Der Spiegel is the source.

Unit2Sucks said:

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movielover said:

---

MR Online: Zelensky admits he never intended to implement Minsk agreements

"Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky admitted on Thursday that he had previously told German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron that the Minsk agreements were "impossible", and he did not plan on implementing them...."

"..."As for Minsk as a whole, I told Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel: we will not be able to implement it like that," Zelenskyy said in an interview with Spiegel published on Thursday.

"According to Zelensky, he said the same thing to Russian President Vladimir Putin at the first and last meeting with him in the Normandy format in 2019.

" "I told him the same thing as the other two. They were surprised and replied: 'If we knew in advance that you would change the meaning of our meeting, then there would be problems even before the summit,'" Zelenskyy added.

"The Ukrainian president said Kiev used the agreement only for the exchange of prisoners of war.

"Ex-German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who was in office from 2005 to 2021 said in an interview published in early December that the Minsk accords were signed to "give Ukraine time" to strengthen itself..."

""...We all endured, endured, endured and hoped for some kind of peace agreement, but now it turns out that we were simply fooled," Putin told reporters."

https://mronline.org/2023/02/11/zelensky-admits-he-never-intended-to-implement-minsk-agreements/

---

More firehose of falsehoods although I have to admit my bingo card didn't include movielover posting an article from a socialist publication.

The Kremlin would love nothing more than for useful idiots to amplify the irrelevant position that Ukraine's failure to adhere to Minsk somehow justified Russia's unprovoked aggression against its peaceful neighbor.

However, as I've explained over and over, Putin himself has claimed that Russia was not a party to or bound by the Minsk agreements and Russia was never in compliance with them either.

As your article notes, "According to [Merkel], 'it was clear to everyone' that the conflict had been put on hold, noting that the issue had not been settled."

Minsk was never going to prevent Putin from taking action and your continued amplification of this Kremlin talking point serves only your dear Putin and the Kremlin. You can't really be this naive can you? I think everyone in OT knows the answer to my question.

---

You have to be completely disconnected with reality to deny the public statements made by Zelensky, Merkel, Hollande and Poroshenko about the Minsk Agreements being just a stalling tactic meant to give Ukraine time to rearm, all of these signatories came out and said they had no intention of abiding by Minsk.

I think you genuinely do believe that this is not the case, another indication that the news sources you trust on Ukraine are extremely biased and narrow. If you had access to a wider range of media, you would have been aware of Merkel's interview with Der Spiegel where she spilled the beans on Minsk, a position subsequently also taken by her Minsk co-signers Francois Hollande and Petro Poreshenko.

The stuff about "child trafficking genocide" committed by Russia is also false, it is the equivalent of the lies that were widely circulated and taken at face value in the runup to previous wars, like the story of babies being thrown out of incubators in Kuwait, Saddam's mobile biolabs, or the Gulf of Tonkin. The majority of people in the Donbass have relatives in Russia, so it's to be expected that a large number of refugees including children would leave for Russia to be placed with relatives away from their homes, which have been warzones since 2014.

I don't have a lot of time to refute the other points which are essentially an amalgam of fog of war lies and bad cultural cliches rolled into one, like the stories of Russian human waves or indiscriminate and deliberate shelling of civilian targets. The one time a large building got hit a couple of weeks ago, the incident becoming a lead story on the news cycle, it turned out it was because the Russian missile was partially intercepted and fell on the apartment block, a fact corroborated by Oleksey Arestovich, a leading Ukrainian official.

A Twitter account named "@LoveOurTrump" seems pretty credible.

Can't argue with anything she says.

dimitrig said:

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A Twitter account named "@LoveOurTrump" seems pretty credible.

Can't argue with anything she says.

---

Since late Spring, it's been illegal for men to leave Ukraine, and the borders are tightly controlled. That's a basic aspect of life in Ukraine today, your skepticism here is unfounded.

https://www.romania-insider.com/ukraine-refugees-ro-may-23-2022

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/09/ukraine-men-leave/

https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-border-service-arrests/32201615.html

Cal88 said:

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dimitrig said:

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A Twitter account named "@LoveOurTrump" seems pretty credible.

Can't argue with anything she says.

