The First-person Shooters: Identifying the group of young military engineers who program the flight paths of Russia's murderous cruise missiles.https://t.co/kHrHAxg3Uw
This is what I was talking about last week when I said I was concerned about an escalation around Kherson and Mykolaiv, particularly close to election time.
Russia causing chaos during — or near to — our midterms would be standard operating procedure.
Mediazona managed to estimate a number of people mobilized by using a peculiar statistic, a number of "excessive marriages". Marriages are available for mobilized people on the same day. Couples marry so the woman can have easier time e.g. getting info on her partner killed. https://t.co/JHiq3fUcqx
Canada’s government is targeting individual investors with a new triple-A rated bond to help Ukraine and is asking bond dealers to make significant efforts to market it to them https://t.co/hDUttNnDkP
2) Firstly, why Moldova?
Putin doesn’t just want Ukraine: he wants to restore USSR’s geopolitical power. Moldova is the best next target for him. Not in EU or NATO, major Russian-speaking population and a border with Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/4CJ4MiWR4p
"British cyber spies have been playing a key role in defending Ukraine from widespread Russian cyber attacks since the start of the invasion."https://t.co/KgXPac2NUp
Hard to watch, "How Russian soldiers ran a 'cleansing' operation in Bucha." New and vital reporting on the Bucha massacre. CCTV video footage. World-class reporting @APNews
Some important details on #KhersonRetreat of #Russia:
1) Russia has been withdrawing its better, regular army units for some time already. Instead, was gathering newly drafted men there. As of now, they stay there. We’ll see if Russia withdraws them or leave for captivity 1/
JUST IN: Two missiles reportedly hit Przewodow #Poland located on border with #Ukraine. Comes as Russia pounded Ukraine with missiles today. Local radio reports 2 fatalities. Poland is a NATO member
This is bad. But everyone sit tight and let the diplomats and analysts do their jobs. None of us is required to be advising Biden or NATO in the next ten minutes. https://t.co/b3IZ44b3QE
Russia attacking Poland and maybe starting WWIII trending lower than Taylor Swift fans mad Ticketmaster isn’t letting them buy presale is the funniest thing I’ve seen all day. pic.twitter.com/OvHXDDBJ3H
Certainly begs the question of whether the "western allies" are telling the public a little white lie while reading Russia the riot act behind the scenesl to avoid WWIII. I did catch part of the Pentagon press briefing with Austin & Milley and they seemed sincere and forthcoming, but you never know these things for sure.
Videos that surfaced on social media last week have ignited a debate over whether Ukrainian forces committed war crimes or acted in self-defense as they tried to capture a group of Russian soldiers who were then killed. See our visual investigation. https://t.co/iyVHeTfviD
Galeev says straight out that EU peeps should quit bellyaching about Biden & the U.S.:
Broke: "EU industry" suffers
Woke: it doesn't suffer enough
This war is only possible because European manufacturing companies armed Russia to teeth and their national governments turned blind eye to it. It is only fair that now both face the consequences of their actions https://t.co/FDfQlC3lTz
Idea that European countries should be sheltered from the consequences of their own choices at any cost is fundamentally rotten. European businesses profited handsomely from arming Putin, European governments did nothing (or worse). Now it's time to pay the price
In September, state-owned KazMunayGas began exporting oil through Georgia and Azerbaijan via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline. 2/https://t.co/P3qdb5xzlw
interesting even if agitprop, and it's probably not -
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) carried out a counterintelligence raid on the Chernivtsi-Bukovina Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, where they found:
- Instructions from Moscow to complain of persecution;
- Russian citizenship;
- The boyfriend of the abbot. pic.twitter.com/cPDRIBDK4L
Heartbreaking. Absolutely heartbreaking. This is Christmas in the city of #Mariupol, Ukraine. Only one year ago. Little did this stunning, calm and hopeful city know then, what awaited two months later; Russian tanks, warfare, destruction and ruin pic.twitter.com/nb9GKglEKD
Seems he expected Medvedchuk to replace Poroshenko, which would allow him to annex more of Ukraine w/o war.
But then some comedian won the election...
