Isn’t it about time that the BRICS countries expressed solidarity with Iran and withdrew from this year’s World Cup in North America?In particular I’m looking at 3 Countries. Brazil Egypt Iran South Africa  What do Lulu, al-Sisi and Ramaphosa think about the US attack on Iran? Maybe they are waiting to see how it turns out, but who do they express solidarity with – the USA or Iran?
Posted by: Julian | Mar 17 2026 16:38 utc | 301

 
Iran themselves might still participate, just not in the US. I saw that they are negotiating with FIFA to move their games to Mexico. 
 
Not acceptable. The world has to unite and move all games out of the US. 
 
Brazil, a BRICS member, and Spain, whose government has shown some integrity, boycotting would be enough to force FIFA’s hand. 
 
But BRICS is dead and the federations are even more corrupt than the governments, so don’t get your hopes high.

Posted by: GM | Mar 17 2026 18:32 utc | 304

https://t.me/dva_majors/89784
 
 
Comments from Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson M.V. Zakharova regarding the developments surrounding the Arctic Metagaz gas carrier have been published :

Following an unprecedented terrorist attack by unmanned boats and drones on March 4 off the coast of Malta, the Russian-flagged LNG tanker Arctic Metagas is currently adrift in the Mediterranean Sea.The vessel is unmanned (the crew was evacuated after the attack, and two sailors received emergency medical care), and the vessel itself has sustained significant damage : popping sounds are being heard on board , gas emissions are being detected, the vessel is listing more rapidly, and localized fires are present.When the vessel was abandoned, fuel (450 MT of heavy fuel and 250 MT of diesel fuel), as well as a significant amount of natural gas, remained in its bunker tanks.As a bona fide flag state, our country is monitoring the situation.International legal norms applicable to the current situation stipulate the responsibility of coastal countries (so-called affected states) for resolving the situation with the drifting vessel and preventing an environmental disaster.We are awaiting the legal qualification of the incident (❗️) with the gas tanker by Russian law enforcement agencies, after which we will consider additional steps , including in the international legal framework.

✨To summarize the diplomatic statement, it comes down to this: a Russian-flagged vessel was attacked by unknown terrorists on March 4 in international waters. It is now March 17 , and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is awaiting a legal classification of the incident.Meanwhile, another federal executive body, the Russian Ministry of Transport , announced on the very day of the attack that Russia classifies the incident as an act of international terrorism and maritime piracy. The attack on the Russian gas carrier was carried out off the coast of Libya by unmanned Ukrainian boats .So, one ministry already knows on the day of the attack who, from where, and how attacked the Russian-flagged vessel, while another ministry has been waiting for a second week for the ” incident classification “?

Posted by: GM | Mar 17 2026 18:38 utc | 306

More than 200 Ukrainian anti-drone experts deployed in Middle East, Zelensky says
 
More than 201 Ukrainian anti-drone military experts are in the Middle East to help defend the region against Iranian-designed Shahed drones, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, adding another 34 are “ready to deploy”.
 
“These are military experts, experts who know how to help, how to defend against Shahed drones. Our teams are already in the Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and on the way to Kuwait,” Zelensky told British lawmakers during an address in the UK parliament.
 
—France 24

Posted by: UWDude | Mar 17 2026 20:29 utc | 308

.. but it gets a bit messy…

There is nothing to vote for, Government has not registered bill – Zhelezniak comments on IMF’s demand to raise taxes

A member of the Verkhovna Rada from the Holos faction, Yaroslav Zhelezniak, reported that the Verkhovna Rada cannot raise taxes at the request of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), since the Cabinet of Ministers has not registered the relevant bill.
 
He announced this on Telegram, Ukrainian News Agency reports.
 
“There is nothing to vote for. The government did not register the bill. So let them do it first, otherwise they wanted to hang it on the MPs with amendments. All tax changes are packed into one beacon (where there is indeed a deadline like March 31), but apparently the Verkhovna Rada will not even consider it in the first reading before that,” the MP wrote.
 
At the same time, he added that the next review of the IMF program will be in June, so there will actually be much more time.
 
He also suggested that the IMF may postpone or remove the requirements to raise taxes.
 
“Of all the tax points, the only real one is the taxation of platforms. If the Government had not packed its other wishes into it, then perhaps this is what they would have voted for. Replacing the entire Government is an excellent opportunity to review the commitments made. Therefore, these persons should simply be sent to look for work in the excellent labor market that they have made in 6 years and form a normal Government,” Zhelezniak concluded.
 
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, the International Monetary Fund expressed concern about Ukraine’s ability to continue receiving assistance from the USD 8.1 billion package, as the Verkhovna Rada is delaying the measures necessary to release funding.

https://ukranews.com/en/news/1140560-there-is-nothing-to-vote-for-government-has-not-registered-bill-zhelezniak-comments-on-imf-s-demand
 
There does seem to be some financial brinkmanship going on within the Rada, with IMF “enforcers” due to arrive in Kiev tomorrow (18th) to meet with the parliamentary deputies. Tempers have already been frayed by Zelensky telling the deputies that those who didn’t choose to “serve parliament” should serve at the front line.

Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Mar 17 2026 22:35 utc | 310

Woke American // 303
The coordination between the Ukrainian counter offensive, the attack on Iran, and the apparently now cancelled Trump trip to China all seem to have been part of a larger plan.
1.  Distract Russia’s attention in Ukraine
2.  Attack Iran and win in four to seven days
3.  Cut off all Gulf oil to China
4.  Trump arrives in China to dictate surrender terms
 
ANALYSIS
1.  I think the Ukrainian attacks worked.  The Russians did what they usually do, hold their positions and repel attacks.  Part of that “holding positions” was to limit equipment transfers to Iran.    It appears the Russians are now confident they have weathered the Ukrainian attacks.  Three days ago, I read Russia sent 4 As-400 batteries, 24 Iskander-M missiles, 64 anti-ship missiles and a Nebo-M radar to Iran.  The recent Russian advances in Ukraine also suggest the Ukrainian attack was never meant to accomplish anything more than distracting the Russians while the U.S. took over Iran.  Since the Iranians are still fighting, the U.S. must now pour its efforts into that fight.  That means the Ukrainians are left only with the equipment and men set aside for the initial wave of attacks.
 
