WW3? Ukraine/US vs. Donbass/Russia

[Ravenlocke]

Text:
“They know they lost. Their troops are falling apart. Today, Defense Minister Shoigu announced an offensive in the Liman direction. And this is clearly aimed, as far as I can tell, at Kharkov. So the Russians are now on the offensive in the northeast of the defensive lines. To Kharkov through Liman. And what is this man, Zelensky, most likely to do with weapons that are capable of hitting Russian territory? He will launch them. Why are you even giving him anything? Because he is desperate and wants to drag us into the war.”

What is important to understand, is that Zelensky is a puppet, and Ukraine a vassal state, this is a proxy war. Zelensky’s wishes are of no consequences, it’s the puppet masters, that have been engineering a conflict against Russia for decades, they are the ones sending weapons and money to drag and escalate the conflict.

https://twitter.com/mazzenilsson/sta...27749718921216

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Text:
According to Business Insider, almost a third of the Bradley IFVs supplied to Ukraine by the US have been lost or damaged.

It is reliably known that 28 to 34 of the 109 M2 Bradley IFVs have been taken out of service.

America needs another day of celebration, or rather a day of mourning for the destroyed military equipment and the taxes of ordinary citizens.

https://twitter.com/mazzenilsson/sta...31759913947136

[Ravenlocke]

Text:
Russia's main objections to the grain deal:

The Black Sea Initiative was concluded almost a year ago, on 22 July 2022, and in addition to the export of foodstuffs from Ukraine, provided for the fulfilment of a number of Russian conditions, which have been sabotaged:

🔹 Rosselkhozbank has not been reconnected to SWIFT for a year.

🔹 The Togliatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline did not work and was undermined in Kiev-controlled territory in June.

🔹 Food from Ukraine has not been sent to the poorest countries in Africa and Asia, despite the original deal being aimed at preventing a global food crisis.

🔸The humanitarian corridor for ships to pass through was used by Ukraine to attack Sevastopol both last year and this year.

Today, Dmitry Peskov said that the deal would be "terminated". At the same time, he said that Russia would return to the deal as soon as the agreements on it were fulfilled.

https://twitter.com/mazzenilsson/sta...32462367592448

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https://twitter.com/200_zoka/status/1680960724678459393

[Ravenlocke]

Text:
Russian Offensive in Kharkov

The Russian army has launched an offensive in the Kupyansk direction, according to the Commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces.

"The goal of the Russian troops is to defeat the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kupyansk area and continue the offensive deep into Ukrainian battle formations," stated Syrsky.

Kharkov governor also mentioned a Russian offensive in Kupyansk earlier today

IL RUSSO

https://twitter.com/dana916/status/1680980802807447554

[Ravenlocke]

Text:
Russia: Kiev committed a terrorist attack on the Crimean bridge, we are checking the involvement of the West

"Civilians Aleksej and Natalija Kulik, residents of the Novooskolj city district of the Belgorod region, who were crossing the bridge by car, died. Their 14-year-old daughter Angelina was left an orphan and was hospitalized in a medium serious condition," the Russian MSP announced.

If it is revealed that the drones that attacked the bridge are of Western origin or that Western countries are involved in the planning, financing and execution of this operation, this will confirm their complicity in the terrorist activities of the Kiev regime, concludes the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia.

Russia strongly condemns the terrorist attack on the Crimean bridge, which is a purely civilian object, hoping that the international community will show integrity and provide an appropriate assessment of the crimes committed by the Ukrainian authorities.

https://twitter.com/SpriterTeam/stat...09691398782976

[Ravenlocke]

https://twitter.com/SpriterTeam/stat...92280214208515

https://twitter.com/SpriterTeam/stat...88868344938496

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Putin pointed out that the "good news" is that the columns of the Crimean bridge were not damaged, "and that is the most important thing".

The Russian president said that he is waiting for concrete proposals to improve security on the Crimean bridge, because this is the second terrorist attack on a strategically important transport facility

https://twitter.com/SpriterTeam/stat...87262278877185

[Ravenlocke]

Text:
Russia's response to the terrorist attack will certainly follow, with the Russian Ministry of Defense already preparing relevant proposals, says Putin.

Key statements from Putin regarding the explosion on the Crimean Bridge:

It is necessary to provide all the necessary assistance to the girl injured in the terrorist attack on the bridge and her relatives.

Reconstruction work on the Crimean Bridge should begin promptly.

Putin is waiting for specific proposals to enhance security on the Crimean Bridge.