Путін скоріш за все надіявся, що після порошенка прийде медведчук. Тоді війни точно б не було. Україна добровільно стала би частиною росіі. Але Зеленський спутав всі карти. Напасти зразу після перемоги зеленського помішав ковід. Якось так
Fantastic @nytimes dig into the failures of Putin’s war against Ukraine. “This isn’t war…. It’s the destruction of the Russian people by their own commanders.” https://t.co/PAohPW9dZx
^ note for the above story there are so many contributing reporters, I am not going to even try to count them -
Reporting was contributed by Aaron Krolik, Adam Satariano, Alan Yuhas, Andrew Higgins, Carlotta Gall, Christiaan Triebert, Eric Schmitt, Helene Cooper, Ivan Nechepurenko, Julian E. Barnes, Mykola Ponomarenko, Natalia Yermak, Oleg Matsnev, Paul Mozur, Ronen Bergman, Stanislav Kozliuk and Valerie Hopkins. Aleksandra Koroleva, Oksana Nesterenko and Milana Mazaeva contributed translations.
How bitter and resentful is Trump Jr. to see what Zelensky, a man almost exactly his age, has accomplished? How jealous is he to see real respect and admiration, not false flattery or contemptible condescension? How pitiable and sad is the depth of Trump Jr.’s self-loathing? https://t.co/pVFmosWkFE
WTF unfucking believable, has he got nothing else he could come up with?!!! It's so nonsensical, so absurd, I bet he's got the "war on Christmas" past spinmeisters rolling in their graves!
He wished you Merry Christmas like ten times in his speech and didn’t mention Hanukkah even once even though he’s Jewish pic.twitter.com/M33yVWqowf
Theologian @CornelWest talks about why he signed on to a letter, signed by over 1,000 faith leaders, calling for a Christmas truce in Ukraine and why the United States "doesn't want to be honest about its own role" in fueling the crisis. pic.twitter.com/4pMyjy5pT6
Ukraine has called on United Nations member states to deprive Russia of its status as a permanent member of the UN Security Council and to expel it from the UN, according to a statement published by Ukraine's Foreign Ministry.
This specific is on fighting Putin disinfo but the comment is on US foreign policy communication in general - I'm sharing it here partly cause I know PP has an interest:
Like so many newly created offices and institutions of the US Government, this one is having a hard time finding its mission and its voice. It makes the US come across as whiny, insecure and petulant. Maybe it is, but surely there’s a better way to combat disinformation. https://t.co/iaWcyv5Nuo
Interesting that he's saying that even if it's propaganda:
"Putin is terminally ill. He will die before the war ends and there will be a transfer of power" - Kyrylo Budanov, Ukrainian Head of Military Intelligence in an interview with @BrittClennett of @ABCpic.twitter.com/L219NIHrhW
From a lefty Dutch cartoonist. It's the US shoving Ukrainians into the meat grinder, you see. Remarkable meeting of minds with Tucker Carlson and Matt Gaetz. World's worst horseshoe. pic.twitter.com/azAH3KKaA7
The current global crisis began in 90s, when invasion of Chechnya was unpunished. Russia must be forced into peace; only punishment for genocide of Chechens& occupation of can bring true gloval security - free Chechnya politician Alla Dudayevahttps://t.co/RIRBkc3vSP
Anyone who believes Crimea somehow naturally belongs to Ru needs to read this piece. It argues Crimea fits better w Ukraine (historically and geographically) and needs to return to it, not as a matter of justice only, but to achieve stable peace. https://t.co/PvGAf6HAN4
The world saw Grozny and shrugged. The world saw Aleppo and shrugged. And now this is at Europe's gate. To quote the old anti-fascist slogan: If you tolerate this, your children will be next. https://t.co/hzJYsFiWFp
The world didnt "shrug" at Grozny - they were busy with Rwanda and Yugoslavia, it was an internal Russian action that'd would be near impossible to interfere with, there wasn't much internet (quickly destroyed anyway) and no mobile phones/Instagram... Limited intervention was an experiment - actually Bush Sr set a precedent by not driving on to Baghdad after Kuwaiti liberation, and 10 years of overflight was similar to keeping track of the tribal areas in western Pakistan. Even now, careful US support if Ukraine vs taking on a nuclear power head-on antagonistically. A more pragmatic avoidance of the gung-ho "regime change" that Bush Jr/Cheney championed after scoffing at Gore's "policing".
The careful response in Ukraine helps avoid a Sarajevo=>WWI tripwire. Likely we should have done much more post-Crimean invasion and Donbas occupation (under Obama), but after Trump got in Jan 2017 it was out of normal people's hands aside from some slight limitations.
In general I've been critical about Obama in the Mideast/Afghanistan, including the somewhat muddy response to Aleppo (letting the Russians have their way), but he did a good job on the ISIS response/multinational response force.
