That promise lasted one month. Limited shelf life. Russia’s long grind to take the strategically vital city of Bakhmut is nearing it ends, with the clean up and capture of abandoned Ukrainian units still inside the city as the priority tasks for the Russian military. Bakhmut is not as economically important as Mariupol, which fell to the Russians last May, but it is geographically significant. That is why Ukraine fought so desperately to hang on to it and expended the lives of tens of thousands of its soldiers in a vain effort.
Wagner’s leader, Prighozhin, announced today that Ukrainian troops:
completely retreated from the eastern shore of Bakhmut, the fighters of the Wagner PMC began operations to clear the area from the soldiers remaining there, who, most likely, would not be able to retreat.
In addition, the Vushniks began to withdraw from the rest of the city along secondary roads, after the “musicians” took fire control of the main supply routes.
https://t.me/DonbassDevushka/46870
Here is a video diary of the last two months documenting Zelensky’s changing message about the importance of Bakhmut.
Pay close attention at the 52 second mark in the video. Zelensky is having the soldiers sign a Ukrainian flag that he will subsequently present to Nancy Pelosi at the conclusion of his speech to the U.S. Congress in January.
I give Matt Van Dyke, an American mercenary supporting Ukraine, credit for his honest assessment. While he still clings to the belief that Ukraine can work a miracle and eventually expel the Russians from Ukraine, he admits that Bakhmut’s defenders were running out of time.
Matt Van Dyke broke the news to Judge Napolitano today (Friday) that Bakhmut has fallen into Russian hands.
Bakhmut marks the second time since the start of the Special Military Operation that Ukraine has been unable to stop a comprehensive Russian attack and unable to mount a counter offensive to rescue trapped forces. The first was Mariupol. That attack was led by the Chechen units of the Russian Army. Once Mariupol was secured and the Ukrainian troops rounded up, the Chechens were redeployed to the rear to rest and refit.
Just like the Chechens did in Mariupol, the Wagner Group was the spearhead of the Russian attack in Bakhmut. I am not privy to the plans of the Russian General Staff but if past is prologue I expect the Wagner Group to be pulled off the line, as happened with the Chechens, and be sent to a secure area in the rear to rest and recuperate.
The damage inflicted on the Ukrainian military is stupefying. Jeffrey Sachs tweeted the following today:
If these numbers are true, Ukrainian casualties, including missing and captured, exceed 600,000. Even if we assume the numbers are cut in half, the scale of losses are staggering. One year ago, according to Yahoo News:
Ukraine has 250,000 active-duty troops, plus another 290,000 reserve personnel and 50,000 paramilitary units that could be activated in a conflict with Russia.
https://news.yahoo.com/better-trained-better-equipped-know-193749574.html
During the last year Ukraine has enlisted hundreds of thousands of new recruits, but these new soldiers are being sent to the front with only minimal training. Ukraine does not have the number of trained, experienced soldiers required to mount a massive counter offensive. The lack of personnel is compounded by the inability of the West to supply ammunition and vehicles in sufficient numbers to sustain intense operations.
According to Andrei Martyanov, who has good sources in Russia, the 300,000 reservists called up last August have not yet been deployed to the front lines. The meaning is simple — Russia enjoys a massive advantage in terms of manpower, tanks, artillery, ammunition, missiles and combat air.
The fall of Bakhmut is a major blow, not just to Ukraine, but to the United States and NATO. This sets the stage for the West doing something desperate while Russia is content to continue to pulverize what is left of the Ukrainian military.
What is the source of the alleged CNN report? Where can it be found on the CNN website?
That’s why I put the caveat, “IF TRUE.” Jeffrey Sachs reported. He’s not the kind of guy to fabricate.
I think Sachs mostly copy it from Pro-russian telegram channels who don’t have a habit of fact checking.
I hadn’t thought of CNN as pro Russian, I must have missed something.
The Telegram channels are pro Russian, not CNN. One or more of them had text saying what Sachs tweeted. At least one of those Telegram channels them removed the post and said there was no CNN article found with that info.
CNN is pro whatever the democrats say
I admit I don’t know if Professor Sachs stated numbers are correct or not, but as an armchair military history student, it does makes sense. First, artillery kills the most soldiers in these types of conflicts, compared to other weapon systems and when one side has a ten to one advantage in artillery, one side is going to kill a whole lot more than the other side. Second, when one side has no air support, they will have considerably more casualties than a side that does. Lastly, when one side has an advantage in military technology, battlefield logistics, and nearly unlimited reserves of manpower compared to the other side, it adds up to the numbers of Ukrainian casualties. IMO, I would not at all be surprised if the numbers were not higher than those stated.
They are certainly closer to reality than the MSM garbage.
In my view, there has been a lot of ethnic cleansing going on, with the “wrong” kinds of Ukrainians being herded into the worst spots at the barrel of a gun by the nationalist militias. Very depressing for Russian soldiers who likely know this. I think many of those who have died would rather be on the Russian side.
I have read that the Luhansk and Donetsk armies are comprised largely of former Ukrainian army members who switched side years ago.
No.
It was posted on Telegram, with reference to Jeffery Sachs post.
The information came from The Ukrainian General staff.
I won’t believe any number until Ursula bleeps it.
Cope
Like the West’s fact checking? Paid agencies to say untrue to everything against the narrative?
You mean as opposed to the US media, who have a habit of fact-wrecking?
Well, here are some interesting facts. I’d guess there’s a 50/50 chance Ukraine at the end of this time of troubles ends up just like it started in 2010:
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/cd/ce/e0/cdcee0dc1ac36063210dc3465b5206b5.png
I read Sach’s post and I remember he cited Ukrainian military sources. It surprised me to see that. I have to wonder, if these numbers are inflated, what the Ukrainians hope to accomplish by putting them out. But even if they’re accurate, as I suspect they are, why are they revealing them just now? Perhaps to alarm the neocons enough to push them to do something really stupid and dangerous?
A little more on this subject.
https://www.rt.com/russia/572384-russia-wagner-surrounds-artyomovsk/
Anyone having problems loading the above link try: swentr.site/russia/572384-russia-wagner-surrounds-artyomovsk/
Considering anyone using your name can post a malware link and considering armies of Ukrainian trolls and bots and the same from their avid supporters are circulating that do exactly that, I would suggest you come up with a better way to post such occurrences.
Granted, Larry has the background to avoid such things being posted but I doubt he has the time.
Sachs can be seen on youtube and he is openly critical about past views he had that turned out wrong. Point is he seems smart, analytical and sincere.
My guess is that Sachs is thoroughly pissed that his sincere work in reforming the post-Soviet economy was hijacked by the neocons for their own nefarious purposes.
It’s fairly clear from his public utterings that underneath his lukewarm criticisms, a seething cauldron of hate for the neocons bubbles.
Screenshot is from his YouTube Community Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@JeffreySachsOfficial/community
You mean from a YouTube channel named after him
These were the number back in August. These were supposedly leaked or hacked. Just imagine how many more casualties 6 months later.
“THE WHOLE ROTTEN STRUCTURE: Ukrainian army documents reportedly LEAKED to public put Ukrainian casualties at STAGGERING 191,000, with HALF of ALL Ukrainian military forces out of action, and SEVERE lack of weapons and gear within Kiev’s armed forces, all pointing towards IMMINENT collapse of Ukrainian army.”
https://t.me/IntelRepublic/2821?single
And yet, the Ukrainian army didn’t in fact collapse.
If Sachs number, which ultimately sources to Russian State Media were true, it would mean the Ukrainian military has suffered not a 50% casualty rate, but a roughly 80% casualty rate. Now normally, a military formation becomes combat ineffective after taking even 20% casualties. So the expectation would be, that if these numbers are true, the Ukrainian military collapsed months ago.
Yet, that’s not what we’ve actually observed in the field. Ukrainian is still strongly resisting along most of the line of control and still winning many tactical level engagements daily.
Hense, we can be pretty confident in dismissing such claims as exaggerated at best.
It was posted on Telegram with the source allegedly CNN. The Telegram channel that I saw given as a source had removed that post when I went there, saying it was removed because it couldn’t be verified.
As far as I can tell, Sachs doesn’t have a twitter account? (I would have followed him a long time ago if he had). If you go to Sachs own website jeffsachs.org the twitter link goes to the Center for Sustainable Development where he is director. Also that twitter image doesn’t have the standard website format with the twitter @address following the poster’s name. I’ve also not been able to find a definitive source for CNN saying this.
In the absence of better evidence I don’t think we should put much faith in it. I am sure the number of UA KIAs are much higher than officially accepted, but it will probably be years before we get even vaguely accurate figures. Meanwhile, every death is a life that should never have been lost.
With all do respect the addition of “a life that should never have been lost” is a useless attempt to virtue signal at the end of a post. Conflict is human nature. I heard a mystic once comment how their channeling requires them to completely forsake their ego before they can engage with whoever/whatever they are channeling. This specific mystic (a young-ish man in his 30s/40s) made a profound statement regarding ego: it is an instinctual survival tool that has allowed humanity to thrive in the wild for potentially hundreds of thousands to millions of years. Many of us have lived in a time and place that has blinded us with regards to the constant struggle that daily survival for us and our individual families requires. Our ego then manifests itself elsewhere: we fear for our jobs; we obsess over athletics/art; we attempt to gain social status amongst our peers; we seek wealth beyond what is required for a comfortable existence. This all potentially leads to war due, at least in part, to greed and unchecked ego. These lives were always going to be lost due to egotistical decisions made by those who had the power and capacity to make them, whether out of greed or the even more fundamental instinct to survive. Unfortunately it appears this is only the start, as the US Military is taking a pro-war approach to Taiwan rather than embracing multi-polarity.
You’re giving advice to, and judging other people, and you believe people can talk to the dead!?
I’m certainly not saying whether I believe it or not, just that I found what this individual said about ego and how it pertains to human evolution to be brilliant.
Read the comment again, John.
You can ask CNN, instead of asking here!
You can’t ask CNN anything, since they banned all dissent.
We had more accurate reporting during the Civil War then we do now. I have no idea why this is so difficult.