---

Since late Spring, it's been illegal for men to leave Ukraine, and the borders are tightly controlled. That's a basic aspect of life in Ukraine today, your skepticism here is unfounded.

https://www.romania-insider.com/ukraine-refugees-ro-may-23-2022

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/09/ukraine-men-leave/

https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-border-service-arrests/32201615.html

---

You may not have heard but there is a war going on. Seems pretty normal to tightly control the border in that circumstance.

dimitrig said:

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Cal88 said:

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dimitrig said:

---

A Twitter account named "@LoveOurTrump" seems pretty credible.

Can't argue with anything she says.

---

Since late Spring, it's been illegal for men to leave Ukraine, and the borders are tightly controlled. That's a basic aspect of life in Ukraine today, your skepticism here is unfounded.

https://www.romania-insider.com/ukraine-refugees-ro-may-23-2022

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/09/ukraine-men-leave/

https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-border-service-arrests/32201615.html

---

You may not have heard but there is a war going on. Seems pretty normal to tightly control the border in that circumstance.

---

There are no conflagrations or conflicts at those borders. The main concern of Ukrainian authorities at their Romanian, Polish, Hungarian or Slovak borders has been to make sure the men don't leave.

The Ukrainian border patrol has gotten first dibs on night vision equipment, ahead of their own troops on the Donbass front which are sorely lacking in this field, as most of the men trying to escape forced conscription do so at night.

Today's update on the war - more of what we've seen. Russia continues to throw people into the meat grinder without regard to effectiveness. They continue to shell the country they are pretending to liberate and Kremlin is pressuring the military to launch an offensive it's not ready to make, which will result in underwhelming results, as it has for the past year. Everything I say below is consistent with the information we've known for a while.

Lloyd Austin today:

Quote:

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US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Russia "continues to pour large numbers of additional people into the fight" in Ukraine, and "that is their strength."


He added that "Those people are ill-trained and ill-equipped, and because of that we see them incurring a lot of casualties," Austin said, but the US expects Russia to continue with this strategy of throwing bodies at the fight despite their lack of equipment.

Austin made the remarks at a news conference from NATO headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday.

Austin said that by contrast, the US and NATO are determined to provide Ukraine with sophisticated equipment and train Ukrainian troops on those systems to give them the upper hand.

"Our goal is to make sure that we give Ukraine additional capability so that they can not only be marginally successful, they can be decisive on the battlefield and in their upcoming offensive," Austin said.

"We're laser-focused on making sure that we provide a capability and not just platforms," he added.

---

Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine "more aspirational than realistic," Western officials say

Quote:

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As Russia is expected to carry out a new offensive in eastern Ukraine, the US and its allies are skeptical that Russia has amassed the manpower and resources to make significant gains, according to US, UK and Ukrainian officials.

"It's likely more aspirational than realistic," a senior US military official told CNN.

"The meat grinder:" Russia has been increasing the number of forces situated on its border and inside Russian-held territory in Ukraine, some of the forces drawn from a partial mobilization ordered in September last year. Despite the increased numbers, Western allies have not seen evidence of sufficient changes to those forces' ability to carry out combined arms operations needed to take and hold new territory.

Quote:

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"It's unlikely Russian forces will be particularly better organized and so unlikely they'll be particularly more successful, though they do seem willing to send more troops into the meat grinder," a senior British official told CNN.

---

Even the head of Russia's Wagner private military company on Tuesday warned that the capture of the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut was far from imminent.

"Bakhmut will not be taken tomorrow, because there is heavy resistance and grinding, the meat grinder is working," Yevgeniy Prigozhin said in a statement distributed on a Wagner Telegram channel. "For the meat grinder to work properly, it is impossible to suddenly start festivities. There won't be any festivities anytime soon."

---

Russia jails a journalist for not adhering to propaganda requirements.

Quote:

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Ponomarenko was detained last April and charged with publishing "false information" on her Telegram channel about a Russian airstrike on a theater in Mariupol, Ukraine, that killed hundreds, and for which Russian authorities deny responsibility.

Her employer, RusNews, said on Telegram that the journalist spent time at a pre-trial detention center, which impacted her psychologically, leading to a suicide attempt in September. Ponomarenko is a mother of two.

The court in Russia's city of Barnaul in Western Siberia sentenced Ponomarenko to six years in jail at a general regime correctional colony, with no right to engage in activities related to the internet and other types of public communication for five years, according to court's press service quoted by TASS.

