Besides that, it gave the media an excuse to cover up for her husband's trial and the fact that he dumped a huge amount of semiconductor stocks before her announcement. Now that they tanked, he has already bought it all back for way less than he sold it. Classic pump and dump right in front of God and everybody. And she can drink all the way home on taxpayer-supplied hootch.
ALERT RUSSIA INVADES UKRAINE - Consolidated Thread
- Thread starter danielboon
- Start date
Hmmmmpphh! How DARE he talk about Victoria Nuland like that, after all she's done for him?
vector7
Dot Collector
UKRAINE LOOKING-FOR ‘DIRECT TALKS’ WITH CHINA’S XI TO HELP END RUSSIA’S INVASION OF UKRAINE - SCMP
View: https://twitter.com/FirstSquawk/status/1554967250075271168?t=d-5T74BFs-36Cb_psnqfqg&s=19
View: https://twitter.com/FirstSquawk/status/1554967250075271168?t=d-5T74BFs-36Cb_psnqfqg&s=19
wait-n-see
Veteran Member
Looks like August is shaping up to be very bad news for Ukraine.
accountant
Contributing Member
Okay, I know I shouldn't be making light of this.
Many people have lost their homes, their loved ones and their lives. It's a terrible thing that's happening there.
But....is it just just me but does the woman in the video look like Ukrainian Waldo?
A.
So Xi is going to talk to Zelensky after Pelosi pissed on Xi's shoes?UKRAINE LOOKING-FOR ‘DIRECT TALKS’ WITH CHINA’S XI TO HELP END RUSSIA’S INVASION OF UKRAINE - SCMP
View: https://twitter.com/FirstSquawk/status/1554967250075271168?t=d-5T74BFs-36Cb_psnqfqg&s=19
That should be fun to watch.
It's been a long and busy day, and I don't have a lot of patience to do a sentence-by-sentence straightening out of this misguided author with his wishful thinking and hopium. Everything good is fixin' to happen soon if the US (and the rest of NATO) would just get off its blessed assurance and send more money, weapons and people. Don't worry about how much. Just send more. It reminds me of an old rig floor saying among roughnecks, "Too much (pipe) dope is never enough!"
The State of the Russo-Ukrainian War
The TELLMES tell us that Russia is losing
In the last two posts, I have tried to explain what this war is and is not about. It is not about Nazis, nukes, and NATO; it is about self-rule and survival. Now I turn to the question of what is happening on the battlefield.
In my view, what is happening is that Russia is losing.
Russia's decision to invade Ukraine was a crime, but it was also a mistake. It is hard for any government to admit such a thing (one still awaits a judgement on America's Iraq War debacle). But it is particularly hard for a tyrant whose power rests on his image as a strong man with infallible judgement. Russia has reached the stage in the war in which it is fighting because not to fight would be embarrassing. It has reached this stage quickly.
The war only ends when Putin realizes that Russia is losing it, in the precise sense that he realizes that his personal position is threatened. In other words, it is not a direct translation from territory held or lost, or from casualties taken or inflicted, but a political conjuncture that is hard to seize precisely. Most likely, Russian defeat looks like Ukrainian battlefield momentum that changes the mood in Russia and creates visible tension within the Russian state, thereby forcing Putin to change his story. Is that possible?
It is certainly possible for Putin to change his story. He does that all the time. Indeed, it is how he rules. He changed his story the last time he invaded Ukraine and failed to meet his objectives.
The shift from "the invasion of Ukraine is impossible" to "the invasion of Ukraine is inevitable" this February took place with Orwellian élan. He could reverse the narrative again (so long as things don't get too far out of control). But he won't change his story until he has to, and only Ukrainian progress will force him to do so.
Is it possible for the Ukrainians to gain the necessary momentum on the battlefield? I think that this is likely, but first I want to acknowledge something very basic. Wars are predictably unpredictable. They take place over time and on terrain, on bodies and in minds, in realms not easily captured in maps or in textbooks — and some unexpected development can intrude from some odd angle and change everything.
I believe, though, that it is most likely that Ukraine will win this war, on the basis of seven underlying factors that tend to decide the form of armed conflicts: time, economics, logistics, landscape, mode of combat, ethos, and strategy (the TELLMES). In the case of this war, we also have to consider the wild card of international public opinion.
In discussing each one of the TELLMES, I will also clarify how matters might turn a different way than I expect, making a Russian victory more likely. Then you can make up your own minds about my judgement. My thinking about all this comes from a couple of sources: my reading of military history over the decades, and my attention to the Russian and Ukrainian sources that I follow on this war. Readers might want to compare what I say with the conclusions of proper military historians -- Lawrence Freedman would be a good start.
Time. Russia was banking on a quick victory. When the quick victory is not produced, and the enemy is not humiliated, then time asserts itself, and other unforeseen factors come into play. The longer a war goes on, the more the advantages that a larger power has (or seems to have) will dissipate.
Economics. Russia is a far larger economy than Ukraine. The sanctions on Russia, in my judgement at least, will begin to matter soon, as the Ukrainian army begins to exhibit a technological superiority that Russia cannot match without (sanctioned) imports.
Russia has done much to destroy the Ukrainian economy. But Ukraine is supported by western economic power, which dwarfs both economies together. In the Second World War, not just the British but also the Soviets depended upon the American economy (a lesson that Russians have actively forgotten). In this war, American and European economic power is on the side of the Ukrainians.
