My dear TV western armchair generals,
I get it, I promise. I really do!
Your entire life you have been trained to see a successful military operation like so:
Victory US style!
Begin by bombing the shit of the “hadjis” or “sand niggers” with bombs and missiles, then flatten their town à la Fallujah, then move in with heavy armor and shoot everything which still moves or breathes.
Then distribute chewing-gums to a few kids while on video.
Then take the city center, drop a statue in front your embedded presstitutes, and then declare victory.
Then, after declaring victory, stay another 20 years or so (Blinken was clearly projecting!), ruin it completely, then leave it again and declare another brilliant victory.
And don’t forget to declare urbi at orbi that you reserve the “right” to bomb the shit out of them anytime you deem it is needed. And fuck their sovereignty or anybody else’s while we are at it!
Lastly, once home, don’t forget to “thank” your “veterans” for their “service”.
I get it.
Now YOU try, please!!
Now, in spite of this conditioning, please at least try to understand the following points:
First, the Russians do not see Ukrainians as Hadjis, but as their own brothers.
Second many/most LDNR soliders have relatives in the Nazi occupied Ukraine.
Third, yes, Russia can turn any Ukrainian city into Fallujah, but who do you think will then have to pay for its reconstruction?
Fourth, please understand that the double goals of 1) denazification and 2) disarmament implies that any person which is not a Nazi or is not armed and hostile is not, repeat, NOT the target of the Russian armed forces.
Fifth, the Ukie military was 80% defeated on Day 1. Get that? It was gone as a coherent fighting force. THAT is why they are blowing up bridges, distributing weapons and releasing convicted criminals. NOT because they are winning! I mean – how stupid are you if you believe that? Ukie stupid?
Seriously?
Right now you are the object of probably the biggest PSYOP operation in history. If you realize that and treat these PSYOPs as you should, that it is “informational warfare from the bad guys”, you will be able to tell your kids and grandkids “I never believed that crap”. Good for you!
But if you don’t, well then, just don’t tell too much about yourself in 2022 to your kids and grandkids, save yourself the ridicule and embarrassment…
That’s it. My very last attempt to wake you up. From now on, I will pretend like you don’t exist and instantly ban any comments parroting kind of self-evident nonsense.
Now I will quietly leave your room, switch off the lights, and let you watch your TVs.
Andrei
PS: I know the blogs load slow. We made hardware changes and we might have to do more. But that costs (lots) of money and time. We are doing our best with our means, but with both UncleShmuel and Soros out there to “get us” to the tune of billions of dollars spent, they are definitely winning and holding the upper hand in this informational war. Wanna help? SPREAD THE INFO as much as you can and SEND MORE MONEY for our IT. That is what “Biden” and Soros have that we don’t: many people and many dollars. That’s just a fact.
https://kawsachunnews.com/contexto-chino-russia-and-the-digital-yuan
Excerpt:
How is Chinese media reacting to growing tensions in Ukraine? How are Chinese citizens talking about this on social media?
During the last few days, all the western embassies in China have been releasing a flurry of statements, like never before, with the aim of pressuring the government to distance itself from Russia, and to affect Chinese public opinion on the issue. However, on social media people have been mocking this campaign and questioning why this seems so coordinated, lots of jokes and memes have arisen.
Overall, Chinese people do not see a need to comment on a conflict that isn’t theirs. Until recently, everyone understood this as a western attack on Russia, and now the discussion is about why the west feels the need to play out their conflict on Chinese social media. I saw one comment saying that the west ‘thinks we can’t see international news because of the firewall, that’s not true’. Above all, China does not want to be involved in any kind of war and always believes in doing everything to avoid war. While the Chinese government maintains that position, the Chinese people will not feel the need to react to these kinds of conflicts.
Boy, are you kidding?
乌心工作 – just one example of many.
The Chinese have even invented a term for not being able to focus on work because of the Ukraine-Russia conflict.
Here’s a blog in English that analyzes what’s going on on the Weibo social media platform. Weibo is the Chinese version of “Facebook.” (Great Wall)
https://www.whatsonweibo.com/chinese-term-wuxin-gongzuo-cant-focus-on-work-due-to-russia-ukraine-crisis/
1. Weibo is the Chinese version of “Twitter”, not Facebook.
2. The link that you put above is not the best source to understand what’s REALLY going on on Weibo, let alone the Chinese social media in general.
This “whatsonweibo” is rather selective regarding what its’ editor thinks what’s going on on Weibo.
I have already posted in previous day that 1. majority of Chinese support or sympathise with Russia;
2. 乌心工作 is the Chinese netizens play with the homophonic game of 乌(wu, 乌克兰 is Ukraine’s Chinese translation) and 无(wu, meaning No), and many just get following this word play.
Maybe a tiny percentage of netizens are very interested in the situation in Ukraine, following it constantly, but I’d say majority (95%, I guess ?) of Chinese just get on with their life and feel grateful that they can live in a contry where NATO/US & its 5-eyes allies can not come and bomb it.
MSM/some people keep on posting this or that about Chinese/China’s stands on the on-going situation between Russia and Ukraine, it sometimes seems to me like a part of the Western psyop to drive a wedge between Russia and China and their supporters/sympathisers.
China’s Xinghua News journalist reporting from Ukraine and Belarus
– Journalist at Gomel, Belarus says the safety measure for the negotionation place is extreme high. Police does not journalist to get close the place where negotiation to take place: https://www.bilibili.com/video/av296979724?from=search&seid=13039214469606151791&spm_id_from=333.337.0.0;
– The Russian delegation says they didn’t sleep the whole night while waiting for the arriaval fo the Ukrainian delegation, which delayed/changed due to their logistical issues: https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1Xu411D777?spm_id_from=333.999.0.0;
– Feb. 28th around 8: 30 local time, the same Chinese businessman of yesterday’s vido I posted, who lives in Kiev suburb, tells Xinhua News that the suburb of Kiev is quiet. It’s safe to stay at home. He also says there’s only one TV channel in Ukraine right now only reporting the war: https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1Ea411h7GX?spm_id_from=333.999.0.0;
He also says bread and water at supermarket are basically gone, lots of empty shelves, and restrict to 2500 Ukrainian hryvnia per purchase: https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1ga411h7B1?spm_id_from=333.999.0.0.
Hope these videos from Xinhua News give your guy some extra inform that differs from Western MSM’s perspectives.
Thanks you should post the chinese take more often
@lulu
Thanks for posting some billibilli videos.
If you have any news / links about the current PLA drills next to Taiwan pls share them.
Btw Whatsonweibo.com analyzes quite well the interests of the younger chinese citizen 20-30 years old.
Whatsonweibo.com is slanted.
FWIW, just searched the phrase 乌心工作 on weibo, and while there are a number of posts from people describing themselves that way, it is not very hot by any means and frankly wouldn’t be my choice for “what’s trending on weibo” regarding the current situation.
There is another catchphrase that I’ve been seeing much more frequently under every news item about the Ukrainian situation, and which regularly gets hundreds and thousands of likes: 反战不反美，心中必有鬼, meaning “anti-war but not anti-U. S., must be hiding evil in the heart” (it rhymes in Chinese). I bet it’s never going to be reported by Watsonweibo.com.
Please do not forget that there is the Great Firewall in China! Without VPN no exit and that have only very, very few in mainland China.
At the same time, it became known that from Taiwan some stupid anti-Russia remarks were sent to the Internet, of course to intervene, to ridicule the solid partnership of the mainland with Russia abroad. There are evil tongues from both Hong Kong and Taiwan citizen that tend to discredit the motherland.
The “great firewall” is a joke. Any 10 year old Chinese knows how to set up a VPN. They are well aware what is going on.
More importantly the seditious stooges in Taiwan know which way the wind is blowing when it comes to dying from freedom and democracy. They will hesitate before going the Ukrainian way. Same as all the regimes in SEA. You need no deep understanding of geopolitics to see what Putin is doing to the hegemon, total humiliations in front of its subjects is one way to break the bully’s sway and make the lackeys think twice. Like walking up to the big guy and bitch slapping him in front of all the little guys, then daring him to do something. Hah.
– ABC
Taiwan have no option. The very moment they invited the USA for “help”, Americans pointed guns at their back and holding them hostage. USA even is quite frank about it. They make a Taiwan wreck if anybody will try to kick the USA influence out of the Island.
https://newatlas.report/2022/02/26/us-plans-to-destroy-taiwan-to-save-it/
“The United State Army War College Press published a paper in late 2021 titled, “Broken Nest: Deterring China from Invading Taiwan.” It discusses a variety of options to “deter” a “Chinese invasion of Taiwan without recklessly threatening a great-power war.”
The idea is to use Taiwan as a point of contention for as long as possible and then sacrifice it entirely to deny it to China and any aspirations toward reunification.
At one point the paper claims:
“To start, the United States and Taiwan should lay plans for a targeted scorched-earth strategy that would render Taiwan not just unattractive if ever seized by force, but positively costly to maintain. This could be done most effectively by threatening to destroy facilities belonging to the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the most important chipmaker in the world and China’s most important supplier.””
Sounds typical. No thought to the global, incl usa, effects of losing 40% of microchip supply. Only oneway thinking.
My guess is all countries on usa enemies list are building their own chip industries. Usa seems to be trying to block them from buying manufacturing equipment.
The people in the Ukraine – elites and oligarchs are the same people who made China an opium den for the west many years ago. The Chinese rose up during the Boxer Rebellion.
China (government, ccp and citizens) need to be active in the present crisis as it is about the new global order. If they are viewing this as the Ukraine crisis then they’re missing the forest for the trees.
What is happening to Russia will happen to China in the near future. China should have seen by now that the EU and Five Eyes are two side of the same coin controlled by the Private Imperialist Oligarchy (Global Financial Syndicate). The West will one day freeze China’s assets and use Taiwan as a bait. Is China still selling its minerals, manufacturing services and goods in the private reserve currencies? If more than 50% of nation’s international trade is in other currencies, particularly private reserve currencies ($, €, £, ¥…), then it can be easily subjugated by the Private Financial Empire. Hope China and its people are learning the global reality and won’t repeat Russia’s mistakes.
It is the goal of the Financial Empire to divide China and Russia, so Russia can be captured. Then when the Empire controls the global resources, it will use them to capture China. The Empire is pursuing a strategy whose overarching goal is to build a global empire. Is China aware of this reality?
An enlightened citizenry is indispensable for the proper functioning of a nation.
Dear armchair general (Max), the Chinese are wise people with over 5000 years of history, just to mention the much praised war steategist Sun Tzu, internationally taught at universities, as well as the basis of business. Don’t worry, the Chinese will come and be present, but not so cumpsy, rumpy cowboy style.
Dear Chris, no narrative fallacies. What happened to Huawei? Please answer the questions asked, as they are there for validation of reality, instead of resorting to personal attacks.
– Is China still selling its minerals, manufacturing services and goods in the private reserve currencies ($, €, £, ¥…)?
– What % of China’s international trade is in the Empire’s private currencies?
– What % of China’s earned assets are in the Empire territories and financial institutions?
– What % of China’s energy resources come from external sources controlled by the Empire?
The answers to these questions will reveal who is in sync with reality. Reality trumps delusions!
“Force him to reveal himself, so as to find out his ignorance.”
Oh look, you’re doing that thing where you pretend that others view the world in the same instant gratification framework. You were probably part of that vocal contingent that was whining for years that Russia wasn’t acting fast enough, was looking weak, was doing things counter to it’s own interests, etc. And all the time many in the commentariat, including myself, have argued that just because you don’t see things happening doesn’t mean nothing is going on. Just because someone isn’t acting on your schedule doesn’t mean they’re not going to act.
And of course, last but not least, you, and I, and all of us are speculating from an information deficit. We have no idea what China’s game plan is except in broad strokes, and we don’t know what information China is privy to that guides their action or lack thereof.
So the reality is that China will act when it is in China’s interest to do so. They made their position clear this month, so all that is left is the details of how they’re going to implement it. Patience.
Krungle,
It isn’t clear who you’re addressing your comment to. Since it follows my comment, I am making an assumption.
Your understanding of my position is mistaken. I have consistently stated that Vladimir Putin had strengthened Russia, increased its gdp per capita and is working towards security and sovereignty. Clearly stated that Russia has been very slow in strengthening and getting its financial house in order. This is the reality. Please don’t misconstrue and misrepresent.
The Financial Empire has consistently attacked its opponents financially, starting with financial sanctions. It brought the Soviet Union down using financial shenanigans. Please enlighten us on what was happening in the financial sphere in Russia. Yes, Russia reduced its dollar holdings as part of its De-Dollarization. What was the rationale for investing 60+% of $630 billion in the adversaries markets?
It will be interesting to see how Russia address its financial sanctions and sees them as a “declaration of war,” as it had stated so.
You are trying to understand Chinese logic with Western lens. It does not work this way. Chinese people will never declare open hostility with you, not even when they are seriously backed into the corner. They will likely smile as they shake your hand, while arranging their interests against you.
Well yes, but… Wasn’t it just three ot four weeks ago that China and Russia said there was no lumits to their friendship?
If Russia goes under without China helping somehow, who would ever trust them in the future.
Ever heard of good cop, bad cop?
Simple but effective when dealing with criminal nutcases.
Huawei is getting royalties on 40% of 5G from everyone who develops it. It’s integral to any 5G.
Huawei is already testing 6G.
Huawei is doing just fine, though it took a huge hit in smartphones.
But it is fundamentally a R&D dynamo, with thousands of patents and many innovations and has partners in all the developed and developing economies outside the West.
Glad some of the depressed zombies woke up. Time for Fight Club, boys.
Btw the titel is “…TV watching western armchair generals”.
Here is some food for the alligators.
https://www.caixinglobal.com/2022-02-28/cover-story-the-beginning-of-the-end-of-the-post-cold-war-world-order-101847844.html
Not quite sure what you were attempting to say here but the Caixin article you linked is notable for starting off with a total lie: “At 4am, Feb 24, when Russian missiles pounded the Ukrainian capital Kiev…” followed by another lie in sentence 2. I didn’t pay the 99 cents to read on although morbid curiosity may induce me to do so later. Caixin are hailed as a new kind of independent investigative journalism in China but obviously disgracing themselves here.
My same thoughts. If Russia is subdued at this round, it will be China, in the same guise, at the next one.
I think China is aware of this reality, but we can’t be sure of that, because the Empire’s indefinite thirst for expansion is too alien to the Chinese mind for them to really get it, perhaps.
1. Russia will not be defeated in any round, it is guaranteed to win
victory.
And in the period 2025-2030. The United States will force the Russian Federation to launch a devastating (US) nuclear strike.
2. China is an empire, like the US and the Russian Federation. Only the United States and the Russian Federation are self-sufficient empires, but China is not. The main ones are: modern weapons, military and special military equipment, energy fuel and food. But China is under the nuclear umbrella of the Russian Federation.
