If it had been true and part of operational plans for the future events it’d have been to be kept in a strict secret.
For the time being DPR is not able to protect her citizens and territory integrity. His private opinion about Strelkov is darn wrong and too brazen in its stupidity and personal malice. Strelkov expressed clearly enough – lack of support from Russian Army aka Supreme Commander of Russian Federation forced him to get back to Donietsk to save what was achieved, in other words, he had to act not to allow to sell Donietsk to Kiev what was in advanced plan and ready to execute.
Something wrong is going on with Mr. Zakharchenko. He lies like hell.
@Joe
Even if this was faulty decision from Strelkov this doesn’t means treason. Come on people. Stop demonizing them. This is what Kiev wants – they want to antagonise us.
I suppose it’s not treason. Strelkov never swore allegiance to anyone as I recall except Vladimir Romanov. Does anyone know of a swearing-in including loyalty to Donetsk? As Minister of Defense, maybe?
However, if Kononov is correct in his analysis, Strelkov left by a negotiated corridor that was inexplicably not fired on. Kiev fire began at the rear of the escaping troops and worked forward. Strelkov was in the front.
I’d like to have been a fly on the wall for this controversy in the ranks. Kononov is candid and forthcoming, Zakharchenko very much not. Kononov (see on Fort Russ) shook off questions about Strelkov more or less on the “if you can’t say anything good about someone, don’t say anything at all” principle but was obviously not happy about it. And in the end, he appears to have carried the day. Perhaps Zakharchenko was forced by the reaction to Kononov’s interview to back him up or throw him.
Zakharchenko was not only there, he was the Military Commander of the DNR, and had planned a breakout assault, which the Ministry of Defense vetoed. Borodai, prime minister at the day, sided with Strelkov. (He’s sorry now.)
(How is your attacking Strelkov serve any good purpose? -This is history, and your persistence in bringing up a one sided version of events only brings discord.
Read Petrovskii responses at http://glav.su/ if you really want to know how Kononov version of events is incorrect. He was there and in the know,- unlike yourself)
Zakharchenko was there at Slavyansk with Strelkov. He knows EXACTLY what happened and how it happened.
How much of it did you personally experience, to know that “His private opinion about Strelkov is darn wrong and too brazen in its stupidity and personal malice.”?
Strelkov many times has stated he was ORDERED TO STAY and he left anyway., afraid to wait. Nobody beside him ever said Donetsk was going to be “sold” so that’s an excuse. He didn’t even go to Donetsk first, he went to Gorlovka where Bezler threw him out.
So now stop trolling stuff you know nothing about.
I know vastly more about it – for example, Strelkov replied to a question of mine personally before, for example – and my opinion is about the same as his. Zakharchenko has visibly lost most of his early spark and nowadays just does what he’s being told, and likely is going to be replaced in the near future by someone even more servile (speculations are going around that it’s going to be either Khodakovsky or Purgin).
Khordakovsky would need a Brigade dedicated to keeping him alive. No one would follow his orders. If he were put into that commander’s role, it would be only to shoot him.
Purgin is a politician, not a military leader. So what does that mean, genius? No more military or your information is childish.
not true. in the Donbass, Khodakovsky (so far) is known as an “Ahmetov man”, which is not a (very) negative classification per se. he would still be tolerated if he were seriously backed from the Kremlin (not like the people have much of a choice, really..). he already has command over the Vostok, largely Oplot, and any field commanders left (in the DNR there isnt really anyone of major importance after Strelkov, Bezler, and Hmuryi were forced out) would have to bow and accept anyway, or they’d end up like Batman or Mozgovoi.
and Purgin is a nobody.
and people have already asked Strelkov. he declines to comment so far.
Strelkov’s never had anything good to say about Zakharchenko — or just about anyone else either. He has a great capacity for feeling betrayed by everyone (from Putin down). Zakharchenko has always said very very little about Slavyansk, and only said anything now because he was asked, on the anniversary.
Why would Zakh be replaced by someone more servile? what are they supposed to be doing that requires servility? they are working on building a working state; I am sure nobody in Moscow wants to micromanage fonts for forms. These replacement rumours are just idle talk for bored minds.
almost all of your points are not true. let me review them one by one:
1) Strelkov did give Zakharchenko credit for bravery and the ability to command in combat on a small scale – a platoon or so. which I wouldn’t dispute either, different from e.g. the Plotnitsky case – that guy is evidently just a fat nomenklatura bureaucrat who couldn’t command his way out of a paper bag, and that’s how he is described by people who saw him at the frontlines (on the few rare occasions that he was there) as well.
however, being a platoon sergeant on the frontlines and leading the people of Donbass into some kind of bright future are two entirely different things. Zakharchenko is visibly quite challenged with the latter, and from his early rhetoric on liberating all of Donbass and going to Kiev he has now deteriorated (along with the Kremlin’s Realpolitik line) to talking about rejoining a “unified Ukraine” under some kind of terms including amnesty etc.
2) Strelkov speaks poorly about many people, not all (for example, he thinks highly of Olchon, Motorola, Murs, Hmuryi, the late Mozgovoi, Aksyonov etc). but I dont know a single case where criticism from his side was entirely unfounded or undeserved. if you can come up with an example, name it.
3) Zakharchenko should have really kept quiet about Slavyansk. his position at the time was again that of a platoon leader, who had very little idea of the general strategic situation. and I rather doubt that Zakharchenko is much better informed now, seeing how he says stuff that’s been conclusively proven wrong a long time ago. on the contrary, the two most informed people – Strelkov and Hmuryi – as well as the vast majority of professional military people I know – are in agreement that the retreat was necessary and well-executed and it was just a question of a few days more or less. Strelkov has already explained it all repeatedly and in exhausting depth, check out e.g. the Goblin interview. there are really no questions left about it, IMO.
4) several reasons, a) he has been injured and has trouble with the injury until today which makes it difficult for him to walk, b) he is probably still a bit too spunky and his rhetoric occasionally too aggressive for the current Kremlin line. someone like Khodakovsky would work much better for negotiating peace terms with the junta. and you are very much mistaken if you believe they are trying to build a working state in DNR-LNR. they aren’t.
Zakharchenko was appointed Military Commander of the DNR on May 16th by the Supreme Council immediately after it was formed on May 16th.
He was never a platoon leader. He led more than a platoon in the anti-Maidan.
The 58 men Strelkov brought with him from Crimea, on the other hand, were the most he had ever directly commanded in his entire life in any capacity, and their theatrical storming of the empty police station was the military highpoint.
There’s an interview with Chalenko floating around which you should check out. He is cross-examined on what exactly he has done and finally was backed into admitting “I was not military. I was intelligence.”
You are way out of date on Motorola. In Givi’s denunciation of Strelkov back in October (?) which should still be findable on YouTube (although Kazzura pulled it and edited it a lot) Givi says Kononov and Zakharchenko are great men, he will follow them to the end, and he speaks for Motorola too.
“Strelkov did give Zakharchenko credit for bravery and the ability to command in combat on a small scale – a platoon or so.”
===================
So when did you first hear about this conflict? Last week?
Strelkov never having commanded in combat himself, he is hardly one to look to for an opinion. Mind you, “platoon commander” is higher than he ever got in the military. It is claimed by his camp followers that he was second in command of a platoon. It is possible, but not certain, that he had higher rank in the FSB for his specialty, ‘enhanced interrogation’ of captive civilians. It is also possible that it’s a matter of “I’m not a doctor, but I play one on TV.” “Colonel Strelkov” was a false identity that the FSB printed up for Strelkov on one of his missions in Chechnya.
How do you account for Strelkov’s promoting Zakharchenko to major and awarding him the St. George Cross? Not the brightest command decision to give this to someone with the talent and achievements of a platoon leader, wouldn’t you say?
Strelkov is busily trying to rewrite the history of the civil war to cover up his inglorious part in it, but too many people know the truth about him. Also, he confesses when the camera is off; flatter him while you interview him and he’ll tell you everything. His latest revelation is that the reason he never had military education or training was that he was found “unfit to serve” when he registered for the draft, so military schools wouldn’t admit him.
Four people in Crimea planned the seizure of power in Donbass: Girkin, Borodai, Malofeev (the money) and Boris Rozhin, a newpaper editor who created the propaganda web.
Girkin’s network includes Rozhin’s own blog, Colonel Cassad, Kazzura, Voice of Sevastopol and about a dozen other outlets.
Petrovsky is somebody’s mole in the Strelkov camp: maybe Zakh’s, maybe the Kremlin’s.
Myth ? Strelkov was the military leader that tried to save Novorossia, no ? Apparently the dream of sovereignity is over now. Not that it’s my business, it’s just sad watching it.
Strelkov was an unemployed security guard with a past in black ops in Chechnya, who thought Russia was going to invade Ukraine and he would make a name for himself if he could be there when they arrived wearing some kind of title.
He laughs about how gullible people are in interviews with his intimates. (He forgets he’s on the record. A little flattery helps.) He says “I am Colonel Strelkov. I am a Russian. This is my fifth war.” Notice he does not say he is a Russian army colonel or that he has ever led troops on the battlefield. He feels it is not his duty to correct you if you make false assumptions.
I don’t like it, but I am not the one who decides which compromise is acceptable while still serves the main goal of denazification of Ukraine. I am just trying to understand and guess what will happen next.
Khodakovsky owes Zakh his life; he probably wouldn’t accept.
When Khodakovsky was trapped on the roof of the airport by the Ukrainian air force, Borodai sent in Abwehr to reinforce him but just wound up with more people trapped. Then he screamed for help to Zakh and Oplot, and told Zakh “However you see a way to do it, just GET HIM OUT!”
Borodai was concerned with Khodakovsky personally. I still wonder why. I’m pretty sure Borodai is a retired senior FSB officer — if independent, he’s an FSB asset.
Where did you get this version of events at the airport? I understand Russian, so a Russian language source is fine, if you could provide.
I am curious, because both Khodakovsky and Zakharchenko recount those events differently. Khodakovsky does owe Zakharchenko his life, and not just Khodakovsky, probably Borodai as well as all their fighters who were nearly trapped at the airport then.
According to Zakharchenko, he realised something went horribly wrong with that operation when he saw Ukrainian military planes coming in towards the airport, phoned Khodakovsky and asked what was going on and how he could help. Khodakovsky replied that they were almost encircled there by the Ukrainian troops and if Zakharchenko could get there on time and stop the encirclement closing, then that would help. Zakharchenko rushed to the airport with a small group of his people, while also calling a rota of his Oplot for help. He got there in the nick of time and was able to organise 20 or 30 of the retreating disorientated fighters into a small fighting force, with which he held the Ukrainian forces off until his Oplot reinforcement arrived.
Later that day Khodakovsky was asking commanders of various militia units to come to him, so as to coordinate the action of their respective units. However, only Zakharchenko came to him (with a couple of his subordinates), and they stayed together until late into that night, before being able to get out.
I read your comment on August 19th. I will look for you on the blog and repeat this, but my source for this version of the airport rescue is an interview in Zavtra magazine where past editor Borodai and current editor Prokhanov have a wide-ranging chat.
Searching the names in Cyrillic script will find it.
And what was YOUR source? Russian is all right, I speak Yandex.
Zavtra is a great source, btw. A centre for the Tsarist movement, it is home for many of the DNR principals, and they let their hair down. It also contributes that Prokhanov, through cunning or a slavish disposition, I don’t know which, smothers his interviewees with flattery and adulation, to which Strelkov himself is extraordinarily susceptible. It was here that Strelkov, in an interview with Prokhanov, made his well-circulated claim to have been personally responsible for the war and that without him everyone would have gone home and watched on TV. In another interview he relates that (under an unnamed commander) OPLOT took out a checkpoint with 50 UAF casualties to one.
Thanks so much for the link to this interview. I like Evgeny a lot, he explains things in so didactic manner…
I did not know that the Russian Constitution was such a trap. It is clear that, like we suffered here in Spain during the so called “democratic transition”, the constitution was written/reformed to ensure that occult powers were following handling everything from racks.
So, as we the Spanish people have awakened to this reality, it gets clear for the Russian people too, that a Constitutional process is necessary which bring us sovereignity again.
This interview also helps us keep faith in comrade V.V.Putin. God bless him and the NOD.
Health and strenght, tovarischi!
Would like to be there to help you.
The “very last” thing that Novorossia needs right now is disunity.Whatever disagreements they have between each other,”suck them up”.And stop this stupidity of trashing each other.The only ones this helps is the junta and enemies of Novorossia.That is a discussion for after the war,and then by military historians.Right now having the junta shelling you everyday.And plotting to attack and destroy you is what matters.I didn’t see in that video any “attacks” on anybody.He mentioned his opinion and that was all.The important parts of the video was where he said all the former Oblast of Donetsk was their territory,occupied or not.And where he said they would be freed and the criminals oppressing the people in the occupied areas punished.
A little bit of advice, “Anonymous”. When you start out a comment with a personal insult directed towards the person you “want” a response from, that tells the moderators here that your comment is intended for insulting purposes and is in need of editing. You know the commenting rules here and the penalty for breaking them.
It seems to me that requiring the registration and use of a username would go a long way toward a solution to this problem.
That said, I have posted expressions of sincerely-held beliefs that I know go against deeply-held beliefs of Saker and they were allowed, so it would seem that one would have to go a long way down the road of unpleasantness to have his post disallowed. The cloak of anonymity, I think, just encourages that sort of behavior.
I’m a regular poster here who always posts with a handle except when I make an error. Now no one can tell who I am (although they can guess), and Blunk is a name, but still anonymous. Perhaps moderators could determine who I regularly post as by ISP, but even that is definitive since ISP covers a range of people using the web.
Posters can just pull a unique name out a hat and use it regularly, and they are no longer ‘anonymous’ but still no more trackable than before. We Martians do it all the time, as little children who go forth.
I remember when the supporters of Novorossiya or the Kremlin argued that internal problems would cause the collapse of Kiev. Maybe it will cause the collapse of Donetsk and Lugansk. Before it gets to that point, I would expect Russia to send in lots of people to try to prop things up, but it is getting harder and harder to hide the serious problems in Novorossiya. Who killed Mozgovoy? Surely the investigation is a top priority in Moscow. A recent article by Ischenko argues that some oligarchs got the coup in Kiev and others wanted a Novorossiya as their protection. In other words, people like Strelkov were working for other Ukrainian oligarchs. Don’t know about that, but it is ugly. Maybe all of us here have simply been backing the Akhmetov World, not the Russian World. If Khodakovsky replace Zakharchenko at some point, it will be hard to think otherwise.