2.  Obviously the U.S. failed to conquer Iran in 4 to 7 days.  Doesn’t mean they won’t win, but it looks unlikely at the moment.
 
3.  The oil has continued to flow from Iran to China.  The U.S. is stripping the Pacific of weapons and men to ship to the Middle East.  China is stronger vis a vis the U.S.
 
4.  There is no point in Trump travelling to China.  He would be constantly embarrassed and belittled in that very understated and cutting way the Chinese have.
 
FINAL THOUGHT
The U.S. plan has comprehensively failed.  It tried to knock out one rival, Iran, and failed.  It tried to weaken China.  It failed.  It tried to distract Russia.  That succeeded, but it was a short term tactical victory which the Russian are in the process of reversing.  
 
 

Posted by: Nobody Special | Mar 18 2026 0:40 utc | 312

take out the drone and anti-drone experts in their homes?
 
Posted by: GM | Mar 17 2026 23:54 utc | 314
 
omg, so easy!  we know the drone experts are home all day watching television!

Posted by: UWDude | Mar 18 2026 1:00 utc | 314

More than 200 Ukrainian anti-drone experts deployed in Middle East, Zelensky says
 
Posted by: UWDude | Mar 17 2026 20:29 utc | 311

 
When the anti-drone experts get there, they will train the others how to put out a media release claiming 100% shoot downs. This is their strongest competency.

Posted by: Tel | Mar 18 2026 1:53 utc | 316

India Arrests Ukrainian & US Mercenaries
 
https://www.rt.com/india/635336-india-arrests-ukrainian-us-mercenary/
 
“What we know so far…”

Posted by: John Gilberts | Mar 18 2026 2:31 utc | 318

*Iran is the king of ballistic missiles

Posted by: GM | Mar 18 2026 2:50 utc | 320

Shadowbanned / GM AI is low quality.
 
According to it, Iran would not buy a handful of Iskander-M missiles because Iran has plenty of excellent locally manufactured missiles already
 
This is an example of the low quality reasoning ability of this AI.  Countries do buy limited quantities of certain weapons if those weapons provide a specific capability at a reasonable price.  The U.S. produces many excellent aircraft, but still bought a handful of Short Brothers C-23s which were replaced by a.handful of Alenia C-27s.  The shadowbanned / GM AI would undoubtedly call those purchases “fake news.” I call it typical shadowbanned / GM AI stupidity.
 
For those genuinely curious about why Iran might want a few Iskander-Ms, I would assume they found its proven capability to deliver a fast, precise strike in a high EW jamming environment with opposing U.S. air defenses an attractive buy.  The low numbers they bought suggest they see it as a niche weapon.  Probably employed against high value targets with limited windows of vulnerability.

Posted by: Nobody Special | Mar 18 2026 3:20 utc | 322

Nobody Special | Mar 18 2026 0:40 utc | 315
Very good analysis, bang on. Yet another example of how Ukrainians are used up as pawns. When will they figure it out? My only quibble is that what Russians “usually do” is not hold positions but rather crumple in defensive layers and cede territory in exchange for bleeding the enemy. It’s such a simple thing but it seems to work every single time. We’ve seen this here with the Ukrainian “mappers” gleefully painting territory and celebrating breakthrough “victories” recently that will get reversed a couple weeks later.

Posted by: Moonraker | Mar 18 2026 4:21 utc | 324

https://t.me/exilenova_plus/17594
 

Tonight, the 123rd Aviation Repair Plant was attacked in Staraya Rousse, Novgorod Region.
The plant performs repair, modernization and maintenance of military transport aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces. It specializes in the repair of Il-76, Il-78, L-410 aircraft; D-30KP, AI-20, VSU TG-16M engines; AV-68, AV-72 air rifles.
According to the Russian aviation monitoring channels, there are two A-50 long-range radar detection and control (DRLO) aircraft at the plant.

 
https://t.me/exilenova_plus/17597
 

Kislovo, Pskov region, NASA Firms records a large fire near the military training base of the 76th Guards Airborne Division(Pskov Airborne Division, unit 07264).

Posted by: GM | Mar 18 2026 5:43 utc | 326

https://t.me/exilenova_plus/17560
 

At the Kirovo-Chepetsk Chemical Plant, the technological process in the ammonia production workshops has probably been stopped.UralKhim was attacked again by drones on March 13.

Posted by: GM | Mar 18 2026 5:44 utc | 328

How An American Mercenary And Six Ukrainians Ended Up At The Center Of India’s Counterterrorism Probe
 
https://southfront.press/how-an-american-mercenary-and-six-ukrainians-ended-up-at-the-center-of-indias-counterterrorism-probe/
 
India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) is conducting a large-scale probe into a cross-border terrorist network, which, according to the investigation, involves citizens of Ukraine and the United States. Six Ukrainians and one American were detained on March 13 during a coordinated operation across several states 
…
 
The American’s identity has been established: he is 46-year-old Matthew Aaron Van Dyke, a native of Baltimore, Maryland. The Ukrainians detained in the same case are: Petro Hurba, Taras Slyviak, Ivan Sukmanovskyi, Marian Stefankiv, Maksym Honcharuk, and Viktor Kaminskyi. Almost all of them are originally from the Lviv region. One of the detainees, Marian Stefankiv, is associated with the “Aratta” volunteer unit and is a co-founder of the Lviv public organization “Kolo chesti”.
…
The key element of the charges is not only the training of militants but also the supply of weapons. The investigation revealed that the accused are involved in the illegal import of “huge consignments of drones from Europe.” The NIA materials particularly emphasize that the training covered aspects such as “drone warfare, UAV operations, assembly, and signal jamming technology.”
…
All seven have been charged under Section 18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) — “criminal conspiracy to commit a terrorist act
 
…
 
The identity of Matthew Van Dyke has drawn particular attention from the investigation and the press. According to reports, a graduate of the University of Maryland and Georgetown University, he unsuccessfully tried to join the CIA. After that, he worked as a journalist in Iraq and Afghanistan, and was involved in illegal car trafficking. In 2011, he participated in the fighting in Libya against the Gaddafi regime, where he was captured and spent over five months in solitary confinement.
….
 
