Update on the actual state of the Ukraine War
Much of the reporting about the war in the Ukraine has been either based on individual anecdotal events, or propaganda being churned out by both sides in an effort to influence events and public opinion to their cause.
All of this information is generally useless in determining what is really happening.
A better way to understand the actual state of the war, who is winning and who is not, is to find sources that don’t look at individual events, but try to compile all the reliable and confirmed stories into an overall whole.
One source that does this routinely and with great success is the Institute for the Study of War. I have relied on their maps and reports for a clear understanding of the various Middle Eastern conflicts now for years. One week ago I posted a link to the Institute’s March 9, 2022 update on the Ukraine War, because I believed it provided the best review, well documented and sourced, covering Russia’s entire military operation in the Ukraine, as well as the effort of the Ukraine to fight back. At that time, the known data strongly suggested that though Russia appeared to be very slowly capturing territory, it was also meeting heavy resistance everywhere. Furthermore, Russia’s effort was hampered by a lagging logistics and supply operation. All told, this data suggested that Russia’s take-over of the Ukraine was going to take a lot longer than expected by Putin and his generals, and might even get bogged down into a long quagmire similar to what the Soviet Union experienced in Afghanistan in the late 1970s.
A week has passed, and the Institute has issued several updates since. By comparing today’s March 17th update with last week’s we can quickly get a sense of what has happened in that week.
The Ukraine War as of March 9, 2022. Click for full map.
The Ukraine War as of March 17, 2022. Click for full map.
The two maps to the right are based on the Institute’s “critical theater” maps included with each update. I have cropped and reduced them to post them here, as well as simplified the colors. Red indicates regions captured by the Russians. Light red are territories the Russians claim to have capture that have not yet been confirmed. Blue indicates areas of Ukrainian counteroffensives.
By comparing both, you can quickly see the Russian gains in the past week. All told, these gains have been small, and mostly confined to the southeast part of the country. Though Russia has made some tiny gains near Kiev (Kyiv), those gains have been not been significant, and suggest the battle to capture the Ukrainian capital has bogged down into house-to-house street fighting. In fact, the Institute’s analysis of the Kiev battles reinforces this conclusion:
The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Russian forces unsuccessfully attempted to regain unspecified territory northwest of Kyiv on March 17 that it claimed Russian forces previously lost to Ukrainian counterattacks. [The Institude] cannot confirm the exact location of these claimed Ukrainian counterattacks. The Ukrainian General Staff additionally stated that Russian forces focused their main efforts on reconnaissance and organizing counter-battery fire on March 17—the first Ukrainian mention of counter-battery fire as an explicit Russian priority. Ukrainian forces inflicted heavy casualties on Russian forces northwest of Kyiv on March 17, forcing the 36th Combined Arms Army (CAA) to “mobilize reserves prematurely” and conducted an artillery strike on a command post of the 35th CAA roughly 35 kilometers from the Ukrainian-Belarusian border.
These maps also illustrate the most important aspect of this conflict: It is similar to most other previous European wars in that it is entirely territorial, with the conflict along somewhat distinct front lines and the status of the war determined mostly by the territory gained or lost by either side. This fact makes understanding the overall situation much simpler, despite the propaganda and the normal disinformation put forth by both sides.
Based on the front line changes in the past week, it increasingly appears that Russia’s effort to conquer the Ukraine will be long, difficult, and very painful. The trend suggests that in the end Russia will achieve that take-over, but the cost might be far higher than Putin can really afford. And the strong Ukrainian resistance suggests that even if Russia ends up in charge, it will be an occupation force that will face constant opposition in all things.
All in all, a classic Pyrrhic victory. Though the war is horrible for the Ukrainians, the pain Russia will feel for its unprovoked attack on a neighbor will be well deserved. Hopefully this pain will act as a future deterrent to other authoritarian governments like China, which will likely face a similar fate if it decides to invade Taiwan.
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The Ukrainians are lucky China wasn’t their next door neighbor-the number of lives lost to Putin’s multi-week incursion would have come in the first hour.
for its unprovoked attack
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine–NATO_relations
NATO is a defensive alliance. It poses a threat to Russia only when Russia threatens other nations, particularly those who are NATO members..
Putin’s aggression in Ukraine validates the prudence of NATO membership.
All Putin’s hot air doesn’t justify this land grab, which conveniently for him undercuts an energy competitor and gatekeeper in the region … the corruption of the West does not justify him taking the Hans Gruber approach (asset theft, under the cover of a political “cause”) to his neighbor.
Russia Forces Advance in Mariupol, Putin Discusses Future of Russian Economy, Biden and Xi to Speak
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCK6oI5l3EE
GREAT NEWS! Azov fascists have finally allowed people to escape Mariupol
China to NATO: “We will never forget who had bombed our embassy in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. We need no lecture on justice from the abuser of international law.”
https://t.me/asbmil/746
After any Ukrainian insurgency and the Russian bombing there will be no industry for Putin to take over. He and Russia will have to rebuild them just to eventually get anything out of them economically.
I bet that as soon as the weather changes the NG lines and oil lines going through the Ukraine into the rest of Europe will get blown up. And stay that way.
After that what does Russia get out of this? It will take years to get the grain crops back up to full production if the farmers are willing.
Will factory workers be willing to work for Putin? No, they will break the machines.
Putin will have to bring in Russian workers and Russia already has a pretty low unemployment number. He would be stealing workers from one factory to work in another.
Plus after he takes over the Ukraine the rest of Russia will see how much destruction he implemented on them. How can he hide it from the workers and solders he brings in? They will take pictures and tell everyone back home.
He plants the seeds of his own destruction. If he goes down by coup then the government they have now might survive. If he goes down by a popular uprising then their present government will fall to be replaced by a democracy.
After he takes the Ukraine what is going to stop Ukrainian insurgents from attack inside Russia?
One RPG into an oil refinery could cost him millions in lost sales. lost time and materials rebuilding it.
And that is just a one man job. Imagine a thousand experienced solders let lose inside Russia.
The plan for the assault on the metallurgical plant “Azovstal” in Mariupol
“My dear BROTHER Adam Delimkhanov got acquainted with the plan of the Chechen special forces assault on the Azovstal metallurgical plant, where militants of nationalist groups have settled at the moment. The Nazi formations, after breaking through the defense by Russian troops, took refuge behind the walls of the metallurgical plant.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUeMYc1c79w
Questioner: Hm. So you are a German who speaks fluent Russian. It’s that, or you are making up what this video is about, as I can find no translation of it.
This is most interesting, especially since your comments here have routinely favored the actions of tyrants. First it was making excuses for Hitler. Now your effort has shifted to justifying the actions of Putin, while pushing the narrative that Russia is easily winning this war. Worse, it appears you are also selling the Big Lie that Putin’s actions were solely to stop a Nazi takeover of the Ukraine, a lie as absurd as the Russian collusion hoax pushed against Trump during his administration.
This war has nothing to do with Nazis. It is a violent action by Russia against a neighbor who posed it no threat at all. Nor is either side pure and good. In fact, the bigoted leftist ideology of Hitler can be found in fringe groups in both nations. If anything it has more dominance in Russia, though I do not at all want to suggest that this is Putin’s ideology. His actions against the Ukraine however more strongly mirror Hitler’s invasion of his neighbors, even if Putin himself is not a Nazi.
Regardless, your motives for commenting here continue to be most questionable, and very troll-like.
My father’s grandparents left what is now SW Ukraine in 1870 to immigrate to the US. It it wasn’t the Russians invading, it was the Turks or the Astro-Hungarians.
Little has changed since.
Good, that there are a few sane Americans left. Listen to Prof. Mearsheimer:
John Mearsheimer – “What Should Ukraine Do & Is Russia Losing The War Due To Economic Sanctions”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkC9mZgaLDI
My Opinion: This insane destruction needs to stop. For this to happen, however, the “West” (mainly the western hegemon America) must finally accept that Ukraine is forever withdrawn from the West’s sphere of influence and power. Exactly as Prof. Mearsheimer put it in the video above.
“Izyum center and surroundings. In the center during the day, you can move quite calmly, with the exception of the pedestrian bridge area, where artillery and mortars are constantly working. At night, enemy DRGs are trying to enter the outskirts of the city, snipers and nomadic mortars are working, moving on ATVs and pickups.
On the roads there is a few padded vehicles. The population is indifferent to shelling, they are used to it. Everyone is waiting for the Armed Forces of Ukraine to be finally driven out of the Izyum region and for Russian convoys with humanitarian aid to enter the city. ”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSaZrxjvapE
I love these two sentences:
“He plants the seeds of his own destruction. If he goes down by coup then the government they have now might survive. If he goes down by a popular uprising then their present government will fall to be replaced by a democracy.”
How terrifying for Putin these two reasonable eventualities.
#1 being more likely than #2. (Or is it? I never gave that potential a thought. Interesting.)
What is the fate of rabid dogs?
And speaking of #2, Joe Biden is still the president of the United States. That is an essential thing that must change in the world, and it will change one way or another.
GOD, HAVING A GOOD LAUGH?
(Copy and share)
You want to understand what is bouncing around the irrational and fantastical noggins of those true believers on the Left in the now Leftist controlled Democrat party? Hollywood which is chock full of the Liberal Leftist now pro-Communist China model of existence has spent decades attempting to program and indoctrinate the citizens of America and the world to their purposes.
They tell you through their movies exactly what they believe and intend. Bend over.
Propaganda, conditioning, “Grooming” and mind control in other words. The Democrat party philosophy is a parasitic mental illness that needs to infect others and spread itself in order to survive. Political Covid, an ideological virus that once you understand it you eventually become immune to it.
Star Trek, Stacey Abrams (Yes, that Stacy Abrams) as the “President Of Earth”: https://youtu.be/OFno2X-uAcY 2 min.
And if you notice as she departs the ship and steps off to negotiate an essential agreement of cooperation with the Federation, she immediately surrenders all. Typical. God, are there no ends to your crazy ironic sense of humor? Having a good laugh? I hope so :)
https://ecp.yusercontent.com/mail?url=https%3A%2F%2Fth.bing.com%2Fth%3Fid%3DOIF.TyXSNid%252f0ef2ku65IPTHiA%26w%3D276%26h%3D180%26c%3D7%26r%3D0%26o%3D5%26dpr%3D1.25%26pid%3D1.7&t=1647611280&ymreqid=dc7face7-d905-7706-2f2c-5a0619012600&sig=5Dy1UhTpl4gSq_9ZgTYjww–~D
Cotour:
Your assumptions about any weakening of Putin’s position have nothing to do with reality, are illusory and pure American propaganda. I can only advise you to listen to what these two smart Brits, obviously of Greek origin, have to say about it.
“Russia-Ukraine SITREP. 21 days [and 8 years] of fighting”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hE8UfZZ-n_A
No, just common sense.
… the “West” (mainly the western hegemon America) must finally accept that Ukraine is forever withdrawn from the West’s sphere of influence and power.
That is Ukraine’s decision. Not Putin’s, and not even the West’s.
That alleged “hegemon” refer to has the reach it does, because it respects other nations to make such decisions as long as those nations respect other nations in the same way.
That is why the Baltic states and many of the old Warsaw Pact nations have our respect, and are NOT our colonies.
That is also why we went to war in Afghanistan and Iraq; they demonstrated that they had an abject lack of that respect, leading them to threaten lives and liberty of even their own people, as well as those outside their borders. (As does Iran, to this day.)
Putin apologists try to portray the above as morally equivalent to the coercive expansion of authoritarian rule that Putin is attempting to perpetrate here,
They are not equivalent …. even in the light of the rot afflicting the West due to Progressive hubris.
And Putin’s actions are a convenient way to undermine an energy competitor and gatekeeper that limits his own profits.. Putin may be taking a cue from everyone’s favorite Christmas villain, Hans Gruber … who perpetrated a simple robbery under the cover of political terrorism.
Once those who have essentially lived enslaved and in fear of their Communist overlords have felt some degree of the freedom that many live in and experience, they NEVER want to go back to what was.
And that is exactly where Ukraine finds itself today.
“… the “West” (mainly the western hegemon America) must finally accept that Ukraine is forever withdrawn from the West’s sphere of influence and power.”
Putin may have to kill them all in the end.
And then where does Putin and Russia the country find itself? Nowhere.
So, I think the Russians are nearing a military collapse in Ukraine.