It is important to provide comprehensive support to people who have been affected by the closure of the Crimean Bridge.

Putin has instructed to thoroughly investigate the incident on the Crimean Bridge.

Putin referred to the undamaged supports of the Crimean Bridge as "good news" and emphasized it as the most important aspect.

The terrorist attack by the Kiev regime on the Crimean Bridge was not only senseless but also cruel, as innocent civilians lost their lives.

Putin holds Kiev responsible for the attack of unmanned naval vehicles on the Crimean Bridge.

The situation after the terrorist attack on the Crimean Bridge is "generally clear."

Putin deemed Kiev's attack on the Crimean Bridge as meaningless from a military perspective.

Russia will respond to the terrorist attack on the Crimean Bridge, with the Ministry of Defense preparing proposals.

The Crimean Bridge has long ceased to be used for military transportation.
https://twitter.com/DD_Geopolitics/s...95390051721216

[Ravenlocke]

Text:
New details of yesterday's massive strike on Kharkov from Napravets in Ukraine...

"In Kharkov last night, two S-300 missiles attacked the dormitory of the Law Academy of Yaroslav the Wise (Dinamovskaya St., 4)

The facility was a temporary accommodation for foreign mercenaries. Immediately after the strikes, several ambulances arrived on the territory of the building. There is information that up to 30 militants were liquidated and wounded."

https://twitter.com/DD_Geopolitics/s...65741716316160

[Ravenlocke]

https://twitter.com/RT_com/status/1680993032731230208

https://www.rt.com/russia/579860-put...tement-bridge/

Putin vows retaliation for new Crimean Bridge strike

Russian President Vladimir Putin has vowed retaliation for a new strike on the Crimean Bridge, targeted by two Ukrainian naval drones overnight. Exact retaliatory measures are currently being weighed by the country’s Defense Ministry, he said during an extraordinary meeting with senior officials on Monday.

“The incident is a yet another terrorist attack by the Kiev regime. This crime is pointless from the military point of view, since the Crimean Bridge has long not been used for military transport, and brutal, since only innocent civilians were killed and injured,” the president stressed.

Putin said Moscow would retaliate harshly for the attack. The Russian Defense Ministry is already preparing “necessary proposals” for such measures, he added.

The president also urged officials to ramp up security measures around the bridge, noting that this marks the second such blow against it. Both the road and railway sections were heavily damaged last October, when a truck packed with explosives was detonated on the bridge.

“I am waiting for specific proposals to improve the security of this strategically important transport facility,” Putin added.

The bridge received considerable damage in the new attack, with one of its road sections “completely destroyed,” Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin, tasked with organizing repairs to the structure, said during the meeting. However, he told the president that the bridge’s pillars had not been damaged in the blast.

“That’s good news. If we can speak about some good news here at all. But the fact that the pillars are not damaged is the most important thing,” Putin replied.

The morning blasts, believed to have been caused by seaborne drones, killed two Russian civilians who were traveling across the bridge in a vehicle, and left their now orphaned 14-year-old daughter injured.

[Ravenlocke]

https://twitter.com/narrative_hole/s...00890570510336

[Ravenlocke]

https://twitter.com/ArthurM40330824/...92726517514240

https://twitter.com/ArthurM40330824/...92073158205440

https://twitter.com/ArthurM40330824/...91379697156098

https://twitter.com/Trollstoy88/stat...73087829815301

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https://twitter.com/SpriterTeam/stat...92978838405122

[Ravenlocke]

https://twitter.com/narrative_hole/s...22215850573825

https://twitter.com/narrative_hole/s...98987651686405

[Rizotto]

You'll never hear about this on MSM:
Almost half of Poland's population opposes Ukraine joining NATO.
Poland has grievances against the nazi Banderista regime running Ukraine.

Anti Ukraine PROTESTS In POLAND

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=YDjaSYIw9Cg

[Tintin]

A Scott Ritter Investigation: Agent Zelensky - Part 2

Scott's description:

In the intelligence business, every agent is assigned tasks by his or her handlers. In the case of Agent Zelensky, I’ve identified ten obligations that define his relationship with his foreign intelligence masters. Once you’ve examined each of these, it becomes clear why Zelensky the comedian said one thing, and Zelensky the President did another. What are the true reasons behind the current situation in Ukraine today? What kind of operation has the CIA been running in Ukraine over the course of many years? You will find the answers to these and other questions in Part 2 of my investigative documentary film, “Agent Zelensky.” Click here to watch Part 1.

As reported a couple of pages back on this thread Part 1 was released a week or so ago and can be viewed here.

