Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

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

The arc of the moral universe doesn’t bend itself. it’s up to us.

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

Nothing worth doing is easy.

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

Many life forms that would benefit from greater intelligence, sadly, do not have it.

The revolution will be supervised.

Shut up, hissy kitty!

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

The real work of an opposition party is to oppose.

These days, even the boring Republicans are nuts.

If a good thing happens for a bad reason, it’s still a good thing.

People really shouldn’t expect the government to help after they watched the GOP drown it in a bathtub.

You know it’s bad when the Project 2025 people have to create training videos on “How To Be Normal”.

This country desperately needs a functioning fourth estate.

You don’t get to peddle hatred on saturday and offer condolences on sunday.

The most dangerous place for a black man in America is in a white man’s imagination.

Hey hey, RFK, how many kids did you kill today?

At some point, the ability to learn is a factor of character, not IQ.

You are here: Home / Foreign Affairs / War for Ukraine Day 854: 4/5ths of Ukraine Is Currently Under Air Raid Alert!

War for Ukraine Day 854: 4/5ths of Ukraine Is Currently Under Air Raid Alert!

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Air raid alert map of Ukraine from 7;25 PM EDT on 26 June 2024. 4/5ths of Ukraine Is currently under air raid alert!

Quick housekeeping notes. First, Rosie is still doing well. Thank you all, again, for the good thoughts, well wishes, prayers, and donations.

Second, another long day, so I’m going to keep this short.

As you can see from the map above at 7:25 PM EDT about 4/5ths of Ukraine is currently under air raid alert. And now at 7:55 PM, all of Ukraine is under air raid alert. And as you can see in the image below, twi MiG-31Ks are inbound. Though one is partially obscured in the upper right of the map.

Air raid alert map of Ukraine in Ukrainian as of 7:55 PM EDT. All of Ukraine is under air raid alert and a MiG-31K is inbound.

Earlier today Russia hit Kharkiv again with more glide bombs.

More on Kharkiv after the jump.

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

I’m Grateful to Everyone Who Is Truly Giving Their All to Ensure Our Donetsk Region Stands Firm – Address by the President

26 June 2024 – 10:21

I wish you health, fellow Ukrainians!

I started this day in the Donetsk region, together with our warriors, together with Commander-in-Chief Syrskyi and the new Commander of the Joint Forces, General Hnatov. Today, I officially introduced Andriy Hnatov to all those responsible for defense in the Donetsk region. He is a young man, but his knowledge of the frontline and experience are exactly what is needed. General Hnatov’s task is clear – to destroy the occupier and, very importantly, to save as many lives of our warriors as possible.

Together with the Commander-in-Chief, we listened to the reports directly from the positions. I was pleased to personally visit and thank our 110th and 47th brigades – absolutely heroic and efficient men. I thanked our combat medics, the men and women who do the most important work – stabilizing the wounded, saving lives, providing maximum support. It is very touching to see such dedication and willingness to help.

Here in the Donetsk region, I held a detailed meeting on security and support for the people. We addressed many issues – ensuring the essentials of life such as water, social issues, evacuation, assistance for defense, and the restoration of housing. I am grateful to everyone who is truly giving their all to ensure our Donetsk region stands firm. There will be a separate conversation in Kyiv, particularly with officials who must be here and in other areas near the frontline – in difficult communities where people need immediate solutions. Solutions that simply cannot be seen from Kyiv. I was surprised to learn that some relevant officials have not been here for six months or more. There will be a serious conversation, and I will draw appropriate conclusions regarding them.

Glory to Ukraine!

President Zelenskyy also made a battlefield circulation to the Pokrovsk direction:

Here’s the full text of the above tweets in both English and Ukrainian:

Donetsk region: visited 110th, 31st, and 47th Separate Mechanized Brigades.

I received reports on the operational situation and discussed our actions with the Commander-in-Chief and brigade commanders. I also personally thanked our warriors and presented them with awards.

I thanked them for defending our state and for everything they do every day to preserve Ukraine for Ukrainians.

Донеччина. 110-та, 31-ша й 47-ма окремі механізовані бригади.