I have several reasons for thinking this:
(1) The documented losses in equipment suggest much higher losses than Russia, acknowledges. A twitter user named Oryx has been painstakingly documenting every single lost vehicle by both sides. Some losses are excluded because they cannot be identified, but he has pictures of each unique vehicle destroyed. His database is here:
https://www.oryxspioenkop.com/2022/02/attack-on-europe-documenting-equipment.html
He is also documenting Ukrainian losses. To date, he has Russia’s confirmed losses at 1525 vehicles. That includes 244 tanks, 498 light logistics vehicles (mostly trucks), 13 aircraft and 33 helicopters.
(2) I’ve been noting a decline in the quality of vehicles being destroyed. Initial Russian losses were of newer model vehicles: T-90’s, T-80’s, BMP3’s, BTR90’s. Then it became mostly early model T-80’s and BMP2s, with some BTR80’s. Now its T-72 models, with BTR60/70, a lot more MT-LB, and BMP1s.
(3) Over the last week there has been no appreciable gains for the Russians. In the south east they tried to by-pass Mykoliav, got a significant force all the way to to Voznessenk where they were handed a significant defeat and retreats south to around Mykoliav. From there a Ukrainian counter-attack has pushed them back further towards Kherson, and they are within artillery range of the Kherson airport, where they took out 13 helicopters just a couple of days ago. On paper it looks like they have a force headed to Kryvyi Rih, but that’s more of a probing attack than a serious attack. Its just basically a reconnaissance element. In the north west of Kiev the Russians have actually lost a little ground, giving back the town of Moshchun. On the east side of Kiev it looks like they have a huge push on the east, but this is illusory. They have a significant force east of Brovary, but the route to resupply them goes past Sumy, Konotop, Romny, Priluky, and Nihzyn, all of which are controlled by Ukraine, and most of their resupply convoys are being hit as they pass by these areas. Near Kharkiv the Russians have been losing ground to the Ukrainians. In Mariupol an attempt to take part of the city by a Russian spec ops unit ended with significant losses, including the commanding Major General. The only point of success lately, is that they’ve pushed and taken the northern part of Izyum, but they have no way across the river, as all the bridges are blown up. In short, over the last week they’ve taken significant losses with almost nothing to show for it.
(4) The Russian recruiting effort of allies is pretty telling. First it was the chechens they were getting. Roughly 6k total. Then they tried to strong arm the Belarussians into it, but they aren’t budging. Then they supposedly have some Syrians coming, but there’s been no evidence of that, and yesterday there was great fanfare about the army of South Ossetia (population roughly 55k) joining the fight. I’m not sure what they are sending but it can’t be much. This indicates the Russians do not have enough fresh replacements to maintain the fight in the near term (in the long term they could start training new recruits right now, but that would take a couple of months to train effective soldiers).
(5) There are some datapoints which indicate a wider failure of the Russian military to have their systems actually work. I’ve seen a lot of BTRs with no damage by deflated tires. That’s not because their tires have been shot to hell, its because their tires were allowed to go flat, then reinflated, and degraded to the point where they are just failing. That speaks to issues of maintenance and repair that undermine the numerical and qualitative advantages the Russians have in equipment.
(6) Their strategic objectives have changed three times. The initial Plan A was a lightning quick attack to decapitate the government, re-install their puppet. The army would collapse, and they’d have met their objectives. Key to this was to secure Hostomel airport on day 1 with a force of Spetznaz and VDV by helicopter assault, then linking up with a column coming from the northwest through Pripyat, and then reinforcement by air at the airport. That attempt failed dismally, with the Ukrainians taking back the airport after a couple of hours. They anticipated a Ukrainian military collapse caused by the decapitation which didn’t occur. As a result the strategy changed to Plan B. Plan B was basically use Russian numerical and qualitative advantages to fight through and take ground from the Ukrainian military. As they advanced, the Ukrainian military would be thrown into disarray and quickly collapse under the sheer weight of the assault. That also did not happen. In recent days they have therefore shifted to Plan C, which is basically to shell cities to destroy anything of civil or military use. Its basically, scorch the ground to “de-militarize” Ukraine. Destroy their cell grid, their power grid, gas terminals, factories, anything of military value. At the same time destroy anything of uniquely Ukrainian cultural significance, but leave Russian cultural significance untouched. That’s plan C, and they are executing it in Mariupol, Kharkiv, Sumy and Chernihiv. They haven’t been able to do it in Kiev yet, because they cannot safely get into artillery range yet.
Based on these factors, I give them 10 days before their army basically collapses.
Prof Mearsheimer, who has faced accusations of anti-Semitism in the past, talks out of both sides of his mouth..
In one interview he says “The Ukrainians have agency”, and they should, but then in another says that Putin will not take Kyiv, but will still install a “favorable” (translate as puppet) government. That takes away agency.
He accepts that they have agency, but has repeatedly argued that they should use that agency to give up, and roll over for Russia, and be a willing lap dog. Go along to get along.
He is pro nuclear proliferation. He had a early history or totally predictions on Europe post Cold war that never came true.
He is an academic making guess, but burying it with a little bit of truth and history. Just enough to make himself sound plausable.
Who comes after Putin may be the next relevant question.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/russian-officer-complains-dead-general-113255353.html
Russian can’t even afford to make or buy from China their own secure communication units.
It is like I predicted as soon as I heard about solders using their own cell phones to make military communications. The Ukrainian cell systems would start monitoring them and passing the information on to the Ukn military.
Communication security is one of the first things a solder learns. And their Generals are not even following this simple rule.
Its so sad.
I’m not sure the ISW is the impartial arbiter of facts on the ground that you believe it to be. I also think observers have an unrealistic view of what Russian goals for the invasion really are. Given the expressed goals (No NATO, accepted Russian control of Crimea and Ukrainian recognition of Donetsk and Lukhansk republics) it seems that Russia has mostly already achieved the necessary facts on the ground, or is very close to them. Any remaining military activity by Russia is therefore done with the purpose of continuing to pressure the Ukrainian government to accept the proffered terms. Unless Ukrainian forces can begin pushing back Russian forces in the near term, it seems that Ukrainian resistance is only delaying the inevitable and getting thousands of innocent people killed. This may fit the goals of various external parties who want to give Russia a bloody nose, but seems hardly in line with the narrower interests of Ukraine.
I salute and honor pilot and commander John Venable, who gives hope that there are still sane people in America. There is hope that 50 million Americans will not have to be wiped out in a Russian nuclear strike. These sane Americans are apparently more common in the military than in the US politicians who are Lunatics in the crowd.
“Former F-16 pilot warns of imposing no-fly zone”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aW8JHomRWyw
Biglar: I recognize that ISW might have its biases, but over time I have found the maps they publish to be consistently accurate. Their work documenting the conflicts in Iraq during and after the last U.S. effort there were spot on and very helpful.
Questioner: You are now warned. You will stop referring to everyone who disagrees with you as “insane” and “lunatics”. If you do not, I will ban you, something I really do not wish to do.
You disagree with us. That’s great. That however does not give you a lock on sanity.
Q:
Giving the Ukrainians what they need: Javelins, Stingers, ammo, food. medical supplies and fuel is all the United States is going to do. And that reality essentially creates a functional “No fly zone” in much of Ukraine.
Allow the Ukrainians to take care of their business, its the best way.
They have the man power and the will to take care of business.
This is absolutely unacceptable for the Russians:
https://youtu.be/bpkBJc5C_A0
But they apparently are not as dominant in the air as what they propose. The Russians have rockets, tanks and artillery, but they do not have air dominance in a manner as one would expect the #3 world military power to have. A very big failure.
And to add to their problems, its going to start thawing and raining in Ukraine for the spring. And that will further result in the Russian forces to be further bogged down and further sustain heavy losses.
Putin might consider cutting his losses and should call it all done and over, declare victory, “Mission accomplished” and go home.
(As a side note: If America were to be engaged in a similar military exercise the first #1 thing that would be sewn up would be absolute air domination and control, where only birds would dare fly. And even they would be nervous.)
Biglar: it seems that Ukrainian resistance is only delaying the inevitable
The same could have been said about North Vietnam and the Viet Cong, prior to 1968.
From what I see, it’s all about the will of the people of Ukraine, as long as they are not isolated from even minimal outside support.
I would have thought that after their Afghanistan adventure, the Russians would understand that.
Cotour:
These MANPAD weapons will not affect the outcome of the war, a large part will be destroyed or captured by Russians and another large part of these weapons, like Stingers, will end up on the black market sooner or later. It is then quite possible that these weapons, for example by terrorists, are aimed at the very crazy and evil politicians who approved and initiated the delivery of these weapons. What stupid politicians.
I would have thought that after their Afghanistan adventure, the Russians would understand that … but seeing a weak West got Putin’s hopes up for a quick win.
I guess all those politicians who have the ability to arm the Ukrainians with those deadly to Russian tanks and aircraft should all withhold them and allow Putin to just waltz into Kiev and take it all and send the Ukrainian people into their new slave life to their new overlords.
You are the equivalent to the NYS legislature (D) who deems it appropriate to not put dangerous criminals in jail so they can no longer harm the general public. Bass akwards.
But then again, I remember you do have German DNA and blood running through your veins.
Why would you deprive people who want to be free the opportunity to be free? They are willing to spill their own blood. Because some of the arms that are delivered to the Ukraine in order to accomplish that freedom may fall into the wrong hands?
Why would anyone do anything if they thought in such ways? Its futile.
Why will Putin fail in the long term? He is going to get frozen out of the world economy, he will now forever be a pariah. I will miss Putin.
Xi: says that he has a responsibility for world peace: https://youtu.be/8PQ8eNPBN98 (Don’t trust president Xi for one second)
Larry Kudlow on the money: https://youtu.be/ekrbPciapM0
In news from the front, US intelligence estimates that over 7000 Russian troops have died, to include four general officers and a colonel commanding a Guards Airborne Regiment – a supposedly elite formation. That he felt he had to go up front to disentangle the mess, speaks to the quality of the Ukrainian resistance and the ineptness of what is supposedly one of Russia’s best units – you can imagine the quality of the infantry of the line. Putin is so angry with Army leadership that he has sacked several senior generals at STAVKA in Moscow and reintroduced what are effectively commissars with orders “to improve morale at the front” or start administering doses of “Stalin’s Aspirin” (a 9mm Makarov round to the base of the skull – guaranteed to cure your headache) to those not demonstrating appropriate zeal.
In addition, quite critically, Russian logistics are a horror. And logistics are key. My dad fought in World War 2 aboard an aircraft carrier and he said the war was won by the US ability to supply “bullets, beans and black oil” anywhere in the world. His ship was part of Task Force 38 (the Fast Carrier Strike Force), which was subdivided into four task groups. Off Okinawa, at the end of every day, one task group would pull out and rendezvous at dawn with an underway replenishment group consisting of slow escort carriers with replacement aircraft and air crew, oilers with fuel oil and aviation gasoline, ammunition ships with guess what and store ships with food and such things as new shoes and uniforms to replace worn out items – even candy and ice cream! Each ship of the task group would go alongside a replenishment vessel (often one on each side), get its supplies and move on to the next vessel, until they were topped off. At the end of day, the task group would sail back to the battle overnight and start launching strikes at dawn. That way, TF38 was able to stay off Okinawa supporting the Army and Marines for 89 straight days, something no other navy on earth could accomplish.
The Ukrainians realize this and are apparently making a point of bushwhacking Russian supply columns. The Russians have lost about 500 trucks, the strength of one of their Logistics Brigades – of which they have only nine in their entire army. The Russians have had to resort to calling up civilian trucks and their drivers – deepening Russia’s economic woes. In addition, since they are civilian vehicles and not military, they are not rugged enough for combat conditions and so are more likely to break down. And since they are a menagerie of designs and models, getting replacement parts to the right place, finding repair manuals and training the mechanics on the fly is a nightmare all its own. So no Red Ball Express in Ukraine.
Based on this, several commentators have predicted the Russian offensive is literally running out of gas (and ammunition and food and spare batteries for the radios and engineer stores and medical supplies and…) and will grind to a halt in the next few days.
“Amateurs discuss tactics, professionals study logistics”
Russia has supposedly the shortest supply lines in history. but it took two weeks to get things moving?