---

Finally, gripping NYT article on the experiences suffered by Wagner forces. Again, nothing really new here - just more evidence of what we have known for months and for which the Russian shills are desperately trying to redirect your attention away from. As Russia continues to flail and fail in in its disastrous war effort, I expect to see the firehose of falsehoods intensify. You will never see the shills address what's going wrong in Russia or why they are failing. They will continue to devote 100% of their propaganda energy on victim-blaming and criticism because the truth is not exactly on their side.

Quote:

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'Our Losses Were Gigantic': Life in a Sacrificial Russian Assault Wave

Poorly trained Russian soldiers captured by Ukraine describe being used as cannon fodder by commanders throwing waves of bodies into an assault.

The soldiers were sitting ducks, sent forth by Russian commanders to act essentially as human cannon fodder in an assault.


And they have become an integral component of Russia's military strategy as it presses a new offensive in Ukraine's east: relying on overwhelming manpower, much of it comprising inexperienced, poorly trained conscripts, regardless of the high rate of casualties.

There are two main uses of the conscripts in these assaults: as "storm troops" who move in waves, followed by more experienced Russian fighters; and as intentional targets, to draw fire and thus identify Ukrainian positions to hit with artillery.

In interviews last week, half a dozen prisoners of war provided rare firsthand accounts of what it is like to be part of a sacrificial Russian assault.

"These orders were common, so our losses were gigantic," Sergei said. "The next group would follow after a pause of 15 or 20 minutes, then another, then another."

Of his combat experience, he said, "It was the first and last wave for me."

...
Some military analysts and Western governments have questioned Russia's strategy, citing rates of wounded and killed at around 70 percent in battalions featuring former convicts. On Sunday, the British defense intelligence agency said that over the past two weeks, Russia had probably suffered its highest rate of casualties since the first week of the invasion.

Interviews with former Wagner soldiers at the Ukrainian detention center aligned with these descriptions of the fighting and shed light on a violent, harrowing experience for Russian soldiers.
"Nobody could ever believe such a thing could exist," Sergei said of Wagner tactics.

---

movielover said:

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Der Spiegel is the source.

---

Do you think that Ukraine has an obligation to abide by an agreement that Russia claims it did not sign and is not bound by and that it did not comply with from day one?

In other words, why do you continue to point out that Ukraine is at fault for failing to follow an agreement that Russia did not follow, as if that somehow justifies Russian war crimes.

No one disputes Ukraine's intentions re Minsk, the only question is whether useful idiots will continue to ignore the fact that Russia never meant for Minsk to apply to it, which is consistent with their history of ignoring bilateral agreements with Ukraine and others.

"Russian losses are gigantic", yet somehow they've finished their 2nd mobilization round several months ago, and haven't mobilized since?

"Russian losses are gigantic", yet somehow the Australian officer fighting with Ukraine on the Bakhmut front qualified Russian military methods as efficient and deadly, with disproportionate losses being inflicted on Ukraine`s side?

It is Ukraine that is on its 11th or 12th mobilization round, prying 16 year old boys and balding old men from their families on the streets of Odessa, Kahrkov, Dnipro?

How effective do you think this kid pried off the street in Odessa is going to be in Bakhmut?

More of the forced conscription in Ukraine / Odessa. pic.twitter.com/ZO567KEzSW

— cvetko35 (@cvetko35) February 14, 2023

Training mobilized in Ukraine.

Given the methods of conscription, weapons can only be issued to them in positions. Otherwise, they will shoot the instructors.

The person filming thinks this is funny. pic.twitter.com/x1jXxRKfie

— dana (@dana916) February 14, 2023

🇺🇦⚡️ The disastrous situation of mobilisation in Ukraine ⚡️🇺🇦

- increased casualties & surrenders have forced Ukraine to step up forced mobilisation

- conscription officers get bonuses the more they recruit, and are sent to the front if they fail to meet quotas

— What's the media hiding? (@narrative_hole) February 12, 2023

You'd have to be completely blinded by your ideology in order to ignore the mountain of footage I have provided the last few weeks about forced conscription in Ukraine. Of course you're going to ignore then and rely on the NYT and other cheerleaders for the MIC and neocons that printed stories about Iraqi yellowcake and bioweapon labs in the runup to the next war. Back then the NYT still had a few honest reporters, but nowadays it's mostly Judith Millers all the way across their staff.

Unit2Suck said:

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movielov...Do you think that Ukraine has an obligation to abide by an agreement that Russia claims it did not sign and is not bound by and that it did not comply with from day one?

