I can’t tell if this is Poe’s Law.
We really need to stop “negotiating against ourselves” like this. We’ve intimidated ourselves by this blown-up intimidating image of Russia and what it might do in our exaggerated imagination than what it actually would do in real life.
halleluya!!!
but then again, sometimes you eat the bear, sometimes the bear eats you …
may putin live well into his 70th year!!!
;o)
I agree, Ukr. was smart enough to start bombing the krim and Nowgorod SLOWLY … and then build from it and ramp it up … just like the frog in warm water metaphore
So 1 or 2 timid holes in his new kerch bridge to begin (to allow the russian prime TV laugh the attack off) … then let them patch it up and after 2 weeks make some 3 or 4 holes more … repeate application if needed …
Maybe…when Putin meets his end…it can come in the form of introduction to Isaac Newton’s theory…from the 12th floor
Remember that Stalin (whom he emulates, as well as the other guy) apparently died of old age at the age of 74.
I wouldn’t mind seeing him get the Nicolae Ceaușescu treatment (or the end of the other guy).
Extensive list of German contributions to Ukraine. Germany has been maligned some for blocking and delaying deliveries but is behind only the US and UK in contributions. List is here.
Last entry in article points to aid from other western countries in Europe.
The tally of Russian tank losses in Ukraine has now passed a thousand, according to Oryx’s count of equipment losses in the war. Since the count is derived from open-source information, it is likely an undercount. According to the Ukrainian military, Russia has lost 2,034 tanks.
This bar chart, derived from the Oryx data, shows that older Soviet-era tanks are making up an increasing proportion of Russian tank losses, suggesting that Russia is running out of their newer tanks.
For the last two or three days, Russian sources have been claiming that Ukrainian special forces launched a big attack across the river against Enerhodar, where the nuclear power station is, while providing no evidence of this. The Russians claim that the Ukrainian raiders were eliminated. Today a video was released, showing supposed Ukrainian corpses on the battlefield. However, there are no signs of blood or wounds and, moreover, the colour of the corpses’ skin is decidedly pink and alive-looking. Looks staged, and I don’t believe this purported attack ever happened.
It seems it did happen. Possibly a second attempt as well. Sources I use all seem to concur.
Ukrainian defense sources are being very quiet about everything since the counter offense started, so hard to get a grip on what is happening. Seems that Ukraine forces are taking heavy losses and getting pushed back from their gains over the last few days.
Well there’s your problem.
AP reports that this is what the Russians are claiming. Russia is not the most credible of sources.
Do you have any supporting evidence for this statement?
The claim seems to be that between 60 and 250 Ukrainian commandos on between 15 and 42 boats, depending on source, launched an amphibious assault on Enerhodar.
The staged-looking videos notwithstanding, such an operation doesn’t make any sense to me.
Firstly, any boats would have to cross the 5 km-wide river/reservoir to get there, so very risky. Secondly, supplying/reinforcing across the river would be even more risky - I would say impossible, but the Ukrainians managed to supply the besieged Azovstal defenders at Mariupol by helicopter. So it would be nigh on impossible for Ukrainian forces to hold any territory across the river. Extricating soldiers back across the water would also be extremely risky, so it would be verging on a suicide mission.
What would the Ukrainain military hope to accomplish by such an operation if they could not hold territory? There doesn’t appear to be any benefit in sabotaging a nuclear plant, particularly when UN experts are visiting to inspect its safety, and certainly when the chances of death/capture for all those undertaking the mission would be so high. That’s not to mention the fact that Ukraine would have more to lose than anyone by any potential nuclear accident that might happen with any military action taking place at the plant.
Well there’s your problem. You are not hearing from Ukrainian sources and you are hearing from Russian sources. The Russians are noted liars.
Latest report indicates some progress.
Strange news. Since when does a despot, albeit a puppet sub-despot, voluntarily vacate his position?
Maybe the FSB asking if they could install some windows in the top floor of his palace made him suspicious. If I were a Russian, I’d live in a bungalow.
The head of the IAEA was shown a missile sticking out the ground near the nuclear plant by the Russians. He pointed out that the missile was sticking out the ground at an angle that shows the trajectory appeared to come from a Russian occupied region. The Russian replied that the missile made a 180 degree turn just before it hit the ground. 
I always thought the Russian thing of denying something in an unconvincing manner (“we were just here to visit Canterbury Cathedral”, “it exploded because someone was smoking near it”) was just a kind of mocking irony, like a sort of ‘fuck you’ to the world. But I’m starting to think they are just terrible liars.
After a while, you gotta wonder, right?
On the Kherson counteroffensive, from today’s ISW campaign assessment:
Hopefully that’s true and not coping.
This would tend to support the Ukrainian statements about their offensive.
interesting tweet …
… if true - I get a WWII flashback …