To the last Ukrainian: For a brief moment, Ukraine was beacon of freedom. Now, it is clear that for all our talk, no one in the West really thought they could beat Russia. Worse, it is clear that many never wanted them to.
According to Zelensky, Russian forces currently control around one fifth of Ukrainian territory, mostly in the east and the south. As he pointed out last Thursday in an address to the Luxembourg parliament, this is an area that is much larger than the entire Benelux region.
For Russia, this has come at a considerable cost. Reliable open source intelligence estimates put Russian losses at over 31,000 soldiers killed, 3,300 armoured vehicles and another 2,500 trucks destroyed, 200 lost aircraft, 175 helicopters, and 13 ships or boats. All of this for a “special operation” that was supposed to take no more than a long weekend including the victory parade, with the invaders welcomed as liberators.
Dear as this has been for Russia, for Ukrainians the price has been much, much higher. Reliable estimates of Ukrainian military losses are hard to come by, but something around half of the Russian figures is probably in the ballpark, though they could easily be much higher. Zelensky has not been totally shy in talking about losses; the other day he said the Ukrainian forces were losing 60-100 fighters a day, with another 500+ wounded, in fighting in the east.
These are staggering losses (recall that Canada lost 158 soldiers over the course of more than a decade in Afghanistan), but they don’t even begin to compare with what has happened to Ukraine’s civilians and to its cities. […]
The solidarity that NATO showed in the early days of the invasion has long evaporated. A clear schism has emerged between the countries of the east who have skin in the game — Poland and the Baltics in particular, but some plucky Balkan countries as well — and the old central European powers led by France and Germany. As usual, it has fallen to the Americans, supported by the Brits, to hold things together. Except the leaders of both of those countries have serious problems at home. Boris Johnson is facing a growing rebellion in parliament over the fallout from Sue Gray’s “Partygate” report, and he may yet be pushed from office. Across the pond, poor, elderly Joe Biden has to try to govern an America that is barely holding itself together.
All of which spells bad news for Ukraine.
There were plenty of warnings.
” reliable sources”
Translation
We f’d up really bad, Russia kicked our asses and now we have to lie our way out.
We have no real facts, no Russian prisoners other than the ones we murdered, but believe us, we killed them in the ten’s of thousands.
Oh one more thing.
Send more money
Reliable estimates of Ukrainian military losses are hard to come by, but something around half of the Russian figures is probably in the ballpark,
Mmmm-kay.
I feel terrible for the Ukrainians,but our “let’s you and him fight” strategy has, as had been widely predicted since the fall of the Soviet Union, “wrecked” Ukraine. A deal should have at least been attempted during the build up. Trump said “I thought he was negotiating,” and he probably was, but Biden wouldn’t pick up the phone. So here we are. If there is a Ukraine when this is over, it’s going to be a lot smaller, that didn’t have to be.
Deals have been negotiated 3 (three) times over the past 8 years between Ukraine, Russia and all interested parties and Ukraine has been encouraged not to abide by them.
The Gaffe-o-matic POTUS has angered China now too, with his announcement that we would go to war over Taiwan.
The defence of Tawain is about the only legitimate reason to go to war at present.
And that sure as hell will result in WW3. Another war the west cannot win.
Absolutely not. Everyone has already agreed (the US in 1972) that Taiwan is a province of China, and the Beijing regime is its legitimate government. Why the neocons are provoking China is the real question.
Tawain is a free and democratic country (unlike Ukraine) and considers itself the real government of China, not the CCP. It is also a place where the West has real interests at stake, as does most of the world. There’s a reason that China does not attack, it too has economic interests in Tawain not being destroyed by war.
Taiwan needs to up the ante and with the most secret arrangements in the world at present, to purchase along with technical support the acquisition of nuclear weapons from lsrael.
100.
but the thing allowed to leak out to only the very highest level in Beijing the agreement is in place. now lets talk about the cost of ccp hegemony.
it cd be done in oh, say 3 years. full retaliatory capability. of course the ‘leak’ waits until then, duhhh.
