The slaughter increases in Ukraine as the Russians continue with their strategy of flexible defence, luring their opponents into killing zones and annihilating them along with their equipment then counter-attacking to take back the ground the Ukrainians had paid so dearly to secure. The Ukrainians, conscious of the massive amounts of Western armour they are consuming, have tried attacking without armour, without artillery support and without air support. They are attacking in waves against an enemy they have been told is weak and incompetent. They are not even evacuating their wounded on the battlefield yet alone the dead which are being collected by the Russians. I have read lots of stuff about various wars over the past 50 years from ancient to modern. But I have never encountered a war in which men and materiel have been wasted so flagrantly for so little gain. The Battle for Berlin in 1945 comes close but that was a defensive war. This so called 'counter offensive' lacks any military logic or humanity because it is being conducted for the sake of optics alone without consideration for anything real. It is a perfect reflection of the decaying Western world which is also immersed in a pseudo reality. Since the West has so little grasp of reality its actions are not producing the results intended and hoped for. Indeed, its actions are hurting itself more than its imaginary enemies. The slow disintegration of the Ukrainian army reflects that of the whole Western world; it is a metaphour for Western decay. Soldiers are surrendering, refusing to fight and sabotaging their own vehicles. At the moment, this involves only small numbers of soldiers but it is likely to increase in the coming weeks. As I write, the 'offensive' has slowed rather than stalled but the killing has not decreased because the Russians are advancing slowly in some areas while constantly attriting the Ukrainian men and materiel on the front lines and behind the lines.
The West is in a difficult situation that is summed up well by SCF on the Moon of Alabama (MOA): 'The Tragedy that besets the West today consists, on the one hand, of the sheer impossibility for it to continue doing what it has been doing - yet matched only by its impossibility to do anything other'. This could explain why the West's actions appear so irrational, not only with regard to Ukraine but also in global political, economic and financial matters. But we must not lose sight of the fact that the West's problems arise out of the failure of Western Capitalism - everything else we see are mere symptoms of this. Neither must we lose sight of the possibility of a nuclear exchange or even a full on nuclear war and 'no more dinners' (as Soviet soldiers used to say on the consequences of being careless in combat). There is lots of discussion of this, especially on the MOA, because the West's intention to send Ukraine 'nuclear capable' F-16s could prompt Russia to plan for a worse case scenario and pre-empt their deployment by attacking NATO air bases in Belgium, Denmark and Germany. And to make sure they get the job done they will use tactical nukes. I don't want to even think about what happens after that. Ukraine has now announced the 'total mobilisation' of its population which will include women as well as men. This shows how desperate the situation is for Ukraine.
Biggest Conflict Since WW2?
Retired Major General GD Bakshi - who has been working in the media for many years - believes that this is the biggest conflict since World War Two: bigger than Korea, Vietnam or the Iran/Iraq war. More blood and steel have been expended during the SMO than in any other conflict since the Japanese surrendered in 1945 ending the war in the Pacific. We are living through momentous times 'watching' this great war from a safe distance. Even those who hear little snippets about the war from time to time will be aware of it - even if they are misinformed about it. But people, generally, don't appreciate the scale of the bloodshed and the intensity of the fighting that is part of this conflict. As many commentators are saying, it has similarities with WW1 in the use of artillery and casualties inflicted by it. But it is also very different from WW1 in many respects.
General Bakshi believes that once the Russians have defeated the Ukrainian offensive they will launch one of their own. Either they will advance on Odesa, on Kharkiv or on Kiev. So Bakshi believes that the coming two or three weeks will be critical in terms of the conflict and appears to want to encourage both sides to pursue their battles until August before coming to the negotiating table. He also presents good political arguments for India to be chosen as 'peacemaker' for the war, since China does not have the Ukrainians' trust. The General appeared to voice the concerns of the RoW when he highlighted the economic consequences of the war, not only for the West but for countries outside of the West. Here's Bakshi's SITREP:
32 mins.
