Of Course, They Lie.

Is water wet, is fire hot? Sure. Does Tony Blinken lie? Yes, always. 

Russia is calling on the administration of US President Joe Biden to avoid further escalation, Zakharova said, adding that Moscow still wants to defuse tensions and is open to talking to the US at various levels. However, the US is openly lying about maintaining contacts with Russia, Zakharova claimed. Last week, Price said that Secretary of State Antony Blinken still keeps in touch with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Zakharova called the statement a “banal lie,” adding that the last time the two diplomats spoke was July 29.

This is the only thing they know how to. Blinken is a pathetic parody on diplomat, as, though, most of State Department is. But a brief review of Biden Administration reveals that most people there are incompetent. Per Zakharova's statement about" 

Washington’s “dangerous and short-sighted policy” has put it “on the brink of a direct clash” with Moscow, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Monday, responding to US State Department spokesman Ned Price, who blamed Russia last week for making relations between the two countries “unstable and unpredictable.”

It is not about a direct clash at the conventional battlefield, because the US simply has no resources or force structure to fight a real conventional war in Europe against Russia without sustaining a catastrophic defeat. Zakharova means what I speak about for many years--as much as such a conventional war between NATO and Russia will be horrifying--it is well documented America's bias towards nuclear weapons'  practically every time the US encounters difficulty (that means always) in conducting large scale operations. 

Now, to yet another "voenkor" running with this BS about Gerasimov. This time it is Mr. Pegov of Wargonzo. Thanks to Martin Berndt for pointing this out.

On Telegram Semen Pegov (War Gonzo) wrote yesterday that every high Russian official who traveled to Donbass was a target and a lot of lower ranking officials in the region have been killed. The Russians know what's going on. Gerasimov missed the parade on the Red Square this year. He probably was wounded. Those were the rumors then.  

Now, let me explain. Semen Pegov maybe considered by some a hot shot and a "combat veteran", especially when parading himself in military fatigue, but Semen Pegov is a graduate of the Smolensk State University, and you may have guessed it, Department of Journalism (in Russian), and apart from his "combat" exploits, he never served in the armed forces in any capacity, let alone officer capacity and has zero experience with any operational matter or high-end military technology. So, as any "voenkor" (a euphemism for BSer) his professional qualifications in purely military aspect are limited to reporting the suffering of civilians and tactical minutiae as provided by primarily low level personnel and traditional front-line rumors. 

In other words, Pegov has zero understanding of the subject he is talking about, and this subject is an operational and strategic level ISR and means of countering it. If he doesn't understand who the Chief of General Staff of Russia is and what goes into provision of his safety and security when he enters combat zone, there is absolutely nothing to talk about with him. E.g. Here is Mr. Shoigu flying over Baltic Sea:

And this is just the event in the air. Pegov, due to his "journalism" pedigree and never holding any clearance, doesn't know what forces (naryad sil) are engaged in provision of security for a person of such rank, not to mention that something tells me that ground screen forces for Gerasimov are much better than anything US or UK, let alone 404, could have placed on the ground even if they wanted to kill Gerasimov. But then again, can you explain to a graduate of "journalism" faculty and former editor of some artsy magazine what real C4ISR is? You know the answer, especially when it comes to the guy who fought his depression by getting into the conflict zones and is a definite adrenaline junkie. 

Did the US know where Gerasimov go? Yes, but Russia has a good reliable targeting for NATO HQs in Brussels and Pentagon and unlike NATO, Russia can hit those anytime and nothing could be done about it. So, my suggestion to Pegov and all those "analysts" from WarGonzo is to concentrate on what they do reasonably well--sell emotionally charged war footage and reporting to laypeople, and try to stay away from issues they have no clue about. After all, derogatory term "voenkorschina" appeared in Russia for a reason. It is a euphemism for selling primarily pseudo-military BS to housewives and househasbands, who are easily impressed by explosions, military uniform and as any normal people, yours truly included, react emotionally to war crimes and devastation of the war. In the end, if you want to know if some "voenkor" is a real deal (most of them are civilian BSers) ask them if they know how the resolution of uncertainties is done. Make sure to mention to them that it is directly related to Gerasimov's visit to the front-lines. 

Now we have to keep in mind this unfolding story:

Russia would consider a Greek plan to provide Ukraine with S-300 air defense systems previously acquired from Moscow to be an “openly hostile act,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Sunday. Greece has mulled sending such Soviet-era arms to Kiev if the US agrees to replace them with MIM-104 Patriot systems. “That would be a gross violation of…Russian-Greek…agreements on military and technical cooperation,” Zakharova stated, adding that both the 1995 and 2013 treaties signed by Moscow and Athens in this field “explicitly forbid Greece to re-export the military equipment supplied by Russia without Moscow’s consent.” “Trampling on its commitments under the treaties is bound to have consequences,” the ministry’s spokeswoman warned. Such a move would also conflict with the position of most Greeks, she said, adding that 70% of Greeks oppose “pumping Ukraine with arms” according to polls.

I am going to abstain from commenting on the moral side of the issue, but, again, read my lips--Europe is US' bitch and she will do as told, period. Whether people like it or not, I warned about this for years and Saker wrote an excellent piece on this recently. Europe IS being de-industrialized and will be poor, also in progress, and a cultural wasteland. And don't tell me that I didn't warn you. This is your Monday primer.