In Theory, they may already have the designs and materials required to do it…
The question becomes, do they have the will to take the next step?
the DemoKKKraps needed things in the Uke to be destroyed, to cover up their money laundering. And now Ukrainian is destroyed , except in the minds of a few feeble minded posters in here.
The Ukrainian Nazis were never going to win this short of conquering Muscovy—and the Russians have made clear that New York would be reduced to radioactive ash long before that happened.
“Erratic and obscene?” There is nothing erratic or obscene about the Russians’ making clear that the era when the Money Trust could rape their mother with impunity has come to a close.
Russia will win. The only question is how many local “nationalist” mafias ruling on behalf of the Money Trust in Eastern Europe will have to be put out of business before the Money Trust cut their losses.
Russia will get on just fine without Mickey D’s.
It certainly does look like Russia will come out the victor at this point, but forgive me for not celebrating.
OTOH, if it means that there will finally be peace in the region, then let it happen quickly. It would be like pulling a band-aid. Otherwise for Ukraine to miraculously defeat the Russians would mean months, perhaps even years of more fighting, more death, and more destruction… and I’m not just talking about Ukraine here.
All I am cheering for at this point is a quick end to the violence and the bloodshed, regardless of the outcome.
You really don’t understand what it means for a Ukrainian to be sentenced to life under the Siberian Mongol boot. Why do you think they keep fighting a desperate war for more than a hundred days?
Agreed, but if the hostilities would end, they would still be alive. They’d be living under a Jackboot at their throats, but they’d still be alive. Poland lived under communism for a couple of generations, but eventually, they rose up, defeated their communist masters, and won back their freedom.
Sometimes it’s better to run and fight again on another day. Strategic retreat or surrender? Call it what you will. I just want the bloody violence to end.
“making clear that the era when the Money Trust could rape their mother with impunity has come to a close.”
l like that. in the cold war debate my point that it was in fact necessary for BOTH sides to have weapons, there was thought in ‘mercuh of a preemptive.
the mentality was there. russia’s nukes rightly saved them and the atmosphere.
We overthrow the legitimate government of a country and then make it fight a proxy war for us. I find this even more shamfeul than bombing the shit out of Serbs (twice) in the 1990s. Even Gulf War part II had some logic to it, the necessary completion of part I. Libya, Serbia and Ukraine, just strategical, dare I say maniacal, madness. I would like to know who’s interests are served by all these wars. It’s not clear to me.
I think “maniacal strategic madness” works better.
Whose interests are served , ultimately ?
The Great Evil One.
Lucifer.
Robert, war is the default human condition. Tyranny is the second one.
Whose interests? G-L-O-B-A-L-I-S-T-S-!!! Maybe that was a rhetorical question, but I answered it anyway.
.
I would like to know who’s interests are served by all these wars. It’s not clear to me.
Are you kidding me?
The military industrial complex and those politicians that that they pay-off to keep on-going wars happening to sell their products for huge profits.
It is the same routine as big pharma and the politicians and media they pay-off to keep pandemics happening to sell their products for huge profits.
Are you getting the picture now? War is profitable for those involved in keeping things in disarray. We are pawns in the game and we are being badly abused.
Further, I don’t actually give a shit who wins this current dust up …. but I think we may have a better chance moving forward, as they say …. to achieve peace in that region if and when Russia wins.
If Russia loses, they may do the unthinkable.
.
Well Robert..
Zelenskyi’s Govt – “legitimate”..??
Yea, about as Legitimate as the unholy alliance of Jagmeat and PM Dickspank.
The interests they serve..?? Seems to me they recently got together at DAVOS. And have institutional locations in Geneva (WHO – GAVI), New York (UN)…..along with the Deep State throughout the West.
This is a proxy war whereby the Globalists absolutely need Ukraine as their money laundering & arms dealing bazaar.
IMO.
Yes I somewhat agree with you here Steakman. Also, “the globalists” hate Russia because they couldn’t complete the plunder of the old USSR before Putin put a stop to it. They hate the vast respources of Russia being beyond their grasp.
A referendum sounds like it would have accomplished the same result.