Refuseniks
I have seen a number of reports of Ukrainians surrendering in small groups. One platoon, on reaching the front and seeing hundreds of dead Ukrainians decided to surrender and save themselves. I've seen reports of Ukrainian soldiers sabotaging tanks (see below) and refusing to fight in tanks because they know they will be killed. At the moment the numbers surrendering or refusing to fight are small - but these will surely grow as the Ukrainians continue to get slaughtered. In order to counter this tendency, the Ukrainians are torturing/killing Russian prisoners and posting videos of the carnage on line. The intention is to inspire a Russian reaction similar to the Wagner reaction in Bakhmut when the Wagnerians stopped taking prisoners. This will discourage Ukrainians from surrendering as much as the Nazi squads that are killing any soldiers who retreat.
Hungarian Genocide?
The Ukrainian army is employing lots of kidnapped Ukrainian/Hungarian 'recruits' who have been taking enormous casualties. Some Hungarian units have been reconstituted several times and fed back into the meat grinder. Orban will not be pleased. Russia recently returned Hungarian POWs to Hungary rather than giving them to Ukraine in a prisoner exchange - but Z is asking for them to be returned to Ukraine. The Hungarians, quite understandably, will not cooperate.
Deadly Leopards?
I heard a report from Ukrainian sources saying that their soldiers are very reluctant to use Leopards because they are a 'death trap'. So they are sabotaging them. But these soldiers are not criticising the tank itself. Rather Leopards are a death trap because as soon as they see one the Russians throw everything but the kitchen sink at it: not only for the prestige but for the substantial rewards they are receiving for killing them. There is an irony in this story if true: here is another case of the West shooting itself in the foot, just like the sanctions, refusal to negotiate etc. etc.
Kamikaze Tanks
The Russian military has adopted a tactic of loading up captured Ukrainian tanks with masses of TNT and sending them towards Ukrainian lines on automatic. In the first attempt at this, the kamikaze tank hit a mine before it reached the Ukrainian lines but the explosion was so enormous that the Ukrainians all fled in terror. Other 'kamikaze' tanks were more successful.
Patriots
Scott Ritter did a video with Garland Nixon recently in which the he explores and analyses the history of The Patriot. Years ago the US military realised that the Patriot does not work well on automatic mode but manual operation of the system is overly complicated and takes a long time for the operators to learn. But since there was very little time to train the Ukrainians to deploy the Patriots in manual mode they had to resort to automatic mode - which doesn't work! We have seen the results.
Ukraine's Begging Bowl gets Bigger
Ukraine has now asked the West for $400 billions in order to continue the fight against Russia. These people are deluded.
NATO Mission Creep
Ukrainian POWs are telling their Russian captors that US and Polish officers appear to be taking charge in the field. Ukrainian forces are being asked to wear NATO chevrons for identification purposes - which could be a sign that NATO will get involved on the ground with Polish and Romanian troops - as some rumours suggest. However, it looks as if a 'coalition of the willing' involving Romania and Poland - which many have been worried about - is not going to happen because Poland and Romania are not 'willing'. Given the recent annihilation of Ukrainian forces since the 'offensive' began on June 4th it is quite understandable that these countries should be reluctant. But escalation is likely to continue with the US committed to supplying F-16s fighter jets and long range missiles because the neo-cons want it. None of these will make a difference on the battlefield but who knows where this will lead. Some of a more pessimistic nature than myself believe the deployment of 'nuclear capable' F-16s could lead to a Russian 'nuclear' over-reaction - as I mentioned earlier. There are many reasons to believe this scenario is possible and many reasons to believe that it will not happen. It is impossible to use our reason to evaluate this situation based on the data we possess so we can either be pessimistic or optimistic about it (or one can try not to think about it). I'd rather be optimistic about things because I have learned that it involves less worry.
More Arms to Ukraine
The Russian MOD intelligence reckons that the West will provide Ukraine with 983 armoured vehicles in 2023 but 740 of these will not arrive until the third and fourth quarters of the year - the third quarter begins in July. This may sound a lot but at the current rates of Russian attrition they won't last long (see Ukrainian Offensive Losses below).
