Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

Republicans choose power over democracy, every day.

‘Museums aren’t America’s attic for its racist shit.’

“In the future, this lab will be a museum. don’t touch it.”

…and a burning sense of injustice to juice the soul.

Shut up, hissy kitty!

Republicans got rid of McCarthy. Democrats chose not to save him.

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

Never forget that he train is barreling down on Trump, even as he dances on the tracks.

Relentless negativity is not a sign that you are more realistic.

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

Republicans don’t lie to be believed, they lie to be repeated.

DeSantis transforming Florida into 1930s Germany with gators and theme parks.

Fundamental belief of white supremacy: white people are presumed innocent, minorities are presumed guilty.

I’m just a talker, trying to find a channel!

Bad news for Ron DeSantis is great news for America.

I’m more Christian than these people and I’m an atheist.

Sadly, media malpractice has become standard practice.

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

Glad to see john eastman going through some things.

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

Everyone is in a bubble, but some bubbles model reality far better than others!

You can’t love your country only when you win.

After dobbs, women are no longer free.

You are here: Home / Foreign Affairs / War for Ukraine Day 537: Air Defense Is on the Job!

War for Ukraine Day 537: Air Defense Is on the Job!

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

Those who are not fighting on the frontline must help fight – address by the President of Ukraine

14 August 2023 – 20:31

Good health to you, fellow Ukrainians!

Since early morning today, I have been in Donetsk region, in the positions of our combat brigades. The 3rd and 5th separate assault brigades, the “Eightieth” airborne assault brigade, the 57th separate motorized infantry brigade, the 22nd and 24th separate mechanized brigades, the 26th separate artillery brigade, the 92nd separate mechanized brigade… I had the honor to award the best, to thank everyone – each brigade – for their bravery, courage, and results for the sake of Ukraine. Together with General Bohomolov, commander of the Soledar operational and tactical group, we talked to the brigade and battalion commanders – those who are in combat – about their frontline needs.

There is always an overall picture, there are reports on each direction, on each brigade. But it is important to talk directly to the warriors about the war experience of those who are on the ground. Today we had detailed, frank conversations. We talked about our offensive, about supplies to the troops, about the capabilities of commanders, about what these capabilities are now and what they should be.

Weapons and scarce ammunition. Repair of equipment. A pressing issue is transportation to evacuate the wounded and the time of evacuation. Drones used by the enemy: Lancets, Orlans. Drones needed by our warriors: from Mavics to every other drone system. Obviously, the Ukrainian production of drones – Leleka, Fury, etc. – as well as supplies from partners and all forms of imports – must grow, and this is one of the most important tasks. It is very important that all officials in the defense system perceive this task exactly as it is said on the frontline. Drones are consumables, and there should be as many of them as needed – as our warriors need – to save lives and ensure results in battles. There is much to be done in this area, and it is too early to say that we are doing enough.

An important topic is how commanders can manage their personnel. Motivation of warriors, training of warriors, manning of units. There are a lot of problems due to the poor performance of the military medical commissions… Military commanders should be engaged in war, not bureaucracy. We will develop solutions.

Another thing that was voiced today in different brigades.

Warriors from the frontline who come to the rear cities deserve to see and feel that these are rear cities. That people live there, remembering that there are warriors there, that our warriors here in Donetsk and other directions are fighting for Ukraine, giving their lives for Ukraine. Freedom and independence are not gained by someone there… at the front. This is a common national cause of all those who are fighting and working for victory. Everyone is at war. Ukraine is at war. And those who are not fighting on the frontline must help fight. Not in bars, not in clubs, not by street racing or some kind of ostentatious consumption, but by helping the warriors in a very specific way. To say the least of it. All the country’s adrenaline, all the country’s emotions, all the country’s strength should be there – in the battles for the sake of the state.

For the sake of Ukraine is the key principle. For the sake of something else or for the sake of ourselves will be later, when we win. And now it is defense. Now it is war.

By the way, I am grateful to the United States today for the new package. We got munitions for Patriots, for HIMARS, artillery, Javelins etc. These are much-needed supplies. We will soon be doing more work with our partners for the sake of defense.

Thank you to everyone – everyone who is constantly helping! Glory to all our warriors! Glory to our strong people! And thank you to our Donetsk region for this day.

Glory to Ukraine!