On the bright side, Kiev has problems, too.
This isn’t concern trolling. It is just that certain pro-Russian sites seem so overly optimistic that someone needs to point out the other perspective. The US kept Guatemala going for over a decade with a really brutal civil war. The US won. Armenia was on its knees in its war against Azerbaijan but still managed to win. It is far from obvious that Kiev is simply going to give up at some point. Human systems tend to be resilient till another more powerful force hits them. Also, the US has an advantage of sorts in that there are two good results: victory or destruction. Russia needs victory and no destruction.
Indeed, that is the important part of his statement, but do not know why on Earth someone has begun, again, to put as much shit as it can on Strelkov, it seems to be the favorite topic not only for Cassandra, Cassandre, Cass, Cassie with his/her multinicks, but now this troll reporting from the very shelter of the Ukronazis Western Reserve, it has now the invaluable help of some commentators of weight here, who, as she / he, are thousands of kilometers away from the scene and only based on comments made by third-parties on the network. The fact of read many comments against a person does not prove that what those comments say is true. By the same token, we should do the same with the horrible comments on Comrade Putin, and we do not.
Something that I find curious is that Khodakovsky, about who someone reported here looked like a Kiev mole, because all operations directed by him has always been a high number of casualties in the militias, not to mention that it was former SBU, he never takes criticism for their poor military arts. For example, Cassandra and Kat Kan, who seem to be some experts in military offensives, never discussed anything negative about him. I wonder why?
Above it, now it appears that they want to put him with shoehorn to us as future PM of Donetsk. In my opinion, that is pure speculation based on my instinct, Khodakovsky is the ultimate man of the oligarchs in Donetsk. Put bluntly, THIS TURKEY I DO NOT LIKE AT ALL!. I prefer Zack, which is at least a proletarian, but the point is to remove from any position of power any trace of proletariat, right? Too soviet reminiscent to some who are allergic to anything resounding “collective power”. The proletarians to sweat to the mines and in the reconstruction of the Donbass, after losing his legs and arms, family and everything else, which is their usual place….
I, who am here in Spain, much closer to the front than most “armchair generals” here, but far enough away, not receive assessment data, so therefore attend to all the arguments here. To evaluate better, from where I sit, I would also wish, as someone pointed, were translated some of the hundreds of statements he has made /does, apparently every day, Strelkov. More than anything to compare and no bias favorable to one side.
What Kat Kan says about that Strelkov “feel threatened by all from Putin down”. Woman, normal!. I would feel the same watching how have disappeared from the face of the Earth all the commanders who had any critical voice against something that looked bad or had other plans for Novorossyia other than back into the hands of oligarchs. I do not know, but I do not see anything abnormal, however the so much some of you try us to see him not only militarily useless but also mentally ill.
Me, if I were him, everyday to leave the house, would look to one side and the other and behind my shoulder, all the time and, of course, under the car, if any.
To me, you can say what you want, you may strive to be maimed typing, Strelkov will remain a Hero of Novorossyia, and also has the merit of having led the offensive when all was chaos, only had tens of militians poorly equipped and trained, and did not count with any help from any “voentorgs”.
How easy it is for some to malign and destroy the reputation of a man without consequences.
For me, all who have gone to risk their life for the citizens of Donbass are Heroes, of any sign, from anywhere, for their generosity and courage. My memory and my respect for all those who have given their lives there, included some very young “Naz-bol” from the controversial Limonov´s group, or those who have been imprisoned in their return home, as the Spanish internationalists …
“Something that I find curious is that Khodakovsky, about who someone reported here looked like a Kiev mole, because all operations directed by him has always been a high number of casualties in the militias”
This is absolutely untrue, you are just repeating the desinformation that has been used for over a year in a smear campaign against him. The operation at the ariport on 26 May 2014 had only 4 casualties until 2 trucks coming out of it were shelled in a friendly-fire incident. The other failed operation directed by him – a few days later in Marinovka – had only 2 casualties whereas Strelkov later tried unsuccessfully to take Marionovka with casualties multiple higher – according to Borodai, more that 100 killed – but it went unnoticed.
His Vostok unit (batallion, then brigade) had a number of successful operations, that for some strange reason his critics give him no credit for, most notably the defense of Saur-Mogila last summer, the defense of Yasinovataya and breaking the blockade of Gorlovka, tha last one was a joint operation with Igor Bezler and was achieve with no casualties for Vostok apart from a few wounded.
However, he is not going to replace Zakharchenko as head of DPR, it was just some fake.
Tio Roberto, think again. That only works if it’s unanimous. Given the premise, there exists disunity, how likely is it to be unanimous?
So what happens if there is one maverick (perhaps in exile in Moscow) working through one disciple, trying to organize a “Military Council” to mutiny and install a military dictatorship in time to subvert the elections upcoming in, let’s say, early November?
You have made him a green corridor. Everybody else has been unilaterally disarmed.
That isn’t possible.Russian control is almost absolute on the security field.Plus the current leadership is accepted by the people.Disunity only sows seeds of discontent,playing into the hands of our enemies.And should never be tolerated in wartime.
I wish we knew more about what is happening in Transcarpathia (Western Ukraine). It seems there is actual fighting going on there between Right Sector thugs and the police forces.With 2 or 3 deaths so far,and a dozen or so injured.Both sides are said to be sending reinforcements.And the junta has closed the roads to the region.The Right Sector and other fascist allies have also started moving forces into Kiev for a demonstration there.And Slovakia (not sure about Hungary) has closed their border for fear the fighting will spill over there.Interesting things going on in Banderastan.
“Some 20 gunmen of the Right Sector group arrived at a cafe located on the territory of a sports complex controlled by Ukrainian MP Mikhail Lanyo on Saturday. Police and eyewitnesses said the gunmen had come for a meeting with Lanyo’s representatives to discuss the “redistribution of spheres of influence.”
A conflict erupted between the talks, and the extremists later on opened fire from small arms on their opponents. The police arrived at the scene and tried to block the get-away route for the gunmen. In response, the gunmen opened fire using rifles, heavy machine guns and grenade launchers.”
Ultimately of course, it is all Putin’s fault. A trail of evidence leads directly back to the Kremlin.
As I recall the militia’s advance was halted rather suddenly when the Ukraine forces seemed to be collapsing. The fear was the militia didn’t have enough men and might be surrounded. Commanders have a heavy responsibility. I disclose that I know nothing of the real situation but I can imagine the possibilities. One commander is fearful and withdraws. Another is confident and continues the advance. The politicians on high, impacted by hundreds of players, decide to stop. Perhaps each commander “felt the heat of the night hit him like a freight train moving with a simple twist of fate.” (Dylan) They acted according to their characters. Thousands of smaller decisions previously chosen all had their say. Maybe the truth will out when the histories of the Donbass war are written. Probably not for a hundred years and then will it matter? I’m a commander of sorts over my battalion of demons and angels. I wish I had more to be proud of. “In the courtyard of the golden sun you stand and fight or you break and run.” (Dylan). Persist.
A good rule about the militia is to remember that their real strategic commanders are Russian officers, high ranking. The brigade commanders we know and respect like Motorola, Givi, the late Brain/Mosgovoy, Devil, and Zakh who is the Commander of all Donetsk militia, are all subject to Russian commanders. Small unit tactics are within their purview. Nothing like sweeping to Mariupol or heading up to Slavyansk is possible on their own. They don’t have the permission to do what they want when they want in altering the battlefield. They rely on Russian Intel more and more. They rely on Russian supply, the Voentorg. And they usually have a thousand or two Russians on vacation fighting with them as volunteers.
They are fighting US military advisors, US military-CIA Intel operations, NATO special operators and battle-hardened snipers from Iraq, Afghanistan, and other US-NATO conflicts.
The militia are heroes, patriots to Donbass and Russia, and excellent small unit fighters. They have done some great things. But their moves are directed by Russian officers. It is rare that they have made self-directed moves on the battlefield. When they have, like Marinka, casualties were very high. Shirinoko is another decision made locally. It lead to numerous casualties.
Thus, if they engage again in full warfare like we saw in January and early February, I think we will see things never before seen on the Donbass battlefield. I suspect Russia will punish the Ukies for all the violations of Minsk 2, particularly the Azov and Aidar national guard, Right Sector battalions. And of course, the regular Ukie army will probably get themselves into boilers and be obliterated in the futility of fighting a Russian-led, Russian supplied army of locals.
I like your analysis. Zackarachenko has an attitude of quiet inspiring confidence, while Strelkov seems to have a hysterical, grudging mindset, with his exaggerations and bending of the truth (Agree, I don´t speak the language). (Besides, off topic of course, in w Europe, only people behind a garbage truck were a mustache like his)
What worries me more than Donbass (I think eventually Zackarachenko will be right about this) is the Odessa province:
If NATO is allowed too long to build up a not-so-covert presence, and even take over the harbor, it will become very hard to dislodge them, and if/ when the become more agressive to Transdnestria, a major war is inevitable.
On top of this, the EU machinations of incorporating Moldavia, Georgia and Ukraine (in depth, perhaps overly detailed, translated Dutch-Belgian article in 3 parts about the corrupt dealings of the EU deep state, eastward expansion, Greece and TTIP):
I am hoping an underground and above ground guerrilla war destabilizes Odessa as a possible US base. I can’t conceive the Russians living with the US NAVY 180 miles from their base in Sevastopol. If this conflict persists, as it well may, for several more years, then guerrilla operations and sabotage seem inevitable.
Odessa may not have the equal significance as Crimea, but it is crucial to remain neutralized at the least, incorporated into Novorossiya-Russia at best.
“The brigade commanders we know and respect like Motorola, Givi, the late Brain/Mosgovoy, Devil, and Zakh who is the Commander of all Donetsk militia, are all subject to Russian commanders.”
On that list, only Zakh is a brigade commander. Mozgovoi is dead, Motorola is a battalion commander (and is a Russian officer for you), Bes is in Russia, Givi’s detached motorized force was around 100 men.
“A good rule about the militia is to remember that their real strategic commanders are Russian officers, high ranking.”
There is no evidence whatsoever to support this surmise. The Russia firsters want it to be so, that’s all.
What little we have to go on suggests strongly that tactics and strategy are not coming out of an old USSR playbook. At Debaltsevo, for example, the ricochet instant offense broke all the rules. I doubt the militiamen’s two years of compulsory service impressed them with Russian officers, and what must they think of bumbling old Petrovsky, building his “intelligence service” based on MI6 as described in Harris’s novel about the Enigma group?
Unfortunately, non-Russian speakers miss a lot of (very interesting) information and analysis coming from Strelkov almost daily concerning many issues, including this clown and traitor Zakharchenko – representative and puppet of Russian 5-th column in Novorossiya. Saker is wrong (to say the least) by letting one side (Zakharchenko/5-th column) to have a say and suppressing other (Strelkov/Russian patriots). That creates distorted picture of situation in Russia/Novorossia in the eyes of non-Russian speakers who don’t have access to a lot of first-hand information.
P.S. By the way, under Debaltsevo Zakharchenko was wounded entirely by accident, by his own guard.
Why do you come to this site? The Saker has put plenty of information from all sides on here over the last 18mnths on what has gone on incld. Strelkov’s views. People can access his opinions if they wish – there are other sites catering for this.
You just come here to troll and spread mischief with nothing to back up what you say – facts/proof please.
My error. I didn’t catch that Canadian troll until after I passed your reply. That “Anonymous” smear shouldn’t have been posted or failing that, allowed to remain once your reply brought attention to it.
Dear Veritas, I come here – as well as you – because I support what Saker is doing. I know he is a honest man looking for truth. But regarding Zakharchenko he is wrong. In short: Zakharchenko is a 100% Surkov’s man (Surkov is a 5-th columnist). My point is simple: if you post video with this traitor and clown Zakharchenko talking lies about Strelkov, then at least post what Strelkov is saying on this matter.
Unfortunately, Saker didn’t post a single video with Strelkov for months already. Couple of videos with Strelkov released every week, text interviews and comments almost daily. All proofs and facts are in Russian. Here you go:
Not everything about Zakharchenko, of course. Strelkov expresses very interesting thoughts on many topics about current situation in Russia and Novorossiya.
Dear Veritas (and Saker) you are always free to take whatever side you want. That’s just information from “other side” that is missed here. That’s all wanted to point out, not to “troll” :-)
Cheers
(P.S. As for “Canadian” (lol) – I’m using Tor – and recommend this to everyone after Snowden leaks.)
From what I see, Saker has already quite a while ago taken a more “ohranitel” (Russian for “protectionist”) type of view, leaning more towards the Starikov-Ischshenko-Zakharchenko type of position. Strelkov or other more realistic-pessimistic people like Dugin, El Murid, Murs, don’t fit that dogmatic orientation, and so are apparently no longer welcome on Saker’s blog (which is a pity).
unfortunately, the ohranitel type of view is a very rose-colored one and IMO not at all consistent with the real situation. both Starikov and Ischschenko have a long history of writing nonsense which has later completely been shattered by Real Life ™, as well as switching views overnight in accordance with the Party Line ™. in Starikov’s case it’s for example his constant appeals for a non-violent solution during the 2014 Maidan, or the constant assurances that Russia doesn’t want Crimea, only Ukraine as a whole. For both, he flip-flopped 180 degrees within just a few weeks, which lost him nearly all analytic credibility in my eyes. he is not as bad as Kurginyan (who is btw also from the ohranitel camp, just on the more lunatic wing of it), but leans much in the same direction. the same thing goes for Ischshenko, who has been so often blatantly wrong in his predictions that the junta would collapse, how the war would develop, etc (just check out some of the early 2014 articles of his) that it’s not even funny.
finally Zakharchenko.. well, the guy is simply given way too much attention and credit, in my opinion. I think he’s overall a decent fellow (though even in this respect he has recently given some causes for doubt), but if you look at his background, he’s just a former miner with a very limited education and even more limited combat experience, at a level of sergeant or so. he has exactly zero successful operations or other major achievements to his name. his role as head of DNR is just to execute what he’s being told from the Kremlin. and it’s not so clear if he’s even good at that.