3. China is an empire within its borders. But economically, it is forced to expand, so expansion: the One Belt, One Road project (the Russian Greater Eurasia project, the development of the resources of Africa, the East, Asia, South and Central America, Europe, the development of the Northern Sea Route, … and the Digital yuan in payments for hydrocarbon fuels, etc..
PBOC: the rapidly growing role of the yuan in the global payments race.
According to the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, or SWIFT, payments using the yuan have increased to a record 3.5% in the global market.
“The American economy is so integrated with China that China has become the marginal price producer for a large portion of the US economy… The United States does not have the capital or skilled labor to meet demand, and Americans pay for Chinese goods because they cannot get them anywhere.” or else.”
By D.P. Goldman?, “RMB tail wags US inflation dog”
Relax Max, the Russians and Chinese are brothers in arms way beyond you can imagine. Abasorb this!
here more suitable “swallow it!”. )))
I beg to differ! Russia is not doing this on a whim. They have been preparing for about twenty years for the west to make its move. The sanctions will sting at first but Russia will adapt as all peoples do when they need to! Russia is a huge player!
All I am saying is that the future of China and Russia are intertwined and they need to stay united and help each other. They need to strengthen their monetary sovereignty so they can withstand Financial Empire’s attacks at low cost to their populace. The sooner they create an alternate payment infrastructure they will benefit a lot.
United they stand, divided they fall.
@Andrew Neopalimyi
The US isn’t a self sufficient country. They technically import every good from China and energy from Russia.
No. Us does not need much fuel from Russia. It actually exports more that it needs.
The Koch brothers’ refinery in Texas is constructed to process heavy crude. This was, until sanctions coming from Venezuela. It is now having to buy Urals heavy crude to blend with US shale oil which is too light to produce adequate quantities of diesel and jet fuel. Without Russian oil these distillation columns would have to shut down. This was the reason for the desperate CIA efforts to foment a (failed) coup in Venezuela.
The US transportation industry cannot function without Russian crude.
Despite the fact that only a third of the Western grouping of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (Z) and half of the Eastern (V) entered aa Khryukainushka.
Waiting-sss
I was actually wondering if the V and Z was Russian humour at work. (V)olodymyr (Z)elensky
Not really, it’s just a coinsidence: В (V) stands for Восточний – Eastern, З (Z) – for Западний – Western.
@George,
Thank you for the clarification.
We are waiting for the order to land on the Chernomosky bridgehead (west of Odessa) and then march on the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic of Russia in order to slam the cauldron in Western Ukraine – in Uzhgorod.
For your information, only a third of the Western Group of the RF Armed Forces (Z) and half of the Eastern Group (V) entered Khryukaiushka.
Waiting-sss
Let me remind you that the sowing campaign on the Ruin should begin on March 10-15. But there are no fertilizers, no fuel and lubricants, the equipment is not prepared, the soil is the same, there is no money …
I’m talking about the fact that food prices will soar above the clouds, along with the prices of coal, oil and gas in Russia.
Nazi Europe will face Hunger, Cold, Unemployment, Bankruptcy, huge utility bills – hyperinflation with stagflation.
Edit: “…soil too, no money…
I’m talking about the fact that food prices will soar above the clouds, along with the prices of coal, oil and gas.” And including Russian minerals.
Inflation is not coming, but is already in EU. Countries are taking “hansaplast” remedies to flick up the visible problems and holding it artificially low – but it wont last long. As you have said my friend, the storm is brewing big time, apocalyptic magnitude. Anyway, I can also say that there will be something not in short supply, organs from Ukrainian front for rich German oldies if things really get out of hands, what else for is this piece of hardware for? https://kaitseministeerium.ee/en/news/estonia-and-germany-donate-military-field-hospital-ukraine
Same practice as done in Kosovo:
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Structure-of-field-hospital-2_fig2_8401339
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1127031/
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/175045890001001101?journalCode=ppjc
https://www.nato.int/Kfor/chronicle/2002/chronicle_04/04.htm
Search also: Measures Undertaken in the German Armed Forces Field Hospital Deployed in Kosovo to Contain a Potential Outbreak of Crimean- Congo Hemorrhagic Fever
You may call this contra-propaganda, do as you wish… I see it as the west in its best possible edition.
I wrote “Hyperinflation and Stagflation”.
I live in Poland and I can confirm, that bussiness here are droping like flies due to rising of electricity bills (energy generated from coal imported from Russia), souring gas prices. :( It is just a begining. And inflation is soon to be above 10%. We are sinking ship.
I should be more specific. Coal from Russia is used for heating, not for producing electricity.
I’ve noticed that even some of the commenters on this blog have been influenced by Western propaganda.
Sadly, you are correct, but what can I do other than appeal to their common sense and past experience with similar PSYOPs? I mean, we have to admit that some people are simply stupid, there is no way around that. Somebody does populate the left side of the Bell Curve :-(
Andrei
Russia has been releasing very little information regarding their military operation. I think that they’re not even trying to engage in information warfare. This is a sign of strength.
There is absolutely no truth to the notion that Russia is not doing well.
correctamundo! Russian EW is supressing ALL communications in these areas so little if anything can get out. The West (or the 12% bubble I prefer to call them) are used to watching the US indiscriminately bomb the hell out of 3rd world countries live on TV over breakfast (and not giving a toss about the tens of thousands of civilians) followed by 5 press conferences per day saying absolutely nothing. Americans are pretty dumb and just like to watch the big bangs and feel like theyre getting something for their trillion dollar a year addiction.
Russia is just getting on with it, theyre pressing forward surrounding Cities rather than going in to them, sometimes they just steam round a city to get to the next important town. It takes longer than normal to fight like this and in some areas they are in hard conflict with the nazis (Mariupol) Patience, the war is all ready won, its just getting rid of the nazis that is taking time, they aint gonna surrender.
Boris, you are correct. As an American that has been coming here since Russia politely entered Syria at Assad’s invitation and closely followed The Maidan Color Revolution, I don’t engage in conversations with colleagues.
I will ask one question, “how is the Azov Battalion doing?”
Reply, “what is that?”
The problem for commenters, especially those from the west is, the only way of warfare they know,is the US/Wehrmacht-way. Fromm the Somme to Dresden,from “Barbarossa” to Dessert Storm”, the audience is made believe, that it’s a law of nature, that you have to fight with the most damage and the biggest number of deaths to win a war. Blitzkrieg with hundred of thousands of men,that’s what they wanna see.
Russian military isn’t influenced by psyops bloggers on You Tube or any western media network. They have their duty and will do it. They decide the outcome, not some liberal pimply cretin in Berlin or London, a senile head-man of a failing country across the ocean.
Excellent reply! When you are in control of a situation, you don’t need to sell anyone on it.
This is chess but way more serious….. Russia will prevail…. and sadly what may come next will freak out the armchair military wannabee warriours….
Main stream media are revealing just how trashy they are …. no need to say more. I have endured 70 years of their deceipt to date.. zzzzgh
folks just got to be patient with this war. Only a military idiot would reveal strategy . None of us are there …..
To those who believe nukes may be used in future….. and those comments keep coming up
When one starts shooting nukes then there will be a nuke response …. thus ……
goodbye planet earth…
last I looked there are enough nuke firepower to destroy this planet 24 times over and whats left in bunkers will be unliveable…
wars are ugly and many will die now and in months to come from economic implosion
All the resources from Russia will be moving from EU to Asia. It already started with wheats, but other resources will follow. Only one who is loosing now is EU, thanks to Washington forcing them to do so. They know it so their last desperate atempt is to make as much harm to Russia as possible. They really think that they will bleed out Russia with sanctions and crates of weaponry, when at the same time they are weakend by lockdowns and stupid policies like “Fit for 55” and other eco bullshit.
Also Russian market will be dominated by companies from Asia.
No.
Not engaging in information warfare is NOT a sign of strength.
It is a sign of FAILURE. Either from EXTREME naivity or from lack of strength.
Russia should not reveal their hands.
BUT any empire which do NOT focus also on information warfare…. will and habe collapsed.
Media is called the 3rd Ay for a reason!.
Russia should NOT waste resources on debunking western propaganda.because that would just steal all russian resources.
BUT Russia NEEDS to set up their own STRONG Information department to create Information stratigic.
Jusy example… Before Russia had support in the European people.
AFTER the 2014 events, the insanity clowns that rule the west at least 30x BLASTED out anti-Russian propaganda over and over all over the west. And have ever since always created a strong picture of russians as the big evil to anything.
And ofc then the people in Europe who look at Russia as good have fallen from 30% to 20% to now only 10%.
While the western media is pumping out nonstop anyirussian lies.
So that number will reduce to 5% and even 2%.
And the very few brave people who even mention to be more sceptical of what the kedia tells in the west… geys met with stalkers who actually calls your jobs to try to get your fired from your work.
Freedom of speech? Absolutly not.
Dare to put a question mark to mainstream kedia in the west about the anti-Russian rhetroic? Expect stalkergroups who eill try to get you fired from your job!. And they may put pressure on the company/boss.
This is Hitlerlike tactic. Either you get with the designed program, or you will be moved aside. That is WHY many this round do not speak up!.
What is going on in the west is sickness on a whole new level. Not seen since the years before the WW2 started. People are very afraid of speaking up, so they will keep quiet.
This is how Hitler also was able to gather full support for his insanity. Just repeat anti-x propaganda often enough. And blame them always.
Tbh, i do not care anymore if the world got nuked to smitherines.
And IF aliens arrived, i can only hope they get rid of the west first. I do not care to help save human specie from extinction.
The human specie is just too much of a disapointment (when see the bigger picture), it behaves like sheeps, and justify genocides and doublestandards, and repeats old sins again and again. And repeatedly lacks any real level of moral and dignity.
Why on earth would i put my own life on the line to help out such a worthless animalspecie?
Let the ants take over;) maybe they can behave more civilized.
Yep, Ukraine is totally winning the war while civilians and criminals armed with AK’s openly murder eachother in Kiev’s streets thinking they are Russian.
That’s why the Azov Nazi’s are murdering civilians trying to leave Mariupol and using them as human shields while the Russians get ready to clean up.
Wow. Zelensky will go down in history as a master tactician that stopped the Russian army with his bare fists!
Amazing!
Which was helped by the Military Coalition of White Walkers, Aliens and Russian Frost.
Thanks Saker. Totally agree with your viewpoint.
Living in the USA means you must here corporate media viewpoints all the time. Even from close friends. Very few Americans are inquisitive enough to ask the hard questions you posit. They have been indoctrinated from birth to believe otherwise.
One of the two most common rejoinders is “America – love it or leave it” and “Putin is a dictator.” It’s funny that this can come from any segment of American society, including those that stormed the capital on Jan 6, 2021! One wonders if it came down to “America – love it or leave it” why they weren’t simply willing to depart the country and follow their own advice. My guess is it only applies to those willing to question the corporate media (state-approved) narrative.
Thanks for being the independent voice. You and I share that in common. Hopefully we’ll get out of this without a mushroom cloud on the horizon.
The Kansan
There are two sites I follow for US politics, thegatewaypundit and theconservativetreehouse. Both are very pro Trump and both have posted multiple analyses with neutral or slightly positive Russian sentiment, arguing the Ukraine is used by “The deep state” for nefarious purposes. One post, I forget which, argued that the idea that Ukraine might be accepted into NATO soon (forgive me if my details are a little off) was a false lead to trigger Putin to act now, in order to provide a scapegoat for US economic disaster. I also find the timing of it all very suspect, occurring right after the hugely successful Canadian trucker protest, which exposed the level of evil and absolute control of Canada’s government (freezing bank accounts of non violent protestors).
Binance just stated they wont freeze all russian crypto accounts upon zels request. They will however look at those on sanctioned list. “To unilaterally decide to ban people’s access to their crypto would fly in the face of the reason why crypto exists,”
Kraken has also said they wont be freezing accounts .
I’m so glad I retired from the U.S. Navy last month. Another Orthodox Christian (I’m Orthodox) I worked with is quitting the navy. It just became morally unbearable for us to serve Uncle Smuel
God bless you
I pray more of you leave
Pachabunny. My son got out of the UK Navy a few months back. I’m so glad. He hated all the PC crap and posturing.
Caitlan Johnstone put it this way:
“Is keeping the possibility of NATO membership open and retaining control of the Donbas really so important that we should roll the dice on the existence of the entire human species on it? Is maintaining a hostile client state on Russia’s border truly worth gambling the life of every terrestrial organism for? Are the desperate unipolarist grand chessboard maneuverings of a few powerful people in Washington, Langley and Arlington really worth risking the life of everyone you know and love?”
Couldn’t say it any better myself.
The Kansan
Yes, she does have a way with words, and in this instance I agree totally. Otherwise, often not so much.
+1!
Unfortunately, US/UK/NATO/EU won’t listen.
Russia is going to ensure that it’s their loss entirely.
Tooling up on Russia’s border was only one piece of the jigsaw for the grand plan of splitting up that country. A decade and a half, maybe longer, in the planning through the Bush, Obama and Biden Administrations.
CIA-MIC-BankCorp are don’t give a rats arse about Ukraine, they were a useful idiot in all of this . . . . . . and come cheap.
Expect the Ukrainian Army to take up Russia’s kind offer in due course with a number of them turning Claus Von Stauffenberg on the Nazi Command.
Seeing pics of their naval base being turned into a graveyard for boats must’ve deeply angered a few of those CIA boys bigtime. I mean are they so mad that Putin wouldn’t get wind of it and say, oh look, a docking port for NATO vessels, I wonder if they’ll allow me to berth my yacht there next summer on vacation. Nah, Zap-Gone.
Unfortunately the Anglos do no recognise the risk . They think that war is something we do to other people. There is an arrogant sense of invulnerability
This immunity belief is highly likely to lead to such miscalculations – these people cannot imagine that another country may react fiercely against them
Another factor may be the age of the decision makers – these people are mostly in their forties and early fifties and witnessed the fall of the Soviet Union and therefore believe that Russia is still weak and incapable of hurting them and their countries due to the experiences of the 1990’s
– what is see from Western Politicians is a almost racialist contempt for Russia – You may hate your enemy but never underestimate, belittle or have contempt for them for them as that is the route to disaster
Washington bears ‘special responsibility’ for Russia-Ukraine situation: Global Times editorial
By Global Times
Published: Mar 01, 2022
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202203/1253542.shtml
The military conflict between Ukraine and Russia will enter its sixth day on March 1.
The war has created new divisions and confrontations on a global scale. It also makes the situation of the battlefield, the European and even the global situation more complicated and uncertain. But we must note that under current circumstances, the door for a peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian issue is not completely closed.
A Ukrainian delegation reportedly arrived in Belarus on Monday for negotiations with Russia, and the talk took place in the afternoon of the same day. Although both parties and the outside world hold little hope for a breakthrough in a short period of time in the negotiations, returning to the negotiating table is always a good start. The world’s truly peace-loving countries and forces should make good use of this seemingly weak turnaround and do more to promote peace talks rather than adding fuel to the fire.
