I don’t know what that is, but it sound effective. 
Link Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, July 4, 2023 | Institute for the Study of War
So I guess we’re not going to have any major breakthroughs and sweeping maneuvers. A shame, but It seems that’s the nature of this war.
20,000 shells is a day’s worth, maybe two.
The most recent estimates put Russia at roughly 10,000 to 15,000 artillery shells per day, while Ukraine is firing around 3,000 to 7,000.
Even that shipment of 300K shells from Iran would only last a month or so.
I don’t like Putin. But, I suspect Prigozhin would be much worse. Definitely a right wing hawk.
Prigozhin’s popular support may explain why he hasn’t been killed. Putin may wait awhile until his death wouldn’t be a problem.
CNN feed
I thought the same thing. Suspect we’re more likely to see Prigozhin dying of a ‘heart attack’ a few months from now than this weekend.
Why do people persist in this silly idea that white Phosphorus is a war crime? It isn’t.
It’s simply an incendiary, not a chemical weapon.
It’s the nature of any war from at least the Sythians vs. Darius I in 513 BCE. Even the ones that start out with elan (How many times have you heard “We’ll be home by Christmas?”) it devolves, on purpose or not, to attrition warfare.
I personally subscribe to the silly idea that incendiary WP should be outlawed for the same reasons that many chemical agents were outlawed following WW1 - they’re inhumane, and cause indiscriminate/undue suffering. Use of WP is a war crime when used near civilian areas…which I hasten to add Russia has already been documented doing on multiple occasions in this conflict.
This is perhaps a topic worthy of a different thread, though.
Correct and sounds like an interesting one.
Prigozhin is allegedly back in Russia. Cleaning out his desk drawer? Nailing his windows shut?
I don’t imagine Prigozhin has any intention of walking into a site that has been assigned to him by Putin. He will know that he is at the top of Putin’s murder list.
Reports today that the US will announce tomorrow the supply of cluster munitions to Ukraine.
Breaking news: Russia has started testing the possibility of severing its connections to the global internet and building an informational wall around itself.
Posting it here as it’s a news item flowing directly out from consequences of the Ukraine invasion, but if there’s interest in discussing the implications of a major nation cutting itself off and isolating itself in this way, that should almost certainly be the subject of its own thread.
And renaming itself North North Korea.
My opinion: new thread.
Nice one Zelenskyy
Gathered on each side of a long wooden table, the khaki-clad Ukrainian delegation sat stony faced, occasionally grimacing and taking notes, opposite Radev’s team as the Bulgarian president explained that there was “no military solution” and that “more and more weapons will not solve it.”
Zelenskyy delivered his response with measured scorn. “God forbid some tragedy should befall you and you should be in my place,” he said. “And if people with shared values do not help, what will you do? You would say: Putin, please grab Bulgarian territory?”
“No, you, as a real president, I am sure you would not allow a compromise with your independence. It is your right not to support aid to Ukraine. But I would really like you to understand me correctly,” he noted with barbed irony, as a cowed Radev intermittently took refuge in the note paper in front of him.
I find Zelenskyy’s blunt honesty refreshing even when I disagree with him (which is not that often).
I would not wish to be the target of his eloquent, sharp tongue.
Putin’s actions have consequences far beyond Ukraine. A F-16 training hub should be a big asset to NATO.
From @aceplace57 article above…
I find that rather interesting, they are holding a major NATO meeting virtually on Russia’s border–and even more pointedly, Vilnius is only 15 or so miles from the border of Belarus… An interesting message is being sent, I believe…
Press on.
I don’t know how reliable this analysis is but Bloomberg are reporting that tank numbers have reached an equilibrium (without taking into account the quality of the tanks):
As you may have heard, the US has decided to send cluster munitions to Ukraine. I personally don’t agree with this idea and makes me dislike Biden if he did indeed waive the rule about bomb failure rates in as mentioned in this article.
Cluster munitions are frowned upon because they’re really bad for the territory they’re used on. In this case, though, the territory they’ll be used on is Ukraine, and Ukraine has decided that the benefits are worth the drawbacks. While I might not have come to the same decision, I think that that decision is properly Ukraine’s to make.