All Things Russia & Ukraine

[a fan]

Here's what our bipartisan elite leadership was telling us going into this war about our strategic interests in Ukraine.
https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event/u ... n-ukraine/
Do you hear anything in their litany that justifies taking us to the brink of nuclear war ?
Tenet, Kissinger & GHW Bush (in his chicken Kiev speech) all tried to warn us.

So you can't name any strategic interests. Fine. The first time in the history of the board that you can't name one....and this is just a coincidence. That's what you're going with? Fine.

So you tell us what vital US strategic interest justifies the costs & risks in prolonging this proxy war.

No. What I'm telling you is that you, your party, your leaders, and your Republican foreign policy wonks have a abysmal record in determining "what our strategic interests are"....and have for 50 years. Wrong move after wrong move after wrong move.

So I find it hilarious that you and your party are here lecturing us on the right moves....lecturing about costs and unneeded blood spilt.

The last time you personally made the right call was way the F back in 1991 with the Gulf War. If you had YOUR way, we'd still be in Aghanistan, watching a dozen US citizens die for no reason whatsoever, all while blowing billions that are never actually accounted for.....the Pentagon can't balance their books and withstand an audit because they want a bottomless pot of money to blow for no reason.

If you had put me in charge? No 9/11. No bases anywhere in the ME. No global cop. No weakening of NATO because we want to call all the shots (as if you don't know why NATO has been mailing it in all these years). No Korea. No Vietnam. No Gulf War. No second Gulf War. No need for pointless whack-a-mole operations in Syria like we had this week. How many civilians were killed in that strike in Syria? Do you care? You don't know, and you don't care.

None of it would have happened. And we'd be MILES ahead on infrastructure because real market forces would have pushed us away from Urban and rural sprawl...and more into mass transit, rail, and alternative energy sources. All while holding to the Republican ideal of letting market forces drive our decisions. So....no killing of a few hundred thousand foreigners all so that we can save a buck at the gas pump.

And the best part? My opinions were all there for you to see...no revisionist history, you got to see my feelings on the Iraq War in real time. And I was right. As if that was a difficult call to make. Same goes for the Iranian nuke deal...remember what I told you? I told you that if Iran doesn't get a nuke within a year? The REAL problem is that US Intel sucks the big one, and is giving our leaders sh*t advice. And look at what happened? 5+ freaking years, and no bomb. That's a pretty big "ooops" that forced Obama and the EU into making a deal with Iran. We can't trust our own intel. Pretty big lesson to learn before we invade someone again, don't you think?

And yep If I were in charge, no Ukraine help, either. But if you want to look down your nose at those who want us to help the Ukrainians, knock yourself out. But that makes your record about 1 for 84 in deciding if intervention was "in our vital interest", my man. Nothing to brag about.

I'm thoroughly enjoying you getting a taste of what it's like to call for peace when the Republican party is foaming at the mouth, making wild, idiotic claims about WMD's as if Iraq could shoot them at the US. You'll get called unpatriotic, stupid, naive, weak, soft, unable to assess risks, unAmerican.....and everything else you've thrown at me and the rest of us who know that there are better, smarter, wiser long term choices than killing people.

I hope you actually learn something from this. You and the VDH's in the party.

[Kismet]

Sadly, the problem here today and forever has been thehat things change when the WH administrations changes.

All the people here (and VDH) would be singing a different tune if THEIR PERSON was POTUS.

Seems to me the reason you support a proxy war in Ukraine now is because, in the past when you didn't, Putnn annexed territory that wasn't his - in Georgia, Crimea and now Eastern Ukraine. He's been talking about Moldova, too.

So I guess the OTHER keyboard warriors here would prefer letting him have whatever territory he wants including the Baltic States, Finland and other NATO countries with borders with Russia? and fight then?

I hear lots of complaining about the current policy but not a lot of alternatives. The usual around here.

As for the Finnish PM - she has an 800 mile contiguous border with Putin's Russia. Her country has applied for NATO membership and has a significant defense posture - would not characterize the Finns as not invested in a formidable defense - they won't have any problem with the percentage investment threshold for NATO (unlike other current NATO members). The current Finnish President Sauli Niinistö has had a longtime relationship with Putin but, even he is worried about Putin now and he also supports NATO membership.