I dont think there would be much of a discussion. their levels are really too different. Strelkov is a senior FSB officer with nearly 20 years professional service experience in a total of 5 wars, and by far the most successful field commander of 2014, if we go by respective unit strength + situation + outcome. he’s the one person who essentially made DNR-LNR possible.
Zakharchenko on the other hand is a former miner with practically no combat or command experience. he has no substantial military achievements to his name, and no real civil achievements either – the situation in the Donbass has been hovering on somewhere between “complete humanitarian catastrophe” and “just slightly short of a humanitarian catastrophe” for almost the whole year now that he’s been in power.
their conversation, were it ever to happen, would be a very one-sided lecture, I’m afraid.
Strelkov was a brilliant military commander who carved out the territory of the Donbass Republics. Zakharchenko is a brilliant civilian strategist who negotiated the minefields of the Minsk Agreements, managing to retain de facto independence despite that the DPR is fighting the whole world. Novorossiya is fortunate to have had both of these charasmatic geniuses in its history.
They did, of sorts. Alex won the election, Stelkov was banished.
This is all silly nonsense by a coterie of sunshine patriots and summer soldiers who have no sense of reality. And have no expertise in military combat above Lt. Colonel status.
Putin has a nation to defend and a protowar against the Hegemon to win.
Strelkov wants a parade and chest full of medals. He suffers a mental illness, as does El Murid.
The only relevance they have is Col Cassad still has not written them off.
But it will come.
Your remark should be addressed to Mats above not to Anonymous. Don’t you recognize empty statements aka gibberish?
It was Anonymous first who asked Mats to explain or proof why what he said is not a drivel. Why you, the moderator, did stepped in the process with your wrong stance?
Look, Cassander, Z.L is not here right now ( We are from all over the globe and sometimes there are people sleeping ).
But you must consider the fact that here we are a few moderators, as many were called but very few remain working constantly, and between these, some of us, we are not English natives and, therefore, capable of doing something wrong anytime. Therefore, please have some consideration, and would ask you to be more friendly and polite with peers who volunteer here.
Thank you. I’ll try to be better. And thanks for your job, in the part you are right. :)
But few readers have expressed their opinions through last days this blog loses a lot removing worthy comments containing important information not accepted to be placed on covers.
Sometimes due to few harsher words in one sentence or due to some listed sources which are not likened by the Author of this blog (perhaps).
I am for the information first, moving aside style concerns. Not the best style or slightly heated exchange of words are meaningless in the face of scarcity of the Russian information for the non-Russian readers. If I were to be given orders from the Saker to censor some comments I would resign from the post of moderator. With a strongest expletive I know. :( But it’s me not you.
Once more thanks for your job. I admit it is needed from time to time.
it was me who wrote that comment, I often forget to write my name in the Name field.
basically Mats has all his information wrong, would be too long to straighten it all out in detail. here are a few starters:
> Alex won the election, Stelkov was banished.
Strelkov was blackmailed out of his DNR defense ministry commander position way before Zakharchenko was even on the map. Under Strelkov, Zakharchenko commanded small units of platoon-company size, without any particular achievements, and was afterwards more or less randomly pulled up and proclaimed to be “the right candidate” by Kremlin polit-technologists.
> This is all silly nonsense by a coterie of sunshine patriots and summer soldiers. And have no
> expertise in military combat above Lt. Colonel status.
nonsense. Strelkov is a lifetime career FSB officer, now a senior officer, retired Colonel (NOT Lt. Colonel!) with various distinctions. he took part in a total of 5 wars (first one was the Transnistrian conflict in 1992-93 as a volunteer of merely 22 years, then Bosnia, Chechnya 1 and 2, and now Ukraine) and has 16 years of official service to his name, mostly in war zones. he went through various positions from regular infantry to a self-propelled howitzer (2S3 Akatsiya) commander to a tactical officer to intelligence officer etc etc. his career specialty has been organizing semi-partisan and partisan fighter groups. it is absolutely NOT a coincidence that under his lead the Slavyansk brigade performed so brilliantly and was even able to withdraw (in a very sharp and well-executed operation) in the very end, with very few losses, even against a 10+ times stronger opponent. he’s a top-class professional in this, even though he – very modestly – often says that he feels out of his depth commanding forces significantly over a batallion or brigade. and I don’t even mention his fairly deep and profound knowledge of military and geopolitical history, revolutions, wars, and so on and so forth, which he has often displayed in various interviews.
nobody – and I repeat NOBODY – else in Donbass (at least from the public figures) has even near Strelkov’s overall class. Zakharchenko is just a former miner with no military or special forces education, no combat command experience, no real combat achievements to his name. Kononov is a self-taught former subordinate of Strelkov, a judo trainer in civil life. Mozgovoi was also essentially a civilian with minimal combat experience. Bezler – yes an army professional, but not a specialist in partisan war or tactics per se. Hmuryi – that was the one person who had largely Strelkov’s level (or maybe exceeded him in some areas) – but he was also a subordinate of Strelkov and worked fine with him until the end. and even he, from what i’ve read of his interviews, is not quite at Strelkov’s total level of strategic understanding, he’s more of a close-quarters army specialist, much like Motorola, though much higher in rank (Motorola btw being just a Marines sergeant, albeit a very professional and capable one).
> Putin has a nation to defend and a protowar against the Hegemon to win
yes, but how well has Putin done since 2013 in that? not very well, by all standards – almost all of Ukraine is now a zombified, ever more militarized Neonazi territory under direct control of the US. yes, Crimea got chopped off (again with much assistance from Strelkov & other regional activists like Aksyonov, Chalyi etc), but the Donbass and the rest have more or less been discarded, as it seems today. so that in the near future we may yet see NATO bases in Kharkov, ukronazi attack preparations vs Crimea and so on.
>Strelkov wants a parade and chest full of medals.
complete, utter bullshit. Strelkov is everything but a careerist. in fact, he was more or less asked to retire early because of his “inconvenience” for the generals in the FSB.
>He suffers a mental illness, as does El Murid.
say what?
> The only relevance they have is Col Cassad still has not written them off. But it will come.
Strelkov’s “relevance” is very nicely shown in the Runet when he’s chosen the most important person of 2014 in a LIveJournal poll, wins public debates with a landslide 60% vs 30% against pro-Kremlin apologist Starikov (with around 1 million Youtube views by now, btw), and gets “favorable” views from around 80% of Russians when asked (poll from just a month or so ago).
there’s a good reason he isn’t admitted on any major TV stations in Russia. and that is because his presence would be literally devastating to any ohranitel-type apologists. Starikov is by far the best one of them in terms of education and eloquence, and even he got destroyed one-on-one, albeit with some resistance. what Strelkov would do to the rest – I’d really like to see.
Thank you for elaborating. We moderators occassionally try to improve the quality of the discussions. This should not be understood as taking a stance for or against a particular author, but rather as helpful suggestions for all posters. I admit that I had not read the entire discussion in this case, but it is always a good idea, for all posters, to explain why you disagree rather than to just state your disagreement.
Cassander: We do not censor posts on Saker’s orders. You can disagree completely with Saker’s analyses and still be posted, so long as your post is well-written, not provocative, not racist etc. If a well-written post uses some harsh words, insults or swear words, then the policy is to delete those words and approve the rest of the post.
no problem, your friendliness and tolerance are much appreciated. I’ve done lots and lots of commenting over the last ~10 years, on hundreds of sites, in 5+ languages, and so far I’m yet to meet a single moderator who would be as polite, intelligent, and forthcoming as you have just shown with this post.
my sincere respect goes out to you, I have no doubt that I wouldn’t be able to be anywhere near as friendly while doing this rather taxing job. you’re truly the kind of high-class moderator a high-class site like Saker’s deserves. let’s just hope you manage to keep it up for a while and not get tired of all the stupid trolls :)
I’m not sure why Zakharchenko said what he said. At the time, Donetsk tycoon Rinat Akhmetov was in control of city and was in negotiations with Kiev to surrender it in order to keep his business empire. If Donetsk was lost keeping Slavyansk would be useless and new republic lost completely . That was the reason Strelkov decided to move all forces in Donetsk and overtake it from Akhmetov. Thanks to that new republic survived. He didn’t have enough forces to keep both cities.
The story I saw at the time was that Slavansk was going to be lost so it was no good spending resources trying to save it. Later I saw a report that reinforcements were on the way so they should have held out.
I don’t know — I guess many people in the area didn’t know — fog of war and all. But I think Strelkov is good at tactics but not strategy, and tends to be a lone wolf, and a bit of a loose cannon. Trying to second guess all the decisions made by people is difficult, but even if in retrospect one can see what did and should have happened it’s hard to know when in the thick of things — that knowing, sometimes in a ‘mysterious’ way, is what distinguishes a very good commander from an ordinary one.
But if another decision had been made there is no sure telling how that may have played out either.
Strelkov is not good at anything military. They should have been capturing rifles and ‘technology’ at Slavyansk but he held them to surveillance and sabotage. They only fought to hold checkpoints. The Ukrainian army was comic opera at the time; the weakest they would ever be. He is good, presumably, at Intelligency Agency stuff carried out in war zones.
Military: fly helicopters, Intel: throw interogees out of helicopters. Military: storm cities, Intel: assassinate mayors Military: capture armed combatants and take them to Abu Ghraib
Intel: enhanced interrogation and disposal of captives.
Except of course for the FSB, who assigned Strelkov to setting up petting zoos in Chechnya.
Zak seems pretty confident that they will in due course recover the occupied territories. That will only happen with a collapse of the regime in Kiev, or the open support of Russia, which would require recognizing Novorossia as a sovereign state. That is unlikely to happen as it means writing off the rest of Ukraine unless Russia were to push right through to the Dnieper. That in turn is getting more difficult by the day as NATO uses the delay to build up it’s forces and treaties, meaning that a Russian invasion of Ukraine would directly involve NATO troops.
The hope is that the fascist regime in Kiev will collapse, but there is no evidence that is about to occur, despite wishful thinking here. The US and EU could continue to prop up the Kiev regime as long as they want to. The longer the junta holds on, the more established the repressive police apparatus becomes, and the more difficult it is to conduct a liberation struggle via partisans inside the Kiev controlled Ukraine.Repression and impoverishment only rarely lead to a spontaneous revolution. More commonly, they carry on for decades with a small repressed resistance as in Franco’s Spain, Chile after the coup, Argentina under the Generals, Greece under the Colonels, Guatemala, El Salvador, and so forth.
Most posters here didn’t expect the Kiev regime to last more than a year, but in part thanks to Russia continuing to subsidize them with cheap gas last winter, they are doing just fine. It it now past mid-summer, heading into fall again soon, and then another winter in Novorossia with a completely destroyed civil infrastructure and a huge housing and medical crisis. It would seem that Novorossia is more likely to collapse than Ukraine. What are people in Novorossia doing for a living? How many factories are working, and who are they selling any products produced to? Russia is obviously subsidizing them, but to what extend, and for how long?
Unlike Transnistria or South Ossetia, there are no official Russian ‘peacekeeper’ troops in Novorossia to secure their borders and stop the shelling. Russia’s official position is that Donetsk and Luhansk are provinces (Oblasts) of Ukraine. Under those circumstances, in a de-facto ongoing civil war, reconstruction and the rebuilding of a normal economy in Novorossia is almost impossible.Whatever the economic difficulties faced by the junta in Kiev, they are insignificant compared to the problems in Novorossia, and the protraction of the civil war favours Kiev, as they can blame their economic problems on Russia and the “traitors” in Donetsk and Luhansk, while NATO continues to pump money and weapons into the Ukrainian National Guard and army.
It doesn’t look like this civil war is going to come to a conclusion any time soon, with Russia propping up Novorossia, and NATO and EU subsidizing and arming Kiev.
It looks like it’s all over for a sovereign Novorossia, from where I look at things. Yet another worthless civil war, brought to you by the American empire and its neocons.
Kiev may do better than Donetsk, but that is only part of the battle. The real battle is the Western financial oligarchy in control of the US and Britain and its fight against Russia. So Donetsk might be emptied of people with no buildings left, but, if, in the process, Russia can build its economy and free itself from all the fifth columnists, then all of the Donbass could be recaptured and rebuilt. So Moscow is the target, and stalling for time is the game plan. This may or may not be the best plan, but it is certainly logical.
Your point about a brutal regime being hard to displace is why I have been mystified with Russia’s rather hands-off approach to things inside the Ukraine in regions outside the Donbass. Perhaps the reason is to try to win over oligarchs or keep the friendly oligarchs on Russia’s side. If the Kremlin authorized a campaign to damage the Ukrainian economy, those oligarchs would lose a lot, and thus no longer see the Kremlin as an ally or possible ally. This has logic, but the downside is that it gives the US time to clean out all important areas of pro-Russian sentiment and to train people in the New Order, so to speak. Those who don’t like this New Order are free to move to Russia.
The problem is Russia has already lost “Ukraine”.There is no going back.They seem to be the only ones that don’t see that.What needs to be done is to save the areas of the former Ukraine that can be saved.That is the Novorossian areas.Those still have a chance to be saved.But trying for it all will probably end with losing it all.The chance to save everything died when the Kremlin refused to intervene.And allowed the junta who ramp up a nationwide hate-Russia campaign.
Looking a little longer range, there may come to power in Kiev a government that will be open to negotiating or tolerating the oblasts’ aligning themselves with the Donbass in a quasi-federal status.
As long as the junta (or the parties that support them) exist,that can’t happen.I try to be a realist.I’d love for all the former Ukraine to be freed.But unless Russia either liberates it.Or gives enough support to others to liberate it,that won’t happen.It is possible with much less effort to liberate all of Novorossia.So,”a bird in the hand,is worth more than two in the bush”.
It seems to me that everyone forgets that NATO gamed the breakup of Ukraine in 2009.Their game model was almost exactly what we see today.Actually today is smaller,their model was all the Southeast (Novorossia) breaking away.They knew it could happen.And they planned how to live with it.The biggest difference is that plan supposed Russia would actually support the breakup.The problem we have today is, since Russia didn’t support the breakup, it gives NATO the hope they can stop it.Had Russia conformed as they gamed.They would have whined a lot,and then just accepted it.Now they will keep on pushing to stop it.
