News & views related to the war in Ukraine …
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February 25, 2026
Ukraine Open Thread 2026-047
Comments
Posted by: GM | Feb 26 2026 15:49 utc | 101
So Butthurt about Putin! Mad He doesnt follow your Cunning Plan? 🙄
Posted by: Nobody | Feb 26 2026 15:56 utc | 101
……………….if i ruled the world………………i can’t think of a better synthesis or analogy..
Posted by: james | Feb 26 2026 16:01 utc | 102
Re: Posted by: Nobody | Feb 26 2026 15:56 utc | 104
So Butthurt about Putin! Mad He doesnt follow your Cunning Plan?
That’s great, what is Putin’s “Cunning Plan”? Because it seems it doesn’t involve actually defeating Ukraine – Putin is looking for a deal and a freeze to the frontlines without even a land-bridge to Transdnistria!
Forget about Hungary or Slovakia – bridges way way too far apparently.
So no land-bridge to Hungary or Slovakia and those countries are left to hang out to dry.
Maybe Scott is finally waking up to this.
Scott Ritter : The Kremlin’s View of Trump’s Foreign Policy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifp-IIzYlDA
Posted by: Julian | Feb 26 2026 16:02 utc | 103
Ritter is worst than Helmer…Stopped listening to Him some Time ago! 🙄
Posted by: Nobody | Feb 26 2026 16:06 utc | 104
And Helmer said that Putin clearly had to Mediate different Powerfull Factions. And that Dimitriev with his 10 Billion $ Invesment Fund is a very small Fish in a Very Large Pond! So he is probably a Distraction on a Lure to Test the Waters….
Posted by: Nobody | Feb 26 2026 16:10 utc | 105
@ GM
> We don’t know what happens in those cities in the Urals that nobody is allowed to go to. Maybe they are cooking something.
I frigging hope so.
> But even if they were, there was still no need for Putin to humiliate the country the way he has.
The Ferris wheel … yes, sounds aloof.
I hope it’s an act. It’s created the appearance “Putin would never do [X]” until he does.
My biggest disappointment is China not putting boots on the ground and switching nations over from western platforms (social media, payment services) to cheaper Chinese equivalents. Instead, we see China build infrastructure and the West hijack or ruin it. (Like Merkel telling Putin “don’t worry about USA sanctions, please complete NS2 for us” and then poof.)
Posted by: switched devices and cannot remember | Feb 26 2026 16:18 utc | 106
…”boots on the ground” in the nations that supply it, selectively, to protect not just their supply chain but also protect each willing nation from historically rapacious conquerors up north.
Posted by: switched devices and cannot remember | Feb 26 2026 16:24 utc | 107
Due to airstrikes and Drone strikes, large agricultural areas will no longer be profitable in 2026
A long article, some extracts:
~~~
But there is another aspect that we will focus on in this article. This aspect is air attacks on settlements located not on the line of combat collision, but several or even several tens of kilometers away from it. These attacks were so systematic and constant that they led to serious demographic and, let’s not be afraid of the word, economic consequences for these regions and Ukraine as a whole.
~~~
If you take a map of the Zaporozhye region before the administrative and territorial reform of 2020, we will see that the village of Ternovatoe, which is “famous” for its history with the Russian flag, is almost the southernmost part of the Novonikolaevsky district of the Zaporozhye region. That is, almost the entire area is located to the north of the village.
~~~
And it is such that this area, as well as the neighboring districts of Zaporozhye, Dnepropetrovsk regions, as well as the right bank of the Kherson region, remained one of the most active in the agrarian sense of the territories of the Ukrainian south.
Which already lost a lot of territories-the south of Zaporozhye, the left bank of Kherson regions (and this in both cases is significantly more than half of the territories of these regions), which could not but affect the volume of wheat and sunflower harvests, as the main crops in this region and Ukraine as a whole. But the parts of the semi-occupied Ukrainian regions mentioned in the previous paragraph continued to live as active as possible, and in the agro-economic sense, too.
The current autumn-winter season has seriously changed the situation in this region. Russian airstrikes, the approach of the front, and, therefore, first of all, the “kilzones”, where drones are constantly hanging in the air – drove people out of these territories. In the area from Gulyai-Pole to Novonikolaevka, there are practically no people left. Villages, if not bombed out, then stand in wastelands. People either left on their own or were taken out by volunteers.
~~~
And the problem isn’t just that people had to leave. This is just understandable and logical – it is simply impossible to live in that region, if only because there is no light there (repairmen can no longer go there, because this is a real risk of getting an explosion from a Russian drone).
A much bigger problem – at least from an economic point of view-is that these lands will remain uncultivated in 2026. For the same reason – no employee, employee or even land owner, will want to go to kilzona, because they simply won’t come back. Slow-moving agricultural machinery is an ideal target for Russian drone operators
~~~
[…] huge steppe territories that are formally under the control of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, at least definitely not under the control of enemy forces, will not yield crops.
This will affect the overall situation in the agricultural sector. Therefore, we should already prepare for an increase in prices for wheat (and all derivatives, flour, bakery products, etc.) and sunflower oil. The only option that can save the situation is to stop the hot phase of the war and stop Drone attacks, that is, the disappearance of this constant threat from drones. If this happens, then farmers will return to the east of the Dnipropetrovsk region, the north of Zaporozhye and the right bank of the Kherson region (where such a problem began to crystallize earlier, in the previous year of the war).
Otherwise, these lands will be overgrown with weeds and will not bring any profits to their owners and taxes – to the state budget. With all the relevant consequences. And this, unfortunately, is another blow of the Russian occupiers to Ukraine, to our economic viability.
https://regionews.ua/ukr/articles/1772021597-nova-taktika-kremlya-rosiya-rozshiryue-kilzonu-i-znishchue-agrarniy-pivden (via translation add-on.)
Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Feb 26 2026 16:28 utc | 108
Posted by: Maverick | Feb 26 2026 15:39 utc | 98
######
Putin doesn’t have to be a genius. He simply needs to be better than the Pedophiles. He has been demonstrating that for several years now.
Plus, he’s not alone. He has China, the DPRK, and Iran with him.
America has the UK, France, and Poland? 😂😂😂
You say you want an end to the Empire of Lies. You’re in luck. It is entering into a terminal phase.
Shadowbanned and Julian never talk about how ineffective and weak NATO is. They prefer to talk about Putin and Russia than the failings of the West.
And they will both disappear in a couple of years as Russia will survive, but NATO will not.
Posted by: LoveDonbass | Feb 26 2026 16:32 utc | 109
Ritter hasn’t offered good analysis since the FBI raided him.
I’m sure that is a coincidence 😏😏😏
I don’t know that Helmer has offered good analysis ever.
Posted by: LoveDonbass | Feb 26 2026 16:36 utc | 110
Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Feb 26 2026 16:28 utc | 111
#######
The money is not real, but soon the absence of flour and butter will be.
