I Wouldn't Expect Anything Less ....

 ... from Germany. 

The German government has been coercing Afghan refugees into fighting for Ukraine, a source has claimed to RT. The scheme allegedly targets refugees who have been detained for various crimes, with the threat of deportation if they refuse to comply. According to an individual whose identity cannot be disclosed for security reasons, the “German authorities are forcing Afghan migrants to join the International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine in order to urgently replenish the personnel of the Kiev regime’s armed forces, which is experiencing an acute shortage of people.” The scheme supposedly involves approximately 2,300 refugees detained by German police for various crimes in cities such as Berlin, Bonn, Cologne, Hamburg, Munich, Frankfurt am Main, and Stuttgart.

Which merely supports my thesis about Europe having a visceral hatred for Russians not just as the result of brainwashing, always present, but as Europe's organic, natural state of both racial and cultural hatred deeply rooted in historic experiences and views.  

For Europeans it is about simply harming Russians and for average Euro death and carnage in the East are the least of their concerns--the more Russian civilians die, the merrier. For the most part, bar the strata of educated or people capable of critical thinking and ethics in Europe, majority responds only to the external economic stimuli and has no compunction about anything. It is a cold hard fact which has to be always considered when talking about any kind of relations between West and the rest of the world. 

In other news, I am going to be making video on this tomorrow. It is absolutely ridiculous. 

The EU must cut its reliance on US-made weapons and prioritize European alternatives, French President Emmanuel Macron has said. In an interview with French media published on Saturday, Macron argued that the bloc’s rearmament efforts would be more effective if member states stopped “buying American” and instead turned to the EU's military industrial complex.  

Somebody tell this moron, that Rafale, while a decent plane, is NOT fifth generation and he better take a look at this: 

Yes, it is French AF and all of it is made in America. from airframe of B-707 (with new engines) to the most important part--Radar and signal processing. Also, good luck Europe developing own serious ISR satellite constellation. 

Every Military in The World ...

... loves to pat itself on the back, but it has to be understood that bragging often divorces people from the reality completely. The US Navy certainly has a magnificent combat history, and its submarine force remains if not the best then at least one of the two best submarine forces in the world. But statements like these: 

PERTH (Reuters) - In the control room of the American Virginia class attack submarine USS Minnesota, off the Western Australian coast, sonar operators adjust to the chatter of dolphins in new waters where the U.S. submarine presence will soon grow significantly. On a training exercise from its home port in Guam, USS Minnesota is a forerunner to four Virginia class submarines that will be hosted at a Western Australian naval base from 2027, under the AUKUS partnership to transfer nuclear submarine capability to Australia. Crew use video game joysticks to interrogate screen images from a photonic mast that has replaced a periscope. Life aboard can mean up to 100 days without seeing sunlight, and intermittent communication with families via email to maintain stealth. Commanding officer Jeffrey Corneille says the Virginia class submarine is "the most advanced warship in the world". "If someone wakes up and they say 'Is today the day?', we make sure that they say 'Maybe not'," he says, describing its deterrent role.

Well, it is all fine and dandy, and Virginias are, indeed, excellent platforms, but Commanding Officer of USS Minnesota should be reminded that other submarine forces also have all those wonderful gizmos such as cameras with NV/IR channels and joysticks of all kinds, including some damn advanced signal processing, data fusion and minimal acoustic signatures. Here is a reminder from 13 years ago. 

And then, of course, comes this simple fact--while being a very good platform, no Virginia-class sub can even touch the weapons' suite of such subs as pr. 885 Yasen-class. In fact, in terms of striking power it is pathetic. People who still think that venerable and largely obsolete Tomahawks can compare to this ...

No, really, let's be realistic--no US submarine has anything even remotely comparable to P-800 Oniks or hypersonic 3M22 Zircon all of which, including 3M14 Kalibr, are carried by Yasen-class subs. So, any talk about "most advanced" is nothing more than chest-thumping about what amounts to the main reason why Russians create state-of-the-art subs, both nuclear and SSKs, which pack an immense punch which simply cannot be countered. The rest of it is just a moot point--both subs are state-of-the-art, but these are weapons which make all the difference in the times of ASW becoming increasingly complex and ranges at which weapons are used growing dramatically and that makes all the difference. Such hubris is precisely the reason why the US was exposed as a paper tiger during SMO. 

If The News ...