In other words, why do you continue to point out that Ukraine is at fault for failing to follow an agreement that Russia did not follow, as if that somehow justifies Russian war crimes.

No one disputes Ukraine's intentions re Minsk, the only question is whether useful idiots will continue to ignore the fact that Russia never meant for Minsk to apply to it, which is consistent with their history of ignoring bilateral agreements with Ukraine and others.

---

No one is disputing Ukraine`s intentions re Minsk because Poroshenko and Zelensky both came out and declared they had no intention of abiding by it.

Ukraine never stopped shelling the Donbass, the great majority of the 14,000 killed since 2014 before the Russian invasion were Donbass russophone civilians shelled by Ukrainian troops. Ukraine has been an occupying force in the Donbass, that is the reason why they met such a strong local resistance.

Minsk was supposed to stop that, the Russians would not have intervened if the Donbass were granted the autonomy that was prescribed by the Minsk Agreements. Ukraine had no intention of granting them that basic right, they treated their Russian minority as a fifth column, which ended up becoming a self-fulfilling reality.

Instead Ukraine has built up its forces pumped to the gills by NATO since 2014, massing a 60,000 strong army in the Donbass with the intention to crush the rebels once and for all. This is what precipitated the timing of the Russian invasion.

A month ago they were saying Russia was running out of ammunition. Turns out it's the exact opposite, and some 'professional analysts' claim there was no way for NATO / Ukraine / US to forsee this? ***?! Did they study math in Baltimore? Lloyd Austin has an 'MBA', the US has 40 generals and admirals... none can do basic math?

OK, so 6 months ago they could have proclaimed, 'We didn't know this would develop into an artillery war, so six NATO members will now go into a war footing and start producing ammo 24 / 7 / 365."

The top NATO Commander in Europe basically confirmed half of Colonel McGregor's numbers.

Ukraine using 6,000 munitions a day.
Russia using 20,000 a day. (McGregor says up to 60K a day, a 10 to 1 ratio which explains his allegations of huge Ukrainian losses.)

The talking heads have been selling "a spring offensive" for over a month, possibly a CYA tactic, as Russia's offensive appears to be happening now.

Cal88: Putins special military incursion also aided by an (arguably rigged) election and Biden / Blinken / Austin historic cluster-f--k withdrawal from Afghanistan. Which included arming klans and armies for decades, and handing our technology to Iran and China.

movielover said:

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TASS: Attempt to 'give Ukraine time': Merkel on Minsk agreements

https://tass.com/world/1547141

These people contradict themselves.

The Kiev Independent: Hollande: 'There will only be a way out of the conflict when Russia fails on the
ground'

Dec 28, 2022

The Kyiv Independent: In an interview with the German newspaper Die Zeit, Angela Merkel said about the Minsk protocols that 'It was obvious that the conflict was going to be frozen, that the problem was not solved, but it just gave Ukraine precious time.'

"Do you also believe that the negotiations in Minsk were intended to delay Russian advances in Ukraine?

"Franois Hollande: Yes, Angela Merkel is right on this point. "

Annexation of Crimea in 2014

"The first is that the United States (under President Barack Obama) had not prioritized the Ukrainian issue..."

Franois Hollande: "Negotiations are always the last step to conclude a conflict. ...

"This is why the Minsk agreements can be resurrected to establish a legal framework already accepted by all parties..."

https://kyivindependent.com/national/hollande-there-will-only-be-a-way-out-of-the-conflict-when-russia-fails-on-the-ground

---

Are you a live human or a bot?

If you are an actual human, I will take this as an acknowledgment that you don't know why you're talking about Minsk and have no response to the fact that Putin never believed Russia was a party to Minsk, that Putin never believed Russia was bound by Minsk and that Russia never adhered to Minsk.

Minsk was DOA on all sides but, given your allegiance to Russian propaganda, you apparently will never address Russia's role.

Serves me right for thinking there is any chance you might be able to engage in good faith here. I'm going to go back to ignoring your "contributions" to this thread because I already get plenty of brain dead Russian propaganda through other useful idiots in other channels.

movielover said:

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Your sources on Putin's Minsk beliefs?

---

I've provided them multiple times. Are you actually disputing the official Russian propaganda that Russia wasn't a party to or bound by Minsk? Can you provide any evidence that Putin or Russia believes it was a party to Minsk or bound by it?

If I prove it to you (which I easily can), will you stop pretending like Minsk is relevant?

