Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

It’s all just conspiracy shit beamed down from the mothership.

I was confident that someone would point it out and thought why not me.

The media handbook says “controversial” is the most negative description that can be used for a Republican.

It’s easier to kill a dangerous animal than a man who just happens to have different thoughts/values than one’s own.

Tide comes in. Tide goes out. You can’t explain that.

In my day, never was longer.

Balloon Juice has never been a refuge for the linguistically delicate.

It’s a new day. Light all those Biden polls of young people on fire and throw away the ashes.

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

“Cheese and Kraken paired together for the appetizer trial.”

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

He wakes up lying, and he lies all day.

Bark louder, little dog.

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

White supremacy is terrorism.

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

Usually wrong but never in doubt

The rest of the comments were smacking Boebert like she was a piñata.

I’d try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

So many bastards, so little time.

When you’re a Republican, they let you do it.

When the time comes to make an endorsement, the pain of NYT editors will be palpable as they reluctantly whisper “Biden.”

“That’s what the insurrection act is for!”

You are here: Home / Foreign Affairs / War for Ukraine Day 219: The Annexation Is Off To a Rousing Start… Lyman Has Been Liberated!

War for Ukraine Day 219: The Annexation Is Off To a Rousing Start… Lyman Has Been Liberated!

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The annexation is off to such a rousing start that less than twenty-four hours after it was announced, Lyman has been liberated by the Ukrainian army.

Sound_Advice_From_Dr_Strangelove

We’ll get into more of the news from Lyman after the jump.

Here’s President Zelenskyy’s address from earlier today. Video below, English transcript after the jump:

Dear Ukrainians!

Dear all our defenders!

Another week of our war for our independence comes to an end.

The week that the enemy really wanted to make especially hard for us, but he made it really hard, but for himself. For Russia itself.

Today, even more voices in the world have joined in condemning the pseudo-referendums and Russia’s attempt to annex our territory – the territory of Ukraine.

I am grateful for every such voice.

As a result, we already have dozens of statements that clearly support Ukraine and international law and condemn Russia for this new aggressive step.

I would like to especially note the statement of UN Secretary General António Guterres.

He bluntly said that Russia violates the goals and principles of the UN, the UN Charter and that the pseudo-referendums and attempted annexation will have no legal force.

When such words are heard at the highest level in the UN, everyone in the world understands everything.

And Russia has no such veto right that can stop or cancel this understanding of the world.

Russia is losing the fight for the international community. The world will not allow a return to the times of colonial conquests, criminal annexations and total arbitrariness instead of international law.

And the main thing… The main thing is our resistance with you, our protection with you, our movement with you towards the liberation of the entire Ukrainian territory.

It is our movement that puts everything in its place.

Russia has staged a farce in Donbas. An absolute farce, which it wanted to present as an alleged referendum.

They depicted something there, drove machine gunners around the houses, carried pieces of paper, the propagandists filmed all this in the part of Donbas they controlled.

And now a Ukrainian flag is there.

During this week, there were more Ukrainian flags in Donbas. It will be even more in a week.

What then is a pseudo-referendum? Are there two Donetsk regions? Two villages of Yampil, Donetsk region? Are there two villages of Torske?

The Ukrainian movement will continue.

The Ukrainian flag is already in Lyman, Donetsk region. Fighting is still going on there. But there is no trace of any pseudo-referendum there.

It is logical for Ukraine. And for the enemy, there will be more and more such “mismatches.”

By the way, they have already started biting each other there: they are looking for the culprits, accusing some generals of failures…

This is the first bell that should be heard at all levels of the Russian government.

Until you all solve the problem with the one who started it all, who started this senseless for Russia war against Ukraine, you will be killed one by one, making scapegoats, so as not to admit that this war is a historical mistake for Russia.

Ukraine will return its own. Both in the east and in the south. And what they tried to annex now, and Crimea, which has been called annexed since 2014.

Our flag will be everywhere.

There will be punishment for those who committed this crime of aggression against our independent state.

On October 1, 76 years ago, the Nuremberg Tribunal ended its work.