I saw the report on that (I think in April or May).It was an Austrian article (I believe) ,about a German annalist who worked for the German military.He did the study for the Germans that they submitted at the NATO meeting at that time.When I saw it I wrote a long post on it at the Guardian (I can’t find that post now.I figure they deleted it).Since then I’ve tried to find the original again without success.I did find several third hand reports on this.But they look like there were subtle changes.Instead of Odessa being separate they show it still with the West.Though all the East is still separate.But in the first article,it included maps showing all the areas of “Novorossia” complete with Odessa that he thought would break away from Ukraine.He believed that it could be triggered by just the type of collapse of the central government as they had (maidan).The only difference was he thought the South (Odessa) would form its own state.So that you would have both the East and South breaking apart,but in two parts instead of one.He also thought that as the whole area was culturally Russian and tied to Russia. That Russia would support the breakup.And that NATO would have to accept and deal with it.So they already knew it was a strong possibility that Ukraine,an artificial state to begin with, was very unstable.That a shock of regime collapse could split it apart.And were gaming how to handle that possibility.I see the fact that Russia has opposed the breakup as the reason NATO has acted like they have .They see the “opportunist’s” chance to gain the whole Ukraine.Had Russia responded as they expected they would probably have reacted just as they are today with sanctions.But the crisis we see would never have happened.There wouldn’t have been the war as they have now.And the fascist regime would probably have collapsed long ago.Without the almost half of the population of the former Ukraine that is in the Novorossian areas.Without the around 80% of the former Ukraine’s resources gone.And with only around 55% of the territory still part of the former Ukraine it wouldn’t be attractive to the West.So they wouldn’t be willing to keep it going economically (even if only barely,as they do today).
I have been posting this for months and nobody has made a dent in it while the evidence, and admissions by Strelkov, continue to mount.
Igor Girkin has no military education, no military training and no significant combat experience beyond carrying a rifle through the woods with an underslung grenade launcher.
He graduated from high school in 1988. At that time, USSR had two years compulsory military training and the law required Igor to immediately register for the draft. The draft board found him “physically or mentally unfit to serve.” He tried to get into military college but for obvious reasons they do not accept people with his draft qualification.
He then took a four-year course at the Moscow Institute of Historical Archiving and is a qualified librarian. Not historian, which requires more education than a 4-year undergraduate course.
At the end of the school year he went to Transnistria and hung out with Prapor, for whom he procured a machine gun. There is a story they allowed him to fire blanks from it. He was there less than 7 weeks, but did a lot of networking with radical Russian Orthodox Tsarists. Neither Prapor nor Strelkov, to my knowledge, has ever claimed that he “fought” there. In a listing of units he was enlisted that is almost certainly his (most social media stuff in his name isn’t) Transnistria is followed by a blank line. He was “present.” The war there ended July 22nd.
In Transnistria he was recruited by a group of co-religionists to go to Bosnia. He was reportedly in Bosnia from November or December until April 1993. I don’t know why the gap; the others went to Bosnia right away. Perhaps he did too but did not want to place himself on the site of things going on then in Bosnia. His band was led by Alexander “Ac” Muharek.
His “Bosnian Diary” (which is available on line) was shown to many friends, one of whom asked why it totally omitted certain incidents. Igor replied “The people were never seen again. Best not to mention.”
He joined the FSB in 1995 or 1996 (sources vary), a gap in which the Choir Boys claim he was in the army as a flunky doing things like guarding warehouses. I don’t know, don’t much care, as none of their claims dispute mine.
Once he joined the FSB, he was an intelligence agent in a war zone with military cover, not in the military. The Choir Boys are loading social media with what is purported to be his military ID, screen shots, murky, untraceable backwards, unreadable. (I’m tempted to put together an imitation with white eagles and all and a picture for Girkin’s registration with the American Kennel Club.) What do they think it proves? Have they never heard of Miss Moneypenny?
In a recent interview “War as a Litmus Test” there are two unrehearsed questions at the very end in which Girkin explains that the FSB office in Chechnya printed up all his ID (answering a question about name changes) and also ascribes his draft status to too much reading which ruined one of his eyes. My grandma used to tell me too much reading would ruin my eyes. But I’ll bet no army doctor ever said it. We are free to speculate as to what Girkin’s disability really was. Probably the same psychiatric disability that got him forced out of the FSB.
An approximate transcript of the subtitles is as follows: Question: “Alexander …, today is the anniversary of the withdrawal of forces from Slavyansk. After one year, do you think it was right or wrong? Or maybe something could be done in another way.” Zakharchenko: “In any case it is hard to judge, because the war always gives a big number of excuses, and any decisions which are made by one of the commanders are on his conscience. All this territory is the Donetsk People’s Republic. My personal opinion is the following: From the first day when I became the head of state, I said one thing: I don’t divide the territory of the DPR by what is occupied or controlled by us. All this territory is the Donetsk People’s Republic within the administrative borders of the former Donetsk region. That’s why one year ago there was, probably, a historical event which resulted in — let’s say it this way, in one day we lost Slavyansk, Kramatorsk, Konstantinovka, Artemovsk. A group of forces in Karlovka [Gorlovka?] was put in danger. In 3-4 days we lost Debaltsevo and Uglegorsk. It was done in almost one week. That’s the reason for everything which took place afterwards, and the number of victims — this was a consequence of the exit by one of our famous field commanders from Slavyansk [Igor Strelkov — my addition] — we suffered by releasing these cities. His subordinates knew about that, the main thing is that he knows about it as well. Any denial that the rest of the territory is not occupied, is not ours I consider as a personal treason, treason of all militias, soldiers. We insist on only one thing, that all territory, both Slavyansk and Kramatorsk, Krasnoarmeysk and Konstantinovka, and all the rest, and Mariupol, are cities of the DPR. I would like to address those people who live in this territory. Sooner or later we will be together. It can’t even be discussed, ie. I say fully assured that sooner or later we will be together. And all punishers, all contractors who kill our civilians, rape our women, plunder our houses, sooner or later will bear responsibility. They will be charged wherever they will be, in Poltava, in Sumy, in Lvov, in Kiev. Nobody will escape or hide anywhere.”
Zakharchenko is very diplomatic. Nowhere does he judge Strelkov, he leaves that to Strelkov’s own conscience, which is fair. When Zakharchenko speaks of treason, even though this immediately follows the statement about Strelkov, he is not referring to Strelkov. He is referring to anyone who says the DPR does not include all the territory of the Donetsk Oblast. He laments the people who died because of the withdrawal from Slavyansk, etc., but he does not cast blame.
Zakharchenko is not Russian, although he shares a common ancestry. Nor does he cast blame in this video. How readily it seems Russians and Russophiles read dark implications into every statement! Zakharchenko is diplomatic, just as I said, and diplomats express themselves often in oblique ways. This is to spare other’s feelings. It is not a “Russian” characteristic I am too “naive” to know about. Nevertheless, Zakharchenko is more direct than most of the world’s politicians.
Why are so many commenters on this website destructive toward others? You slighted me, and you slighted Zakharchenko. Vladimir Putin and Alexander Zakharchenko are both positive thinkers. Why not follow their example? This platform could be used as a venue for solving problems. Instead, it’s a hornet’s nest of sarcasm and one-upmanship.
I take my leave. I have no time for this kind of pain.
Did I miss something? Did I miss any of the people attacking Stelkov here going to Novorossia at the start.Laying their life on the line defending the people there against the junta forces.Going through the shelling of Slavyansk beside him.Killing and being killed daily with him.Did I maybe miss that? For whatever faults he may have.He went there to defend those people.He endured the hell of those days,not us.If it wasn’t for him and a few other brave men all Donbass would have been conquered and living under the fascist terror occupation right now.Time has passed him by,that is true.But nonetheless,he will live as the symbol of those first heroic days forever.No matter how some would want it to be different it never will be.
I worry that the Ukrainians may be attempting to alter the demographics of the occupied DPR and LPR by relocating people with Ukrainian nationalist sympathies into the regions.
To do so would be a brazen violation of international law, but if there’s anything that we can learn from what has transpired since the so-called “Maidan” (and, for that matter, from what has transpired for decades in Palestine), it’s that international law can be violated with total impunity by anybody whose aspirations are aligned with those of the Anglo-Zionists.
That is why Porks offered land there to conscripts.
That is his dilemma currently: observe Minsk, and have Right Sector on his back (they are) or not, and have Moscow/Merkel +Hollande on his case.
Meanwhile Yarosh is clearly maneuvering to more inclusive nationalism by co-operating with the SBU/UAF on the Muchaveso (sps?) incident and avoiding the Tornado issue. He’s after a more ‘respectable’ form of nationalism now, to challenge Porks.
Yats will do his best to undermine him, as Porks is a lot more controllable than Yarosh: he would be first in Yarosh’s sights if he got enough of the RADA behind him, and Yats knows it.
Comment by Igor strelkov on the word “Gloomy” (Callsign of the former head of the GRU DNI General S. N. Petrovsky, comrade in arms, Igor Ivanovich) at the forum “global adventure” (messages under the nickname “Bad”: http://glav.su/members/33843/messages/ ) that in Slavyansk you can hold for at least another 10 days, and the decision to withdraw was allegedly taken in Small spontaneously, under the influence of a mental breakdown:
————–
“a Few words in regard to the words “Sullen” (if it is him):
1. Slovyansk could resist and 10 days or more in a full environment. Which would be permanently closed within a day or two. But it wouldn’t make any sense – artillery ammunition was for a couple of hours of battle. (1.5 stowage for 2 tanks, 2.5 stowage for 2 healthy “Nona”, 67 min on all 9 mortars). Rifle ammunition was more or less enough to carry out street fighting 3-4 days. Anti-tank weapons has been very little, and its quality was below any criticism. To storm the city, the Ukrainian military was not going. They besieged him and broke like artillery fire, waiting while the militia will not climb on break. Himself “Frowning” at that moment not only did not object to the withdrawal from Slavyansk, but openly and fully endorsed the abandonment of Kramatorsk (in connection with the already realized the breakthrough of the armored group of the Ukrainian armed forces in Donetsk and threat communication Kramatorsk between Gorlovka Gorlovka and Konstantinovka). As for my nervous condition at the moment, it is, of course, was “not good” (and I had fun?), and about how I looked in the eyes of others – to judge not to me but to them. However, I think the decision is fully faithful. Himself “Gloomy” about a breakthrough really learned about 13 hours, when I called him and set the target at providing diversionary action against Karachun and Kramatorsk airfield (which he managed to do it). However, the objectives of the trainings were delivered by separate units (headquarters, artillery, rears, etc.) already at 9.00 am, after which we began loading our property and remaining ammunition.
2. Unflattering remarks about me Sergey Nikolaevich (if he is) leave it on his conscience. My own opinion about it, despite the confusion, remains positive. Overall, mostly solidarious with the assessment that is given to him in today’s LJ “El Murid”. [ http://el-murid.livejournal.com/2439325.html ]”
What Zakharchenko means is that once the entire Donbass has been thoroughly destroyed and depopulated (through murder, hardship and forced exile) the innumerable souls of the departed will reunite in the Kingdom of the Just. This is not a joke.
He is very optimistic about it…I hope he may be right.
Good luck commander!
The last line:
“Nobody will escape or hide anywhere.”
I like that attitude.
Boasting, empty boasting.
If it had been true and part of operational plans for the future events it’d have been to be kept in a strict secret.
For the time being DPR is not able to protect her citizens and territory integrity. His private opinion about Strelkov is darn wrong and too brazen in its stupidity and personal malice. Strelkov expressed clearly enough – lack of support from Russian Army aka Supreme Commander of Russian Federation forced him to get back to Donietsk to save what was achieved, in other words, he had to act not to allow to sell Donietsk to Kiev what was in advanced plan and ready to execute.
Something wrong is going on with Mr. Zakharchenko. He lies like hell.
Strelkov – his decision, his fault, his treason…
@Joe
Even if this was faulty decision from Strelkov this doesn’t means treason. Come on people. Stop demonizing them. This is what Kiev wants – they want to antagonise us.
I suppose it’s not treason. Strelkov never swore allegiance to anyone as I recall except Vladimir Romanov. Does anyone know of a swearing-in including loyalty to Donetsk? As Minister of Defense, maybe?
However, if Kononov is correct in his analysis, Strelkov left by a negotiated corridor that was inexplicably not fired on. Kiev fire began at the rear of the escaping troops and worked forward. Strelkov was in the front.
I’d like to have been a fly on the wall for this controversy in the ranks. Kononov is candid and forthcoming, Zakharchenko very much not. Kononov (see on Fort Russ) shook off questions about Strelkov more or less on the “if you can’t say anything good about someone, don’t say anything at all” principle but was obviously not happy about it. And in the end, he appears to have carried the day. Perhaps Zakharchenko was forced by the reaction to Kononov’s interview to back him up or throw him.
Zakharchenko was not only there, he was the Military Commander of the DNR, and had planned a breakout assault, which the Ministry of Defense vetoed. Borodai, prime minister at the day, sided with Strelkov. (He’s sorry now.)
In one interview Borodai said somethink like this: Zacharchenko was wounded twice. Strelkov none. Never Igorek…
Igorek is diminutive of Igor. Meaning sarcastic.
– If.
(How is your attacking Strelkov serve any good purpose? -This is history, and your persistence in bringing up a one sided version of events only brings discord.
Read Petrovskii responses at http://glav.su/ if you really want to know how Kononov version of events is incorrect. He was there and in the know,- unlike yourself)
Zakharchenko was there at Slavyansk with Strelkov. He knows EXACTLY what happened and how it happened.
How much of it did you personally experience, to know that “His private opinion about Strelkov is darn wrong and too brazen in its stupidity and personal malice.”?
Strelkov many times has stated he was ORDERED TO STAY and he left anyway., afraid to wait. Nobody beside him ever said Donetsk was going to be “sold” so that’s an excuse. He didn’t even go to Donetsk first, he went to Gorlovka where Bezler threw him out.
So now stop trolling stuff you know nothing about.