And then Trump let ISIS get away and screwed the Kurds. Is that "the world", "the US", or "1 regime"/a "recent spinoff countering previous Republican foreign policy" (or just largely a successful Russian propaganda & influence putsch behind the scenes)
Listen to this interview with a former prime minister of Finland. Drops in a little dry humor while talking about the Russian threat. https://t.co/ISPepPdLuw
Justyna Gudzowska is the director of illicit finance policy at The Sentry. She previously worked for the United Nations Security Council on sanctions against ISIS and Al-Qaida and for the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
Nathalia Dukhan is a senior investigator at The Sentry, tracking illicit financial flows and armed groups in Central Africa. In recent years, she has led The Sentry's in-depth investigations on Wagner group activities in the Central African Republic
Kramatorsk. Russian terrorists have hit the city with a ballistic missile leading to civilian casualties. Some people are still under the rubble. No goal other than terror. The only way to stop Russian terrorism is to defeat it. By tanks. Fighter jets. Long-range missiles. pic.twitter.com/jYlltDDl1G
Kramatorsk, Donetsk region. Late Wednesday evening. Russia hits a residential building with an Iskander missile. Screams are coming from the rubble. Each time someone from the West is demonstratively afraid of "escalation," the "Russian world" shows its beastly grin. pic.twitter.com/sirgEfoKJC
Residential building in #Kramatorsk tonight. This isn’t so far away from all of us really. This could be you, or me, or any of our loved ones. This is happening when you’re sitting down to dinner on the same exact planet. We see the same stars. Stand with #Ukraine & make it stop. pic.twitter.com/UZ7Y2JNfix
— Tetyana Denford (Тетяна Бісик) (@TetyanaWrites) February 2, 2023
Russia is massing hundreds of thousands of troops and stepping up its bombardment, perhaps signaling the biggest assault since the start of the war. “I think it has started,” Ukraine’s leader says
KYIV, Ukraine — Moscow has massed hundreds of thousands of troops in Ukraine and is targeting dozens of places a day in a markedly stepped-up barrage of artillery attacks. Ukrainian forces are struggling to hold their ground on a 140-mile stretch in the east, awaiting tanks, armored vehicles and other weapons systems from the West.
Ukrainian officials have been bracing for weeks for a new Russian offensive that could rival the opening of the war. Now, they are warning that the campaign is underway, with the Kremlin seeking to reshape the battlefield and seize the momentum.
“I think it has started,” President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said this week.
[....]
The Russian approach shifted last month after the Kremlin named Gen. Valery V. Gerasimov to take over its struggling war effort. Since then, Moscow has steadily added forces in Donbas, seeking to do with overwhelming manpower what it has so far failed to do with firepower: break through lines that have been fortified for nine years, going back to when Russia first fomented rebellion in Ukraine’s east.
Ukrainian intelligence estimates that Russia now has more than 320,000 soldiers in the country — roughly twice the size of Moscow’s initial invasion force. Western officials and military analysts have said that Moscow also has 150,000 to 250,000 soldiers in reserve, either training or being positioned inside Russia to join the fight at any time.
“We see that they are preparing for more war, that they are mobilizing more soldiers, more than 200,000, and potentially even more than that,” NATO’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, told reporters during a visit to South Korea on Monday. “They are actively acquiring new weapons, more ammunition, ramping up their own production, but also acquiring more weapons from other authoritarian states like Iran and North Korea.”
A surge in Russian bombardment has accompanied the buildup of forces.
Konrad Muzyka, a military analyst for Rochan Consulting, which tracks Russian deployments, said that reported Russian artillery barrages had risen from an average of about 60 per day four weeks ago to more than 90 per day last week. On one day alone, 111 Ukrainian locations were targeted.
He also said that “the Russians are withdrawing a lot of equipment from storage areas.” Still, he concurred with other analysts who say that Russia will struggle to outfit large numbers of new soldiers with tanks, armored vehicles and other effective equipment. [....]
Awful details here. “We dressed him up in a Russian uniform and took him to hospital. We told him: 'Don't say you're a Ukrainian prisoner of war, because either the doctors will refuse to treat you, or the injured Russian soldiers will hear and shoot you” https://t.co/iEd9m5HT12
French President @EmmanuelMacron has elevated Ukrainian President @ZelenskyyUa to the dignity of Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor, the highest distinction that a French president can give to one of his counterparts. https://t.co/MN5r4eKtkW
“You take them out and they keep coming and coming. There are so many.” Ukraine’s military has defied expectations and bested Russian forces again and again. But the Russian military, as they joke here, is long, with seemingly inextinguishable reserves of troops and ammo. pic.twitter.com/CKf1wevzYU
there are all the answers one could want here, no need to redo long debates
Finally, a thread of threads containing everything I’ve written on Ukraine, Russia, Russia apologists, tankies, peace-trollers, and sundry practitioners of gratuitous contrarianism.