Заслухав доповіді про оперативну обстановку, обговорили з Головкомом та комбригами наші дії. Особисто подякував нашим бійцям і відзначив нагородами.

Дякую за захист нашої держави, за те, що ви щоденно робите для того, щоб Україна в українців була.

Kharkiv Oblast:

First tweet from the thread, the rest from the Thread Reader App:

The Kharkiv operation had three probable goals:

1. Create confusion and tie Ukrainian reserves to a secondary direction, so that progress could be made elsewhere

2. Form a “buffer zone” between Belgorod and Ukraine

3. Possibly get parts of Kharkiv within artillery range

2/ 

Russia was able to tie some Ukrainian forces to Kharkiv, but it wasn’t able to exploit the initial momentum elsewhere on the front. In this situation, Russia has to divide its forces and spend manpower on a less important area, while progress is slow everywhere. 3/Image

Ukraine stabilized the front relatively quickly and have began limited counterattacks.

Recently, Ukrainians have taken back areas in Vovchansk, Starytsia and Hlyboke, while Russians have made no additional gains. The city of Kharkiv is still far away from Russian artillery. 4/Image

The so-called buffer zone is small, and increasing it would require additional forces.

Russia has begun preparations to hold on to their gains. New satellite images reveal they’re constructing fortifications north of Vovchansk, near the border on the Ukrainian side. 5/ 

The new fortifications are 150-400 meters long trenches, built north and west of Vovchansk.

As the Sentinel images are very low-resolution, I double-checked some these from high-resolution imagery, which I unfortunately can’t publish here. 6/ 

The newly fortified zone is 2,5 km deep at most, and around 6 km wide – not very effective against Ukrainian operations towards Belgorod.

However, the work has started only recently, and it’s very possible there will be more new fortifications in the coming weeks. 7/Image

The Russians clearly do not want to lose what little they have achieved, which isn’t much to begin with. They have transferred a lot of excavators to this area, and Ukrainians have also damaged or destroyed over 15 of them. Rather heavy losses for engineering equipment. 8/ 
Russia is determined to fortify now, despite the losses. The project seems politically motivated, as there already is a proper defensive line on the Russian side of the border. It hasn’t even been tested yet, as usually border raids don’t go beyond the first villages. 9/ 
In the West, the Kharkiv situation caused a shift in the narrative. The urgency of supporting 🇺🇦 became a pressing issue, and 🇺🇦 was given the permission to strike 🇷🇺 with long-range western weaponry. One could ask, were the gains on the ground really worth it for Russia? 10/ 
The future for similar operations seems difficult. Russians might try to launch new attacks in other directions, but Ukrainians now have more opportunities to respond to such attempts. Achieving the same results in a possible next offensive is more challenging. 11/ 
There are some variables. Ukrainian losses are unknown, so we don’t know what is the price they’re paying for taking back these small border villages. Especially in the Vovchansk direction, throwing the Russians out of the villages doesn’t alter the general situation much. 12/ 

Our team at @Black_BirdGroup is looking for solutions so that we could continue publishing high-resolution satellite imagery instead of just using them internally, in order to provide more visual and fact-based analysis. 13/13

Our interactive map:

Donetsk Oblast:

Chasiv Yar:

Krasnohorivka front:

If you’re curious as to how Russia runs its subversion campaigns, this thread via the Thread Reader App provides a good example:

