[FDD] Putin is not crazy and the Russian invasion is not failing. The West’s delusions about this war – and its failure to understand the enemy – will prevent it from saving Ukraine.
#1
If you believe that in this world you eventually need to make friends and influence people, it failed. Making yourself the next North Korea is not something to define as 'victory'.
#3
"Believing Russia’s assault is going poorly may make us feel better but is at odds with the facts. We cannot help Ukraine if we cannot be honest about its predicament."
Denial is a bitch
Posted by: Jeang Scourge of the Faith4171 ||
03/05/2022 8:26 Comments ||
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#4
Why aren't we hearing or reading this kind of sober and intelligent analysis anywhere else?
What matters more than a handful of setbacks is that Russian forces have pushed 70 miles into contested terrain in less than a week and are on the outskirts of the capital.
This is not a sign of a disorganized, poorly assembled, and failed offensive.
#7
The Russians are caught in an insurgency of 40 million people. The many thousands of guided At, AT rockets, MANDPADs and small arms are only beginning to filter to Ukrainian forces. When the invasion began, Ukraine had just 77 Javelins. Hundreds more Javelins and 10,000+ other AT rockets will be in the field with thousnads more streaming in. Same for MANPADs. An ambush behind every blade of grass.
#8
What evidence is there that Pooty planned on taking Kyiv in two days? None. Roggio's bang on target with his analysis. Everyone should read this and start thinking with a clear mind instead of just grabbing onto rainbow-coloured unicorns
PUTIN IS NOT CRAZY AND THE RUSSIAN INVASION IS NOT FAILING. THE WEST’S DELUSIONS ABOUT THIS WAR – AND ITS FAILURE TO UNDERSTAND THE ENEMY – WILL PREVENT IT FROM SAVING UKRAINE
Bill Roggio
Senior Fellow and Editor of FDD's Long War Journal
Wishful thinking has the upper hand in the battle to shape Western perceptions of the war in Ukraine.
Sympathy for the outnumbered and outgunned defenders of Kyiv has led to the exaggeration of Russian setbacks, misunderstanding of Russian strategy, and even baseless claims from amateur psychoanalysts that Putin has lost his mind.
A more sober analysis shows that Russia may have sought a knockout blow, but always had well-laid plans for follow-on assaults if its initial moves proved insufficient.
The world has underestimated Putin before and those mistakes have led, in part, to this tragedy in Ukraine.
We must be clear-eyed now that the war is underway.
Yet even the professionals at the Pentagon are letting sympathy cloud their judgement.
Just two days into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, U.S. Department of Defense briefers were quick to claim that failing to take Kyiv in the opening days of the war amounted to a serious setback.
DoD briefers implied that Russia’s offensive was well behind schedule or had even failed because the capital had not fallen.
But U.S. leaders should have learned to restrain their hopes after their catastrophic withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Once again, U.S. and Western officials are falling into the trap of failing to understand the enemy and his objectives.
Never happens to us, no sir
Allegedly, Putin believed that the Ukrainian government would collapse once Russian troops crossed the frontier and pushed to Kyiv, and that the operation has failed because the Ukrainian government remains in place.
Putin certainly hoped for a swift victory, but he clearly was not relying on his opening salvo as the only plan for success.
Rather, the Russian military was prepared to take the country by force if a swift decapitation strike fell short.
This kind of plan should be familiar to Americans who remember the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Ah how quickly we forget. Attention span of a gnat, we have
In the first hours of the war, the U.S. Air Force launched its ‘shock and awe’ campaign in an attempt to kill Saddam Hussein and other key leaders and bring down the government. Saddam survived, but the U.S. military was fully prepared to follow up with a ground assault.
And the US military threw down not just tonnes of ordnance but about 4x as many troops at SH as Pooty has put, cautiously, carefully, into strategic positions
A look at the Russian military offensive demonstrates there was a plan for a full-scale invasion, which Russia is now executing.
Conventional, mechanized warfare is a time and resource consuming enterprise, and an operation of this scope isn’t cobbled together in days.
The Russian offensive is taking place on four separate fronts. On a fifth front, in eastern Ukraine, which Putin declared independent last week, Russian forces are tying down Ukrainian troops that are needed elsewhere.
Wow. Imagine that. Actual analysis in the western media of the order of battle and the correlation of forces. Someone arrest this man!
#9
Paid by the word, Comrade? Two days. And the assassination of Zelenskyy went so well.