In many ways, it was this process that laid the foundations of the modern world – the legal foundations of justice. Everything that ruscism is trying to destroy.

Therefore, another tribunal will inevitably take place, which will put an end to the careers of all those responsible for this Russian “special operation” against the international system, which began in 2014 and became full-scale on February 24, and will end thanks to the heroism of our people.

Today, we still do not know on which day it will happen. But we know that the day of our victory will come. It will definitely be. And after it the day of judgment for the ruscists will be. It will definitely be.

I thank everyone who brings this time closer. Who is approaching it daily.

Thanks to everyone who fights and works for our victory! Thanks to everyone who helps!

Thank you to President Biden and the US Congress for providing more than $12 billion in supplemental support. It will definitely strengthen our common freedom.

Glory to the invincible people of Ukraine!

Glory to our soldiers!

Glory to Ukraine!

Here’s the British MOD’s assessment for today. They appear to have given the mappers the weekend off.

Here is former NAVDEVGRU Squadron Leader Chuck Pfarrer’s most recent assessments of the situations in Zaporizhzhia and Lyman:

The BBC has the details on the abduction of Ihor Murashov:

Russian troops have detained the director of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Ukraine’s state nuclear regulator Enerhoatom says.

It says Ihor Murashov was held as his car was on its way from the facility to the nearby town of Enerhodar at about 16:00 local time (13:00 GMT) on Friday.

He was then blindfolded and is believed to have been taken to a prison facility in Enerhodar, Enerhoatom’s president told the BBC.

Russia has not commented.

In a statement published on Saturday, Enerhoatom president Petro Kotin said that Mr Murashov “bears main and exclusive responsibility for the nuclear and radiation safety” of the nuclear plant.

He said Friday’s detention “jeopardises the safety of operation of Ukraine and Europe’s largest nuclear power plant”.

In addition, he told the BBC the detention happened as Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the annexation of four regions of Ukraine, including Zaporizhzhia.

Mr Kontin said representatives of Russia’s nuclear state company Rosatom had visited the plant “just two days ago”. They said the power plant would be transferred from Ukrainian control to Rosatom’s control in line with the annexation of the region.

Mr Kontin said he believed the move to kidnap Mr Musharov was an attempt to try and get him to accept the transfer of the power plant from Ukraine to Russia.

“They are trying to make him accept the move of [the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant] from Ukraine to Rosatom. But I am sure he is against it. Many times before he refused to accept the Russian world and so on,” Mr Kontin said.

The plant’s president appealed to the International Atomic Energy Agency to demand the immediate release of the plant’s chief, accusing Russia of “nuclear terrorism”.

Last night in the comments several of you were asking about the importance of Lyman and what the Ukrainians had been doing to set this part of the theater, this is an excellent thread that answers some of your questions:

Cole asked me earlier today how many Russian soldiers got trapped in Lyman. I have seen estimates ranging from 1,000 to 5,000. One of the major problems for the Russians in attempting to retreat from Lyman is that one of the retreating Russian units blew up the bridge they’d been using to escape before all the other Russian military units had crossed over. As a result the Russian military trapped the Russian military in Lyman.

I think that’s enough for tonight.

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The caption translates as:

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Open thread!

 

Reader Interactions

98Comments

  1. 1.

    Another Scott

    Thanks as always, Adam.

    I just posted this way downstairs:

    Russian commentators are blaming a variety of issues or commanders for the fall of Lyman, but the primary problem is that they simply don't have the forces required to hold the current front lines and Putin is telling his military leaders they can't retreat. https://t.co/dHIAAd51aU

    — Rob Lee (@RALee85) October 1, 2022

    [rock].[hard place]

    VVP’s forces are the dot. [womp, womp]

    (via Oryx)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  2. 2.

    bbleh

    The … rottenness of the Russian military — no other word seems to fit — continues to astound me.

    Not to say that Ukrainian defense has been less than heroic, nor that western assistance less than invaluable, but … yikes!

    I think people would be less worried about nukes if they had performed more as expected.

