IMPORTANT NOTIFICATION & open thread

Today’s Sitrep from my armchair:
-Russia continues to grind the UFA into dust;
-The fictional narrative of near victory continues from the Ukraine proving that the comedian actor Zelensky is indeed a leader for the times;
-The EU continues to wag its finger at Russia while paying in rubles;
-The US is already in search for the next war, ready to move on after siphoning off $40B for the MIC on the pretense of Ukraine.
-Zone B is beginning to see a faint light at the end of the imperial tunnel of darkness.

Part of a story from RT in Russian, Yandex machine translation:
A van with the bodies of Ukrainian militants, under which four mines were laid, was found in the underground structures of Azovstal. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the mining was carried out on direct instructions from Kiev in order to accuse Russia of deliberately destroying the remains. It is noted that in total, the bodies of 152 dead militants and soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were found. At the same time, the head of the DPR, Denis Pushilin, said that several more “lost” Ukrainian militants were found at Azovstal. In addition, Maria Zakharova noted that neoconservatives from the Democratic Party, using Ukrainian officials as clowns, are putting pressure on Joe Biden, trying to persuade the US president to supply Ukraine with multiple launch rocket systems.
“During the inspection of the van, Russian sappers found four mines placed under the bodies of the dead Ukrainian servicemen. The combined mass of explosives in them was sufficient to destroy all the remaining remains of the bodies in the van. According to the results of interrogations of captured Azov militants, it was established that the mining of bodies was carried out on direct instructions from Kiev. The purpose of the provocation is to accuse Russia of deliberately destroying the remains of the bodies and prevent their removal for transfer to relatives in order to save the political reputation of the Kiev regime and Zelensky personally, ” Konashenkov said.

Here’s my sitrep from my armchair:
It’s estimated that there were hundreds of boys in blue out on the battlefield this morning. Things seemed to be going well until it became apparent that the wild savages had completely surrounded them. They suddenly appeared over the crests of the hills and everyone realized that they were in an existential fight. In other words, it would be a fight for their lives and there would be just one winner.

At first the battle began while mounted, but soon devolved into every man for himself, being hunkered down behind his falling animal. The trumpets sounded, but only a few were able to respond until finally…all fell momentarily silent. The last I saw were two of the enemy raising the head of a defiant one with yellow hair. A quick strike and the life was gone from him, including his scalp. All that remained were dead bodies and the celebratory whoops of the victors. In the distance, the sound of a few quickly departing hoof beats could be heard.

Uh oh. Wrong sitrep. Sorry. That was a leftover report from the battle that took place on the horn.

@ Amarynth & Herb

Thanks to both of you. Good luck with the technical issue.

The article I am posting here is a good assessment of the Battle of Donbass, if we can call it that for lack of an official name. The article focuses on the defeat of the AFU in Severodonetsk, which it considers “the beginning of the end” for Ukraine.

https://k-politika.ru/razgrom-vsu-v-severdonecke-nachalo-konca-dlya-ukrainy/

Control of the city gives the Russian army the opportunity to prepare an offensive further. The army of Ukraine has nowhere to retreat, and there are practically no options for a successful outcome.

Severodonetsk is “Mariupol today”

On May 29, according to the press service of the LPR NM, the LPR forces proposed to the nationalists of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, blocked near Severodonetsk by the joint coalition of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation with the militia of the DPR and LPR, to voluntarily lay down their arms.

“With the help of an artillery installation, propaganda shells with leaflets were delivered, in which the procedure for leaving the combat zone without weapons is prescribed,” said Fyodor Sergeev, a soldier of the LPR NM.

On March 25, according to the General Staff of the Russian Federation, the units of the LPR NM took control of 93% of the territory of the republic. It was noted that battles were being fought on the outskirts of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk. On May 6, the mayor of the city, Alexander Stryuk, reported that Severodonetsk was actually surrounded. On May 12, the head of the LPR, Leonid Pasechnik, said that protected strongholds were equipped inside these cities.

