Centre of a Moscow cordoned off due to an anniversary of Moscow or something ive read kimbers?
Yeah I think it's actually a big anniversary celebration
875th anniversary of the founding of Moscow.
They don't usually fence stuff off for that do they? What happened for the 850th?
Putin didn't mention the Russian collapse in his address
Ahh, Putin celebrating a new Ferris wheel.
https://twitter.com/ChristopherJM/status/1568684003506679808
MOSCOW, September 10. /TASS/
"In order to achieve the declared goals of the special military operation for the liberation of Donbass, it was decided to regroup the Russian forces stationed near Balakleya and Izyum to boost efforts in the Donetsk direction," Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Igor Konashenkov
I hope that's clear to you all now 🙂
Ahh, Putin celebrating a new Ferris wheel
He "attended" by video conference.
"[Now] it is Europe’s largest Ferris wheel. It was the London [Eye] before, but from now on, London’s is second," Mayor Sergey Sobyanin MOSCOW, September 10. /TASS/
I only consume Tass media output for the comments these days
Funny how the trolls have disappeared from the comments on YouTube !
Russia has an internal security threat about to appear at its borders. Those “colonies” it created and their militias are heading to the Russian border. A border that up to now has been porous. A significant number of Russian troops will be needed to disarm these militia. Otherwise internal threats (which might already be there for Putin) will become a significant issue for Putins regime.
The eastern regions of The Ukraine have to date been mostly held/occupied by these militias.
Very definitely this. There's queues hundreds of vehicles long with (new) Russian passport holders who have lost everything for Russia now finding they are turned away...
I also wonder about the many 'stans, exclaves and enclaves, many of whom have supported Russia in this, many who rely on Russian government money. They now see how Russia really treats people, and that the Russian military is hugely degraded. Politically China and India will capitalise on this, but I wonder if Pootin is about to see the collapse of long standing control over many other countries and regions..
the special military operation for the liberation of Donbass,
I thought the intention was to denazify and demilitarise Ukraine. When did it get officially downgraded to just be about Donbas?
Amazing amount of kit being donated by Russia as part of their 'regrouping'
https://twitter.com/Arslon_Xudosi/status/1568876740088315906?t=yFwOAckC8BpcI9-MxQDfKA&s=19
Politically China and India will capitalise on this...snip
I think that politically China will regret hitching their wagon to Russia in early February. The "profound transformation" and "world order" is taking taking on a new meaning and the timing is bad for President Xi a month before the CCP conference and vote for leadership
Funny how the trolls have disappeared from the comments on YouTube !
The whole NAFO thing is fascinating, not really something I expected to see.
What is the NAFO thing?
No idea what all that is 🤣
NAFO - the North Atlantic Fellas Organisation.
A bunch of internet users who drown russian propaganda/disinformation efforts in a sea of their own disinformation/memes.
Iirc they also run donations for equipment and geolocation of russian positions.
As well as drowning russian efforts to do the same in a wave of bullshit.
Russia is refusing entry to Donetsk “Russians” despite freshly minted passports.
Amazing amount of kit being donated by Russia as part of their ‘regrouping’
YouTube showing fields full of tanks and mountains of ammo left behind by “regrouping” Russian forces.
They now see how Russia really treats people
You're assuming enough people in those places have access to that kind of media.
I so hope this is the turning point. if the militias are fleeing and then finding they are not being supported by Russia it makes it more likely those remaining will surrender
I worry about tactical nukes. though I now can't see even that making a difference to Ukrainian resolve and it will surely alienate the few of russias remaining supporters
Probably saved a few Russian lives, as said aircraft would have most likely just dropped a load of bombs on their own troops.
That, or the air defence operatives were working for Milo Minderbinder.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see a slower pace over the weekend while UKR takes stock, rests and resupplies while keeping up artillery and air support pressure on Russian Forces
One big advantage the Ukrainians have now are the big long-range guns, along with the supply of GPS-guided munitions. As they move forward and stabilise their gains, they can continue to put pressure onto Russian positions forty to fifty kilometres away. And as they’re within thirty kilometres of the Russian border in some places, they’re just giving Russian troops an added incentive to leg it back to the *safety’ of Mother Russia’s welcoming arms…
I can see an increasing refugee crisis in Russia as all the Russian-speaking separatists look for a safe haven - their lives will be a misery once those occupied territories are taken back. History shows a very uncomfortable and uncertain situation for collaborators.
The NAFO mob are legends, they've somehow cobbled together one of the most effective anti-disinformation operations since the invention of social media, all through concerted irreverence and some of the most savage pisstaking ever seen online.
Its a masterclass of how to counter Russia's bot-nets and troll farms and its a thing of beauty.
Largely cooked up by a Polish chap living in the UK BTW.