    One wonders to what extent this was more or less known, both within Russia and in the western IC.

  3. 3.

    Gin & Tonic

    American pedophile praising russia on russian state TV:

    Depressed by Russia’s military failures, Kremlin-controlled state TV beamed in Scott Ritter to tell them how great the Russian military is doing and how much Americans respect Russia. pic.twitter.com/QS3ay19Rru
    — Julia Davis (@JuliaDavisNews) October 1, 2022

  4. 4.

    Matt McIrvin

    ruscism

    Well, that’s an interesting word that I have seen for the first time. Mr. Zelenskyy seems to have a way with them.

  7. 7.

    Alison Rose 💙🌻💛

    As a result the Russian military trapped the Russian military in Lyman.

    It’s amazing these assholes haven’t all died of embarrassment yet.

    With Mark Hamill on board as a United24 ambassador, we have some lovely Star Wars memes, including a good Fella one. Although I did have to explain that one to someone who had no idea of what NAFO was and it was an interesting conversation.

    Thank you as always, Adam. Hope you are well.

  8. 8.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Matt McIrvin: It’s a portmanteau (is that the right term?) of “russian” and “fascism” which has been in widespread use in Ukraine for quite some time.

  9. 9.

    Villago Delenda Est

    but the primary problem is that they simply don’t have the forces required to hold the current front lines and Putin is telling his military leaders they can’t retreat.

    You know, this sounds a hell of a lot like the orders of a certain would be central European conqueror of Russia to his troops some 80 odd years ago, at this obscure conurbation along the Volga.

  14. 14.

    Another Scott

    Other news happening now – AlJazeera:

    Indonesian police say at least 129 people have been killed and dozens injured after a stampede at a football match in the province of East Java.

    In a statement on Sunday, police said supporters of Arema FC stormed the pitch at the Kanjuruhan stadium in the eastern city of Malang after their team lost 3-2 to Persebaya Surabaya on Saturday night.

    Police said they tried to persuade fans to return to the stands and fired tear gas to control “riots” after two officers were killed. Hundreds of fans then ran to an exit gate in an effort to avoid the tear gas. Some suffocated in the chaos and many were trampled to death.

    “Thirty-four people died inside the stadium and the rest died in hospital,” said East Java Police Chief Nico Afinta.

    The death toll is likely still increasing, he said, since many of about 180 injured victims’ conditions were deteriorating.

    […]

    No words, except for the senselessness of it all.

    :-(

    Shocked,
    Scott.

  16. 16.

    Adam L Silverman

    @zhena gogolia: Don’t forget Patrushev.

    Let’s be really honest, there is no way Kadyrov is going to take over the Russian Federation. He’s tolerated because he keeps the Chechens (mostly) in line for Putin, but as an ethnic Chechen, he’s not going to either depose Putin and take over or just take over once Putin goes. Prigozhin on the other hand is a possibility and likely the only oligarch with the ability to do so. Patrushev is clearly the insider favorite.

  18. 18.

    Captain C

    @Villago Delenda Est:

    You know, this sounds a hell of a lot like a certain would be central European conqueror of Russia’s orders to his troops some 80 odd years ago, at this conurbation along the Volga.

    And several times thereafter, IIRC.

  19. 19.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Alison Rose 💙🌻💛: I am fine. Given where the storm made landfall and its path over and through Florida, we were barely within the outer edge of the storm. Had it been a mile or two farther east, we wouldn’t have even been within the outer edge at all. We had steady light to moderate rain and light to moderate wind with periodic gusts in the 30 mph range for about 36 hours or so and that was it. We were very, very, very, very fortunate.

  22. 22.

    Adam L Silverman

    @trollhattan: How about: “Very well made and sturdy. I’ve been able to hang 1/2 a dozen people already and it has held up to the constant use. I would definitely recommend this product for hanging macrame, plants, or, for the serial homicide enthusiasts, people.”

  25. 25.