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/05/2022 9:03 Comments ||
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#10
I don't think that's a "comrade." He's following one of our best and most honest defense analysts, Bill Roggio. Here's Roggio's Twitter feed - you should read it
@billroggio
Posted by: Big Lover of the Danes9975 ||
03/05/2022 9:21 Comments ||
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#11
I read Roggio, and I often agree. I don't on this, and that doesn't make me wrong. Two days and a quick decapitation of Uke's government was the plan, not a slow crushing encirclement that allowed world sentiment to build against Russia and the Soviet reconstruction. It's been FUBAR'd
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/05/2022 9:44 Comments ||
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#13
Got tired of Reggio early in the Afghan war. His pieces usually revolve on errors of the US military or US soldiers committing war crimes. In my book he is US hater.
In this current piece again he states the obvious to most readers of Rantburg, Ukraine is doomed. Still he takes shots at the US military. Of which he has opinion not facts of what they are planning.
#14
Think how much the rest of the world and the left (I repeat myself) would hate the US if we were always competent and didn't take half measures.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
03/05/2022 9:56 Comments ||
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#15
The bulk of the Ukranian Army was and still is neutralized for the whole time of the invasion because they engaged in a delusion that they were Going To Take The Donbass Back.
#16
If you believe that in this world you eventually need to make friends and influence people, it failed. Making yourself the next North Korea is not something to define as 'victory'.
He can't be failing if we in the west are still giving him a billion dollars a day.
#18
Possibly President Putin did start with a two-stage military plan if the blitzkrieg didn’t work. But he clearly hadn’t planned for the world-wide convulsion that’s opened an economic front that will have ripples long after this is over.
We were in Prague’s Old Town Square in 1991 when the Czechs expected Soviet/Russian tanks to come over the border. I don’t remember what triggered it, now, but the mood of the crowd was quiet mourning for temporary freedoms they were not strong enough to fight for when there was no hope that anyone would come to their aid. At any rate, the tanks did not come, and when Slovakian politicians grandstanded about splitting off, Vaclav Havel shocked them by dividing the assets and sending them on their way to bucolic obscurity.
So it is understandable that Russia expected the world to stand by again.
#20
Putin calculated the world would continue buying his oil. “Crazy” right.
I read he has been stocking different currency and gold. Crazy.
Germans still buying Russian oil? Crazy.
BTW. What is Germany doing about the invasion other than virtue signaling NS2?
#22
Thank you TW.
I was speaking to economic and military actions to dissuade Russian from sacking Ukraine.
As far as German plans to oil purchases it looks as if the they are planning the same as before.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
03/05/2022 11:39 Comments ||
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#24
xyz
You can't stop importing 50% of your gas needs and 30% of your oil needs over night.
Germany is making contingency plans for living without any gas and oil imports from Russia next fall.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
03/05/2022 11:45 Comments ||
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#25
Um. Next fall? 2023?
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
03/05/2022 11:51 Comments ||
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#26
Unless the ships are owned by Russia, all shipping in the north Black Sea has stopped. Very little is going on in the Baltic as well. Russia pumps 3.3bbl per day and most of it isn't getting picked up. They can store 80bbl of oil. Once they hit maximum storage, they have to halt production. It then takes a long time to bring the wells back online.
If the crisis happens past that point, it will take years for Russian oil to be back in full production. Along with potash shortages as a lot comes from Russia, wheat shortages, etc., the Arab Spring that happened when Russia restricted wheat exports will look like a sunday school outing compared to what is coming at the end of this year.
#30
The blitzkrieg it ain't. Shock and awe it ain't. Putin is showing us that the bear is just as clumsy as ever. Maybe he's trying to minimize casualties but it's looking like Kiev will become the next Grozny. Hard to believe that Putin planned to become the successor to Kim Jong-un so a miscalculation seems to be more likely. That's why I don't trust him any more than I trust Brandon. The generals on both sides are bumbling fools and we have no real statesmen anywhere who could devise a diplomatic solution. Scary.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
03/05/2022 14:05 Comments ||
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#31
Most of the US armaments are unproven and over-priced junk. Especially Javelin. Just part of the plan to keep the MICC well fed. I doubt any of the Ukranian units have any idea how to use these weapons. So they are passing out Molotov cocktails to civilians instead. The cia is run by idiots and many of this weapons will be returned with vengeance to the idiot senders in the incoming years.