So go chug that bottle of Robitussin or whatever you need to get through this, and let’s do it.
I for one think it is wise for that particular service to stay away from that kind of thing. He did after all make sure Ukraine got the service as soon as possible after the invasion knocked out everything else.
I hear you @ZelenskyyUa! #Ukraine needs weapons to deoccupy its own land from #Russian agressor. Win the war. It is in the interest of our & security. You asked for weapons, incl. #wings MiG-29 to protect your sky & people. I will work on it. #Slovakia is with you. #EUCOpic.twitter.com/uUnfkpAoYC
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday that his country has intercepted plans by Russian secret services to destroy Moldova, and Moldovan intelligence confirmed the claim. https://t.co/i5kLq1Fs26
Last week, Russian's foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, threatened Moldova with invasion if they were to merge with neighboring Romania, which is already a NATO member.https://t.co/qnDyrgc5lD
Two days after the US published a report claiming Russia has abducted at least 6,000 Ukrainian children, children's rights commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova tells Putin she "adopted" a 15-year-old from Mariupol herself.
"There is a question that must be put forward onto the world stage. It must be placed there by the president of the United States... Where are the Ukrainian children, Mr. Putin?"
The British estimate that an astonishing 97% of the entire Russian army is in Ukraine now as Moscow seeks to turn the tide of a war that it is losing nearly a year in. @IsabelColes@davidluhnowhttps://t.co/z3Eey7aI2G
An informative report by @wbend about Wagner Group-branded ultranationalist bloggers who stoke pro-war fervor among Russian-speaking audiences & act as channels for small-donor financing that is used to buy military gear for Russia's invasion of Ukraine.https://t.co/WaecvLry7o
This was Mariupol exactly a year ago. A few days afterwards russians would come again to bomb, kill, exterminate, starve,torture, kidnap, or deport these people, turning the theater in the background into a big mass grave. All Mariupol residents wanted was a peaceful life at home pic.twitter.com/byorXJ9H1j
NEW: The alarming warnings by Blinken & other Biden aides that China is strongly considering giving arms to Russia for use in Ukraine portend a big expansion of the war. It would become a war involving the world's 3 superpowers and lead to a global rift. https://t.co/tEOWECFLJk
Major traffic jams in Kyiv this morning as parts of the city downtown are blocked for the passage of a convoy. Speculations spreading that President Biden might be paying a visit to Ukraine at this very moments
As we approach the anniversary of Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, I'm in Kyiv today to meet with President Zelenskyy and reaffirm our unwavering commitment to Ukraine’s democracy, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.
When Putin launched his invasion nearly one year ago, he thought Ukraine was weak and the West was divided. He thought he could outlast us. But he was dead wrong.
Over the last year, the United States has built a coalition of nations from the Atlantic to the Pacific to help defend Ukraine with unprecedented military, economic, and humanitarian support – and that support will endure.
Imagine what it is like to go to bed to air raid sirens, wake up to air raid sirens and look out your window and see the President of the United States in your neighborhood. The rest of his life, this young boy will remember how America stood with Ukraine. https://t.co/ieo6nj2isS
Credit where due. Biden warned of the Russian invasion. He reacted wisely and flexibly. And now he has gone to Kyiv to give hope. We haven’t had a statesman like this in a long time. pic.twitter.com/yxpgJDz29O
How Russia came to fail in Ukraine, battle after battle. A wonderful long read about the last year of Russia’s bumbling but brutal invasion of #Ukraine from the indomitable @IAPonomarenko https://t.co/iF78ninG8e
Putin's state-of-the-union address on the war in Ukraine is underway.
He starts by insisting his decision to invade a year ago was justified. "Step by step, we will accomplish all our tasks carefully and consistently." pic.twitter.com/kZM7vGhe2J
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of Russia's mercenary group Wagner, accused unspecified officials of deliberately denying his fighters sufficient ammunition as part of an ongoing rivalry between himself and parts of the Russian elite.https://t.co/Yi1e8TYxMS
At the high point of the Vietnam War, the US was losing 1k-2k soldiers per MONTH. Even if Ukraine is overestimating Russian fatalities by 100%, Russia is losing 3k troops per WEEK. https://t.co/AFyfb0Skjz
Russia's current fatalities in the war are comparable to what the USSR lost during its disastrous invasion of Finland (Winter War). Though the Soviets managed to achieve that objective in only 3 months.
For those pointing out that Russia is a dictatorship and therefore indifferent to loss of life: dictatorships lost numerous wars, at least some of them a result of suffering high casualties. At some point, morale plummets and sustaining hostilities becomes socially impossible.
