Ukraine Watch...

[PS_RalphW]

Bridge to the east of Melitopol has been seriously damaged by partisans or special forces. This may be the first step in isolating the city and the remaining western Kherson regions from supply routes to the east. There are several more bridges across the river, and it is not as wide a river as Dnipro, but it is an obvious strategic target, and suggests that Melitopol may be the next focus for Ukraine.

At least six army barracks have been hit in Russia and occupied Ukraine in the last four days, suggesting that Ukraine has a growing stock of longer range missiles.

If the Russian campaign of taking down civilian infrastructure fails to break the Ukrainian morale, I suspect their next illegal escalation will be mass firebombing of cities to kill as many civilians as possible.

[PS_RalphW]

Also there are rumours that Russia is planning to use its 1500+ stock of 1947 designed An2 biplanes as primitive flying bombs against Ukraine. These are loaded with high explosive, piloted into the sky, then set to fly on a crude autopilot as the human pilot parachutes to the ground.

In formation, they mimic attack helicopters on radar and trigger the use of expensive air defence missiles, that cost many times more than the aircraft , and depleting Ukraines very limited stock.

This is very close to the vengeance weapons from ww11 Germany, as they are almost unguided and of zero military value directly, with civilians the only likely victims.

[Vortex2]

Former PLA officer says China is restraining Russia over use of nuclear weapons

From the FT

[BritDownUnder]

Former PLA officer says China is restraining Russia over use of nuclear weapons

From the FT

I would expect that since Russia and China are in a EurAsian defence alliance to promote democracy and peace, someone in the US has told Beijing that a Russian nuclear attack will be treated like a Chinese nuclear attack and responded to accordingly. Refer to my post on a possible British nuclear response to a Russian nuclear attack where I reserve three Trident missiles for use against Chinese centres of population.

And it furthers the point that Russia will end the Ukraine war being a Chinese vassal.

[PS_RalphW]

The UK mod reports that the Wagner mercinary recruits from prisons are being treated in a similar way to roman gladiators, but without the glamour. They are sent in to frontal assaults with smart phones showing a Google maps type route to follow whilst their officers remain in cover and monitor progress by drone. They are given covering fire but no heavy armour support. Failure to follow orders exactly results in summary execution.

[PS_RalphW]

Putin has for the first time publicly described the special military operation in the region formally part of Ukraine as war. An opposition party leader has called for him to be prosecuted under the law against propagating false news.

[kenneal - lagger]

Putin has for the first time publicly described the special military operation in the region formally part of Ukraine as war. An opposition party leader has called for him to be prosecuted under the law against propagating false news.

We can but hope!

[PS_RalphW]

Reports that Ukraine is close to recapturing Kremina in the northern part of the front line. I would not like to give a probability or time estimate for the recapture as neither side likes to give away any tactical information. It might lead to a significant withdrawal or rout of Russian troops as it would sever an important resupply route, but then it might not.

All we have to go on is that so far Ukraine has under promised and over delivered on the battlefield.

[kenneal - lagger]

Yes, on or two of the war vloggers are claiming fighting in Kremina with reports from both sides.

The Russians are shelling civilians in Kherson still. I am amazed that the Ukrainians haven't bombed the s***t out of the Russian artillery by now. I suppose that they have transferred all the heavy weaponry to other fronts where it is more urgently required. Like much of the Russian effort, if it is being wasted on civilian targets it's not being used on the Ukrainian military.

And yet another oligarch has fallen out of a window, this time on Christmas Day. I look forward to hearing the news that the same fate has befallen Putin.

[BritDownUnder]

Defenestration is an old Russian/Communist habit, used way back in Czechoslovakia in 1948 to get rid of a very inconvenient democratically elected non-Communist minister.

[automaticearth2]

King of sausage is dead:
[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/20 ... nies-will/]

Oh dear...

[kenneal - lagger]

He was probably hit over the head with a large sausage with a lead weight in it before being thrown out of the window.

[Vortex2]

For Christmas, I was given a book: "Prisoners Of Geography" by Tim Marshall (Sunday Times best seller)

This has a chapter on Russia.

Written just before the current conflict, it covers the Ukraine situation in fair detail.
Yet again, another analysis which suggests that this was NOT "an unprovoked war".

BOTH sides are clearly to blame .. plus NATO & the USA.

All those Ukraine avatar users and flag wavers should have maybe read a little of the history of the conflict BEFORE believing the media's 100% support for Ukraine.

Thousands of young men from both sides are dying horribly in the mud of WW1 style trenches in the Donbass, thanks in great part to the armchair liberals in the West.

I would REALLY like the poster here who sent money for bullets to be shot at Russians to be sent to the front line to deliver the ammunition in person.

[kenneal - lagger]

Whatever happened before the invasion Russia violently invaded a neighbouring, peaceful, sovereign country. There was no military action against Russia nor a military build up to provoke this action. Putin and his mental insecurities are solely to blame for this action.

The only blame that can be placed upon "armchair liberals in the West" is that they didn't stand up to the murderous maniac Putin earlier.

[clv101]

For Christmas, I was given a book: "Prisoners Of Geography" by Tim Marshall (Sunday Times best seller)

I read this several years ago, it's pretty good. Popular science take on Geography, necessarily simplistic in places but covers a lot of ground. The world in more complex, with deeper history than modern, mainstream discourse allows. Pity really.

I also read Helen Thompson's Disorder this year which was absolutely brilliant on 20th (and into this) century economics and geopolitics, not least because energy was given the treatment it disserve. Anyone who's temped to think there's anything simple in this world, let alone simple solutions to current problems should read it. Wars are notorious for folk attempting boil it down to simple black and white arguments - frankly doing so is just daft.