 ... are correct--those 30 officers are of high tactical and operational level. They, obviously, are not very good at what they do because Russians buried in Kursk 70,000 of VSU (and their helpers). Those 30 have two options: surrender or be killed by, highly likely, VSU. Who needs singing birds. Atrocities in Kursk and elsewhere are also the on NATO. Per French nuclear "umbrella" (LOL), it must be reminded constantly that deterrence of 1980s and deterrence of 2020s are very different things because ABM (NATO has ONLY strategic ballistic missiles) becomes an organic part of deterrence and, obviously, ASTER-30 missiles are useless against modern delivery means such as Avangard, Zircon, Kinzhal, Oreshnik and Iskander, while NO NATO country, the US included, has any capability which can even touch S-500, 550 family and A-235 Nudol. No grandiose statements can solve this problem for the combined (increasingly fractured) West. 

This Is How Honor ...

 ... and integrity look like. 

Open Thread.

 Go at it. 

Rachel and Yours Truly.

 Yesterday. 

It Is Friday ...

 ... sometimes we simply need to be reminded what we are living for ... Many children in Kursk and near will not be able to say those things--they have been killed by VSU (a euphemism for MI6, CIA, Pentagon) animals. But we should not forget that childhood has to be guarded. By all means, because it is innocent ...

Russian Forces Respond ...

 ... to Witkoff))) It reads--I am flying to improve the background for negotiations (c) This is the UMPK block--standard for most Russian air launched "dumb" FAB munitions turned into SMART ones. Devastating accuracy I may add. 

Some Explanations ...

 ... great stuff!

Witkoff was "explained" (for three hours of waiting) that he is nobody in Moscow. 

This Is Dmitriy Donskoi!

The first hull of project 941 RPKSN (SSBN) Akula-class, no, not Typhoon-class as NATO calls them. Typhoon is a SLBM complex carried by these monsters. These are marvels of technology and engineering even today. 

 

Now it is official--Vladimir Putin approved turning this submarine into museum. TK-208 gets a second life. 

I am sure there will be many people in Russia today, especially submariners (after all, it is a Submariner Day in Russia on March 19th) celebrating the best possible gift they could get for this day. Many bottles of champagne and some stronger stuff will be opened. 

What Many Do Not Notice ...

 ... is that Trump and his "strategists" behind the scene set him up with what is happening for the last 48 hours--humiliation by Russia. It is especially humiliating because it is being done in a polite, stately manner. The only plan Washington has is to preserve remnants of VSU and 404 from complete annihilation. This was Trump's choice--it is his war now, including his embarrassing tweets on his social network. 

Here Is Verbatim (Russian only).

Surrender or die. This is the response to Trump. I wonder how many US and other NATO instructors there are in cauldron that Trump asked to "spare" those lives. All of them locked in the cauldron are defined by Russia as terrorists. Trump still thinks that he is so charming. 

I Hope Colonel Davis ...

 ... gets the job at Tulsi's staff. One of a very few American officers in the media environment who consistently upheld the honor of the rank and provided a necessary dose of military professionalism and humanity. 

Inevitable question--WHY is Colonel Macgregor still not in a powerful advisory or executive position in Trump Admin? 

Witkoff Just Finished Talking ...

 ... to Putin. 

Ania and Me ...

  ... live in 20 minutes. 

Here Is Your Response Verbatim.

But before--a visual representation of why RT needs overhaul (essentially firing all of its staff Simonyan included) because it does not report what is this "support". 

Here is 7 minutes (sadly in Russian only) by Putin personally explaining WHY this "ceasefire" is impossible and why SMO continues. 

He openly states that Saudi Arabia "proceedings" between the US and 404 have been essentially directed at saving VSU along the WHOLE (2000 km) front line. The fact that Putin put Trump and his "efforts" in the context of BRICS heads of states' efforts ... well, did they get the message in D.C.? Will D.C. kindergarten graduate to at least elementary school? 

Larry's Excellent Report ...

 ... from Moscow and now becoming epic meeting with Sergei Lavrov and Maria. Yes, alt. media should completely finish off dirty establishment whores calling themselves journalists. Here is an Exhibit A of Russians understanding that. 

What an honor. I was invited, along with Judge Napolitano and Mario Nawfal, to interview Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov on Monday. Mr. Lavrov is smart, charming, funny and quite approachable. He ain’t a bullshitter. There was no pretense about him. After spending more than 90 minutes conversing with him, I came away with a new appreciation of his skill as the consummate diplomat. Although we each had prepared a couple of questions in advance, those went out the window once the conversation started. There were no constraints on what we could ask. There was an added treat before Mr. Lavrov arrived… we spent thirty minutes chatting with Maria Zakharova in a casual environment. She is equally charming and tough as a rhinoceros hide. I think of her as an iron fist wrapped in a luxurious velvet glove. A formidable diplomat in her own right.