During today’ OSCE PC meeting, when Russian propagandist (they still call them ‘diplomats’ to gain some credibility) started reading his statement, the mtg room was emptied immediately.
Biden does not think China will provide weaponry to Russia for its war in Ukraine, but warned that any such action would lead to consequences https://t.co/rVoqp2fM61
The Biden administration declared its solidarity with Ukraine with fresh action as well as strong words on Friday, piling sweeping new sanctions on Moscow and approving a new $2 billion weapons package to re-arm Kyiv a year after Russia’s invasion. https://t.co/CLdyUQatMK
A brief hello with President Zelensky, as I film him entering his packed press conference on this one year anniversary of total war. pic.twitter.com/EWqoiP1uFO
Zelensky now says the scariest day of the war for him so far was Bucha and what he saw there after liberation. "I saw that devil was here,"he said during the press conference in Kyiv today. And here's how he looked that day. pic.twitter.com/RsA1LBlUWR
the most applicable is the 2nd half of the article - note this means the Tucker Carlson types are speaking to 28% of voters (not even anywhere near the Trump approval rating during his presidency)
[....]
RUSSIA’S INVASION OF UKRAINE IS NOT A TOP CONCERN OF AMERICAN VOTERS
When voters were asked to name the top five most important foreign policy issues facing the United States, terrorism was first with 49% mentioning the issue, immigration second with 45%, cyberattacks with 41%, drug trafficking at 41%, and climate change at 39%. It is noteworthy that these issues may be international, but they have strong implications for domestic policy as well. U.S./China relations was mentioned 27% of the time, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was mentioned 24% of the time. Upholding democracy globally was mentioned only 14% of the time. Americans appear to be more concerned about potential issues at home, versus wide ranging geopolitical events with not yet clear ramifications.
AMERICANS STILL SUPPORT AIDING UKRAINE
When it comes to Ukraine, according to Gallup, one year into the war, 39% of Americans say the U.S. is doing the right amount to aid Ukraine, 30% say not enough, and 28% say the U.S. is doing too much. Additionally,nearly three-quarters of Americans support continuing economic (71%) and military (72%) aid to Ukraine, and 58% are willing to continue to support the country “as long as it takes,” even if U.S. households will have to pay higher prices for gas and food.
EUROPE AND THE NATO ALLIANCE ARE SEEN AS INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT
According to a 2022 poll of American public opinion on U.S. foreign policy by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, 81% of Americans say the United States should maintain or increase its commitment to NATO, “the highest level of support recorded since Chicago Council Surveys began in 1974.” They also found Americans’ support for U.S. military bases in Europe to be their highest levels in nearly 50 years of polling by the Council. The Chicago Council notes that this represents a notable shift from past surveys when their security concerns focused squarely on the Middle East. Further polling found Americans across the political spectrum agree Europe is now the most important region for U.S. security (50%), up from 15% two years ago.
AMERICANS PREFER TO WAGE ECONOMIC WARFARE
Forty-eight percent of Republicans favor increasing tariffs, versus 34% of Democrats. So much for the party of free trade. This is clearly a reaction to the economic rise of China. Gallup polling indicates that as of 2022, nearly 80% of Americans have an unfavorable view of China, a drastic increase from 2018 when it was 45%. U.S. hegemony derives much of its power from the country’s economic dominance. The rise of China as an economic competitor and possible adversary has convinced many that steps are needed to counter the threat. But do Americans feel this means we must now prepare for war with China the way the country was for so long with the Soviet Union? When Gallup asked whether the U.S. was spending too little, the right amount, or too much on national defense and military in 1981, 51% of respondents answered too little, 22% about right, and only 15% too much. In 2022, 32% said too little, 34% about right, and 31% too much. This seems to indicate Americans may be more willing to use economic competition to achieve their goals rather than military force.
CONCLUSION
Foreign policy has never been a front and center issue for the American public unless the country was involved in a major war. Thus, it is not surprising that American attitudes on foreign policy are hard to pin down. In some instances, pollsters may simply be measuring non-attitudes. In other scenarios, Americans may have a complex set of opinions; favoring, for instance, a general isolationist approach but valuing at the same time our alliances and our participation in international organizations or favoring our position in Ukraine but preferring economic warfare to troop deployments. This poses a challenge for policy makers but also illustrates the importance of clear leadership and messaging when it comes to foreign policy.
The whole article is worth reading, though, as it does a good job of getting across how isolationist the electorate is overall. So the support for Ukraine against Putin is even more remarkable - people clearly see it as a potential war against the west in general that must be stopped.