Posted by: LoveDonbass | Feb 26 2026 16:38 utc | 111
Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Feb 26 2026 16:28 utc | 111
I wonder how the glass fiber is going to be handled. If ever cultivated again, the fields are full of ‘spiderwebs’ of glass fiber from the drones. In some areas it looks like netting. What will it do to machinery? Processing equipment?
Glass fiber in a grain mill? It is inert, but I still can’t imagine eating it in processed foods would be a good thing.
And I can’t think the residues of explosives can be all that good either.
Then again, reading an ingredients list on an American product? Probably worse things in it.
Posted by: ftp | Feb 26 2026 16:38 utc | 112
Falling apart, culturally and physically:
Corrosion eaten away beams: NAS announces critical condition of Paton Bridge
The technical condition of the Paton Bridge in Kyiv is critical, and the remaining service life of the structure is estimated at zero. This was stated by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) of Ukraine, commenting on the results of inspections of bridge structures.
What is the condition of the Paton Bridge?
According to the results of the latest inspections, critical corrosion damage to the main and transverse beams, as well as cracks in the joints of the belts and walls, was recorded in the structures of the Paton Bridge. Experts note that the metal of the transverse beams, on which the roadway slabs are placed, has corroded almost completely. The main beams still remain in a relatively stable condition, which allows the bridge to function with restrictions.
Scientists emphasize that corrosion processes are becoming less and less predictable.
It is worth noting that the Paton Bridge has had emergency status since 2017. In 2018, the Kyiv City State Administration identified Kyivavtodor as the customer for the bridge restoration work. At the same time, tenders for the design in 2020 and 2021 were canceled three times. Currently, the bridge is operating with restrictions.
What is the situation with bridges in Ukraine?
According to the Ukrainian Institute of Steel Structures and the Paton Institute of Electric Welding, more than 28,000 bridges and overpasses are in operation in Ukraine, a significant part of which operates with overload. In Kyiv, the Darnytskyi Bridge was recognized as operational, the Northern and Southern Bridges as limitedly operational, and the Metro and Paton Bridges as inoperable (emergency).
As previously reported, on November 5, 2025, the Paton Bridge turned 72 years old.
https://ukranews.com/en/news/1136729-corrosion-eaten-away-beams-nas-announces-critical-condition-of-paton-bridge
There was a report a couple of years ago about rampant corruption (surprise!) in contracts awarded for bridge upgrades and repairs. So Russia doesn’t actually need to bomb them, just let them fall down of their own accord, out of sheer neglect.
Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Feb 26 2026 16:45 utc | 113
Ritter hasn’t offered good analysis since the FBI raided him.
Posted by: LoveDonbass | Feb 26 2026 16:36 utc | 113
Yes, agreed, he definitely changed after the raid and embargo on his passport; seems more highly-strung, for want of a better way of putting it.
I don’t follow his writings or podcasts closely any more, only really coming across him when he is in a joint presentation with another guest speaker.
Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Feb 26 2026 16:56 utc | 114
I wonder how the glass fiber is going to be handled.
Posted by: ftp | Feb 26 2026 16:38 utc | 115
Yes, good points, it will definitely need careful handling to ensure safe removal and disposal, not just ploughing it into the ground.
Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Feb 26 2026 17:00 utc | 115
https://x.com/KimDotcom/status/2026823353496117608
To Russia,
You tried to make peace. Putin tried everything. It was good to try. But you are running out of time. We live a world with nuclear weapons. The Western allies of Ukraine have nukes. The crazy Jew Zelenskyy, who has no empathy for his victims or his own people, will use nukes. You don’t have time. Because Zelenskyy wants nukes or a dirty bomb. He will use them without hesitation. Don’t make the false assumption that he won’t get them.
You played nice when they broke the promise to not expand NATO eastwards. You played nice when the Minsk agreements were used to fool you. You played nice when the West couped Kiev which resulted in the current war and 2+ million dead. Playing nice didn’t work.
Don’t hope that the West will negotiate peace with you. They play to win. They will use every trick to defeat you. Show them that enough is enough. You played their game long enough.
You are Russia. The dominant nuclear power in the world. Act like it. You can end this tomorrow. Send a tactical nuke on an Oreshnik to the North Sea. The people in Europe and Britain need to understand that the nuclear threat is real and that your patience has limits. Give them an ultimatum of a week to end the war. End weapon deliveries and money transfers to Ukraine now.
Give Ursula and Trump a real challenge. Let them face their angry people. Have no fear. If you don’t do this soon you will have a nuke or dirty bomb go off in Moscow and the West will use their propaganda media to blame you.
You have the best cards in the game, the winning hand. Show them not to mess with you and this will be over soon. No one in Europe or the US wants humanity to end for Ukraine. The majority know that this War was not unprovoked. The people are on your side. Don’t give Zelenskyy the time to hurt you. He will not hesitate.
Win. Now.
Posted by: GM | Feb 26 2026 17:09 utc | 116
Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Feb 26 2026 17:00 utc | 118
A lot of it is already ground up/in from vehicles driving over it, the drone exploding or artillery and mines. It will be getting pulverized by this and turning into small shards and dust, blown everywhere.
I am sure there are no regulations regarding handling it, being such a new problem. Suspect ‘ploughed in’ is going to be exactly what happens to a lot of it.
Posted by: ftp | Feb 26 2026 17:15 utc | 117
@106
“That’s great, what is Putin’s “Cunning Plan”? Because it seems it doesn’t involve actually defeating Ukraine – Putin is looking for a deal and a freeze to the frontlines without even a land-bridge to Transdnistria”
Russia holding a position on the right /West side of the Dnepier was never realistic given drone warfare would make it virtually impossible to supply the troops across the river. Russia tried that already in March – August 2022.
At this point, the best Russia will get is what it currently holds. Given Ukraine would have taken all of the Donbass and Crimea in 2022 if Russia hadn’t started the SMO or defended the Donbass when Ukraine launched its offensive, that needs to be the goalpost for “victory”, but I am not optimistic that even that is viable at this point.
Posted by: schmoe | Feb 26 2026 17:22 utc | 118
Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Feb 26 2026 17:00 utc | 118
Give it a couple of years and glass fibres will be showing up in breakfast cereals and bread across the EU and nobody will have a clue as to why.
Remember the horesemeat lasagne ready meal scandal…?
Posted by: ChatNPC | Feb 26 2026 17:27 utc | 119
“Ukraine is losing the drone war not tactically, but strategically”
~~~
Depth control is not just about holding trenches. This is a command of the situation 20, 40, 80 kilometers behind the front line. This is an opportunity to safely move logistics, deploy and protect drone crews, provide communications and intelligence, and suppress similar enemy capabilities.
Russia has understood this. Her Rubicon project is not a set of flying grenades, but a whole system for blocking Ukrainian traffic and logistics. They focus on hunting for drone operators, hitting warehouses, repair shops, and communications hubs. They don’t care how many of their infantry die in the trenches, as long as their logistics operations are running smoothly.