#32
^^^^^
If the above is any indication, we have been relegated to troll-team C level players . The Econ guy yesterday was a far higher caliber. This guy is right above “sea of rife”. And “running dog yankee imperialist “ script reading.
#36
Russian supply to the front is very dependent on trains.
The stupid Belarus had most of its freight cars inside Ukraine when the attack happened. So Ukraine blocked in 4000+ rail cars.
Trains are kind of useless without rail cars.
#37
Most of the US armaments are unproven and over-priced junk.
Pricey ain't the same as over-priced. As for proven, pay a visit to White Sands, if you can get the clearance.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
03/05/2022 16:25 Comments ||
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#38
Troll hourly rates after standard 13 hr workday go to 1.00025/hr. Russia doesn't want to pay the Premium
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/05/2022 18:00 Comments ||
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#39
Will you please stop screaming "Troll!" every time anyone says this is not our problem, not worth setting off World War III over?
So now the big story is about "furious Zelensky" and his angry rant that, if we don't set off WWIII, we've "given the green light to the bombing of Ukraine."
The Ukrainian president slammed NATO for refusing to impose a no-fly zone, saying, "All the people who die from this day forward will also die because of you, because of your weakness.”
Wrong. Tragic yes but this is Not.our.fucking.problem.
Stop beating the war drums for a minute and use some common sense for once. How many damned stupid wars do you have to drag us into before you get it through your heads? This is NOT OUR WAR.
Signed,
An American who's sick of your fucking endless wars in shitholes that have nothing to do with our security or freedom
If you can't stop the tail wagging the dog then put down the old bitch before it sets off WWIII
Posted by: Large Spawn of the Boskonians8238 ||
03/05/2022 19:29 Comments ||
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#41
Will you please stop screaming "Troll!" every time anyone says this is not our problem, not worth setting off World War III over?
I think it's not worth losing a single American soldier over. I also agree we should arm the f*ck out of the Ukranians to put the hurt on the Russian aggression. That doesn't make pro-Russian propaganda tools that have been blasting the site any less assholes
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/05/2022 19:34 Comments ||
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#42
"FuckNeocons" is right. What does any of this have to do with us?
@Frank G: You realize that your "ally" - this little person and his little country - are actually NOT America's ally, no matter what neocon senators say. This guy we've never heard of in a shitty little country that 99% of our Congresscritters couldn't find in a map is literally asking us to go to war against Russia.
A no-fly zone means war with Russia. This is becoming INSANE.
Why is anyone arguing for this? Are you out of your mind?
Why the fuck are we involved in this? You're killing our economy and now you're risking setting off a war with Russia.
[WND] The hypocrisy and sanctimony playing out over the corporate media outlets about Putin's savagery is galling. For example, on Feb. 28, Sean Hannity proclaimed that a murdering thug of a leader who invades a sovereign country and kills innocent people needs to know that he will be forthrightly removed. Mark Esper, Trump's defense secretary, concurred. "For the sake of what is decent in the world," seconded Sen. Ben Cardin, a Democrat, Putin must be taken out.
Putin is savage all right, and his is a war of aggression. But how dare we?!
#3
"If a wider war breaks out in Europe, should the U.S. military be involved?"
Under $30K income: 37% Yes, 63% No
== refuse to get killed or send their sons to be killed in Biden criminal family's war
Over $200K income: 66% Yes, 34% No
== also refuse to send sons to get killed but love to signal virtue by sending other people's sons to die for Biden criminal family
#5
Fuck those neocon warmongers
Let them go fight their next war with their own money and spill their own blood
Posted by: Oscar Omairt2428 ||
03/05/2022 7:59 Comments ||
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#6
About the only land we've acquired in the 20th Century have been places to bury our dead while fighting for other people. When we've been told to get lost, we have (France, Philippines).
#7
^ Well the 21st century's gone much better. We have Afghanistan - oh wait. Um, maybe Iraq? No? Ok, then Syria? Libya?
We know why the Biden family and neocons like Miss Lindsey and Mistress Nuland see Ukraine as a good business. But why is going to war for Ukraine any of America's business?
Posted by: Andy Borgia9377 ||
03/05/2022 8:18 Comments ||
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#8
/\ Yes! They turn over their own lands to the communists, then come here..... then hate us !
#9
What I want to ask is when Pakistain sponsors, enables, supplements the real savagery, actions that take Americanlives [not Ukranian or Congolese or Lithuanian or whatever] where are these sanctimonious poseurs then? Do they advocate carpet bombing the A-Pak border, or MOABing Quetta? Do they drag out the generals and commanders of the Pak forces who openly collude with America's enemies, and hanging 'em like Saddam?
