Ukraine has now liberated 54% of territory seized by Russia. Making progress. Ukraine Has Liberated 54% of Territory Seized by Russia, Joint Chiefs Chairman Says
I wonder if the NYT will back-track and expose all of Ukraine’s false flags and war crimes now ? j/k NYT In Rare About-Face Now Says Ukraine (Not Russia) Behind Mass Casualty Missile Strike On Market | ZeroHedge
Seen on the internet … People in the West who support this should be sued for the unnecessary losses that position is causing. Ukrainian should replace English in its role as in international finance as reparations for the crimes of the USA and UK against its Nation and peoples.
Unconfirmed but pretty credible claim that Ukraine was able to effect sabotage to destroy aircraft at an air base near Moscow that flies a lot of leadership and is considered very sensitive and key.
they also blew up the fuel depot at the Sochi airport, Putin's favorite little resort..or at least someone did and reports of a small motor hum were heard before the mysterious explosion. Sochi fuel depot goes up in flames in suspected first drone strike on Putin’s summer resort town | The Independent
C & C for the black sea hit..hopefully it was fully staffed Ukrainian defenders strike Russian Black Sea Fleet's command post in Sevastopol (msn.com) The Armed Forces of Ukraine have confirmed that they successfully attacked the command post of the Russian Black Sea Fleet near Sevastopol on the morning of 20 September.
Latest reports continue to indicate Ukraine advancing on multiple fronts, perhaps a bit faster in an albeit slow advance. F-16s, Abrams, and longer range missle systems are on the come. It seems Ukraine is doing serious mosquito work in Russia and Crimea. It would be interesting to know what Putin and his planners thought process was, especially in terms of schedule, in the beginning. And compare that with what they are thinking now, over a year and a half later.
Well, we more or less know the answer to that due to electronic interception independently verified by the testimony of Russian officers captured early in the war. I’ve seen enough accurate reports open source that I’m comfortable saying that. I’ll be deliberately vague here, but the schedule was roughly as follows: 1. Air superiority in approximately two days. 2. Kyiv isolated by ground and naval blockade of Odessa and minor Black Sea ports in place in approximately two weeks; of course, this line of operation was predicated on achieving the first, which never happened. 3. Main ground lines of communication (major roads and rails) connecting Ukraine to the West seized in approximately two months; even with large swathes of Ukrainian territory still unoccupied, this would have cut off any remaining Ukrainian forces in the field from Western aid and domestic resupply. 4. No idea what their timeline for completing occupation of areas still resisting or for moving into Moldova, but we do know they had a plan for that, too. So, essentially, it should have been all over except for the mopping up by May Day 2022. What they’re telling themselves in private today, no idea.
Remember that a certain fighting tooth and nail poster claimed, I believe last Fall, that 200 million Russian troops had died … “That’s why I stand by my by my reporting of Russia only using 70-80k men in the opening stages of the SMO, and not much more than that even by the time of the first year anniversary. Though I should mention that I believe Russia has total 350-450k forces as part of the SMO, but they are not necessarily all in Ukraine or on the frontlines, as a portion is being used for rotation purposes, etc.“ SITREP 9/20/23: Friction and Turmoil
Internal politics over grain farmers. Right wingers in Poland... nice to see right wingers perpetually wrong across national boundaries. Grain spat drags Ukraine's ties with ally Poland to lowest point since start of Russian invasion The growing tensions highlight the risks Ukraine faces in maintaining Western support as its fight against Russia drags on. Ukraine prevailing is so important to Poland that it would not be likely to restrict the military assistance to Ukraine. Poland has bitter memories of being subjected to Moscow’s rule in the past and does not want to see Russia win a war in a neighboring country. Poland’s ruling party faces an election challenge from a new far-right coalition, Confederation, whose leaders complain that the country is doing too much to help Ukraine and claim Ukraine isn’t grateful enough. The rift also shows how Ukraine and its neighbors are competing agricultural powers and how European defense of domestic farmers could complicate Kyiv’s hopes for a future path into the EU.
