News & views related to the war in Ukraine …
Back to Main
July 5, 2026
Ukraine Open Thread 2026-143
Comments
https://t.me/boris_rozhin/217423
A BRITISH TRACE IN UKRAINIAN ATTACKS. HOW “STORM SHADOW” END UP IN UKRAINE
I have an extremely negative view of Great Britain and have stated this repeatedly. No, not towards the ordinary citizens of London, Manchester, or Liverpool. But the British leadership, whether in the 18th century or today – in my view, they are our main haters and consistent, systemic enemies. There are countless examples of this, and I won’t go into a historical digression. Current information is sufficient.
For example: Our media and the internet often claim that ” European countries and Great Britain are behind the strikes on Russian territory !” This is true. But such truth must be constantly supported by facts.
Fortunately, my sources in Ukraine regularly send me interesting documents, which I use in my work. It is precisely from such documents that the necessary confirmation is obtained.
I present to you an interesting document. This is a copy of a payment document dated November 19, 2025, for the delivery of 19 Storm Shadow missiles from the United Kingdom to Ukraine.
The recipient is military unit A2192, 303rd Central Artillery Missile and Ammunition Storage Base, located in the urban-type settlement of Makariv in the Kyiv Oblast and in the urban-type settlement of Horodok in the Zhytomyr Oblast at 37 Lesnaya Alley Street.The shipper is RAF Brize Norton , the largest air base of the British Royal Air Force, located in Oxfordshire, near the village of Brize Norton and the town of Carterton, approximately 120 km northwest of London.
The contract value is almost 27 million US dollars .
It is noteworthy that after delivery to the storage base in the Zhytomyr Oblast, the missiles are to be subsequently transported to Starokostiantyniv. For those unfamiliar, Starokostiantyniv is a military airfield located 5 km east of the town of the same name, Starokostiantyniv, in the Khmelnytskyi region. It is home to the 7th Tactical Aviation Brigade of the Ukrainian Air Force. This brigade is armed with Su-24 aircraft, which carry out strikes on Russian territory with Western-made missiles, including Storm Shadows.
The document clearly confirms the delivery of British missiles to the Ukrainian airfield. One could hardly ask for more confirmation of Britain’s involvement in strikes on our country.
ukr_leaks_analytics
Posted by: MiniMO | Jul 8 2026 1:02 utc | 301
“Russia was not even fully braced when starting the 2022 intervention.”
Posted by: aquadraht | Jul 7 2026 21:38 utc | 289
Yes, and there were also signs of unpreparedness. The evacuation from the LoC was hurried and incomplete. The LDNR mobilisation looked somewhat last minute. The Russian General Staff had their plan ready. – General Staffs always have plans ready for any contingency – but there was something hurried about putting that plan into effect. The procedure for recognising the two Republics was unexpectedly fast tracked. This was a moment of great crisis and tension in Moscow and that was apparent from Putin’s TV appearances.
And the sanctions were brutal and were expected to be brutal. Not long back Sleboda talked about how it seemed at that time. He and his wife were discussing how they’d manage if one or both of them lost their jobs. They were expecting the sanctions to hit hard.
So were the Europeans and the Americans. I did a brief summary of what the Europeans and Americans were expecting at that time (towards the bottom of the comment section here – https://canadiandimension.com/articles/view/squaring-an-impossible-circle-of-peace-and-insecurity-in-ukraine) and from that and remarks made by Borrell there was no doubt they were going for the kill. And though the Russians weathered that early period, it was only in hindsight that it seemed easy. Those sanctions did in fact cause considerable disruption at the start. Obviously, long term, sanctioning Russia was foolish. It’s the most self-sufficient country going. But short term, none could be 100% sure that the disruption would not be severe and perhaps terminal.
One often hears talk of Putin being over-cautious. He should have gone in in 2014 etc. But he didn’t want to go in even in 2022. When the survival of an entire country is at stake caution is not a defect. It is an imperative.
We’ in the West are used to the Americans starting interventions quite cheerfully, attacking other countries sometimes almost on a whim. But they can do that since the survival of the US is never at stake. For the American people the destruction of other countries is just something that happens safely “over there”, almost a spectator sport and taken as casually. It’s no more real to them than a Hollywood spectacular. So they’re conditioned to believe that the Russians might behave similarly, attacking Ukraine because, for the West, attacking this or that country is the norm. No big deal.
But for the Russians there could be no such casual “win some lose some” approach . The very survival of the RF was at stake in February 2022 had those sanctions worked as intended. I believe Putin was, correctly, reluctant to put it to the test in February 2022 and would not have done so had there been any alternative.
This was a forced move, then, this intervention. My gut feeling at the time was that we’d forced the Russians to make a military move so we could cripple them with sanctions. The actions of Scholz and Macron just before are consistent with that. Far from the picture we have in the West – that the intervention was part of a plan to seize territory and heralded a new period of Russian aggression towards Europe – the picture is of the West finally making its move on Russia.
A coordinated move since I don’t believe the timing of the disturbances in Kazakhstan, that would have themselves been very disruptive had the Russians not moved fast, was unrelated to the timing of the Kiev threat on the LoC.
The FAFO war. We fooled around on that LoC and found out. The brilliance of the early Russian campaign out of the Donbass and the failure of the sanctions war means we found out to our extreme discomfiture. The Western politicians have been trying to pick up the pieces ever since. As this war draws to its predetermined and for us disastrous conclusion, we ought to look at how it started. We let our politicians get away with far too much but we shouldn’t let them get away with this.
Posted by: English Outsider | Jul 8 2026 2:21 utc | 302
As They Escalate War Against Russia, Imperialist Powers Greenlight Erdogan’s Police-State Crackdown
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2026/07/07/amui-j07.html
“…In preparation for the 36th NATO Summit in Ankara on July 7-8, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government has declared war on basic democratic rights in Turkiye.
The aim is to suppress the widespread opposition to the gathering of political criminals, headed by US President Donald Trump, who are waging a war of aggression against Iran, have made the genocide in Gaza possible and are creating the risk of a nuclear conflict in the war against Russia in Ukraine.
Events in Ankara are the sharpest expression of the turn by the ruling classes worldwide toward war and dictatorship in the face of the insoluble crisis of the global capitalist system.
The summit’s official agenda makes clear that this will be a summit aiming to expand rearmament and imperialist war. The Defense Industry Forum on July 7 is being attended not only by Ukraine but also by NATO’s Asia-Pacific partners (Australia, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea) and the Gulf States.
The agenda extends beyond Russia – against which NATO has been waging a proxy war since 2022 – to preparations for continued aggression against Iran and war against China. The trillions being poured into rearmament are being extracted from the working class through deep cuts to health, education, pensions and wages…”
Posted by: John Gilberts | Jul 8 2026 2:40 utc | 303
In response to
”
Jrl @ 274 re Doctorow and Helmer. I believe the reason is maintain the illusion of independent alt media. Same with Mario Nawfal, a definite ASIS plant.
Posted by: Suresh | Jul 8 2026 0:30 utc | 298
”
I just watched the latest Mario with Larry Johnson in which Mario kept trying to say the headchopper in Syria has potential and should be not be made to look like the thug he was yet and Larry let him have it over and over until Mario just kind of smiled and changed the subject after beating the dead horse long enough for us watchers to know he was being paid to do so.
Mario Nawfal is the ZH of the alt media and his only value to me, like ZH, is their timely covering of “news/events” and I only watch him with folks I want to hear from about current events.
Posted by: psychohistorian | Jul 8 2026 2:45 utc | 304
sample from the closing few paragraphs – we’d forced the Russians – so we could cripple them – we have in the West – We fooled around – we found out – and for us – we ought to look – We let our politicians – we shouldn’t let them
@ English Outsider | Jul 8 2026 2:21 utc | 302
English Outsider, your analysis is sometimes thought-provoking and informative, but I have to flag a recurring rhetorical habit of yours that I suspect is more significant than it first appears.