Nigel Farage’s claims that the West allegedly provoked the Russian invasion of Ukraine are not coming out of nowhere, and the context behind this picture from a few years ago helps understand his claims. Left: Farage, right: Nadia Borodi (Sass). 1/10Image
Borodi is originally from Ukraine, and together with her partner Oleh Voloshyn they operated an agent network in Europe on behalf of Ukrainian pro-Russian politician Viktor Medvedchuk. Left: Borodi, right: Voloshyn. 2/10Image
While still in Ukraine, and when Ukraine still tolerated (mistakenly) agents of Russian influence, both promoted pro-Kremlin politics, and actively used European politicians for their objectives. Here’s Borodi with Nicolas Bay of the French National Front/Rally. 3/10Image
Through Voloshyn/Borodi, Medvedchuk would also cooperate with the German far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD): from left to right, Oleh Voloshyn, Petr Bystron (AfD), Viktor Medvedchuk, Maximilian Krah (AfD) and Ulrich Singer (AfD). 4/10Image
One special area of interest for Medvedchuk was also the British far right: UKIP/Brexit Party (now Reform UK), and Borodi/Voloshyn actively engaged with members of Nigel Farage’s political project: Nathan Gill, David Coburn and Jonathan Arnott. Here’s Borodi with Gill. 5/10Image
Through Voloshyn and Borodi, UKIP/Brexit Party were connected to Viktor Medvedchuk’s media projects that were run by Artem Marchevsky. Here’s a panel at the European Parliament in Strasbourg in 2019 featuring David Coburn, Nathan Gill, Marchevsky and some others. 6/10Image
Voloshyn and Borodi fled Ukraine just one month before the beginning of the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Medvedchuk failed to flee, was arrested and then exchanged for several Ukrainian PoWs. Marchevsky fled Ukraine and somehow settled in Czechia. 7/10Image

Neither Medvedchuk nor Marchevsky retired from pro-Russian activism. Medvedchuk started cooperating with the Russian Social Design Agency infamous for “Operation Doppelgänger”: 8/10

And as we now know, Medvedchuk and Marchevsky set up the Russian front media organisation “Voice of Europe” that was busted by the Czech intelligence earlier this year: 9/10 bbc.com/news/world-eur…
Image

The “Voice of Europe” promotes Eurosceptic politicians, and especially those who voice ideas close to what Farage said about the West, Russia and Ukraine. Given the many connections between Farage’s political project and pro-Kremlin operatives, this is hardly surprising. 10/10Image

For those wondering about Russia’s ability to produce more tanks:

Belgorod, Russia:

Pyongyang:

Here are the details from The Kyiv Post:

Last week, President Vladimir Putin made an official state visit to the Democratic Peoples’ Republic of Korea (DPRK) – North Korea, his first for almost a quarter of a century. As part of that visit Putin and Kim Jong Un signed a so-called defense pact in the North Korean capital on June 19.

The military treaty states: “In the event that any one of the two sides is put in a state of war by an armed invasion from an individual state or several states, the other side shall provide military and other assistance with all means in its possession without delay.”

In response to that Pyongyang announced early this week that it will be sending troops in the form of a military engineering unit to support Russian forces on the ground in the Donetsk region. The troops are expected to arrive on the battlefield as soon as next month.

The DPRK has already supplied almost two million rounds of artillery ammunition, rockets for Russian multiple launch rocket systems and, it is alleged, ballistic missiles to support Putin’s forces since the two leaders met in Russia in September. The active participation of North Korean combat troops raises the specter of escalation to the conflict, especially as commentators think it will not go well for Pyongyang’s sappers on the battlefield.

Pentagon spokesperson Pat Ryder said during a briefing on June 25 that North Korean troops were effectively being sent to their slaughter and questioned the wisdom of the deployment. He said, “I think that if I were North Korean military personnel management, I would be questioning my choices on sending my forces to be cannon fodder in an illegal war against Ukraine – we’ve seen the kinds of casualties that Russian forces [have been taking].”

More at the link.

This is incredibly dangerous for Kim. If his combat engineers do not perform well it is going to be a huge black eye for him and the DPRK military.

That’s enough for tonight.

Your daily Patron!

First some adjacent material.

Rations for abandoned pets: police support local animals in Kharkiv region

Law enforcement officers are trying to help animals that have been left without owners and live under constant shelling. Police officer Oleksii Kharkivskyi joined this initiative. (https://facebook.com/profile.php?id=100041919522623)

He says that in this difficult time, when a brutal war is raging on our land, thousands of people were forced to flee their homes to save their lives.

Unfortunately, not all citizens who evacuated to safer places were able to take their pets with them.

“We, like many other people, are trying to support our four-legged friends in every way possible. We share our food with them, even when we are not very full ourselves, we give them our lunch. This is the least we can do,”
says Oleksiy Kharkovskiy.

We help everyone who needs it. Always where they are most needed….

Kyivan duckies!!!!

What did TaMara know and when did she know it?

Finally, a new video from Patron’s official TikTok!

