Russia Invades Ukraine. Again by captaincrunch

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Russian anger builds as Greece prepares a military deal with Ukraine

Greece’s concern for its own security has made it a supporter of Ukraine since the full-scale Russian invasion.

By John T Psaropoulos | 16 Jul 2024

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/7/16/russian-anger-builds-as-greec
e-prepares-a-military-deal-with-ukraine

According to Dianeosis, an Athens-based think tank, about 70 percent of Greeks had a favourable view of Russia before the full-blown war in Ukraine. That fell to 50 percent after the 2022 invasion and to 30 percent last year.

Just three days after the war began, Greece announced it was sending Ukraine two C-130 planeloads of rifles, ammunition and grenades. Germany’s Bild newspaper revealed they included 20,000 Kalashnikov rifles Greece had confiscated in 2013 en route to Libya, which is under a United Nations arms embargo.

Greece’s early support for Ukraine caused the Russian embassy in Athens to call on “very senior politicians” to “come to their senses” and “stop anti-Russian propaganda”.

Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Maria Zacharova called Greece’s decision to send weapons to Ukraine “deeply mistaken” and “criminal”, warning that “in the end, the weapons will be turned on civilians, including the Greeks,” a reference to 150,000 ethnic Greek Ukrainians who then lived mainly in the besieged towns of Mariupol and Odesa.

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Wednesday, July 17, 2024 10:52 AM

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Russia Classifies Mortality Data after Ukraine War Losses Revealed
Published Jul 17, 2024 at 4:57 AM EDT

Russia has classified parts of its mortality data, days after an investigation revealed the scale of the nation's war dead.

Alexey Raksha, a demographer who previously worked at the Federal State Statistics Service of Russia (Rosstat) statistics agency, found on Tuesday that Rosstat deleted two columns of data containing details on the number of deaths and mortality from external causes.

On June 27, the original data was used by independent outlet Important Stories, which estimated that at least 71,000 Russian troops had died since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.

More at https://www.newsweek.com/russia-classifies-mortality-data-ukraine-war-
losses-1926188

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Wednesday, July 17, 2024 3:26 PM

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Russia’s ‘New’ Artillery Piece Is A 70-Year-Old Behemoth Firing North Korean Shells

To make good losses in Ukraine, the Kremlin is pulling hundreds of old M-46 howitzers out of long-term storage.

By David Axe | Jul 17, 2024, 11:18am EDT

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2024/07/17/russias-new-artillery
-piece-is-a-70-year-old-behemoth-firing-north-korean-shells/

Russian ground forces went to war in Ukraine in February 2022 with around 5,000 artillery pieces and rocket launchers. Twenty-eight months later, they’ve lost no fewer than 1,400 of the guns and launchers to Ukrainian action.

But combat losses aren’t the only drag on Russia’s artillery corps. More than two years of hard fighting have worn out the barrels on many howitzers and also depleted Russia’s pre-war ammunition stocks.

Increasingly desperate for heavy firepower and struggling to manufacture new artillery and shells, the Kremlin has opened up storage yards from the early Cold War and guns that were obsolete decades ago. And to arm them, Russia has turned to a new ally: North Korea.

The 1950s-vintage M-46 howitzer is indicative of this new dynamic. The 8.5-ton, eight-person gun fires a 130-millimeter shell as far as 17 miles at a rate of five shells a minute. It’s a powerful weapon—but heavy, hard to transport, and manpower-intensive. This is why, in the 1970s, the Soviet army replaced the M-46s with more efficient 152-millimeter howitzers.

Steep losses of those newer guns—and the depletion of Russia’s pre-war stocks of artillery barrels and shells—drove the Kremlin back in time. A year or so into the wider war in Ukraine, the M-46s’ drawbacks were no longer disqualifying. At that point, the alternative to old artillery was no artillery.

As of 2022, there were 665 M-46s in reserve in Russia, according to @highmarsed, an analyst who scrutinizes satellite imagery of Russian storage yards. By February 2024, around 65 had been removed. And now the pace of the reactivation is increasing.

A video that appeared on social media early this month depicts M-46s on a train bound for the front line. “They have probably taken about half of the stored 130-millimter M-46[s] from storage,” @highmarsed concluded last week.

That’s 330 or so powerful—but old and heavy—replacement howitzers for the firepower-starved Russian force in Ukraine. Russian factories no longer produce 130-millimeter rounds, but North Korean factories do—so it should come as no surprise that videos have appeared online depicting Russian M-46s firing North Korean shells.

The howitzer ammo is the fruit of Moscow’s closer military ties to Pyongyang—ties that have alarmed Kyiv and Seoul and prompted the latter to boost its financial support for the former.

With its powerful shell and decent range, the M-46 is particularly useful as a “counterbattery” weapon—that is, a howitzer for destroying other howitzers. That the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency’s conclusion when it scrutinized North and South Korean artillery holdings in 2009. The CIA called the M-46 the “most effective counterbattery weapon in Korea.”

But the Russians may struggle to transport and support the big guns along the 700-mile front line in Ukraine. The Russian military has lost so many vehicles in Ukraine—not just tanks and armored personnel carriers but also trucks and artillery tractors—that it’s begun equipping front-line regiments and brigades with civilian-style all-terrain vehicles and dirt bikes.

It should go without saying that a 1.5-ton ATV can’t tow an 8.5-ton M-46.

The other problem for the Russian gunners who are about to receive 70-year-old M-46s is that they’re going to depend on foreign largess for their ammunition. North Korea and Iran are the only major manufacturers of 130-millimeter shells.

To keep its new old howitzers in action, Moscow will have to maintain good relations with Pyongyang and Tehran.

Sources:

1. @highmarsed: https://x.com/HighMarsed/status/1753578879367713117; https://x.com/HighMarsed/status/1811887643363291142

2. Oryx: https://www.oryxspioenkop.com/2022/02/attack-on-europe-documenting-equ
ipment.html

3. Central Intelligence Agency: https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP84S00553R000100070002-0.pd
f

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Wednesday, July 17, 2024 3:36 PM

Nobody gives a shit about Ukraine.

--------------------------------------------------

Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.

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Wednesday, July 17, 2024 4:05 PM

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Quote:
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:
Nobody gives a shit about Ukraine.

--------------------------------------------------

Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.

The Russians seem to care about making Ukrainians into agricultural slaves. The Russians get angry and threaten to nuke America for interfering in this natural process of turning Ukraine into the breadbasket of Russia.

Putin warns the West: Russia is ready for nuclear war
By Guy Faulconbridge and Lidia Kelly
March 14, 2024
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/putin-says-russia-ready-nuclear-w
ar-not-everything-rushing-it-2024-03-13/

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Wednesday, July 17, 2024 4:22 PM

Nobody gives a shit about Ukraine.

--------------------------------------------------

Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.

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Wednesday, July 17, 2024 5:38 PM

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Quote:
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:
Nobody gives a shit about Ukraine.

--------------------------------------------------

Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.

Correction: everyone I know live who is not worth a turd will also not give a shit. Funny how people like them are constantly broadcasting their opinions until they die that they are not worth saving so it is not at all unexpected when those people die early. To end on a positive note, the Ukrainians are killing the Russians who would enslave them. Killing slave owners is admirable behavior. America should have done exactly that to the Confederates. Between Confederates being traitors, murderers, and slave owners, they certainly deserved death, but they didn't get what they deserved.

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Wednesday, July 17, 2024 6:43 PM

Nobody gives a shit about Ukraine.

Meanwhile, since the Confederates were not all rounded up and killed like Second suggests they should have been, we are left with the modern day Democratic Party.

--------------------------------------------------

Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.

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Thursday, July 18, 2024 6:19 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Quote:
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:
Nobody gives a shit about Ukraine.

Meanwhile, since the Confederates were not all rounded up and killed like Second suggests they should have been, we are left with the modern day Democratic Party.

--------------------------------------------------

Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.

This is not a subtle thing, hard to really understand, such as Quantum Field Theory, but the words "Democrat" and "Democratic" keep being reused by political parties that share absolutely no DNA. For example, The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is North Korea. Back in the USA, the Confederates joined together, labeled themselves "Democrats" same as North Korea, and brought back slavery with a Capitalistic twist: they couldn't legally buy/sell their slaves/"employees" but they also couldn't be legally forced to look after the best interest of their "employees" either white or black, which is why America has so many angry poor white trash who are not being looked after, even by themselves, today. It is sad that so many Trumptards who venerate Trump are in the same financial condition as a North Korean who loves Kim Jong Un.

Trump-Kim 'Love Letters' Reveal Friendship, Flattery
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/03/09/trump-book-kim-jong-un-000864
10

Trump papers including Kim ‘love letters’ retrieved from Mar-a-Lago
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/feb/07/trump-papers-kim-love-
letters-national-archives-mar-a-lago

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Thursday, July 18, 2024 6:20 AM

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You were expecting a quick victory?

Russians Predict As Many As Ten More Years Until Ukraine Is Finished

Russian state news outlets editorialized comments by Russian Security Council Deputy Chairperson Dmitry Medvedev and claimed that he said that the Ukrainian state will no longer exist by 2034, likely to support the Kremlin's efforts to prepare the Russian public for a long war in Ukraine while promising that Russia will complete its objective to destroy Ukrainian statehood within a decade. Russian media editorialized comments made by Russian Security Council Deputy Chairperson Dmitry Medvedev in an interview with Russian outlet Argumenty i Fakty (AIF) on July 17.[1] Medvedev claimed that "it is not for nothing" that NATO General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg suggested that Ukraine could be able to join the alliance within the next ten years, concluding that Ukraine will "never" join NATO because NATO leadership will have changed by 2034 and because "it is quite possible that the notorious country 404 [a derogative use of the 404 computer 'error' code meant to suggest that Ukraine is not a real state] will not exist either."[2] Medvedev notably did not explicitly say that Ukraine will cease to exist by 2034 — rather it was a tangential implication of his statements — but Russian news outlets, including Kremlin newswire TASS, immediately began publishing stories with headlines such as "Medvedev Admitted that Ukraine Will No Longer Exist in 2034" and, "Medvedev Predicted the Disappearance of Ukraine by 2034."[3]

There are several implications to the way that Russian media is currently editorializing Medvedev's statements. First and foremost, the explicit suggestion that Russia will be able to "destroy Ukraine" by 2034 is a promise to the Russian public that Russia will be able to win the war and achieve its objective to destroy Ukrainian statehood within a decade. This sets careful information conditions and societal expectations for a war that will last another decade, but one that will end with Russia's desired "victory." This Russian narrative also directly and strongly undermines select Kremlin officials' separate attempts to suggest that Russia is willing to "negotiate" for "peace" with Ukraine and further emphasizes that the Kremlin's only desired end-state for the war is the complete destruction of the Ukrainian state and people. Russian President Vladimir Putin has carefully articulated his goals for the war as such and has demanded that Ukrainian forces withdraw from territory that Russian forces do not control as a precondition for any kind of "peace" negotiations, as ISW has previously assessed.[4] Neither Ukraine nor the West can expect to negotiate with Russia on Russia's terms if Russia's terms are premised on the eradication of Ukraine and its people in the next ten years.

https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campai
gn-assessment-july-17-2024

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Thursday, July 18, 2024 8:33 AM

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Yesterday was the 10th Anniversary!