Information on the Russia-Ukraine military conflict is rapidly changing, getting far more confusing than it was previously, and it is difficult to distinguish the truth from falsehood. In this process, the US’ public opinion war is getting more and more intensifying. We have noticed that some voices are attempting to create a very misleading and an extremely wrong theory of “China’s special responsibility.” They even fabricate disinformation to smear and slander China’s image by virtue of the Russia-Ukraine crisis. It must be pointed out that the public opinion of the US, as an important party in the Russia-Ukraine crisis, is completely made to defend US interests. It aims to push China to fill the hole dug by the US and the West, although China is not a party to the crisis. Such a practice is neither decent nor fair.
As a responsible major country, China has never incited opposition and confrontation. Instead, China has proactively supported and encouraged all diplomatic efforts conducive to the peaceful settlement of the Ukraine crisis and welcomes direct dialogue and negotiations between Russia and Ukraine as soon as possible. China also supports Europe and Russia in their efforts to hold dialogue on an equal footing over the European security issue, uphold the notion of indivisible security, and eventually form a balanced, effective and sustainable European security mechanism.
To promote a rapid de-escalation of the tensions, China is willing to play a constructive role in seeking and realizing peace, but it will never dance to Washington’s baton. Throughout the development of the Ukraine crisis, it is way too obvious that the US has been creating the crisis, transferring it and profiting from it. Even now, it has not stopped stirring up trouble, which is quite dangerous. It has also made use of its public opinion machine to condemn others to take the international community hostage with its selfish interests.
Washington is the “special responsible party” for the Ukraine crisis, and the US-led NATO holds tight the key to its solution. As former US congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard said in an interview, “Biden can very easily prevent a war with Russia by guaranteeing that Ukraine will not become a member of NATO.” What she said was totally true, but the US mainstream media, unfortunately, not only selectively ignored such truth, but also deliberately exploited and consumed the suffering of the Ukrainian people.
Warfare is not a game for children. It is time to stop Washington’s public opinion war in the troubled situation, as the opinion war does not serve any purpose other than to encourage new confrontations. As there are extremely complex historical and practical factors in the evolution of the Ukraine issue, any attempt to simplify this historical narrative is often selfishly motivated or even with evil motives. It is important to see that both Russia and Ukraine have a certain degree of intention to negotiate, and the possibility of a political and diplomatic solution still exists. At the same time, the emerging powers, including India, Brazil and Argentina, did not follow the US “condemnation,” but issued rational and pragmatic voices. These voices represent the views of a significant part of the international community, only simply ignored by Western media. The judgment of the Russia-Ukraine war should not be monopolized by the West, but should be handed over to the international community.
The US-led NATO is a product of the Cold War, and the Russia-Ukraine crisis, in essence, is a wound re-created in Europe by the coffin board of the Cold War. Europe is standing at the crossroads of war and peace, and the representatives of Russia and Ukraine have sat down at the negotiating table. All parties should have more patience, try hard to create conditions for reconciliation, rather than turning the negotiations into another battlefield for selfish gain. Washington, in particular, should shoulder the “special responsibility,” instead of continuing to be the source of chaos.
Saker:
What is going on with live map i thought it was independent telling the facts on the ground?, seemed so in syria & was used for many southfront maps. Why is it not accurate or being updated showing the cauldron?
https://liveuamap.com/
itt is an ukrainian website…
live “UA” (for Ukraine) maps
it has been always a little (well really completely) pro Goverment in ell related to Ukraine.
other wars not so much… but in the war in Donbass, you couldn’t be more pro Ukro
if you want something more impartial, truthworty, try “militarymaps” but you have to pay a subscription. it is not free anymore since at least four years.
it was (is) spectacular.
HA HA now i know, maybe that`s where many are getting their info from
Like Sun Tzu says in the first line – “All warfare is based on deception”.
I heard he also said “Stay strapped or get clapped”, but I can’t verify that.
In all seriousness, thanks for you and your team’s hard work. It can’t be easy sorting through so much info. This blog makes a difference, I share it multiple times, daily.
Hitting hard, bravo Saker.
Best advice I got from this blog was prior to all this when you called it, when it was heating up, you said just don’t watch ANY western media or wester-affiliated media. Expect a s..t show and that’s exactly what’s been going on.
I’ve done that and it saved me a ton of grief, just a lineup of clowns (I get this from people commenting on how bad it is) regardless if it’s talking heads or officials – if it’s western it’s spin.
Also, like you and Martinov have said, fog of war is real. Westoids expect an action flick with clear lines and live footage and commentary. Wake up, turn off the TV, and if you really want to understand what happened, recognize that you will really know to any extent something with a 48 hour lag.
Stay away from videos claiming to show burned columns here and there… you’re not a military expert, can you tell the date and time it was taken, can you really differentiate burned wreckage of a column as Russian or Ukrainian, can you really tell by the terrain where this happened?
It looks “cool” or “shocking” and you’re drawn to it, but let it go. It does little for you.
I only trust info corroborated by pics, videos and reports from a couple of sources.
Like:
Report Donbas forces got to Talakivka. OK, good – maybe.
Pics, Talakivka with Donbas forces. OK fine.
Video report officers saying that Sartana is next. Good, check on map. Looks possible.
Video report, a news reporter passing and stopping in Gnutove, on the road from Pavlopil from Tarakivka. OK, clearly they are like 2 km from where the first claim was made so this is NOW confirmed.
Also this is all in the general direction toward Mariopol so it all makes sense.
And the same effect would have been if the day after tomorrow I see that an attack was staged from Sartana onto Mariopol.
So if you see massive Russian columns smoked by Ukie forces and video of it – don’t go screaming Russia is doomed. Give it a day. Are the Russians still there? Are they still ahead of there? Are they advancing?
So think a little before calling it, dismiss out of hand if it’s western (95% of the time you will be right in doing so) and allow for things to settle.
I’ve stopped reading all western media, I skim the domestic headlines and avoid the poisned security service narrative for international affairs. People are utterly clueless about the UKraine and stupidly waiving flags and ‘praying for ukraine’ without looking closely at the flag and seeing the swastikas and wolfsangel. Social media kids are so so so so gullible and the yanqui knows it.
+ Boris
“I’ve stopped reading all western media, I skim the domestic headlines and avoid the poisoned security service narrative for international affairs.”
Yes, I do the same. Excelent post. But even skimming is nauseating now. The Russian hate (by Russian I mean humans, the people, not the nation state) is beyond the pale. No excuse for it. It really bothers me. Truly does.
This reminds me of two older sieges:
Large segments within the city desiring, quite reasonably, to surrender and fanatics forcing them to fight
Jerusalem 70 A.D.
Berlin 1945 A.D.
Carpet bombing of Syrian cities: Syrian Raqqa and Iraqi Mosul … Only ruins remained of the cities and inhabitants. It also hurts me to remember Belgrade, but there were no soldiers, no terrorists there …
By the way, the other day, the Chinese Embassy in Russia reminded on Twitter how many times the United States attacked other countries: “Never forget who is the real threat to the world.”
And they published a list of countries that were subjected to baseless bombardments by the US aggressor after World War II: Korea, Vietnam, China, Guatemala, Cuba, Nicaragua, Panama, El Salvador, Grenada, Congo, Somalia, Sudan, Indonesia, Laos, Cambodia, Lebanon, Libya , Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Kuwait, Syria, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yugoslavia, Bosnia.https://twitter.com/ChineseEmbinRus/status/1497321464126746626?s=20&t=-iJlERYDiqSVcIE0gZSHbg And four times Russia: World War I, 1 -I “Orange Revolution” of 1917, 2nd World War, Chechen terrorist war …
https://twitter.com/ChineseEmbinRus/status/1497321464126746626
Yes, terrible crimes, I agree completely, Andrew. My point was the Uki authorities are acting like the Nazi fanatics in 1945 who forced the citizenry to fight against the Russian armies even though it was hopeless; the ukies are also acting like the Jewish fanatics in 70 AD who forced the citizenry to fight against the Romans, even though it was hopeless. Let’s hope the Russians advance into these cities, secure them with a minimum of bloodshed, and some genuinely neutral Uki government comes into being (unlikely, I know), that will recognize the donbass, russia’s legitimate security demands, etc.
“you will be able to tell your kids and grandkids “I never believed that crap!”…. I can say,I didn’t believe that crap,since my sorry country became “Great Germany” again, and so I told my son. He is with me on this.
Grandkids, i will probably never have, what should be for the best. Personally I don’t mind the West being blown up completely, it just drives me completely insane that my son won’t probably be able to get out of here.
Why not? If I may ask.
There’s always the financial aspect, and he’s not yet finished with his education,so he can’t do job-applications outside our continent. Plus in Germany, we’re basically imprisoned when not “vaccinated”, we got a no-fly zone of our own.
Understand where you are coming from being a parent myself. It’s hard to go to your grave in peace not knowing what sort of world is left behind for them or what will happen to them with such tyrants. And that’s where the, “don’t mind if the whole thing is blown up” comes from even though you hope it all gets sorted out for the good eventually.
Yes, you got it right,for sure. But even if it gets sorted out, I will never forget, nor forgive, those who brought this fear-porn upon us, too much damage done, too many lives lost.
One good thing is that for education and to have success in life you don’t need schools and universities. Most only become academically deformed and the educational system seems to have become like that on purpose.
Your son can pick up sound knowledge anywhere, in any place, and he can get there without a jab if he really wants. My German bro-in-law works his international job without jabs, is well payed and organized and payed for the expensive studies necessary for his current job, that he can do anywhere in the world.
Free your mind, throw of the shackles and teach your son to be a freethinker and he’ll be fine.
Based on NATO estimates of our grouping ~ 50 BTG, in one BTG there are about 100 pieces of equipment and about 1000 military personnel. Those. the total number of equipment in our grouping is about 5,000 units and 50,000 soldiers.
The total losses of our material forces today are ~ 100 pieces of equipment, mainly KAMAZs and not a single tank.
This is 2 (two!) percent!!!
reference
Losses in equipment below 14% (about 500-700 units of equipment) are insignificant, not affecting the combat capability …
There is a famous scene in “Scarface”, where Tony Montana lectures a fellow man “Never consume your own product”.
I think that it perfectly fits this situation for these top-brass people.
We have an information war in the EU. I’m from Slovenia. The government expects and wellcomes 200 000 refugees from Ukraine. That 10% of our population. The same politicians (Jansa’s party sds) have commercials 3 years ago that monthly cost of a refugee for our contry is 2300€. This is a complete turn around. We are also told that half a million allready left Ukraine. But we in our country have only 2 refugee families (less than 10 persons). We are also not sending buses or trains to the Ukrainian border for them. Half a million is a huge number and just three countries have no means to accomodate such a number. They should be sent all over Europe, but they are not, because the number is not that high. But nobody asks. Not journalist, nobodoy. Red cross and church Caritas are collecting money, clothes and food. We have our journalist on one border crossing reporting but nobody crosses when he is on the middle of the road there. This information war has a lot of mistakes that an ordinary person can see, but nobody cares. Majority of the people don’t think about this strange things like no refugees if there are so many. They simply ignore that and believe what are they telling to them.
“The government expects and wellcomes 200 000 refugees from Ukraine. That 10% of our population.”
I don’t get it. Europeans from the EU spent a lot of time and effort warding off illegal immigrants from Minor Asia and Africa (Salvini, Le Pen, AfD, etc) but they are open to receiving a lot of Ukrainians who carry a heavy cultural and historic baggage, with no cap in numbers to the point of wrecking their economies.
Congratulations! according to theory, confirmed by practice, only 3 percent of passionaries (active citizens) can easily change the political system.
The last example is Okraina (Outskirts of Russia). The first is the Russian Empire itself in 1917, when it was less than one percent.
And everything was carried out by the Anglo-Saxons – the United States and Britain. Germany also participated in the Russian “revolution”.
Poland threw back a few Middle Easterners ex -Belarus ,and all of Europe helped them and came out on the TV to cry for the Poles. Now Poland has accepted over hundred thousands and noone remembers the EU scare from Belarus. Hahaha.
Do not be surprised when in a few days the number of refugees will be inflated to 6 million. 6 million is a popular number for these sort of things. But don’t worry it is all virtual; something for the legends and history books.
The Ukrainian Nazis are holding their civilians hostage in their towns, do not allow them to leave and are being used as human shield. That is a terrorist tactic and a war crime.
That is why there are almost no Ukrainian refugees to the EU.
The EU Dear Leaders loudly proclaim that all Ukrainian refugees will be welcomed with open arms. At the same time all Russians are vilified and ostracized and subject to violent attacks.
I wonder, how will EU skinheads tell the “good” Ukrainians from the “evil” Russians and only attack the Russians?
I speculate that it won’t be long before the Ukrainians regret moving to the EU.
I think it’s terrible what the USA has created from the world. What they are doing now to Russia and to Putin personally and to the Russian authorities is absolutely astonishing to me. I still can’t believe that Western civilization has strayed so far. I am not even sure that this is a geostrategic tectonic disturbance in the relations between zone A and zone B. This is slowly growing into a clash of civilizations. The Russian Federation had a physical threat on its borders that had to be removed. No need to fantasize about it anymore. No need to justify. This hysteria in the west is abnormal. Now I already believe that it is not a question of whether NATO will get involved in the conflict, but it is a matter of days. Maybe there was something in the vaccine? I do not know. It’s crazy. I live in Zone A and when I want to show someone the facts, they look at me suspiciously, with their eyes slightly narrowed. It reminds me of the old SF series Visitors. I guess someone will design glasses to distinguish normal people and “others”. I think that the action in Ukraine was just a trigger for exposing the West and their true attitude and intentions towards Russia. No more secrets. People now just need to choose the side, with all the consequences. Politicians, youth, ordinary people have long been influenced by intelligent algorithms that form social networks. there is no more critical thinking and dialogue. It is hopeless.
I believe many more people see through the smoke and mirrors than let on. The real issue is cancel culture, and the tyrannical way US punished January 6 protesters and how Canada punished trucker protestors. If you are not aligned with these governments you risk losing your job, having your bank accounts frozen, even jailed. Thus people who just a year ago felt comfortable objecting no longer do.
btw: are those Chechens that are coming are the “house clearing” specialists for Maripol?
Think of them as equivalent to the US Orkin men!
so yeah they are they are the specalists needed to snuff the vermins.
These people are idiots. It is day 5…only day 5. Watch what happens in the Kesselschlacht (cauldron) in the east. If that force capitulates, the majority of the “professional” Ukrainian army will be gone. This will have a dramatic affect for the Ukrainian populace (if they hear about it.). This is far from over.
The other items you hear are really funny…Putin is Isolated, he is unhinged. The Russians have run out of fuel ( yes the great Gas Station has run out of fuel…..LOL). Ukrainian generals are better than Russian leaders. It goes on and on…..nonsense.
What is true? Neither side can afford the political fallout of this action if their side losses. Putin will not back down and I think the west is underestimating him. That is why he put the Nuke Forces on alert. That was not for the common man, you and me. That was for the elites in Berlin, London, Washington etc… who talk of arming the Ukrainians. Basically Mr. Putin said to the elites of the west……
As always, you do things because you can sit and enjoy life in your mansions totally unaffected by what you do….You have no skin in the game…you think that you can supply weapons to kill my soldiers and feel no pain…..think again.