And now we have a new news article.
https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2022/03/881ede8c6a58-russian-ships-seen-in-japan-strait-may-be-carrying-troops-to-ukraine.html
Are they really moving troops from that far away?
And why are they not using the trans Siberian railroad for this?
“The Russians Are Losing!”? Really? (Prelude to a False Flag)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AcFx5i7Ngs
Putin lies? No, there is no Nazi problem in Ukraine? For real?
Time: “Inside A White Supremacist Militia in Ukraine” (2019), 8 min
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fy910FG46C4
Max Blumenthal: US is Arming Neo-Nazis in Ukraine
“Max Blumenthal reports that the US has provided military assistance to the Azov Battalion, known as a bastion of neo-Nazism within the Ukrainian armed forces. He also discusses US and Israeli ties to the far-right government in Poland, where neo-Nazism is on the rise”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5Uf7aooxvE
14 min
Russia uses hypersonic missiles in Ukraine for first time
“The Kinzhal aviation missile system with hypersonic aeroballistic missiles destroyed a large underground warehouse containing missiles and aviation ammunition in the village of Deliatyn in the Ivano-Frankivsk region”, the Russian defence ministry said on Saturday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has termed the Kinzhal air-launched missile “an ideal weapon” that flies at 10 times the speed of sound and can overcome air-defence systems.
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/russia-says-used-hypersonic-weapons-in-western-ukraine
Israel working with Nazis???
Really?
Q:
Like I have been saying from the start, I will miss Putin.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10630163/Three-Russian-cosmonauts-wear-Ukrainian-colours-space-mission.html
Best for him to declare victory and remove back to Russia and leave the Ukraine licking its wounds and reconsider how comfy they want to get with the concept of joining NATO. They are both going to compromise, but Putin is the clear long-term loser here, an eternal historical pariah in the eyes of the civilized world.
Even if he kills every Ukrainian that stands to fight him.
I will miss Putin.
https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.kmcWCWRLXno8QFn0Q3ayuQAAAA?w=172&h=180&c=7&r=0&o=5&dpr=1.25&pid=1.7
A once successful leader who is in the process of destroying his country. The only question that remains? Who comes after him, and that may be the more important question.
There is no evidence that Russia has actually deployed hypersonic missiles other than Russian state media which would never lie to us.
I’ll wait until there is some in dependant evidence.
Russia does bit control the skies. Their logistics are terrible and their soldiers are bleeding heavily for every foot of ground.
Here is a genius for you:
https://townhall.com/columnists/georgemullen/2022/03/18/zelensky-and-ukraine-should-hit-back-with-a-doolittlestyle-raid-on-moscow-n2604723?msclkid=eb47c1f3a78b11ec849a82265c51f8e4
“In the wake of Imperial Japan’s December 1941 surprise attack on Pearl Harbor and sweep across the South Pacific, the United States was left reeling and in panic. Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany were formidable opponents and there was no guarantee America would prevail.
And how long and how well did that “Shock” to America work out for Japan and Germany?
Right now, some degree of the Russian population, including the astronauts that just arrived at the International Space Station who have honored the Ukrainians fight against their own government who are aware of what in fact is underway in Ukraine are united against the aggression.
An attack by the Ukraine directly against Moscow would result in a galvanizing of the Russian people against the Ukraine. A very counterproductive action by the Ukrainians and something that would bolster Putin.
As a matter of fact, what must be watched for and prevented would be a false flag operation by the Russians that would blow Moscow up to some degree and point the finger at a Ukraine / Zelenski offensive operation.
A pure Strategy Over Morality move.
Writer George Mullen, stop helping! You not properly understand what it is that you propose.
I feel sorry for you Americans (including Cotour, who I expected more of). You have been brainwashed and out of touch with reality by the propaganda and framing of your lying media and politics. However, there are bright spots, like this colonel here who fought in the Iraq war. Listen, try to learn the truth and reality.
Col Macgregor: “The War for all intents and purposes has been decided”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Iw0m-Pc08Q
“In a warning to NATO, Russia fired the Kh-47M2 Kinzhal ‘Dagger’ hypersonic missile in combat for the first time to engage targets in Western Ukraine, neutralising a large underground warehouse in the village of Delyatyn in Ukraine’s Ivano-Frankivsk region near the country’s border with NATO’s Poland — over which it has a been receiving the bulk of military supplies, and reportedly destroyed a huge quantities of munitions. This is the first and only known use of the Kinzhal hypersonic missile. This footage is unconfirmed — there’s no known confirmed footage of the missile at the moment. — However, the use of the missile has been officially confirmed.”
https://t.me/asbmil/787
Panic as Mariupol Approaches Fall, Russia Uses Hypersonic Missiles, Confrontation Between China US
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGeZBZUv0gc
McGregor sites a Russian death toll in the 2000 range and that was on March 15th. Just this morning, March 19th the estimated death toll for the Russians is somewhere between 7000 to 10,000 plus? And that would indicate an approximate injury rate of about 21,000 plus or so. And this action is only 3 weeks old?
I have clearly stated that the Russians have the long-term advantage, but at a very, very heavy cost, both in men and material. Plus Putin is now an international pariah and the person who is bringing real long term economic distress to the Russian people.
And thats a fact.
Col Beausabre: fantastic stories and insights. I just wonder, with the wokeness virus infecting men worldwide, will we ever see another military that was so finely tuned and capable as what we had on the USA side in WW II? The only way I see that level being approached (and possibly exceeded) is with robotics and AI. Which is why Elon Musk is warning that is a greater danger than nuclear weapons.
ASB Military News: “$400 million worth of Western supplied weaponry destroyed in a single russian strike on the military base near Lvov — radio intercepted comms suggest that 267 foreign mercenaries have been killed in the strike. 50 year old Peter from Austria who fought alongside the “international legion of Ukraine” said that 800 to 1000 foreign mercenaries were present during the strike. Around 400 mercenaries were evacuated to Poland, many of whom have suffered severe burns & torn limbs from the Kalibr strike. There’s a high number of missing individuals still under the rubble which includes a high number of Americans, Poles and Romanians. Former NATO officers are Amongst the dead.”
ASB Military News:
“Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first person in space, has been stripped of his honors by the Space Foundation “in light of current world events”.”
“Russia will no longer supply the US with RD-180 rocket engines. They will be used in the new Soyuz-6 rocket.”
“The flag of the DPR was raised over the western suburbs of Mariupol”
https://t.me/asbmil/804
“Unconfirmed reports state that the Colonel of the Georgian Armed Forces Bahva Chikobava who fought alongside Nazi Azov — was killed in Mariupol”
Cotour:
My last try with you! Do you have problems with your eyes or ears? Or are you too lazy to watch the videos I linked? For example the one with the Colonel, who also acts as a Pentagon adviser. So again for you in capital letters: THE UKRAINIAN MILITARY HAS ALREADY LOST THE WAR FOR MANY DAYS! Skip your sources which are pure lies and propaganda. The fact that you can’t determine that yourself doesn’t speak for your acumen.
Ukrainian losses (24.Feb.-19.March)
source: Russian Defense Ministry
• about 14,400 soldiers
• 466 tanks
• 1,470 armored personnel vehicles
• 213/72 artillery system /MLRS
• 44 anti-aircraft warfare systems
• 95/115 aircrafts/helicopters
• 17 UAV, tactical level
• 914 vehicles
• 60 fuel tanks
• 3 ships
• 11 special equipment
What do you not understand about this statement?
“I have clearly stated that the Russians have the long-term advantage, but at a very, very heavy cost, both in men and material. Plus Putin is now an international pariah and the person who is bringing real long term economic distress to the Russian people.”
Yes, the Ukrainians are taking heavy losses and great destruction, that is obvious.
Do you feel better now?
“Ukrainian troops retreating near Kiev abandoned Western weapons right in the boxes with all the documents. Here’s what came with the third “Panzerfaust”: you can trace the entire path of this particular barrel, thanks to German punctuality.”
https://t.me/intelslava/22914?single
I disagree with many here that Russia is in a stalemate position, but I’ll admit that I really don’t have any good insight into what is going on in Ukraine despite trying my best to read all the various reports and digest them without forming biases based on what I would like to see rather than what the reality really is. However, I think there is something we should all be very concerned about. That is being eager to turn Russia into a beaten down, unstable, pariah state, regardless of how morally justified we believe such treatment is deserved.
The fact is Russia remains a country that is armed to teeth with an estimated 5000+ nuclear weapons. If the Putin government were to fall, there is absolutely no guarantee that what replaced him wouldn’t be much worse. The world could easily find itself in a situation that is much more dangerous than it already is.
My point is that it is very easy, perhaps too easy, to say Russia has no justification for its actions in Ukraine. And, the preponderance of evidence may suggest this is indeed true. However, we should be very careful about blinding ourselves with righteous indignation towards Russia’s concerns or perspective on NATO expansion during the last 30 years. I feel such blindness has been a contributing factor to the situation that we find ourselves in now.
Consider if the tables were turned. Would the United States tolerate a Mexico where minority elements cozied up to Russia the last 20 years, see a Russian supported coup by these elements replace a legitimately elected pro-US government in Mexico 8 years ago, then experience a low-grade civil war where pro-US factions in Mexico are killed by the 10,000s, and finally culminate in Russian troops being invited by Mexico to station themselves and their weapon systems along our southern border? I suspect we would see such actions as highly provocative and we would not be very sympathetic to protestations from Mexico that they have a right to do as they please despite our feelings in the matter.
I’m not saying that Russia is right in their actions, but rather point out that simply dismissing Putin as a crazy, power-mad dictator and Russia’s actions on his behalf as pure evil, is making the situation more dangerous as it makes reaching an amicable compromise much more difficult — if such a compromise that saves Ukrainian lives (and perhaps many, many more) can still be reached. After all, if you view yourself as a righteous freedom fighter battling on the side of good against evil, can you realistically compromise with evil? But, if you see the other side as humans with different perspectives, some of which may have some legitimacy even if you disagree with them, there is probably room for peace to be reached.
Chronicles Of The Conflict
Briefing by the Russian Defence Ministry
✔️ Units of the Russian Armed Forces broke through the defence of Aidar battalion and advanced 5 kilometers, reached Shakhterskoye-Novoukrainka line.
✔️ Up to 30 militants, 1 tank, 1 infantry fighting vehicle and 4 all-terrain vehicles were destroyed. Currently, they are fighting with units of the 54th separate mechanized brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, operating in the second echelon.
✔️ The grouping of People’s Militia of the Donetsk Republic destroyed up to a company of the 53rd separate mechanized brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, completely took control of Taramchuk and pursues the retreating enemy.
✔️ The grouping of troops of the Lugansk People’s Republic has reached the northern outskirts of Lisichansk city and is eliminating disparate groups of nationalists who retreated from Rubezhnoye city.
✔️ Operational-tactical and army aviation hit 59 military assets of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Among them: 3 command posts, 2 multiple launch rocket systems and 2 radar stations near Bogodukhov city, 2 missile and artillery weapons depots, as well as 51 areas of military equipment concentration.
❗️ IN TOTAL, 201 unmanned aerial vehicles, 1,443 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 147 multiple launch rocket systems, 564 field artillery and mortars, as well as 1,248 units of special military vehicles of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were destroyed during the operation.
?? An employee of the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) Main Directorate for Donetsk and Lugansk regions voluntarily surrendered to Russian servicemen.
He provided detailed information regarding all persons involved in conducting sabotage activities on the territory of Donbass.
In addition, the SSU officer reported on terrorist acts planned by militants of the nationalist Azov battalion in Lvov against employees and facilities of diplomatic missions of the United States and other Western countries.
Pentagon adviser Col Macgregor 17MAR with Gerald Celente part 4 on why Lindsey Graham is Wrong
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2j1Aoenvckc
8:30 min
American journalist and News & Documentary Emmy Award winner Lara Logan goes total scorched earth, rapid fires truth bombs & red pills on Real America’s Voice:
“Western media deliberately turn a blind eye to the facts of manifestations of Nazism in Ukraine ”
“American journalist’s warning – We are lying about Ukraine on an epic scale”
“There is so much misinformation about Ukraine that we have never seen anything like it, we are lying on an epic scale, warned the famous American journalist Lara Logan, who has been reporting on wars for 35 years, on the TV channel “Real America’s Voice “.”