I know vastly more about it – for example, Strelkov replied to a question of mine personally before, for example – and my opinion is about the same as his. Zakharchenko has visibly lost most of his early spark and nowadays just does what he’s being told, and likely is going to be replaced in the near future by someone even more servile (speculations are going around that it’s going to be either Khodakovsky or Purgin).
Khordakovsky would need a Brigade dedicated to keeping him alive. No one would follow his orders. If he were put into that commander’s role, it would be only to shoot him.
Purgin is a politician, not a military leader. So what does that mean, genius? No more military or your information is childish.
Ask Strelkov. You have him on speed dial.
not true. in the Donbass, Khodakovsky (so far) is known as an “Ahmetov man”, which is not a (very) negative classification per se. he would still be tolerated if he were seriously backed from the Kremlin (not like the people have much of a choice, really..). he already has command over the Vostok, largely Oplot, and any field commanders left (in the DNR there isnt really anyone of major importance after Strelkov, Bezler, and Hmuryi were forced out) would have to bow and accept anyway, or they’d end up like Batman or Mozgovoi.
and Purgin is a nobody.
and people have already asked Strelkov. he declines to comment so far.
Strelkov’s never had anything good to say about Zakharchenko — or just about anyone else either. He has a great capacity for feeling betrayed by everyone (from Putin down). Zakharchenko has always said very very little about Slavyansk, and only said anything now because he was asked, on the anniversary.
Why would Zakh be replaced by someone more servile? what are they supposed to be doing that requires servility? they are working on building a working state; I am sure nobody in Moscow wants to micromanage fonts for forms. These replacement rumours are just idle talk for bored minds.
almost all of your points are not true. let me review them one by one:
1) Strelkov did give Zakharchenko credit for bravery and the ability to command in combat on a small scale – a platoon or so. which I wouldn’t dispute either, different from e.g. the Plotnitsky case – that guy is evidently just a fat nomenklatura bureaucrat who couldn’t command his way out of a paper bag, and that’s how he is described by people who saw him at the frontlines (on the few rare occasions that he was there) as well.
however, being a platoon sergeant on the frontlines and leading the people of Donbass into some kind of bright future are two entirely different things. Zakharchenko is visibly quite challenged with the latter, and from his early rhetoric on liberating all of Donbass and going to Kiev he has now deteriorated (along with the Kremlin’s Realpolitik line) to talking about rejoining a “unified Ukraine” under some kind of terms including amnesty etc.
2) Strelkov speaks poorly about many people, not all (for example, he thinks highly of Olchon, Motorola, Murs, Hmuryi, the late Mozgovoi, Aksyonov etc). but I dont know a single case where criticism from his side was entirely unfounded or undeserved. if you can come up with an example, name it.
3) Zakharchenko should have really kept quiet about Slavyansk. his position at the time was again that of a platoon leader, who had very little idea of the general strategic situation. and I rather doubt that Zakharchenko is much better informed now, seeing how he says stuff that’s been conclusively proven wrong a long time ago. on the contrary, the two most informed people – Strelkov and Hmuryi – as well as the vast majority of professional military people I know – are in agreement that the retreat was necessary and well-executed and it was just a question of a few days more or less. Strelkov has already explained it all repeatedly and in exhausting depth, check out e.g. the Goblin interview. there are really no questions left about it, IMO.
4) several reasons, a) he has been injured and has trouble with the injury until today which makes it difficult for him to walk, b) he is probably still a bit too spunky and his rhetoric occasionally too aggressive for the current Kremlin line. someone like Khodakovsky would work much better for negotiating peace terms with the junta. and you are very much mistaken if you believe they are trying to build a working state in DNR-LNR. they aren’t.
if you think this is “idle talk”, wait and see.
Zakharchenko was appointed Military Commander of the DNR on May 16th by the Supreme Council immediately after it was formed on May 16th.
He was never a platoon leader. He led more than a platoon in the anti-Maidan.
The 58 men Strelkov brought with him from Crimea, on the other hand, were the most he had ever directly commanded in his entire life in any capacity, and their theatrical storming of the empty police station was the military highpoint.
There’s an interview with Chalenko floating around which you should check out. He is cross-examined on what exactly he has done and finally was backed into admitting “I was not military. I was intelligence.”
You are way out of date on Motorola. In Givi’s denunciation of Strelkov back in October (?) which should still be findable on YouTube (although Kazzura pulled it and edited it a lot) Givi says Kononov and Zakharchenko are great men, he will follow them to the end, and he speaks for Motorola too.
“Strelkov did give Zakharchenko credit for bravery and the ability to command in combat on a small scale – a platoon or so.”
===================
So when did you first hear about this conflict? Last week?
Strelkov never having commanded in combat himself, he is hardly one to look to for an opinion. Mind you, “platoon commander” is higher than he ever got in the military. It is claimed by his camp followers that he was second in command of a platoon. It is possible, but not certain, that he had higher rank in the FSB for his specialty, ‘enhanced interrogation’ of captive civilians. It is also possible that it’s a matter of “I’m not a doctor, but I play one on TV.” “Colonel Strelkov” was a false identity that the FSB printed up for Strelkov on one of his missions in Chechnya.
How do you account for Strelkov’s promoting Zakharchenko to major and awarding him the St. George Cross? Not the brightest command decision to give this to someone with the talent and achievements of a platoon leader, wouldn’t you say?
Strelkov is busily trying to rewrite the history of the civil war to cover up his inglorious part in it, but too many people know the truth about him. Also, he confesses when the camera is off; flatter him while you interview him and he’ll tell you everything. His latest revelation is that the reason he never had military education or training was that he was found “unfit to serve” when he registered for the draft, so military schools wouldn’t admit him.
That speculation was denied by Purgin and Khodakovskii, and their responses re-posted by the source–whoever this source really is
http://glav.su/forum/1-misc/2664/3200287-message/#message3200287
Other matters are answered on Cassad (slight differences in tone but no significant differences on issues among real characters involved)
we’ll see.
Four people in Crimea planned the seizure of power in Donbass: Girkin, Borodai, Malofeev (the money) and Boris Rozhin, a newpaper editor who created the propaganda web.
Girkin’s network includes Rozhin’s own blog, Colonel Cassad, Kazzura, Voice of Sevastopol and about a dozen other outlets.
Petrovsky is somebody’s mole in the Strelkov camp: maybe Zakh’s, maybe the Kremlin’s.
Trolling and personal attacks are not allowed here. That you are posting from Poland does not give you the right to flaunt the comment policies here.
Flout, not flaunt. If I may flaunt my knowledge about the policies, I think I would be unwise to flout them.
Good catch. You should volunteer as a translator somewhere.
Ignorance is transparent.
Western MSM’s silence…, oh, wait, Greece!!!!!
0.01% doesn’t cover a 360 degree view.
Innocent people are dying at the hands of the Kiev Kommando Killers’ hands and where’s the heart throbbing EU committee?
Gettin’ high on empty slogans, DD-sized hookers and fountains of booze.
Zakharchenko destroys the myth of Strelkov and the great strategic retreat from Slavyansk.
I can’t wait for the Strelkov minions to heat up the debate.
First Borodai took the great Colonel of monarchist ideology apart with his comments. Now Zakh.
There is also a Russian General Petrovsky (Gloomy) who has ripped up Strelkov’s retreat.
The following is a machine translation of an interview. Three parts.
https://z5h64q92x9.net/proxy_u/ru-en.en/chervonec-001.livejournal.com/696254.html
Myth ? Strelkov was the military leader that tried to save Novorossia, no ? Apparently the dream of sovereignity is over now. Not that it’s my business, it’s just sad watching it.
No.
Strelkov was an unemployed security guard with a past in black ops in Chechnya, who thought Russia was going to invade Ukraine and he would make a name for himself if he could be there when they arrived wearing some kind of title.
He laughs about how gullible people are in interviews with his intimates. (He forgets he’s on the record. A little flattery helps.) He says “I am Colonel Strelkov. I am a Russian. This is my fifth war.” Notice he does not say he is a Russian army colonel or that he has ever led troops on the battlefield. He feels it is not his duty to correct you if you make false assumptions.
But it is general Petrovsky who in this interview promotes exchange Khodakovsky for Zakharchenko.
http://voicesevas.ru/news/yugo-vostok/15517-general-petrovskiy-pro-slavyansk.html
These articles argue that Khodakovsky would be a compromise on which both Kiev end Moskow could agree on. And Kiev would be willing to talk to.
http://nation-news.ru/2015-07-10/124563-hodakovskiy-mozhet-smenit-zaharchenko-na-postu-glavyi-dnr/
http://www.kommersant.ru/doc/2747246
I don’t like it, but I am not the one who decides which compromise is acceptable while still serves the main goal of denazification of Ukraine. I am just trying to understand and guess what will happen next.
Khodakovsky owes Zakh his life; he probably wouldn’t accept.
When Khodakovsky was trapped on the roof of the airport by the Ukrainian air force, Borodai sent in Abwehr to reinforce him but just wound up with more people trapped. Then he screamed for help to Zakh and Oplot, and told Zakh “However you see a way to do it, just GET HIM OUT!”
Borodai was concerned with Khodakovsky personally. I still wonder why. I’m pretty sure Borodai is a retired senior FSB officer — if independent, he’s an FSB asset.
Where did you get this version of events at the airport? I understand Russian, so a Russian language source is fine, if you could provide.
I am curious, because both Khodakovsky and Zakharchenko recount those events differently. Khodakovsky does owe Zakharchenko his life, and not just Khodakovsky, probably Borodai as well as all their fighters who were nearly trapped at the airport then.
According to Zakharchenko, he realised something went horribly wrong with that operation when he saw Ukrainian military planes coming in towards the airport, phoned Khodakovsky and asked what was going on and how he could help. Khodakovsky replied that they were almost encircled there by the Ukrainian troops and if Zakharchenko could get there on time and stop the encirclement closing, then that would help. Zakharchenko rushed to the airport with a small group of his people, while also calling a rota of his Oplot for help. He got there in the nick of time and was able to organise 20 or 30 of the retreating disorientated fighters into a small fighting force, with which he held the Ukrainian forces off until his Oplot reinforcement arrived.
Later that day Khodakovsky was asking commanders of various militia units to come to him, so as to coordinate the action of their respective units. However, only Zakharchenko came to him (with a couple of his subordinates), and they stayed together until late into that night, before being able to get out.
Eileen:
I read your comment on August 19th. I will look for you on the blog and repeat this, but my source for this version of the airport rescue is an interview in Zavtra magazine where past editor Borodai and current editor Prokhanov have a wide-ranging chat.
Searching the names in Cyrillic script will find it.
And what was YOUR source? Russian is all right, I speak Yandex.
Zavtra is a great source, btw. A centre for the Tsarist movement, it is home for many of the DNR principals, and they let their hair down. It also contributes that Prokhanov, through cunning or a slavish disposition, I don’t know which, smothers his interviewees with flattery and adulation, to which Strelkov himself is extraordinarily susceptible. It was here that Strelkov, in an interview with Prokhanov, made his well-circulated claim to have been personally responsible for the war and that without him everyone would have gone home and watched on TV. In another interview he relates that (under an unnamed commander) OPLOT took out a checkpoint with 50 UAF casualties to one.
@Mats
Why do you add fuel to flame war between fractions in DNR ?
Under your link there is no statement from Zakharchenko..
Did you play the video and read the subtitles, Anonymous1/1000?
Yes and I think you exaggerate.
Petrovsky is not military, he’s intelligence.
Alexander Zakharchenko will be recorded in history as one of the great Generals and Revolutionary leaders.
For the Democratic Republics!
IMAGINE
Negotiations to remove Putin. Evgeny Fedorov.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCyUZjGV3Zg
American agents negotiating with Russian bullets.
Thanks so much for the link to this interview. I like Evgeny a lot, he explains things in so didactic manner…
I did not know that the Russian Constitution was such a trap. It is clear that, like we suffered here in Spain during the so called “democratic transition”, the constitution was written/reformed to ensure that occult powers were following handling everything from racks.
So, as we the Spanish people have awakened to this reality, it gets clear for the Russian people too, that a Constitutional process is necessary which bring us sovereignity again.
This interview also helps us keep faith in comrade V.V.Putin. God bless him and the NOD.
Health and strenght, tovarischi!
Would like to be there to help you.
The “very last” thing that Novorossia needs right now is disunity.Whatever disagreements they have between each other,”suck them up”.And stop this stupidity of trashing each other.The only ones this helps is the junta and enemies of Novorossia.That is a discussion for after the war,and then by military historians.Right now having the junta shelling you everyday.And plotting to attack and destroy you is what matters.I didn’t see in that video any “attacks” on anybody.He mentioned his opinion and that was all.The important parts of the video was where he said all the former Oblast of Donetsk was their territory,occupied or not.And where he said they would be freed and the criminals oppressing the people in the occupied areas punished.
A little bit of advice, “Anonymous”. When you start out a comment with a personal insult directed towards the person you “want” a response from, that tells the moderators here that your comment is intended for insulting purposes and is in need of editing. You know the commenting rules here and the penalty for breaking them.
It seems to me that requiring the registration and use of a username would go a long way toward a solution to this problem.
That said, I have posted expressions of sincerely-held beliefs that I know go against deeply-held beliefs of Saker and they were allowed, so it would seem that one would have to go a long way down the road of unpleasantness to have his post disallowed. The cloak of anonymity, I think, just encourages that sort of behavior.
I’m a regular poster here who always posts with a handle except when I make an error. Now no one can tell who I am (although they can guess), and Blunk is a name, but still anonymous. Perhaps moderators could determine who I regularly post as by ISP, but even that is definitive since ISP covers a range of people using the web.
Posters can just pull a unique name out a hat and use it regularly, and they are no longer ‘anonymous’ but still no more trackable than before. We Martians do it all the time, as little children who go forth.
I remember when the supporters of Novorossiya or the Kremlin argued that internal problems would cause the collapse of Kiev. Maybe it will cause the collapse of Donetsk and Lugansk. Before it gets to that point, I would expect Russia to send in lots of people to try to prop things up, but it is getting harder and harder to hide the serious problems in Novorossiya. Who killed Mozgovoy? Surely the investigation is a top priority in Moscow. A recent article by Ischenko argues that some oligarchs got the coup in Kiev and others wanted a Novorossiya as their protection. In other words, people like Strelkov were working for other Ukrainian oligarchs. Don’t know about that, but it is ugly. Maybe all of us here have simply been backing the Akhmetov World, not the Russian World. If Khodakovsky replace Zakharchenko at some point, it will be hard to think otherwise.
