(Image by NEIVANMADE)
Slow news day, huh? We’ll get to the UnTuckering and some of its implications after the jump.
Here is President Zelenskyy’s address from earlier today. Video below, English transcript after the jump:
We are already preparing our energy sector for the next winter – address by the President of Ukraine
24 April 2023 – 19:42
Good health to you, fellow Ukrainians!
I came back to Kyiv from a working trip to Zhytomyr, we actually worked there all day.
First, there was the visit of Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas. Negotiations and signing of the Joint Declaration. I am grateful to Mrs. Prime Minister and the entire Estonian people for their clear and unwavering support of our movement to the European Union and NATO – the relevant points on the Alliance are included in the declaration.
Today, most attention was paid to defense issues, and this is obvious. Estonia is among those whose assistance to our defense is the fastest and the largest if you look at the ratio of aid to the country’s GDP. This applies to guns for our artillery, shells and weapons for our anti-aircraft gunners… Many aspects.
We also discussed decisions on weapons and ammunition that are still being implemented by our other partners in the European Union. This is the case when people’s lives directly depend on the speed of delivery and the implementation of decisions already made. I am grateful to Estonia for its willingness to assist in the relevant communication with other partners.
Zhytomyr was not chosen as a venue for our talks by chance. It is in the Zhytomyr region that a reconstruction project has been implemented, which gives Estonia the lead – the lead in how quickly what has been agreed upon is implemented. In the city of Ovruch, Zhytomyr region, the reconstruction of a kindergarten is to be completed by June 1 – with the help of Estonia. This project will be further expanded. There are other reconstruction projects as well, and I am sure we will implement them all.
It was a great pleasure to visit Zhytomyr Polytechnic and talk to the university students. It’s a great university – you can feel that they really care about students. They care about Ukraine, taking into account that the university prepares different specialists for the country.
I thank each and every one who attended the meeting at the Polytechnic, who asked questions and who responded sincerely to the answers. It was a nice, energetic communication. This is exactly what we are fighting for for the whole of Ukraine – for all our children, all Ukrainian students in every part of our country to feel free, enjoy freedom, get an education and realize themselves in life as they want. And this will happen. Ukraine will defend its freedom.
I also held a special coordination meeting in Zhytomyr with all those responsible for the region. We discussed in detail the security, economic and social situation in the region. We have made decisions, in particular, to restore the energy sector after the Russian strikes. We are already preparing our energy sector for the next winter.
There are also decisions on educational infrastructure – the Minister of Education and Science took part in the meeting today. Of course, we will help our regions, and Zhytomyr region in particular, with school buses.
Special attention was paid to the border. There was a report by the Head of the Zhytomyr Regional Military Administration and the Head of the State Border Guard Service. We talked about the protection, arrangement of the border, and the situation in general. I am grateful to everyone who ensures the strength of our state border.
And by the way, I would like to recognize our border guards today – those who, together with all the defense forces of our country, are defending Ukraine on the frontline. There is much to thank them for. Luhansk and Kramatorsk border guard detachments – thank you, soldiers, for your steadfastness in Bakhmut! Lutsk border guard detachment – thank you guys for your strength in the Avdiivka area! Kherson and Berdyansk border guard detachments – thank you for the successful completion of tasks in the south of our country. Well done to all of you!
Glory to all our warriors who are now in combat, at combat posts, on combat missions!
Thank you to everyone who helps Ukraine defend itself against Russian evil!
I thank Zhytomyr for today.
Glory to Ukraine!
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense posted this update from Colonel General Syrskyi:
Bakhmut:
368-9. E Bakhmut.
Earlier ATGM strikes by 93rd Bde's 'Mechanic's' group.
1) Unclear target: 48.603949, 38.029954 (same compound as twt 199)
2) New Ural loss: 48.601171, 38.021325
3) Unclear AFV: 48.613095, 38.025310
4) T-72B3 earlier recorded in twt 296.https://t.co/sQxCCRV2RF— Dan (@Danspiun) April 24, 2023
370. Bakhmut.
Staying with 93rd Mechanised Brigade, film of their artillery working somewhere in the Bakhmut area.