[Bill Ryan]

Just published, a new summary from The Moon of Alabama.

• https://www.moonofalabama.org/2023/0...tive.html#more

Ukraine Sitrep - Reality is Defeating the War Narrative

At the beginning of the war in Ukraine I pointed out that the false narrative of 'Ukraine is winning' which the 'western' propaganda steadily promoted would not win the real war on the ground.

As the war continued I made the point again and again.

• Propaganda Does Not Change The War - The Ukraine Is Still Losing - Updated - March 25, 2022
• Ukraine - War Propaganda And News Items - October 11, 2022
• No - Such Propaganda Delusions Will Not Win The War - June 07, 2023

In this week's SCF column Alastair Crooke makes the same point in much more detail.

A Bonfire of the Vanities

Hubris consists in believing that a contrived narrative can, in and of itself, bring victory. It is a fantasy that has swept through the West – most emphatically since the 17th century. Recently, the Daily Telegraph published a ridiculous nine minute video purporting to show that ‘narratives win wars’, and that set-backs in the battlespace are incidentals: What matters is to have a thread of unitary narrative articulated, both vertically and horizontally, throughout the spectrum – from the special forces’ soldier in the field through to the pinnacle of the political apex.
The gist of it is that ‘we’ (the West) have compelling a narrative, whilst Russia’s is ‘clunky’ – ‘Us winning therefore, is inevitable’.
It is easy to scoff, but nonetheless we can recognise in it a certain substance (even if that substance is an invention). Narrative is now how western élites imagine the world.
...
The weakness to this new ‘liberal’ authoritarianism is that its key narrative myths can get busted. One just has; slowly, people begin to speak reality.
Ukraine: How do you win an unwinnable war? Well, the élite answer has been through narrative. By insisting against reality that Ukraine is winning, and Russia is ‘cracking’. But such hubris eventually is busted by facts on the ground. Even the western ruling classes can see their demand for a successful Ukrainian offensive has flopped. At the end, military facts are more powerful than political waffle: One side is destroyed, its many dead become the tragic ‘agency’ to upending dogma.

Even as reality seeps out the narrative of a 'successful' western battle tactics in form of combined arms warfare gets reinforced.

Ukraine aims to sap Russia’s defenses, as U.S. urges a decisive breakthrough - Washington Post

Western officials and analysts say Ukraine’s military has so far embraced an attrition-based approach aimed largely at creating vulnerabilities in Russian lines by firing artillery and missiles at command, transport and logistics sites at the rear of the Russian position, instead of conducting what Western military officials call “combined arms” operations that involve coordinated maneuvers by large groups of tanks, armored vehicles, infantry, artillery and, sometimes, air power. Ukraine’s military leaders argue that, lacking aviation might, they must avoid unnecessary losses against an adversary with a far larger pool of recruits and weaponry. To preserve manpower, Ukraine has fielded just four of a dozen trained brigades in the current campaign.

A new element in the narrative is that Ukraine is loosing because it does not use the glorious combined arms operations 'western' military told them to use.

Franz-Stefan Gady, from the British International Institute for Strategic Studies, has just been in Ukraine where he talked with Ukrainian soldiers and commanders at the frontline. In a Twitter thread he summarizes what he has seen but is strongly promoting the same narrative:

By and large this is an infantryman’s fight (squad, platoon & company level) supported by artillery along most of the frontline. This has several implications:
1st: Progress is measured by yards/meters and not km/miles given reduced mobility.
2nd: Mechanized formations are rarely deployed due to lack of enablers for maneuver. This includes insufficient quantities of de-mining equipment, air defenses, ATGMs etc. 2.) Ukrainian forces have still not mastered combined arms operations at scale. Operations are more sequential than synchronized. This creates various problems for the offense & IMO is the main cause for slow progress.
...
4.) Minefields are a problem as most observers know. They confine maneuver space & slow advances. But much more impactful than the minefields per se on Ukraine’s ability to break through Russian defenses is 🇺🇦s inability to conduct complex combined arms operations at scale.
Lack of a comprehensive combined arms approach at scale makes Ukrainian forces more vulnerable to Russian ATGMs, artillery etc. while advancing. So it's not just about equipment. There’s simply no systematic pulling apart of the Russian defensive system that I could observe.

The narrative element is the same as in the Washington Post. That the Ukrainians are not using our vaunted combined arms operations is the reason for their failure.