Read the whole thing at Larry's blog. 

Russian Paratroopers (VDV) ...

 ... at work at Chasov Yar. 

They Wanted Kursk Battle.

They've got it. This is for those who get lost in scales and proportions--a reminder. This all has been happening at the small wedge of the Kursk Oblast initially about 400 sq.km (roughly 154 square miles). This is roughly the area half that of the area of NYC. "Brilliant" NATO planners, especially British, who for some reason consider themselves masters in whatever (primarily chicken shit), pumped into this wedge this "thing", which today doesn't exist anymore. Latest from Russian MoD. 

So, NATO losers decided to kill a whole combined arms army (or roughly the whole of British Army by comparison) of Ukrainian and NATO "advisers" cannon fodder and ... they succeeded, Russians took care of it. Here are the numbers. By the time all disjoined (fractured) groups of shell-shocked, panicked and demoralized wandering remnants of VSU will be completely mopped up, the personnel losses may reach 70, 000. But what's more--the thing which Western militaries simply block out, because it really hurts their feelings--these are kill ratios. While Russian forces did sustain losses, the kill ratio in Kursk is not even an average of 1 to 10-12, it is somewhere on the order of 1 to 15-20. It is a slaughter of the elite, most fanatical and the best trained troops NATO could provide (average VSU "elite" combatant is better than any combatant from the NATO armies, the US Army included). They are not there anymore. 

They also excelled at executing their own who didn't want to die under Russian fire. The body of evidence of atrocities not only against own, but Russian POWs and civilians is overwhelming. NATO militaries are forever stained as good only at killing defenseless. This is the end of any kind of "high" (from pot?) moral ground the US Army ("the force for good" like providing ISR for Nazi regime in Kiev and manning its long-range fires against civilians) tries to pretend it occupies--it doesn't. Vladimir Putin was clear--treat ALL of the VSU who committed atrocities as terrorists. Guess what, NATO "advisers" will not have the protection of Geneva, plus--being a de Facto barrier troops (that's where NATO excels too) shooting into the backs of retreating hapless VSU is a war crime and atrocity. So, let's wait and see what Mr. Witkoff tells his counterparts in Moscow this week ... 

Vladimir Putin and Gerasimov ...

... in Kursk. Vladimir Putin especially underscored that mercenaries are not protected by Geneva and ... well, that's the response, including the necessity to establish security zone (ah, yes, Sumy get ready), to the "ceasefire" kindergarten play by Trump. 

In Russian only, sadly. Now Trump will learn about real geopolitics. 

It Is Official.

It is Trump's war. A complete collapse of VSU in Kursk. Sudzha is liberated. 

Nima and Yours Truly ...

 ... live in about an hour or so. 

Judge, Larry, Lavrov, Zakharova ...

 ... interview. 

While The Shit Boils ...

 ... in the cauldron of Trump's 404 strategery, allow me to remind you why Russian economy is booming, and it is not just because of SMO. Far from it. One of the critical indicators of country's development is transport machine building and here Russia demonstrates just insane development. This video is in Russian, but you don't have to know it to recognize that what you see in it--the fresh 2025 arrivals--are either completely or 90% are made in Russia, including critical asynchronous electric motors and electronics, not to speak of design and interiors. 

That includes what is coming--fully Russian high-speed trains. Siemens, yes, that's you--you see, you should have watched Two and a Half Men while it was still good)))

Just couldn't resist))

The Man Himself.

Make your own conclusions. 

As Was Expected ...

 ... all for the show.

The US has unblocked military and intelligence assistance to Ukraine, while the latter has agreed to a proposed “immediate, interim 30-day ceasefire” with Russia, the two nations announced on Tuesday after talks in Saudi Arabia. Kiev has also agreed to conclude a comprehensive agreement on Ukraine’s critical resources with Washington “as soon as possible.” “Ukraine expressed readiness to accept the US proposal to enact an immediate, interim 30-day ceasefire, which can be extended by mutual agreement of the parties, and which is subject to acceptance and concurrent implementation by the Russian Federation. The United States will communicate to Russia that Russian reciprocity is the key to achieving peace,” the joint statement reads. 

Well, the only real thing of value the US can provide is ISR. There will be no ceasefire and no "freezing", SMO continues. There will be no meeting between Putin and Trump. 

When Everything Is PR.

