If Bubba Says It Is Good--It means It Is Good.

You cannot make this shit up. On a lighter note, though))) Bubba's sausage is always good and has all the right ingredients. 

Here is the video.
 

So, with titles like this...

Colonel Baud And Me Talking Today.

This is a pleasant surprise I talked about recently. Colonel and I discuss the issue of Russian military art and how Russian Armed Forces conduct operations in SMO. We also discuss a shocking incompetence of Western militaries that SMO exposed. 

Just to demonstrate--here is one such clown out of many. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin doesn't really want a conflict with NATO because in that scenario Russia would quickly lose, the head of the UK's armed forces said on Tuesday.  Speaking at an event in London, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin said that "the inescapable fact is that any Russian assault or incursion against NATO would prompt an overwhelming response." He said that "the biggest reason that Putin doesn't want a conflict with NATO is because Russia will lose. And lose quickly."

This is what inbreeding and studying "military shit" in King's College does to you, you become an imbecile, who invents threats and then responds to them. 

Nima And Me. Also Scott.

Nima works overtime, it seems). 

He also talks to Scott.

Meanwhile, Putin confirms that 3M22 Zircon was used in SMO recently and this could have been done only from missile frigates of the Black Sea Fleet or from ground based Bastion complexes. This has strategic implications. The time of huge surface combatants is over. As is over the whole concept of carrier-centric navy.

Maria Is In Top Form...

... as she usually is. Retort to Macron's idiocy and history lesson to France. 

Lavrov, of course, openly mocked Macron. LOL.
 

Larry's Wonderful Report...

 ... from Russia. 

Larry's intro is at 1 h 47 m. 

In general, read the report at Larry's blog.
 

Why They Never Learn.

I browsed the latest from TRADOC's Russian Tactics and even brief reviewing the document shows why US military learns nothing and will continue to lose its wars. Just a simple example:

While Russia's Aerospace Defense Forces contain a vast array of operational and strategic air defense assets, the bulk of short and medium range air defense resources are situated with the Air Defense Troops of the SV. Indeed, medium and short-range air defense assets can be found in dedicated SV air defense brigades while SV maneuver units contain an abundance of organic short range air defense resources. This three-tier or layered system allows for the creation of anti-access area-denial zones which could prove challenging to aggressor aircraft, cruise missiles, and UAVs. However, recent conflicts in Syria and Libya have shown that many of the exported Russian air defense systems proved ineffective in countering drones and low flying missiles. The Israeli Air Force also has been extremely successful in defeating Russian air defense systems using combinations of electromagnetic warfare (REB), anti-radiation missiles, and precision guided munitions. These limitations for export versions are at least partly due to inadequate operator training and lack of dedicated maintenance. These limitations will have reduced impact on the effectiveness in the SV. Although Russian Aerospace Forces and the SV have certainly made great strides in building an integrated air defense system, major challenges remain in the realm of acquisitions, training, and operational viability. 

They call themselves "military professionals". They take legacy Soviet and early 1990s Russian AD complexes such as very first versions of Buk-M1 or even S-75 against useless Israeli AF experience due to them having no gonads to even enter Syria's airspace instead attacking from Lebanon or Israel, and apply those "experiences" to SMO where Russia AD performs absolutely magnificently against every single class of targets. This is a sheer lack of serious operational thinking and a sign of tactical illiteracy. Next thing you know, they will "apply" IDF's "experience" in Gaza, where Israelis have shown themselves as primarily genocidal force against civilians incapable to deal with HAMAS, while sustaining appalling losses in armor and personnel. 

In related news, Israeli Air Force DID NOT defeat Russian AD, because it didn't fly against it, and because it would cease to fly if it tried, it "defeated" (not really) SYRIAN AD armed with legacy Soviet systems. This, boys and girls, is the level of "operational thinking" of TRADOC, which managed to train merely barrier troops for shooting into the backs of retreating AFU, while US air defense being a joke. This is the level of insufferable professional envy and sour grapes. When this type of "thinking" makes it into what is supposed to be a professional analytical (and guidance) publication--it is over for the force which, first, buys own propaganda BS, and then cannot adapt. Mind-boggling. But then again, the US is acting as Israel's armed forces, hence the pathetic level of understanding of modern war.

There Is A Huge Difference ...

 ... between styling oneself and being one. Even Politico notices this: 

Macron is clearly styling himself as a statesman who can step into the breach in the mold of Italy’s Mario Draghi, who famously steadied the crisis-stricken eurozone with his pledge to do “whatever it takes.” Indeed, Macron echoed that very phrase on Monday: “We’re determined to do whatever it takes for as long as it takes.” The question, then, is: How far is Macron truly ready to go this time? His previous lofty rhetoric on Ukraine, after all, has not been matched by action. Most significantly, can he hope to prevail as a galvanizing Western leader if he fails to carry France with him? All French opposition forces have already rounded on him. Marine Le Pen, on the far right, has pilloried his assertion that Western troops in Ukraine “shouldn’t be ruled out” as toying with “the lives of [France’s] children,” while far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon said it was “madness” to pitch “one nuclear power against another nuclear power.” More mainstream forces, such as the Socialist Party and the conservative Les Républicains, also condemned the French president’s muscle-flexing.