Budanov
According to Jackson Hinkle, the Ukrainian intelligence chief, who was reported to be in a coma, did not regain consciousness. BUT - I saw what appeared to be a live interview with him in Germany on 20th June. There's a lesson in that. Last week I suggested that perhaps the Ukrainians were going to 'resurrect' him when a morale boost was needed and there he is. Have a look at this:
https://twitter.com/yarotrof/status/1671151252447821828
. 30 secs. This is a statement that is being presented as a live interview and Budanov is simply saying that he is well. There have been other interviews since that deal with issues that appear to be contemporary but it is still impossible to judge whether the man is dead or alive. The 'character' in the interviews could be a computer generated one or an imposter. Who knows!
Zaluzhny
Zaluzhny has been photographed at a military school graduation ceremony in Kiev - suggesting that he is not actually involved in the conflict but is still in the land of the living. However, I have no way of authenticating the photo and no idea when it was taken. The Ukrainians have come out with a video allegedly showing Zaluzhny planning the counter-offensive but even though dates are shown on a calendar in the same room this does not provide proof positive that he is still alive and still conducting military operations. Some say he has been sidelined because he refused to launch an offensive without F-16s and long range missiles. I'm taking an agnostic position on him and Budanov - I simply don't know.
Graves of Ukrainian Army Victims Found in Lugansk
The makeshift graves of 171 civilian residents have been found in Lugansk and are being investigated by Russian forensic experts. It is suspected that these people were executed by the Ukrainian army.
Drone Attacks Thwarted
Drone attacks on the Druzhba oil pumping station in the Bryansk region of Russia and on Moscow have been thwarted. All six drones were shot down with no casualties.
Rybar Predictions
The pro-Russian military analysis group, Rybar, has made some quite alarming predictions that should be taken seriously:
1. Pro-Western groups will attempt a coup in Belarus to coincide with the NATO summit in July.
2. A Polish-Ukrainian-Lithuanian military group will enter western Ukraine at the end of June or the beginning of July.
3. Ukraine will attempt an offensive across the Dniepr before 29th June.
Interesting times - I wonder how things will pan out.
Z- Russia will Blow Up Zaporizhe Nuclear Power Plant
Z has announced that the Russians plan to blow up the Zaporizhe nuclear power plant (killing/contaminating millions of Russian in the process) - which means that the Ukrainians are thinking of doing this: after all they have been shelling the bloody thing for more than a year. We can only hope that Russia's defence of the plant is adequate.
'Dirty Bomb' Plotters Arrested
Russian secret services have arrested five people who were trying to purchase a kilo of radioactive material which could be used to create a dirty bomb. They were willing to pay $3.5 million dollars for it and were working on behalf of a citizen in Ukraine (probably from Ukraine's SBU). This is very worrying to say the least. A bomb could be detonated in Russia, prompting a Russian nuclear response or in a NATO country prompting a nuclear response from the West. Z will do absolutely anything to get NATO fully involved and is probably the most dangerous man on earth, therefore. Yet the West is doing nothing. If Ukraine does something that leads to a catastrophe then the West must shoulder all of the blame because it knows the nature of the Frankenstein's monster they have created.
NATO Psychological Training
According to some Ukrainian POWs those being trained by the West are undergoing a form of brainwashing to convince them that their primary aim is to kill as many Russians as possible, that the Russians have a very poor army and that they will run when they are attacked. America will help you, they were told. The POW's now know the truth.
Arestovich - Ukraine's War Illegal
Aleksey Arestovich, who recently resigned as Z's advisor, has said publicly that since Ukraine declared the people in the Donbass to be terrorists back in 2014 the war against them is illegal in the eyes of Ukrainian law because it amounts to 'ethnic cleansing'. Every Ukrainian soldier is therefore a war criminal, according to Arestovich. Shelling the hell out of them for 9 years is also a war crime, of course.
The Air War
On 16th June Russia attacked and destroyed an underground decision making centre in Kiev. It is suspected that high ranking Ukrainian military officers along with their NATO 'minders' have been killed. Two large artillery ammo depots were destroyed in Zaporizhe on June 19th and EIGHT were destroyed on June 20th. The freedom that Russia has in the skies could end this war earlier than anyone expects. Ammunition dumps are being destroyed every single day - but never 8 in one day.
Ukraine is launching the odd drone towards Crimea and Kursk but they have all been shot down.