10 min.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvfyBBnHABE
Actor and clown Zelenskyy has now proved that he has completely lost his mind and contact to reality. While calling for immediate peace talks with Russia, he warned Moscow that “Ukraine can inflict such losses on Russia that it will take generations for Russia to recover.” Source: ASB military news
This short video contains very detailed information on the current state of Ukrainian losses.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUZxEbFDRkM
“The RF Armed Forces broke through the front and went to Shakhtyorsky and Novoukrainka. From here you can either go north to Kurakhovo, or take control of the road junction in Velikaya Novoselka… “
First Western Journalist In Russia & DPR Controlled Mariupol (Special Report)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6UzUMrEEXM
10 min
Star Trek –
“Everything Harry tells you is a Lie….”
https://youtu.be/QqCiw0wD44U
0:51
Yellow and blue is just yellow and blue? Maybe so, but it is one hell of an inconvenient PR coincidence for the Russian leadership.
(Reuters) – Russia’s space agency on Saturday dismissed Western media reports suggesting Russian cosmonauts joining the International Space Station (ISS) had chosen to wear yellow suits with a blue trim in support of Ukraine.
“Sometimes yellow is just yellow,” Roscosmos’s press service said on its Telegram channel.
“The flight suits of the new crew are made in the colours of the emblem of the Bauman Moscow State Technical University, which all three cosmonauts graduated from … To see the Ukrainian flag everywhere and in everything is crazy.
Every crew picks a colour that looks different. It was our turn to pick a colour,” he said. “The truth is, we had accumulated a lot of yellow fabric, so we needed to use it up. That’s why we had to wear yellow flight suits.
On Saturday evening, he was quoted on Roscosmos’s Telegram channel as saying the suits had been made six months ago, and that the three cosmonauts had chosen the colours of their alma mater.”
And the Bauman University crest colors do appear to be Yellow and Blue: http://pr.bmstu.ru/en
MP:
* “But, if you see the other side as humans with different perspectives, some of which may have some legitimacy even if you disagree with them, there is probably room for peace to be reached.”
From Strategy Over Morality: A model in which leadership or their empowered subordinates within government can subjectively justify to choose to formulate an interpretation of their core fiduciary responsibilities which becomes paramount over and above the public’s truth and morality model. Where plausible deniability can be claimed when “immoral” acts or modified “truth” strategies (lies) are employed or executed by leadership, their subordinates or by arms length leadership proxies.
Putin is in full Strategy mode, he will (If he survives) worry about death counts and justifying his perspective and morality to the world later. (Although he IMO is playing the game in a brutal 19th century manner when he might have been better off employing a strong 21st century manner so as to not cause such a negative reaction)
And givin your Mexico analogy think of it this way. The American government creates incentive or disincentive related to our border and people crossing it illegally. Today our government has created a very compelling incentive for all the worlds poor who want a better life to risk their lives to come to America illegally over our wide open Southern border. When the American government creates a vacuum like that only one thing could happen. Mass illegal migration.
So if you were desirous to protect your border and disincentivize the illegal migration you would create a disincentive like strict law enforcement and returning those who come to their country of origin. There is then no reason for anyone to make a dangerous and expensive move like that. You stay where you are and make the best of it.
Russia however is a bit different, Putin insists that Ukraine talking about joining NATO is a direct military threat to the security of his country, very different.
Given your example and analogy America should have long ago leveled most of Mexico, and that would not ever happen. All that has to happen to control such a condition is to create the disincentive and it stops cold for the most part. No bullets, no bombs, no invasion needed.
Putin / Russia has made an unacceptable in the modern world aggressive military move, and he will pay for it one way or another no matter how much he has rationally and Strategically justified it in his mind.
What exactly does “Winning” look like for Putin?
The fall of Mariupol and the Russian takeover show that the Ukrainian army is already defeated. It was not even conceivable, let alone a reality, that the Ukrainian army could have relieved the besieged troops in Mariupol. The Ukrainians have not been able to launch a military initiative of their own for some time and are everywhere either in retreat or surrounded and cut off from supplies.
Ukraine should capitulate. From now on, all other victims are superfluous and to be blamed on the US hegemon, which keeps inciting its puppet Zelenskyj to new madness.
Another captured ATGMs and RPGs taken by the Russian military in the Kiev direction.
https://t.me/intelslava/22934
????⚡️ Russian ministry of defence:
▪️During the night, operational-tactical and army aviation of the Russian Federation hit 62 military facilities of Ukraine;
▪️Russian air defense systems shot down one Ukrainian Mi-8 helicopter, six unmanned aerial vehicles, including one Bayraktar TB-2;
▪️ Caliber missiles launched from the Black Sea hit the workshops of the Nizhyn repair plant, where Ukrainian equipment was being repaired;
▪️The Russian air defense system shot down a Ukrainian tactical missile “Tochka-U” at night near the city of Izyum, Kharkiv region;
▪️The Russian Armed Forces destroyed six Ukrainian mobile electronic warfare systems “Bukovel” with artillery fire;
▪️Caliber missiles launched from the Caspian Sea and Kinzhal missiles hit a large fuel storage base in the Nikolaev region;
▪️In total, since the beginning of the special operation in Ukraine, 207 drones, 1,467 tanks, 148 multiple rocket launchers have been destroyed.
The Russian Armed Forces with high-precision air-launched missiles struck at the training center of the special operations forces of the Ukrainian armed forces, where foreign mercenaries arrived in Ukraine were based, near the settlement of Ovruch, Zhytomyr region. More than 100 servicemen of special operations forces and foreign mercenaries destroyed – Russian Defense Ministry
Balakley. The city itself is occupied and cleared by the RF Armed Forces. The Armed Forces of Ukraine have tried and are trying to recapture this most important node, mortars and artillery are constantly working, sniper and counter-sniper work is being carried out.
Boats of the Ukrainian Navy captured in Berdyansk were towed to Novorossiysk
Operational situation near Nikolaev. Russian troops advance towards the South Ukrainian nuclear power plant and cut the roads
Somewhere near Kiev, captured Javelin by Russian special forces
https://t.me/intelslava/22956
mpthompson: A fine and thoughtful analysis. Thank you. Though I personally think the Russian military situation has increasingly less potential in the Ukraine, I also agree that the situation remains very volatile, and that this conclusion only applies to its conventional forces. Russia’s nuclear arsenal is not something to dismiss lightly. It is something to fear, especially in such a volatile situation.
The most worrisome aspect of these events has been the levels of emotion. Far too few leaders in any country worldwide are dealing with this thoughtfully and with their brains. Similarly, everyone else is reacting emotionally, clouding their minds with passion.
War is dangerous. To respond only with emotions only feeds the worst aspects of it.
Well.
I think if you look at the larger picture, the South East is most likely what the Russians really wanted all along.
Crimea. Crimea is the home base of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. It is the only harbor Russia has for any fleet that does not freeze over for protracted periods of the year. Until the annexation Russia was paying rent to keep it’s fleet there. What I did not realize until I started looking at these maps is that Russia had no sovereign land connection to Crimea. These two maps show that connection being formed.
If Russia gets nothing else out of this mess, that will be a significant improvement in Russia’s position Vis-a-Vis The Black Sea. That is speculation. What is not are these three details.
JANE’s published a disposition map showing the assembly areas of The Russian Army a few days before Russia Jumped off. I counted only 55 BTGs on that map.
A BTG is 800 men and represents the TEETH of Russian Army Brigades.
Tooth to Tail ratio, https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA472467.pdf, is ratio of your support troops to your Front Line Combat Units.
These three details are relentless in their implication.
55 BTGs comes out to 45,000 men.
45,000 multiplied by four comes to 176,000. Very close to the exaggerated 200,000 you in the media.
That gives a “Tooth to Tail” ratio of only 1 – 3. If you read that paper you will understand the depths of the MESS that Russia is facing.
Russia’s “teeth” consist of 55 tank companies and about 165 IFV mounted motorized Infantry companies, per the TBO image on this site, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battalion_tactical_group.
THAT meager little force is divided across three offensive fronts.
MUD SEASON is not in full swing in that watershed areas between the Dniepr and Don Rivers. That area, when insulted by tracked and wheeled vehicles becomes a SOUP the color of MUD.
To render any unit “combat ineffective” you only need to degrade it to 20% of it’s nominal strength.
This is a relentless picture. What you I am seeing is that the Russian BTGs on the front lines are getting ready to do their best imitation of Col. Custer at The Little Bighorn. Let me reiterate: 200,000 men represents AT BEST a 1 – 3 tooth to tail ratio. THAT is a disaster, not just an over extension.
The Duran: “Sanctions war against Russia is failing. China and India harden their stance”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLBC1xXRZp4
Andrew Winter: One clarification: Since Russia had already retaken the Crimea in 2014, there was no reason to do this invasion in 2022 to hold it. The Crimea is not why this war was instigated.
Further, while Russia did not have a land bridge to Crimea before this started, they certainly had a bridge bridge.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimean_Bridge
Sorry – typo in my name
Andi: Fixed.
“The Ukrainians have not been able to launch a military initiative of their own for some time and are everywhere either in retreat or surrounded and cut off from supplies. Ukraine should capitulate.”
Q:
You are comparing a massive mostly offensive military machine and a purely defensive military machine. And like it or not the Russians are sustaining very, very heavy losses both in men and machines inflicted by a vastly by the number’s inferior military. (That seems to upset you for some reason)
Might Putin see the need to begin carpet bombing? Or worse, you know, Waynes now famous + 6lbs air pressure, glass finished scenario.
I suspect by the end of the month things will get to some degree of conclusion? But if Russia chooses to stay and attempt to occupy he will suffer a protracted guerilla war which will go on for years. And I do not believe that he can survive that. But that’s just me.
Alex Christoforou:. “Biden Belgrade video goes viral. Zhytomyr missile strike. Bulgaria cuts off Gazprom. Update 2”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0got0yug6E
17 min
Russia says it’s struck another mercenary base in Ukraine
Russian forces hit a Ukrainian special forces training center early on Sunday, killing more than 100 local troops and foreign mercenaries, the Ministry of Defense has claimed.
A Ukrainian Special Operations Forces training center near the town of Ovruch in the northern Zhytomyr Region, which hosted the mercenaries, was targeted by “high-precision air-launched missiles,” ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said during a briefing.
A week ago, Russia destroyed another mercenary base at the Yavoriv range in the western Lviv region, saying that up to 180 foreign fighters were killed there.
https://www.rt.com/russia/552328-mercenary-base-strike-ukraine/
Two ago: Residents of Mariupol who leave the city through Russian checkpoints are being searched for tattoos with Nazi symbols.
https://t.me/intelslava/22737
News from Ukraine:
Zelensky used Martial Law powers to ban 11 political parties, including left-wing parties. All in the name of “democracy”
Side note: Azov Neo Nazi and Svoboda, still acceptable parties.
The base of the 132nd reconnaissance battalion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was destroyed. Russians are moving towards Ovruch.
Deputy Commander of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet Andrei Paly has been killed during battles in Mariupol.
Briefing by Russian Defence Ministry
▫️Units of the Russian Armed Forces are completing the defeat of the nationalist battalion “Donbass”.
▫️During the day, they advanced 12 kilometers, reached the Nikolskoye line and, in cooperation with the units of the Donetsk Republic, blocked Sladkoye from three sides.
?Up to 60 militants, 2 tanks, 3 infantry fighting vehicles, 6 field artillery guns and mortars of nationalists were destroyed.
▫️Currently, they are fighting with the remnants of militants and units of the 54th separate mechanized brigade of Ukrainian troops for the capture of Sladkoye, Novoukrainka and Shakhterskaya.
▫️The grouping of troops of the Donetsk People’s Republic continued to pursue the retreating units of the 53rd Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, developing an offensive in Novomikhailovka direction.
?Up to 30 militants, 1 tank, 1 infantry fighting vehicle and 3 all-terrain vehicles were destroyed.
▫️In Novoselovka Vtoraya direction, units of the Donetsk Republic have wedged into the defence of the 25th Airborne Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and are now fighting for the capture of Kamenka and Novoselovka Vtoraya.
✈️?Operational-tactical and army aviation hit 89 military assets of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Among them: 4 command posts, 2 multiple launch rocket systems, 9 artillery mounts, 5 missile and artillery weapons depots, as well as 65 areas of military equipment concentration.
?Russian air defence means shot down 7 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle in the air.
