Posted on 09/12/2022 8:58:48 PM PDT by Cronos
...The initial assault toward Kherson in the south wasn’t a feint. It was a major strategic thrust that might yet push Russian troops back from the western bank of the Dnieper River. But deftly, the Ukrainians also moved in the Kharkiv region in the northeast while the Russians were asleep there. They didn’t rush the advance; they softened up Russian lines and then, last week, burst through in a devastating assault that put Russia in pell-mell retreat and regained more than 1,100 square miles of territory.
..Vladimir Putin. He is the loser in this latest round, but he is also the man who cannot be seen to lose
...Putin’s problem now is that all those television watchers in Moscow and St. Petersburg can see that the Russian leader’s non-war is a total mess. His strongest backers on the Telegram channel, and even some commentators on state television, are saying that Russian forces have suffered a severe defeat. The finger-pointing has begun in earnest, and the daggers are out for Gen. Valery Gerasimov, Russia’s chief of staff, and Sergei Shoigu, the defense minister.
But not yet for Putin, and probably not ever. That’s the beauty of the system he has created. There is no one to succeed him, almost literally. If he keeled over tomorrow, Russia’s interim leader would be Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, a former head of the Russian Taxation Service. Have you ever heard of him? Of course not. That’s the point.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
A lot of people know this, here is something many don't know. The plans for the battle of Kursk led to a new argument between Von Kluge and Guderian—a long simmering relationship started way back in Barbarossa when Von Kluge (then Guderians superior) unfairly accused Guderian of insubordination and tried to blame him for some failures.
After the argument over Kursk Von Kluge challenged Guderian to a duel! Only a personal written letter from Hitler ordered the duel cancelled. It's interesting to speculate what would have happened when they picked up their dueling Sabres and dropped their broom handle Mauser automatics. Personally I think Guderian would have cut Von Kluge up like Swiss cheese. Von Kluge was a pampered semi-royalty while Guderian grew up as a barracks brat.
Finally after the battle Guderian and Speer was vindicated,, Germany suffered too much armor destroyed to replace and lost the initiative on the Eastern front which USSR held all the way to Berlin.
David Ignatius should have been prosecuted.
David Ignatius is a criminal who pushed the Russia Collusion hoax against Trump. You might love what he says, but that says you’re nuts.
And now freepers celebrate him for his integrity.
This place has become a joke.
The troll who posted this just wants to post many crap that supports his anti-Russia position.
You are supporting child molesters, human traffickers, money launderers, and Biden and the democraps. Ukraine is nothing but a criminal enterprise.
You’re no FReeper.
Russia has a paranoia...Is not an excuse any intelligent person would use as an excuse for Russia invading Ukraine.
Yep.
Perfectly reasonable argument that Russia miscalculated big time. I do think the action has cause though. I would feel way better if action was just to protect Donbas, and nothing more, but here we are. Put it this way, their justifications were more legit than either of U.S. invasions of Iraq, or the NATO bombing of Libya, or the attempted overthrow of Assad in Syria.
Putin invaded Ukraine to steal land and resources not because of being worried about NATO invading Russia. Only Putin Stooges push that insane crap.
You went full blown anti-America bs to cover for Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Are you an American citizen?
I am an American citizen, even a vet at that, and so what? Can I have an opinion?
Then you are in the Blame America First Last And Always crowd.
Which explains very well why you are a Putin Stooge.
Which is worse in my opinion than not being a US citizen.
How about that for an opinion?
OK man, fair enough, have a great day
Most ignorant statement on the thread.
Plrase stay in Berlin with the Eurotrash - where you belong.
You are absolutely correct that would have been the wisest course of action for Russia if it was concerned about security. Europe and NATO had zero interest in ever going to war with Russia, or with anyone else for that matter.
But apparently, Russia wasn't concerned about threats to Russia itself. It was concerned about "threats" to its long-term ambition of reconstituting the Soviet Union. If a country became part of NATO, it could no longer be bullied by Russia, and Russia saw this as an intolerable limit on its desire for hegemony.
But they've really screwed themselves now, haven't they? As you said, the best path forward for Russia was deeper economic ties with Europe and peaceful coexistence. Now, regardless of how this war ends, the nations of Europe are no longer going to trust Russia about anything. They'll never threaten Russia's borders, but they are going to be extraordinarily reluctant to engage in long-term business or economic relations. In terms of a relationship with Europe, Russia will largely be on its own.
That's pretty much the exact opposite of Russian geopolitical strategy since Peter the Great, and it was all wrecked by Vladimir Putin.
Nice job screwing over your own people, you idiot.
Further, NATO did not present any kind of a military threat to Russia, and we all knew that prior to this invasion. Conservatives on Free Republic and elsewhere rightly mocked NATO members for the collapse in their military spending and relative inability to field a significant military force. The truth was that the major European members of NATO had absolutely zero interest in increasing their military spending. The only "threat" NATO presented to Russia was not to Russian territorial integrity, but rather to Putin's hegemonistic desire to reconstitute the Soviet Union. Once a country joined NATO, it could no longer be bullied by russia, and he considered that unacceptable.
Tell that to Napoleon.
You always make a crybaby reply.
In English we say: Please.
Yeah, just ask the Russians to ignore this still living memory.
(OTOH, America has never been invaded by a foreign power since 1812, and never in our history were millions slaughtered in a no-quarter invasion war of extermination that flattened entire cities.)
>>Russia has always been successful at defending their homeland.<<
“Tell that to Napoleon.”
Napoleon defeated the Russians? Gotta link, I missed that chapter in my history book.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.