Regarding the ‘Putin wants half of Ukraine” story, absolutely agree. This has been evident for a decade if you look closely
Check out “the Mariupol plan” which is the crux of Russian election interference in the 2016 US presidential campaign. Unfortunately it is under reported and under appreciated. But the Russians got Paul Manafort, Trump’s campaign manager, to agree to a plan whereby a President Trump would allow Russia to break off the DNR and LNR from Ukraine without the US interfering. This plan could not be executed due to the Mueller investigation bearing down, but demonstrates Russia’s strategic priorities - mostly to break off those provinces.
Okay, but the point of Putin's discourse last week was that his ambitions are much grander than the Donbas. He was referring to a map that shows eastern Ukraine all the way to Kyiv being part of Russia. I think I will edit that map into this issue as it makes it clear what his aims are. Thanks for prompting me to do so. I should have put it in originally.
Don’t ever believe anything from this White House. When Felon’s mouth is moving, he’s lying. Don’t count on any munitions, etc., until you can touch them! But another absolutely outstanding report, Martin. So many things to remark about, but those Czech Howitzers are a lovely addition for Ukraine. And super excellent creativity by Ukraine’s heroes about the “newest mine-clearing robot“. You have much to be proud of in this awful war. 👏👏👏
We see the motorbikers who don't make it. But lots of soldiers advance to their doom on foot too. There are no good options.
At 60km/hrs a motorbike will cover 20km in 20 minutes. Drones battery life is measured in minutes too. In a quiet enough section the patrols might just be sparse enough or the weather bad enough.
If they get picked up early and strike drones can get there quickly then they won't get far. Drones miss, sometimes they get lucky. It's not such a great mystery why soldiers would take that chance.
It was madness back in 2024 long before the Drone Wall was established. It's even more ridiculous now. There is no evidence these assaults work. Like I said in the piece, it is not just about drones. If they don't get you, artillery and minefields will.
It would have been a good idea back in 2022 before Ukrainian surveillance drones established their panopticon over the battlefield. These days, fast moving objects get detected by onboard machine recognition algorithms and attack drones etc are vectored in quickly. Motorbikes really do not stand a chance. But clearly all the evidence of this war shows that is not even a consideration for local commanders who are under pressure (and the offer of bonuses) to get results. If a large gap in surveillance appeared somewhere along the frontline, a motorbike assault could work, but there would still be minefields to navigate and high speed is of no benefit if you encounter one. Ukraine works hard to keep surveillance going non stop.
Btw, it takes up to two weeks to travel on foot through Ukraine's +20km deep Drone Wall. Night is no longer any protection. Infiltrators wait for fog or smoke and only then do they move. Some surviving soldiers report their units taking 80-90% casualties before they even get to their start point.
It is the inhrerent right of the people of every nation to decide their own future and not the right of any other nation or its leaders to try to determine that future for them. The United Nations has proclaimed that right in their charter and most rule of law nations abide by that principle. Unfortunately, two of the repetitive violators of that principle are Russia and the United States. As a loyal U.S. citizen who has served his country, it shames me to be in the same camp on this with Russia. All nations should respect that principle and both of those countirs should also.
There should be no “regime change” wars or wars and attacks seeking the partition of another nation’s territory and people. The idea that such wars are “freeing” any people is a shameful fantasy.
I'm starting to wonder if the consequence of this war is that it is now widely appreciated how cheap and relatively easy to defend against an invader. In contrast, it has become very expensive and difficult for a ground invader to achieve regime change. I guess that applies to Iran too. Recently, the UK and Poland have integrated drone pilots into their mechanised infantry and cut the number of armoured vehicles. Britain is abandoning sending Challenger tanks to defend Estonia. It is switching to drones to do the job. As long as drones dominate battlefields, invasions may become too costly. I hope so.
It is the inhrerent right of the people of every nation to decide their own future and not the right of any other nation or its leaders to try to determine that future for them. The United Nations has proclaimed that right in their charter and most rule of law nations abide by that principle. Unfortunately, two of the repetitive violators of that principle are Russia and the United States. As a loyal U.S. citizen who has served his country, it shames me to be in the same camp on this with Russia. All nations should respect that principle and both of those countries should also.
There should be no “regime change” wars or wars and attacks seeking the partition of another nation’s territory and people. The idea that such wars are “freeing” any people is a shameful fantasy.
Excellent reporting, thank you!