Ok, screw that, maybe the real Area 51 is in fcukin' Rawalpindi that's why it's such a precious thingy. There's still hundreds of ISIS fighters in prisons awaiting probably some form of moslem trial; people who burnt, raped, plundered, beheaded noncoms, all on teevee just to mock the world's masculinity [or lack thereof]. Does the geneva convention apply to them? I don't think so, could they be liquidated without much hoopla? Certainly.
So why is Putin the most vicious, savage and fearful thing which will make these otherwise very convention worshiping people draw so outside the lines? Is he an Ossama? Nope. Are the Ossamas still Ossamas? Yupp.
Color me reactive, but hypocrisy like this is so infuriating.
I’m not a lawyer, but it is my understanding that as irregular fighters not wearing the uniform of a nation that signed the Geneva Accords, the rules explicitly do not apply to them.
The Democrats have been screaming about Russia for political advantage since the 2016 election. This time it got real.
It has nothing to do with Neocons, it seems to me, who are a spent force that did not survive President Obama, friendless since a number of them loudly became NeverTrumpers who pushed voting Democrat in the last election. Unless you mean Neocon as code for Joooos, Jiggs Spelet2829, in which case there is nothing more to say.
#12
Very well said, TW. There's a huge volume of cascading 'unforeseen' consequences of handing out Infantry weapons to everybody who shows up at the local MacDonald's.
#13
Lindsey Graham is the Queen of neocons. He's not Jewish.
Neocons want to intervene militarily all over the world, without thinking through the consequences. They have botched four interventions in 20 years. We need to resist Miss Lindsey and her comrades
#14
Funny thing, when I first visited Rantburg t'was because some wise guy at reddit told me to 'well if yer so smart go talk some sense into those neocons over at rantburg.com'
#16
We've had our share of John McCain-lites here. Miss Lindsay is just the same
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/05/2022 9:46 Comments ||
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#17
I think you really have to take Churchill's dictum to heart, and expand on it. To paraphrase: "Any young man who isn't excited by the possibility of war has no heart. Any older man who isn't turned off by the idea of war has no soul."
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
03/05/2022 9:50 Comments ||
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#18
Lindsey Graham is the Queen of neocons. He's not Jewish.
Fair enough, Omeck Sninens7511. I’m very pleased to withdraw my objection.
Dron, at one point I considered myself a neocon. Before that a classical liberal. The thing is, American-style classical liberals are called conservative, so here I stand. Your redditters are just a little behind the times. ;-) Tell ‘em thanks for sending you.
There's a huge volume of cascading 'unforeseen' consequences
Those are the words I was reaching for. Thank you, Cesare.
#24
Neocons want to intervene militarily all over the world, without thinking through the consequences. They have botched four interventions in 20 years. We need to resist Miss Lindsey and her comrades
That's why Jeb Bush got his ass kicked in 2016. Please don't ask me to explain Brandon. I can't.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
03/05/2022 14:13 Comments ||
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#25
Dron is perfectly correct about Pakistain. But don't forget China.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
03/05/2022 14:16 Comments ||
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#26
Question: What's the difference between Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping?
Answer: Xi Jinping has been very effective at bribing our corporate and political elites.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
03/05/2022 14:22 Comments ||
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BLUF:
[Townhall] The good news is that Putin has likely already lost the war politically, no matter if he finally subdues Ukraine. Much of human satisfaction or grievance arises from the mismatch of reality with expectations. In this case, the capable Russian military was expected to quickly overpower the much weaker Ukrainian military and territorial defense forces and likely decapitate the Ukrainian government. The Russians may eventually do both, but the operative word here is "quickly" and that did not happen. Days into the invasion, Russian forces have been slowed by more fierce Ukrainian resistance than expected. Also, the vaunted Russian military was not able to rapidly establish air superiority over the battlefield; has not seemingly been able to fight at night; has lost many armored vehicles because its conscripts won’t get out of the vehicles to suppress Ukrainians with shoulder-fired anti-armor missiles; has pursued an overly complicated battle plan of attacking on many fronts, each one of which requires fire support from the ground and air and a separate logistics train; and has had logistical troubles, with stalled vehicles that ran out of fuel or broke down, seemingly because the Russians expected a speedy victory and failed to bring enough supplies.