@patron__dsns

Нагадування про те, що кожна риса твого обличчя – унікальна і прекрасна💗 #facialharmony #песпатрон

♬ original sound – raven

Here’s the machine translation of the caption:

A reminder that every feature of your face is unique and beautiful 💗 #facialharmony#песпатрон

Open thread!

Reader Interactions

21Comments

  2. 2.

    YY_Sima Qian

    @Adam L Silverman: Thanks Adam! I admit I am very surprised that KJU is willing to send troops into occupied Ukraine to fight for Putin. He must be getting a lot in return.

    This will definitely concern Beijing a lot more.

    Not sure what one engineering unit will do, though. What’s next? A Korean People’s ”Volunteer” Force?

  3. 3.

    David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch

    I count 9 male mallards and no females.  Those poor guys, its worse than prep school.

  5. 5.

    David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch

    Any thoughts on Assange.   Was this part of a below the surface exchange?

  6. 6.

    Jay

    @YY_Sima Qian:

    There was a failed NORK ballistic missile test yesterday. South Korean Intelligence thinks it was the NORK’s first attempt at a hypersonic Kinzhal clone.

  10. 10.

    wjca

    @YY_Sima Qian: I admit I am very surprised that KJU is willing to send troops into occupied Ukraine to fight for Putin. He must be getting a lot in return.

    I had the same reaction.  How much is this costing Putin? (Because, as Adam notes, there’s a big risk here for Kim.)  Also, how desperate does Putin have to be getting that he’s willing to pay that price?

  11. 11.

    Jay

    @wjca:

    How much is this costing Putin?

    Food, fuel, missile, nuclear and satellite technology at the bare minimum.

    Also, how desperate does Putin have to be getting that he’s willing to pay that price?

    The Poles have noted that at least 8 Brigades of Combat Engineers and hundreds of specialized engineering vehicles have been broken in Ukraine. ruZZia is trying to train up 5 new Brigades, but you don’t get a qualified Combat Engineer in just a year of training.

  12. 12.

    wjca

    @Jay:  you don’t get a qualified Combat Engineer in just a year of training.

    A useful reminder for us that, no matter the meatcube view of infantry troops**, an army also critically depends on specialized troops.  Troops which take time to train; and not just any Ivan off the street can absorb that training.

    ** Actually, infantry is a skilled position as well.  Incremental improvements in training can have substantial impacts on combat effectiveness.  Not sure if Russian military leadership hasn’t grasped that.   Or if their cost/benefit calculations showed that, with lots of cannon fodder (initially) available, it wasn’t worthwhile.

  14. 14.

    Jay

    @wjca:

    Or if their cost/benefit calculations showed that, with lots of cannon fodder (initially) available, it wasn’t worthwhile.

    NATO doctrine is that it takes 2 years to train up a “basic” Infantryman. 6 months “basic”, 6 months squad/platoon, 6 months Company, 6 months Battalion.

    Russia has had, since “modernization”, two “Armies”. “Contract” soldiers, (“professionals or “lifers”) and “mobliks”, (Conscripts). Contract soldiers spend 3 months in the “SMO”, “mobliks” spend at a minimum, their 2 years conscripted in the “SMO”.

    “meatcubes”, “StormZ” get at best. 6 days training and might get to fire their weapon once in training.

    It’s not like the “combined arms” ops of the ruZZian’s have worked out well.

    So “meatcubes” it is.

  15. 15.

    wjca

    @Jay: NATO doctrine is that it takes 2 years to train up a “basic” Infantryman. 6 months “basic”, 6 months squad/platoon, 6 months Company, 6 months Battalion.

    All of which is predicated on having an experienced cadre of NCOs to make all the pieces work together.  Russian military, in addition to its lack of training, lacks NCOs.

    Having been an officer, I can testify that an officer (especially a junior officer) simply cannot replace senior NCOs.  A smart officer puts significant effort into finding ways for his NCOs to pass him advice.  Especially when he doesn’t realize he needs it.

  18. 18.