?In total, 214 unmanned aerial vehicles, 1,483 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 150 multiple launch rocket systems, 584 field artillery and mortars, as well as 1,279 units of special military vehicles of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were destroyed during the operation.
Ukraine announced yesterday that the Armed Forces of Ukraine recaptured Cherkasy Tishki & Russian Tishki in the Kharkov region. — today, Russian military refuted the statement by posting videos from the exact locations & calling out their reports as fake.
Chechen soldiers clearing out vehicles full of dead Ukrainian soldiers in Mariupol (chechen soldier says it’s Bandera soldiers) (remark: available video link not added because of death soldiers can be seen)
telegraph.co.uk:
“Inside Azov, the neo-Nazi brigade killing Russian generals and playing a PR game in the Ukraine war
Its well-oiled publicity machine has been producing videos with camera drones perfectly capturing the attacks as they happen in real time.”
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/18/inside-azov-neo-nazi-brigade-killing-russian-generals-playing/
Top news
Russia:
“We call on Ukrainian army, territorial defense battalions, foreign mercenaries to stop hostilities, surrender arms and leave Mariupol via humanitarian corridors agreed with the Ukrainian side to Kiev-controlled territories. Safe exit is guaranteed to all who surrender arms,” he said.
“In case Kiev official once again betray you and order to die as martyrs, we call on those who care about their own lives: you can do it (surrender arms and leave the city – TASS) by your own in groups,” – TASS
Regarding the sanctions against Russia, there is an interesting aspect that so far has gone unmentioned. About two dozen countries in the Middle East and Africa get at least 50% of their annual wheat supply from Russia. With the financial sanctions now put in place by US and European countries, it is now virtually impossible for these countries to pay Russia for imports of vital food supplies which puts them in a very precarious situation. Even if the imports could be paid for, the ability to ship Russian food commodities is highly questionable because the sanctions make it virtually impossible for shipping companies to get insurance on any ships that dare enter Russian ports. As a result, the countries that can’t afford the exorbitant prices for grain from other sources are now facing the real possibility of starvation and massive social disruption later this year.
The curious part of this is that Europe specifically carved out exceptions to the sanctions so that they could continue to import and pay for Russian gas and oil. The reason for this is obvious because countries such as Germany get 40% of their natural gas imports from Russia and they would pay a high social cost to suddenly stop the imports.
This is a perfect example of exceptions for me, but not for thee.
We shall see if the sanctions causing dire food shortages come to pass. But if they do, look for a whole lot of countries to begin questioning the dollar as the world reserve currency because it is being wielded as a blunt instrument that penalizes the innocent as well as the guilty. Also, the hypocrisy of how the sanctions are applied to affect poor 3rd world countries much more severely than rich western countries will become glaringly obvious as well.
Just tossing this Idea out–
The same news media that can’t be relied upon to accurately report the weather, didn’t suddenly become honest & accurate during ‘wartime.’
I would put forth the proposition– all these people lie, endlessly.
I don’t know what is going on in Ukraine, but I’m positive everything they say is designed to enslave me.
I don’t know what is going on in Ukraine, but I’m positive everything they say is designed to enslave me.
I can certainly agree with this.
Michael Malice explains Red Pill / White Pill to Douglas Murray
(Nov 2020)
https://youtu.be/OfpNfupVxdg
2:36
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/ukraine-rejects-russian-offer-passage-mariupol-83572473
Someone doesn’t think Russia is winning. And it is those people who count.
pzatchok:
win? Do not make me laugh! What planet do you live on? These Azovs are completely surrounded in the inner part of Mariupol, have no chance and will die now.
Wayne:
Sometimes it helps to think for yourself and not rely on US media misinformation. We learned how they already lie about Covid and the 2020 presidential election.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: “Zelenskiy’s Oligarch Connection”
“Ukrainian presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelenskiy is campaigning as an outsider who will clean up politics, but he’s backed by one of the country’s richest men. (With reporting by AP, AFP, and Reuters)”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXgli7TpINw
Pandie Eyess: “This report aged very well” ?
Questioner: You would be a lot more convincing if (1) all your sources were not Russian, and (2) if you were less insulting to anyone who disagrees with you.
This is the fog of war. Pinning down what is really happening is not easy. To be so certain on your part discredits you.
Mr Zimmerman:
I look at both sides, including the Russian side. The Russian seems much closer to the verifiable facts. However, I have based my judgment on my own conclusions and, more importantly, on independent renowned experts who are not afraid to speak the truth, like your US Colonel Douglas Macgregor. He is just one example of several military leaders coming to the same conclusion.
Mr. Z., you have repeatedly shown how little your own judgment is worth in this Ukraine matter, which undermines your credibility. For example, with your continued ignorance of the neo-Nazi problem in Ukraine, which is obvious to everyone. These are precisely the neo-Nazis who will die by the thousands in Mariupol at this point and who formed the backbone of the Ukrainian resistance.
Max Blumenthal: “Max Blumenthal: US is Arming Neo-Nazis in Ukraine”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5Uf7aooxvE
An article for those who have a little more time and are interested in the background that led to the current war:
Time: “Russia Has Been Warning About Ukraine for Decades. The West Should Have Listened” BY ANATOL LIEVEN JANUARY 25, 2022
Lieven is a senior fellow of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft and author of Pakistan: A Hard Country and author of Ukraine and Russia: A Fraternal Rivalry.
https://archive.ph/LLoAf#selection-1639.0-1647.1
Alex Christoforou: Defeat of “Donbass” battalion. Turkey S400 to Ukraine. Protests in Spain & Greece. Update 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFaPqFxXVbw
Q:
Keeping in mind that this may well be a psyops psych designed to further make Putin paranoid, its in the air. There are real solid reasons that stories like this are to be paid attention to as many have from the beginning here on BTB have been pointing out.
https://nypost.com/2022/03/20/russian-elites-planning-to-overthrow-putin/
This international disaster unfolding is all on Putin’s shoulders and he has caused his country great cost in lives, material and disgrace (Depending on your perspective of course, some may see him as hero and is in some manner saving his country from something).
The longer this Ukraine condition goes on where children and old ladies are being killed and maimed and the cities are being razed it can only get worse for Putin. Time is not Putin’s friend, his “Retirement” may be closer than many may think.
I guess Questioner doesn’t know that there are NAZI’s in many nations around the world. Including the US.
Thats the thing about the free west. Most people might not agree with those idiots but we have the security and freedom to allow them to exist and in some cases even run for political office.
The fact that Russia is so afraid of them is telling about the state of general education inside Russia. They seem to still be afraid of Nazi’s after almost 100 years. Are they going to invade Germany soon?
But then again I have heard that they still believe in vampires in the country side villages.
Nazi is a hot button term in Russia, much like “Racist”, “Anti-gay” and “Voting rights”, are terms of manipulation as per the Left / Democrat party in America.
These are terms used to solidify battle lines and draw bright Us and Them sides in the political warfare model.
This is not rocket science.
What has Putin actually accomplished in his bloody child and old lady killing aggressive action? He has gone a long way to foster even more hate and resolve towards him and the country of Russia (Not the people of Russia, the government of Russia). And that extreme emotion in the Ukrainians will live forever and will in time destroy Putin.
IMO of course, much to the apparent consternation of Q.
Again, a contribution to the truth!
Greek refugee from Mariupol: “Ukrainian soldiers stopped and threatened us, Russian soldiers calmed us down” (VIDEO)
https://greekcitytimes.com/2022/03/18/greek-refugee-from-mariupol/?amp
My God, those Russians, some of them anyway, just like anywhere else, really do have compassion.
It pays to be lucky.
President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic has dubbed attempts in the West to ‘ban’ Yuri Gagarin and Fyodor Dostoyevsky as the effect of hysteria and insanity that have gripped the world.
“The world is literally possessed by insanity, when nobody listens to anyone, everybody is threatening everybody. You find yourselves in the situation when you are told that Yuri Gagarin can no longer be in the foundation of cosmonauts of the world. Wait a bit, people, Yuri Gagarin was the first man in space. How did it occur to you to remove him from the foundation?!” the president told an election rally in the city of Opovo, broadcast by the Vesti TV channel.
“Some suggest not to study Dostoyevsky at school since he is Russian. And which of the writers is greater and more important than Dostoyevsky?” he asked, castigating these attempts as “the effect of hysteria”.
These Ukrainians, not so lucky:
https://nypost.com/2022/03/21/russians-opened-fire-on-civilian-protestors-in-kyiv/
Man, I bet they wish they encountered those compassionate Russian soldiers.
Cotour:
It seems that you buy every lie…
Your questions about what Putin’s goals are and how he is going to gain from the war astonish me, as I thought you already knew. I won’t list it again here, instead I recommend the channel of the smart Brit Alexander Mercouris and his parallel channel “The Durans”. Your questions will be answered there down to the last detail.
Here is his last video.
Ukraine Forces Mariupol Face Destruction, Reject Russian Ultimatum, UK Media Admits War Going Badly
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5ZRhw75qmM
I have no questions about Putins goals.
When have I stated that Putin would make gains?
I have clearly stated that he has shot himself in the buttocks with the Ukraine action.
Long term, Putin loses.
I cannot understand these things for you, you are on your own.
Cotour:
You did not much understand what happens here. We see another step of the globalism’s (which equals US hegemony) defeat. Inform yourself about the details at “the duran”.
Long term: Russia and Putin (and the rest of non-western world, including China and India) wins by a lot by the result of this crisis.
If you can help yourself with the English subtitles, I would recommend the Юрии Подоляка channel. He is Ukrainian and has direct information from Ukraine. He has lived in Russia since 2014. He is on one side in this war, but most of what he says turns out to be factual. He has 2.7 million subscribers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NReEsQDrlYg
I wonder how much Putin pays per post? Must be good money in it.
Now on to someone who said something useful, Cotour: “I have clearly stated that the Russians have the long-term advantage, but at a very, very heavy cost, both in men and material. Plus Putin is now an international pariah and the person who is bringing real long term economic distress to the Russian people.”
I don’t think they have a short term or a long term advantage at this point. They picked a very bad game to play. In order to win they really had to win with Plan A, which was a quick decapitation of the Ukrainian government and the Ukrainian military quickly surrendering. Plan B would have worked too, which was beat the Ukrainian military on the ground into submission. Neither have happened. We’re on plan C, which is break as much stuff as possible, and then claim you won.
The short term outlook for the Russians is bleak. They are taking big losses, their logistics are really hurt. They have a few places with simplified logistics (Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Sumy), but everywhere else they are terrible. The logistics for their forces on the east side of Kiev have to run a route about 513 km long which they control almost nothing of. Pushing through is one thing, resupplying that route is another. They are suffering 30-40 destroyed vehicles daily. The Ukrainians are losing much less. This is partially offence v. defence, but its also partly military incompetence and trying to hold a lot of ground which still has hostiles in it. There is a reasonable possibility that the Russian army will start folding up in places. Once that happens, it will free up Ukrainian defenders to counter attack in other places.
The long term outlook for Russia isn’t good either. Even if they managed to dump in a whole lot more men and equipment, their reserves are poorly trained and motivated, their best units are beaten up, their best equipment is a smoldering heap. They can replace some of it, but some of it has complex parts which are impossible to obtain due to the sanctions. Their economy is tanking, and it takes money to pay for things, and war is expensive. So, longer term they have problems too. I would be shocked if this war isn’t over by the end of April, and I’d be shocked if Russia got much of a win.
“The Ridiculous Explanation For This War”
Part Of The Problem Episode 834
https://youtu.be/USm52cW0Y_g
57:16
Cotour:
Bombing of the Azovstal plant (last stand of Asov crowd). Mariupol.
The Mariupol problem is now being completed. Ukraine is experiencing its Stalingrad. So Russia is now doing what America has been doing in its wars from the start. Bombing all flat and then go in with soldiers. Putin wanted to be considerate of his fellow Ukrainians, which is why he chose a different path and even accepted higher sacrifices. But that was not honored.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwxdEdRL5TI
I feel sorry for everyone who is dying there in Mariupol now. In this case, however, there was an offer of free passage, of course after handing over the weapons. Not even a capture, that was very generous. Due to Zelenskyy’s megalomania, it was idiotically refused, although the situation was hopeless. Now all thousands of Asov people are dying. It was not necessary.