The Ground War
Ukrainian Offensive: Objectives
According to a military expert from Pravda, Ukraine has three objectives 1. To blockade Donetsk city, starve it of food and water and force the Russians to surrender it 2. Reach the Sea of Azov, blow up the Kerch bridge and prevent supplies getting to Crimea 3. Capture the Zaporizhe nuclear power plant. Russia's objective is to wear down the Ukrainian army - as it has been since the start of the SMO.
Ukrainian Offensive
On 17th June the Ukrainian offensive began to pick up steam again in the Orikhiv (or Orokhov) direction. Here the Ukrainians have a small bridgehead in the Russian 'security zone' or 'crumple zone'. The Ukrainians would need to travel around 15 miles before reaching the first line of the Russian defence. The West is monitoring the offensive closely and wants much more than a couple of fields and villages. Instead they want Melitopol captured or something similar otherwise military support for Ukraine will decline following the NATO meeting in July. All Ukrainian attacks have so far been repelled with heavy Ukrainian losses in men and armour - including Leopards and Bradleys. Ukrainian losses in the Orikhiv area were particularly high on June 17th. During one attack the Ukrainians lost 450 men killed and around 900 wounded - along with some tanks and AFVs. Russian officers have called it a 'slaughter' and can't understand why Ukrainian commanders ordered the attack to be carried out when the results were so predictably dire. The Ukrainians also had difficulty extracting their wounded from the battlefield. Attacks in the Zaporizhe area on the same day were almost as costly and the village of Pyatikhatki was virtually destroyed along with most of the Ukrainian forces occupying it. On the morning of 18th June the Ukrainians continued their attacks in the Zaporizhe area but without any armour: just company size infantry attacks through smoke screens with no air or artillery support. The Russian MoD's account of losses in this attack were 200 KIA, 33 tanks, 30 AFV's and 35 armoured vehicles. On the Vremevsky ridge in South Donetsk the Ukrainian attack lost 380 'militants', 35 tanks, 33 IFVs and 35 armoured vehicles. I am a little suspicious of these figures but if they are true the Ukrainians will need lots more armour - soon!
On June 19th a Ukrainian commander announced that the offensive has been suspended while Ukraine reviews its tactics and gets more troops/equipment ready for the battle (this is also reported in the MSM but it may be misinformation). This suggests that the Russian figures may not be exaggerated very much. Now this new situation must be accommodated by the media and spun into something positive. Already US military officers are trying to downplay expectations by saying that this 'offensive' is a marathon, not a sprint. Of course they are also repeating the BS about low Russian morale, the collapse of the Russian economy, shortages of missiles and horrendous Russian losses while the brave Ukrainians outwit their unimaginative 'Orc' opponents on the battlefield (ain't it all just like Hollywood). Zelensky's aide Mikhail Podoliak advised that the last two weeks of the Ukrainian 'offensive' were not really an offensive after all - these were just 'probing attacks'. But the big offensive is on its way, according to Podoliak. The 'Kyiv Independent' newspaper, which is state owned, echoed the official line: that the offensive has been put on hold 'pending a re-evaluation of tactics' and will not resume until 23rd June at the earliest. Oleksiy Danilov - Ukraine's secretary of security - on the other hand, said that the offensive is going according to plan but only a few people know what the plan is. It is amazing how many different views about the offensive are being expressed even within the same government administration. Anyway, it looks as if the Ukrainians are still doing their 'offensive' and attacked in the Orikhiv area at 4 am on the 22nd June (the launch date and time of the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941) with three companies (around 700 men) supported by Leopard tanks. These latest attacks have been repulsed with heavy Ukrainian losses. After darkness on the 22nd June the Ukrainians attacked again in the Zaporizhe direction and were beaten back with heavy casualties.
One of the main strategic problems the Ukrainians have is lack of choice. The only offensive that has a realistic chance of success is a drive through the 'land bridge' from Zaporizhe area towards Tokmak and Melitopol towards Crimea in order to cut off Russia's supply lines. ukraine_political_map.gif (2200×1555) (worldometers.info). But it does not have sufficient forces to get this far and the Russians, aware of this lack of choice, can concentrate their own forces to meet the Ukrainian attacks. There is some evidence that the Ukrainians are looking elsewhere for an 'optical' win: something capable of being spun into some sort of victory before the NATO conference in early July.
