Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley predicted Thursday that Ukraine’s counteroffensive will be long and “very violent” following a meeting of military officials in Brussels.
Milley made the comments when asked how long he expects the counteroffensive to last, saying it was “premature” to put a timeline on the battle. “This is a very difficult fight. It’s a very violent fight, and it will likely take a considerable amount of time and at high cost,” Milley said.
The Biden administration has been pushing for the violent counteroffensive as it’s explicitly opposed to a ceasefire and peace talks, a position Secretary of State Antony Blinken outlined earlier this month.
Milley claimed Ukraine has been making “steady progress,” but the battle lines have not changed much since Ukraine launched the assault early last week. According to The New York Times, it’s been three days since Ukraine claimed any gains, and Ukraine’s deputy defense acknowledged it was “very difficult to advance” in the southeast.
Asia Times reported on June 10 that American and European military observers in Ukraine described Ukraine’s attempted counteroffensive as a “suicide mission” because of the way they were attacking Russia’s positions.
“If you want to conduct an offensive and you have a dozen brigades and a few dozen tanks, you concentrate them and try to break through. The Ukrainians have been running around in five different directions,” a senior European officer told Asia Times.
“We tried to tell them to stop these piecemeal tactics, define a main thrust with proper infantry support and then do what they can,” the officer added. The report said Ukraine lost 38 tanks, including numerous German-made Leopard 2 tanks, on June 8 by sending them into minefields without deploying mine-clearing vehicles first.
The US has already announced a new weapons package to replace Bradley and Stryker armored vehicles that Ukraine has lost in the offensive, and Ukraine has been asking for more tanks, including the Leopard 2.
Speaking alongside Milley on Thursday, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin downplayed Ukraine’s losses, claiming that Russia was showing different pictures of the same damaged vehicles. “This is a war, so we know that there will be battle damage on both sides … I think the Russians have shown us that same five vehicles about a thousand times from 10 different angles. But quite frankly, the Ukrainians have — still have a lot of combat capability — combat power,” he said.
At the conference in Brussels of military officials from more than 50 countries, known as the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, Austin stressed the need to support Ukraine for the long-term. He said the Netherlands and Denmark shared the progress they’ve made on training Ukrainians on F-16s, but it’s still unclear how many of the US-made fighter jets Ukraine will receive.
I’ve heard reporting that Ukraine has lost/used 20-30% of their goodies from the West.
I’m sure that rate of use will slow but there is no capacity for anything prolonged unless we start seeing a huge rush of trucks pulling more inventory and rushing down our interstates to airports and docks really soon.
I’ve heard reporting that Russia has lost over 60% of its combat power due to this war so Ukraine losing 20-30% it’s not so bad as shown lately where they are the ones conducting offensive operations throughout the front and gaining land back. All while yet to commit its 9th and 10th reserve corps of well trained and equipped troops waiting for an opening to strike.
Wherever you read that 60% number they were BSing you.
What % of Russia’s military is even engaged there?
It is not even remotely approaching 50% but someone is postulating a 60% reduction of Russia’s capabilities from the fighting there?
How good is that weed you are smoking?
The US knows the Ukrainians cannot take back the land they lost, yet refuses to allow negotiations until they do. Which is to say, the US knows that Ukraine cannot win, yet they keep fighting to “weaken” Russia. Immoral imperial vipers.
The Ukranians are already taking back land the Russians stole.(You might want to expand your sources for news beyond Russian propaganda.)
I take in propaganda from both sides, and weigh it against more rational sources, such as this site. I have been quite clear in my comments here and on my blog that Russia’s actions are a crime against humanity, as is all war. It’s just that I apply the standards of humanity to all sides, unlike imperial shills. Perhaps it is you who should step back from the drinking of imperial Kool-Aid.
The only “Kool-Aid” I drink is: ANY country that invades another should be defeated. (Although I NEVER want to see any people die — especially Americans — I felt the US should/would be defeated in Iraq.)
Yet, you ignore the legitimate concerns Russia had concerning the treatment of ethnic Russian in the Donbas, and Ukraine’s failure to uphold its end of the Minsk accords. You also fail to square the threat posed to Russia by the expansion of a motile military alliance on its borders in a country with a deep intertwined history with Russia, that it considers crucial to its sense of self and security.
Ukrainian security could have been secured while assuring Russia that NATO would not expand, and that a settlement could be reached in the Donbas. As I have argued continuously, international relations is immoral to its core. None of this is morally defensible, but it does represent real harm reduction, and a chance for peaceful relations and prosperity.
Equally indefensible is the US aggression and encirclement of Russia as a global hegemon in ways it would never accept itself. But by all means keep on bleating that all nations that invade must be defeated and thereby advocate for the continued slaughter of innocents and a dangerous proxy war with a nuclear armed nation on its border. Simplistic slogans are no substitute for seeking peace.
That’s TOTAL Russian BS.
Notable is the complete lack of any argumentation at all.
I’ve argued ad nauseum with you tankies. I’m not doing it today.
As you wish. I accept your capitulation. Peace.
You do you, bud.
You’re nauseating alright, Nazi lover.
The pro-Western narrative on Ukraine is pro terrorism, mass murder, and pushing for endless wars. Russia on the other hand is pragmatic, and very realistic in what it will accomplish. The US and NATO are powerless and stupified since they never win conflicts…
Russia is very realistic indeed. That’s why Russia invaded and got us all in this chaos and now you dare calling the West and Ukraine terrorists. Very thoughtful of you.
You should try thinking once in a while yourself Julio instead of being a misinformed advocate for the War Party in D.C. Spend a few minutes and see what led up to the war. Putin didn’t wake up one morning and decide that it’s a good day for an invasion. The die was cast long before that. But then again, your simpleminded posts indicate your ignorance on the subject.
Quite true Putin reacted on the Yanukovych government being toppled by launching his annexation of Crimea less than 7 days after Yanukovych had left Ukraine, so prepared even before Yanukovych had actually left and planned before they had any justification based on any new Ukrainian administration’s policies.
Seeing just how ‘easy’ that annexation was achieved Putin decided to develop the protests that occurred naturally in many cities in (rump) Ukraine into an armed insurrection – the Russians managed to achieve this only in Luhansk and Donetsk – (Odesa and Kharkiv did not either get the ‘support’ needed or any Russian intervention at all).
This is not based on western propaganda – this is what Russian nationalistic operatives have admitted to on video – I’ve poste it several times before, but if you have missed it – just indicate so and I’ll link the evidence again.
I can’t verify what you’re saying is true or not but I do know that people like John McCain and I’m sure others were over there stirring up trouble long before the other actions that you mentioned occured. As this article states, “There were several Americans involved in the overthrow of the Ukrainian government in 2014. According to an article on transcend.org, Victoria Nuland, US President Barack Obama’s central agent overseeing the coup, was crucial not only in overthrowing the existing Ukrainian Government but also in selecting and installing its rabidly anti-Russian replacement. The article also mentions that the US politicians facilitated most of the funding in the Ukrainian protests”.
Point accepted – here is the video of the Russian admitting how they did it:
Sure – others may have tried to stir things up, for all we know they may have managed to motivate Ukrainians to take action – but importantly no one else actually sent in troops or armed Ukrainians to topple the Yanukovych government.
Your link is to the front page not the specific article – but as pointed out above the possible US involvement restricted itself to money and advice, so if the Ukrainians were this susceptible foreign influence why did the Russians not use the same methods?
The replacement was in place only for a short period until the first democratic elections happened 25 May 2014 – i.e. just 3 months after Yanukovych had fled the country – i.e. not the installation of a government that lasted for any length of time, but yes they were quite anti Russian – they had reason to, the Russian’s annexed Crimea even before they got to pass any policies at all.
How do you fund protests – if the people are not motivated to protest – and if the US can do it why can’t the Russians do it too?
