Russian special military operation in Ukraine #59

Trump Withdraws His Ukraine Peace Plan. Russia Does Too, by Kirill Strelnikov for RiaNovosti. 08.14.2024.


Yesterday's interview between former and possibly future US President Donald Trump and the richest man in the world and owner of the social network X Elon Musk naturally attracted the close attention of the Russian audience and revealed some points related to Trump's position on the conflict in Ukraine.

The interview itself was called "historic" by the Trump campaign, and Musk boasted that more than a billion people had viewed the posts about the event. However, the numbers are somewhat more modest: 16.4 million people listened to the interview in its entirety in seven hours, while more than 20 million people watched Russian President Vladimir Putin's "non-historical" interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson in just two hours. But that's by the way.

For obvious reasons, Trump's interview is a clone of his campaign speeches, meaning it is aimed exclusively at a domestic audience. On the Russia front, Trump went through his usual routine: he blamed Biden, "with zero IQ," for starting the conflict in Ukraine by insisting on Ukraine's NATO membership despite numerous warnings from Russia ; Putin is a good negotiator; Putin has always respected him; Putin is at the peak of his powers; Putin loves his country (in his own way) and will defend it; Ukraine is in a very bad situation and they don't have enough soldiers; Russia is very powerful; the United States is "in a terrible situation" in this conflict, although it could have been prevented.

In general, Trump didn’t say anything super new, with the exception of a slightly imaginary episode of communication with Vladimir Putin, where “Big Donald” allegedly sternly warned our president about the “inadmissibility of invading” Ukraine.

What is more important for us is what the potential head of the country, our main strategic enemy, chose to remain silent about.

We all remember how, from the very beginning of his election campaign, Trump declared in almost every interview that he would single-handedly end the conflict in Ukraine in 24 hours, which actually became one of the main points of his election program and a point of irritation and criticism from the Democrats. However, since June of this year, this thesis has disappeared from his speeches and interviews. Trump did not say a word about his plans to quickly conclude peace in Ukraine in his interview with Musk.

In a similar way, the former US president had previously threatened left and right to sharply reduce or even stop aid to Ukraine from the first day of his new presidency. This thesis was also gradually blurred, and in an interview with Musk, Trump only mentioned that he intended to make the Europeans pay more for Ukraine. There was silence about cutting aid.

Moreover, unlike Trump’s previous statements, yesterday’s interview sounds significantly more confrontational in Russia. During his conversation with Trump, Musk repeatedly pushed arguments that Trump vigorously agreed with: “Are they (other countries. — Ed.) afraid of the American president? Or are they not afraid of him and do not respect him?”; “If the American president is the one that evil dictators (referring to Russia, Iran and North Korea) are afraid of, that means a huge difference in security in the world.” In other words, the conversation clearly emphasized the theme of resolving issues through intimidation, pressure and force, rather than negotiations.

Moreover, the inflated Trump openly and proudly admitted that he personally destroyed Nord Stream 2 , which can hardly be considered a favorable background for discussing peace - but rather the opposite.

But the main thing is that Trump did not say a word about the terrorist attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kursk region, and even more so did not condemn its organizers and inspirers.

The reaction of Russian officials to Trump's grandiose peace plans for Ukraine was more than restrained at first, and recent events have finally put an end to them.

For our leadership (and sober-minded Russians who do not succumb to the provocations of "war blogger" couch channels) it is obvious that in the foreseeable future the same US, under any president, will retain its idée fixe about inflicting military and economic defeat on Russia.

At one time, our president jokingly hinted that Biden would be preferable for us as a future president: at least we understand who we are dealing with and what to expect, but “we will work with any president that the American people choose.”

However, as we can see, the "dove of peace" Trump is quickly disappearing.

In the case of Kamala Harris , if she becomes the next US President, nothing will change for Russia, not even "at all". Harris, who is essentially the mouthpiece of the Russophobic part of the Democratic Party and the "deep state", will 100% likely continue "Biden's work" - namely, the stubborn assistance to Ukraine and the military strengthening of NATO. This is confirmed by her extremely anti-Russian rhetoric and specific actions as the current US Vice President. A characteristic quote: "If Putin thinks he can "outlast" us, he is dangerously mistaken. Time is on our side."