But economics depends upon politics. For economics to be decisive, governments (especially the one in Berlin) have to be willing to use their economic power creatively and quickly, in ways that would be inappropriate in peacetime. German leaders need to be thinking less about building a German army in five years, and more about can be sent to Ukraine in five weeks and what can be built for Ukraine in five months.
The most impressive economies in the history of the world need to prove that they can produce, for example, artillery pieces and shells on a schedule (Poland seems to have understood this).
Logistics. Ukraine is fighting the war on its own territory, which gives it logistical advantages. Soldiers and supplies do not have to be transported over great distances. Ukrainians in uniform can generally count on support from local people and from local NGOs.
Russian logistics were disastrous in the northern theater of the war in February and March, as Russia invaded from Belarus and tried and failed to take Kyiv. Russian logistics are simpler now, in the Donbas, because eastern Ukraine is contiguous with Russia, and southern Ukraine can be reached from Crimea and the Black Sea, which Russia controls. But those connections can be challenged, and indeed broken, with the right weapons.
Landscape. I can't help but notice that Russia was largely unable to take much advantage of the comparably favorable terrain of southeastern Ukraine in May and June, at a time when Ukraine did not deploy large numbers of long-range weapons received from partners. In the north Russian soldiers had to deal with natural barriers such as hills and forests. In the southeast this is not case -- and yet even so Russian progress has been very slow. And now those weapons are coming.
Mode of combat. Russian soldiers do not like to get close to Ukrainian soldiers. Russian warfare depends on artillery, on killing from a great distance. The Russians shell a position until it is unrecognizable, and then claim the rubble. This kills civilians, flattens cities, and makes whole regions wastelands, but no one in the Russian system cares about that. Ballistics comes down to a kind of math, and so far the Russians have had the advantages: more artillery pieces, more shells, sites that are out of reach.
But if the Russian advantage in artillery disappears, the war changes character. Ukraine is now getting the long-range, accurate weapons to hit Russian ammunition dumps. Russia can adjust to this, but only in ways that slow the distribution of ammunition, and thus the firing of artillery. If the right kinds of weapons continue to be delivered, Ukraine might soon be in a position to dictate the mode of combat. Russians are unlikely to fight well if they have to fight close. If Ukraine gains the advantage in artillery, we may see slow Russian retreats as commanders find themselves unable to rally troops for close combat.
Ethos. I am going to say "ethos" rather than "morale" here, since what I have in mind has deeper foundations than the mood, which can and does alter from day to day.
In the end, Russians can always retreat to Russia, and one does get the impression that many of them want to. At some point, Russian commanders might make the very reasonable point to their civilian superior that that they have many other responsibilities beyond Ukraine. In the clips that I hear, Russian commanders do not really seem to know why they are in Ukraine.
Russian soldiers, by all accounts, including those of Russian military bloggers, are not highly motivated. Phone intercepts (admittedly selective) suggest a force that is happy to loot, but not to advance. Neither the Russian leadership nor the Russian population seems to care much about the tens of thousands of killed and maimed Russian soldiers, but soldiers themselves care about returning alive.
The Ukrainians, on the other hand, have nowhere else to go. The country attacking them has leaders that have openly threatened their extermination. Ukrainian soldiers often have a highly articulate account of what makes their country different from Russia. They know what they are fighting for.
Strategy. The initial Russian invasion was based upon Putin's faulty premises: that the Ukrainian state is some kind of foreign or elite imposition, and that the Ukrainian people will welcome its destruction and embrace Russian soldiers as brothers.
The Russian "reasons" for fighting the war do not prepare the way for victory, but they do prepare the way for atrocity: the official line is still "denazification and demilitarization," as the foreign minister just emphasized, which means the elimination or humiliation of people Russians associate with the Ukrainian nation and state.
"Denazification and demilitarization" can however only define how the war is fought, not how it will end. The Ukrainian nation and state have been altered by this war, but not in a way that benefits Russia. They have been confirmed.
An image from the Odessa military governor of the raising of the Ukrainian flag on Snake Island.
Russia tried these last two months to encircle a section of the Ukrainian army in Donbas, and largely failed. It did take some territory in the region (Luhansk and Donbas oblasts), but not much. Luhansk oblast is now totally or almost totally under Russian control, but about half of Donetsk oblast is not. Most of the territory that Russia has occupied during this war was won in the first four weeks -- indeed, if you start the clock from the end of March, Ukraine has taken back more territory than it has lost (most of it north of Kyiv, but some around Kharkiv and Kherson, plus Snake Island).
Sergei Shoigu, the Russian defense minister, just called for more intense Russian attacks "in all directions," but it is not clear what this means, or how it will be achieved, or how it amounts to a strategy. Like Putin, Shoigu has no military background; he is more of a public relations specialist.
The Russian plan at this point seems to be to destroy the Ukrainian economy, to terrorize civilians with missile attacks on cities, to cut energy supplies to Europeans, and to starve Africans and Asians by blockading food exports, and hope that somehow all of the suffering lines up in Russia's favor. In other words, much of the Russian strategy for the war in Ukraine is to mount a one-country blockade of the world.
The Ukrainian plan, as far as I can surmise, seems to be to protect the physical and social existence of Ukraine, an effort that has been successful, and to counter-attack in order to win back the fertile land and strategic territory of the south (Kherson oblast), which would also break Russian supply lines and any residual image of Russian invincibility in the Russian mind.
I think that strategy matters less than the other factors, and less than people generally think, but that more coherent goals provide a certain advantage. At this point, Ukraine's goals are more coherent.