I suspect that you will ignore this and continue to post random evidence that Ukraine, like Russia, used Minsk for its own purposes, because your reliance on Russian propaganda demands it.

Unit2Sucks said:

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movielover said:

---

Your sources on Putin's Minsk beliefs?

---

I've provided them multiple times. Are you actually disputing the official Russian propaganda that Russia wasn't a party to or bound by Minsk? Can you provide any evidence that Putin or Russia believes it was a party to Minsk or bound by it?

If I prove it to you (which I easily can), will you stop pretending like Minsk is relevant?

I suspect that you will ignore this and continue to post random evidence that Ukraine, like Russia, used Minsk for its own purposes, because your reliance on Russian propaganda demands it.

---

Direct quotes from Merkel, Hollande, Poroshenko and Zelensky on them using Minsk as a stalling tactic all along, while rebuilding Ukraine's military, is now "Russian propaganda"?!?

You're really too far gone.

So now it's not just actual neo-nazis fighting on Ukraine's side, proudly displaying black sun, totenkopf, Galician SS division and other nazi patches on their uniform, but now actual ISIS elements are joining Ukraine as well:

Ukraine War | An #ISIS | #Daesh chevron was caught on Danish DRTV during an interview with Ukrainian National Security Forces fighters. pic.twitter.com/2MZoDmDq5D

— Alain Jaillet (@JailletAlain) February 15, 2023

At what point do the fans of this war start tapping out?!?

How is NATO supposed to arm Ukraine, if NATO is out of ammo? Will this push them to use unthinkable weapons?

Does this mean the US is low on artillery ammo and bullets?

'Propogandist' and tank expert Colonel McGregor claims that Russia is now planning for a 30-month war.

Don't forget General Milley's comments from November 2022:

CNN: "Milley's push for peace has spilled into the public last week in comments at the Economic Club of New York, Milley praised the Ukrainian army for fighting Russia to a stalemate, but said that an outright military victory is out of reach.

"When there's an opportunity to negotiate, when peace can be achieved, seize it. Seize the moment," Milley said."

Interesting thread on the propaganda battle between Prigozhin and the Kremlin (Newsweek talks about it here). Although I doubt any of the Russian shills on BI get their marching orders directly from the sort of documents shown in the thread, these talking points do filter down and eventially touch all of the useful idiots who are counted on to amplify the firehouse of falsehoods.

Wagner financier Yevgeny Prigozhin is trying to salvage his declining influence in Russia as the Kremlin continues to sideline him & likely attempted to deflect attention from his controversies by undercutting the Kremlin’s unrealistic goals for the war in Ukraine. 🧵 https://t.co/Eqdh8BdMP6

— Kateryna Stepanenko (@KatStepanenko) February 12, 2023

Pegov (also known under the alias Wargonzo) also asked Prigozhin about his harsh criticism of the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) and his supposed political aspirations, and Wagner mercenaries bearing “symbols of the Third Reich” despite fighting to “denazify” Ukraine.

— Kateryna Stepanenko (@KatStepanenko) February 12, 2023

Prigozhin falsely denied ever criticizing the Russian conventional military & inaccurately presented his critiques as similar to the commonly expressed frustrations among Russian milbloggers. Prigozhin also denied having political aspirations.

— Kateryna Stepanenko (@KatStepanenko) February 12, 2023

A Wagner-affiliated milblogger obtained a document that outlines rules for covering the war in Ukraine with explicit requirements to refrain from mentioning Wagner and Prigozhin in the media. pic.twitter.com/qWmtXGu2gd

— Kateryna Stepanenko (@KatStepanenko) February 12, 2023

Not sure if anyone has been paying attention to what disgraced David Petraeus has been saying about the war, but he's had a decent track record. Last year before the invasion he said that Russia didn't have enough forces to conquer or contain Ukraine and this week he was interviewed by CNN.

Quote:

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Bergen: Is the Russian military's performance in Ukraine surprising to you?

Petraeus: Not completely. In an interview with The Atlantic published shortly before the Russian invasion, I explained the considerable difficulties I expected Russia would encounter and noted that an invasion force of some 190,000 was much less than what likely would be required, especially if the Ukrainians proved to be as determined as I thought they would be (and they have been even more so).

Beyond that, though, even I didn't foresee how miserably the Russians would perform.

Bergen: Is Russia failing because of failures of intelligence? Failures of its conscripts? Failures of Russian military culture? All the above?

