Red Mosquito

yeah good piece in the WSJ this morning about Ukraine's work with drone boats that carry bombs and mines

robin williams' Toys knew where we were headed

bargaining chips for deal making

smart

In his recent first public comments on the operation, Ukraine’s top military commander, Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi, claimed on Monday that Ukraine now controlled about 1,000 sq km (386 sq miles) of the region.

The claim was largely confirmed on the Russian side. Alexei Smirnov, the acting governor of the Kursk region, told the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, via a videoconference briefing on Monday that Ukrainian forces controlled 28 Russian settlements, including towns and villages up to 18 miles (30km) inside Russia.

I mean its ballsy, but what are they hoping to achieve going in there?
awkward PR nightmare for Putin? can he/is he not just spinning it to prove his point? 'told you they were nazis!' or is it even being mentioned in russian media?

Serhiy Grabskyi, a reserve Ukrainian army colonel, said “Russia simply does not have a defensive plan” for its border regions, which are large and hard to defend.

“We found there is no plan in place,” he said. “It’s a huge disadvantage for Russians to have such big territories, because they are not able to control those territories.”

Stent, from the Brookings Institution, said Russia was “so focused on the east” and the battles on Ukraine’s front that Moscow failed to account for a defense mission.

“This shows us that there’s a lack of organization, there was a lack of proper preparation to this,” she said. “Maybe the Russians should have thought that the Ukrainians might pull off something like that, or they’ve underestimated the Ukrainians.”

Putin on Monday vowed a “strong response” as he referred to the Kursk attack as a plot to “create discord and division within our society, to instill fear, and to undermine the unity and cohesion of the Russian people.”

He also used the opportunity to blame the West for the incursion, part of his claims that the U.S. and NATO seek the destruction of Russia.

White House national security spokesperson John Kirby hit back on Putin’s remarks in a Monday call with reporters.

“Make no mistake about it, this is Putin’s war against Russia, and if he doesn’t like it, if it’s making him a little uncomfortable, then there’s an easy solution,” he said. “He can just get the hell out of Ukraine and call it a day.”

The U.S. has supported the Ukrainian attack into Kursk, saying it is consistent with the Biden administration’s policy to allow Ukraine to defend itself against cross-border attacks. Kursk borders the northeastern Ukrainian region of Sumy, which neighbors Ukraine’s Kharkiv province, where Russian forces are still trying to advance.

Ukraine is unlikely to try and hold onto the territory in Russia for a long period of time, even amid speculation that seized land could be used in negotiations.

Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said there were no plans for permanent occupation.

“Unlike Russia, Ukraine doesn’t need something that belongs to someone else,” he said in remarks shared by state-run media. “Ukraine has no interest in taking over the territory of Kursk region, but we do want to protect the lives of our people.”

Instead, Ukraine will likely hold out until a significant number of Russian troops are redeployed to defend Kursk and cause as much damage as possible.

https://thehill.com/policy/defense/4826 ... sia-kursk/

dimejinky99 wrote:I mean its ballsy, but what are they hoping to achieve going in there?
awkward PR nightmare for Putin? can he/is he not just spinning it to prove his point? 'told you they were nazis!' or is it even being mentioned in russian media?

I don't know why they did it, but there can be several explanations why. They want to draw Russian troops away from the front, they wanted to change the narrative, that they were slowly losing ground at the front, and lacking forces to refill their defensive lines, to one where Ukraine is on the offensive. Putin will say a lot of things, but he could also end up looking weaker from this. Depends a bit on how it turns out. Mostly Russians that have been interviewed so far, blame local leaders and local military, and even higher up Generals, but not Putin. Instead they look to Putin to help them. "When Putin finds out, everything will be fine."

Anders wrote:

dimejinky99 wrote:I mean its ballsy, but what are they hoping to achieve going in there?
awkward PR nightmare for Putin? can he/is he not just spinning it to prove his point? 'told you they were nazis!' or is it even being mentioned in russian media?