The wild card is public opinion. Opinion polls suggest a great deal of support for the war in Russia, but it seems like soft support. Thus far Asian soldiers in Russian army, poor people in the Russian army, and conscripted Ukrainian citizens have done the dying on the Russian side. Russians in the cities can more or less watch the war as a television show. That soft, televisual support does not translate into willingness to fight.
Putin is like a western leader in one sense: he is afraid to mobilize his population for war, because war is supposed to be a media event, or a spectator sport. Russia is going to great lengths to recruit people to fight in Ukraine without making much noise about it, to avoid the appearance that anything like a mobilization is happening. That Russian soft support can change if the nature of the war changes, as Putin seems to understand.
His sensibility to Russian public opinion also suggests that he would, if he had to, react flexibly to defeat in Ukraine.
In Ukraine, public opinion is much more solid. The war is reality, not spectacle. The president and the armed forces are extremely popular. This seems unlikely to change in coming months.
What might be the most important variable this summer is public opinion in Europe and in North America. Russian propaganda has not convinced many people that its war of aggression and destruction was justified. It has largely given up on the three "N"s of Nazis, nukes and NATO with which it began the propaganda campaign. Propagandists have done a better job with the idea that Ukraine somehow cannot win, or that the war could be somehow brought to an end if the West stopped sending weapons.
The war has shown that the Ukrainian state (or really Ukrainian civil society) is far more resilient and functional than almost anyone would have thought. Ukraine is, in my view at least, in a position to win this war. But given the nature of its disadvantages, especially in economic power, Ukraine is vulnerable to shifts in how we think about the war. Russia's shortcut to victory, and perhaps its only route to victory, is in convincing us that Ukraine cannot win (or that the war is somehow Ukraine's fault, and that it would somehow stop if we turned away).
Our job is incomparably easier than the Ukrainians'. The Ukrainians have to demonstrate resolution of every kind. All we have to do to see things as they are, show some patience, and support the democracy that is under attack -- with the right attitude, and the right weapons. The outcome of the war might well depend upon our capacity to do that. I hope this post has helped.
Funny thing is how 3/4 of the world's countries are not supporting Ukraine but you'd never know that without actually counting.
Suffice it to say that if this essay were spread in my barnyard, it'd be about six inches deep and would absolutely ruin my alligator boots. So I'm not going to tread into it.
You've discovered the best detailed source of daily information on the war fronts, gleaned from both Ukrainian and Russian sources. I think this kid is a Russian living in Singapore, from what I've been able to surmise. This is probably too much detail for most people as he identifies each brigade of interest in the hot zones and what they're up against.
Doc1
Has No Life - Lives on TB
From a lot of open source material, it seems that the United States has not upgraded or modernized our nuclear weapons inventory in nearly thirty years. Additionally, the MIRV (multiple) warheads were long ago removed from our Minuteman missiles and most of our tactical (smaller) nuclear weapons were also scrapped. Our strategic (nuclear) bomber force was also greatly reduced over the years. The strongest arm of the nuclear triad is our ballistic missile submarine force, whose missiles still contain MIRVed warheads.
The United States' nuclear forces still remain awesomely powerful, but over the years the Russians have been consistently modernizing, improving and increasing their nuclear weapons capability.
Best
Doc
Our enemies suspect, and may be ready to act upon their belief, that the US is a paper tiger. Damn all treasonous politicians, both in the military, and not…
OA
155 arty
Veteran Member
are you freaking kidding me???!!!UKRAINE LOOKING-FOR ‘DIRECT TALKS’ WITH CHINA’S XI TO HELP END RUSSIA’S INVASION OF UKRAINE - SCMP
View: https://twitter.com/FirstSquawk/status/1554967250075271168?t=d-5T74BFs-36Cb_psnqfqg&s=19
so the war is going so well for Ukraine and is pushing ivan around,that he actually goes to China for help?????? you gotta be shitting me Pyle. !!!!!
jed turtle
a brother in the Lord
Our worst enemies are much closer than in Moscow or China...
jward
passin' thru
The New Voice of Ukraine
@NewVoiceUkraine
Following a trip to Moscow and a meeting with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder said that Putin is looking to negotiate with Ukraine.
View: https://twitter.com/NewVoiceUkraine/status/1555124382460043264?s=20&t=bFt2zQpA5WItpWYTMLa2Tg
jward
passin' thru
Russia says United States is directly involved in Ukraine war
Russia on Tuesday said that the United States, the world's top military power, was directly involved in the conflict in Ukraine because U.S. spies were approving and coordinating Ukrainian missile strikes on Russian forces. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has triggered the most serious crisis in...
www.aol.com
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has triggered the most serious crisis in relations between Russia and the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, when many people feared the world was on the brink of nuclear war.
Russia's defence ministry, headed by a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, said Vadym Skibitsky, Ukraine's deputy head of military intelligence, had admitted to the Telegraph newspaper that Washington coordinates HIMARS missile strikes.
"All this undeniably proves that Washington, contrary to White House and Pentagon claims, is directly involved in the conflict in Ukraine," the defence ministry said.
U.S. President Joe Biden has said he wants Ukraine to defeat Russia and has supplied billions of dollars of arms to Kyiv but U.S. officials do not want a direct confrontation between U.S. and Russian soldiers.
Russia said the Biden administration was responsible for missile attacks on civilian targets in areas controlled by Russian-backed forces in eastern Ukraine.
"It is the Biden administration that is directly responsible for all Kiev-approved rocket attacks on residential areas and civilian infrastructure in populated areas of Donbas and other regions, which have resulted in mass deaths of civilians," the defence ministry said.