* “Putin wanted to be considerate of his fellow Ukrainians,”
* “Due to Zelenskyy’s megalomania,”
* “So Russia is now doing what America has been doing in its wars from the start.”
Questioner: You have one unique take on this entire conflagration, yes indeed. (Do you smoke the wacky weed?)
Putin is being “Considerate” of *HIS* fellow Ukrainians? Putin is doing the Ukrainians a favor by destroying their cities and killing their people? With friends like Putin who needs enemies?
Zelenski does not seem like a megalomaniac to me. He may be no angel, (what politician is? Especially in that part of the world). But you seem to transmitting that Putin is the offended party here. Putin did choose to invade Ukraine right? Or have I missed something? Yes, Putin warned everyone that he was unhappy with the talk of NATO membership.
And I think it is clear, clear to me anyway that Putin ONLY made his move on the Ukraine because Joe Biden is in the position of the president of the U.S.. Either because he is perceived as being so weak and feckless, and or he is seen as being busy and preoccupied with trading America way in order to install the insane Leftist “Fundamental Change in America” agenda. (And they are going to pay very, very heavily for that bit of stupidity).
If Joe Biden is compromised (“If”, that’s a joke Q), is just incompetent (Who could argue with that?), or he is just a straight out traitor to the country, choose one or a combo of the three the truth is in there somewhere. Putin does not touch Ukraine if a president like Trump or another strong patriotic American human being was in office, 100%. Putin would still be sitting with his thumb up is butt complaining that NATO was getting to close for his comfort.
* And if America would find it necessary to go into some other country there would be a reason that would be agreed to by many other countries and it would be justified in a legal sense. (Putin has a very weak case for justification for invasion, destruction and murder and killing.)
And if America needed to go somewhere and there was no overt legal reason to do so if it was determined necessary by the powers that be you can bet it would happen. And that would be based in concepts and justifications contained within Strategy Over Morality. That is a lock.
EXPLANATION: Strategy Over Morality describes a two-tiered “conversation” between a Public and their Empowered Leadership where the Public believes there is only a single, no tiered conversation occurring and that single conversation is assumed by the Public to relate to the Public’s morality and truth model perspective.
That is a lock, a solid gold bet.
Weakness is its own reward.
William S. Burroughs prediction
Drugstore Cowboy (1989)
https://youtu.be/kZszbqdOq7g
1:25
Why didn’t russia give up to the Germans when they invaded?
It would have saved them millions of lives.
pzatchok:
All other nations and peoples would have capitulated after these losses from the German attack in WWII, except for the Russians. That is the difference.
Unfortunately, the Ukrainians (a Slavic brother nation) are only cannon fodder for the western hegemon, because its “elites” want Russia to be destabilized and divided in parts.
Zelenskyy is today begging for talks with Russia. This means that official acceptance of the defeat of the Ukrainian armed forces is not far off.
“only cannon fodder for the western hegemon, because its “elites” want Russia to be destabilized and divided in parts.”
So you, Questioner, straight from Germany, are proposing that its the elite Western powers that be (The Klaus Schwab / Geroge Soros Globalists) that have convinced Putin since he is one of their “Young / junior future leaders of the world” through their powers to invade Ukraine in order to further break Russia up and its really not about Putin in his best strategic judgment protecting Russia and further consolidating Russia?
Now that is a very interesting read of the current events of the day. Very interesting indeed.
So given your scenario should we now expect Justin Trudeau to begin an across the border bombardment of America in order to begin the break up of America? Remember, its Justin Trudeau and Angela Merkel that Schwab mentioned and are among the “Young World Economic Forum leaders of the future”.
And Angela Merkel? What might she be ready to unleash in order to help fulfill the Western hegemons agenda?
You do understand that if and when America is no longer dominant that it is primarily China that inherits the world and becomes the Hegemon with Russia a distant second. And at that point we have a Man In The High Tower world.
And THAT should scare the hell out of you and every other Liberal and Leftist that thinks they understand what’s best related to how the globe operates. If and when the Constitution is hollowed out and is made moot that is the moment when everyone will truly understand what they have accomplished as they are forced to accept their new highly managed, highly mandated slave lives.
Enemy at the Gates
“The One With The Rifle Shoots” –
https://youtu.be/4pJzMoFxPzw
1:03
“One out of 2 gets a rifle. The one without follows him. When the one with the rifle gets killed, the one who is following picks up the rifle and shoots.”
(or, the NKVD will shoot you in the back.)
Enemy at The Gates
Nikita Khrushchev scene
https://youtu.be/2IQJY5SsJ64
3:21
“As Political Officers, I’m counting on you…”
In the Kiev region, tanks are being camouflaged with carpets, a drone spotted.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_Qk1vRLbR0
Mariupol and beyond (reports on March 22, 16:00) – Yuriy Podolyaka
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CVEk4C-oHk
(with the caveat that I haven’t listened to this, yet…)
John Anderson podcast (March 2, 2022)
Victor Davis Hanson: War in Ukraine
https://youtu.be/vFRsMs4Ltxw
1:22:53
Hmmm, I wanted to link to this historical-backgrounder, but it (amazingly, he typed sarcastically) became ‘age-restricted’ withing the past month, and I do not have an account at YT.
“Harvest of Despair – The 1933 Ukrainian Famine”
(Жнива розпачу: 1933 Голодомор в Україні)
Zelenskyy is a very evil man because, with no apparent military benefit or purpose, he commits about 6000 of his men (Azov) who are in a hopeless situation in Mariupol to certain death instead of ordering them to accept the Russians’ offer and save their lives .
Cotour: Putin is the toughest enemy of Klaus Schwab and Georg Soros.
Sounds like we’ve got a bunch of “Good Russians”
“Morgues are overflowing with corpses as Russia secretly ships thousands of dead soldiers through Belarus to disguise death toll in Ukraine”
“Eyewitnesses told RadioFreeEurope that the morgue in Mazyr, Belarus, is overflowing with corpses and that wounded Russian troops are flooding the area’s hospitals.
One eyewitness told the outlet that he had seen many “black sacks” being loaded from military ambulances onto Russian railway cars.
“Passengers at the Mazyr train station were shocked by the number of corpses being loaded on the train,” he told the outlet. “After people started shooting video, the military caught them and ordered them to remove it.””
“Doctors and local residents claimed that hospitals in the cities of Mazyr and Homel are overflowing with wounded Russian soldiers, RFE/RL said.
In early March, officials began discharging patients from a local hospital in Homel to make room for Russian troops, multiple residents told RFE/RL.
“There are so many wounded Russians there — it’s just a horror. Terribly disfigured. It is impossible to listen to their moans throughout the whole hospital,” one resident who was treated in the Homel hospital told the outlet.”
https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-secretly-transported-2500-dead-soldiers-from-belarus-report-2022-3?nr_email_referer=1&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Business_Insider_select&pt=385758&ct=Sailthru_BI_Newsletters&mt=8&utm_campaign=Insider%20Select%202022-03-22&utm_term=INSIDER%20SELECT%20-%20ENGAGED%2C%20ACTIVE%2C%20PASSIVE%2C%20DISENGAGED%2C%20NEW
Keeping in mind that I long ago postulated that the true beneficiaries of the Shwab / Soros Leftist / Socialist / Globalist utopia dream agenda would be China first and then Russia as an enforcer.
Who do Schwab and Soros think controls all of those ships, satellites and weapon systems that both China and Russia are developing, building and compiling?
They think the U.N. will hold sway over them? Only a dopey Liberal / Leftist would think in such terms.
And I agree, I believe that all of this Leftist / Socialist clap trap being spewed by the delusional woke dopes in America and in the EU has Putin personally disgusted and he does not respect any of it for one second and it is in fact one of the drivers of his aggressive actions concerning Ukraine. He understands that people like that in power at the moment are not to be feared or respected by him.
Schwab himself sees Putin in very different terms as established by his own ego pumping, ball spiking “We have breached their governments” interview with David Gerkin. I did not say these things, Schwab did.
From Klaus Schwab’s own lips: https://youtu.be/R4YEoGfB-ac Hubris gets you every time.
You tell me what’s really going on, I go based on what I can plainly see and understand.
“They tried and left”: in Mariupol, an Instagram model and an actress of three roles at once in the “Azov” production of “Mariupol Maternity Hospital Shot by Russians” Marianna Podgurskaya was seen in the queue for a humanitarian aid in Mariupol.
“Sho, dotsyu, did your Nazis help you?” It’s good that she survived. We think the lesson for the “thrice pregnant” will be for life
https://t.me/Kharkov_Z/1189?single
UKRAINE CRISIS: With Gonzalo Lira in Kharkiv
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDSCapMFuvA
Questioner
“All other nations and peoples would have capitulated after these loses to the Germans in WWII.
The Russians did not. that is the difference.”
Thats not an answer. Thats just an action they took.
I asked why they took the action they took and why all other nations need to do different against Russia.
Why is Russia special and doesn’t need to capitulate but everyone else has to?
And how many Nazi’s has Russia found and captured yet?
Are they to be tried in court or just shot on the battle field?
Intelslava:
“Wives and mothers of these soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine – do not worry. Your loved ones are alive. They are not tortured, they are not castrated, they are not forced to do anything that God-forgotten characters from Ukraine promise to do with captives. They are not tortured or killed in order to send you a video of this.
Everything will be fine with them. Your relatives will definitely return to you after the end of the special operation. Wait for them. The Russian army does not behave like fascists. On the contrary, we have come to liberate you from the Nazis.”
https://t.me/intelslava/23061
Intelslava: “The Ukrainian Mir Hotel, which, according to CNN journalists, was ruthlessly bombed by the Russian Armed Forces.
Oh no, wait. This is the Serbian resort Zvonachka-Banya, awaiting reconstruction. By the way, they are looking for an investor. Send CNN a thank you for the ad.”
https://t.me/intelslava/23073
Intelslava: “Footage of 67 servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine taken prisoner near Kiev by the servicemen of the Russian Armed Forces has been published.”
https://t.me/intelslava/23102
Questioner: You are coming across as a salesman or an apologist for Putin and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, do you realize that?
Cotour:
I am agent of reality and truth. I hate western lies, hypocrisy, false morals and double standards (and globo-homo-ideology).
The blog readers here are massively exposed to the lies and one-sided propaganda of the western mainstream media. I see it as my task to bring a counterweight, the perspective of the other side, into play.
And Pzatchok demanded evidence and wanted to see captured Ukrainians. Out of consideration for the audience, I left out the horrific images with many dead Ukrainian soldiers.
Any crazy American starting a war against the Russians should know what they’re getting themselves into. He should know with what severity and determination the Russians will kill him. And I’m not saying that because I want to defend them in first place.
Duly noted.
But your narrative is that of an appeaser and someone who surrenders beforehand. You are a known value. And I am not saying that your fear of the brutality that is the Russian army is not justified, but its not a way to fight or win a war.
By default you lose.
The Ukrainians do not agree with your interpretation of their reality.
Putin may have to kill them all before they surrender.
Cotour:
Alex Christoforou: “Belarus and Poland making moves. Coup rumours heat up. Update 2”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCx9y6CIoQw
Fox News host discusses whether Ukraine is a democracy on ‘Tucker Carlson Tonight.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oifqp1bJp8Y
mpthompson pondered: “Consider if the tables were turned.”
That was a false equivalency. NATO is a treaty, that many countries find desirable, to defend against Russian aggression. Russia has shown itself to be an aggressor, over the past three decades, but the European Union, NATO, and the U.S. have not. For Russia to be aggressive in order to protect itself from the peaceful NATO or the peaceful EU is nothing like Mexico being taken over by aggressive Russia.
Q:
Alex Christoforou is much like you in his attitude towards Putins aggression. Bend over Putin is mean.
Looks like the Ukrainians and their not quite fully functioning Democracy to American standards or not appear to be willing to fight to the death in order to keep their freedom as it is rather than becoming under the domination and ownership of Vladimir Putin. And that is a very tough adversary. Especially when its put up against a conscripted army that has less than the motivation Putin demands.
As to Tucker: Democracy or the degree of it that exists within Ukraine really is not the issue here, that can be worried about later by the Ukrainians. Putin invading and shelling their cities and killing their people while trying to enforce his will is the issue right now. Tucker IMO is being a bit myopic on this issue. No?
Direct Democracy or a Democrat Republic, what ever flavor, neither are perfect forms of governance.