    Another Scott

    @trollhattan: “With the greatest anticipation, I opened up the beautifully packed package – I have never seen such high quality packing, short of my visit to Tokyo about 25 years ago when I bought a beautiful small paper and wooden model of a house, and the proprietor’s helper (a young man in a suit and tie) carefully and beautifully wrapped the house in tissue paper and carefully put it in colorful paper box and wrapped it a beautiful hand-made tissue paper with a carnation-like bow.

    “My hands were shaking as I opened the package and found my newest treasure.

    “It was a unique ceiling hook, carefully made in a artisan’s workshop in Manila.

    “I inspected it and was surprised and pleased by the high quality.  One doesn’t often see such impressive workmanship these days.

    “Unfortunately, it doesn’t fit the hole I drilled in my ceiling to mount it, and in the process of drilling the hole I electrocuted myself and spent 3 weeks in the hospital in intensive care because the shock damaged my pacemaker.  The total bill was $326,823.45 which I am contesting with my insurance company, but the stress caused me to have a heart attack which was another $125,992.87 hospital bill.

    “Also, there’s a scratch in the paint.

    “One star, because Amazon won’t let me leave a zero-star review.”

    Something like that??

    ;-)

    I hope it works out!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  27. 27.

    Lyrebird

    There are some railroad enthusiasts here.

    This thread brings together more info about RU rail supply for their war efforts.

     

    h/t DCappadocia on DKos

  28. 28.

    Fair Economist

    Russian claims now of a UKR attack in the north of the Kherson region. From the map it would be a attempt to cut off the very Northern part of their position on the west bank of the Dnipro.

  30. 30.

    Alison Rose 💙🌻💛

    @Adam L Silverman: Florida is weird, man. Although y’all do know how to do flea markets down there. That was the main thing my grandparents couldn’t wait to show us after they moved there in the mid 90s. My mom and I were like “…………….why” and then they took us and we spent about four hours there, and my mother HATES shopping so that was about 3.97 hours more than she would normally spend.

  31. 31.

    justinb

    Another (not so good) update, and looking for advice. The diagnosis I was so happy about the other day turns out to not be correct. There’s been no response to treatment, and the condition has gotten worse. A pediatric GI specialist has put forward another theory that fits the facts, and the other Doctors, including his psychiatrist (which is important), and a psychologist (which is also important) concur. It is a very serious chronic condition that will require an extremely long time to reverse, with lots of work. I don’t go into it further.

    My wife is extremely upset because she partially blames herself for not being a good stepmom (which I disagree with), partially because she was so young when we got married (there’s a large age difference). She’s being very hard on herself, and I’m not sure what to do.

    M’s mom is really a hot mess. She hasn’t had a job in around 20 years, but is in a long-term relationship with a billionaire, with all that entails. M is in a high-pressure prep school that tracks to Ivies, and right now his mom is in the hospital because she fell down the stairs drunk. Before that she broke her leg skiing drunk. Before that it was some kind of weird drug thing nobody talks about. She’s an extremely stressful person, which he doesn’t need right now.

    I pay an absurd amount of alimony and child support for someone that has a house, car, clothes, and everything in life completely paid for by her boyfriend S (who is actually a really nice guy), and M’s school is paid for by S’s Mom.

    I need to know how to help my wife J understand it’s not her fault that M is sick – help?

  33. 33.

    Bill Arnold

    @Another Scott:
    Sure, the Russians don’t have the forces to hold these areas, but the angry calling-out of an institutional/governmental culture of lying is good to see (and such problems can’t be easily fixed).
    [translation] “the problem is the wide-scale lying, report of a situation being good. The system goes from top to bottom.”
    (Also, cultures of lying are vulnerable to exploitation by adversaries….)

  34. 34.

    Jay

    Don”t know if it is accurate or not, but,

    Wow.Ukrainian Defence Ministry, 30 min ago: "All Russian troops in Lyman either surrendered or dead."Thank you, God.Thank you, ZSU.— Fuat (@lilygrutcher) October 1, 2022

  36. 36.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Jay: Over at dKos, Mark Sumner noted that all the videos coming out of Lyman lack one telltale bit of data: “booms”.  No sounds of fighting, of artillery, of any sort of explosions at all.  Just really quiet.  He suggests that that means that, yeah, Lyman really is in UA hands, and the RU have scooted (or died).