The downing of MH17, and Russia’s responsibility

By Elsa Court | July 17, 2024 9:18 PM

At 12:31 on July 17, 2014, flight MH17 departed from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, set to arrive at Kuala Lumpur International Airport around 12 hours later. Three hours into the flight, Russian proxy forces used a Buk surface-to-air missile to down the Boeing-777 above Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast, killing all 283 passengers and 15 crew members on board, among them 196 Dutch citizens.

Russian propaganda claimed that Ukraine downed the plane or that the entire crash was staged, a tactic used by Russia in other cases, such as after it was discovered Russian forces had killed hundreds of civilians in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha in 2022.

Moscow later claimed the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) used fake evidence and was ignoring evidence provided by Russia.

Russia has never claimed responsibility for the crime and has spread vicious disinformation that blamed Ukraine for the downing. Ten years later, Russia’s refusal to cooperate with the international investigation means that none of those deemed responsible have ever been brought to justice.

Much more at https://kyivindependent.com/the-downing-of-mh17-and-russias-responsibi
lity/

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Friday, July 19, 2024 6:37 AM

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Rosgvardia made an unprecedented proposal on July 17 to grant Russian Central Bank leadership the right to carry automatic weapons and handguns.[9] Rosgvardia — a security agency tasked with protecting Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s regime from internal threats and safeguarding some critical infrastructure — submitted a draft bill, which explained that Russian Central Bank leadership needs the right to carry weapons, including pistols, assault rifles, and submachine and machine guns,” to strengthen the protection and security of [Russian] infrastructure facilities.”[10] The Central Bank’s press service added that this proposal will allow the Central Bank to ensure the protection of the Russian Bank’s facilities and employees in occupied Ukraine.[11] The draft bill proposed allowing deputy chairpersons, their advisers, and department directors and deputies to carry pistols and submachine guns. The draft bill specified that security guards and employees of the departments involved in cash collection and weapons circulation at Central Bank facilities would receive assault rifles and machine guns if the bill passes. The draft bill did not list the Central Bank Head Elvira Nabiullina as a potential recipient of weapons, however.[12] ISW previously observed reports that Putin trusts Nabiullina and even granted her the “exclusive right” to voice her true opinions about the real economic situation in Russia. The reason for her exclusion from this proposal is unclear.[13] It is possible that she was excluded from the list because she does not work in high-risk areas, such as Russia’s border regions or occupied Ukraine. Russian military and political bloggers expressed frustration that Rosgvardia is considering allocating weapons to Central Bank employees despite the fact that these weapons are needed on the frontlines and Russian officers and contract servicemen are not allowed to carry short-barreled weapons.[14] Rosgvardia may have proposed to arm Central Bank leadership as part of its ongoing efforts to expand Rosgvardia’s authority in Russia and occupied Ukraine.[15] Rosgvardia may have also proposed to arm Central Bank employees to establish patronage networks over the banking sector in Russia and occupied Ukraine.

https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campai
gn-assessment-july-18-2024

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Friday, July 19, 2024 8:52 AM

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What I saw and heard about the Ukraine war in Moscow

By Anatol Lieven | Jul 19, 2024

https://responsiblestatecraft.org/ukraine-war-2668773655/

Perhaps the most striking thing about Moscow today is its calm. This is a city that has been barely touched by war. Indeed, until you turn on the television — where propaganda is omnipresent — you would hardly know that there is a war. Any economic damage from Western sanctions has been offset by the large number of wealthy Russians who have returned due to sanctions. The Russian government has deliberately limited conscription in Moscow and St. Petersburg, and this, together with a degree of repression, explains why there have been few protests by educated youth. No longer fearing conscription, many of the younger Muscovites who fled Russia at the start of the war have now returned.

As to the shops in central Moscow, I couldn’t say if the Louis Vuitton handbags are the genuine articles or Chinese knock-offs, but there is no lack of them. And far more important, Russia since the war demonstrates something that Germany once understood and the rest of Europe would do well to understand: that in an uncertain world, it is very important indeed to be able to grow all your own food.

In the provinces, it is reportedly very different. There, conscription, and casualties, really have bitten deep. This however has been balanced by the fact that the industrial provinces have experienced a huge economic boom due to military spending, with labor shortages pushing up wages. Stories abound of technical workers well into their seventies being recalled to work, fostering their income and restoring the self-respect they lost with the collapse of the 1990s. As I heard from many Russians, “the war has finally forced us to do many of the things that we should have done in the 1990s.”

In Moscow at least, there is, however, little positive enthusiasm for the war. Both opinion polls, and my own conversations with Russian elites, suggest that a majority of Russians do not want to fight for a complete victory (whatever that means) and would like to see a compromise peace now. Even large majorities however are against surrender, and oppose the return to Ukraine of any land in the five provinces “annexed” by Russia.

In the elites, the desire for a compromise peace is linked to opposition to the idea of trying to storm major Ukrainian cities by force, as was the case with Mariupol — and Kharkov is at least three times the size of Mariupol. “Even if we succeeded, our casualties would be huge, so would the deaths of civilians, and we would inherit great heaps of ruins that we would have to rebuild,” one Russian analyst told me. “I don’t think most Russians want to see that.”

Despite efforts by some figures like former president Dmitri Medvedev, there is very little hatred of the Ukrainian people (as opposed to the Ukrainian government) — in part because so many Russians are themselves Ukrainian by origin. Hence perhaps another reason why Putin has presented this as a war with NATO, not Ukraine. This recalled the attitudes to Russia of people I met in the Russian-speaking areas of Ukraine last year, a great many of whom are themselves wholly or partly Russian. They hated the Russian government, not the Russian people.

In the foreign and security elites, various ideas for a compromise peace are circulating: a treaty ratified by the United Nations, guaranteeing Ukrainian (and Russian) security without Ukraine joining NATO; the creation of demilitarized zones patrolled by U.N. peacekeepers as opposed to the annexation of more territory; territorial swaps, in which Russia would return land in Kharkov to Ukraine in exchange for land in the Donbas or Zaporozhia. The great majority of Russian analysts with whom I spoke believe however that only the U.S. can initiate peace talks, and that this will not happen until after the U.S. elections, if it happens at all.

The overall mood therefore seems to be one of accepting the inevitability of continued war, rather than positive enthusiasm for the war; and the Putin administration seems content with this. Putin remains very distrustful of the Russian people; hence his refusal so far to mobilize more than a fraction of Russia’s available manpower. This is not a regime that wants mass participation, and hence is also wary about mass enthusiasm. Its maxim seems rather, “Calm is the first duty of every citizen.”

A German version of this article was published in the Berliner Zeitung on June 29, 2024.

Anatol Lieven is Director of the Eurasia Program at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. He was formerly a professor at Georgetown University in Qatar and in the War Studies Department of King’s College London.

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Friday, July 19, 2024 12:48 PM

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A closed-door trial in Russia sentences journalist Evan Gershkovich to 16 years for espionage

By Kirill Zarubin, Associated Press| July 19, 2024 | Yekaterinburg, Russia

https://www.csmonitor.com/World/2024/0719/gershkovich-espionage-senten
ced

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was convicted July 19 of espionage and sentenced to 16 years in a maximum-security prison on charges that his employer and the U.S. government have rejected as fabricated.

The swift conclusion of the secretive trial in Russia’s highly politicized legal system could potentially clear the way for a prisoner swap between Moscow and Washington.

Mr. Gershkovich, his head shaved, looked calm as he stood in a glass defendants’ cage in the Sverdlovsk Regional Court and listened impassively to the verdict but gave an occasional smile. When Judge Andrei Mineyev asked him if he had any questions about the verdict, he replied “No, your honor.”

After Mr. Mineyev finished reading the verdict, someone in the courtroom shouted, “Evan, we love you!”

Closing arguments took place behind closed doors and Mr. Gershkovich did not admit any guilt, according to the court’s press service. Prosecutors requested an 18-year sentence, but the judge opted for a shorter term.

“This disgraceful, sham conviction comes after Evan has spent 478 days in prison, wrongfully detained, away from his family and friends, prevented from reporting, all for doing his job as a journalist," Dow Jones CEO and Wall Street Journal Publisher Almar Latour and Editor in Chief Emma Tucker said in a statement.

“We will continue to do everything possible to press for Evan’s release and to support his family. Journalism is not a crime, and we will not rest until he’s released. This must end now,” the statement added.

Mr. Gershkovich, 32, was arrested March 29, 2023, while on a reporting trip to the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg. Authorities claimed, without offering any evidence, that he was gathering secret information for the U.S.

He has been behind bars since his arrest, which will be counted as part of his sentence. Much of that was spent in Moscow’s notorious Lefortovo Prison – a czarist-era lockup used during Josef Stalin’s purges, when executions were carried out in its basement. He was transferred to Yekaterinburg for the trial.

Mr. Gershkovich was the first U.S. journalist taken into custody on espionage charges since Nicholas Daniloff in 1986, at the height of the Cold War. Foreign journalists in Russia were shocked by Mr. Gershkovich’s arrest, even though the country has enacted increasingly repressive laws on freedom of speech after sending troops into Ukraine.

