According to OSINT, Starokostyantinov air base received a rather generous package overnight: 6-8 Kh-101, 3 Kinzhals and 12+ Genran-2 drones.
Curiously, there was a rumor of another Patriot system hit there from a few days ago. Perhaps someone in the missile forces decided to turn a good rumor into reality. Clearly, Russians found something of value.

Posted by: boneless | Jul 28 2025 5:42 utc | 103

Barrel
I have been following it quite closely.
Pokrovsk is now close Russia is in the suburbs. Myrnohrad is close. Toretsk has already fallen. Kondrativka is close as IS kupiansk. Russia seems headed for the Dnipro river.
Lyman is close but it has been close for 2 years. Kramarorsk and Sloviansk are the 2 biggies in Donetsk

Posted by: Watcher | Jul 28 2025 6:16 utc | 105

@Paranaense:= see..
Sany Dnepropetrovsk | Jul 28 2025 0:04 utc | 51
Stated: I live near the Karl Liebknecht Palace of Culture
>… Which, IMVHO, would be a very dangerous clue. Everything can be tracked and traced.
If he is who and what he claims. …..
…. An actual on ground source here would be most welcome.

Posted by: Melaleuca | Jul 28 2025 6:52 utc | 107

@Steve from Oz
Yeah, some people seem to be around just to poison the atmosphere. It’s a mistake to engage them.

Posted by: Featherless | Jul 28 2025 6:54 utc | 109

In short, Steve from oz [ Jul 28 2025 5:52 utc ] 104, Soleimani was NOT a nonstate actor, and Neither were the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Posted by: Laurence | Jul 28 2025 7:01 utc | 111

“It’s a mistake to engage them.”
Posted by: Featherless | Jul 28 2025 6:54 utc | 109
Have to engage them, instead of just letting them have the run of the place and making everyone else look weak and slack-jawed for letting them get away scot-free with their bs without any challenges.

Posted by: ThouShalt | Jul 28 2025 7:16 utc | 113

“Have at it.”
Posted by: Laurence | Jul 28 2025 7:29 utc | 114
Your posts are often incomprehensible gibberish, combined with a very combative tone. You often misinterpret what other people say, but that might be a calculated disruption technique.

Posted by: ThouShalt | Jul 28 2025 7:46 utc | 115

Sun of Alabama@42
The West under the delusion of its intrinsic superiority loosened the choke on the Rest of the World and let it grow over its head.
It is now too late to act and whatever The West can do will be too little.

Posted by: ArmChairGeneral | Jul 28 2025 7:57 utc | 117

Sometimes it may be difficult to see if a certain poster is a troll but other times, like today, it is glaringly obvious. I wish everybody would stop feeding it. Please?

Posted by: Avtonom | Jul 28 2025 8:06 utc | 119

Posted by: ThouShalt | Jul 28 2025 7:46 utc | 115
Nothing but bluster there, buster. Thou Hast not.
This guy argues something but it is nonsense:
Laurence @108, says
*Which you have misrepresented: “On the right to pre-emptive self-defense,”*
From the article — “…international law includes the right to use force where an armed attack is imminent. It”
Bibi’s excuse for Milley to whack Soleimani WITHOUT Trump’s authorization is invalid. Particularly in regard to Russia’s `SMO’. Neither Soleimani nor the UAF are “NONSTATE ACTORS”.

Posted by: Laurence | Jul 28 2025 8:13 utc | 121

Its liberation will be a major Russian triumph, and I suspect the point when the West cuts off Ukraine permanently and force it into a ceasefire/peace deal. Although they might hold out until Zaporizhzhia falls.
Posted by: Barrel Brown | Jul 28 2025 8:00 utc | 118
Very unlikely. Bombing Russia is simply too easy, too cheap and too safe to stop it. That is not really a problem for anyone else either, including Brics. India loves the smo, they make more money than ever. Nato did not lie when they said something like “it’s to secure a better negotiation position”. Every day attacking any target they please with no consequences, killing some civilians and a (small) number of well trained soldiers is something they won’t stop doing if nothing changes, at least not until next elections in Russia. The first thing which will make Nato think twice is the buffer zone, which still does not exist. With no basic buffer there can’t be any change compared to 2014, they will get Gaza-ed on a larger scale than before orworse if they use all three NBC options. Who is Russia going to hit back if they let NBC happen? At best some low level proxy like Poland and that will make it even better for Nato. Xi made the same error at the start of smo when he pissed his pants and did not solve the Taiwan problem, now he can’t solve it anymore at all, he can only accept deals for delays

Posted by: rk | Jul 28 2025 8:30 utc | 123

“…international law includes the right to use force where an armed attack is imminent. It
is clear that the language of Article 51 was not intended to create a new right of self-defence.