Bill – Julio knows damn well what led up to Russia’s decision to invade Ukraine, he just chooses to continually ignore that to the extent that it seems as if he might even be paid to do so
“Notable is the complete lack of any argumentation at all”
and there it is
Actually, it’s called history.
Yes or no, please?
Was Russia’s invasion of Ukraine both immoral AND illegal under international law?
I would say yes to both.
I would add that I am not particularly interested in the intricacies of international law, particularly as Russia, and the US are not participants to organizations such as the ICC (which shows that no nation really cares about those intricacies). I am more interested in identifying the immorality (actions by all states) and then seeking ways to engage in harm reduction and ending violence.
To that end it is clear that you cannot enhance one’s security (Ukraine) at the expense of another (Russia), nor did the US need to. Neutrality, ala Switzerland, Austria, and previously Finland served as good models.
It is also important to identify the relative aggressors in any situation. It is not Russian troops on the US border, it was not the Warsaw Pact seeking to add Mexico, it is the US/NATO that is clearly the advancing adversarial military alliance. Because of this it seems clear that the best chance for a negotiated settlement and peace is for the US/NATO to stand down and address Russia’s security issues.
How does Ukraine not joining NATO justify the SMO – as in there was no chance of Ukraine joining NATO before the SMO simply because while Ukraine had a border controversy with a neighbor it could not join NATO.
Thank you for answering both questions off the top.
And it is good you see this for what it is.
An illegal/immoral act of aggression on Russia’s part.
BTW – I also believe Kiev attacking it’s own people in the Donbas from 2014 was both illegal and immoral.
Thank you for the discussion. I agree both sides are morally culpable, even if the onus is more on the US to put an end to it. I would also agree with you that both sides were abrogating the Minsk accords, again, even if there is some difference in the relative ways they did so.
Agreeing on some key points is a good place to end the conversation, while also acknowledging we agree to disagree on other points. Peace
This is a terrible take. The whole premise is wrong. It all began with the coup in 2014 which you completely left out of it. It actually begins earlier than that. The Orange revolution in 2004. Russia allowed that transfer of power. This Western aligned group proved so corrupt that revolution was overturned in elections. That is why Yanukovych was in power. The USA forced him to pick between an exclusive trade deal with the West or else. He asked why he couldn’t do trade with the West and Russia. Especially since Russia was offering better terms. The US response was unleashing Nuland and the Maidan coup. That is how we got here.
If you haven’t watched it …. 29 million views. Tries to explain it to you from the point of view of a staunch US imperialist that tries to be half way grounded in reality.
The orange revolution being overturned is why they didn’t go that route again. Nuland wanted a coup to start the civil war and end any chance of peace. They were going all in this time.
“Russia allowed that transfer of power.”
Why would it be up to Russia to “allow” or “not allow” a transfer of power in another country?
Agreed.
This is a total lie and it wasn’t just the Donbas. Rebellions were violently put down in Odessa and Mariupol most obviously. The resistance was too strong in the Donbas. The US instigated a coup in 2014 which split the country into a civil war. Everything in the Western press is a lie. Russia tried to settle it peacefully with the Minsk accords and the US undermined it by using the time to build fortifications and bring in artillery to the front line. Russia still tried to settle it peacefully by twice going to the Biden regime and demanding they negotiate or else. The Biden regime gave them the middle finger and started screaming to the press that Russia was going to invade. https://www.kanekoa.news/p/osce-reports-reveal-ukraine-started
The US broke international law in this case. The US enabled a coup in Ukraine in 2014. There was no election. They overthrew the democratically elected government in 2014. Every election after that didn’t include Crimea or the Donbas so the voting demographics completely changed. Plus it was understood if you didn’t back the coup you could wind up dead. The whole Russia invaded thing is a lie. The US launched a coup and the coup government told the Russians to get out. LOL. The coup government formed a nazi group to murder and terrorize the population that didn’t go along with it. The Azov battalion put down rebellions until they met too stiff of a resistance in the Donbas. They didn’t have the firepower to overcome that résistance. Russia tried to settle it here with the Minsk agreements. The US and the West have bragged they never intended to go along with it. They used this time to arm Ukraine to the teeth. Build heavy fortifications and bring in artillery. The US and Ukraine started the war by breaking the Minsk accords and started a massive shelling campaign to soften the Donbas up for an invasion. During this time Russia saw what was happening. They twice demanded the US come to the negotiating table as they understood the US was the source of the trouble. The US refused. The second time Russia gave an ultimatum. Not only did the US refuse. That is when the Biden regime went around to the media and started screaming the Russians are going to invade. They knew this because the Russians told them! https://www.kanekoa.news/p/osce-reports-reveal-ukraine-started
Which is perfectly OK to do, seeing as the Russians in the Donbas faced no worse prospects than the Russians in Odesa and Kharkiv – and would have had a better and richer life if not for the Russians stirring up protests there turning it into an insurrection.
The Russians caused the problems you now want us to consider as legitimate!
So you believe that the threat Russians claim to feel should count for more than the actual threat Russia’s neighbors actually face – there is no threat of a NATO invasion of Russia because of MAD – and Putin has revealed that these fears are not real by denuding Kaliningrad.
Really – in what scenario did you see Putin withdrawing from Crimea???
No it does not allowing Russia to annex Crimea and have sanctions lifted because of the SMO and the nuclear threats would lead to nuclear proliferation and other countries performing their SMO on attractive territories of their weaker neighbors.
The US did not have to invade any countries to ‘encircle’ Russia – the nations that have joined NATO have done so because they (correctly) feared an aggressive Putin wanting to make Russia great again.
No the Ukrainians are allowed to fight as long as they want to do so, of those who support Ukraine most only supports them in that and if peace is forced upon them some of us supports keeping sanctions on Russia until it is too broke to project power beyond its borders.
What “threat” do Russia’s NATO neighbors face from a nation with an economy the size of Italy’s? On the other hand, NATO was steadily moving to accept Ukraine, and refused to take it off the table. In fact they continue to seriously discuss lowering the threshold for NATO membership or offering a workaround that is de facto the same.
NATO not a threat? The only NATO concerted military actions were non-Article 5 actions outside of NATO territory. If MAD is determinative (and it should be) then why does NATO still exist 30 years after the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact? That the US did not need to invade any nations to encircle Russia does not mean that they are not encircling them, only that they are efficient at it.
As for your take on Crimea, it exposes your complete lack of historical perspective on how Russia acquired Crimea, and how it was moved from Russia to Ukraine by Khrushchev.
Ukraine will fight as long as the US bankrolls their corrupt client state and no longer. You act as if this is not a proxy war using Ukraine as fodder.
None that is why countries like Ukraine and many countries weaker than Ukraine wants to join NATO.
Not even Sweden has joined, and without the SMO there would have been no movement on Ukraine joining NATO while it had a border ‘conflict’ withe one of its neighbors.
That can only be achieved if all agrees and again it would not be possible while there was an ongoing conflict – if we are moving in that direction (we were not before 2022) then it is because of the SMO.
Not one of those against a nuclear power so no NAOT is not a threat to Russia.
Because of the SMO – without NATO Estonia or any of the Baltic countries could have seen a Russian SMO against them – are you really this ignorant – MAD is not connected to the existence of the Warsaw pact!
It only means that Russia’s neighbors fear Russia so much that they prefer to join NATO – the US has not been efficient at this at all effective perhaps but certainly not efficient.
I know this history very well, but as long as the Ukrainians did not want to give up their claim on sovereignty over Crimea you cannot make the claim:
“Ukrainian security could have been secured while assuring Russia that NATO would not expand, and that a settlement could be reached in the Donbas.” which was what you did, actually come to think of it Ukraine already had a guarantee on its territorial integrity – made with Russia, the US and UK – so obviously they need NATO the other thing did not work at all.