Unlike the trial’s opening on June 26 in Yekaterinburg and previous hearings in Moscow in which reporters were allowed to see Mr. Gershkovich briefly before sessions began, there was no access to the courtroom on July 18 when the trial resumed, but media was allowed in court on July 19 for the verdict. Espionage and treason cases are typically shrouded in secrecy.

Russian courts convict more than 99% of defendants, and prosecutors can appeal sentences that they regard as too lenient. They even can appeal acquittals.

The U.S. State Department has declared Mr. Gershkovich “wrongfully detained,” committing the government to assertively seek his release.

Asked July 19 about a possible prisoner swap involving Mr. Gershkovich, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused to comment.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said July 17 at the United Nations that Moscow and Washington’s “special services” are discussing an exchange involving Mr. Gershkovich. Russia has previously signaled the possibility of a swap, but said a verdict would have to come first. Even after a verdict, any such deal could take months or years.

State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel on July 18 declined to discuss negotiations about a possible exchange, but said: “We have been clear from the get-go that Evan did nothing wrong and should not have been detained. To date, Russia has provided no evidence of a crime and has failed to justify Evan’s continued detention.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin hinted earlier this year that he would be open to swapping Mr. Gershkovich for Vadim Krasikov, a Russian serving a life sentence for the 2019 killing in Berlin of a Georgian citizen of Chechen descent.

Lavrov on July 17 reaffirmed the Kremlin claim that the government has “irrefutable evidence” against Mr. Gershkovich, although neither he nor any other Russian official has ever disclosed it.

Speaking to reporters after the verdict, prosecutor Mikael Ozdoyev reaffirmed that Mr. Gershkovich was accused of gathering secret information about the production and repair of military equipment at Uralvagonzavod, a huge industrial plant about 150 kilometers (90 miles) north of Yekaterinburg that manufactures tanks. Mr. Ozdoyev repeated the claim that Mr. Gershkovich was acting on instructions from the CIA and tried to conceal his action.

U.S. officials have dismissed this as bogus.

“Evan has never been employed by the United States government. Evan is not a spy. Journalism is not a crime. And Evan should never have been detained in the first place,” White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said last month.

Russia’s interpretation of what constitutes high crimes like espionage and treason is broad, with authorities often going after people who share publicly available information with foreigners and accusing them of divulging state secrets.

Earlier this month, U.N. human rights experts said Russia violated international law by jailing Mr. Gershkovich and should release him “immediately.”

Arrests of Americans are increasingly common in Russia, with nine U.S. citizens known to be detained there as tensions between the two countries have escalated over fighting in Ukraine.

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield accused Moscow of treating “human beings as bargaining chips.” She singled out Mr. Gershkovich and ex-Marine Paul Whelan, a corporate security director from Michigan, who is serving a 16-year sentence after being convicted on spying charges that he and the U.S. denied.

Since sending troops to Ukraine, Russian authorities have detained several U.S. nationals and other Westerners.

U.S. officials made an offer to swap Mr. Gershkovich last year that was rejected by Russia, and the Biden administration has not made public any possible deals since then.

The son of Soviet emigres who settled in New Jersey, Mr. Gershkovich was fluent in Russian and moved to the country in 2017 to work for The Moscow Times newspaper before being hired by the Journal in 2022.

Mr. Gershkovich had over a dozen closed hearings over the extension of his pretrial detention or appeals for his release. He was brought to the courthouse in handcuffs and appeared in the defendant's cage, often smiling for the many cameras.

The periodic hearings gave his family, friends, and U.S. officials a glimpse of him, and it was a break from his otherwise monotonous prison routine. But his mother, Ella Milman, said they also were a painful reminder that “he is not with us.”

Friends say that while he was in Lefortovo, Mr. Gershkovich was not allowed phone calls and was allowed out of his cell for only an hour a day to exercise. He usually spent the rest of his time reading books in English and Russian and writing letters to friends and family.

He relied on his sense of humor to get through the days, according to those close to him. From behind bars, he organized presents for friends on their birthdays.

As he entered his second year in captivity in March, Ms. Milman said he was “telling people not to freak out,” but she admitted the strain for friends and family was “taking a toll.”

This story was reported by The Associated Press.

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Saturday, July 20, 2024 6:39 AM

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New United Kingdom (UK) Defense Secretary John Healey stated on July 19 that Ukraine can use UK-provided weapons to strike military targets in Russia, despite previous reports that the UK had not permitted Ukraine to use UK-supplied Storm Shadow missiles to strike military targets within Russia. Healey told BBC on July 19 that the UK is providing weapons to Ukraine to defend their sovereign country and that "does not preclude [UK-provided weapons] hitting targets in Russia."[10] Healey also stated that Ukrainian forces can strike military targets in Russia with UK-provided weapons "within the parameters and the bounds of international humanitarian law." Healey stated that he would not publicly discuss whether the UK is allowing Ukrainian forces to strike Russian missile launch sites in Russia with UK-provided weapons, however. Healey noted that the UK is "continuing very intense discussions" with Ukraine. Bloomberg reported on July 10 that new UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated that it is Ukraine's decision how to deploy Storm Shadows missiles for defensive purposes.[11] Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated in a July 19 meeting with the UK government that Ukraine could defend against Russian offensive operations and secure its forward positions and cities from Russian airstrikes if Ukrainian forces can strike "further than just the border, particularly Russian military airfields."[12] Zelensky also asked the UK to show "leadership"' and convince other partners to remove limits on Ukraine using Western-provided weapons to strike legitimate military targets in Russia. The Telegraph reported on July 11 that unspecified sources in the UK government stated that the UK's policy "had not changed," however, and that the UK had not permitted Ukraine to use UK-provided Storm Shadow missiles to strike military targets within Russia.[13] The exact contours of the UK's policy regarding Ukraine's use of Storm Shadow cruise missiles and other UK-provided weapons remain unclear.

https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campai
gn-assessment-july-19-2024

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Sunday, July 21, 2024 6:16 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Kremlin newswire TASS reported on July 19 that the Russian State Duma will consider amendments that would allow Russian authorities to detain foreigners and stateless persons who are subject to expulsion from Russia, in "special institutions" for no more than 48 hours before their deportation.[15] The amendments reportedly propose that officials from the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) or Federal Security Service (FSB) can request that a judge extend the period of detention from 48 hours to 90 days, however. Russian authorities are currently allowed to detain foreigners and stateless persons subject to deportation for a maximum of 90 days.[16] Russian authorities have increasingly been conducting raids against migrants and impressing migrants into signing military contracts by threatening migrants with deportation.[17] The amendments significantly shortening the period during which Russian authorities can detain people facing deportation are likely aimed in part at increasing pressure on migrants to join the military in lieu of deportation.

https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campai
gn-assessment-july-20-2024

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Sunday, July 21, 2024 6:18 AM

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In this city, people say Russia must defeat Ukraine and the West at any cost

By Francesca Ebel | July 20, 2024 at 2:57 a.m. EDT

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/07/20/kirov-russia-war-west-
ukraine/

KIROV, Russia — In Kirov, a small city in the heart of western Russia, about 1,000 miles from the front lines in Ukraine, the war that initially few people wanted continues to fill graves in local cemeteries. But most residents now seem to agree with President Vladimir Putin that the bloodshed is necessary.

“The U.S. and NATO gave us no choice,” said Vlad, the commander of a Russian storm unit who has been wounded three times since signing a contract to join the military a year ago. He spoke on the condition he be identified only by first name because he is still an active-duty soldier.

After fighting in Ukraine this spring left him with 40 pieces of shrapnel in his body, Vlad was sent home to recover. Once healed, he plans to return to battle. “I’m going back because I want my kids to be proud of me,” he said. “You have to raise patriotism. Otherwise, Russia will be eaten up.”

Elena Smirnova, whose brothers have been fighting in Ukraine since they were conscripted in September 2022, said she is proud they “serve the motherland” rather than sit on the couch at home.

Nina Korotaeva, who works every day at a volunteer center sewing nets and anti-drone camouflage blankets, said that she feels “such pity” for the young men dying but that their sacrifice is unavoidable. “We don’t have a choice,” Korotaeva said. “We have to defend our state. We can’t just agree to being broken up.”

The Post’s Francesca Ebel reported in June from Kirov, Russia, where even far from the front lines the war has visibly changed the fabric of life. (Video: Francesca Ebel, Zoeann Murphy/The Washington Post)

A visit to Kirov last month revealed that many Russians firmly believe that their country is fighting an existential war with the West, which has sent Ukraine more than $100 billion in military aid, including sophisticated weapons, to defend against Russia’s invasion — assistance that has sharply increased Russia’s casualties.

Interviews showed that the Kremlin has mobilized public support for the war while also masking the full, horrific consequences of it. Some residents of Kirov said they still find the war incomprehensible, while others who have lost relatives insist that the fighting must be serving a higher purpose.

Vlad, the commander of a Russian storm unit, receives treatment for a shrapnel wound in Kirov. (Nanna Heitmann/Magnum Photos for The Washington Post)

Volunteer Nina Korotaeva makes an anti-drone blanket in Kirov to be sent to the front lines. (Nanna Heitmann/Magnum Photos for The Washington Post)

Olga Akishina, whose boyfriend, Nikita Rusakov, 22, was killed with at least 20 other soldiers when a U.S.-provided HIMARS missile slammed into their base this spring, said she found it too difficult to speak about him. Instead, she spoke for nearly an hour in an unbroken torrent about NATO bases in Ukraine and “the extermination” of Russian-speakers there — echoing the Kremlin’s unfounded justifications for the war, which are repeated frequently on state television.

“Of course, if he hadn’t died, it would certainly be much more pleasant for me and his family,” Akishina said. “But I am aware that this was a necessary measure — to protect those people.”

People in Kirov walk under a billboard featuring an ad for the Russian army. (Nanna Heitmann/Magnum Photos for The Washington Post)

Washington Post journalists traveled to Kirov at the invitation of Maria Butina, a Russian citizen who served 15 months in a U.S. federal prison after being convicted of operating as an unregistered foreign agent. Butina had been an advocate for gun rights and other conservative causes during her years in the United States. Deported after her release, she was embraced as a hero in Russia and now represents Kirov in the State Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament.

