concerns.
Posted by: steel_porcupine | May 28 2025 22:41 utc | 92
Posted by: Deniz | May 28 2025 22:36 utc | 90
RE: Tulsi's handlers
<<
If enough of Tulsi's handlers swim in the right direction, then she will achieve success. If not, there will be endless friction, perhaps w/ an impeachment waiting at the end.
Posted by: steel_porcupine | May 28 2025 22:45 utc | 93
If it was that easy, then why are the other Patriot systems still operating, and intercepting Russian missiles, and how is it that Russia still allows Ukraine to have drone factories and its own military production and repair facilities, if it's that easy to destroy them all?
Posted by: Rubiconned | May 28 2025 18:36 utc | 31
The reality is that Russia could have very easily defeated the nazis in ukraine in about three weeks but that would have prevented them from achieving their true objectives, which have absolutely nothing to do with ukraine. Like so many other concern trolls you mistakenly assume this conflict is about defeating the nazis, it is not. The true goal is the demilitarization of those funding and supporting the nazis.This is well underway but for some reason you can not see the obvious. Or perhaps you have zero understanding of what military strategy is. Any idea who was the world’s super power in 1700 or what happened to the Lion of the North at Poltava in June of 1709? History can teach us so much about the present if we let it.
Posted by: Screwdriver | May 28 2025 22:45 utc | 94
james | May 28 2025 22:01 utc | 82--
Thanks for your reply, james. It only needs to be broadcast, published and told to all the Global majority ambassadors and their governments to be effective as an Info War bomb.
I’m glad (like anyone cares) Russia is returning to Istanbul for the Ukie negotiations.
Fuck Kellogg and his “I think Geneva looks nice… or maybe The Vatican with is Home Boy pope”.
Nah. Turkiye.
The message…. These negotiators continue where they left off after Boris Johnson’s intrusion {how’d *that* work out for you?}.
Turkiye flatters Erdogan. Keeps him in the spotlight and a pivot point re the Bosphorus / Black Sea, and shenanigans around Iran.
Message to the Global South. That countries outside The Garden are important.
Reminds Ukraine that Turkiye has been trying to join the EU for decades.
And proves that Russia can work with NATO countries, just not belligerent NATO expansion.
Posted by: Melaleuca | May 28 2025 22:54 utc | 96
Tannenhouser | May 28 2025 20:59 utc | 70
way more money to be made in peaceful trade ... happy productive people.
---
For some reason I thought you were an American. If you were, you'd know the US began de-mobbing in 1946, but were so fearful of another depression that we happily jumped into Korea.
Then, after we pulled out of Viet nam, the same thing happened once more; finally, the so called 'peace dividend' (base closures + huge procurement cutbacks) after the collapse of the USSR was like a nuclear strike on the economy.
Three first hand lessons in 50 years convinced any remaining doubters that Hitler/Musolinni were absolutely correct: fascism is the recipe for economic growth.
I can foresee no situation in which Russia/China will voluntarily relenquish their military advantage, not only from an obvious security perspective, but also from the sheer capital+human investment in creating such a huge economic asset.
And let's not forget the global export markets and 'technology leakage' into the consumer/civilian markets. Nah, that's why the West is hosed - we fucked around with DEI, intentional population substitution and wildy corrupt spending - defense and otherwise - so all we have to show for $36T are cratered infastructure, homeless camps and multiple lost theaters of war.
I agree with Karlof1 that 20-30 somethings should be looking at emigration. But not for his expectation of utopian promise, rather simply common economic sense.
Its a no brainer that Russia will emerge as the USA in 1945.
Posted by: Markw | May 28 2025 22:54 utc | 97
. Any idea who was the world’s super power in 1700 or what happened to the Lion of the North at Poltava in June of 1709? History can teach us so much about the present if we let it.
Posted by: Screwdriver | May 28 2025 22:45 utc | 94
Excellent post; you ahve the strategy down.
Sweden lost at Poltava, yes, but its military leader , Charles XII, perhaps the best general of his era, was wounded the day before the battle and did not participate in the battle.
If he had, Sweden may have won.
Posted by: canuck | May 28 2025 23:06 utc | 98
To expand on Deniz’s point.
I hadn’t realised Gabbard’s CV was constituted from such thin gruel.
But really, who in The West is qualified?
Trump is JT Barnum. Zelensky was an entertainer/“pianist”.
Joliani was a headchopper terrorist.
Most of our PMs have been lawyers and or unionists. All owned and controlled.
The Chinese are attempting meritocracy. As are the Russians.
But whatever system you have, there’s people. And people engage in nepotism and favouritism and corruption…
Posted by: Melaleuca | May 28 2025 23:07 utc | 99
Posted by: Deniz | May 28 2025 20:29 utc | 58
"RE: do you trust Tulsi's story-?"
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------<<
"Tulsi earned her bona fides when she was willing to leave her party, not just the Dems but also the DNC when it threw 2016 *away* from Bernie and *toward* Rodham."
Posted by: steel_porcupine | May 28 2025 22:22 utc | 85
You got Tulsi right!
Posted by: canuck | May 28 2025 23:09 utc | 100
The comments to this entry are closed.
The forces that support Project Ukraine are powerful: they have used the war to enrich themselves & the bloc but at the expense of their actual citizens. Ukrain-ocracy permits Brussels to approve, for instance, a 150 billion euro borrowing plan ($170 billion) aimed @ funding arms production & military procurement.
-----------> Dude, that sounds like brunch to me: bottomless mimosas & avocado toast-!
Splashing bundles of cash can't solve a paucity of air defenses, however, for Kiev or other Ukrainian cities. The things money *can't* buy are the very interceptor missiles that the U.S. MIC no longer manufactures in requisite numbers for a lengthy engagement of conventional warfare like we see in Ukraine.
NATO was kitted out for a fast Shock & Awe stand-off engagement, w/ middle-of-the-night pyrotechnics decimating the enemy below.
NATO has no answers for the kind of grind to which they consigned their proxy.
Posted by: steel_porcupine | May 28 2025 17:00 utc | 1