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Update from Ukraine | Ruzzia runs from the south. Ukraine Lost Pilots and Planes | Glory to Heroes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pMplsQGd48 The summary of the situation of Russian re-invasion to Ukraine covering the recent developments on the battlefield, as of 23rd August 2023 – 22:00 (Kyiv time). https://militaryland.net/news/invasion-day-546-summary/ [two summaries per week, released on Wednesday and Sunday] *** Great interactive maps with viewer controlled Map magnification tool to use for each Front! https://militaryland.net/maps/

Governments start wars in pursuit of various objectives, from conquering territory to changing the regime of a hostile state. Once a war begins, the stakes are immediately raised. It is one of the paradoxes of war that even as its original objectives drift out of reach or are cast aside, the necessity of not being seen as the loser only grows in importance—such importance, in fact, that even if winning is no longer possible, governments will still persevere to show that they have not been beaten. ...All of these dynamics are evident in Russia’s war against Ukraine. r Putin set...

Kyiv’s Kherson offensive is not just about retaking territory but eroding Russian will to continue its futile and costly war. The great Prussian theorist of war, Carl von Clausewitz, took it for granted that defence was the strongest form of warfare, if only because a successful attack required superior numbers. For this reason the weaker side was obliged to defend. A state stuck on the defensive might prevent enemy gains but could not achieve its own objectives. They therefore had to use the time gained by the defence to create a more favourable balance of strength. Then they could strike....

Lawrence Freedman went to Somalia in 1992 as part of the U.S.-led relief effort Rep. Ilhan Omar, a freshman Democrat from Minnesota, has become widely known for her attacks on supporters of Israel. Ms. Omar is a naturalized citizen whose Somali refugee family settled in the U.S. when she was a teenager. Tens of thousands of Somali refugees relocated to the U.S.—some 25,000 in the Minneapolis area—to escape the starvation, famine and civil war that turned Somalia into a lawless, failed state in the early 1990s. Another name is worth recognition and remembrance, especially among Somali refugees: Lawrence Freedman. In...

We have reached a turning-point in international politics as well as in Iraq. President George W. Bush is widely seen to have gambled on Iraq and lost. The impact of that loss goes well beyond Iraq. The US has not been defeated in battle and is unlikely to be so but it can no longer impose its will on Iraq because it lacks the moral authority to do so. excerpt: This was not inevitable. The arrogance and hubris with which the Bush administration embarked on this war in the first place used up much moral capital. excerpt: The alienation of...