No the Ukrainians will fight as long as they are motivated to fight, like the Afghans before them there is no way anyone can force not motivated soldier to fight hard, and if they do not fight hard then the Russians should easily win over them.
You keep chasing your tail. You justify NATO expansion based on the SMO, yet if NATO had disbanded 30 years ago when whatever utility they had vanished, none of this would be an issue today. They expanded into the former Warsaw Pact Nations by 1999, before Putin rose to power. Also, there is no proof, except US propaganda that Putin wants to recreate the USSR, even if he had the means (which he does not).
It is NATO that marched toward Russia not the other way around. If MAD makes the US/NATO no threat, then why keep moving east? What is the point, except US global hegemony and forcing Russia to knuckle under to the west. That is precisely the deranged, and dangerous game the US is playing. The nuclear threat is real, and both sides will go there rather than lose what they see as crucial. For the US it was Cuba 1962. For Russia it is Ukraine today.
It is pointless to keep going round and round. I want harm reduction, not some moral purity that does not exist among nations. You want continued proxy war on a nuclear Russia’s border in an area crucial to their sense of self and security. At least be honest about what it is you are seeking here. The rational and humane, and prudent thing to do is an immediate ceasefire and a negotiated solution to all outstanding issues.
perhaps, but NATO did not disband because most of the European members did not fear Russia much less than they did the Soviets – and most if of the former Warsaw pact countries feared Russia very much indeed. So the whole idea of disbanding NATO because the Warsaw pact had gone is just not taking the reality of the situation into account.
Former Warsaw pact countries desperately wanted to join so much so that they were willing to meddle in US national politics to get in. And we have Putin in a speech comparing himself to Peter the great saying that he is just taking back what was Russian – I am not aware of any US sources on this, I only have the Russian’s words for it.
it is most of Russia’s former ‘allies’ who were desperate to join – NATO did not march anywhere – no significant amount of troops were permanently stationed in any of the countries joining after 1991 and no nukes were stationed there either.
It is because you have this misinterpretation that NATO is moving at all that you fail to see the the obvious answer – MAD secures the present NATO members it did nothing for Ukraine – that is why Russia’s neighbors like Finland wants to join – it is not NATO that wants to move east.
To secure the freedom, independence and safety of the new members – how is this not obvious? Do you think that Finland wanted to join to work for ‘US global hegemony’?
well if you do not understand that countries like Finland (Sweden and Ukraine) wants to join to be as safe as Estonia, Poland and Germany then you are bound to misinterpret why anything happens.
It is pointless to keep going round and round. I want harm reduction, not some moral purity that does not exist among nations. You want continued proxy war on a nuclear Russia’s border in an area crucial to their sense of self and security. At least be honest about what it is you are seeking here. The rational and humane, and prudent thing to do is an immediate ceasefire and a negotiated solution to all outstanding issues.
Yep, and NATO wasn’t a threat to Yugoslavia either since NATO is strictly a ‘Defensive Organization’. We’re sure the people of Yugoslavia thought ‘oh there’s nothing to worry about’ as the bombs were dropping on them from NATO.
We invaded Iraq, Afghanistan, and bombed Serbia, Syria, Libya. Does that mean we should be “defeated” now? Furthermore, none of those places we invaded/bombed were an existential threat to us, like NATO/Ukraine is to Russia.
You’re making a tankie argument. (It’s like arguing with someone who believes Jesus ACTUALLY walked on water and there was an ACTUAL Noah’s Ark.)
You’re a true believer and no decent argument I make to you will change your mind. Genuflect to your master, Putin. Hahaha
You: “The only “Kool-Aid” I drink is: ANY country that invades another should be defeated.”
Him: “We invaded Iraq, Afghanistan, and bombed Serbia, Syria, Libya. Does that mean we should be “defeated” now?”
Sounds like a legitimate argument to me. Compared to you’re a “tankie”
The world would be much better off if the US had been defeated in those places.
NATO/Ukraine is about as much an “existential threat” to Russia as K-Pop is.
NATO/ Ukraine is an existential threat – period
Every nuclear power is an existential threat — to all of humanity.
But absent global nuclear holocaust, nothing is an existential threat to Russia. Russia will continue to exist as long as there are people who speak Russian, share a common culture they think of as Russian, etc.
If anything, K-Pop is far closer to being an existential threat to that language/culture than NATO/Ukraine could ever hope to be.
Ukraine isn’t a nuclear power yet it’s brought the world to the brink of WW3.
Two declining empires (the US/EU/NATO empire and the Russian empire) have brought the world to the brink of WW3. Ukraine is just the excuse.
It wasn’t the Russians that staged the coupe back in ‘14 that set this in motion.
There’s only one Empire that’s declining and it isn’t Russia.
“This” was set in motion by the February 1917 revolution and October 1917 coup in Russia, followed by a century of US enmity toward Russia with brief breaks for a World War 2 alliance against the Axis and the Yeltsin and early Putin periods when the US thought it could subsume the Russian empire into its own empire.
Since then, Putin has done his best to slow down the decline of the Russian empire since the loss of most of its European satrapies, while the US empire is still caught up in its own “lone superpower” fantasy.
And his best has largely pretty good. He managed to reconquer Chechnya and install the Kadyrov quisling regime there, and was able to pull off a quick, sharp victory when Georgia tried to do to Abkhazia/South Ossetia what Ukraine later tried to do to Donetsk/Luhansk.
His mistake in thinking he could pull it off again in Ukraine was understandable, but obviously a miscalculation. His fiasco there has increased the length of his empire’s border with NATO by 800 miles, made Ukraine a de facto NATO member state in perpetuity, and outed the extent of his armed forces’ atrophy. The best he can realistically hope for is to get his teat out of the wringer with Donetsk and Luhansk as door prizes, and maybe, just maybe survive himself as caretaker/custodian of a Russian empire in its “assisted care facility” days.
NATO member state in perpetuity
Perpetuity isn’t as long as it used to be and NATO won’t be much longer.
If I was a betting man, I wouldn’t place a bet on whether NATO or the United Russia regime disappears into the dustbin of history first.
They will never get any land back, plus Ukrainians know that they are in mortal danger from Zelensky and his mob of Neo Nazis. Russia will continue to move forward and crush the terrorist regime in Kiev. Period
As long as you say “period” at the end, I guess that means Ukraine is gone. Hahaha
And which side has gained more square miles of territory since September 6 last year?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_invasion_of_Ukraine
The longer the war continues, the more territory Ukraine will lose. If they agree on a peace settlement now, they may keep Odessa and Kharkov. If they fight on, these regions will be the next to fall. It’s their choice. They can chose to let Ukraine disappear from the map.
When Ukraine became independent 30 years ago, it had almost 50 million citizens. Due to decades of oligarchic mismanagement and economic emigration, due to the regions controlled by Russia and due to the refugees that have fled the country, the Kyiv regime now controls not much more than 20 million people, who depend entirely on Western support. In reality, Ukraine has ceased to exist as a sovereign country.
As the West plunges into a deep and prolonged recession, the funds for Ukraine will dry up. Ukrainians who are smart will move to the Russian controlled part, where the Russians invest to rebuild the country.
All of what you said is fantasy. That’s not even close to what’s actually happening.
Ummm…I believe Ukraine has gained more territory than Russia since September 6 last year?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_invasion_of_Ukraine#Russian_annexations_and_occupation_losses_(6_September_%E2%80%93_11_November_2022)
Also.
Russia is in the middle of an economic depression.
https://tradingeconomics.com/russia/gdp-growth-annual
Whereas no NATO countries are (to my knowledge).
So, it is Russia who is losing the war (since September 6 last year).
Both militarily and macroeconomically.