The problem with Macron is that he is a bank teller, Napoleon was an artillery officer. And he would do just fine if he would stay away from Russia, but no-o-o, he wanted it all and as a result Russians entered Paris in 1814. Russians do not want to enter Paris--there is nothing much to do there--St.Petersburg will do just fine, but if Macron wants the war with Russia, Russians may oblige. With France's 30 operational tanks and who knows how many... tens of Rafales flying--they will get a very warm reception. Melenchon also better learn about strategic ABM and why French nuclear deterrent which is operationally valid only through 4 SSBNs of Triomhant class may not be even that "deterring". I omit here 54 ASMP air-to-ground missiles with the range of 300 kilometers. Ah, this COFM (Correlation Of Forces and Means)--Russians love to calculate it. 

So, the result is--French chihuahua barked and everyone laughed. But French are determined, LOL.

For Jeanbart, Macron’s statement was more about “sending a message to diplomatic partners” after facing criticism for “his proximity” to Russia’s Vladimir Putin at the start of the war. 

Absolutely, it is all about "message" against the backdrop of military impotence of the US and NATO. But no worries, as one of my patrons sent me today, ask David Axe about Russian military tactics, LOL. 

During World War II, Japanese troops often resorted to human-wave attacks they hoped would overwhelm Allied troops. The Allies labeled these attacks “banzai charges”—and responded by opening fire with machine guns and mortars. Eighty years later in Ukraine, Russian troops are resorting to similar tactics. The difference now is that the Ukrainians are running out of ammunition, mostly owing to Russia-aligned Republicans in the U.S. Congress continuing to block U.S. aid to Ukraine.Infantry-first “meat assaults” are nothing new in Russia’s wider war on Ukraine, but the tactics are evolving. Noting the Ukrainians’ desperate shortage of artillery ammo, the Russians are betting that back-to-back-to-back waves of troops, riding in or on infantry fighting vehicles, can deplete Ukrainian firepower faster than the Ukrainians can deplete Russian manpower.

You may have already guessed it--David Axe. Great tactician and strategist from Forbes, who knows it all--he draws comic books about "war". Never in history did the country, the United States, destroy own military mythology with such a blazing speed through its media personalities who paraded themselves from losers such as Axe to four star generals as utter amateurs and sore losers. David Axe is one of the "brightest" of them all. 

Here is an interesting bit. Russians long ago identified NATO "advisers" in 404. Most of them cadre military--from pilots to operators of air-defense complex--but what is interesting: on the ground they are used primarily as the barrier troops shooting into the backs of retreating Ukies. They are identified by good training and... very low staying power, buckling under sustained pressure (in Russian). Now, consider yourself how "well" NATO regulars will do under sustained fires--no NATO serviceman experienced anything like this, except for the unlucky SOBs who sit in the tactical rear and force 404 cannon fodder into the meat grinder. That's everything you need to know about NATO armies. And, NO, they will learn very little, because wars are lost and won on operational and strategic level and that is beyond the grasp of NATO militaries because they do not have access to reliable data sets and the way Russians plan the war. 

They try, though, TRADOC released a voluminous publication ATP 7-100.1 Titled Russian Tactics, in which it states:

Russia pursues a global strategy driven by a desire to once again be recognized as a world power. Its foreign policy stratagems will endure beyond the current leaders, and it is highly likely that future Russian leaders will pursue these policies for the foreseeable future, given its institutionalization throughout the Kremlin and other bureaucracies. As a world power, Russia believes it can provide stability for countries on its periphery, particularly the former Soviet states, and influence international policy and law away from the liberal international system of the West. To achieve this end state, Russia will give priority to the following strategic objectives: maintaining regional dominance, ensuring protection and security of its national interests as well as the current regime, countering foreign interference, and recognition as a global power. 

Boy, those TRADOC guys, who lost all their wars, still cannot grasp a simple fact--Russia was great power before the United States existed as a country. No wonder they call Russia the enemy--her military history and achievements simply dwarf America's military record. It is an acute professional envy which drives these types of statements, especially against the background of learning a few details here and there and not seeing the whole picture.

Open Thread...

 ... very busy today. Plus, today is the beginning of my dental journey to crown all my mouth--today is merely casting. And then... )))

Rachel Interviewed Me...

 ... this morning. 

 

Not Moscow...

 ... this is how Canadians see it in Nizhny Novgorod...

I am on record--every "Russian Studies" department in the West should be dismissed and all those Ph.Ds, especially such as imbecile like Anatol Lieven, be investigated for selling BS and academic fraud. Ivy League degrees in "Russian Studies" are worth as much as ... degrees in political "science", good enough to get you into janitor position in the local high school, but then again, you need some skills to do it, which no Western university provides...