The conventional war may last another three months. Who Knows? It is only day 5. But I am suprised that I see no Russian forces in the west ring to seal the western Ukrainian border. Maybe it is just a lack of open source intelligence in that sector.
The Economic fall out. That has so many twists and turns that it is hard to see what is going to happen in the long run. Short term it is Russian Pain. But the Russians are good planers so I think the knew this would be coming. The mid and long term effects in the west are west to be seen. Inflation for sure, due to commodity inflation. Food problems? Maybe…with the Ukraine undersiege and fertilizer being a major Russian export , you have to wonder.
My one thing is this, and I have always said it. In a war with the West against a Chinese Russian alliance, the West will not be able to win. Why? Because if the either the Russians or Chinese remain neutral, you have a 1940 lend lease situation. The Power that remains out of the conflict (now China) will become the economic powerhouse that supplies the other ( now Russia) allied country. The west will not find victory in such a senerio. It will find prolonged war…either hot or cold. Paul Kennedy in “The Rise and Fall of Great Powers” outlined what happens to countries who sink too much money into military operations over a long period of time.
We shall see.
We already have an Uncle Bob here – please use a different username. It has been changed. Mod.
Mods: I think his first sentence should be deleted. Totally inappropriate.
Not everyone adheres to ancient middle eastern religions and don’t give a hoot about harmless exclamations such as “Jesus H Christ…”.
The actual obscenities we need to focus on are the war crimes of the “rulers of the world”.
Larchmonter445,
I agree with you. This is the house of an Orthodox Christian. Personally I find it offensive. I am a Christian and that phrase always irritates me. I do not appreciate it because it is commonly and overly used by the 30 Coins of Silver Crew to denigrate Jesus Christ and pass it as “just a phrase”. Many do not realize this.
I did not find anything about that offensive.
Did not even understand what about it was supposed to be offensive.
Try this simple test: when you feel the urge to blurt out the name of Jesus (or one of its abbeviated forms), exclaim the name of your spouse or child instead. You will understand immediately-
So the boom has finally come down on the cretins misruling the Ukraine. They are hearing the “Heavy Metal Thunder”, as Escobar put it. We are hearing and reading all over the net about how horrible “Putin” is for doing what should have been done long ago.
There is a government in Russia. There is not some comic book evil entity called “Putin” inhabiting some sort of cavern under the Kremlin, creating troll farms and bringing on pandemics by some magical means. This government has a foreign and defense policy.
There are some problems with the present Russian government. Its handling of social policy has been poor. It has greatly mismanaged the Great Pandemic. Its economic management has been questionable.
It has been brilliant at foreign policy. Considering the intense hostility directed at it for remaining independent of Globalist hegemony, it has really had to be. In being so, it has been one of the main stabilizing forces in the world.
It has done an excellent job of stabilizing Syria. It has also helped a few lesser known countries to overcome destabilization. Now the time has come to put Ukraine in order…
https://yaxls.wordpress.com/2022/02/27/the-russians-are-doing-exactly-the-right-thing/
EU ready to declare war on Russia(with zero army)
EU taking sides with Kiev regime by supplying weapons to it – Russian foreign ministry
“The European Union’s decision of February 27 on the beginning of supplies of lethal weapons to the Ukrainian military is a self-incrimination. It marks the end of the European integration as a ‘pacifist’ projects of reconciliation of nations after World War II. The European Union has finally taken sides with the Kiev regime, which has unleashed a policy of genocide of part of its own population,” it said.
https://tass.com/politics/1413607
EU structures involved in arms supplies to Ukraine to be responsible for consequences
“EU structures and individuals involved in supplies of lethal weapons and fuels to the Ukrainian army will bear responsibility for any consequences of such actions amid the ongoing special military operation,” it said
https://tass.com/politics/1413609
US increases oil imports from Russia 2.7-fold to 72.6 mln barrels in 2021
The US also increased imports of Russian oil products – by 1.5% to 172.586 mln barrels lol
Shell exits Nord Stream 2
In addition, the company will also withdraw from the Sakhalin-2 project
Brent crude oil: 101.3
Gas spot: 1.455 (+ 35% in one day)
RT and Sputnik banned for life from Fakebook, instagram(who cares?)
The US has designated 12 people from the Russian mission to the UN as personae non gratae and demanded that they leave the country by March 7, Russian envoy to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya said on Monday.
What the hell is Russia waiting to close US/UK/UE embassies in Russia?
Expel or even jail all journos + tv crew.
Gazprom Says Europe Emptied Gas Storage of Fuel Supplied in Summer. re lol
US ready to put sanctions on China if they don’t ”behave” well.
US Trade Deficit Jumps 7% in January to Record High of Nearly $108Bln – Commerce Dept. No prob they will
print like crazies.
Russia out of the World Cup(in fact not yet qualified)
Destroy stadium in Qatar please + airport + gas facilities
Macron more sanctions coming, talk of embargo.
Dear Saker….I sympathize with your frustration on the arm chair generals. Their mothers where probably “iodine deficient” as Dmitri Orlov said of the people from the yellow part of the map.You can teach but they can’t,won’t learn.I suggest a separate dunce cap comment section for them.
Not just iodine deficient…, their mothers were quite probably also smokers and plonkers. The poor infants that survived these prenatal mistreatments were then parked in front of the TV, as is the case with most US and Eurorodent kids. And they keep wondering why the exam requirements have to be lowered year after year…
Actually, in the UK when I was growing up you learned absolutely nothing of Russia because if you even studied the Russian language, there were certain UK Govt jobs you were excluded from. Really! My dad told me this when we choosing what foreign languages to study and he was high enough up in Govt bureaucracy circles to know. So it was far more common to study German and French instead, especially as we had just joined the EEC at that time.
To have learned the first thing about Russia as a UK citizen you will have had to have made a personal effort.
I’d be surprised if the modern UK ‘National Curriculum’ had included much on Russian Geography and Russian History.
So it’s not really surprising that most of the population is profoundly ignorant.
Not sure how many down-to-earth citizens of Kazan, Omsk and Belgorod would know about the Wars of the Roses? How about the Jacobean uprisings in Scotland? What about the Corn Laws??
It’s pretty normal that most average folks in any one country won’t know too much about the histories of the other 200 odd nations represented in the UN…..
Unfortunately that’s very true.
“Actually, in the UK when I was growing up you learned absolutely nothing of Russia”
Indeed it was so. We might have heard a little about Lenin and Stalin, but on a superficial level.
Mostly it was about how great the British were and how they defeated the darstardly Germans almost single handedly.
Our head of year and German teacher was an Austrian fellow who would tell tales of Nazi stormtroopers who would bayonet babies. I think he was Jewish, as were a few others. It was best to get him onto his favourite subject, which was football, and away from all that other stuff.
This was in the 1970s. The Germans turned out better at football..
Greetings from Dublin, Ireland
Your work is very much appreciated Saker
Long live Mother Russia!
I am adding more info to what already mentioned in here about fighting in Kharkiv.
“On February 28, the Russian Aerospace Forces carried out air support over Kharkiv. Russian Su-34 bombers have started operating in the Kharkiv region.
Despite the discontent of local civilians, Ukrainian soldiers and Nazi forces continue their deployment in the city’s residential areas.
For example, in the area of Pobedy Avenue in the north of Kharkiv, the UAF servicemen took up positions right on the balconies of a multi-storey residential building.
On February 27, fierce clashed broke out in the city center. As a result, the special school No. 134, where UAF heavy equipment was deployed, was destroyed along with Ukrainian equipment.
The damaged armored personnel carrier BTR-4E was seen on the video. The angry woman is commenting on the situation, blaming Ukrainian forces.”
Source: https://southfront.org/battle-for-kharkov-overview-of-street-fighting-russian-attack-bombers-came-to-support-videos/
San, on the video would that have been a Grad attack?its bad they have been forced to deploy those weapons because of the Nazis being in the built up area.
My 11-year old kid earlier today. “Dad, why are the Russians attacking the Ukraine for no reason?”
Me, “Do you remember smacking that bully the other day. Was that for no reason?”
“Oh yeah…”
Amongst the tsunami of propaganda in the Western media I have stumbled upon this chilling and stunning interview of a Ukrainian soldier on the French public radio station France Inter during which he openly tells how he is comitting war crimes.
The young soldier explains how he is manning a checkpoint with other Ukrainian soldiers in the Ukrainian Carpathian (where to my knowledge there is no fighting). He tells the journalists how they filter civilian cars and arrest vehicles which plates are registered on an ominous list. He confesses openly that he shot some of those disarmed civilians in the legs as they were running away, then handed them to the Ukrainian security services (SBU) so that they might do “whatever they please with them”. Naturally the French journalists do not even comment on this and immediately accept it as a sad necessity in the fight against “saboteurs.” They also mislabel these obvious war crimes as “combat” and “fighting”, when it is blatant from the interview itself the people arrested and brutalized were no threat to the soldiers.
Here is the transcript of the interview starting at 2 minutes :
(male journalist) : And before evoking the talks between Ukrainians and Russians, the testimony of this Ukrainian we have been following since the start of the war, Vladislav Olovkov, a student in Kiev, that’s where he was at the beginning of the Russian offensive, he has left the capital to bring his family to safety near the Polish border. He is now in the Ukrainian Carpathians in the West of the country, he joined, two days ago, a checkpoint, and he is fighting. Hello Hajera Mohammad.
(Female journalist) : Hello.
(MJ) : This young eighteen year old boy has told this morning in what conditions he is fighting.
(FJ) : Yes he also told me about his main mission, which is to spot and arrest saboteurs, these Russian infiltrated agents, and for that, Vladislav is stationed on a road on top of a hill with goggles, he watches over the approaching cars.
Vladislav : I read the… the license plates, to my colleagues, my colleagues look at a list we have of the cars we must arrest and intercept and we check. As well from a scope, I have a rifle, with… with which I can fire from quite far, which means my role is sort of one of a sniper.
(FJ) : A novice sniper who already intercepted five saboteurs on this checkpoint, the last one was last night.
Vladislav : We arrest him, we pretend we don’t know it’s him of course, then we decide to arrest him, he tries to run, we shoot, he is on the floor, we look everywhere inside the car.
(FJ) : You shot him ?
Vladislav: Absolutely yes. In the legs. Then we arrest him, we question him, we give them to the SBU, it’s the ukrainian secret police, and uh, they do everything they want to do to him.
(FJ) : Here is a very methodic story, very cold even, from Vladislav, which let us remind you, four days ago was a simple eighteen year old student, who had never held a gun in his hands. So I asked him : Vlad, this is the first time you shoot at a man ?
Vladislav : Absolutely.
(FJ) : How does it feel ?
Vladislav : well honestly at the time, it just looks like a job. Because every hour, we hear about friends, people I knew, who died on the front. Today there was one. Someone I will never see again. He left just like this. What you have to do because if you don’t do it, we lose.
(FJ) : And loosing, that’s out of the question for Vladislav, ready as well, to die for his country.
(MJ) : Here we go, it’s the fifth day of the war and we will have a briefing on the military situation with Valérie Crevart in a second.
For those interested the interview in french, it starts at 2 minutes :
https://www.franceinter.fr/emissions/le-13-14/le-13-14-du-lundi-28-fevrier-2022
I hope we don’t get a repeat of the miles of drone footage of folks hoofing it out of Aleppo after being tortured by ISIS and other ‘moderate’ western backed terrorists for years. While those deserving a slow death rode off in green air conditioned buses. To terrorize again. I know it saved a lot of lives, but it didn’t go down very easy.
The ultimate wrecking crew, no bragging just just grinding up the meat that was dead when it slouched into place. No heart, no soul. Dead and now buried.
Given all the Nazi flags that fly in the Ukraine isn’t it about time Trudy acknowledges that he kinda likes it. Certainly Christia is allowed to. Maybe he criticized the display in Ottawa because there was only one Nazi flag.
Speaking of Nazis I still can’t understand how they have Zionist bosses. It just boggles my mind that such a big deal is made of the holocaust and yet these relationships exists.
Racial loyalty means little to Zionists if a gold tooth is up for grabs.
You’re right. That’s the one point in the Ukrainian genocide that makes it easy to convince westerners that no genocide happened. Because that was one of the most important reasons for Russia to engage in this military action, this denial is a key point in the propaganda campaign.
Recently, I saw a person claiming to be in Kiev and possibly female suddenly begin participating in a blog that is well regarded for cutting through western establishment narratives and discussing actual conditions of life. She drew a lot of sympathy. When queried about the Azov battalion and ethnic cleansing, she categorically denied that any such thing could have occurred because, she said, fascism was illegal in Ukraine.
I’ve been tempted to contact the mod at the blog and say that I think the person is a paid shill. It is really not fair allowing that voice to be heard and then turning around and not allowing the victims to have their say.
Was it a Kuwaiti minister’s niece who claimed Saddam Hussein was turning off the oxygen in hospital incubators.
In 1945 nobody imagined that Israel,would be the Nazis of the 21st century.
Israel did not exist in 1945; but I get what you are trying to state.
The preparations were underway and when the British left in1948, Ashke-nazis were busy terrorizing, dislodging and killing Palestinian families, driving them away from home and hearth.
Well said,
I totally get it.
In the past few days where I have felt it necessary I have made few comments where I have felt it necessary to perhaps add some flesh to what others have contributed. At the Saker’s request I have will refrain from posting links containing anything that links to the preposterous lies & propaganda that the Western cabal of politicians & their media lackeys are trumpeting on a continuous basis.
This is not an Iraq or Afghanistan or Libya redux operation by FUKUS. What the Russians are doing is quite beyond the minds of those in power in the West. Of that I am certain.
Now a small piece of personal disclosure about myself to give some agency to anything to what I might add in the future …
I joined a small military unit in relatively large NATO Nation in 1986. I served in that ‘Unit’ until retirement until 2010 & managed to climb the slippery pole of promotion to the NATO Rank of E8. I saw Operational Service on 11 separate deployments in Northern Ireland (this will immediately give you a clue), Afghanistan (2001-02, 2006-07) & Iraq (2003, 2004). I served on operations in every rank in my primary role.
The world changed for me during the period I spent in Afghanistan after 9/11 from late November 2001 through to the invasion & subsequent occupation of southern Iraq around Basrah in early 2003. By that time I was a ‘senior soldier’ for want of a better term, responsible for a very large ‘sub unit’ of over 120 men.
I can recall tuning our HF radios into the BBC World Service to try & get some ‘independent’ news on what the world thought was happening – whilst we were conducting our operations – at this stage we were totally out of any kind of normal conventional communications with the outside world that any normal human being would understand. That is to say – we were often operating in conditions constrained by considerable security implications. What I was hearing from the BBC World Service was not matching the situation I was witnessing with my own eyes & hearing with my own ears on the ground. It was total propaganda.