In 2014, Van Dyke founded the private military company Sons of Liberty International, positioning it as a non-profit organization engaged in “free” military training “to counter authoritarian regimes.” The company’s instructors were former military personnel from the US and Europe. The PMC operated in Iraq and also attempted to expand its activities into Myanmar and the Philippines.
 
In his social media posts, Van Dyke claimed to be conducting covert regime change operations in countries he calls “authoritarian,” including Venezuela, Iran, and Myanmar. His statement from a year ago is telling: “To the leaders of Venezuela, Burma (Myanmar), Iran, and other authoritarian regimes… we are coming for you.”
 
…
Van Dyke had been in Ukraine since April 2022, where his PMC was engaged in providing two-week basic military training to local residents and territorial defense units. By June 2022, according to him, about 550 people had been trained. Van Dyke himself had stated that he intended to stay in Ukraine until “the Russians” left. It is this experience that explains his connection to the six detained Ukrainian citizens
 
…
 
 
 

Posted by: UWDude | Mar 18 2026 8:11 utc | 330

Does that mean Iran is actually now powerful than Russia?
 
Posted by: Julian | Mar 18 2026 9:07 utc | 334
 
no, it means Iran controls the Strait of Hormuz.

Posted by: UWDude | Mar 18 2026 10:20 utc | 332

Re Russian LNG attacked by Ukraine dangerously afloat near Malta
 

Experts say over 60 per cent of Russian crude is being exported on the shadow fleet – but the Ministry of Defence insists that ‘deterring, disrupting and degrading the Russian shadow fleet is a priority’.
Security experts have warned that escalating tensions could lead to clashes at sea, right on the doorstep of Britain’s shores.
Professor Michael Clarke, a defence analyst, told Sky News: ‘There must come a point at which Britain and its allies – the Dutch, Danes, and Norwegians and the sea-going nations of Northern Europe – they together will get much tougher with these Russian ships, even if they’re escorted.
‘When that happens, we’re heading probably sometime this year for some sort of militarised confrontation at sea possibly in the Channel or the North Sea, somewhere certainly near to British coast.’

RussiaUkraineMoscow

Posted by: Jo | Mar 18 2026 11:41 utc | 334

Russia’s Deterrence Logic: Why No Strong Response – Krapivnik and Diesen

00:00 Situation update and frontline shifts 03:01 Conflicting reports and battlefield data 06:00 Encirclement strategy and Kharkiv threat 09:01 Lyman situation and supply routes 11:00 PR war and Western support dynamics 13:03 Iran war impact on US strength 16:14 Pressure on Russia to escalate 18:06 Deterrence dilemma and timing 19:34 Diplomatic breakdown with Europe 20:31 First strike doctrine risks explained 23:04 Chaos in US strategy and messaging 25:08 Crisis of leadership and credibility 27:00 Macron role and EU divisions 29:12 Trust issues with European leaders 32:04 EU politics and internal conflicts 34:01 Europe lacks leadership and vision 35:34 Possible escalation vs United States 36:35 China shift and global balance 38:14 Iran pressure reshaping Middle East 40:19 Declining US influence globally 43:12 Russia and China support for Iran 46:15 Military tech and drone warfare 49:13 Risks of wider regional war 50:02 China and Taiwan strategic window 51:25 Internal dissent in US leadership 52:07 Closing remarks and conclusions

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGR7hEveKQs

Posted by: unimperator | Mar 18 2026 12:12 utc | 336

As already mentioned elsewhere, 1.175 AFU casualties
 
https://tass.com/politics/2103487
 
I’ll just repost marat as it concerned this day
 
https://maratkhairullin.substack.com/p/brief-frontline-report-march-17th

Posted by: Newbie | Mar 18 2026 16:26 utc | 338

“The end result was the Kharkov and Kherson fiascos.”
 
Posted by: GM | Mar 16 2026 18:28 utc | 226
 
GM – the Kharkov and Kherson fiascos?   I didn’t see any fiascos at the time.  Don’t see them as such now.  How was it that two very routine and common sense Russian military operations got presented to us as a stunning Russian defeat?  
 
Because just about everyone in the West (and most Russian milbloggers, or all that I heard of) got those two operations wrong.  Perhaps, as with the “Battle for Kiev” that never was, we in the West will always get it wrong.  Looks like it, judging from what I see the Western journalists and “analysts” still putting out.  But don’t be fooled.  What happened on those two occasions was not what we were told had happened.
 
Kherson.  The Russians had used Kherson as a killing ground for a while.  Videos were more trustworthy  then and we saw the resultant carnage almost in real time.
 
Nothing unusual in using Kherson as a killing ground.  Well before Surovikin and Prighozhin were talking of attrition the Russians had focused on using this entire war as a killing ground.  Aside from that dramatic and very brief opening Blitzkrieg in the Donbass, and right up to the present time, the Russians have used their superiority in equipment, particularly back then in artillery, to do what Falkenhayn had hoped to do at Verdun:  kill more of the enemy than they lost themselves.
 
The Russians don’t much care how they do that.  Whether it’s the enemy being thrown against impregnable defences or whether it’s the enemy fiercely resisting being pushed back, whether it’s enemy counter-attack or enemy retreat, the brutal arithmetic of unequal attrition that Falkenhayn reckoned on was the brutal arithmetic the Russians worked to.  While we in the West cheered as flags were raised here or torn down there, while our journalists and “analysts” told us of  Ukrainian “victories” here and glossed over Ukrainian “defeats” there, the Russian General Staff counted bodies.  Their aim, to dispose of whatever in the way of equipment and proxy manpower NATO could bring against them at the least possible cost in Russian lives.  And to carry on disposing of it until there was no more to bring against them.
 
So at Kherson.  Had it suited them the Russians might have stayed there indefinitely and the attrition might have continued indefinitely.  But when their logistics were at risk from flooding they withdrew to lines on the left bank of the Dnieper that were not at risk from flooding.  Those new lines, according to reports at the time, sited on ground that was above the expected flood line.   Makes sense, that – the left bank was lower than the right so you’d need to set the lines there well back in case the dam got blown.
 
The withdrawal a text book operation.   Civilians evacuated in good time.  Men and equipment withdrawn in an orderly manner.  At the time it was said they didn’t lose a man, which would have been regarded as something of an achievement for such an exercise even on peacetime manoeuvres.
 