On the bright side, Kiev has problems, too.
This isn’t concern trolling. It is just that certain pro-Russian sites seem so overly optimistic that someone needs to point out the other perspective. The US kept Guatemala going for over a decade with a really brutal civil war. The US won. Armenia was on its knees in its war against Azerbaijan but still managed to win. It is far from obvious that Kiev is simply going to give up at some point. Human systems tend to be resilient till another more powerful force hits them. Also, the US has an advantage of sorts in that there are two good results: victory or destruction. Russia needs victory and no destruction.
Absolutely agree. Thanks for the post.
Indeed, that is the important part of his statement, but do not know why on Earth someone has begun, again, to put as much shit as it can on Strelkov, it seems to be the favorite topic not only for Cassandra, Cassandre, Cass, Cassie with his/her multinicks, but now this troll reporting from the very shelter of the Ukronazis Western Reserve, it has now the invaluable help of some commentators of weight here, who, as she / he, are thousands of kilometers away from the scene and only based on comments made by third-parties on the network. The fact of read many comments against a person does not prove that what those comments say is true. By the same token, we should do the same with the horrible comments on Comrade Putin, and we do not.
Something that I find curious is that Khodakovsky, about who someone reported here looked like a Kiev mole, because all operations directed by him has always been a high number of casualties in the militias, not to mention that it was former SBU, he never takes criticism for their poor military arts. For example, Cassandra and Kat Kan, who seem to be some experts in military offensives, never discussed anything negative about him. I wonder why?
Above it, now it appears that they want to put him with shoehorn to us as future PM of Donetsk. In my opinion, that is pure speculation based on my instinct, Khodakovsky is the ultimate man of the oligarchs in Donetsk. Put bluntly, THIS TURKEY I DO NOT LIKE AT ALL!. I prefer Zack, which is at least a proletarian, but the point is to remove from any position of power any trace of proletariat, right? Too soviet reminiscent to some who are allergic to anything resounding “collective power”. The proletarians to sweat to the mines and in the reconstruction of the Donbass, after losing his legs and arms, family and everything else, which is their usual place….
I, who am here in Spain, much closer to the front than most “armchair generals” here, but far enough away, not receive assessment data, so therefore attend to all the arguments here. To evaluate better, from where I sit, I would also wish, as someone pointed, were translated some of the hundreds of statements he has made /does, apparently every day, Strelkov. More than anything to compare and no bias favorable to one side.
What Kat Kan says about that Strelkov “feel threatened by all from Putin down”. Woman, normal!. I would feel the same watching how have disappeared from the face of the Earth all the commanders who had any critical voice against something that looked bad or had other plans for Novorossyia other than back into the hands of oligarchs. I do not know, but I do not see anything abnormal, however the so much some of you try us to see him not only militarily useless but also mentally ill.
Me, if I were him, everyday to leave the house, would look to one side and the other and behind my shoulder, all the time and, of course, under the car, if any.
To me, you can say what you want, you may strive to be maimed typing, Strelkov will remain a Hero of Novorossyia, and also has the merit of having led the offensive when all was chaos, only had tens of militians poorly equipped and trained, and did not count with any help from any “voentorgs”.
How easy it is for some to malign and destroy the reputation of a man without consequences.
For me, all who have gone to risk their life for the citizens of Donbass are Heroes, of any sign, from anywhere, for their generosity and courage. My memory and my respect for all those who have given their lives there, included some very young “Naz-bol” from the controversial Limonov´s group, or those who have been imprisoned in their return home, as the Spanish internationalists …
In order, for all, I wish them the best.
My major source on Strelkov, 98%, is Strelkov. I believe I can tell when he slips up and tells the truth.
I had never heard of Kurginyan until you called me a Kurginyan troll.
Thanks for the tip.
“Something that I find curious is that Khodakovsky, about who someone reported here looked like a Kiev mole, because all operations directed by him has always been a high number of casualties in the militias”
This is absolutely untrue, you are just repeating the desinformation that has been used for over a year in a smear campaign against him. The operation at the ariport on 26 May 2014 had only 4 casualties until 2 trucks coming out of it were shelled in a friendly-fire incident. The other failed operation directed by him – a few days later in Marinovka – had only 2 casualties whereas Strelkov later tried unsuccessfully to take Marionovka with casualties multiple higher – according to Borodai, more that 100 killed – but it went unnoticed.
His Vostok unit (batallion, then brigade) had a number of successful operations, that for some strange reason his critics give him no credit for, most notably the defense of Saur-Mogila last summer, the defense of Yasinovataya and breaking the blockade of Gorlovka, tha last one was a joint operation with Igor Bezler and was achieve with no casualties for Vostok apart from a few wounded.
However, he is not going to replace Zakharchenko as head of DPR, it was just some fake.
Tio Roberto, think again. That only works if it’s unanimous. Given the premise, there exists disunity, how likely is it to be unanimous?
So what happens if there is one maverick (perhaps in exile in Moscow) working through one disciple, trying to organize a “Military Council” to mutiny and install a military dictatorship in time to subvert the elections upcoming in, let’s say, early November?
You have made him a green corridor. Everybody else has been unilaterally disarmed.
That isn’t possible.Russian control is almost absolute on the security field.Plus the current leadership is accepted by the people.Disunity only sows seeds of discontent,playing into the hands of our enemies.And should never be tolerated in wartime.
I wish we knew more about what is happening in Transcarpathia (Western Ukraine). It seems there is actual fighting going on there between Right Sector thugs and the police forces.With 2 or 3 deaths so far,and a dozen or so injured.Both sides are said to be sending reinforcements.And the junta has closed the roads to the region.The Right Sector and other fascist allies have also started moving forces into Kiev for a demonstration there.And Slovakia (not sure about Hungary) has closed their border for fear the fighting will spill over there.Interesting things going on in Banderastan.
http://rt.com/news/273160-ukraine-right-sector-police/
It’s very simple – merely a turf war over cigarette distribution, perfectly normal in western civilisation.
http://novorossia.today/leader-of-the-right-sector-says-protests-should-continue-until-interior-minister-is-arrested/
“Some 20 gunmen of the Right Sector group arrived at a cafe located on the territory of a sports complex controlled by Ukrainian MP Mikhail Lanyo on Saturday. Police and eyewitnesses said the gunmen had come for a meeting with Lanyo’s representatives to discuss the “redistribution of spheres of influence.”
A conflict erupted between the talks, and the extremists later on opened fire from small arms on their opponents. The police arrived at the scene and tried to block the get-away route for the gunmen. In response, the gunmen opened fire using rifles, heavy machine guns and grenade launchers.”
Ultimately of course, it is all Putin’s fault. A trail of evidence leads directly back to the Kremlin.
https://z5h64q92x9.net/proxy_u/ru-en.en/rusvesna.su/news/1436642100
As I recall the militia’s advance was halted rather suddenly when the Ukraine forces seemed to be collapsing. The fear was the militia didn’t have enough men and might be surrounded. Commanders have a heavy responsibility. I disclose that I know nothing of the real situation but I can imagine the possibilities. One commander is fearful and withdraws. Another is confident and continues the advance. The politicians on high, impacted by hundreds of players, decide to stop. Perhaps each commander “felt the heat of the night hit him like a freight train moving with a simple twist of fate.” (Dylan) They acted according to their characters. Thousands of smaller decisions previously chosen all had their say. Maybe the truth will out when the histories of the Donbass war are written. Probably not for a hundred years and then will it matter? I’m a commander of sorts over my battalion of demons and angels. I wish I had more to be proud of. “In the courtyard of the golden sun you stand and fight or you break and run.” (Dylan). Persist.
Dennis Leary for thelovegovernment.com
Dennis Leary
I disclose that I know nothing of the real situation
Exactly.
A good rule about the militia is to remember that their real strategic commanders are Russian officers, high ranking. The brigade commanders we know and respect like Motorola, Givi, the late Brain/Mosgovoy, Devil, and Zakh who is the Commander of all Donetsk militia, are all subject to Russian commanders. Small unit tactics are within their purview. Nothing like sweeping to Mariupol or heading up to Slavyansk is possible on their own. They don’t have the permission to do what they want when they want in altering the battlefield. They rely on Russian Intel more and more. They rely on Russian supply, the Voentorg. And they usually have a thousand or two Russians on vacation fighting with them as volunteers.
They are fighting US military advisors, US military-CIA Intel operations, NATO special operators and battle-hardened snipers from Iraq, Afghanistan, and other US-NATO conflicts.
The militia are heroes, patriots to Donbass and Russia, and excellent small unit fighters. They have done some great things. But their moves are directed by Russian officers. It is rare that they have made self-directed moves on the battlefield. When they have, like Marinka, casualties were very high. Shirinoko is another decision made locally. It lead to numerous casualties.
Thus, if they engage again in full warfare like we saw in January and early February, I think we will see things never before seen on the Donbass battlefield. I suspect Russia will punish the Ukies for all the violations of Minsk 2, particularly the Azov and Aidar national guard, Right Sector battalions. And of course, the regular Ukie army will probably get themselves into boilers and be obliterated in the futility of fighting a Russian-led, Russian supplied army of locals.
I like your analysis. Zackarachenko has an attitude of quiet inspiring confidence, while Strelkov seems to have a hysterical, grudging mindset, with his exaggerations and bending of the truth (Agree, I don´t speak the language). (Besides, off topic of course, in w Europe, only people behind a garbage truck were a mustache like his)
What worries me more than Donbass (I think eventually Zackarachenko will be right about this) is the Odessa province:
If NATO is allowed too long to build up a not-so-covert presence, and even take over the harbor, it will become very hard to dislodge them, and if/ when the become more agressive to Transdnestria, a major war is inevitable.
On top of this, the EU machinations of incorporating Moldavia, Georgia and Ukraine (in depth, perhaps overly detailed, translated Dutch-Belgian article in 3 parts about the corrupt dealings of the EU deep state, eastward expansion, Greece and TTIP):
http://tinyurl.com/o3xyprh
http://tinyurl.com/oxgaqd8
http://tinyurl.com/otazg9n
It shows a lot of determination on their side!
I am hoping an underground and above ground guerrilla war destabilizes Odessa as a possible US base. I can’t conceive the Russians living with the US NAVY 180 miles from their base in Sevastopol. If this conflict persists, as it well may, for several more years, then guerrilla operations and sabotage seem inevitable.
Odessa may not have the equal significance as Crimea, but it is crucial to remain neutralized at the least, incorporated into Novorossiya-Russia at best.
“The brigade commanders we know and respect like Motorola, Givi, the late Brain/Mosgovoy, Devil, and Zakh who is the Commander of all Donetsk militia, are all subject to Russian commanders.”
On that list, only Zakh is a brigade commander. Mozgovoi is dead, Motorola is a battalion commander (and is a Russian officer for you), Bes is in Russia, Givi’s detached motorized force was around 100 men.
“A good rule about the militia is to remember that their real strategic commanders are Russian officers, high ranking.”
There is no evidence whatsoever to support this surmise. The Russia firsters want it to be so, that’s all.
What little we have to go on suggests strongly that tactics and strategy are not coming out of an old USSR playbook. At Debaltsevo, for example, the ricochet instant offense broke all the rules. I doubt the militiamen’s two years of compulsory service impressed them with Russian officers, and what must they think of bumbling old Petrovsky, building his “intelligence service” based on MI6 as described in Harris’s novel about the Enigma group?
So how was the situation at the “Mariupol-front” when Minsk2 came along, I’ve read a few versions about this, and they differ quite a lot?…
Unfortunately, non-Russian speakers miss a lot of (very interesting) information and analysis coming from Strelkov almost daily concerning many issues, including this clown and traitor Zakharchenko – representative and puppet of Russian 5-th column in Novorossiya. Saker is wrong (to say the least) by letting one side (Zakharchenko/5-th column) to have a say and suppressing other (Strelkov/Russian patriots). That creates distorted picture of situation in Russia/Novorossia in the eyes of non-Russian speakers who don’t have access to a lot of first-hand information.
P.S. By the way, under Debaltsevo Zakharchenko was wounded entirely by accident, by his own guard.
Why do you come to this site? The Saker has put plenty of information from all sides on here over the last 18mnths on what has gone on incld. Strelkov’s views. People can access his opinions if they wish – there are other sites catering for this.
You just come here to troll and spread mischief with nothing to back up what you say – facts/proof please.
Veritas
My error. I didn’t catch that Canadian troll until after I passed your reply. That “Anonymous” smear shouldn’t have been posted or failing that, allowed to remain once your reply brought attention to it.
Dear Veritas, I come here – as well as you – because I support what Saker is doing. I know he is a honest man looking for truth. But regarding Zakharchenko he is wrong. In short: Zakharchenko is a 100% Surkov’s man (Surkov is a 5-th columnist). My point is simple: if you post video with this traitor and clown Zakharchenko talking lies about Strelkov, then at least post what Strelkov is saying on this matter.
Unfortunately, Saker didn’t post a single video with Strelkov for months already. Couple of videos with Strelkov released every week, text interviews and comments almost daily. All proofs and facts are in Russian. Here you go:
1. Hundreds of text/interviews with Strelkov
2. Recent videos with Strelkov
Not everything about Zakharchenko, of course. Strelkov expresses very interesting thoughts on many topics about current situation in Russia and Novorossiya.
Dear Veritas (and Saker) you are always free to take whatever side you want. That’s just information from “other side” that is missed here. That’s all wanted to point out, not to “troll” :-)
Cheers
(P.S. As for “Canadian” (lol) – I’m using Tor – and recommend this to everyone after Snowden leaks.)