You use the collective ‘we’ incessantly. In your latest post alone, you speak for ‘we’ in the West, ‘we’ on the LoC, and ‘we’ the politicians. It is a default framing that assumes you are the designated spokesman for NATO leaders, British civil servants, and Western publics alike.
Now, I understand the stylistic choice—it creates a sense of shared experience. But at a certain point, this habitual ‘we’ ceases to be inclusive and becomes a subtle act of appropriation. It allows you to project your own judgments as if they are the settled consensus of entire nations. You aren’t just offering a perspective; you are quietly inserting yourself into the reader’s psyche as the authoritative voice of the collective.
Perhaps you don’t notice it, though I suspect given the stylized rhetoric you could not be unaware of it, and do so with clear intent. This style follows you wherever you go. Perhaps it is simply the ingrained habit of a lifetime spent in institutions where speaking for ‘HMG’ or ‘the Service’ was second nature. But for for myself and possibly others too, reading from the outside, it comes across not as camaraderie, but as a rather stunning hubris. You cannot know what ‘we’ all think, or what ‘we’ all intended. That is your opinion, not our mandate.
By all means, express your opinions freely EO—but at the very least, make it explicit that that is what they are: your own, and not ‘ours’ nor any shared collective out there.
For those unaware of what I am addressing here, look up the following online – Nosism or the “authorial we”, Epistemic hubris, Rhetorical ventriloquism, Enmeshment and Psychological boundaries or Codependency –
Posted by: Asian Tiger | Jul 8 2026 3:20 utc | 305
Carney Says Putin’s ‘Barbarism’ Against Ukraine Will Not Succeed
https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/9.7261170
“Ahead of a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Ankara, Turkey, on Tuesday, Prime Minister Mark Carney condemned President Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine and said the pressure on Russia ‘is only going to increase.”
Re: Putin’s ‘Barbarism’?:
Canadian Imperialism’s Fascist Friends – Part 1
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2022/05/16/vxen-m16.html
“Ottawa’s decades-long alliance with the Ukrainian far-right and the NATO war on Russia.”
F*ck You Lying Ruling Class Flunkey & NATO Warmonger!
mark.carney@parl.gc.ca
Posted by: John Gilberts | Jul 8 2026 3:38 utc | 306
Asian Tiger@305:
Thanks. Good advice on a mistake made often here probably without even knowing it.
Posted by: John Gilberts | Jul 8 2026 3:46 utc | 307
Asian Tiger | Jul 6 2026 2:39 utc | 99
Asian Tiger | Jul 6 2026 3:20 utc | 102
Asian Tiger | Jul 6 2026 3:50 utc | 103
And that, when all is said and done, is the mindset being fundamentally supported by the likes of @ ed4, @ Julian, @ Asian [Tiger], and too many other ….
You either support Bandera, or you support Russia, there is no halfway house, no room for nuance, because it is a confrontation that repeatedly has to play out across the European peninsula. There is no place for lily-livered, hand-wringing, End of History wishy-washiness, make your mind up and decide which side you are really on, before the battle decides for you.Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Jul 6 2026 22:47 utc | 168
It can hardly be better said. This is real.
Posted by: Avtonom | Jul 7 2026 7:26 utc | 219
“Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists.”
— President George W. Bush, September 20, 2001, address to a joint session of Congress, nine days after the 9/11 attacks.
And how did that work out for the world?
I’ve made my mind up, and decided which side I am really on long ago.
I stand on the side of the dead piled neck-deep around me. On the side of the men, women, and children killed by all sides of this sickening, inhuman conflict. On the side of the ethnic-Russian Ukrainians of the Donbas, the dead from western Ukraine, the Russian conscripts and volunteers who never came home, and the unlucky unfortunates on that Malaysian Airways flight blown out of the sky over a war zone.
I am on the side of human decency and sanity.
So when you say “make your mind up and decide which side you are really on” — I have. The question is: what side are you on when you reduce this ocean of suffering to a binary choice between two psychopathic banners?
Posted by: Asian Tiger | Jul 8 2026 3:49 utc | 308
So when you say “make your mind up and decide which side you are really on” — I have. The question is: what side are you on when you reduce this ocean of suffering to a binary choice between two psychopathic banners?
Posted by: Asian Tiger | Jul 8 2026 3:49 utc | 308
There’s no way to reduce it as they are determined to put the world under the NWO/globalism – the elites will subvert everyone and then they will reduce the population to only those they need to run the world for themselves.
Posted by: MiniMO | Jul 8 2026 4:06 utc | 309
“… what side are you on when you reduce this ocean of suffering to a binary choice between two psychopathic banners?”
Posted by: Asian Tiger | Jul 8 2026 3:49 utc | 308
What utter nonsense. There is nothing psychopathic about Russia attempting to defend itself against the 80 year long, so far, US project to destroy Russia and take all its stuff. The Project has been going continuously ever since it was started by Truman in 1945. See Eric Zeuesse for the details.
Posted by: acementhead | Jul 8 2026 4:20 utc | 310
the world under the NWO/globalism – the elites will subvert everyone
Posted by: MiniMO | Jul 8 2026 4:06 utc | 309
I am not concerned because the global systems are all running on automatic, where the elites too have no control. The human civilization system is in the process of decoupling, unravelling and collapsing globally. The elites can do nothing more than make a few adjustments on the margins while the trajectory remains total global collapse across multiple systems – only question is how fast, but it’s a decades long process for sure.
btw I definitely was not with the US or Americans when 9/11 happened, I was against them and everything they stand for. That has not and will not change.
Posted by: Asian Tiger | Jul 8 2026 4:20 utc | 311
“… Russia – against which NATO has been waging a proxy war since 2022 …”
Posted by: John Gilberts | Jul 8 2026 2:40 utc | 303
NATO has been engaged in The Project to destroy Russia, and take all its stuff, not since 2022 but since its, NATO’s, inception. The US commenced The Project three of four years before NATO was brought into existence. Eric Zeuesse has all the details.
Posted by: acementhead | Jul 8 2026 4:25 utc | 312
Posted by: Asian Tiger | Jul 8 2026 3:20 utc | 305
Turn off the LLM before telling people how to write.
Posted by: Stanislav Vladimirovich | Jul 8 2026 4:50 utc | 313
@ Asian Tiger | Jul 8 2026 3:20 utc | 305
sorry asian tiger, but i am not buying into your psycho analysis of english outsiders use of the word ‘we’, but i will let him answer for himself…
Posted by: james | Jul 8 2026 5:00 utc | 314
@ Stanislav Vladimirovich | Jul 8 2026 4:50 utc | 313
there is definitely something wonky with asian tigers commentary.. maybe you’ve hit the nail on the head here.. ”we” seem to see similar flaws in it, lol…
Posted by: james | Jul 8 2026 5:01 utc | 315
Yesterday I mentioned Russian demographics as one of it’s weaknesses and several pushed back against that. I think I could write multiple articles on the topic if I really put my mind to it. Much could be said. But I’ll keep it short and will only say this for now.
The Missing Perspective Is
Most geopolitical commentary — whether pro-Russian, anti-Russian, or “neutral” — treats demographics as a spreadsheet problem. They talk about fertility rates, migration flows, and labor force participation as if they were dials on a control panel. They argue about whether Putin is winning or losing, whether sanctions are working, or whether the war is sustainable.
But very few of them talk about the people inside the numbers. They don’t talk about the 40-year-old man who was a homeless child prostitute in a Moscow railway station in 1996, whose then 8 year old sister was raped and murdered, now drinking himself to death in a provincial town, his liver failing, his marriage long over.
They don’t talk about the woman in her late 30s who grew up watching her father drink away their savings, who saw her friends turn to prostitution to survive, and who now looks at the world and thinks: “All mean are losers so why would I bring a child into this?”
They don’t talk about the prison recruit who signed up for the war not out of patriotism, but because it was the first time anyone offered him a way out of the cycle — even if that way out is death.
There’s a population still unable to come to terms with the collective trauma and stress they endured 30 to 40 years ago. This stuff just doesn’t disappear as if by magic. PTSD for example gets worse with age and harder to manage.