The Biden administration has announced new security assistance for Ukraine:

RELEASE
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Biden Administration Announces Additional Security Assistance for Ukraine
Aug. 14, 2023

Today, the Department of Defense (DoD) announced additional security assistance to meet Ukraine’s critical security and defense needs. This announcement is the Biden Administration’s forty-fourth tranche of equipment to be provided from DoD inventories for Ukraine since August 2021. It includes additional air defense munitions, artillery and tank ammunition, anti-armor weapons, and other equipment to help Ukraine counter Russia’s ongoing war of aggression.

The capabilities in this package, valued at up to $200 million, include:

  1. Additional munitions for Patriot air defense systems;
  2. Additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS);
  3. Mine clearing equipment and systems;
  4. 155mm and 105mm artillery rounds;
  5. 120mm tank ammunition;
  6. Tube-Launched, Optically-Tracked, Wire-Guided (TOW) missiles;
  7. Javelin and other anti-armor systems and rockets;
  8. 37 tactical vehicles to tow and haul equipment;
  9. 58 water trailers;
  10. Over 12 million rounds of small arms ammunition and grenades;
  11. Demolitions munitions for obstacle clearing; and
  12. Spare parts, maintenance, and other field equipment.

This security assistance package will utilize assistance previously authorized under Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) for Ukraine that remained after the PDA revaluation process concluded in June.

The United States will continue to work with its Allies and partners to provide Ukraine with capabilities to meet its immediate battlefield needs and longer-term security assistance requirements.

For our tank goes boom afficionados:

Or in this case a tracked mine clearing vehicle.

Odesa:

While Ukrainian air defense was successful, the debris from what they shot down still has to land somewhere. Unfortunately. The Financial Times has the details:

Russian air strikes caused a series of explosions and fires in the Black Sea port city of Odesa, marking the latest bombardment in a weeks-long campaign aimed at choking Ukraine’s grain exports to global markets.

“At night, Russian terrorists attacked Odesa with three waves of attacks: two waves of attack drones, a total of 15 drones, and eight Kalibr missiles,” Oleg Kiper, the region’s governor, said on Monday. Debris caused by the “downing of the missiles”, which were all successfully intercepted, damaged three buildings, he added.

Posting a video of a damaged supermarket on Twitter, Andriy Yermak, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, wrote: “Russians are insane terrorists.” No fatalities were reported.

The foreign ministry on Monday condemned a “provocative” action by a Russian warship that fired warning shots at a cargo vessel, as Moscow moved to reinforce a naval blockade of Ukrainian ports.

Zelenskyy, in his overnight video address, also slammed Russia for indiscriminate shelling of villages in the southern Kherson region on Sunday. Seven people including a family of four with a 22-day-old baby were killed.

“We will not leave any crime of Russia unanswered,” he said. “Our soldiers have the opportunity to restore justice to Ukraine . . . along the entire length of the front from the Kharkiv region to Kherson,” he added.

Monday’s strikes on Odesa came a day after a Russia warship moved to reinforce a naval blockade of Ukrainian ports by firing warning shots and conducting a forced inspection of a Palau-flagged Turkish cargo vessel. It was heading to Izmail, the Ukrainian river port on the Danube delta which borders Romania.

Much more at the link.

As for the Russian naval interdiction and inspection of the Turkish cargo vessel, we have video:

Kupyiansk:

Bakhmut:

Yurivka:

Kazachi Lahery:

Dmitri has some translations and analysis regarding Russian disinformation:

Russian military blogger Roman Saponkov, using an example of a small channel that boasted about Russian success in Urozhaine, explains how Russian informational campaigns try to shut down any author that attempts to tell the truth, and deliberately spread “positive news”. t.me/RSaponkov/5741

Here’s the full text of Dmitri’s tweet:

There are so many posts like this in recent days, rus mil bloggers are working overtime trying to cover the situation. You can’t repost enough of them here. It’s actually shunned by the govt so bloggers must keep reminding readers of why revealing this info is valuable- to improve the situation since so many issues exist and the mil leadership is keen on doing things as it pleases.

And of the tweet he’s quote tweeting:

Rare, sober post from RU milblogger Zhivov talking about the difficulties they are facing all along the front currently.

Some copium in there regarding available UA forces and “just hold on for another month” but that’s to be expected.