What need of a “Bethlehem Doctrine” then? ZioNazi fanbois need an excuse to murder anyone any where at will — as they are doing in Gaza right now.

Posted by: Laurence | Jul 28 2025 8:53 utc | 125

Footnote
“Milley was the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 30 September 2019, to 30 September 2023.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Milley

Senate Judiciary Committee chair Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) said that he had “no concerns that Milley might have exceeded his authority” and that Democratic lawmakers “were circumspect in our language but many of us made it clear that we were counting on him to avoid the disaster which we knew could happen at any moment”.[113] Biden later said he had “great confidence” in Milley.[140] Senator Angus King said that Milley had “rendered the country a significant service”, and U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services chair Jack Reed told reporters that “de-escalating international tensions was part of Milley’s job”.[141] Former United Nations ambassador and Trump national security advisor John Bolton defended Milley as a “staunch supporter of the Constitution and the rule of law”.

Posted by: Laurence | Jul 28 2025 9:03 utc | 127

Apologies
Klitschko is Mayor of Kiev, not Kharkov so my idea at 126 is even more vague.
Of course he might still be president of a nation that includes Kiev and everything to its east ans south

Posted by: watcher | Jul 28 2025 10:10 utc | 129

Milites @56: “Whereas the ‘West is doomed, whilst China is ascendant, line and similar propaganda is officially being pushed by whom? I wonder.”
By China? Where can I get on that gravy train!?!
With less jocularity, that “propaganda” is being pushed by the force of history itself.
It doesn’t take deep perceptive powers to see the West is in steep decline. That’s why the reigning political meme in the West is MAGA, Make America Great AGAIN, `cuz even Joe the Plumber can tell it isn’t anymore. If i was greater in the past than it is now, then it is in decline (denial of this reality is, in fact, part and parcel of Apollo Moon landing denialism… “Since we didn’t really go to the Moon, we’re actually still getting better!”).
Meanwhile, the ascent of China is also undeniable. In your lifetime they went from famines to super-fast trains and chubby children who don’t know what missing a meal feels like. They moved from shitty impoverished villages to exciting and ultramodern shining cities on hills that put the best in the West to shame, and they did so without losing their “souls”. Now they are wealthy enough they are even de-shitty-fying their villages to make then attractive homes for urban excitement refugees and return-to-nature crowds (those “crowds” are still small, but this is China and their crowds tend to grow).
America: Poverty on the rise. Population sinking to despair and seeking refuge in fentanyl.
China: Hoisted hundreds of millions out of poverty.
So you see, the “West is decaying into shit, China becoming the beacon of humanity” meme doesn’t really need any paid propaganda pushers. It is self-evident to any who can see beyond their cultural chauvinism blinders.
That said, if you happen to know of any Chinese “NGOs” like NED or USAID shelling out cash for people to be online shills for their “side” like we see here in MoA comments representing the Imperial Establishment’s narratives, I’d appreciate the tip.

Posted by: William Gruff | Jul 28 2025 10:42 utc | 131

Breakthrough in the DPR: the “brave” liberated the settlements of Boykovka and Belgianka
▪️Units of the Center group of forces, as a result of active operations, successfully liberated the settlements of Boykovka and Belgianka in the Donetsk People’s Republic.
https://t.me/RVvoenkor/96692

Posted by: guest | Jul 28 2025 11:08 utc | 133

@ James M., §132:
What problems would a permanently landlocked Chornarus (rump Ukraine) bring?
What problems do a permanently landlocked Belarus bring?
Odessa must be Russian – or it will be a NATO wasps´ nest.

Posted by: John Marks | Jul 28 2025 11:39 utc | 135

Trump saying the 50 day deadline is being reduced. This will be funny.