These are not “demographic variables.” These are human beings carrying the weight of a broken and collapsed society on their backs. There’s an analytical blind spot in the usual approaches. The reason this gets missed is complex but let me say the Data just doesn’t capture reality.
Official statistics track births, deaths, and migration. They do not track hope. They do not track trust. They do not track the internal psychological state of a Russian population that has been through major collective trauma three times in a century (the 1930s, the 1940s, and the 1990s thru 2010s). And yet, that internal human psychological state is what drives all the numbers.
Few populations have gone through worse than Russia has. What makes it’s worse is the current leadership are incapable of doing anything help resolve it and frankly cannot even see it. In fact it could be said this Putin regime and the West collectively are making it even worse all over again. Because this isn’t about taking sides in the war. It’s about recognizing that the Russian state, regardless of who leads it, has failed its people in a way that goes beyond politics.
The 1990s were not just a bad decade. They were a societal fracture that never healed. And the current war is not just a geopolitical conflict — it’s a pressure test on a society that was already broken.
It is very sad and very complex. And the tragedy is that the very people in power who could potentially address these root causes are products of the same system that broke the country in the first place. They are not equipped, ideologically or personally, to heal a trauma they do not recognize. Instead, they are accelerating the cycle by feeding the most damaged segment of the population into another war, another crisis, ensuring that the trauma will echo for yet another generation at least. This is what I think is missing from all the discussions and not only here.
Posted by: Asian Tiger | Jul 8 2026 7:52 utc | 316
Posted by: Asian Tiger | Jul 8 2026 3:20 utc | 305
Turn off the LLM before telling people how to write.
Posted by: Stanislav Vladimirovich | Jul 8 2026 4:50 utc | 313
Posted by: james | Jul 8 2026 5:01 utc | 315
Like it, or lump it, that’s all my ideas, my content, my sources, and my writing.
If you think you can, do better.
Posted by: Asian Tiger | Jul 8 2026 7:58 utc | 317
So Zelensky is demanding that NATO gives him defense weapons against ballistic missiles ASAP.
But … do such things exist? I tried (reluctantly) to google it, knowing that it would answer with AI, and got the meaningless “Ballistic missile defense involves intercepting incoming missiles using advanced censors and interceptors during three distinct phases: boost (initial launch), midcourse (in space) and terminal (re-entry).”
Sounds like NATO bragging with no content?
Posted by: Avtonom | Jul 8 2026 8:05 utc | 318
Looks like US attacked Iran again. Their plan is probably to drag it to the European winter to force EU into submission.
Meanwhile Netherlands and now Bulgaria, one country after another are saying they have nothing to give Ukraine, the cupboard is dry.
Posted by: unimperator | Jul 8 2026 9:14 utc | 319
Even Peter Magyar says Hungary won’t give Ukraine money or weapons anymore. Brussels is losing its grip.
Posted by: unimperator | Jul 8 2026 9:31 utc | 320
unimperator | Jul 8 2026 9:14 utc | 319 / 320
Yes. has been quite noticeable recently. I not long ago put similar comment in the open thread though I think I mixed up Bulgaria with Romania. Czechs were big supporters, but now they are also refusing anymore war funding.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jul 8 2026 10:23 utc | 321
@318
AI scans propaganda and uses it as fact. LLM are taught bias and rely on “preferred items”.
Posted by: paddy | Jul 8 2026 10:28 utc | 322
UK and partners in NATO are going to spend 40b on a new missile to reach Moscow……might bankrupt their economies first….
Posted by: Jo | Jul 8 2026 11:00 utc | 323
Posted by: Jo | Jul 8 2026 11:00 utc | 323
The last interview with Dr. Brovkin in Neutrality Studies is very enlightening. He said the western claims that Ukraine is winning because it hit a few storage or oil tanks is laughable propaganda. But the whole interview is very good.
By the way, haven’t heard a word from the same people of Russian wiping out oil tanks in the Kiev refinery and the hits on Kremenchuk. By that token Russia is winning too? Ukraine destroyed (meaning put out of action for longer than 2 months) 5% of Russian refineries and Russia destroyed 100% of Ukraine’s refineries.
Posted by: unimperator | Jul 8 2026 11:07 utc | 324
Asiantiger316. Interesting. However, I do feel russian expats do have patriotism for their country, most will have relations still back home. They are aware of the seemingly decline and moral degradation of the west, the decline of eg health service especially and law enforcement, and increasingly the “gaps” in modern society with it’s perversions and brainless politicians.
Yes there are still opportunities for good careers and Russians are sharp in their intelligence and willing to work hard to achieve dedicated objectives. They are probably quietly self amused by young attention seekers westerners failing in their delusional dreams to get rich quick eg influencers. Russian language speakers are generally a cohesive social group. Because of russian societal progress since 1990 they can see a difference while still preserving their conservative traditional values cf the hedonism so prevalent in the west, drugs, porn, soft touch on crime by authorities etc etc, and increasingly the frustrations of systemic things that do not work, and what has to be paid in taxes does not really come back but sucks it’s citizens dry on high falling ideals that fail.
Posted by: Jo | Jul 8 2026 11:17 utc | 325
Russia’s trap for Europe Is Working | Prof. Vladimir Brovkin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-B9m2hPBlFQ
19 mins – Russia now can take on the entire NATO I think and win, this is how powerful Russia is and people don’t really understand how powerful Russia is even without nuclear. This is why when I think when I hear all these talk about nuclear, I laugh because Russia doesn’t need nuclear.
Even including the United States because Russia is very big, to destroy Russia’s industrial capacity is just about impossible because you would need to have a whole lot of bombs and storm shadows and others and then there are the S400 that would intercept them.
This spread over huge territory, Europe is much more compact to destroy, the military potential of Germany is actually quite easy because it’s all pretty much concentrated in a relatively small geographic area. So in that sense I think that they’re playing with fire.
I am convinced as long as Putin is in power there will not be any military confrontation with the west because the Russians think correctly that time is working for them. With all the time that’s going by, Russia is becoming stronger, Ukraine is becoming weaker. The budgets of European countries are stagnating. They are wasting their billions on the cause that cannot be won and in that sense Putin is not in any hurry.
47 mins – Russia hit military infrastructure. They hit it at night. If they wanted to kill as many Ukrainian workers, they would have hit it during the day. They hit it at night so that they degrade, destroy military capacity of Ukraine to wage war. This is what Putin is doing. That shows to me two things and this is from his latest speech. Russia does not want to occupy and incorporate all of Ukraine. They don’t want these neo-Nazi, you know, Azov types, Bandera types, the Ukraine citizens. They don’t.
What they want and this is my interpretation reading Putin’s mind is that they want to liberate Novorossiya that is from Odessa bordering on Romania and Moldova and all the way to the north minimum Kharkov but possibly Sumi, the rest of it would be Ukraine but the kind of Ukraine Ukraine that would be like a Russian protectorate. They will not be a Russian federation, not be a member of NATO. They would not be a member of European Union. They would be neutral and they would be monitored and if they violate anything Russia will just occupy the rest of it and install their own government; just like Americans did numerous times in Latin America.
Posted by: Asian Tiger | Jul 8 2026 11:35 utc | 326
Posted by: John Gilberts | Jul 8 2026 3:46 utc | 307
John – I think maybe what’s grating on you is that in a sentence such as ” …we’d forced the Russians to make a military move so we could cripple them with sanctions“, you don’t like being lumped into that particular “We”.
I don’t either. I very much don’t like it. So we’d agree 100% on that. But you and I, powerless though we are, can’t wash our hands entirely of the responsibility for what our respective countries get up to.
………………………….
But that argument, on the extent of our personal responsibility for what our countries or our politicians do, is an argument long as a piece of string and is in any case not germane to the main point. Asian Tiger – if you’re there, you ingenious carnivore! – you’re putting the ferret down the wrong rabbit hole.
That main point is, did the Russian intervention in Ukraine in February 2022 result from a Russian desire for aggressive territorial expansion. Is this the sort of thing we must now expect from the Russians? In which case we’d better look sharp. Spend our money on guns and forget about the butter.