Especially war which is lost. What do you do? You launch whatever you have at the enemy in a futile attempt to inflict some damage. Kiev regime launched 343 UAVs at Moscow and Moscow Oblast. Practically all of them have been shot down (in Russian), which, however (sadly) didn't preclude casualties on the ground--18 including 3 children, among them 3 passed away--primarily from falling fragments including (that's the reality) from boosters of S1 Pantsir missiles. Pantsirs are not deployed, unlike 404 and NATO hiding what's left of their AD in the midst of civilian apartment blocks, near civilians. Keep in mind though that the boosters accelerate missiles and burn out several kilometers from the launch position--they have to fall somewhere. 

In general, it was a classic PR attempt to remind the US delegation in Saudi Arabia that 404 is still "capable" of fighting and a desperation from Kursk events with Russian forces today liberating additional 12 towns and villages and the industrial zone of Sudzha. Rubio, meanwhile, speaks about the possibility of resuming the aid to 404. Sure, but somebody has to tell Marco that the US (by all signs) simply ran out of what it can really supply in hardware and the only thing possible here is to resume ISR. OK. We will see if it is a ruse (as is suspected by many) to not "excite" too much a collection of warmongers and genocidal maniacs in D.C. or if it is a genuine desire. 

Larry And Judge ...

 ... on meeting Lavrov. 

F-35 Issues ...

... are much larger and systemic than even honest reporting tells us from GAO and even USAF itself. F-35 turned out to be a tool for strangling already weak European combat aircraft industry. Once touted as the best combat aircraft in their respective classes Eurofighter Typhoon and Gripen are obsolete for modern airspace combat domain against world class power such as Russia. This and Kursk unfolding catastrophe for 404 and its curators, and Trumps admission. 

Rubio Merely Says ...

 ... what he has to say under the conditions. 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday that Ukraine would have to make concessions over land that Russia had taken since 2014 as part of any agreement to end the war. Mr. Rubio spoke as he was flying to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for talks with senior Ukrainian officials, and 10 days after a contentious White House meeting between President Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky. The Trump administration halted military aid to Ukraine after the blowup, which centered on Mr. Trump’s refusal to include any security guarantees in a proposed deal involving Ukraine’s natural resources. “The most important thing that we have to leave here with is a strong sense that Ukraine is prepared to do difficult things, like the Russians are going to have to do difficult things to end this conflict or at least pause it in some way, shape or form,” Mr. Rubio told reporters. Mr. Rubio declined to offer the outline of a potential agreement but made clear that concessions by both sides would be central to diplomacy.

He simply MUST talk about Russia which is merely a PR trick to soften a dramatic truth behind the utter devastation brought on VSU and its "advisers" (you can find videos of many POWs including African American dude and such) by Russian forces. The outcome is clear. Here Daniel Davis elaborates operationally. 

I want to stress again--the main objective in real war is to kill enemy forces, the captured ground, cities and enemy's standards come later. 

And Again, And Again ...

... and again, for those who still buy into the Western media BS, here is Larry from Moscow. 

Putin’s position regarding Ukraine has not changed. He will not negotiate with Volodymyr Zelensky. Zelensky is no longer the constitutional authority in Ukraine. He must be replaced and Russia will only talk to his successor. Russia is not going to make any territorial concessions. Zaporhyzhia and Kherson, along with Donetshk and Luhansk, are now permanent members of the Russian Federation. That is non-negotiable. I was struck by Donald Trump’s comment today, where he opined that Ukraine may cease to exist as a country. It appears to me he is starting to pay attention to daily Presidential Daily Brief and that Tulsi Gabbard, in her new role as the Director of National Intelligence, is making sure that the President is getting an unvarnished briefing on the true situation in Ukraine.

Agree with Larry completely--Tulsi knew the situation long before Trump was elected. Now, with her in the powerful position it becomes clear that Trump gets REAL intelligence on SMO and the "spread" so to speak. In Russian circles there is a "rumor" circulating that Russian position on 404 may even be tougher than initial conditions given to the US delegation in Saudi Arabia. Looks like there will be de Facto Russian bases in what is called причерноморье (near Balck Sea) --Odessa and Nikolaev--a euphemism for eventual joining Russia de Jure--while the whole political system of 404 will be overhauled per Russia's design.  

Open Thread.

 Go at it. 

They Wanted It ...

... I am not even sure that this is fresh, but that's around Kharkov. 