(Warning: contains fruity language and righteous Vatnik deletion)
What Hatter said, it’s amazing to see…
Pretty much any Russian official is swamped with cartoon dogs pronouncing nonsense. Which is the perfect answer to a disinformation campaign that’s cost a significant investment to the Russian state.
How do you counter 80K+ volunteers shit posting and quite often having fun doing it, and doing it for a cause they actually believe in.
https://twitter.com/am_polak/status/1568949568099815427?s=20&t=qaYc2QCd6jrYdMt0ncH--g
Savage example
https://twitter.com/iceworld27/status/1568954605010300929?s=20&t=XD3CU_TTroo-MJ4PaONKhw
And the Ukrainians have leant right into it as well, you're seeing troops with Fellas patches, NAFO memes chalked on missiles.
The collective online squeal of glee when Ukraine's defence minister changed his twitter avatar to a Shiba Inu a few weeks back was a delight to behold.
I seem to have missed out on all of this 🤣🤣
He “attended” by video conference.
Think this is probably quite significant. And may be related to the internal political situation. Or at least Putin paranoia. If he’s fallen from a ground floor window and ended up in intensive care within the next short while I wouldn’t be too surprised.
I seem to have missed out on all of this
Easy to do unless you've made a habit of following various Russian propaganda outlets or their Western useful idiots, if you did then you would have DEFINATELY encountered them.
NAFO expansion is, after all, non- negotiable.
This is dynamite. Open discussion on Russian TV of what a disaster the whole war is. Talk of suing for peace, recognition that denying Ukrainian identity has backfired, that civilians have been killed, that Putin was lied to when told Ukrainians would welcome them, that defeating Ukraine is impossible. There's some push back from a couple of hawks, but the doves seem to to get the upper hand IMO. Fascinating stuff. Let's hope some of this gets through to the public.
https://twitter.com/JuliaDavisNews/status/1569070513909022720?t=lUCw4Bbf1aOEBwyrBUL7kA&s=19
What a bunch of half whits 🤦🏻♂️
Think this is probably quite significant
Me too. The largest Ferris Wheel in Europe (if you believe TASS) and he's stayed away...
Let’s hope some of this gets through to the public.
It will. It's being pushed, including on the Telegram app, by prominent correspondents, such as Semyon Pegov who called the celebrations in Moscow "blasphemous".
Sergei Mironov, former speaker and now parliamentary leader of the pro-Putin A Just Russia said that the fireworks celebration should have been cancelled because of the military "situation".
Igor Girkin likened it to the Battle of Mukden, which is linked to the Russian Revolution.
Strong words from people in Putin's Russia
Russia has continued to sow the seeds of discontent, e.g. his announcement that Russian and Ukrainian grain shipments are all going to the EU rather than to starving nations.
Where that's failing he's resorting to tactics that lay waste to Ukrainian infrastructure, water, electricity, etc just in time for winter. The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station is now safely shut down with external power restored.
He'll continue to try to influence the will of people and politicians in the EU and Ukraine to end this war with a negotiated settlement and cling on to the 20% of the Ukraine that he's gained (and his personal power). Putin will not go voluntarily
There's zero chance of Putin getting to retire peacefully to his obscene mega mansion on the Black Sea, he knows too much and has too many enemies.
He's in this for his literal survival and he knows it. If the home front is starting to collapse as well he's going to be living in interesting times.
On a side note, Putin's mega mansion is near Gelendzhik which is not far across the water from Crimea, if Ukraine start moving into Crimea, wonder how long it will be before that Mansion is within range of Ukraine's New toys.
Who will putin blame and how well will they take that blame?
I’m sure blaming the army would be a very dangerous thing to do.
What's stopping Putin from mobilising his army? Does anyone know?
He’s afraid of blowback from the population this would cause.
because he basically has done already and pretended he hasn't?
What’s stopping Putin from mobilising his army? Does anyone know?
There's a choice:
a) Numbers. He signed papers to increase the size of RF, but there's a shortage of volunteers on the back of an army that was already under-strength due to corruption and paper over-reporting
b) Materiel. He's been sending units out with 19th century Mosin-Nagant rifles for months, and what decent materiel they did have is currently being picked up by UKR troops.
What’s stopping Putin from mobilising his army?
My understanding is that mobilization means an official declaration of war (not "Special Military Operation"), which means acknowledging that things are not going according to plan. I think that would mean that contract soldiers and conscripts could be forced to fight, whereas in peacetime they can refuse. Very good chance there would be mass desertions if they rounded up conscripts and sent them to the front.
Also, as timba pointed out, raising more troops would require a massive increase in equipment. Many of the current "volunteers" have gear that is decades old, many don't have body armor, night vision gear, etc. Their trucks and armored vehicles are decrepit and their supply depots have been hammered so they can't even supply the front line units they have now. Even if they could scrape together enough equipment, it would take months of training to turn new recruits into effective troops.