Regarding the ‘Putin wants half of Ukraine” story, absolutely agree. This has been evident for a decade if you look closely
Check out “the Mariupol plan” which is the crux of Russian election interference in the 2016 US presidential campaign. Unfortunately it is under reported and under appreciated. But the Russians got Paul Manafort, Trump’s campaign manager, to agree to a plan whereby a President Trump would allow Russia to break off the DNR and LNR from Ukraine without the US interfering. This plan could not be executed due to the Mueller investigation bearing down, but demonstrates Russia’s strategic priorities - mostly to break off those provinces.
Okay, but the point of Putin's discourse last week was that his ambitions are much grander than the Donbas. He was referring to a map that shows eastern Ukraine all the way to Kyiv being part of Russia. I think I will edit that map into this issue as it makes it clear what his aims are. Thanks for prompting me to do so. I should have put it in originally.
Don’t ever believe anything from this White House. When Felon’s mouth is moving, he’s lying. Don’t count on any munitions, etc., until you can touch them! But another absolutely outstanding report, Martin. So many things to remark about, but those Czech Howitzers are a lovely addition for Ukraine. And super excellent creativity by Ukraine’s heroes about the “newest mine-clearing robot“. You have much to be proud of in this awful war. 👏👏👏
We see the motorbikers who don't make it. But lots of soldiers advance to their doom on foot too. There are no good options.
At 60km/hrs a motorbike will cover 20km in 20 minutes. Drones battery life is measured in minutes too. In a quiet enough section the patrols might just be sparse enough or the weather bad enough.
If they get picked up early and strike drones can get there quickly then they won't get far. Drones miss, sometimes they get lucky. It's not such a great mystery why soldiers would take that chance.
It was madness back in 2024 long before the Drone Wall was established. It's even more ridiculous now. There is no evidence these assaults work. Like I said in the piece, it is not just about drones. If they don't get you, artillery and minefields will.
It would have been a good idea back in 2022 before Ukrainian surveillance drones established their panopticon over the battlefield. These days, fast moving objects get detected by onboard machine recognition algorithms and attack drones etc are vectored in quickly. Motorbikes really do not stand a chance. But clearly all the evidence of this war shows that is not even a consideration for local commanders who are under pressure (and the offer of bonuses) to get results. If a large gap in surveillance appeared somewhere along the frontline, a motorbike assault could work, but there would still be minefields to navigate and high speed is of no benefit if you encounter one. Ukraine works hard to keep surveillance going non stop.
Btw, it takes up to two weeks to travel on foot through Ukraine's +20km deep Drone Wall. Night is no longer any protection. Infiltrators wait for fog or smoke and only then do they move. Some surviving soldiers report their units taking 80-90% casualties before they even get to their start point.
It is the inhrerent right of the people of every nation to decide their own future and not the right of any other nation or its leaders to try to determine that future for them. The United Nations has proclaimed that right in their charter and most rule of law nations abide by that principle. Unfortunately, two of the repetitive violators of that principle are Russia and the United States. As a loyal U.S. citizen who has served his country, it shames me to be in the same camp on this with Russia. All nations should respect that principle and both of those countirs should also.
There should be no “regime change” wars or wars and attacks seeking the partition of another nation’s territory and people. The idea that such wars are “freeing” any people is a shameful fantasy.
I'm starting to wonder if the consequence of this war is that it is now widely appreciated how cheap and relatively easy to defend against an invader. In contrast, it has become very expensive and difficult for a ground invader to achieve regime change. I guess that applies to Iran too. Recently, the UK and Poland have integrated drone pilots into their mechanised infantry and cut the number of armoured vehicles. Britain is abandoning sending Challenger tanks to defend Estonia. It is switching to drones to do the job. As long as drones dominate battlefields, invasions may become too costly. I hope so.
It is the inhrerent right of the people of every nation to decide their own future and not the right of any other nation or its leaders to try to determine that future for them. The United Nations has proclaimed that right in their charter and most rule of law nations abide by that principle. Unfortunately, two of the repetitive violators of that principle are Russia and the United States. As a loyal U.S. citizen who has served his country, it shames me to be in the same camp on this with Russia. All nations should respect that principle and both of those countries should also.
There should be no “regime change” wars or wars and attacks seeking the partition of another nation’s territory and people. The idea that such wars are “freeing” any people is a shameful fantasy.
…fuck US - get independent, US is just a huge suitcase without a handle at best
…trump will never do anything to hurt putin