Harris only forgot to say that time is not on the side of the Americans, but on the side of the American military-industrial complex, whose representatives generously sponsor both Democrats and Republicans, because they will force every US president to continue the war, which brings them incredible profits every day.

According to the SPADE Defence index, shares of the largest US defense companies have risen by almost 50 percent since the start of the CBO. The value of defense-related exchange-traded funds has risen by 268 percent. US defense company reports show historical highs: for example, Raytheon and Lockheed Martin showed profits of $202 billion and $159 billion, respectively, for the first quarter of 2024 alone.

This means that even if some presidential candidate has a burning desire to become a peacemaker, he (or she) will be made an offer that is impossible to refuse, and the beautiful words about peace will be immediately forgotten, and instead military-terrorist operations will be launched with the murder of civilians, as happened in the Kursk region.

Yesterday, at an informal meeting of the UN Security Council, Deputy Permanent Representative of Russia to the UN Dmitry Polyansky recalled that in June, Russia, represented by Vladimir Putin, made a "very generous offer of negotiations": "We received a response to our offer a week ago - the Zelensky regime chose escalation and war through an invasion of a peaceful Russian region. This is a fatal mistake, which Ukraine will later deeply regret. But the choice has already been made."

Well, if no, then no, as they say.

And a couple of days ago, at an operational meeting on the situation in the Kursk region, Vladimir Putin explained clearly and distinctly: there can be no talk of negotiations with such people, the enemy will receive a worthy response, and all the goals facing Russia will be achieved.

Maybe not in 24 hours, as some dream, but at least for sure.

https://ria.ru/20240814/tramp-1966013042.html

A cheerful story

The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) involved more than 11 thousand soldiers in the attack on the territory of the Kursk region. This was stated by the commander of the special forces "Akhmat", deputy head of the main military-political directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, Major General Apty Alaudinov in his Telegram channel .

According to Alaudinov, the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine set its fighters the task of capturing the Kursk nuclear power plant by August 11. However, as the military man noted, the entire resource, “which was more or less on the move,” was “thrown into the furnace.” As a result, Ukrainian troops lost most of their equipment, the Akhmat commander emphasized.

Alaudinov also added that at the moment the Russian military is completing the blockade of Ukrainian troops in the Kursk region. According to him, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are beginning to defend certain positions rather than go into battle.

Prior to this, the major general reported that the city of Sudzha in the Kursk region is not under the control of Ukrainian troops. According to him, today there are units of the Russian Ministry of Defense in the settlement .

https://www-gazeta-ru.translate.goog/army/news/2024/08/14/23684581.shtml?_x_tr_sl=ru&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en

Arrow wrote:

FP I believe that there will be no response or change in the style of warfare by Russia. If there were to be any change, there would have to be a change in the president of Russia. Nothing will change with Putin, that is obvious. There will also be no major response, no revenge for Ukraine's entry into Kursk Oblast. The operation will be conducted in the same way all the time.

And I am afraid there will be zero response also for Ukrainian dirty bomb in Moscow.

Putin will shrug his shoulders and do nothing.

mr_hd wrote:Bigger picture is bleak for Russia, more long range drones will come, gap in electric warfare is melting and Ukraine is faster evolving new tactics, for example they have now anti drone system based on sound detection, or new interception drones... their overall capabilities are going still steadily up from day 1. Ukraine will be Vietnam for Russian forces.

The Ukraine is out of men and bundling 60-year olds into vans for forced conscription.

There won't be any new wunderwaffen or improvements or tactics because there will be no-one left to employ them. This Kursk attack is one of desperation and consists of whatever combat-ready Ukrainian units were still left in reserve. Once they're annihilated it's just a question of mopping up on Ukrainian territory.

mr_hd wrote:

Kiko wrote:No negotiations. Ukraine simply should not exist., by Victoria Nikiforova for RiaNovosti. 08.14.2024.