Petraeus: All of the above and more. The list is long, including poor campaign design; wholly inadequate training (what were they doing for all those months they were deployed on the northern, eastern, and southern borders of Ukraine?); poor command, control, and communications; inadequate discipline (and a culture that condones war crimes and abuse of local populations); poor equipment (exemplified by turrets blowing off of tanks when fires ignite in them); insufficient logistic capabilities; inability to achieve combined arms effects (to employ all ground and air capabilities effectively together); inadequate organizational architecture; lack of a professional noncommissioned officer corps; a top-down command system that does not promote initiative at lower levels and pervasive corruption that undermines every aspect of their military and the supporting military-industrial complex.

Bergen: How would you grade the Biden administration's approach to the Ukraine war?

Petraeus: I think the Biden Administration has led NATO and the rest of the western world very impressively in responding to the Russian invasion providing enormous quantities of arms, ammunition, and other material and economic assistance. And also guiding the effort to impose economic, financial and personal sanctions and export controls on Russia. (And I offer this, noting that I am not a member of a political party and was very critical of the decision to withdraw from Afghanistan and the way the withdrawal was conducted.)

Bergen: How would you grade Putin in this campaign? Has he got anything right?

Petraeus: Putin has earned a failing grade to date. Let's recall that the first and most important task of a strategic leader is to "get the big ideas right" that is, to get the overall strategy and fundamental decisions right. Putin clearly has failed abysmally in that task, resulting in a war that has made him and his country a pariah, set back the Russian economy by a decade or more (losing many of Russia's best and brightest, and prompting over 1,200 western companies to leave Russia or reduce operations there), done catastrophic damage to the Russian military and its reputation and put his legacy in serious jeopardy.

---

At best, his analysis is six months old.

Zero acknowledgement of NATO / the West running out of ammo. Talk about "big picture". Or men. Russia has regrouped, and McGregor's 'spin' is that Putin went in soft bc he was dealing with Christian, Slavic brothers. His assertions include that they avoided attacking civilian structures, utilities, etc. He didn't anticipate the resistance, pulled back, and called up 300K more men. They changed tactics, upgraded equipment, etc.

He's blabbing this while Russia appears to be picking up steam, and Bakhmut ready to fall. What does Ukraine do if their ammo is cut by 50%, 70%? Sitting ducks? Could be ugly, or surrender.

BTW, we knew Russia was going to invade. I watched a podcast of just aerial pictures, no politics at all. Russia claimed to be running military exercises at the start of this war, right? Well, the pictures show massive military hospitals set up near the Ukraine / Russia border in multiple locations.

movielover said:

---

Who backed the comedian as a candidate? (Reagan served as governor for two terms of a large state.)

McGregor claims Zelensky only recently learned the Ukrainian language.

---

Does McGregor walk on water? Asking for a friend.

Eastern Oregon Bear said:

---

movielover said:

---

Who backed the comedian as a candidate? (Reagan served as governor for two terms of a large state.)

McGregor claims Zelensky only recently learned the Ukrainian language.

---

Does McGregor walk on water? Asking for a friend.

---

Well, he was correct on the quantity of artillery and of NATO / the West not having the industrial capacity. He also explained why we just can't ship them even ten Abrams tanks, or all of the related facts, equipment, etc related to tanks and fighting, that nobody else mentions.

"Oh, 82 tanks are coming." Right. One hopeful number without context or knowledge. A lot of this is math and logistics. We've got 40 politically chosen generals, but we're running out of ammo and previously left over $50 Billion worth of military gear in Afghanistan. Gotcha.

Nobody is infallible. I like HistoryLegends, too.

Eastern Oregon Bear said:

---

movielover said:

---

Who backed the comedian as a candidate? (Reagan served as governor for two terms of a large state.)

McGregor claims Zelensky only recently learned the Ukrainian language.

---

Does McGregor walk on water? Asking for a friend.

---

He's a battle-proven high-profile retired US military officer who is not a member of the MIC revolving door club, so yeah, he's kind of in a rarefied category.

He's right about Zelensky here, he has only had a crash course in Ukrainian when he started out his political career, being groomed by his backer gangster-oligarch Kolomoisky to become the next president, after starring in a Mr. Smith Goes to Washington TV series on Kolomoisky's TV station.