But something that should be noted about that Kherson withdrawal.  It was not a withdrawal under fire.  Why not?  An army is at its most vulnerable when it’s pulling back and you’d expect the Kiev forces to have exploited that vulnerability.  
 
The answer to that question lies in the Kharkov withdrawal.  There, in the Kharkov withdrawal, the Kiev forces had advanced into pre-registered artillery fire and had been badly mauled.  They were wary of repeating the experience in Kherson.  In fact the Kiev forces held off occupying the abandoned city for a while.  There were fears publicly expressed on the Ukrainian side that they might be walking into another Kharkov trap. They weren’t.  When they entered Kherson the city was empty.
 
So much for the claimed Russian defeat in Kherson.  I only saw one analyst on our side get it right.  Richard North commended Surovikin for avoiding possible disaster at the cost of a mere propaganda loss.  Me, I wondered at the time why the dam hadn’t been blown earlier.  Possibly the Americans hadn’t got up to speed with their HIMARS then.  Whatever, attempting to keep supplies flowing or rotating troops over mud and flooded ground would have been no picnic and avoiding that required no more that common sense.  That’s what the famous “Kherson fiasco” was in reality.  A common sense move well executed.
 
So with the earlier “Kharkov fiasco” we in the West all cheered madly at the time.  The Russians evacuated the civilians who wanted to go – that was important after Bucha – and pulled back.  Mauling the Kiev forces severely as they came in.  So severely that, as said, the Kiev forces were wary of a similar trap in Kherson later.   But all on our side stuck their triumphant flags in the map and saw in the Russian withdrawal a portent of Western victory.
 
That’s the bones of it, GM.  The Kherson and Kharkov withdrawals were routine operations portrayed to us in the West as stupendous defeats.  Were there any screw-ups along the way?   Any corners of those operations that could and should have been done better?  Bound to have been.  Both sides.  Except in Hollywood productions or Tom Clancy novels any war is usually a catalogue of screw-ups and there’s no reason to believe the Russians were uniquely immune to them.  What we saw on those two occasions, however, were no more than routine adjustments routinely executed.
 
Though it did look to me as if the execution of the Kherson withdrawal was a bit special.  Not a man lost during such an operation, if true, was not what you’d normally manage in those circumstances.
 
Hope that puts the record straight on “the Kharkov and Kherson fiascos”.   They’re a while back now but I still see people getting them wrong, even people you wouldn’t normally expect to see getting things wrong.  I used to say, in ’22, that we in the West had been scammed.  Instead of telling us what was really happening, our politicians and journalists were, when they spoke of the war in Ukraine, presenting us with “imagined war in an imagined country against an imagined enemy”.  Unless we get the basic facts right, that’s how it will always be.  Getting these two imagined “fiascos” out of the way might be a start to putting that right.

Posted by: English Outsider | Mar 18 2026 17:01 utc | 340

Worse, there is no intention to recover it, because Putin surrendered two constititutional regional capitals of the RF in the so called “negotiations” (!!!) and Kharkov is not a goal at all.

 
Related to this — the Russian MoD used to refer to capture of settlements in Kharkov oblast as “liberation”.
 
At some point a few weeks ago it switched to talking about “taking control of”. In the same posts that were reporting “liberation” of settlements in the DNR. 
 
Given that a lot of people saw great significance in the use of the word “liberation” for Kharkov villages when it was used, i.e. Russia was claiming those, we can only demand the same rigor and apporach for the reverse phenomenon.

Posted by: GM | Mar 18 2026 17:47 utc | 342

GM – if you don’t object to my saying so, we can’t discuss how successful the Russians are in achieving their war aims until we know what those war aims are.
 
Fortunately  that nice Mr Putin comes to our aid.  He very kindly set out those aims out for us on February 24th 2022.  Over the years he’s been reminding us of them at regular intervals: I think he may be worried that our memories aren’t as good as they should be.
 
And that’s being tactful.  That nice Mr Trump has the attention span of a hen and needs all the help he can get.   The Europoodles, you understand, being long since out of the reckoning.
 
Far as I can see the Russians are getting on OK with their war aims. If you’re English, GM, you  had better hope, as I do,  that they continue to get on OK.  If they feel things are going a bit slow for them then my confident prediction – No Oreshniks for Brize Norton – may turn out to have been  shade too confident.
 
 

Posted by: English Outsider | Mar 18 2026 20:11 utc | 344

Posted by: English Outsider | Mar 18 2026 20:11 utc | 346
Far as I can see the Russians are getting on OK with their war aims. If you’re English, GM, you  had better hope, as I do,  that they continue to get on OK.  If they feel things are going a bit slow for them then my confident prediction – No Oreshniks for Brize Norton – may turn out to have been  shade too confident

That decision will be up to the RF (the despicable Putin) and the relevant Russian decision makers, but in general I agree.
By all means destroy Brize Norton , but I think that obliteration of the UK submarine bases and associated industrial infrastructure would send a stronger message. If that is insufficient, then the removal of the financial hubs in the  City of London might be required.

Posted by: Barrel Brown | Mar 18 2026 22:25 utc | 346

Posted by: Jim Given | Mar 19 2026 1:40 utc | 349
 
until the strait of Hormuz is closed.
 
The Europe begs Russia for oil.  Maybe Putin can attach some strings to the sales, what his economic thesis was about.
 
And also, taking Ukraine is worth more than the price of missiles.  you concern pussies keep forgetting Russia is going to win, and already controls the best parts of Ukraine.

Posted by: UWDude | Mar 19 2026 1:45 utc | 348

GM – if you don’t object to my saying so, we can’t discuss how successful the Russians are in achieving their war aims until we know what those war aims are. Fortunately  that nice Mr Putin comes to our aid.  He very kindly set out those aims out for us on February 24th 2022.  Over the years he’s been reminding us of them at regular intervals: I think he may be worried that our memories aren’t as good as they should be. 
Posted by: English Outsider | Mar 18 2026 20:11 utc | 346

 
The February 24th 2022 war aims have been completely abandoned. When was the last time  you heard about demilitarization and denazification? Those have been dropped entirely from the “negotiations” too. 
 
Worse, Ukraine is much more militarized and nazified now than it was in early 2022. You got that not from me, but from Shoigu yesterday, who publicly stated the unmentionable — the Urals were the deep untouchable rear but are now an active war zone. 
 