“The last days have become a difficult test on all fronts..

Kyiv actively uses terrorist methods, shelling bridges and warehouses in the rear, arranges explosions and sabotage..

It gets to the point that the HIMARS spends two or three rockets on a trench.. [

Ru soldiers] need support, reinforcement, rotation, help.”

t.me/zhivoff/10480

This is just sad and it shows how depraved Russia’s war machine is:

Here’s the full text of the first tweet:

This man is now in Ukrainian captivity, safe. Why is this person on the battlefield? Where are all the Western free thinkers, human rights activists and critics of Ukraine, why is none of them trying to stop Putin from exterminating its own population? All you care about is parroting delusional contrarian slogans and farming engagement on posts with fake beach parties in Ukraine whilst sitting in cozy homes 8,000 miles away. This is insanity…

And the second one:

A bottle of cold water is all that this person now has. Do you know what is going to happen to them next? Nothing. They will be not worthy of exchange like thousands of POWs currently unwanted by Russia, so they’ll stay at a camp wearing a robe for quite some time. They are permanently displaced, they can’t come back home. Even if they are foolish, is this what people in their later years deserve?

Regardless of what you might feel right now for Russians, this old man had no business on the battlefield at all! I’ve seen some old Soldiers, guys in the Guard who manage to stay in well past when they are safe to fight, but this is just sad. And sending this old guy just show how depraved Russia’s war machine is.

Tatarigami has an interesting assessment of a Russian armored repair plant. First tweet from the thread, the rest from the Thread Reader App.

2/ Before delving into specifics, let’s clarify the role of BTRZ-103. Situated near Chita in Russia’s East, this plant specializes in repairing and modernizing vehicles. The facility’s current emphasis centers on T-62, BRDM, and BMP vehicle modernizations. 
3/ T-62 tanks undergo complete disassembly, with engine replacements, rust removal, installation of new wiring, fire control, sight systems, and upgraded armor with ERA blocks. A contract was awarded to BTRZ-103 for the modernization of 800 T-62 tanks over a 3-year span.Image
4/ Based on satellite imagery from mid-April and late June, we observe 11 and 17 recently modernized tanks respectively, evident by distinct appearances and darker paint, a distinguishable detail from faded paint on other vehicles.Image
5/ Significant portions of the scrapyard appear relatively untouched, implying many vehicles are in poor condition, designated for last-resort storage or deemed irreparable, corroborated by recent satellite imagery and photos from nearly a decade ago.Image
6/ Despite relocation of vehicles to the facility’s interior, not all will undergo modernization, as interviews with factory workers reveal assessment for repair feasibility or potential use as parts.Image
7/ Considering Gurulev’s prior remarks, coupled with accessible satellite imagery illustrating a two-month gap and internal facility videos, my assessment suggests a production range spanning from a conservative estimate of 7 tanks per month to a more generous estimate of 17.Image
8/ These estimates, 7 to 17 tanks per month, provide a general overview of production scale, with a range of uncertainties. This falls below the Russian target of 16 tanks per month, translating to 576 tanks in three years, fewer than the stipulated 800.Image
9/ It’s important to note this facility isn’t the sole repair/modernization center in Russia. There other factories and BTRZ plants (22, 61, 81, 103, 144, 153), albeit it appears that their production scale could be even lower.Image
10/ Despite ERA blocks, the T-62’s armor remains vulnerable to contemporary anti-tank weaponry. Nevertheless, they retain utility in offering indirect fire support and presenting a formidable challenge to mobile forces attempting to advance or flank the secondary defense line. 
11/ It’s worth noting that our destruction of russian tanks currently surpasses their repair and production capabilities. Nonetheless, this threat persists for our units, particularly those with limited resources. Maintaining assistance to Ukraine is vital to keep this trend 
12/ Your contributions via Buy Me A Coffee have enabled the availability of this satellite imagery and others. If you found this thread valuable, please support by liking and retweeting the first message of the thread. Your engagement enables me to provide better materials 
A typo here. I meant to say that the goal was set at 800, and with current production tempo it won’t reach 800 in 3 years. 

The Washington Post has the grim and disturbing details of a Ukrainian Soldier taken prisoner by Wagner mercenaries during the battle of Bakhmut.