Russia and the West frame the conflict in Ukraine very differently.
Putin calls it a "special military operation" aimed at preventing what he says is a Western attempt to use Ukraine to threaten Russia and at protecting Russian speakers from persecution from dangerous nationalists in Ukraine.
The 69-year-old Kremlin chief increasingly casts the conflict as an existential battle with the West whose outcome will reshape the global political order.
Kyiv and its Western backers say Putin's claims are without foundation and that there is no justification for waging an unprovoked war against a sovereign state whose borders Russia recognised.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, who sometimes holidays with Putin in the Russian wilderness, said the operation in Ukraine was going to plan with Russian and Russian-backed forces pushing back Ukrainian forces in the eastern Donetsk region.
"After taking control of the territory of the Luhansk People's Republic, the Donetsk People's Republic is being liberated as planned," Shoigu told top generals.
He said the settlements of Hryhorivka, Berestove, Stryapivka, Pokrovske, Semyhirya and Novoluhanske had been taken recently, including the largest thermal power plant in Europe.
Neither Russia nor Ukraine discloses its losses.
U.S. intelligence estimates that some 15,000 Russians have been killed so far in Ukraine - equal to the total Soviet death toll during Moscow's occupation of Afghanistan in 1979-1989.
Ukrainian losses are probably a little less than that, U.S. intelligence believes, according to U.S. estimates. Neither Ukraine nor Russia has given detailed estimates of its own losses.
(Reporting by Reuters; editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Nick Macfie)
Tags
von Koehler
Has No Life - Lives on TB
The New Voice of Ukraine
@NewVoiceUkraine
Following a trip to Moscow and a meeting with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder said that Putin is looking to negotiate with Ukraine.
View: https://twitter.com/NewVoiceUkraine/status/1555124382460043264?s=20&t=bFt2zQpA5WItpWYTMLa2Tg
First crack in the invincible Russian army?
jed turtle
a brother in the Lord
Or last offer of olive branch to accept Russia’s original offer for zelenski to declare neutrality and independence from the west and finally institute the Minsk agreements, or face dissolution of nationhood forever...
CaryC
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Yep need to view Russian/Putin speak in Russian/Putin terms, not western.
It's the same with understanding democratic speak, compared to republican speak compared to liberal vs conservative speak.
"Women's health" is an example.
With how much blood and treasure that's been expended that may well not be enough for either side. Add to the fact that the Russian military and political class is now on the hook for war crimes trials at all levels the Russians can't "settle" for a "Finlandized" Ukraine and the Ukrainians have way too much history with Moscow to swallow a lot of alternatives at this point either. In the end besides eastern territories under surrogate rule the Russians are ending up with Finland an Sweden in NATO and a very "armed up" Poland. As I see it that's not a good trade for Russia.
jed turtle
a brother in the Lord
Yeah, starting to look like both sides are going to “finish” this permanently...
wait-n-see
Veteran Member
Just Kabuki Theater for the masses.
Zelensky has already stated no negotiations even to start till Russia withdraws all forces from Ukraine, including Crimea.
Putin and his crew know this, so he knows nothing will start since Russia is not doing any pullback. But he gets to look like the one willing to talk to the other side.
Zelensky has already stated no negotiations even to start till Russia withdraws all forces from Ukraine, including Crimea.
Putin and his crew know this, so he knows nothing will start since Russia is not doing any pullback. But he gets to look like the one willing to talk to the other side.
Tex88
Veteran Member
He might be waiting for Easter, IDK.
northern watch
TB Fanatic
Globalization of the conflict: Chinese forces on the border with Donbass – Preparations for war in Taiwan via Ukraine (video)
Preparations for dealing with NATO tactics in Taiwan
04/08/2022 - 21:16
War News 24 / 7
Military equipment "made in china" has been identified in the Rostov region of Russia near the border with Ukraine, and in particular with Donbass, which has raised legitimate concerns about involvement in the Ukrainian war.
A few days before, there were reports that hundreds of retired Chinese special forces arrived in Donbass and registered to join the Russian-backed militias of the Donetsk and Luhansk republics.
The main reason, according to the same information, was for the Chinese Armed Forces to gain experience on the battlefield and to see up close the performance of Western weapons and the NATO tactics that sooner or later they will encounter in the Taiwan war.
In addition, parts of the Chinese military equipment deployed in Fujian province opposite Taiwan, carried the special Russian "Z" signals sending a message to the US. The photos were published by residents of the southern Chinese province.
In the photo at the end of the text you can see that the Dongfeng Mengshi EQ2050 armored by the People's Liberation Army of China bears the mark "Z".
Next to Donbass military equipment of the PLA...
A few hours ago, Russian citizens were surprised by the appearance of Chinese military equipment in the Rostov region.
According to the video Chinese military equipment was transported by railroad near the village of Alekseevo-Lozovskoye in the Rostov region.
What is striking is that this region borders Donetsk and Lugansk.
There is still no official update from Moscow. Some information has the MILITARY EQUIPMENT of the PLA being transferred to participate in the next International Army Games (Army-2022) – in which military personnel of various countries participate. These matches will be held at the end of August.
The PLA command and representatives of 10 more states planned to actively participate in the Army Games-2022.
On July 25, the first train equipped with the PLA arrived in Russia, at Zabaikalsk station, for participation in the Army Games 2022, which will be held in Alabino near Moscow.
