Page Text: Wow, just posted. Mil. cor. Sladkov is hinting about the capture of gen. Cloutier. Could be true after all!
Posted by: Boo | Apr 14 2022 15:29 utc | 14
This report may have been referenced before. But it was re-published yesterday. Like all internet articles, trust but verify. Hopefully soon. But it took Afghanistan war twenty years to lose, so this Ukraine war is way too early to reach any judgement.
AT LEAST ONE AMERICAN BRIEFING WEST POINT CADETS UNDERSTANDS RUSSIA
13 April 2022 by Larry Johnson
Posted by: KitaySupporter | Apr 14 2022 15:29 utc | 15
This I'd imagine will only strengthen China's resolve in supporting Russia and the end of Western hegemony.
"A group of six US lawmakers arrived in Taiwan on Thursday on an unannounced two-day visit, amid growing tensions between Beijing and Washington. The visit has been confirmed by the American Institute in Taiwan, which serves as a de-facto embassy of the United States in Taipei."
Posted by: Republicofscotland | Apr 14 2022 15:30 utc | 16
I hope the Russians achieve a military victory in the Donbass in the next few weeks that brings the bulk of fighting to a close. With Ukrainian forces largely defeated there, perhaps Zelensky will concede defeat and agree to reasonable settlement terms. I fully expect the country to be carved up with the bit that is left agreeing not to join NATO.
My fear is that this is too high stakes of a game and that if Russia is successful in the east, the US/West will engineer an excuse to become involved, most likely through a false flag if some kind.
What do others think of the likelihood of these scenarios?
What is the likelihood that fighting drags on past 6 months into years?
Posted by: Joe | Apr 14 2022 15:31 utc | 17
Durex announces that its pulling out (pardon the pun) of Russia, I fully expect a baby boom in Russia over the coming years.
Posted by: Republicofscotland | Apr 14 2022 15:36 utc | 18
Preliminary casualty figures on the Moscow are 3 KIA 30 MIA.
Posted by: Skiffer | Apr 14 2022 15:36 utc | 19
One thing's certain: The entire Moskva event pushed what ought to have been headline news elsewhere:
"What's happening today? Today, the system of the unipolar world that developed after the collapse of the Soviet Union is being destroyed, that's what is most important. The main thing is not even the tragic events taking place in the Donbas and Ukraine, because this is not the main thing. Much is said that the United States is "ready to fight Russia to the last Ukrainian." And they say, and we say, in fact, this is how it is. That is the quintessence of the events taking place." [My Emphasis]
Putin said that at Vostochny Cosmodrome during a presser with Lukashenko --words that followed closely on the heel of Lavrov's in his interview with Rossiya-24 on the 11th.
Posted by: karlof1 | Apr 14 2022 15:38 utc | 20
The Brutish mercenary "cossackgundi" has appeared after capture on camera and claims he never did any fighting :D
Posted by: Biswapriya Purkayast | Apr 14 2022 15:40 utc | 21
The Nazi's may have been using chemical weapons on its civilian population.
"Ukraine purchased over 50 drones that can be used to spray toxic chemicals, Chief of Russia’s Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Troops Igor Kirillov said on Thursday.
"According to available data, in January 2022, Ukraine purchased through intermediary companies over 50 such craft that can be employed for using biological substances and toxic chemicals," he said.
On March 9, Russian reconnaissance units found three such drones furnished with 30-liter capacities and spraying equipment in the Kherson Region, Kirillov said.
The Russian Defense Ministry will keep analyzing documental proofs of crimes by the US administration and the Kiev regime on Ukrainian territory."
Posted by: Republicofscotland | Apr 14 2022 15:41 utc | 22
@17 Joe
I said this before but was dismissed out of hand, but the American Empire will *never* let the Ukranazi coup regime surrender until it has wrung every drop of advantage from it that it can; I fully expect a nuclear strike on Kiev (no matter what karloff says) in order to blame Russia and explain away the final Ukranazi defeat.