Because during that war no one was actively lying, dissimilating, or prevaricating concerning casualties. On the contrary they tried to be as honest as they could be for the sake of the folks back home who deserved to know the fates of their children, brothers, husbands, etc. Imagine a time when government gave a fig about the peasants deserts.
Thank you, Larry.
The estimates from Jeffery Sach’s tweet are sickening and bring to mind the horror of what has been said in half-jest, that America will fight till the last Ukrainian.
I don’t think that remark was ever made in jest. It is perfectly true and it’s serious.
I agree. Lindsey Graham really meant it. Like most modern western wars. Other people do the dying. Mainstream corporate media rarely (if ever) tells us that the Afghan National Army suffered over 10x the deaths of NATO forces. For example.
At the risk of repeating the obvious, I’m now compelled to:
Lindsay Graham is one sick mofo.
Isn’t this the one that said exactly the same about the Taiwanese??
Senator Richard Black said something similar
“We don’t care! The United States and NATO, we do not care how many Ukrainians die. Not civilians, not women, not children, not soldiers. We do not care. It’s become a great football game. You know, we’ve got our team. They’ve got their team, rah rah. We want to get the biggest score and run it up. And, you know, we don’t care how many how many of our players get crippled on the playing field, as long as we win.”
video can be found on youtube
At least someone is counting the casualties in Ukraine. Who kept count of the dead and crippled in Iraq and Afghanistan?
IMO, The USA does not care about brown people. I am brown, by the way.
“No one can protect anyone” arya starck game of thrones…
The US does not care about any people outside of its own elite.
So don’t feel discriminated against.
They don’t even care about themselves.
As all the combined debacles begin to unravel, just watch the “who throws who under the bus” championships. It’s going the be spectacular and early indications are Wicked Vickie Nuland has a target painted on her back.
Fauci will likely be among the first for other reasons. Biden, however, knows how to fight dirty, being a born scumbag and pervert, and will likely die naturally, unscathed for his crimes. Too bad but I think the fu**er’s gonna get away with it.
My predictions anyway. Maybe we should start a pool?
Just imagen what a tragedy the invasion of Iraq would have been if Iraqi people would have had blonde hair and blue eyes. A little irony (ain’t talking about the stuff they make steel from)..Ukraine sent troops in 2003 to invade and and occupy Iraq. Karma’s a bitch..
The US govt. doesn’t care about the sovereign lives of anyone, most especially Americans of any color. We are cash cows and and sacrificial lambs to these darth vaders.
It’s not about skin tone. USA care about Slavs as much as they do about Syrians or Vietnamese. Biggest white supremacist are Nazis, and their main victim were, and still are, Slavs.
And the catalyst of everything is usury…
The “something desperate”, false flag event is what worries me most about the Neocons. They must be insane enough to have a plan if they were insane enough to destroy the Nordstream pipelines. It seems Putin and Xi know this. It is a very delicate handling now, attempting to stretch out time without setting them off..
Let’s hope the EU/ECB blow up happens first. When Credit Suisse goes down (publicly, as apparently there have been humongous swaps keeping it afloat), a whole daisy chain of defaults may occur. That just might hog tie the Neocons enough to keep them caged.. Time will soon tell.
Totally agree, imo the Russians have taken their time in bakmut to prepare for what dire and life threatening move nuland and co have planned.
Living under these psychos is becoming more and more frightening as each hour passes.
There are few other ways out of this mess:
(i) “Official figures” of losses make dying Mr. Comedian to surrender.
(ii) An “official audit” that finds most of the U$ “support” of Ukr MIA.
(iii) Declare that a coup is brewing against the Comedy Network as in: https://ria.ru/20230304/zaporozhe-1855796188.html
And others…
False Flags are still possible, but would the principal player (RF) react as planned by US’ DoD / WH / Alphabet Soup, of would it blow back for the whole world to see?
Cheers, JaKo
Larry, as I can see, Jeffrey Sachs closed his Twitter account in 2019. Are you sure this tweet is real? Do you have a link to it?
https://www.youtube.com/@JeffreySachsOfficial/community
The message is not there anymore. BTW, I don’t believe this is Sach’s YouTube channel either. Probably some opportunists trying to make a quick buck on him.
No such report on CNN as far as I can see (why would they publish something like that?). I suspect this is just a bait with an aim to later try to discredit antiwar people that reposted it.
I would consider updating or deleting it before they come after you. If you care, of course.
https://www.youtube.com/post/UgkxxMq6TTuBJlvfzpnQHfgJADsHWg-UthSe
The link to the post (is not on twitter, is on YouTube) https://www.youtube.com/post/UgkxxMq6TTuBJlvfzpnQHfgJADsHWg-UthSe
Have another look, it was there at 04:00utc and it’s still there now at 19:02utc, have another look, you must have missed it.
Looks like Sachs went more the low key academia route vs the bullypulpit for the masses route. Can’t blame him.
One site: jeffsachs.org
The message is there but it’s sourced from Intel Slava Z, which doesn’t provide further sourcing.
They say that the “Shock Therapy” masterminded by Jeffrey Sachs killed more Russians than Hitler.
Is the reason for the endless demonization Nazis by US media and Hollywood to ensure that Germany stays at heel, while simultaneously make USA and Britain look less demonic in comparison, and legitimize the existence of Apartheid Israel?
Tuomas..Thomas… please read my short response to OT’s post about Sachs. Thank you.
Wow. Lot of screen ink to debunk what is plausible. We’ve been hearing whispers of Ukrainian losses for 8 months. They go up and up. Videos of fields upon field of graves. Ursula said end of 11/22 that it was, “more than 100,000”. Strange that we believed her and this number when everything else from the EU has been a lie. But so it is. More than 100k seems to me to mean 150k plus the missing. Three months later and with the Bhakmut fiasco almost over and 250k is in the ball park.
Looking for Sach’s account, I was reminded of Katchanovski’s account, where he cites Sachs a few times. That reminds me to follow his account more. Jam-packed with insights.
If you want to monitor the climate and shifting winds, he’s a good source. BTW: Why do so many Americans have such a hard time pronouncing Maidan (My-DON)? I think I even heard Hersh pronounce it as Maiden. Sheesh, we’re as bad as the Brits.
https://twitter.com/I_Katchanovski
Actually you’re a lot worse than the Brits (witness your phonetic misspelling of Maidan – last syllable is pronounced as it is spelled unless you’re a Yank).
Good news, Larry. And talk about an untenable position! Southfront reports that even Prigozhin is asking Zelensky to let the “meat” leave the “grinder”:
Prigozhin Addressed Zelensky, Calling To Allow Withdrawal From Bakhmut
Wow it’s terribly pathetic that the Ukrianian government is killing its old and its children after it already has killed the military age combatants.
Change “government” for Ukrainian junta cronies…..and you will be less surprised….
We are “governed” by a mafia at both sides of the Atlantic…
The question is whether we will continue allowing being plundered from all our assets, savings, and earnings so that to feed this numerous mafia at the US WH, EC and EU governments plus Ukrainian junta…
Way toom uch people feeding from us who were voted in there to take care of people´s and national issues, then they all betrayed their mandate….
Instead of armchair general-ling, it would be advisable to start thinking off “what is to be done” and moving own ass to do something at home to mend this sate of affairs which dates already some years….
Amen. We bear much responsibility for sitting back and allowing this to happen. But of course some us want it to happen and are currently quite happy to be ruled by Mafia with no discernable principles as long as there is something in it for them – most table scraps.
Its disgusting.
Amen seconded. And I believe our road map was long ago established in the Declaration of Independence:
… Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. …
They are not really government. They are a bunch of fascists, a gang of criminals prepped and installed by the US to challenge Russia in this proxy war of the US against Russia.
Many people see this only as some “conflict”. This is the last war most people will see in their life, I think. This will go global, because the US has zero chance to win and will ignite the world as they go down.
…it looks like a planned genocide against the “wrong” Ukrainians, while protecting and driving out loyal nationalists from the front…
From Wagner.
Captured soldiers and an appeal to AFU for mercy on their own people
https://mobile.twitter.com/AZgeopolitics/status/1631571017653952512
The Ukranazi/NYT cope has already switched to “Bakhmut is of no strategic value”.
Even if one ignores their own previous statements that Artëmovsk (“Bakhmut”) is of no strategic value, why have they been bleeding themselves to death trying tu hold on to a place of no strategic value?
Have another look, it was there at 04:00utc and it’s still there now at 19:02utc, have another look, you must have missed it.
I have just listened to a BBC report. The Ukrainians have been holding on in Bakhmut because they have been killing Russians there by the tens of thousands. Now they are performing a tactical retreat. Something about civilians with no food, water or heat.
Curious they have been so successful in getting in all the weapons and ammo to kill said Russians but not feed the civilians. Oh, and Bakhmut is of no consequence anyway.
In other news the Bigfoot has declared for 2024.
What he means is:
‘It no longer holds any strategic value for those who couldn’t hold it.’
I have followed Jeffrey Sachs since the mid-1980s and always considered him the ultimate opportunist, coat-tailing the UN, the World Bank and the IMF. So, it came as a big surprise to find out after the Russian got in Ukraine that he was going against the US/NATO propaganda tide. I still do not understand. Does somebody have a valid explanation? Repentance? That’s only good for Catholics. He is one of the anointed ones.
an epiphany? That day we stop believing in Saint Nick. It is also very hard to accept when the media are in lockstep repeating the official line. Some are openly breaking from that. Wait until the tsunami hits the fan.
“Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away.”
― Philip K. Dick, I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon
My opinion? You’re thoroughly misreading Sachs. The person you describe above would NEVER go on an attack of the neocons. His early focus was always on the transition of communist economies into market economies and their subsequent peaceful integration into the world economy. I suspect he’s been pissed at the globalist/neocon ideologues for twisting the concept to their own ends and that twisting finally taking us to the very edge of WWII.
Basically IMO, Sachs was once a mild-mannered optimist now turned pessimist, as so many of us were, and now finally vocalizing his pessimism and its causes. Don’t forget, he’s risking a lot by going rogue on the establishment. Columbia was always a hotbed of trotskyist support, now much morphed to the neocon agenda, so he may very well risk being purged from his fairly innocuous perch there.