The well synchronized New York Times piece is making the same point:

But that artillery-centric approach raises questions about whether Ukraine has lost confidence in the combined arms tactics — synchronized attacks by infantry, armor and artillery forces — that nine new brigades learned from American and other Western advisers in recent months. Western officials heralded the approach as more efficient than the costly strategy of wearing Russian forces down by attrition and depleting their ammunition stocks. Senior U.S. officials in recent weeks had privately expressed frustration that some Ukrainian commanders, exasperated at the slow pace of the initial assault and fearing increased casualties among their ranks, had reverted to old habits — decades of Soviet-style training in artillery barrages — rather than sticking with the Western tactics and pressing harder to breach the Russian defenses.

However, the narrative is wrong.

The Ukrainian do not fear increased casualties. They did try combined arms warfare in the beginning of the counteroffensive in early June. After a few days of trying again and again they noted that the attacks failed with ever greater losses and were not sustainable. A third of the tanks and other material the 'west' had sent to Ukraine was destroyed in the attempts to use 'fire and maneuver' to break through Russian mine fields and defense lines.

Ukraine then returned to the current 'mosquito tactics' where small groups of infantry soldiers try to make small progress bit by bit. The likely loss of more tanks was thus replaced with the likely loss of more lives.

The narrative element that a combined arms attack would have more success is simply false.

As Crooke explains:

The hubris, at one level, lay in NATO’s pitting of its alleged ‘superior’ military doctrine and weapons versus that of a deprecated, Soviet-style, hide-bound, Russian military rigidity – and ‘incompetence’. But military facts on the ground have exposed the western doctrine as hubris – with Ukrainian forces decimated, and its NATO weaponry lying in smoking ruins. It was NATO that insisted on re-enacting the Battle of 73 Easting (from the Iraqi desert, but now translated into Ukraine).
In Iraq, the ‘armoured fist’ punched easily into Iraqi tank formations: It was indeed a thrusting ‘fist’ that knocked the Iraqi opposition ‘for six’. But, as the U.S. commander at that tank battle (Colonel Macgregor), frankly admits, its outcome against a de-motivated opposition largely was fortuitous.
Nonetheless ‘73 Easting’ is a NATO myth, turned into the general doctrine for the Ukrainian forces – a doctrine structured around Iraq’s unique circumstance.

In the first year of the second world war the German Wehrmacht used combined arms warfare to wage its blitzkrieg against inferior adversaries. The tactic failed two years later when it tried to break through solid Soviet defense lines.

In the battle of 73 Easting the U.S. army could repeat blitzkrieg tactics because he had air superiority, well trained troops and better weapons. But the circumstance in Ukraine can not be compared to a mobile war in the desert.

--- The Black Sea grain deal has, as we expected, ended. The Ukraine reacted to this anticipated loss with a another successful attack on the Kerch bridge. Road traffic will be hindered or blocked for two or three months but the more important rail lines along the route are still intact.

As the grain deal was expected to fail, the Ukrainians may well have thought of breaking the blockade of its harbors by asking for more ships to come. But the Russia military has now used a large drone and missile attack to make sure that the facilities in Odessa and other Ukrainian Black Sea harbors can no longer be used to load or unload ships. It thus does not make sense for any ships to go there.

--- Over the last week the ground war in east Ukraine has further intensified. In the north of the eastern contact line the Russian army has launched its own attacks. In the center and south the Ukrainians still try to break through Russian defenses. But they are losing about 700 soldiers per day with little to show for the losses.

The Russian's are again concentrating on the defeat of the Ukrainian artillery. Over the last five days they claimed to have destroyed 27 brigade level ammunition depots. Each of these should usually hold around 30 tons of shells and missiles. Thus such attacks add up. During those five days the Russians also claimed to have destroyed some 66 Ukrainian artillery pieces. It is race of what will be completely lost first, the ammunition the Ukrainian's can use or the guns that are needed to fire it.

But some Ukrainians still insist on continuing the senseless fight.

War Monitor @WarMonitors - 10:38 UTC · Jul 18, 2023 ⚡️“Returning Bakhmut is a matter of honour. We have lost many of our brothers there, we simply must recapture it”— Syrsky during a BBC interview

The way too emotional interview quote is not in the writeup of the BBC interview but I still have not seen a video of it.

That Ukraine has already lost many soldiers in Bakhmut should certainly not be a reason to continue fighting for it. It has by now only symbolic value. Even it would again change hands it would not change the trajectory of the bigger war.

Ukraine is loosing that war. The Jig Is Up and NATO knows it. Ukraine will never be allowed to become a member.

