37 tanks since yesterday!
Posted on 09/04/2023 7:44:08 AM PDT by SpeedyInTexas
This list only includes destroyed vehicles and equipment of which photo or videographic evidence is available. Therefore, the amount of equipment destroyed is significantly higher than recorded here. Loitering munitions, drones used as unmanned bait, civilian vehicles and derelict equipment are not included in this list. All possible effort has gone into avoiding duplicate entries and discerning the status of equipment between captured or abandoned. Many of the entries listed as 'abandoned' will likely end up captured or destroyed. Similarly, some of the captured equipment might be destroyed if it can't be recovered. When a vehicle is captured and then lost in service with its new owners, it is only added as a loss of the original operator to avoid double listings. When the origin of a piece of equipment can't be established, it's not included in the list. The Soviet flag is used when the equipment in question was produced prior to 1991. This list is constantly updated as additional footage becomes available.
(Excerpt) Read more at oryxspioenkop.com ...
Ukrainian Artillery losses Running Total: 370
RuZZian Tank losses Running Total: 2283
September 2023 – 10
August 2023 – 86
July 2023 – 113
June 2023 – 73
May 2023 – 90
April 2023 – 5
March 2023 - 127
February 2023 – 118
January 2023 – 61
December 2022 – 76
November 2022 – 105
October 2022 – 212
September 2022 - 217
August 2022 – 74
July 2022 – 108
June 2022 – 67
May 2022 – 148
April 2022 – 243
Feb 24 - March 2022 – 350
RuZZian Artillery losses Running Total: 804
September 2023 – 5
August 2023 – 67
July 2023 – 56
June 2023 – 47
May 2023 – 43
April 2023 - 24
March 2023 - 37
February 2023 – 41
January 2023 – 31
December 2022 – 19
November 2022 – 55
October 2022 – 64
September 2022 - 73
August 2022 – 21
July 2022 – 21
June 2022 – 18
May 2022 – 20
April 2022 – 52
Feb 24 - March 2022 – 110
Previous day’s thread: https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/4179830/posts
Calling someone a RuZZian on FR is considered an insult.
Calling someone a Comrade on FR is considered an insult.
Summarizing this war:
A tragedy for Ukraine.
A disaster for RuZZia.
A strategic win for the USA. The biggest winner of the war.
“More than three decades after Reagan left office, most Republicans still believe that America is a force for good.”
https://archive.ph/PfqcS
“In his early update, Russian miliblogger WarGonzo reports that the AFU is advancing in the gray zone east of Novoprokopivka towards Ocheretuvate. In addition, the AFU is attacking near Dorozhnyanka.”
https://twitter.com/NOELreports/status/1698578221061583114
More updates later...
Poolside on laptop...
Section 1 of 7 - Ukraine: Military Situation Update - Sept 3, 2023.
••Denotes Transcribed Dialogue. Extras are just that - from other sites, or my comments marked (Edit: .... ) or { } or [ ].
[ Video: Unfazed Ukrainian Fighters Rescue Their Friend, Dodging Russian Rockets ]
==
Reporting From Ukraine, Section 2A:
Day 557: Sep 03
Today, there is a lot of news from the south.
First of all, the Ukrainian Air Force identified and destroyed Russian forces that were deployed from Crimea to the north-western part of the Black Sea.
Recently released footage shows how Russians arrived at the end point and started unloading ammunition from one of the boats when a Ukrainian assault drone operator launched a rocket and destroyed the boat with ammunition, killing almost a dozen troops in the process.
Interestingly, this time, Ukrainians used Bayraktar TB2 aerial drones, which we have not seen in a while.
Previously, Ukrainians stopped using them because Russians adjusted their air defense and did not allow for extensive use.
However, recently, in certain locations, the situation changed in favor of Ukrainians once again.
By the way, several days ago, Ukrainians conducted another special operation slightly south of where the Russians were destroyed today.
The goal of the Ukrainian special operation was to improve control over the Black Sea.