@ICC Prosecutor Karim Kahn “is set to open two war crimes cases […] and will seek arrest warrants for individuals involved in the alleged abduction of Ukrainian children and targeting of civilian infrastructure. New from @PamelaFalkhttps://t.co/RSVeLm2Vdc
A Russian missile strike on a popular restaurant in Kramatorsk, Ukraine killed at least 11 people, wounded dozens more, and showed the peril of trying to claim pieces of ordinary life during war.
It turns out that “give some weapons to Ukraine to use defending itself” is actually cheaper than having US troops fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. https://t.co/yALUoYbzaq
Comments
by artappraiser on Tue, 10/25/2022 - 10:40pm
Creative digital journalism
by PeraclesPlease on Thu, 10/27/2022 - 1:42am
A lack of sergeants?
by PeraclesPlease on Thu, 10/27/2022 - 8:51am
by artappraiser on Fri, 10/28/2022 - 5:21pm
by artappraiser on Fri, 10/28/2022 - 6:48pm
by PeraclesPlease on Tue, 11/01/2022 - 1:26am
if true, probably needs to be filed under 'what a tangled web we weave':
by artappraiser on Tue, 11/01/2022 - 1:39am
Howso? Russia's boy Donnie signed our rapid am-scray from Afghanistan.
This is just rewarding Pootie twice.
by PeraclesPlease on Tue, 11/01/2022 - 1:53am
by artappraiser on Tue, 11/01/2022 - 6:10pm
by artappraiser on Fri, 11/04/2022 - 9:22pm
by artappraiser on Wed, 11/09/2022 - 1:49pm
this guy is clearly fluent in Kremlin-speak:
by artappraiser on Thu, 11/10/2022 - 1:14pm
by artappraiser on Fri, 11/11/2022 - 8:42pm
WWIII is trending on Twitter. But CNN TV is only covering it starting now, after their commercial.
by artappraiser on Tue, 11/15/2022 - 2:32pm
p.s.:
by artappraiser on Tue, 11/15/2022 - 2:35pm
Certainly begs the question of whether the "western allies" are telling the public a little white lie while reading Russia the riot act behind the scenesl to avoid WWIII. I did catch part of the Pentagon press briefing with Austin & Milley and they seemed sincere and forthcoming, but you never know these things for sure.
by artappraiser on Thu, 11/17/2022 - 12:08am
How Ukraine Blew Up a Key Russian Bridge
By James Glanz and Marco Hernandez @ NYTimes.com Nov. 17, 2022
The attack severed a crucial Russian supply line and triggered a month of Russian airstrikes. Experts reconstructed how Ukraine pulled it off.
by artappraiser on Thu, 11/17/2022 - 11:14am
by artappraiser on Sun, 11/20/2022 - 6:46pm
by artappraiser on Tue, 11/22/2022 - 11:20pm
Galeev says straight out that EU peeps should quit bellyaching about Biden & the U.S.:
by artappraiser on Fri, 11/25/2022 - 7:09pm
Kazakhstan been watching the Russian political talk shows?
by artappraiser on Fri, 11/25/2022 - 8:06pm
The Scottish government!
by artappraiser on Mon, 11/28/2022 - 6:56pm
interesting even if agitprop, and it's probably not -
by artappraiser on Sun, 12/04/2022 - 4:15am
Lessons from Chechnya
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1599865377164779521.html
by PeraclesPlease on Wed, 12/07/2022 - 6:12pm
video wth English subtitles -
by artappraiser on Fri, 12/09/2022 - 6:08pm
by artappraiser on Sun, 12/11/2022 - 1:22am
Why'd Putin wait on Ukraine?
Seems he expected Medvedchuk to replace Poroshenko, which would allow him to annex more of Ukraine w/o war.
But then some comedian won the election...
by PeraclesPlease on Wed, 12/14/2022 - 3:14am
by artappraiser on Sun, 12/18/2022 - 3:52am
^ note for the above story there are so many contributing reporters, I am not going to even try to count them -
by artappraiser on Sun, 12/18/2022 - 3:59am
by artappraiser on Tue, 12/20/2022 - 5:49pm
Zelensky planning to visit US Capitol in person on Wednesday
BY LAURA KELLY, MIKE LILLIS AND JULIA MUELLER - 12/20/22 4:58 PM ET
@ TheHill.com. They've headlined it, even tho lots of other news is going on.
by artappraiser on Tue, 12/20/2022 - 6:22pm
by artappraiser on Wed, 12/21/2022 - 3:01pm
WTF unfucking believable, has he got nothing else he could come up with?!!! It's so nonsensical, so absurd, I bet he's got the "war on Christmas" past spinmeisters rolling in their graves!