Posted by: Biswapriya Purkayast | Apr 14 2022 15:42 utc | 23
Republicofscotland | Apr 14 2022 15:12 utc | 8
Though I realize this is a tit-for-tat game of diplomacy via accusation, I am a little surprised that Modi, a fervent Hindu Nationalist, would come to the defense of any Sikhs living abroad or elsewhere. Could you enlighten me on what I may be missing? It is an honest, innocent request; I thought I understood at least a little bit more than most in the US of Sikh religion and culture, but maybe I don't. Other than the fact that Sikhs arose in India (Punjab state?) I thought they more or less stood apart from that Hinduism.
Posted by: vinnieoh | Apr 14 2022 15:48 utc | 24
Posted by: Biswapriya Purkayast | Apr 14 2022 15:40 utc | 21
So typical from his country: all talk, little substance, no/nada/zilch/non moral.
Posted by: KitaySupporter | Apr 14 2022 15:53 utc | 25
@5 Boo ...
This person is rambling.
None of these capabilities are new to NATO, RF, China, or Iran for that matter. It is part of the balance. All ships are sitting ducks for long range strikes, that's just the way it goes. Precisely the reason for the shift in size to frigates and corvettes.
The Moskva has reportedly now returned to Sevastopol, even under her own power, if the US DoD spokesperson is to be believed. Many of the extrapolations last night are already forgotten.
The one thing worth considering is the question of what happens when missiles with 300km+ range are common. In this case it may be accelerated by NATO filling in the missing pieces for their ultra-nationalist protégés. What the latter, who are so fond of terrorizing civilians, will do with these long range tools when ship targets withdraw from their reach? It's not hard to predict. But that's an aside. What happens next time NATO wants to fight someone? Argentina vs Maldivas, or Yemen vs Riyhad, or maybe some Libyans or Tunisians in a future conflict decide to cut off shipping in the Mediterranean, will anyone have sympathy? Oh well. When in doubt, escalate.
Posted by: ptb | Apr 14 2022 15:56 utc | 26
Posted by: Simplicius | Apr 14 2022 15:25 utc | 12
Well, at the end it doesn't matter what is the PR narrative for both sides. However, the Russians themselves admit that the ship will be out of action for the duration of the conflict and there is no spare port in Black see at the moment to even start to fix the ship.
Posted by: Boo | Apr 14 2022 15:59 utc | 27
Posted by: vinnieoh | Apr 14 2022 15:48 utc | 24
well apart from the diplomatic game they are probably being attacked because they are perceived to be from India, not because they are Sikhs per se. Happened in Texas during the second Iraq War when people perceived as being Muslim were attacked, including several Sikhs.
Posted by: pretzelattack | Apr 14 2022 16:01 utc | 28
vinnieoh (24)
Off the top of my head Modi, I think bowed a bit to the Sikh farmers demands, possibly due to the recent elections in Punjab and surrounding provinces. However there is still much bad feeling between some Sikh's and Hindu's currently there is a vote for Sikhs around the globe and in India to decide if they want to hold an independence referendum, the date was sometime in October which coincided with some sort of Hindu attack on the Sikhs and their sacred temple. I'm not sure if the Sikh's want an independent country called Khalistan, or whether they threatened to hold a formal independence referendum to force Modi's hand on better conditions for Sikh's in India.
That's all I know on that matter.
Posted by: Republicofscotland | Apr 14 2022 16:04 utc | 29
Joe @ 17 asked; "What is the likelihood that fighting drags on past 6 months into years?"
If the U$A/NATO have their way, IMO, highly likely. The U$A/NATO, are one in the same, and they'll oppose Russia to the last Ukrainian.
War is more profitable than peace, and corporate America fears business competition with Russia.
If Finland/Sweden opt to join NATO, expect more pushback from Russia. No nation/person likes to be surrounded by belligerents..
Posted by: vetinLA | Apr 14 2022 16:05 utc | 30
Escalations ahead are baked into this war (or Special Military Operation) because leaders of some NATO countries have explicitly stated their bottom line - expressed bluntly as "Russia must lose" or "Putin must be seen as failing" (the operative word here is "must").