“According to the information that we have, the enemy has prepared quite serious strongholds in the cities of Lysychansk and Severodonetsk.” According to him, the Ukrainian military continued the practice of using civilians as human shields. However, by May 15, the Allied forces of the LPR NM took control of the village of Toshkovskoye south of Severodonetsk and continued the offensive. By this time, according to a number of military experts, a major node of defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in this direction was under threat of encirclement. And in order to defend themselves, the Ukrainian military has only “manpower”, and the rank and file refuses to go to certain death – without fire support and sane tasks.

On May 19, the soldiers of the 3rd battalion of the 115th brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine refused to carry out combat orders coming from both the immediate command and the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky:

“We refuse to carry out combat missions due to the fact that we do not have proper protection behind, namely, heavy equipment that would cover us, and proper leadership,” one of the military men read on camera.

Map of hostilities in Ukraine: Encirclement of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Severodonetsk

On May 23, in an interview, British military analyst Michael Clark said that the Russian military is very serious about this operation. The key to success, he called the River Seversky Donets, on the left bank of which the city stands. The Russian army, despite the complexity of the task, crossed it in several places and successfully pushed back the forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to the south, simultaneously destroying the most combat-ready units of the Ukrainian army from the operational command “North”.

On the same days, the allied forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and the National Assembly of the LPR, together with the DPR NM, completely cleared the city of Rubizhnoye and the village of Voevodivka and reached the outskirts of Severodonetsk. Then everything developed rapidly. On May 25, it became known that the Russian military, together with its allies, entered Lisichansk and “almost entered Severodonetsk.” Thus, in fact, the Severodonetsk-Lisichansk agglomeration came out of the control of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

On the same day, Michael Clarke, in an interview with Sky News, predicted the complete encirclement of Severodonetsk in the next 24-48 hours, stressing that the Russian military competently surrounded the city:

“Their northern and southern ticks west of the city are 10 to 12 miles apart,” Clark said.

On May 18, it also became known that the Russian military began to use the Terminator BMPT in this direction, which, together with tank platoons, are participating in the offensive on Ukrainian positions. This factor, as well as the competent and skillful approach of the Russian military to the formation of boilers and the capture of cities, played a big role in the success of the operation to encircle Severodonetsk.

On May 27, the network got photographs that show how the BMPT “Terminator” unit covers tanks firing at the positions of the Ukrainian military from the occupied height. It is known that the “Terminator” is able to suppress enemy infantry armed with small arms, grenade launchers and anti-tank complexes of the “Javelin” type. It is equipped with two 30-mm guns and anti-tank weapons.

Military expert Konstantin Sivkov noted that as a result of the Severodonetsk operation, the most combat-ready units of the operational command “North” were blocked between the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and the forces of the DPR and LPR from several directions.

“Severodonetsk has been taken. It is clear that there will still be a sweep, someone will take cover, but the city has already been taken. The group “Severodonetsk-Lysychansk” has been finally dissected. This is the biggest victory that greatly demoralizes the opponent. This, by the way, suggests that the fighting is being conducted successfully, and the group on the Donetsk arc is being systematically destroyed, “the expert says.

The group of the Armed Forces of Ukraine “North”, which for many years was responsible for the strikes on Donetsk and Lugansk, lost the most combat-ready units and a significant amount of equipment. Units of the 15th Regiment of the National Guard, the 27th Separate Rocket Artillery Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine named after Petro Kalnyshevsky, the 4th Separate Brigade of Operational Assignment of the NSU named after Sergeant Mikhalchuk (military unit 3018), as well as soldiers of the 58th Motorized Infantry Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were surrounded. Before the capture of Severodonetsk, the number of this group was estimated at about 17 thousand people.

Refusal of the Ukrainian military to fight near Severodonetsk

On the Internet, you can find a video with the soldiers of one of the units that refuse to go into battle, because the command did not provide them with cover:

“What to attack with? Where is the support, where is the support?” one of the military commanders shouts and receives no response. Also, one of the soldiers notes that the microdistrict in the north of Severodonetsk Shchedrishchevo of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was handed over on May 14.

The “battalion footage”, as they managed to dub the mass refusal of the Vushniki to fight, was also joined by the military from the 71st Jäger Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine:

“With machine guns we stand against cannons, Grads, mortars. No one is helping us, we don’t have any sensible weapons, we don’t have anything. How can we fight for a country that doesn’t care about us?” the military wondered.