Then we have the even more important issue, which is the category mistake of equating Putin, Peskovites and their merry oligarch gang with Russia the country. Unfortunately for Russia the country, those scumbags have captured it and make the decisions for it. But that doesn’t mean that the interests of the two entities are the same. 
 
So the “war aims” and “negotiation terms” right now are those that the traitors who are in power are seeking. 
 
They are not what is in Russia’s vital interests to pursue. 
 
There is no viable future for Russia unless Ukraine is reincorporated into Russia in its entirety and then completely de-Ukrainized. Yes, including core Banderistan in the Lvov/Ternopol/Ivano-Frankovsk triangle. You occupy and physically exterminate every single Banderite. There is no other solution — any piece of territory you don’t do this to will be used as a platform for attack on you, with increasingly more powerful and longer-range weapons. And that must be done immediately, because every day it is delayed it becomes more and more difficult.

Posted by: GM | Mar 19 2026 2:52 utc | 350

https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/russian-tip-off-led-to-the-arrest-of-us-national-vandyke-mercenary-six-ukrainians-by-nia-101773883183070.html
 
Russian tip-off led to arrest of alleged CIA asset Vandyke and six Ukrainians by India.
 

Russian authorities shared information with their Indian counterparts on the activities of six Ukrainian nationals and a US citizen arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for allegedly training ethnic armed groups in Myanmar, people familiar with the matter said.

Posted by: UWDude | Mar 19 2026 5:21 utc | 352

Posted by: GM | Mar 19 2026 2:52 utc | 352
 
GM – we both understand the problems that the Western use of Ukraine as an attack dog poses to the Russians.  But the Russians aren’t in the same position as the Iranians.
 
The Iranians are full backs to the wall.  Every man jack of them knows that if they don’t throw all they’ve got into resisting the predator, they’re going to end up like Libya.  The Russians, in contrast, now have their war in Ukraine well in hand and are looking to get it done with at as little cost to themselves as they can manage. 
 
But they’re also looking to the future, after the Ukrainian war.  Doesn’t look like that agreeable a future.  The West will be conducting “dirty war” against them as long as it has the resources to do so.  Sneak attacks,  attacks on civilians as you detail in your last comment above,  destabilising attempts along the RF perimeter.  If the recent disturbances in Dagestan are what they looked to be, destabilising attempts inside the Russian perimeter if we can manage it.  And you and I are both ignoring the key aspect of this conflict. The sanctions war.
 
The military operations in Ukraine are a mere sideshow to that.  It was obvious from the start that that sideshow was a lost cause,  merely an add-on to the attempt to break the Russian economy and thus the RF itself.
 
That’s not some some speculative theory.   If you look at the speeches made by Biden and the Europeans in early ’22 you’ll see that that was the stated policy of the West.  Statements showing that set out here:-
 
https://canadiandimension.com/articles/view/squaring-an-impossible-circle-of-peace-and-insecurity-in-ukraine
 
Put “Maire” in the search bar and you’ll see this – “And it is the Russian financial system that will collapse before our eyes.”   There it is, in black and white.  And plenty more.  Don’t think that that economic assault will cease when Ukraine’s over.  That’s only the first episode  We’re looking at a full-on Western assault that’ll last as long as the West has the power to pursue it.
 
That is what the Russians are gearing up for.  Unless we understand that, we do not understand current Russian policy.  The Russians clearly have the upper hand at the moment but it’s still only 150 million against a billion and they’re preparing for a future in which it might not be so easy to keep the West in check.
 
Time’s on their side of course.  Don’t forget that.  Our Western countries are increasingly dysfunctional.  We were on the skids long before ’22 and there’s no sign of that getting remedied.  But there’s still plenty of kick left in the West.  And the Russian allies and friends are most of them pretty flaky.   So the long term, for the Russians, isn’t as easy as you might think.  They have to plan ahead on that and not allow their resentment at the current psycho dodges our Western politicians are coming up with to over-ride those plans.
 
On the question of Russian internal politics you raise, I find it quite difficult enough to get a hold on the internal politics of my own country without pretending I can say anything useful about Russian politics.  I’m aware there’s a contingent of hard liners, their views expressed by such as Dugin or Strelkov and transmitted to us by such as Helmer or Doctorow. Don’t know how influential they are.
 
Robinson, in articles referred to in that comment section linked to, says not very.  He knows his Russian politics as I don’t so I go along with him.  Martyanov is similarly dismissive of that contingent and he knows his Russian politics from the inside.  What I can tell you is that Strelkov’s given more attention in the West than is merited.   Have followed his actions and interviews, off and on,  since 2014.   You don’t have to be an expert on Russian politics to know a blowhard when you see him.
 
On the question of the problem of remnant Ukraine, we don’t yet know how the Russians will tackle that problem.   Leave it as it is and it stays a Western attack dog:  “Look no hands” drones and missiles, deniable assassination and sabotage attacks run from remnant Ukraine till Kingdom come.   All that set out in detail in the American press.  But occupy remnant Ukraine and that’s another  heap of trouble. 
 
Discussed often enough on “b’s” site.  The future for remnant Ukraine is friendly state, neutral state, puppet state or Russian occupied.   It’ll have to be one of those to deal with the attack dog problem.  Am I right in thinking you’d like to see it Russian occupied?  Hope not.  Stalin tried that and it turned out a real mess.

Posted by: English Outsider | Mar 19 2026 11:51 utc | 354

#356 English Outsider’
Thanks for the articulate comment, but I do not agree with this: “Time’s on their side of course. Don’t forget that. Our Western countries are increasingly dysfunctional.”  Russia is losing the drone technology war and their air defenses are being decimated  by drones.  As I have noted on prior comments, Russia’s defense industry being hit by strikes and Ukraine unwrapping gifts made in areas Russia can’t touch is not viable long-term.  And I am aware that Ukraine almost certainly has worse manpower problems than Russia. 

Posted by: schmoe | Mar 19 2026 18:49 utc | 356

https://t.me/belarusian_silovik/71317
 

The enemy demonstrated objective control of attacks in Sevastopol.
Unfortunately, there is confirmation of a large-scale drone attack on JSC Almaz-Antey Air Defense Concern.
I won’t post the video itself, but I’m publishing screenshots from each attack.
The enemy claims they were servicing air defense systems. If this is true, it’s time to remember what I wrote: a systematic hunt for Russian systems has been underway for a long time.