The main result of the Ukrainian attack on Russia turned out to be exactly the opposite of what was intended. They tried to "improve their negotiating position." In fact, they got to the point where there will be no negotiations.

During these difficult days, a grim determination to fight to the end, "to the thaw," as our fighters say, matured and strengthened in the hearts of millions of people in Russia. No matter how long it takes, in the 17th century we gnawed these lands from Poland for decades, broke off bit by bit, retreated, concluded armistices and again steadily, inexorably moved forward until Kiev became Russian.

There should be no "Ukraine", this entire space should be denazified, cleansed and rendered harmless. Whatever efforts and sacrifices are required of us, we are ready for them.

The West has long fooled the world with the bait that historical processes have accelerated in our time, are moving at a furious pace and are trying to adjust to the presidential elections in the USA . In reality, this is a lie - soon only cats will be born and Maidans will be stirred up.

True revolutionary processes unfold slowly, over decades. Now Russia has entered into a leadership role in precisely this kind of historical upheaval. We are fighting for our independence and are ready to fight for it for years and decades, until we reach Lvov - and, if necessary, even further. In the end, the answer to the question "who does Russia border?" is: "Russia borders whoever it wants."

We also had illusions that the Ukrainian conflict could be resolved quickly and with a minimum number of victims. For two years we hoped that something would snap in the heads of the maddened population of the former Ukrainian SSR, and they would change their minds about dying for their Fuhrer. We did not want to fight "to the last Ukrainian". Paradoxically, we were the only people on Earth who felt sorry for the Ukrainians.

Hence the peace talks, the idea of ​​which we sincerely supported. Until recently, according to all polls, the majority of the Russian population was in favor of a peaceful resolution of the conflict. The events in Kursk Region changed everything.

The enemy is on our soil for the first time since the Great Patriotic War. German infantry fighting vehicles are driving around the Kursk region. The collective West is cheering for its cannon fodder. Civilized Europe approves of terror against Russians. Americans are enthusiastically comparing the Ukrainian sabotage to the Inchon operation, when American occupiers managed to turn the tide of the Korean War. As a result, the US took half of Korea for itself, forcing a ceasefire on the sides. Now they want the same result in Ukraine, but it will be the exact opposite. 180 degrees - yes, Annalena, that's what it's called.

"What can we negotiate with these people about?" asked the Russian president. This is a rhetorical question, it does not need an answer. The Americans desperately needed peace talks before the elections. Now they can say thank you to Zelensky - there will be no talks.

Oddly enough, we can also thank the Jewish Nazi. His sabotage launched such a powerful national building in Russia that we could not even dream of. Against the backdrop of a direct and obvious external threat, all our recent disputes seem like such nonsense.

We were pumping the interethnic issue - well, where is it now? Muslim communities of Kursk region call on their co-religionists to help Kursk residents with everything they can. Azerbaijanis are transporting humanitarian aid in trucks. Chechen fighters are catching VSSU officers in the forests. We are all together, and together we are an invincible force.

The discourse about "corrupt elites" has fallen apart before our eyes. It's hard to repeat this nonsense while watching Governor Gladkov, who is haggard from lack of sleep, evacuate people from under fire. Thousands of Muscovites have gone to our border these days - they are bringing humanitarian aid, helping to evacuate people, providing medical assistance. They were called "fed-up Muscovites from Patriki", but in reality they are the same "Alyoshka from Malaya Bronnaya and Vitka from Mokhovaya".

And this entire huge, multi-million mass of people, this entire boundless country - what can you do with it on a scale of decades? We will not go anywhere. We will kill Nazis until we cleanse our entire land. And if it is necessary to crush the vermin in its lair, we will go there too - take note of Western leaders. Today this awareness has come to everyone, even to the people farthest removed from politics, even to the most stubborn pacifists.

At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, we also had enough pacifists, we hoped for the brotherhood of nations, for class solidarity with the German proletarians. No matter, the atrocities of the Germans quickly cleared the brains of our ancestors.

