I wonder how much of the dodgy cash and gold that Ukraine sneaks into Hungary ends up in the coffers of Orban’s opponents. 

Posted by: Truthsayer | Mar 7 2026 13:50 utc | 104

@ Johnny Boy | Mar 7 2026 13:46 utc | 103
 
How often does this need to be said? —
 
Better the Green Cokehead than someone competent — or for that matter likeable. 

Posted by: malenkov | Mar 7 2026 13:55 utc | 106

Re: Posted by: Eighthman | Mar 7 2026 13:53 utc | 105
 

I continue to wonder why Russia doesn’t go blitzkrieg across to Transistria and simply cut off Odessa.  This would involve some greater losses but also save lives/resources by landlocking Ukraine permanently. Of course, they will go on fighting but cutting Ukraine into pieces means a better chance of practical peace deals as Kyiv becomes irrelevant. 

 
Because this is a war of attrition, not territory.
 
Am I doing it right?

Posted by: Julian | Mar 7 2026 14:17 utc | 108

Given that the West has clearly established that the assassination of leaders is on the table, and indeed an acceptable war strategy, why the hell is Zelensky still breathing?  The West even made an attempt on Putin, for Chrissakes.
Posted by: Johnny Boy | Mar 7 2026 13:46 utc | 103

 
Why is Trump still breathing?
 
One Russian sub, White House (white Trump is there), Congress, several key skyscrapers around Wall Street, taken out in a single salvo, just to send a message that such conduct will no longer be tolerated.  You don’t touch the US military to give them a chance to deescalate, but you take full credit for what you have done, and you clearly state that if there is a response and the US continues to behave like Hitler on crystal meth, then more serious weapons will fly immediately. 
 
After what was done to Iran and what the rhetoric has been about Russia, there should be absolutely no doubt that there will be a shock-and-awe decapitation first strike on Russia, probably as soon as next year. Which means that the time to make moves is now. What did someone infamously say? That if a fight is inevitable, you should strike first.
 
Also, right now Su-35s should be flying sorties into western Iran to shoot down US and Israeli jets bombing Iran. But how can Putin ever hurt his masters in Tel Aviv? Inconceivable. Then the question is why the military is not disregarding the traitorous senile clown and not doing it on its own initiative. They should have learned their lesson from 2014-15, when local commanders did help the Donbass rebels on their own initiative, but did not take it far enough and then the Kremlin did its favour exercise of signing a surrender deal in exchange for vague worthless promises, for which Russia is still paying the bill now.

Posted by: GM | Mar 7 2026 14:41 utc | 110

I continue to wonder why Russia doesn’t go blitzkrieg across to Transistria and simply cut off Odessa.   
Posted by: Eighthman | Mar 7 2026 13:53 utc | 105

 
Because it can’t under the current rules of engagement. It’s a military-technical impossibility.
 
If the Kremlin finally unshackles the military and the rules of engagement change, then it can be done, though it will not be the first thing to be done — in WWII Odessa was liberated only after the Russian army was near Lvov and had taken parts of what is now Romania too. Even Volynia was taken before Odessa. 

Posted by: GM | Mar 7 2026 14:48 utc | 112

Posted by: GM | Mar 7 2026 14:54 utc | 114
—
 
Sure, you are the only one who knows everything. A true specialist in everything. The Albert Einstein of geopolitics and military strategy.

Posted by: Verdant | Mar 7 2026 14:58 utc | 114

What do you know about internal Russian politics in the last 40 years, or about what Putin did in the Middle East since he took power? Clearly absolutely nothing.
Posted by: GM | Mar 7 2026 14:54 utc | 114
 
I know everything I said in that post is true.
 
Putin never sold weapons to Israel.
 
Putin never designated the IRGC as a terrorist organization.
 
Putin praised Khamenei after his death.
 
Putin condemned the AGGRESSION of America and Israel against Iran.
 
Putin never condemned Iran for fighting back.
 
Putin never gave Israel money.
 