Butina’s office organized interviews with soldiers on leave from active duty, wounded servicemen, soldiers’ families, volunteers, local medical staff and young police cadets. Butina insisted that one of her assistants, Konstantyn Sitchikhin, sit in on most of the conversations, which meant some people may have felt unable to speak freely. At times, Sitchikhin interrupted, telling young cadets, for example, to speak “carefully and patriotically.”

The Post also interviewed several people independently, in person or by phone.

Butina said she extended the invitation because she still believes in dialogue with the West and wanted The Post to report “the truth.” But she insisted that Sitchikhin’s presence in interviews was necessary. “We need to feel that we can trust you,” Butina said. “I advise you to build bridges, not walls.”

The Post accepted Butina’s invitation because it allowed access to a city outside Moscow where reporting might otherwise have proved risky. Since the invasion, Russian authorities have outlawed criticism of the war or the military and have arrested and charged journalists with serious offenses including espionage. Journalists also are routinely put under surveillance.

Sitchikhin, Butina’s aide, cited a climate of fear. “You need to understand that we are at war and people here see you as the enemy,” he said. “I am just trying to protect the people I care about.”

Maria Butina, who invited Post journalists to Kirov. She served 15 months in a U.S. prison after being convicted of operating as an unregistered foreign agent and is a now a member of Russia's parliament. (Nanna Heitmann/Magnum Photos for The Washington Post)

Young cadets at Russia Day celebrations in Kirov. One cadet told The Post: “Young people shouldn’t stay on the sidelines.” (Nanna Heitmann/Magnum Photos for The Washington Post)

A day after speaking to The Post, Akishina, whose boyfriend was killed in the missile strike, sent a text message saying that she regretted talking to an American newspaper.

“You will most likely be asked to present the material in the article in a way that will be beneficial to the newspaper’s editors,” she wrote.

“I would not want there to be a headline under my story and our photographs that would blame our country and our President for the death of our military,” she wrote, adding that the 78 percent of Russians who voted to reelect Putin in March were proof of widespread public support for the war. (Independent observers said the Russian election failed to meet democratic standards, with genuine challengers blocked from running and Putin controlling all media.)

“The truth is that the United States and the European Union countries that supply weapons to Ukraine are to blame for the death of our guys, as well as civilians in Donbas and Belgorod,” Akishina wrote.

Members of enterprises, universities and public organizations parade in Kirov on Russia Day. (Nanna Heitmann/Magnum Photos for The Washington Post)

On Wednesday, June 12, thousands of people crammed onto Kirov’s main square to celebrate Russia Day, swaying to patriotic rock songs in the warm sunshine. Among them was Lyubov, tears streaming down her face as she cradled a portrait of her son, Anton, in uniform.

“I cry every single day,” Lyubov said of Anton, 39, who was confirmed dead this spring.

Lyubov said she had joined the festivities hoping to take her mind off her grief. But the dancing, happy families, and rousing music that at times drowned out her words proved too much. “I don’t want everyone to join us in our sadness,” she said, “but I can’t take this.”

People gather in Kirov to watch a fireworks show on Russia Day. (Nanna Heitmann/Magnum Photos for The Washington Post)

Lyubov holds a photo of her son, who was killed fighting in Ukraine. (Nanna Heitmann/Magnum Photos for The Washington Post)

Anton was killed by machine-gun fire near Avdiivka, a city in eastern Ukraine that Russia captured in February after months of fierce fighting. Anton called her the night before the assault and told her that he was “on a one-way ticket” — a suicide mission. When she finally got her son’s body back, she was warned not to open the coffin.

Lyubov said she did not understand the reasons for the war, who Russia is fighting or why her son volunteered to join the army. But she insisted that his death was not in vain. “He did it for us,” she said, smiling a bit, “and for Russia.”

The Post arranged the interview with Lyubov independently by contacting her through a social media page for soldiers’ families. The Post is identifying her and her son by first name only because of the risk of backlash from the authorities.

The interviews — with Lyubov, and more than a dozen others in Kirov — highlighted a striking duality: Many Russians are struggling with the deaths of loved ones or their return with grievous injuries, and some are deeply engaged in volunteer efforts, but many others are largely untouched by the war, which has killed thousands of Ukrainian civilians and destroyed entire cities.

Olga Akishina, 40, looks at a religious icon that travels between the front lines in Donbas and Kirov. Her boyfriend, Nikita Rusakov, was killed by HIMARS rocket in Ukraine. (Nanna Heitmann/Magnum Photos for The Washington Post)

At the entrance to the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a pamphlet written by Kirov’s chief bishop, Mark Slobodsky, tells worshipers that this is not a fight over territory but a war to defend Orthodox Christian values. “It is a sacred and civilizational conflict,” Slobodsky wrote. “No one can stand to the side of these events.”

Inside, priests blessed an icon that Butina’s office had commissioned by an artist from Donetsk, in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine, to honor Kirov’s soldiers. The icon bore an odd combination of images: Czar Nicholas II, Russian Prince Alexander Nevsky and the former head of the Russian-backed Donetsk People’s Republic, Alexander Zakharchenko, standing in various positions of piety before the slag heaps of Ukraine’s coal-mining Donbas region.

At a small concert organized by a local volunteer group, people sang patriotic songs about victory and love for the motherland. Three men, the fathers of soldiers either killed or still fighting in Ukraine, were awarded medals for raising “heroes of Russia.”

“Each fighter is a hero for us, and today we wish them the fastest victory,” the concert’s host proclaimed. “It’s thanks to them that we are able to hold such events like this today.”

Public unity behind the war was fully on display in Kirov, including a little girl, whose father is fighting in Ukraine, in a T-shirt that said: “I am the daughter of a hero.”

Several elderly residents said they donate their pensions to the war effort. Many are children of soldiers who fought in World War II and now view Russia as fighting a new war against fascism.

Young cadets in their teens and early 20s, who are training to be police officers and emergency workers, spoke eagerly of volunteer stints they had just completed in occupied Ukraine. One cadet said: “Young people shouldn’t stay on the sidelines.” Asked how they would explain the war in Ukraine, they requested to skip the question.

People sing a patriotic song in support of Russia’s war in Ukraine during Russia Day celebrations in Kirov. (Nanna Heitmann/Magnum Photos for The Washington Post)

Cadets pose for a portrait during an interview with The Post. From left: Maxim, Ksenia and two Ivans. (Nanna Heitmann/Magnum Photos for The Washington Post)

Some young people who joined the fight, however, are disillusioned by it. Denis, 29, a former Wagner mercenary whose left foot was amputated because of a war injury and who participated in a short-lived mutiny last year when Wagner fighters marched toward Moscow, said he was still enraged at “the corrupt and decaying” Defense Ministry.

Post journalists encountered Denis by chance, independently of Butina’s office, and he agreed to meet to talk about his experiences in the war on the condition that he be identified only by first name because criticizing the military is now a crime in Russia.

Speaking as fireworks marked the end of Russia Day, Denis complained that there was “not enough truth about the war and not enough real, organic involvement.”

“Why are people still partying? Why are they spending money on fireworks and this concert?” he said. “It’s as if nothing is going on. Everyone should be helping, but most people do not feel the war concerns them, and politicians are using it to cleanse themselves and increase their ratings.”

Denis said he planned to return to Ukraine once he is fitted with a prosthesis.

“We have to end this, otherwise the West will see us as weak,” he said. “I thought this war would be short, that it would last six months maximum. We have really been screwed. And I’m disappointed that everyone who tells the truth about the war, about the Russian Defense Ministry, is immediately jailed.”

An injured soldier and former Wagner mercenary named Denis. (Nanna Heitmann/Magnum Photos for The Washington Post)

Meanwhile, Kirov’s social media pages are flooded daily with funeral notices and pleas to help find missing fathers, sons or husbands.

At the cemetery outside Kirov where Lyubov’s son is buried, there are about 40 graves of soldiers killed since 2022, adorned with wreaths and flags. Thirty freshly dug graves await bodies.

Next to one grave, a family gathered to say a few words and raise a glass. “Thank you, Seryoga, for defending us,” said a man, who gave his name only as Mikhail. “You were only there for three days, but at least you tried your best.”

A cemetery outside Kirov where Russian soldiers are buried. (Nanna Heitmann/Magnum Photos for The Washington Post)

Anastasia Trofimova contributed to this report.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Monday, July 22, 2024 6:34 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Patriotism is not enough to get Russians to volunteer but money is sufficient motivation:

Russian federal subjects are intensifying non-standard monetary incentives for contract service with the Russian military. Yaroslavl Oblast Head Mikhail Yevraev announced on July 16 a new initiative offering 100,000 rubles (about $1,150) to any person who brings a friend to a military registration and recruitment center if the friend signs a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) for military service.[66] The Republic of Tatarstan also started a similar initiative as of July 11.[67] Russian State Duma Committee on State Construction and Legislation Deputy Chairperson Yuri Sinelshchikov stated that this new recruitment mechanism is risky and that Russians can abuse this system, especially if other federal subjects adopt similar mechanisms.[68] Sinelshchikov called for this mechanism to be codified in Russian legal regulations and expressed concern about whether Russian federal subjects can sustain funding for such initiatives. Russian opposition source Cherta reported that some Russians are signing contracts to earn money to pay off gambling debts after interviewing several gamblers and their families.[69]

Join the Russian army and get a motorcycle to go into battle! (Russia lacks sufficient armored vehicles.)