As mentioned previously, one of the ways Ukrainians achieve it is by establishing radars and surveillance systems on the oil rigs along the Crimean shore.
Some Russian analysts also speculated that Ukrainians even temporarily station or assemble their marine drones on these oil rigs and establish anti-ship missiles that are capable of striking ground targets to destroy the Russian air defense along the shore.
Russian forces are obviously actively trying to prevent Ukrainians from carrying out their plans.
Usually, Russians send their fighter jets or helicopters to eliminate the threat.
That is why the boats have to constantly maneuver to dodge the fire.
Unfortunately, during one such operation, one of the Ukrainian fighters fell off the speed boat when it made a sharp turn.
In the heat of the fight for survival, the crew could not afford to try to dodge cluster bombs and save the fighter simultaneously.
The best bet was to deal with the Russians first and then rescue the fighter.
In order to make sure that the fighter was not lost, a Ukrainian reconnaissance drone operator started tracking down the drifting fighter with thermal cameras.
The fighter jet could not get close to the boat for fear of being shot down, just like the previous one, so soon, the jet ran out of ammunition without successfully hitting the boat, and the threat disappeared.
Nonetheless, the rescue mission turned out to be much more difficult than expected because Russians continued sending one fighter jet after another to hunt down the Ukrainian boat crew, so the moment the boats tried to get closer to the fighter, they were chased by the jets.
The rescue operation continued for 12 hours until the Russians gave up.
The fighter spent 12 hours in the middle of the Black Sea, until he was eventually rescued.
The fact that the special operators managed to survive operating so close to Crimea and fighting off fighter jets while simultaneously filming everything with reconnaissance drones, once again demonstrates that Ukrainians greatly improved their control over the Black Sea.
This had the biggest impact on the Russian forces in the western part of the Kherson region.
As Russians here are virtually surrounded, Ukrainians are constantly destroying Russian bases on this isolated peninsula.
Only in August Ukrainians destroyed two bases and multiple air defense and radio-location systems, and over the last week, Ukrainians conducted at least 3 more successful strikes.
The target of the first HIMARS strike became a Russian base in Sadove.
The target of the second strike became yet another air defense system.
And the third target became one of the most advanced and expensive radar systems Predel-E, which costs almost $250,000,000 and an electronic warfare system Layer-2.
By the way, this is exactly where the Ukrainians destroyed the Russian boat today from a Bayraktar.
Based on such geolocated videos, it seems like Ukrainians gained complete freedom of movement in the air above the western part of the Kherson region and, by extension, the western shore of Crimea, despite the best Russian efforts to prevent it.
Recently released footage shows how Russians saw one Ukrainian reconnaissance drone and sent 2 helicopters to chase it and shoot it down.
The helicopters even bumped several times into the drone but never managed to shoot it down.
After a long chase, the drone operator managed to escape and return the drone basically intact.
Such a high freedom of movement in the air has already brought Russians a lot of trouble.
Recently, Russian analysts stated that Ukrainians started launching their drone attacks on Crimea directly via Kherson.
They concluded that Ukrainians are now capable of developing new trajectories in the heart of Crimea, increasing the chances of repeating the series of devastating strikes on the Russian bases and logistical centers.
And, on top of that, some sources mentioned that Ukrainians started exploiting this weakness by conducting marine operations on the Kinburn peninsula.
Such a setting leaves Russians in a position where they don’t know what to expect next.
==
[ Russian Reinforcements Ambushed in The South | Cluster Munition Job ]
Denys Says, Section 3A:
The 237 & 234th Airborne Assault Regiment from the 76th Division are currently stationed on the rear defense line east of Chervonohirka. Russian reinforcement moved up to Verbove
==
Denys Says, Section 3B:
The Russian, who delivered the million dollar Mi-8 to the UA, received $500,000 for his trouble. His family left Russia through 3rd countries and are all safe in Ukraine. The pilot said he does not believe in the Russian propaganda and the Ukraine will win the war.