Posted by: Night Tripper | Jul 28 2025 12:13 utc | 137

Posted by: watcher | Jul 28 2025 8:55 utc | 126
There was some uprising in mid-April 2014 in Karkov, as in Slaviansk-Kramatorsk or Mariupol … then the “far right” battalions were deployed. Kraken in Karkov , Azov in Mariupol and a hodgepodge of Kiev and Dniepro bataillions with SBU (alpha & omega), GUR and foreign mercenaries (academie) in Slaviansk-Kramatorsk but also in Artiomovsk (Bakhmut), Sumy , Lyman , Siversk etc…
Most of these events were not related in the western press at the time but the Maïdan coup didn’t start so “peacefully” in the Donbass and a fierce repression then happened … with A LOT of civilians and militiamen casualties.
Common burials are found one by one by the RUAF now, the most well known are the Mariupol’s ones but there are many more still to be “re-discovered”. Most pre-dates the infamous “ATO”.
War is dirty business … people have no idea to what extend.

Posted by: Savonarole | Jul 28 2025 12:49 utc | 139

Posted by: Milites | Jul 28 2025 0:11 utc | 53
Milites – I’m still ploughing through the comments. Lot there to digest. But the first thing I did was to check that my own comment correcting an error was there, so I saw your comment at once.
Thought it was a magnificent summary and gave a more balanced version of the truth. Yes, “the Few” were not Eton Oxford Guards types in general. Don’t know that any of them were. In times past I used to get any amount of “facets of the truth” about WWII when the participants were still alive: many of my relatives and connections served in that scrap, interestingly, both sides! I don’t know enough from all that anecdotal evidence to be able to give an authoritative summary myself; but have picked up enough to know that much of what was written about those times fails to give a true or even approximately true picture.
Sometimes, dangerously so. Martyanov’s always annoyed that the myths current in the West about the Eastern Front in WWII fail to square with what was actually happening there. In that Patrick Armstrong blog I see that Armstrong makes the same point. That’s truly dangerous because we take those long accepted myths and apply them unthinkingly to the current conflict in Ukraine. Or at least our politicians and journalists do and most of the rest of us fall in with them.
Which is why we lost. We assumed that in fighting Russia we were taking on a gas station with nukes, terminally vulnerable to our sanctions and with a military whose only notion of fighting a war was to shovel hordes of ill-equipped and poorly trained troops up against the guns. Now we’ve found different.
Thanks again for your comment.

Posted by: English Outsider | Jul 28 2025 12:58 utc | 141

As expected…
Trump’s 50-day deadline is history…the clown has, as always, changed his mind again, or perhaps forgotten.
One of the dumbest heads of state in the world…apparently, he can’t get the cities in Europe lit up fast enough…
By the way, our US barracks here have been almost completely deserted for about two weeks.

Posted by: Beobachter II | Jul 28 2025 13:30 utc | 143

@Beobachter II | Jul 28 2025 13:30 utc | 143
He shortened the deadline, because he is „frustrated“ and „doesn‘t see any progres“.
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/trump-sets-10-12-day-deadline-russia-war-with-ukraine-2025-07-28/

Posted by: NoName | Jul 28 2025 14:04 utc | 145

Trump can be as frustrated as he likes but he can effectively only lash out at EU and UK – so he will.
All the negotiation just celebrated with the EU will be for naught if he expects EU not to import oil from Russia. It may be hard to explain to your German pensioner and the industry that oil and gas will be 3 times as expensive next winter. A 100% tariff paid by Americans might even be easier to explain.
All countries are sensitive to prices at the pump so any US pretense that they will supply their allies instead is laughable. USA has not even refilled their strategic reserves yet.
Germany is now reliant on Quatar which is also one bad US/Israeli decision away from being blocked.
Teapots in India and ship-to-ship transfers can’t save the EU economy.

Posted by: SOS | Jul 28 2025 14:20 utc | 147

Trump truly is all over the map with his decrees.
It seems to me that if the global community (?) is going to disallow some countries from gaining the protection of nuclear weapons,
then they owe that country protection from other nuclear powers.
Macron could make something of himself yet, if he would actually have France intervene in the genocide in Gaza.