Russian forces are reportedly developing and formalizing a military motorcycle specialty, likely in response to increased Ukrainian drone strikes and aerial reconnaissance forcing Russian forces to use small and fast vehicles for frontline logistics and transport. A Russian milblogger claimed on July 21 that the Russian 5th Motorized Rifle Brigade (1st Donetsk People's Republic Army Corps [DNR AC]) is establishing its own military motorcycle school and that other Russian brigades are similarly handling this issue "at a high level."[70] The milblogger claimed that Russian forces also plan to introduce a military motorcycle specialty and that the Russian Volunteer Society for Assistance to the Army, Aviation, and Navy of Russia (DOSAAF) will begin training motorcycle specialists on October 1.[71]

https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campai
gn-assessment-july-21-2024

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Monday, July 22, 2024 7:08 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Russians dying stupidly for money as they are in Ukraine:

The banquet celebrating the crowning of Tsar Nicholas II was free to the public but a rumor of gold coins as gifts and insufficient beer for everyone caused a stampede, trampling and killing 1282 people or more. Even way back, the Russians didn't keep a good tally of their dead. Once dead, a Russian does not count officially.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khodynka_Tragedy

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Tuesday, July 23, 2024 6:43 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Russia is taking steps to codify terms broadly expanding the Russian official definition of prosecutable extremism as part of its ongoing effort to criminally prosecute and stymie domestic opposition to the Kremlin and its war in Ukraine. The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) published on July 22 the draft of a new Russian counterterrorism strategy, which establishes legal definitions for "Russophobia" and "xenophobia" and modifies the definitions of "radicalism," "countering extremism," and "subjects of countering extremism."[8] These newly modified legal definitions significantly expand the Kremlin's ability to criminally prosecute anyone who opposes the Kremlin by classifying domestic opposition under a number of nebulous and broad definitions that are linked to existing Russian information operations that both aim to discredit international actors and promote self-censorship domestically. The new strategy defines "Russophobia" as the "manifestation of hatred, hostility, or hostile attitude to citizens of Russia, Russian language and culture" through "aggressive attitudes and actions" from "individual representatives and political forces as well as discriminatory actions on the part of authorities of states unfriendly to Russia."[9] The new strategy defines "xenophobia" as a "manifestation of hatred, hostility, or intolerance towards certain social groups and communicates of people;" and defines "radicalism" as "adherence to an ideology of violence characterized by the desire for a decisive and radical change in the foundations of the constitutional system of the Russian Federation [and] the violation of the unity and territorial integrity of the Russian Federation."[10] These definitions, particularly the provision defining supporting change to the Russian Constitution as "radicalism," seek to informationally link and even define opposition to the Russian government's current actions and structure as ethnic intolerance against the Russians who do support the Kremlin's policies and war in Ukraine, a hatred of Russian culture and history, and supportive of states "unfriendly" to Russia in the minds of Russians. The Kremlin also likely seeks to use these definitions and subsequent prosecutions to curry favor with Russian ultranationalists, as the Kremlin has recently been cracking down on illegal migration amid ethnic tensions under the guise of counter-extremism while failing to adequately address the threat of Islamic extremism within Russia.[11]

The Kremlin's recent efforts to expand the prosecutable definition of extremism and information space crackdowns have likely aimed to promote self-censorship among dissident Russians, and the new draft counterterrorism strategy likely also seeks to convince Russians that opposition to the Kremlin's policies and war are instead opposition to broader Russian society, culture, and ideals.[12] The explanatory note of the draft counterterrorism strategy states that the "solution" to domestic extremism requires modifications in "all areas of state policy, including national, migration, youth, cultural, and informational [policy]."[13] The note also emphasizes the importance of "strengthening traditional Russian legal and moral values" while countering the spread of "radical nationalism and neo-Nazism in the context of the special military operation [war in Ukraine] and the inclusion of new territories [illegally-occupied Ukrainian lands]."[14] The Kremlin will likely lean into narratives and ideologies promoting domestic nationalism to set informational conditions for its prolonged war effort in Ukraine and its future hostility towards other states the Kremlin deems hostile under the "Russophobic" and other extremist labels.

https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campai
gn-assessment-july-22-2024

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Tuesday, July 23, 2024 12:28 PM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Despite SECOND'S heroic efforts, this thread almost slipped off the front page.

OMG!!

I guess our war in Ukraine isn't going so well??

-----------
"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal." - Henry Kissinger

Why SECOND'S posts are brainless: "I clocked how much time: no more than 10 minutes per day. With cut-and-paste (Ctrl C and Ctrl V) and AI, none of this takes much time."
Or, any verification or thought.

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Tuesday, July 23, 2024 12:36 PM

He's had almost every post on this last page so far except for your last post and me reminding him that nobody gives a single shit about Ukraine.

--------------------------------------------------

Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.

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Tuesday, July 23, 2024 2:55 PM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Last year, independent Russian outlets Important Stories and the Conflict Intelligence Team estimated that life expectancy on the battlefield for Russian soldiers was about four and a half months. In February, the Institute for the Study of War said more Russian soldiers had probably died seizing the town of Avdiivka than in the 10-year Soviet-Afghan war.
https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-cemetery-expansion-doubled-cost
-start-of-ukraine-war-report-2024-7

Russian Spending on Cemetery Expansion Triples Since Ukraine Invasion
Russian regions’ spending on cemetery expansion projects was nearly three times higher during the first two years of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine than it was during the two years prior, The Moscow Times has found.
https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2024/07/22/russian-spending-on-cemetery
-expansion-triples-since-ukraine-invasion-a85786

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Wednesday, July 24, 2024 5:17 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Patriotically fight in Ukraine? No! Pay enlistment bonuses to recruit civilians with money problems:

Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin signed a bill on July 23 offering recruits from Moscow a one-time enlistment bonus of 1.9 million rubles (about $21,600) if they sign a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) for one year of military service.[64] Sobyanin’s press service reported that Russian contract servicemen will receive 5.2 million rubles (about $59,150) during the first year of military service.[65] ISW continues to assess that such high financial incentives will continue to generate sufficient manpower to sustain Russia’s current offensive tempo but are likely to impose high long-term costs on Russia's regional and federal budgets.

The Russian State Duma adopted a law in the second and third readings that will ban Russian officials from collecting bankruptcy payments from Russian servicemen fighting in Ukraine.[70]

https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campai
gn-assessment-july-23-2024

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Thursday, July 25, 2024 5:40 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Weakness is Lethal: Why Putin Invaded Ukraine and How the War Must End

By Nataliya Bugayova, Kateryna Stepanenko, and Frederick W. Kagan | October 1, 2023

Russian President Vladimir Putin didn’t invade Ukraine in 2022 because he feared NATO. He invaded because he believed that NATO was weak, that his efforts to regain control of Ukraine by other means had failed, and that installing a pro-Russian government in Kyiv would be safe and easy. His aim was not to defend Russia against some non-existent threat but rather to expand Russia’s power, eradicate Ukraine’s statehood, and destroy NATO, goals he still pursues.

Putin had convinced himself by the end of 2021 that Russia had the opportunity to safely launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine to accomplish two distinct goals: establish Russian control over Ukraine without facing significant Western resistance and break the unity of NATO. Putin has long sought to achieve these goals, but a series of events in 2019-2020 fueled Putin’s belief that he had both the need and a historic opportunity to establish control over Ukraine.

More at https://understandingwar.org/backgrounder/weakness-lethal-why-putin-in
vaded-ukraine-and-how-war-must-end

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Thursday, July 25, 2024 7:06 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Russia will take five years to capture four Ukrainian regions 'if they carry on as they are' - UK army head

General Sir Roly Walker also said Moscow could lose up to 1.8 million soldiers as it tries to reach its minimum objective of capturing Donetsk and Luhansk in the east, as well as Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in the south.

Wednesday 24 July 2024 18:00, UK

https://news.sky.com/story/russia-will-take-five-years-to-capture-four
-ukrainian-regions-if-they-carry-on-as-they-are-uk-army-head-13184268

General Walker said: "I think the dilemma… is on the Russian regime. There has got to be more things for Russia to worry about than losing the best part of 1.5 to 1.8 million people for a slice of Ukraine with the way the world is going."

He dismissed an original ambition that Western allies believe President Putin had, which was to capture the whole of Ukraine with just 160,000 troops within six weeks, as a "wizard scheme".

"That was the quick war theory, which was put paid to by a scratch force with a little bit of help," he said, referring to the huge volume of weapons and assistance given to the Ukrainian armed forces by more than 50 countries, including the UK.

"So I think in that sense, it's hard to see how this is going in Russia's favour. But maybe their calculus is different to ours," General Walker said.

The comments came as the army chief warned that his soldiers must be ready in three years to fight a war against an "axis of upheaval" of Russia, China, Iran and North Korea.

He predicted, win or lose, that Russia will emerge from its invasion of Ukraine "very, very dangerous" and "wanting retribution" against countries like the UK that supported Kyiv.

"The point here is when you think they [the Russians] are down, they will come roaring back to get their vengeance," he said.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Friday, July 26, 2024 7:26 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

The Russian military command's willingness to expend a large number of armored vehicles on limited tactical objectives reflects poor longer-term operational foresight, and constraints on Russian equipment in the medium- to long-term will make such failed mechanized assaults costlier with time.

The Russian military has extensively relied on refurbishing stocks of Soviet-era weapons and military equipment, particularly armored vehicles, to sustain the tempo of its offensive operations in Ukraine.[5] The Russian government will likely have to further mobilize the Russian economy and defense industry if the Russian military intends to sustain its current tempo of operations in the medium- to long-term as Russia depletes its finite Soviet stockpiles, but it is unclear if the Russian defense industry will be able to produce enough vehicles to sustain a high level of equipment losses even with further economic mobilization.[6]

Ukraine-based open-source organization Frontelligence Insight stated on July 25 that it observed Russian forces moving hundreds of pieces of equipment, primarily restored old, armored vehicles such as T-62 and T-55 tanks, to the front in June and early July 2024.[7] Frontelligence Insight noted that these restored vehicles have yet to appear on the battlefield and assessed that Russia may be preparing to use them in later 2024. Frontelligence Insight reported that internal Russia documents show that Russian tanks damaged within the past six months (since about January 2024) are widely waiting for replacement parts and that widespread engine shortages have led to the increasing cannibalization of more modern T-80 tanks to conduct repairs. Russia currently has enough armored vehicles to conduct periodic company-sized and larger mechanized assaults throughout the frontline for the foreseeable future, however.