I don't know why they did it, but there can be several explanations why. They want to draw Russian troops away from the front, they wanted to change the narrative, that they were slowly losing ground at the front, and lacking forces to refill their defensive lines, to one where Ukraine is on the offensive. Putin will say a lot of things, but he could also end up looking weaker from this. Depends a bit on how it turns out. Mostly Russians that have been interviewed so far, blame local leaders and local military, and even higher up Generals, but not Putin. Instead they look to Putin to help them. "When Putin finds out, everything will be fine."

gotcha. There was a good piece the other day about him, basically saying hes fucked and the sharks are circling and hes about to be deposed. Who knows whats going on for real in that situation. But this incursion only adds to that i reckon.

dimejinky99 wrote:

Anders wrote:

dimejinky99 wrote:I mean its ballsy, but what are they hoping to achieve going in there?
awkward PR nightmare for Putin? can he/is he not just spinning it to prove his point? 'told you they were nazis!' or is it even being mentioned in russian media?

I don't know why they did it, but there can be several explanations why. They want to draw Russian troops away from the front, they wanted to change the narrative, that they were slowly losing ground at the front, and lacking forces to refill their defensive lines, to one where Ukraine is on the offensive. Putin will say a lot of things, but he could also end up looking weaker from this. Depends a bit on how it turns out. Mostly Russians that have been interviewed so far, blame local leaders and local military, and even higher up Generals, but not Putin. Instead they look to Putin to help them. "When Putin finds out, everything will be fine."

gotcha. There was a good piece the other day about him, basically saying hes fucked and the sharks are circling and hes about to be deposed. Who knows whats going on for real in that situation. But this incursion only adds to that i reckon.

Hopefully it does.

Anders wrote:

dimejinky99 wrote:

Anders wrote:

dimejinky99 wrote:I mean its ballsy, but what are they hoping to achieve going in there?
awkward PR nightmare for Putin? can he/is he not just spinning it to prove his point? 'told you they were nazis!' or is it even being mentioned in russian media?

I don't know why they did it, but there can be several explanations why. They want to draw Russian troops away from the front, they wanted to change the narrative, that they were slowly losing ground at the front, and lacking forces to refill their defensive lines, to one where Ukraine is on the offensive. Putin will say a lot of things, but he could also end up looking weaker from this. Depends a bit on how it turns out. Mostly Russians that have been interviewed so far, blame local leaders and local military, and even higher up Generals, but not Putin. Instead they look to Putin to help them. "When Putin finds out, everything will be fine."

gotcha. There was a good piece the other day about him, basically saying hes fucked and the sharks are circling and hes about to be deposed. Who knows whats going on for real in that situation. But this incursion only adds to that i reckon.

Hopefully it does.

raises the question though.

would his replacement be any better? would they double down or back off it all and call the whole thing off completely?
No idea how Russian politics works but it's intriguing.

dimejinky99 wrote:

Anders wrote:

dimejinky99 wrote:

Anders wrote:

dimejinky99 wrote:I mean its ballsy, but what are they hoping to achieve going in there?
awkward PR nightmare for Putin? can he/is he not just spinning it to prove his point? 'told you they were nazis!' or is it even being mentioned in russian media?

I don't know why they did it, but there can be several explanations why. They want to draw Russian troops away from the front, they wanted to change the narrative, that they were slowly losing ground at the front, and lacking forces to refill their defensive lines, to one where Ukraine is on the offensive. Putin will say a lot of things, but he could also end up looking weaker from this. Depends a bit on how it turns out. Mostly Russians that have been interviewed so far, blame local leaders and local military, and even higher up Generals, but not Putin. Instead they look to Putin to help them. "When Putin finds out, everything will be fine."

gotcha. There was a good piece the other day about him, basically saying hes fucked and the sharks are circling and hes about to be deposed. Who knows whats going on for real in that situation. But this incursion only adds to that i reckon.

Hopefully it does.

raises the question though.

would his replacement be any better? would they double down or back off it all and call the whole thing off completely?
No idea how Russian politics works but it's intriguing.

With everything he/Russia has done (not only in Ukraine), the replacement would have to be horrific, to be worse.

So he's for allowing Russia to keep the land they forcefully took just so this can end in "peace"? Or am I reading that wrong?

I just have a hard time taking anyone seriously when part of a deal for “peace” includes allowing Russia to keep Ukrainian territory they invaded

E.H. Ruddock wrote:I just have a hard time taking anyone seriously when part of a deal for “peace” includes allowing Russia to keep Ukrainian territory they invaded

If there's not enough men and material to produce a better outcome, then what?

I wouldn't trust Vance further than I could throw him, and do not believe he has good intentions for Ukraine.

Hmmm, it would be nice if the US controlled both sides of Niagara Falls……

Could probably find a Russisn politician, that would support Canada giving it up, so as not to anger the USA.