Why Severodonetsk is important for Russia

According to military expert, Doctor of Military Sciences Konstantin Sivkov, the grouping of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is falling apart, even the best of the best are demoralized and deprived of motivation to fight.

Specifically, the Severodonetsk group was estimated at about 2-3 thousand people, in Lisichansk – 4-6 thousand. But that’s not even the point: there are several tens of thousands of people in neighboring areas. Now they are demoralized and are under threat of destruction,” says Konstantin Sivkov.

According to the expert, it will no longer be possible to ensure the defense and survival of the remnants of the group.

“They are cut off from everything, there are no special hopes. And, of course, everything turns out faster than with Mariupol, where everyone was biased, they were all sure that they would be saved. And these (Severodonetsk) see an example that no one is going to save them, so they do not resist so much, “says Konstantin Sivkov.

Where did Russian troops advance in Ukraine?

Prospects in the Severodonetsk-Lisichansk direction of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, according to military expert and doctor of military sciences Konstantin Sivkov, are not cheerful. In fact, Severodonetsk is the starting position for the encirclement of Slavyansk and Kramatorsk and the further advancement of the Russian Armed Forces.

“They will be finished off here (in Severodonetsk and Lysychansk), and further, in the west, they will no longer have such forces, they will not give any serious rebuff. In fact, they will surround the cities, and since there are no serious fortifications cut off from the rest of the world, they will quickly surrender, “the expert believes.

The command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, according to military expert Konstantin Sivkov, continues to make mistake after mistake and throws to certain death not only its best units, but also untrained fighters recruited from the street, not providing them with the necessary amount of ammunition and fire support. The practice of intimidation works against the Ukrainian commanders themselves. More and more of Ukraine’s military understand that there is no point in fighting, and most importantly, that the command does not care about their lives. It is noteworthy that not only career military, but also the so-called military formations refuse to fight. The commanders of the 46th separate battalion of special purpose “Donbass – Ukraine” announced their refusal to fight. The reasons are already known: the death of a significant number of soldiers, the shortage of weapons and sane orders.

Sergey Andreev
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Lone Wolf

On EU sanctions. Apparently the EU sanctions on Russia are here to stay. I think the German Chancellor’s logic is illogical. When did a defeated party in a war impose its terms on the winner?
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German Chancellor: Sanctions against Russia can be lifted after the conclusion of a peace treaty with Ukraine on the terms of Kyiv
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“It is absolutely clear that only an agreement that Ukraine itself considers right can cause the massive restrictions on the economic stability of Russia associated with sanctions to ever end.” the German Chancellor promised very abstractly.
.
https://topwar.ru/197058-kancler-frg-sankcii-s-rossii-mogut-byt-snjaty-posle-zakljuchenija-mirnogo-dogovora-s-ukrainoj-na-uslovijah-kieva.html

Children are trafficked on a huge scale for sexual abuse and to harvest their organs.
Thank goodness Russia is shining a light on one possible aspect of this.

https://www.rt.com/russia/556331-red-cross-office-mariupol/

“Russia to probe claims of suspicious activity by Red Cross
The Ukrainian branch of the aid group allegedly catalogued children with healthy organs”

hope you can get back my post re S and M phonecall to Pres Putin….cannot see it..

I may have lost this comment into the page of Lavrov’s speeches.

So in case it is of interest:

The application of propaganda was not unique to the German Nazis and persisted as PR and social engineering.
Elitist insiders apply every means to predict and plan for the future so as to shape it to their own agenda. This means that the GoF opportunity for anything and everything is developed as the means to maximise control over unwanted outcomes to their goals which are largely framed in an atheistic view of life as war over diminishing resources, and therefore using any and every kind of psychological and emotional leverage of deceit to supply narratives of illusory virtues set against hyped up or made up threats, to fund and support provided ‘solutions’ that of course advance their goals and have nothing to do with caring or saving anything but their own role and position of usurping the trust of those they pretend to serve or govern.