    Jay

    Logo
    WarTranslated (Dmitri)
    @wartranslated
    20h
    This is a long-read story from a Russian mobilised soldier (mobik) covering the moral and psychological state of Russian mobiks in June 2024, which is marked by a pervasive loss of interest in the war’s progress and goals. This detachment stems from a protective inhibition of the psyche, as the harsh realities and indefinite service life compel the brain to disconnect from the constant stress. Soldiers have largely tuned out war news, focusing instead on mundane tasks, personal interests, and issues at home, while enduring deteriorating living conditions, increased restrictions, and growing mental and physical health challenges. Humor has become dark and cynical, reflecting a grim resignation to their situation.

    Starts here and is broken into parts similar to the original Telegram posts:

    “MPS [morale and psychological state] and everyday life in the Zone in June 2024: Part 1, loss of interest in war

    The first thing I want to start with is the loss of interest in the war and its course and goals. We just live at it.

    The basis of this phenomenon is protective inhibition of the psyche. We don’t know the exact service life, and the reality is disgusting. What does the brain do to maintain sanity? Breaks contact with the source of irritation.

    We are not interested in the progress of battles any more than they bring us news from the front. Everyone focuses on the life of their unit and the life of their closest neighbors.

    We turned off the radios with general information background.

    We don’t ask, “How’s the frontline?” – we’re just told occasionally.

    Most people do not read military telegram channels, especially those about military art and tactics. SMO news is read no more than once a week.

    We simply do our job mechanically.

    War already bursts into our lives in the form of the roar of its artillery, conversations about who and where the enemy FPV drones have knocked out on the roads, and the explosions of air defense missiles overhead. We try not to let more of this into everyday life.

    Therefore, all the talk in the news about great goals and plans, the burning of this war, usually now, at this stage, causes grins and jokes of varying degrees of viciousness. Simple example:
    – The news says that we will fight until complete victory over the hohols…
    — With whom?)) Contract soldiers are fully refreshed once every 2-3 months, but we mobikss will run out in a year and a half)) It’s time for the General Staff to think about the “army of the dead” and combat necromancers 😁

    What are we interested in instead of war?

    Firstly, people use the Internet to do housework at home. Relatives do repairs, fix cars, take children to sports clubs and competitions. Our comrades are actively involved in all this – they give money, choose building materials, select work teams, etc.

    Secondly, many have a lot of problems with loans and with relatives. Someone’s father/mother died, someone got divorced, someone’s evil aunt is trying to sue for their apartment. Or in the end, your beloved pet died or your bank card was blocked.

    Thirdly, we watch TV series, films, anime. We organize matches in “Contra”, “Heroes of Might and Magic”. Others read books.

    The fourth is everyday life. Washing, washing first of all, because you have to do a lot of fiddling with it all. Hey, our life here is similar to life in some African village – energy-saving mode of electricity consumption, constant blackouts, everything is dilapidated and flabby. You don’t have to sign up for the Afrika Korps, you can sign up for our SMO – the same as Rwanda, only from a different perspective) even poisonous reptiles in the forests are available. And Soviet architecture of the 1960-1980s as the maximum of civilization.

    ___

    MPS and everyday life in the Zone in June 2024: Part 2, “It’s not getting better…”

    …and in order for it not to get much worse, you have to work hard.

    This general two-part phrase can describe most of the phenomena around us that are characteristic of trench warfare.

    1) Let’s take the enemy’s means of destruction and the dynamics of their use. In January-May 2023, these were “HIMARS” flying to the rear, and at the front these were 155-mm Ukrainian shells.

    Then the front experienced the pain from the mass of cluster shells when it was our turn to attack – from August 2023 to the end of February 2024.

    Enemy drones made life difficult in our near rear back in July 2023. And drops from copters on positions on the front accounted for 50% of the daily attacks (17-25 per day) last October-November.

    Since last December, FPV have been all the rage.

    And what? Got better? No, it hasn’t gotten better for months, it’s just that the hohols have run out of cluster shells. But a lot of FPV drones appeared.

    There was no fracture. We joke darkly about this:
    “The goal of the Emperor’s guards is for the enemy to spend all their shells and drones on us.

    2) Living conditions.

    At first, we started living in houses in towns and cities. We rented for our own money or lived in abandoned buildings. Yes, it was dangerous. But it’s comfortable. Were they able to protect us from the waiters who passed our locations? No. Were you able to organize the placement of equipment in a smart way? No.