Ukraine has had no battle field success since the beginning of the SMO. The Russians retreated from Kyiv as part of the Istanbul peace talks; they withdrew from Karkhov because the SMO had a limited number of troops before partial mobilization; they withdrew from Kherson because Ukraine could have blown up the dam (as they did) to cut the Russians and the civilian population from supplies. In all three cases, the Russians withdrew to preserve their forces since the objective is to “de-militarize” Ukraine and not to grab land. Ukrainians did not conquer these territories, they moved in after the Russians had left. In all places the Russians decide to fight, the Ukrainians fail.
While inflation is now in double digits in many Western economies, Russian inflation has come down below 3%. While most of Europe is now in recession, the Russian economy is expected to grow nearly 2% this year. Looking at the PMI index, the Russian economy will grow while Western economies will decline.
Thus, Russia is winning the military and economic war against the collective West.
Really?
And where is your unbiased link that shows factual proof that NATO-backed Ukraine cannot (eventually) take back Zaporizhzhia and Kherson Oblasts?
The burden of proof in a debate in on the one taking the affirmative proposition, in this case “Ukraine can take back the Donbas and Kherson”. But, hey, its Friday. So I will respond as if you offered such an affirmative statement (even though you didn’t).
First, we must be clear about your statement “that NATO backed Ukraine cannot (eventually) take back Zaporizhzhia and Kherson Oblasts”. If by “NATO backed” you mean the present level of support, then that is what I am talking about. If you mean an enhanced level of support (I recognize the US has blown past all its preset guardrails on that support) such as direct NATO involvement then that is not what I am discussing. That would change everything, and likely end everything.
That said, let’s take a look at what the US believes about Ukraine’s military prospects. There is General Milley’s statements last fall in which he suggested it might be a good time for Ukraine to negotiate, as they had advanced as far as they could. This very post quotes Milley as stating that the counteroffensive will be long and violent, with no actual end in sight. Then there are the Discord papers which clearly show deep US skepticism about any Ukrainian ability to emerge victorious. Then there is the fact of the relative sizes of the Russian and Ukrainian militaries, and the relative sizes of the nations/economies backing up those militaries. All which clearly favor Russia. Then there is the military analysis of professionals such as Andrew Cockburn, who is on Substack, who have outlined specific reasons why Ukraine cannot achieve military victory.
That seems clear to reasonable people that the US knows this is just an endless charnel house drive to weaken Russia, not a serious attempt of Ukraine to defeat Russia in the field. Like I said immoral imperial vipers.
The way for Ukraine to “defeat Russia in the field” is to remain on the defensive until the Russians are able to secure Donetsk/Luhansk, withdraw from Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, declare “victory,” and return to, at worst, “frozen conflict.”
The Ukrainians simply don’t have the mass to hope for much on the offensive. But on the defensive they inflict far more casualties than they take and force the Russians to expend more resources (of which they produce a tiny fraction of that produced by Ukraine’s suppliers) to take ground than the Ukrainians expend defending that ground. It’s really just a matter of letting them wear themselves out until they’re tired of wearing themselves out.
This assumes that the “west” would support such a defensive strategy. Everything we have seen suggests that not to be the case. In fact, the demand for a strong Spring offensive was almost posited as a requirement for continued western support. And remember, at this point, western support pays for the country’s budget as well as all supplies. It is a heavy burden.
No, western support for Ukraine has always been premised for a short sharp russian defeat. We simply don’t even have the hardware to keep supplying Ukraine in many ways … stuff is running out in our own armories.
So Ukraine has to attack and Ukrainian soldiers must be ground up. Megadeath is the plan.
Here’s what I’ve seen that indicates that US/EU/NATO “demand for a strong Spring offensive was almost posited as a requirement for continued western support”:
THIS SPACE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK
I’ve seen a lot of hype about an “offensive.” I’ve seen zero indication that “western support for Ukraine has always been premised for a short sharp russian defeat.”
In point of fact, most of what I’ve seen have been complaints from the warmonger side (pro-Russian as opposed to pro-Ukrainan faction) that Ukraine and its backers are dedicated to dragging this thing out.
Stoltenberg announced in Nov 2022 that Ukraine needs to win to join NATO.
There have been several visits from Congressional and Admin bigwigs to Ukraine telling them that our support may wane and be difficult to justify politically if things devolve into a stalemate that just grinds up money and equipment. Need for demonstrated success is paramount.
US public support has already dropped to 58% … it will very quickly drop to less than 50% if Ukraine starts looking like a sure loser.
etc.
Ukraine needing to win to join NATO (something that it has already de facto done and will never, under any circumstances, be allowed to formally do) doesn’t indicate demand for “a short sharp russian defeat.”
“Demonstrated success” and an “offensive” are two entire different things as well.
There’s a certain amount of hype about the Ukrainians recovering Donetsk/Luhansk (unlikely) and even Crimea (extremely unlikely, verging on impossible), but it doesn’t seem to be said with a straight face.
All the major players presumably understand that absent something really stupid — like the Ukrainians really throwing everything they’ve got into a failed “counter-offensive” that leaves them exposed — this war is going to end with “victory” declarations ringing hollow for both sides.
As related on Moonofalabama from Wash Po article:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/06/14/ukraine-counteroffensive-biden-support/
“As he heads into next year’s reelection campaign, Biden needs a major battlefield victory to show that his unqualified support for Ukraine has burnished U.S. global leadership, reinvigorated a strong foreign policy with bipartisan support and demonstrated the prudent use of American military strength abroad.
…
A muddled outcome of limited gains in Ukraine would provide grist for all of those critiques and further cloud the already murky waters of NATO and European Union debate over future posture toward both Ukraine and Russia. A less than “overwhelming” success would probably also increase pressure in the West to push Kyiv to negotiate a territorial settlement that may not be to its liking.”
OK, so one WaPo columnist has decided she knows what Biden “needs.” And?
One of our congresspeople thinks that way:
“I think there’s going to be a lot riding on the line with this counteroffensive,” McCaul told Bloomberg. “If Ukraine is successful in the eyes of the American people and the world, I think it will be a game-changer for continued support. If they are not, that will also have an impact, in a negative way, though.”
https://news.antiwar.com/2023/05/02/rep-mccaul-says-us-support-for-ukraine-depends-on-counteroffensive/
Heavy burden?
America has send about $75 billion to Ukraine so far.
https://www.cfr.org/article/how-much-aid-has-us-sent-ukraine-here-are-six-charts
That is less than 10% of the US military budget alone.
https://www.defense.gov/Spotlights/FY2023-Defense-Budget/
I would hardly call that a ‘heavy burden’.
America can afford to keep up this level of support for many years with minimal effect on it’s financial situation.
BTW – I don’t agree with the US military aid.
Then call it a “light” burden. It’s $75 billion that could be spent right here in the US. How many bridges could be fixed with $75 billion?
I dunno. Depends on the bridge.
I did not say the money is well spent.
I simply stated that the cost is not a heavy burden on America.
BTW – How many Russian bridges could be fixed if Russia stopped her offensive?
Depends on the bridges. There’d be plenty. We’re talking about $75 billion.
You say the money isn’t well spent and I agree completely. You are right. But it should end right there. The “burden” should not play a role in any consideration as to whether to spend that money. If it isn’t well spent, it shouldn’t be spent at all.
Probably a lot of Russian bridges could be repaired. So, their money isn’t well spent either.
It does seem that one of the Washington Nazi (Nuland & co.) factions is presently giving high consideration to the “frozen conflict option” (continued sanctions and de-coupling, while preparing large Nazi-NATO in Europe (especially “new Europe”) to continue to bleed Russia, while re-booting in ME, India, Africa, Latin Am., Pacific, and stymieing China B&R growth. Almost certainly they don’t intend to walk away.
US leadership hoped for quick collapse of Russian economy after the decoupling from US financial system and from EU market. It never happened. Russian economy, unlike one of NATO countries, is doing very well, the military industry is growing fast and Russia is ready for a long war. In such situation, it is very much important for NATO politicians to have, at least, a tangible success on the battlefield.