You now throw the Finns in with the rest of the EUroburghers you dislike so much (apparently more than you dislike Putin). The Swedes will get the same treatment from you when its their turn.

[MDlaxfan76]

OS rooting for Russia...

OS rooting for sanity. Anyone who does not parrot your maximalist position is rooting for Russia & spouting Russian propaganda.

You are a neocon bot.

What "maximalist position"?...I'm not calling for bombing them into the Stone Age ala you pal Flynn called for re "muslims"...

My view is quite restrained. It's simply not cowering in fear of a brutal, imperialist dictator bullying a neighbor in direct contravention of international law, committing mass atrocities in the process.

Ukraine wants to expel them from Russia, not march on Moscow.

and yes, you keep spouting Russian propaganda as if valid.

We all understand Putin's delusional imperialist logic, however, we don't need you to suggest that it is valid in the here and now.

[CU88]

Finnish prime minister Sanna Marin was asked about a potential off-ramp for Russia to end the war in Ukraine. Her reply:

https://twitter.com/RikhardHusu/status/ ... 6709590017

She nailed it.

She's happy to let the Ukrainians do the fighting & dying, while the US picks up the tab & expends our critical weapons inventory, while she scurries under the US nuclear umbrella.

Not sure how you saw from that video clip, all I saw was her saying that the war ends if Russia leaves Ukraine. You have seem to issues.

[MDlaxfan76]

Finnish prime minister Sanna Marin was asked about a potential off-ramp for Russia to end the war in Ukraine. Her reply:

https://twitter.com/RikhardHusu/status/ ... 6709590017

She nailed it.

She's happy to let the Ukrainians do the fighting & dying, while the US picks up the tab & expends our critical weapons inventory, while she scurries under the US nuclear umbrella.

Not sure how you saw from that video clip, all I saw was her saying that the war ends if Russia leaves Ukraine. You have seem to issues.

He has issues with "Christian nationalism" being defeated...maybe some other issues too...

[Typical Lax Dad]

Finnish prime minister Sanna Marin was asked about a potential off-ramp for Russia to end the war in Ukraine. Her reply:

https://twitter.com/RikhardHusu/status/ ... 6709590017

She nailed it.

She's happy to let the Ukrainians do the fighting & dying, while the US picks up the tab & expends our critical weapons inventory, while she scurries under the US nuclear umbrella.

https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine ... sj-2022-10

Our spending is being supplemented….when did you become cheap?

[a fan]

Sadly, the problem here today and forever has been thehat things change when the WH administrations changes.

All the people here (and VDH) would be singing a different tune if THEIR PERSON was POTUS.

That terrifies me. Grown men and women obsessed with which political party our leaders are in to the point where it's all they see.

How do you get to be our age, and let your thinking fall off the rails because of a stupid politician, and a stupid letter by their name?

There isn't a poster here who doesn't know that had Trump been a Democrat? He would be HATED by MAGA Americans this very day. Hated.

[get it to x]

"... Vladimir Putin's regrettable incursion into eastern Ukraine...."

Thanks for the pro-Putin propaganda. Laughable and sad at the same time. We'll just agree to disagree. And I think the supposed polling of Ukrainians migh now be different than that article suggests. I agree that "the median American" doesn't care or understand the consequences of allowing Putin to leave Ukraine with "Kyiv...secure." I'm just -- how can say this? -- not sure that the "median American's" opinion should be determinative of this important international crisis created by a lawless thug for his dreams of empire. I guess that makes me part of the "smart set."

You mean pro-peace propaganda, right? Interesting you chose this fight between two white peoples as your hill to die on. What about all of the conflict between black and brown peoples all over the world? I guess Sudan didn't have the bomb, so we could just sit back and clutch our pearls about Darfur. But you probably think Zelensky is noble, when he is almost as big a thug as Putin. I wonder if he's taking 10% off the top of all of the aid we're sending. He's Ukraine's "Big Guy".