Ukraine, alas, thinks differently. Efforts are optimized for the destruction of enemy manpower. This gives a quick, measurable and emotionally charged result, but does not lead to strategic victories.
~~~
https://news-pravda.com/world/2026/02/26/2100083.html
Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Feb 26 2026 17:27 utc | 120
A view from a British establishment mouthpiece:
The main ideologue of Russophobia in Britain, Edward Lucas, is tearing his hair out on the pages of The Times today, shouting “Chief, everything is gone!” The headline is appropriate: “The West has wasted the years of Ukraine’s victims. Instead of preparing for war like Russia’s neighbors, we have fallen behind while Putin is rearming.”
https://news-pravda.com/world/2026/02/26/2099075.html
Putin? Rearming? Surely not, after all hasn’t he single-handedly led Russia to defeat, at least according to some Kafka-esque interpretations…
Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Feb 26 2026 17:37 utc | 121
Russia holding a position on the right /West side of the Dnepier was never realistic given drone warfare would make it virtually impossible to supply the troops across the river. Russia tried that already in March – August 2022.
Posted by: schmoe | Feb 26 2026 17:22 utc | 121
Russia has always held a position west of river. Where do you think Brest and Pinsk are?
But aside from that technicality, Russia has no choice. If drones and GLCMs are flying from Sumy to Perm, they will be flying from Cherkassy all the same.
They key is top block the supply of weapons.
Because when you don’t do it, this is what is happening:
https://t.me/belarusian_silovik/69408
Air defense forces shot down 167 Ukrainian UAVs in six hours, including 12 en route to Moscow, the Russian Ministry of Defense reports.As I said, the attack will be massive and will continue until at least the night.
Posted by: GM | Feb 26 2026 17:38 utc | 122
Posted by: GM | Feb 26 2026 17:09 utc | 119
#####
Kim is well-meaning, but he has always been a simpleton when it comes to geopolitics.
There is no threatening with nukes. And who needs to be threatened? German citizens? Latvians? Poles?
The same people conducting a genocide for years (decades, actually) cannot be reasoned with.
So he and you propose killing millions and millions of non-combatants to make a point that was never going to land.
There is no diplomatic way out of this. Russia has to play the diplomacy game because everyone is watching, most importantly, China.
So, no escalation, no use of nukes, no civilian casualties.
This is still the beginning of what may be the longest war in human history. A kinetic war, an economic war, and a cultural war, all wrapped in one.
Posted by: LoveDonbass | Feb 26 2026 17:44 utc | 123
How will NATO continue this in 2 years?
Will the NATO countries be in better shape financially? Will they have paid off their debt, created new mines, and processing plants? Will they magically have more experienced officers with the best tactics?
Will they design Wunderwaffe?
Please, someone, game this out for me. Explain how the West makes a comeback from what has been a long, torturous period of attrition…
Posted by: LoveDonbass | Feb 26 2026 17:49 utc | 124
The Duran
Interesting choice of guest…
War clouds are gathering w/ Willy OAM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4WIE27qxjg
Posted by: unimperator | Feb 26 2026 17:49 utc | 125
Posted by: LoveDonbass | Feb 26 2026 17:49 utc | 127
Despite all the jaw-boning and hype of ‘increasing budgets’… basic EU industries are continuing their decline.
Just today Deutsche Telecom CEO said EU has done no investments in data centers despite hyping it up for a long time. No investments.
So it will be with all sorts of ‘defense investments’. There’s no money, social welfare structures need to be dismantled which will collapse economies before investments can be made.
Posted by: unimperator | Feb 26 2026 17:51 utc | 126
Posted by: LoveDonbass | Feb 26 2026 17:49 utc | 127
#####
Apply the same analytical process to America, individual Western states, the West as a whole.
Is the trendline pointing up? And if not, how can it be made to point up?
A defeat of Russia? A defeat of Iran?
Well, the world is waiting. Let’s see the Russian and Iranian defeats this year.
Surely, that is reasonable for an audience that is all about schedules and timing…
Posted by: LoveDonbass | Feb 26 2026 17:53 utc | 127
Do you know why EU is focusing everything on drones?
It’s because EU doesn’t have technological or manufacture capabilities to produce anything else than drones from cheap Chinese parts. It’s not to say drones aren’t effective, it’s just all they can do.
But the part of ‘cheap and efficient drones’ also applies to Russia, stockpiling up to ten thousand or more Geran drones every month for upcoming strategic warfare against Nato.
Posted by: unimperator | Feb 26 2026 17:55 utc | 128
Military Channel is quite interesting for today’s morning show. Note – I only watched the first few minutes of it.
He talked glowingly about the huge successes of the Ukrainian air defenses in shooting down Russian missiles and drones. I’d say he overdid it. In the past, it seemed the Dima went out of his way to talk up US counter offensives in Ukraine more so than what reality was. I was more than fine with that, knowing that in a week the US “captured” territory would all of a sudden silently revert to Russian control. Maybe 1 sentence would be devoted to “this territory has now been changed to complete Russian control”.
Today’s presentation is a HUGELY dramatic shift from previous reports on Russian missile and drone attacks.
Maybe the US sent one hell of a lot of air defense units to Ukraine over the past few days, and Russia did not notice it. VERY unlikely due to the air defense units being sent to Israel and other parts of West Asia. The comments section from the video talk allude to “of COURSE there are no explosions on Ukrainian energy assets – the Russian reports talk about the targets being Ukrainian military assets instead.”
What is clear is that the US is generating record amounts of disinformation. Dima has to present his share of US disinformation to be allowed to keep presenting videos. However, this seems over the top. My interpretation is: dramatic operations on multiple fronts are being planned. I do not think that Iran is the only military operation being planned. The whole Gerald Ford Shit story might be a complete lie for the purpose of distracting everyone, while giving a reason to delay the initial attack on Iran until all theatres of the upcoming operations are ready to go.
As per the Ukraine thread, Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Feb 26 2026 16:28 utc | 111,
[…] huge steppe territories that are formally under the control of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, at least definitely not under the control of enemy forces, will not yield crops. This will affect the overall situation in the agricultural sector. Therefore, we should already prepare for an increase in prices for wheat (and all derivatives, flour, bakery products, etc.) and sunflower oil. The only option that can save the situation is to stop the hot phase of the war and stop Drone attacks, that is, the disappearance of this constant threat from drones. If this happens, then farmers will return to the east of the Dnipropetrovsk region, the north of Zaporozhye and the right bank of the Kherson region (where such a problem began to crystallize earlier, in the previous year of the war). Otherwise, these lands will be overgrown with weeds and will not bring any profits to their owners and taxes – to the state budget. With all the relevant consequences. And this, unfortunately, is another blow of the Russian occupiers to Ukraine, to our economic viability.