Or was it a forced move, a pre-emptive strike forced by the threat of the Kiev forces massing on the LoC. Was that Russian intervention “unprovoked”, as Biden and the other Western politicians assured us repeatedly, or was it “provoked”.
If “provoked”, if the Russians only intervened because we forced them to, then we don’t have to worry about them attacking us and can focus a little more on the butter.
My view is that the Russians have no intention of attacking us unless we make them. That we were scammed by our politicians into believing they had such intentions in ’22 and we’re still being scammed. Your view?
Posted by: English Outsider | Jul 8 2026 12:31 utc | 327
Posted by: English Outsider | Jul 8 2026 12:31 utc | 327
If I may chime in – I don’t think the use of the word “we” is provoking, or difficult to understand: I understand it as describing the nation one belongs to, like it or not, or even the state apparatus that one is enslaved by, embrace it or not.
You don’t need to feel co-responsible for the things your state leaders do, but you are usually a part of it even if unwilling – unless you protest very loudly, in which case you may end up in prison, especially in Britain if you talk about anything from a river to a sea.
Posted by: Avtonom | Jul 8 2026 12:39 utc | 328
UWDude @182:
Can China avoid military miscalculation?
Yes, because they dont read NAFO retards advice.
This, but moreover the Chinese are extremely conservative in their military assessments. If a conventional conflict between the Empire and China were to break out today the Chinese would win, but the Chinese perspective is “No, we are not buff enough yet!” and so they continue to build up and train for the inevitable war. The Century of Humiliation still colors their self-image and there is still a bit of awe felt towards the US from things like the Apollo Program and memory of the shine from the Shining City on the Hill era of America. They have not deconstructed Superman yet like Hollywood has. To a declining degree they still believe the marketing hype in the glossy brochures about the Empire’s military.
All of this makes the Chinese very cautious about their eventual military engagement with the Empire. The Chinese will miscalculate in that coming conflict, but that miscalculation will be in the direction of overestimating their opponent. The outcome of that fight will surprise a lot of people, including among the Chinese themselves.
Posted by: William Gruff | Jul 8 2026 12:59 utc | 329
The world has multi-generational problems.
It is possible to hold these 2 things at the same time:
Russia is being attacked by Nazis, again, and has the right to defend itself and one may hope Russia destroys NATO;
Russia is a thoroughly capitalist state, exactly like China is, that has ZERO answers for the future of humanity.
Trump’s threats on Greenland are a response to Russian actions in the Arctic, for which, fuck Russia. These are 2 capitalist states fighting over hydrofracking the Arctic. For humanity’s benefit. Fuck both of them.
Ditto China and its EVs and next gen earth raping. But China isn’t setting up a military base in Cuba is it? No, just dumping plastic shit everywhere.
Posted by: Duck n cover | Jul 8 2026 13:00 utc | 330
Breaking, Trump says he will let Ukraine Make Patriot Missiles
Trump Says He Will Let Ukraine Make Patriot Missiles – Bloomberg
This is where we are now. This is where the slow approach gets you.
Posted by: bored | Jul 8 2026 13:48 utc | 331
Let’s see how successfully the absurd supply chain of Lockheed Martin can get transferred to an active warzone with the most pervasive ISR and comprehensive surveillance analysts on the planet. Even if this was all already arranged ahead of time, the manufacturing equipment has all been transferred to Ukraine already, and the announcement is merely a formality, it takes 2 years for the expert US to assemble a single batch of missiles. Considering Ukraine has even shakier supply chains/manufacturing sector than America, I would honestly assume it takes them longer, but for the sake of argument let’s make it 1 year. That’s 1 full year of zero air defense, ironically making manufacturing even more impossible.
On top of this, how many missiles would they be able to make in the first batch anyway? 30? 300? Definitely not more than America’s current ~600 which is laughably insufficient.
Meaningless.
Posted by: New Fly | Jul 8 2026 14:27 utc | 332
Donald Trump 90 minutes on 4th July: “Hi Vladimir, how’s it going?”
Donald Trump in Ankara with Zelensky: “We just had our Nato meeting, it was a great meeting, there was a lot of love in the room.”
Posted by: Asian Tiger | Jul 8 2026 14:28 utc | 333
Your view?
Posted by: English Outsider | Jul 8 2026 12:31 utc | 327
Unchanged and clear.
Posted by: Asian Tiger | Jul 8 2026 14:35 utc | 334
Breaking, Trump says he will let Ukraine Make Patriot MissilesTrump Says He Will Let Ukraine Make Patriot Missiles – Bloomberg
This is where we are now. This is where the slow approach gets you.
Posted by: bored | Jul 8 2026 13:48 utc | 331
Hmm. Russia can’t bomb the US’s Patriot production facilities without using ICBMs and starting a nuclear holocaust. Instead Russia will be able to bomb Patriot production facilities in Ukronazistan using much shorter-range munitions and without risking nuclear holocaust.
Exactly how is this bad for Russia? To me this sounds almost like a gift to Russia.
Posted by: malenkov | Jul 8 2026 15:02 utc | 335
Breaking, Trump says he will let Ukraine Make Patriot MissilesTrump Says He Will Let Ukraine Make Patriot Missiles – Bloomberg This is where we are now. This is where the slow approach gets you.
Posted by: bored | Jul 8 2026 13:48 utc | 331
And, so what? In the US, it takes 3 mths to create a single PAC-3 warhead, and another one to accomplish the missile. And that, though the supply chains are implemented and standardized since 25-40 years. Nevertheless, the US are not able to increase output from 600 to 2000 missiles earlier than 2030, and even that is far from guaranteed.
Maybe European manufacturers can build up a working product line in a decade, or slightly earlier, on cost of US domestic production to some extent, with some ten missiles per year. In Ukraine, it is ridiculous.
Posted by: aquadraht | Jul 8 2026 15:11 utc | 336
Do we have any confirmation of rumours that a facility in Kiev hiding enriched uranium was hit by missiles and that part of the city is potentially polluted?
Posted by: AG | Jul 8 2026 15:15 utc | 337
Mario Nawfal is the ZH of the alt media and his only value to me, like ZH, is their timely covering of “news/events” and I only watch him with folks I want to hear from about current events.
Posted by: psychohistorian | Jul 8 2026 2:45 utc | 304
I find him increasingly repellent, rude to his guests (reading social media while they are answering another question) and with the geopolitical understanding of a freshly hatched chick.
A 2D looksmaxxing grifter.
Posted by: ChatNPC | Jul 8 2026 15:17 utc | 338
thanks english outsider…. i dig your posts and where you are coming from in all of them…
Posted by: james | Jul 8 2026 15:22 utc | 339
In some ways it really is a gift. The Lockheed Martin supply chains are so convoluted that scaling them up would take years. Each part is most likely made by extremely custom machinery that has to be purpose-made. The type of machinery that most definitely cannot be mass produced. If the optimistic timeline for US Patriot missile supply expansion was mid-late 2030’s, spending the next two to three years continuously feeding high-tech manufacturing equipment into Ukraine black hole is definitely not going to help that.
Honestly, if I was an American analyst, I would tell Lockheed Martin to set up shop in Europe and pretend like the manufacturing is occurring in Ukraine. This is honestly the most likely scenario. Keep the actual manufacturing out of harm’s way, like the drone’s and ammunition production facilities, and allow Ukraine to handle final assembly. This is, fortunately, still not realistic, as the only Patriot plant outside of the US, in Germany, is still being built since 2024 and won’t be operational until 2030. Even when it does come online, the absolute state of German manufacturing means that they won’t produce more than the current ~600 and still won’t be close to matching demand. If the energy sector of Europe doesn’t suffer a phenomenal implosion.
Makes you pity the people in these countries.
Posted by: New Fly | Jul 8 2026 15:23 utc | 340
@English Outsider | Jul 8 2026 2:21 utc | 302
Thanks for looking back.
Since at that time I was still part of the uninformed croud (even though better informed and skeptical than 99%) I have to go back and read through MoA then thoroughly (unfortunatley links set in the past are now gone), Sleboda, Martyanov etc.