The next visible step up the ladder will be a direct shoot-down of NATO plane/satellite or missile strike on NATO targeting facility in the region, in response to a (much less visible) step over redlines in assistance to UKR forces. The pressure on NATO at that point to go in big will be overwhelming.
Posted by: jayc | Apr 14 2022 16:06 utc | 31
interview by Aaron Mate of a professor in Pakistan on the pushback against the regime change operation in Pakistan.
Posted by: pretzelattack | Apr 14 2022 16:07 utc | 32
pretzelattack | Apr 14 2022 16:01 utc | 28
Of course, I understand that... Many USAans no doubt can't distinguish Sikhs from Muslims, which is funny since it is only Sikhs that have the fortitude to wear their traditional turban in public in the US.
To re-phrase my question: what is the nature of the relationship between Sikhs and traditional (official) Hindu India?
Posted by: vinnieoh | Apr 14 2022 16:09 utc | 33
Posted by: ptb | Apr 14 2022 15:56 utc | 26
I kindly disagree with the description of "rambling". Could be the uneven translation, but when I read it in Russian it made and linked a lot of disparate points well, and the background on the UAVs and recon. flights given by atomic cherry https://t.me/atomiccherry/430 is interesting. It's another person's opinion that is different than the rah-rah I hear from Martyanov (pretty constantly) and Saker (sometimes).
Posted by: Boo | Apr 14 2022 16:12 utc | 34
As for how long the conflict continues - I think this question is unanswerable, whether talking about the Ukraine or the larger picture. Too many unknowns. Major kinetic action probably at least months, especially if Karkiv, Odessa, and other cities are to be taken. The wider clash more likely years.
Will the Ukrainian population's support for conflict diminish? Perhaps if their troops continue to surrender and tell their stories support will begin to waver. Without popular support a transition to guerilla tactics would occur rapidly I think.
I don't think Russia can afford to take territory and not retain it, at least until new governing structures are firmly in place. Otherwise retaliatory killings etc will sew distrust of Russian intent.
The outcome of the purported coming offensive in the east will likely determine the near term course of the conflict, its speed and effectiveness in pacifying the region.
A wild card is whether the UAF can manage to make effective counters elsewhere, perhaps with the promised aid from abroad. Will Russia be able to effectively interdict that aid?
Perhaps another is what comes out of the deeps of Mariupol.
Jury still seems out on what happened to Moskva and whether it proves salvageable. Repairs likely on the order of months I would think. Seems that securing the entire Black Sea coast would become a higher priority at this point, but not an easy task. Odessa has had a long time to prepare.
Weather forecast - foggy with a chance of thunderstorms...
Posted by: the pessimist | Apr 14 2022 16:13 utc | 35
Republicofscotland | Apr 14 2022 16:04 utc | 29
Thanks for the response, and that is info I didn't know and gives me leads to do some fresh investigation of my own. I am non-religious myself, but am intrigued by Sikh core beliefs and personal standards of behavior and responsibility, as a welcome (small) move away from theism.
Posted by: vinnieoh | Apr 14 2022 16:16 utc | 36
To my eyes nations are not moral. Blood and treasure do not deploy for salvation of fellow human beings. NATO set itself up to provoke Russia. A larger unanswered question is why wait for the most corrupt and shameless seller of State secrets to become Tsar before goading Russia into the hoped for honey trap called Ukraine? Maybe all is not as shamelessly sold to the publics. Aside from the linkage to the WEF inspired 2030 Reset there are mineral resources in the Ukraine (and Serbia-where China has come to help) which surely come into calculations. https://www.renewablematter.eu/articles/article/ukraine-all-lithium-reserves-and-mineral-resources-in-war-zones The Chinese card is a WEF card. One global totalitarian multi-polar order, with the poles agreeing in advance that nation states are not relevant in the improved social order other than as implementers of what the Center determines.
