Ukraine 3

[Smokin Joe]

I know, sometimes we get so locked into a position that no matter what we won't budge. I'm all for Ukraine, but I do recognize they have a history of corruption and while I have a great deal of respect for Zelensky's courage at the start of the invasion I am tempering that as I see him posing on magazine covers and his wife not recognizing her symbolic position.

Yeah, if they were professional politicians, they might be more cognizant of optics.

[mountaineer]

https://twitter.com/Ramy_Sawma/status/1604077378778513408

[240B]

Moskow on Fire

It is a trending thing. Putin is deathly afraid that Ukraine will attack HIM.

[sneakypete]

Moskow on Fire

It is a trending thing. Putin is deathly afraid that Ukraine will attack HIM.

@240B

I SERIOUSLY doubt that,but I suspect he is VERY afraid of the Kremlin bosses attacking him. NOBODY  is more afraid of a new ruler than a former ruler in a dictatorship,and by now everybody in the Kremlin know invading Ukraine was a MAJOR brain fart and must be getting nervous about their own safety and/or careers if they keep supporting him and his Ukrainian brain fart.

I suspect he would already be out of office if it weren't for the Kremlin brass that supported the invasion BECAUSE they are Kremlin geezers and never thought the Ukrainians would dare to fight back,never mind for all practical purposes,defeat the Neo-Soviet invasion force and chase some of them back into Russia.

I SUSPECT the senior geezers that aren't senile are only still supporting this brain fart because they can't figure out how to order a retreat and end to the hostilities without losing their own privileged positions and maybe even their pensions.

I don't think anyone can predict the outcome of this situation at the present time. I SUSPECT that  everybody wants it to end by now because a prolonged fight like this is not good for either side,but the Kremlin geezers can't seem to figure out a way they can admit defeat by ending the war,and then be able to maintain their power,positions,and wealth.

Ukraine,of course would LOVE to see the Neo-Soviets declare an end to the invasion and a Neo-Soviet defeat because they KNOW they can never invade Russia and defeat them at home.

I really haven't been paying any attention to the Russian press,so I am asking "Are they doing any actual reporting on what is really happening in Ukraine,and the number of Neo-Soviet troops that are being killed or maimed for life due to the ego of Putin and his followers?

[catfish1957]

https://twitter.com/Ramy_Sawma/status/1604077378778513408

Zellinski and Trudeau with 2 feet of each other.  Where's a basket of rotten fruit when you need it.

[DB]

Zellinski and Trudeau with 2 feet of each other.  Where's a basket of rotten fruit when you need it.

Those are two different video feeds next to each other. They are not physically next to each other.

[bilo]

Yeah, if they were professional politicians, they might be more cognizant of optics.

Melania Trump was not a professional politician and despite the media's best efforts to characterize her in a bad light she was classy and a great symbol to the USA. It can be done.

[Hoodat]

Those are two different video feeds next to each other. They are not physically next to each other.

Never let 'truth' get in the way of parroting Russian propaganda.

[libertybele]

Zellinski and Trudeau with 2 feet of each other.  Where's a basket of rotten fruit when you need it.

 

[Hoodat]

QED.

[Hoodat]

Battle for Bakhmut Is Critical Test of Russia’s Prospects in Ukraine

Russia’s new war commander promised advances in exchange for retreat in the south. Bakhmut in the east is where he is trying to show those gains.

Yaroslav Trofimov  |  Dec. 18, 2022  |  11:51 am ET

BAKHMUT, Ukraine—Russian shells slammed closer and closer as Ludmyla Bondarenko and Zoya Shilkova, clad in fur coats atop layers of clothing, sat on a bench outside their apartment block, chatting and getting some fresh air on a frigid afternoon in what remains of this eastern Ukrainian city.

At an intersection nearby, Ukrainian troops used a crane to emplace concrete slabs, fortifying the neighborhood. Three freshly arrived tanks roared by, blue-and-yellow flags fluttering from their turrets. A distant staccato of machine-gun fire could be heard amid the thumps of artillery.

“We’re so used to it by now, we no longer pay much attention,” Ms. Bondarenko, 76, said as she pointed to a nearby crater left by a Russian shell in the morning. “It’s been going on for months. When is it going to end?”

“It’s probably never going to end,” replied Ms. Shilkova, 75.

Their apartments have had no heating, power or running water for months. The only available food comes from volunteers. “It’s a humanitarian catastrophe. That’s how we live,” Ms. Bondarenko said.  .  .  .

https://www.wsj.com/articles/battle-for-bakhmut-is-critical-test-of-russias-prospects-in-ukraine-11671382297

[Smokin Joe]

Zellinski and Trudeau with 2 feet of each other.  Where's a basket of rotten fruit when you need it.