Posted by: jared | Jul 28 2025 14:27 utc | 149

Всем доброго времени, господин Melaleuca (107) Я настоящий если у Вас сомнения это Ваше право ,Savonarole (139) Вы все четко описали, в Мариуполе Билецкий штурмовал , в Харьков приезжал пидор Линдси Грем с Порошенко они там выступали перед воееными (пидор сектор, азов)у меня в городе пока тихо, всем добра!

Posted by: Sany Dnepropetrovsk | Jul 28 2025 14:44 utc | 151

That said, if you happen to know of any Chinese “NGOs” like NED or USAID shelling out cash for people to be online shills for their “side” like we see here in MoA comments representing the Imperial Establishment’s narratives, I’d appreciate the tip.
Posted by: William Gruff | Jul 28 2025 10:42 utc | 131
I think most here would agree Trump wants to focus east to deal with China economically and not west against Russia (Ukraine) militarily. Collective Biden, by appearances was the opposite.
There are/were a number of Chinese cultural organizations active in the US, e.g., Confucius Institute. Like many countries (Japanese, Saudis, Ukraine, etc.), China wants to have influence in the US. Part of that is by being viewed positively by US institutions and people.
Personally, I met a Chinese professor (taught in US; taught in China) who wanted to know if I was interested in consulting in China. I worked in a heavily regulated industry. I asked at work; hard no to that.

Posted by: Mark O | Jul 28 2025 15:51 utc | 153

Posted by: Mark O | Jul 28 2025 15:51 utc | 153
If you don’t think China has got a massive online discourse manipulation campaign you might be part of it. You don’t get any money though as they make use of the millions of Chinese nationals who are studying or working, as an unpaid army of influencers. They also make sure pro-China stories are ranked highly by the various search engine algorithms and of course have the great fire-wall of China to reduce info leakage or importation from unvetted sources.
Every country does it, and the methods are vastly larger than simply posting on forums like this, ranging from amplification campaigns to video games, to hijacking accounts and bots pushing hashtags.

Posted by: Milites | Jul 28 2025 16:38 utc | 155

Posted by: Viking Teo | Jul 28 2025 16:17 utc | 154
Question: what weaponry can the E.U., via the US, provide that will allow the Ukrainians to gain and hold the operational initiative?

Posted by: Milites | Jul 28 2025 16:55 utc | 157

Posted by: Sany Dnepropetrovsk | Jul 28 2025 14:44 utc | 151
> меня в городе пока тихо, всем добра!
Држ се добро, смрт фашизму!

Posted by: hopehely | Jul 28 2025 17:10 utc | 159

Milites @155:
My goodness! You have it completely bass ackwards. Who in the West uses Baidu search? All western search engines boost western jingoism over Chinese truth. Even the autocorrect on my cellphone suggests negative terms to follow “China” with.
As for Chinese students studying in the West, has it not occurred to you they are telling the truth? These international students are some of the most pro-western Chinese people there are which is why they chose to study abroad, so if they are trying to correct western misconceptions about China then you know those narratives they are fighting against are particularly bogus.
And you must really have shit for brains if you honestly think China is somehow successfully hiding the bad when anyone can buy a plane ticket to anywhere in China and see the truth firsthand. You cannot seriously believe that retarded claim you made.
The US State Department spends $billions on anti-China propaganda. A portion of that goes to social media “influencers”. You know that’s a fact, and you also know it’s a fact that China does nothing at all comparable, so you’re being dishonest; a liar. Worse, you’re being a foul racist by suggesting that Chinese international students willingly lie gratis where they would get paid for the dishonesty if they were working for the West. It takes money to make you lie, but the Chinese do it for free, right? Racist!
No, you’ve chosen to side with the bad guys, while the Chinese are the good guys. The press of reality about that alignment will only increase as China’s ascent continues and your team circles history’s drain in ever tighter spirals.