A very accurate artillery strike right between two Russian soldiers. No chance of surviving that.
Film released 21/04.https://t.co/ittGFfvZ9W pic.twitter.com/qBVHZLjt7v— Dan (@Danspiun) April 24, 2023
372. SW Bakhmut/Korsunskoho St.
Just east of 59 Korsunskoho St (tweet 371), a 93rd Mechanised Brigade drone observes Wagner in two windows in the neighbouring east-facing block (24 Ivana Ivkina Street). Again by the level of damage to the other blocks, this is likely from March. pic.twitter.com/LgcmBpacGV— Dan (@Danspiun) April 24, 2023
Kherson:
"I want everyone to understand: when the front line passes through such a wide and powerful river as the Dnipro, overcoming such an obstacle is a very difficult task. That's why even the best students of the Institute for the Study of War need to be patient," Humenyuk said.
😉 https://t.co/4EDSsx9ipE pic.twitter.com/JLcr3NXn8N
— NOËL 🇪🇺 🇺🇦 (@NOELreports) April 24, 2023
Awkward!
Also Kherson:
/2. The destroyed vehicle is presumably identified as GMZ-3, an armoured minelaying vehicle. Link – https://t.co/XmrAd5jCRR
Plus an illustrative video of how this vehicle works. pic.twitter.com/jn4ZscEFGv— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) April 24, 2023
Rovenky, Luhansk:
/2. The moment of the attack of Ukrainian UAV on Russian oil depot in Rovenky, Luhansk region. pic.twitter.com/suZB4NcWz0
— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) April 24, 2023
Russian occupied Sevastapol:
Russian officials in occupied Crimea said there was a drone attack in Sevastopol at 3:30am. Footage shows Russian air defenses firing into the air. https://t.co/3xdb5kQyzdhttps://t.co/WRB1dtuMz4https://t.co/TyuqPLHK13 pic.twitter.com/9uimh64ceS
— Rob Lee (@RALee85) April 24, 2023
***BREAKING***
New details of #Russia's elaborate defenses at Sevastopol. These have been enhanced in past few days, then tested this morning by Ukrainian maritime drones#OSINT
Nod @COUPSURE https://t.co/opSDKEUzZd— H I Sutton (@CovertShores) April 24, 2023
From H. I. Sutton at Naval News:
Today’s attack on Sevastopol harbor by Ukrainian maritime drones (uncrewed surface vessels armed with explosives) will make headlines. And rightly so. Yet there is an aspect which could easily be overlooked; this time none of Ukraine’s drone’s appeared to penetrate the harbor. The attack comes as Russia undertakes a massive effort to increase the harbor’s protection against these attacks.
The entrance to Sevastopol harbor is now protected by no less than 6 layers of physical barriers. This adds to the patrol boats, helicopter patrols, anti-diver dolphins and gun emplacements.
Local Governor, Mikhail Razvozhaev, announced on social media that the attack occurred at 3.30am. He stated that one maritime drone was destroyed and that a second exploded on its own. His wording appeared to confirm that the attackers did not penetrate the harbor.
Sevastopol is the main naval base for the Russian Navy in Crimea. Although there have been efforts to disperse key assets to other bases, such as Feodosia, major warships remain there. It therefore remains a key target for Ukraine, especially as any planned counter-offensive takes place.
The original floating booms across the harbor entrance were as much for containing oil spills as preventing some form of attack. Indeed, the threat of Ukrainian attacks with surface vessels must have appeared both old fashioned and highly unlikely to the Russians at the start of the Invasion. However the pre-existing floating boom was occasionally closed to prevent unauthorized boats entering.=
However in October 2022 Ukraine pulled off an impressive maritime drone attack on Sevastopol. Several ships were hit although none sustained lasting damage. However it revealed the ineffectiveness of the old defenses. In November more heavy boom defenses were added, both at the harbor entrance and at various locations inside the port. The beefed-up defenses appeared more serious, the sort of thing many would have imagined at the beginning of the war.