Who Wants To Live Forever...

 ... you have to understand--whores from US corporate media will try to find all kinds of disparaging "facts" about Aaron Bushnell, but what he did will live forever now. It is XXI century--and it never dies. Some slut from NYT and WaPo has no concept of martyrdom--US Ivy League is not designed for that, that is why it produces ugly people who think they can control the world. They don't. For them sacrifice is an unknown entity... But this kid lit the fire which is much bigger than his flame which consumed him. He also made US military proud...

Real man always rates himself against the death... Or, what would I do... The only thing which matters is how we lived and die...

Scott And Judge...

... on Aaron's sacrifice.  

Aaron is an American Hero...

Here Is A Conundrum...

 ... I totally get where Polish farmers are coming from. I will abstain from discussion of usual suicidal geopolitical choices Poles make, but here is the price one pays for not seeing moderately far into the future. Poland enjoyed huge Russian market until she completely went bananas and lost it. But if that hasn't been bad enough, even French report on this:

Hey, it is all about choices. Poland made very bad choices and those have serious ramifications for what really matters--food. In the same time, this wasted grain could have gone to some African countries. I am sure something will be worked out, eventually, but it is painful to look at something which is so precious, a life really for so many people. Poland could have had a huge and increasingly wealthy Russian agricultural market to herself, now it is too late. Just ask Siemens... And what is conundrum? The more Russophobic one becomes, the more miserable (and poorer) one becomes, while THEY promised it will be rewarded. Certainly true for Europe. Hm, what are the options, wink, wink? 

Aaron Bushnell's Ultimate Sacrifice...

 ... F-16 Soap Opera and consequences of British "elites" inbreeding. 

 

A Meme.

Fresh from Russia;) 

Who wins? 60-ton radioactive coffin or two Russian guys saving for condos.

Medvedev In Famous Recent Interview...

 ... people asked where they can find it. Here is a critical part of it in English. 

Ania And Larry In Moscow...

 ... today))

About Reasonable Criteria. Garland Nails It.

Yes, the 2nd anniversary of SMO. 

 

A Year Ago...

 ... French ice-breaking cruise liner Le Commandant Charcot, designed specifically for polar voyages, got stuck in the ice which was too thick for her. Then 50 Let Pobedy (50 Years of Victory) arrived to help. See yourself how normal people should communicate with each-other. 

Boy, I wish I could afford those cruises. Le Commandant Charcot is an amazing liner. The prices also are amazing and are beyond reach for us, mere mortals. Russians also provide North Pole cruising precisely on 50 Let Pobedy. $45,000. While not as luxurious, it is still an amazing experience. 

or... 

A dream cruise really, albeit we are contemplating a cruise to Alaska--one of the most beautiful places in the world and yes, it is much cheaper)). 

NDIS...

 ... and a sad reality of the US military-industrial complex. 

 

Anybody Is Surprised?

I am not. War for the US is grift. Yes, Smedley Butler and racket, we all know that, but this is different here per this DoD Report. As Bloomberg reports:

The Pentagon has opened more than 50 criminal investigations into U.S. aid to Ukraine, the agency's inspector general said. At a briefing Thursday, Inspector General Robert Storch said the probes, which are at varying stages, are examining "procurement fraud; product substitution, theft, fraud, or corruption; and diversion." "We have not substantiated any such allegations, though that may well change in the future," he said, according to Bloomberg.

Well, much of stolen weapons ranging from Javelins to small arms and even Stingers will end up, and you have guessed it, in Europe. In fact, they are already there. I wonder who has them, right? And then, of course, as reported in Russian media there are serious issues with sustainability or, rather, lack thereof with the US shipping its advanced systems such as Patriot PAC3s to 404. Not that the repairing and maintaining them would help with modern ISR. Meanwhile Russian forces continue to liberate townships around Avdeevka. Today Lastochkino and Severnoe have been liberated. In Rabotino the battles rage in the center of the town and, in general, the front is collapsing. Hence, yet another "A-50 shot down", another Russian division "destroyed" and VSU are about to capture Moscow. 

Still, why these reports now? Hm.

Wink, wink.

How To (Over)Sell Free Stuff.

Hmm, secret algorithms, "intel", super-duper optics, analysts...Wow! Just listen to this. 

Ah, those imported microchips. Hm. So, I, having no fucking access to any super-duper algorithms and "intel", went on Google Maps and simply zoomed in at the KNAAZ and lo and behold... 