Hey, CIA (and MI6) also celebrated the fall of Assad. Why don't they send their wives and daughters to visit there, I am sure Russians at Khmeimim will be surprised at the gates ... But then again, there is no atrocity these guys will not commit as long as their precious universe is untouched. 

Archangel Michael ...

 ... the song is about how you die (yes, Russians have this thing about dying in battle), but it is also how you live ... Sadly, it is difficult to point to all references in this song. 

But then again, one of the greatest voices not just in rock sings about sons and mothers ... Sadly, there is no way to convey this profundity ... 

Mother saying prayer over dying son ... 

Good Video ...

 ... by Joseph with Stas Krapivnik providing good narration. Stas, however, is not just a soldier, he is a very interesting character and is a former Captain in ... the US Army. So, he has qualifications ... 

Is worth watching. 

About Smoke Screen ...

... for rather drastic Trump's measures. Kursk catastrophe for Kiev and London. 

Yeah, Yeah, Autocracy ...

 ... my ass. For cretins from the butt-hurt Atlantic. 

Putin is winning, because he’s cunningly exploited the advantages of autocracy. His near-total control of his own polity allows him to absorb the economic pain of sanctions, until the West loses interest in them. His lack of moral compunction allowed him to sacrifice bodies on the battlefield, without any pang of remorse, an advantage of expendable corpses that Ukraine can never match. Confident in the permanence of his power, he has patiently waited out his democratic foes, correctly betting that their easily distracted public would lose interest in fighting proxy wars against him.

What’s most devastating about Putin’s reversal of fortune is that he read Western societies so accurately. When he railed against the decadence of the West and the flimsiness of its democracy, he wasn’t engaging in propaganda, he was accurately forecasting how his enemy would abandon its first principles. He seemed to intuit that the idealism of American democracy might actually vanish, not just as a foreign-policy doctrine, but as the consensus conviction of its domestic politics.

Foer, go to your office, take your degree from Columbia University off the wall and place it in the nearest public restroom as a last resort toilet paper for a person with a sudden onset of diarrhea, because this is the only worth of all of the American "liberal" journalists'--in fact, totalitarian fanatics--degrees which provide zero awareness about pretty much anything. Do not write about something you have no clue about. Find a decent McDonald's near you--they may take you there as a janitor and even that could be too much for your "expertise" level.   

Civilians At Khmeimim.

Russia shelters thousands of civilians at her Kheimim Air Base. 

The atrocities of new Damascus "regime" against civilians, especially Alawites and Christians are well documented, but the question remains--why don't these very numerous men take up arms? There is some resistance to jihadist regime, but are there forces to fight for Latakia? Russians are not fighting until they see the proper dynamics. And IF they see it.  

About This ...

 ... which Trump posted today. 

Most likely the reaction after somebody finally told him about the REAL situation in 404 and informed him on situation in Kursk (it is dire for VSU) and elsewhere along the front. But one cannot escape the grim reality that the US (and its Europoodles) initiated this:

Moscow didn't react, as it shouldn't--all objectives of SMO will be met, simple as that.

Hedge Fund Managers Do Not ...

 ... geopolitical level thinkers make. They just don't.  

Washington is prepared to tighten the “egregiously weak” sanctions imposed on Russia by the administration of former US President Joe Biden if it helps accelerate a peace agreement in the Ukraine conflict, the US Treasury Department has said. The US sanctions on Russia, which were first imposed in 2014 after Crimea’s reunification with Moscow, have since been expanded through executive orders and were extended last week through March 2026. Russia considers them illegal and has repeatedly demanded their removal. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told the Economic Club of New York on Thursday that the US would no longer apply “lackadaisical” restrictions that allow circumvention. Bessent criticized the Biden administration for holding back on tougher energy sanctions over concerns about rising gas prices, questioning the rationale behind providing “substantial US military and financial support over the past three years” without enforcing matching restrictions.

Bessent, being gay (here is a hint for his attitudes towards Russia) and having worked in Soros Fund and being a product of degree mill from Yale, has a very faint idea about real world and especially Russia. It is the case with most US secretaries of treasury who preside over the finances of a bankrupt country, the US that is. But sure, let him try. 

Judge, Larry and Ray ...

 ... from Moscow. 

You Basically Signed Up For This (c) US Army))

Babylon Bee is at it again)) 

Cute France Attacks Russia.

 Results are devastating)) For this cutie ... 

Meanwhile "sunk" Black Sea Fleet magically continues to launch 3M14 Kalibrs. Mystery, and the opening theme from the Twilight Zone plays)! 

How Many Times ...