Thus, Russia’s (at least initially) unexpected subpar military performance and Ukraine’s equally surprising scrappy underdog resistance has elated Ukrainians and the world and made the defenders fight harder, while reportedly infuriating Putin.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[VOENNOEDELO] Russia continues to conduct a special military operation in Ukraine. Experts voice their assessments of the current situation and the successes of the Russian army. Military observer, reserve colonel Mikhail Khodarenok believes that the headquarters of the Russian Armed Forces underestimated the resistance forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
According to the expert, the Ukrainian military is putting up fierce resistance. There was no mass surrender. Also of concern are the supply of weapons from Western countries. Ammunition and weapons enter the territory of Ukraine through the borders of Hungary and Slovakia, and even such countries as Finland will join in the provision of military assistance.
Khodarenor, whose opinion is quoted by SM-News news agency , noted another alarming moment in the current situation. It lies in the attempts of NATO member countries to revive the air force of Ukraine. Europe is ready to transfer about 70 military aircraft to the Ukrainian military, most of which are Soviet-made fighters that remained in Eastern Europe after the collapse of the USSR.
The editors of the publication "Military Affairs" continues to closely monitor further developments and emerging information.
Recall that on February 21, Russia recognized the sovereignty of the LDNR. This was done after Ukraine again began intensive shelling of settlements in Donbass. The leadership of the republics decided to evacuate civilians to neighboring regions of Russia and requested emergency assistance from Moscow.
On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special operation to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine. It should be noted that the war in Donbass has been going on for 8 years. It began after the Luhansk and Donetsk regions of Ukraine refused to recognize the legitimacy of the new government that came to power after the coup in Kyiv.
#5
Putin overestimated the skill of his forces. It's on practical display everyday and the 'others' are watching. Fixing it will not be easy or fast or cheap. How much time does he have with us even in normal human life span?
Don't get cocky either, the Bolsheviks are doing the same thing to the American military, political reliability vs technical competence.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[REGNUM] The Patriot media holding asks its partners and all those who are not indifferent to conveying truthful information to the reader to post this text.
How it all started
In 2014, these days, a coup took place in Kyiv under Nazi flags and slogans. Since then, for 8 years, the new authorities have been systematically destroying the Russian-speaking population and Russian identity. All this time, rockets and mines were flying at the peaceful cities of the Lugansk and Donetsk regions, which did not agree with Nazi Kiev, and chose the path of independence, killing women, the elderly and children who had grown up without knowing a peaceful life.
Under the shelling of Kyiv, only according to official UN data, about 14 thousand people died, including more than 150 children. Ukrainian authorities used banned weapons such as heavy artillery and mortars. At the same time, the strikes were not carried out on military facilities, but on vital infrastructure: water pipes, sewage treatment plants and residential areas.
According to UN Assistant Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Ursula Muller, Donbass is one of the most mined regions in the world,
Nuclear threats to the world from Zelensky
However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky did not stop there. At the Munich Conference on February 19, he threatened the whole world to acquire nuclear weapons.
"As President, this is the first time I am initiating consultations within the framework of the Budapest Memorandum. Ukraine is doing this for the fourth time. But both Ukraine and I are doing this for the last time,” he said.
"If they do not take place again or, based on their results, concrete decisions are not made on security guarantees for our state, Ukraine will have every right to believe that the Budapest Memorandum does not work." and all of the 1994 package decisions are called into question."
The Budapest Memorandum implied Ukraine's refusal to create its own nuclear potential and the destruction of nuclear weapons inherited from the USSR.
Attack on the territorial integrity of Russia
On the same day, February 19, two rockets fell on the territory of the Tarasovsky district of the Rostov region. And on February 21, a projectile fired from Ukraine destroyed a Russian point of service for border patrols. According to Russian intelligence, these launches were "trial balloons" before a full-fledged operation, during which Kyiv planned to forcibly retake Donbass and invade Crimea.
This is also confirmed by independent sources, and the plan would not stop there. In particular, the former Prime Minister of Ukraine Mykola Azarov said that further, according to the NATO plan, 4 brigades, including an air one, with the possibility of carrying nuclear warheads, were to be deployed in Ukraine. Western troops would appear on the territory of the country literally in 2-3 months, and by the end of the year they could already provoke a conflict with Russia with the use of nuclear weapons, writes Azarov.