Pyatikhatki Village
If anything sums up the failure and futility of the Ukrainian offensive it is the battle for this village with an unpronounceable name. It has changed hands multiple times. When the Ukrainians do manage to capture it Russian artillery on the high ground annihilates them. Then the Russians take back the village only for this process to be repeated. Such attacks by the Ukrainians do not constitute an offensive of any sort. However, they do conform precisely to Russia's strategy of attrition.
The Edelweiss Brigade was among those defeated in the battle. Edelweiss is among the best trained, best equipped, most highly skilled, experienced and motivated of all Ukrainian brigades. The name indicates an affinity with the Nazis whose paratroopers wore the flower on their lapels. But it was defeated with such huge casualties that it has been withdrawn from the battle. In an attack on the village of Pyatikhatki in the Orikhov area (mentioned above) the brigade lost 1200 killed, 1500 wounded and 50 armoured vehicles destroyed. General Syrsky was apparently furious. To be fair, given Russian air supremacy and its 10-1 advantage in artillery, this is no surprise.
Ukrainian Offensive Losses
According to the Russian MOD on June 21st, since the offensive started on June 4th the Ukrainians have lost 245 tanks and 678 armoured vehicles of various types - in just 17 days. That's incredible if true. These losses represent 50-60% of the materiel that, according to the leaked Pentagon papers, was provided by the West for the offensive. If this is true, the Ukrainians can no longer launch large scale offensives and they will be very nervous about losing all of their reserves of manpower and equipment - which would then leave them virtually defenceless in the face of the Russian counter-offensive they fear. There is no doubt that the suppression of Ukraine's air defences, which was one of Surovikin's objectives when he took over, has been a game changer. This is why, in my view, the Ukrainian army can't last much longer no matter how many men and how much materiel the West tries to inject into the conflict.
The Russian MOD estimates that the Ukrainians have lost 13,000 - 15,000 men killed since the offensive began. The number of wounded is likely double this number at least.
Here's a long article which explains why we are reaching the end of Ukraine's military capabilities: Ukrainian Counteroffensive’s Second Week Ends in Failure – INTERNATIONALIST 360° (wordpress.com) (super nerds only).
Ukraine Troop Redeployment
Ukraine has moved several brigades from the border with Belarus in western Ukraine to the area of Kreminna where the Russians are building up their forces. The Ukrainians had kept troops in this border area due to a perceived threat from Russian and Belarussian troops stationed in Belarus. Some have speculated that the border has been guaranteed by NATO freeing up much needed troops to go east. But these troop movements could provide Russia with an opportunity to invade north of Lviv - but I doubt that they will - yet.
Russian Offensives
Russia continues offensive operations from Svatavo to Kupyansk and from Kreminna to Lyman. See: ukraine_political_map.gif (2200×1555) (worldometers.info). The latter threatens the Ukrainian flank at Slovyansk/Kramatorsk and could eventually lead to the operational encirclement of Siversk. The former threatens Kharkiv Oblast including Kharkiv city. The latest reports show that Russian troops are now only a couple of kilometres from Kupyansk and threatening to capture the city. The Ukrainians have rushed reinforcements to the area. The Russians are also taking offensive actions in Artemovsk.
Fierce fighting continues along the front line but most of this is taking the form of skirmishes and artillery exchanges, but Russia is making some progress in Avdeevka and Marinka where they are attempting to create cauldron traps for the Ukrainians as they did in Bakhmut/Artemovsk.
The Economic War
EU Sanctions Package Number Eleven
This is getting very boring now so I won't provide much detail. The package includes an expansion of restricted items including electronic circuits, sanctions on countries that are breaking sanctions rules, sanctions on more individuals and companies and more censorship of pro-Russian news outlets and/or outlets that merely tell the truth.
Russian Coal
Russia is to increase coal production to over 440 million tonnes in 2023. It doesn't look as if they are very concerned about carbon emissions. The Greens will love this! The Russian economy is set for 2% growth according to Russian economists, while most Western countries are entering or have entered recession.