  37. 37.

    Lyrebird

    @justinb: I am just hearing about this.  Best wishes to you and your kid and your wife.

    FWIW, sometimes I think blaming myself is less scary than facing massive uncertainty.

    I hope the two of you are getting some support for yourselves.

  38. 38.

    Another Scott

    @justinb: I’m sorry you all are going through all of that.

    Talking about it with J is an important part of reducing the stress.  I often try to come up with ways to fix things (I’m an engineer) when my J usually mainly wants to express herself and get the feelings out and know that I understand what she’s going through.  Express yourselves and listen and don’t immediately try to find solutions – those will come later.

    Nobody can fix other people on their own, and kids usually have a hard time at some point no matter what.  Be there for M as best you can.  People and circumstance are different and complicated but being there can be a huge help.

    I hope this helps a little.  Good luck!

    Best wishes,
    Scott.

  40. 40.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    That Civilian Convoy attack is truly a WTF? The Russians are in a bad situation, so they use some expensive missile, they have a limited number of, for a war crime that won’t help them one bit.

  41. 41.

    Anonymous At Work

    All my questions and concerns and Lyman surrenders.  “Why doesn’t Sevastopol just surrender to Ukraine?”

    So I’m guessing Svatove from the south to link Kup’yans’k along the P-07 and push east to Lysychans’k, where Ukraine bled Russian forces back in May.  Both look to be territory not easily defended due to geography.  Those look to be good lines to have to keep Russia on its toes since Ukraine has some nice interior lines to exploit, including a push south towards Dontesk and a separate front from Zaporizhzhia.

    So, where does Russia send reinforcements that would actually do some good?

  45. 45.

    Jay

    We thank the “Ministry of Defense” of 🇷🇺 for successful cooperation in organizing the "Izyum 2.0" exercise. Almost all russian troops deployed to Lyman were successfully redeployed either into body bags or into 🇺🇦 captivity. We have one question for you: Would you like a repeat? pic.twitter.com/wmPi2LJROw— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) October 1, 2022

  46. 46.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Jay:

    Would you like a repeat?

    I wonder how close to “we can repeat” that would sound in Russian.   [chuckle … chuckle … LOL]

  47. 47.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Jay: From the Ukrainian MOD about 11 hours ago:

  48. 48.

    sdhays

    @Chetan Murthy: Based on that reporting, it sounds like it was a real slaughter for the Russians trying to leave Lyman, to the point some Ukrainian soldiers have been traumatized by the horror of it.

  54. 54.

    sdhays

    @Anonymous At Work: A big problem, for Russia, seems to be that they don’t really have lots of reserves at this point. They burned through a lot in their incredibly costly and ineffective offensives and now have a very large number trapped in Kherson, which they can’t redeploy because Ukraine has the ability to prevent any major crossing of the Dnipro.

    And each major loss compounds this problem, with massive amounts of irreplaceable heavy equipment destroyed or captured, and large amounts of also irreplaceable (because Russia can’t and won’t properly train new recruits) soldiers killed, captured, or otherwise incapacitated. So each new defensive line Russia tries to create will be weaker than the last one because a bunch of people and equipment are no longer available to defend it.

  55. 55.

    Anonymous At Work

    @Adam L Silverman: He could also load them on boats to clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.  I ain’t holding my breath.  Operating from an assumption that he’s sending non-ethnic-Russians to the front without adequate supplies, where is he sending them?  Shore up NE, attack from the east, Kherson meat-grinder, etc.?

  56. 56.

    Jay

    UKR drone footage shows hundreds of Russian troops, leaving Lyman via Zarichne yesterday with their heavy weapons.Despite the Ukrainian surveillance of the massive withdrawal, no artillery or other impacts can be seen.So feel free to think what you want. I see a green corridor. pic.twitter.com/UBaGXjQMcO— Julian Röpcke🇺🇦 (@JulianRoepcke) October 1, 2022

  57. 57.

    moops

    Soldiers feeling bad about slaughtering invading troops can take the next week touring the mass graves and torture victims they are going to find everywhere in Lyman.      They will find war crimes in every town and village and city they kick the Russians out of, far outnumbering the soldiers mowed down in the fields.