After two weeks of the “counteroffensive”, it became obvious that NATO is failing miserably on the battlefield too.
Many in US leadership believe that main danger for US empire is China and yet it is impossible for them to cut the help for Kiev regime. Complete victory of Russian army in Ukraine is too bad for them.
You make a claim that
‘The US knows the Ukrainians cannot take back the land they lost,…‘ and
‘Which is to say, the US knows that Ukraine cannot win,‘, @troyolin:disqus did not make a claim that it was a certainty that the Ukrainians could win or takeback the land they lost, hence the burden of proof is on you – as you are the one taking the affirmative proposition, i.e. that the US knows something.
Troy Olin cannot prove that the US does not know this, as the absence of such a knowledge would not likely be put into writing.
Yet this is what he stated: “And where is your unbiased link that shows factual proof that NATO-backed Ukraine cannot (eventually) take back Zaporizhzhia and Kherson Oblasts?” He is not asking me to prove what the US knows (even though I made a case for just that in my response, as well as a case their military cannot win). He is asking for proof that Ukraine cannot take back the regions in question. True enough he is not making the claim that Ukraine can do so, but he is asking me to prove a negative, which does not compute, thereby lifting from me the burden of proof.
Since you did correctly point out that he was not making a positive claim, coupled with him illogically asking for me to prove a negative, he was not really saying anything at all.
How is asking for proof of what you claimed i.e. that the US knows that Ukraine cannot take back the territory – how is that not what you get from that comment???
Because you said that the US knows that Ukraine cannot do this, if the US knows this, then you must have some evidence of this knowledge – otherwise you are just projecting your ‘knowledge’ on the US – if you make such a claim you need to be able to back it up.
Otherwise you need to say the US must know…
1) you typed: ‘The burden of proof in a debate in on the one taking the affirmative proposition,’
Fine.
Show us all a link from an unbiased source that factually proves this to be so?
2) You typed above: ‘the US knows the Ukrainians cannot take back the land they lost…’
Where is your link that provides unbiased, factual proof of this matter-of-fact statement?
BTW – I GUARANTEE that you cannot provide such a link.
In which case – your statement is nothing but unverified assumptions from a faceless ‘nobody’ on a chat forum.
I already made the point above about what the US knows about Ukraine winning (absent direct NATO involvement). Milley’s comments last fall on negotiating, Milley’s comments in this article, the Discord papers (which we know are true because the US is prosecuting). Go search the net yourself for this publicly available information.
I will also note your qualifying use of “unbiased” which will allow you to weasel out of any acceptance of a fact.
hey – that little squad of about 3 guys who continually argue themselves in circles against you whilst actually saying nothing? their job is to keep you responding to them over and over again. they might even get paid for doing so.
just wash your hands of them.
Probably good advice, but it does keep me sharp, so there is that. In the end, it might be like my reaction to a bowl of candy-I just cannot help myself. 🙂 Peace
like a bowl of candy – good one.
you seem pretty sharp to me. more Peace
Thank you.
And very well said, imo.
“Eventually” is a big word. At this juncture, NATO doesn’t have the resources to replace the equipment already sent to Ukraine. There is little doubt that production can be ramped up. But that won’t happen for months. Meanwhile, Ukraine has lost thousands of soldiers in the last 10 days. The loss of trained soldiers will take even longer to replace than the equipment. Zelensky himself warned yesterday that a Ukrainian loss could force US to choose between ‘collapse of NATO’ or war. He says a lot of things. But this comment sounds particularly ominous.
https://thehill.com/policy/international/4052645-zelensky-warns-ukrainian-loss-could-force-us-to-join-war/
From your above post:
‘At this juncture, NATO doesn’t have the resources to replace the equipment already sent to Ukraine.’
That is not true.
NATO could EASILY replace Ukraine’s combat losses.
For example?
America has over 3,000 Abrams tanks in storage.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_equipment_of_the_United_States_Army#Vehicles
These could replace ALL 500+ tank losses that Ukraine has suffered so far. And with tanks of FAR superior capabilities.
https://www.oryxspioenkop.com/2022/02/attack-on-europe-documenting-ukrainian.html
Combat aircraft:
Ukraine has lost 64 fixed-wing, combat aircraft so far.
There are FAR more than that in F-16’s alone that could almost immediately fill in for those aircraft.
Plus, more F-16’s are being produced with a second production line recently opened.
https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/2619834/air-force-opens-new-f-16-production-line-for-foreign-military-sales/
NATO could EASILY replace every piece of equipment that Ukraine has so far lost in Ukraine.
And with weapons systems that are generally much better than the ones they are replacing.
Whereas Russia can only depend on their own dwindling reserves for replacements.
Plus, their economy is in a financial depression.
https://tradingeconomics.com/russia/gdp-growth-annual
Where as NATO nations (overall) are not.
In a war of attrition (which it is quickly becoming)?
If NATO keeps backing Ukraine?
Russia CANNOT realistically win.
The US cannot provide Abrams tanks till fall. Germany has announced that it doesn’t have the means to replace Leopard 2 tanks at this time. NATO is scouring other countries to find artillery rounds. Biden currently thinks it’s unwise to send aircraft.
You are correct to say that NATO could. I have little doubt that more is coming… eventually. But if they could do it now, they would.
No offense, but of course they could deliver them sooner if they wanted.
Imho, it is impossible that the tanks in US storage require 9 months of refitting.
If America needed them for it’s own defense? Do you honestly believe it would take NINE months to refit only 31 of them?
The Russians took mere weeks to get their T-55’s ready for combat. And they had been sitting around for decades.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/03/23/russia-t54-t55-old-tanks/
Clearly, America is dragging their feet on this.
They do not want to send ‘big ticket’ Abrams and F-16’s until they absolutely have to. Probably because they realize that this is an escalation that even the neocon-dominated Biden WH wants to avoid.
As explained in this article from last year…America does NOT want to arm Ukraine any more than they absolutely have to.
https://gwynnedyer.com/2022/ukraine-rockets-and-policy/
Tanks are poorly armored on their tops.Evidently,a relatively cheap drone or antitank rocket can destroy a tank and its crew fairly easily. Warfare may have changed.
True, but there are countermeasures for this.
Like Trophy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trophy_(countermeasure)
https://www.reddit.com/r/CallOfDutyMobile/comments/f71sof/quick_question_does_the_trophy_system_destroy/
Also, radio signals can be jammed.
And an EM pulse could bring down a drone.
https://www.thedefensepost.com/2022/07/07/russia-electromagnetic-weapon/
But yes, I believe tanks are most vulnerable to top attacks.
That is why – apparently – a HUGE number of tanks have been destroyed by artillery in Ukraine.
big-ass article complete with a map.
get ready for the Ukraine counter-attack = Operation Blah Blah Blah.
The Biden administration has been pushing for the violent counteroffensive as it’s explicitly opposed to a ceasefire and peace talks, a position Secretary of State Antony Blinken outlined earlier this month
there is the take-away right there.
The point of the US comments seems to be to guarantee that Russia knows that the US will never stop hating Russia, that we will never honor an agreement with them, and that this is a forever war.
The sad thing as an American is that pro Russian sites give more detailed and honest information about the war than anything the US says.
The US reports on bad news only a few days after the fact, and in very brief terms. Good news becomes exaggerated and bragged about for days.
The only two things I look for nowadays are: details about the military conflict in East Ukraine, and details about how other nations are reacting to the conflict and to each other.
The US is not looking good in either.
The US does NOT ‘hate Russia’.
Sure, there are lots of American neocons who still see Russia as an enemy (stupidly).
But most Americans do NOT ‘hate’ Russia.
They certainly don’t like them.