It is the same today - no one will ever forgive the Ukronazis for the suffering and death of our citizens. We have not forgotten the suffering of the Odessans burned in May 2014, nor the death of civilians in Donbass . There will be a reckoning for everything - in fact, it is already coming.

Today, society has a pressing demand for our army not to work "in white gloves", as it has been doing for the past two years. Of course, Russia will always observe the laws and customs of war, we are civilized people. However, the CTO format declared in the border regions does not imply coddling the enemy. Terrorists who pose a threat are destroyed on the spot. Or, as our soldier put it well, "the settlement is liberated, while the exchange fund is not replenished."

Compared to the ever-grimacing Ukrainians, Russians look unemotional. However, it is a mistake to take our imperturbability for weakness. In fact, it is cold determination, multiplied by legendary Russian patience. During our thousand-year history, this unique weapon allowed us to dismantle the most terrible armies and kill millions of our enemies. We are ready to use it today, we simply have no other choice.

https://ria.ru/20240814/ukraina-1965955368.html

This is some high level trolling and bullshi*ting.

Anyway 2 days are gone, Ukraine had enough time to dig trenches, so window was closed for Russia to kick them out easily from Kursk region.

Now Ukraine has three scenarios: - to press more and possibly over stretch, to reduce contact points and focus to the most defendable zones and keep them or to fully withdraw on its own and plan something new... in neither scenario Russia has much to say.

Russia has main two options - to press with all power and restore order in Kursk but for that will have to re-deploy forces and its own offensive activities in East Ukraine will be impacted or to do not much and keep pressing in East of Ukraine but risking losing more its own territories.

The biggest thing that Ukraine incursion exposed is lack of personal on Russian side... basically there was almost no credible resistance for one week and even now response is slow and still far away what should be - so they are incredibly slow.


Bigger picture is bleak for Russia, more long range drones will come, gap in electric warfare is melting and Ukraine is faster evolving new tactics, for example they have now anti drone system based on sound detection, or new interception drones... their overall capabilities are going still steadily up from day 1. Ukraine will be Vietnam for Russian forces.

Russia is not on a war footing while Ukraine is.

Putin thought Russia could win this war (or "special military operation") without sacrificing the country's entire economy and workforce for war.

The geographic reality of the real not delusional world. A 1000sqkm!!!

@Suriyak
@Suriyakmaps

After 900 days since Russian-Ukrainian War began Russian Army currently control 85226 Sq Km, which corresponds to 14,12% of Ukraine (18,63% with Crimea Peninsula included):
- Donetsk People's Republic forces controls 16182 Km^2 (61,02% of Donetsk oblast)
- Luhansk People's Republic forces controls 26328 Km^2 (98,67% of Luhansk oblast)

Karl Haushofer wrote:
Russia is not on a war footing while Ukraine is.

Putin thought Russia could win this war (or "special military operation") without sacrificing the country's entire economy and workforce for war.

Are you after a ban, double posting walls of text like this?

Arrow wrote:FP I believe that there will be no response or change in the style of warfare by Russia. If there were to be any change, there would have to be a change in the president of Russia. Nothing will change with Putin, that is obvious. There will also be no major response, no revenge for Ukraine's entry into Kursk Oblast. The operation will be conducted in the same way all the time.

Well I prefer to remain optimistic. Being overly-conservative will just give Kiev breathing room to form up new reserves and receive new equipment at their own pace after they've thrown away what they had on an adventure in Kursk.
If they still had tons of reserves then a continuation of attritional warfare would be warranted but I'm betting that they don't else they wouldn't have tried this stunt in the first place. And Putin and Russian command would be missing a major opportunity by not reversing the Ukrainian attack and conducting a counter-offensive.

PapaDragon wrote:Russians seem to have good taste, only simps are into Rei

Actually, simps are into both and either

Karl Haushofer wrote:Russia is not on a war footing while Ukraine is.

Putin thought Russia could win this war (or "special military operation") without sacrificing the country's entire economy and workforce for war.

Well it will have to, as the real confrontation is not with the Ukraine, which is only the pawn, but the wider West. And the conflict is not fought only with military forces but also diplomatically and also economically. And if Russia's economy fails before the West's does then that will put it on the losing path.

