Erdogan got the message... et tu Orban? Putin Dealt Double Blow as Two of His Closest Allies Turn on Him (msn.com) This month, the Turkish government, which mediated peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow last year, abruptly halted the transit of sanctioned goods to Russia, after having received several warnings from the European Union and the United States about these products helping Russia's war effort in Ukraine. ........ While Turkey kept a good balance last year between keeping its ties with Russia without completely angering Europe and the U.S., this position now seems increasingly untenable. Turkey's defiant resistance to the punitive measures imposed by the U.S. and the EU on Russia threatened to cost the country's companies and banks to be punished for contravening sanctions, as Brian Nelson, the U.S. Treasury Department's top sanctions official, made clear during meetings in Ankara and Istanbul last month. Orbán too has until now played both sides, avoiding being straight-out anti-Ukrainian to keep enjoying the benefits of its EU and NATO membership while refusing to stop developing its ties with Moscow and abandoning its Russia-friendly stance. But Orbán, talking about the need to reassess Hungary's relationship with Russia during an economic forum in Budapest on Thursday, didn't suggest cutting ties with Moscow completely. "I understand the need to rebuild Russian-European relations after the war, but it's far from realistic," Orbán said. "That is why Hungary's foreign and economic policy must carefully reflect on the type of relationship we can establish and maintain with Russia in the next 10-15 years."
Orban says the West is inching closer and closer to *officially* putting boots one the ground. I suspect Russia has anticipated this and that such is the reason it’s building its army to 1.5 million. And there is an increasing clamor, inside of Russia, for full mobilization and shifting to a wartime economy. Note to Neocons: when you find the quicksand. Stop digging. You’re going to get us all killed.
Human Verification Really key, and interesting note that many have missed in the current confusion of the fog of war around Bakhmut the past few days. Ukraine counterattacked south of the city, which might be the start of a flanking maneuver But the reason the map looks so different today is that it’s been expanded to pull in an area 20 kilometers south of Bakhmut, along the highway east of the city of Toresk. Along this road, Ukrainian forces reportedly launched a counteroffensive that pushed Russian troops back over a kilometer and placed control over the town of Mayorsk, which has been under Russian occupation for weeks, back into dispute. Maybe all that Russian fighting back and forth on TV and TWitter etc about ammunication and infighting isn't psyops - maybe the flanks really are exposed - maybe the line really is weakening? Or is it a trap? IDK Intersting though
^ The Military Summary Channel says that it's something resembling a suicide operation, but it's less of a suicide operation compared to attack toward Melitopol. The problem for Ukraine is that they don't have Leopards, rockets, F-16, more himars, more anything. Everything is too little, too late. If it turns into a slaughter Ukraine would be able to argue (to the West) that they can't start the Crimea offensive, due to heavy losses in Bakhmut.
A couple of days ago I saw an interview of a Russian POW who was a convict before he was "drafted" into the Wagner Group. According to him the conditions under which he is held in the Ukrainian POW camp are better than those of the Russian prison in which had been incarcerated prior to his military service .
Reminds me of the video where captured Ukrainian soldiers were shocked when their captors shared rations with them.
Just goes to show you how meaningless all the Russian dead bodies are to Putin. He doesn't care if they got a "good ass kicking."
Sr officers are refusing orders to send more meat into the grinder. This charge is over and they are shot. Would you be surprised by a breakdown of the Russian lines?
Not at all, but that sort of treatment is normal in Russia and has always been that way. Tame even, compared to the way Stalin treated his soldiers in WW2. Putin needs to level up his dictator game, if this is indeed the case.
He’s relevant and I’ve never been to a Catholic mass. CNN even thinks so and they run interference for the White House.
no he is not relevant to the war in ukraine. He is internationally relevant - sure and gets clicks - but his opinion on this issue is not particularly important to either side fighting the war or to us involvement in it.