Ukrainian is a kind of regional patois, dialect spoken in western and central rural areas of Ukraine that varies from region to region. It has only been recently encoded in its modern standard current form, kind of like the Occitan language in France, which also varies greatly from region to region and was standardized in the mid-1900s, though Occitan has a richer older litterary tradition than Ukrainian, being also spoken in cities and academic circles.

Zelensky basically speaks a broken Ukrainian with a heavy Russian accent.

Your post brings to mind one of my favorite "goofs" in movie history from Die Hard:

Mark Hertling on why he's not surprised by yet another failure for Russia in Vuhledar.

I've not provided battlefield comments for some time because both forces are fighting hard, surviving the winter, and prep for respective offensives.

Right now, there's a race between mobilization (RU) and the preparation for planned offensives (UA). 2/https://t.co/m4LMXuNu4d

— MarkHertling (@MarkHertling) February 16, 2023

RU have been physically moved to "training locations," given shoddy equipment, seen the same poor leadership, & sent to the front without an understanding of what they were to do.

In western language, "their recruiters lied to them!" 4/https://t.co/A9RXPodFSv

— MarkHertling (@MarkHertling) February 16, 2023

While ordering this, Putin prepares more missile strikes from what he has - planes & ships - to force Ukraine to do two things: fight on the front, and defend the population with air defense.

Putin is also now attacking from N &S with these strikes. 6/ https://t.co/tVGkKqicE8

— MarkHertling (@MarkHertling) February 16, 2023

IPB: Intelligence Preparation of the Battlefield.

Reconnaissance. Looking for weak spots. Planning operations directed at key locations. Interdicting enemy supplies. Using SOF to hit targets behind the lines. Preparing logistics.

Smart operations. 8/https://t.co/LhZcpvqfVo

— MarkHertling (@MarkHertling) February 16, 2023

As I said: It is now a race between RU mobilization and UKR force preparedness and transformation.

The next few weeks will see tough fights, some back and forth, false declarations by RU of "victory."

But a Ukrainian spring is coming. 9/9

— MarkHertling (@MarkHertling) February 16, 2023

Here are some excerpts from the NYT article he is responding to - it just reiterates what everyone who can see through the Russian propaganda has been saying. It doesn't mean Russia won't continue to devote heavy resources and sacrifice everything to win this war, but it's been one failure after another and Russia's only hope is to smother Ukraine with artillery and dead Russian soldiers.

Quote:

---

KYIV, Ukraine As Moscow steps up its offensive in eastern Ukraine, weeks of failed attacks on a Ukrainian stronghold have left two Russian brigades in tatters, raised questions about Russia's military tactics and renewed doubts about its ability to maintain sustained, large-scale ground assaults.

The battle for the city of Vuhledar, which has been viewed as an opening move in an expected Russian spring offensive, has been playing out since the last week of January, but the scale of Moscow's losses there is only now beginning to come into focus.

Accounts from Ukrainian and Western officials, Ukrainian soldiers, captured Russian soldiers and Russian military bloggers, as well as video and satellite images, paint a picture of a faltering Russian campaign that continues to be plagued by battlefield dysfunction.
...
He said the attacks on Vuhledar had been no surprise the Russians even warned the Ukrainians of the coming assault through social media channels, in an apparent attempt to scare them. "It was announced and spread," Colonel Dmytrashkivskyi said. "It was done to diminish the morale of the fighters."

As they have done throughout the war, the Russian commanders made some basic mistakes, in this case failing to take into account the terrain open fields littered with antitank mines or the strength of the Ukrainian forces, Colonel Dmytrashkivskyi said. Two of Russia's most elite brigades the 155th and 40th Naval Infantry Brigades were decimated in Vuhledar, he said.

In one week alone in the Vuhledar clash, the Ukrainian General Staff estimates, Russia lost at least 130 armored vehicles, including 36 tanks. That estimate has been supported by drone footage reviewed by independent military analysts and by accounts from Russian military bloggers, who are ardent supporters of the war but sharp critics of its conduct by top Russian commanders.
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The Grey Zone, a Telegram channel that is affiliated with Wagner, has been scathing about the Russian military's efforts in Vuhledar, and called for Russian commanders responsible for the losses to be held accountable in public trials. "Impunity always breeds permissiveness," a recent post said.

After Russia's November attack on Vuhledar, which was also reported to have ended with enormous losses, Moscow turned to newly mobilized recruits to replenish its ranks. But those troops had just a bare minimum of training, military analysts say, and probably not enough to mount a serious, organized offensive.