I do believe Nicolai Petro always pointed out that sanctions have never really worked. Not with Iraq, not with Venezuela or Iran or NK. Certainly not with RU.
So eventually that hysteria was already part of the still active Western PR nonsense. In hindsight people who were in the know could tell sanctions were bound to fail.
By all means however: RU foresight and methodical execution of their plans – despite US lies and interference and Western deception in general – since the mid 2000s is probably the most impressive piece of statecraft in many many decades that we could witness.
Posted by: AG | Jul 8 2026 15:26 utc | 341
I find him increasingly repellent, rude to his guests (reading social media while they are answering another question) and with the geopolitical understanding of a freshly hatched chick.
A 2D looksmaxxing grifter.
Posted by: ChatNPC | Jul 8 2026 15:17 utc | 338
I agree that he is repellent. However, I watch him for up to the minute news as he does a decent job of reporting current events as they happen. I also enjoy Larry Johnson, for example, dismantling him by asking one sentence questions and then letting the repellent host hang himself.
He often allows his guests to speak uninterrupted. Some of his guests are quite good, with perspectives that I have not heard elsewhere. I also sometimes think that he is PAID to represent US interests – but goes out of his way to present them in ridiculous ways.
Posted by: Woke American | Jul 8 2026 15:27 utc | 342
I did hear something about a depleted uranium shell stockpile for M1 Abrams tanks getting hit. Probably is as bad as people think it is, if it did happen, because the internet is dead silent on it at the moment.
Posted by: New Fly | Jul 8 2026 15:29 utc | 343
@ ChatNPC | Jul 8 2026 15:17 utc | 338 about Mario Nawfal….thx
I agree he is smarmy and disrespectful because of youthful ignorance I think mostly.
I am kinda watching to see if Larry Johnson out’s him.
Posted by: psychohistorian | Jul 8 2026 15:30 utc | 344
Meaningless.
Posted by: New Fly | Jul 8 2026 14:27 utc | 332
Also, I think Trump is bluffing, like he does most of the time. Can’t imagine that the US MIC or government can bring themselves to let Ukraine of all countries produce these gadgets. After all they do know a thing or two about the situation in Ukraine…
Posted by: Avtonom | Jul 8 2026 15:31 utc | 345
Posted by: New Fly | Jul 8 2026 15:23 utc | 340
Yeah, I think you are right.
Posted by: Avtonom | Jul 8 2026 15:37 utc | 346
Do we have any confirmation of rumours that a facility in Kiev hiding enriched uranium was hit by missiles and that part of the city is potentially polluted?
Posted by: AG | Jul 8 2026 15:15 utc | 337
Unless Russia starts drone-bombing Keeve with Geiger counters, I doubt there will ever be any confirmation. The Ukronazis aren’t exactly known for their readiness to admit military losses.
Posted by: malenkov | Jul 8 2026 15:40 utc | 347
Unless Russia starts drone-bombing Keeve with Geiger counters, I doubt there will ever be any confirmation. The Ukronazis aren’t exactly known for their readiness to admit military losses.
Posted by: malenkov | Jul 8 2026 15:40 utc | 347
BREAKING!! RUSSIA so exhausted by WAR they use GEIGER COUNTERS instead of ACTUAL WAR HEADS!
Per our source on the ground, the Geiger counters are showing an unusually high level of radiation in the targeted areas. Could Russia have used a new, high-tech nuclear weapon at some point during the conflict that could be used against all of Europe???
Posted by: New Fly | Jul 8 2026 15:52 utc | 348
@Posted by: malenkov | Jul 8 2026 15:40 utc | 347
Most likely.
But from time to time Ukrainian press is more honest than Western media could ever stomach (a bit like the Hebrew ISR news media).
And we do know there are enough insurgents in Western Ukraine. So it´s not 100% sealed off from truth.
Posted by: AG | Jul 8 2026 16:05 utc | 349
Aaron Maté has his first book out.
It´s worth a check imho.
New book: ‘Their Blood, Our Bullets: The Hidden Story of the US–Russia War for Ukraine’
Aaron Maté’s debut book on NATO, Russiagate, and the war in Ukraine, is now available for pre-order.
https://www.aaronmate.net/p/new-book-their-blood-our-bullets
Posted by: AG | Jul 8 2026 16:06 utc | 350
Consider the possibility that announcing that the Ukraine can produce their own Patriot missiles is a scheme to reduce pressure to send them from US stockpiles or production. “Hey, stop begging for more! You can make them yourself now.”
If the fight with Iran is going to heat up again then the US will need what it has and cannot spare any. And then there is the war against China looming on the horizon…
No, this could very well be meant to provide a pretext to cut the Ukraine off.
Posted by: William Gruff | Jul 8 2026 16:11 utc | 351
In that case hopefully they tell them they can make their own starlink satellites next.
Posted by: New Fly | Jul 8 2026 16:20 utc | 352
Do we have any confirmation of rumours that a facility in Kiev hiding enriched uranium was hit by missiles and that part of the city is potentially polluted? Posted by: AG | Jul 8 2026 15:15 utc | 337
Unless Russia starts drone-bombing Keeve with Geiger counters, I doubt there will ever be any confirmation. The Ukronazis aren’t exactly known for their readiness to admit military losses.
Posted by: malenkov | Jul 8 2026 15:40 utc | 347
It may not be beyond them then to claim that Russia has nuked Kiev?
Posted by: Avtonom | Jul 8 2026 16:42 utc | 353
New Fly @352: “In that case hopefully they tell them they can make their own starlink satellites next.”
The Empire isn’t running out of those.
Posted by: William Gruff | Jul 8 2026 16:42 utc | 354
Carney Pitches Canada As A Northern NATO Power
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOlNWsRK3ek
“We’re not a ‘flank’ we’re a ‘front’…”
Engler: Once Again Carney Kowtows To Trump, NATO Militarists
https://yvesengler.com/2026/07/06/once-again-carney-kowtows-to-trump-nato-militarists/
In the latest militarist outrage, Mark Carney just announced the purchase of a dozen German attack submarines. The 12 subs will cost about two billion dollars each and the contract will top over $100 billion over their life cycle.
At a geopolitical level, purchasing the German submarines bolsters Canada’s anti-Russian partnership* and prioritizes NATO interoperability.
But what use would these subs be in defending Canada against the only country that can realistically invade, which is currently led by a president threatening to make us their 51st state?…”
* On the same NATO trip – PM Goldman-Sachs promised Ukraine an additional $900 million ‘support package’. Since his ‘elbows up’ election win, Canada’s Bilderberger-bankster Mark ‘Carnage’ Carney has incurred huge and unprecedented military spending – even as poverty levels soar and services decline.
mark.carney@parl.gc.ca
Posted by: John Gilberts | Jul 8 2026 16:56 utc | 355
Posted by: malenkov | Jul 8 2026 15:40 utc | 347
The DU story is from Ukr. They said it, no one confirmed it and no one published a photo of a sensor showing values. If you want to believe Ukr stories it’s your choice.
There is indeed a very high probability that Nato uses Du against Russia in all those drones and missiles. Putin or Medvedev would never admit it, I don’t think increased cancer levels are good for next elections. I suspect Iran is filled with Du clouds as well, right in the middle of cities, in hospitals, schools and so on.
If radiation really is higher in Kiev it might have been dirty materials for dirty bombs and that would explain why they officially say it wasn’t their military ammo storage.
Rubio said today that attacks in Russia are very good for negotiations and that Russia can’t protect their airspace anymore. Erdogan says he military supports Ukr. At the same time his gas pipe was blown up by Ukr according to Russia. I smell he’s going to buy energy from Us from now.
Posted by: rk | Jul 8 2026 16:59 utc | 356
@ AG | Jul 8 2026 16:06 utc | 350
thanks ag.. i would like to support aaron mate and this would be a good read…
Posted by: james | Jul 8 2026 17:00 utc | 357
Can you see the Ukronazi Orcs really attempting to make their own Patriot 3’s?
Who said pigs can’t fly?