A new narrative element is creeping in with talks about a ceasefire in Ukraine. It would give the Ukraine time to refit its military.

But Russia has absolutely no reason to agree to a pause in the fight. During the war its military has become larger and better and a total defeat of the Ukrainian army is only a question of time.

The U.S. and NATO will soon have lost their big proxy war against Russia.

In light of this reality the much larger, centuries old narrative of the superior West is also breaking down.

This will have global consequences for decades to come.

[Vicus]

Ukrainian naval terror drone bases destroyed – Moscow 18 Jul, 2023 09:15

The strikes came in retaliation to the Crimean Bridge attack, which claimed two civilian lives


Launch of a high-precision Kalibr cruise missile from a surface ship.

The Russian military has conducted strikes on Ukrainian facilities used to prepare terrorist attacks, the Defense Ministry reported on Tuesday. The attacks were carried out in retaliation to Monday’s attack on the Crimean Bridge, which claimed two civilian lives and left one child injured.

In a statement, the ministry said that Russian forces overnight launched “a group retaliatory strike” using high-precision sea-based weapons. The attack was aimed at facilities that were used to prepare “terrorist acts” against Russia involving unmanned drones, as well as the shipyard in the southern Ukrainian city of Odessa that produced them, it added.

Apart from this, the barrage targeted depots in Odessa and Nikolaev that contained around 70,000 tons of fuel meant for the Ukrainian military. “All designated targets have been hit. Fires and detonations have been registered at the destroyed facilities,” according to the statement.

On Tuesday, Sergey Bratchuk, the head of the Odessa administration, reported a rocket attack on the city which involved six Kalibr missiles, but claimed that all of them had been downed. However, he noted that “port infrastructure facilities” and several other buildings were damaged in the strike.

Vitaly Kim, the head of the Nikolaev administration, said the attack hit “an industrial facility,” causing a fire that was promptly extinguished.

Unverified footage circulating on social media shows Ukrainian air defenses firing at an unknown target in Odessa Region, with a powerful explosion occurring several seconds later. Local media suggested that the strike could have destroyed a German-supplied Gepard air defense system.

https://www.rt.com/russia/579886-ukr...cks-destroyed/

[ExomatrixTV]

• Tucker Schools GOP On How To End Ukraine War:

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=5xUjIlibHB0

Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson moderated this past Friday’s Family Leadership Summit, a prominent Iowa gathering of conservative Christians attended by several GOP 2024 contenders, and he put them through their paces. Specifically, Carlson challenged candidate Tim Scott about his support for spending more than $100 billion on the Ukraine war effort and lack of interest in pursuing peace.

Jimmy and Americans’ Comedian Kurt Metzger discuss the challenge posed by Carlson to candidates used to softball questions and fawning appreciation for their warmongering.

[Michel Leclerc]

Posted by Tintin (here)
A Scott Ritter Investigation: Agent Zelensky - Part 2

Scott's description:

In the intelligence business, every agent is assigned tasks by his or her handlers. In the case of Agent Zelensky, I’ve identified ten obligations that define his relationship with his foreign intelligence masters. Once you’ve examined each of these, it becomes clear why Zelensky the comedian said one thing, and Zelensky the President did another. What are the true reasons behind the current situation in Ukraine today? What kind of operation has the CIA been running in Ukraine over the course of many years? You will find the answers to these and other questions in Part 2 of my investigative documentary film, “Agent Zelensky.” Click here to watch Part 1.

As reported a couple of pages back on this thread Part 1 was released a week or so ago and can be viewed here.

Thank you Tintin. This is of great importance -- but unbearable to watch, or rather listen to. The continuous loud racing music from Mission Impossible Minus 1 is both painful and grotesque. What kind of consulting did Ritter buy? I have grown very suspicious of people who want to stomp messages into my gut using post-pre-Techno music. Obliterating what interviewees actually say. And with hyperspeed train images flashing by. To hell with them all!

[Rizotto]

Agreed with that! Let's send that message to Scott Ritter, en masse. Perhaps he could reproduce those videos minus the 'music'.

[ExomatrixTV]

• Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will run for Presidency Challenging Joe Biden 2024

[Gwin Ru]

...

... Scott Ritter – Ukraine Provokes with Bridge Assault 16:49

The Ukrainian attack on the Kersch bridge was intended to provoke a Russian strike on Odessa. By so doing, Scott Ritter argues, Kiev had hoped to put grain exports from Odessa in jeopardy so that with the prospect of food shortages looming globally, Ukraine could then call for international military intervention to resolve the crisis.

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=2ax3_U5T1TA