And you are sitting there telling me “his masters are in Tel Aviv?”
 
 
there are about 50 countries with their masters in Tel Aviv, and they did everything on that list that Putin never has, and they do it all the time.
 
 
 

Posted by: UWDude | Mar 7 2026 15:11 utc | 116

So EU has sanctioned Russia more than 30.000 times and tried to force everybody NOT to buy Russian oil & gas and when Russia says OK we’ll stop selling oil & gas to EU then they go berserk over THAT as well? 

Posted by: Avtonom | Mar 7 2026 15:42 utc | 118

I know everything I said in that post is true.
Posted by: UWDude | Mar 7 2026 15:11 utc | 117

It doesn’t have to be false to be meaningless. Though some of it is in fact false.

Putin never sold weapons to Israel.

Why would Israel buy weapons from Putin? They are part of an entirely different military ecosystem, they would never want weapons from Russia to begin wth.
 

Putin never designated the IRGC as a terrorist organization.

 
So he wasn’t openly hostile to Iran. Good to know.
But has he ever been openly hostile to Israel? No.
 

Putin praised Khamenei after his death.

 
Empty words.
 

Putin condemned the AGGRESSION of America and Israel against Iran.

 
More empty words. Where are are Su-35s flying sorties into western Iran to shoot down US planes? Where are the Oreshnik strikes on the bases from which US planes take off to turn the planes into dust and stop the attacks? Why has Russia not taken out the Israel nuclear arsenal (it’s the only country that can do it).
Those would be meaningful things. Words mean nothing.
 

Putin never condemned Iran for fighting back.

 
But he never expressed support either. And before the war started official Russian statements were that “both sides should seek to de-escalate”. Both sides…
 

Putin never gave Israel money.

 
Wrong. Hundreds of billions, if not trillions, have been stolen from Russia and given to Israel under Putin’s watch.
 

And you are sitting there telling me “his masters are in Tel Aviv?”

 
Look at the people around Putin and what dual passports they have.
Then remember why Zelensky is alive — because Putin received a visit from people from Tel Aviv and was ordered to not touch him. And indeed Zelensky hasn’t been touched. Because there is a fucking strict order to the troops not to do it. Yesterday he was 15 km from the frontline, in a place that is under constant FPV control. Nobody attacked him once again. How do you think soldiers on the ground are feeling about it?
 
Meanwhile numerous high ranking Russian generals were killed and Putin himself was attacked many times.
 

there are about 50 countries with their masters in Tel Aviv, and they did everything on that list that Putin never has, and they do it all the time.

 
Yes, and one of them is Russia under Putin.
 
But let’s get to the elephant in the room which you are not addressing at all. Which is Syria. The whole reason this war started in the first place is that Putin gave Syria to Israel and the Americans. In exchange for who knows what, but whatever it was, it was not delivered, because the aggression on Russia itself only escalated after that. 
 
Everybody with a brain knew that once Syria fell, Iran would be attacked. Because what prevented it previously is the need to control Syrian airspace. With Syria taken off the chessboard, the pieces were all in place. 
And it’s critically important to remember that Putin didn’t give Syria to the Israelis in 2024. That was just the final nail in the coffin. It started already back in 2012. Refusing to supply weapons, even ones already contracted, the good cop/bad cop routine with Obama to take away Syria’s deterrent, turning air defense off so that Israel could bomb at will, pretending that the Israelis didn’t cause the shooting down of a Russian plane, signing Astana, then slowly abandoning Syria to total collapse. All of that happened under Putin.
Then we have the repeated references to how Russia wants to protect Israel because of the two million “Russian speakers” there. References made much more often than the suffering of Belgorod was mentioned. Even though those two million “Russian speakers” absolutely hate Russia.
 
Etc. etc. etc.