How did you come to this conclusion?

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2021/o ... -zelenskiy

Crediting everything in that article, he is a minor league player compared to the Czar’s MLB Triple Crown. Jesus H.

And how would any of this make him a "thug"?
Much less "almost as big"...

I can imagine/believe that he has undisclosed assets from Prior to his election, but are these ill-gotten, much less through force?
I don't see anything remotely close to such an allegation.

There are many articles on Zelensky/Ukranian corruption. Need I cite them all? He also outlawed opposition parties and took over much of the media. Not the actions usually associated with "Democratic Norms" you seem to revere so much. Here's another article from NPR:

https://www.npr.org/2022/07/20/11124148 ... ia-drags-o

I don't need to post Gateway Pundit or Epoch Times. The left leaning media companies are on to it as well.

[MDlaxfan76]

"... Vladimir Putin's regrettable incursion into eastern Ukraine...."

Thanks for the pro-Putin propaganda. Laughable and sad at the same time. We'll just agree to disagree. And I think the supposed polling of Ukrainians migh now be different than that article suggests. I agree that "the median American" doesn't care or understand the consequences of allowing Putin to leave Ukraine with "Kyiv...secure." I'm just -- how can say this? -- not sure that the "median American's" opinion should be determinative of this important international crisis created by a lawless thug for his dreams of empire. I guess that makes me part of the "smart set."

You mean pro-peace propaganda, right? Interesting you chose this fight between two white peoples as your hill to die on. What about all of the conflict between black and brown peoples all over the world? I guess Sudan didn't have the bomb, so we could just sit back and clutch our pearls about Darfur. But you probably think Zelensky is noble, when he is almost as big a thug as Putin. I wonder if he's taking 10% off the top of all of the aid we're sending. He's Ukraine's "Big Guy".

How did you come to this conclusion?

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2021/o ... -zelenskiy

Crediting everything in that article, he is a minor league player compared to the Czar’s MLB Triple Crown. Jesus H.

And how would any of this make him a "thug"?
Much less "almost as big"...

I can imagine/believe that he has undisclosed assets from Prior to his election, but are these ill-gotten, much less through force?
I don't see anything remotely close to such an allegation.

There are many articles on Zelensky/Ukranian corruption. Need I cite them all? He also outlawed opposition parties and took over much of the media. Not the actions usually associated with "Democratic Norms" you seem to revere so much. Here's another article from NPR:

https://www.npr.org/2022/07/20/11124148 ... ia-drags-o

I don't need to post Gateway Pundit or Epoch Times. The left leaning media companies are on to it as well.

Did you even bother to read the article?
It's very, very far from any such conclusion as you wish to draw.

I don't have any blinding insight on whether Zelensky himself has been party to corruption, or even turned a blind eye to it for political reasons or other reasons, but there's simply no valid comparison between him and Putin...not remotely. And this article certainly doesn't suggest such to be the case.

Fascinating that you wish to take that 'side' though...

[get it to x]

"... Vladimir Putin's regrettable incursion into eastern Ukraine...."

Thanks for the pro-Putin propaganda. Laughable and sad at the same time. We'll just agree to disagree. And I think the supposed polling of Ukrainians migh now be different than that article suggests. I agree that "the median American" doesn't care or understand the consequences of allowing Putin to leave Ukraine with "Kyiv...secure." I'm just -- how can say this? -- not sure that the "median American's" opinion should be determinative of this important international crisis created by a lawless thug for his dreams of empire. I guess that makes me part of the "smart set."

You mean pro-peace propaganda, right? Interesting you chose this fight between two white peoples as your hill to die on. What about all of the conflict between black and brown peoples all over the world? I guess Sudan didn't have the bomb, so we could just sit back and clutch our pearls about Darfur. But you probably think Zelensky is noble, when he is almost as big a thug as Putin. I wonder if he's taking 10% off the top of all of the aid we're sending. He's Ukraine's "Big Guy".

How did you come to this conclusion?