==
Denys says, Section 3C:
Maxim Kuzminov, the pilot of the defected Mi-8 helicopter, told Budanov that Ukraine’s air defenses prohibit Russian airplanes from going where they need to go.
Most Russian pilots are very well retained and professional, but there is huge gap between levels; those high ranking pilots with prior experience in Syria and elsewhere and the low ranking, the new, the young pilots who lack everything.
Commanders prefer to send their experienced pilots on missions. But many of those have been shot down since the war began.
Now the Commanders have to send the young ones and the quality of the missions has dropped.
Denys says, Section 3D:
All available air defense systems have been moved to Moscow to stop drone attacks. Pantsir S-1 system is preferred used because it has radar, guns and rockets. Buttery were not designed to be used in this manner - a very stupid way to use them, said Denys.
==
Pilot blog Section 4A:
Seems like Klishchiivka is liberated
https://t.me/pilotblog/6540
==
Pilot blog Section 4B:
Chancellor Scholz is the only one in the coalition blocking the supply of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine
This was stated by the head of the Bundestag Committee on Defense Marie-Agyness Strack-Zimmerman.
“At the moment he does not want to supply the Taurus. At the moment, however, people continue to die in Ukraine. Chancellor Scholz, for God’s sake!
“He is the only one blocking this decision within the coalition. It’s irresponsible,” Strack-Zimmerman wrote.
https://t.me/pilotblog/6537
German Chancellor Scholz now looks like this. The politician fell while jogging on September 2.
No need to block the supply of Taurus to Ukraine. The eye patch is a hint from the universe: just send the missiles
https://t.me/pilotblog/6539
==
Pilot blog Section 4C:
A Bayraktar TB2 destroys a Russian KC-701 Tuna boat during an attempt to land personnel in the northwestern Black Sea. Video
https://t.me/pilotblog/6520
==
Pilot blog Section 4D:
Financial Times:
Ukraine will defeat Russia, most likely in 2024 or 2025 - retired British General Richard Barrons, who previously commanded British Allied Forces for the Financial Times
To do this, the allies must increase the production of weapons and provide Kyiv with everything it needs to win. In particular, a powerful air force and mine-clearing equipment.
“Ukraine’s current counter-offensive will not dislodge Russia - although no one expected it.
“It is also unlikely to halve the occupation before winter, which would be one of the more optimistic goals.
“But the counter-offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine showed that it is possible to defeat the Russian army. Not in 2023, but in 2024 or 2025.
“Russian forces are overstretched, exhausted and lacking in reserves, but if they don’t just give up, it will still be a long way to go,” Barrons said.
Denys: I disagree with that. Russia has huge resources.
And will be able to feed the war for a very long time.
Without the Russian regime change this war will continue. Unfortunately.
https://t.me/pilotblog/6517
==
Kremlin snuffbox, Section 5A:
Valery Gerasimov is thinking of giving up Tokmak to Ukrainian troops so that there is no “terrible defeat”
According to two of our sources in the General Staff, Gerasimov began to consider such a possibility immediately after the enemy had achieved success in the Rabotnye area and advanced at the front.
It should be noted that the head of the General Staff warned about the possible loss of Tokmak back in July .
“Valery Vasilyevich wants to save troops for the defense of Melitopol and Berdyansk.
And he warns that, if we strongly cling to Tokmak, a terrible defeat can await our army in the Zaporozhye direction.
Really terrible,” one of our interlocutors explained.
He also said that Gerasimov fears the wrath of Vladimir Putin, because so far he has not shared these plans with him.
The head of the General Staff is thinking about how to “defend Melitopol without the direct participation of the President.”
In addition, our sources claim that Gerasimov has not yet discussed his plans for Tokmak with his American colleague Mark Milley, with whom he regularly communicates and from time to time, discusses the retreat of Russian troops in certain sectors of the front in exchange for concessions.