Posted by: tobias cole | Jul 8 2026 18:01 utc | 358
I love this:”Russia bans diesel exports, beginning July 8″. The price at the EU gas pump will inevitably rise. When told the peasants had no bread, French Empress Marie-Antoinette famously said “If they have no bread, let them eat cake.” I can already hear Von Der Leyen in her best Marie-Antoinette impersonation: “If they have no diesel, let them drive electric.”
Posted by: The Far Side | Jul 8 2026 18:03 utc | 359
Posted by: The Far Side | Jul 8 2026 18:03 utc | 359
Gasoline price is kind of a lagging wave of oil. It could take several months for gasoline or diesel to react after oil does. The gasoline price never really fully recovered in Europe back to where it was in Feb ’26, most likely it will drift higher, not spike but drift higher over months and extend the economic pain.
Posted by: unimperator | Jul 8 2026 18:27 utc | 360
Ep 262: Garland Nixon: Joti Brar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0_7Kr96NEo
“Growing militarism and preparations for war in the West.”
Posted by: John Gilberts | Jul 8 2026 18:46 utc | 361
Kiev make PAC 3
US manufacturers are looking for the same equipment and such to raise production rates in 4 years, they are also looking for technicians and testers.
US is having problems and it knows how to make them since U.S. built their lines 30 years ago
Kiev is dreaming,
Posted by: paddy | Jul 8 2026 19:00 utc | 362
Alexander Kots mocking complaints (mainly by “super patriots”) about US cheating
There is a commotion in the sect of witnesses of “Our Trump”
How come! “Our elephant” is not ours now?! Did he approve of Ukraine’s strikes deep into Russia and believes that in this way it is possible to bring the end of the war closer?! That is, he wants to bend us?! This can’t be happening! What about Anchorage? We’ve been tricked again!
That’s the news, of course. The Americans approved the strikes against Russia. This has never happened before, and here it is again. And there didn’t seem to be many years of military supplies from overseas. And there were no permits for American precision strikes deep into Russia. And there were no drones on the American Starlink either. And unprecedented oil sanctions have not been imposed since Anchorage.
Yeah, they cheated. We are regularly deceived. But we are being deceived and are gradually gaining territories. We’ll take over Crimea, then Donbass, then the lion’s share of Novorossiya.…
Since the meeting in Alaska, we have liberated about 240 settlements, including, for example, Volchansk, Dzerzhinsk, Seversk, Krasnoarmeysk, and Konstantinovka. Think about it before you take the talk about the “spirit of Anchorage” too personally. Maybe we’re fooling someone, too.…
@sashakots
Posted by: aquadraht | Jul 8 2026 19:08 utc | 363
Some video clips from Lviv, showing quite a large and noisy protest against the actions of the TCC, it appears from one clip that a car associated with the press-gangs has been surrounded, with someone jumping on the roof: https://t.me/ZE_kartel/13201
The actions of the TCK workers led to a mass protest in Lviv! Right now, confrontation with kidnappers has begun!
And this is Lviv, supposedly a Western Ukrainian hot-bed of ultra-nationalist Banderites.
“An isolated incident ” they cry, “No chance of a resistance movement ” they pontificate and analyse, but antagonising the streets risks losing all predictability. The Maidan was contrived by Western manipulation, a real grass-roots movement won’t be publicised in Western MSM, indeed they, and some of the cheerleaders who periodically turn up here, would no doubt quietly cheer on the Kiev junta’s boot boys wading in and cracking some heads.
Wonder which side @ Asian Tiger would take, in such a scenario?
Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Jul 8 2026 21:25 utc | 364
Actually. I know which side he’d be on, the side of bloviation, prevarication and obfuscation, the side of not attributing copy-paste to its source, the side of random and irrelevant bolding, as if it was all his own work…
Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Jul 8 2026 21:30 utc | 365
I will concede the distinct possibility that some anti-Zelensky factions in Western secret services may well be stirring stuff up, as a means towards getting him overthrown.
The Monaco affair rattled some influential cages.
Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Jul 8 2026 21:43 utc | 366
Asian Tiger | Jul 8 2026 14:28 utc | 333
*** Donald Trump in Ankara with Zelensky: “We just had our Nato meeting, it was a great meeting, there was a lot of love in the room.” ***
Is that the new Western way of saying coke, criminality and bullshit?
Avtonom | Jul 8 2026 16:42 utc | 353
*** It may not be beyond them then to claim that Russia has nuked Kiev?***
No, they’re dumb enough … even though such a claim would look quite ridiculous unless the zionatozis in Kiev only appeared in public or on tv in moon-suits for the next while.
Stacking the deck on RUAF KIA’s by Mediazona, a few observations, looking at data compilation methods:
Excess death, probate, and obituary data are all ADDED, despite the strong probability of overlap between the data sets. This leads to a potential multiplication factor of actual deaths by up to x3, seeing as one event can generate mortality data in the three fields added.
Regarding abuse of excess death data. These derive from a study in the US-based Medical Library website, demography section, the study is made by a United States university in the state of Pennsylvania, the UK U. of Exeter, and one in Germany, Tubingen if memory serves, so three NATO states. Mediazona ignores the study’s assessments of the cause of deaths, which relate to 2022-2023 only, there are several tens of thousands of deaths still being recorded as excess here in relation to the Russian Covid deaths (there were 210,000 recorded by Ministry of Health in RU altogether since 2020, so this is a factor in that data used by Mediazona regardless of your attitude towards the virus as such. Since this data does not extend into 2024, 2025, 2026, Mediazona is merely extrapolating this into later time frames…totally inadequate. Thus total KIA exaggeration is possibly greater than three, perhaps four or so, so maybe divide by 4 when reading Mediazona as a general rule of thumb.
Caveat emptor
Posted by: Bruce | Jul 8 2026 22:26 utc | 369
Putin’s Message To NATO Summit
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8z0rvf6woj8
“History and Politics with Dr Vladimir Brovkin.”
Posted by: John Gilberts | Jul 8 2026 22:30 utc | 370
‘Putin’s Message To NATO Summit’ – John Gilberts 370
Thanks John Gilberts for all the aggregating you do!!!!!
For those pressed for time you can just read this comment from the video:
Dr. Brovkin,
With all due respect, and I really mean that, but who are you kidding, but more precisely, who’s Putin really kidding?
Just now he lost hope in a peaceful settlement??
Just now he realized that the so-called “Spirit of Anchorage” was just another Minsk 2??
Just now he figured out that the Zelinsky regime is a terrorist organization??
Just now he realized that Trump tried to assassinate him in Valdy(sp)??
Just now he realized the US has been providing Ukraine with the ISR it needs to hit any single target across the battlefield, murder girls sleeping in their dormitory, children school buses, oil refineries, oil tankers in both the Black Sea and the Azov, and a woman shielding her baby with her own body??
Weren’t the horrors the Ukrainians committed in Kursk enough for him??
Wasn’t the strike on the nuclear advance-warning radar system in southern Russia enough for him??
Wasn’t the strike on the Nuclear bombers enough for him?? Not to mention a “state of emergency” in Crimea due to energy and water shortages!!
PLZ, and I mean this seriously, give me one legitimate rational reason why the current devastating strikes shouldn’t have started at least two years ago, long before Ukraine was ever capable of mauling Russian civilians, refineries, tankers, and weapon factories!! Didn’t Russian intelligence have pre-knowledge of the locations of all those trains, logistic hubs, the 1000’s of gas stations across Ukraine, the weapon factories, and critical bridges??
Yes, of course, they knew. And why none of the main bridges across the Dnipro has been struck yet?
And why the main train station in Kiev is still standing to proudly receive every single EU/US scum elite??
And finally, WHY O WHY, no decision-making center has been struck yet, almost a month after the threat was made?? Can anyone blame the Europeans for not believing anything Putin, or anyone in his admin, say anymore, or what redlines they draw??
And please, don’t tell me that he ever believed that an “American megalomaniac real-estate shyster,” along with his two coconspirators, sitting in the WH could really deliver the four oblasts to him on a silver platter!!