In principle yes. But then East Ukraine would have been an asset rather than a smoking ruin to somebody who wasn’t the Money Trust. That wasn’t going to happen.
The Russians understand that if you consider something yours, you need to be prepared to kill globalists to keep it.
Any enterprise that kills globalists is worthwhile.
I like the cut of your jib, matey.
Ukraine a “beacon of freedom”? …lol…wtf…like Hell it was. Biggest szchiddthole in Europe….
Ukraine was a beacon of freedom? When was that? ‘Free’ Ukraine was being used as another wedge by NATO (US) to hem in Russia, which is the latest ‘threat to democracy’ that needed to be crushed in order to ‘make the world safe for democracy’’, and a money laundering front for several prominent American politicians families. They didn’t believe that Russia would actually invade and now Ukraine is paying a terrible price for that miscalculation. A negotiated settlement was always a possibility but instead we chose to gamble using someone else’s chips. This was all unnecessary! If we really love Ukrainians the way we profess we would have done everything in our power to prevent its destruction.
“Across the pond, poor, elderly Joe Biden has to try to govern an America that is barely holding itself together.”
The way that one sentence reads made me question everything I read before it.
Yet another rendition of the “They thought the war would be over in 2 days” fable. The only source for this fantastic claim is an “oligarch” (and who even knows what that term means any more? It seems to be shorthand for “Russian rich guy”) named Konstantin Malofeev, who was shooting his mouth off back in January. Putin never made such a prediction, and the way this war has gone, it’s pretty clear the Russians were prepared for a slog, if necessary. Americans seem to have a terminal case of projection now, so that they can no longer comprehend anything that falls outside their own experience and expectations. They’re continually replaying the Liberation of Paris in their minds, to the point where EVERY war is supposed to culminate in a parade of flower-strewn tanks down the main drag of a conquered country. Similarly, they think every country goes to war with the same “shock and awe” tactics and the same “mad dash to the finish line” schedule as they did in Afghanistan and the Iraq. Russia didn’t imitate those techniques, but they did learn from them. They learned that flashy performance that doesn’t result in real victory is a waste of time.
Why the globalist oligarchs are so opposed to the Russian oligarchs is that they will not join the club; they will not allow themselves to be plundered as the entrance fee.
You raise an interesting point. The US mode of warfare for the last 20-30 years has been one of rapid shock and awe, followed by decades of indecisive insurgency, and ultimate withdrawal.
The Russians, unlike the US, have not forgotten what an actual victory is. Actual victory requires a deep and permanent change of heart in the enemy, to the point where they are satisfied that everything humanly possible to win was done, and they have come up short. And total victory requires that an enemy knows without any doubt that he has been comprehensively and thoroughly beaten, to the point that he has lost interest in further warfare, and just wants to get on with his life.
When Russia is done with Ukraine, it will be because the Ukrainians have reached that point: they will have lost so much money, property, equipment and human life that there won’t be any lingering doubt in the minds of Ukrainians, that but for (fill in fantasy blank here) “we woulda coulda shoulda … beaten the Russians, and established yet another hostile base of operations on their borders.”
“And total victory requires that an enemy knows without any doubt that he has been comprehensively and thoroughly beaten, to the point that he has lost interest in further warfare, and just wants to get on with his life.”
You left out the part where the loser beats a hasty, chaotic retreat leaving behind billions of dollars in weapons and equipment and abandons former allies to their fate. Then drone murders a minivan full of kids who were returning from an adventure getting water.
There’s plenty of evidence that Russia did in fact think it would be a short war. Parade uniforms in the first wave. They didn’t move warships into the Black Sea before starting the war. Initial force numbers were woefully inadequate. The first wave also moved much too quickly.
AllanS, where is that million-man (or more properly in NATO speak: “million variously gendered persons”) army that was assembling in West Ukraine. Has it been seen? Where are its logistic nodes? Fuel and Ammunition depots? Rations networks?
On the length of the war, we will never know how long the Russians actually planned for. But to assume that because we read it in “reliable sources” (wink wink) that the Russians thought it would be over in a week because that is how NATO countries do it, seems a stretch. I suspect the Russians planned a multi-dimensional operation, over multiple time frames, over multiple force trajectories.
