Some Very Good Points From Larry...

Although Popov's "story" is rather murky, it is ever big mouth Gurulev who should be looked at as a conduit for this "story", but Larry makes great point:

When it comes to the war in Ukraine, it appears that Russia enjoys a massive advantage in maskirovka because NATO lacks a coherent strategy and is under enormous pressure to pander to domestic politics. Then there is social media and the internet. It is a powerful means of shaping public opinion and confusing intelligence analysts. Western fixation on Prigozhin and the Wagner Group is a prime example. Americans and Europeans have been bombarded with stories and videos about the latest antics of Wagner. So answer this question — where is the rest of the Russian Army? The Western media rarely reports on the activities and status of the rest of the Russian Army except when a commander, like General Popov, is removed from command. What is odd about the Popov story is that he has been sent to lead Russia’s military operations in Syria rather than being cashiered. Maskirovka? Perhaps.

While Prigozhin's mutiny was a real deal, albeit barely registering on Russia's constant 24/7 planning, one has to keep in mind that this unhealthy fixation of Western media on this shyster is to a large degree driven by Western media lack of any understanding of modern Russia and modern War. Wagner has been disarmed with most of heavy weaponry and ammo, a lot of it never used in battle, returned to MoD and Western pundits including many of those from Pentagon still don't get it--Wagner is merely a storm troops group which is absolutely not designed for fighting combined arms operations. Reality of Bakhmut is a dramatic demonstration of that, with Wagner's casualties being extremely high, and if not for interference from Russian Army who covered Wagner's flanks and provided the rest of support ranging from ISR, CAS and, not least, including attaching a number of VDV units to it, the result of Wagner's Bakhmut adventure could have been a disaster, both for them and the front. 

Western pundits' masturbation to Prigozhin and Wagner also exposes their (and their owners) visceral hatred for Russians in general and Putin in particular. So much so that they are ready to believe any kind of BS grasping for the last straw in what has already shaped itself as a strategic defeat for NATO. I read today some excerpts (I do not have time to consume that much BS) from British SIS (MI6) big honcho Richard Moore. Good God, with bosses like this who needs the enemies such as SVR or FSB, they are delusional (and desperate--that's classic doublethink and it is double plus good) there to such a degree, not to mention being incompetent in forecasting, that the only thing which is left is to go and reread great English literature of the Victorian times when intellect and wit have been applauded around the world, and one couldn't remove oneself from consuming adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. Well, they said the sun will never set on the Empire. Look at them now. Read Larry's excellent piece on his blog.  

Couple Of Media Points.

1. Larry Johnson posted yesterday a very good piece from his friend on Maskirovka and deception in Operation Z. 

Deception. The Soviets were probably the greatest masters of battlefield deception that there has ever been. I recommend David Glantz’s book for those who want to make a real study of it and for those who want a shorter introduction I suggest this essay (“one is awed by the magician’s illusions of objects disappearing and appearing”). Some in the West may remember D-Day’s ghost army but, as far as I know, this was the only time the Western Allies did deception on this scale. As the references above make clear, the Soviets did deception operations on this scale all the time – dummy vehicles, faked tank tracks, silent movement, lights moving at night, loudspeakers making engine noises, feint attacks, radio traffic, carefully encouraging the enemy to see what he wanted to see; as House says, they almost always fooled the Germans. And not just then – the 1939 attack at Khalkhin Gol stunned the Japanese – “we had no prior clue“. One may be certain that the Russian Army has inherited this talent.

Read the whole thing at Larry's blog--it is excellent.  

2. The Hill, ever neocon and exceptionalist rag, suddenly was afflicted by a bout of clarity and in an opinion piece concluded:

The unprecedented U.S.-led Western sanctions against Russia have been likened to economic weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) that would ultimately destroy the Russian economy. In reality, the sanctions are like a double-edged sword — they inflict pain on Russia but also impose costs on their imposers. The West, in fact, is caught in a trap: The sanctions and the deepening conflict, by helping to raise global commodity and energy prices, translate into higher revenues for Moscow in spite of a significant decrease in its exports. And the higher international prices, by fueling inflation, mean political trouble at home for those behind the sanctions.

No shit, geniuses.  How about learning what actual economy is and how it operates. The author also makes another discovery.

Look at another paradox: Despite Russia being cut off from the world’s financial arteries, the Russian ruble has dramatically recovered through state intervention. But, as if to signal that Japan is paying a price for following the U.S. lead on Russia, the Japanese yen (the world’s third-most-traded currency) has sunk to a 20-year low against the U.S. dollar, ranking this year as the worst performing of the 41 currencies tracked — worse than the ruble.

In general, Russophobia is being made by Russia a very expensive luxury. But the author DOES give a sensible explanation on why Operation Z proceeds the way it proceeds. 

Biden’s belief that “this war could continue for a long time” is backed by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley, who testified that he expects it to last years. But as the conflict drags on and the boomerang effects of the sanctions deepen the cost-of-living crisis, the divides in the Western camp will widen and “Ukraine fatigue” will set in. The West will be left with little choice but to negotiate with Putin to end the conflict, as predicted by Javier Solana, a former NATO chief who also served as Spain’s foreign minister. Such negotiations will be vital to halt Ukraine’s destruction and avert Europe from paying the main price.

You see, Russia CAN afford to be methodical and deliberate in her demilitarization of Ukraine, the West cannot--it simply doesn't have time. And that is the difference, a strategic one, between real economy and a virtual one. Nobody cares what Biden believes or what kind of, traditionally wrong, forecasts all those D.C. think-tanks produced, the reality "on the ground" has its own mind and those who do not understand it are bound to fail. Of course news like this:

China Calls Out U.S. Dollar Dominance As It Buys Russian Coal With Yuan

also send shivers down the spines of many in D.C. because all that is just the unfolding spectacle of the destruction of the US Dollar dominance. You see, one cannot accuse me of Russian rah-rah, all what I posted here is taken from the US sources. Repeat after me--reality is a bitch.