When you have valuable raw materials to offer, trade will always occur.
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Especially when two of the most populous countries want it all. (Raw materials i mean)
And other nations under sanctions also want those resources. 2 nations, both under sanctions, have no incentive to follow the sanctions when it comes to trade between them.
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and yet today…
Shoigu fired!
He was doing such a great job!
Military campaign season is definitely upon us in Ukraine. The big surprise seems to be the Northern push towards Kharkiv. It seems to have caught Ukraine off guard. I’m not sure yet if it is an actual new axis of attack, or just a feint in force to draw forces away from the middle sector. Either way it has shown a weakness in Ukraine’s line of defense. At least one of the regional defense units broke and abandoned their positions on the border at the start of this attack. Now the Ukrainians have withdrawn from more positions and are falling back in the face of the Russian assault. It seems that the Russian forces are trying to close to within tube artillery range of Kharkiv. If they can get in range they will level Kharkiv, the same way they have leveled every other urban area, big and small. They use the disruption of fleeing civilians as part of their battle plan both for tactical reasons to clog the MSRs and for strategic psychological attacks on the Ukrainians.
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I think the success of the Russian advance is a bit overblown. Ukraine never intended to defend at the border, their defensive works are further back due to it being impossible to build them closer under fire. I think they have pulled back faster than thy intended, but I don’t think there was ever any intent not to pull back.
At least he didn’t accidentally fall out of a 20th story window … 
It is too early to tell exactly what is the actual Russian objective for the attack North of Kharkiv. Ukraine does seem to have been caught off guard by it. My initial thought has been a feint in force, to draw forces, including reserves, away from the battle further South. But putting Kharkiv within tube artillery and glide bomb range would be a devastating development for Ukrainian morale.
This Russian advance should not be a surprise. Media reports have been warning about a possible offensive in the Kharkiv area for months, and the Russian government has been talking about creating buffer zone to prevent Ukrainian shelling of Belgorod. Here is an AP report from mid April:
Ukraine reportedly spent about $170 million on defenses in the area, but they were never built. Instead corrupt officials appear to have just pocketed the money. Did the big guy get his 10%?
When you find a clue about military operations, other than what you are told to say by others, feel free to get back with rest of us.
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Have you visited the front lines?
Or are you assuming that war with Russia is just like another war with Iraq?
Go pout somewhere else. I’ll put my 13 ribbons (representing 29 awards and service accomplishments) and combat service bars against your keyboard commando opinions anytime, any where. Afterall, I actually have a DD 214 documenting my service record.
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Thank you for your service.
My observation is that the US has not fought a near-peer adversary since the Korean War. In that war, Chinese “volunteers” with Soviet air support forced the US and its allies to retreat from the Yalu River to the 38th parallel. The war ended only when Eisenhower threatened to use nuclear weapons, and the US had overwhelming nuclear superiority at that time.
People who actually worked on preparations to fight the Soviets in Europe during the Cold War are some of the few in the US military who have any real experience of any relevance to the war in Ukraine. Here is what one of those people had to say at a recent meeting of the Council on Foreign Relations:
Bill, just stop. I’m a Cold War veteran. A retired Army Intelligence senior NCO, with a focus area on the Soviet Union and the Red Army. The tripe you post isn’t going to change what my training and experience lead me to see in the reports.
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If the AP was warning about a likely Russian offensive in the Kharkiv area based on reports from Ukrainian officials, how could it have been a surprise to the government in Kyiv?
Some officials and analysts warn it could be a concerted effort by Moscow to shape conditions for a summer offensive to seize the city . . . Moscow is patiently escalating until — it hopes — Ukrainian resistance snaps.
If Ukraine spent more than a hundred million dollars to create fortifications in the Kharkiv area, why is there no evidence that anything was built?
These questions are more about apparent incompetence and corruption than details of military strategy.
I see where Brandon pissed away another $2B
I also see Blinken given em money to buy weapons from other countries.
What’s up with that?
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It is never going to be enough.
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give it time
Looks like continued action in the South now. Robotyne was the deepest point of penetration in the failed Ukrainian offensive last summer. Now initial reports are coming out that Russian forces are back in Robotyne. Have to wait a week or so to see updated maps of the situation.
Also hearing reports that the Ukrainian Army has no more reserve formations, with all maneuver brigades committed to the front.