Posted by: GM | Mar 19 2026 19:47 utc | 358

Everyone expends millions of pixels discussing the internal situation in Russia, with lofty pontificating from great heights peppered with the wisdom and vision of Zeus himself, yet nobody wants to focus on the internal situation within Ukraine.
 
And that internal situation within Ukraine has a crucial bearing on how the outcome of the SMO is shaped and finalised.
 
Haven’t posted much for a couple of days because it’s just turning into a spam/counter-spam fest; but Ukraine is in deep political chaos and is on the financial edge at the same time. Just yesterday the outspoken deputy Mariana Bezuglaya has had a treason investigation opened against her. The Rada itself is coalescing into three irreconcilable factions, none of which command a majority; Zelensky is fortunate for the moment, his faction is still largely supported by the senior military commanders.
 
Underneath all that, the ultra-nationalist Nazi factions still lurk, and that is not a totally unified front, adding to the instability of the mix.
 
The bill for financial reforms demanded by the IMF as the price for further financing still hasn’t been presented properly, let alone debated and passed. The first attempt was voted down, leading to the sudden arrival of IMF officials for “discussions”.
 
As for the stepped-up activities of the TCC press-gangs, oh boy is that generating some friction! Stabbings, shootings, beatings.
 
What happens inside Russia is irrelevant right now, it is what is happening inside Ukraine that matters. It is a failed state, and that is where and how Russia gains a lot of leverage in the future picture.
 
Anyway, I’m going to drop out of posting on this topic, let @ GM and his fan club have their wet dreams, their fantasies, their fetishes, it doesn’t matter to me that they will miss the true fireworks of Ukrainian implosive dissolution.

Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Mar 19 2026 21:18 utc | 360

In the Eyes of Truth Update 19.03.2026 Tis the season of mud.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50WJOxIMgVM

Posted by: unimperator | Mar 19 2026 21:41 utc | 362

schmoe // 358
 
I totally agree.  I’m still not sure why the Ukrainians haven’t taken Moscow yet.  It’s been four years.  I mean last summer Russia lost their entire oil industry to Ukrainian attacks.  They have no cars, trucks, trains, airplanes, much less tanks left moving anywhere.  Since they ran out of washing machine chips two years ago,  the destruction of the last remaining chip manufacturer means Russia is defenseless.  With its two million dead soldiers and drunk population, the Russians aren’t even putting up a fight.  The statesmanship of Zelensky, the very reincarnation of Winston Churchill, has formed the mightiest alliance in the history of the world led by the military brilliance of Macron, the modern Napoleon; the dominance of the almighty Royal Navy; all combined with the unmatched arsenal of democracy under the wise leadership of Donald Trump should have brought complete victory by now.  Why hasn’t Ukraine, with the almighty NATO, and undefeated America behind its back taken Moscow and crushed the lingering remnant of Russia.  I want to know who the traitors are.  Is it Starmer, Miloni, Kallas?  

Posted by: Nobody Special | Mar 19 2026 22:37 utc | 364

@366 Nobody Special
I am guessing you missed my point that direct NATO strikes on Russia’s military manufacturing facilities is a relatively new phenomenon.

Posted by: schmoe | Mar 19 2026 23:00 utc | 366

Posted by: Nobody Special | Mar 19 2026 22:37 utc | 366
 
LoL
 
Putin?
 
Worst.  Traitor.  Ever.

Posted by: UWDude | Mar 20 2026 0:30 utc | 368

So presumably Ukraine has thousands of anti-drone experts..
At the start of the war it had zero. So how is demilitarization going exactly?
Posted by: GM | Mar 17 2026 23:54 utc | 313
Those of us with a functioning brain understand that this is nothing more than rats abandoning sinking ship. Because a country fighting an existential war does not give away its best assets. So now every ukrop with some pull is an anti-drone expert, LOL.

Posted by: averros | Mar 20 2026 1:36 utc | 370

It’s not only millions of Russians who’d like to see escalation to that level.  Just about all the European politicians would as well!  It’s their only chance of getting their increasingly disillusioned electorates to fall in behind them.  Why would Putin give them that sort of boost?
Posted by: English Outsider | Mar 20 2026 1:09 utc | 371

 
Because if your’re fighting an existential war and the exchange ratio is that you fire zero while your enemies who are out to destroy you fire a lot, you will eventually lose that existential war, unless you start firing back. The only question is how long it will take. 
 
Nobody, not even Russia, has infinite resources and capacity to absord hits.
 
So the answer to your question is that there is no other option.
 
Besides, what is Russia afraid of? It’s a superpower, right? Europe is not. It should be no problem for Russia to eliminate the threat on its western borders. Right? And indeed, it is no problem for the Russian military to do that — it will take a couple hours to physically eliminate the threat (using the appropriate warheads), then another few weeks to make sure it never arises again (i.e. for ground forces to firmly establish control of the space east of the Hammerfest-Bergen-Brussels-Geneva line; maybe further west, depending on how good Russian attack subs really are). And there will be nothing and nobody to shoot at Russian cities ever again. Why isn’t it being done then? If people are firing at your cities, destroying  your industry and killing your citizens, you are supposed to physically eliminate those people and make sure they can’t do that ever again. What is there to think about? So why hasn’t a single shot been fired back? By one of the superpowers no less…

Posted by: GM | Mar 20 2026 3:33 utc | 372

You vastly overestimate Russia’s power and vastly underestimate the power of NATO.
Posted by: UWDude | Mar 20 2026 4:10 utc | 375

 
Weren’t you one of the Martyanovites telling us that Russia is running circles around NATO and comfortably winning the war?

Posted by: GM | Mar 20 2026 7:52 utc | 374

this vid make ukronazis,WNs and NAFOs seethe:
 
18s
 
https://t.me/BellumActaNews/168829
 
 
 
 
Today, March 20, 2026, Sunni Muslims worldwide celebrate Eid Al Fitr, the last day of Ramadan
 
 
 
 
🇷🇺 Video from Moscow shows the Muslim population of the Russian capital gathering for the Friday Prayers
 
 
 
 
Due to the celebration of the end of Ramadan, part of Prospekt Mira is blocked off, and there are also restrictions in place on many other streets in the city, as the Muslim faithful of the city pray

Posted by: UWDude | Mar 20 2026 8:33 utc | 376

Another ranker seized, more Russian humiliation, no response as usual:
 
https://t.me/rezervsvo/157980
 

The French Navy seized the tanker Deyna, which was sailing from Russia under the Mozambican flag, in the Mediterranean Sea, Reuters reports .
 