Prior to the Invasion of Iraq, in early March 2003 our mission changed from one that was to ‘Secure WMD In Zone’ to ‘Seize Key Oil Infrastructure In Zone to Enable Rapid Northerly Movement In Order to Facilitate Regime Change Removal’. On the night of the 18 March 2003 (Prior to our aviation assault on the night of 19 March 2003) in our tactical assemble area in Kuwait we were assembled & spoken to in complete darkness by members of the Army Legal Service & finally at the last minute given our Rules of Engament Brief (RoE). We never saw the faces of the two officers speaking just silhouettes. We were told the Law of Armed Conflict applied to all situations, so long as we could clearly identify ‘armed military combatants’ we could apply lethal force. All public buildings, mosques, power plants, bridges & anything as such were not to be engaged since they were considered as civilian targets. I was not happy & I asked a question for my men at the appropriate time – I asked if this was so how were we – attacking at night – wearing Night Vision Optics & using thermal optics for some weapon systems – supposed to clearly identify ‘armed military combatants’.
One of the Army Legal Service representatives attempted to field the question but stumbled because she failed to understand my used of the military acronym for Thermal Imagery – ‘TI Devices’. As I clarified this one of our offices stepped in & closed down the briefing.
I was pulled aside afterwards & in no certain terms told to ‘stop putting seeds of doubt into the lads minds’ I firmly replied ‘that there were no seeds of doubt my lads minds’ & perhaps the officer might like to accompany the lads in the first assault wave. If he chose to do so he should start completing his will, like all of my men had done so earlier that day, since there was a high chance that we would not see the the sunrise on that morning.
Six weeks later we had closed in on Basrah. The city was in chaos. We had decapitated the regime. I saw that every bridge across the Shatt al Arab was destroyed, the water & sewage plants destroyed & there was no power because it had been destroyed by coalition bombing. So much for the Law of Armed Conflict. We had taken no more that 150 Military Police into a region of Iraq where we had removed all local Govt & Police & we had failed to secure huge cashes of small arms, mortars & stockpiles of ammunition.
I distinctly remember being told that we were then told to adopt a softer stance than the US Forces.
We were going to pacify the local population by patrolling the street in our Regimental Berets/Head Dress. A very excited senior officer came up to me in our Regimental Headquarters & stated – ‘hey! *** **** this is right up your street with all that Northern Ireland experience, we are going to start a Northern Ireland style framework patrol matrix”.
I just laughed at him. I explained that firstly – we did not have any intelligence on the local population whatsoever. Secondly, we had no local Police Force to partner with or whom we could use to put a local face with which would be helpful with sympathetic locals. Thirdly we were in a nation whom spoke an alien language & who had a different religion & customs & that we had no interpreters that would help us to communicate with locals. As I did this a huge firefight erupted just outside between warring local factions.
The secure compound we had just occupied which I also pointed out to him was up until recently what have would have locally passed a primary school – The irony of this was not lost on me.
For me, right at that point I knew the game was up, but was caught up in the mortgage & pension trap in the last third of a career with little chance of re-inventing for myself a change of career direction at that stage of my life.
Afghanistan & Helmand was to come again for me after a further deployment to Southern Iraq. From a strategic point of view the most badly planned operation I have ever been involved in – except of course for Iraq. From an operational point of view the most poorly executed operation I have ever been involved in. It was also the most kinetic two way operation I have ever experienced. From a logistical support point of view it was the most chaotically & poorly supported operation I have ever been involved in.
The level of corporate corruption, the degree to which the war was viewed by the senior leadership with an Orwellian belief in the ‘grand plan’ that would work this time around even though it was just a rehash of the same failed ‘grand plan’ that failed last time disgusted me. Cast over this were the constant repatriation ceremonies if I was occasionally back at Camp BASTION. So many young lives ended for nothing.
So many civilians killed & injured & made refugees across Iraq & Afghanistan because of our actions.
Ask 1000 ISAF Soldiers why they fought in Afghanistan & they will give you 1000 different answers. Frankly I am glad that it is finished & it is back the way it is.
Never thank me for my service; all the trappings – the false tin & ribbons & many pictures, awards & certificates are all cast away in a few cardboard boxes in my shed, never to see the light of day in my lifetime.
So, a long rambling post – apologies for this.
But I do ‘get it’ & I see what Russia is trying to achieve in the Ukraine with a Velvet Glove in one hand & an Iron Fist behind their back.
We are witnessing history & I do believe a multipolar world is already here, so long as the maniacs in NATO can somehow be prevented from annihilating the planet.
Keep up the good work
Thank you for sharing your life with us, and how early on in your career was conscious of and realized the lie from truth.
I believe in the Bible the Roman soldiers were able to see the Christ better than the hypocritical Priests.
And he had compassion for all.
I greatly appreciate you sharing your experiences, your story is very powerful. You have had a firsthand view of the truth that eludes so many people in our delusional society. While I am a believer in formal education (I’m a college professor), I will be the first to recognize that much of what is worth learning in life cannot be found in a classroom or inside of a textbook. Experience is an incomparable teacher. Hearing perspectives from people like yourself provides me with an ongoing education and shapes my view of the world. Your words ring loudly, brother, thank you for taking the time to post.
All too rarely do we hear the truth from the battlefield. From the bottom of my heart THANK YOU for having the courage to tell us the bitter truth. We are all empowered by the knowledge you have shared. May your days be long and your nights peaceful.
Fascinating reminiscences, Per Terram. Er – what was it you were – er – ‘serving’, again?
Andrei, you must know your readers here follow you because of the reality you bring to the situation before us. I can only speak for myself but I thank you for your effort. I doubt that anyone here will ever say anything other than, I never believed any of that crap.
Western media has gone into full war porn mode, while the extent of real fighting is still uncertain because their reporting is seriously not trustworthy. Maybe the journos can’t connect the dots of the shadow boxing behind the lines.
Has Putin overestimated the willingness of his own military to kill Ukrainians? Or does Putin himself lacks the will? In Grozny? Is he like the West putting much less value on Muslim lives? Fact is for now, Kiev has faced nothing like what Sirte faced from NATO or Grozny faced from Russia – but not because Russia lacks the capacity to do it. So I wonder how far this bunch of war mongering journos want yo escalate to force the clueless EU buerocrats in their self distructive decissions.
This guy got it quite nicely.
https://www.brighteon.com/e8b9d706-5cbc-45f6-bfc4-395472b56081
Engaging your readers that do not share your perspective is always commendable. Some of the points made are not in dispute and it is fair to assume under the current dynamics that Ukraine will eventually fall under the sheer Russian troop numbers while the worst of the civilian bloodhed is avoided. Military infrastructure is dismantled and and the government is toppled.
Then riddle me this:
1. The civilians will obviously resist any new government and will not stop doing new super Orange/Maidan revolutions. So back to square one, then what?
2. The ‘Nazi’ label will then likely be applied to the NATO countries that currently support Ukraine. Are the Baltics, Poland and Romania the next targets of a ‘1) denazification and 2) disarmament’ operation? It certainly sounded like it in Putin’s speeches. If so, why shouldn’t they do everything now, while they can, to prevent this outcome? Especially since they would not be confronted with ‘brothers’ trying to protect civilians.
3. A new Iron Curtain won’t stand unless extreme civilian repression is applied to the people of Ukraine so the brotherly love argument will crumble.
From your perspective what was the point of Putin’s rhetoric and threats on and beyond Ukraine that only managed to rile up NATO and EU to do everything in their power to support Ukraine now?
I’m sorry but the logic in the sequence of actions and declarations is not consistent with Putin’s own goals, which leads me to believe that all is not right in the Kremlin.
“Ukraine will eventually fall under the sheer Russian troop numbers”
– As of August 2021, approx. 250,000 people. The number of reserve military personnel was about 2,000,000 people, “partisans” – 250,000. Add to them the Nazi National Battalions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine.
The number of troops introduced (conducting a special operation) of the Eastern and Western groups of troops of Russia is about 15,000 (add to them … – 5,000. Two-thirds (30,000) are in the operational reserve.
Generalissimo, Count Alexander Vasilievich Suvorov bequeathed to us “Fight not by numbers, but by skill!”.
I don’t have a problem granting you that my perception on russian troop numbers in Ukraine was not accurate.
I only bother to post here because I am willing to challenge my own perspective and follow through with alternative reasoning to see where it goes. But the questions and concerns on the outcomes of the operation (as small as it may be) remain answered. I just hope that there is clarity and sanity in the Russian leadership about their end goals. Otherwise God help us all.
Thanks to.
Of course, the military-political leadership of Russia has strategic plans, which are being amended. We have been preparing for this since 2006, and maybe even earlier. )))
We accumulated strength and resources, studied … when victory became 97.8 percent guaranteed (or maybe now more))) – we accepted the challenge.
The main thing is that our goal is not only Ukraine, this is one of the tasks. Many here have aberration of vision when looking into the distance.
Our first goal is “Greater Eurasia”. Peaceful, sovereign, conservative order (family: man + woman = children, Vera, …). and we will get it. let not immediately.
There is little point in engaging with an individual who starts with an assertion, offers no support to his assertion, then demands you counter his assertion with facts.
The message you posted, whether you know it or not, is that you only operate on ideology and are devoid of facts – rather like carrying an empty white placard.
Dear Carl,
under the current dynamics that Ukraine will eventually fall under the sheer Russian troop numbers while the worst of the civilian bloodhed is avoided…
Russian (+LDNR) troop numbers are relatively small compared to the Ukrainians, about the equivalent of a (Nato) corps vs the 150 000 Ukrainians in the Donbass alone.
The US/Nato would be ‘riled up’ no matter what Russia did. They would be ‘riled up’ even if the Russian military moved to the Urals. It is just an excuse made for the consumption of gullibles or people who love watching Batman movies.
Russia is not waging what the real Carl von Clausewitz called ‘ideal’ war on the Ukraine. Please look it up if you’re not sure what ‘ideal’ war means.
The Russian operation has elements of counter-insurgency warfare (or ‘COIN’ in US parlance) in it. The civilian population and civilian infrastructure are left wholly unmolested; corridors are provided for civilians to escape the fighting; captured or surrendered enemy personnel (less Nazis) have been treated in strict compliance with the Geneva conventions; surrendered enemy made to sign a document promising no further involvement in military action against the Russians with a promise of parole — something unheard of between modern armies since Johnston’s surrender to Sherman in the American Civil War: in effect RF is trying to win Ukrainian ‘hearts and minds’ (Brit parlance) while hunting down Ukrainian nazis.
The Baltic states, while deeply Russophobic — the leadership, that is — have not demonstrated Nazi tendencies towards ethnic Russians. As for arms, they’ll be running out of weapons soon seeing the number of their own weapons — which they have in relatively minute numbers to begin with — that they’re shipping to the Ukraine. Hence there is no need for a de-Nazification or a demilitarisation operation. Ditto Poland and Romania.
Whether there’ll be ‘extreme civilian repression’ after this operation is entirely up to the Ukrainians in the rump ‘Ukraine’ at the end of this special operation. RF doesn’t give a damn if there’s going to be an iron curtain or East Bank barrier or not in the future — it has broken with the West and it’s time for Europe (who think they’re the Indipensables in that part of the world) to see that.
Thank you for the great insights, certainly helps me gauge the RF pespective. From my vantage point though, the part of the operation trying to win Ukrainian ‘hearts and minds’ has failed. Which is most concerning since it leaves no room for de-escalation.
Again, upon what do you base your opinion that the Russians did not win ‘hearts and minds’ – the shop owner that gave food to the Russian soldiers and thanked them for ridding the country of parasites? The fake media show of the lady with the damaged face that has been identified as a crisis actor?
An – opinion – should be based on some form of facts first. I am of Ukrainian descent, and watching the fascists tear apart the homeland of my grandparents has torn me apart. Watching the Russians administer justice to the killers of unborn babies brings me a sense of justice.
Please state the *facts* upon which your opinion is based and they can be explained.
Thanks to Zion controlled west and their massive disinformation, Russia will have to show them the real shock and awe. But the Zionist will pay a price, for this is full-out war. China will back Russia fully and a new world will begin. North America will not be exempt , like their masters. Their murderous rule was always going to end, but they hastened it themselves.
I have a prediction: No matter what Russia accomplishes or doesn’t accomplish in Ukraine, the Western MSM will frame it as an evil act and/or total failure (preferrably both). And most people will believe it unfortuntaley.
But isn’t that fact liberating? How do you free your country and make her independent and strong if not through a conflict with a hegemon who wants to keep her under his boot? You must be bold, confident and to hell with the enemy. You just need to be ready to strike first in case they get any ideas. Before our eyes, Russia is creating a new Russian and Euro-Asian world. She must not flounder or doubt. And seeing President Putin’s resolve, she won’t. The West can take it or leave it. The train has left the station.
I think all who sent meaningless questions to the Saker should throw a few bucks into his IT fund. You are getting a lot for your money.
Besides “armchair generals,” we also have a few “armchair pacifists” who claim to oppose all wars on various grounds (ecological, humanitarian, etc.) but in practice ignore/rationalize the violence the West commits while severely opposing that done by whomever the West currently defines as enemy/adversary.
During my early career (Cold War 1960’s) teaching political science in a liberal arts college, I fervently followed Morgenthau’s “realism” rather than Wilson’s “idealism.” Latter tends to be legally naive and morally inconsistent. Realists see world peace best achieved by great powers either acting in concert or keeping a respectful distance, while smaller nations necessarily live in their shadow. If Us-Canada relationship is akin to Russia-Finland’s, is Us- -Mexico’s similar to Russia-Trans-Caucasian?
Then 30 years ago, when Warsaw Pact/USSR imploded, I said to myself (nobody else would listen) “It’s time for NATO to disband–its job is done.” Instead, it radically broadened its geographic horizon and changed its mission from defense to offense
Only part of NATO’s job was done. Conflict with USSR or Russia had to be maintained to justify the military occupation (since 1940’s) of Europe by the USA. The US and its population believes that any war it undertakes will be on someone else’s soil. That is why NATO is important to the US. When a new country joins NATO, it is effectively saying to the US: “we will fight the enemies you choose on our own land”.
UK foreign secretary says Britain can’t commit to taking Ukrainian refugees )))
https://www.politico.eu/article/uk-foreign-secretary-britain-not-commit-ukraine-refugees/
Thank you very very much and stay safe
The ‘military experts’ on American TV are Pentagon sock puppets saying whatever the Pentagon has told them to say. We’ve known this since the Cheney regime and the illegal Iraq War. We know that many of the ‘columnists’ who were selling the Vietnam War were secret CIA agents. There is nothing ‘independent’ about these people.
They are on corporate TV. Thus, they will say what the corporate sponsors want to hear. If they did not say this, they would not be on TV. And, they are scripted daily with ‘talking points’ from the Pentagon. If they did not follow these, then the Pentagon would call the corporate TV and ‘request’ that they find a different ‘expert’.
If they thought putting Hollywood actors on the set in uniforms would be better propaganda for their war, they’d do it. The uniform and the rank and the ‘expertise’ are all just props for better selling the propaganda.