==
Kremlin snuffbox, Section 5B:
Ukrainian intelligence said that the motive of the Russian Mi-8 pilot, who overtook the helicopter to the side of the enemy, was the rejection of the actions of the Russian authorities.
In the conditions of a military conflict, it is difficult to reliably verify information and you have to check it several times.
However, it is worth noting that, in hot pursuit of the abduction of a helicopter, we wrote about this very reason for such a decision by the pilot.
Not about some incredible money, not about the fact that the whole operation is fake, but about the fact that the pilot decided to hand over the helicopter for ideological reasons.
Moreover, according to our information, one of the crew members who flew with pilot Maxim Kuzminov may be alive. Initially, the Ukrainian side stated that two crew members were killed after the helicopter landed.
However, our intelligence believes that at least one of them may be alive and also defected to the enemy, however, he chose other conditions for the transition (in particular, the legend of death).
We cannot confirm this information 100%, but the co-pilot’s family left Russia a week before that very flight and still have not returned.
Of course, the film that the Ukrainian side made about the operation is propaganda.
But there is a nuance: Ukraine carried out a very successful operation, after which no one (!) in Russia was held accountable.
In fact, in the battle of intelligence, our special services and the army received a public slap in the face, and so far, apparently, there is nothing special to answer.
Alas. And after this operation, heads should have rolled.
After all, if no one is punished, then tomorrow it may turn out that this is not the only pilot who is tired of the war.
==
Kremlin snuffbox, Section 5C:
General Surovikin almost died: we found out what happened to him now
We learned what is happening now with Sergei Surovikin, who fell out of favor after the rebellion of Yevgeny Prigozhin and was recently dismissed from the post of commander of the Russian Aerospace Forces.
Several Generals of the General Staff have shared information with us and want it to become public.
Firstly, according to our sources, Surovikin almost died about a month ago.
He had a severe heart attack, and Sergei Vladimirovich “miraculously saved the doctors.”
After the attack, the General still has not fully recovered, he often feels unwell, sometimes it is even difficult for him to walk.
People close to Surovikin say that poisoning could have been the cause of the attack, but they complain that they are not allowed to investigate this incident.
And they rejoice that the General’s health allowed him to survive.
Secondly, Surovikin is actually under house arrest under the supervision of the FSB.
“Sergey Vladimirovich is now in the Rostov region; lives in a private house.
“He can go out into the yard, but it is forbidden outside the yard,” says one of our interlocutors.
Surovikin is also forbidden to use any telephones and the Internet, he can only occasionally call his family on a line that is completely tapped.
Despite this, the General recently found “reliable people” who pass on news from him to like-minded people and friends.
Thirdly, Surovikin was very upset about the death of Evgeny Prigogine.
He believes that “those who killed Yevgeny Viktorovich do not understand that they themselves will soon choke on blood.”
Surovikin’s comrades-in-arms refused to talk about who exactly the General considers the killers of the main “Wagnerian”.
==
Kremlin snuffbox, Section 5D:
During the attack on the Crimean bridge, four sailors were killed.
An enemy naval drone crashed into them.
According to our sources among the military of the Black Sea Fleet and in the Crimean government, the tragedy occurred on the night of September 2, when the bridge was attacked by enemy unmanned boats.
Four sailors on a boat were sent for additional protection - to patrol the waters near the Crimean bridge.
They were armed with a machine gun and automatic weapons and had to visually fix enemy drones and destroy them.
The military did not notice the drone heading for the bridge in time, the drone crashed into their boat and blew it up.
All four soldiers were killed.
Thus, the sailors stopped the enemy drone, which was supposed to attack the Crimean bridge, but, unfortunately, they themselves had to become “kamikaze”.
It was decided not to advertise the fact of the death of the military, because the public may perceive such a method of protecting the bridge as inhuman actions against sailors.
At the same time, sailors will continue to guard the bridge on boats in the near future.
The issue of additional protection for such patrols is now being considered, in particular, providing them with additional night vision devices.
