Some Business To Be Addressed...

1. I'll start with that and will only stress that these are horrifying warriors because their motivation is higher than that of berserkers. Judge for yourself: 

One-tenth of the men in Russia volunteering for the conflict with Ukraine are doing so to escape their henpecking wives, the mayor of the coal-mining town of Vorkuta, Yaroslav Shaposhnikov, has claimed. “Around 10% of volunteers who go to the frontline are going there because their wives probably became accustomed to a decent life… and are nagging, nagging, and nagging,” Shaposhnikov said during an online panel discussion – ‘Open Vorkuta’. The official urged Russian women to provide a solid “rear” for their husbands and support them instead. Shaposhnikov, however, did not elaborate on what his 10% estimate was based on.

You don't want to meet those people on the battlefield because they are afraid of nothing, including death. I assume Russia assembles and trains those men into special crack formations which will deal with the remnants of VSU come the end of the year. Beware! LOL. 

Now to a more serious matter:

2. Somebody posted here the link to Alexander Rogers' superbly acerbic piece on this Liman affair. Here is the link, sadly Google Translate will not completely convey Roger's traditional sarcastic tone but still--worth reading. 

     Liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimaaaaaaaan (in Russian)

Try to run it through translator. All Rogers' points are valid. 

3. Where would we have been without the military "expertise" of The National Interest. I am being sarcastic, of course. But this one is worth paying attention to because it may, in the end, reflect both desperation and delusions on part of America's military class. In the piece titled A Ceasefire Can Ensure Ukrainian Independence, David Pyne concludes: 

After the rigged referendums conducted by Kremlin-appointed leaders this week indicated that an overwhelming majority supported unification with Russia, Putin hosted a ceremony at the Kremlin this morning declaring all four Ukrainian oblasts a part of Russia. Annexing these territories will increase Russia’s population by approximately 6 million people and effectively mark the end of Russia’s so-called “special military operation,” which has been a war fought for limited objectives and with a fraction of its armed forces. But the start of a full-scale war against Ukraine after mobilization is likely to be even more destructive and could potentially include some of Russia’s powerful but not yet utilized unconventional weapons, with the objective being the total capitulation of Ukraine.

Ah, yes, of course referenda were "rigged"--by VSU indiscriminate shelling of civilians, atrocities committed by Ukie Nazis and their NATO "instructors" against women, children, old people. Right, it was "rigged" from the git go by effectively committing crimes against humanity against Russophone population in Ukraine but, due to Payne's having M.S in "national security studies" and being a former H.Q. staff officer, he doesn't bother himself with facts and consequences. Moreover, he comes up with this wowser:

Reports indicate that Putin’s partial mobilization will not be limited to 300,000 troops, as the Russian government has misleadingly claimed, but rather 1.2 million military reservists that will be used to overrun Ukraine in a planned winter offensive that could bring an end to the country’s independence by early next year.    

Of course, he merely gives the link, without elaboration on what those "reports" are, because they are directly from... Ukrainskaya Pravda, a tabloid propaganda rag of Kiev Regime, but Payne, following his "education" from the military system which loses all its wars, doesn't mind spreading obvious propaganda BS without even bothering himself with checking the reality, forget about getting acquainted with those mobilization plans of Russia which are openly available (much of them are, of course, classified) to conclude that "1.2 million" IS NOT a partial mobilization. In fact, if Payne has his "degree" in whatever security "studies" he could have, at least, educated himself with basic mobilization documents of Russian Federation such as: 

Федеральный закон от 26.02.1997 N 31-ФЗ (ред. от 14.07.2022) "О мобилизационной подготовке и мобилизации в Российской Федерации"

Translation:  Federal Law No. 31-FZ of February 26, 1997 (as amended on July 14, 2022) "On mobilization training and mobilization in the Russian Federation". 

And mind you, I am not even talking about simple mathematical fact that mobilization of 1.2 million people in Russia would have manifested itself on a scale much much larger (no, not 1.2 mil. divided by 300 thousand= 4 times, no) than what is happening right now, because mobilizing 1.2 million soldiers as opposed to 300,000 IS NOT 4 times larger, it is a different type and scale of mobilization, including what amounts to enlisted personnel in existing Armed Forces. But Payne, obviously, never studied those things for his degree and while serving in whatever the H.Q. he served in. 