 

Posted by: GM | Mar 20 2026 12:18 utc | 378

British bastards continue going all-in for terrorism on the seas.

Britain is preparing provocations against Russia in maritime spaces
 
With the support and management of Britain, Ukraine is preparing to deploy a new generation of long-range maritime drones, capable of operating beyond coastal waters, and even in the ocean.
 
For this, within the framework of the new defense-industrial agreement between Ukraine and Britain, it is planned to conduct joint R&D, organize production, and establish a “Center of Competence in AI” in Kyiv. For this, 500 thousand pounds sterling will be allocated.
 
The center, called “A1”, will be engaged in the introduction of AI into defense processes and the development of technological solutions for modern warfare. It will deal with analyzing data from the battlefield, developing autonomous systems, and developing the latest management tools.
 
Britain will provide an industrial base and experts for scaling up Ukrainian developments (from tactics on the battlefield to serial production and export).
 
In addition, for the British Navy, 20 unmanned surface vehicles K3 Scout Medium produced by Kraken Technology Group have been ordered. The BNVs are 8.4 m long, weigh up to 2500 kg, reach speeds of up to 100 km/h, have a range of 1200 km and a payload of 600 kg. They can operate beyond direct visibility and perform tasks in logistics, search and rescue, reconnaissance (ISR), hydrography, strikes and other missions.
 
Ukraine, which received Western technologies for the production of BNVs in 2023, is now attacking Russian civilian vessels and energy infrastructure in the interests of these same countries. It is obvious that these actions are aimed at expanding the geography of the pursuit of Russian tankers around the world’s ocean.
 
The implementation of a convoy and the placement of MOGs on ships of the Russian merchant fleet should prevent pirate seizures of ships by countries of 🏴‍☠️🇪🇺EU and NATO, but do not guarantee 100% protection against attacks by unmanned surface and underwater vehicles. To prevent such threats, asymmetric measures will be required not only in relation to ships heading to Ukrainian ports.

https://x.com/dana916/status/2034980944788988038

Posted by: unimperator | Mar 20 2026 13:24 utc | 380

Posted by: James | Mar 20 2026 14:12 utc | 946 (current Iran thread)

Aha, Micron stated that France seized the tanker “Dena” in the Mediterranean Sea, sailing from Russia under the Mozambican flag. The French last seizure of such a tanker in the Mediterranean ended in disaster, the tanker had to be released. We’ll see how it goes this time…

A disaster for whom? The ship was immobilized for more than three weeks and the owner was fined several million dollars.

Posted by: robin | Mar 20 2026 14:44 utc | 382

“The Vile and Deranged Putin, fanatically set on recovering lost Empire, had mounted an unprovoked attack on a peaceful neighbour ” 
  – I recall seeing  a public opinion poll from a few weeks ago that had Putin’s net unfavorable rating about thirty points higher (worse) than Bibi.  Try and wrap your mind around that.  I think Zelensky had about 70 points higher favorability than Putin.  At least in the US, there was a massive anti-Russia propaganda offensive unlike anything in recent history that seemed to coincide with Putin kicking out the 1990s era Oligarchs.  There also is a partisan aspect to this, with many Democrats sincerely believing that Putin hacked the 2016 voting machines and elected Trump.  
If this evolves into a European-wide or limited nuclear strike on Ukraine, there will be absolutely no one asking “how did things to to that point” and it will be framed as “see, we said he was worse than Hitler”.  

Posted by: schmoe | Mar 20 2026 17:45 utc | 384

On Ukrainian mobilization slaughter and Zelensky’s assets in Dubai.
https://eventsinukraine.substack.com/p/bitter-soldiers-brutal-bandits

Posted by: unimperator | Mar 20 2026 21:12 utc | 386

I’m submitting too many comments to this section.  But …
 
Must submit a link to this.  A quite brilliant survey from Commodore Jermy.  Mostly on Iran but here and there some quietly devastating comments on the Ukrainian war. 
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MN7nECum_w
 

Posted by: English Outsider | Mar 21 2026 0:13 utc | 388

Demilitarization continues even further:
 
https://t.me/rezervsvo/158073
 

The largest Ukrainian drone attack on the Rostov Region this year—air defense forces shot down more than 90 drones in the skies over the region today.
The enemy attacked nine districts overnight: Chertkovsky, Millerovsky, Tarasovsky, Bokovsky, Milyutinsky, Sholokhovsky, Kasharsky, Krasnosulinsky, and Kamensky, the regional governor reported.
Earlier, Ukrainian drones attacked the Saratov Region, injuring two people and shattering windows in houses. Another 27 drones were destroyed as they approached Moscow, Sergei Sobyanin reported .

Posted by: GM | Mar 21 2026 5:53 utc | 390

Apartment building has been hit in Ufa
 
https://t.me/exilenova_plus/17732
 
1300 km in the rear…

Posted by: GM | Mar 21 2026 9:39 utc | 392

British media admits Ukraine’s population fell from 40 million to 20 million between 2014 and 2025.
https://x.com/TheOtherSideRu/status/2035249805480374697

Posted by: unimperator | Mar 21 2026 9:45 utc | 394

https://gilbertdoctorow.substack.com/p/last-days-of-the-putin-regime-with
 

Last days of the Putin regime? With forcible incarceration of dissidents in psychiatric hospitals Putin has taken over the relay race of Sovietism from Brezhnev

 

Make no mistake about it, there is a power struggle going on today in the Kremlin. Putin and his entourage are fighting to hold onto power. They are under threat from an assortment of opponents who have their own separate criticisms of Putin’s management of affairs. The disaffected now includes a good part of the foreign policy establishment which was deeply shaken by the U.S. attack on Iran, which they see as a foretaste of what awaits Russia now that Putin & Co. have allowed Russia’s deterrence to lapse by their failing to respond to the West’s brazen provocations that cross red lines clearly delineated by Putin in the past.