Russia decided to restore order in Ukraine in order to avoid the Third World War and an attack on its territory, in addition, a provocation was prepared in Ukraine to destroy the population in the LPR and DPR, and Putin saved hundreds of thousands of lives, Azarov is sure.
To prevent the unfolding of the above situation, on February 24, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the launch of a special operation to establish peace on the territory of Ukraine.
In just a week, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, as well as the army units of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, managed to achieve a significant advance on the territory of Ukraine, liberate several large settlements, block the forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and Nazi formations around the main centers and localize the threat of a breakthrough by the Ukrainian army. The entire development of the operation is based on the desire to save the lives of the civilian population and avoid unnecessary destruction.
Liberation of the DPR
Prior to the start of the operation of the RF Armed Forces in Ukraine, the territory of the Donetsk People's Republic (within the recognized borders) was largely occupied by the Armed Forces of Ukraine and members of Nazi formations. After the active phase of the armed conflict in the Donbass, Ukrainian soldiers captured more than half of the region, and the actually controlled territory of the DPR was only 32% of the entire former Donetsk region of Ukraine.
At the moment, the fulfillment of the goal of liberating the territory of the DPR within the recognized administrative borders is 53%. Since the main forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were located opposite the Donetsk-Gorlovka agglomeration, the DPR army was forced to advance gradually, covering a wide front from north to south. At the same time, the forces of the DPR army managed to break through the enemy’s echeloned defense in the Volnovakha area and reach the recognized borders of the republic.
The main events at the front in the DPR are now unfolding in Mariupol, which is occupied by the forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the neo-Nazi Azov regiment and foreign mercenaries. The DPR army currently surrounded the city from the east, while the main forces of the Russian Federation blocked the exit of Ukrainian formations from the west and north
Liberation of the LPR
Active actions to liberate the territories continue in the Luhansk People's Republic. Prior to the start of the operation of the RF Armed Forces in Ukraine, the LPR forces controlled 41% of the territory of the former Luhansk region of Ukraine. Thanks to the support of the Russian aviation of the LPR army, it was possible to make a massive breakthrough of the defense lines of Ukrainian formations and conduct an offensive operation deep into the front.
The result of the actions of the LPR army and Russian allies was the collapse of the defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in this sector of the front. Having advanced more than 50 kilometers, the army of the republic liberated the settlements of Svatovo and Starobelsk, blocking Ukrainian units in Lisichansk and Severodonetsk. As a result, by March 3, the LPR forces control up to 90 percent of the territory of the republic and are preparing to reach the administrative borders in the north, connecting with the army of the RF Armed Forces near Kupyansk.
Demilitarization of Ukraine
The operation of the armed forces of the Russian Federation that began took the Ukrainian army by surprise, as a result of which the forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine began to suffer huge irretrievable losses. But most importantly, the main grouping of troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the nationalist battalions of the National Guard of Ukraine, which the Kiev authorities were preparing for the forcible capture of the republics of Donbass, was under the threat of complete encirclement. Chained by battles in the areas of the DPR and LPR, as well as near Kharkov, the Ukrainian army was unable to resist the Russian army, which began advancing from five key directions.
After the occupation of Melitopol, the liberation of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant and access to Zaporozhye, the Russian army formed the conditions for getting into the "boiler" of the encirclement of the AFU grouping with a total number of up to 60 thousand soldiers and militants of the National Guard. Given the rapid pace of advancement of Russian troops, in another week we should expect a complete operational encirclement of Ukrainian troops on the right bank of the Dnieper. Thus, the fulfillment of the goal of demilitarizing Ukraine and restoring peace in the Donbass is currently estimated at 50%.
Denazification of Ukraine
The primary goal of the Russian troops on the territory of Ukraine was and remains the denazification of the country - the complete eradication of any neo-Nazi and misanthropic ideology. At the moment, the Russian army has managed to complete an intermediate task - to localize the main units of Ukrainian neo-Nazis around large urban agglomerations, both in the immediate vicinity of the front line (such as Kharkov and Mariupol) and in the Ukrainian rear (attacks on military targets in Kyiv and other cities).
In these agglomerations, Russia continues the gradual destruction of the headquarters and points of permanent deployment of nationalist formations. Strikes against concentrations of nationalists are carried out with the help of the Aerospace Forces of the Russian Federation, as well as with the use of high-precision weapons to prevent civilian casualties. Thus, the completion of the task of denazification of Ukraine is estimated at 60% - the complete eradication of the militants is still far away, however, thanks to the carefully carried out work, the Russian army managed to significantly reduce the personnel of the national battalions and identify the main places of their deployment.