Tanks and special repair and maintenance equipment were located on the railway platforms. The echelon also included logistical wagons and ammunition, as well as advanced teams of military personnel, including drivers and the engineering and technical personnel of the China team.
A few days later, after the tanks and soldiers of the Tibetan Military District of the Western Zone of the PLA Combat Command arrived in Russia, for the mountain units competition "Elbrus Ring" and the Army Games-2022 competition. For the first time, Chinese military personnel promised to bring third-generation Dongfeng Warrior tanks to Russia, which have massively entered service with the PLA since 2018.
But again this Chinese route next to the border with Donbass is not convincing. The Chinese had to follow a different route to get to Moscow. What is Beijing preparing?
Do Chinese drones carry?
We recall that since March the Americans have reported that Russia has asked China for military equipment for the war in Ukraine.
"The Russian request has been made since the beginning of the military invasion and concerns 'military equipment and other assistance'," the Americans said at the time.
Another US source had stressed that the US will alert the allies to the new data, as there are "indications that China may be preparing to help Russia". As it happened.
Russia had reportedly asked, as well as Iran, for drones and specific ammunition.
Soon after, Joe Biden's administration added five Chinese companies to the trade blacklist because of support for Russia's military and defense industrial base.
Chinese companies are as follows:
1.Connec Electronic
2. King Pai
3.Sinno Electronics
4.Winninc Electronic
5. World Jetta (HK) Logistics
The Commerce Department said it is punishing them and adding five of the companies to a blacklist of trade transactions known as the "Entity List." He also accused two Chinese research institutes that have already been blacklisted since 2018 of supporting the Russian military in recent weeks.
Entities added to the list are effectively excluded from the U.S. technology market.
"All companies and institutes have signed recent contracts to continue supplying the Russian military, violating export controls under the United States aimed at blocking Russia's access to high-tech components and equipment," the US Department of Commerce said.
Globalization of the conflict: Chinese forces on the border with Donbass - Preparations for war in Taiwan via Ukraine (video) - WarNews247
Preparations for dealing with NATO tactics in Taiwan
04/08/2022 - 21:16
War News 24 / 7
Military equipment "made in china" has been identified in the Rostov region of Russia near the border with Ukraine, and in particular with Donbass, which has raised legitimate concerns about involvement in the Ukrainian war.
A few days before, there were reports that hundreds of retired Chinese special forces arrived in Donbass and registered to join the Russian-backed militias of the Donetsk and Luhansk republics.
The main reason, according to the same information, was for the Chinese Armed Forces to gain experience on the battlefield and to see up close the performance of Western weapons and the NATO tactics that sooner or later they will encounter in the Taiwan war.
In addition, parts of the Chinese military equipment deployed in Fujian province opposite Taiwan, carried the special Russian "Z" signals sending a message to the US. The photos were published by residents of the southern Chinese province.
In the photo at the end of the text you can see that the Dongfeng Mengshi EQ2050 armored by the People's Liberation Army of China bears the mark "Z".
Next to Donbass military equipment of the PLA...
A few hours ago, Russian citizens were surprised by the appearance of Chinese military equipment in the Rostov region.
According to the video Chinese military equipment was transported by railroad near the village of Alekseevo-Lozovskoye in the Rostov region.
What is striking is that this region borders Donetsk and Lugansk.
There is still no official update from Moscow. Some information has the MILITARY EQUIPMENT of the PLA being transferred to participate in the next International Army Games (Army-2022) – in which military personnel of various countries participate. These matches will be held at the end of August.
The PLA command and representatives of 10 more states planned to actively participate in the Army Games-2022.
On July 25, the first train equipped with the PLA arrived in Russia, at Zabaikalsk station, for participation in the Army Games 2022, which will be held in Alabino near Moscow.
Tanks and special repair and maintenance equipment were located on the railway platforms. The echelon also included logistical wagons and ammunition, as well as advanced teams of military personnel, including drivers and the engineering and technical personnel of the China team.
A few days later, after the tanks and soldiers of the Tibetan Military District of the Western Zone of the PLA Combat Command arrived in Russia, for the mountain units competition "Elbrus Ring" and the Army Games-2022 competition. For the first time, Chinese military personnel promised to bring third-generation Dongfeng Warrior tanks to Russia, which have massively entered service with the PLA since 2018.
But again this Chinese route next to the border with Donbass is not convincing. The Chinese had to follow a different route to get to Moscow. What is Beijing preparing?
Do Chinese drones carry?
We recall that since March the Americans have reported that Russia has asked China for military equipment for the war in Ukraine.
"The Russian request has been made since the beginning of the military invasion and concerns 'military equipment and other assistance'," the Americans said at the time.
Another US source had stressed that the US will alert the allies to the new data, as there are "indications that China may be preparing to help Russia". As it happened.
Russia had reportedly asked, as well as Iran, for drones and specific ammunition.
Soon after, Joe Biden's administration added five Chinese companies to the trade blacklist because of support for Russia's military and defense industrial base.
Chinese companies are as follows:
1.Connec Electronic
2. King Pai
3.Sinno Electronics
4.Winninc Electronic
5. World Jetta (HK) Logistics
The Commerce Department said it is punishing them and adding five of the companies to a blacklist of trade transactions known as the "Entity List." He also accused two Chinese research institutes that have already been blacklisted since 2018 of supporting the Russian military in recent weeks.
Entities added to the list are effectively excluded from the U.S. technology market.
"All companies and institutes have signed recent contracts to continue supplying the Russian military, violating export controls under the United States aimed at blocking Russia's access to high-tech components and equipment," the US Department of Commerce said.