For starters, the network of caves and sighted ordnance defences made Tora Bora look like a kindergarten centre. (remember Tora Bora? Now imagine it chock full of civilians that the US gave two shits about, most of whom had relatives living and working in the US, and in Congress itself…)
Fact is, if Russia has been “exposed as utterly weak and incompetent” say, and also, Putin is the biggest threat to world peace since Adolf Hitler, and if, as you like to point out, the Russians are bluffing about nukes, then you’ll have to indulge my skepticism of NATO’s claims that risking war with Russia is to be avoided at all costs.
Something in that chain of reasoning (that we hear endlessly from NATO) is failing to add up.
Fits about here
“THE PARADIGM SHIFT IN WAR”
https://richardsonpost.com/adam-piggott/27408/the-paradigm-shift-in-war/
Russia is more of a beacon of freedom than the Soros puppet that is the Ukraine.
The west is now incapable of an honest discourse about anything.
Too many gender wars and super hero movies have unhinged us from the real world. The rest of the planet has noticed and are disgusted with our silly antics. There’s a realignment underway.
I like the line “We’re so open minded that our brains fell out.”
This was never going to end well for Ukraine. They were always a pawn for globalist interests. Zelensky is a puppet and incompetent. Just like Trudeau, Biden, Adern, and the Aussie PM.
Russia will produce evidence of wrongdoing by the deep state.
But … but … but … Ukraine is winning! All the talking heads tell me so and they never lie to us.
The Duran (Alexander and Alex) have always maintained that “shock and awe” was not part of the Russian strategy towards their goal of destroying the Ukrainian army, especially the Nazis who have killed over 10,000 Russian people in Ukraine in the past ten years.
We will find out eventually what was intended but the Russians can always fall back on what they do best: flatten everything to ground and then send in their disposable peasant army to rape and murder anything left standing.
Some of these comments though. Just cause the West should be criticized for mishandling Ukraine – and Ukraine has its bad actors – it dies not follow that you should be cheering for Putin the tyrant.
Very few are, in fact, cheering for Putin. Questioning this insanity is not being a Putin stooge. Most people, including myself, are being terribly misinformed and through experience have huge doubts about the official narrative and great sympathy for the poor Ukrainian people.
“Some of these comments though. Just cause the West should be criticized for mishandling Ukraine – and Ukraine has its bad actors – it dies not follow that you should be cheering for Putin the tyrant.”
Sure.
Seeing as how any criticism of the Ukraine,the blatant lies and our own scumbags using the Ukrainians,is deemed “Support for Putin”,what would you suggest?
Corruption is OK?
As long as it is “Our Corruption”?
Our local Comrade , insists on telling us all “How we must think”,feverishly pounding its keyboard to death and spewing pure poison.
Emotional Garbage of the highest order.
What are the facts?
The back story?
The history?
And who are you people who get off on telling others how they must see this situation?
Good one … I agree.
Well said, John.
It is saddening to see self-claimed conservatives act just like leftards if you dare offer up a POV that in any way challenges their beliefs. I have pretty much avoided this topic on this site because I have zero patience for the toxic and close-minded actors often dominating these threads.
CO, I hope you notice one side starts quoting names, dates, people involved, what they did and said, and the other side says evil baby-eaters enslave children for drugs. 😉
It’s rather impossible to miss, HiHo.
BTW, my apologies about your keyboard.
The US (Canada is a small & unserious country) should have paid attention, but minded its P&Q’s IMHO; and it and the Silly Place should not be in NATO.
This is a problem for Europe.
Funny how there are “reliable” estimates for massive Russian losses but no real estimates for Ukraine losses. The fact that they need to lie about what we know about “our side” tells us it’s all crap.
Kate – Where in hell do you find all the Russian trolls? More likely one Russian troll.
Kremlin plants and Russian bots everywhere!!!
Kate, Where in hell do you find all these “Stand with Hillary, Soros and the Turd” trolls, more likely one Soros troll.
scar, so your lobotomy failed I see, and it stops truth from mattering now i see.