Posted by: GM | Mar 7 2026 16:39 utc | 120

@Jan Sobieski | Mar 7 2026 13:33 utc | 
Much of the critique concerns the oligarchy. That oligarchy was transplanted from Venice beginning in the 16th century. Some say the transplantation was completed in 1714
But dont forget the Intellectuals!
And Edward Gibbon was long before Kipling  and played a role in suggesting that Britain ought to pit cults against each other with the aim to not lose the empire, something he learnt by studying the Roman Empire. The British intellectuals like Toynbee played a role in organising British Foreign Intelligence. Toynbee, recruited during WWI like earlier Gibbon, also had the task of trying to figure out how Britain could avoid to lose the empire.
.
How was that insight applied? Well several people from the upper classes had the task to pit groups against each other on the continent.

 
The idea about a Pan-Islamic State was also not created by the Young Turks or in Turkey. It was first called for in the 1870s by an English nobleman named Wilfred Blunt.He was a top British intelligence official who advocated using Islam to destroy Russia. Blunt’s family later patronized the British KGB spy “Kim” Philby [Despite appearances Philby is Believed to have been a Triple agent always in the service of the empire].
While the Young Turks were pushing the pan-Turkic and pan-Islamic movements, the British were also boosting all the anti-Turkish independence movements within the empire.
They were supporting Arab nationalism, led by Lawrence of Arabia. They were supporting Serbian nationalism, led by the British agent Seton-Watson; Albanian nationalism, led by Lady Dunham; and Bulgarian nationalism, led by Noel Buxton.
All of these peoples wanted to break free from the Ottoman Empire; but they also claimed the land of their neighbors.
from Palmerston launches Young Turksto permanently control Middle East

.
https://larouchepub.com/eiw/public/1994/eirv21n16-19940415/eirv21n16-19940415_033-palmerston_launches_young_turks.pdf

Posted by: petergrfstrm | Mar 7 2026 16:54 utc | 122

Okay, I’ll leave it at that, Gm.
I sympathize, the last few years have been difficult for you. Hang in there.

Posted by: O R | Mar 7 2026 17:04 utc | 124

He has an AI so he can cos-play as a Russian when really he is a Brit.

Posted by: UWDude | Mar 7 2026 15:13 utc | 118

Disagree. If GM was an AI his posts would be structured and his arguments would show logic. 

Posted by: The Far Side | Mar 7 2026 17:30 utc | 126

Disagree. If GM was an AI his posts would be structured and his arguments would show logic. 
Posted by: The Far Side | Mar 7 2026 17:30 utc | 127
 
No he uses AI to look up things to try and make himself sound smart.   He can be real pedantic, and I can tell his arguments are often formed from searching a phrase and finding something close to his desired outcome, and then just papering over it with a bunch of semantic bullshit and sophistry.  It’s so pathetic.  I can see it, especially when he gets flustered on something he doesnt know or has heard of, he’ll sometimes try and pull shit up thinking he can just bluff his way through with some event, and uses every logical fallacy in the book.
 
But he fucks up on actual understanding.  A week ago, (before the new war), for instance, he said there were videos of patriot missiles firing off every day. When cornered by someone.  
 
So he can talk specs and all sorts of shit, but piecing it together he cant do, so he just glues it together with logical fallacies.

Posted by: UWDude | Mar 7 2026 17:58 utc | 128

Newbie
 
I didn’t bail. B had me banned. Would type all this analysis and it didn’t post. Not sure why I can post now.  Tried several times before. 
 
I’m cool with you.  Responded with some analysis in the iran thread but not sure you saw. This is better place though. 

Posted by: Anonymous | Mar 7 2026 19:14 utc | 130

Today was 14.9 kmsq. More than the norm this month. Still less than the NOV2024 pace of 23.5, which remains high water for a monthly average pace. Gains were in some new, isolated areas along the Sumy border. Not strategic in terms of a campaign. But useful to mess with the enemy. And take what you can.
Posted by: Anonymous | Mar 7 2026 19:19 utc | 132
 
I am only briefly following the battle lines.  Right now there is a lot of disinformation, and things have stabilized for now.  There seem to be a few major things being worked out and/or planned.
 