Count all you want, and, yes, Russia produces not only SU-35s but SU-57s at Komsomolsk-on-Amur. Surprise, surprise--there is no... surprise. The shtick with microchips by now is so dated and beaten to death that I don't know how to explain to maroons that 365 to 90 nm topology is produced domestically, in Russia. Even 60 nm is produced in Russia. This is the topology used in modern combat aircraft and other systems. Plus, explaining that Russia also produces a truck load of  ASIC... I don't know. Whatever it takes for all those mom's basement "analysts" to monetize free stuff as long as it is being sold under the guise of ooh, such "secret" and "advanced"  algorithms. I would also suggest those people to check their number of produced SU-35s--they are way off. A hint--the number is much larger than claimed by them 114.

P.S. I may have some very pleasant surprise for you fairly soon. I'll give you a hint--it is interview;)

Dmitry, Larry And Me...

... talking about the whole mess. 

 

Well, What Did You Expect?

When your electric insulation is made of corn-based fibers--it is an open invitation for rodents to the table. 

Some of the military hardware supplied to Ukraine by the West has become inoperable after being damaged by rodents, Le Figaro has reported, citing a French fighter in the ranks of Kiev’s forces. Eco-friendly weapons provided to the Ukrainian military by the country’s foreign backers are “sometimes unsuitable for the realities of the front” and “don’t come out well” in an actual conflict, the reported in an article on Thursday. As proof of its claim, Le Figaro provided an account by an unnamed French fighter, who complained that “rodents ate the cables on some of the vehicles” used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. “Some of the protective sheaths of electrical wires [in the Western-supplied hardware] are made of corn fiber,” which attracts mice and rats, he said.

Yes, we all know that the war must be eco-friendly. After all, who would want to be killed by polluting and dirty 152-mm shell when the same could be accomplished by using 152-mm eco-friendly organic shells, which not only will kill you but will preserve the environment and by blowing you up to smithereens provide a good distribution of organic remnants of human body over large area, thus providing good natural fertilizer for the soil. You see--everybody wins, well, with the exception of the organic son of a bitch who is blown up, but other than that--the environment is preserved and even enhanced. Who wouldn't want to support such a war. Ah, wait!  

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Navy formally deployed its "Great Green Fleet" on Wednesday, sending warships powered by alternative energy to conduct operations in the Pacific three years after controversy over the price of developing new fuels provoked a fight in Congress.

There you go! 

Now we're good!

This Is How They Planned It...

 ... This is how it turned out. Amateurs...

 

Ah, One Of Those Sins...

 ... to covet!

 

As Was Expected...

... they "fogged" the image of the cabin but it is clear that new TU-160M2 is a completely new aircraft. It has glass cockpit and new navigation-targeting, and comm and EW complex. Putin wanted to try it himself.

Ah, this "crazy SOB" as Biden calls him. Just confirms my thesis that one can not buy either class or history. In related news, the Defense Minister of mighty France complains:

A month ago, a Russian air traffic control system threatened to shoot French aircraft in the Black Sea. It's like the cold war, we have a return to a particularly aggressive Russian position. Russia is playing with the thresholds of aggression," he says. 

I guess, Russia's VKS should start flying near France and then see the reaction and compare. Oh, I am sure French will come up with some sophisticated BS and hurl very cultured profanities at Russians. There is one problem, though, TU-160s or TU-95s, or TU-22M3Ms do not even need to leave Russia's airspace to reach anywhere in the Northern hemisphere. It is called capability--a precise substance France doesn't have in the air.

Give Lula The Credit...

 ... where the credit is due. 

I am also very happy that while disagreeing often with Roger's politics I admire his principle stand and, in the end, of putting down the largest concentration of assholes in music--this fucking trash U-2, who due to lack of talent primarily sell political shows and whose music, bar some couple of songs, is crap.  

Yes, Roger--Bono is a genocidal shit and U-2 music is for cucks, while your and Pink Floyd's music is immortal.

What A Circus...

 ... yeah, I know. 

The US State Department has argued that Russia violated international sanctions on North Korea when President Vladimir Putin gifted a luxury car to DPRK leader Kim Jong-un. Asked about the move during a Wednesday press briefing, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Putin’s transfer of a Russian-made Aurus to Kim likely ran afoul of UN penalties on Pyongyang. ”UN Security Council resolutions do require all UN member states to prohibit both the supply of transportation vehicles and the supply of luxury automobiles to the DPRK. And if this is true, it would appear to be once again Russia violating UN Security Council resolutions that it itself supported,” he said. Miller went on to joke that Kim should have gotten “the extended warranty.”

LOL. The main question is what are they gonna do about it? Yes, I thought so. Just parade themselves as impotent clowns.

Two Brand New, Two Deeply Modernized...

Vladimir Putin inspects 4 of TU-160s. Two of them are absolutely brand new aircraft built from scratch and are equipped with latest avionics. Two others are deeply modernized ones also with everything new inside. 

By the end of this year Russian VKS should receive additional two TU-160s. As you may have guessed, the arsenal these supersonic bombers carry is astounding, ranging from 8,000+ kilometer range Kh-BD cruise missile to highly likely, due to supersonic speed of TU-160s, hypersonic weapons. 