The Russian military command's continued willingness to suffer high armored vehicle losses for minor tactical gains instead of conserving armored vehicles for operations that pursue operationally significant objectives will impose increasingly significant costs on Russian forces as the Russian military's equipment constraints worsen over the coming years. The Russian military may be attempting to restore maneuver to the battlefield and pursue rapid gains through mechanized maneuver, although continued large scale frontal mechanized assaults indicate that the Russian military command has not fully internalized lessons about the difficulties of mechanized maneuver in the nearly transparent battlespace in Ukraine.[8]

https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campai
gn-assessment-july-25-2024

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Friday, July 26, 2024 9:00 AM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Yanno, posting endless reams of propaganda isn't going to help Ukraine win. It isn't even going to change anyone's mind.

You are, however, a useful aggregator of neocon propaganda.

-----------
"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal." - Henry Kissinger

Why SECOND'S posts are brainless: "I clocked how much time: no more than 10 minutes per day. With cut-and-paste (Ctrl C and Ctrl V) and AI, none of this takes much time."
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Friday, July 26, 2024 9:08 AM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

I thought this was particularly interesting. It covers Joe's speech (enemies within and without, paranoid), Netanyahu's speech (rabid) and a host of other topic, including how the war is goingbfor Ukraine according to Ukraine's top military commander.

Here is BIDEN'S speech. He takes a lot of delusional credit- border is more secure now than when I took office, nobody's talking about China overtaking the USA anymore (yeah, bc it already happened and it's old news)

I agree with Mercouris- America is NOT an idea. It is, first of all, people.

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Friday, July 26, 2024 9:43 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:

I agree with Mercouris- America is NOT an idea. It is, first of all, people.

Heard this one? “The cemeteries of the world are full of indispensable men.” Trumptards and right-wingers generally believe they are indispensable, but when they are finally gone, life goes smoother, proving they were all friction and only dead weight on the nation.

“Why do we need a world if Russia is not in it?” Russians think they are indispensable men and threaten to nuke the West if it doesn't share Russians' beliefs about their self-importance.
https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/02/28/why-do-we-need-a-world-if-ru
ssia-is-not-in-it-state-tv-presenter-opens-show-with-ominous-address-a76653

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Saturday, July 27, 2024 7:25 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

The European Union (EU) transferred the first tranche of proceeds from frozen Russian assets to Ukraine. European Commission President Ursula von Der Leyen announced on July 26 that the EU transferred 1.5 billion euros (about $1.6 billion) from frozen Russian assets to Ukraine as a part of its support for Ukraine’s defense capabilities and reconstruction.[21] Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov responded on July 26, claiming that Russia will not leave the European Commission's actions unanswered.[22] (The answer probably will mention nukes.)

https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campai
gn-assessment-july-26-2024

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Saturday, July 27, 2024 9:53 AM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:

I agree with Mercouris- America is NOT an idea. It is, first of all, people.

SECOND: Heard this one? “The cemeteries of the world are full of indispensable men.” Trumptards and right-wingers generally believe they are indispensable, but when they are finally gone, life goes smoother, proving they were all friction and only dead weight on the nation.

So, when will YOU go away? I'm looking forward to the day when your absence means that much less hate in the world. /snark

Everybody dies, SECOND. There is no justice or judgement in death, we all meet the same fate.

And since everybody dies, it's our lives that have meaning.

So, is America here to serve us? Or are we here to serve America? Is the economy here to serve us? Or are we here to grease those economic wheels with our blood?

I propose that all our constructs should serve us, our children, and our children's children into the far distant future. Not to pander to our most base desires, but to provide a meaningful, fruitful existence where we have agency over our lives and thoughts.

If you think we need a higher purpose, how about this: establishing an economy where everyone earns their fair share, sustainably, and those who can't are cared for. Starting with the one place we theoretically control - the USA. Once we get our house in order, we can be a shining example. Right now, we have no business lecturing anyone, much less interefering.

-----------
"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal." - Henry Kissinger

Why SECOND'S posts are brainless: "I clocked how much time: no more than 10 minutes per day. With cut-and-paste (Ctrl C and Ctrl V) and AI, none of this takes much time."
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Saturday, July 27, 2024 10:03 AM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

So, back to the actual topic; Ukraine is getting its ass haded to it. Somewhere between 350,000 and 1,000,000,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed.

Zelensky is willing to keep the war going as long as there is $$$ in it for him, and Ukraine is suffering the fate of all of America's friends.

-----------
"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal." - Henry Kissinger

Why SECOND'S posts are brainless: "I clocked how much time: no more than 10 minutes per day. With cut-and-paste (Ctrl C and Ctrl V) and AI, none of this takes much time."
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Sunday, July 28, 2024 6:50 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
So, back to the actual topic; Ukraine is getting its ass haded to it. Somewhere between 350,000 and 1,000,000,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed.

Zelensky is willing to keep the war going as long as there is $$$ in it for him, and Ukraine is suffering the fate of all of America's friends.

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:

I agree with Mercouris- America is NOT an idea. It is, first of all, people.

SECOND: Heard this one? “The cemeteries of the world are full of indispensable men.” Trumptards and right-wingers generally believe they are indispensable, but when they are finally gone, life goes smoother, proving they were all friction and only dead weight on the nation.
So, when will YOU go away? I'm looking forward to the day when your absence means that much less hate in the world. /snark

Everybody dies, SECOND. There is no justice or judgement in death, we all meet the same fate.

And since everybody dies, it's our lives that have meaning.

So, is America here to serve us? Or are we here to serve America? Is the economy here to serve us? Or are we here to grease those economic wheels with our blood?

I propose that all our constructs should serve us, our children, and our children's children into the far distant future. Not to pander to our most base desires, but to provide a meaningful, fruitful existence where we have agency over our lives and thoughts.

If you think we need a higher purpose, how about this: establishing an economy where everyone earns their fair share, sustainably, and those who can't are cared for. Starting with the one place we theoretically control - the USA. Once we get our house in order, we can be a shining example. Right now, we have no business lecturing anyone, much less interefering.

The Old Testament is full of stories about self-important people like 6ixStringJack, Signym, Trump and Putin who insist that the world must run the way they want but at the end of each story, God smashes them flat and the world goes on better than before. In the modern world, there are people deserving to be smashed flat because of their plans. Trump swears he either wins an election or else he accuses the winner of cheating and Trump starts a civil war. Putin insists he wins in Ukraine or else he nukes the West. These people don’t follow an admirable idea. They follow their goal of making a glorious facade for themselves, appearing bigger than God. Which wins? Big egotistic crazy people such as ancient kings in the bible and modern presidents-for-life with their followers? Or do the short-lived crazy egotists and followers get defeated by big ideas that live forever?

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Sunday, July 28, 2024 6:53 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

War is good for North Korean economy

South Korea's Bank of Korea estimated that North Korea's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 3.1 percent in 2023 compared to 2022 after annual contractions since 2019.[6] The Bank of Korea estimated that North Korea's heavy and chemical industries, particularly the production of iron, steel, copper, nickel, and aluminum, grew the most in 2023 by 8.1 percent. South Korean Defense Minister Shin Wonsik previously stated that Russia's provision of food to North Korea in exchange for weapons helped North Korea stabilize prices and likely boosted North Korean domestic manufacturing.[7] North Korea has reportedly transferred as many as 4.8 million artillery shells to Russia.[8]

https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campai
gn-assessment-july-27-2024

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Sunday, July 28, 2024 7:07 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Is Russia Trying to Poison Finland’s Water?

Break-ins at water treatment plants are a prime example of gray-zone aggression. The Finns may never know who did it, but they must resist succumbing to fear.

By Elisabeth Braw | July 26, 2024, 4:32 PM

https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/07/26/russia-sabotage-poison-finland-wa
ter-treatment/?tpcc=recirc_latest062921

This summer, mysterious intruders have been breaking into Finnish water towers and treatment plants. They’ve stolen nothing, which is unsurprising, since there would be little to steal. But there are other reasons people might want to break into water treatment plants: to scout them out for future attacks—or to cause the public to worry about the safety of the water in their taps. By disabling water treatment or adding a contaminant, an intruder could turn the life-giving liquid into a source of disease.

So far, the Finnish authorities have not apprehended any suspects. The break-in campaign, though, is a prime example of the nonmilitary aggression that Russia has perfected. So is the coordinated sabotage that brought down French rail lines just as the Olympic Games were about to begin and only days after French police arrested a Russian national in a suspected plot to cause “destabilization” during the Games.

The water attacks in Finland began in Porvoo, a town on the southern coast, where authorities reported that someone had tried to break into the town’s water tower twice. Then Sipoo, near Helsinki, also on Finland’s southern coast, reported break-in attempts at its water plant, too. As in Porvoo, the attackers had targeted the plant two nights in a row. Finland’s southern coast is ordinarily rather quiet, but then again, its immediate neighbor is the Gulf of Finland, the passageway for ships going to and from St. Petersburg. One can never really be sure who is sailing past.

By mid-July, there had been 11 break-in attempts into Finnish water towers and treatment plants. “The break-ins reported this far have not been serious ones and not targeted against the most critical sites, which are more heavily secured, but the worrying thing is that the number of break-in has increased at this very moment,” said retired Lt. Gen. Arto Raty, whose military roles included overseeing Finland’s famous National Defense Course, in which leaders from all parts of society learn about threats to the country. (Raty now works in the private sector.)

The intruders didn’t reach any sensitive parts in the water plants and towers. But with such a noticeable string of attacks having taken place within just a few weeks, Finnish authorities must prepare for more. Several city councils have already decided to strengthen security around their water facilities, starting with more fences and more camera surveillance.

Authorities are also asking: Who would have an interest in breaking into Finnish water plants? So far, they haven’t apprehended anyone or publicly identified a suspect. The intruders, though, are unlikely to have been ordinary criminals. “These are not the sort of break-ins criminals would commit,” said retired Maj. Gen. Pekka Toveri, a former chief of Finnish military intelligence who is now a member of the European Parliament.

Indeed, thieves know that it’s hard to reach the sensitive parts of water facilities, and at any rate, expensive technology would be easier to steal elsewhere. One might suspect environmental extremists—but they stage highly public protests, not break-ins under the cover of darkness, and not even the most fanatical environmental extremist would think it a good idea to attack water sources. Terrorists, too, go for attacks that create maximum publicity, and no known terrorist groups have a beef with Finnish operators of critical national infrastructure.