Sachs has discussed how his plans presented to the powers that be in DC (used here as a proxy for the whole western geopolitical financial elite) for reforming the Polish economy with US aid funds was accepted. His same or similar plans for Russia weee rejected . I suspect this hacked him off and smoldered inside him for a long time.
How and why people with the insider access and status rebel is an interesting question. Look at RFK Jr.
@Charly, IMHO I think this is just an act put on by him to stay relevant. I guess he’s seeing whats written on the wall and adapting accordingly. He has given plenty of misery to people and I doubt he developed a conscience overnight. Once an opportunist, always an opportunist. Call me a cynic but I wouldn’t trust this guy one bit.
The demand from Kiev today that they want 600,000 shells per month but will settle for 350-400k is telling. Mostly because they demand probably 4x what the west might be able to produce later this year, if everything goes right.
Bakhmut was always integral to the line, but its strategic worth is nowhere near what Ukraine spent to lose it anyway. It should have been slowly abandoned two months ago with active defense and regrouping. The only place you defend at all costs is the one you can’t back up from. The Soviets had to hold Stalingrad because beyond the Volga was total defeat.
Often the battle for Stalingrad is offered as a comparison to the battle for Bakhmut. Alexander Mercouris at The Duran suggests Dien Bien Phu might be more accurate. I listen to his podcasts with interest. Another suggestion he has recently made is that the collapse of the American Empire is more akin to that of the Spanish Empire than to that of the Roman.
Not really. Stalingrad was secondary to the Caucasian oilfields as a priority for the USSR. The Soviets only belatedly began fortifying the town and evacuating residents when it became clear that Hitler was inexplicably dividing his forces to take the city rather than concentrate them all on the oilfields of Chechnya.
Stalingrad was very important as it was a key hub for shipping up and down Volga. Germans occupying that area would have blocked all shipments going north and south-east. All railway lines were centered on Moscow and were not as useful as river transport in some cases.
This is confirmed by the “accountant” himself in September 1942:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8PKXO4xfMU
P.S. Primary source (German)
Again, the “accountant” in his own words (November 1942):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxilP60YBao
4:40: “Es kommt kein Schiff mehr die Wolga hoch …!
P.S. Primary source
IMHO,operation Barbarossa was always about control of the entire length of the Volga river.For russia,no volga no anything.
This is God damned awful if true, Sachs is not unreliable. From my reading of sources everyone here most likely follows this is the direction I thought it would go. The Western leaders responsible should be tried and executed. Or shot and hung upside down on a gas station forecourt.
And the global consequences are yet to unfold.
Umm, 250k is a lot less than have been slaughtered by the kill shot, in the US alone. And that’s ongoing, of course.
Just as dead, whether it’s “died suddenly, doctors are baffled” or an artillery shell.
Oh jeez, not again. Can’t we avoid mixing agendas? It’s really annoying.
These numbers are hair-raising. It’s criminal and immoral to send Ukrainians to slaughter. I spoke to my friend in Ukraine today; it looks like some family sued Ukrainian DoD because its drafting crew kidnapped a man at the bus stop, and was he dead in 6 days – they shipped him to the front untrained, unprepared for sure death. And Ukrainian DoD’s response was, “he was burning with the desire to fight for.” They kidnapped the guy at a bus stop!
Scroll to 1 minute of this video – the elderly gentleman asks Zelensky very to let them retreat. Look at whom they draft now by force – the kids and old men!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2t1KRz5GSA
The very sad truth is that the current Ukrainian ‘government’ is VERY capable of rounding up raw recruits off the streets and sending them barely trained to the front to sit in trenches to stall Russian advances while the battle-hardened cream of the neo-nazi crop regroup to the rear. And we-the west, are complicit.
Ukraine is a criminal state. Ever has been since 2014 and its bogus MP declarations of legitimacy to the violent overthrow of probably the only legitimate elected president it ever had, or so suggested the OSCE.
Your last paragraph captures the danger of the moment in a nutshell.
Bakhmut is about to fall. The Ukrainian army has taken an almighty beating. There’s open talk that Ukraine is running out of ammo. The situation is worse than a disaster for Kiev/NATO. This is a debacle.
In the last week, we have seen Kiev/DC trying more desperate stunts in Russia, in order to try and prove that they’re still in the fight. These include multiple drone attacks, and a sick terrorist attack in Bryansk. Everything has failed.
The situation is now getting very near to the point where the DC warmongers no longer have any viable options. This is when these desperate lunatics will be at their most dangerous. Ukraine was their #1 project, the platform for their long desired plan to take out Putin and dismember Russia. It is very, very close to total collapse.
I’m sure that Moscow understands that there is no low that the DC lunatics won’t stoop to. The attacks on NS 1 and 2 prove that they’re capable of anything. If they try something insane, I have no doubt at all that the neocons will fail, in humiliating fashion. I just hope that their failure includes no loss of innocent life.
“The situation is now getting very near to the point where the DC warmongers no longer have any viable options. ”
True. They are incapable of stopping. It’s become a personal ego and PR battle versus an enemy who is thinking as logically as it can and as objectively as it can.
At some point the angry irrational person will do something dangerous to assert themselves. When it all blows up then they cool down. Might be too late by then.
Republicans in most are backing Biden on Obama’s war. Brainless.
The last line of your comment states ‘l just hope that their failure includes no loss of innocent life’. Unfortunately for decades prior and up to and including this war the reality is that failed neocon projects have directly and indirectly led to the death of millions and many millions more have become refugees. Neocon failure is incompatible with no loss of innocent life.
All the neocon adventures are failures.
Unless you’re a neocon dialed into the “defence” industry.
In which case it is Kerching!
The sad truth is these scumbags make a fortune, whether they win or lose!
I would add that fighting to the last man or dying as a “hero” for the likes of Vicki Nuland or Samantha Power is one of the most cruel jokes in human history. At least Hitler put a bullet in his head but Nuland and Power will just go on to their next sick project. Nauseating.
The summation is spot on. Other wise they wouldn’t be able to sleep at night. The burning question is can they accept failure? I for one think not, so when they resort to the next false flag, one that cannot be ignored, I will begin to prepare my basement. Our only salvation is if the Europeans snap out of this nightmare and tell the inmates in the DC mental institution to pound sand.
I’d like to see someone ask this very simple question to the White House press secretary, and the DOD spokesperson. “Who is wining the war in Ukraine?”. Just as a probe / measurement of where the US propaganda machine stands at this time. It would be interesting to see the person go into Baghdad Bob mode if indeed they intend on keeping this whole thing up. Also Russia deserves to get Odessa and the crescent connecting Transnistria before this all ends, they’ve paid too much themselves to not get the Black Sea coast as well as liberating their people before this ends. The west will call for an end at the point they see Odessa falling, territory loss scares the crap out of them more than 600K dead or wounded.
“Deserves” has nothing to do with it. If Russia wants Odessa it will have to fight for it. Russia has taken Donbas territory analagous to the island of Great Britain; an Odessa campaign would likely require occupation of land 2/3 that size. Another campaign would be unlikely until 2028-2030 given recent Russian history. More likely is the collapse of Ukraine and Russian protectorates over the coastal remnants.
The report isn’t surprising except for the amount of wounded by comparison to the dead and missing.
We have to remember that the Ukraine general that said he needed a new army. Full hospitals, few tanks, Volkssturm replacements.
The amount of destruction of the artillery of Ukraine has been intense. The Russian enemy fire tracker appears to be a threat to all opposing artillery. It may have to learn to be faster at shoot and run, but if they don’t have a place to hide, the drones take care of the second set of coordinates, same outcome. Fewer shells fired.
China wants in and Nato is bankrupting everything it touches.
1 year in? Why would Russia want to stop? Every few kilometers is another billion dollars of western gear to destroy.
How many of these are foreign fighters? Many of them would have been fed to the shredder if they weren’t high value?
But the big question, how many nazis are left?
“….Zelensky is having the soldiers sign a Ukrainian flag that he will subsequently present to Nancy Pelosi at the conclusion of his speech to the U.S. Congress in January….”
What a sickening, disgusting idea – hundreds if not thousands of men put into a meat grinder for a photo-op for Zelensky and the madam of the brothel Pelosi
No war was ever won on profit. Despite trillions spent, the United States has not won a real war since 1945. Forget the ammunition, the drones, the HIMARS, the air defense systems, the tanks, the F-16s. Once enough Ukrainians have died, Zelinsky is going to be needing more live bodies. Demanding in fact. But whose bodies? Obviously, there aren’t enough mercenaries. So where are the bodies going to come from to replace the dead (to the last man, boy, uncle and grandfather) Ukrainians? On February the 28TH, Zelinsky was reported to have said how the “American people will have to send their sons and daughters to die in the Ukraine.” So where are all these bodies going to be coming from? Dead Americans? Dead British? Dead French? Dead Germans? Body bags don’t just fill themselves.
https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=7d8ee47c37ab3463JmltdHM9MTY3NzgwMTYwMCZpZ3VpZD0wZDlkZGI0MC05NzA5LTZmZjgtM2VmNC1jOTNjOTY3NzZlOGUmaW5zaWQ9NTQ0OQ&ptn=3&hsh=3&fclid=0d9ddb40-9709-6ff8-3ef4-c93c96776e8e&psq=Zelinsky+says+american+will+be+dying+in+Ukraine.&u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly90aGVkY3BhdHJpb3QuY29tL3dhdGNoLXplbGVuc2t5eS1zYXlzLWFtZXJpY2Fucy13aWxsLWhhdmUtdG8tc2VuZC10aGVpci1zb25zLWFuZC1kYXVnaHRlcnMtdG8tZGllLWluLXRoZS11a3JhaW5lLXZpZGVvLyM6fjp0ZXh0PUZlYnJ1YXJ5JTIwMjglMkMlMjAyMDIzJTIwLSUyMGJ5JTIwSG93YXJkJTIwUm9hcmslMjAtLFJ1c3NpYSUyQyUyMGFuZCUyMHdlJTIwc2F5JTJDJTIwdGhlJTIwaGVsbCUyMHdlJTIwd2lsbC4&ntb=1
the warm bodies will come from Poland.