    We were simply all evicted into forest belts and fields. Where we built our comfort-plus dugouts for the first time. The dugout is worse than the house. The only plus is that from the air it is not clear who lives where. It got a little better. Traded comfort for safety.

    However, with the beginning of the offensive, everyone began to move and they had to hastily build cramped dugouts, or live in those inherited from other units. Over the winter it all leaked and became moldy. I had to work hard to play with minimal comfort. But it’s still worse than it was. Drones also make you hide. It has become worse compared to what it was in January 2023.

    I recently heard from one of the staff members reminiscing about how well they lived in Izyum and the surrounding area in 2022 compared to today. The story ends ironically:
    – …then, of course, we handed over everything and abandoned everything, but what a thrill it was in the houses and with freedom of movement.

    3) Supply.
    It has gotten better, but since we have moved into an area without settlements (or they have been destroyed), we have to rely on state-supplied food. Plus, due to strict restrictions on movement, there are problems with going to the shops – not everyone, as before, can afford it.

    Therefore, state-provided supplies have become better, but access to stores has become worse. Mediocre, especially compared to last summer.

    4) Enslavement.
    In January-February 2023, we drove wherever we wanted within the Zone and in whatever we wanted. We could go shopping and exchange cash so that we would have something to buy food with, while armed to the teeth.

    For more than a year, the military police and the VAI [military vehicle inspection] had firmly established themselves in the middle rear and blocked all roads leading from the front. Any departure is only according to the combat task, including with an exact indication of the weapon and the amount of ammunition. VAI officers control and report on everything, including whether the driver and passengers in the cab are wearing seat belts. Last winter, cars were detained and the maintenance documentation was completely checked – I even saw a detained BM-21 Grad at the checkpoint. Only recently were the VAI officers pushed further away, but for several months they made our life difficult.

    Naturally, personal transport could be subject to arrest. Just like the military personnel who were not registered in the combat tasks, I thought of going quickly to the store, but ended up in the commandant’s office.

    Abandonment of positions by new contract soldiers and refusals have not gone away, so in addition to restricting movements on roads, specific orders from commanders appeared to prohibit travel outside the deployment areas and regular roll calls of large units.

    There is less freedom of maneuver, and the stress from the course of service became greater. The feeling that you are serving your sentence in a prison zone, with several rings of security.

    It got worse.

    ____

    5) Complicated going on vacation.

    This is like a special case of enslavement and logistics.

    I do not know the reasons why cars from the Moscow Military District were prohibited from traveling further than Urazovo, along a short route. That is, purchasing building materials for dugouts has to be done with a triple twist (to put it without swearing).

    Added to this was a ban on MMO vacationers traveling through checkpoints in the Belgorod region. And now you have to spend at least 6 hours to leave the Zone, + 11-13 hours to get to Moscow.

    Why this was done, I don’t know. It got worse.

    6) Physical and mental health.

    For most, both have only gotten worse. I described this above and described it earlier – stress, hard life, monotonous work, alcohol, tobacco, energy drinks, coffee do not make anyone stronger.

    Lately, I have often heard mentions of the appearance of nervous breakdowns and recording of progress in mental disorders – bipolar, hysterics, fits of anger, apathy.

    Against this background, our physical education group looks like an oasis – there are already about 7 of us involved in strength training with varying degrees of involvement. The guys (and I) go to great lengths to preserve both our minds and our bodies this way. And it works.

    But the people around us are getting worse. We live from month to month – hoping to live to see a rotation, otherwise the first wave of mobs will end up with disabilities of various groups.

    7) Groundhog Day.
    It hasn’t gone away, it’s only gotten worse.

    The same wheel of worries every day: work, meals, bathing, laundry. Highlights: sports, Counter Strike match. Military highlights include the passage of an enemy drone, which is shot at by everyone who can, because it’s just boring.

    That’s all. Nothing else usually happens in everyday military life. But now we are much more enslaved, and you consider it lucky to escape from your place of confinement on a work trip (to repair a truck, for example).

    And long-term existence in enslavement and in Groundhog Day gives rise to a partial restoration of the medieval worldview:
    – Fatalism.
    — The vanity of everything that exists around.
    — Fierce work to improve immediate life.