If you are watching any of these people, your time would be better spent reading “War is a Racket” by General Butler … https://ratical.org/ratville/CAH/warisaracket.html
Glenn Greenwald in 2008 on the Pentagon’s “Military Analyst Program”
https://www.salon.com/2008/05/09/cnn_abc/
“”Helping” the Pentagon is exactly what Shepperd, pretending to be an “independent analyst” on CNN, then proceeded to do. In numerous appearances on CNN talking about Gitmo, no mention was ever made of Khatani or other specific, documented abuses. To the contrary, Shepperd’s “analysis” — broadcast all over CNN — was exactly what it would have been had Rumsfeld himself written the script. “
Heres a vid of a large Russian column moving through traffic giving the traffic the right of way. Compare that with Falluja, Mosul, or any of the cities the US invaded. The US would level entire city blocks if they thought they took sniper fire. And they would brag about how bad they are. The hypocrasy in the West, even if 50% of those posting are Psy op weenies is beyond disgusting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kN2rg_XOkgY
Sent some money last week, will send some more this week too. We should cover those IT expenses, it’s not cheap.
As I can see The West is in the state of collective hysteria, mental destruction of it’s own people.
MSM is spreading fear. Reporting is on the level of Christiane Amanpour in 1993. Nuf said.
Just got a great message on Viber. Serbian guy posted on several sites in 5 LIES countries pictures of bombed cities, asking followers to condemn it.
After waves after waves of condemnations, he thanked them and posted that pictures are not from Ukraine, but from 1999 NATO bombing of Serbia.
Andrei, and The Team, there is no way I can express how grateful I am for what you are doing.
That is EXACTLY what I got to thinking looking into – except using footage and images from the last 8 years of Novorossia.
one set without and the same set after the relevation with the date on the images…documenting the decade…
…but I do not do any social media…🙄
Banderite forces have been indiscriminately shelling and attacking the Donbass for over 7 years. These are war crimes, crimes against humanity and if Russia is left to complete their special operation in Ukraine then the Western powers are in serious trouble, existential trouble.
Western Media will not report that the population in Eastern Ukraine had been requesting Moscow to send Russian troops to save them from American-backed invaders including Neo-Fascist and neo Nazi forces known as Banderites.
Biden’s claim that the Russian invasion was unprovoked is complete nonsense (Iraq WMD’s anyone?) the fact is that Ukraine precipitated the war by attacking the breakaway eastern provinces in violation of the Minsk peace agreements. The Minsk agreements were in place after Ukraine previously twice precipitated a war by attacking the breakaway eastern provinces causing significant civilian casualties.
There is no turning back for US/EU/NATO there is nowhere for them to retreat to with war crimes tribunals in their near future. I expect US/EU/NATO to take us to WW3 over Ukraine.
It is a testament to the strength of the mind-control that the very same people who not very long ago were calling themselves ‘the anti-fascist resistance’ now strongly support the Ukrainian fascists, and are willing to fight World War III alongside the guys with the SS emblems.
Meanwhile, the pro-fascists who supported the storming of the Capital now mildly support Putin’s attacks on the Ukrainian fascists.
Be careful out there. You can easily get whiplash if you try to follow too closely … and don’t just accept that it was all always theater and never real. They got richer, and you got poorer, and that is always the name of the game in a capitalist society.
They are continuing with shelling Donetsk despite the encirclement of their forces. This is pure evil.
Andrei;
With all due respect, American Citizens have been bombarded with 24/7/365 propaganda for decades. Voices of dissent are ruthlessly censored, some are threatened, some are injured, some are disappeared and some are murdered. What the 3LAs did to Julian Assange is public knowledge because of his notoriety but, the 3LAs ruthlessly hunted journalists to extinction and replaced them with domesticated hens that chirp from gilded cages.
And any pol who comes close to revealing the truth or, behaving in a decent manner are treated similarly, in fact our 3LA have their minions scouring the internet making sure that no decent pol isn’t immediately smeared with outlandish ad hominems. Hell, in my lifetime, the 3LAs have taken down three relatively compliant US Presidents, one by murder, one by impeachment and one was repeatedly charged with treason by our “secret police agencies” and in each case the trail led directly back to a 3LA address.
Honestly Andrei, it’ll take more than a few paragraphs to overcome the 3LAs decades of propaganda/censorship/reprisals, don’t let your ego get in the way of bringing people to some approximation of reality.
Your short but deadly accurate take n the history of invasions ruinations and plundering is stunning, despite being true, even tragic.
Superior play with words, and my only wish would be that the despicable western alliances get it through their thick skull that not every citizen of this desecrated raped and abused earth is dumb. I certainly am not dumb if I can say so. I have experienced deception in Czechoslovakia in 1968. Providence helped me and opened a gate to escape. I landed in a land of milk and honey – Canada. Sadly, and with sorrow, I report that the country has turned into a dictatorship. That handlers decide who says what. They decide to dump Russian vodka. As if that was by a miracle going to save the day. Besides the liquor stores have paid for it already. Yet apparently Canada imports around a million dollars worth of crude daily. From the hated, despised Russians. Who is stupid here? B.T.W. why in Lord’s name is Canada involved in sending military help even advisors? Are Ukrainians stupid? Will the donation of 500 million Euros by EU save Ukraine? In the present form and with the Azov and Bandera battalions?
Bless you Andrei for you untiring work, your wit and may you be helped by guardian angels every waking day.
I;ve dipped into the Saker for several years now as giving by far the best insight in the West into the Kremlin’s poit of view. Those posting comments are also among the most insightful on any site I visit, so thank you Andrei and many of your followers for helping us understand what’s going on in Ukraine at the moment. I’ve never felt fit to add my pennysworth until now, but I think there’s an elephant in the room that most of you seem to be missing: that the US, Deep State, globalists or whoever’s calling the shots, really wanted this war, and could not care about the outcome, so long as it fills their coffers. As always, one must follow the money and ask who benefts. So far as the scum who rule us are concerned, it does not matter whether Russia achieves a quick victory or gets bogged down. Either way it’s good news for the profits of the military industrial complex. Whatever happens in Ukraine, military budgets in all NATO members will skyrocket and the iikes of Raytheon are already licking their lips even more than during the 20 year Afghan war and accompanying regional forays. Removed. Mod. I believe Russia would have been better much advised to have tied its economic levers first – ie threatened to cut off gas and oil supplies first, unless the West neutralised the Kiev regime. They will probably have to end up doing this anyway.
From my perch in the peanut gallery, it goes back to the bigger geopolitical situation. By that I mean, the USA came out of WW2 as a superpower and the leader of its sphere. Then the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics broke up, and the USA was the world’s only super power. Now, China is rising and every forecast says China passes the USA in a decade or three or so.
Historically, this situation usually leads to war. The empire on top has to decide whether or not to go to war to beat down the rising empire. Or, it can chose to adjust and use its power and wealth to put it into a favorable situation after the other empire becomes superior. Those are the two main choices.
If the empire on top chooses war as the course, then logic dictates that it needs to start the war sooner rather than later. The empire on top wants to fight before the rising empire gains any more strength.
This is what makes this situation so very dangerous to human society as we know it. The rhetoric coming out of America clearly says that America has chosen war. There is nothing about a peaceful transition to a multipolar world being even considered in ‘mainstream’ American thought. Thus, the situation where America appears to be pushing for a war and for a war right now. They want to fight before Russia and China get stronger. Its about staying on top for a long time to come, even if it is only on top of a radioactive smoking pile of corpses.
America wants the showdown now, and not even a few years from now. This is why the Doomsday Clock is now going 10 … 9 … 8 …
This is why if people are going to organize to stop war ….. now would be a very good time.
The Vietnam War supposedly pierced the bubble of Americans’ naiveté and made us finally start to question whether whatever was told to us by the government, corporate media, and other “authorities” was actually true. But think of what has been told to us since then (this is a very incomplete list):
— the Contra death squads in Nicaragua were the moral equivalent of our Founding Fathers.
— Grenada and Panama posed clear and present threats to our national security that required us to invade those countries.
— Serbia was committing genocide, which justified our indiscriminate bombing of Belgrade.
— Saddam Hussein procured yellowcake uranium from Niger, was about to unleash nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons on the United State, and was directly responsible for the September 11 attacks. And he was an evil dictator who gassed his own people.
— our illegal invasion and occupation of Syria was justified because Assad was an evil dictator who gassed his own people.
— under the personal direction of V.V. Putin, agents of the KGB (which hasn’t existed for decades, but never mind) assassinated Litvinenko using radioactive polonium isotopes because he said unflattering things about the Russian government and tried to bump off the Skripals using a military grade nerve agent painted onto a doorknob.
— V.V. Putin unleashed his cyber goons to subvert our Democracy by hacking voting machines and placing a few ads on social media, thereby depriving poor little Hillary of her coronation and handing the election to a loud-mouthed, ignoramus real estate huckster, because that was clearly in Russian’s national interest.
— and, best of all: israel is the world’s most moral and victimized nation and America’s best friend and ally, there is no daylight between our interests, supporting israel equates to fighting terrorism, israel’s occupation of Palestine is benign, legal, and morally justified because poor little israel has the right to defend itself against the unwashed Arab and mooslim barbarians surrounding it on every side, biding their time until they unleash the second holocaust (and if you deny any of that or bring up the King David Hotel, the USS Liberty, the Mavi Marmara, Rachel Corrie, etc., you are a hate-filled inveterate racist and anti-semite who is probably a direct descendant of Hitler).
Pointing those things out (and so, so much more), I have asked many of my countrymen: What have these assholes ever told the truth about? How can you honestly still believe the government and their media shills are trustworthy? Why the f@#k would you listen to anything that these people say? If one of these mainstream media propaganda outlets trotted out one of their correspondents (in a battle helmet and flak jacket, for dramatic effect) to breathlessly declare that the sun rises in the east, I would have to wake up before dawn the next morning and look out the window just to make sure before I recognized it as truth. And yet, people still immerse themselves in this garbage and think that they actually know what is going on in the world.
How many times can people be lied to and exploited before they realize that they’re being conned? How can they be so fantastically stupid to not realize what should be apparent to the average third-grader?” I really cannot comprehend it. Is it just the result of intellectual laziness? Ideological blindness? Tribal solidarity? Or, to borrow E.E. Cummings’ line, is it because they “would rather black the boots of success than enquire whose soul dangles from his watch-chain, which would be embarrassing for both parties, and unflinchingly applaud all songs containing the words country home and mother when sung at the old howard”?
Thank you, Hawaii, but the reasons for intoxication and obeisance are as much emotional as they are cognitive. A normal non-inquisitive person needs a sense of security and righteousness in order to function. He clings to the dominant narrative (irrespective of education, IQ etc.) because this provides a safety blanket that offers a sense of invulnerability.
America is populated by distinct ethnic tribes which see their assimilation into a prevailing “culture” through an uncritical acceptance of the cheap myth of exceptionality which props up their fragile egos. Despite the fact that they are average or sub-average, they transform into a Superman the moment they hang that flag on the porch. Their (shallow) essence is invested in the “success” of their Shangri-La notwithstanding clear and overwhelming evidence of global criminality, dishonesty and shysterism.
That is why it is so hard to pry these people (from the “working class” to “intellectuals”) away from the fairy tales that make them who they are. They will fight for their worldview even if impoverished, hopeless and abandoned by society (losers). For belonging to “America” is the magic opioid that eliminates the drudgery, failure, and lack of prospects. You are one of the rare exceptions. Thank you for your service – to the truth.
What you have said is very true — sad, but true. I keep waiting for more of my countrymen to awaken from their stupor and experience some righteous indignation upon realizing that they have been lied to and played like a sucker their entire lives. But for the reasons you pointed out, I’m afraid that it will be a long time before that happens.
I think they all must have had a moment of clarity once or twice in lives, but just as the character Cypher in the Matrix – they cant eventually handle the truth, and prefer the illusion.
Because it is not a single thing or an aha moment, but a neverending series of the contradictions in all aspects of our lives that are required to b examined and re examined, and almost as a rule, one ends up with a conclusion opposite to what is accepted in “polite society”. The rabbit hole is indeed endless.
so Cypher chooses merlot and filet mignon…
When it’s a choice between your delusional beliefs and facts,westerners choose their delusions.
When it’s a choice between Truth or the paycheck they choose the paycheck.
Yes, just about EVERYTHING of relevance and importance to Life is 180 degrees from the main narrative.
It’s a good policy to reverse EVERYTHING you’ve ever been taught is the truth and start from there. The opposites don’t always stick, but it’s a better place to start from than the established narrative.
As they would say in Scotland – Yer no wrang laddie
Fragile is the word that best describes the mindsets you speak of. Even Hitler towards the end wouldn’t allow bad news from his commanders, completely blotting out the realities, suffering near complete psychosis. These are no different, the truth is too egregious. Living in denial is the only way they can face reality. lol
To Hawaii and WTFUD,
Thank you. Unfortunately, only serious suffering can accomplish that. The essence of the conflict we are witnessing is the abstract vs. the concrete. The West with its fairy tales, bubbles, fake ideologies, information warfare and emotional manipulation vs. the solid, concrete, common-sense thinking and healthy emotions.
I’m hoping the lies can become known, and that the truth will prevail! Ukraine is a province at best! The people there should be ashamed for allowing the; Azov nazis and Hasbara, to over-ride their true brotherhood with mother Russia! Down with nazis! Down with drug addled oligarchs! Down with gangsters! Down with warlords and their mercenary puppets?
Ukrainians en masse did not try to Nazify their country.
There were other forces at play. Specifically, the project of Nazification has come from the US Ziocon nest. For decades, American ziocons have been protecting and nurturing Canadian Nazis, the progeny of Ukrainian Nazi collaborators.
Despite harsh persecution of holobiz “revisionists” in Europe and the US (up to lengthy prison sentences), the Canadian Nazis have been prospering unmolested. They built their Nazi memorials and held their regular Nazi parades.
The Jewish communities in Canada and the US never produced a peep about these Nazi memorials and Nazi parades. This special relationship had culminated in 2014 when a Jewish woman Nuland-Kagan came to Kiev to do regime change with the help of local Ukrainian Nazis. From there on, it became clear that one of the components of the ongoing vicious attack on Russia was a rabid Russophobia of the Kagans’ clan and other Jews.
Neither the American nor European Jewish Community has produced a condemnation of the Nazification of Ukraine. The grateful Canadian government sent the Canadian military to train Ukrainian Nazis after the 2014 putsch.
Canadian Nazis have been nurtured and protected by the US/Canadian Jews for a project of Nazification of Ukraine. Who needs all these Arlington Memorials and Captains Tom Moore’s exploits when bankers want their pounds of flesh from Russians?
The oversized indecency of the US Jewish community is breathtaking. The silence of the Jewish world communities and their approval of the Nazification of Ukraine – as we can observe through the behavior of European and US/UK governments – should be discussed more widely.