There is a large amount of money that is at stake for the US corporations poised to strike it rich in Ukraine. Well they would be making tons of money if Russia were not doing so well. Americans have repeatedly shown that we are willing to fight and die for corporate profits, and Trump in multiple speeches has emphasized the economic benefits to the US of previous operations. At this time, it seems that an awful lot of money is at stake in multiple parts of the world. And the US is going all out, in the Sahel, in other parts of Africa, in the Caribbean, in South America, in West Asia, especially Iran, and in Ukraine. Time is not on the side of the US, so one big set of attacks makes sense as a US strategy. The US – the plucky little underdog snatching victory from the jaws of defeat!
Posted by: Woke American | Feb 26 2026 17:58 utc | 129
There is no threatening with nukes. And who needs to be threatened? German citizens? Latvians? Poles? The same people conducting a genocide for years (decades, actually) cannot be reasoned with. So he and you propose killing millions and millions of non-combatants to make a point that was never going to land.Posted by: LoveDonbass | Feb 26 2026 17:44 utc | 126
You don’t make a point, you neutralize a threat.
How is Ukraine going to fight if Germany and Poland no longer exist and their radioactive ruins are occupied by Russian ground forces? How are the weapons going to get to Ukraine?
This is why you nuke.
Posted by: GM | Feb 26 2026 18:01 utc | 130
Please, someone, game this out for me. Explain how the West makes a comeback from what has been a long, torturous period of attrition…
Posted by: LoveDonbass | Feb 26 2026 17:49 utc | 127
Simple answer is they can’t, certainly not the European elements anyway, because by disdaining cheap Russian energy they can no longer profitably invest in any energy-intensive activity.
They are stuffed, whichever way they turn and the outcome will not be good for us plebs either.
Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Feb 26 2026 18:03 utc | 131
Military Channel is quite interesting for today’s morning show. Note – I only watched the first few minutes of it. He talked glowingly about the huge successes of the Ukrainian air defenses in shooting down Russian missiles and drones. I’d say he overdid it. In the past, it seemed the Dima went out of his way to talk up US counter offensives in Ukraine more so than what reality was. I was more than fine with that, knowing that in a week the US “captured” territory would all of a sudden silently revert to Russian control. Maybe 1 sentence would be devoted to “this territory has now been changed to complete Russian control”. Today’s presentation is a HUGELY dramatic shift from previous reports on Russian missile and drone attacks. Maybe the US sent one hell of a lot of air defense units to Ukraine over the past few days, and Russia did not notice it.
Posted by: Woke American | Feb 26 2026 17:58 utc | 132
There hasn’t been a Patriot battery destroyed in a long time. More than a year. Meanwhile Kinzhals and Zircons are striking substations. And of course Russia knows where the Patriot batteries are, their footprint is massive, and recon drones fly over Kiev all the time.
What does that tell us?
It tells us that there is another dogovornyak, in this case not to destroy the Patriot batteries because at this point they are all manned by US personnel. And Putin, the Western bootlicker that he is, agreed to it. In exchange he gets heavy GLCM strikes on his most sensitive strategic sites.
Posted by: GM | Feb 26 2026 18:05 utc | 132
Yes, agreed, he definitely changed after the raid and embargo on his passport; seems more highly-strung, for want of a better way of putting it. …
Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Feb 26 2026 16:56 utc | 117
News from january 2026
Scott Ritter Is ‘De-Banked’
Posted by: BlindSpot | Feb 26 2026 18:11 utc | 133
There hasn’t been a Patriot battery destroyed in a long time
Posted by: GM | Feb 26 2026 18:05 utc | 135
A less complicated, more straightforward answer is: “There aren’t any left”. In recent weeks Zelensky has been squealing about getting more air defence supplies, but he has to take second place to the Eastern Med squatter camp these days, when it comes to scarce Western systems.
Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Feb 26 2026 18:14 utc | 134
How is Ukraine going to fight if Germany and Poland no longer exist and their radioactive ruins are occupied by Russian ground forces? How are the weapons going to get to Ukraine?
This is why you nuke.
Posted by: GM | Feb 26 2026 18:01 utc |
How is Ukraine going to fight if Germany and Poland no longer exist and their radioactive ruins are occupied by Russian ground forces? How are the weapons going to get to Ukraine? This is why you nuke.
Posted by: GM | Feb 26 2026 18:01 utc | 133
Yes, I’m suuuuure Russia would love to poison its own ground forces by occupying radioactive ruins.
This is why you don’t nuke.
Posted by: malenkov | Feb 26 2026 18:17 utc | 135
It’s not a proxy war though It is an invasion and occupation of core historic Russian lanf, and NATO personnel is firing NATO weapons from that territory, i.e. it is a direct attack
Posted by: GM | Feb 26 2026 15:55 utc | 103
The USA military has not invade Ukraine. Zero missiles fired from USA planes and ships or bases. Zero US Army divisions in Russia or Ukraine. Until that happens it is a proxy war. The reason Russia doesn’t bomb Europe is because they know a direct war would be much worse than a proxy war and would likely end up with nuclear weapons being used.
Posted by: Cheney | Feb 26 2026 18:20 utc | 136
A less complicated, more straightforward answer is: “There aren’t any left”.
Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Feb 26 2026 18:14 utc | 137
Empirically disproven. We have them on video firing every other night.
Posted by: GM | Feb 26 2026 18:21 utc | 137
Yes, I’m suuuuure Russia would love to poison its own ground forces by occupying radioactive ruins. This is why you don’t nuke.
Posted by: malenkov | Feb 26 2026 18:17 utc | 138
Surely you are aware they have been training and preapring for it since the 1950s and they have the specialized gear and everything else necessary?
And that the ruins will be seriously radioactive for a few weeks only. But it is crucial who will occupy them first.
Posted by: GM | Feb 26 2026 18:22 utc | 138
The USA military has not invade Ukraine. Zero missiles fired from USA planes and ships or bases. Zero US Army divisions in Russia or Ukraine.
Posted by: Cheney | Feb 26 2026 18:20 utc | 139
Who the fuck do you think is operating the Patriot batteries, flying the F-16s, and firing several full HIMARS salvos into Belgorod and Bryansk every day?
Posted by: GM | Feb 26 2026 18:23 utc | 139
FWIW, as for yesterday’s strikes, the X account AMK War Mapping said all Iskander ballistic missiles and KH-101s targeted at Kiev were shot down, but there were many hits on other infrastructure assets and a large warehouse via Zircons, Iskanders, and drones. Consistent with that, I did not see any videos of Kiev getting hit.
Posted by: schmoe | Feb 26 2026 18:26 utc | 140
@ LoveDonbass | Feb 26 2026 17:49 utc | 127
Bribes. Sabotage. Assassinations. Things you normally don’t think should explode but then suddenly do. Sabotaged NPPs. Coups. Rigged elections. False flags. Recruiting proxies like eastern Europe. Assymetrical stuff. Dirty deeds.