WARNING!! WARNING!! DISTURBING CONTENT!! WARNING!! WARNING!!

Wagner mercenaries were within shouting distance when the ambush began.

From the high ground, they raked a column of Ukrainian military armor below. An antitank rocket punched through Ilia Mykhalchuk’s vehicle, and the 36-year-old recalled quickly taking stock of his injuries.

They were ghastly.

Right arm: ribbons of shredded flesh. His left: pocked with shrapnel.

Mykhalchuk stumbled from the burning wreckage, fell to the frozen ground and, using his fractured teeth for leverage, tightened a tourniquet onto each of his mangled arms. Moments later, his attackers drew near, shooting him through the legs. They moved closer. Death, Mykhalchuk believed, was imminent.

“I was sure,” he recently recalled, “they wouldn’t capture me.”

Yet that is exactly what happened.

Mykhalchuk spent six weeks as a prisoner of the Wagner Group, Russia’s contract army whose savage campaign to capture the eastern city of Bakhmut cost thousands of lives over the winter and spring and left thousands more, including Mykhalchuk, grievously wounded. The Kremlin’s management of the months-long siege and its bid to force the private entity into subservience so enraged Wagner boss Yevgeniy Prigozhin that in June he took the extraordinary step of staging a rebellion, marching on Moscow in a stunning — if fleeting — challenge to President Vladimir Putin’s authority.

Mykhalchuk was freed in a prisoner exchange in April, having spent 46 days in captivity, during which he lost both arms to amputation by Wagner medics who, he said, neglected to suture his skin after the procedure. In interviews with The Washington Post, he gave a breathtaking account of his captors’ alleged barbarism and mind-bending efforts to break the will of Ukrainian soldiers they had taken off the battlefield.

Following corrective surgeries in Ukraine, Mykhalchuk was brought to the United States by a consortium of charitable groups for intensive rehabilitation. He’s now in the Washington area at a specialized facility outfitting him with arm prosthetics from a company with deep expertise treating American troops who lost limbs while at war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Mike Corcoran, the prosthetist heading the effort, marveled at Mykhalchuk’s resilience, saying, “He’s not a shrinking violet.”

Corcoran’s company, Medical Center Orthotics and Prosthetics, has provided services to 19 Ukrainians, and more of them are on the way. It’s a costly enterprise; Mykhalchuk’s arms alone are valued at $200,000. The work has been facilitated through donations from the Brother’s Brother Foundation and the aid group United Help Ukraine, which pays for housing, food, interpreters and other nonmedical needs.

It is vital for amputees to accept their limb loss and focus on rehabilitation, Corcoran said. Some of the Ukrainians he has helped have struggled, he said, and it’s clear from the look in Mykhalchuk’s eyes that his experience in Wagner captivity has taken a toll.

Before Russia’s full-scale invasion last year, Mykhalchuk previously served small stints in the Ukrainian military under mobilization obligations in 2004 and in a volunteer unit in 2015 to 2017. He was drafted in December, he said, and stationed in the east with the 67th Mechanized Brigade.

In late February, the unit drew an important mission outside Bakhmut, then the epicenter of fighting. U.S. intelligence assessments at the time revealed that Ukrainian forces were desperate to hold vital supply routes, including those stretching back to Berkhivka.

The 67th was ordered to secure part of the village. The brigade, Mykhalchuk said, is loathed by Russian forces for its ties to the far-right nationalist group Right Sector, which formed a militia following the Kremlin-backed insurgency in eastern Ukraine in 2014. Right Sector was absorbed into the Ukrainian armed forces last year, but animosity between its members and Russian forces remains. That was top of mind, Mykhalchuk said, when Wagner fighters approached as he lay immobilized. They often “kill us right away,” he added.

The Wagner attack on Mykhalchuk’s unit was so fast and violent that it had to have been planned, he said. One other Ukrainian soldier was captured along with him, he said, with dozens of others either still missing or presumed dead. A spokesperson for the brigade could not provide an official account of the incident or Mykhalchuk’s time in captivity. Ukrainian prosecutors have announced war-crimes investigations into the Wagner Group.

Wagner soldiers slipped off his tourniquets and replaced them with crude rubber tubing, tying them in knots so tight they could not be loosened, he recalled. As Mykhalchuk was moved into Russian-held territory, he pleaded for his captors to amputate his right arm. They refused to help him, he said.