Posted by: Stegiel | Apr 14 2022 16:17 utc | 37
The failure to seal off the Donbass cauldron which
was obviously a key strategic aim for Russia
a) Shows that some of the commentary (Martyanov) about
the amazing effectiveness of the Russian forces was nonsense
b) Suggests that the war will be a long one
c) There's plenty of chances for escalation. I am scared (I bought Iodine pills last week)
Posted by: Nick | Apr 14 2022 16:17 utc | 38
@ vinnieoh | Apr 14 2022 16:09 utc | 33... sikhs and hindus - 2 different religions... but i suspect modi will try to cater to them all given he is the leader of india... the sikhs are primarily centered in northwest india - in the punjab area... its a good question you ask... i suspect we need a person very knowledgeable on india to answer it properly..
speaking of that - indian punchline article from yesterday which might help answer both @ Exile | Apr 14 2022 14:47 utc | 1 and @ Joe | Apr 14 2022 15:31 utc | 17
Posted by: james | Apr 14 2022 16:19 utc | 39
@23 Biswapriya Purkayast
I think that's been digested. This can go on for the rest of the decade, potentially. Good time to buy Lockheed stock (if you don't believe in heaven and hell). Bad time to live in Europe.
Posted by: ptb | Apr 14 2022 16:20 utc | 40
Posted by: Stegiel | Apr 14 2022 16:17 utc | 37
but what we have here is a major disagreement between the poles because one of the poles thinks it is the only pole. not a plot cooked up in Davos. the most corrupt and shameless seller of state assets was Yeltsin, but he's long gone and not "Tsar".
Posted by: pretzelattack | Apr 14 2022 16:21 utc | 41
james | Apr 14 2022 16:19 utc | 39
Thanks for the reply. Think I will follow some of the leads suggested by RoS and see what I can learn.
Posted by: vinnieoh | Apr 14 2022 16:30 utc | 42
Russia is probably benefiting from improved intelligence, drones etc., but otherwise apparently Russia is forced seems forced into a conventional military approach in its special operation, for example maybe no EW. An article published the day before the invasion addresses Russia electronic warfare.
. . .The coming decade promises to be challenging for Russia in terms of electronic warfare. Moscow will need to fix its previous EW efforts, pay more attention to the overall quality of electronic warfare rather than on the quantity of deployed EW systems, and bridge the evident gaps in EW on tactical, theater, and strategic levels. . here .
Posted by: Don Bacon | Apr 14 2022 16:39 utc | 43
@32 pretzelattack
re: Aaron Mate interview with Prof. Junaid Ahmad on Pakistan
Thanks for that link! Recommended
Posted by: ptb | Apr 14 2022 16:41 utc | 44
Unfortunately, a bit of a downer on Moskva (sorry, james, it's what it is at the moment), https://t.me/readovkanews/30953:
[Forwarded from Explains Readovka]
The situation with the cruiser "Moscow" - what is happening with the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet
The funeral of "Moscow", launched by ukrok channels and continued by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation with a night statement, is still somewhat premature. According to the available information received from our own sources, the situation at the moment is as follows:
1) The ship has retained buoyancy, but has significant damage;
2) The information of the CIA director about the return of "Moscow" to Sevastopol does not correspond to reality;
3) Almost all personnel from the cruiser were evacuated and remained alive;
4) The main ammunition of the ship, the powerful P-1000 Vulcan cruise missiles did not detonate (otherwise, nothing would have remained of the ship);
5) The struggle for the survivability of the ship continues, towing to Sevastopol (or to another fleet base) has not yet begun.
We continue to monitor the situation.
Posted by: Boo | Apr 14 2022 16:44 utc | 45
The raise of Sikhism.(non-political)
The Sikhism rose as the sword arm of Hindus due to persecution of Hindus by Mughals particularly Aurangzeb. It was customary to give eldest son to Sikh faith amongst north indian Hindus at that time. Till Golden Temple was raided Sikhs and Hindus were regarded as brothers. Even today there is no bad blood between them except for political advantage.
Posted by: R M Rao | Apr 14 2022 16:46 utc | 46
I saw bits and pieces of Putin's response at the presser dealing with the SMO's progress and "logic" that IMO is best read in its entirety:
I have a question for the President of Russia. The question will not be short, but the situation is multifactorial. Therefore, the issue will also be multifactorial.