The issue of toxic exposures of all kinds is in our air, our water, food, materials and radiations. These are largely a result of irresponsible and effectively unaccountable industrial corporate interests, but an intentionally destructive agenda can be discerned as part of what can be seen as cartel monopolies running as transnational powers. At the same time the resilience of a proper level of nutrition and spiritual health or individual, personal and cultural values, makes susceptibility to toxic shocks and strain part of a ‘way of life’ that feeds the ego while robbing the Spirit.

So in my opinion the Nazi ideology was one specific manifestation of a much deeper identification in self specialness set in struggle against evils, by which to claim both supremacy and a basis to deny the humanity of targeted ‘others’. We are none of us ‘special’ or if you prefer all special in our own unique ways.

The cultic manipulation of others as a means of control can take many forms. Fear seeks control as control needs fear to survive – hence the world gone mad by attempts to maintain the corruptions of military and medical industrial complex – that for all its regional variations is transnational or ‘globalist’ as a systemic capture.

This is but a sketch. A few lines drawn of an extremely complex entanglement. While seeking and struggle are active, they need channelling to support life, rather than possess and control life – which is the real ‘virus’ running in the minds of humankind. Biotech is the globalist dream for control of a breadth and depth that ‘justifies’ and executes every kind of sacrifice to attain. Eugenics is about controlling life to the point of creating or rather, distorting and degrading it to ‘our’ own image and agenda. So learn to discern image and symbol from facts of living relationship, or persist in loveless agenda.

Good thinking:

Russia has every chance of winning in an all-out war with the West. Surprisingly, we are entering the perfect storm (the beginning of the worst global crisis since the Great Depression of the 30s) better than anyone.

A rare combination of crises is concentrated in the world in one place and at one time – energy, food, debt (which will develop into the strongest financial crisis in 100 years), structural, logistical and currency (undermining confidence in reserve currencies).

Russia provides itself with all primary raw materials: oil, gas, coal, ferrous, non-ferrous and rare earth metals, fertilizers, agricultural raw materials. In principle, we can never have an energy or food crisis. If there is, it will be solely because of systemic errors and the stupidity of the authorities, both regional and federal. But this is not the case, so the issues of survival are resolved. Something that 9/10 of the population of the planet (especially Europe and Japan) cannot afford, and Russia is lucky with its geographical position.

Throughout the history of mankind, wars have occurred due to resource insufficiency/scarcity on the trajectory of expanding living space and seizing territories and natural resources. We have unlimited natural resources, territories and all necessary resources. In general, there are no barriers to development.

At the same time, Russia has a net positive international investment position (there are more foreign exchange assets than debts), and when expropriating assets, there is every right to refuse to pay debts and seize foreign property.

The debt burden in Russia is lower than anywhere else among the major countries of the world (122% of non-financial debt to GDP). For comparison, the US and the Eurozone have 282% non-financial debt to GDP, China 285%, Japan 416%, UK 290%, India 173%, Brazil 182%, Turkey and Saudi Arabia 116% each.

However, due to high rates, the cost of servicing debt in Russia is one of the highest in % of GDP, but this is what the CBR will have to do. The high cost of borrowing is an exclusively internal problem and it can be solved.

Therefore, we will definitely not have an energy, food, debt and financial crisis. We are rapidly disengaging from the global financial system, and this is wonderful – every day we are increasing our own strategic stability and security. Literally every day. The peak of the shock was experienced in February-March and more than adequately.

Also, we are not concerned with the structural, systemic crisis that affects the countries of the West (primarily the United States and Europe). Disabling feedback, large-scale degradation of the elite and loss of touch with reality, the expansion of zombie companies and bad debt, uncontrolled monetary emission – all this is past Russia.

We have a structural crisis of a different kind – in the systematic idleness and incompetence of many people who make decisions. Previously, there was hope for the investment climate, that foreigners would come and build our economy from scratch, and we would sit on the fence, hanging everything that could be hung and watching. They did not come and did not build.

The events that are now taking place in international politics – all this aggressive isolation, the flight of foreign businesses from Russia, the expropriation of the assets of officials and oligarchs abroad – this is wonderful! As they say, just what the doctor ordered. Finally, the illusions of self-construction of the economy by proxy will go into the wastebasket, as well as friendship with “Western partners”.