Ten hours later, they arrived at a compound where Mykhalchuk would spend the duration of his captivity. He was taken to the basement, which he described as dark and poorly ventilated.

His left arm was salvageable after the rocket attack, he said, but it had turned black from necrosis, starved of blood from the tight rubber tubing. He said his captors made clear there would be no medical attention rendered until he was interrogated — which he said went on for hours.

Eventually, Mykhalchuk was sedated, he recalled. When he awoke, both arms were gone above the elbow. The people who performed the procedure bandaged his stumps without first stitching them, he said.

The interrogations were unrelenting. When he would lose consciousness, he said, he was injected with an unknown substance to keep him awake so they could continue.

His captors did not appear interested in tactical information, such as Ukrainian troop locations or other potentially useful intelligence. There were higher-ranking prisoners whom Wagner could have pressed for such information, Mykhalchuk said. Instead, he surmises that his value to Wagner was merely to be tortured psychologically. His interrogators made light of his amputations, telling him, he said, that he would never fight again, and sadistically asking questions about his fondness for fishing.

Wagner’s strategy, he said, appeared designed to undermine the Ukrainians’ values and to make them question how their countrymen would view them after release from captivity. The Wagner fighters sought to splinter the soldiers’ solidarity and, alluding to their experiences fighting in other conflict zones, showed cunning proficiency when it came to manipulation.

“They tried to make us believe that we couldn’t trust each other, and that it was a kill-or-be-killed situation,” he said. “They were just playing with us, the way a cat plays with a mouse — when he catches it before he kills it.”

The artificial limbs he’s being outfitted with give him far greater dexterity than anything he would have been provided back home. They are equipped, for instance, with bionic sensors that will make it much easier to summon the necessary power from what remains of his arms.

For the first time in five months, Mykhalchuk picked up an object. The rubber hand grasped a white bottle. He tightened his grip before letting it go. It felt unusual, he said.

He practiced learning the most important motions right away: how to bring the artificial hand to his face to eat, drink and, importantly, smoke. One important goal is to tie his own shoes, he said.

Other possibilities have become clear, too. In one session, as he and the staff discussed precision touch, his interpreter offered a suggestion. “Can you show the finger to the Russians?” she asked.

Mykhalchuk smiled.

Much more at the link!

That’s enough for tonight.

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40Comments

  2. 2.

    Alison Rose

    ALL TARGETS HAVE BEEN SHOT DOWN

    Amazing. Why don’t the russians just flush money right down their stolen toilets, instead.

    Yeah, I am sadly not surprised that the kremlin is sending senior citizens out to fight. They don’t give a single shit about any of their citizens, aside from the richest among them.

    Some nice photos from Zelenskyy’s visit to Donetsk.

    Thank you as always, Adam.

  3. 3.

    Jay

    Anton Gerashchenko
    @Gerashchenko_en
    12h
    The Kadyrov clan is turning out to be a major beneficiary of the “special military operation”.

    The amount of “material rewards” given to the ruling clan in the Chechen Republic is disproportionate to the real level of importance of the Chechen formations within the theater of war. The Kremlin tranfers assets under Kadyrov’s control as an additional “payment” for loyalty and with the expectation that these forces can be used should the Russian army be out of control (this has already been partially tested during the Priogozhin’s uprising, when it was “Akhmat” units that were sent to Rostov against the forces of the Wagner PMC). Kadyrov’s people are getting increasingly richer.

    Mariupol assets
    On 9 August 2023, Grozny and Mariupol signed a “sister cities” agreement. The corresponding document was signed the day before by Grozny Mayor Khas-Magomed Kadyrov and “head” of Mariupol “administration” Oleg Morgun. Commenting on this event, Ramzan Kadyrov did not fail to mention that it was Chechen law enforcers who “ensure the security of the Ilyich Iron and Steel Works” [one of the largest plants in Mariupol before the war].
    “Ensuring security” is only a figure of speech. In reality, it is about the transfer of key metallurgical assets of Mariupol under control of “Chechen businessmen”.