It's a split screen.

[Smokin Joe]

Melania Trump was not a professional politician and despite the media's best efforts to characterize her in a bad light she was classy and a great symbol to the USA. It can be done.

Yes, it can, but Melania had been in the public eye in high circles for decades.
I get the feeling that is not so for Mrs. Zelensky.

[catfish1957]

It's a split screen.

Damn it.

[bilo]

Yes, it can, but Melania had been in the public eye in high circles for decades.
I get the feeling that is not so for Mrs. Zelensky.

You are more gracious than I am.

It seems to me that a great many Ukrainians are suffering terribly from the Russian invasion as well as Ukrainian soldiers paying the ultimate price. In light of that appearing to live the "high life" is stupid.

[DB]

You are more gracious than I am.

It seems to me that a great many Ukrainians are suffering terribly from the Russian invasion as well as Ukrainian soldiers paying the ultimate price. In light of that appearing to live the "high life" is stupid.

We don't even know if this "report" is true.

[Hoodat]

We don't even know if this "report" is true.

You got that right.  You would think that some papparazi would have snapped a photo of her exiting some high-end Parisian shop.  Yet no such photo exists.  No eyewitness quote, nor a hearsay quote.  Only the 'claim' of a second hand account of an anonymous store employee.

[libertybele]

We don't even know if this "report" is true.

Shamefully true.  Who knows anymore what to believe.

[Hoodat]

Is Sundance a reliable source?

[Cyber Liberty]

Is Sundance a reliable source?

I find him reiable.

[Hoodat]

I find him reiable.

I don't.  Been burned too many times on his stories.

[sneakypete]

You got that right.  You would think that some papparazi would have snapped a photo of her exiting some high-end Parisian shop.  Yet no such photo exists.  No eyewitness quote, nor a hearsay quote.  Only the 'claim' of a second hand account of an anonymous store employee.

@Hoodat

HEY! If you can't trust a French salesman who works in a upscale boutique to tell you the truth about what some "rich bitch" did,said,and bought,who CAN you trust?

[Elderberry]

What If Russia’s Partial Mobilization Is Actually A General Mobilization?

https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=53620

In a non-embedable video, the YouTuber formerly know as The Russian Dude announced that he had been called up for military service as part of Putin’s “partial mobilization” to throw more cannon fodder into the Ukrainian meatgrinder. (I’m pretty sure that’s an important decision point in why he’s now known as The Canadian Dude.)

Oddly enough, all his male friends received conscription notices as well.

Commenters have long stated that Putin doesn’t want to declare a General Mobilization, because under Soviet Russian law, that requires an actual declaration of war, something still lacking in Vlad’s Special Military Operation.

Maybe Putin wants to roll the dice on one final spring push for Kiev, putting a million men under arms to launch a massive attack, relying on the Russian doctrine of quantity having a quality of its own to final snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

More at link.

[Hoodat]

Even if they call up 1 million conscripts, they still don't have the means or ability to train or equip them.  The Soviet Doctrine lacks the innovative leadership of mid-level officers.  Which means they lack the ability to train up officers to compete successfully on the battle field.

In the end, 1 million ill-trained and ill-equipped conscripts will follow the orders of generals, charging forth to their deaths, just as they did under the tsars of old.  The shortest life expectancy of all ranks will be lieutenants followed by privates and captains.

[Hoodat]

Russia Has More Artillery Than Ukraine. But Russian Gunners Have A Bad Habit Of Shelling ... Nothing.

David Axe  |  Dec 18, 2022  |  07:06pm EST


A Ukrainian army 2S7 howitzer in action.  UKRAINIAN DEFENSE MINISTRY PHOTO

Despite a deluge of Western support for Ukraine over the 10 months of Russia’s wider war on Ukraine, the Russian army still has more artillery and rocket-launchers than the Ukrainian army has.

But Russian gunners have a bad habit of shelling ... nothing. Or worse, shelling friendly troops.

On paper, the Russian army possesses one of the world’s best artillery fire-control systems. In practice, poorly trained and undisciplined Russian gunners following rigid, outdated doctrine are wasting Russia’s artillery advantage. Firing a lot of shells and rockets without necessarily hitting anything.  .  .  .

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2022/12/18/russia-has-more-artillery-than-ukraine-but-russian-gunners-have-a-bad-habit-of-shelling--nothing/?sh=3f7a8e1aed78

https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1603381171328532481