Meanwhile, Russia is not interested. 

One reason U.S. officials didn’t widely disseminate intelligence about Russia’s efforts to develop a new space weapon: The administration was trying to start talks to convince Russia to back off the program. Senior intelligence and administration officials had been reaching out to Russia — along with India and China as possible intermediaries — about the project for weeks before it became public, according to a U.S. official and a person familiar with the outreach. The intelligence indicated that Russia might be planning to start tests of the device — a space-based antisatellite weapon with nuclear capabilities, the people said. Both were granted anonymity to speak about ongoing sensitive negotiations with Moscow.

As has been discussed in my circle, the whole hysteria could be, actually, an excuse for Biden Administration to restore contacts with Kremlin for discussion of a completely different issue--namely, how to get the US out of the catastrophic defeat in 404. But Washington is now so deep into its own BS that one cannot trust anything emanating from it. 

Meanwhile, combined West continues to progress scientifically with some astonishing achievements:

German paleobiologists have called for an overhaul of the system used in naming dinosaurs, arguing the current nomenclature contains nearly 100 “potentially offensive” names, Nature magazine reported on Tuesday, citing the team’s still-unpublished paper. A group of researchers analyzed the names of every dinosaur fossil from the Mesozoic Era, defined as between 251.9 million and 66 million years ago, combing through 1,500 species for names they perceived as “emanating racism, sexism, named after (neo)colonial contexts or after controversial figures).” They found 89 “problematic” species, according to Nature, amounting to less than 3% of the names analyzed. A dinosaur species might be deemed problematic simply because its name was based on the colonial name for the area where the fossil was discovered, the researchers explained, lamenting that “indigenous-language names of places or researchers are often not used or are mistranslated.”

Great "research" and "contribution" to the field. Next step is renaming weapon systems which, through proper pronouns, will increase their combat effectiveness/s. 

Danny, Scott and Me...

 ... later today live.

 

About Krinki.

It is over with--Krinki is under full control of Russian forces. Yes, anticlimactic and as was predicted. Shoigu also summarized the VSU "counteroffensive" with freshest numbers.

МОСКВА, 20 февраля. /ТАСС/. Вооруженные силы Украины (ВСУ) потеряли в ходе своего контрнаступления 166 тыс. военных, более 800 танков, заявил министр обороны Сергей Шойгу. По его словам, потери украинских войск составили "166 тыс. убитыми и ранеными, более 800 танков, почти 2 400 боевых бронированных машин". "Фактически из того, что у них есть сегодня, больше половины Leopard уничтожены, они потеряли 123 самолета и вертолета", - рассказал министр в интервью главному редактору ТАСС Михаилу Петрову.

Translation: MOSCOW, February 20. /TASS/. The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) lost 166 thousand troops and more than 800 tanks during their counteroffensive, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said. According to him, the losses of Ukrainian troops amounted to “166 thousand killed and wounded, more than 800 tanks, almost 2,400 armored combat vehicles.” “In fact, of what they have today, more than half of the Leopards were destroyed, they lost 123 aircraft and helicopters,” the minister said in an interview with TASS editor-in-chief Mikhail Petrov.

The losses of VSU in the last 48 hours around Avdeevka are 2,400, so you get the drift, right? And then a peculiar report from TASS. 

"Западные спонсоры киевского режима увязывают продолжение поставок Украине боевых ракет повышенной дальности с эффективностью их практического применения, - обратил внимание источник. - Страны НАТО, передающие такие вооружения, прекрасно осознают, что режим [президента Украины Владимира] Зеленского применяет террористические методы, нанося этими ракетами удары по гражданским объектам на территории России, убивая невооруженных российских граждан". "От Киева требуют предоставлять перечень целей на территории России и обосновывать целесообразность нанесения по ним ударов. Эксплуатацию и боевое применение поставляемых Украине ракет надлежит осуществлять под контролем натовских специалистов, которые фактически превращают киевский режим в террористическую организацию наподобие ИГИЛ (ИГ, до 2014 года - "Исламское государство Ирака и Леванта" - ИГИЛ, запрещена в РФ). Все это свидетельствует о прямой вовлеченности НАТО в боевые действия против Вооруженных сил Российской Федерации", - отметил собеседник агентства. 

Translation: “Western sponsors of the Kyiv regime link the continued supply of extended-range military missiles to Ukraine with the effectiveness of their practical use,” the source noted. “NATO countries that transfer such weapons are well aware that the regime of [Ukrainian President Vladimir] Zelensky uses terrorist methods by inflicting these missiles on attacks on civilian targets on Russian territory, killing unarmed Russian citizens." "Kiev is required to provide a list of targets on Russian territory and justify the feasibility of striking them. The operation and combat use of missiles supplied to Ukraine should be carried out under the control of NATO specialists, who are actually turning the Kiev regime into a terrorist organization like ISIS (IS, until 2014 -" "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" - ISIS, is banned in the Russian Federation). All this indicates the direct involvement of NATO in hostilities against the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation," the agency's interlocutor noted.