Yet on March 22 2023 Ukrainian maritime drones struck again. Again they did not score a major hit, but they did once again penetrate the inner harbor. These latest defenses are likely in response to this. Two more layers of floating nets have been placed on the outer side of the harbor entrance. And a row of six large pontoon barges have been anchored just inside the entrance. These in effect extend the harbor wall, narrowing the entrance. It is likely that additional obstacles are strung between them.
Analysis of radar satellite imagery shows that the pontoon barges started to be positioned between April 3-9, and have grown since. They are now on both sides of the harbor entrance.
Much more at the link!
Russian occupied Crimea:
You can find a map and high resolution imagery of Russia's fortifications in Ukraine here: https://t.co/JGlYbCrrUE
— Brady Africk (@bradyafr) April 23, 2023
The Ukrainian officer who tweets as Tatarigami has an interesting thread explaining a new Russian tactic, technique, and procedure (TTP):
🧵Thread
1/ Another noteworthy development in the ongoing invasion is the reported use of anti-thermal blankets/coats by russian soldiers in close proximity to Donetsk. pic.twitter.com/ho2NuX3l7Z
— Tatarigami_UA (@Tatarigami_UA) April 24, 2023
3/ A video previously published on a russian Telegram channel allegedly demonstrates the effectiveness of the product, displaying how a soldier can remain undetected under the anti-thermal blanket. pic.twitter.com/eD2Qyq8i7m
— Tatarigami_UA (@Tatarigami_UA) April 24, 2023
5/ It is doubtful that the enemy can supply these anti-thermal blankets/coats on a significant scale. Nonetheless, even if they can only be utilized by small groups or sniper teams, they still pose a potential threat.
— Tatarigami_UA (@Tatarigami_UA) April 24, 2023
Lithuania:
Lithuania, constantly threatened with invasion, was kind enough to donate many of its weapons systems to Ukraine. We will never forget this generosity. 🇺🇦 🤝 🇱🇹 pic.twitter.com/4dYW1Q5ZBO
— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) April 24, 2023
As I’m sure you all know Tucker Carlson was fired today. Here’s how that played on Russian state owned and controlled media:
Russia’s biggest propagandist, Vladimir Soloviev, shared this email to Tucker Carlson following the news of his firing pic.twitter.com/wElXM8iC37
— Kyle Walter (@KyleWalter_) April 24, 2023
Here’s the actual screen grab, which was posted in English by Soloviev on his Telegram channel:
Almost too predictable.https://t.co/RzybPn7gLl pic.twitter.com/ebm0wENa6Q
— Julia Davis (@JuliaDavisNews) April 24, 2023
And here’s an interesting post by an investigative journalist in Budapest:
In the US, the two people Viktor Orbán invested in – and betted on – were Donald Trump and Tucker Carlson.
Hungary contracted a company for DC lobbying where Tucker’s father is a director, then flew Tucker to Hungary to speak at a government-funded organization’s event.… pic.twitter.com/6GgqcJMYVK
— Szabolcs Panyi (@panyiszabolcs) April 24, 2023
Here is the full text of the tweet:
In the US, the two people Viktor Orbán invested in – and betted on – were Donald Trump and Tucker Carlson.
Hungary contracted a company for DC lobbying where Tucker’s father is a director, then flew Tucker to Hungary to speak at a government-funded organization’s event.
Meanwhile, Orbán and his people received tons or airtime and praise from Tucker on Fox News – and everyone seemed happy.
So happy that Hungary’s government even sacraficed bilateral relations with the US administration in favor of courting Trump and Tucker. And bracing for a radical right-wing shift in US politics.
In 2022, they betted on a landslide win for the Republicans in the midterms, and on Trump’s subsequent return – plus on Tucker remaining as influential as ever.
This genius strategy, of course, costed millions for us, Hungarian taxpayers, through the lobbying contracts and other money flows using Hungarian front organizations, think tanks and GONGOs.