==
Kremlin snuffbox, Section 5E:
Lukashenka sent a letter to the Chinese leader:
“He killed Prigozhin. There is a feeling that I am also a target”
President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko reacted nervously to the assassination of Yevgeny Prigozhin.
According to our sources, Lukashenko began to use helicopters less and tightened security measures.
At the same time, Lukashenko wrote a letter to Chinese leader Xi Jinping, where there were such lines: “He killed Prigozhin. There are feelings. that I am also a target.”
A source familiar with the text of the letter stressed that the Belarusian leader has real concerns about his possible assassination.
“In the letter, he asks Beijing to provide security guarantees for him personally,” the source said.
In response to a clarifying question about who Lukashenko called the killer of Prigozhin, the source hinted that he was talking about Vladimir Putin.
At the same time, neither the name nor the position of the alleged “murderer” is mentioned in the text.
==
BRIEFLY, Section 6A:
The Times:
The new Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Rustem Umerov, is hated by a significant part of the deputies for his tough stance on corruption while working at the State Property Fund, said Vitaliy Shabunin, head of the Ukrainian Center for Anti-Corruption Actions. Umerov is a Crimean Tatar.
“It seems to me that with this appointment, Zelensky finally stops the attempts of anyone (including allies) to put pressure on us in order to force us to surrender Crimea,” he said.
==
BRIEFLY, Section 6B:
The Wall Street Journal:
The US, UK and EU plan to work together this week to demand that the UAE stop deliveries to Russia of goods that could help Moscow in its confrontation with Ukraine.
Country officials have been visiting the UAE since Monday as part of collective global pressure.
Their claim concerns computer chips, electronic components and other dual-use products.
Envoys from Washington, London and Brussels visited Turkey and Kazakhstan to prevent such products from reaching Russia.
==
General SVR, Section 7A:
( Long section on the movements and appearances of the Double, lately with some teenaged school kids. )
Putin’s half-corpse was dragged to Sochi over the weekend and is being prepared for a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
This is the first visit of a Russian president to Sochi since the first strike on the Crimean bridge.
The double was sent to Sochi several times, but Putin himself was afraid to be in the zone of a possible strike from Ukraine.
Now Putin has made up his mind, yielding to the requests of the President of Turkey.
Erdogan categorically refused to meet with the counterpart of the Russian president in Turkey and was forced to accept an invitation to visit Russia to meet with Putin, who is simply unable to make international visits due to deteriorating health.
Looking on DeepState map there does not appear to be any Russian forces located in Ocheretuvate. There seems to be only 3 BARS Squads in between.
https://twitter.com/Osinttechnical/status/1698457342071734534
An excellent candidate for the turret-toss competition. Rated a 10/10.
https://twitter.com/Osinttechnical/status/1698696163468157185
Here's a pic of a Bm-21 Grad MRL:
Another Ukrainian M30A1 GMLRS strike destroying a Russian Bm-21 Grad MRL
https://twitter.com/Osinttechnical/status/1698715865548808345
It's odd that you've filled a long page with Denys the Menys's propaganda videos, because the Reverend Mother posts an entire thread every day fronted by his latest post from Switzerland.
As bad as her threads are, Speedy's are worse. What a complete waste of bits to endlessly re-post these discredited statistics, which even if they were not completely biased, would be a very poor metric for viewing the progress of either side in the war.
Everyone promoting this silly narrative of Ukraine winning this hopeless conflict has the blood of the young men conscripted to fight on both sides on their hands.
Here are some general readership aticles on the Ukraine Russian war. They are much more informative than the meaningless "dead tank count" that Speedy so reliably provides.
Newsweek: Rushing Ukraine's Counteroffensive Brings 'Unsustainable' Losses: Report
Ukraine's forces are facing huge equipment losses and Western-provided training often does not suit the kind of warfare they are engaged in, according to the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI)."Attempts at rapid breakthrough have resulted in an unsustainable rate of equipment loss," the London think tank said in a report released on Monday.