Yes, meanwhile, their proxies die. But they don’t care, because it’s not a loss to the people who count.
Posted by: switched devices and cannot remember | Feb 26 2026 18:28 utc | 141
Empirically disproven. We have them on video firing every other night.
Posted by: GM | Feb 26 2026 18:21 utc | 140
Links to the videos please? All I’ve seen for many months now is small arms fire being used in futile attempts at interception in a few cases, more often than not there is no Ukrainian interception effort at all. Drones and missiles sail in unmolested.
Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Feb 26 2026 18:28 utc | 142
Remember the horesemeat lasagne ready meal scandal…?
Posted by: ChatNPC | Feb 26 2026 17:27 utc | 122
I remember that, a certain local wag suggested that it finally solved the Shergar mystery…
Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Feb 26 2026 18:50 utc | 143
Who the fuck do you think is operating the Patriot batteries, flying the F-16s, and firing several full HIMARS salvos into Belgorod and Bryansk every day?
Posted by: GM | Feb 26 2026 18:23 utc | 142
Small amounts of unsubstantiated Americans is not the same thing as USA sending in Army or Marine divisions. And using F-35s from NATO bases. And firing tomahawks from Navy ships. You know that, so why pretend otherwise?
Posted by: Cheney | Feb 26 2026 18:52 utc | 144
Links to the videos please?
Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Feb 26 2026 18:28 utc | 145
It’s not my job to follow the war for you.
FWIW, as for yesterday’s strikes, the X account AMK War Mapping said all Iskander ballistic missiles and KH-101s targeted at Kiev were shot down, but there were many hits on other infrastructure assets and a large warehouse via Zircons, Iskanders, and drones. Consistent with that, I did not see any videos of Kiev getting hit.
Posted by: schmoe | Feb 26 2026 18:26 utc | 143
He did say that, but Russian Telegram channels reported hits in Kiev. I highly doubt all Iskanders were shot down. If they were, then Russia has a big problem
Posted by: GM | Feb 26 2026 18:52 utc | 145
@ GM | Feb 26 2026 18:22 utc | 141
You seem awfully confident that Russia could fire off a couple of popgun nukes and safely march in an occupying army without an at least equivalent retaliation by the West on Russian soil?
I’m grateful nobody with power listens to your advice.
Posted by: malenkov | Feb 26 2026 18:57 utc | 146
It’s not my job to follow the war for you.
Posted by: GM | Feb 26 2026 18:52 utc | 148
Grandiose claims without substantiating evidence remain grandiose claims, nothing more.
Of course, I understand your frustration about not being able to provide videos of Patriot interceptions, I, too, am frustrated by also not being able to track any down, despite best efforts.
Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Feb 26 2026 19:01 utc | 147
Indeed, the last Patriot video I saw was of a misfire, that whizzed across several km of rooftops before finally landing where it wasn’t wanted or expected, no doubt ruining someone’s evening.
Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Feb 26 2026 19:06 utc | 148
I am aware of Ukrainian (and Russian “falling debris”) interception claims have to be taken with three pounds of salt, but that is why I noted I did not see any videos of hits on Kiev, which are generally shown. Perhaps they exist but did not appear on sources I follow.
It will also be interesting to see to what extent Iskander production is impaired by the recent Flamingo hit.
Posted by: schmoe | Feb 26 2026 19:09 utc | 149
You seem awfully confident that Russia could fire off a couple of popgun nukes and safely march in an occupying army without an at least equivalent retaliation by the West on Russian soil?
Posted by: malenkov | Feb 26 2026 18:57 utc | 150
Who will fire and what happens after that? A Russian city gets nuked, all of France, the UK and North America get nuked in response immediately.
Which is why nobody will fire.
Russia always had that winning move. The reason it refuses to play it is that it would hurt the Russian oligarchy.
But not playing it results in a Ukraine armed with long-range nuclear armed missiles. And most European countries too. Check and mate.
Weakness and indecision get you killed.
Posted by: GM | Feb 26 2026 19:11 utc | 150
It will also be interesting to see to what extent Iskander production is impaired by the recent Flamingo hit.
Posted by: schmoe | Feb 26 2026 19:09 utc | 153
Based on what we heard, it is likely much worse than that. They hit the specialized coatings workshop. Which is highly relevant to ICBMs, Oreshniks, and other such stuff that requires them. Not so much for Iskanders.
Posted by: GM | Feb 26 2026 19:13 utc | 151
I doubt Ukronato is shooting down many if at all Iskander missiles. Older and slower cruise missiles, yes.
The Patriot PAC AD, even if they still have them just don’t have the capacity to do it.
Posted by: unimperator | Feb 26 2026 19:13 utc | 152
I did not see any videos of hits on Kiev
Posted by: schmoe | Feb 26 2026 19:09 utc | 153
I suppose a consideration these days regarding the availability of videos is the erratic electricity supply, with folks trying as much as possible to preserve the charge on their phones and limiting the battery-hungry recording and uploading of videos.
Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Feb 26 2026 19:16 utc | 153
But not playing it results in a Ukraine armed with long-range nuclear armed missiles. And most European countries too. Check and mate.
Posted by: GM | Feb 26 2026 19:11 utc | 154
– which, following your own argument, they wouldn’t use, because doing so would result in their immediate obliteration.
Best they could hop for is a dirty bomb untraceable — assuming that’s possible — as to source.
Anyway I’m not the only one who’s richly aware of how furious you are that Russia is, well, winning.
Posted by: malenkov | Feb 26 2026 19:22 utc | 154
They hit the specialized coatings workshop.
Posted by: GM | Feb 26 2026 19:13 utc | 155
Agree, when looking through Western eyes that see back-ups, resilience and reserve capacity as inefficient and a drain on shareholder value. Across 11 time zones however, it might be prudent to already have other facilities up and running, if only to mitigate the physical supply chain distances.
Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Feb 26 2026 19:32 utc | 155
Anyway I’m not the only one who’s richly aware of how furious you are that Russia is, well, winning.
Posted by: malenkov | Feb 26 2026 19:22 utc | 158
Indeed the mental acrobatics are quite entertaining at times.
Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Feb 26 2026 19:39 utc | 156
Andrei Martyanov recently took a brief look at the means of defence available to Iran. From that it’s clear that Iran isn’t a Libya or a Syria. Nor even an Iraq. What has nonplussed President Trump is that the Iranians might be able to deal with any attack he can mount. That’s not a risk he’s that happy about taking. The Iranians are saying to Trump, as those other countries could not, “You feeling lucky, punk.”
Hence the dithering, though that’s characterised the Trump approach all along: Trump dithering and thus falling between two stools as a result is in practice worse than Biden’s single-minded viciousness. I know about dithering, being inclined that way myself. You spend so long making up your mind that eventually it’s “Oh hell, got to do something” and the something turns out to be a spur of the moment decision that isn’t always the best one. Why I like to take a minder with me when I go to farm sales. But I fear Trump might not have any competent minders around.