Yes. And they will be volunteering. Probably some from Baltic states too. Darwin Awards posthumously to all.
The Poles will be too busy fighting the United States’ next proxy war.
How bad?
When you have a a humanitarian like Prigozhin flanked by a 72 year old and teen-age pows appealing to the Bankova death cult to please spare people’s lives for the love of God …
The numbers are believable and reinforced by all the evidence coming from the ground. 85% of casualties caused by shells. People keep referring to a 10:1 overmatch in artillery, and the number of shells bears it out. Ukrainian casualties could easily be 10× as high as Russian.
Medically there have been big improvements in saving those that can be, limiting the irretrievably wounded.
You know the world has gone insane when, in comparison to his opponent, Prigozhin is described as a “humanitarian”.
Common criminals having some honour is not insane. Those starting wars getting Nobel Peace Prize is.
Larry these numbers line up with the numbers published by tje official Russian news agencies and military spokesmen, with analysts such as yourself, Martyanov, Scott Ritter, Colonel Douglas MacGregor, and several other reputable commentators on the conflict. Once I was angry about the Ukrainians taking on a task that was doomed to failure. Now I’m sickened that what I had feared would happen is happening – killing the untrained, the children and the old in combat. This is clearly obvious to the leader of Wagner PMC – he was giving these poor souls his best attempt ro not have to kill them as there would be no honour in that. It shows how barbaric is Zelensky and America to send a nation to its certain destruction over money. Zelensky and his entire government should be prosecuted for war crimes against his people.
The war crimes are commanded by the war party sitting snug fireside in Washington.
Regarding Jeffry Sachs: “The US would tolerate years of war. They would accept many deaths” 04.2022
https://www.welt.de/wirtschaft/plus237898261/Jeffrey-Sachs-zur-Ukraine-USA-wuerden-viele-Tote-in-Kauf-nehmen.html
He did speak also at the Peace Demonstration 25.02.23 Berlin Germany.
So many dead people, caused by insane people in the West.
Of course they would. Any price is worth paying if you’re not the one paying it. Until there are personal consequences for these evil scum they will carry on causing chaos everywhere.
It is impossible that the Pentagon has not jotted down an exit and de escalation strategy.
The question is what is it? Where is the line the Pentagon has drawn. Politicians may not keep it but the Pentagon will have its lines. What are those lines.
Of course Pentagon has an exit and deescalation strategy. It includes people hanging on to aircraft.
Well, they didn’t have one for Afghanistan and they only had 20 years to work on it.
Actually they do have a “withdrawal plan”. The Joint Chiefs plan to withdraw to the boards of General Dynamics, Raytheon, Lockheed, et al. and leave clean up to the suckers. A tradition approaching its 75th year.
As the Duran crowd often say: “the Neocons have no reverse gear”. I doubt whether any exit strategy has been jotted down by anyone. It is fast forward to Moscow…..well at least to Crimea for the Biden crowd.
Note – Mariupol was liberated mostly by the Donestk militia. Until very late 2022 very few RF forces were involved in any fighting. The burden of fighting was nearly all by local ‚Ukraine‘ forces of the DPR-LPR and Crimea.
Question – does the War Party want to ethnically cleanse the Donbass and Crimea when they demand ‚all Russians leave‘ ?
Question – does the War Party want to ethnically cleanse the Donbass and Crimea
Of course. Else why would they stand behind the genocidal banderites and sing ballads of their deeds??
To some extent you can see Pentagon lines are already crossed. This was apparent in Miley pretty much saying a few months ago that he thought Ukrainie had done all it could.
So no one is listening.
The interesting part is also the clear stake the press has in this war. I have never seen such uncritical corrupt reporting turning the media into a PR arm of the US and UK as well as Ukraine.
The question is what financial and other interests so the owners of this media organisation have? UK Murdoch media are the most Pro war. At Fox Tucker at least asks a few questions.
To what extent are media owners compromised by investments into arms companies, deep state threats, tax threats, bribes, political coercion and general corruption. Because that is a matter of public interest and a constitutional issue which the public has a right to know.
Add to that the revolving door between media a government let along the revolving beds.
The death of the 4th estate is happening in silence and darkness. That is extraordinarily dangerous.
Most mass media, TV and newspapers groups, at least in Europe, are mainly owned by US banks and hedge funds, JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, BlackRock, Vanguard, State Street, plus Big Health Care, and Big Pharma…
You will find the same people profitting from the “pandemic” ( and the u-turning of most public investment in “vaccines”, where they have huge investments…) now profitting from the “war in Ukraine”, especially BlackRock, who will manage the “recovery funds”…..Some of this huge funds are currently bankrupting and defaulting in places like the UK….( Hence UK tireless effort in fuelling “war in Ukraine…)
They will not stop until they suck whatever they can…As happened during the “pandemic”, people give them a huge damn…..In fact they have plans to depopulate earth…What better way to do than through a huge war following a “pandemic” and forced mass vaccination of the whole world with their “vaccines”?
And, why to trust our health and immune system to the same “War Party” who sends elders and teens to the Bakhmut meat grinder adn destroys whole nations without any charge in its conscience?
The sooner we understand that these criminal people have declared a war on the peoples of the world, through multiple fronts, the better…
Because…“If you don’t know your enemy, and you don’t know yourself, you will lose all the battles”…
They can depopulate the West. In most of zone B government doesn’t exist except barely. The public lives on its own and obeys it’s own rules. Nobody controls it. At most a couple of narrow partisan issues gets some sections worked up. Even in Chaos people thrive always independent of any government action .
Just check out Palestine and Yemen if that happened to a western country it would have collapsed society.
“To what extent are media owners compromised by investments into arms companies”
Blackrock, Vanguard, State Street to name three big investment funds. They own controlling percentage of shares in the media companies, the pharma companies, arms manufacturers.
It’s a big club and we’re not invited. (George Carlin)
The same people who profit from 600,000 dead Ukrainians and millions of others.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/katevinton/2016/06/01/these-15-billionaires-own-americas-news-media-companies/?sh=4c6c1413660a
WW3 is just getting started and if it’s anything like WW2 where 80 million died we can expect billions this time. The former colonial powers are just reconstituted in NATO and with mechanisms like IMF/USAID are simply not just gonna give up 500 years of global dominance because Ukraine isnt up to it. Zelensky said USA’s sons would be fighting eventually and I think that’s what US leaders told him. USA needs a Peral Harbor moment to antagonize/unite the population then it’s a go. That’s what’s up with constant provocation of Russia. Whatever is next won’t shock me. Dirty bombs, sinking of Russian commercial ships whatever they will escalate. Bank on it.
I think it was in The rise and fall of the Third Reich by William L. Shirer which recounted how the German High Command couldn’t believe that every time they destroyed Russian men and matériel more kept coming over the horizon, the precision high tech German military destroyed.
I could not understand in the early days why the West kept saying the Russians were running out of equipment. Now it seems obvious. It was pure projection.
One thing that will be different this time is that it is unlikely that loser and his wife will end up as a charred corpses in a ditch. A Corvette maybe.
Sickening.
The “Loser” has Lambo-money. You’ll see him yakking with his new bestest friends as the draw at parties in their Malibu beach houses and in their modest homes in the Hollywood hills.
In the past 10 days or so, the Ukrainians withdrew the best units from Bakhmut and left the forcibly mobilized reservists, old men and boys to the meat machine. This shows the criminal character of that regime.
And now a little about the empire of lies.
https://t.me/wyattreed13/186
NYT on Bachmut on February 12: “strategic city”.
NYT on Bachmut on March 3, less than 20 days later: “it has limited strategic value”.
“……left the forcibly mobilized reservists, old men and boys to the meat machine. This shows the criminal character of that regime.”
It shows strategic geo-political intransigence/doubling down/continuing cultural ignorance all as functions of endemic/systemic fear and ignorance, predicated on the notion that their “offer” of punishment is more “attractive/persuasive” than their opponents’ offer/practices of mutual benefit for mutual co-operators, a projection of the coercive social relations misrepresented as “The United States of America” which have always been predicated on fear of encouraged insecurities.
This cultural ignorance was also illustrated on “Independence Square” in Kiev in February 2014 when “natives” were welcomed into their own home by way of plain bulka without salt dispensed by progeny of previous inhabitants.
Hence the observation of a Right Sector “customer guide” that once they have served their purpose things will be like before, given they have served their purpose to an increasing and a decreasing degree simultaneously, through attempts at extending “wars” not restricted to Ukraine in hope that they are capable of “Come into my house, said the spider to the flyness.”
Sorry Larry,
that Jeffrey Sachs quote is fake.
He doesn’t tweet. And he did not say that in one of the videos.
By putting the fake quote up you are undermining your own credibility.
Prof. Jeffrey Sachs (or the person who wrote that twit) is quoting CNN …
Mr. Sachs quoted Ms von der Leyen on the 100,000 dead a few months ago …:
https://www.democracynow.org/2022/12/6/jeffrey_sachs_ukraine_war
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrmWpI_s7rc
P. S. When reading the comments we get the impression that certain actions in the past (just or not) are not forgotten…
Every day I get these quotes from Sachs, Meirsheimer, Macgregor and Ritter etc, in my youtube feed.
I have no idea whether they are kosher or the work of a third party? I suspect the latter.
I also get messages from the these folks when I comment sometimes. Which I never click on, at the advice of Alexander Mercouris, who says they are phony.
If it’s a fake, somebody is impersonating him on his Youtube channel. I posted this in the preceding China weapons thread as the only confirmation I could find.
https://www.youtube.com/post/UgkxxMq6TTuBJlvfzpnQHfgJADsHWg-UthSe
b, YouTube has a feature called “Community” where folks can post non-video content on their own channels. It’s not as famous or popular as the rest of social sphere, but there it is.
The JeffreySachsOfficial channel has no description but contains only interviews and videos recorded in his own home. It’s highly unlikely that’s a fake channel.
