Posted on 06/11/2022 3:32:47 AM PDT by FarCenter
Heavy Mariupol-style fighting localized on the “Azot” chemical fertilizer plant continues in Severodonetsk in the Donbas salient. Militarily, it is senseless. But apparently someone on the Ukrainian side believes it makes sense politically.
Lower intensity but strategically more relevant engagements continue northwest and northeast of Sloviansk and out of the Popasna area in the direction of Bakhmut. Russia’s capture of the two transportation hubs would narrow the Donbas escape corridor for Ukrainian forces estimated at 15,000–20,000 to less than 20 kilometers.
Military activity in the Northeast (Kharkiv) and South (Kherson) is limited to continual dispersed artillery fire by Russian forces.
Mikhail Podolyak, an aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, told the BBC on Thursday that Ukraine is losing between 100 to 200 troops daily in the battle for the Donbas, updating Zelensky’s earlier estimate of 60–100 losses per day.
Lyudmila Denisova, the now-former Ukrainian Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights, has been removed by the Ukrainian Parliament for falsifying claims of rapes.
Lyudmila Denisova ‘exaggerated’ Russian rape claims. Image: Screengrab / Euronews The Ukrainian Parliament noted that her work on sexual assaults by Russian troops “couldn’t be confirmed with evidence … and distracted the global media from Ukraine’s real needs.” The only interesting aspect regarding this matter is the sickening silence of most of the Western press.
A report by Ukrainian and Western intelligence officials leaked to the UK’s The Independent reveals that Ukrainian troops are suffering massive losses as they are outgunned 20 to one in artillery and 40 to one in ammunition by Russian forces.
The report also says that for the first time since the war began, there is now concern over desertions. The worsening situation in the Donbas is having “a seriously demoralizing effect on Ukrainian forces as well as a very real material effect; cases of desertion are growing every week.”
Like the concerns raised two days ago regarding the veracity of US intelligence officials’ claims that they are in the dark about Ukrainian military moves and intentions (frankly, The Situation considers that a bald-faced lie), there are doubts about the intelligence report cited by The Independent.
US intelligence likely claims ignorance so as not to be blamed for intelligence failures at a later stage and the report on outgunned and deserting Ukrainian soldiers, while probably true, may well have as its main purpose to manufacture “we told you so” evidence.
Ukraine is holding citizens virtual hostages in the industrial zone. It’s a mini Marilupol.
US intelligence likely claims ignorance so as not to be blamed for intelligence failures at a later stage and the report on outgunned and deserting Ukrainian soldiers...
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We’ve seen Lloyd Austin pulled this stunt before.
Ukraine is holding citizens virtual hostages in the industrial zone. It’s a mini Marilupol.
Per RIA today, Ukes demanded to be allowed to leave, together with their arms and the hostages.
Yes, Mariupol-repeat, but with two differences : Azot plant is not easy to defend and the Nazi force has much higher proportion of mercs (Polish and English speaking). Kadyrov was correct when he said a week ago that most of Ukrainian army left, but the “foreign legion” was sent in to prevent the collapse of Ukes, and they are still there.
And it is also a repeat of the Syrian war — the use of hostages is identical to what we have seen from the Islamists there... same teachers.
US intelligence likely claims ignorance so as not to be blamed
It is the Blame Time.
And it appears that the guy who is to be designated as the reason for failure will be Mr.Zelensky himself.
Gonzalo Lira in his latest broadcast is gloating about this.
Now, US intelligence cannot be faulted — it will be learned that the Ukes lied to them and failed to listen ...
DoD is going to make sure it is the State Department’s war.
Quite likely you are correct on this.
Zel is one obvious scapegoat — not just Lira but two other sources are talking about it and Biden already accused Zel of not listening.
But there may be another casualty of war: Blinken.
As they said in some old movie, “Someone must go to jail”... well... not to jail, but lose his job. Easy to replace too, lots of other worthless blinkers around.
There are also Victoria Nuland and Jake Sullivan — also holdovers from the Hilary Clinton State Department.
Probably the two most likely choices.
Would not make much difference.
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