by artappraiser on Fri, 12/23/2022 - 4:02am
Elsewhere quite believable
by PeraclesPlease on Fri, 12/23/2022 - 4:10pm
Amy & Cornel Tue uo their loose ends.
by PeraclesPlease on Fri, 12/23/2022 - 4:26pm
makes a good point that there's this thing that most of them share with Trump as well:
by artappraiser on Fri, 12/23/2022 - 5:22pm
by artappraiser on Tue, 12/27/2022 - 11:54am
Russia's in trouble now
by PeraclesPlease on Wed, 12/28/2022 - 12:42pm
This specific is on fighting Putin disinfo but the comment is on US foreign policy communication in general - I'm sharing it here partly cause I know PP has an interest:
He self-describes as
I have opinions. Mostly on US-Africa policy. Former CIA, State, NSC. Still recovering. Currently senior associate @CSISAfrica
And I believe him on that, have been following him for a while on Africa and seems knowledgeable enough to have all the experience he claims.
.
by artappraiser on Sun, 01/01/2023 - 10:53pm
Interesting that he's saying that even if it's propaganda:
Especially as he's not saying it will end the invasion.
by artappraiser on Wed, 01/04/2023 - 6:58pm
also see Dan Salmon's tweet I just posted on the Crime News thread
by artappraiser on Wed, 01/11/2023 - 12:50am
by PeraclesPlease on Thu, 01/12/2023 - 4:30am
Great Chechen interview
by PeraclesPlease on Thu, 01/12/2023 - 4:45am
by artappraiser on Sat, 01/14/2023 - 1:10am
by artappraiser on Sun, 01/15/2023 - 3:21pm
by artappraiser on Sun, 01/15/2023 - 3:35pm
The world didnt "shrug" at Grozny - they were busy with Rwanda and Yugoslavia, it was an internal Russian action that'd would be near impossible to interfere with, there wasn't much internet (quickly destroyed anyway) and no mobile phones/Instagram... Limited intervention was an experiment - actually Bush Sr set a precedent by not driving on to Baghdad after Kuwaiti liberation, and 10 years of overflight was similar to keeping track of the tribal areas in western Pakistan. Even now, careful US support if Ukraine vs taking on a nuclear power head-on antagonistically. A more pragmatic avoidance of the gung-ho "regime change" that Bush Jr/Cheney championed after scoffing at Gore's "policing".
The careful response in Ukraine helps avoid a Sarajevo=>WWI tripwire. Likely we should have done much more post-Crimean invasion and Donbas occupation (under Obama), but after Trump got in Jan 2017 it was out of normal people's hands aside from some slight limitations.
In general I've been critical about Obama in the Mideast/Afghanistan, including the somewhat muddy response to Aleppo (letting the Russians have their way), but he did a good job on the ISIS response/multinational response force.
And then Trump let ISIS get away and screwed the Kurds. Is that "the world", "the US", or "1 regime"/a "recent spinoff countering previous Republican foreign policy" (or just largely a successful Russian propaganda & influence putsch behind the scenes)
by PeraclesPlease on Tue, 01/17/2023 - 3:31am
by artappraiser on Tue, 01/24/2023 - 5:49pm
by artappraiser on Sat, 01/28/2023 - 11:24am
by PeraclesPlease on Sat, 01/28/2023 - 1:19pm
by artappraiser on Thu, 02/02/2023 - 12:30am
by artappraiser on Thu, 02/02/2023 - 12:42am
Ukraine Fears New Offensive Is Underway as Russia Masses Troops
Russia is massing hundreds of thousands of troops and stepping up its bombardment, perhaps signaling the biggest assault since the start of the war. “I think it has started,” Ukraine’s leader says
By Marc Santora and Michael Schwirtz @NYTimes.com, Updated Feb. 2, 2023, 12:01 a.m. ET
by artappraiser on Thu, 02/02/2023 - 12:50am
BBC
by artappraiser on Thu, 02/02/2023 - 2:01am
by artappraiser on Wed, 02/08/2023 - 9:35pm
by artappraiser on Wed, 02/08/2023 - 9:44pm
there are all the answers one could want here, no need to redo long debates
(found retweeted by Borzou Daragahi @borzou)
by artappraiser on Thu, 02/09/2023 - 1:40am
So Elmo interfered with UA drones after all
by PeraclesPlease on Thu, 02/09/2023 - 1:53pm
I for one think it is wise for that particular service to stay away from that kind of thing. He did after all make sure Ukraine got the service as soon as possible after the invasion knocked out everything else.