Prof. Jeffrey Sachs on Nord Stream 2:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Fv_nKyF_5g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWTUF-GH5RA
Bakhmut encircled!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iAoNkZ_4nc
Autographed Flag to present to the US Congresswoman Ice Cream Queen? 600,000 casualties (44 million Ukrainians, so 1.4 % of nation). Ukee President trots around the world handing out souvenirs of its slaughter? What in the world? The Western creep thieves latest appearance is by the US AG Garland to get his share of shakedown $? Meanwhile, the Global Economy is in the hands of Xi’s policies while Xi and Putin prep for joint military exercises ahead of China’s confiscation of Taiwan’s tech output and its occupation of South China Sea. China gave us Covid and in case you forgot, Covid shut down the whole world.
Thank you Larry for your dedication to illuminate truth as the West is living inside its own Iron Curtain….
“Be Scared. Be Very Scared.”
On Russian RT an article appeared that explains the rapid development of anti-drone guns. https://russian.rt.com/russia/article/1118672-ruzhya-antidrony-svo-borba-bpla
“Convenient and easy to use”: how Russia is improving the means of combating UAVs
The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation demonstrated footage of the combat use of anti-drone guns by the special forces of the Central Military District in the NVO zone. With the help of such guns, military personnel disrupt the operation of enemy UAV control systems. Currently, Russia has a fairly wide arsenal of such portable systems and is improving them. Experts highly appreciate the quality of domestic anti-drone guns. At the same time, analysts believe that such weapons are most effective in combination with other means of intercepting enemy UAVs.
The Russian Ministry of Defense posted on its Telegram channel footage of combat work in the NVO zone of special forces armed with anti-drone guns.
“During combat work at the forefront, special forces groups of the Central Military District are calculating the location of the drones of Ukrainian nationalists, who are reconnaissance of our positions and adjusting artillery fire,” the video caption says.
With the help of anti-drone guns, the special forces disrupt the control systems of Ukrainian UAVs and land them. Then the devices are dismantled for spare parts or destroyed.
According to one of the servicemen with the call sign Historian, in order to interfere with the control system of an enemy drone, certain frequencies must be selected. The impact on the UAV can be carried out at a distance of 800-1000 m. According to the commando, when the enemy device loses the ability to continue flying, it either freezes or goes to land. If the drone remains in the air, then it is hit by firearms.
The historian emphasized that the range of UAVs in the NVO zone is extremely wide. In particular, drones can be used by Ukrainian troops to drop grenades and mines. In this regard, the relevance of countering such a technique has significantly increased.
Lighter and more compact
The publication of the Ministry of Defense does not name the brand of anti-drone guns. The Special Forces officer Historik himself stated on the video that several models of this weapon are used in his unit.
At the end of last year, TASS, citing the PPSh Laboratory company, announced the testing of a new modification of the anti-drone gun called LPD-802. According to the developer, the improved complex has become smaller, more powerful, received an energy-intensive battery and an additional interference frequency range to suppress American-made UAVs.
“The effective range of the LPD-802 will be revealed during field tests, during which drones using frequency bands within 2.4 GHz, 5.1 GHz and 5.8 GHz, and GNSS navigation channels (global navigation satellite systems. – RT )”, - the company said.
The previous model, called LPD-801, is capable of incapacitating small-sized drones at a distance of up to 1-1.5 km. The fighter’s wearable kit includes four quick-release batteries weighing 0.6 kg each. The operating time of one battery in signal suppression mode is one hour.
LPD-801 is able to block Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, Beidou, Galileo, GLONASS satellite systems and prevent unauthorized data transmission. The gun operates in three operating frequency ranges: 2400-2483 MHz, 5725-5925 MHz, 1575-1602 MHz. The weight of the product is about 3.5 kg, the length is slightly less than 1 m.
In an interview with RT, which took place in the fall of 2021, the specialists of the PPSh Laboratory described their offspring as a convenient and unpretentious complex for combating small UAVs.
“For example, the antenna fastening is very reliable, in general, the product has a minimum of protruding parts. The gun has a folding butt, you can safely throw it into a pickup truck and transport it along with other weapons without worrying about safety, ”Denis Oslomenko, CEO, told RT earlier.
Also in the line of anti-drone guns, products of the Kalashnikov concern are known. Back in 2019, the company demonstrated to the general public a portable REX-2 complex weighing only 3 kg.
“The REX-2 anti-drone has become lighter and more compact than its predecessor (REX-1. – RT ): the dimensions of the product have been reduced, and its weight is now only 3 kg. The standard package contains three signal suppression modules: 2.4 GHz, 5.8 GHz, SNS (satellite navigation systems. – RT ). The suppression unit for satellite navigation systems is integrated into the body. It also has a battery charge indicator to make it easier to control its level, ”the Kalashnikov website says.
In addition to combating UAVs, REX-2 can be used to disable improvised explosive devices that are activated using a mobile phone signal.
In addition, the arsenal of Russian military personnel includes the Harpoon-3 portable UAV countermeasure system developed by the Moscow company Information Technologies and Solutions.
According to the company, the weapon is capable of accurately blocking control and navigation channels, making it impossible for the drone to determine its location and receive control commands from the operator.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, in the NMD zone, portable means of combating UAVs are used , among other things, to cover the work of artillery. For example, in October 2022, the military department published footage of the use of electromagnetic anti-drone devices to ensure the operation of the Uragan MLRS.
“In the areas of deployment and combat positions, artillery units are protected by electromagnetic systems, the crews of which monitor the airspace and, if enemy drones are detected, destroy them with an electromagnetic pulse,” the Russian Defense Ministry said.
Convenience and simplicity
As Dmitry Kornev, the founder of the Military Russia portal, explained in a RT commentary, the antidron gun is a compact electronic warfare (EW) tool. The use of such a product is effective against small-sized drones that are in the visibility zone.
“Such guns emit an electronic pulse that affects the on-board equipment of the drone. This is a convenient and easy-to-use means of protection against UAVs in the hands of the infantry. Of course, any small drone can also be shot down with small arms, but, as a rule, it maneuvers very quickly and unpredictably, so it is very difficult to hit it,” Kornev said.
A similar point of view is shared by a military expert, retired colonel Viktor Litovkin. In an interview with RT, he stated that “antidron guns show good performance in the fight against mini-UAVs.”
At the same time, as Litovkin says, they are not without flaws. Among them are a rather high price, relatively weak batteries and a limited range of exposure to electromagnetic radiation. At the same time, according to the expert, Russia has everything necessary for the further improvement of hand-held anti-drone systems, and the deployment of their mass production should significantly reduce the cost.
“Without a doubt, it makes sense to saturate our units near the line of contact and in the rear with anti-drone guns. But you cannot completely rely on this weapon. Firstly, these guns are only effective against small UAVs. Secondly, the enemy will sooner or later start working on their protection, ”the expert emphasized.
At the same time, according to Litovkin, anti-aircraft technology is indispensable to destroy drones of larger sizes and at long distances. According to the interlocutor of RT, to intercept such air targets, you can use the Igla and Verba MANPADS, which are equipped with infantry units of the Russian Armed Forces.
At the same time, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense, simpler anti-aircraft equipment is also a threat to UAV drones . At the end of January, the military department announced the successful use of the ZU-23 anti-aircraft gun in the NVO zone. It is noteworthy that this means of destruction is used in conjunction with an anti-drone gun.
According to Kornev, the most optimal way to deal with UAVs is to combine various means of detection and destruction on one platform. Such a complex is the Pantsir ZRPK family .
Specialists of the Kizlyar Electromechanical Plant decided to create a new platform for protection against small drones . At the beginning of this year, an article was published in the Military Thought magazine of the Ministry of Defense for the highest and senior command staff of the RF Armed Forces, which stated that the engineers of this enterprise had developed a unique anti-drone system based on the chassis of the Typhoon-VDV armored vehicle.
The arsenal of the machine consists of a remote-controlled module based on the ZU-23, the Verba MANPADS, microwave suppression equipment and laser systems with a range of up to 1 km.
“Now the battlefield requires a universal, mobile and relatively simple solution in the field of countering drones. I think that domestic design thought is developing in the right direction. On the one hand, means of combating drones are being simplified and, as far as possible, cheaper, on the other hand, new projects of short-range self-propelled air defense systems are being worked out, ”summed up Kornev.
You should get your own blog.
I’ve got the opportunity of accessing articles from Russian news channels which are being blocked in many other Western countries.
Thanks for the info…
Has anyone thought of equipping troops with duck/waterfowl hunting guns? A 12 gauge wide spread Browning would do fine on a drone within sight. Of course you wouldn’t have any spare parts to confiscate. 🙂
Thank you for such good information. Excellent post.
Got to love The Telegraph’s headline here in the UK today:
“The West must prepare for the imminent collapse of Putin’s Russia!”
Clearly the Bakhmut debacle is getting to them.
Re: the veracity of Sachs’ Youtube message.
The earliest report of the CNN broadcast I could find was on Pravda.ru (URL in previous thread).
CNN broadcasts very different news, often in the local language in different parts of the world. It is entirely possible that one of CNN’s overseas affiliates broadcast the info.
That’s the third best military “of NATO”.
We only want to live in peace but anyone who fights Russians only can hurt themselves.
Mother, father, brother and children, tell your western families to stay away from Ukraine and Russia for their own good.
“We only want to live in peace …”
Дорогая Наталья, there is plenty of evidence that shows who has really wanted to “leave in peace” since 2014:
British troops train Ukrainian soldiers (published in December 2019):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XZc0qdlVhY
On the Azov battalion (aired in June 2014):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpKaoy35blc
P.S. Primary sources, Western MSM
Don’t celebrate too soon – the main event is still to come:
https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/8201067.html
IRF520…I read the article you linked. While I do not doubt the bravery, commitment and resolve of the Ukrainian Armed Forces it unlikely that they can launch a “surprise offensive” against Russian forces in the Spring…the logistical effort to launch such an offensive will not go unnoticed and the weapon systems and ammo to support such an offensive does not exist.
NATO has given Russia no alternative but to completely defeat the current “Ukranian regime” because NATO has insisted that the Ukraine will eventually become a NATO member which is unacceptable for Russian National Security…so there will be no “Plan B look for ways to save the existing Ukrainian regime and start peace talks with Russia” as the article eludes to.
