“In a Friday intelligence update, Britain’s defense ministry shared that after Russian forces withdrew from Kherson, they have prioritized reorganizing, refitting, and assuming defense preparations across different areas of eastern and southern Ukraine that are still controlled by Putin’s occupying troops.
“Units have constructed new trench systems near the border of Crimea, as well as near the Siversky-Donets River between Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts” in eastern Ukraine, the ministry said. “Some of these locations are up to 60km [37.3 miles] behind the current front line, suggesting that Russian planners are making preparations in case of further major Ukrainian breakthroughs.””
I believe they might be planning more retreats. It has been common knowledge that Wagner Group has been building those defensive lines at Luhansk and Donetsk for about a month now. First I’ve heard of a Crimean line though. It might get Putin and Zelensky to the table? If Putin allows artillery, missile, and air attacks from those territories like he did consistently in Minsk-1 and 2 there will be no deal. The Ukrainians won’t fall for it this time. If Zelensky falls for that trick again he’ll be thrown out on his ear, irregardless of Western support for such a deal.
They are preparing fall back positions. They now know that they can’t hold anything really.
Can the Russians hold the Russian border with Ukraine.
Will they have to hold it?
If Putin keeps shelling and rocketing Ukraine from russian soil, then I suppose the border will have to go.
You see the talk about a drone attack on the rhs of the chernii more? It’s on a YouTube channel Crux. It’s not being reported where you’d expect.
https://youtu.be/9zwAh8cSuYo
It was widely reported when it happened some weeks ago.
Col Lang,
This is novorossisyk, that was Sevastopol:
Russian media reports indicate a Ukrainian drone attack on Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. An unconfirmed footage showing a large explosion at Sheskharis Harbor in Novorossiysk has emerged online. The video appears to be from a closed-circuit television camera system ..
From blurb under “more” under the video’s lower border.
This was a new attack. On the night of 16-17 November, an AFU naval drone attacked the Sheskharis oil harbour in the port of Novorossiysk. The damage sustained was minor and did not affect the operational capability of the facility.
I mean actual Ukrainian infantry in coordinated incursions against Russia proper.
Unlikely. Do you know what “infantry” is? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infantry pl
If Putin allows artillery, missile, and air attacks from those territories like he did consistently in Minsk-1 and 2 there will be no deal.
This is a somewhat curious statement for me, Leith. Let me paraphrase: Putin, since dictator, does control everything. Even his allies elsewhere? Is that how it works? If something happened he must have ordered it?
But more generally: The agreements were broken by Russia only? How comes I seem to recall both sides kept violating the agreement almost immediately? Reports about Ukrainian violations were Russian propaganda from the very start? Nothing else? Was SST misguided too a little at the time?
Official America did not like or support an agreement, any agreement, it felt. But especially not (European) Mink I or II.
This is a somewhat curious statement for me, Leith. Let me paraphrase: Putin, since dictator, does control everything. Even his allies elsewhere? Is that how it works? If something happened he must have ordered it?
LeaNder –
The Minsk agreements were broken by both sides occasionally. But they were broken massively and constantly by Russia and/or her puppets in spite of the Russian propaganda to the contrary.
No, Putin does NOT control everything and did not order everything. But he is/was capable of stopping violations by his Ukrainian puppets or by the Russian-born ‘volunteers’ allied with them. They were heavily infiltrated by the FSB. He never stopped those violations and claimed the violations were from the other side.
A part of the cost of our totally unnecessary involvement in the Russia-Ukraine war:
CNN: ‘It’s like living in an igloo.’ People are turning off their heat as prices surge.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/18/success/home-heating-prices
In my opinion, any resemblance between what the antiwar crowd says
and what Russia is saying
doesn’t reflect control, but merely agreement.
Two parties can agree without one controlling the other.
As to a good reason to oppose U.S. and in general Western involvement in the Russia-Ukraine war,
the above news articles gives one example out of many almost certain ones.
Keith Harbaugh,
Do you oppose our assistance to Ukraine out of the principle of nonintervention or pacifism? I can understand that even if I don’t agree with it. If it’s just opposition to economic hardship, I’m disappointed. Plus, your outrage is misplaced. There is no reason for the US oil companies to be gouging customers in the pursuit of excess profit… pure greed at the expense of struggling Americans.
There are well-known laws of supply and demand.
One of them is:
“If the supply of something is reduced,
while the demand for it remains constant,
then the price of the item will go up
until equality of supply and demand
is restored.”
Do you deny the validity of that law, and its applicability to the current situation?
The relevant fact here is the drastic reduction in the supply of Russian hydrocarbons to the West,
a reduction ultimately due to the West waging an economic war with Russia.
Blaming supposedly greedy energy companies for high prices simply distracts from
the boomerang effect of our economic war with Russia.
Regarding
“If it’s just opposition to economic hardship, I’m disappointed.”,
I can assure you that rising energy costs have no DIRECT effect on me.
My concern over that issue is due to my general concern for the well-being of Western society.
Keith Harbaugh
“My concern over that issue is due to my general concern for the well-being of Western society.”
My grace please let me know where to light for you a candle for sainthood. You be the shit, man
Keith Harbaugh,
Is this well-worn law of supply and demand anything like a law of thermodynamics or a mathematical property? It’s always written like it depends on some invisible hand or shadowy spirit that forcibly raises prices without human intervention. Horseshit! The suppliers deliberately raise the prices. If these prices are raised to keep the profit at the same level or within an acceptable level, there would be some validity to this law. However, there is no oil or gas shortage in the US. The rise in prices is a deliberate decision to squeeze more profit out of consumers.
This has some validity across Europe. Shortages in cheaper Russian energy causes the Europeans to purchase energy that does cost more to extract and transport. But this is certainly not the case in the US.
As for the well-being of Western society, I have much more concern over the encroachment of an invasive regime committing murder, torture and kidnapping on a Western society. In my opinion, to acquiesce to Moscow’s designs on a large swath of Western society is morally bankrupt.
For Keith, if the thought of a cold winter has you crying then all Putin needed to do was to say to W. Europe “Give us all of Ukraine by tomorrow or else.” You would comply?
“There is no reason for the US oil companies to be gouging customers in the pursuit of excess profit… pure greed at the expense of struggling Americans.”
Ha Ha Ha Ha that is a great line of reasoning.
What’s the level of profit that is not ‘pure greed’? Who decides that and why oh why didn’t Obama/Bush/Clinton/anyone ever do something about that in their years in office. Trump, of course, didn’t have the ” gouging customers in the pursuit of excess profit… pure greed at the expense of struggling Americans.”” trouble during his Russia Collusion years, did he? I wonder why.
TTG: “However, there is no oil or gas shortage in the US. The rise in prices is a deliberate decision to squeeze more profit out of consumers.”
…….and the suppliers can succeed at this action because the customers have nowhere else to go.
…….and they have no where else to go because:
(a) There is no source of cheap imports and,
(b) the American suppliers will sell their product overseas at the higher world price if Americans refuse to pay that world parity price.
All prices are of course adjusted for freight, product quality and taxes so they may not appear the same but they always derive from the world parity price.
Watch the producers scream ‘world parity!” and “Investment!” and “socialism!”any time someone suggests that domestic folks should get a cheap sweetheart deal.
Ain’t free markets grand?
No, they are planning for a winter offensive.