Threat localization
In the early days of the special operation of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, the greatest threat to our country was the military equipment, aviation and fleet of Ukraine, which could theoretically inflict painful blows on the territory of our country. The Russian side managed to deprive Ukrainian criminals of the opportunity to launch a missile and bomb strike on Voronezh, Rostov or Sevastopol - and in the very first hours of the operation.
On February 24, after the announcement of the start of the operation in Ukraine, Russia launched a powerful and unprecedented missile and air strike on military facilities (air defense, military bases, warehouses and command posts) of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. As a result, almost all of the enemy's stationary air defenses, large weapons depots and command posts were destroyed. At the same time, the Black Sea Fleet attacked the naval base in Ochakiv, de facto destroying the Ukrainian navy. By March 3, the Russian Aerospace Forces completely control the skies over Ukraine, and Russian air defense successfully repels the sluggish attempts of Ukrainian missilemen to strike across the state border.
The task is completed - 100 percent.
Destruction of military infrastructure
At the same time, Russia, within the framework of a separate task to destroy the military infrastructure and headquarters of the Ukrainian military, continues its methodical work even now. According to the official representative of the RF Ministry of Defense Igor Konashenkov, during the operation in Ukraine, 1,612 objects of the Ukrainian military infrastructure were hit, including 62 command and control centers and communication centers, 39 air defense anti-aircraft missile systems, as well as 52 radar stations; in addition, 13 aircraft were destroyed in the air and another 49 on the ground. A significant part of the Ukrainian artillery was put out of action, up to 500 armored vehicles and up to 200 tanks. Thus, the strikes of the RF Armed Forces disabled a significant striking power of the Ukrainian regime - more than 70% of the entire military-strategic component.
We will separately touch on the losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to the objective control data of the Russian Defense Ministry, the Ukrainian security forces lost up to 2870 killed and 3700 wounded - these are verified losses, that is, those that were recorded and confirmed. At the same time, the number of unconfirmed losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and national battalions is also growing: according to independent estimates, more than 8,000 Ukrainian militants died or went missing during a week of clashes and in the course of rocket and bomb attacks on headquarters and points of permanent deployment.
[Liberty Sons] High prices on everything from gas to food are hurting Americans’ wallets, but the inflation crisis has been happening for a while. Why is it, then, that CBS is trying to shift the blame for it onto the conflict happening right now in Ukraine?
In a February 22 tweet, CBS News made its case that the "Ukraine crisis" is causing all the troubles in the US economy. Critics were quick to point out the flaw in that logic. The attempt to move the burden of America’s problems failed because people know the Biden administration is the real culprit.
[Babylon Bee] This Lent, devout Catholic Joe Biden has announced that he is giving up coherent speaking for the next 40 days.
It's traditional for Catholics to give up some mortal pleasure during the 40 days preceding Easter, and Biden is no exception to the custom.
"Ffffor -- for the n-next, next 40,000 - excuse me - 40 hundred days, I will be giving up, you know, the thing," he said during his State of the Union address this evening. "The speaking of... of the -- the Eng, English wordle - begyerpardon - English word things, I'm giving all that up, folks. It's done. No more Mr. Coherent Biden Guy."
"I'm done with the word talky-talky, got it, folks?!"
"Go get him!" he concluded to confused, scattered applause.
At publishing time, Nancy Pelosi had announced that she would be giving up insider trading for Lent.
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/05/2022 11:44 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11127 views]
Top|| File under: Tin Hat Dictators, Presidents for Life, & Kleptocrats
#5
In the wood very early one morn,
I once heard a tick watching p-rn:
"Oh, you eight-leggèd freak,"
So I took a quick peek...
And 'twere better I'd never been born.
Posted by: Herman Threart8026 ||
03/05/2022 21:22 Comments ||
Top||
#6
#4 - my bad
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/05/2022 22:51 Comments ||
Top||
[Dawn] A PALL of gloom hangs heavy on Pakistain. Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistain's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire... ’s fragile peace — which was at times tested, but had largely endured for the past few years — was rent asunder yesterday by the indiscriminate slaughter of Shia worshippers gathered for weekly Friday prayers.
As the faithful packed the halls of a mosque in the bustling provincial capital’s Kocha Risaldar area for the congregation, at least one attacker shot his way inside the place of worship before detonating a vest rigged with explosives. At the time this paper went to print, hospital sources had confirmed 57 dead and more than 190 injured.