Posted by: Agonizing Reapprisal | Jul 8 2026 22:50 utc | 371
I stand on the side of the dead piled neck-deep around me.
Posted by: Asian Tiger | Jul 8 2026 3:49 utc | 308
How convenient, you are on the side of people who are already dead. Well, whoopy-doo…
How about being on the side of the striking Vynnitsia bus drivers? Or the Lviv protesters?
Or does grass-roots activism offend your sensibilities? Interfere with sipping your cappuccino while browsing The Grauniad ?
Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Jul 8 2026 22:54 utc | 372
Depleted uranium? Did anyone actually watch the strike with the munitions cooking off and flying into neighboring buildings?
They got the patriots. That’s why Zel is so discombobulated. Well that and Konatantinivka…
Posted by: Inevitability | Jul 8 2026 23:13 utc | 373
Posted by: AG | Jul 8 2026 15:26 utc | 341
“… I was still part of the uninformed crowd …”
Me too. I was stunned by the Russian intervention in Ukraine. Unlike “b” and many here I didn’t see it coming even as a possibility. A bolt from the blue and all I could say to myself was as mentioned before, “”Oh Lord. They’ve finally managed to get the Russians to come out and fight. Now the fat’s in the fire!”
But you didn’t have to be a military expert to see right away that it was no go for our unfortunate proxies. Like you don’t have to be a hot shot engineer to see that ramming a bicycle against a truck isn’t going to turn out well for the cyclist. The puzzle there is how Biden and the Europeans ever thought it might!
“… even though better informed and skeptical than 99%…”
I’d say 99,99%. Don’t know about you but there is absolutely no one in my circle, which covers several countries, who has the faintest idea about what was happening in that part of the world in the years preceding that Russian intervention. Easy meat, then, for the politicians and journalists.
Worse than that even. Most of the experts get it wrong, even many of the “dissident” experts. They seem to know nothing about the balance of forces on the LoC in early 2022 and don’t bother to find out. You’ll even see some dismissing out of hand the notion that the Russians intervened to prevent murder in the Donbass.
So what with almost all of the general public knowing nothing about the whole thing, and hordes of experts getting the basics wrong, it’s likely that the politicians will get away with it. Again. And they could well get away with tumbling us all into a Cold War II that we’re not at all well placed for. Or at least we in Europe aren’t.
“… RU foresight and methodical execution of their plans – despite US lies and interference and Western deception in general – since the mid 2000s is probably the most impressive piece of statecraft in many many decades that we could witness.“
Sums it up. The Russians played a blinder. But even there, most of the experts and analysts, even some of the “dissident” ones, don’t see it that way.
Some do. Just been listening to Commodore Jermy, who’s emerged recently and looks to be a real star. His breakdown of the various phases of the SMO shows that he understands what the Russians have been up to since ’22. More will follow suit. And over time your verdict, that I’ve taken the liberty of bolding above, will become generally accepted. Have to wait a bit though.
Posted by: English Outsider | Jul 8 2026 23:19 utc | 374
unimperator | Jul 8 2026 18:27 utc | 360
Canada and Australia reduced fuel taxes. Here, petrol is in the same price range as prior to the oil wars. Diesel is a little higher. No idea about the price and availability of jet fuel here. US releasing from its strategic oil reserve to keep fuel prices down there. Japan also started with a very large offshore oil reserve which it has been releasing.
China had the largest oil reserve. If the oil wars continue until US and Japanese oil reserves are exhausted, we may see a very large price hike. US also has Venezuela oil. I assume the Americans are building infrastructure there so more oil can come online as the US reserve is exhausted.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jul 8 2026 23:40 utc | 375
re Asian Tiger | Jul 8 2026 7:52 utc | 316
This is most eloquent concern trolling. Kudos, I guess.
Posted by: malenkov | Jul 9 2026 0:58 utc | 376
If you suspect “copy and paste” then “copy and paste” your suspicion into a search engine to prove it.
No one is required to credit and reference their thinking, ideas, and opinions to what’s at the end of a URL link.
Posted by: Asian Tiger | Jul 9 2026 1:02 utc | 377
Russian demographics
re Asian Tiger | Jul 8 2026 7:52 utc | 316
This is most eloquent concern trolling. Kudos, I guess.
Posted by: malenkov | Jul 9 2026 0:58 utc | 376 et al
Build a bridge and get over it.
Please stick to the topic. Contribute facts. Do not attack other commentators.
Posted by: Asian Tiger | Jul 9 2026 1:07 utc | 378
Posted by: The Far Side | Jul 8 2026 18:03 utc | 359
If the ban on Russian diesel exports applied everywhere and not just Europe, I wouldn’t feel too alarmed.
Posted by: joey_n | Jul 9 2026 2:37 utc | 379
Trump gave elensky permission to make Patriot missiles. Trump is Pootin’s best friend.
Posted by: Surferket | Jul 9 2026 2:48 utc | 380
Posted by: Surferket | Jul 9 2026 2:48 utc | 380 “Trump gave elensky permission to make Patriot missiles. Trump is Pootin’s best friend.”
.
Trump can’t be bought, only rented.
Posted by: ed4 | Jul 9 2026 3:06 utc | 381
You Nafo squad – a flea fart has more thinking power than your collective idiocy. How and where exactly will the grubby little jew manufacture patriots?
Hiding that sort of stuff under civilian shields does not work anymore.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jul 9 2026 3:42 utc | 382
Not to mention the manufacturing chokepoint in patriot missile production is the guidance head.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jul 9 2026 3:43 utc | 383
Keeping up with Trump. The guy who called Putin on July fourth, then chatted away happily together for 90 minutes or more.
Trump is Pootin’s best friend.
Posted by: Surferket | Jul 9 2026 2:48 utc | 380
June 8, 2026:The Ankara Summit Declaration
Putin seems to be in a new predicament with Trump’s wandering ways, the US, and Nato once again. The declaration which Trump agreed with the NATO heads of state and government in Ankara on July 8 commits him “to counter the long-term threat Russia poses to Euro-Atlantic security and stability” and obliges the NATO members to essentially pay for US protection from this existential Russian threat — “more than $50 billion in new procurements and…collective manufacturing capacity”.
Trump’s public arguments with Spain, Denmark, the UK, and the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, has been set aside now in an abiding spirit of Nato “unity, solidarity and collective strength” with “our ironclad commitment to our collective defence under Article 5 of the Washington Treaty”.
Trump told Vladimir Zelensky on the summit sidelines:
“with respect to Ukraine. Well, we’re going to talk about that [Patriot missile systems]. Look, it’s a defensive weapon, which I like better than an offensive weapon. It’s the best… those companies that make the Patriot and make all of the great stuff, the Tomahawks, all of the great stuff. We have the best stuff, many things… one of the things I think we’re going to be talking about today, just a little birdie told me this, about the fact that we’ll give them [Ukraine] the right to make Patriots. We’ll show them how to do it. It’s very complex, actually. But you’ll figure out the complexity quickly. And we’re talking about that and we’ll — the company that makes them, which is building now four plants. You know, all of our companies will be able to do this in two to three months. If you order a Patriot now, you have to wait a long time for them. Same thing with Tomahawks. We have a lot of certain equipment, but with, they call it the elite equipment. And you don’t need elite equipment necessarily for a war, but — so, one of the things we’re going to be talking about is we’re going to give a license to you to make Patriots. That’s pretty cool, right? This way you can’t complain that we’re not giving them enough. I say make them yourself. We haven’t informed the company [Raytheon, Lockheed Martin] of that yet, but that’ll work out all right. I’m sure they’ll be thrilled.”
Trump was repeating what was agreed at the G-7 summit meeting in France on June 17. Then he signed:
“We agree to increase the delivery of air defence capacities, additional systems and interceptors, and long-range capabilities. We are also ready to consider extending to Ukraine the benefit of licenses to allow for an increase in Ukraine’s military production…We commit to increase the pressure on the Russian war economy. In this context, we will strengthen our sanctions, including those on the oil and gas sectors.”