Hence the series of foreign policy disasters the West as a whole is dutifully following him into. And the results rather more unsatisfactory than just bringing home in triumph some clapped out old tractor that’s long since missed its date with the scrapyard. But there’s worse, far worse, as the inhabitants found out in Gaza and I very much hope the Iranians don’t find out about in Iran.
Because the other feature of the Trump Presidency is a readiness to resort to underhand means of achieving his aims. Plenty of those. He is a New York property developer after all. He’s taken that mindset into his present job. Dirty war, strikes while negotiating, deniable sneak attacks from unexpected quarters – the practised glad-handing salesman who’s right now asking himself if he feels lucky has more than a few such tricks up his sleeve.
In Ukraine we see the perfect theatre for such a President. That’s what I thought of as soon as I read the Martyanov piece. Ukraine. The Russians are, past doubt, better equipped to deal with any straightforward military attack from the West than the Iranians. Neither Biden not Trump were ever going to risk that.
The Americans have what we used to call on Colonel Lang’s old site a “boutique army”. It’s the ultimate boondoggle army when it comes to serious work. They don’t have the up-to-date machines or the deployable men to try any passage of arms with the Russians, nor the ability to handle them effectively if they had: the doctrinal inadequacies of the Western armies have been thoroughly explored by now, and the practical results of that inadequacy on full view in the so called “Summer Offensive” we saw both our kit and our proxies getting mashed up in a year or so back.
Which is why Ukraine is the perfect theatre of operations for Trump. For the entire West he’s leading. From Ukraine we can mount operations into Russia that substitute for direct attack. Our spooks excel at deniable sabotage and assassination. The Western press itself prints laudatory articles on the setting up of bases in Ukraine for that purpose from as far back as 2014. And from Ukraine we can send deniable drones and missiles over we’d never dare send from NATO territory. As Biden said of Israel, if Ukraine didn’t exist we’d have to invent it. We have in fact done just that: the modern Ukraine was constructed by us as a useful attack dog against Russia and Trump’s making full use of it while he can.
That won’t be for very long now. That’s why this is probably the riskiest period of the Ukrainian war. As Ritter explains, our attack dog is biting deeper and deeper. The Russians aren’t interested in war with the West. They want to defang our attack dog – that’s what demilitarisation and denazification is all about – and get on with their own business. But if those bites get too deep …
Ritter, a superb analyst possessed of a vast range of information, tells us about the bites here:-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifp-IIzYlDA
Andrei Martyanov’s article that prompted this comment linked to here. Martyanov, as most here will know, is a bedrock source on equipment and doctrine:-
https://smoothiex12.blogspot.com/2026/02/larry-makes-good-points.html
I follow tradition in misquoting the Clint Eastwood line. It fits better.
Posted by: English Outsider | Feb 26 2026 19:51 utc | 157
Lesjeuxsontfaits | Feb 26 2026 7:31 utc | 61
*** Fighting NATO at their doorstep and putting heavy costs on them is the far better solution. ***
About as clever as if Belgium had welcomed being the main venue for WW1 since that would reduce their army’s travel costs.
That won’t be for very long now. That’s why this is probably the riskiest period of the Ukrainian war. As Ritter explains, our attack dog is biting deeper and deeper. The Russians aren’t interested in war with the West. They want to defang our attack dog – that’s what demilitarisation and denazification is all about – and get on with their own business. But if those bites get too deep
Posted by: English Outsider | Feb 26 2026 19:51 utc | 161
Not sure I entirely agree, the attacks on Russia are motivated by desperation, financial desperation particularly. An awful lot of Ukrainian bonds mature this year, and the holders would normally expect the return of their initial purchase price. A tranche that was supposed to mature on 1st Feb 2026 had already been place in a “conditional default” rating by the Fitch rating agency back in 2024. What kind of status the rest are in is not being widely disclosed at the moment.
So, while the attacks on Russia may be a step up, in no way do they produce the funds necessary for the Ukrainian bond maturity redemptions due this year. Someone is going to be in big trouble, so is staging a “last-gasp” provocation, trying to get Russia to respond by going all-out on Europe/the West, in order not have to acknowledge the financial losses on their books.
To follow your misquote of Clint Eastwood, I’ll misquote Roger Moore: “The name is Bond, Worthless Bond”.
Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Feb 26 2026 20:14 utc | 159
Odd how it is now supposedly so very bad / evil to have been a friend / client of Epstein — yet it is seemingly fine for politicians, media etc. to be a friend of Netanyahu / the Zionists …. those who Epstein worked for, and who continue to promote absolutely everything (including redacted stuff) that he purveyed on their behalf.
The pretence is totally unconvincing.
This is a joint post by myself and GM.
My peach tree began to bud by the end of February last year. They haven’t begun to bud yet. Everyone said Putin was the lord of trees. He failed!
Posted by: Nobody Special – GM | Feb 26 2026 20:22 utc | 161
This is a joint post by myself and GM.
The groomer left my dog’s hair along her snout a little longer than I wanted. We thought everyone said Putin would make every dogs’ haircut exactly perfect. Putin failed. Game over. Ukraine won. Putin lost! Yay, GM and me!
Posted by: Nobody Special – GM | Feb 26 2026 20:27 utc | 162
Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Feb 26 2026 20:14 utc | 163
Are you saying that collecting money invested in Ukraine is the reason for throwing missiles at the production facilities of our strategic weapons?
Posted by: Natalya Volkova | Feb 26 2026 20:30 utc | 163
@ Nobody Special – GM | Feb 26 2026 20:22 utc | 165
@ Nobody Special – GM | Feb 26 2026 20:27 utc | 166
Hah, fair play to you sir, a bar drink on my tab, though be careful of our landlord and host taking a dim view.
Wonder if @ GM’s Mother will appear at some point?
Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Feb 26 2026 20:37 utc | 164
@ Natalya Volkova | Feb 26 2026 20:30 utc | 167
Unfortunately for us ordinary people, there are some very rich, very nasty and very ruthless types who do not care about widespread damage and bloodshed, just as long as their personal wealth remains intact.
So yes, they will take the world to war, if it saves their worth, they have done so before, with no concern for the casualties on any side.
Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Feb 26 2026 20:42 utc | 165
ftp | Feb 26 2026 17:15 utc | 120
*** Suspect ‘ploughed in’ [glass fibre] is going to be exactly what happens to a lot of it.***
Well, the US could use it in Hershey Bars — might even improve their disgusting taste.
This is a joint post between myself and GM.
GM told me we need to flood this thread with pointless posts about Putin losing. So I said, “What do you suggest?” He said, “Is there anything else you could complain about?” I knew right off what I needed to say, “My wife made my gin and tonic a little strong.” GM got very excited. He told me, “Blame it in Putin, but you need to word it so it fits this thread.”