Correct--it is all about petty vengeance and impotent hysteria. Obviously those people in NATO can only fight defenseless civilians. In Russian case--not so defenseless with Air Defense dramatically mitigating the damage, but you cannot stop 100% of everything, some will "leak". In other "yawn" news:

The Biden administration will unveil a “major sanctions package” targeted at Moscow on Friday in response to the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said Tuesday. The sanctions will “hold Russia accountable for what happened to Mr. Navalny, and quite frankly, for all its actions over the course of this vicious and brutal war that has now raged on for two years,” Kirby told reporters during a call. He wouldn’t provide more detail about the package when asked.

Yes, Kremlin is quaking in its boots from these sanctions, LOL. Do you know when it is over? When the world starts laughing at you, albeit not without sadness. As was expected:

U.S. Vetoes Proposal for Humanitarian Cease-Fire in Gaza at U.N. Security Council. Washington says unconditional cease-fire would prolong conflict in Gaza. 

Do you need any comments here? I thought so.

Ray Being Ray...

 ... on Nima's platform. 

 

My Response...

 ... to some of Colonel Macgregor's "history". 

That gives also the answer to many people who ask why I am not on Judge Napolitano's show--I am too toxic for exceptionalist crowd.

 

Military Porn...

 ... from Rosoboronexport. 

Is this the best combat helicopter in the world? Yes.
 

That's Gotta Hurt...

 ... to feel oneself illiterate and a military amateur.

A retired US general slammed Russia's performance in Ukraine, even as President Vladimir Putin's forces seized hold of a key town in the east of the country. Ben Hodges, who previously commanded United States Army Europe, gave a brutal assessment of Russia's achievements so far, telling the Kyiv Independent: "their navy sucks, their air force sucks, and they've lost half a million soldiers." It's unclear where Hodges got this casualty figure from. Current estimates of Russians killed or wounded since 2022 vary between 315,000, per a senior US defense official, and just over 400,000, according to Ukraine's Ministry of Defence.

Well, according to Pentagon Russia lost the war. Remember now retired Mark Milley? We are dealing with the acute case of professional envy or, as some call it, a small penis envy, from people who wrote field manuals which killed more VSU cannon fodder than Russians planned. 

Ukraine’s forces say NATO trained them for wrong fight. There’s been plenty of talk as to why the counteroffensive has been so painstakingly slow — and the most intriguing idea is coming from soldiers on the Ukrainian front lines. Did NATO screw up when training Ukraine’s counteroffensive units? Did it train them for the wrong battlefield?

It couldn't have been otherwise. The SMO exposed the shaky facade of the NATO military "science" and a dismal effectiveness of its hardware in a real fight. This fits extremely well with Macgregor's recent statements about Russia, Great Patriotic War "myths" et al. I know, it is excruciating for many to see not just the whole American military mythology being blown up, but see the country circling the drain. Me too, I cannot recognize the United States and what it turned into, and this is just the start.

Colonel Is Out Of His Depth...

... on Russia. He doesn't speak Russian, he doesn't know Russian history, he has no relatives in Russia, he never graduated any educational facility there and he is completely brainwashed on WW II on the Eastern Front, and he has the audacity to suggest to a nation of 150 million "to come to terms" about Stalin and "Communist past".  

He continues to repeat (I will debunk his "numbers" tomorrow) propaganda by Soviet dissidents about USSR. He also still doesn't understand what Soviet/Russian military is. I appreciate his common sense approach and American patriotism, much of which is admirable, but he simply doesn't know military history of the XX century, period. His last book was a complete academic disaster. And I understand that he needs to look for legacy, but Battle of 73 Easting didn't "change the face of modern war", nor did counter-attack across Suez. America learns absolutely nothing, including REAL history, and American exceptionalism is a cancer which ate completely last vestiges of American intellect and integrity, that even in the face of a collapse of the US hegemony and military-political myths blown up to smithereens, Colonel continues to operate with pseudo-historic fantasies which drive him to condescendingly pontificate to a country and people he simply knows very little about. Of course, how can those backward and uneducated Russians know their own history. I heard good Colonel mentioning talking to some Russian general who told him the truth. Boy, if I had a dollar after every conversation with general or admiral.

Anyone Is Surprised?

Of course not. Impotence is a horrible thing for once great empire. Those phantom pains--they are so severe. 

Украинские войска сбили российский самолет Ил-76 с пленными украинцами под давлением британских советников, сообщил источник. Источник РИА «Новости» рассказал, что данный шаг был предпринят «без согласования со штабом ПВО в Киеве». Дополнительная проверка информации о движении воздушных судов над Белгородской областью также не проводилась. 24 января в районе Белгорода ВСУ сбили самолет Ил-76 ВКС России, на борту которого находились 65 пленных украинцев, шесть членов экипажа и трое сопровождающих.