Finally, a quick follow up to last night’s news of China’s ambassador to France going off script. The BBC has the details:
China has distanced itself from the remarks of one of its envoys who questioned the sovereignty of Ukraine and other former Soviet countries.
Paris ambassador Lu Shaye’s comments last week caused widespread outrage, leading on calls to Beijing to clarify.
On Monday, China’s foreign ministry said it respected the independence of all post-Soviet republics.
China is a major ally of Russia and has not condemned President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine last year.
It sees itself as a major player in attempts to bring peace to Ukraine, but has become an increasingly important trading partner for Russia amid Western sanctions prompted by the invasion, and many in the West doubt its impartiality on the issue.
In an interview for the French LCI network last week, Ambassador Lu was asked China’s view of the status of Crimea which Russia annexed in 2014.
The interviewer argued that under international law the region was part of Ukraine.
Mr Lu responded by suggesting that the issue was not clear cut, and that countries such as Ukraine could not rely on international law to defend their sovereignty.
“Even these former Soviet countries don’t have an effective status under international law because there is no international agreement under international law to concretise their status as sovereign countries,” he said.
President Putin has frequently challenged Ukrainian independence. In a speech days before the start of Russia’s invasion last year, he denied Ukraine had any “real statehood” and said the country was an integral part of Russia’s history and culture.
On Monday Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning rejected Mr Lu’s position, saying Beijing respected the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all countries and upheld the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter.
She said that while “the Soviet Union was a federal state and had the status of an entity of international law in its entirety in foreign affairs… this does not deny the fact that each member republic of the Soviet Union has the status of a sovereign state after the dissolution of the Soviet Union”.
Later the Chinese embassy in Paris said in a statement quoted by AFP that Mr Lu’s remarks were a personal point of view and should not be over-interpreted.
Three Baltic countries, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, have summoned China’s representatives to clarify Mr Lu’s comments.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said, quoted by AFP, that the diplomats would be asked to explain if the Chinese position had changed on independence and reminded that “we’re not post-Soviet countries but we’re the countries that were illegally occupied by Soviet Union”.
The three countries were seized by the USSR in 1940 and only achieved independence in 1991 as it was collapsing.
Other European Union foreign ministers condemned the remarks, and were set to discuss them at a meeting of the 27-member bloc on Monday.
Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhaylo Podolyak also questioned Mr Lu’s interpretation of international law and described his take on Crimea as “absurd”.
“If you want to be a major political player, do not parrot the propaganda of Russian outsiders,” he said on Sunday.
More at the link!
That’s enough for tonight.
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Open thread!
Mathguy
This interview of a Ukrainian solider is incredibly powerful.
[And it’s from FTFNYT! Journalism happened there for once.]
Thanks again, Adam, for all the work you do to keep us informed about the war.
Urza
Didn’t Ukraine use yoga mats or something similar to this anti-thermal blanket early in the war? Seems like Russia is just finally getting smart enough to catch up.
sab
1986-1991 Reagan appointed Tucker Carlson’s father as head of Voice of America, and now his company lobbies for Victor Orban. I am surprised, but I wonder now why I am surprised. Surfeit of naivite.
Mallard Filmore
Is that normal, to use an artillery shell for only 2 soldiers? I always thought a larger crowd would be needed.
Jay
Y’know, back in the 80’s, we used “space blankets” to block thermal imagers,…….
Anonymous At Work
As always, thanks for taking the armchair brigades questions to help us understand things.
Prigozhin in the news again clarifying that he wants Russia to go defensive, outlast the next UA offensive and then attack again. While it makes perfect sense to anyone connected with reality, is there even room for an “I told you so” faction in the Kremlin? His every statement recently seems like he wants to know what pavement tastes like at the end of a freefall.
Chris Johnson
@Urza: ‘anti-thermal blanket’ is not really high tech or hard to get. Those are nothing but ‘space blankets’, silvered mylar. Cold weather survival equipment. You can get them for like a buck, if that (at scale, surely cheaper) and fold a whole blanket into a ziploc bag the size of a pack of playing cards.