Globalization of the conflict: Chinese forces on the border with Donbass - Preparations for war in Taiwan via Ukraine (video) - WarNews247
Grumphau
Veteran Member
So is China sending equipment, observers, contractors, or combatants? It will be interesting to see what happens next.
I'd say that Russia has scored a 'win' by offering to negotiate, but Ukraine being adamant that it will not. Ukraine and US tryng to spin it so that Russia's offer is a sign it is weak, but many countries, including some NATO ones will hope this is a sign of willingness to end this stalemated negotiation situation which is already bringing woe to those affected by nat gas reductions and lack of grain supplies. Putin comes out looking like a reasonable man and a statesman. Zelensky is trying to play with the big boys, but this is a good example of his lack of experience and saavy.
Being totally unreasonable about negotiating puts Ukraine in opposition to countries they would like support from.
Being totally unreasonable about negotiating puts Ukraine in opposition to countries they would like support from.
Grumphau
Veteran Member
Ukraine cannot negotiate yet because it would be from a position of perceived weakness, which is what Russia wants. Until gains are made in occupied territories, Ukraine will not talk. And I don't think they should - it would be a bad peace. Russia would simply solidify their gains and wait for some perceived provocation to use as an excuse to continue hostilities.
Doomer Doug
TB Fanatic
The ancient Romsn Cicero said Roman could surrvive its fools, but not its traitors.
This is what America is now finding out. Any analysis of whether China will beat the us must factor in China has full control of America's command and control systems run by traitors.
This is what America is now finding out. Any analysis of whether China will beat the us must factor in China has full control of America's command and control systems run by traitors.
jward
passin' thru
I agree it's all kabuki, at least, at the level of engagement to which we are privy.. but Z has also told his countrymen that they must accept that Crimea is gone, so I wouldn't assign any real value to any of the words they use. Tis the fact that they're engaging that is the point, I suspect, regardless whether it proves an initial (another) salvo to the actual settlements, or proves just another false start.
jward
passin' thru
Russia may launch southern offensive to try to regain momentum, Ukraine general says
August 4, 202212:45 PM CDTLast Updated 6 hours ago
2-3 minutes
A general view shows the Russia-controlled city of Kherson, Ukraine July 24, 2022. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko
KYIV, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Russia may launch an offensive in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson to try to wrest back momentum from Kyiv and has been visibly building up forces, Ukrainian General Oleksiy Hromov said on Thursday.
Russia holds swathes of Ukraine's south that it captured in the early phases of its Feb. 24 invasion, but Kyiv has vowed to mount a major counter-offensive and used sophisticated western weapons to hit Russian supply lines and ammo dumps.
Hromov said Russia had brought in a large amount of weapons and hardware to the northeast of the strategically important southern region of Kherson, much of which is occupied by Russia.
"It's possible the enemy may or will try to carry out offensive operations deep into our territory in order to seize the initiative and threaten the development of our success in order to force the (Ukrainian army) to stop expanding bridgeheads and go on the defensive," he told a news conference.
In the east, he said Ukraine had improved its tactical position around the eastern city of Sloviansk, recapturing two villages, but that Russian forces had been trying to take the eastern city of Avdiivka and village of Pisky.
Ukrainian forces had been forced to concede territory there, switching to defending south of the city of Avdiivka and leaving the Butivka coal mine, he said.
Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; writing by Tom Balmforth; editing by William Maclean, Kirsten Donovan
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www.reuters.com
August 4, 202212:45 PM CDTLast Updated 6 hours ago
2-3 minutes
A general view shows the Russia-controlled city of Kherson, Ukraine July 24, 2022. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko
KYIV, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Russia may launch an offensive in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson to try to wrest back momentum from Kyiv and has been visibly building up forces, Ukrainian General Oleksiy Hromov said on Thursday.
Russia holds swathes of Ukraine's south that it captured in the early phases of its Feb. 24 invasion, but Kyiv has vowed to mount a major counter-offensive and used sophisticated western weapons to hit Russian supply lines and ammo dumps.
Hromov said Russia had brought in a large amount of weapons and hardware to the northeast of the strategically important southern region of Kherson, much of which is occupied by Russia.
"It's possible the enemy may or will try to carry out offensive operations deep into our territory in order to seize the initiative and threaten the development of our success in order to force the (Ukrainian army) to stop expanding bridgeheads and go on the defensive," he told a news conference.
In the east, he said Ukraine had improved its tactical position around the eastern city of Sloviansk, recapturing two villages, but that Russian forces had been trying to take the eastern city of Avdiivka and village of Pisky.
Ukrainian forces had been forced to concede territory there, switching to defending south of the city of Avdiivka and leaving the Butivka coal mine, he said.
Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; writing by Tom Balmforth; editing by William Maclean, Kirsten Donovan
Russia may launch southern offensive to try to regain momentum, Ukraine general says
Russia may launch an offensive in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson to try to wrest back momentum from Kyiv and has been visibly building up forces, Ukrainian General Oleksiy Hromov said on Thursday.
www.reuters.com
jward
passin' thru
Belarus Tests Troop Readiness Near Ukraine Border: Kyiv
View: https://twitter.com/EndGameWW3/status/1555326494116904969?s=20&t=q4Syu4exdQKmiyFhGbL0QQ
View: https://twitter.com/EndGameWW3/status/1555326494116904969?s=20&t=q4Syu4exdQKmiyFhGbL0QQ
wait-n-see
Veteran Member
The longer this goes, the worse it is for Ukraine. And if the reports coming out about the current losses in the eastern areas continues with the potential collapse of the front there, then Ukraine will greatly regret by the end of August that they did not parley with Putin now instead of playing media games and pretending that out reach to China was "serious".