“Seven-in-Ten Americans Now See Russia as an Enemy”
https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2022/04/06/seven-in-ten-americans-now-see-russia-as-an-enemy/
Americans have been conditioned to hate Russians and Chinese for such a long time that it’s hard to see any way out. The empire will collapse and the people will turn against their leaders when the economic pain starts to bite. We don’t know to what political upheavals the collapse of the empire will lead to, but hatred for Russia may become secondary, or the new leaders may need Russia again to direct the discontent of the people.
Once again, only a “true believer” thinks the USA hates Russia. This is more likely the case..
“There are, of course, rare leaders such as Lincoln, Gandhi, even F.D.R., Churchill, Nehru, and [Trump]. They do not hesitate to harness man’s hungers and fears to weld a following and make it zealous unto death in service of a holy cause; but unlike a Hitler, a Stalin, or even a Luther and a Calvin, they are not tempted to use the slime of frustrated souls as mortar in the building of a new world… [except for Trump]” – ´Eric Hoffer
“Pro-Russian sites”. C’mon, you can’t be serious. The spin will happen on both sides. There’s open-source intel that says Ukraine is advancing. (You just choose to ignore it.)
You got that right – “Operation Blah Blah Blah.” NATO’s PR war.
Many sources now day that Ukrainian advances are only into Russian artillery range area, snd are still far, far away from Russian defence line. And those gains are just for a while before being forced to withdraw. The tral significwnce of those vehicles and tanks Russia is showing is in their condition. Engines stil running. The equioment seems abandoned.
There are also stories easily refutable. Example of Ukrainians shooting down 4 soldiers who disobeyed by going back to save a soldier left behing wounded. The macho military story of discoline is meant to dismiss Russian news that those 4 contacted Russians that rescued the wounded and all deserted.
Stories of disobedience are rampant in Ukraine.
Ukraine is essentially probong the entire front to identify weaknesses. But it may have hard time moving forces to any area quickly as Rusdia has good surveilance of their movements.
Julio might say it’s a ploy and the Ukrainians have the Russians right where they want them. Before you know it, the Russians will be hightailing it back across the border all the way to Moscow.
Julio has really good weed.
He’s way past the good weed stage. .
Perhaps he’s making hash from the trim?
What!? Good weed doesn’t produce that line of thinking.
Julio smokes dispensary weed and believes it’s good at the low 20’s
Ok then. 😉
When your own varieties are advertised to push 32% one looks down on that lowly stuff Julio imbides in that obviously hambers the poor guy’s thinking skills even at those low levels…..
But then too much oxygen hurts his head.
What is the fascination with high THC levels? My wife recently got her card and is experimenting with different strains/cannabinoids for e.g. pain relief (she has Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome).
I grow stuff that’s above 30%.
Those varieties yield low, and takes longer to finish so dispensories do not offer it that much.
Once you have imbided, you will know the difference grasshopper….lol.
Couch-lock is a real possibilty with those levels.
Then there’s THC crystals; I’m really hoping someone from Portland will be at this weekend’s festival…….
I’m unlikely to imbibe much. I’ve never been big on weed. A friend used to make some cookies that didn’t get me high but did help me sleep. Wish she hadn’t moved away. I’ve been meaning to look into CBN, but I just don’t find THC much fun. My recreational pharmaceutical of choice, when I can get it, is LSD.
You should be at the Briar Patch this weekend.
It won’t be as psychedelic as the Grateful Dead festival but if you will have old school LSD and shrooms will be there.
The E won’t be the old school Arizona desert stuff from the early 80’s but will be the sketchy pills. So thats for others……lol.
I’m behaving myself unless there’s someone with marching powder but that will be more the upcoming country music festival for that. Imagine that executive you work for who is in his 50’s with a trophy girl friend in her 30’s who live on the local lake in a million dollar house. That is who attends that one. The Saturday after party in the campground involves a flatbed trailer with three stripper poles and very drunk cowboys and girls giving “R” rated shows on dares.
It is absolutely crazy.
I actually got chaperoned at that one when someone stopped by at 3:30am as I was trying to pass out because it really would have been awkward if she had not had her friends in tow when she got me out of bed to get high.
I’m pretty sure it was their idea, not hers, to come along to keep her out of trouble.
Iowa may be farmers but we do party.
33
LSD? Holy shit, at your age? I once did acid in my 40’s after not doing any for about 10 years. Big mistake.
I used to do it a couple of times a year. Thought of it as a biennial version of “spring cleaning” for my brain.
Then I moved, and didn’t know anyone in my new area to get it from. I finally found someone, but he moved. So I’ve only had it a couple of times in the last decade. Which may be why I’m so damn grumpy.
But stuff in the 20’s is plenty a good buzz. Like I’ve said before, I use Fem seeds and those really high THC level seeds do give me headaches. I mean growing wise and not after indulging.
Growing them is not easy, Gorrilla Glue #4 is notorious for herming (going male) thereby ruining a grow but when that crosses with other 30%ers you get some good seeds.
I have 5 different mother plants from commercial seed growers for clones and a couple others from the ounces of seeds that I have after that girl went tranny on me and pollinated a 3×3 SOG (around 45 plants)
I lost a tent out of 6 but got alot of seeds…..lol.
another 33?
Perhaps…
I wont say that because i dont live in a fantasy land. Im realistic and base my assessments on military experience.
Ukrainians dont make excuses. They just fight for their land.
You just characterized the Russians.
You see, it is the Russians who claim to be regrouping or setting up traps or doing a goodwill gesture every tine the lose ground.
And right now, the Russians are losing ground EVERYWHERE wait til Ukraine commits the 9th and 10th reserve corps. Putin will have a heart attack. Peehaps you too.
I used to take acid too, but quit a long time ago..
LOL i got that one
Looney Tunes.
Well, you keep your head up Putin’s rear end. I’ll make the Looney Tune jokes later
Lol, ok Julio. Keep on pushing that ‘Ukraine is Winning’ narrative.
Another cluster fook posing as an attack. The Russians are killing the poor Ukraine attempted counteroffensive. It’s sad 2C the poor UkiEs getting slaughtered in some backwoods attempt to regain the WEST’s world stage hegemony… !!!!!! Its gone, get overt!!!!!!
Milley is headed for a job with some major “defense” industry/MIC Corporation. So…. Articles should read: “Milley HOPES for a long very violent Ukrainian counteroffensive.”
Send these two bastards to Ukraine to the front lines…
…along with all of the pro-Ukraine CONgress-critters and the entire executive branch!
The last couple of days Ukrainian/NATO attacks were much weaker than at the beginning of the “counteroffensive”. NATO officials can lie as much as they wish but the plain fact is that Ukrainian/NATO forces in the first two weeks of the “counteroffensive” never managed to approach even the first line of Russian defense. The “piecemeal tactics” is the only possible way to carry on with the offensive because the greater concentration of the troops makes them easier target for Russian air forces. Ukrainian/NATO anti-air defense is crippled and not efficient.
https://www.businessinsider.com/why-ukraine-isnt-using-nato-weapons-yet-2023-6
And how much ground did Russia gain during their ‘MASSIVE winter offensive’?
Next to nothing.
Russia cannot take Ukraine so long as NATO has the latter’s back.
It’s obvious.
Plus, the Russian economy is falling apart.
https://tradingeconomics.com/russia/gdp-growth-annual
I guarantee you that average Russians will not put up with economic hardship and tens of thousands of dead brothers/sons/husbands for a stalled war in Ukraine forever.
Guaranteed.
Once again – I support neither side in this terrible/useless war.
I wasn’t aware of any Russian offensive this winter. The most significant activity this year has been the conquest of Bakhmut.
See. You’re in the dark about what’s happening. (Oh, yeah. Ukraine is advancing around Bakhmut also.)
It would be better to say that Ukraine is “trying” to advance around Bakhmut. The AFU has made some gains. But, for the most part, they are being pushed back each time.
BTW I track events on the ground almost every day.
“Some gains” are gains (and I also have been tracking things on the ground as well).