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2021/o ... -zelenskiy

Crediting everything in that article, he is a minor league player compared to the Czar’s MLB Triple Crown. Jesus H.

And how would any of this make him a "thug"?
Much less "almost as big"...

I can imagine/believe that he has undisclosed assets from Prior to his election, but are these ill-gotten, much less through force?
I don't see anything remotely close to such an allegation.

There are many articles on Zelensky/Ukranian corruption. Need I cite them all? He also outlawed opposition parties and took over much of the media. Not the actions usually associated with "Democratic Norms" you seem to revere so much. Here's another article from NPR:

https://www.npr.org/2022/07/20/11124148 ... ia-drags-o

I don't need to post Gateway Pundit or Epoch Times. The left leaning media companies are on to it as well.

Did you even bother to read the article?
It's very, very far from any such conclusion as you wish to draw.

I don't have any blinding insight on whether Zelensky himself has been party to corruption, or even turned a blind eye to it for political reasons or other reasons, but there's simply no valid comparison between him and Putin...not remotely. And this article certainly doesn't suggest such to be the case.

Fascinating that you wish to take that 'side' though...

Another Globalist Saint, a la Fauci.

[DocBarrister]

All of the pro-Russian, pro-Putin, far-right garbage being disseminated under the guise of “strategic analysis” is really disturbing. It’s true … the pro-fascist movement never really disappeared from America … it just went MAGA.

Meanwhile, Ukraine keeps doing its job and slaughtering the invading Russians. Here are the results just from yesterday and just from Southern Ukraine:

The Armed Forces of Ukraine destroyed 18 Russian howitzers and an Iranian-made Mohajer-6 UAV capable of carrying a multispectral surveillance payload and up to four precision-guided munitions, and killed more than 100 Russian soldiers in southern Ukraine over the course of 6 October.

Source: Operational Command Pivden (South) on Facebook

Details: Russia’s confirmed losses comprise:

105 military personnel;

8 tanks;

18 large-calibre Msta-S and Msta-B howitzers;

1 Pion self-propelled gun;

1 152mm howitzer gun;

4 mortars;

15 armoured vehicles;

3 ammunition dumps in the Bashtanka and Beryslav districts [in Mykolaiv and Kherson Oblasts, respectively - ed.].

Another six pieces of Russian military equipment, including several tanks, an armoured combat vehicle, a howitzer and an electronic warfare system, have been severely damaged.

Over the course of the day, the Ukrainian Armed Forces destroyed six Orlan-10 reconnaissance drones and one Mohajer-6 drone in the Beryslav and Mykolaiv districts. They also shot down three Shahed-136 drones that attempted to attack Odesa Oblast.

Ukraine’s rocket artillery units carried out 347 firing missions. Meanwhile, Ukrainian aircraft conducted seven airstrikes, striking Russian strong points and concentrations of Russian military personnel and equipment in the Beryslav district and anti-aircraft defence systems in the Kakhovka district [in Kherson Oblast - ed.].

https://news.yahoo.com/ukrainian-armed- ... 21345.html

To give some perspective, the 105 dead Russian soldiers in one day exceeds the pace of the deadliest week for the U.S. during the Vietnam War … May 5-11, 1968 … when North Vietnam launched its so-called “May Offensive”.

And that’s just from Southern Ukraine.

I also continue to be stunned that after more than seven months, Russia has not, and will not, achieve complete air superiority and control.



DocBarrister

...wait 'til you see what 1 well placed tac nuc does to your stats.

Why … don’t you like those “stats”? Aren’t you glad that Ukraine is winning?

DocBarrister

[MDlaxfan76]

"... Vladimir Putin's regrettable incursion into eastern Ukraine...."

Thanks for the pro-Putin propaganda. Laughable and sad at the same time. We'll just agree to disagree. And I think the supposed polling of Ukrainians migh now be different than that article suggests. I agree that "the median American" doesn't care or understand the consequences of allowing Putin to leave Ukraine with "Kyiv...secure." I'm just -- how can say this? -- not sure that the "median American's" opinion should be determinative of this important international crisis created by a lawless thug for his dreams of empire. I guess that makes me part of the "smart set."