The longer Ukraine takes, then the more territory will end up being claimed by Russia, either directly or as a proxy country.
Just as an ad hoc quick comment, I'll include part of today's post from the Awful Avalanche website:
Awful Avalanche
Dear Readers:
As promised, I am returning to the Russia/Third World theme with a review of this piece from July 21, 2022. The reporter is Petr Akopov. Putin’s musings have gotten a lot of coverage and I’m sure his words have been translated and discussed a lot in various media, even MSM. Therefore I don’t intend to do much with it, just add my 2 cents, plus highlight the irony of it all. How this war has changed so many things, changed people; the irony of a Sergei Lavrov touring Africa and drinking in the love of people who fondly remember the USSR; a former Yeltsinite like Putin (who helped to destroy the USSR), now sounding more like his Soviet forebears (former bears – haha!?) whom he once rejected, but now going all Patrice Lumumba with fiery anti-colonialist and anti-racist rhetoric.
BUT FIRST THIS BREAKING NEWS! A quick update from the front lines. Most of my military info comes from the youtube channel Ukraine Military Summary and Analysis (Dima), and secondarily also Defense Politics Asia (Wyatt). Yesterday the news was quite startling, and also quite good, if one is rooting for the Russian side.
So, it finally happened: All along the Donetsk Front, Ukrainian defenses are cracking, like a ripe overheated chestnut. As Russian Allied forces break through in multiple important locations, even the fortress-like Avdeevka. We are finally starting to see some light at the end of this long tunnel.
From what I understand, the Ukrainian side made an incredible blunder. Given the infinite layers of defensive trenches (which made the Maginot Line look like a child’s sandcastle at the beach) which they had built up over the past 8 years before the Russian incursion, Ukrainian forces could have held out much longer on the Donetsk front.
I mean, the outcome of this war was never in doubt: It’s like your son’s Little League team going up against the Red Sox. Those kids might put up a heck of a fight, but in the end they are destined to be defeated. Just as there is no doubt that the Ukrainian war will end with Zelensky’s unconditional surrender to Putin. Until that moment, however, the Ukrainians put up a heck of a fight. Those Donbass trenches were made to withstand just about anything.
Provided the Ukrainian artillery were still in place and playing their part in the artillery duels.
Then, what happened is that the Ukrainian leadership (Zelensky) decided to move several important artillery battalions from the Donbass front to the Southern front. As part of their harebrained scheme to “recapture” Kherson. Their big counteroffensive plan, which they announced to the world, was to (a) destroy the 3 bridges over the river connecting Kherson to the rest of the Donbass; (b) by so doing isolate the 30,000 some Russian soldiers (=30 Battle Tactical Groups, BTG’s) defending the Kherson Front; and (c) then invade and recapture Kherson.
From what I understand, the Ukrainians were told they had to do this, i.e., recapture Kherson, by the end of August, otherwise the Americans will cut off the funds and give up on this ill-timed adventure. In other words, the Southern Counteroffensive was an American project. From what I understand, Ukrainian Commander Zaluzhny was against it, and rightfully so. Now he wants to move those artillery units back to Donetsk, but alas for him, it’s too late.
Because, the moment the Ukrainians moved the artillery units from the Donbass front, opportunistic Russians (always poking, always poking!) were able to pulverize the remaining infantry/artillery and break through multiple layers of defensive trenches. In some cases, it only took the Russians 10 minutes to break through a trench that had kept them at bay these past 5 months.
Zelensky was so horrified that he appeared on TV (I think this was a couple of nights ago, it was covered in Westie MSM) complaining about the “hell” that his soldiers had to endure. Usually Zel is upbeat (“We’re winning, yeh!”), so why the long face? Well, he was ticked off and needed somebody to blame, so he blamed the Americans: “You didn’t send us enough HIMARS!” As if the HIMARS are the only problem. He is incapable of looking in the mirror and blaming himself.
So, this is the battlefront news for now. Dima ended his report last night with his usual disclaimer: “Military Summary Channel reminds you that we condemn all violence in Ukraine.” And this disclaimer came right after he had stated, rather coldly, that the Russians will most likely show no mercy to the Ukrainian artillery guys in Avdeevka, once they capture them. Given that those guys have been torturing Donbass civilians since 2014, with their indiscriminate shelling.
Doomer Doug
TB Fanatic
Never interupt your enemy when they are making a mistake. Napoleon
Expect Zippy to make a mistake. Vlad the impaler
It's over.
Expect Zippy to make a mistake. Vlad the impaler
It's over.
Doomer Doug
TB Fanatic
I thought from day 2 the final border would be on the dniepper
Everything east the ruskies and everything west the ukies and the southern coastline all russian including moldovia.
NATO is to STUPID to keep breathing.
Everything east the ruskies and everything west the ukies and the southern coastline all russian including moldovia.
NATO is to STUPID to keep breathing.
jward
passin' thru
Konrad Muzyka - Rochan Consulting
@konrad_muzyka
37s
According to various Ukrainian sources, Russia now has some 20-30 battalion tactical groups in the Kherson Oblast. I don't think Kyiv has the manpower needed to counter that so I don't expect a Ukrainian counteroffensive in this area.
