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Western allies receive increasingly ‘sobering’ updates on Ukraine’s counteroffensive: ‘This is the most difficult time of the war’
CNN ^ | 8/8/23 | Jim Sciutto

Posted on 08/09/2023 7:38:29 AM PDT by hardspunned

CNN  —  Weeks into Ukraine’s highly anticipated counteroffensive, Western officials describe increasingly “sobering” assessments about Ukrainian forces’ ability to retake significant territory, four senior US and western officials briefed on the latest intelligence told CNN.

“They’re still going to see, for the next couple of weeks, if there is a chance of making some progress. But for them to really make progress that would change the balance of this conflict, I think, it’s extremely, highly unlikely,” a senior western diplomat told CNN.

(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs
KEYWORDS: denysdisagrees
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Et tu, CNN?
1 posted on 08/09/2023 7:38:29 AM PDT by hardspunned
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To: hardspunned; SpeedyInTexas; PIF; FtrPilot; Cronos

Even the Marxist mouthpieces like CNN are now having to admit Dear Leader Biden’s war is being lost. The Ukrainian army must be facing total disaster to force this admission by CNN.


2 posted on 08/09/2023 7:43:18 AM PDT by wildcard_redneck (The Forever War is a crime against humanity)
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To: hardspunned
‘This is the most difficult time of the war’

Andy WIlliams song?

3 posted on 08/09/2023 7:46:25 AM PDT by JonPreston ( ✌ ☮️ )
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To: hardspunned

Yeah but they’ll juat go occupy some sheep hill, say they made progress then start fundraising for the new “fall offensive.”


4 posted on 08/09/2023 7:46:26 AM PDT by AAABEST ( NY/DC/CA media/political/military industrial complex DELENDA EST)
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To: hardspunned

Ukraine launched their counteroffensive too late. The Russians were able to mobilize and then fortify their positions in the occupied territories of Ukraine. They should have attacked in fall of 2022 but I assume Ukraine was running low on ammunition and they were dependent on the West to get some more.


5 posted on 08/09/2023 7:47:22 AM PDT by MinorityRepublican
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To: hardspunned

If you believe the “Pentagon officials” quoted here, why didn’t you believe Douglas Macgregor when he said the exact same thing a month ago?


6 posted on 08/09/2023 7:47:25 AM PDT by hardspunned (Former DC GOP globalist stooge)
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To: hardspunned

So if Ukraine is on the offense now, I’d expect Russia to launce it’s own counteroffensive. I have a feeling that is going to happen sooner than later.


7 posted on 08/09/2023 7:47:41 AM PDT by CodeJockey
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To: hardspunned
Without commenting directly, just a reminder:

Ukraine has already been destroyed as a nation.

More than half of the surviving population has left for western Europe, Israel, and the Americas. They will not be coming back. Whatever the borders will look like after the war is over, the bit labelled Ukraine will not be Ukrainian.

8 posted on 08/09/2023 7:48:11 AM PDT by Salman (It's not a slippery slope if it was part of the program all along. )
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To: hardspunned

https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/4173746/posts


9 posted on 08/09/2023 7:48:30 AM PDT by packagingguy
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To: hardspunned
--- "...increasingly “sobering” assessments about Ukrainian forces’ ability...."

The use of the phrase, increasingly sobering, suggests that before this time of "sobering" up, some may have been inebriated on their own messages. "Sobering up" now says "drunken" earlier.

Sometimes observing the use of language is itself revealing of the user of that language.

"Messaging" as in Chomsky's notion of "manufacturing consent" and Sunstein's notion of "nudging" suggests that CNN -- and more media as well -- are nudging the message into a different direction, and the "narrative" changes, word by word, phrase by phrase and day by day.

10 posted on 08/09/2023 7:50:48 AM PDT by Worldtraveler once upon a time (Degrow government)
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To: MinorityRepublican

The Russians had ten months to build their defenses. It’s not like the Russians don’t know how to fight over this terrain. That “tens of thousands” of mines, make that hundreds of thousands if not millions. Any idea how many Nazis, Romanians and Hungarians Russian artillery massacred on these very same battlefields?


11 posted on 08/09/2023 7:52:22 AM PDT by hardspunned (Former DC GOP globalist stooge)
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To: wildcard_redneck

IDK about disaster, but the maps show little change in the battle lines. UK pushed some Russian units from forward positions around Bakhmut and elsewhere, but these were not built up defensive positions. The stated goal of cutting the Russians off from Crimea by driving to Mariupol has not materialized at all. Soon NATO will sour on paying for more of this, and Ukraine will have to make some painful decisions.


12 posted on 08/09/2023 7:55:20 AM PDT by hinckley buzzard ( Resist the narrative.)
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To: Worldtraveler once upon a time

I do appreciate the perspective. You are quite right.


13 posted on 08/09/2023 7:59:13 AM PDT by hardspunned (Former DC GOP globalist stooge)
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To: hinckley buzzard

What I have to laugh at is all of the propaganda like “Russia is just a gas station with nukes” or “Russia is out of missiles” or “Putin has cancer and is going to die” (at least 1000 times by now) or “Russia is out of artillery munitions and gas.”

Russia certainly has a lot of problems but they do no have lack energy supplies, industrial capacity, weapons or military know-how.


14 posted on 08/09/2023 8:04:44 AM PDT by wildcard_redneck (The Forever War is a crime against humanity)
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To: SpeedyInTexas; PIF; FtrPilot; Cronos

Silence..... It is ok to hide and cry.


15 posted on 08/09/2023 8:07:01 AM PDT by wildcard_redneck (The Forever War is a crime against humanity)
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To: AAABEST

Thie fundraising sux.

Meanwhile, two Ukrainian couples moved into our senior apartment complex. Well dressed, pleasant, and one of the women speaks pretty good English. I rather like them, but time will tell. I wonder whether they paid their own way here.


16 posted on 08/09/2023 8:08:19 AM PDT by Veto! (FJB Sucks Rocks)
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To: hinckley buzzard

You know the war is over when the western press crows triumphantly about the Ukraine taking 5 mi.² of empty territory from the Russians after an over month of offensive battle.

The “Great Summer Offensive” is stillborn.


17 posted on 08/09/2023 8:10:03 AM PDT by wildcard_redneck (The Forever War is a crime against humanity)
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To: MinorityRepublican

It’s a repeat of Hitler and the Kursk offensive.


18 posted on 08/09/2023 8:11:29 AM PDT by DariusBane (Liberty and Risk. Flip sides of the same coin. So how much risk will YOU accept? Vive Deo et Vives)
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To: hardspunned
BUT WAIT!

The crazies (or bots) here on FR like timberrattler, cronos, UMC Mom and a few other wackos, told us Ruzzia is LOSING! They tell us that every day -- many times a day and have been doing same since February of 2022.

Could it be they are making it all up just like Biden and his cronies at NYT, WAPO, CNN, etc.?

Me sure thinks so.

What a sick, sad situation!

19 posted on 08/09/2023 8:13:37 AM PDT by icclearly
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To: hardspunned

Ukraine could WIN this war easily if we just sent all the Children, Grand Children, Nieces and Nephews of every last Elected Official in this Country to the front lines in Ukraine.


20 posted on 08/09/2023 8:13:46 AM PDT by eyeamok
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