Translation: Ukrainian troops shot down a Russian Il-76 plane carrying captured Ukrainians under pressure from British advisers, a source said. A RIA Novosti source said that this step was taken “without coordination with the air defense headquarters in Kyiv.” No additional verification of information about aircraft movements over the Belgorod region was carried out either. On January 24, near Belgorod, the Ukrainian Armed Forces shot down an Il-76 aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces, on board which were 65 captured Ukrainians, six crew members and three accompanying persons.

That is pretty much the extent of British "military expertise" and overwhelming, debilitating complex of inferiority and, which is psychology 101, as a result, the visceral hatred of Russia which dwarfs UK economically and militarily. So, what's left? Of course, kill the defenseless. Vengeance, no matter how pity and pathetic is the only thing which drives London.

Somebody Got The Message...

 ... on The Hill. 

In short, Russia is winning the war and there is little to suggest that any foreseeable political, economic, tactical or technological developments are likely to alter that fundamental reality. So why are we seeing arguments about an ultimate Ukrainian battlefield triumph, in the face of all the devastatingly contradictory evidence?

Yeah, they should have asked me two years ago. But what do I know.  I talk about this in my latest today:

Fake victories, fake warfare. Is Larry Wilkerson correct when saying that neocons are destroying the United States? Absolutely--100%.

Friday LOL)))

What if Putin’s translator was an Aussie?

Use as a thread for whatever.
 

Butcher's Bill.

For six days. From MoD today. I captured only for Donetsk and Red Liman axes. 

In all, more than 5,500 confirmed VSU casualties (can easily multiply it by two) and by different estimates between 4 and 5 thousands of VSU trapped in Avdeevka area. That's going to be very interesting. The mopping up continues. Here are Azov Nazis running like hell from Avdeevka on BTR. 

Boy, talk about choosing the wrong army to learn from. Sadly, cannot link this video from VK.

A Mistake...

Colonel still thinks that Putin is some naive guy who waits for the political change in Europe, thus, for now, avoiding large offensive operations. Nothing could be further from the truth--Russia's strategic analysis is arguably the best in the world and nobody in Russia's Security Council has any illusions on the nature of European regimes and populations. Europe is not coming back, it is over. I understand Colonel's frustration with Germans, but it is what it is--a brainwashed population with a few islands of common sense here and there. And it has to be understood that there could be no normal relations between Russia and Germany, despite a lingering myth about some abstract Russo-German economic "alliance". It was always nothing but a myth.

Per Syrsky being an asset of MI6 and being "employed" for primarily terrorist attacks on Russian soil against civilian targets--possible. The whole governing structure in UK is a joke, as are its military and intel services, who channel frustration from being a third rate power into killing civilians and false flag operations--this, they still can do. The pain and suffering from sensing own role as nothing but a chihuahua in the fight of a bear with behemoth is understandable, but UK should concentrate primarily on dealing with immigration and cultural "enrichment", not on pathetic attempts at feeling itself important, it is not and hasn't been in a long time. 

To understand why Colonel is wrong, enough to take a look at Elena Karaeva's excellent piece in Ria today with the title: In War With Russia Europe Bought Itself One-way Ticket. Sadly, machine translation may kill some sarcasm and contempt for the combined West in this piece, but it is still worth reading. But the title is correct in every respect. 

One Of The Best Pieces...

 ... of political satire I've seen in a while. Funny but also extremely sad. Because it is so true. 

 

Bordering On Surreal...

And I mean this:

I wrote in 2017 about the lead Russia was taking in anti-satellite weapons. The US has a larger satellite constellation, Russia by now has much more advanced anti-satellite weapons. S-500 and S-550 are fully capable anti-sat systems at orbits up to 1,000 km where most important US ISR assets, especially low orbit Keyhole satellites, are. Plus, of course, there are inspector-satellites capable to change orbits and do their thingy, like they did with the latest Keyhole optronic satellite by circling it and photographing its optic zooms. That means that in case, God forbid, of war just spraying it with special paint would be enough to turn it inoperable. Of course, there is always an option of exploding near it, but why lose good inspector capable of doing the trick on a number of enemy sats. So, now this:

WASHINGTON, Feb 15 — RIA Novosti. Washington is interacting with Moscow on the topic of a new "threat to national security" of the United States, allegedly related to Russia's deployment of anti-satellite weapons in space, said John Kirby, coordinator for strategic communications at the White House National Security Council. "We are in the process of consulting with our allies and partners. We are in the process of interaction with Russia on this issue," he stressed. According to Kirby, US President Joe Biden is receiving the necessary information and has already "ordered preliminary discussions with leaders in Congress, direct diplomatic contact with Russia, allies and partners, as well as other countries of the world." At the same time, the official noted that the dialogue with Moscow will not reveal the "problem of trust," adding that there are opportunities for cooperation.