Consequently, the faster the nationalization of the elite will occur and the faster the capital will begin to work in the interests of Russia. I hope that the confrontation will continue, only in such conditions it is possible to build an independent and strong Russia!

https://t.me/alx_gnt/252

As William Blum once put it, America must Kill Hope and destroy the “threat” of a good example. This is what the so-called “Cold War” was really about: destroying the threat of an alternative development path to America’s global capitalist system.

https://fivegunswest.blogspot.com/2022/05/lets-go-to-dallas-jack.html

In a presidential address last Saturday, Zelensky said that the military situation in the East was “indescribably difficult.” This expression means it is not winnable. He should accordingly surrender in the East now. Many of the Ukrainians who listened to that are thinking the same thing.

I had hated country music most of my life for reasons I’ll go into on another blog post and the reasons are rather hilarious. Suffice to say, at this time I had a comic death rock group called ‘Flaccid Noodle Doom’ and Ernest gave us new life, oh Bela, Bela … only the kids didn’t realize it was comedy and I was sending them up.

https://fivegunswest.blogspot.com/2022/05/ernest-tubb-saturday-satan-sunday-saint.html

Some videos for today.

The Kiev regime’s Banderite “Azov” death squad is undergoing a corporate rebranding:

https://odysee.com/@RT:fd/azov_rebranding_3105-yt:4

Artillery units of Russian Airborne Forces target Kiev regime mortars:

https://odysee.com/@RT:fd/artillery-3105:0

Russia’s Su-35S, Su-30SM conduct airstrikes amid ongoing hostilities:

https://odysee.com/@RT:fd/su-30-35-3105:7

Russia’s Grad MLRS crews operate at night:

https://odysee.com/@RT:fd/GRAD-3105:8

Port of Mariupol resumes operation:

https://odysee.com/@RT:fd/mariupol_port_3105:8

A very good article on the “3 identities of the former Ukraine”. And how Russia needs to help shape them. One of the best I’ve seen from RT:

“Alexander Nepogodin: Modern Ukraine was built on an anti-Russia foundation, but a large part of the country refused to play along”

“Ukraine’s divisions will help Russia consolidate the territory it now controls. But there’s a lot of challenges ahead”

By Alexander Nepogodin, аn Odessa-born political journalist, expert on Russia and the former Soviet Union.
https://www.rt.com/russia/556334-ukrainian-camp-nationalistic-narrative/

The Economist is a (part-owned) Rothschild publication – so it speaks to the global elites.

For all the trolls on this site who want to suggest that China will betray/split from Russia, I post:

May 14th 2022 Senior Colonel Zhou Bo says the war in Ukraine will accelerate the geopolitical shift from West to East – The more popular it becomes to join NATO, the more insecure Europe will be (behind paywall)

First two para’s:
“IF THE ENEMY of my enemy is my friend, is the enemy of my friend also my enemy? Not necessarily. Or so China’s thinking goes when it comes to the raging Russian-Ukrainian war. On the one hand China is Russia’s strategic partner. On the other, China is the largest trading partner of Ukraine Beijing therefore tries painstakingly to strike a balance in its responses to the war between two of its friends. It expresses understanding of Russia’s “legitimate concerns” over NATO’s expansion, while underlining that “the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries must be respected”. [emphasis mine]

Such carefully calibrated neutrality may not be what the warring parties really want, but it is acceptable to both. If China joins the West in condemning Russia, it will be much applauded in Washington and most European capitals. But it will lose Russia’s partnership. And it is only a matter of time before America takes on China again. The Biden administration’s policy towards my country is “extreme competition” that stops just short of war.”
https://www.economist.com/by-invitation/2022/05/14/senior-colonel-zhou-bo-says-the-war-in-ukraine-will-accelerate-the-geopolitical-shift-from-west-to-east

Why has the interview with Lavrov Lavrov-x-two been removed from The Saker’s site /lavrov-x-two/ ?

you make valid points about Ukraine’s OVERT capabilities. However; none of us can be certain of any COVERT capabilities that Ukraine might have developed since Soviet times. Aside from possible funding and assistance from various governments including the United States, there are many Dot Com Billionaires who might have been willing to provide funding so as to have there own private aresenals.