Posted by: William Gruff | Jul 28 2025 17:42 utc | 161

The Chinese whose kids go to the West are often treated with contempt when they go back to China.
Not making it in China cannot be “fixed” by going to Harvard.
If anything, an Ivy League education will be a Scarlet Letter.
Unlike America, where money and influence rule, China is quite meritocratic.
Hence why they are so successful with entrepreneurship. Losers don’t get bailouts.
You’re either good enough or you’re not.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Jul 28 2025 20:43 utc | 163

no marat for 27th, but 28th yes
https://maratkhairullin.substack.com/p/brief-frontline-report-july-28th
28th very nice day 1.340 casualties
Plenty of details
https://tass.com/politics/1995085
some small answers to
———————
Posted by: James M. | Jul 28 2025 6:40 utc | 106
Donetsk will probably take precedence. Kharkov is mostly a feint or a way to spread Ukrainian forces further.
Posted by: Barrel Brown | Jul 28 2025 8:00 utc | 118
Precedence maybe, but the 37E line looks like a serious endeavor
———————–
On the actual matter I’m wondering why 12 days? 25 would make sense, unless he knows more than the posters here, perish the thought.
Posted by: Milites | Jul 28 2025 17:32 utc | 160
With recent increased pressure, AFU would need 180.000 men on LOC, start august, mustering 160.000 would be difficult.
As discussed elsewhere porous lines breed big arrows
(acording to the retard’s model to the SMO, mine)

Posted by: Newbie | Jul 28 2025 23:43 utc | 165

SE: Andrey Telizhenko – Former Adviser to Ukraine’s Prosecutor-General
https://www.rt.com/shows/sanchez-effect/622058-andrey-telizhenko-zelensky-prediction/
“Zelensky will be thrown out by the end of the year.”

Posted by: JohnGilberts | Jul 29 2025 2:50 utc | 167

If half the comments are going to be Cyrillic, I’m not going to be spending much time here. I think it’s rude not to offer a translation on an English website.
Posted by: FrankDrakman | Jul 28 2025 14:30 utc | 150
*************
Dear Frank,
“Half” is quite the exaggeration… Entitlement??
It took me 8 seconds to copy and paste Sany Dnepropetrovsk | Jul 28 2025 14:44 utc | into google translate and have the translation ready to read.
Maybe Sany could be justified in thinking it rude to reply to his post in English?

Posted by: General Factotum | Jul 29 2025 3:00 utc | 169

I meant trunp card. Stupid autocorrect!

Posted by: Paranaense | Jul 29 2025 4:18 utc | 171

Re: Posted by: John Marks | Jul 27 2025 14:01 utc | 2

After Pokrovsk, which is the next town that the UKies will claim is “strategically unimportant”?
Dnepropetrovsk?

At the pace of the last 12 months the Russians will be approaching Dnepropetrovsk in around 2050 – give or take.

Posted by: Julian | Jul 29 2025 8:55 utc | 173

@Barrel Brown | Tue, 29 Jul 2025 04:41:00 GMT | 172

Last time I looked Belarus was a landlocked country on Russia’s border.
I do not think it is/was a failed state.
As pointed out by other here, being landlocked with no direct access to the sea does not prevent a country from developing and thriving. Is Switzerland a failed state?

There are 44 landlocked states. Outside of Switzerland, which never had access to a sea, hasn’t been in a war in over two hundred years, and insulated from most economic and social pressure over that tine, and the states of the former Austria-Hungarian empire, (mentioned in my previous post), which were helped immeasurably by aid from their respective sides during the Cold War, and European integration afterwards, very few of the others are bustling hubs of industry.
You mentioned Belarus, which is completely dependent on Russia for its own survival – economically, militarily, and politically, and has much internal strife. The other states are in Central Asia, Afghanistan, Central and Southern Africa (the coup belt), Zimbabwe, the Congo, Mali, Uganda, Rwanda, etc. Bolivia (which has experienced how many leadership changes recently), Paraguay, Laos, Mongolia, and microstates in Europe, who outsource their security to bigger states.
What I mean by failed state, is a state that cannot keep itself secure, is not politically stable, and is economically unsound. Ukraine right now, on one failed state index is the 22nd most unstable state in the world. Without Odessa and a coast, it will be much worse for them.
Not all failed states are landlocked true, and not all landlocked states are failed states. But Ukraine, coming out of the war, and losing its coastline, its major port, will have trouble adjusting from export-based (grain, rare earths, whatever) to an import-based (development loans?) economy. Where will they ship their grain to? Overland trade costs more than ocean-going trade. Are they going to pay Russia to use the port?
It will be problematic to say the least, even for Russia. Bottom line is: landlocked states have it harder. But perhaps I am overstating things, and this is what Russia wants, or they don’t care. Or it won’t come to pass. But regardless of the consequences of Ukraine as landlocked, I still don’t think Russia wants or will take Odessa. I haven’t heard anything out of Putin’s mouth about taking Odessa. And until he says something and makes it policy, it is all just speculation.