Ukraine 'Energy Hub'
Z has come out with a bizarre statement in which he is pleading for $400 billions from the West to make Ukraine the 'energy hub' of Europe. It's not going to happen Z - sorry mate. But this is another sign of Z's departure from reality.
EU Warned Against Stealing Russian Money
The European Central Bank (ECB) has warned the EU that stealing Russian assets could lead to countries abandoning the Euro for fear of something similar happening to them. The fact that the EU had not thought of this speaks volumes about its competency.
EU $50 Billions to Ukraine
The EU is donating another $50 billion to Ukraine which is ridiculous. Some people are suspicious that this money is being laundered and much of it will end up in the laps of elites. The money comes from people's taxes at the end of the day. I think some EU countries, including Hungary, will be incensed by this.
Another $6 Billions to Ukraine From US
Due to an 'accounting error' $6 billion dollars was not donated to Ukraine when it should have been. Some accounting error that!
SPIEF - St Petersburg
The economic conference has now finished and it is being reported that 150 firms from 25 'unfriendly' countries took part in the 'Organising Committee'. So much for Russian isolation. 16,000 delegates from 130 different countries were present.
Politics
Robert Kennedy Junior - Call for Peace
- In a speech given in New Hampshire - about 20 mins long - Kennedy used the inspirational wisdom of his uncle, John F Kennedy, to call upon the US government to start speaking to Russia so that a nuclear war can be avoided. He even called on the American people to join the peace movement. But he also called for a change of attitude on the part of the people and government from one that views certain countries and groups as threats and enemies to one that seeks to promote peace and mutually beneficial development and cooperation throughout the world. I think this is a very wise attitude to take. Groups of human beings have needed to compete with each other for scarce resources over millennia. Then some groups created states or 'nations' that developed at a faster rate than others and an era of exploitation of the weak by the strong ensued (this is a simplified version). But these weak states have become stronger and are resisting exploitation. At long last it is now possible for countries around the world to create a sort of 'mutualism': i.e. non-exploitative interaction/exchange between states where no state seeks to dominate another. This is the best way for societies to co-exist. John F Kennedy knew this perhaps. Therefore, the attitude that involves viewing other countries as a threat is anachronistic: it is really not appropriate to the current world situation where the global nature of economies demands some sort of mutualism. The leaders of the neo-liberals and the neo-conservatives view dominance through war as natural: war is natural. But these views are anachronistic because war is anachronistic. That's my view. It may appear a little optimistic or even naïve but that's what I and many others believe.
This is a very important speech in the context of the war in Ukraine because Kennedy (a Democrat) is more popular than Biden and could be America's next president. Many American people will listen to Kennedy and the peace movement could grow. The speech could have been made by any leader who promotes the Multi-Polar World Order. Republicans Trump and DeSantis have also called for a peaceful settlement - so the anti-war voices are getting louder. In consequence the censorship is getting more rigorous with Kennedy's speech being banned by some platforms. This is how Orwellian the Western world has become: it now censors those who speak for peace!!!
Moldova
The Moldovan pro-Western ruling party has banned the main opposition party - which means it has become a dictatorship of sorts. Moldova is Ukraine's neighbour and the opposition party is pro-Russian. Moldova has only 2 million people and many are Russian speakers.