With the Russians it is “you get what you see.” The double speak of the Perf. Albion doesn’t make any sense to them. When they say their aim is to demilitarize it means they want to demilitarize, ie. destroy the enemy’s military potential. It doesn’t mean they want to conquer land. Russia is the biggest country on the planet. They have more land than they need.
Destroying the enemy’s military potential is easiest when you don’t have to attack because the attacking force always loses more troops. Thus, since Zelensky declared that he wanted to defend Bakhmut at all costs, the obvious strategy for the Russians was to turn Bakhmut into a “meatgrinder” into which the Ukrainians kept on feeding their troops to be slaughtered. The Russians never closed the cauldron to allow the Ukrainians to feed new troops into the meatgrinder. In the end, Ukraine lost 50,000 in Bakhmut.
“Destroying the enemy’s military potential is easiest when you don’t have to attack because the attacking force always loses more troops. ”
Correct.
“Thus, since Zelensky declared that he wanted to defend Bakhmut at all costs, the obvious strategy for the Russians was to”
According to you, attack.
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/petraeus-deems-russian-winter-offensive-a-failure-ukraine/
https://www.usnews.com/news/world-report/articles/2022-12-16/russia-seen-as-preparing-for-massive-winter-offensive-in-ukraine-including-new-run-on-kyiv
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2023/02/08/smashed-by-ukrainian-mines-and-artillery-russias-winter-offensive-just-ground-to-a-halt-outside-vuhledar/?sh=12b8ffe75558
https://time.com/6256328/russia-ukraine-war-invasion-troops-offensive/
There was huge anticipation of this offensive.
But the fact was that it gained little ground.
Time isn’t on the NATO warhawks side, as the year drags on nation after nation partied to the alliance in one shape or form is entering economic recession.
There’s a high probability the us will experience such a event, coupled with a election year and a clearly defined government wide attempt to suppress a highly popular ex president from gaining office (love it or hate it)
The Ukrainians are very childish in thinking to assume this will go on forever especially those who know they are corrupt. The clearest example is the south Vietnamese govt which was entirely corrupt and assumed American support forever.
Ukraine’s own spring offensive has become a summer offensive. I think Russia is waiting for it to end before they launch their own.
It is much easier to destroy Ukrainian/NATO troops in the open field than in the towns where they are hiding behind the civilian population, as usually do. So, of course, Russians will delay their counteroffensive as long as it makes sense.
You are so full of it. Started out pretending to be objective to full blown Russia kool aid drinker.
Where did you learned about massive Russian winter offensive? There was an offensive only in Bakhmut. And even there, the main goal was not to capture the town but to destroy as much as possible of Ukrainian/NATO troops. Anyway the town was also captured in the end. On other directions, particular in the south, Russian army was busy with building the defense lines. Everyone knew that Ukrainian/NATO generals are planning a big offensive in the direction of Azov sea with purpose to cut Crimea from Russian mainland. That is exactly what Ukrainian/NATO army is trying to achieve now.
You are right. There was no major Russian counteroffensive because the second largest army in now just Ukraine is incapable of doing so.
Even with full Nato support, Ukraine has no chance of beating the Russians. That was clear when the West aborted the Istanbul peace talks in the Spring of 2022. That was clear when Ukraine failed to implement Minsk II. That was clear when the US toppled the Ukrainian president in 2014. That was clear when Bush tried to pull Ukraine into Nato in 2008. That was clear when the US topple the Ukrainian president in 2004. Yet the Neocons hate Russia so much that they will sacrifice us all to satisfy their lust for blood.
I suspect that even Zelensky has come to realize that the Biden administration is not even slightly concerned about the toll this war is taking/has taken on the people of Ukraine.
If he has an exit strategy, it will involve putting the interests of his own people above the interests of the Biden administration by cutting a deal with Russia.
Biden, like Trump, is concentrating on staying out of jail.
Tell me more.
Ukraine has corruption problems and Biden was involved in the coup there along with several others. I do not know details but followed the coup and saw Biden on 2014 or 2015 news in Ukraine. My impression is those who have served in US government during eternal war decades are all tainted and what they say is worthless.
Undersecretary of State Victory Nuland planned the 2014 coup in Ukraine. According to her own words, she got VP Joe Biden to “midwife” the coup. Let’s make no mistake, this is Biden’s baby. He’ll nurture it as long as he can.
WW2 has shown that offensives in that region beginning in mid-June and likely to last a long time, are also likely to fail because of the rainy season.
According to my youtube feed (what they choose to show me), it’s been one route after another in favor of Ukraine, complete detachment from reality.
Perhaps cause it is the side that got invaded over BS pretenses.
But just stick to RT news and TASS and you’ll be in the reality you like.
Bear predicts a very long and violent Russian response.
I have said it before.
So long as NATO fully supports Ukraine.
Russia CANNOT win this war.
They simply cannot even come close to matching NATO’s firepower/manufacturing capabilities.
Plus, this war has forced Russia into an economic depression.
https://tradingeconomics.com/russia/gdp-growth-annual
No doubt the pro-Russian bots on here disagree with this.
No doubt they are wrong.
My only real fear is if Ukraine tries to take back Crimea – which is clearly part of Russia now. That is obviously a Russian red line.
For the record – I support neither side.
Ukraine was DEAD wrong for trying to force Luhansk and Donetsk to stay post-2014.
And Russia was DEAD wrong to attack Ukraine proper in 2022.
In April 2023, the IMF reported that the war erased the estimated growth for the Russian economy this year and adjusted for 2024, although it is still expected to grow 1.3 percent.
As you know, Russia’s economy is highly dependent on the sale of energy. There is little doubt that the sanctions have taken a toll. But the health of the global economy is probably Russia’s biggest worry. When economies contract, they use less energy, and that translates into less energy revenue. Much of Europe is already in recession, and things aren’t looking that good for the USA. But it remains to be seen how China and India fare in the coming year.
I suspect that climate change has a few surprises in store for several countries, and that the loss of fertilizer and grain from Europe’s breadbasket will continue to weaken economies, especially in Europe and Africa
https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2023/04/12/tr41123-weo-press-briefing-transcript#:~:text=IMF%20has%20erased%20the%20estimated,in%202024%20for%205.8%20percent.
Wow! Silly Milley must have forgotten all war is ‘very violent’.
Silly Milly by ‘Blue Swede’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vX9TabLbLGw
“Milley Predicts Long, ‘Very Violent’ Ukrainian Counteroffensive”
Very long! About 6 to 8 weeks until Ukraine loses another 100,000 troops KIA and has to capitulate.
With any luck , Russia will turn it a meat grinder for Ukraine. Then when they’ve exhausted themselves. Go straight for Zelensky in Kyiv
Saw a video the other day where it talks about how Russia is able to deploy mines on the battlefield through plane and helicopter. They drop the mines behind the attacking troops which means either way they go they face an attack from the front from Russia or have to retreat across mine laden fields. If this is the case, what a Hobson’s Choice. The poor bastards on both sides pay the price for the decisions of the politicians. We need a new way forward but with human nature being what it is, there are always going to be a small group of psychopaths making the decisions that affect us all.
Mines can also be deployed via artillery and Ukraine has the same capability.
Germany handed over 18 Leopard 2’s to the Ukraine. Of those, at least 15 are already destroyed/captured/combat ineffective and Germany says they can’t spare any more. A few weeks is not enough time to train a competent tank crew, let alone a combined arms unit that is- if we’re being honest- totally lacking its air cover and air defense. Milley is right about one thing, though: this will be a very violent counteroffensive for the Ukrainians, who are losing men and machines at unsustainable rates. And they’ll continue to sacrifice themselves for Zelensky’s agenda- whatever that may be- until they get it through their heads that this is a fight they cannot win. Even if Russia threw down a literal Iron Curtain and enforced a Demilitarized Zone, what ‘win’ is in it for the Ukrainian fighters? A wrecked nation that continues to be corrupt to the core, but now saturated with very lethal Western weaponry ripe for terrorism and/or the black market? Milley, and the rest of his fellow travelers need to get with the program and start looking at how to end this, not make it last longer. There are a lot of fine young men- on both sides, dead and alive- who deserve better than this insanity.