The grain farmers have a legitimate concern. And if I were a Polish grain farmer whose livelihood might be affected by a flood of cheap Ukrainian grain, then I would probably be more concerned about that than the war next door. The Polish government, with the assistance of the rest of the allies, needs to resolve this quickly so we can get back to the bigger issue of defeating Russia. I don’t think that’s a right-versus-left thing; in any representative government the party out of power will use any issue to try and get into power. This is a matter of the Polish government not wisely handling its domestic politics in the face of a much bigger external threat. As I am not a grain farmer, it’s easy for me to say, “Suck it up! Just tell your families to tighten their belts this year.” Ukrainian grain is flooding Eastern Europe at lower prices because Russia is interfering with sea trade and not letting the grain get to its normal destinations. Could Poland resolve its domestic problem with temporary farm subsidies? Yep. Could the U.S. and NATO do more to enforce freedom of the seas and not let Russia use starvation as leverage against the Global South? Yep.
It's two things. 1. Grain farmer politics both right and left are courting. 2. Right wingers pushing to cut back supporting Poland cuz they arent appreciative enough. I was referring to the second. The first, I agree, they will figure out.
it appears that the dam may be breaking. Things are going really poorly for Russian interests. If I were a betting man, I would say that the gains in the next 30 days will dwarf the last 90 and the Russian supply routes to Crimea will be within artillery range, about the same time a pair of ATACMS takes out the bridge and isolates the Crimean peninsular from land. Russian numbers and equipment seem to be at or beyond a breaking point. Pulling troops out of one area to try and retake dug in defenses in another....lot of russian men, many who likely want nothign to do with this, being killed. Not sure how much more Russia/Putin can stand of all this winning Ukraine 'breakthrough' underway as Kyiv smashes through gap in Russian lines (msn.com) Ukrainian armoured vehicles have smashed through a gap in Russian defences on the Zaporizhzhia front, it has been reported. Eight-wheeled Stryker and tracked Marder Infantry Fighting Vehicles were seen behind Russian tank traps and dragon's teeth near Verbove - suggesting a potential Ukrainian tactical breakthrough in the area. Kyiv has now been attempting to widen that breach, attacking south towards Novoprokopivka and southwest towards Verbove. Barros added: "The Ukrainians in this video likely drove down a country road that creates a hole in the ditch and teeth lines...It indicates that Ukrainian forces have likely defeated local Russian's defence in this section of the line." ............................................ Ukrainian sources have claimed that three of Putin's best brigades were virtually destroyed during the assault on Andriivka. The 72nd Motor Rifle Brigade as well as the elite 31st and 83rd Air Assault Brigades were operating in the area and ISW has suggested the Airborne (VDV) brigades likely suffered heavy losses. In addition, reports from Russian soldiers fighting in the region suggest an under-equipped force sent in only to be savaged by Ukraine artillery, including cluster bombs. Russian commanders are said to be desperately throwing Russian troops to retake the key towns in the east which sit on higher ground than Bakhmut.
can logistics be improved to get that grain to further destinations and bypass the polish market? Subsidize the cost of shipping it past the eastern markets and refund any increase in shipping costs that local farmers see. this doesn't seem that hard to resolve
Probably. But that would take more long-range thought than we’ve seen from any of our leaders to this point. We keep acting from hope as if the war is going to end next month instead of with the vision we should have once it became clear this was going to be a long war. We in the U.S. still have not taken the basic economic-mobilization measures to increase output of munitions, food, and hydrocarbons. The excuse back then was “Well, that would take six months to a year to get going.” Uh, okay, the war has been going on for 18 months. Imagine where we would be today if we strategized based on analysis rather than hope.
That is interesting. As noted earlier, I keep seeing material like this, but then no publicly reported big breakthrough. Hoping this all gets confirmed