Condemnations were swift and incident reports hurriedly sought by both the interior minister and the premier. The information minister pointed to a ’larger conspiracy’, while the interior minister saw the hand of elements wanting to destabilise the country and reignite sectarian tensions. Despite what those in power have said or will say, the attack betrayed the national security apparatus’s unpreparedness for what now seems to be a gradually expanding spectrum of terrorist activities.
A string of recent deadly attacks in neighbouring Afghanistan should have prompted at least some concern in national security circles regarding the welfare and protection of minorities, who frequently find themselves on the receiving end of the bestial violence unleashed by terrorist outfits.
This latest attack, though as yet unclaimed, has all the hallmarks of similar attacks in Kandahar and Kunduz in Afghanistan this past October. Both were claimed by the hard boyIslamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... ’s Khorasan chapter, which revels in a virulently anti-Shia ideology. It had earlier been feared that the IS-K’s bloody successes in Afghanistan would inspire similar attempts by sectarian outfits on this side of the border.
There were also other signs of terrorist outfits’ increased focus on minorities residing in Peshawar. In September, a Sikh herbalist who had run a clinic for 20 years in the city was murdered, branded a polytheist by IS-K operatives. In January, a Christian priest returning home from Sunday service was shot full of holes in similar circumstances, and security sources believe IS-K to have been involved.
The two events should have alerted authorities to the heightened danger being faced by minority communities. Instead, as the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government’s spokesperson suggested, the security provided for protection of worshippers who frequented the Kocha Risaldar mosque had only been provided as a ’general rule’. This suggests that there had been no serious escalation in threat perception despite the multiple red flags.
Yesterday’s attack, grave tragedy that it is, also represents a significant setback for those who have been working to change how Pakistain is perceived internationally. There needs to be a rethink of national security policy regarding outfits that target communities for their beliefs, as well as those that enable and encourage them to further their hateful agendas in the name of some misguided ideology.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
03/05/2022 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11125 views]
Top|| File under: Islamic State
If Putin is unhappy, everybody is going to be unhappy.
[Dawn] THE unfortunate timing of Prime Minister Imran Khan ...aka The Great Khan, who is the lightweight's lightweight... ’s visit to Russia received plenty of attention as the Ukraine crisis continued to build. As it turned out, the timing was worse than some had feared — Russia’s invasion of Ukraine started the PM was in Moscow. The main reason behind his visit was to advance the Pakistain Stream Gas Pipeline. This long-delayed multibillion-dollar project aims to transport imported LNG from the southern part of the country to major demand centres in the north.
The irony of the visit is that the project’s delay was partly due to Western sanctions following Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014. Pakistain asked a company previously attached to the project, a subsidiary of the Russian state-owned tech giant Rostec, to be replaced after it came under sanctions. Following the invasion, the pipeline is at severe risk of further delays following the significantly greater sanctions now imposed on Russia.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife ||
03/05/2022 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11124 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
[Scientific Reports] Although titanium dioxide (TiO2) is a suspected human carcinogen when inhaled, fiber-grade TiO2 (nano)particles were demonstrated in synthetic textile fibers of face masks intended for the general public. STEM-EDX analysis on sections of a variety of single use and reusable face masks visualized agglomerated near-spherical TiO2 particles in non-woven fabrics, polyester, polyamide and bi-component fibers. Median sizes of constituent particles ranged from 89 to 184 nm, implying an important fraction of nano-sized particles (< 100 nm). The total TiO2 mass determined by ICP-OES ranged from 791 to 152,345 µg per mask. The estimated TiO2 mass at the fiber surface ranged from 17 to 4394 µg, and systematically exceeded the acceptable exposure level to TiO2 by inhalation (3.6 µg), determined based on a scenario where face masks are worn intensively. No assumptions were made about the likelihood of the release of TiO2 particles itself, since direct measurement of release and inhalation uptake when face masks are worn could not be assessed. The importance of wearing face masks against COVID-19 is unquestionable. Even so, these results urge for in depth research of (nano)technology applications in textiles to avoid possible future consequences caused by a poorly regulated use and to implement regulatory standards phasing out or limiting the amount of TiO2 particles, following the safe-by-design principle.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Nuclear threats to the world from Zelensky
[Babylon Bee] This Lent, devout Catholic Joe Biden has announced that he is giving up coherent speaking for the next 40 days. 
...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistain's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire...
...aka 