Not to get ethnically cleansed and even more corrupt under Russian rule?
The goal of the west is to deprive the Russians of the ability to project power beyond their borders or force them to make peace that involves leaving all of Ukraine including Crimea and the Donbas. Whether the Ukrainians are still in the fight or not, i.e. if Ukraine decided to agree to terms forced upon them by Putin the western sanctions will continue.
Agreed – the young men on the Ukrainian side though died for a worthwhile cause – to defend against ethnic cleansing and their right to self determination, culture and identity – the Russians dies for the cause of ending those things. This is not me referencing western propaganda, this is literally what the Russians debate on state TV:
Marc Milley together with every single leader of all Nato countries needs to be put behind bars for crimes against humanity because they made Ukraine commit suicide in a fight it cannot win. I have no hope for the West. Western society that permits this sort of crime is rotten through and through.
It is rare for a defeated army to suffer 100% loss. At some figure around 50-33% it becomes “combat ineffective.”
True, the German Army in its worst extremity managed to regroup smaller fragments into “battle groups,” but most armies can’t do that — it was a function of years of battle experience and an army culture to such groupings. It was not common even for Germany except in late stages of its worst defeats, so it really just proves the rule that when losses reach 50-33% range, it is already defeat. It never gets to 100% loss.
The Ukraine Army is already half way there, to that measure of defeat. It has had 30% loss in the attacking units, and its whole army has been rebuilt many times from near 50% losses.
Its newest attacking units have not even reached the first line of the defense, and they are each half way there.
The rest of the Ukraine Army has suffered losses on that scale too, repeatedly, which is why it was forming new brigades, trained in Western countries with new Western equipment.
Ukraine’s army is defeated, and the West just denies the reality of what has happened, with happy talk and spin.
Ukraine has no defense industry. PR is its defense industry substitute. Without that PR, it has no army. So it is a master of PR. That does not make it true. PR is very rarely true — it would hardly be needed if it were true. The guy boasting most is the one who can’t perform, not the one who just did it.
It’s already over. All that’s left on the table for NATO is to launch a few missiles into ZNPP.
Milley predicts this because he knows they are doing everything they possibly can to ensure its a long ‘Very Violent’ Ukrainian Counter Offensive.
Hundreds of billions have been spent, hundreds of thousands have been murdered. The Western Powers ethnic cleansing and genocide will continue.
Is it your claim that we are helping Russia – just asking because they are the ones openly debating ethnic cleansing and genocide and that on Russian state TV – while there is no evidence to suggest that the Ukrainians have been engaged in ethnic cleansing or genocide.
Years ago, a Ukrainian PM said she wanted to put a bullet through the head of every Russian, including the millions of ethnic Russians living in Ukraine. While the Russians have always insisted on the brotherly ties between the Slavic people of Ukraine and Russia, Ukrainian nationalists have for decades preached ethnic hatred against the Russian “subhumans”. The Ukrainian nationalists have slaughtered thousands of Russian speakers in Ukraine, made Ukraianian Nazis and members of the Waffen SS national heroes, destroyed millions of Russian language books, issued a presidential decree that makes ethnic Russians in Ukraine second class citizens, etc.
There are hotheads in Russia like everywhere else, who consider Putin a pro-Western traitor. But they most certainly don’t represent Russian policy. Even by N@zi standards, Ukrainian nationalists are off the scale. Everybody knows that. Even Russian N@zi like the WotanJugend move to Ukraine because that’s where they find the support they need to thrive.
Oh dear the level of information!
The first clip appears to be a Russian fake – even I can spot all the cuts in this video – beware of fakes!
https://www.stopfake.org/en/weekly-newscast-from-stopfake-team-number-20/
http://www.juliadavisnews.com/articles-about-russian-propaganda/russian-propaganda-fake-ukrainian-journalist-did-not-call-for-donbass-genocide/
There have not been any female PM (Prime Ministers) of Ukraine – so who are you referring to?
The second clip is of one privately owned channel in Ukraine the host Fakhrudin Sharafmal – yes very nationalist Ukrainian though not a Ukrainian by ethnicity – did claim that he would personally kill Russians (including babies) but that is a far cry from genocide being debated on Russian State TV.
Add to this that privately owned (very nationalist) channel published an apology – it was harshly criticized by the Ukrainian authority on the matter:
https://cje.org.ua/en/news/regarding-the-behavior-of-fakhrudin-sharafmal-on-the-air-of-24-tv-channel/
I’ve not heard about the Russians publishing any apology for the video I linked – have you?
And the final clip is again 8 years old and while it is not about genocide it too clearly violates good ethical standards, but is this really what you can put up as a defense for the Russians in 2023 debating Genocide on Russian State TV with no criticism from any official authorities and no apologies?
They may have, though not on any state TV channels and not without facing Ukrainian criticism as clearly shown here at least not since Zelenskyy was elected.
No they have not, thousands have been killed in the Russian instigated war in the Donbas – if you want to make the claim that they have you have to provide evidence/links. As for making Stepan Bandera a hero – yes they did/do but he was not a NAZI but a Ukrainian nationalist:
Again the idea that Stepan Bandera was a NAZI is not supported by the evidence, the NAZI’s saw Ukrainians as sub human Slavs!
Yes as you indeed exemplified with the Ukrainian tv host, but the hotheads I quote gets air time on Russian state TV and face no official criticism.
I would hope not, but then we find the Wagner group in the center of the Russian efforts in Ukraine – created by Dmitry Utkin a person with Nazi tattoos – and a ultra nationalist (you would call him a NAZI were he a Ukrainian).
Steady progress? They haven’t even reached the first line of defense. They are going back and forth in the first buffer zone. The whole purpose was to push to the Azov coast to cut “the land bridge”.
US/NATO has major problems. An insurgency against NATO is developing in Latvia. On June 13th a Finish NATO fuel tanker burnt in the town of Salaspils.
Today in the news we see NATO military equipment is on fire again in Latvia. On June 18, a Scania truck with a trailer carrying an all-terrain vehicle Bandvagn 206 was burnt near the capital Riga.
The longer this illegal aggressive war (supreme international crime) against Russia goes on the more the unrest will spread.
The big news from the African peace delegation in Russia was Putin showing the previous signed peace treaty agreement that lead to the withdrawal of Russian troops from Kiev.
This was the Turkish peace deal that Boris Johnson undid for the US and NATO. This signed agreement was called “The Treaty on the permanent neutrality and security guarantees of Ukraine” and it had been signed by the Ukrainian delegation and guaranteed by Russia, China, Germany and France.
Putin then went on to say that after we pulled our troops away from Kiev, as we had promised to do, the Kiev authorities had tossed their commitment into the dustbin of history.
But Russia is the aggressor right? US/NATO is fighting an illegal aggressive war against Russia……The Supreme International Crime according to Nuremberg.
So everything the West told us about the Siege of Kiev is a lie. Its all just big lies after big lies.
US/NATO has major problems. An insurgency against NATO is developing in Latvia. On June 13th a Finish NATO fuel tanker burnt in the town of Salaspils.
Today in the news we see NATO military equipment is on fire again in Latvia. On June 18, a Scania truck with a trailer carrying an all-terrain vehicle Bandvagn 206 was burnt near the capital Riga.
There was also reports that the Edge Autonomy plant which produced UAVs for the Ukrainian military was burned down near Riga in February.
The longer this illegal aggressive war (supreme international crime) against Russia goes on the more the unrest will spread.
I still get a chuckle/eye roll out of Milley’s statement that the offensive will be ‘very violent’.
What military offensive is not ‘very violent’?