by artappraiser on Thu, 02/09/2023 - 2:18pm
by artappraiser on Thu, 02/09/2023 - 2:15pm
Slovakia's PM:
by artappraiser on Thu, 02/09/2023 - 6:20pm
by artappraiser on Thu, 02/09/2023 - 7:30pm
by artappraiser on Fri, 02/10/2023 - 2:43pm
In the frozen trenches - except this is 2023, not 1917:
by artappraiser on Tue, 02/14/2023 - 8:40pm
Marina Yankina, Russian Defense Official, Falls From Window to Her Death
by artappraiser on Thu, 02/16/2023 - 4:31pm
by artappraiser on Thu, 02/16/2023 - 5:02pm
by artappraiser on Fri, 02/17/2023 - 1:19pm
by artappraiser on Fri, 02/17/2023 - 11:26pm
by artappraiser on Sun, 02/19/2023 - 11:12pm
by artappraiser on Sun, 02/19/2023 - 11:13pm
Biden there?
by artappraiser on Mon, 02/20/2023 - 4:38am
by artappraiser on Mon, 02/20/2023 - 1:00pm
by artappraiser on Mon, 02/20/2023 - 11:04pm
by artappraiser on Mon, 02/20/2023 - 11:15pm
by artappraiser on Mon, 02/20/2023 - 11:23pm
by artappraiser on Tue, 02/21/2023 - 3:58am
Fox is still doing it, same old same old -
‘The Risk Was Real’: Fox Hosts Ignore Own Reporters To Falsely Suggest Biden Air Raid Sirens Were Faked
by artappraiser on Tue, 02/21/2023 - 2:50pm
by artappraiser on Mon, 02/20/2023 - 1:53pm
I agree! Will never forget it!
by artappraiser on Tue, 02/21/2023 - 4:05am
(Haven't read most of it yet but Ponomarenko is one of the best)
by artappraiser on Tue, 02/21/2023 - 4:15am
Seddon is summarizing live....
by artappraiser on Tue, 02/21/2023 - 4:22am
by artappraiser on Tue, 02/21/2023 - 7:24pm
by artappraiser on Thu, 02/23/2023 - 6:38pm
(Edit to add, looked it up on the last one Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe)
by artappraiser on Thu, 02/23/2023 - 6:47pm
more from the OSCE meeting
by artappraiser on Fri, 02/24/2023 - 6:28pm
by artappraiser on Fri, 02/24/2023 - 7:56pm
by artappraiser on Fri, 02/24/2023 - 11:02pm
still like a real person!
by artappraiser on Sat, 02/25/2023 - 12:36am
by artappraiser on Sat, 02/25/2023 - 1:31am
the most applicable is the 2nd half of the article - note this means the Tucker Carlson types are speaking to 28% of voters (not even anywhere near the Trump approval rating during his presidency)
The whole article is worth reading, though, as it does a good job of getting across how isolationist the electorate is overall. So the support for Ukraine against Putin is even more remarkable - people clearly see it as a potential war against the west in general that must be stopped.
by artappraiser on Sat, 02/25/2023 - 1:47am
by artappraiser on Mon, 02/27/2023 - 6:13pm
by artappraiser on Wed, 03/01/2023 - 12:16pm
by artappraiser on Sun, 03/05/2023 - 4:53pm
Ukraine war hits hiccups
Throwing soldiers at problem?
https://kyivindependent.com/national/ukrainian-soldiers-in-bakhmut-our-t...
Strategy diverging?
https://kyivindependent.com/news-feed/bild-zaluzhnyi-and-zelensky-have-c...
by PeraclesPlease on Mon, 03/06/2023 - 1:40pm
by artappraiser on Tue, 05/09/2023 - 8:24pm
by artappraiser on Sat, 05/13/2023 - 7:46pm
by artappraiser on Sat, 05/20/2023 - 12:28pm
by artappraiser on Sun, 06/04/2023 - 8:47pm
by artappraiser on Mon, 06/19/2023 - 4:12am
A Night Out for Dinner Ends in Destruction and Death
A Russian missile strike on a popular restaurant in Kramatorsk, Ukraine killed at least 11 people, wounded dozens more, and showed the peril of trying to claim pieces of ordinary life during war.
By Natalia Yermak and Dzvinka Pinchuk
Photographs by Mauricio Lima
Reporting from Kramatorsk, Ukraine
by artappraiser on Fri, 06/30/2023 - 10:45pm
Hey Glenn Greenwald et.al:
by artappraiser on Wed, 07/12/2023 - 1:02am
And so were overflights for 10 years rather than boots on the ground.
by PeraclesPlease on Wed, 07/12/2023 - 2:55am