Here’s what we came up with: My wife made my gin and juice a little stronger than I like. Putin promised to make them perfect for me. He failed to send his MiG AR-47 super tank to save me. Putin loses. 2.3 cms per year. Twenty billion Russians dead. Economy. GDP. GM wins!
Posted by: Nobody Special | Feb 26 2026 20:44 utc | 167
Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Feb 26 2026 20:42 utc | 169
I understand all of that. We are at war. Therefore your answer did not answer my question.
Posted by: Natalya Volkova | Feb 26 2026 20:44 utc | 168
So yes, they will take the world to war, if it saves their worth, they have done so before, with no concern for the casualties on any side.
Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Feb 26 2026 20:42 utc | 169
Absolutely. They have proved it over and over again. The only thing they are afraid of is losing some of their wealth.
Posted by: Avtonom | Feb 26 2026 20:47 utc | 169
Therefore your answer did not answer my question.
Posted by: Natalya Volkova | Feb 26 2026 20:44 utc | 172
How so? To me, the connections are clear enough; some very rich and powerful entities face financial losses on investments in Ukraine, the only way to hide those losses is to try and provoke Russia into a response that leads to world war, or at least a Western/Northern Hemisphere war.
Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Feb 26 2026 20:56 utc | 170
Belgorod is under fire. Air defenses are repelling a massive missile attack.
Posted by: GM | Feb 26 2026 21:02 utc | 171
Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Feb 26 2026 20:56 utc | 174
You are saying it is another provocation that will hopefully lead to a direct war they want?
Posted by: Natalya Volkova | Feb 26 2026 21:04 utc | 172
– which, following your own argument, they wouldn’t use, because doing so would result in their immediate obliteration.
Posted by: malenkov | Feb 26 2026 19:22 utc | 158
Nuclear weapons are used every day by the very fact of their existence.
Which is the plan here — to take away Russia’s winning move of nuking Europe.
Europe and Ukraine armed with nukes will enable a protracted large-scale conventional war. That is the next step — to throw Europe into the fire. And defeat Russia that way.
But again, for that to work Russia has to be unable to solve the problem using nukes.
Posted by: GM | Feb 26 2026 21:05 utc | 173
In response to
”
To follow your misquote of Clint Eastwood, I’ll misquote Roger Moore: “The name is Bond, Worthless Bond”.
Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Feb 26 2026 20:14 utc | 163
”
It reads like you are feeling a bit better and happy to see your humor properly focused
Posted by: psychohistorian | Feb 26 2026 21:09 utc | 174
In Lviv, a man sprayed a TCC worker and police officers with a can
The men were stopped for a document check when one of them sprayed pepper spray. All three with injuries to the respiratory tract and eyes are now in a medical facility.
This is reported by RegioNews with reference to the Lviv regional TCC & SC
The event took place on February 26, at about 08: 15. Servicemen of the warning group of one of the RTCC and the jSC of the city of Lviv, together with representatives of the police, performing official duties, stopped near two citizens in order to check military registration documents.
“In response to a completely legitimate demand, one of the citizens took out pepper spray and used it against a serviceman and two police officers. All three with injuries to the respiratory tract and tear membranes of the eyes were taken to a medical facility. Citizens were found to be violators of military registration. One of them was taken to the premises of the RTCC and the SC, passed the military medical commission and was declared fit for military service,” the report says.
For the crime, the man faces restriction of freedom for a period of 3 to 5 years.
https://regionews.ua/ukr/news/lvovshchina/1772138014-u-lvovi-cholovik-zabrizkav-balonchikom-pratsivnika-ttsk-i-politseyskih (via translation add-on.)
Lvov seems to be turning into something of a hotbed of resistance to the Kiev junta.
Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Feb 26 2026 21:11 utc | 175
You are saying it is another provocation that will hopefully lead to a direct war they want?
Posted by: Natalya Volkova | Feb 26 2026 21:04 utc | 176
I’m trying to say the provocation is borne of desperation, not hope.
Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Feb 26 2026 21:16 utc | 176
For the crime, the man faces restriction of freedom for a period of 3 to 5 years.
3 to 5 years in jail instead of probably going to the front? There could be a lot more pepper spraying of TCC personnel.
Posted by: Cheney | Feb 26 2026 21:18 utc | 177
It reads like you are feeling a bit better and happy to see your humor properly focused
Posted by: psychohistorian | Feb 26 2026 21:09 utc | 178
Things have eased a bit, still milking all the sympathy I can from She Who Is In Charge…
Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Feb 26 2026 21:21 utc | 178
#Cynic
In a Long war of attrition logististics and supply chains are crucial. Both Hitler and Napoleon had to learn it. How long could the US have supplied its forces in Europe in 1944, if the Germans had not already been defeated at the Eastern Front in Russia?
Posted by: Lesjeuxsontfaits | Feb 26 2026 21:24 utc | 179
Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Feb 26 2026 21:16 utc | 180
Fair enough. Hope would be all they have left anyway. After all ours have not responded to any of the provocations in four years that they can undeniably conclude will provoke a reaction they need for this direct conflict they apparently want or need. Actually the contrary.
Posted by: Natalya Volkova | Feb 26 2026 21:26 utc | 180
Lesjeuxsontfaits | Feb 26 2026 21:24 utc | 183
*** In a Long war of attrition logististics and supply chains are crucial. Both Hitler and Napoleon had to learn it. How long could the US have supplied its forces in Europe in 1944, if the Germans had not already been defeated at the Eastern Front in Russia? ***
True points, but there is a complicating factor in this war …. how far are Russian populations, towns and cities from the front line, compared to US or even UK and French populations, towns and cities?
And that’s with far greater aircraft and missile capabilities since the days of Napoleon or Hitler.
Not that Putin would fire anything directly against the leaders of those who wage war, killing Russians via “Ukrainian” proxies, anyway. Instead, to please the Oligarchs / Khazarians, that successor to Yeltsin wants to be their “partner”!
Here are two outstanding pieces — one on the financial and military decay of the UK, the second on a plan by France and the UK to smuggle nuclear weapons into Ukraine.
https://islanderreports.substack.com/p/britains-ghost-armyhttps://substack.com/home/post/p-1890
Posted by: Fred | Feb 26 2026 22:30 utc | 182
https://islanderreports.substack.com/p/britains-ghost-army
https://substack.com/home/post/p-1890
Posted by: Fred | Feb 26 2026 22:31 utc | 183
Putin? Rearming? Surely not, after all hasn’t he single-handedly led Russia to defeat, at least according to some Kafka-esque interpretations…
Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Feb 26 2026 17:37 utc | 124
*********************
Lateral thinking. Dual-use shovels? Gotta feed the peasants too, ya know?
Posted by: General Factotum | Feb 26 2026 22:59 utc | 184
Posted by: GM | Feb 26 2026 17:09 utc | 119
Thanks for posting here.