Where’d the 70 billion go, scar?
The vast majority of the money consists of weapons which have made a considerable difference in Ukraine’s ability to kill Russians. I doubt one penny of it consists of cash to the Ukrainian government. Such aid rarely does, but if it does, it is usually filtered through trusted non-governmental organizations.
“I doubt one penny of it consists of cash to the Ukrainian government.”
That you can tell outright falsehoods like that says a lot about you.
Do you know anything of how foreign aid works? Organizations such as We, churches, and international charities typically provide aid paid for by the government. Trudeau, laundering a billion dollars through We was typically. Giving foreign aid money to corrupt foreign governments is not common at all.
scar, you can head back to your dayjob as a CBC union rep now.
The Four Faces of Igor.
I think you have spelled “feces” wrong.
Sigh..
…this was actually a decent, thoughtful and interesting discussion till you showed up.
Discussion? What discussion? You and Ho tag simping for Pootin, while celebrating death of civilized who are being slaughtered by subhumans, does not count as a discussion.
IKR who needs Ayers, Alinsky and Chimpsky when you have SDA?
As much as anyone needs you? You seem terribly desperate to be right and that makes me feel you’re utterly and completely wrong. But that’s must me.
Meh.
Cousins working each other over.
Never get involved in another families domestic squabble.
The Rabid nationalists have all been sent on suicide missions to the eastern front,their numbers are now suitably culled.
The next stage of this theatre will be a division by language,maybe even a referendum..
Or even worse,from the position of our propagandists,recognition of the referendums already held by the break away provinces..
Now that would take some serious spin to save Western Face on.
The posted article ,if you scroll down ,seems to come from a long line of “Nothing to see here,move along” articles.
The very next one being a Feb 2022 Matt Gurney hit piece on the Truckers..The shadowy second group threatening Ottawa…
Anyone know if that “Ace Reporter” ever investigated further?
Or if that “Second Group” even existedOutside the confines of that Presstitute’s empty head,that is.
“Russian losses at over 31,000 soldiers killed,..”
Give your head a shake.
Verdun on the Pripyat!
ya he lost me on the first sentence..evidently the Minsk Accord was never a factor to the MSM.. nor was the inconvenient fact that the eastern part of Ukraine was and remains a Russian speaking and cultural area.. the “open source” info?.. if by that he is referring to the Brit tabloids and our own beloved CBC, well that’s a mighty stretch…
“Reliable open source intelligence estimates put Russian losses at over 31,000 soldiers killed, 3,300 armoured vehicles and another 2,500 trucks destroyed, 200 lost aircraft, 175 helicopters, and 13 ships or boats.”
The utter absurdity of that quote is painfully obvious. If it were true, two-thirds (2/3) of Russia’s entire army would have been wounded or killed and nearly all its armor and logistical units destroyed.
That such lies are bandied about freely in the West shows just how ignorant the West’s population is.
I couldn’t agree more.
Stupid R us.
I woke up one morning and found all Western MSM outlets had finally figured out how to clone Cliff Claven all over the place!!!
“If it were true, two-thirds (2/3) of Russia’s entire army would have been wounded or killed and nearly all its armor and logistical units destroyed.”
2/3 of their invasion force was killed, wounded, or captured. They retreated from Kiev liked frightened schoolgirls.
I guess the war is over, then, and the Ukes won.
I know, right, Ukraine is winning so decisively that Lloyd Austin had to call Shoigu and beg him for a ceasefire so that Russia wouldn’t suffer any further humiliation, and be forced to decide to just nuke the whole world out of spite.
I sure hope they don’t nuke every city of over half a million in Canada. That would be bad.
We need a “vote bomb”, kinda like the old Max Smart “Nude Bomb”.
Bob…
One good look at the near 85% suicidal rush to inject oneself with what I fully believe to be a Bio Weapon…goes to show CLEARLY how Ignorant the WESTS population is…
Its THEIR Narrative….and they will stick to it, myocarditis & failed pregnancies et all…
Glued to MSM Bullshit 24/7
And to top it off Steakman, they all say “and just imagine how much worse it would’ve been if If We didn’t have lockdowns, masks and vaccines!”