One actor, though, has an interest in frightening Finns: the Kremlin. “The water treatment companies have said that the break-ins are not a normal situation, and that’s making people worried,” Toveri said. “And one goal of Russia’s gray-zone aggression is to create fear.” Raty added: “We have no evidence showing who is behind these actions, but naturally in speculations the finger is pointing to the east.”

Russia has a clear interest in harming Finnish critical national infrastructure—and in insinuating to the Finnish public that its infrastructure is unsafe. Before Finland and Sweden joined NATO, the Kremlin reacted to every suggestion along the lines of NATO accession by threatening unspecified consequences. When the two countries eventually joined, Russia’s armed forces were so bogged down in Ukraine that no so-called consequences took place.

That doesn’t mean that Russia has been idle. Even before the two countries’ NATO accession, the Kremlin was busy harming them and other Western countries in nonmilitary ways. Cyberattacks conducted or condoned by the Kremlin have wreaked havoc on American drivers (remember the Colonial Pipeline attack?), British hospitals, and countless others.

Last fall, Russia began bringing so many migrants to the Finnish border—with the purpose of overwhelming the Finnish authorities—that Helsinki had to shut the crossings altogether. Russia appears to have been involved in the mysterious sabotage of two undersea cables and one pipeline in Swedish, Finnish, and Estonian waters, also last fall: The suspected perpetrator, a Chinese container ship, had worked extensively with Russian authorities and sailed to and from Russian Baltic Sea ports before and after the incidents.

As NATO expands, Europe’s far north is tangibly shifting to combat footing.

Russia can, in fact, keep coming up with new forms of aggression in the gray zone between war and peace because it faces no punishment for such aggression. Western countries are simply not going to respond eye for eye. Imagine if the governments of liberal democracies rounded up asylum-seekers and deposited them at the Russian border or allowed cybergangs based in the West to paralyze Russian hospitals.

Indeed, Russia can keep innovating in the gray zone using not just the government’s own personnel but all manner of freelancers, too. The coordinated sabotage of French high-speed rail lines is another example of gray-zone aggression; the sophistication of the attack suggests a state actor, but we may never know who did it.

Western governments can suspect a link between seemingly independent perpetrators and the Kremlin, but proving such links is virtually impossible. “Russia could just have paid some criminals to break into the water plants—we just don’t know,” Toveri said. “But what we do know is that the break-ins are tying up the authorities’ resources and creating fear among people.”

Finland is not the first country to see its water supply targeted. This May, Janet McCabe, the deputy administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), warned that China, Russia, and Iran were “actively seeking the capability to disable U.S. critical infrastructure, including water and wastewater.” Last year, for example, the Iranian-linked hacker group Cyber Av3ngers took control of some of the water functions in the Pennsylvania town of Aliquippa, which forced the water authority to switch to manual operations.

This year, a Russian-linked so-called hacktivist tried to interfere with water operations in several Texas towns, CBS News reports. The Chinese state-sponsored cybergroup Volt Typhoon has been targeting U.S. water facilities and other critical services.

“Drinking water and wastewater systems are an attractive target for cyberattacks because they are a lifeline critical infrastructure sector but often lack the resources and technical capacity to adopt rigorous cybersecurity practices,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan warned in a letter in March. Indeed, the water authority of Aliquippa (population: 9,000) versus the government of Iran is hardly a match of equals. Nor is the Finnish municipality of Sipoo (population: 22,500) versus the Kremlin.

It will take a lot to stir up fear among Finns, who have seen their share of Russian overt and covert aggression. But the prospect of one’s water being harmed is bound to create worries; after all, not even an invasion is as dangerous as the widespread poisoning of drinking water. Regardless of whether Russia is connected to the break-ins into Finnish water plants, the resulting anxiety will certainly please the Kremlin. Meanwhile, the rest of us can also do our part—by not panicking and by keeping some bottled water at home.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Sunday, July 28, 2024 7:59 AM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Quote:
Originally posted by second:
Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
So, back to the actual topic; Ukraine is getting its ass haded to it. Somewhere between 350,000 and 1,000,000,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed.

Zelensky is willing to keep the war going as long as there is $$$ in it for him, and Ukraine is suffering the fate of all of America's friends.

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:

I agree with Mercouris- America is NOT an idea. It is, first of all, people.

SECOND: Heard this one? “The cemeteries of the world are full of indispensable men.” Trumptards and right-wingers generally believe they are indispensable, but when they are finally gone, life goes smoother, proving they were all friction and only dead weight on the nation.
So, when will YOU go away? I'm looking forward to the day when your absence means that much less hate in the world. /snark

Everybody dies, SECOND. There is no justice or judgement in death, we all meet the same fate.

And since everybody dies, it's our lives that have meaning.

So, is America here to serve us? Or are we here to serve America? Is the economy here to serve us? Or are we here to grease those economic wheels with our blood?

I propose that all our constructs should serve us, our children, and our children's children into the far distant future. Not to pander to our most base desires, but to provide a meaningful, fruitful existence where we have agency over our lives and thoughts.

If you think we need a higher purpose, how about this: establishing an economy where everyone earns their fair share, sustainably, and those who can't are cared for. Starting with the one place we theoretically control - the USA. Once we get our house in order, we can be a shining example. Right now, we have no business lecturing anyone, much less interefering.
The Old Testament is full of stories about self-important people like 6ixStringJack, Signym, Trump and Putin who insist that the world must run the way they want but at the end of each story, God smashes them flat and the world goes on better than before. In the modern world, there are people deserving to be smashed flat because of their plans. Trump swears he either wins an election or else he accuses the winner of cheating and Trump starts a civil war. Putin insists he wins in Ukraine or else he nukes the West. These people don’t follow an admirable idea. They follow their goal of making a glorious facade for themselves, appearing bigger than God. Which wins? Big egotistic crazy people such as ancient kings in the bible and modern presidents-for-life with their followers? Or do the short-lived crazy egotists and followers get defeated by big ideas that live forever?

You still don't get it, do you?

If dying is getting "smashed flat" by God, then in the end EVERYBODY gets "smashed flat" by God. Right? Bc we all die, right?

And if God hates self important people, isn't the person who doesn't recognize their own mortality (that's you) the most self important of all? Bc you think you sit at the right hand of God and will live forever?

Ahem ....

-----------
"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal." - Henry Kissinger

Why SECOND'S posts are brainless: "I clocked how much time: no more than 10 minutes per day. With cut-and-paste (Ctrl C and Ctrl V) and AI, none of this takes much time."
Or, any verification or thought.

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Sunday, July 28, 2024 9:08 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:

You still don't get it, do you?

If dying is getting "smashed flat" by God, then in the end EVERYBODY gets "smashed flat" by God. Right? Bc we all die, right?

And if God hates self important people, isn't the person who doesn't recognize their own mortality (that's you) the most self important of all? Bc you think you sit at the right hand of God and will live forever?

Ahem ....

I'm guessing but am pretty sure you didn't understand the story about the Ten Plagues of Egypt. Everyone involved, from the Pharaoh down to unnamed Jews, is dead but one side won and the other side lost big. One side wanted freedom and the other side wanted slaves but didn't/couldn't keep them. Instead, the ancient Egyptians got killed in very biblical/cinematic ways as the Russians are now being killed.
https://www.worldhistory.org/Ten_Plagues_of_Egypt/

P.S. I was almost buried at Houston's Veterans Memorial Cemetery fifty-two years ago. Every month since has been gravy but I am not fearful of the banquet of life inevitably ending.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Sunday, July 28, 2024 9:35 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

The Pentagon has found $2bn worth of additional errors in its calculations for ammunition, missiles and other equipment sent to Ukraine, increasing the improperly valued material to a total of $8.2bn, a US government report revealed on Thursday. In 2023, the Pentagon said staff used “replacement value” instead of “depreciated value” to tabulate the billions in materials sent to Ukraine. The $6.2bn error created a path for billions more to be sent to Kyiv.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/26/ukraine-war-brie
fing-pentagon-accounting-error-creates-path-for-billions-more-to-be-sent-to-kyiv

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Sunday, July 28, 2024 3:10 PM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Quote:
Originally posted by second:
Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:

You still don't get it, do you?

If dying is getting "smashed flat" by God, then in the end EVERYBODY gets "smashed flat" by God. Right? Bc we all die, right?

And if God hates self important people, isn't the person who doesn't recognize their own mortality (that's you) the most self important of all? Bc you think you sit at the right hand of God and will live forever?

Ahem ....
I'm guessing but am pretty sure you didn't understand the story about the Ten Plagues of Egypt. Everyone involved, from the Pharaoh down to unnamed Jews, is dead but one side won and the other side lost big. One side wanted freedom and the other side wanted slaves but didn't/couldn't keep them. Instead, the ancient Egyptians got killed in very biblical/cinematic ways as the Russians are now being killed.
https://www.worldhistory.org/Ten_Plagues_of_Egypt/

P.S. I was almost buried at Houston's Veterans Memorial Cemetery fifty-two years ago. Every month since has been gravy but I am not fearful of the banquet of life inevitably ending.

Empires come and empires go, but I'm pretty sure the Egyptian dynasties carried on, without the Jews, who were ultimately unimportant to Egypt*.

But since you seem to equate military and economic success with God's favor, what do you think of Ukraine's catastrophic losses? And what will you think when Ukraine loses?

* BTW, depending on Jewish stories (Old Testament) for real world history is like depending on "what Kiev says" or what our M$M says. Very little truth, a lot of self aggrandizement.

Quote:
Biblical Egypt
Biblical Egypt (Hebrew: ?????????; Mi?rayim), or Mizraim, is a theological term used by historians and scholars to differentiate between Ancient Egypt as it is portrayed in Judeo-Christian texts and what is known about the region based on archaeological evidence. Along with Canaan, Egypt is one of the most commonly mentioned locations in the Bible, and its people, the Egyptians (or Mitsri), play important roles in the story of the Israelites. Although interaction between Egypt and nearby Semitic-speaking peoples is attested in archaeological sources, they do not otherwise corroborate the biblical account.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblical_Egypt

-----------
"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal." - Henry Kissinger

Why SECOND'S posts are brainless: "I clocked how much time: no more than 10 minutes per day. With cut-and-paste (Ctrl C and Ctrl V) and AI, none of this takes much time."
Or, any verification or thought.