What there will be a lot of is dead and wounded Ukrainian soldiers if the Ukraine launches a Spring Offensive…”fight to the last Ukrainian” is the genocidal NATO motto in response to the SMO…why is the Ukraine willing to die for the US and NATO?
Larry – I support your broad mission and position.
However, you may have been misled into ascribing certain statements to Jeffrey Sachs:
1 – that is not a Tweet from Sachs, since he has not been on Twitter since 2019.
2 – It is a comment made on a Youtube channel called “@JeffreySachsOfficial” – but that is almost certainly NOT Professor Jeffrey Sachs’s official Youtube channel, as it purports to be. It looks very much like someone is pulling clips of Sachs which they approve of (or which make him look outspoken) and posting them there.
=> Strongly suggest you edit this part of the (otherwise useful) above article.
It may (or may not) be the case the CNN did release such a data report, but I think this needs a lot more checking.
Thanks. If you read my article more carefully I do not suggest Sach’s article is accurate because I add the caveat, IF TRUE.
Yes, but as the blog author you should now do your due diligence. Several hours of reader posts have meanwhile appeared here which show pretty conclusively that it is NOT true and doesn’t come from Sachs or CNN. You should either delete it from your post, or spend the time required to figure out what’s true. Maybe you can contact Sachs and ask him.
This was in August 2022. Now imagine how many more casualties have been racked up 6 months later. (Sorry if duplicate post last seemed not to go through)
“THE WHOLE ROTTEN STRUCTURE: Ukrainian army documents reportedly LEAKED to public put Ukrainian casualties at STAGGERING 191,000, with HALF of ALL Ukrainian military forces out of action, and SEVERE lack of weapons and gear within Kiev’s armed forces, all pointing towards IMMINENT collapse of Ukrainian army.”
https://t.me/IntelRepublic/2821?single
Why would you jump to the conclusion that Sachs isn’t involved with this website? Seems consistent to me. Is there an inconsistent agenda here that you can point out? https://www.youtube.com/@JeffreySachsOfficial/videos
I’d assume if Sachs were not happy with the site, he’d have YT scratch it.
Seems everyone’s making too much out of this issue . There’s a thing called ‘fog of war’, and its close cousin ‘foghorn of war’. I’d assume everyone would be prepared to not hang their hat on any one statement.
Imagine an American, British, German or French politician serving as an unpaid conscript soldier for his Fatherland. This happens in real in Russia https://www.spb.kp.ru/daily/27473.5/4729220/
State Duma deputy Vitaly Milonov returned to St. Petersburg from the front line. He spent five months in the Donbass, where he served under a contract. Milonov was part of an artillery anti-tank battery near Gorlovka, which was based in the area from Bakhmut to Yasinovataya. There he is not a deputy and a media person, but only a junior sergeant, by profession a senior gunner of a 100-mm MT-12 anti-tank gun.
The call sign “Gustav” was no longer called, but his comrades in the service treated him kindly – Valentinych. This story is not about money, since the deputy does not have the right to receive a salary for his service in the NVO. Now Milonov plans to conclude a new contract and return to the Donbass, but for now he wants to spend time with his family and work on his site.
Spb.kp.ru learned about what Vitaly Milonov experienced on the front line after talking with the deputy.
“WE SURVIVED 40 ARRIVALS AND MIRACLE SAVE”
– Vitaly Valentinovich, you are a deputy of the Russian State Duma and you are a “live target” for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Were you hunted?
– I know that I am an important target for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In the fall, I was at a church service in the Donbass. He posted on his Telegram channel that he held a procession there. And 15 minutes later they fired from the “Grad”. Luckily, we didn’t hit the temple. Got into the private uninhabited sector. From now on, I behave carefully, I do not publish anything superfluous. All Russian phones are turned off.
“Being on the front line is dangerous in itself. Were there any shootings? Tell us about the ones you remember the most.
– The toughest day, when we survived 40 arrivals in an hour from a 155mm howitzer. They fired directly at our position. The arrival of one projectile is already a dangerous, non-ordinary event. And 40 is a test for everyone. Survived miraculously. It’s good that our gun is not detected and it is difficult to detect us. But that time we were caught, and we were brutally fired upon.
– Vitaly, in the NVO zone you served as a senior gunner in the artillery. What was your task?
– I destroy the enemy fortifications five kilometers from me. I don’t run into the trenches with a machine gun at the ready. So I see my “trophies” through the quadcopter, whether someone is crawling there, or everyone is destroyed. Our main task is to remove all enemies that prevent our infantry from moving forward.
– In September, you told us that you destroyed the Ukrainian “Grad” in battle. Was it the only time or did you manage to do it again?
– I did not incite more Ukrainian “Grads”. We have a small gun. We ourselves are on the front line and work (shoot) on the front line. And all these howitzers are far away and our colleagues are working on them. In my collection there are battered armored personnel carriers, English armored self-propelled guns, Ukrainian Cossack armored personnel carriers. Destroyed dozens of unit commanders, even when the Maiorsk checkpoint was stormed.
– Were the generals or other important links liquidated?
– It seems that the generals were not liquidated, I have no confirmation. The only thing is that they destroyed the son of a general of the Ukrainian army. He was in stormtroopers. I didn’t try to figure out who the person was. This general was so furious that he sent for the body of the son of the special forces. They were foreign mercenaries. Risking a lot, they still stole the body. And others were left. This is, of course, a telling story. We didn’t guard the bodies. By the way, we never mock bodies. The Ukrainians themselves take few dead soldiers, throw them on the battlefield. We bury them ourselves. If they had even tried to take the bodies, out of respect we would not have fired at them.
The discrepancy between Jeffery Sachs figures and those from Mossad (which I trust – they were released to counter Bibi´s pivot to Ukraine) a month ago cannot be all down to Bahkmut but is likely connected to the fraud by the Defense minister and his partners massively padding the payrolls of the Ukranian army with non existent troops which are now called fatalities. The tally from the wives and mothers of missing Ukranian servicemen is probably also a more reliable source of real KIA + MIA
I would expect the posted KIA and other numbers are reliable. Russia has dropped far too much munition on Ukraine on a daily basis to not have achieved such a high KIA. One can bet their last dollar the Western press, Nato, UN and Ukraine are not prone to revealing the true numbers of KIA.
In the future, the Ukraines will refer to Zelenski with the same disgust as my German family did with Hitler. It was “Uncle Adolf”, Zelensky shall be known as “Uncle Vlad”. Those words will not be spoken with love.
I do have to wonder if Zelensky understands that he will eventually end up like Hitler or Mussolini. He will hide at first like Saddam Hussein but will eventually be captured…if he survives his own troops. The Western governments can only support him for so long until they themselves are disgraced for their action and are forced to bring Zelensky to trial.
He will be airlifted out most likely. And live in luxury between his many properties.
But he will always be looking over his shoulder because a lot of Ukrainian people will want revenge.
Elensky will be Diem’d after he is no longer useful to the War Party
An obvious candidate for suicide.
Most likely going to shoot himself, then hang himself, then go for a swim in the creek that runs through East Palestine, Oh wearing a cement overcoat.
Victoria Nuland testified she said, “Nobody can drown in three inches of water.” Witnesses say Zelensky answered, “Hold my brewski!”
To what extent are “Ukrainian troops” Ukrainian troops? As I understand it, some of these soldiers are actually EU/NATO “mercenaries”.
Some are, but total number is relatively small (in tens of thousands I guess, with couple of thousand dead). I guess most of people do not want to go and die in some shithole country.
The summation is spot on. Other wise they wouldn’t be able to sleep at night. The burning question is can they accept failure? I for one think not, so when they resort to the next false flag, one that cannot be ignored, I will begin to prepare my basement. Our only salvation is if the Europeans snap out of this nightmare and tell the inmates in the DC mental institution to pound sand.
The fall of Ukraine to Russia will bring back into Russian influence almost all its neighbors except for Lithuanian, Latvia and Estonia. This is why the Bolshevick Neocons will keep the fighting in Ukraine till the last Ukrainian little old lady is dead.
The next logical exercise in survival would be the 3 aforementioned nations to look at Ukraine’s carcus and realize they must make nice with Russia. I bet, Moldova is shaking by now.
When no options are left, that’s when the Bolshevick Neocon look for more blood to spill in order to satisfy their insatiable hatred for Tsarist Russia and mankind in general. 600k dead in Ukraine and 2MM dead in the ME. When will we get the balls to stop those maniacs.
Now that Bob Scheer the 1960s hardcore communist has reared his head, and since most commenters here want to see the total destruction of the US, what is the perfect endstate?
Once your dream of the complete liquidation of every soul in the US including the eternal victims of indigenous and illegal aliens, do you really think mass murder at the hands of governments will suddenly end?
Once the Chinese self proclaimed lebensraum is complete what will you bitch and rant about then Jinping or Putin? How long do you think you will be allowed to rant against them?
Mao Stalin and Hitler were now magically not mass murderers?
All of us are living in murderous police states on this earth what is the best way out of them?
If you live in the US. you know there is a simmering anger under the surface across the same economic strata of those who work for a living regardless of race. The tinder is piling high under the canopy and who knows when lightning will strike, what’s sure is it will ignite at some point, it’s Nature. The elites are loosing because their plan of division along race lines has given way to the economic reality across the working class. The elites are monitoring us and they are worried they might have to flee on their private jets some time soon.
A lot of people seem to now be in love with Sachs but I don’t trust the guy. Remember he was part of the group from Harvard that facilitated the rape/oligarch takeover of the Russian economy after the fall of the Soviet Union. Sachs has stated he had limited involvement but I’m still cautious when it comes to him because of his connections.
OT… Sachs made the same pitch to the Bush Admin to help Russia’s economy, same assistance package, as he did to help Poland’s economy. The Poland package was accepted and the Russian package was denied. If true, that should not reflect on Sachs but on the Wall Street Parasites with their corruption of our political system.
I have given you a piece of info, hope you will verify it for yourself and if I am proven wrong I will thank you for the truth. We the people, along with brave patriots like Larry, help each other keep the record straight. That’s the goal.
Thank you. I will look into that.