AP: Ukraine's defense minister resigns following Zelenskyy's announcement of his replacement
“Reznikov was a good and prominent international negotiator, but it appears that there is chaos and disorder within the Ministry of Defense, which many deputies have taken advantage of, resulting in corruption scandals during the war,” said analyst Volodymyr Fesenko from the Kyiv-based Penta Center.
Ukraine is Europe's most corrupt country, and the War has been a boon for corupt Ukrainian government officals. (And their America counterparts. See: Biden, Joe and Biden, Hunter)
L.A. Times Ukraine's rising number of amputees face trauma on a scale unseen since World War I
Vitaliy Bilyak's skinny body is a web of scars that end with an amputation above the knee. During six weeks in a coma, Bilyak underwent more than 10 surgeries, including on his jaw, hand and heel, to recover from injuries he received April 22 driving over a pair of antitank mines."When I woke up, I felt like I was born again and returned from the afterlife," said Bilyak, who is just beginning on his path to rehabilitation. He does not yet know when he'll receive a prosthesis, which must be fitted individually to each patient.
Ukraine is facing a future with upward of 20,000 amputees, many of them soldiers who are also suffering psychological trauma from their time at the front. Europe has experienced nothing like it since World War I, and the United States not since the Civil War.
Current reporting from sources which, if anything are pro-Ukraine like the AP, L.A. Times and Newsweek tells a very different story than the fairy tales promoted by Speedy, PIF and Reverend Mother.
RuZZia lost another Helo.
“The Ka-52 helicopter crashed in the Sea of Azov. According to preliminary data, two pilots were saved.
According to Baza’s sources in the rescue services, the helicopter crashed on the morning of September 1 in the Sea of Azov, about 1.5 kilometers from the coastline. According to the preliminary version, the cause of the fall was difficult weather conditions - there was heavy fog in the area.
There were two crew members on board the Ka-52. They were evacuated during the rescue operation.”
https://twitter.com/GloOouD/status/1698671598398570677
Purifying RuZZian Society
“Russia in 2023:
Police are looking for a 70-year-old man after a woman overheard him on the train criticising Putin and accusing the Kremlin of “unleashing war”, and then informed on him
He is set to be charged with “discrediting the armed forces””
https://twitter.com/francis_scarr/status/1698288178371658056
Good RuZZians
https://twitter.com/666_mancer/status/1698390219475636729
https://twitter.com/666_mancer/status/1698339609799766320
https://twitter.com/666_mancer/status/1698328067175768106
https://twitter.com/666_mancer/status/1698693344711328253
https://twitter.com/666_mancer/status/1698669111893528582
https://twitter.com/666_mancer/status/1698608108707172547
“Chinese Gate-Crashers at U.S. Bases Spark Espionage Concerns”
“Washington has tracked about 100 incidents involving Chinese nationals trying to access American military and other installations”
“Chinese nationals, sometimes posing as tourists, have accessed military bases and other sensitive sites in the U.S. as many as 100 times in recent years, according to U.S. officials, who describe the incidents as a potential espionage threat.
The Defense Department, FBI and other agencies held a review last year to try to limit these incidents, which involve people whom officials have dubbed gate-crashers because of their attempts—either by accident or intentionally—to get onto U.S. military bases and other installations without proper authorization. They range from Chinese nationals found crossing into a U.S. missile range in New Mexico to what appeared to be scuba divers swimming in murky waters near a U.S. government rocket-launch site in Florida.
The incidents, which U.S. officials describe as a form of espionage, appear designed to test security practices at U.S. military installations and other federal sites. Officials familiar with the practice say the individuals are typically Chinese nationals pressed into service and required to report back to the Chinese government. “
"The ‘PUTIN-Biden-Clinton-Obama’ cartel did used Ukraine as a FRONT to stage their money-laundering by using Russian agents embedded BY PUTIN in the Ukraine government: Ukrainian deep-state!So you see 1) Putin is in charge of Russia, 2) has been in charge of the deep state in Ukraine (per the 20 August 2023 testimony), 3) is in charge of the United States via the Biden administration, including other Democrats such as Biden, Obama and Clinton, and of course, 4) is in charge of our very own deep state....President Zelensky is still trying to remove Ukraine CORRUPT “deep state created by Putin!”