In Japan, I’ve taken to wearing earplugs at dinner again (because the guys insist on watching TV then). While not part of the Five Lies, they are still an occupied country firmly under western control. Fortunately, there are still a few pro-Russian voices on TV, even prime time. If those are silenced (it is probably more a matter of “when”), then I will know Japan has cast its fate with the strong-looking bully once again.
See how much attention this gets in the American media ….
China releases its report on Human Rights in the United States in 2021.
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202202/1253508.shtml
“It’s universally acknowledged that the US has a big human rights problem. The problem is characterized by racial discrimination, the lack of respect for the disadvantaged, the disparity between the rich and the poor, and the number of shooting deaths every year, Li Haidong, professor at the Institute of International Relations of the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Monday.
So when the US talks about human rights issues in other countries, it must have a clear understanding of its own human rights situation, Li urged. But the tragedy is that the politicians in the country always turn a blind eye to US’ poor human rights record and pretend to be “teachers on human rights” in the international community, said Li. He added that the US has no qualification and pointed out the fact is that chaos on human rights in other countries and regions have often been brought by the US.”
A analysis on a Russian site.Hopefully this is the plan:
The article is devoted to the strategic goals of the special operation of the Russian Armed Forces on the territory of Ukraine.
The military operation in Ukraine has decisive strategic goals. These goals are generally defined in the speeches of President Putin. Chief among them is that Ukraine should never again pose a threat to Russia as a state and to Russians as an ethnic group. Setting this goal implies that the Russian military operation should not be limited to any part of Ukraine – it implies the establishment of our military control over its entire territory. Therefore, there should be no negotiations and compromises with the current leadership of Ukraine. The only requirement for the Kiev authorities is complete and unconditional surrender.
Achieving the main goal implies the solution of a number of tasks already identified by the president. This includes carrying out the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine. Demilitarization means that Ukraine must be stripped of its armed forces and military industry. The existing capacities of the military-industrial complex should either be destroyed on the spot or taken to Russia as trophies.
Denazification includes not only the overthrow of the current regime and the punishment of those responsible for the crimes against the Russian population of Ukraine, but also the lustration of the current ruling bureaucracy and the expropriation of the property of the Ukrainian oligarchy, since it bears its share of responsibility for the acts of the Kiev authorities. Naturally, all Bandera formations should be liquidated, their members arrested and sent to restore the destroyed Donbass, as was the case with captured Germans after the Great Patriotic War. In the future, these persons must be subject to strict police surveillance for life. In ideology, science and education, all Bandera manifestations must be cleaned out, and their champions removed from their respective jobs.
Another important thing that came out of Putin’s speech is that the people of Ukraine should be given the right to free self-determination. This means that referendums on independence and the creation of their own republics, following the example of the DPR and LPR, should be held in all regions of Ukraine. I am sure that at least two regions – Kharkov and Odessa – will vote for independence. It is possible that they will be supported by other regions of the south-east of Ukraine. I am also sure that the Rusyns living in the west of Ukraine will vote for secession. In the future, the seceded regions may form confederations or simply remain independent. Perhaps in the future some of them will want to reunite with Russia.
There is one more important thing that was not mentioned in the speeches of the President of Russia, but which must be implemented. In Ukraine, especially on its western borders, the Russian military presence in the form of a powerful army group should remain. This is necessary in connection with the sharp increase in the number of NATO troops in Poland and other neighboring countries. It is clear that NATO does not intend to return to the situation of 1997 and the threat to our country from the western direction will steadily increase.
https://regnum.ru/news/polit/3518886.html
“I am sure that at least two regions – Kharkiv and Odessa – will vote for independence. It is possible that other regions of the south-east of Ukraine will also support them. I am also sure that Rusyns living in western Ukraine will vote for secession. In the future seceded regions may form confederations or simply remain independent, perhaps in the future some of them will want to reunite with Russia.
“…regions – Kharkiv and Odessa (corridor in the PMR)”, as well as Zaporozhye, Kherson. Nikolaev, Sumy, Chernihiv and … Transcarpathian pour over – the trap will snap! )))
Andrei Martyanov posted this video. It is must watch for those armchair generals that want to take a few minutes from the TeeVee. It is not all perfect but you will get it – a headspace change. Take a break from the noise and Enjoy! This fellow is in Kiev.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vdiEABLFoo&t=413s
Martyanov’s commentary is here: http://smoothiex12.blogspot.com/2022/02/read-real-experts.html
The analysis is brilliant without any standard Anglo BS. Thanks for the video and cogent commentary.
Let me add a statistic as to the results of those magnificent campaigns concerning the vets, that had served in them:
120 000 suicides.
add that to the bodycount.
I did a double take on the 120,000 suicide number.
Wikipedia says there were 6,000 suicides every year from 2008 – 2017, accounting for 60,000. Still a staggering and shameful statistic, whitewashed of course by the elites in the exceptional nation.
I just started to watch a video where Jordon Peterson interviewed some American military ‘expert’, but stopped after the ‘experts’ first sentence. He started by saying the “unprovoked, unjustified and illegal invasion …. ” and also this gem, “Putin is clearly insane … “. I made the following comment:
“Unprovoked, unjustified …… ” you lost me there
“illegal …” possibly, depending if the legal team is pro American or pro Russia
My research all indicates that there was provocation, whether that justified the attack is certainly a subject for debate.
…. but to start with the certainty that it was unprovoked, unjustified and illegal makes your opinion suspect
I have not put a link …. I could not watch and I do not want you to throw up listening to the moron
Yes, unfortunately some commenters are clearly still under the influence of Western propaganda and disinformation. Russia has not invaded the Ukraine like the West invaded Iraq to dominate and plunder it. The Russian military has entered the Ukraine to liberate its people from the Banderites and the Maidan neo-colonial regime. Sadly, the Banderites/Maidanites are holding the Ukrainian people hostage as human shields, so this clean up operation will take time to complete in a way that minimizes civilian casualties.
The fact that TV watching armchair generals are taking the time to maybe read The Saker and comment means that you are getting through at least partially.
Take the fact that they comment as a success.
Maybe you should have a separate page where all these comments can be dumped???
Breitbart reports that Zelenski is asking the west to impose a no fly zone over Ukraine:
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/02/28/zelensky-prods-biden-to-impose-no-fly-zone-psaki-not-a-good-idea/
What? Is he serious?
it is called chutzpah.
yes he is DEADLY serious.
delusional would perhaps be more apt?
Delusional? Absolutely not.
He is(well, they are) convinced beyond the shadow of doubt, that we owe it to them just for the asking.
And why shouldn’t he be?
What have we ever denied them?
Who seriously reads Breitbart??
I only look at MSM news & watch the blowhards to confirm their information bias & to give myself a laugh.
Masters of the Universe
Rulers of the Earth
We decide who lives or dies
which laws and lies are birthed
No one would love them
if not for the nukes
the blackmail the sanctions
and CIA spooks
the stealing the lying
the torture the spying
the starving and dying
and flag falsifying
they are vulgar and crass
and bold as brass
and expect everybody
to kiss their ass
the exceptional nation
whose main occupation
is forced subjugation
and world domination
don’t dare to point out
their crimes or hypocricy
or they may decide
to send in the democracy
Until the great fall
that ends the Cabal
we must put up our fronts
and bow to these l….ovely folks
Is it true Linda that women find it difficult to mention the ‘C’ word?
Lovely descriptive poem though.
I have been away from The Saker fraternity for a long while. During my stay then, at the time of Maidan and following sequel, I wrote consistently comments berating Mr. Putin for his conciliatory policies vis-a-vis his “Western colleagues” and not supporting Novorosyia to the hilt. My thesis then was that it was pointless kicking the can of compromise down the road because, eventually, by backing down in the face of further and more humiliating demands, he would lead Russia into a corner where its own survival would be severely weakened. Then the final consequence would have been the coup de grace for Russia and the Hegemon acceeding to the title of Master of the Universe.
That line of thinking, based on the historical analyses and precedent behaviour of former empires, notably the British, from whom the Hegemon inherited the mantle and modus operandi, was reinforced by the economic imperative of capitalism which requires the twin evils of an ever expanding field for recources and markets and the competitive ethos of dominance. The Russian leadership and many of their advisers knew all that, as well as the fact that the Hegemon was a pathological liar, untrustworthy and, as the patient Lavrov said many times, “agreement incapable”. Yet they refused to take the, obvious to me, proper road of confrontation for the defence of Mother Russia.
My thesis for a hardline approach was further supported by the realization that the phenomenon of complexity in advanced societies and the correlated law of diminishing returns in capitalism necessarily impose the use of politico-military power to sustain hegemony, hence the neo-conservative slogans of “Project for a New American Century”, “New World Order”, “The end of History”, etc. which echoed the much earlier Monroe Doctrine and the inescapable demands of “Manifest Destiny”. Putting it succinctly, coercive power must be used to extract the financial means required by the parasitical Project where the subordinated countries (the whole world in fact) would pay tribute for their own subjugation. That role was taken by the dollar as the reserve and trade currency and the use of naked raw power to enforce compliance with the new/old doctrine against any recalcitrant opposition
Yet, Mr Putin steadfastly refused to heed the advice of influential advisers, such as Sergei Glazyev, who urged him to take a more confrontational stance towards Russia’s enemy No.1, especially an assault on the dollar’s status as world currency and the encroachment of NATO into Russia’s backyard, particularly the Ukraine after Maidan. Probably he understood that Russia was not ready for a confrontation and he might have preferred to act in a position of clear strength to succeed in defying the Hegemon.
Eight years later Mr. Putin set in motion the very same process that I had suggested he should have taken in 2014. But I was not his adviser and I wasted my time and talents proffering gratuitous advice because I did not know that Russia was working on its “doom’s day” weaponry to give itself the assurance of winning the battle against the Hegemon. Anyway, apparently The Saker neglected to send my advice to his contacts in the Kremlin although my thesis was as cogent as Mr Puttin’s belated response to the Hegemon’s provocations now.
My submission at the time had been grounded on my assessment that a decisive intervention in support of the two Donbass “republics”, marked with a redline along their administrative borders, and immediate recognition a la Kosovo, were sufficient to give legitimacy to intervention. That, alone, would have saved the lives of thousands of Novorosyians, enhance Mr. Putin’s reputation at home and abroad, permit the
maintenance of a prolonged low-intensity stand-off to further destabilise the Kiev gangsters before they consolidated their control over the country. An alternative scenario was to set up and protect the then legitimate government of Viktor Yanukovych at Luhansk or Donetsk and, at the government’s request, restore constitutional legitimacy to the rest of Ukraine there and then.
My other argument in favour of Russian intervention in 2014 was to show the world and the Europeans in particular that NATO was the proverbial emperor with no clothes and a paper tiger. The new members, and even the old ones, instead of getting protection, were more likely to become targets instead, hence refraining from joining or engaging in risky adventures for the benefit of the Hegemon. All that was necessary was a demonstration of Russian firepower and resolve. The end of NATO would be the icing on the cake and a godsend to the human species. Would the Hegemon risk the incineration of New York or Washington if the Russians made a unilateral declaration for, say, the removal and banning of nuclear missile systems on the European Continent?
At what cost? No one, neither the US nor the EU were capable of doing anything about it, as they had done nothing of substance about Crimea, and now with a full-fledged invasion, except the predictable hypocritical outcry and sanctions. So what? In for a penny, in for a pound, I said then. Eight years later, they are doing nothing of consequence and the millions they had invested supporting the puppet regime and its rabid army did not make much difference apart from enriching the corrupted Kiev’s elite.
Better late than never – still, what a waste of opportunities, lives and resources by Mr Putin’s lack of resolve then. The confrontation was/is inevitable because the existence of any power likely to defy the Hegemon diktats is impermissible.
Maybe Russia needed time to build and test, Syria, new weapons systems, build stock piles of new and refurbish old munitions and have enough to unleash hell should ZNATO choose to take it there. Much huff n puff, Russia called their bluff. They were shocked and awed. Still are. How do we know. Western press, “we really don’t know what Putin’s next move will be” freakin’ dummies, like plank dumb. He told everyone what was about to happen. Comprehension disconnect or what!
Cheers M
The non-occupation
Russia tells UN it has no plans to occupy Ukraine.
but…
TASS writes:
Evidently liberated areas are not “occupied” and will thus never be returned Ukraine.
It’s up to them to decide.
The most logical course of action is to balkanize Ukraine. After all it wasn’t a cohesive State from the start. The are too many ethnicities and ideologies packed into this country. This is why they have gone from soviet forced coexistence, to nazi forced coexistence.
And in order to never be able to become a problem, it is imperative to split it up.
So we will have the emergence of a bunch of republics ( a la DPR and LPR ), of which anyone will choose what to do and where to go.
Saker THANK you for your SANE big picture outlook.
I am so disheartened to see the PSYOPs.
I was really close to subscribing to Hidden Forces Podcast.. Then I see him parrot the CIA RUSSIS is evil line.
Changed my mind quick.
We all really appreciate the hard work that you do.
Tom
Reading how the Ukraine is inviting any and all foreign mercenaries and people who have it in for Russia to travel to the Ukraine for fight night. Personally, I think that the Russian troops should show these foreign thugs no quarter.
Not “Ukraine” – the United States, but the voice of Zelensky. Here and Kazakhstan, the collection was announced immediately after the flight of the United States from Afghanistan. To Ukraine and Central Asia. (In Kazakhstan, we forced them to make a false start, to start the operation 4-6 months earlier)))
But do not worry, the Nazis from the National Battalions of the Euroreich (Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine) and their colleagues no one was going to be taken prisoner.
Terrorists are killed on the spot and where and how they are buried is unknown. )))
Hmm, wonder if their accents will give them away.
Cheers
I have been reading and supporting Counterpunch for many years and I have to say that I am very disappointed on their take on what is happening in Ukraine and with their negative view of Putin, in particular. This is one of the very few American sites that is worth monitoring, or has been, until now. But even they have never heard of Ukrainian aggression against the Donbass. I am disgusted.
I also read CP for the last decade or more, and always found myself in alignment, until the whole Trump derangement thing with them made me realize that they are solidly pro-Dems (which I also used to be), and really, pro-American exceptionalism when it come down to it.
But the vitriol they serve for anyone on the supposed “right” is downright ridiculous, as well as anyone that really criticizes the Dems at all, including people I find very left-wing and correct, finally led me to realize that they are at best just completely partisan Democrats. And they are also solidly anti-Russian as well. Sigh.
Maybe they are cutouts for the CIA after all.
I have the advantage of being an American who has lived overseas and can see the bullshit my government and media put out everyday. I have been to the Ukraine and can tell you that even with American advanced weapons they were going to be toast with the average age of soldier being 42 years old. That is average age.
There are good Ukrainians, but with any other country when they get infiltrated with American NGO’s and have their minds twisted, then things go down hill fast.
God help us all if NATO does not back down soon. Sending tons of military weapons into Ukraine is just throwing fuel on an already out of control fire. It might be time for Russia to turn their attention to the US and deal with our military in a very grim fashion. Otherwise the whole world goes up with Ukraine. The US and its central banks are behind this, decapitate them and this nonsense stops.