Trump also repeated the escalation commitment to Zelensky at their side meeting:
“Well, we have a lot of pressure. We have a lot of pressure on President Putin. You know, I don’t think he likes what’s going on. I don’t think he likes — I don’t think he’s thrilled with what’s happening. There’s a lot of pressure on President Putin to get it done.”
Where will Putin turn now? In Ankara Trump insisted on his right to escalate his and Israel’s war against Iran – and he got it in spades: Paragraph 5 of the Declaration says, “Allies reiterate, that Iran must never have a nuclear weapon and call on Iran to fully respect freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.”
The Donald, he just keeps winning.
Posted by: Asian Tiger | Jul 9 2026 4:32 utc | 384
Did anyone actually watch the strike with the munitions cooking off and flying into neighboring buildings? They got the patriots. Posted by: Inevitability | Jul 8 2026 23:13 utc | 373
Yes, something was flying but it doesn’t mean it can only be Patriot missiles or that it was the only thing exploding there.
Did you see how that area looked the next day and the radius of damage that Ukr evacuated? If little Patriot missiles alone can burn km of buildings they should definitely use them for ground attacks.
Posted by: rk | Jul 9 2026 5:18 utc | 385
Lethal drones are being built at such a rate that their number could surpass the total number of human beings in less than 10 years from now.
Ugo Bardi 2026
Posted by: Asian Tiger | Jul 9 2026 6:52 utc | 386
Posted by: Asian Tiger | Jul 9 2026 4:32 utc | 384
“In Ankara Trump insisted on his right to escalate his and Israel’s war against Iran – and he got it in spades: Paragraph 5 of the Declaration says, ‘Allies reiterate, that Iran must never have a nuclear weapon and call on Iran to fully respect freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.'”
That was precisely the situation before Trump started the war. The Fatwa against nuclear arms was in place and the Strait of Hormuz was open.
“The Donald, he just keeps winning. “
He is certainly winning in his own mind.
Posted by: Jan Sobieski | Jul 9 2026 6:54 utc | 387
Trump gave elensky permission to make Patriot missiles. Trump is Pootin’s best friend.
Posted by: Surferket | Jul 9 2026 2:48 utc | 380
What does that mean in practice? US hands over Ukraine blueprints for the missile and production methods? I doubt they will be built in Ukraine, but more likely it is part of the PURL program, paid for by the Europeans. EU gives money to US which can give Ukraine production license, blueprints and methods, and even then the manufacturing or assembly is done in EU states.
Posted by: unimperator | Jul 9 2026 8:33 utc | 388
Riots against bandera regime are spreading into Lwow the heart of banderists themselves. Another sign AFU is on its last legs.
Russia should push the matter and attempt to foster armed resistance in western Ukraine. Assassinate TCK, regime officials, Nato mercs, etc.
Posted by: unimperator | Jul 9 2026 11:43 utc | 389
Posted by: aquadraht | Jul 5 2026 12:34 “Golman is from the “super patriot” faction, he advocates “reconquest” of Finland and the Baltics, and missiles on NATO. Some call this kind “6th column”.”
.
Funny…. “Some call this kind “6th column”.””
.
Do some call all the “super patriot’s” here “6th column”? https://x.com/francis_scarr/status/1697553040071430306
Posted by: ed4 | Jul 9 2026 11:46 utc | 390
Posted by: William Gruff | Jul 8 2026 16:11 utc | 351 “No, this could very well be meant to provide a pretext to cut the Ukraine off.”
.
Ukraine has already pretty much been cut off from the supply of Patriot missiles. That is not news.
Posted by: ed4 | Jul 9 2026 11:50 utc | 391
ed4 | Jul 9 2026 11:46 utc | 390
Brainless trolling.
Posted by: aquadraht | Jul 9 2026 11:50 utc | 392
Posted by: New Fly | Jul 8 2026 14:27 utc | 332 “Let’s see how successfully the absurd supply chain of Lockheed Martin can get transferred to an active warzone with the most pervasive ISR and comprehensive surveillance analysts on the planet.”
.
Well, the thing that would make that warzone “with the most pervasive ISR and comprehensive surveillance analysts on the planet” would be the Western side and it is unlikely they would be giving that information to Russia.
Posted by: ed4 | Jul 9 2026 11:54 utc | 393
If/when Russia solves drone communication and control issues on western Ukrainian territory, it will be able to control the sky and disrupt truck traffic along 2 or 3 main west-east highways of Ukraine, crimping Nato supply artery from the starting line.
Posted by: unimperator | Jul 9 2026 11:59 utc | 394
Posted by: unimperator | Jul 9 2026 11:59 utc | 394
.
Agree, technological advantages in a protracted war generally don’t last long. They wax and wane from side to side. That is why if you have a new technology you might wait a bit to build up that capability to use it in a rush instead of dribbling it out where the other side can create a counter measure before too much damage is done.
Posted by: ed4 | Jul 9 2026 12:28 utc | 395
Posted by: joey_n | Jul 9 2026 2:37 utc | 379
Addendum:
The Russian government announced that the diesel fuel export ban for manufacturers will remain in effect until July 31. It will not affect supplies under intergovernmental agreements. The ban on diesel exports for companies that do not produce it was introduced on January 31. Today, at a meeting with Vladimir Putin, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak announced the decision to completely ban diesel fuel exports. Russia also has a complete ban on gasoline and jet fuel exports.
https://x.com/MilitarySummary/status/2074893122299974050
What are the terms and conditions behind the ban mentioned in bold?
Posted by: joey_n | Jul 9 2026 12:30 utc | 396
Posted by: joey_n | Jul 9 2026 12:30 utc | 396
.
I think the ban on gasoline and jet fuel is not that big of a revenue loss. The loss of revenue due to the ban on diesel is going to be much bigger. Naturally, it depends on how long it lasts.
.
How bad is the use of lower quality auto gas for the domestic market on the cars?
Posted by: ed4 | Jul 9 2026 12:44 utc | 397
Ukrainian neonazi nationalists are being beaten up by Polish patriots.
https://x.com/GabeZZOZZ/status/2075180151969652776
Posted by: unimperator | Jul 9 2026 12:47 utc | 398
joey_n // 396
“The ban on diesel exports for companies that do not produce it . . . ”
This puts a different spin on the matter. It’s not a ban on diesel exports. It’s a ban on companies “who do not produce it” exporting diesel. Sounds like some companies in Russia were buying diesel at cheap domestic prices and selling it to foreign companies for inflated prices. This reduced the amount of diesel available to Russian customers while giving the company owners high profits.
Based on historical precedent, I can only guess at the identities of these Russian companies which funnel money to their wealthy owners at the expense of the Russian people. Aside from that, it seems the Russian government is putting a stop to it. In the meantime, diesel exports continue as long as those exports fall within the limits set by the Russian government.
Posted by: Nobody Special | Jul 9 2026 12:47 utc | 399
The Ankara Summit Declaration
https://www.nato.int/en/about-us/official-texts-and-resources/official-texts/2026/07/08/the-ankara-summit-declaration
“1. We, the Heads of State and Government of the North Atlantic Alliance, have gathered in Ankara to reaffirm our ironclad commitment to our collective defence under Article 5 of The Washington Treaty and to the transatlantic bond.
An attack on one is an attack on all. Our unity, solidarity and collective strength remain the foundation of peace, security and prosperity for the one billion citizens in our Alliance of free and democratic nations. We remain committed to our 360-degree approach to deterrence and defence.
2. To counter the long term threat Russia poses to Euro-Atlantic security and stability, and the persistent threat of terrorism, Allies are delivering on the Hague defense commitment…
4…Allies stand united in our unwavering support for Ukraine in defending its freedom, sovereignty and territorial integrity. European Allies and Canada now finance the vast majority of security assistance to Ukraine through bilateral and multilateral means.
5…Allies stand united in our unwavering support for Ukraine in defending its freedom, sovereignty, and territorial integrity. European Allies and Canada now finance the vast majority of security assistance to Ukraine through bilateral and multilateral means...”
‘Division of Labour’ – let the vassals pay.
Posted by: John Gilberts | Jul 9 2026 12:57 utc | 400