This article may help you out in your own research. I’m not saying Sachs is a bad guy but I am cautious given the results of his past actions. Maybe he is attempting to atone for his actions in the past-I don’t know.
https://www.thenation.com/article/world/harvard-boys-do-russia/
Jeffrey Sachs? The Cultural Comedian? Ukraine war bonafides? I’d much rather listen at the corner cafe–they have coffee.
Re: the veracity of Sachs’ Youtube message.
The earliest report of the CNN broadcast I could find was on Pravda.ru (URL in previous thread).
CNN broadcasts very different news, often in the local language in different parts of the world. It is entirely possible that one of CNN’s overseas affiliates broadcast the info.
the assault on mariupol was carried out by the dombass militias, supported by the chechens, mariupol surely was and will be the hardest battle of the war, there were brigades and front line nazi regiments, troops that were in contact for 8 years, the dombass battalions mostly went to the rear, in urban battles they are the masters, now that they are officially part of the russian army, they wait to enter where necessary
Despite China offering a peace plan- essentially providing its services as a mediator- the USA still rejected it outright. Notably, Russia said okay and I believe Zelensky did not reject it outright.
With the loud silence over the Nord Stream bombings from EU and USA, I think this really shows the international audience as to who wants peace and who wants war.
The global economic plates begin to shift… de-dollarization, regionalization etc…
In fact, better that they start shifting- at least it means we see what the USA is doing and countries are taking steps to avoid war. Otherwise, we’re really getting dragged to some nonsensical conflicts.
Before the fall of Ukraine, it was a pre-condition the fall of Europe, by turning old Europe into the “land of the spree, home of the knave” so that European culture and history, through which its masses could have at least a possibility to defend themselves from US/UK plundering, could be destroyed at the hands of the thoroughly infiltrated by Davos in the previous years, Microns of the world…..
Via Pepe Escobar Telegram Channel….on how the Micron family vulgarized, prostituted, plundered and sold France to US and UK corporations and hedge funds…Bold mine….
https://www.thepostil.com/micronia-land-of-the-spree-home-of-the-knave/
Subsidized by public funds since the 17th Century, the Paris Opera Ballet is one of the Western world’s oldest theatrical institutions. State-educated at the Opera School since the reign of Louis XIV, its artists are respected civil servants, engaged for life (they draw a pension at 42), and who enjoy a status akin to the diplomatic. However, as the country has fallen under the Micronian axe – McKinsey, Blackrock, and related US and UK defence-industry fronts – the entire public sector has been taken down. Over the past decade, the Paris Opera has seen its subsidies slashed, and is now wont to courting private-sector funds in ever-more undignified ways.
Despite attempts by various municipal councilors to block AIRBnB, the Silicon Valley slicksters have succeeded in voiding Paris of all affordable housing, and will henceforth offer tourists a chance at sleeping in a Paris Opera balcony at night.
The “best” is yet to come.
On Sotheby’s Auctioneer’s, there suddenly appeared this month a photograph of principal dancer Hugo Marchand, in what some might think a suggestive pose, with the heading “Inside the skin of a principal dancer” (sic). In pidgin English, Sotheby’s text goes on: “Follow Hugo Marchand, Étoile dancer of the Paris Opera Ballet, for a day. From the morning dance class to the show, from backstage to the preparation in the dressing room, you will live an unforgettable day in the daily life of an Étoile, and leave with a pair of signed ballet slippers. Experience valid for two people. Bidding starts at 20,000-30,000 Euro.”
Larry some key take aways from this article:
1. “long grind” is an accurate definition of Russia’s current SMO OPTEMPO. That OPTEMPO seems to be effectively attriting UKR forces (such as they are) and forcing NATOstan to consume/donate ammunition and equipment faster than it can replace it.
2. The “long grind” is a completely different “enemy action/plan” than what the UKR and NATOstan planners imagined a year ago. Admittedly, my own Western war fighting bias didn’t see the “long grind” coming. It is the antithesis of the “big winter offensive” that even the likes of COL MacGregor (Ret) predicted. THE ENEMY ALWAYS GETS A VOTE!!!
3. Simplicius76 offers at least one well reasoned explanation for the “long grind”…that is: “the overwhelming C4ISR that the West commands in Ukraine”…stated another way NATOstan is pumping vast amounts of targeting data to UKR trigger pullers–probably more data than they have weapon systems and ammo to engage. Simplicius76 surmises that this is “Why Russia is forced to fight in a very ‘smoke-like’ fashion, never committing too-large of a force anywhere.” https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/usnato-isr-addendum-deep-dive-into
4. Also key is the fact that the bulk of Russian regular army forces still largely remain uncommitted (staged and ready to roll yes but not yet directly engaged). Chechen units, Wagner PMC, and territorial militias have done the bulk of the fighting against the UKR regular army forces. It remains to be seen if/when Russia will commit its regular army forces it has massed. Why commit them if not necessary…
5. “The fall of Bakhmut is a major blow”…indeed but I think we can expect NATOstan to double down on its genocidal support for the Ukraine–“to the last Ukrainian”. Getting back to COL MacGregor, his commentary in this interview lays out a bleak outcome in the distant future: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsPSuQAE1to
Vallhalla Rising
Thanks for the very informative post about the “Long Grind”. The only thing I would add, that is rarely seen in the Western media, are the internal political dimensions:
1] Russia is the nominal head of the CIS, which includes 9 of the former states of the USSR, all of which contain populations of ethnic Russians stranded after the dissolution of the USSR (these populations are potential flash points for all of these countries). Because the CIS organization is cooperative and mutual, Russia can’t be seen to be threatening, stomping on, or humiliating the republics that once constituted the USSR. Blinken was trying to play this card last week, by suggesting that Kazakhstan was in danger of becoming the “next Ukraine” to be swallowed up by a newly aggressive Russia.
2] By limiting the SMO to Donbass, it creates a very similar situation as the American Civil War. Most of the casualties endured by the North occurred in the Southern States and there were oppositionists to the war in the North (Copperheads, 1863 Draft Riots, etc). By limiting the conflict to the East, Western Ukrainians have to travel to the East to encounter the Russians. This sets up a political / psychological dynamic of the conflict being akin to a foreign war. A few days ago, Yevgeny Prigozhin exploited this fact by publicizing the fact that very old and very young “Western Ukrainians” were dying in Artyomovsk, far from their homes and native provinces.
I am not trying to discount any of your excellent analysis, but to just add some additional factors.
“… Russia can’t be seen to be threatening, stomping on, or humiliating the republics that once constituted the USSR.”
Thank you for this and your other excellent, but often ignored points. Russia’s SMO had to have been carefully calibrated to walk a fine line between the messages it was sending to both allies and adversaries.
The Baltic chihuahuas also have sizeable Russian minorities that they’ve taken to abusing. Depending on deeply NATO is wounded by the end of this, they may find themselves in an uncomfortable spot.
Further to your comment regarding keeping former SSRs onside…
Prigozhin has been saying that the war will last 2-3 more years. Medvedev has been talking about a similar timeline.
With the fall of Bakhmut, liberating the rest of Donetsk seems like a matter of months at the current commitment of forces, with Kherson and Zoporozhzhia following but weeks/months after that. OTOH, a “spring offensive” as imagined by MacGregor et al would see the Russians sweeping across UA in those months.
Meanwhile, Col. Cassad recently put up a lengthy piece regarding UA’s preparations for their upcoming offensive. His assessment is that whether the forces UA can put together are adequate to win back territory or not, they’ll most likely be able to hit deep into the Russian rear and force them to commit a lot more resources to the war.
A few writers (incl. myself) are suggesting that Russia is deliberately slowing the pace to allow that UA offensive to develop. The strategy being to absorb the blow and then come back hard with a counter-offensive, destroying the AFU once and for all.
An all out UA offensive could also serve as a casus beli for a declaration of war, which would in turn allow Russia to use its conscripts on Ukrainian territory (which is illegal sans said declaration) as well as open any NATO assets supporting the offensive from outside Ukraine to attack.
Be that as it may, the PR side of the coin may be even more important. The optics of all out offensive against Russian territory will also serve to make it obvious that Russia had no choice but to remove an immediate existential threat and take as much of Ukraine as it needs for its security, thus assuring its friends and allies that Ukraine is a special case and it has no similar designs beyond it.
The message that its adversaries and the world’s fence sitters would receive loud and clear is that NATO took its best shot and lost, changing the world’s geo-political balance from that point onwards.
HMS Terror…I also read the COL Cassad article…I think it would be very difficult logistically for the Ukrainians to launch their own Spring Offensive. First such a build up of forces and equipment would certainly be monitored by Russian ISR. Secondly, wouldn’t Spring terrain be undesirable e.g. muddy and “slow go”?
Nonetheless, very good point you make here: “Russia is deliberately slowing the pace to allow that UA offensive to develop. The strategy being to absorb the blow and then come back hard with a counter-offensive, destroying the AFU once and for all.” I could see that very scenario playing out. Thanks for the feedback!
Sure, NATO/UA would be facing a set of daunting tasks, but the other side of the ledger suggests a suicidal leap of faith is all they got left. Meanwhile, my read of the Russian strategy suggests they’ll do (or not do) what’s necessary to draw them onto the ledge.
Rokossovsky thank you for the feedback very interesting comments. Most Westerners do not realize the cultural and political differences between East and West Ukraine. Do you think there will come a point when Western Ukrainians are no longer willing to fight and die for the Donbass and potentially Crimea? What do you think the tipping points or potential trigger events might look like for Western Ukraine opposition?
Very detailed discussion by simplicious of the active support by us/nato in targeting info/intell of Russian forces.
To state the obvious, the us is a very active and close war participant in the involvement of this war. It goes far beyond the mere provision of billions and weapons. In essence, the us has declared de facto war on Russia-it is existential for Russia.
My guess is that the “institute” (ISW) of the kagan cartel is a significant player in the provision of this granular intell on almost a minute by minute basis. They would not miss the opportunity to further exploit this war which they have been so active in promoting. Any time I see the term “assess” as used in the cited article, my believe is that the isw is a writer.
The granularity of this info is indeed astonishing and indicates a huge systemic approach to this targeting of the Russian military.