The only way Russia would be justified in getting its entire war economy and society on a war footing is if NATO does that too and attempts to fight Russia militarily directly. Because then the conflict will be purely military and military-industrial and the civilian & ideological aspect will no longer matter.

This incident keeps rearing its head. There will be a day of reconning.

The reality of much of the Kursk front.

Russians With Attitude
@RWApodcast

Everyone who posts about "Ukrainians taking territory in Kursk oblast" or "Russians retaking territory in Kursk oblast" is either really stupid or lying to you for clicks. That is not the kind of fighting that is occurring there. It's mostly small teams trying to spot each other and then hunting each other with drones and artillery, or trying to ambush each other. There is no frontline, and most of the map painting for either side is based on a 5 man team driving through an empty villages and snapping a pic while pursuing the enemy. The truth is that we simply don't know who has fire control over what village at any given moment, and it's not the kind of positional warfare where that matters.

The Ukrainians are trying to find places where they could dig in and establish supply lines; the Russians are consolidating a defensive perimeter and gathering reserves from where they won't weaken the actual strategic battlegrounds. The actually important questions are whether/when the AFU can establish supply and when the RuAF can coordinate the resources for a sweeping purge of the afflicted area.

Russians driving through a village and not seeing the Ukrainian DRG team in the woods nearby does not matter for the overall situation; neither does Ukrainians posting pics from villages they drove through four days ago. Neither of these is newsworthy or has strategic impact.
11:28 AM · Aug 14, 2024
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10.2K
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Whilst down in Ugledar a state of Hell persists

SIMPLICIUS Ѱ
@simpatico771
The author of the posts positions himself as a Ukrainian military man and is simply shocked by what is happening in the Ugledar direction .

Briefly:

complains about the huge number of FPV drones in the Russian military

heavy casualties, chaos, lack of reserve positions for the Ukrainian armed forces

no evacuation as Russians are destroying evacuation groups

20% of his company remains, the command is wiping out one company after another



Or further north

MD
@distant_earth83

Sniper Speaking

In the Pokrovsk direction, the bastards are advancing from the north of Orlivka towards the Orlivka-Nikolaevka road. The bastards have entered Nikolaevka, and part of the settlement is under their control.

What is probably a detachment of the 95th Airborne heading into Kursk

https://x.com/Militarylandnet/status/1823664384431837490

What is holding back Russia to advance towards Odessa and reduce contraband delivered through the port and additionally remove any risk of attacks by sea drones? The Crimea Peninsula is 'relatively' close; to me it sounds Odessa should be like the 1st priority in terms of strategic and tactical importance.

This part seems to be really stable for a long time but the Russian forces are somewhat close.

The sea drones ensure Russia cannot sustain a naval invasion, they have had to pull the entire bsf back due to their inability to stop them

famschopman wrote:What is holding back Russia to advance towards Odessa and reduce contraband delivered through the port and additionally remove any risk of attacks by sea drones?

Lack of sea transports and mines etc for a sea assault, dozens of rivers/streams for a short land assault.

ludovicense wrote:


Which does not justify the grotesque failure of the Russian MoD.
Not seeing the movement is unjustified.

All intelligence thought that these were reserves for a counterattack on Volchansk in the Kharkiv region. It's just that no one imagined that they would throw trained reserves and scarce Western armor into a senseless attack on the Kursk nuclear power plant. The enemy was once again able to surprise the entire Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation with its stupidity. In that direction, a maximum of PR attacks for 100-300 people in the style of RDK were expected

JohninMK wrote:What is probably a detachment of the 95th Airborne heading into Kursk

https://x.com/Militarylandnet/status/1823664384431837490

Sacrificing your elite units for a PR opportunity is somewhat sad - but good riddance I'd say.

caveat emptor wrote:.. It doesn't look like airport has any organized AA defense.  

https://t.me/milinfolive/128389

By now you would expect some commanders to have set up at least a Pantsir/Tor around these airports. That was not a small handheld drone.