Source: https://freerepublic.com/focus/chat/4176363/posts?page=52#52
https://freerepublic.com/focus/chat/4176363/posts?page=52#52
“An excellent candidate for the turret-toss competition.”
The fiery backlighting provides a real artistic flare to this toss.
Suitable for framing.
Several others have completely deconstructed his situation. He fled Ukraine about six months ago, at a time that the military is begging for pilots. He's certainly young enough to serve: no older than 35 I'd guess.
So, he's a terrible source. He's grifting off the war while avoiding service. He's no where near the action. He is making money telling stories, and his audience is "Pro Ukraine" so, naturally, he will never report any bad news.
He spends his spare time going to expensive rock concerts and flying gliders. It's estimated his YouTube income is well over $100,000 based on his number of followers and other metrics.
Perhaps it isn't totally obvious but when I criticize "Reverend Mother" I am talking about UMCRevMom@aol.com, because that's hard to type in all the time. Her name is short for:
"United Methodist Church Reverend Mom"
and she has explained in previous posts that she is, indeed, a Reverend, and a Mother. It's a merely a short hand, in other words, and not intended as an insult.
Come one now!
That's just silly. The last pro-Russian government was overthrown in the Maiden protests and subsequent coup d'état (color revolution) which was instigated by the USA State Department, various American 3-letter agencies, and Soros aligned "Open Society" NGOs.
That was in 2014. So, there might have been some corrupt Russian aligned officials left over at that time, but it was a major focus of the Government to end Russian influence from Day One after the coup. (For instance, outlawing Russian language in schools despite the fact that a majority of children in the East speak Russian as their first language, as do most people there.)
Given the intense hatred of all things Russian by the new (circa 2014) USA backed Ukraine regime it's ridiculous to claim that nine years later they still haven't been able to out all the "Russians" in the Central government.
Ukraine has been known as a super-corrupt place for a centruy now.
Did it somehow escape your notice that the entire Trump Impeachment #1 was all set up and master-mineded by Ukrainians or people with deep ties to Ukraine? The conversation with Zelensky was the proximate cause. The person conveniently (and somewhat unbelievably (ie: he was lying)) overhearing it was Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a natural-born Ukrainian.
Another key impeachment witness was Former Ukraine ambassador Marie Yovanovitch, who as born in the USSR and was ambassador to Ukraine long enough to become complicit. Catherine Croft a State Department "Ukraine Expert" , and on and on.
We helped them with their Coup d'Etat, and then they tried to help us with "ours" - that is the Deep State's attempt to remove Trump and replace him with Pence. Which failed, but not for lack of trying.
Hopefully you are keeping up on how many millions of dollars that the Biden family sucked out of Ukraine, with Joe playing the protection racket provider, with his threats to cut aid off if they prosecutor investigation Berisma, where his son and his partner were pulling out millions a year.
Is it your position, based on the hyper-partisan Reverend Mother, that this ia all somehow Putin's doing?
Usually people with serious Russia obsession are Lefty Democrats. Despite multiple years long investigations Hillary still still claims that Trump colluded with Russia to steal the election from her.
If you really believe all that I think you will have to end up supporting Biden in 2024.
The logic of a lot of the Hyper-Ukraine advocates is going to compell them to switch sides, become at best Never Trumpers, or at worst full on Democrats and BIden supporters.
Look, many other neo-Cons have made the journey to Team Donkey already! Bill Kristol, Max Boot, Jennifer Rubin, Mona Charen .. etc.
You will have a lot of company, and no one will call you on your Russian OCD.
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