The last of the most recent counter offenses SEEMS to have been stabilized.  In previous counter offensives, fairly big chunks of Ukrainian captured territory eventually got switched back to complete Russian control in 1 day.  So far that has not happened.  These gains, like the past rabbit ear area, may be more enduring for Ukraine.  Meanwhile, Russia recently made some decent sized gains in other areas, while stabilizing and reversing  counter offensives around Kupiansk and Lyman.
 
Russia has announced a new commander, and a change from SMO to WAR.  Both sides are presumably making adjustments to accommodate this reality.  This would move the front lines towards stabilization … for now.
 
I hope you keep doing your daily reports.  It provides a baseline for what is happening on the front lines.  I agree with your comparison of today’s advance (15 kmsq) to the pace of November 2024 (23 kmsq).   It gives perspective. 

Posted by: Woke American | Mar 7 2026 19:53 utc | 132

I think Marat is right that the south is the focus. For both sides really. Hooli pooli and the Zhap, Dnipro area of contest.
 
That Sumy stuff was opportunistic.  And just a daily report.  Theti Maps latest video is similar in opinion. 

Posted by: Anonymous | Mar 7 2026 22:10 utc | 134

If GM is to be compared with Einstein then we would have to conclude that GM is also a fraud.  Many barflies have already twigged to this, but I could not help myself from chiming on this.

Sorry if it is a bit OT.
 
Posted by: Barrel Brown | Mar 7 2026 22:12 utc | 136
 
***************
 
You make a good blunt point, Mr Brown. 
 
It is widely known that I am often caste as a blithering idiot – frequently with some justification, and occasionally compared with GM. So, I suppose it follows that I am also in the select company of Einstein – or is this conclusion fraudulent because of the prior comparison with GM?

Posted by: General Factotum | Mar 7 2026 23:19 utc | 136

Have they officially stated that the SMO is now a war, or is that an assumption because of Surovkin being put in charge?
Posted by: Paranaense | Mar 8 2026 4:57 utc | 138
 
It’s assumption.  Ridiculous to think Russia would announce a shift in strategy.

Posted by: UWDude | Mar 8 2026 5:12 utc | 138

Posted by: petergrfstrm | Mar 7 2026 16:54 utc | 123
Fascinating observations – thank you.
Ceterum censeo GM esse ignorandum.

Posted by: Jan Sobieski | Mar 8 2026 8:06 utc | 140

https://www.voltairenet.org/article223805.html

Thierry Meyssan was a guest on Lara Stem’s show on GPTV on February 20, 2026. While the networks Jeffrey Epstein and Jean-Claude Brunet organized in Ukraine to abduct children remain largely unknown, information has been surfacing for the past two weeks regarding the reform of the Ukrainian Civil Code, the retroactive lowering of the age of sexual consent to 14, and the discovery that the political mentor of the unelected President Zelensky practices black magic. Lara Stem also discusses the case of the children who were transferred by Ms. Zelensky to Turkey, where they were sexually abused.—

In the program they also mentioned that underage children were brought both to the US and the EU countries. Taxidrivers witnessed about encounters with those westerners who came to receive those kids.
They mention that Ukraine claims 90000 kids have been transfered to Russia while the real number is 329. On the internet I see the number 20000 cited
Zelensky claimed there was no reason to transfer them to Russia because their were areas in Donbass with no battles ongoing. Meyssan points out the contradiction in Zelensky’s transfer of kids to foreign countries.
.
They also mention how David Cohn-Bendit attempted to normalise pedophilia. He is known for having confirmed being hired by the CIA to lead the so called student protests in 1968. That was two years after De Gaulle ‘left NATO’. Actually France withdrew from its integrated military command structure. 

Posted by: petergrfstrm | Mar 8 2026 11:36 utc | 142

2.1 kmsq today. Very small day.
 
Only one area of advance, at Udachne. SW of Pokrovsk.

Posted by: Anonymous | Mar 8 2026 18:42 utc | 144