So when did MSM begin to all sound like Cliff Claven, all at the same time? “It’s a well known fact that err… that the … you know …”
Peace for our time baby, I can feel it. Let’s party like it is 1938.
You mean when a western European attacked an eastern European country?
If the US election hadn’t been stolen, NATO would not have been emboldened to place missile batteries along the Russian border in the Ukraine, and this perfectly justified invasion would never have happened, but since you and the rest of the “Stand with Ukraine” Soros bots have been chomping at the bit to fight Russia, and finally got control of NATO through Biden, well, here we are. Its all on you people. Well done.
I would call you delusional if I did not already know that you’re a most revolting, disingenuous hypocrite piece of excrement at SDA.
Coming from you, I couldn’t ask for a better endorsement of my position.
Well done HiHo. Well done! I agree 100%. Thanks to the internet, we never actually have to be in the same room with the likes of that vile and revoltingcreature… 🙂
That said, since that thing started shitposting again, one notices a distinct collapse in the tone, depth, and quality of discussion. This happens everywhere it pops its head up.
If you ask me, it is a somewhat sad, OCD-sufferer, stalking SDA like the Ghost of Christmas Past. That, or an actual Ukraine bot account, based somewhere in Lvov?
“…one notices a distinct collapse in the tone, depth, and quality of discussion….”
Two Pootin simps pleasuring one another does not count as discussion. Your tone is that of a sociopath rapist cheerleading for genocide, you’re out of your debt in a puddle and your quality is that of a Lada.
More endorsement from Colon.
It thinks that it’s bigotry is a reasoned argument.
Argument? With you? Waste of time. Arguments can be had, when both sides argue in good faith, otherwise they’re a waste if time. You’re not interested in arguments as you brazenly lie all the time. You and BDSM are hypocrites of the highest order. Just like Pootin and Lavrov you lie consciously, openly, brazenly. And then you cry that given your open dishonesty people have nothing but contempt and insult for you. Insults and contempt from your betters are all you deserve.
So, the Soros bots would have you believe that no money was sent to the Ukes, just weapons and supplies, going through the magical supply lines that only work one way. So nice of Russia to let weapons in but not let food out.
I swear, these people are borderline flat-Earthers.
The assumption on Putin’s team was that a glorious victory, installation of a puppet government consisting of native ethnic Russians and “pro Soviet” Ukrainian opportunists, would be all over in a week.
Almost all his troops would then head home in maybe another two.
Putin does not have enough people or money to run a fully occupied and secured hostile Ukraine for any extended period of time.
That is the bottom line. He has failed bigtime.
The strategic goal is not control of the entire Ukraine. it is control of the ports and supply routes that could be used by belligerents to place weapons and troops in places that threaten Russians. That goal is 95% achieved.
It is the Russian equivalent of the Monroe Doctrine, something Russia is currently reminding the USA about by deploying military assets in Latin America.
What do you suppose the US will do if Russia starts moving missiles into Nicaragua, Sarge? (current admin might actually endorse that !)
False equivalence. F*** Pootinistan, glass all challenging civilization.
How many Orcs on bicycles does it take to screw in a light bulb?
“…glass all challenging civilization” that deny that men can in fact be women, and that gay strip joints are a great place to bring yer kids!”
Yep Sgt, but the Pootin simps at SDA will, ad nauseum, keep proclaiming the greatest Siberian victory since the Winter War.
Colon seems to come from a long line of NAZIs or their collaborators.
Decent piece. As an aside, “sheer laziness (in the case of Canada)” is dead wrong IMHO – “not a serious country with a seriously thought-out foreign policy and possessing all the puissance and initiative of a coattail-hanging, free-rider” is a much better characterization
That’s Canada. It is why no one listens to Canadians anymore.
Once again, desperate to be right, our very own Ukrainian freedom fighter flings insults at all he disagrees with. Maybe if you post even more and if you’re nastier and even more insulting, we’ll all ignore our lying eyes and see just how right your are. Or maybe not.
I resemble that remark. I’ll try my luck.