——————————————
https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/usnato-isr-addendum-deep-dive-into
Intro to article:
In two previous articles I’ve mentioned not only the overwhelming C4ISR that the West commands in Ukraine, but also specifically the series of leaks which corroborated this, and gave us the insight into how their systems actually operate, and to what granularity they are transmitting the essential data to on-the-ground Ukrainian forces.
So let’s take a small deep-dive into exactly what type of information they’re providing just so that you can get a general picture of:
1. Why Ukraine has been so ‘successful’ at times, for instance in certain abilities to ambush Russian forces, or effect ‘withdrawals’ like the ‘grand Kharkov counter-offensive’ of last September.
2. Why Russia is forced to fight in a very ‘smoke-like’ fashion, never committing too-large of a force anywhere.
3. How the remnants of the Ukrainian airforce are able to survive this long by evading Russian counter-strikes, and vice versa—how the Russian airforce must remain quite limited in its operations.
Delta Program
How many non- Ukrainians have been stuffed into the UA? How many dead and devastated Poles, Brits, French and so forth have been used up to fill out the NATO (call it what it is!) Army fighting the Russians? Anybody have colorable stats from honest informed sources?
The Russians are doing amazingly well, in light of the mega-resources arrayed against them by the forces of the sunsetting West. Described in detail here: https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/usnato-isr-addendum-deep-dive-into?utm_source=%2Finbox&utm_medium=reader2 in case anyone missed it.
Is there a chance Hersh could investigate those BIOLABS surrounding Russia? He wrote a book about the US bio/chem complex in 1968, wait a minute…… wouldn’t he have been helpful during the Covid rollout in 2020? NO, there are no fish in Denmark it is a landlocked country- cognitive dissonance- old Cass Sustein can help w/ that:)
Interesting news concerning the new living place of UA president Zelensky: he has moved his residence to Lvov https://www.vesti.ru/article/3233439
“Zelensky has moved his residence away from the Donbass – he has been holding official meetings in Lviv for days. Here, today, he is hosting a legal forum, to which even the US Attorney General has come.
For the first time in recent years, Zelensky does not mention Artyomovsk in his speech, and this is a sure sign that the city has already said goodbye. As with those who are still trying to defend him.
“Every person matter. That is, any person matters. Every human life is important to us. Glory to all the great people who defend Ukraine. Both on the legal front and in battle,” Zelensky continues to convince Ukrainians to die for the interests of the West.
At the palace of the Polish princes Potocki, Zelensky, accompanied by romantic music, kisses the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola.
And he tells her that Ukraine would like to join the European Union this year. Perhaps, only the western part of the country is meant – by joining Poland. There, the Central Bank is already preparing coins with the image of the Lviv City Hall for minting, and Polish farmers are exporting Ukrainian black soil, and these cubic meters immediately become European.”
*****
Apparently Zelensky expects the UAF to collapse, opening the way for the RF to push forward to Kiev (Odessa, Transnistria etc.).
”You know, we don’t do body counts.”
-Gen. Tommy R. Franks
https://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/02/world/nation-war-casualties-us-military-has-no-count-iraqi-dead-fighting.html
Larry says that Jeffrey Sachs said that a Telegram channel said that CNN said that some unknown Ukrainian said that there are *some number* dead.
Sorry. I’ve long stopped believing in numbers of dead or number of troops on either side. The only thing that matters is who wins a battle and who loses or flees.
“My guess is that Sachs is thoroughly pissed that his sincere work in reforming the post-Soviet economy was hijacked by the neocons for their own nefarious purposes”.
I thought he willingly bled to near-death a country that was already on its knees.
Anyway the figures given match more or less the ones leaked by a Mossad top-wig in the Turkish press.
I don’t know what was the Beltway/Nato/Kiev plan for Russia in early 2022 but it backfired. BADLY.
I suspect the numbers are higher. They nauseating. The US is the real jungle, everybody is on his own and God is for all, with no heart and no feeling for the fellow man. In a jungle, you eat or you be eaten. They don’t care for anybody that’s for sure, otherwise, they’d never have had the callousness and disregard for human life they’ve shown in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria etc…. This human catastrophe of mega proportions in Ukraine is the the work of the successive governments of the tandem USA/UK. It is a stain that will take a long time to fade, I am sorry to say.
I just checked the CNN website in the US, and there is no mention of Ukrainian casualty numbers coming from any source. Either Jeffrey Sachs got fooled, or his twitter account got hacked. It is inconceivable to me that CNN might have published this report on any of its outlets but withheld it from the United States.
Ukraine has 30,000 Dead in Bakhmut.
The owner of the Wagner Groups shows shocked German MSM the dead.
His message to Zelinsky, they fought bravely and died. I am sending them home in their coffins come get them.
https://twitter.com/AZgeopolitics/status/1631931836904402946?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1631931836904402946%7Ctwgr%5E817eeab5d641a88349187f56b364906a1c3383d0%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwarnews247.gr%2Fwagner-polemisan-gennaia-kai-pethanan-parte-ta-feretra-tous-30-000-oukranikes-apoleies-sto-bakhmut-diefygan-2-000-stratiotes%2F
https://warnews247.gr/wagner-polemisan-gennaia-kai-pethanan-parte-ta-feretra-tous-30-000-oukranikes-apoleies-sto-bakhmut-diefygan-2-000-stratiotes/
Laugh of the Day!
200,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded in the war in Ukraine, says Supreme Commander of the Joint NATO Forces in Europe General Christopher Cavoli.
According to him, since 24 February, Russia has also lost over 2,000 tanks and spends over 23,000 artillery shells daily.
The commander called the scale of war casualties “unbelievable” and added that after Russia’s attack on Ukraine, NATO must adapt to the new reality, Spiegel reported.
Link: https://euromaidanpress.com/2023/03/04/russias-casualties-in-ukraine-near-200000-commander-of-nato-forces-in-europe/
Here’s another laugh. The Kyiv Independent publishes BBC numbers about Russian losses. Comments say it’s Russian propaganda.
https://twitter.com/KyivIndependent/status/1631912419038490625
The Russians are losing 7 times as many men as the Ukranians, all to take a small city of little military significance. I know, because I heard it on the BBC World Service this morning! /sarc
They are losing 7 times as many men, while firing 7 times as many shells, in an artillery war. That’s what you get when you replace math with gender studies.
A German walks into a bar and orders a fancy beer.
The bartender tells him : “100 euros!”
The German is shocked – “100 euros? yesterday it was only 10 euros !”
“Well, today it is 100 euros.” – “But why 100, damn it?”
Bar tender : “I’ll explain it,
-10 euros is the beer, –
10 to help Ukraine,
-20 assistance to European countries who have imposed sanctions and are not members of the EU.
-20 euros in aid to the UK, for successful implementation of sanctions against Russia. -Then 30 euros are sent to the Balkan countries as aid to buy furnace coal/keep their corrupt politicians. – and finally,
10 euros for a gas subsidy for the EU and fund to help maintain sanctions!”
The German silently with internal anger took out the money and gave the bartender 100 euros.
The bartender took them, entered in the cash register and gave him 10 euros back.
German in disbelief : “Wait, you said 100 euros, right ?
I gave you 100, why are you giving me back 10 euros?” “…..There is no beer.”
Does anyone have the Ukraine demographic breakdown as of February 24, 2022?
That is: what was the total population?; the population of males 18-35?; 35-60?; how many emigrated from Ukraine?
Careful with the Sachs quote: he doesn’t as far as I know tweet, and there are sites that use his name and aggregate his material. The citation in Larry’s article seems to be from one of the latter, and I infer from it that that site is the source and not Jeffrey Sachs. This is important, because to me he is as close to an unimpeachable source as exists, and I would hate to see his credibility damaged by false or misleading attributions.
The New York Times is now trying to minimize the value of Russia taking Bakhmut:
If Russia does eventually capture Bakhmut, it would be the culmination of one of the longest-running and bloodiest battles of the war, but questions would remain about Russia’s ability to sustain its offensive and gain further ground in eastern Ukraine.
“The reality is that if the Russians do capture Bakhmut, they are seizing rubble,” Mr. Ryan said. “It is a town with minimal strategic importance, with almost no remaining infrastructure to support an occupying force. That the Russians have invested so much in its capture speaks volumes about their poor strategy in this war.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/05/world/europe/ukraine-russia-war-bakhmut.html
https://verbewarp.blogspot.com/2023/02/i-am-cult-death-be-my-name.html
There are some benefits for the UAF too : a shorter front , an easier logistics and maybe enough ammunition for the remaining.
It’s a bit like the electrical power plants thing : the Russians can bomb half of Ukraine capacity , with half of it’s population anyway Ukraine won’t need more.
It’s scale economy 🙂
Larry.
Hey guys and ladies. Did you by any chance read any of MSM press, that :
Russian troops are likely using shovels for “hand-to-hand” combat in Ukraine because of an ammunition shortage, UK intelligence has said.
In its update on the war on Sunday, the UK’s Ministry of Defence said Vladimir Putin’s troops were ordered to attack a Ukrainian position armed just with “firearms and shovels” late last month.
It said the shovel was an MPL-50 – a tool that was designed in 1869 and has not changed much since. The MoD said it “highlights the brutal and low-tech fighting” that has characterised much of the war.
It said: “In late February 2023, Russian mobilised reservists described being ordered to assault a Ukrainian concrete strong point armed with only ‘firearms and shovels’. The ‘shovels’ are likely entrenching tools being employed for hand-to-hand combat.
“The lethality of the standard-issue MPL-50 entrenching tool is particularly mythologised in Russia. Little changed since it was designed in 1869, its continued use as a weapon highlights the brutal and low-tech fighting which has come to characterise much of the war.
And here is the response from one of the most intelenge souls in universe
“Is this the the same kind of foldable shovel that NATO troops are equipped with?
That said, one of the main reasons Germany was forced to sue for peace towards the end of WW1 was a shortage of ammo and worn out heavy weapons. The German armaments industry was having massive problems finding material – mostly steel – and couldn’t keep up with demand any more. Also, artillery pieces were worn out, the rifling in their barrels as good as gone and in danger of exploding.
There are clear parallels to what is now happening to Russian troops in Ukraine.”
My god,where has any objective form of reporting fallen to.