  58. 58.

    Chetan Murthy

    @moops: Ukrainian soldiers are humans, and civilized humans.  Civilized humans have a natural reflex against killing other humans.  Sure, soldiers are trained to do it.  But slaughter on a mass scale is going to affect people, and we shouldn’t be surprised.

    And this holds even when the adversary they’re slaughtering has committed war crimes against their own people.  I’m not saying that RU soldiers don’t deserve it.  Rather: that UA soldiers are human and decent people.

  59. 59.

    patrick II

    @justinb:

    I will second Another Scott’s suggestion that it is not always helpful to try and find immediate solutions.  Listen carefully, show love and understanding, and be patient.

    I learned a strange thing watching the Disney show “Industrial Light and Magic” from George Lucas.  When talking with his engineers about a problem and instead of insisting it be fixed or offering specific solutions, he would instead say “well, you think about it” and leave it at that.  And with less pressure, the engineer would think about it and often come up with a solution themselves.

    So, anyhow, I also have a family member who also has had a really bad year.  And we talk, I listen with heart, say something about goals (but not too much and with no insistence) and why, and stop before I get to solutions and let them think about it.  They have been coming back to me with their own suggestions and I think we have been moving forward.

    Patience, love, space, listening.

  61. 61.

    Alison Rose 💙🌻💛

    @Adam L Silverman: Whoever runs that Twitter page is brilliant. Honestly, Ukraine’s social media/meme game has been perfection from the start. Does russia even have memes? Are they the equivalent of when Republicans try to make jokes here and we’re like, okay you do not understand what humor is.

  62. 62.

    ByRookorbyCrook

    @moops: It is not a weakness to feel humanity towards your enemy. The act says nothing about the Russians and everything about the defenders. Do not deny the troops humanity for revenge. It is too dear a cost. They are continuing to fight and I hope will continue to hate the necessity of it.

  65. 65.

    Amir Khalid

    So far the mobilisation has done the Russian military situation in Ukraine no good at all. What are the chances that Putin will quietly abandon it, and what else could he still try?

  68. 68.

    sdhays

    @Amir Khalid: Since Putin doesn’t have a reverse mode, I assume the response will be to “partially” mobilize another 300k, this time making them supply their own uniforms and weapons as well as requiring that they pay for the bus/train tickets to Ukraine out of their own pockets.

  72. 72.

    Geoduck

    Re the hook review, I guess a Satan reference would be a little over the top, maybe one of the lesser devils could get a shout out…

  73. 73.

    Alison Rose 💙🌻💛

    @Jay: Every time I watch a video of him doing this, I’m struck anew by his compassion and empathy. You can clearly tell how important it is to him to do this himself, to show support and care towards the victims’ families. There was a previous one where at one point, he was handing the medal to a man and woman, and the man was holding a tiny baby. Zelenskyy shook the woman’s hand, then the man’s…then he shook the baby’s hand. My heart practically exploded.

    The contrast between his leadership and that of the evil shitbag across the border is impossible to quantify.

  74. 74.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Alison Rose 💙🌻💛: Two different definitions of leadership:

    Vova does everything to scare, to hound, his people into fighting.  To give them no alternative but to fight.  Zelenskiyy, it would appear (and I think it’s reality) does everything to inspire his people to fight, to give them reasons to want to fight.  And to know that he is with them in that fight.

    Completely different ideas of leadership.

  75. 75.

    Jay

    She was beaten & forced to kneel, made to believe she'd be executed. "They tried to force me to learn the Russian anthem, but I refused." The remarkable bravery of 🇺🇦 teachers in occupied #Ukraine – who refused to teach Ukraine was Russian territory. https://t.co/BO23aO4QCN— Glasnost Gone (@GlasnostGone) October 1, 2022

  78. 78.

