Ukraine Watch...

[adam2]

A more detailed report,
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-62602387

And a second later report https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-62603741

[adam2]

Russia have stated that they intend to allow access by UN inspectors to the nuclear power station that they have occupied.
Surprising in my view.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-62613013

[PS_RalphW]

Putin has a record of stringing the French president along. However, they did agree to grain exports. Russia is not totally immune to external political pressure, and there is no military advantage in another nuclear meltdown, the wind could be blowing the other way.

I get the first hints that Russia is beginning to seriously regret invading Ukraine. They have been exposed as a paper tiger that would be utterly routed by a modern high tech army. They are now suffering signifant losses a hundred miles behind their front line, and their advances in Donbas have stalled, with their artillery superiority damaged by a handful of Himars systems and the Wagner mercenaries reportedly taking heavy Casualties. They have also comprehensively lost the electronic battlefield, with little or no hacking damage to Western it systems, the social media propaganda front only having limited successes, and utterly routed on the battlefield at every level from consumer drones and mobile phone tracking up to satellite surveillance and GPS guided munitions.

Of course we only have Western information sources and Europe is still being squeezed ever tighter over natural gas imports, but as long as the US is prepared to pay for military aid, Ukraine can and probably will keep fighting and weakening the Russian military arsenal. The US is in no hurry to finish this, which will make for a very cold, dark winter.

[Catweazle]

The US is in no hurry to finish this,

I think that is very likely, Ukraine is like a weeping wound in the Bear.

[BritDownUnder]

The US is in no hurry to finish this,

I think that is very likely, Ukraine is like a weeping wound in the Bear.

Yes, they need to be made to suffer for inflicting 100 years of Communism, Murder/Genocide and general disorder on the World. As well as recruiting many generations of weak gullible idiots to their cause.

[kenneal - lagger]

The Ukraine debacle needs to be sorted before the next US election because if the Republicans get in, either Trump or a Trump supporter, I can see them doing Trump's (Putin's) biding and exiting Ukraine and NATO. If Trump has been jailed he will get a "get out of jail free card" and there might even be a change in the law so that he can stand for President again. I can see him arising like Hitler did although he is Putin's puppet akin to Mussolini and Hitler.

You can probably see that I have little faith in a large proportion of the US electorate.

[PS_RalphW]

Daughter of Putin's ultra nationalist ally killed in a car bomb in her father's car that he had been expected to drive. Her father immediately blamed Ukraine. He is said to be the main driver behind Putin's decision to invade

[adam2]

Daughter of Putin's ultra nationalist ally killed in a car bomb in her father's car that he had been expected to drive. Her father immediately blamed Ukraine. He is said to be the main driver behind Putin's decision to invade

IF the daughter was an innocent victim then I feel sorry for them. If however they supported the war, then they got what they deserved. Pity it was not the father though.
In wartime, this is to be expected. Bit surprised that the vehicle was not under armed guard and/or checked for bombs before use. As the good book says "if you think that a bomb might be wired to the ignition, do not turn it on, take a taxi or hired car selected at random"

I wonder whom planted the bomb ? Ukraine, or perhaps an internal power struggle within russia.

Edited to add that later reports state that dead woman was a strong supporter of the war. Splendid news.

[Vortex2]

dead woman was a strong supporter of the war. Splendid news.

Murdered for having an opinion?

Is that the British way nowadays/

[adam2]

dead woman was a strong supporter of the war. Splendid news.

Murdered for having an opinion?

Is that the British way nowadays/

I would say that she was a legitimate target. Russia started it and must accept casualties, not just among front line troops but also among the political class and their friends and supporters.
I would have felt similarly during the last war. Death of wife or daughter of senior nazi party member, who was also a supporter, would have been splendid news.

[UndercoverElephant]

dead woman was a strong supporter of the war. Splendid news.

Murdered for having an opinion?

No. Murdered in order to punish her father, in order to weaken Putin's position further. Anything that can be done to make life miserable for key supporters of Putin is a legitimate action in this war, because it is Putin's war. Same reason his supporters are being sanctioned. She would not have been "murdered for her opinion" had she not been a close relative of an "ultra nationalist Putin ally", so her opinion wasn't the crucial factor.

[PS_RalphW]

I remain unconvinced that she was a legimate target. I don't have the direct evidence. Her father, on the other hand, appears to be very much a legitimate target. Unfortunately, with his mindset, losing a daughter to the cause is unlikely to make him any less psychopathic.

[Stumuz2]

Haven't chimed in for a while but the car bomb looks like the continuation of the Asymmetric warfare that is going on all over the place. From industrial plants suddenly blowing up in the USA, to critical industry closing in the UK for 'reasons' . There is most definitely something going on behind the scenes.

As usual I blame the EU!
The German centred gas crisis, and the French centred nuclear one.
Most German political parties have been willing participants in one of the most irresponsible policies in Europe’s post-war history. Buying cheap energy from dodgy neighbours, rigging their currency towards exports, giving the external costs to others and reaping the benefits. Thinking back to the way they treated Greece when what they were doing themselves beggars belief.
Same sort of thing with France’s nuclear fleet, which has normally functioned as the backbone of northwestern Europe’s energy system, and it enabled the country to become the EU’s largest energy exporter. But maintenance issues with Electricité de France’s ageing reactor fleet and a heat wave has scuppered all that.

So the conclusion is Germany/France are in the energy doodoo. And they are desperate to get out of it. How? Side with Putin obliquely.
Most of the lethal aid Germany has sent has been useless. Mouldy missiles. Malfunctioning munitions. The huge amount of promises made have not been delivered.
https://www.politico.eu/article/data-sh ... t-ukraine/
It is clear Germany /France want this over asap. They are willing to sacrifice Ukraine to do it.

Back to the Bomb. Will it make Putin more or less aggressive? Will he now completely cut off Europes energy? Was it a way of putting a little lead in the EU's pencil ? (not Ireland they are free loaders)

[clv101]

So the conclusion is Germany/France are in the energy doodoo. And they are desperate to get out of it. How? Side with Putin obliquely.

Yep, I'm expecting a pivot away from US position towards Russia before this winter's done.

[clv101]

Daughter of Putin's ultra nationalist ally killed in a car bomb in her father's car that he had been expected to drive. Her father immediately blamed Ukraine. He is said to be the main driver behind Putin's decision to invade

I wrote this here back in Jan 21:

I for one, don't have hatred of all things perceived to be Trumpian. I think there's merit to the philosophy of 'traditionalism' as brought to the White House by Bannon (and to Bolsonaro by Olavo de Carvalho and to Putin by Dugin). Traditionalism is apart from fascism, liberalism and communism - but is so poorly understood/promoted it gets lost under ill-fitting descriptions. The vast majority of Trumpism's critics are too simplistic, attacking a caricature.

Yes, Dugin was a Putin ally - but also had influence in Trump's Whitehouse.