 ... to repeat it. Here is Vladimir Putin himself today: We are not going to retreat, and we will accept only those proposals which guarantee Russia's security for a historic perspective (duration). 

Here is my video on this and other issues. 

"Innocence Lost?"

France had one to lose it? First time I hear about it. This is Liberation yesterday ejaculating after Macron's "grandiose" speech about "countering Russian threat". 

What a collection of cuckolds. Here is Dmitry responding:

But if France insists, it too can disappear, really fast, instead of protracted suicide which should dispose of France as a unified country and nation somewhere by 2050 (give and take). I speak about it in my today's video. 

US Former "Intelligence" ...

 ... officials who wouldn't know shit from shinola.

With Trump and his deputies echoing some of Russia’s talking points about the Ukraine war and indicating they hope to expand U.S. relations with Moscow, former intelligence officials say the administration may even share some sensitive information with Moscow. Several former U.S. intelligence officers said they and their colleagues still in government are deeply concerned about the possible implications of the administration’s shift toward Russia, in which Moscow may no longer be treated as an adversary. “People are very worried,” a former intelligence official said.

As always, there are no names of those "officials", because the only thing those "officials" can do is to fail at their intelligence tasks, among which is the proper assessment of the world outside. And yes, they should worry, especially if they have been associated with DNC and subversion of the US Constitution--the only thing they are capable of. I am not exaggerating--the so called American "expertise" in critical aspects of the global balance of power and practical geopolitics is laughable. In this sense the post-Cold War 1.0 US approach to "intelligence" has very little to do with real intelligence and its main task of collecting information and analyzing it to turn it into knowledge. Forget about it--we are seeing in the so called "intelligence" and "expert" community same ol' Mencken's "Morons with Ph.Ds", or collection of credentialed cretins. 

In other "news", people ask me (yes, they send messages all the time), whenever hearing any kind of ambiguous statements from some Russian officials (such as Russia's Ambassador to the UK), if some or the other phrase or word are indications of Russians "surrendering" or compromising. I can only repeat same thing--SMO continues, there will be no "freezing" and there will be no "peacekeepers". Here is Lavrov himself (during pressy with Zimbabwe's FM today) explaining, yet again--in Russian only, sadly--that all this talk is just BS. 

I cannot repeat this constantly, but it seems that I must.  

This Is Critical Admission.

Of what many still cannot wrap their brains around. No, not the "stalemate" (there is no stalemate) but that SMO is a war between the US and Russia. 

This is not some "analyst" from some BS think-tank who says this, this is Marco Rubio--no matter how we dislike him--and he is a TOP American diplomat, Secretary of the State. Will wait and see if the ISR was turned off for 404 for real--but if true, this is really big. 

Satanists ...

 ... patting each-other on the back. Sewer ...

Open Thread.

 Very busy. Go at it.

Nima and Me ...

 ... at 11:30 PDT live. 

They Will Struggle.

It will have an immense lasting negative impact on their health, but at least they seem to be on the road home. 

NASA's stranded astronauts will face a long road to recovery after spending more than nine months in space. Doctors told DailyMail.com that Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore will not be able to walk on their own when they return to Earth this month due to living in low gravity. When the crew emerges from the SpaceX capsule on either March 19 or 20, they will be immediately placed on stretches and immediately taken for medical evaluations. 

They never undertook a proper conditioning for such a very long term in space. This requires different routines and in many ways is reminiscent of ascending to K-2 or any other Death Zone (above 8,000 meters) mountain--go up to first camp, acclimatize, go back, then go up to the second, higher elevation camp, acclimatize again, and so on. This return will be a gravity and health shock. But let's hope that everything goes fine. 

First Practical Steps ...

 ... by Trump's Admin. Europe, get ready. 

Practical Tactics.

Here is how drone-proof logistic routes at Bakhmut Operational Direction look like. 

They are pretty much the same elsewhere, along the routes which cannot be fully protected by AD systems. 

In Continuation of Yesterday's Iran Post.

Anyone who thinks that Russia will "abandon" Iran, they should study Russia more. 

Russia is ready to broker talks between the US and Iran, including on Tehran’s nuclear program and its regional proxy network, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Bloomberg on Tuesday. Trump expressed interest in talking to Iran about those issues, both in his phone call to Putin in February and via representatives at the high-level US-Russian meeting in Riyadh just days later, the news agency wrote, citing anonymous officials. “Russia believes that the United States and Iran should resolve all problems through negotiations,” Peskov told Bloomberg when asked about such contact. Moscow “is ready to do everything in its power to achieve this,” he added.