The Russians faced another problem in Vuhledar from Ukraine's deployment of American-made HIMARS missiles that forced commanders to position large concentrations of forces more than 50 miles from the front. That made it hard to attack with either speed or surprise.


A Russian marine who fought in Vuhledar told the Russian media outlet 7x7, which is based in the Komi region of Russia, that those who survived the battle were considered deserters. The marine, whose identity the news outlet did not disclose, citing the need to protect his safety, said he was part of the third company of the 155th brigade. After the failed assault, he said, only eight soldiers from his company were left alive.

"It would have been better if I had been captured and never returned," he said.

Despite the setbacks, Moscow has continued to insist that all is going according to plan. On Sunday, Mr. Putin said that the "marine infantry is working as it should. Right now. Fighting heroically."

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Can Ukraine have success beyond one city? And they don't address lack of ammo.

Scott Ritter with his new overview of the past.

Feb - April 1, 2022 - special Military incursion to get Ukraine to peace talks. Putin also went in soft bc of concerns about public perceptions, and sanctions / economy. NATO / America took it as Russia is a paper tiger.

Claims Russia even dropped some demands, with the biggest still - Ukraine doesn't join NATO. Boris Johnson (US) kabosh peace talks.

April 2022+ - the NATO war vs Russia. About June, "Ukraine was defeated", except for mass importation of NATO military equipment.

The Ukrainian general recently admitted to 275,000 KIA. Add in MIA (50K) and recent dead, that's 375,000 KIA. Which basically equals all of what America lost in WWII in Japan and Europe in 6 years. (I believe Colonel McGregor has said casualties are typically 1 to 1, so another 300K injured? Maybe half go back to battle.)

As this war continues, that KIA number could double.

Ritter claims this all started with our insistence in 2008 that Ukraine join NATO, and the 2014 coup we engineered.

We are back to the point in your algorithm where you point to convicted pedophile with ties to Russia to support untenable positions after your last untenable position was destroyed.

The pedophile you quoted is still wrong in his base assumption that Putin sent a 40 mile column of tanks to take Kyiv as part of a "soft" invasion due to concerns about public perceptions. It's one of the most laughably, obviously fake claims anyone has made. No one can possibly expect their audience to be this stupid but in Ritter's defense, his audience is people who don't mind the fact that they are listening to a convicted pedophile who is amplifying Russian propaganda. Biden was criticized by your conservative tribe for appeasing Russia (Tom Cotton here) and your friends at the Federalist even criticized Biden by saying he would agree to keep NATO out of Ukraine but your preferred pedophile source will continue to amplify Putin's propaganda because reasons. This war is on Putin and no one else.

The next question is when will we reach the point in your algorithm when you come back to pretending like it's entirely Ukraine (NATO / US / BORIS JOHNSON / OBAMAIDEN) who is responsible for Minsk failing despite the fact that Russia has publicly claimed that it was not a party to or bound by Minsk? Obviously you don't care to engage with the facts and have moved on from your loss, but how long do you wait before reverting to pretending that Putin believed in Minsk and intended to abide by and be bound by it? Do you re-raise it every few weeks because you forget what you've posted previously or is it because you think we're all going to forget your failures?

movielover said:

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Can Ukraine have success beyond one city? And they don't address lack of ammo.

Scott Ritter with his new overview of the past.

Feb - April 1, 2022 - special Military incursion to get Ukraine to peace talks. Putin also went in soft bc of concerns about public perceptions, and sanctions / economy. NATO / America took it as Russia is a paper tiger.

Claims Russia even dropped some demands, with the biggest still - Ukraine doesn't join NATO. Boris Johnson (US) kabosh peace talks.

April 2022+ - the NATO war vs Russia. About June, "Ukraine was defeated", except for mass importation of NATO military equipment.

The Ukrainian general recently admitted to 275,000 KIA. Add in MIA (50K) and recent dead, that's 375,000 KIA. Which basically equals all of what America lost in WWII in Japan and Europe in 6 years. (I believe Colonel McGregor has said casualties are typically 1 to 1, so another 300K injured? Maybe half go back to battle.)

As this war continues, that KIA number could double.

Ritter claims this all started with our insistence in 2008 that Ukraine join NATO, and the 2014 coup we engineered.

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Hasn't Ukraine already had success beyond one city? And in a way that Ritter previously predicted they would not?