Sucks. Well played, and make them work for it. The problem here is that this is a very, very low tech and low cost answer to thermal imaging cameras. They would blow away easily and aren’t very manageable, being almost weightless, so it’s not like they’re super easy to use for this purpose.
As for Tucker, I think the condolences from Russia are snark. Sure, dude, you should totally run for President! Like the last guy we ran for President who was not you, and who we are still helping to run even now (and not you) knowing full well that he isn’t going to win, because it’s really about ruining your country and he was always supposed to lose! But sure, you should totally run. Wouldn’t that be weird, ha ha.
All the Russian spies hate each other SO much. It’s kind of amazing. You can watch Tucker and Trump having a recent interview and watch them trying so hard to not bite each other’s faces off, because they’re both still trying their best for Russia as it declines and fails…
Chris Johnson
@Jay: Beat me to it. That’s all this is.
Mike in NC
Carlson will be winging his way to Moscow before Friday, where his new show will be on Russia Today.
Adam L Silverman
@Anonymous At Work: No.
What Putin’s strategy seems to be is what I posted about the other night: hold on long enough for the 2024 election in the hope that the GOP retake the White House and hold at least one chamber of Congress so that the US switches sides in the dispute.
Whether or not that’s a smart strategy remains to be seen.
Anonymous At Work
@Adam L Silverman: Whether or not that’s a smart strategy by Putin remains to be seen, but it does mean that positioning yourself before then seems stupid. Trump wins, and the naysayers take a balcony dive. Biden wins, and the disloyal take a balcony dive. Since both groups are the same, why try to do anything but be a ‘da’-man?
Jay
@Chris Johnson:
it’s actually Refectix, (bubble pack and mylar) sewn into a blanket, turned into a serape, (not a poncho, no hood).
Back in the day, we took the horrible but warm olive green wool issue blankets, sewed up 3 layers with 2 space blankets in between, and a layer of netting on top. One could stick assorted weeds from the garden, stick them in the netting, and it weighed enough and was long enough to hide the whole body, cover a slit trench or cover a firing position.
ISIL went so far as to build a frame over tanks, and drape similar cloth and mylar strips to hide a whole tank.
Geminid
I thought the afermath of last October’s drone strike on Sevastopol harbor said something about the balance of power in the western Black Sea. Immediately after the attack, Russia declared that Ukraine had taken advantage of the shipping lanes protected by the Black Sea Grain Deal, so they were suspending further grain shipments.
Within 24 hours, Turkiye announced that another grain convoy was sailing, and their President stated that he considered the continuation of the program a matter of Turkiye’s “vital interests.” Then his Minister of Defense said the same thing.
I don’t think Russia said much after that. They certainly didn’t do anything to the convoy or the ones after.
Gin & Tonic
I’ve been off-line, attending to family business. Anything new happen?
Jay
Not much,
Assorted smoking accidents in Moscovia,
A UA drone crashed near Moscow,
Sea drone attack on Sebastapol again,
Larov ran away from the UNSC meeting,
Bakhmut still stands,
Gin & Tonic
@Jay: Bad linkies there.
Gin & Tonic
So, as it has been nearly 32 years since the USSR has ceased to exist, at what point do we agree to stop saying “post-Soviet”? Is there anyone who needs to hear “post-Soviet republic of Estonia” as opposed to plain “Estonia”?
Chetan Murthy
@Gin & Tonic: For the Eastern European countries, I prefer CEE. That doesn’t take in those countries in Central Asia, sigh.
Omnes Omnibus
@Gin & Tonic: Well, Tennessee just declared Racist Traitor Appreciation Month (or something like that) if that is any kind of guide.
Gin & Tonic
@Omnes Omnibus: So next week I am going to a family event in the former British colony now known as “Virginia.”
Gin & Tonic
@Chetan Murthy: If someone says “Kazakhstan,” for instance, is any additional clarification necessary?
Roger Moore
@Gin & Tonic:
Calling something the “post-Soviet Republic” seems like it is only a worthwhile description if you’re a historian comparing the pre-WWII Baltic countries with the post-Cold War versions. Otherwise, it’s just a sign you’re an old whose brain is having trouble adapting to the Cold War being over.
oldster
The drone attacks on the Sebastopol harbor do not have to penetrate the defenses in order to be effective.