Exactly! Russia views Caspian region as an enormously important realm both in terms of trade between Iran and Russia and as a critical link in North-South Corridor. And then, there are simply neighborly and humanitarian considerations--Russia doesn't like her friendly neighbors to be assaulted, simple as that. Russians love peace and calm. Now, with the dynamics in Washington and elsewhere (such as reportedly halting military aid to 404 by the US), this kind of brokerage can help immensely. 

And How Exactly This "Meaningful Support" ...

 ... is defined? I follow periodically the so-called Quincy Institute (Responsible Statecraft) publications and can reiterate my point that this Institute is nothing more than a collection of the sinecures and a tribune for credentialed amateurs, such as people "the caliber" of Anatol Lieven or even George Beebe, both of who wouldn't understand a first thing about Russia and warfare, but still continue to write all kinds of nonsense, expected from people with no applicable education and experience. But if Responsible Statecraft publishing on Russia, bar a very few competent pieces by people the scale of Esteemed Ambassador Jack Matlock, is nothing that a jumbled pseudo-academic BS, we have now yet another Ph.D who writes about Russian-Iranian relations. I want to forestall any kind of accusations and state that the extend of my Farsi knowledge is the name of dice in Nard and that I never visited Iran, albeit I guarded the maritime border between USSR and Iran during very interesting (to put it mildly) times. 

So, Ahmad Mahmoudian penned the piece about Russian-Iranian relations in which he, ignoring most of the facts of developing ties between Tehran and Moscow (he needs to pay attention to shipyards in Astrakhan and what is going on there, as one example), concludes that Iran will be sidelined once the SMO concludes. OK, I am sure that this school of thought has the right to exist, but Mahmoudian arrives to this conclusion based, among other things, on this:

Yet, Iran’s newfound influence had clear limits. Russia continued to withhold advanced aircraft, and during Iran’s confrontations with Israel in April and October of 2024, Moscow refrained from offering meaningful support to Tehran. This underscored the constraints of their partnership, while cooperation had deepened, it remained shaped by competing interests and underlying power asymmetries.

My immediate question is how Mr. Mahmoudian knows that Moscow "refrained from offering meaningful support" to Tehran? What does "meaningful" mean in Mr. Mahmoudian's universe. Is Mr. Mahmoudian privy to classified communications between Russian MoD and MoD of Iran? Can he guarantee that Russian ISR have not been working for Iran who successfully repelled Israel's attempt? Or can Mr. Mahmoudian explain to his readers what that is? 

This one is Ghadir Radar station--a second one for Iran. You can see the set here. This radar is the most advanced 1000-km range radar capable of detecting the so called "stealth" targets, ballistic missiles and hypersonic ones. Hm, it doesn't look to me that Russians do not offer "meaningful support" to Iran after all. Moreover, they were doing this well before that start of SMO, which, in accordance to Mr. Mahmoudian, "shaped" Russian-Iranian relations. Hm, strange, what to do with this then, from 2020?

KUBINKA /Moscow Region/, August 24. /TASS/. Russian-made radar Rezonans-NE, which Iran purchased to identify and track stealth aircraft and hypersonic targets, successfully spotted and tracked US F-35 fighters near the country’s borders during an aggravation of tensions at the beginning of 2020 following the death of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, the deputy CEO of the research center Rezonans Alexander Stuchilin told TASS on Monday. At the beginning of 2020 this radar identified US F-35 planes and tracked them," he said on the sidelines of the international military-technical forum Army-2020.

Stuchilin said that he was referring to the "well-known events of the beginning of this year." "The radar’s personnel were transmitting information, including the routes of F-35 flights, in clear, thus confirming that it was reliably tracking the planes. For this reason, the opponent did not commit any irreparable actions that might have caused a big war," Stuchilin said. He remarked that the Rezonans-NE radar had been on round-the-clock combat duty in Iran for several years.

I will not comment on the persistent rumors of Russia's deliveries of Su-35s to Iran. Will wait for the confirmation, but here is my point--this is the XXI century, and this is the time for all kinds of "Ph.Ds" in political pseudo-science to abstain from writing on any things related to military-political matters without the basic understanding of military technology and how it influences operations in all four domains and how this operational impact (effect) is measured. I read for three years a delirium by Anatol Lieven and other "experts" about SMO and Russia. It looks like the same type of "expertise" is being published, yet again, by Quincy Institute which, it seems, is into the business of recycling same credentialed Washington "intellectuals" who wouldn't know shit from shinola. They certainly wouldn't understand what "leakers" are and how to assess them. 