Posted by: James M. | Jul 29 2025 9:29 utc | 175

The French defense industry has been subjected to a serious cyberattack, the main target of which was the Naval Group, France’s leading shipbuilding company. The attack also indirectly affected the THALES, Dassault and Safran systems, which are leading in the world’s navigation. According to initial reports, more than 13 GB of internal data has already been released to the public. The total amount of data exceeds 1 TB. The leaked files reportedly include:
1. The complete source code for the Battle Management Systems (CMS) used on French frigates and nuclear submarines.
2. Software for weapons systems.
3. Modeling environments.
4. Internal email, user manuals, and web documentation.
5. Prohibited content related to aircraft, including Rafale-M.
The hacker, using the pseudonym Neferpitou, gave Naval Group 72 hours to respond.
As no agreement was reached, the entire dataset was posted online, suggesting that the motive may not have been financial, but rather ideological or political.
Naval Group has issued a brief statement saying it is investigating the incident, and experts have already begun verifying the authenticity of the materials, many of which appear to be genuine.

Posted by: Realenti | Jul 29 2025 9:59 utc | 177

Posted by: James M. | Jul 29 2025 9:29 utc | 175
James you seem to be quite insistent that Ukraine retain Odessa n order to be a viable state entity after the SMO and full annexation of the Donbass to the RF. I don’t think anyone can speculate on just what will constitute Ukraine in the future.
Even if Ukraine survives in some form or other the potential loss of Odessa to the RF would not necessarily be a disaster. Very inconvenient certainly, but I cannot see any reason why the RF would prevent trade to and from Ukraine through the port There may be some charges involved, but some in the RF would view those as valid war reparations.
I intended replying further to your well-considered post, but was becoming long-winded and increasingly going off the track. Perhaps some other time when I am more together and less tired

Posted by: Barrel Brown | Jul 29 2025 13:23 utc | 179

Apologies for quoting myself:

In past Western regime-change operations a name would repeatedly crop up in the ‘serious’ Western media first, then be picked up and amplified by the ‘popular’ Western MSM

Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Jul 27 2025 21:22 utc | 35
…but what have we got here? Well, well, well, if it isn’t Mr. Zaluzhny himself popping up in a Vogue photo-shoot, complete with suitably mean and moodily atmospheric black-and-white photography: https://en.topwar.ru/268861-burzhua-i-dver-v-modnom-zhurnale-vogue-pojavilas-statja-generala-zaluzhnogo-gde-on-predstal-v-novom-obraze.html

“The Bourgeois and the Door”: The fashion magazine Vogue published an article by General Zaluzhny, where he appeared in a new image
The fashion magazine Vogue published an article by the Ukrainian Ambassador to Great Britain, General Valeriy Zaluzhny, where he appeared in a new, unexpected image. In it, he tells his childhood memories, episodes from his biography, and also discusses the future of his country and the conclusions that Ukrainians have drawn from the experience of the armed conflict.
He argues that everyone is responsible for their own future.
The former commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’s thoughts are accompanied by his stylish photographs, one of which depicts him as a “bourgeois and a door.” In it, he stands in a formal suit and patent leather shoes, thoughtfully and relaxed, leaning his back against the door.
In his article, he mentions that he is a native of the Zhitomir region in Western Ukraine, and therefore has spoken exclusively Ukrainian since childhood.
In my grandfather’s modest house, where I spent my childhood, I don’t remember a single Russian book, except for my mother’s textbooks on Russian literature.
– the general notes, adding that these books later turned out to be very useful for him.
He also said that when his relatives lived in a Russian-speaking city, they felt like foreigners there.
Some experts believe that this publication is the first step of Zaluzhny’s election campaign, where they want to present him as someone who is capable of saving his country. Ukrainian and Western propagandists want to create an elegant and patriotic image for him. This means that Zelensky now has another serious reason to worry.