They are effective if they pin the ships inside the harbor and make it unsafe for them to leave.
That way, the ships are all huddled together in port when the rockets come in. It’s much easier to nail them when they are tied up to a dock than when they are loose in the Black Sea.
So, let the fascists add more harbor defenses. All of them reduce the chances that their ships will escape.
Chetan Murthy
@Gin & Tonic: Indeed, you’re 100% right. I think some are looking for a group noun for all the countries that used to be under the Russian yoke. And for those in Europe, we have a reasonable term: “CEE countries”. But for those in Asia, we don’t, is all I’m saying.
In any case, yeah, saying “former Soviet Union” is like saying “former Nazi conquered territory of France” in …. 1975.
Omnes Omnibus
@Gin & Tonic: To be fair, it was called Virginia as a colony as well.
Chetan Murthy
@Omnes Omnibus: obligatory https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13RhSc-DaOI&t=2s
Gin & Tonic
@Omnes Omnibus: Thank you for pointing that out.
Omnes Omnibus
@Gin & Tonic: I do try to be of service.
Adam L Silverman
@Gin & Tonic: Nope, slow news day.
Bill Arnold
@Mallard Filmore:
Unless it was a PGM, it was not an accurate shot, it was a lucky shot. Artillery (unless PGMs are being used) is a statistical weapon.
Unless you’re a gunnery sorcerer who can [bend probability], like Roach: Apocalypse Now (1979) — The Roach (Youtube, 1:50)
Adam L Silverman
@Jay: I fixed the embed for you. I’m not sure what you’re doing, but every so often you put code in to embed and it’s a mess.
Here’s the embed with the video for people that don’t want to click through:
The Pale Scot
Especially if they are drunk
Adam L Silverman
@Gin & Tonic:
The Pale Scot
My friend was an officer in charge of an artillery battery. The crew of one tube practiced “black magic”, I asked him about it.
“They had the highest accuracy rate in the regiment…… The guy I replaced drove his jeep off a cliff…. He had decreed no black magic in the ranks, and thrown their shit out….. Some kind of holy roller. I made a command decision
Omnes Omnibus
@The Pale Scot: It’s not magic. It’s love.
“Artillerymen have a love for their guns which is perhaps stronger than the feeling of any soldier for his weapon or any part of his equipment.”
S.L.A. Marshall
Gin & Tonic
@Adam L Silverman: Thanks, that’s good to hear. It’s been a long day.
YY_Sima Qian
The statement by the Chinese MFA spokesperson & that posted on the website of the Chinese Embassy in Paris are probably as far as the Chinese government will go publicly in terms of rebuking Lu’s claims. The CCP regime is allergic to publicly owning up to its mistakes & embarrassments, it is incapable of outright stating: “Lu screwed up, it is embarrassing, sorry about the confusion!”
I do think Lu’s days as ambassador to France (or anywhere else) is numbered, & will probably be recalled after a “decent” interval. Since the Chinese government has publicly disavowed statements he made on national TV, on a matter that is pretty black & white, he no longer has credibility as an interlocutor for his foreign counterparts. The European demands for clarification are entirely natural, the foreign ministries of the Baltics & Ukraine in particular delivered some real zingers, all well deserved. When you let the “Wolf Warriors” loose, you have to expect the blow back, & Lu has been an outlier even among “Wolf Warriors”, & posted to an important capital at that!
I seriously doubt any of the European states really thought China was signally a policy change. However, there was much kvetching among the European commentariat concerning EU disunity vis-a-vis China, in light of Macron’s comments on the way back from Beijing (& Sanchez’s, Spanish PM, comments in China). This was an easy & cost-free opportunity to demonstrate unity & push back. The fact that virtually none of the well established Western analysts on China (ones w/ deep expertise) felt the need to comment on the brouhaha is indicative that this was a storm in a tea cup. These people spend a lot of their time parsing what the Chinese leaders & government documents say or suggest. The most heated & overwrought commentaries have been from generalists who recently shifted focus to China, to get in on the grift opportunities presented by the Great Power Competition(TM).