    8) Feeling like an endangered species.

    There are much fewer of us mobs after the October-March offensive period. Our particular regiment can no longer be called a “regiment of mobs,” alas. More than 50% are new contract soldiers.

    Many new faces appeared. In neighboring parts too. One day in the spring I crossed paths with a volunteer from BARS. After the conscription service, the guy signed up to fight in a corporate PMC. When he heard that I had already served 19-20 months of mobilization, his eyes bulged – he himself only spent a month in the war)))

    Communicating with the new contract soldiers, you feel like a mammoth. The only cooler people than us are the pre-war full-time contract soldiers – they’re basically dinosaurs.

    And these are not good feelings at all. Watch Lafayette Escadrille or Aces in the Sky (1976). These are the feelings – there were 5 “old men” and 1 “young man”, and after a few weeks there was only one “old man” and one ironic refusenik.

    When you meet brother mobs, you rejoice in belonging to them. And at the same time, you acutely worry about the death or elimination of anyone you’ve lost so far.

    Last spring we buried a good friend who had been written off as “unnecessary” to the assault company. He would have turned 47 this year; we knew each other from Belarus.

    Several others were transferred due to injuries and illnesses. New unfamiliar faces appeared.

    It’s bad to feel like you’re going extinct.

    ____

    MPS and everyday life in the Zone in June 2024: Part 3, some conclusions about MPS mobs and other military personnel

    The above is our intoxicating reality, in which we have been living for 21 months now and about 17-18 months in the Zone.

    Yes, that’s exactly what it looks like. Almost no joy. Sucking vitality. Who thought that war was cool, dynamic and like in “Call of Duty”, I will disappoint you. This is exactly what it looks like.

    Remark: at the zero line, the assault troops have their own wheel of fortune – assault, injury, hospital, recovery, back into service… And so on until they lose their fitness for service in the stormtroopers and are transferred to the rear, or until death. It is almost impossible to resign under the Military Commission with the current rules for assessing the health of military personnel in the SMO – except for paying a bribe for 400K+ rubles.

    Therefore, in general, during these 21 months we have become very gloomy people. Many people’s eyes have gone dark – do you know this expression? Watch films about big wars, like the Finnish “The Unknown Soldier” from 2017. There is a mask of fatigue and sadness on the face.

    Our humor has become malicious and hopeless. I gave an example:
    – Brother, when is demobilization?
    – 100 years later. Conditions for demobilization: 50 years at the front, 50 years in the rear, marry a local Ukrainian, give birth to 3 sons, 2 of whom will be designated as new contract soldiers. And you will be allowed to send only one to Russia, but he will be raised by the state in the “Youth Army”.

    We no longer respect most politicians in all countries of the world. Of all the positive ones who have ever been mentioned, I remember only Comrade Stalin and Lenin. And normal generals, like Zhukov or Rokossovsky. Suvorov and Kutuzov from pre-revolutionary history were also mentioned.

    In conversations, there was clearly a division between “you there in Russia” and “us here in the Zone.”

    Otherwise, we’re just surviving. So the day has passed again – and to hell with it.

    From vacation to vacation.

    A note for hohols: everything described above fully applies to you. Extend this to yourself – Muscovites are not going to leave, cemeteries are replenished, then one military resource (like shells for some systems) of the NATO owners will dry up, then another. The Russian Armed Forces are slowly advancing to the west. You’re not getting any better.”

    https://nitter.poast.org/wartranslated/status/1805893444964921844#m

  19. 19.

    Freemark

    @Jay: Reading through that you also come across paraphrased  ‘ since 2014 convicts are no longer able to serve’…lol. That didn’t last long.

  20. 20.

    Jay

    @Freemark:

    Nope.

    Ukraine has also opened it’s jails. However,

    Can’t be a violent criminal,

    Need to pass a psych test,

    Have to state your motivations.

    Over 90% so far are “ruZZians killed my family, I want revenge”.

  21. 21.

    wjca

    @Jay: And then you have dedovshchina.

    Which is enough to make a person feel all over warm and fuzzy nostalgia for their least favorite drill sergeant. :-)

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