All reasonable people understand that the pro western fraction in Kremlin has now upper hand. They want peace at any cost. Thy want to trade with the west and maintain their royal lifestyle.
Posted by: simon | Feb 26 2026 23:07 utc | 185
@ simon | Feb 26 2026 23:07 utc | 189
I understand your frustration.
Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Feb 26 2026 23:11 utc | 186
@ General Factotum | Feb 26 2026 22:59 utc | 188
Sometimes kindness and empathy is needed, when understanding the frustrations of the frustrated…
Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Feb 26 2026 23:14 utc | 187
I understand your frustration.
Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Feb 26 2026 23:11 utc | 190
Me too. Poor guy’s on his fourth username…
Posted by: malenkov | Feb 26 2026 23:18 utc | 188
I have to limit my viewing of You Tube. It is too painful and revolting to observe a tsunami of utterly false videos that directly contradict whatever aspect of reality about Ukraine is current. So, Ukraine is conquering Crimea, Russian lines are collapsing, Ukraine is leveling Russia with missiles and so on. I need to grow in maturity, I guess – and accept that blatant lying is ordinary these days. The only consolation is that the more Ukraine falls apart, the more that lying has clickbait monetary value. What a perverse world we live in.
Posted by: Eighthman | Feb 26 2026 23:19 utc | 189
For no particular reason , and “nobody’s implied suggestion “ I’ll star calling some bar fleas “baldricks” (or Lorettas)
so as a small reminder about “what has Putin ever did for us??”
first things things first, he increased free bayonets from barely 100k to no less than 700k (probably 900k-1ml) wit a quality and experience way beyond what RF has
He modernized weapons, equipments, tactics, you name it, 70% of everything is fully up to date and tested in combat environment
yes, he spent a lot of of old usar equipment, but basically destroyed mist if kit alll uses equipment in the western sphere (bonus, then some of western equipment, slow to build and expensive )
witjit entering full em war mode put enough of RF producing soldiers and weapons enough to settle Ukraine and give reasons for west to think teice before considering s direct intervention.
is abut to finish a new layer farther from border. And holding
so yes? What has Putin ever done?
plenty
Posted by: Newbie | Feb 26 2026 23:23 utc | 190
I’ll star calling some bar fleas “baldricks…A Cunning Plan! ✌
Posted by: Nobody | Feb 26 2026 23:27 utc | 191
I have to limit my viewing of You Tube. It is too painful and revolting to observe a tsunami of utterly false videos that directly contradict whatever aspect of reality about Ukraine is current. So, Ukraine is conquering Crimea, Russian lines are collapsing, Ukraine is leveling Russia with missiles and so on. I need to grow in maturity, I guess – and accept that blatant lying is ordinary these days. The only consolation is that the more Ukraine falls apart, the more that lying has clickbait monetary value. What a perverse world we live in.
Posted by: Eighthman | Feb 26 2026 23:19 utc | 193
I also am limiting my time on Youtube. Youtube is kind of depressing now. I am finding replacements.
Posted by: Woke American | Feb 26 2026 23:45 utc | 192
Dirty nukes in Ukraine?
SCF
“According to the SVR’s reconstruction, the idea of providing Kiev with a sort of ‘decisive weapon’ — a wunderwaffe — capable of altering the balance on the ground and strengthening Ukraine’s negotiating position in view of possible negotiations for the cessation of hostilities is gaining ground. The hypothesis evoked concerns the transfer of an actual nuclear device or, alternatively, a radiological device commonly referred to as a ‘dirty bomb’. Such a scenario would represent a qualitative leap in the nature of the conflict, transforming it into a crisis of potentially global proportions.”
https://strategic-culture.su/news/2026/02/25/this-is-a-bomb-a-dirty-bomb/
apologies if this has been posted
Posted by: ld | Feb 27 2026 0:20 utc | 193
Minor fact, the fact that RF has abstained, so far, to use nukes (may good sense be praised) is not an absolute.
Any and all attack of that nature must, and will be replied in kind (and bigger magnitude) probably a magnitude or too of theater range.
If it gets there we’re screwed…
Posted by: Newbie | Feb 27 2026 0:52 utc | 194
I got a question for the foreigners who frequent MoA: why do so many of you not understand NATO’s role in this conflict? Y’all are obviously aware of NATO’s massive involvement, but it’s like you can’t comprehend what that means, so you’d much rather subscribe to the grade school Looney Tunes “evil Russia doing evil things because it’s evil” logic over the anti-Russian (well, technically anti-Soviet, but hey, the USSR hasn’t been around for 30 years, and yet not only does NATO still exist, it’s been expanding the entire time, so clearly the USSR wasn’t the problem) entity waging a proxy war against its adversary.
Posted by: Rude Ride | Feb 27 2026 1:55 utc | 195
, the USSR hasn’t been around for 30 years, and yet not only does NATO still exist, it’s been expanding the entire time, so clearly the USSR wasn’t the problem) entity waging a proxy war against its adversary.
Posted by: Rude Ride | Feb 27 2026 1:55 utc | 199
It has been explained over and over that the US is on a project to destroy Russia and take all its stuff. The Project has been continuous since it started 80 years ago under Truman.
Posted by: acementhead | Feb 27 2026 2:11 utc | 196
@ malenkov | Feb 26 2026 19:22 utc | 158
>> which, following your own argument, they
>> wouldn’t use, because doing so would result
>> in their immediate obliteration.
First, as we’ve seen time and again, proxies lack the agency to avoid their own destruction.
Second, why do some aggressors think they can bully Iran? Because Iran does not have nukes. Yes? Once the aggressors conclude Iran has nukes, then the aggressors would back off a little and treat Iran more like they treat North Korea. Yes? So the window for Russia to threaten or actually strike its non-nuke enemies is before those enemies obtain nukes. Yes? After that, yes, the proxies, if still mindless, might still strike if their backers give them nukes. But by then the backers would be “on notice” of the likely reprisal against them.
Posted by: switched devices and cannot remember | Feb 27 2026 2:40 utc | 197
Russia went into Ukraine before it could join NATO and have NATO missiles that close to Russia.
We will see. My money is on nukes are not real.
If I am wrong, take it up with me in the afterlife, which many don’t believe in. LOL
Posted by: LoveDonbass | Feb 27 2026 2:42 utc | 198
Almost everyone here seems like a good person, because you care about the suffering of humans you’ll never meet. To you, the SMO looks like the most compassionate intervention that still protects Russia from complete encirclement and destruction. But the hegemon only understands the language of violence. I’m unsure of your “communication skills” in this matter.
Posted by: switched devices and cannot remember | Feb 27 2026 2:55 utc | 199
How much AD is left in crimea, as we get videos every few days of launchers and radars destroyed ? Why is it so difficult to shoot these drones down ?
Posted by: Far Glove | Feb 27 2026 2:59 utc | 200