@konrad_muzyka
37s
According to various Ukrainian sources, Russia now has some 20-30 battalion tactical groups in the Kherson Oblast. I don't think Kyiv has the manpower needed to counter that so I don't expect a Ukrainian counteroffensive in this area.
WTSR
Veteran Member
Honestly I think the leadership in Ukraine has sold out their people and is sacrificing them for advanced weaponry and big houses in western countries.
CaryC
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Anger From Ukraine's Backers After Damning Amnesty Report Spotlights 'Human Shields'
Amnesty International has in a surprise shift placed its human rights scrutiny on Ukraine in a fresh report released Thursday. It immediately sparked a firestorm of criticism as both Western pundits and Kiev officials themselves blasted the findings as "unfair".
The Amnesty report said investigators had "found evidence of Ukrainian forces launching strikes from within populated residential areas, as well as basing themselves in civilian buildings in 19 towns and villages" in three war-torn regions of the country from April through July.
Destroyed hospital in Ukraine, via CBS
The report detailed that schools and hospitals, as well as people's homes, were put in harm's way, suggesting 'human shields' type tactics utilized by the Ukrainian military.
"Such tactics violate international humanitarian law and endanger civilians, as they turn civilian objects into military targets. The ensuing Russian strikes in populated areas have killed civilians and destroyed civilian infrastructure," Amnesty continued, saying this resulted in Russian attacks on said civilian infrastructure.
The report detailed further that in 22 of 29 schools visited by an Amnesty team between April and July, investigators found evidence of prior military activity. Additionally, five instances of Ukrainian troops using hospitals as bases were documented. The report went so far as to stress Amnesty was "not aware" of instances where Ukrainian troops first tried to evacuate civilians from these locations.
Despite being under pressure to refrain from investigating the Ukrainian side and to not criticize it for human rights abuses, Secretary General of Amnesty International Agnès Callamard said in releasing the report:
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba was quick to blast the Amnesty report, saying, "I understand that Amnesty will respond to criticism by saying that they criticize both sides of the conflict. But such behavior on Amnesty’s part is not about looking for the truth and presenting it to the world, but about creating a false balance between the criminal and his victim."
Other commentators said it was tantamount to "victim-blaming"...
The Kremlin, meanwhile, said the report confirms what Russia has been saying for a long time. Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said, "We’ve been talking about this constantly, calling the actions of the Ukrainian armed forces the tactics of using civilians as a 'human shield'."
Anger From Ukraine's Backers After Damning Amnesty Report Spotlights 'Human Shields' | ZeroHedge
Amnesty International has in a surprise shift placed its human rights scrutiny on Ukraine in a fresh report released Thursday. It immediately sparked a firestorm of criticism as both Western pundits and Kiev officials themselves blasted the findings as "unfair".
The Amnesty report said investigators had "found evidence of Ukrainian forces launching strikes from within populated residential areas, as well as basing themselves in civilian buildings in 19 towns and villages" in three war-torn regions of the country from April through July.
Destroyed hospital in Ukraine, via CBSThe report detailed that schools and hospitals, as well as people's homes, were put in harm's way, suggesting 'human shields' type tactics utilized by the Ukrainian military.
"Such tactics violate international humanitarian law and endanger civilians, as they turn civilian objects into military targets. The ensuing Russian strikes in populated areas have killed civilians and destroyed civilian infrastructure," Amnesty continued, saying this resulted in Russian attacks on said civilian infrastructure.
The report detailed further that in 22 of 29 schools visited by an Amnesty team between April and July, investigators found evidence of prior military activity. Additionally, five instances of Ukrainian troops using hospitals as bases were documented. The report went so far as to stress Amnesty was "not aware" of instances where Ukrainian troops first tried to evacuate civilians from these locations.
Despite being under pressure to refrain from investigating the Ukrainian side and to not criticize it for human rights abuses, Secretary General of Amnesty International Agnès Callamard said in releasing the report:
Naturally, that so respected a premier human rights organization based in the West condemned these practices of the Ukrainian army resulted in backlash from Kiev leaders, as well as some Western pundits who went so far as to level the usual "Putin-sympathizers!" charge...
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba was quick to blast the Amnesty report, saying, "I understand that Amnesty will respond to criticism by saying that they criticize both sides of the conflict. But such behavior on Amnesty’s part is not about looking for the truth and presenting it to the world, but about creating a false balance between the criminal and his victim."
Other commentators said it was tantamount to "victim-blaming"...
The Kremlin, meanwhile, said the report confirms what Russia has been saying for a long time. Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said, "We’ve been talking about this constantly, calling the actions of the Ukrainian armed forces the tactics of using civilians as a 'human shield'."
Anger From Ukraine's Backers After Damning Amnesty Report Spotlights 'Human Shields' | ZeroHedge
wait-n-see
Veteran Member
100% agree. Along with the soulless, corrupted, despotic filth we have in the deep state and uni-party, which I place at the very center of the cause for this. Russia has the same soulless, corrupted, despotic filth as we do, so there is no rose colored glasses going on here.
But our deep state, soulless filth, are the ones who plated the seeds for this to happen, nursed it along and provided the right amount of "greasing the palms" wherever needed to bring it to their planned fulfillment.
And, just like in Afghanistan, the kickbacks and outright stealing is of amounts that are truly staggering. The more money, then the more opportunity to "spread the wealth".
The quicker this thing is ended, the better for all concerned, ranging from those facing starvation across the world to the EU countries who followed our "leadership" in this corrupt endeavor, and of course especially those poor souls in the combat zone who are being sacrificed at the deep state altar.