So, at least one faction in the West is placing their bets. One slight technicality though, he’s never been elected as a Verkhovna Rada deputy, so it remains to be seen what contrivance is devised to place him in position.
I’ve forgotten, what do we call it when a senior military officer replaces a (however out-of-date) elected civilian president? “Democracy” doesn’t seem quite the correct terminology…

Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Jul 29 2025 16:06 utc | 181

The General w/o Lipstick

Zaluzhny on eve of his expected firing by Zelensky shows his backing from far-right, which has power to overthrow Zelensky. Zaluzhny takes selfie with leader of far-right Right Sector & commander of Right Sector brigade of Ukrainian military in front of portrait of Nazi collaborator & far-right OUN leader Bandera & red & black flag of OUN-UPA & Right Sector.

Rump state of West-Ukraine … of course 😊
Zhytomyr Oblast and the Holocaust

Posted by: Oui | Jul 29 2025 16:25 utc | 183

Thinking about this rationally and seriously, it doesn’t matter who is leading Ukraine.
There is never going to be a formal peace settlement. That is all talk like Trump’s 24 hours bit.
I laid out last year how Trump would not be able to reach a peace. I had no idea what his thoughts wer,e but he wasn’t in a position to negotiate with Russia. That wass obvious.
It is also obvious that the Nazi powers in Germany, France, and the UK will never let this go. Their governments are collapsing, and the only thing they can use to cling to power is a war. A forever war.
In most Western nations, the leader is a spokesperson, not a decision maker. Zelensky isn’t coming up with complex strategies or innovative ideas. He is being directed by London, exactly as Zaluzhny will be.
Russia must continue rolling over the entire country and destroying NATO arms.
I suspect that there is a hardcore faction in Russia that sees this as I do.
As they continue grinding it out, they are bleeding NATO and America. That is good, but there will never be peace with Western Ukrainians or the Baltic states. It’s obvious if one can step back from the daily headlines and mentally retarded map reports.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Jul 29 2025 16:57 utc | 185

I’ve forgotten, what do we call it when a senior military officer replaces a (however out-of-date) elected civilian president? “Democracy” doesn’t seem quite the correct terminology…
Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Jul 29 2025 16:06 utc | 181

IDK the rules in Ukraine but in most countries, I think, it’s not uncommon that political leaders don’t have to be elected members of the national assembly (parliament). The assembly has to elect them, of course, but not necessarily from their own ranks.
By the way, that Vogue piece … I almost couldn’t believe it. Thanks a lot. I think I need a drink.
So he is on his way in now. A fullblown Nazi. Zelensky, after all, does what he is told. Zaluzhny will tighten the screws everywhere.
But in a funny (?) way, the situation will be clearer and just perhaps, more people will see what’s really going on.

Posted by: Avtonom | Jul 29 2025 17:57 utc | 187

@187
It is called Diem’ed.
In Fall 1963 U$$A discovered Diem too unpopular and corrupt, so okayed his assassination and rolled through a bunch of puppets.
No change to unpopularity of Saigon corruption