You mean pro-peace propaganda, right? Interesting you chose this fight between two white peoples as your hill to die on. What about all of the conflict between black and brown peoples all over the world? I guess Sudan didn't have the bomb, so we could just sit back and clutch our pearls about Darfur. But you probably think Zelensky is noble, when he is almost as big a thug as Putin. I wonder if he's taking 10% off the top of all of the aid we're sending. He's Ukraine's "Big Guy".

How did you come to this conclusion?

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2021/o ... -zelenskiy

Crediting everything in that article, he is a minor league player compared to the Czar’s MLB Triple Crown. Jesus H.

And how would any of this make him a "thug"?
Much less "almost as big"...

I can imagine/believe that he has undisclosed assets from Prior to his election, but are these ill-gotten, much less through force?
I don't see anything remotely close to such an allegation.

There are many articles on Zelensky/Ukranian corruption. Need I cite them all? He also outlawed opposition parties and took over much of the media. Not the actions usually associated with "Democratic Norms" you seem to revere so much. Here's another article from NPR:

https://www.npr.org/2022/07/20/11124148 ... ia-drags-o

I don't need to post Gateway Pundit or Epoch Times. The left leaning media companies are on to it as well.

Did you even bother to read the article?
It's very, very far from any such conclusion as you wish to draw.

I don't have any blinding insight on whether Zelensky himself has been party to corruption, or even turned a blind eye to it for political reasons or other reasons, but there's simply no valid comparison between him and Putin...not remotely. And this article certainly doesn't suggest such to be the case.

Fascinating that you wish to take that 'side' though...

Another Globalist Saint, a la Fauci.

ala Fauci???
wow, you've really gone off the deep end, huh?

[jhu72]

Nobel Peace Prize shared by human rights activists from Ukraine, Belarus and Russia.

[get it to x]

Nobel Peace Prize shared by human rights activists from Ukraine, Belarus and Russia.

And Iran was ranking member on the UN Human Rights Council. Square that up!

[old salt]

So I guess the OTHER keyboard warriors here would prefer letting him have whatever territory he wants including the Baltic States, Finland and other NATO countries with borders with Russia? and fight then?

I hear lots of complaining about the current policy but not a lot of alternatives. The usual around here.

As for the Finnish PM - she has an 800 mile contiguous border with Putin's Russia. Her country has applied for NATO membership and has a significant defense posture - would not characterize the Finns as not invested in a formidable defense - they won't have any problem with the percentage investment threshold for NATO (unlike other current NATO members). The current Finnish President Sauli Niinistö has had a longtime relationship with Putin but, even he is worried about Putin now and he also supports NATO membership.

You now throw the Finns in with the rest of the EUroburghers you dislike so much (apparently more than you dislike Putin). The Swedes will get the same treatment from you when its their turn.

Typical stupid generalization. Those countries are (now) well prepared to defend & deter a Russian invasion & are covered by NATO Article 5 (or soon will be). Ukraine is not.

That's as stupid as afan being unable to distinguish between the reasons we invaded Afghanistan from Iraq,
or that if you never fight a war you'll never need to defend yourself.

You want alternatives -- read the article that get it to x posted.

Finland is a worthy NATO addition, now that we admit that Putin's right about our goal to encircle Russia.
The Finns are a couple decades late in asking to formally join the NATO party.

[old salt]

Finnish prime minister Sanna Marin was asked about a potential off-ramp for Russia to end the war in Ukraine. Her reply:

https://twitter.com/RikhardHusu/status/ ... 6709590017

She nailed it.

She's happy to let the Ukrainians do the fighting & dying, while the US picks up the tab & expends our critical weapons inventory, while she scurries under the US nuclear umbrella.

Not sure how you saw from that video clip, all I saw was her saying that the war ends if Russia leaves Ukraine. You have seem to issues.

She excludes the possibility of a negotiated settlement.

[old salt]

"... Vladimir Putin's regrettable incursion into eastern Ukraine...."