I just wanted to express my gratitude towards the Saker and for all the news and insights posted here. As I watch this crisis unfold, I almost can’t comprehend how stupid our ruling class is here in the US, as well as our media. The hubris is breathtaking. The idiots in charge have been playing in “God mode” for so long they’ve lost all touch with reality. It reminds me of what Marx said, something to the effect of “capitalism is a machine for destroying limits.” And now the fate of the earth–once again– hangs in the balance. The one piece of good news I just read is that the White House–so far, anyway–isn’t on board with the asinine “no fly zone” idea. But who knows what they’ll end up doing, they’re mostly if not completely insane. I just hope Russia prevails and also, obviously, that nuclear war isn’t somehow unleashed in the process. One last reflection, I was thinking to myself maybe it’s always war, all the time, but we(most of us, anyway) lie to ourselves about it. What I’m getting at is the constant effort–a war of sorts–required to keep the ruling class and capitalism under some sort of societal restraint/control. Because left to their own devices, they always revert to their favorite pastime and MO: pretending they’re God. And the rest of us end up living with the consequences of their hubris. Not that I have any especially creative answers to the dilemma. I do volunteer frequently with the Catholic Worker in town, and I live near the poverty line because the assholes in charge deserve precisely zero tax dollars. That’s about it, I guess. Anyway, God bless you all & thank you to the Saker.
Two big moves by Empire
(1) UN: they will force India and other fence-sitters to declare themselves. They just kicked out 12 more Russian staffers of their UN mission. Soon work there will be practically impossible. This is beyond illegal and flagrantly violates host-responsibilities. So a bifurcation is coming here too unless UN moved to a neutral site.
(2) Internet Tech: in addition to DDOS attacks, RT’s Disqus commentary no longer loads. One of best comments sections. Does Russia have alternative? It will need a replacement for every online tool shortly. Fire that up in addition to SWIFT alternative. How long will any voice or fora sympathetic to Russia be tolerated in Imperial cultural domains? Already students, professionals, sportsmen being kicked out or cancelled
I’m posting this as a reply to this comment and a top level comment:
This is no more an Russia vs Ukraine thing.
It is an East vs West thing. As in Eastern Orthodox vs West Christianity and people have gotten wind of it once the pope stuck his nose in.
– Saudi Arabia has flaty said no to USA to break with OPEC+
– Israel has said no to the US on the transfer of Iron Dome to Ukraine that would have been a game changer
– India will only do humanitarian stuff, country immaterial
– SE Asia has kept quiet
– China, Pakistan have abstained
Only the subservient S Korea has taken away Putin’s belt and Japan has sanctioned Russia and Taiwan has stopped processing Elbrus orders
This is the age old war of Christianity
here’s a decent reference, the first to surface it, though does not have too much credibility here:
https://www.indianpunchline.com/ukraine-makes-strange-bedfellows/
Alpine, thanks for your comment. It holds for now. In fact I submit it is not merely East vs West; it is All vs Hegemony. God will test all through Empire and its endless shenanigans. Each will have to make a stand and declare themselves. None will be permitted to sit out indefinitely. That is where it’s headed, before the current UN version is shelved, like the preceding League of Nations.
Like S Korea or Japan, I wouldn’t put any chips on the GCC or Israel though.. Those are inner provinces and will be the last to escape the clutches of Empire. In fact, only when they receive confirmation that Rome on the Potomac has burned down will they dare to change flags..
See this counterargument regarding Israel. It continues to hedge bets and like Turkey feigns neutrality..
https://www.raialyoum.com/putin-and-israel/
btw, I have read MK Badhrakumar (MKB) since late 1990s and appreciate him, even with some of his weird biases (don’t we all have ours?).
MKB says, “Not a single Muslim country has voiced support for Washington in its confrontation with Russia.” Is he aware of Iran and Syria’s continued rock-solid support? Or the Pakistani President’s recent Kremlin visit? Or all muslim former Soviet Republics being on board? They wave Russian flags in muslim Western African lands.. There is a tidal-wave of support for Russia throughout muslim lands..
What I worry about is India. There are many of good-will in India like MKB, but as he himself notes, Modi’s passionate extremists are in charge..
All this is irrelevant though. Russia by itself has enough weight. Russia has the Faith, heritage, capabilities and most importantly the will to see to it alone if need be. As Saker says, its only two friends which suffice are named Army and Navy.
And it clearly is not alone, factoring in just China and muslims. Right there is almost half of humanity
I do not understand russian, except the many words that came from latin, but if you follow a tv news as vesti you can understand clearly how is this a fight between brothers. Belruss, Ucraina, Russia, and also Moldova, Transnitia, Serbs. They know what this is about.
Why is Russia still selling oil and gas in Euro instead of the Ruble and raising interest rates to support the Ruble????? The EU can sanction the Euro not the Ruble
This is supporting the Euro against the Ruble. Selling oil and all exports in Rubles except for friends like China, India ,Iran Brazil etc. will immediately strengthen and stabilize the Ruble as Russia has a huge trade surplus This is Russia’s greatest financial weapon to use and they are not using it so far because of traitors.
Russia has been moving forward with Domestic import substitution so the Russian people and small businesses buy domestically produced substitutes to a higher degree.
Problem is inflation and interest rates are far too high (for their 25% of GDP tiny debt) to start such businesses, due to traitors in the Russian central banks. Such businesses startups, should get interest free loans and small and medium sized businesses already in existence should get interest free loans to expand especially manufacturing, high tech, agricultural then retail. If they only sold gas the EU in Rubles the Ruble would shoot up immediately and interest rates could come down to 2% immediately
There is a good book on this called Super Imperialism. The Economic Strategy of American Empire. Third Edition Hardcover – September 30, 2021 by Michael Hudson (Author).
He used to teach about it at the Pentagon in the 1970s. He taught the Chinese in the past 10 years. Maybe the Russians and Putin have not read it.
Also stop recognizing patents and trademarks of the empire as it is all out financial war. Make clones of any of their stuff that is good to make like China does and let a Russian companies take trademarks, for example let Russian companies become Levi’s Jeans in Russia and self exactly what Levi’s does. Same for aircraft parts, cars, Microsoft everything. Ban all USSA software in Russia forever when this is done.
Ruble is not sanctionned per se, but in reality it is sanctionned to change US/EU/GBP to buy ruble, and to buy rubles you need to use one of these currencies.
Only ways out: gold, bitcoins, yuans(rupies maybe or rials).
Russia should demand gold. It would cause the price – which has been held down artificially for years by shenanigans in the derivatives market – to skyrocket and hit the western financial institutions calling the shots, where it really hurts. They love this war and the longer it goes on and the more armaments it eats up, the better for them.
Actually , RUSSIA is one of very few countries in the world who is a NET exporter.
Most countries in the world have surplus DEBT. While Russia has SURPLUS.
Meaning that IF Ruble gets devalued, Russia will get richer!.
The wrst attacjed Russia in 2014, Russia followed up with deflating the Rubble value to half.
Since most of its export is in dollars and euro, it then got almost DOUBLE the income from it;)
IF Russia had exyernal debt, then that debt would gotten double as expensive to pay.
Thats why attacking currencies, like usa LOVES to do to other countries, is a VERY efficient way to conpletly cripple and destroy a country.
IF Russia had debt like example Greece, Tunisia, Turkey, Iceland, etc… then just attacking their currency would been enough to get them to submit to usas humiliating demands!.
It is the debt trap. It makes you into usas litle bitch (whenever they want to).
So when you do NOT have any debt, then selling in your enemy currency can be a VERY strong hedging against their evil attempts.
BUT lately usa has gone completly bananad, and got the world to accept the memtality that usa actually owns the dollar;) so now usa can sanction amy country from even using their own collection of dollars.
Ofc usa has no real legal claim to dollars that others allready own. But usa is acting and behaving as if they do.
Example Iran is not allowed to use dollar. It is just nuts. How on earth can a country try to claim ownership over money that they habe allready sold to 3rd parties etc.
Anyway, so yes. Russia was clever in 2014… their contracts was selling on high percentage us dollar and euro.
So all the wrstern sanctions against russian economy had vety limited damage, since Russia just devalued its own currency.
Living in the belly of the Empire, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this post Andrei.
I consider myself to be at least a little informed on the nature of propaganda. Even still it has an easy effect on me I’ve noticed. A few days ago I decided to watch a tv news program, just one. Before I was even aware of it I was on to the next program and the 15th or 20th “expert” interview. I finally snapped out of the mental fog and realized I was way over my 1/2 hour limit. It is incredible how this process works on the mind.
My advice is if you must consume MSM don’t watch TV at all. Read news articles while you are awake and paying attention. If you are not able to ask questions and find yourself mindlessly consuming put away the media. Don’t assume that you know anything just because you read it but try and see if the information fits logically into the pattern that begins to develop. Question everything, especially what you think you know.
“My advice is if you must consume MSM don’t watch TV at all.” I totally agree. Those critiquing the bullshit have to do so, but for the rest of us it is a total waste of time and more important will sap our willpower to stay above it. That said, I think it’s important to be abreast of the thrust of what they are saying, but skimming articles online will achieve this in minimum time. The fake “pandemic” we’ve all lived through opened my eyes to just how gullible most of the population can be, but this war is on a different level. At least with the former, there was always a significant and growing minority who realised their own experience didn’t match up with the propaganda of a deadly disease and a “safe and effective” “vaccine”. Now most of us have to rely on “trusted” sources and find these for ourselves. Personally, I question everything and everyone, making allowances always for the axes they have to grind. However, a good maxim is to trust those who have least to gain by what they say. The apparent lack of coverage from the Russian side is interesting. It seems they know they have lost the propaganda war before it started and it’s best to concentrate their energies on their strategic objectives. I hope they have a clear idea of what these are and a rapid exit plan. That said, I still believe that this offensive was a mistake – it helps rather than hits the moneymen who call the shots in the West. Russia is now being forced into economic measures, it would have been much better in my view to have taken the initiative in this sphere rather than the military. Now they are on the back foot in matters which concern the moneymen behind western puppet governments far more than any number of Ukrainians suffering and dying
Hello Pendennis.
It is very important to listen carefully to Russian officials when they explain what they are doing and why they are doing it. They give their perspective in a straight foward manner. In addition, I have been ovbserving them for a bit now and have learned the golden rule; they mean exactly what they are sying.
The most critical part of the address by Russian President Putin, as he initiated military action, boiled down to just a couple thigns. He said all considerations had been reviewed and all decisions had been made. There will be no surprizes for them. Anybody who doesn´t put that as a foundation stone to understanding what is now happening, will be swept away in the daily ebb and flow of occurrences. It is normally pretty hard to swallow but, the war, propaganda blitz and sanctions are all pretty much going how it was anticipated by Russia. That is why you hardly here a peep out of them. You only witness quiet, yet effective, counter punches by Russia. I watched this go down daily for years while observing the Syrian conflict. I remember how is was in early 2015 there and look at it now. Night and day.
The occidentals are done. They are stepping into every single landmine patch that has been laid out for them. For Russia at this stage, it is about getting all of their adversaries out of the closet and identifying them, while only occassionally biting back hard ( ie. the airlines and space program ). On the battlefield, it was to draw their opponents into initial positions and fix them there ( ie. uncover the dirty tactics, reveal who will cross the red lines they were warned not to cross in terms of non interference, ect … ). As dumb and as shortsighted as the West acted on the diplomatic front, they are doing equally so on the military techinical end. There is no doubt about it.
This game is for real; real lives, real deaths, real costs and very real changes in process. Just stay tuned and you will see the course of it become clearer in time.
My regards to you.
I am Mexican and I am impressed by the relentless propaganda and sanctions machine against Russia. It’s obvious for all who wants to see that there is a lot more in play here than just Ukraine. This battle transcends the material plane.
Stay strong Russia, a lot of people around the world supports you, even if the propaganda machine tries to hide it. The truth needs no censorship.
Having lived in Europe for 5 years I agree with the Saker. I am American and I have served in two wars. Honestly the US military would do the same thing encircle the objectives allow a corridor for non-combatants and deserters to leave the area before the hammer was swung. I got into it with some ZH commenters these last couple of days and watching my home media stations I just want to puke.
Least favorite thing I have people tell me is “thank you for your service.” I don’t rebuke them since I don’t want to be rude, but the time I spent in Afghanistan years ago wasn’t worth it, as last summer proved.
I’m a bit burned out from all the propaganda, trying to discern the bits of truth from the mountains of lies. If the situation changes I am sure the lying press will shrug it off and pretend like they were completely surprised.
Apparently some domain registrars are unilaterally terminating domains registered to Russian nationals. Namecheap is one of them, if anyone wants to know who NOT to do business with. I have no idea how this is in any way legal under whatever TOS they have, though nobody seems to read those and nobody cares about what’s legal and what’s not anymore it seems.
I really thank you all for the effort put in.
Any comment on this Ukraine Press Release?
https://rumble.com/vw0xbh-ukraine-press-release-about-biden.html
Andrei,
Looking ahead (I think the war will be over in a couple days) re: Russia’s post-war plans.
Most likely there will be a short occupation followed by elections in each of the liberated areas.
They could ask people if they want to join together with Russian-speaking areas or Ukrainian-speaking areas in making 2 or three new countries.
I’m basing this off Putin’s statement on 2/21:
“Let me remind you that not after the USSR was created, nor after the Second World War, no one asked people who lived in certain territories included in modern Ukraine how they themselves wanted to build their life. Our policy is based on freedom of choice for all to determine their own future and that of their children.”
What do you think?
Not occupation, but de-occupation – liberation with denazification and demilitarization of the ex-Ukrainian SSR.
And for two days such peaceful methods will not meet. Kpaitulation, putting things in order, cleaning up, carrying out abbors. In addition, we did not reach Uzhgorod, we closed the land border. We still need to denazify Western Ukraine, in particular the Transcarpathian, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi regions (a section of the land border with the EU – Slovakia, Romania, Hungary))).
In addition, the sowing campaign will begin on March 10-15.
And the prices for food products in Western Europe, in my opinion, are very low, as well as for electricity, utilities, gasoline. “Fair price” should be orders of magnitude greater! )))
I have to admit I miss the, Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Russia, as that was one place I could at least see what was going on and what the leaders are saying. I don’t watch MSM and it’s hard to not know a war is going on and walk around pretending there is not because you have no news at all, so I do miss that site very much. However, I completely agree with saker on how Russia is not making it into a big shit show like the MSM does…to me that is a good thing.
I do sometimes like to tune into CSpan and a few other places online to watch the meltdown – yes, I m guilty of that. But that’s only because I don’t like them and love watching them have meltdowns.
It’s heartbreaking they use people as shields – just heartbreaking.
Website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia – https://www.mid.ru/
Accounts – https://t.me/s/MID_Russia; https://twitter.com/mid_rf; https://www.facebook.com/MIDRussia …
)))
Company that makes vid game ARMA 3 suing for copyright infringment for using game video as action from Ukraine.
Hollywood or bust.
Cheers M