Posted by: paddy | Jul 29 2025 18:04 utc | 189

heres the russian intelligence

Posted by: Justpassinby | Jul 29 2025 16:22 utc | 182
Hadn’t seen that, nice find.
It‘s getting more and more blatant, almost as if the narratives about “Western values” or “democracy and freedom” have become life-expired, run out of usefulness.
~~~

Thanks a lot. I think I need a drink.

Posted by: Avtonom | Jul 29 2025 17:57 utc | 187
Yeah, sorry about that; have one on my bar tab.

Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Jul 29 2025 19:36 utc | 191

‘It’s Not For You Or Trump To Dictate’ Russia-Ukraine Negotiation Terms – Medvedev To Graham
https://www.rt.com/russia/622140-medvedev-graham-ukraine-negotiations/
“…Medvedev, who serves as deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, had cautioned Trump against issuing ultimatums. ‘Russia isn’t Israel or even Iran,’ he wrote on X, warning that each threat makes ‘a step towards war’ between the US and Russia.
Graham, a senior Republican and longtime war hawk, responded by claiming that Russia and its ‘customers’ would ‘soon be sadly mistaken’ and ordered Moscow to ‘get to the peace table.’
Medvedev hit back on Tuesday stating, ‘It’s not for you or Trump to dictate when to ‘get at the peace table,’ and added that negotiations would only end ‘when all the objectives of our military operation have been achieved.’
‘Work on America first, gramps!’ Medvedev wrote…”
Ukrainian Army to Recruit Pensioners
https://www.rt.com/news/622160-ukraine-army-recruit-pensioners/
“Ukraine will start enlisting men over 60 for contract based military service, according to a new law signed by Vladimir Zelensky on Tuesday. The measure appears aimed at addressing recruitment shortfalls in the country’s armed forces…”

Posted by: JohnGilberts | Jul 29 2025 20:24 utc | 193

Whoops: https://sputnikglobe.com/20250729/russia-takes-note-of-trumps-1012-day-ultimatum-on-ukraine-peace-deal-1122508339.html
…

Posted by: Laurence | Jul 29 2025 22:29 utc | 195

Canada Reaffirms Support For Ukraine Amid New Russian Attacks
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/canada-reaffirms-support-for-ukraine-amid-new-russian-attacks/3645807#
“The statement said ‘The prime minister affirmed Canada’s strong financial, military and humanitarian support for Ukraine – involving a recent major sanctions package targeting Russia’s shadow fleet and energy resources, $2 billion in new military support, and the disbursement of a $2.3 billion loan in funding to help rebuild Ukraine’s infrastructure and public systems.
For his part, Zelensky wrote on X that he expressed thanks for Canada’s support during the phone call, noting he and Carney discussed Ukraine’s current needs, including bolstering the country’s air defences and increased funding for joint drone products as well as sanctions against Russia among other issues.”
Good thing for Carney most Canucklheads aren’t paying attention to this costly gruesome grift on behalf of a dangerous and failing NATO-Nazi proxy war against Russia. Stop it now!
mark.carney@parl.gc.ca

Posted by: JohnGilberts | Jul 29 2025 23:23 utc | 197

@Barrel Brown | Tue, 29 Jul 2025 13:23:00 GMT | 179

James you seem to be quite insistent that Ukraine retain Odessa n order to be a viable state entity after the SMO and full annexation of the Donbass to the RF.

I’m not “insistent” on them keeping Odessa, I just think it’s more complicated then simply sending in Russian troops, and viola Odessa is Russian. It’s quite possibly the hill Ukraine and NATO will die on.
Also, there are legal complications. All the other former Ukrainian oblasts that are now Russian – Crimea, Donetsk, Kherson, etc. held referendums to join, and the Donbas was legally recognized before being annexed. There is no such legal mechanism for Odessa, and Putin, I am reliably informed, holds a Phd in law and is very legalistic in his approach to foreign policy.
There are other issues as well, but I don’t have time to delineate them all. But just remember at the start of the SMO Russian demands were very simple – No Ukraine in NATO, Ukrainian recognition of Crimea as Russian, and no long-range weapons pointed at Russia. They had that deal in principle in 2022 before Boris the Fat. Russia only added the four oblasts later as the war progressed. They haven’t added more territorial demands as of yet. Kharkov and Sumy are designed as cordon sanitaires since Ukraine kept invading from those points.
But nothing about Odessa, so I don’t know why you and others are so insistent on Russia taking it. Would you perceive the SMO a strategic failure if Russia doesn’t take it? One could question your own motivation in that reasoning. I know that NAFO trolls would say so. I wouldn’t though.
I believe for Russia to “win” strategically, it needs the four oblasts that are now Russian, a guarantee that Ukraine will not join NATO, and no long-range weapons stationed on Ukrainian soil and used against Russia. That’s it. Those are manageable, doable goals, and leaves Ukraine with at least something – sovereignty, dignity, etc. that they can walk away with.
Taking Odessa really complicates issues. You might have to take Kiev as well, insurgency could rise up in western Ukraine, failed state, economic upheaval, more aggressive NATO posture, etc. are just some of the things that could happen if Russia takes Odessa. Or not, I could be wrong. But let’s wait and see after Russia liberates the four oblasts first.

Posted by: James M. | Jul 29 2025 23:41 utc | 199