Thanks for the pro-Putin propaganda. Laughable and sad at the same time. We'll just agree to disagree. And I think the supposed polling of Ukrainians migh now be different than that article suggests. I agree that "the median American" doesn't care or understand the consequences of allowing Putin to leave Ukraine with "Kyiv...secure." I'm just -- how can say this? -- not sure that the "median American's" opinion should be determinative of this important international crisis created by a lawless thug for his dreams of empire. I guess that makes me part of the "smart set."

You mean pro-peace propaganda, right? Interesting you chose this fight between two white peoples as your hill to die on. What about all of the conflict between black and brown peoples all over the world? I guess Sudan didn't have the bomb, so we could just sit back and clutch our pearls about Darfur. But you probably think Zelensky is noble, when he is almost as big a thug as Putin. I wonder if he's taking 10% off the top of all of the aid we're sending. He's Ukraine's "Big Guy".

How did you come to this conclusion?

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2021/o ... -zelenskiy

Crediting everything in that article, he is a minor league player compared to the Czar’s MLB Triple Crown. Jesus H.

And how would any of this make him a "thug"?
Much less "almost as big"...

I can imagine/believe that he has undisclosed assets from Prior to his election, but are these ill-gotten, much less through force?
I don't see anything remotely close to such an allegation.

There are many articles on Zelensky/Ukranian corruption. Need I cite them all? He also outlawed opposition parties and took over much of the media. Not the actions usually associated with "Democratic Norms" you seem to revere so much. Here's another article from NPR:

https://www.npr.org/2022/07/20/11124148 ... ia-drags-o

I don't need to post Gateway Pundit or Epoch Times. The left leaning media companies are on to it as well.

Did you even bother to read the article?
It's very, very far from any such conclusion as you wish to draw.

I don't have any blinding insight on whether Zelensky himself has been party to corruption, or even turned a blind eye to it for political reasons or other reasons, but there's simply no valid comparison between him and Putin...not remotely. And this article certainly doesn't suggest such to be the case.

Fascinating that you wish to take that 'side' though...

Another Globalist Saint, a la Fauci.

We can't be bothered with due diligence on Zelensky, he's willing to fight our proxy war to take out Putin.
Be assured, he cleaned up Ukraine, in his spare time.

[old salt]

All of the pro-Russian, pro-Putin, far-right garbage being disseminated under the guise of “strategic analysis” is really disturbing. It’s true … the pro-fascist movement never really disappeared from America … it just went MAGA.

Meanwhile, Ukraine keeps doing its job and slaughtering the invading Russians. Here are the results just from yesterday and just from Southern Ukraine:

The Armed Forces of Ukraine destroyed 18 Russian howitzers and an Iranian-made Mohajer-6 UAV capable of carrying a multispectral surveillance payload and up to four precision-guided munitions, and killed more than 100 Russian soldiers in southern Ukraine over the course of 6 October.

Source: Operational Command Pivden (South) on Facebook

Details: Russia’s confirmed losses comprise:

105 military personnel;

8 tanks;

18 large-calibre Msta-S and Msta-B howitzers;

1 Pion self-propelled gun;

1 152mm howitzer gun;

4 mortars;

15 armoured vehicles;

3 ammunition dumps in the Bashtanka and Beryslav districts [in Mykolaiv and Kherson Oblasts, respectively - ed.].

Another six pieces of Russian military equipment, including several tanks, an armoured combat vehicle, a howitzer and an electronic warfare system, have been severely damaged.

Over the course of the day, the Ukrainian Armed Forces destroyed six Orlan-10 reconnaissance drones and one Mohajer-6 drone in the Beryslav and Mykolaiv districts. They also shot down three Shahed-136 drones that attempted to attack Odesa Oblast.

Ukraine’s rocket artillery units carried out 347 firing missions. Meanwhile, Ukrainian aircraft conducted seven airstrikes, striking Russian strong points and concentrations of Russian military personnel and equipment in the Beryslav district and anti-aircraft defence systems in the Kakhovka district [in Kherson Oblast - ed.].

https://news.yahoo.com/ukrainian-armed- ... 21345.html

To give some perspective, the 105 dead Russian soldiers in one day exceeds the pace of the deadliest week for the U.S. during the Vietnam War … May 5-11, 1968 … when North Vietnam launched its so-called “May Offensive”.