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Monday, July 29, 2024 6:28 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:

Empires come and empires go, but I'm pretty sure the Egyptian dynasties carried on, without the Jews, who were ultimately unimportant to Egypt*.

But since you seem to equate military and economic success with God's favor, what do you think of Ukraine's catastrophic losses? And what will you think when Ukraine loses?

* BTW, depending on Jewish stories (Old Testament) for real world history is like depending on "what Kiev says" or what our M$M says. Very little truth, a lot of self aggrandizement.

What would I think if this was Hitler conquering Europe rather than Putin conquering a corner of Ukraine? I'd think that the Europeans were cheese-eating surrender monkeys during WWII, that is to say, ineffective. I wonder who intervened to save the ineffective monkeys from the Nazis? The Russians say it was them, but the Americans say it was them. Who is right? The aftermath of the saving says who saved the Europeans. The Russians took over the role the Nazis were playing in Eastern Europe while NATO/EU took over the same role in Western Europe from the Americans. Now I see why the Russians still don't like either NATO or the EU. Now it is obvious - Russians did not save Eastern Europeans at all.

The Russians have given Europeans a new opportunity/chance to prove they are not ineffective and not cheese-eating surrender monkeys. However, the Europeans are not demonstrating that they learned how to be effective warriors. Some Ukrainians seem to know the art of war, although many millions of Ukrainians can only be called surrender monkeys, very ineffective, very cowardly, and very quick to surrender. It is as if they have zero understanding, much like an actual monkey. America has at least 74,223,975 monkeys role-playing as humans so it is not unexpected that Ukraine would have foolish monkeys of its own. Switching metaphors from monkeys to trees:

"The forest was shrinking, but the trees kept voting for the axe, for the axe was clever and convinced the trees that because his handle was made of wood he was one of them."

What does the Forest and the Axe Proverb Mean?
https://boundbyhonor.net/blogs/news/what-does-the-forest-and-the-axe-p
roverb-mean

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Monday, July 29, 2024 6:34 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Zelenskyy: Every commander must remember that people are not expendable

By Oleksandra Zimko | Sat, July 27, 2024

https://newsukraine.rbc.ua/news/zelenskyy-every-commander-must-remembe
r-that-1722092733.html

Ukraine has one fundamental difference from Russia. Ukrainians are trying to save as many lives as possible, states Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“Protecting the state is definitely a two-way street. And those who defend the state must know and feel that the state defends them. This is the difference between us and the enemy,” the President said.

He emphasized that Russia neglects its people and does not fight for their survival. Instead, Ukraine, according to Zelenskyy, must do everything to protect life, especially the lives and health of its soldiers.

“Our army has proved its modernity and strength, which are capable of establishing the desired peace in Ukraine,” the head of state said.

The President explained that when Ukraine talks about the need for weapons, we must not forget that support and protection of Ukrainian soldiers is also a weapon.

“Every commander must remember: people are not expendable. Their strength, their knowledge, their skills are an important value for our state,” Zelenskyy emphasized.

Today, July 27, Zelenskyy instructed to improve the rehabilitation of wounded and captured soldiers. The head of state made the statement at the first annual International Congress on Military Medicine and Mental Health.

The president also said that Ukrainian doctors will be granted officer ranks even if they have not graduated from a military department.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Monday, July 29, 2024 6:34 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Ministry: Over 75% of injured Ukrainian soldiers return to service after rehabilitation

By Kateryna Denisova | July 27, 2024

https://kyivindependent.com/over-75-of-injured-soldiers-return-to-serv
ice-after-rehabilitation/

More than 75% of injured Ukrainian soldiers return to service after rehabilitation, Natalia Kalmykova, a deputy defense minister, said on July 27, Interfax Ukraine reported.

Kyiv does not disclose the total number of injured Ukrainian soldiers since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion. At least 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed from the beginning of the invasion through late February 2024, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Soldiers who suffered injuries of varying severity can undergo rehabilitation at almost every health care facility, both civilian and military, Kalmykova said.

"We have a very high percentage of high-quality rehabilitation and return to service. Our Western partners, those countries that have never had such experience, such a war, also point this out," she added during a briefing on the sidelines of the Congress on Military Medicine and Mental Health in Kyiv.

Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said at the event that Ukraine and its NATO partners are planning to launch a project to create five rehabilitation centers for Ukrainian soldiers, the Suspilne media outlet reported. Equipped with modern technology, the centers will provide quality treatment to the soldiers, he said.

Mechinkov Hospital, a regional medical center in the city of Dnipro that treats front-line soldiers from Donbas, has received around 29,000 injured troops since the start of the full-scale war, hospital director Sergii Ryzhenko told the Kyiv Independent in June.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Monday, July 29, 2024 6:39 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

The EU’s most senior diplomat, Josep Borrell, warned that Russia’s war against Ukraine is an “existential threat” to Europe.

According to a press release from the EU’s diplomatic service, Borell, who is also a vice-president of the European Commission, told Wang Yi:

“The EU high representative/vice-president explained why the European Union considers Russia’s war against Ukraine is an existential threat to Europe. He expressed his concern because China’s exports of large amounts of dual-use goods and items represent a support to Russia to build up its military equipment.

The EU high representative/vice-president asked China to use its influence on Russia to contribute to end the war. He asked China to support the Ukraine peace process and considered that the joint statement with Brazil of May 2024 does not go in that direction.”

https://www.eeas.europa.eu/eeas/china-high-representative-borrell-met-
foreign-minister-wang-yi_en

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Monday, July 29, 2024 9:11 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to use nuclear saber-rattling to target Western decision-making and promote Western self-deterrence.

Putin spoke at the Main Naval Parade in St. Petersburg on July 28 and claimed that if the US deploys long-range missile systems in Germany in 2026, the flight time to Russian industrial and defense targets will be about 10 minutes.[1] Putin also commented on US deployments of Typhon Mid-Range Capability (MRC) missile systems to Denmark and the Philippines for joint exercises. Putin threatened that if the US implements plans to deploy missile systems to these countries, Russia will no longer be bound by the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty and will take "mirror measures" to deploy unspecified systems that are currently in the final stages of development to unspecified locations.

Putin claimed that Russian strategic missile carriers stopped conducting air patrols after the end of the Cold War but resumed these flights in 2007 in response to increased US strategic and reconnaissance aviation activity in areas of the world that are "sensitive to Russia" and in order to "ensure security in the Asia-Pacific region."

The US and Germany announced in June 2024 that the US will begin "episodic deployments" of long-range fire capabilities, including Standard Missile 6 (SM-6) and Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles, in Germany starting in 2026 in order to demonstrate US commitment to NATO.[2] The US Army Pacific stated in April 2024 that it deployed the MRC missile system that can fire SM-6 and Tomahawk missiles to the Philippines as part of exercises, and the US Navy announced in May 2024 that it conducted containerized missile launcher rehearsals with the Danish military on Bornholm Island, Denmark.[3]

The current location of the MRC systems is unclear, but the US has not announced that it is deploying the systems to Denmark and the Philippines for purposes beyond the previous exercises. Putin officially suspended Russia's participation in the INF Treaty that banned ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges of 500 to 5,500 kilometers, in March 2019, but Russia has already permanently deployed nuclear capable Iskander-M ballistic missiles, with a reported range of up to 500 kilometers, in Kaliningrad Oblast since 2018.[4]

Putin is falsely trying to present the Russian deployment of missiles previously banned under the INF Treaty as an inflection, likely as part of his repeated efforts to use nuclear saber-rattling to push the West to self-deter.[5]

https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campai
gn-assessment-july-28-2024

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Monday, July 29, 2024 9:54 AM

THG

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:

But since you seem to equate military and economic success with God's favor, what do you think of Ukraine's catastrophic losses? And what will you think when Ukraine loses?

Wow you're delusional. Ukraine's navy is destroying Russia's navy. Oh wait, Ukraine doesn't have a navy. Yet still, it is winning the battle of the Black Sea. And leaders around the world have commented again and again how it turns out, Russia does not know how to fight.

Russia has been trying to win since 2014 you stupid twit. They've thrown everything they have and could borrow against Ukraine since Feb. 2022, and still, they can't win.

Russia has no future comrade and I'm loving the fact that America is playing a major role in making that iron clad. Why is that? Because of your behavior. Russia has earned every negative thing that happens to it going forward.

Putin did accomplish one thing comrade. NATO now has two new powerhouse countries in its ranks. And comrade, Europe is rearming at an alarming rate. Something we in the west have been trying to get them to do for decades.

So, thank you Putin. Thank you so much.

T

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Monday, July 29, 2024 3:52 PM

THG

Ukraine Targets Russia’s Most Important Weapon: Artillery

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Monday, July 29, 2024 4:15 PM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:

But since you seem to equate military and economic success with God's favor, what do you think of Ukraine's catastrophic losses? And what will you think when Ukraine loses?

THUGR:
Wow you're delusional. Ukraine's navy is destroying Russia's navy. Oh wait, Ukraine doesn't have a navy. Yet still, it is winning the battle of the Black Sea. And leaders around the world have commented again and again how it turns out, Russia does not know how to fight.

Russia has been trying to win since 2014 you stupid twit. They've thrown everything they have and could borrow against Ukraine since Feb. 2022, and still, they can't win.

Russia has no future comrade and I'm loving the fact that America is playing a major role in making that iron clad. Why is that? Because of your behavior. Russia has earned every negative thing that happens to it going forward.

Putin did accomplish one thing comrade. NATO now has two new powerhouse countries in its ranks. And comrade, Europe is rearming at an alarming rate. Something we in the west have been trying to get them to do for decades.

So, thank you Putin. Thank you so much.

One of us is delusional, and I don't think it's me.

Still, the results will speak for themselves.

The question is, if Russia wins, will you man up and admit you were wrong? Or will you qibble endlessly?

-----------
"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal." - Henry Kissinger

Why SECOND'S posts are brainless: "I clocked how much time: no more than 10 minutes per day. With cut-and-paste (Ctrl C and Ctrl V) and AI, none of this takes much time."
Or, any verification or thought.

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Monday, July 29, 2024 4:18 PM