The great granddaddy of the Infantry AT weapons being used to great effect in Ukraine
Anti-Tank Chats #4 | Bazooka | The Tank Museum – Bing video
I trained on its grandson, the M72 LAW
https://youtu.be/VsnBX6OVAxM
Note that the Army decided it was cheaper to throw away the used launch tube than to send men to sweep the battlefield, ship the launcher back to the States, refurbish it and load it with a new rocket
The LAW has been upgraded with warheads designed for specific targets and remains in production
(294) M72 Light Anti-Armor Weapon – LAW – YouTube
This film was shown to us in Armor Officer Basic, showing German tank killer teams in action, probably about 1943. Although a training film, it is realistic and the producers went to length of making sure the German actors were covered in dirt and grime, flinched realistically from enemy fire and the “Russians” were wearing captured uniforms and employing captured weapons – to include T-34-76 tanks! The title means “Men Against Tanks”
Männer gegen Panzer – Lehrfilm EN subtitles – video Dailymotion
The Ukrainians are using these sort of tactics against Ivan’s grandsons today.
The obsession of some with Ukrainian “Nazis” reminded me of this editorial cartoon:
https://pics.onsizzle.com/legalinsurrection-com-2017-warnine-objects-in-this-box-may-appearlarger-than-28461773.png
Replace “Antifa” with “Putin” on the banner on the right side, and it fits.
Bob – Is there any way for you to modify my posting so that the referenced videos can be accessed?
Panzerfaust –
How Effective was it?
https://youtu.be/ENc2ZDgkv7Q
7:24
Naval battle off the coast of Odessa and the destruction of the infrastructure of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Donbass. Summary for 03/22/2022
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gi6_ELpF60
3 min
Mariupol residents: Donetsk Rebel troops saved their life. Ukrainian units where shooting civilians in cold blood.
https://t.me/UkraineHumanRightsAbuses/207
Juan Sinmiedo: “Open for full view. Regarding the shadowing of the state by far right organizations, this is how deep Pravky Sector units are spread in the territorial defense and the army. Sovovoda, Azov, C-14 and other Far Right organisations have also their own numerous units. Fascism is institutionalised in Ukraine.”
https://t.me/UkraineHumanRightsAbuses/210
Hey, Q!
Is it true that General Zolotov – head of Russia’s National Guard – is actually a lathe operator by profession? Has that guy had any true military education?
TGeorge:
I am sorry, I do not know.
“Azov in a PANIC / News from Mariupol – Yuriy Podolyaka / latest news from the front”
Russian troops are storming the factory where the remains of Azov’s fighters are.
The Russian military destroyed the S 300 “Favorit” air defense system of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHXXPl7g_DI
Putin is still a corrupt thug, with nukes. That alone makes the case for NATO welcoming nations like Ukraine, just as they did with Poland and the Baltics. And what Putin initiated in Ukraine only reinforces this.
Ukraine was corrupt in 2014/2016 … but today, not so much. Corrupt people do not fight the way Zelenskyy and the Ukrainians are fighting; the corrupt take the money and run.
As for the claims of Ukraine being overrun with Nazis to justify Putin’s action, that sounds a lot like the “cause” of Hans Gruber in Die Hard … cover for a simple theft; in this case the destruction of an energy competitor to Putin and his oligarchs.
When you come down to it, though, the reason Putin is a threat, and his apologists don’t see it, is because they lack appreciation for the following as the primary directive of ANY legitimate government:
BTW, that is the same lack of appreciation that leads the so-called Western “globohomo” elite to squander what has made the West so successful. But their own corruption doesn’t make Putin any less of a threat.
If Putin and the Western elites did appreciate that, there would be FAR less trouble in the world. If Putin’s apologists appreciated that, they would be decrying him instead of myopically focusing their camera on “Nazis”.
Jester Naybor:
You drunk on the ideology of American exceptionalism.
The American way to make the world happier and more equal (don’t these goals sound kinda communist?): wars, wars, wars, killing millions, destroying nations and cultures. The USA is the most aggressive and militaristic (and most hypocritical) country that has ever existed on earth.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wars_involving_the_United_States
Graham Phillips: “Russian Soldiers in Ukraine as you’ve NEVER seen them before!!!!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fOsIY9ioQQ
Q:
And if and when the Communist Chinese acquire the title of Hegemon then you Questioner will fully understand that having America as the Hegemon was upon reflection not that bad.
All forms of governance are perverted and corrupt at some level and that is true throughout time. Government is at best a blunt instrument and at worst will injure you or kill you. ALL GOVERNMENTS THROUGHOUT HISTORY.
Your inability to understand the absolute value of the Constitution and its absolute effects on humanity and what makes it unique on the planet is a failing on your part. And your luxury of seeing things in that manner ironically is due directly to the existence of the Constitution. Do you get the irony?
No Constitution, no America and you and your family do not exist. You and they long ago were more than likely exterminated, cleansed for the planet for the good of the movement, for the good of the motherland. And I am not suggesting that you do not have a Right to your opinion, but your opinion must be balanced with the realities of our modern world and the nature of the human condition.
(And why will the Communist Chinese or the Russians for that matter, never acquire the true title of Hegemon in the world? (A free world anyway which is what you say you want) Because they are Communists, they are authoritarian, they own their populations. The only way it can happen is if they change 180 degrees their philosophy about individual freedom and individual Rights. And that will never happen. That can never happen because it is 180 degrees to the authoritarian structure that has empowered them.
The Communist Chinese as are the Russians find themselves in a paradoxical authoritarian power situation and their destruction is required in order that they move to a higher level of functional dominance in the world. The Constitution, America and Capitalism in the modern world have supplied both the Communist Chinese and the Russians with the good lives that they have and the opportunities that they see before them.
But they are all at odds with the core of their belief systems and what they desire requires that they both commit ideological suicide. And it’s the same for the insane Left in America itself. Do you get the irony? Are you laughing?)
Questioner, history shows me that respect for those self-evident truths is what prevents trouble from happening.
In my own nation, and in others.
America’s problems these days – including the clumsy ways we fight wars – are a result of losing that respect in favor of the hubris of our ruling elite who think that they are too “enlightened” to get their hands dirty with resolute and decisive action to assure that respect.
But what you decry America for, is by-and-large its (often clumsy, but still justified) response to those nations who refuse to respect those self-evident truths and go out of their way to make trouble. OTOH, we have better things to do than to emulate Putin’s, or Saddam’s, or Iranian/Taliban thuggery.
Until your own nation has at least the level of respect for life and INDIVDUAL liberty, that America extends to its own citizens, your criticism rings hollow, and your gnat-strained reports make you look like that cameraman in the cartoon I linked to,
Without that respect, it is war without end no matter how much you believe otherwise.
For without that respect, the only sustainable peace is that of the grave.
Cotour:
I am convinced that different cultures need different political systems, which are different in each case, but which are optimal for the culture in question. There is no political system that does justice to all cultures and peoples. You have in America the (now degenerate) liberalism of English descent. Elsewhere there are other traditions that better suit the local culture and mentality.
America is currently in the process of a going through a political cycle in modern times. America through the structure of the Constitution which forces the political entities that Vai for political empowerment from the people forces each side in the political warfare that it structures ensures that over time these empowered and wana be political powers are forced to reveal themselves to that same public. This is our system; this is our process. And it is a brilliant system and process.
The Constitution structures political warfare, chaos and confusion and it brilliantly attempts to limit or eliminate internal bloody warfare.
Do different cultures need different political systems? I will not disagree with that statement. BUT, that being said the freedom of having that luxury for a particular culture to CHOOSE the way in which they live based on that particular culture is not something that just exists or is received, especially in todays modern times. Nothing worthwhile is granted, it is fought for.
The fight is what ensures the best, these are fundamental evolutionary principles. The weakest and the most incompetent do not inherit the earth. They are eaten.
In order to live as one desires there must exist the ability to make that so. And if there exist powers in the world that insist that you, happily immersed in that particular culture, not live in the manner in which you freely determine. (See the Uighurs in China) you will live as they say.
Are you thinking? Are you getting it? This is picture stuff but I believe you can understand it. Everyone needs to understand it.
From S.O.M. : CONCLUSION: The public lives and operates under a subjective moral code or within a “Pedestrian Realm” perspective which they assume their leadership which exists within the “Political Realm” is constrained by. This is a subjective false perspective conclusion on the part of the public. Leadership at its existential core is not about morality, truth and honesty. Leadership is about the fundamental exercise of power and “its” survival.
Important correction: “This is picture BIG stuff but I believe you can understand it. Everyone needs to understand it.”
Alex Christoforou: Mariupol city center. NATO targets China. Trucker strike in Spain. Update 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uMGMgZvWLo
I will miss Putin: https://dnyuz.com/2022/03/22/as-russia-stalls-in-ukraine-dissent-brews-over-putins-leadership/
Will you miss him Q?
He is a character: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/f5/7f/30/f57f30fad9d4cbd0d10d7561b261511a.jpg
Q: What do you think of this as a proposed model for society? It will all start in the Metaverse.
LIFE ONLINE Inside plan for utopian metaverse city that will have almost no rules or police
https://www.the-sun.com/tech/4953398/plan-utopian-metaverse-city/
My prediction? This will devolve into a society of debauchery, lies, treachery, perversions, murder, child abuse and abuse in general. Does it look familiar? This is what the Leftists among us propose our society “evolve” into.
Progress in your opinion?
Q, you fall for all the anti-American propaganda.
In your dreams, did Hitler win? Does Putin restore the boundaries of the Soviet empire? What does a post Ukraine war world look like to you?
Ukrainian Fascist Leader Speaks in US Congress, While Nazis Launch Racist Attacks (2018)
“Journalist Max Blumenthal asked why a fascist leader was welcomed in the US Senate building. He discusses Andriy Parubiy, the founder of two neo-Nazi organizations and the chair of Ukraine’s parliament, and the violent white supremacist movement against Russia.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlh6gJmmlN8
Patrick Lancaster: Mariupol Refugees In Russian Controlled Hospital (Special Report)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhLB5Wp1lGs
Do different cultures need different political systems?
The mechanisms might differ, but regardless of form they must incorporate respect for life and individual liberty as their central principle if they are to be legitimate … and sustainable. Without that respect, at least some of those under their rule will chafe under the disrespect, until they gain the strength and resolve to move against the Powers That Be.
This is as immutable, as gravity. Ignoring it leads to strife, inside and outside the borders of a nation whose leadership pursues any alternative to that respect.
” they must incorporate respect for life and individual liberty as their central principle if they are to be legitimate … and sustainable. ”
That is a subjective ideal, power does not necessarily care about such metrics and specifications.
I understand your point, but it is based in your American perspective regarding what government should or should not be. Mr. Putin? Not so much. Mr. Ping? Not so much. Mr. Hitler? Not so much.
What those in power *MUST* do is hold on to and control power. And they will do anything in many instances in order to accomplish that, up to and including murder. All with the best of intentions of course.
Alexander Mercouris: Russia Continues Advance in Ukraine as West Finds Itself Facing an Economic War
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mze7ByH–Yc
As Ukraine’s already established defeat approaches, we will hear more and more from the quality Western press (I almost picked up the word lying) about Ukraine’s imminent final victory. This reminds us of what the Germans heard from the German leadership in April 1945 up to the last day.
If this is only half true, Putin can not sustain this much longer.
“POLITICS Up to 40,000 Russian soldiers killed, wounded, captured or MIA in Ukraine, NATO estimates”
7 or so days to the end of the month, that IMO is about how long he has.
Both heavy military losses and the growing economic pressures at home have doomed Mr. Putin.
Like I said, I will miss him.
Cotour:
Ha, ha, rarely laughed so well. And you really believe this fake news and indulge in these illusions? I wouldn’t have expected it from you, the great Covid lie fighter. There will be a big bang when this big bubble of lies in the West suddenly bursts, which eqauls the original Big Bang.
Try detaching yourself from the influences of the lies of your “very valuable” sources of information and getting closer to reality. I have given you many sources.
The reality is that the Russians have destroyed practically all of Ukraine’s military infrastructure. There’s not much left. The Russians are currently flying 600 missions a day, mostly at night. The Ukrainians’ military means of communication have been destroyed. The military units are on their own. The Ukrainians are surrounded, their logistics have been destroyed, they have a shortage of fuel and are now being crushed piece by piece by the Russians. The Russians are advancing about 5-10 km/day in the east, where the main battles are taking place. There was never some news of a successful Ukrainian counter-offensive that would change the situation. Btw, the downtown area of Mariupol is now 77% cleared of Ukrainian militants at this very moment.