Mr President, you said that you told the President of Belarus about the course of the special operation. Could you tell us now what you think about the progress of the special operation right now?
In this regard, another question: what do you think about the course of the negotiations that are taking place between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations? Also in this regard, because everything is in connection with this: the story of Bucha, with Kramatorsk – it is obvious that most of the world refuses to accept the logic of Russian explanations of what is happening there. Tell me, please, what is your logic here?
Yesterday, the Chancellor of Austria said that you live in the logic of military operations, in the logic of war. And then it's not up to negotiations. Tell me, please, what is your logic?
Vladimir Putin: The course of the special military operation is proceeding according to plan. Of course, I look closely at the discussions that are taking place in our society, abroad, we should not close anything from the public, not hide anything, but we should cover this combat work objectively.
First of all, answering your question, I would like to express my gratitude to Russian soldiers and officers, soldiers of Russia for the heroism and courage they show in serving our Fatherland. And that's exactly what it is. Performing complex and dangerous tasks in the Donbas and Ukraine, our servicemen protect the interests of Russia, protect Russia.
The President of Belarus did not just say and I said even before the start of the operation that a clash with those forces that were brought up, nurtured by the West in Ukraine, a clash with extreme nationalists and neo-Nazis in Ukraine is inevitable, it is only a matter of time. They are preparing and waiting in the wings, and we, as I said at the time, will not allow them to do so. This is the logic of our actions.
What is happening in Ukraine – and Ukrainians, even in today's tragic conditions, I want to say that this is a fraternal people. First, it arose in the XIX century, Ukrainian nationalism. As we know, it was supported on the eve of the First World War primarily by the Austrian General Staff. Why? Divide and conquer is a well-known logic. To divide the Russian people, and then to eat them up piece by piece.
The same thing happened during World War II. As we know, both the Polish pogroms and the Jewish pogroms – the perpetrators of these pogroms were not the Germans themselves, but the SS Galicia Division, the Banderites and so on – all this pro-fascist bastard. They destroyed the civilian population: the Russians were massacred, the Jews, and the Poles.
Everybody knows that. And now we see on the frames of ukrainian newsreels, when in the combat zone in the Donbass there are people with SS patches "Galicia". This shows that we did the right thing in time and correctly, starting this operation, otherwise there would have been even more of them.
As for the very course of the operation, and I often hear questions about whether it is possible to quickly. It is possible, it depends on the intensity of hostilities, and the intensity of hostilities, unfortunately, is somehow connected with losses. Our task is to achieve all the set goals, minimizing these losses. And we will act rhythmically, calmly, according to the plan that was originally proposed by the General Staff. I've said this many times before. Now there is no need to repeat all this during the press conference.
Actions in certain regions of Ukraine were connected only with the sake of shackling forces, striking and destroying the military infrastructure, creating conditions for more active actions in the territory of Donbass. And the purpose of our entire operation, I want to recall what I said in the early morning of February 24, our goal is to help people living in donbass who feel their inseparable connection with Russia and who have been subjected to genocide for eight years. The only question is how...
Alexander Lukashenko: Today is the occupation by Ukraine, you said.
Vladimir Putin: Yes, and the occupation by Ukraine. After the recognition of their independence, this is true. That's the way things are. The operation is going according to plan.
Now as for our logic. The logic is simple. After all, both in the period of preparation for the First World War and during the Great Patriotic War, a certain part of the Ukrainian people and Ukrainian society, especially those associated with Western ideology, were used against Russia. And today, in our days, they are also trying to use.
Those people who stand in military uniforms with SS "Galicia" patches are just scumbags. But there are others who sympathize with them, do not consider themselves Nazis, but consider themselves nationalists. But they must also understand that the main goal is not to help Ukraine from the West. Ukraine is a means to achieve goals that have nothing to do with the interests of the Ukrainian people. This is the problem and this is our logic of actions in Donbass and Ukraine as a whole.