    ◾️At the end of June 2023, Alash Dadashov, the head of the Moscow fight club Akhmat, a Chechen national, reportedly became a co-owner of two companies in occupied Mariupol. These companies were created with the expectation that in the future they would qualify for state funding to participate in projects related to Mariupol’s largest industrial enterprises – the Ilyich Iron and Steel Works and Azovstal. Dadashov has ties to Chechen deputy prime minister Abuzaid Vismuradov, Chechen senator Suleiman Geremeyev, and Chechen state duma deputy Adam Delimkhanov.

    ◾️Dadashov is not the first Chechen “businessman” who “unexpectedly discovered” assets in Mariupol. For example, in early 2023, 25-year-old Valid Korchagin found himself among the owners (50% of shares) of the Ilyich Iron and Steel Works. According to journalistic investigations, Valid Korchagin is in fact the son of the deputy head of the Chechen Ministry of Construction Vakhit Geremeyev and nephew of Federation Council Senator Suleiman Geremeyev, who is under Western sanctions for his possible involvement in the murder of opposition politician Boris Nemtsov. In other words, the change of surname was probably conducted so that no direct links with the Geremeyevs could be traced. And the newly-appeared “multimillionaire” himself is a front person (since it is impossible to register property directly on themselves for people from this clan who are in the civil service).

    ❗️Mariupol assets are only a small part of what has changed owners over the past year and became part of the Chechen “economy”. In particular, a number of other companies (including Western companies that left the Russian market) are also registered to the above-mentioned Korchagin.

    🔹Danone company, which was nationalized on 16 July by decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin, is now chaired by Yakub Zakriev, a 32-year-old nephew of Ramzan Kadyrov.

    🔹 On 1 March 2023, Tabarik Kadyrov, the 18-year-old Kadyrov’s daughter, became the founder of the Irs Grupp company; she owns 99% of the company’s authorized capital. Among the activities listed are trading and 35 additional categories ranging from restaurants to property management.

    🔹Civil service offices are held by members of the Kadyrov clan, while practically all Chechen businessmen are just managers for the assets of a few key families in Chechnya. In 2018, the BBC Russian Service estimated that of 158 major officials in Chechnya, 30% are close relatives of Ramzan Kadyrov.

    🔹 The specifics of the “management” of the seized enterprises is maximizing short-term profits, without taking into account the prospects for development. For example, the first thing Chechen businesses did in Mariupol was to export scrap metal from Azovstal and the Ilyich Iron and Steel Works.

    🔹 The revenue part of the Chechen budget for 2023 is 125.5 billion rubles. More than 106 billion of them are not the republic’s own revenues, but various subsidies and grants. The annual budget deficit has been approved at almost 19.5 billion rubles.

    🔹 On May 9, 2023, Sergei Aleksashenko, former Deputy Finance Minister of the Russian Federation and first deputy chairman of the board of the Central Bank of Russia, drew attention to the fact that, according to the statistics of the Finance Ministry, in the first two months of this year “Chechnya’s budget expenditures increased by 45% compared to last year (in comparison, in neighboring Dagestan the spending increased by 17%). But what looks even more interesting is that the subsidies that the Chechen budget received from the federal budget were more than all the republic’s expenditures”.

    Conclusions:
    1⃣Chechen elites realize how much the price for their loyalty has increased over the past year and a half. Accordingly, they not only “monetize” the services actually provided to Moscow, but also raise the “price tag” for the usual “loyalist chatter”.

    2⃣ The amount of actual “tribute” from the Russian budget in 2022-2023 for the maintenance of Chechnya has grown exponentially. The amounts of budgetary subsidies are only a small part of these payments.

    3⃣ The Kremlin is forced to play along with Kadyrov, who seriously exaggerates the merits of Chechen formations in certain battles. Among other things, by transferring potentially lucrative assets in those cities which, according to Chechen propaganda, Kadyrov’s forces were crucial to capture.

    4⃣ At the same time, the Kremlin seems to only be giving those assets to the Chechens that might cause serious problems on the international level in the long run. However, this does not worry Ramzan Kadyrov’s numerous relatives much, since their “business model” is purely predatory and not designed to operate “over the long term”.

    5⃣ The participation of Chechen formations in the “special military operation” has clear signs of a “raid for prey”. Chechens receive “trophies” which, in fact, were taken by regular army units.
    Aug 14, 2023 · 8:41 AM UTC

    DEV
    @AnkalagiDevraj
    12h

    https://nitter.net/Gerashchenko_en/status/1691007091073323008#m

  5. 5.