From what I see, Saker has already quite a while ago taken a more “ohranitel” (Russian for “protectionist”) type of view, leaning more towards the Starikov-Ischshenko-Zakharchenko type of position. Strelkov or other more realistic-pessimistic people like Dugin, El Murid, Murs, don’t fit that dogmatic orientation, and so are apparently no longer welcome on Saker’s blog (which is a pity).
unfortunately, the ohranitel type of view is a very rose-colored one and IMO not at all consistent with the real situation. both Starikov and Ischschenko have a long history of writing nonsense which has later completely been shattered by Real Life ™, as well as switching views overnight in accordance with the Party Line ™. in Starikov’s case it’s for example his constant appeals for a non-violent solution during the 2014 Maidan, or the constant assurances that Russia doesn’t want Crimea, only Ukraine as a whole. For both, he flip-flopped 180 degrees within just a few weeks, which lost him nearly all analytic credibility in my eyes. he is not as bad as Kurginyan (who is btw also from the ohranitel camp, just on the more lunatic wing of it), but leans much in the same direction. the same thing goes for Ischshenko, who has been so often blatantly wrong in his predictions that the junta would collapse, how the war would develop, etc (just check out some of the early 2014 articles of his) that it’s not even funny.
finally Zakharchenko.. well, the guy is simply given way too much attention and credit, in my opinion. I think he’s overall a decent fellow (though even in this respect he has recently given some causes for doubt), but if you look at his background, he’s just a former miner with a very limited education and even more limited combat experience, at a level of sergeant or so. he has exactly zero successful operations or other major achievements to his name. his role as head of DNR is just to execute what he’s being told from the Kremlin. and it’s not so clear if he’s even good at that.
A pity we can’t have an honest public debate between those two men , Igor Strelkov and Alexander Zakharchenko .
I dont think there would be much of a discussion. their levels are really too different. Strelkov is a senior FSB officer with nearly 20 years professional service experience in a total of 5 wars, and by far the most successful field commander of 2014, if we go by respective unit strength + situation + outcome. he’s the one person who essentially made DNR-LNR possible.
Zakharchenko on the other hand is a former miner with practically no combat or command experience. he has no substantial military achievements to his name, and no real civil achievements either – the situation in the Donbass has been hovering on somewhere between “complete humanitarian catastrophe” and “just slightly short of a humanitarian catastrophe” for almost the whole year now that he’s been in power.
their conversation, were it ever to happen, would be a very one-sided lecture, I’m afraid.
Strelkov was a brilliant military commander who carved out the territory of the Donbass Republics. Zakharchenko is a brilliant civilian strategist who negotiated the minefields of the Minsk Agreements, managing to retain de facto independence despite that the DPR is fighting the whole world. Novorossiya is fortunate to have had both of these charasmatic geniuses in its history.
They did, of sorts. Alex won the election, Stelkov was banished.
This is all silly nonsense by a coterie of sunshine patriots and summer soldiers who have no sense of reality. And have no expertise in military combat above Lt. Colonel status.
Putin has a nation to defend and a protowar against the Hegemon to win.
Strelkov wants a parade and chest full of medals. He suffers a mental illness, as does El Murid.
The only relevance they have is Col Cassad still has not written them off.
But it will come.
total nonsense, sorry. you have no idea what you are talking about.
Explain why you disagree rather than just writing an empty comment?
Mr Z.L., the Moderator,
Your remark should be addressed to Mats above not to Anonymous. Don’t you recognize empty statements aka gibberish?
It was Anonymous first who asked Mats to explain or proof why what he said is not a drivel. Why you, the moderator, did stepped in the process with your wrong stance?
Try not to be The Saker-Bis, the hell!
Look, Cassander, Z.L is not here right now ( We are from all over the globe and sometimes there are people sleeping ).
But you must consider the fact that here we are a few moderators, as many were called but very few remain working constantly, and between these, some of us, we are not English natives and, therefore, capable of doing something wrong anytime. Therefore, please have some consideration, and would ask you to be more friendly and polite with peers who volunteer here.
Thank you. I’ll try to be better. And thanks for your job, in the part you are right. :)
But few readers have expressed their opinions through last days this blog loses a lot removing worthy comments containing important information not accepted to be placed on covers.
Sometimes due to few harsher words in one sentence or due to some listed sources which are not likened by the Author of this blog (perhaps).
I am for the information first, moving aside style concerns. Not the best style or slightly heated exchange of words are meaningless in the face of scarcity of the Russian information for the non-Russian readers. If I were to be given orders from the Saker to censor some comments I would resign from the post of moderator. With a strongest expletive I know. :( But it’s me not you.
Once more thanks for your job. I admit it is needed from time to time.
it was me who wrote that comment, I often forget to write my name in the Name field.
basically Mats has all his information wrong, would be too long to straighten it all out in detail. here are a few starters:
> Alex won the election, Stelkov was banished.
Strelkov was blackmailed out of his DNR defense ministry commander position way before Zakharchenko was even on the map. Under Strelkov, Zakharchenko commanded small units of platoon-company size, without any particular achievements, and was afterwards more or less randomly pulled up and proclaimed to be “the right candidate” by Kremlin polit-technologists.
> This is all silly nonsense by a coterie of sunshine patriots and summer soldiers. And have no
> expertise in military combat above Lt. Colonel status.
nonsense. Strelkov is a lifetime career FSB officer, now a senior officer, retired Colonel (NOT Lt. Colonel!) with various distinctions. he took part in a total of 5 wars (first one was the Transnistrian conflict in 1992-93 as a volunteer of merely 22 years, then Bosnia, Chechnya 1 and 2, and now Ukraine) and has 16 years of official service to his name, mostly in war zones. he went through various positions from regular infantry to a self-propelled howitzer (2S3 Akatsiya) commander to a tactical officer to intelligence officer etc etc. his career specialty has been organizing semi-partisan and partisan fighter groups. it is absolutely NOT a coincidence that under his lead the Slavyansk brigade performed so brilliantly and was even able to withdraw (in a very sharp and well-executed operation) in the very end, with very few losses, even against a 10+ times stronger opponent. he’s a top-class professional in this, even though he – very modestly – often says that he feels out of his depth commanding forces significantly over a batallion or brigade. and I don’t even mention his fairly deep and profound knowledge of military and geopolitical history, revolutions, wars, and so on and so forth, which he has often displayed in various interviews.
nobody – and I repeat NOBODY – else in Donbass (at least from the public figures) has even near Strelkov’s overall class. Zakharchenko is just a former miner with no military or special forces education, no combat command experience, no real combat achievements to his name. Kononov is a self-taught former subordinate of Strelkov, a judo trainer in civil life. Mozgovoi was also essentially a civilian with minimal combat experience. Bezler – yes an army professional, but not a specialist in partisan war or tactics per se. Hmuryi – that was the one person who had largely Strelkov’s level (or maybe exceeded him in some areas) – but he was also a subordinate of Strelkov and worked fine with him until the end. and even he, from what i’ve read of his interviews, is not quite at Strelkov’s total level of strategic understanding, he’s more of a close-quarters army specialist, much like Motorola, though much higher in rank (Motorola btw being just a Marines sergeant, albeit a very professional and capable one).
> Putin has a nation to defend and a protowar against the Hegemon to win
yes, but how well has Putin done since 2013 in that? not very well, by all standards – almost all of Ukraine is now a zombified, ever more militarized Neonazi territory under direct control of the US. yes, Crimea got chopped off (again with much assistance from Strelkov & other regional activists like Aksyonov, Chalyi etc), but the Donbass and the rest have more or less been discarded, as it seems today. so that in the near future we may yet see NATO bases in Kharkov, ukronazi attack preparations vs Crimea and so on.
>Strelkov wants a parade and chest full of medals.
complete, utter bullshit. Strelkov is everything but a careerist. in fact, he was more or less asked to retire early because of his “inconvenience” for the generals in the FSB.
>He suffers a mental illness, as does El Murid.
say what?
> The only relevance they have is Col Cassad still has not written them off. But it will come.
Strelkov’s “relevance” is very nicely shown in the Runet when he’s chosen the most important person of 2014 in a LIveJournal poll, wins public debates with a landslide 60% vs 30% against pro-Kremlin apologist Starikov (with around 1 million Youtube views by now, btw), and gets “favorable” views from around 80% of Russians when asked (poll from just a month or so ago).
there’s a good reason he isn’t admitted on any major TV stations in Russia. and that is because his presence would be literally devastating to any ohranitel-type apologists. Starikov is by far the best one of them in terms of education and eloquence, and even he got destroyed one-on-one, albeit with some resistance. what Strelkov would do to the rest – I’d really like to see.
Thank you for elaborating. We moderators occassionally try to improve the quality of the discussions. This should not be understood as taking a stance for or against a particular author, but rather as helpful suggestions for all posters. I admit that I had not read the entire discussion in this case, but it is always a good idea, for all posters, to explain why you disagree rather than to just state your disagreement.
Cassander: We do not censor posts on Saker’s orders. You can disagree completely with Saker’s analyses and still be posted, so long as your post is well-written, not provocative, not racist etc. If a well-written post uses some harsh words, insults or swear words, then the policy is to delete those words and approve the rest of the post.
Cheers
no problem, your friendliness and tolerance are much appreciated. I’ve done lots and lots of commenting over the last ~10 years, on hundreds of sites, in 5+ languages, and so far I’m yet to meet a single moderator who would be as polite, intelligent, and forthcoming as you have just shown with this post.
my sincere respect goes out to you, I have no doubt that I wouldn’t be able to be anywhere near as friendly while doing this rather taxing job. you’re truly the kind of high-class moderator a high-class site like Saker’s deserves. let’s just hope you manage to keep it up for a while and not get tired of all the stupid trolls :)
All is well, then. :) Keep up the good debate!
/Z.L.
I’m not sure why Zakharchenko said what he said. At the time, Donetsk tycoon Rinat Akhmetov was in control of city and was in negotiations with Kiev to surrender it in order to keep his business empire. If Donetsk was lost keeping Slavyansk would be useless and new republic lost completely . That was the reason Strelkov decided to move all forces in Donetsk and overtake it from Akhmetov. Thanks to that new republic survived. He didn’t have enough forces to keep both cities.
If Strelkov left Slaviansk in order to safe Donetsk why would he go first to Gorlovka and tried to take over command?
The story I saw at the time was that Slavansk was going to be lost so it was no good spending resources trying to save it. Later I saw a report that reinforcements were on the way so they should have held out.
I don’t know — I guess many people in the area didn’t know — fog of war and all. But I think Strelkov is good at tactics but not strategy, and tends to be a lone wolf, and a bit of a loose cannon. Trying to second guess all the decisions made by people is difficult, but even if in retrospect one can see what did and should have happened it’s hard to know when in the thick of things — that knowing, sometimes in a ‘mysterious’ way, is what distinguishes a very good commander from an ordinary one.
But if another decision had been made there is no sure telling how that may have played out either.
Strelkov is not good at anything military. They should have been capturing rifles and ‘technology’ at Slavyansk but he held them to surveillance and sabotage. They only fought to hold checkpoints. The Ukrainian army was comic opera at the time; the weakest they would ever be. He is good, presumably, at Intelligency Agency stuff carried out in war zones.
Military: fly helicopters, Intel: throw interogees out of helicopters.
Military: storm cities, Intel: assassinate mayors
Military: capture armed combatants and take them to Abu Ghraib
Intel: enhanced interrogation and disposal of captives.
Except of course for the FSB, who assigned Strelkov to setting up petting zoos in Chechnya.
Added the 2nd half of Cassandra’s name.
Oops. Sorry.
Zak seems pretty confident that they will in due course recover the occupied territories. That will only happen with a collapse of the regime in Kiev, or the open support of Russia, which would require recognizing Novorossia as a sovereign state. That is unlikely to happen as it means writing off the rest of Ukraine unless Russia were to push right through to the Dnieper. That in turn is getting more difficult by the day as NATO uses the delay to build up it’s forces and treaties, meaning that a Russian invasion of Ukraine would directly involve NATO troops.
The hope is that the fascist regime in Kiev will collapse, but there is no evidence that is about to occur, despite wishful thinking here. The US and EU could continue to prop up the Kiev regime as long as they want to. The longer the junta holds on, the more established the repressive police apparatus becomes, and the more difficult it is to conduct a liberation struggle via partisans inside the Kiev controlled Ukraine.Repression and impoverishment only rarely lead to a spontaneous revolution. More commonly, they carry on for decades with a small repressed resistance as in Franco’s Spain, Chile after the coup, Argentina under the Generals, Greece under the Colonels, Guatemala, El Salvador, and so forth.
Most posters here didn’t expect the Kiev regime to last more than a year, but in part thanks to Russia continuing to subsidize them with cheap gas last winter, they are doing just fine. It it now past mid-summer, heading into fall again soon, and then another winter in Novorossia with a completely destroyed civil infrastructure and a huge housing and medical crisis. It would seem that Novorossia is more likely to collapse than Ukraine. What are people in Novorossia doing for a living? How many factories are working, and who are they selling any products produced to? Russia is obviously subsidizing them, but to what extend, and for how long?
Unlike Transnistria or South Ossetia, there are no official Russian ‘peacekeeper’ troops in Novorossia to secure their borders and stop the shelling. Russia’s official position is that Donetsk and Luhansk are provinces (Oblasts) of Ukraine. Under those circumstances, in a de-facto ongoing civil war, reconstruction and the rebuilding of a normal economy in Novorossia is almost impossible.Whatever the economic difficulties faced by the junta in Kiev, they are insignificant compared to the problems in Novorossia, and the protraction of the civil war favours Kiev, as they can blame their economic problems on Russia and the “traitors” in Donetsk and Luhansk, while NATO continues to pump money and weapons into the Ukrainian National Guard and army.
It doesn’t look like this civil war is going to come to a conclusion any time soon, with Russia propping up Novorossia, and NATO and EU subsidizing and arming Kiev.
It looks like it’s all over for a sovereign Novorossia, from where I look at things. Yet another worthless civil war, brought to you by the American empire and its neocons.
Kiev may do better than Donetsk, but that is only part of the battle. The real battle is the Western financial oligarchy in control of the US and Britain and its fight against Russia. So Donetsk might be emptied of people with no buildings left, but, if, in the process, Russia can build its economy and free itself from all the fifth columnists, then all of the Donbass could be recaptured and rebuilt. So Moscow is the target, and stalling for time is the game plan. This may or may not be the best plan, but it is certainly logical.