As for Buchi... Well, look, I've talked to my colleagues from Western countries often, to this day, and when they say "Bucha" to me, I ask: Have you ever been to Raqqa? Have you seen how this Syrian city was completely destroyed from above by American aircraft?
There, indeed, corpses in the ruins lay and decompose for months. No one cared, no one even noticed, just as no one remembers the hundreds of civilians killed in Afghanistan, when a hundred or more hundred people at weddings were killed in one blow. Silence! There was no such silence when provocations were staged in Syria, when the use of chemical weapons by the Assad government was depicted. Then it turned out that it was a fake, the same fake in Bucha.
Alexander Grigoryevich gave me documents today, and he mentioned in passing the documents that were transferred to the Federal Security Service of Russia, how, who – colleagues have the appropriate interceptions – what transport he used to come to this settlement and created conditions for organizing this provocation and fake.
Now as for the negotiations. Look, we have reached a certain level of agreements in Istanbul, which consisted in the fact that security guarantees for Ukraine, and the Ukrainian side pronounces very strict security guarantees for itself, will not apply to the territory of Crimea, Sevastopol and Donbass.
Then, as you have seen, our actions to create conditions for the continuation of the contractual process followed. Instead, we saw, faced a provocation in Bucha, and, most importantly, the Ukrainian side withdrew from its agreements in Istanbul. Now security requirements are one thing, and the issues of regulating relations over Crimea, Sevastopol and Donbass are taken out of the framework of these agreements. That is, we have returned to a deadlock for ourselves and for all of us.
True, I was told that last night the Ukrainian side changed something again. I don't know these changes yet. But such inconsistency on fundamental issues creates certain difficulties for reaching final agreements acceptable to all on the negotiating track. And until this happens, the military operation will continue until its complete completion and the solution of the tasks that were set at the beginning of this operation.
As for the united West, you know, this has long been noticeable. I think that the media also see this very well. It's just indecent to talk about it.
Such consolidation, what is it connected with? With Europe's hurtful, humiliating position towards its sovereign, the United States. After all, remember, once about one, I will not name names now, of the former prime ministers of Great Britain, his own press wrote and called him "the poodle of the President of the United States." Isn't that a shame?
But almost all the leaders of European states are in the same offensive position in the fact of life, but they cannot say about it. It's unpleasant to talk about it, it's embarrassing. And here is Russia's aggression, a single common enemy. It is very convenient to unite here and serve the interests of the United States. And they have always been serviced, but now it is possible to do this with an open visor, making decisions that benefit the United States, including in the economic sphere, but explaining this by the need to repel the aggressor. That's what I think is really happening right now.
But the public of these countries was particularly confronted with the problems that are created in the course of pursuing such a political line. Yes, such a general mood, anti-Russian hysteria makes itself felt, but time will put everything in its place, I assure you. When people are faced with rising prices for gasoline, for food, with an unprecedented increase in inflation, this will affect internal political processes.
They really wanted everything that is happening to affect the internal political processes in the Russian Federation. They always calculate, not realizing that in difficult conditions the Russian people, the Russian people always unite. They'll see it, and they're going to have problems. They want to create these problems for us, and they do. Yes, it will not be easy in some industries, but we will cope with these difficulties.
Hopefully, barflies will read what Putin says about his "logic" and not scroll past. Russia will stay its course and the SMO will eventually conclude while the deNazification procedure will last generations. Of course, there's still the unacceptable issue of NATO on Russia's borders that will possibly need another SMO to rectify. Medvedev voiced some very strong words to Sweden and Finland regarding NATO that will likely be posted to the open thread.
Posted by: karlof1 | Apr 14 2022 16:49 utc | 47
Russian Ministry of Defense on USA/Ukraine bio-weapons programme:
(links are complementing one another, not repeating. IOW, it is better to read/download all of them, not any random one from a group)
Names of the officials who were involved in the military-biological programmes
▫️The post of STCU executive director is held by Bjelajac Curtis Michael, a US citizen.
▫️Born August 27, 1968 in Huntington Beach, California, he studied at California's Anderson University of Management. He holds a master's degree in international finance and has worked in Ukraine since 1994....