After that, he describes "conditions" which may "preserve" 404 not understanding that we all long ago left the world of wishful thinking and PR and are into serious business of dismantling Pax America in which Ukraine is but one of the fronts of this titanic struggle and it is all about demolishing existing combined West whose elites, quoting Vladimir Putin, are satanic. Kiev regime is a homicidal Nazi org, supported by the US and US military, and now the US will have the stamp of enablers of Neo-Nazism and let it live with it. After all, main US Army "hero" and allegedly "tank genius" General Patton considered Russians to be subhumans and, I think, this tradition is being preserved. Frankly, I don't know why this rag by Dmitri Simes even exists--it is an Exhibit A of a complete intellectual collapse of whatever passes in the US for geopolitical views and it is a sorry spectacle. 

But I wanted to make you aware of that, and, judging by the other wave of Ukie bots spreading fake news and exhibiting their ever increasing butt-hurt, they should. Because today Constitutional Court of Russia approved signed documents on four obalsts joining Russia and in this teeny-weeny piece of news that all four oblasts will join Russia within administrative borders which existed since the moment of their creation--you know, in USSR (in Russian). But that is just legalistic mambo-jumbo. Liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimaaaaaaan.   

This IS A Real Reporter...

 ... and a journalist. This is how one reports. People like Eva, like Graham and others--saving real journalism in general, and Western one in particular, one report at a time.  

Stay safe, Eva.

Larry Gives A Superb Treatment To...

... Kharkov situation two weeks ago and states:

Remember three weeks ago when Putin and the Russian military were on the ropes and the Ukrainian army was steamrolling through Kharkov? That was then and Urkaine’s promised victory failed to materialize. With the benefit of hindsight, it appears that Russia abandoned the strategically meaningless territory in the Kharkov Oblast of Ukraine and re-deployed forces to the Donbas, Zaporhyzhia and Kherson. Why? To be in position for the referendum–i.e., to defend the Ukraine oblasts that would be given the chance to vote whether or not to reunite with mother Russia. Putin’s subsequent announcement of the referenda, which began last Friday, was not a Hail Mary pass nor an act of desperation. The planning for this had been in the works for at least a month, maybe longer.

While Ukraine continued to throw its troops against the Russian lines and launched artillery strikes on civilian targets, it paid a terrible price in terms of human casualties and destroyed tanks and combat vehicles, and failed completely to disrupt the vote. There have been international observers monitoring the vote throughout the four oblasts. I wish at least one reporter would ask these observers when they were first contacted and asked to come to the Russian controlled territory and do the monitoring. That detail would provide some insight into the extent of the pre-planning for the referenda.

Exactly, now having a luxury of a hindsight we can definitely state that, indeed, the whole Kharkov "offensive", which have been drowned in blood of VSU, was a regrouping with the aim to reinforce the south to allow referenda to take place. Larry makes a superb observation and correctly concludes:

The collapsing economies in France, Germany and Italy also will compel those countries to spend more time trying to quiet growing domestic unrest. When you factor in the energy crisis and Ukrainian military setbacks as winter sets in, the foundation of NATO unity vis-a-vis Ukraine, is likely to crack.

This is a first rate analytical work. Read the whole thing at Larry's blog. 

Not Really The News...

... if one asks me, because it was clear from the inception that the US will not give up fat juicy submarine construction contracts for AUKUS project:

Amid heightened tensions with China, the administration of US President Joe Biden is looking to expedite the production of nuclear-powered submarines for Australia by building “the first few” vessels on US soil, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. According to unnamed Western officials, the potential agreement on the matter seeks to provide Canberra with a number of nuclear subs by the mid-2030s, while also laying the groundwork for long-term production of the vessels in Australia itself. The move is reportedly being mulled by senior officials from the US, Australia, and UK. All three nations are members of AUKUS, a security pact that was announced in September 2021. Besides promoting “a free and open Indo-Pacific,” it also envisages providing Australia with conventionally-armed and nuclear-powered submarines, thus significantly boosting its naval capabilities.

It IS boosting of naval capabilities but, as WSJ reports in a classic chutzpah move:

Meanwhile, the proposal is said to have its own issues. The US would reportedly need to spend billions of dollars to expand submarine production capabilities on American soil, although Australia is supposedly expected to contribute to these efforts.

You see? Not only Australia will buy those subs, she will help to build shipbuilding capacity. They say 2030 is a the target date, we'll see about that, considering a horrendous economic dynamics in the Western world, but then again--who knows at this stage. In funny news, however, this stands out. As RIAFAN reports:

Пентагон разработал для ВСУ стратегию боевых действий в Запорожской области. План наступления будет «самоубийственным» для Вооруженных сил Украины, считает председатель движения «Мы вместе с Россией» Владимир Рогов.Предложенная США стратегия подразумевает форсирование Днепра с помощью высадки десанта и наведения понтонных переправ, сообщил порталу «Украина.ру» собеседник. Эти атаки обернутся для Украины тысячами смертей, что понимают и украинские военные, считает Рогов. «Но военные прекрасно понимают, что это самоубийство. Поэтому их армия всячески уже сейчас пытается от этого отойти», — подчеркнул он.