    Torrey

    Whew! It’s hard enough to read this. I can’t imagine living through it, as the Ukrainians have to. Glad to see additional aid sent, although I always worry about the length of time between announcement and the actual arrival of the equipment.
    And for once, I’m in early enough to thank Adam for keeping these updates going. An important part of the job is knowing what to pay attention to, and I rely on Adam and the other commenters to curate the information out of the sea of what’s out there.
    And a special additional thanks to Alison Rose for finding some videos and links that provide some relief from the grimness.

  14. 14.

    trollhattan

    @Jay: ​
    Is there such a thing as a half-scale invasion? Does it involve midget troops and bunches of Kias?

  18. 18.

    Jay

    @trollhattan:

    HO Scale is most common, N Scale fits better in the progress Ruzzia has made so far in the invasion, Z Scale is the easiest to swallow and pass through your systems.

    (Trains, Carlos: ))

  19. 19.

    zhena gogolia

    @Adam L Silverman:
    Okay, not entirely inappropriate:

    Has he lost his mind?
    Can he see or is he blind?
    Can he walk at all
    Or if he moves, will he fall?
    Is he alive or dead?
    Has he thoughts within his head?
    We’ll just pass him there
    Why should we even care?
    He was turned to steel
    In the great magnetic field
    When he traveled time
    For the future of mankind
    Nobody wants him
    He just stares at the world
    Planning his vengeance
    That he will soon unfurl
    Now the time is here
    For Iron Man to spread fear
    Vengeance from the grave
    Kills the people he once saved
    Nobody wants him
    They just turn their heads
    Nobody helps him
    Now he has his revenge
    Heavy boots of lead
    Fills his victims full of dread
    Running as fast as they can
    Iron Man lives again

  28. 28.

    West of the Rockies

    You take good news when you can!  Sounds like Russia wasted multiple millions on their missiles.  Sucks to be them.

  33. 33.

    bjacques

    I’m wondering about those Wagnerites in Belarus. Will they be more trouble for Belarus than for Poland, sitting there with nothing much to do? (I presume they’re still getting paid.) Even professionals must get dangerously bored and wanting some I&I in the local village. And the lower paid Belarusian soldiers having to dig trenches for defenses must resent the goldbrickers in their midst, or vicinity.

    It just seems like trouble waiting to happen.

  34. 34.

    Jay

    @bjacques:

    most have been sent back to Ruzzia on “holiday”, there are about 1500 in Belarus with no heavy weapons “training” the joke that is the Beloruzzian army, the rest off to Africa where Shoigu is slowly taking over Wagner Operations and commercial looting there under his own control.

  35. 35.

    bjacques

    @Jay: that’s a relief. With Shoigu in charge, the Africans might have a chance, unless one of Pierogi’s lieutenants there doesn’t mutiny first.

  36. 36.

    Jay

    @bjacques:

    Nope, Shoigu is following the same path of Wagner,

    genocide to “control” the population.

    steal everything.

    Suck up to the Dictator’s while blaming “Western Imperialism” for everything.

    IS in the Sahel is going to be “big”.

  37. 37.

    cain

    I heard there are Chechen fighters in UKR fighting the Russians and then there are Chechen fighters fighting UKR. Man, these folks are just everywhere.

  38. 38.

    cain

    I miss the good ol days when Wagner was just a nice juice beverage that I used to drink in the 70s.

  39. 39.

    Jay

    @cain:

    Dzohkar Dudaev Battalion,

     

    “Remember my words: Russia will disappear when the Ukrainian sun rises” – Dzhokhar Dudayev. Chechen volunteers of the Sheikh Mansur Battalion standing in front of one of the billboards erected to thank them for their bravery and sacrifice fighting for Ukraine

    Sheik Mansur Battalion, Khamzat Gelayev Joint Task Detachment,  Separate Special Purpose Battalion,

    all of which are fighting for Ukraine, many since 2013, some even from the Georgian War. All are now part of the UAF or TDF. Some, veterans of both Chechen Wars.

    Then you have Kadarov’s Goat Fucking Tic Tok “warriors”, supposedly “fighting” for Ruzzia, but mostly looting and acting as “barrier forces” to prevent Ruzzian moblik’s from retreating by summary execution.

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