Posted on 09/12/2022 11:01:38 AM PDT by dennisw
You can normally expect Russian state TV's flagship weekly news programme to trumpet Kremlin successes.
But yesterday's edition opened with a rare admission.
"On the frontlines of the special operation [in Ukraine], this has been the toughest week so far," declared sombre-looking anchor Dmitry Kiselev.
"It was particularly tough along the Kharkiv front, where following an onslaught by enemy forces that outnumbered ours, [Russian] troops were forced to leave towns they had previously liberated."
For "liberated", read "seized". Moscow had occupied those areas months ago, but after a lightning counter-offensive by the Ukrainian army, the Russian military has lost considerable territory in north-east Ukraine.
Still, Russian state media are putting a brave face on things. Officially, what happened in Kharkiv region isn't being referred to here as a "retreat".
"The Russian defence ministry dismissed rumours that Russian troops fled in disgrace from Balakliya, Kupiansk and Izyum," claimed the latest edition of the government paper, Rossiyskaya Gazeta. "They didn't flee. This was a pre-planned regrouping."
In tabloid Moskovsky Komsomolets, a military analyst took a different view: "It's already clear that we underestimated the enemy. [Russian forces] took too long to react and the collapse came… As a result, we suffered a defeat and tried to minimise the loss by withdrawing our troops so they weren't surrounded."
This "defeat" has sparked anger on pro-Russian social media channels and among "patriotic" Russian bloggers, who have accused their military of making mistakes.
So has the powerful leader of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov.
"If today or tomorrow no changes in strategy are made," Mr Kadyrov warned, "I will be forced to speak with the leadership of the defence ministry and the leadership of the country to explain the real situation on the ground to them. It's a very interesting situation. It's astounding."
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
Russia had way too much military power, and resources of men and equipment, they said.
It is far too early to declare a victory for Ukraine.
But the image of a Russian victory is receding.
Those who claimed Russia could not possibly lose will fall back on the excuse: it wasn't fair for the Ukrainians to use Western weapons and intelligence.
The big winner, so far, is China.
One of the big losers, very likely, is the Green movement in Europe. They were funded, in large part, by the Russians and Chinese.
Don’t forget Biden tried to get Ukraine to surrender at the very beginning and wanted Zelensky to flee the country.
Putin’s decisions will have consequences. There are thousands of cases of war crimes. Here’s one of the latest.
Bodies of tortured civilians have been found in a village in liberated Kharkiv Oblast
MONDAY, 12 SEPTEMBER 2022, 19:58
https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2022/09/12/7367163/
It is neither.
China isn’t a big winner at anything right now. The cheap oil/western sanctions kept them from completely imploding, but things will be shaky there for a while.
They did Dodge a bullet that Putin showed them that invading sovereign countries aren’t worth the trouble and looking/talking all menacing might work better for them, so that free life lesson was a big win.
Nope. He was mislead by his generals. He’ll even fly them to the Hague and provide the prosecution with evidence to convict.
You don’t survive in Russia on top as long as he has without knowing how to play the game.
China has their problems, to be sure.
They have a lot of supporters in the US Deep State. They have captured a lot of the "ruling class" in this country and around the world.
So far, it strikes me President Biden's actions are more in support of China than of the USA.
I'd love to hear your insight on that.
Agreed. We should rejoice on that last one.
“China isn’t a big winner at anything right now.”
These Han clowns are still having lockdowns that are killing export industries while their ghost cities are beyond belief. Degenerate gamblers, who gambled too much on real estate. India looks more energetic. Vietnam is dynamic!
Actually, Zelenskyy has done a thorough job of eliminating anyone in the Ukraine who doesn’t agree with his policies.
All opposition parties are banned and the TV news is under government control.
https://news.yahoo.com/zelensky-nationalizes-tv-news-restricts-173820471.html
The police are arresting and confiscating the belongings of those accused of being sympathetic to Russia.
https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-putin-europe-kharkiv-51c514b6dc9cc1f935e018e4877222cc
There is reportedly an actual hit list.
https://schillerinstitute.com/blog/2022/09/07/press-conference-shut-down-the-ukrainian-hit-list-targeting-americans-and-international-voices-of-opposition/
Neither side is snowy white.
Except only one country, Russia, illegally invaded another country
so no, the two countries are not similar
Thanks for your perspective in regards to Putin. I’m seeing more of that myself after more reading about the frustration voiced by some of his favorites in Russian state-owned media. They want Russia to go conquering, and they’re not really opposing Putin.
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