P.S. In other news, Iran produces domestically rather decent AD complexes, many of which are knockoffs (good ones) of Russian ones. They are good enough to defend Iran as the events with successful repelling of Israeli attack demonstrated fully. 

)))

 

That's The Difference.

A little piece of data to describe a rather dramatic difference between Europeans and Americans in their attitude towards Russia. These numbers are inconceivable for Europeans despite common ground between Europeans and Americans not liking the SMO. Support for 404 comes primarily by the way of incessant propaganda by establishment media both in EU and US--all those media are war criminals. 

Americans are sharply divided over their perceptions of Russia, with a third of them claiming it is an ally, a CBS News/YouGov survey published on Sunday suggests. A poll conducted between February 26 and 28 found that 34% of Americans consider Russia an ally or a friendly nation, while 32% view it as unfriendly and another 34% see it as an enemy. Republican respondents were more likely to hold a favorable opinion, with 41% describing Russia as friendly or an ally, compared to fewer Democrats. It also showed that while 52% support Ukraine, 44% maintain a neutral stance, and only 4% side with Russia. Opinions on US President Donald Trump’s position are similarly split: just 11% believe he supports Kiev, whereas 46% think he favors Moscow. Another 43% say Trump treats both countries equally.

I reiterate--overwhelming majority of European population hates Russia and Russians; such numbers are simply impossible in Europe. In this sense, this sharp division does not exist in Europe--it is pretty much uniformed. Also, keep in mind that the poll is by CBS--a Goebbelsonean establishment propaganda outlet, but even their poll produces a very large minority (34%--this is very large minority), and for those who still have doubts about Europe--here is 2017 poll by Sputnik. Even then, 8 years ago and before the start of SMO, it was clear:

For overwhelming majority of Europeans Russians are NOT Europeans and for many are nothing more than Asiatic subhumans. Hence the BS about "North Korean" troops they buy not understanding that they see Russian troops of Yakut, Buryat and of other Siberian origin. 

They Really Are ...

 ... conspiring. I don't expect anything good from these cute thingys. Remember Gremlins? 

Kabuki Theater ...

 ... and geopolitical reality. Eurochihuahuas are panicking, big time. Some of those reasons for that we don't see yet. We may soon. 

The School of Thought ...

... emerges, including among my friends both in Russia and the US (and you know the level of many of my friends--serious professionals), that the "deal" (so to speak) between Russia and the US has been already reached and the rest is a Kabuki Theater to put a front for what is happening under much stricter security. Here is a telltale sign. Vladimir Putin at Collegia of FSB on February 27. I suggest you read a full speech but here is this sign. 

Понимаем, что не всех устраивает возобновление российско-американских контактов. Часть западных элит по-прежнему настроена на сохранение нестабильности в мире, и эти силы будут пытаться сорвать или скомпрометировать начавшийся диалог. Мы это с вами видим. Нам нужно это учитывать и использовать все возможности дипломатии и специальных служб для срыва подобных попыток. А главное, как и прежде, нам важно твёрдо защищать свои национальные интересы, суверенитет, жизнь и свободы наших граждан от любых угроз. В этой связи ФСБ необходимо продолжать системную работу по всем профильным направлениям, и прежде всего это, конечно, борьба с международным терроризмом. Отмечу, что за последний год количество преступлений террористической направленности выросло, причём больше половины из них спланированы и организованы украинскими специальными службами и их кураторами.

Translation: We understand that not everyone is happy with the resumption of Russian-American contacts. Some Western elites are still determined to maintain instability in the world, and these forces will try to disrupt or compromise the dialogue that has begun. We see this. We need to take this into account and use all the possibilities of diplomacy and special services to disrupt such attempts. And most importantly, as before, it is important for us to firmly protect our national interests, sovereignty, life and freedom of our citizens from any threats. In this regard, the FSB must continue its systematic work in all relevant areas, and first of all, this is, of course, the fight against international terrorism. I would like to note that over the past year, the number of terrorist crimes has increased, and more than half of them were planned and organized by Ukrainian special services and their curators.

For those who will immediately (there are many of this kind) jump onto this with their suggestions on how "not to trust Americans" or "Russia should bomb Washington", I repeat, again--superpowers have ONLY two options in the XXI century: either start the WW III which will end with nuclear exchange or find modus vivendi. And yes, Russians are not naive. Anybody who doubts it--look up VSU's catastrophic losses. If you will not get it, I cannot help you in terms of developing the understanding of causality.