    Jinchi

    @sdhays: ​
      (because Russia can’t and won’t properly train new recruits)

    This is strangely exasperating. On the one hand I’m thrilled that Russia’s military is a disfunctional disaster and not the 2nd greatest military machine everyone thought they were. But on the other hand, part of me thinks that if they gave a damn about their own people, they might have scoped out the costs of invading Ukraine and taken a hard pass. Putin wouldn’t be demanding they hold an impossible line and he wouldn’t vent his frustrations at their failures by launching anti-air missiles at caravans of fleeing refugees.

  79. 79.

    Chetan Murthy

    via annieli at dKos:

    Plenty of things worth criticizing in this video. I won’t be doing that though. The important takeaway here is that Ukraine (and beyond just this unit) is invested in the idea that training must be continuous and close range shooting skills are INCREDIBLY difficult to train. https://t.co/6oM9ueMV4V
    — Ukraine Memes for NATO Teens (@LivFaustDieJung) October 1, 2022

  81. 81.

    Emma from Miami

    @Jay: Lord Jesus. How does he find the fortitude to do this day in and day out?

    There are people that seem to emerge suddenly to take center stage and become exactly what the world needs. He is one of the best of them.

  83. 83.

    NutmegAgain

    @Adam L Silverman: Thank goodness for the mercies we are dealt.  A couple of weird Stalin factoids–some will know, others may not–his Georgian last name was Jughashvili. He adopted Stalin (steel man). In more image-shaping, he disliked making public announcements via radio, since his countrified Georgian accent remained strong, and he sounded like a hayseed.

  87. 87.

    Carlo Graziani

    @justinb: One day at a time. Some of them will be better than others.

    If I had to take a wild guess, I’d start from the fact that your current wife sounds sane, and certainly knows that she did nothing to cause either M’s illness or his difficulties adjusting or his stress. She’s possibly distraught because she’d hoped for a role as a mother, or a mother-adjacent, with M, and feels like a failure for not being able to fulfill that role, because of the constrained conditions of your family, and because this is probably the worst possible time to attempt to establish that type of rapport.

    If that diagnosis is correct—as I said, it’s just a guess—then perhaps the right play is to try to persuade her that the right time to establish that rapport will come, but the crisis must pass first. Hoping for M to see the madness in his natural mother’s ways now that his life feels under siege seems outside the bounds of what a frightened person can be asked to see. That bond is likely much too strong.

    Assuming that he can get well—it is remarkable how resilient people who want to live can be, and how good modern medicine can be at helping them—your wife and M can eventually build up a relationship that is independent of the one that he has with his mother, and that could be more stable and durable. The fact that this has not happened now is natural, and no failure. The fact that she feels as she does shows what a good person she is, and what a good friend she will eventually be to M.

    Armchair stuff on a blog, I’m afraid. There’s also counseling, including couples counseling, which could actually deliver some real value, if you become concerned that this situation is compromising your marriage. I would not hesitate to take advantage of the option in that case.

  88. 88.

    Carlo Graziani

    To be honest, I have no idea what NLwartracker is talking about when referring to Svatove as a “supply hub for the Lyman & Kupiansk front”. The only plausible rail supply trucking hub for those fronts at this point is Starobilsk.

  91. 91.

    J R in WV

    Thanks Adam for tracking the rapidly changing and complex situation in E Ukraine! So proud of the troopers the UK people have been able to deploy in defense of their nation! Brave men and women doing good work!

  93. 93.

    justinb

    @Carlo Graziani: Thank you so much. This is very helpful, and very good advice. J picked M up the other day and while he came into the house, she sat in the car and just cried because she was so distraught to see someone she loved vomit into a bag over and over on a 40 minute car ride. M is pretending everything is ok, butt I know he’s scared as hell. Your kind words are soothing.

  95. 95.

    zhena gogolia

    @justinb: I’m so sorry. I hope the docs make some progress soon. And it sounds as if it’s something that is nobody’s fault at all.

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