And that’s just from Southern Ukraine.

I also continue to be stunned that after more than seven months, Russia has not, and will not, achieve complete air superiority and control.



DocBarrister

...wait 'til you see what 1 well placed tac nuc does to your stats.

Why … don’t you like those “stats”? Aren’t you glad that Ukraine is winning?

DocBarrister

It's premature to start the victory party until we see how the battles around Kherson city & Nova Kakhovka are resolved & if the Ukrainians are able to claw back the land bridge territory S of the Dnieper. Their clawback successes in the S, so far, have been on the N side (aka the right bank) of the Dnieper. They are the 2 primary river crossings. Nova Kakhovka also controls the water to the canal to restore fresh water flow to Crimea.

[DocBarrister]

With the Kremlin distracted by its flagging war more than 1,500 miles away in Ukraine, Russia’s dominium over its old Soviet empire shows signs of unraveling. Moscow has lost its aura and its grip, creating a disorderly vacuum that previously obedient former Soviet satraps, as well as China, are moving to fill.

… Overshadowed by the Chinese leader, Mr. Putin endured a series of humiliating protocol snafus that left him waiting awkwardly in front of the cameras as other leaders, including President Sadyr Japarov of Kyrgyzstan, showed up late to meet him.

“This was of course not deliberate,” Mr. Japarov said. “No slight was intended.”

But widely circulated videos of an uncomfortable-looking Mr. Putin; a public rebuke from the prime minister of India, who stated that “today’s era is not of war”; and an acknowledgment from the Russian leader that China had “questions and concerns” over the war in Ukraine all reinforced an image of shrinking clout and diminished appeal.

“Putin is no longer the great invincible leader that everyone wants to meet,” said Emil Dzhuraev, a researcher in Bishkek with Crossroads Central Asia, a research group. “He has lost his aura.”

By contrast, Mr. Xi has become more assertive. On a visit to Kazakhstan last month, he pledged to “resolutely support Kazakhstan in the defense of its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity,” a remark widely interpreted as a warning to Moscow not to try anything.

A few days later, after Tajik forces advanced, China issued a similar pledge with respect to Kyrgyzstan, horning in on Russia’s longstanding role as the guardian of Central Asian borders.

China also delivered another affront during the summit meeting by signing an agreement with Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan that fixed the route of a proposed new railway line to get Chinese exports to Europe by land without going through Russia.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/08/worl ... oviet.html

Russia is floundering … and its rivals are smelling blood in the water.

DocBarrister

[DocBarrister]

Arguably the most important bridge in the entire region, the Kerch Bridge is the only road and railway link between Russia and Russian-occupied Crimea. It is an important symbol of Russia’s illegal and illegitimate claim to Crimea. There has been a massive explosion on the bridge.

The Kerch bridge from Russia to Crimea, a hated symbol of the Kremlin’s occupation of the southern Ukrainian peninsula, has been hit by a massive explosion on the span that carries railway traffic.

Images from the bridge showed a fiercely burning fire engulfing at least two railway carriages from a train on the bridge, accompanied by a vast column of black smoke.
The explosion, which witnesses said could be heard kilometres away, took place around 6am on Saturday while a train was crossing the bridge, although it was not immediately clear what caused it.

Some images appeared to show a second fire at some distance from the main blaze.

Later images also appeared to show part of road bridge that runs parallel with the train tracks had collapsed.
The bridge is both highly symbolic to Russia and an important logistical supply route for Russian forces in Crimea and in southern Russian-occupied Ukraine.

https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2022/ ... ia-ukraine

The Russian Army is heavily reliant on railways for their logistical needs.

This may have been an accident, but I am skeptical about that. Hitting the Kerch Bridge is a bright red line for Russia, and I suspect Ukraine just crossed it.

If this was Ukraine, then this is a major escalation … evidence that Ukraine is serious about retaking Crimea.

DocBarrister