As relations became increasingly fraught w/ most of the West from the late 10s on, Xi & the CCP regime encouraged Chinese diplomats to be unapologetically combative in pushing back against Western narratives/criticisms/accusations against to the CCP regime or China, & have tended to promote people who are most pugnacious (as opposed to effective) in so doing. Such “Wolf Warrior” diplomacy invariably lead to negative reactions in Western countries, but also invariably lead to domestic cheers, & from many Global South countries as well. Lu himself has explicitly stated that everything he says have foreign & domestic audiences, & the domestic audience is equal or more important to him. Since China’s reopening Xi has been looking to change tack, Chinese diplomats are now required to both push back hard against Western criticism & putting on the charm, & some of them do not appear to have the dexterity to walk the tightrope.
Chinese bureaucrats tend to perform better, either from the regime’s perspective or from an objective one, when there is very clear guidance/direction/objective, & they just need to execute toward that direction w/ single minded focus. Many of them become either paralyzed or confused when there are conflicting goals requires balancing tough trade offs to achieve, or are impossible to reconcile. This dynamic is particularly salient in execution of domestic policy.
Tony G
Weekdays at 9PM on Russia Today: The Tucker Carlson Show
NutmegAgain
“anti-diver dolphins” JFC, every little thing you hold up to the light that the Russkies are doing makes them look like shitheads. Actively involving dolphins in their warfare. Monsters, they are monsters.
Jay
@NutmegAgain:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_marine_mammal
The US Navy uses dolphins and sea lions as well,……
Carlo Graziani
@YY_Sima Qian: I’ve learned a great deal about how to think of China from your commentaries.
RaflW
I heard on the BBC news show on PBS this evening that the Wagner Group is thought to be a funder of one of the factions in the Sudan conflict.
Yet another reason that the US is right to be assisting with arms and aid in Ukraine. The Russians are a globally destabilizing force and need to be contained/pushed back where possible.
Chetan Murthy
@RaflW: I read someplace that Wagner takes gold out of Sudan, giving in return military services (and, I suppose, some $$). That seems to be an M.O. of Wagner everywhere in Africa: take control of some mineral or other extractible resource, in exchange for providing military support to the local authoritarian/tyrant.
Mallard Filmore
While mindlessly trying to dispell my boredom by selecting videos that YouTube thinks I might like, I blundered into this one:
https://youtu.be/4SGn-6lQz0g
title: “The 1St Stage Of The Ukrainian Counteroffensive Has Begun. Military Summary And Analysis 2023.04.24”
The presenter goes through some maps that show battle activity, and describes some possible scenarios for Russian advancement. As if the RU military still had it in them.
But that’s not what caught my attention. The video starts off with map markers for drone action around the Moscow area. UA drones, carrying explosives, have crashed around that city because … not shot down, but they ran out of fuel. He speculates that the drone operators were hunting for a High Value Target.
Makes me go “Hmmmm”.
Mallard Filmore
The UA is expanding their control of the marshy island south-east of Kherson brushing right up next to Oleshky.
https://youtu.be/ky5RavcKx4s
title: “Ukraine Lands On Left Bank of Dnipro River, Threatens Stronghold | April 24th”
Warning: this channel is an aquired taste, and those with a deep emotional investment in the war activities may be turned off by it.
Geminid
@Chetan Murthy: There is also the factor of a prospective Russian naval base on Sudan’s Red Sea coast. This conflict seems on its face a simple power struggle between two warlords, one heading up the Sudanese Army and another leading the paramilitary Rapid Support Force. But the projected Russian base could be an underlying issue between the two groups’ foreign sponsors.
The Rapid Support Force is the outfit more closely aligned with the Wagner Group.
@RaflW:
YY_Sima Qian
@Carlo Graziani: Glad that I have been helpful!
EmbraceYourInnerCrone
@Jay: yes they do