 

The Putin regime is starting to use every dirty trick in the books to suppress open dissent, including forced hospitalization in psychiatric hospitals, which was one of the ugliest chapters in the Brezhnev era of the 1960 to 1980. The article below published on Reuters sets out in detail what the Russian news ticker dzen.ru described in two sentences yesterday morning. Now that I have looked into Russian social media, I see that the case of Ilya Remeslo is getting a lot of attention there, so this is not an insignificant incident.

 

The problem is that the defensive measures taken by Putin go well beyond the incarceration of Mr. Remeslo. It is now openly stated in Russian official media that not only is the mobile internet being shut down for extended periods of time in St Petersburg, Moscow and other cities but the speed of internet service to home subscribers is being slowed. If the first, shutdown of mobile, is nothing new, and note that I reported on this phenomenon more than a year ago on my periodic visits to Petersburg, explaining it then in terms of preventive measures against incoming Ukrainian drones, then the second state intervention to slow fixed line internet has no such explanation and must be viewed in terms of preventive measures against domestic dissent and possibly against coordinated protests. Does this sound like the behavior of a government that polls say has 80% support of the population? Hardly.

 

One side element in the shock of the US attack on Iran comes precisely from the de facto military and political leader Ali Larijani this past week. That highlighted to the Russian expert community how the presence of Liberals at the top of the Iranian political establishment seeking deals with Washington at the expense of Iranian sovereignty enabled penetration by Mossad spies and of Iranian traitors to the regime. This is precisely the problem from which Russia itself suffers even after the departure of so many high visibility Liberals at the start of the Special Military Operation. And that problem may be traced straight back to the President, who coddles them. If anyone had any doubts about this, Putin’s bizarre happy birthday wishes to the Naina Yeltsina, the widow of the former President, a few days ago was proof positive that Putin honors one of the country’s biggest traitors, as set out every few weeks in great detail by the Russian film maker and great patriot Nikita Mikhalkov on his television program Besogon. The Yeltsin Center in Yekaterinburg for which Naina is the chief sponsor has acted in collusion with the U.S. consulate in the city to disseminate what can only be called sedition.

 
 

The power struggle in the Kremlin is not our affair, but its outcome will be our affair since it will directly impact the conduct of the war in Ukraine and Russia’s responses to the many threats coming from the West which so far have been very subdued.

 

Putin Henchman Tossed in Psych Hospital After Shocking Plea to Russians​

 

A very public call to overthrow the Russian leader came from an unlikely source—and within a matter of hours, that source was locked up.

 

Updated Mar. 19 2026 3:30PM EDT Published Mar. 19 2026 12:50PM EDT

 

By Donovan Lynch

 

Pelagiya Tikhonova/via REUTERS

 

A prominent Russian blogger who made a name for himself doing the Kremlin’s bidding was sent to a psychiatric hospital after publicly turning on Vladimir Putin in a shocking manifesto earlier this week. ,

 

Ilya Remeslo, a lawyer and former member of a Kremlin-controlled public advisory body, gained fame by targeting critics of the Russian president, most notably opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

 

But for reasons unknown, Remeslo suddenly had a very public change of heart this week, posting a scathing manifesto in which he called for Putin’s ouster and demanded he be tried for war crimes.

 

His “Five Reasons why I stopped supporting Vladimir Putin” manifesto left pro-Kremlin figures reeling, with some openly wondering if Remeslo was being held at gunpoint somewhere. But within hours of his damning Putin assessment, Remeslo was sent to a psychiatric hospital, according to the St. Petersburg outlet Fontanka.

 

Unnamed sources told the outlet an ambulance had been called to Remeslo’s home on Wednesday before he was brought to the hospital.

 

Screenshot, translated from Russian, showing Remeslo’s anti-Putin post on Telegram. Ilya Remeslo/Telegram. Ilya Remeslo/Telegram.

 

Remeslo’s unexpected flaying of Putin came at a particularly bad time for the Russian leader, who’s facing criticism from even some longtime supporters over his perceived abandonment of Russian allies Iran and Venezuela. Remeslo also tore into Putin for waging a “dead-end” war in Ukraine that he said was being fought “solely for the sake of Putin’s complexes.”

 

He called for the Russian leader to be put on trial as a war criminal and thief, blasting the strongman for his repression of media freedom and the internet.

 

Remeslo lays out his opposition to the Russian leader. Ilya Remeslo/Telegram. Ilya Remeslo/Telegram

 

The Telegram post also criticized Putin’s long tenure in power, which began on New Year’s Eve in 1999, after Boris Yeltsin relinquished the presidency.

 

“Absolute power corrupts absolutely,” Remeslo wrote. “We need a new modern president.”

 

The anti-Putin message received support from hundreds. Ilya Remeslo/Telegram. Ilya Remeslo/Telegram

 

In a later post he called on Putin to undergo several sessions of psychotherapy.

 

His tone was a striking departure from the past, when he had regularly shared Kremlin-friendly news articles and sometimes linked directly to the Kremlin website.

 

Few details of Remeslo’s condition have been reported by Russian media. He was admitted to Skvortsov-Stepanov City Psychiatric Hospital No. 3 in St. Petersburg and is able to receive deliveries of packages, according to Fontanka.

 

His about-face comes shortly after a new analysis revealed that Navalny, the opposition leader long seen as the only potential replacement for Putin until he was jailed and later killed, was poisoned by a toxin found in certain frogs. Remeslo was widely seen as a driving force behind Navalny’s jailing.

 

His hospitalization comes as the Kremlin suspends peace talks between Russia, the United States, and Ukraine.

Posted by: GM | Mar 21 2026 11:01 utc | 396

1.310 AFU casualties after 2 sub 1.200 days
 
Marat on the latter…
 
https://maratkhairullin.substack.com/p/brief-frontline-report-march-19th

Posted by: Newbie | Mar 21 2026 13:54 utc | 398

Who is Gilbert Doctorow and why would I care?
 
There’s this woman who lives in a town in Canada.  She likes to walk to work when the weather is nice.  She once visited Mexico for vacation.  She doesn’t like Starmer anymore.  How much longer can Starmer survive?

Posted by: Nobody Special | Mar 21 2026 15:44 utc | 400