Since you *Q* are following this so closely and apparently have the better information do you have an estimate about what the real numbers are and how many of the Russians have been killed, are injured or have deserted?
Yes, it’s like April 1945. The time has come. Now the “Volkssturm” (arming civilians, the elderly and young people) is set up. Cannon-fudder.
“Ukrainian civilians receive military training to defend against Russian army”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suXgm-V0icU
Alex Christoforou: Lavrov explains regime change strategy targeting Russia & China. Kherson adopts ruble. Update 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORnhylnfwd0
John Sweeny reporting, Ukraine: https://youtu.be/T-NnfPUWDOA
“Russian army is RETREATING & LOSING CAPTURED GROUND AROUND KYIV, beaten back by Ukrainian shelling”
Which does not mean that the Russians are losing but they may be rearranging their situation.
What do you think Q? Information? Disinformation?
And PS: What is a win here for either side?
Ukraine: They lose 25 to 30 percent of their land mass and pledge to never again speak about considering membership in NATO with much of their infrastructure being destroyed and thousands dead.
Russia: Instead of taking over the entire Ukraine and installing a puppet government in one week their aggression has turned into a mass casualty quagmire event for their army and they have sustained massive losses, they have sustained embarrassment as to the effectiveness of their military, Putin has isolated his economy and people from the world, Putin may well be charged with crimes against humanity and will be put in self exile much like a Napolean and has now real concerns for his health, safety and 401K Retirment plan.
Who is the winner in the end, Zelenski or Putin?
Putin made Zelenski an international rock star, now all he has to do is survive.
“Yesterday the Poles demolished a 5-meter high obelisk with an inscription in Polish and Russian:
“Eternal glory to the heroes of the Soviet Army who fell in 1945 for the freedom of peoples”
And it is remarkable that it was shown in real time on all state channels.”
My comment: With this infamous action by the Poles, one should consider that it is mainly thanks to the Soviet Army that there is a Poland at all today. What ungrateful fellows!
https://t.me/vicktop55/2292
I love how the Russian attitude is might makes right.
As long as its not America with the might.
I can not wait until we start smuggling Starlink systems into Russia. They will finally get a free and open internet with not government intervention.
Freedom is like a drug. Once the people get hooked they will never want to go back.
The move away from dictatorships is inevitable.
Even China thinks it can stay a dictatorship but they too are on their way to becoming a democracy. Their only hope is to give the people everything they want. when they want it and that is impossible.
Questioner: You are such a funny fellow. In reading your last comment I just couldn’t stop laughing. Poland should be grateful to the Soviet Army?
Just to remind you of some very basic history, World War II began when Germany and Russia simultaneously invaded Poland, under their secret non-aggression pact that divided up Poland between them. Had Hitler not decided to invade Russia as well, Poland would have been absorbed into both Russia and Germany.
But Russia is the world’s savior, according to you! And also according to you, anyone who criticizes this saintly nation is clearly either a fool or a supporter of Nazis.
One can’t make this stuff up.
M. Z.:
Thank you for the nice remark. Unfortunately I cannot return it. Sorry, you’re not particularly funny.
Stick to the pure historical facts and don’t speculate about alternative histories: Without the Soviet Union’s victory over Germany, there would be no Poland today. Poland was liberated by the Red Army, by no one else. Poland exists today, albeit shifted westwards at the expense of Germany. After all, the Soviet Union allowed Poland to exist as a nation and state after the end of the war.
Mariupol:
Elimination of the last pockets of resistance. Tanks in Mariupol fire on Azov fighters hiding in apartments.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lC4xZUOfIxg
Demining fields in the Kherson region
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASdNzGqnoPE
After all, the Soviet Union allowed Poland to exist as a nation and state after the end of the war.
Under the total domination of the USSR, until the inevitable rot you get under totalitarian rule made that dominance unsustainable. Such rule suppresses the exercise of individual initiative that solves problems and keeps a society viable, instead of eventually collapsing under its own weight from apathy, ineptitude, and corruption.
Poland is a textbook example of the unsustainability of any alternative to rights-respecting governance, that I mentioned earlier. Sooner or later, those alternatives produce conflict as people chafe under the disrespect of their life, liberty and ability to pursue happiness.
And, since they have won their freedom from those alternatives, they value their liberty far more than the American elites value our liberty, which leads to better decision-making on the part of their leadership.
To assert that Poland’s existence-in-name-only as an independent nation during the Cold War years is evidence of Russian benevolence calls to mind those meme pictures of Stalin saying, “You make me laugh. Go to gulag..”
Jester Naybor:
“Under the total domination of the USSR, ….”
The Western Allies did not mind the Soviet Union taking over Poland and the other parts of Eastern Europe in 1944 and 1945.
The German brain (some German brains anyway) is unique in many ways.
“Never trust us”: https://youtu.be/SSMemfHh7Og
Nice people, but there is something.
Questioner, you’re straining at gnats to justify your disdain for America.
We DID mind that Stalin and his successors kept Poland under their heavy thumbs after WWII. Problem is, we didn’t want to burn down the (global) village to save it via nuclear war.
So we had to, over time, leverage our economic strength, which was not burdened by authoritarian rule, to confront the USSR – carrying all the burdens and rot associated with that alternative to rights-respecting governance – with the reality that they would not prevail over us and it was a waste of their time and resources to try.
That included trillions in American spending that, among other things, put Minuteman missile silos all around my uncles’ farms in western Missouri, putting them in the bulls-eye as a deterrent that likely kept the Russians from putting you under their thumb, as well.
Ukraine’s Propaganda War: International PR Firms, DC Lobbyists and CIA Cutouts
Dan Cohen reveals the network of foreign strategists, Washington DC lobbyists, and intelligence-linked media outlets behind Ukraine’s public relations blitz.
by Dan Cohen
https://www.mintpressnews.com/ukraine-propaganda-war-international-pr-firms-dc-lobbyists-cia-cutouts/280012/
Intel Slava:
The American right-wing portal Mintpress.com did an impressive homework and described in sufficient detail how the system of strategic Ukrainian propaganda works at the present stage. Traditionally, let’s turn to the cards:
1️⃣ The Ukrainian propaganda campaign is exceptionally well prepared. Key “partner media” in different countries of the world (mainly Western Europe and Russian-language media of the left spectrum) receive in real time the necessary and very detailed information on how to cover various events in Ukraine. For example, the blocking of the Zaporozhye and Chernobyl nuclear power plants, calls for the establishment of a NATO no-fly zone over Ukraine, and so on.
2️⃣ Ukraine, with the help of foreign consultants, has built an effective network of foreign peer-agencies that actively contribute to the promotion of properly prepared messages into the information space.
3️⃣ The main operator of the information campaign in support of Ukraine is the London-based PR Network agency (4 Old Park Lane London United Kingdom W1K 1QW, phone +44 0203 137 6605, if anything – call), which acts as an integrator of the chain of boutique PR agencies and is closely related with the British regulator in the field of communications UK Government Communication Service Strategy and Evaluation Council, as well as with the international network of independent peer-agencies ICCO Worldwide (separate greetings, by the way, to Andrey Barannikov, SPN and Elena Fadeeva Fleishman-Hillard Vanguard, longtime partners of ICCO).
4️⃣ The key financial operator of Ukrainian strategic communications (psychological operations, GR, propaganda, interaction with international media) is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
5️⃣ An important element of the Ukrainian information campaign is the site Ukraine.ua, which is headed by a certain Yaroslav Turbil, who, according to the author of the material, is associated with American intelligence;
6️⃣ An important element of strategic communications to a Western audience from Ukraine are memes, in which Nazi symbols are present in abundance (examples are given in the material).
7️⃣ For orientation, foreign media journalists are sent guidelines on the use of the correct terms in communications and the correct angle of coverage of events. Relevant information are updated daily.
8️⃣ NATO is actively using its bot farms to spread propaganda messages through FB. The campaign itself is actively funded by the governments of Great Britain, the Czech Republic, George Soros’ Open Society and the US National Endowment for Democracy (NED). Support is also provided through USAID.
9️⃣ Among the resources used by Ukrainian PR agencies, the author of the article names Meduza, Novaya Gazeta, Dozhd, BBC, Current Time.
? US lobbying firms such as SKDKnickerbocker and Yorktown Solutions, Your Global Strategy are also heavily involved in the campaign. The campaign is also supported by specialists from Edelman, the largest global advertising agency. In total, as noted in the material, about 150 communication and lobbying structures are working on the information campaign. To support this information operation, they dedicate entire teams within their agencies.
Intel Slava: “The Russian Defense Ministry declares that by the morning of March 24, full control over Izyum has been established. Which implies that over the past day, ukrov were squeezed out of the southern part of Izyum.”
“Destroyed and captured Ukrainian equipment plus photos of soldiers participating in the liberation of Donbass.”
https://t.me/intelslava/23322
Questioner is so funny.
He told us on March 21 that the Azov’s last stand was wiped out. But, Russia still controls only about 10% of Mariupol today, 3 days later. Something, Questioner has acknowledged in his subsequent posts about Mariupol. Will Mariupol fall? Probably, its been surrounded for at least two weeks.
Questioner also said: “Ukraine is experiencing its Stalingrad.” See, I don’t think that means what you think it means. In Stalingrad, the defenders, pressed up against the Volga continued fighting, grinding the attacking Germans up. Germany lost because they committed so many troops to the meat grinder of Stalingrad. Mariupol may be like Stalingrad, but in the same sense: the invading Russians are being ground up.
Questioner also said Azov was preventing people from leaving, and that the defenders should simply surrender. There is one very simple reason why they will not surrender: They remember 2014. In 2014, Russia agreed to allow Ukrainian forces to leave the occupied Donbass through “humanitarian corridors”. Then when the Ukrainians were leaving they attacked the Ukrainians. Ukrainians know the Russian “word” means nothing.
But keep telling us how Russia is winning, while ships are sinking in Berdeyansk, and Russia’s forces on both sides of Kiev are cut off from resupply, Russia losing ground near Kherson and Kharkiv, and Russian bodies are being shipped home in bags.
Gonzola Lira: “Why Western Elites Are Stupid, Blind and Amoral”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msS7akeIUeM
P. Mo.: Here are some infos to situation Mariupol.
“Battle of Donbass Intensifies, Russia Advances South from Izyum, NATO in ‘Sober Mood'”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PsEeRAbXoE
Cleansing Mariupol: exclusive footage of Russian Marines
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96qzH65sGF4
Intel Slava: The mayor of Kupyansk turned to Volodymyr Zelensky and said that he would consider him guilty if something happened to his child. According to the mayor, the SBU kidnapped her daughter and threatened to kill her.
The reason why the SBU is terrorizing the mayor is that Kupyansk came under the control of the RF Armed Forces without a fight.
https://t.me/intelslava/23375
Questioner foolishly wrote: “The American way to make the world happier and more equal (don’t these goals sound kinda communist?): wars, wars, wars, killing millions, destroying nations and cultures. The USA is the most aggressive and militaristic (and most hypocritical) country that has ever existed on earth.” Then linked to a list of wars that we were involved in, as though we aggressively started WWI and WWII. Being asked by the UN to help in other wars also makes us the aggressor.
Wow.
Can the U.S. ever come out as the good guy or is the world so biased that our generosity and sacrifice will always make us look like the bad guy?
Apparently, a friend in need is evil indeed.
If someone has to redefine the word “aggressor” in order to make his point, then maybe he is wrong. Is America perfect? We’re still working on it, as the Constitution’s Preamble tells us to. Is any other country perfect? Questioner’s most certainly is, because it hasn’t started any wars since the last two world wars (and one or two in-between), after it was kicked in the nards by the U.S. and some others.
Is free market capitalism the best system in the world so far? It did allow a (literally) backwoods village grow, in three hundred years, into a nation strong enough to save the world from two world wars. No other system did that. In fact, historically, the other systems have started a whole lot of the wars of the world.
American exceptionalism: freedom and prosperity. Authoritarian systems: war, slavery, and misery.
From Jester Naybor: “Do different cultures need different political systems?”
Yes. Aggressive cultures don’t do well under free political systems.