"Cooperation", really? How delusional those people are? Historic Russia once, in a feat of unjustified trust, extended the hand of friendship to the West--the hand was slapped away and attempts on demolishing Russia never stopped since then. Now, what we all observe--military impotence and incompetence of the West have been exposed and, as I am on record for the last 7 years, the US lost the arms race. The only which United States military has is its edge in the quantity of space-based assets. Russia is already starting to expand greatly her satellite constellation through SFERA project. 

 

P.S. Who knows what those Peresvets are capable of. 

My Latest...

On latest news. 

And an interesting picture.  

London and its degenerate "elites" still cannot resign themselves to the fact that  they are military and economic pip-squeak. BTW, if to consider PLAN ships carrying long-range hypersonic weapons, one can easily subtract British aircraft carriers since they are nothing but fat targets. Of course, one can also compare mostly inactive 8 Royal Navy's subs to about 60 Russian subs. No wonder they are going insane in London.

Open Thread.

Go at it.

Not Again...

... I repeat--until Russian MoD says so--nothing happened. Otherwise, we get yet another "shot-down A-50" and IL-22 fake reports spread by Kiev regime. Now, they say, it is Tsezar Kunikov BDK. They said they "sunk it". All the same suspects--shysters from YouTube begin to spread things and alleged "video". In professional circles everything seems to be calm. But why, you may ask? Very simple--Selidovo. That is fully confirmed! The 3rd Brigade of fanatical Nazis which was getting ready to try to relieve Avdeevka was culled dramatically by Russian Iskanders and that means that rotation of VSU around Avdeevka is halted. 

Бывший депутат Верховной рады Украины Игорь Мосийчук сообщил, что военный полигон Вооруженных сил Украины (ВСУ) в Селидово на Донецком направлении действительно попал под ракетный обстрел. Информация о пострадавших и погибших выясняется, написал Мосийчук в своих соцсетях, передает RT. Ранее сообщалось, что военный полигон ВСУ в Селидово на Донецком направлении подвергся ракетному обстрелу. В момент атаки на полигоне могли находиться до 1,5 тыс. украинских военных, прибывших на учения.

Translation: Former deputy of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Igor Mosiychuk reported that the military training ground of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) in Selidovo in the Donetsk direction actually came under rocket fire. Information about the injured and dead is being clarified, Mosiychuk wrote on his social networks, RT reports. Earlier it was reported that the military training ground of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Selidovo in the Donetsk direction came under rocket fire. At the time of the attack, there could have been up to 1.5 thousand Ukrainian military personnel at the training ground who had arrived for the exercise.

Different sources confirm that the location of the "arrival" has been completely blocked off and huge number of ambulances have been seen in and out. Syrsky ordered to classify any information about Selidovo strikes (in Russian). Evidently, the losses in Selidovo have been catastrophic for the 3rd Brigade and, in classic 404 manner, some sort of "victory" to offset Selidovo strikes was needed. Most of the time those "victories" are imaginary and inconsequential when real. So, let's wait for official confirmation or otherwise. Meanwhile, there have been attacks on Russian commercial convoy on the 9th, as Forbes reports:

Минобороны сообщило об атаке ВСУ на российские гражданские транспортные суда с помощью безэкипажных катеров, которая была совершена вечером накануне, 9 февраля, в Черном море. Атаку отразили патрульные корабли и авиация ВМФ, гражданские суда и корабли ВМФ не пострадали, заявили в ведомстве. Минобороны сообщило о попытке ВСУ совершить атаку на российские гражданские транспортные суда с помощью безэкипажных катеров, которая произошла вечером накануне, 9 февраля, в юго-западном районе Черного моря. Об этом ведомство написало в своем Telegram-канале. Атаку отразили патрульные корабли и авиация ВМФ России. Один безэкипажный катер был уничтожен огнем из артиллерийских установок, остальные были «подавлены средствами радиоэлектронной борьбы», пишет Минобороны. Гражданские суда и корабли ВМФ не пострадали в результате атаки, заявили в ведомстве.

Translation: The Ministry of Defense reported an attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on Russian civilian transport ships using unmanned boats, which was carried out the evening before, February 9, in the Black Sea. The attack was repelled by patrol ships and naval aircraft; civilian ships and naval ships were not damaged, the department said. The Ministry of Defense reported an attempt by the Ukrainian Armed Forces to carry out an attack on Russian civilian transport ships using unmanned boats, which occurred the evening before, February 9, in the southwestern region of the Black Sea. The department wrote about this in its Telegram channel. The attack was repelled by patrol ships and aircraft of the Russian Navy. One unmanned boat was destroyed by artillery fire, the rest were “suppressed by electronic warfare,” the Ministry of Defense writes. No civilian or naval vessels were damaged in the attack, it said.

So, 99.9% of the time 404 lies through the teeth and its Western propaganda extension--western media--gladly spread Ukie BS.