That’s actually a better strategy for deterrence.
The irony, of course, is that we’re the only country that’s ever actually pulled the nuclear trigger.
After the Trade and Industry Minister corrected him a third time, the Russian president finally flipped out.
“Let’s finish this, what’s the point of sparring here with you? The directors told me [there are no contracts]. Really, why are you playing the fool?” he scolded Manturov, demanding he get the job in a month and “no later.”
So it looks like there will be one month before there’s any fallout.
Putin’s such an odd non-entity of a human being. He reminds me of Eddie Belcher from Long Island.
I assume you are referring to Manturov and nearby windows.
Even tho the article says it’s not a demotion for Surovikin, I’m sure Putin remembers who was in charge when Russia was forced to retreat at Kherson. Sergei may want to watch out for “unexpected illness” in the future.
Mmm… Even before this I have General Surovikin in my list of Russians on the edge… of windows, in my themed death pool. 
Writing was on the wall for Kherson way way before Surovikin was in charge. This is political infighting between Gerasimov and Surovikin and Putin stood by his boy. I don’t think this is because of any failures of his. Russia performed better after he took over.
The article says it’s “effectively a demotion” for Surovikin - he went from being the sole person in charge of the Special Military Operation to one of three deputies under Gerasimov - but that it was probably done for “political reasons”, rather than military failure (quoting RALee85 off Twitter).
In a normal functioning military, it would seem impractical to have the same person fulfilling the roles of both head of the armed forces and commander of a military operation, so it will be interesting to see what happens there. Of course, I think there’s a non-zero chance that Putin may end up becoming president of Russia, head of the Russian armed forces and commander of the Special Military Operation. Even by dictator standards, he feels like a particularly solo operator.
Ukraine retaking Kherson was early November, no? If he took over three months ago, it would put it squarely in Surovikin’s time in charge. I don’t think Putin really cares about the lead up, he’s going to remember who retreated.
It looks more and more like that’s a real possibility. It would be interesting to know for sure what kind of mental state Putin is in. We know he didn’t use to be an idiot, but now it’s a toss up if he’s desperate or just nuts.
This presumes Putin is incredibly stupid. Putin doesn’t care about why the rock was rolling down hill, just who got shoved in front of it at the bottom?
There’s a reason why pro-Ukraine analysts are pretty much uniformly happy about this move and it’s not because a shitty commander is getting removed.
The Russian presence on the north side of the Dnipro was doomed long before they left. The logistical situation had been impossible with both the Antonovsky Bridge near Kherson and the dam at Nova Kahovka subject to frequent visits by Mr HIMARS. Surovikin was indeed in charge of the actual withdrawal, and there was that peculiar bit of televised military command theatre where Surovikin officially recommended withdrawal to Shoigu, who “reluctantly” agreed, but for some months previously the choices were either withdraw from Kherson or lose all forces on that side of the river.
Count me as someone who doesn’t know that. I think we give sociopaths way too much credit for being smart. Sometimes, the reason cheaters prosper in the short term isn’t because they’re the only ones smart enough to break the rules and get away with it. Rather, it’s because they’re the ones dumb enough to break the rules and take everyone else’s silence to indicate unqualified acceptance, and so they keep on breaking the rules even as everyone else is thinking to themselves “I see what you’re doing, and I don’t like it, but in the interest of avoiding conflict, I’m gonna let it slide. For now…”
At some point, the other players stop letting it slide, and the blowback can be a doozy, especially for those too stupid to see it coming. And that is what Putin’s war is: stupid. A stupid g-damn tragedy.
See my above about Putin being smart or not. He has been incredibly stupid about just about everything during this war. Swapping out a military leader for political rather than battlefield reasons is yet another stupid move.
And a month before the withdrawal also, if the three month tenure is correct. Is he known for something in this war that I’m not aware of?
Everyone that could broke the rules when the USSR fell. Putin coming out on top, and staying on top, tells me he had more than luck behind him. Cunning and ruthlessness were assets in post break up Russia. Putin seems to have had both back then.
Amen to that. Since day one, and it’s all on Putin.
It seems that Turkiye has been supplying cluster munitions to Ukraine. This article discusses HEDP (high explosive dual purpose) grenades dispensed from M483 155mm projectile (88 each). Also a version of GMLRS.
An older article but I didn’t find mentioned previously.
That’s very interesting. Turkey has been lukewarm in this conflict. I’ve had the impression Erdoğan wants ro stay friendly with Russia.
Putin has some diplomatic cleverness. He bet- as did Hitler- that the West would let him take Czechoslovakia… err Crimea. Putin is great at bluffing and saber-rattling. But he- like Hitler- has no military smarts. He bet that the West would let him take eastern Ukraine too, but nope.
While Turkey have in some sense tried to act as an impartial intermediary, such as when brokering the grain shipping deal together with the United Nations, they’ve also provided a fair amount of military aid to Ukraine. Selçuk Bayraktar, one of the two brothers that run the Baykar company that have supplied and donated many of the Bayraktar drones to Ukraine - which have achieved legendary status there - is married to president Erdoğan’s daughter.
Erdoğan also kept Putin waiting for a minute when the two leaders met a few months ago. Putin’s response was so Putin.
the disadvantage is ending eventuallyup like Mussolini, Ghadaffi, Hussein or Ceauscescou
Your “Putin doesn’t care about what caused it, he cares about who was in charge at the time” is beyond smart vs stupid. It’s like learning disability level.
Making this swap might be stupid. It definitely is if you’re mostly concerned about battlefield success. Shoygu and Gerasimov are loyal to Putin though. If Putin’s worried about getting overthrown, he’s going to keep loyalists in power even if it means worse military decisions get made.
Was going to post the same strip. 
I recommend Catherine Belton’s “Putin’s People” for evidence that Putin used to be an incredibly shrewd political power player - it’s a long but compelling read (I was already swearing at the book within ten pages). And the picture of Putin it paints is in stark contrast to the isolated, deteriorating autocrat we’re seeing now in this clumsily-managed war.
Meanwhile…