Your point about a brutal regime being hard to displace is why I have been mystified with Russia’s rather hands-off approach to things inside the Ukraine in regions outside the Donbass. Perhaps the reason is to try to win over oligarchs or keep the friendly oligarchs on Russia’s side. If the Kremlin authorized a campaign to damage the Ukrainian economy, those oligarchs would lose a lot, and thus no longer see the Kremlin as an ally or possible ally. This has logic, but the downside is that it gives the US time to clean out all important areas of pro-Russian sentiment and to train people in the New Order, so to speak. Those who don’t like this New Order are free to move to Russia.
The problem is Russia has already lost “Ukraine”.There is no going back.They seem to be the only ones that don’t see that.What needs to be done is to save the areas of the former Ukraine that can be saved.That is the Novorossian areas.Those still have a chance to be saved.But trying for it all will probably end with losing it all.The chance to save everything died when the Kremlin refused to intervene.And allowed the junta who ramp up a nationwide hate-Russia campaign.
Correct
Looking a little longer range, there may come to power in Kiev a government that will be open to negotiating or tolerating the oblasts’ aligning themselves with the Donbass in a quasi-federal status.
As long as the junta (or the parties that support them) exist,that can’t happen.I try to be a realist.I’d love for all the former Ukraine to be freed.But unless Russia either liberates it.Or gives enough support to others to liberate it,that won’t happen.It is possible with much less effort to liberate all of Novorossia.So,”a bird in the hand,is worth more than two in the bush”.
It seems to me that everyone forgets that NATO gamed the breakup of Ukraine in 2009.Their game model was almost exactly what we see today.Actually today is smaller,their model was all the Southeast (Novorossia) breaking away.They knew it could happen.And they planned how to live with it.The biggest difference is that plan supposed Russia would actually support the breakup.The problem we have today is, since Russia didn’t support the breakup, it gives NATO the hope they can stop it.Had Russia conformed as they gamed.They would have whined a lot,and then just accepted it.Now they will keep on pushing to stop it.
Do you have a link? I’ve tried to Google it, but didn’t find it. Thanks.
I saw the report on that (I think in April or May).It was an Austrian article (I believe) ,about a German annalist who worked for the German military.He did the study for the Germans that they submitted at the NATO meeting at that time.When I saw it I wrote a long post on it at the Guardian (I can’t find that post now.I figure they deleted it).Since then I’ve tried to find the original again without success.I did find several third hand reports on this.But they look like there were subtle changes.Instead of Odessa being separate they show it still with the West.Though all the East is still separate.But in the first article,it included maps showing all the areas of “Novorossia” complete with Odessa that he thought would break away from Ukraine.He believed that it could be triggered by just the type of collapse of the central government as they had (maidan).The only difference was he thought the South (Odessa) would form its own state.So that you would have both the East and South breaking apart,but in two parts instead of one.He also thought that as the whole area was culturally Russian and tied to Russia. That Russia would support the breakup.And that NATO would have to accept and deal with it.So they already knew it was a strong possibility that Ukraine,an artificial state to begin with, was very unstable.That a shock of regime collapse could split it apart.And were gaming how to handle that possibility.I see the fact that Russia has opposed the breakup as the reason NATO has acted like they have .They see the “opportunist’s” chance to gain the whole Ukraine.Had Russia responded as they expected they would probably have reacted just as they are today with sanctions.But the crisis we see would never have happened.There wouldn’t have been the war as they have now.And the fascist regime would probably have collapsed long ago.Without the almost half of the population of the former Ukraine that is in the Novorossian areas.Without the around 80% of the former Ukraine’s resources gone.And with only around 55% of the territory still part of the former Ukraine it wouldn’t be attractive to the West.So they wouldn’t be willing to keep it going economically (even if only barely,as they do today).
Here is a report on the amended piece: http://www.german-foreign-policy.com/en/fulltext/56303
Thanks.
I have been posting this for months and nobody has made a dent in it while the evidence, and admissions by Strelkov, continue to mount.
Igor Girkin has no military education, no military training and no significant combat experience beyond carrying a rifle through the woods with an underslung grenade launcher.
He graduated from high school in 1988. At that time, USSR had two years compulsory military training and the law required Igor to immediately register for the draft. The draft board found him “physically or mentally unfit to serve.” He tried to get into military college but for obvious reasons they do not accept people with his draft qualification.
He then took a four-year course at the Moscow Institute of Historical Archiving and is a qualified librarian. Not historian, which requires more education than a 4-year undergraduate course.
At the end of the school year he went to Transnistria and hung out with Prapor, for whom he procured a machine gun. There is a story they allowed him to fire blanks from it. He was there less than 7 weeks, but did a lot of networking with radical Russian Orthodox Tsarists. Neither Prapor nor Strelkov, to my knowledge, has ever claimed that he “fought” there. In a listing of units he was enlisted that is almost certainly his (most social media stuff in his name isn’t) Transnistria is followed by a blank line. He was “present.” The war there ended July 22nd.
In Transnistria he was recruited by a group of co-religionists to go to Bosnia. He was reportedly in Bosnia from November or December until April 1993. I don’t know why the gap; the others went to Bosnia right away. Perhaps he did too but did not want to place himself on the site of things going on then in Bosnia. His band was led by Alexander “Ac” Muharek.
His “Bosnian Diary” (which is available on line) was shown to many friends, one of whom asked why it totally omitted certain incidents. Igor replied “The people were never seen again. Best not to mention.”
He joined the FSB in 1995 or 1996 (sources vary), a gap in which the Choir Boys claim he was in the army as a flunky doing things like guarding warehouses. I don’t know, don’t much care, as none of their claims dispute mine.
Once he joined the FSB, he was an intelligence agent in a war zone with military cover, not in the military. The Choir Boys are loading social media with what is purported to be his military ID, screen shots, murky, untraceable backwards, unreadable. (I’m tempted to put together an imitation with white eagles and all and a picture for Girkin’s registration with the American Kennel Club.) What do they think it proves? Have they never heard of Miss Moneypenny?
In a recent interview “War as a Litmus Test” there are two unrehearsed questions at the very end in which Girkin explains that the FSB office in Chechnya printed up all his ID (answering a question about name changes) and also ascribes his draft status to too much reading which ruined one of his eyes. My grandma used to tell me too much reading would ruin my eyes. But I’ll bet no army doctor ever said it. We are free to speculate as to what Girkin’s disability really was. Probably the same psychiatric disability that got him forced out of the FSB.
An approximate transcript of the subtitles is as follows: Question: “Alexander …, today is the anniversary of the withdrawal of forces from Slavyansk. After one year, do you think it was right or wrong? Or maybe something could be done in another way.” Zakharchenko: “In any case it is hard to judge, because the war always gives a big number of excuses, and any decisions which are made by one of the commanders are on his conscience. All this territory is the Donetsk People’s Republic. My personal opinion is the following: From the first day when I became the head of state, I said one thing: I don’t divide the territory of the DPR by what is occupied or controlled by us. All this territory is the Donetsk People’s Republic within the administrative borders of the former Donetsk region. That’s why one year ago there was, probably, a historical event which resulted in — let’s say it this way, in one day we lost Slavyansk, Kramatorsk, Konstantinovka, Artemovsk. A group of forces in Karlovka [Gorlovka?] was put in danger. In 3-4 days we lost Debaltsevo and Uglegorsk. It was done in almost one week. That’s the reason for everything which took place afterwards, and the number of victims — this was a consequence of the exit by one of our famous field commanders from Slavyansk [Igor Strelkov — my addition] — we suffered by releasing these cities. His subordinates knew about that, the main thing is that he knows about it as well. Any denial that the rest of the territory is not occupied, is not ours I consider as a personal treason, treason of all militias, soldiers. We insist on only one thing, that all territory, both Slavyansk and Kramatorsk, Krasnoarmeysk and Konstantinovka, and all the rest, and Mariupol, are cities of the DPR. I would like to address those people who live in this territory. Sooner or later we will be together. It can’t even be discussed, ie. I say fully assured that sooner or later we will be together. And all punishers, all contractors who kill our civilians, rape our women, plunder our houses, sooner or later will bear responsibility. They will be charged wherever they will be, in Poltava, in Sumy, in Lvov, in Kiev. Nobody will escape or hide anywhere.”
Zakharchenko is very diplomatic. Nowhere does he judge Strelkov, he leaves that to Strelkov’s own conscience, which is fair. When Zakharchenko speaks of treason, even though this immediately follows the statement about Strelkov, he is not referring to Strelkov. He is referring to anyone who says the DPR does not include all the territory of the Donetsk Oblast. He laments the people who died because of the withdrawal from Slavyansk, etc., but he does not cast blame.
It’s moonshine, though. How will there be a negotiated peace without a general amnesty?
It can’t be done without throwing our men to the judgement of Kiev courts.
Can we do that? Never.
Dear Dedicated:
If you think he does not cast blame, you have a ways to go before you will understand the oblique and coded way Russians conduct polemics.
Zakharchenko is not Russian, although he shares a common ancestry. Nor does he cast blame in this video. How readily it seems Russians and Russophiles read dark implications into every statement! Zakharchenko is diplomatic, just as I said, and diplomats express themselves often in oblique ways. This is to spare other’s feelings. It is not a “Russian” characteristic I am too “naive” to know about. Nevertheless, Zakharchenko is more direct than most of the world’s politicians.
Why are so many commenters on this website destructive toward others? You slighted me, and you slighted Zakharchenko. Vladimir Putin and Alexander Zakharchenko are both positive thinkers. Why not follow their example? This platform could be used as a venue for solving problems. Instead, it’s a hornet’s nest of sarcasm and one-upmanship.
I take my leave. I have no time for this kind of pain.
Did I miss something? Did I miss any of the people attacking Stelkov here going to Novorossia at the start.Laying their life on the line defending the people there against the junta forces.Going through the shelling of Slavyansk beside him.Killing and being killed daily with him.Did I maybe miss that? For whatever faults he may have.He went there to defend those people.He endured the hell of those days,not us.If it wasn’t for him and a few other brave men all Donbass would have been conquered and living under the fascist terror occupation right now.Time has passed him by,that is true.But nonetheless,he will live as the symbol of those first heroic days forever.No matter how some would want it to be different it never will be.
Indeed, well put Bob.
He deserves full credit for being cool and focused in that most turbulent period when flow of war can go either way.
Regards, Spiral
I worry that the Ukrainians may be attempting to alter the demographics of the occupied DPR and LPR by relocating people with Ukrainian nationalist sympathies into the regions.
To do so would be a brazen violation of international law, but if there’s anything that we can learn from what has transpired since the so-called “Maidan” (and, for that matter, from what has transpired for decades in Palestine), it’s that international law can be violated with total impunity by anybody whose aspirations are aligned with those of the Anglo-Zionists.
@stes2011
That is exactly what Right Sector want to do.
That is why Porks offered land there to conscripts.
That is his dilemma currently: observe Minsk, and have Right Sector on his back (they are) or not, and have Moscow/Merkel +Hollande on his case.
Meanwhile Yarosh is clearly maneuvering to more inclusive nationalism by co-operating with the SBU/UAF on the Muchaveso (sps?) incident and avoiding the Tornado issue. He’s after a more ‘respectable’ form of nationalism now, to challenge Porks.
Yats will do his best to undermine him, as Porks is a lot more controllable than Yarosh: he would be first in Yarosh’s sights if he got enough of the RADA behind him, and Yats knows it.
About Strelkov to all adversaries, strategists, enemies plus today Napoleons and Cassandras.
https://z5h64q92x9.net/proxy_u/ru-en.en/vk.com/wall-50414414_2364
– “New Russia / Igor Strelkov
Comment by Igor strelkov on the word “Gloomy” (Callsign of the former head of the GRU DNI General S. N. Petrovsky, comrade in arms, Igor Ivanovich) at the forum “global adventure” (messages under the nickname “Bad”: http://glav.su/members/33843/messages/ ) that in Slavyansk you can hold for at least another 10 days, and the decision to withdraw was allegedly taken in Small spontaneously, under the influence of a mental breakdown:
————–
“a Few words in regard to the words “Sullen” (if it is him):
1. Slovyansk could resist and 10 days or more in a full environment. Which would be permanently closed within a day or two. But it wouldn’t make any sense – artillery ammunition was for a couple of hours of battle. (1.5 stowage for 2 tanks, 2.5 stowage for 2 healthy “Nona”, 67 min on all 9 mortars). Rifle ammunition was more or less enough to carry out street fighting 3-4 days. Anti-tank weapons has been very little, and its quality was below any criticism. To storm the city, the Ukrainian military was not going. They besieged him and broke like artillery fire, waiting while the militia will not climb on break. Himself “Frowning” at that moment not only did not object to the withdrawal from Slavyansk, but openly and fully endorsed the abandonment of Kramatorsk (in connection with the already realized the breakthrough of the armored group of the Ukrainian armed forces in Donetsk and threat communication Kramatorsk between Gorlovka Gorlovka and Konstantinovka). As for my nervous condition at the moment, it is, of course, was “not good” (and I had fun?), and about how I looked in the eyes of others – to judge not to me but to them. However, I think the decision is fully faithful. Himself “Gloomy” about a breakthrough really learned about 13 hours, when I called him and set the target at providing diversionary action against Karachun and Kramatorsk airfield (which he managed to do it). However, the objectives of the trainings were delivered by separate units (headquarters, artillery, rears, etc.) already at 9.00 am, after which we began loading our property and remaining ammunition.
2. Unflattering remarks about me Sergey Nikolaevich (if he is) leave it on his conscience. My own opinion about it, despite the confusion, remains positive. Overall, mostly solidarious with the assessment that is given to him in today’s LJ “El Murid”. [ http://el-murid.livejournal.com/2439325.html ]”
http://cs625616.vk.me/v625616470/39c9c/kxjCt_1NL28.jpg
Some very good news for Zak: the ‘turf war’ in the Carpathians has escalated.
http://rt.com/news/273406-right-sector-ukraine-twitter/
Ps Did anyone know there was a motion in the RADA to impeach Porks last Thursday? The meeting was cancelled.
What Zakharchenko means is that once the entire Donbass has been thoroughly destroyed and depopulated (through murder, hardship and forced exile) the innumerable souls of the departed will reunite in the Kingdom of the Just. This is not a joke.