Translation: The Pentagon has developed a military strategy for the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Zaporozhye region. The offensive plan would be “suicidal” for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said Volodymyr Rogov, chairman of the “We are with Russia” movement. The strategy proposed by the United States involves forcing the Dnieper with the help of landings and pontoon crossings, the interlocutor told the Ukraina.ru portal. These attacks will result in thousands of deaths for Ukraine, which the Ukrainian military understands, Rogov believes. “But the military is well aware that this is suicide. Therefore, their army is already trying in every possible way to move away from this, ”he stressed.

That sounds about right, considering Pentagon's "stellar" operational experiences and seeing who represents it today in the public realm, ranging from BSer  admiral Kirby to people of Keane or Petraeus' military "qualities", it is totally conceivable to expect shit like that being viewed as a viable "strategy". Recall Bismark's quip (allegedly he stated that):

“Never fight with Russian. On your every stratagem they answer unpredictable stupidity.”

Should Bismark have been alive today and could observe the last 80 years of the development of "strategies", especially by NATO, he surely would have rephrased his quote and you all know how. In general, the VSU C2-ed by the US was busy last few months with what Douglas Macgregor terms as the "impaling of Ukraine reserves" on Russian troops. So, you get the picture. In the end, as I repeat this ad nauseam, one has to know what REAL war and operational planning against top notch opponent is--the experience Pentagon simply doesn't have. But that issue of the military school of thought and how it develops had many volumes written about by people who, unlike me, commanded real armies and army groups in strategic level operations or campaigns. 

Now with 300,000 Russians being mobilized, the picture of the larger objectives for Russia begins to emerge and this is a very bad news for NATO and its leader--the United States. The whole "rules based order", a euphemism for the American hegemony, is being disassembled as I type this. We may discuss here the actual meaning of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, but there is very little doubt that the way United Nations operates today is indicative of a totally paralyzed structure corrupted by the West top-bottom and as such must be either reformed or completely abolished. But this is the task for real global shakers and movers led by Russia. Meanwhile, referenda in former Ukraine continue despite Kiev regime and its sponsors from D.C. and Brussels doing all they can to kill as many civilians as possible in the act of intimidation, but that is not having any effect on proceedings. 

In two days more than 45% of voters in LNR and 55% in DNR have voted and there are still three days left, Zaporozhie saw 35% attendance (in Russian). I am sure the work on establishing a permanent military infrastructure in newly emerging military district of Russia in new four subject is already in progress, and that means a solid second echelon and allocation of reserves when the time for Nikolaev and Odessa comes. This is your primer for Saturday. 

They Wanted War.

They surely got one now: 

In a nationwide address on Wednesday morning, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a partial military mobilization. He explained that the Defense Ministry has recommended drawing military reservists into active service, as the country faces a protracted conflict in Ukraine and Donbass. The measure is sensible and necessary under the circumstances, Putin stated, adding that he has already signed an order for the call-up to start immediately. The Armed Forces will draw on military reservists only, and those who have completed national service, the president added. He promised that they will be provided with additional training along with all the benefits due to people involved in active duty.

It is, of course, a planned action preceding referenda of four oblast (regions) of former Ukraine to join Russia, which they will join most likely by the 1st of October and will need troops stationed at the new borders of Russian Federation while the further roll towards Nikolaev and Odessa commences. Kharkov could be the target too.

For those who still drink Kiev regime Kool Aid, Shoigu today went on record and stated the number of KIAs of Russian forces since the start of SMO (in Russian)--it is 5, 937 KIAs. Shoigu also stated that number of VSU KIAs is counted as 61,207 per Russian (usually very conservative) estimates. It was also confirmed that Kremlin refused to speak to Macron after his call to Moscow today (in Russian)--there is nothing to talk about with Europe. I am sure they are preparing new "package" of sanctions, like... like... not buying Russian... beer or something. To give a bit of a context to all that:

All eyes are on the Federal Reserve as the central bank kicks off a two-day policy meeting Tuesday, as officials are widely expected to raise short-term interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point at the conclusion of their meeting Wednesday. In the face of stubborn inflation, officials are expected to raise the central bank’s benchmark interest rate — the federal funds rate — to a new range of 3.0% to 3.25% from a current range of 2.25 to 2.50%. This would mark the third-straight 75-basis-point rate hike since June, bringing rates to their highest level since 2008.

They cannot stop inflation, because they don't know how. Because they don't know how real economy works, but sense where it is all going--not a very good destination, to put it mildly.