South African Delegation to Kiev and Moscow
A South African delegation has visited Kiev to talk with Z about a peace plan. Predictably, Z told the delegates that he would not negotiate until Russia was pushed out of Crimea militarily. Apparently he came across as arrogant and dismissing of the African delegation. False news came from the Ukrainian press that the Russians tried to kill the delegates who pointed out that no explosions had been heard while they were in Kiev. A large part of the delegation was detained by the Poles in their aircraft and not allowed to go to Kiev. The Poles, perhaps, do not want a treaty because they have ambitions to occupy parts of western Ukraine. But they are also annoyed with the South Africans for not condemning Russia. The delegation went from Kiev to Moscow where they met with Putin. I saw some footage of the delegation being greeted by Putin and the body language showed that the Africans were relieved to be among friends again (Poland and Ukraine are the most racist countries in the world). Putin showed African leaders the peace document, signed by the Ukrainian representative in Turkiye in March 2022. But after the Russians had shown good faith by pulling their troops out of Kiev and Sumy areas the Ukrainians responded by putting the treaty in the bin and claiming victory. Z was under orders to do so of course. But Putin also pointed out that Z had made negotiations with Russia illegal. Putin gave this presentation to explain why negotiations are not possible but he praised the peace plan the Africans provided. It has to be said that the Russians did not view this 'treaty' as the finished article - if my memory serves me well
Blinken Visits Xi
Blinken met with Chinese officials for a total of nine hours in which he received a dressing down because 'the US says one thing and then does another'. Afterwards, during Blinken's brief audience with the Chinese leader (35 mins I think), Xi said that a good relationship between the two countries is mutually beneficial and good for the whole world. There is plenty of room in the world for both countries to prosper he said. Blinken made a statement confirming that the US does not recognise Taiwan as an independent state which was a condition for allowing the meeting to take place. Prior to this, China had refused to meet with US officials. The meeting was meant to pave the way for a summit between the two countries. Xi's body language was reserved, not relaxed and friendly. On Blinken's return, as if to undermine his mission, Biden called Xi a dictator in public. The people in the White House are definitely not singing from the same hymn sheet are they? Some say Biden was annoyed at the way the Chinese had treated Blinken and wasn't professional and rational enough to keep his feelings to himself. But Biden's outburst speaks volumes for the US neo-Con's arrogant and 'colonial' attitude towards China and other BRICS nations. Xi was apparently furious, calling Biden's comment a 'political provocation' and demanded an apology. I would be surprised if China agrees to meet with US delegates again while the Biden administration is in power. The US pleaded with China to convene this meeting and then Biden undermines its achievements - such is the threadbare quality of US diplomacy.
Biden
Sleepy Joe is claiming that Russia will use tactical nukes in Ukraine. This could be a ploy to justify giving tactical nukes to Ukraine as some nutters in his administration have called for. Z was similarly alarming when he talked about Russia blowing up the nuclear power plant near Zaporizhe. It's all part of the game of psychology the West is playing.
Spy On Russians Everywhere!
Czech PM Petr Pavel is calling for all Russians in the West to be monitored as possible spies - just like the Americans monitored Japanese citizens after Pearl Harbour. These people are insane: they really are. The Russians have not attacked the US, the US is not at war with Russia. This is just another racist case of punishing Russians wherever they may be. Some in the West may cheer at this but not the majority and virtually no one in the RoW will be impressed. Such attitudes, should they become pervasive, could lead to ethnic cleansing on a scale we have never seen before. The similarities between the way Pavel and many others think and the way the Nazis thought is becoming 'uncomfortable' to say the least. Even my optimistic nature has to accommodate the realistic possibility that fascism could develop in the Western world as it collapses.
Z - No One's Listening!
Dialogue works - YouTube - The photos says it all. Maybe they thought that Z's decision to ban Russian books was a bit too Nazi.
Trump's Indictment (for being in possession of classified documents at home).
The case against Trump is so complicated that I will not report on it in detail here. It involves much case law plus various US constitutional amendments linked to the rights of presidents, including the right to declassify documents. The Deep State is without doubt behind this indictment in my own view and that of many others who know more than I. In view of the complexity, the case could drag on beyond the 2024 election and the most important thing is that the indictment will not prevent Trump from running for president. People should be aware that the Deep State fears Trump more than anyone. This is why the campaign against him has been so vitriolic and relentless - more so than it was against Jeremy Corbyn. But working class support for Trump is skyrocketing.
Stoltenberg
The secretary of NATO has said that it has virtually no weapons and ammo left for Ukraine. This may not be true but may be a ploy to get European countries to increase military budgets and production so that they can provide more to Ukraine and be prepared for war with China. But I should point out - as Brian Berletic of The New Atlas has done so eloquently - that in terms of arms production the West simply can't keep pace with Ukrainian 'expenditure' and it will take years for it to develop the production capacity that Russia currently enjoys.
The Multi-Polar World Order (MPWO)
BRICS
19 countries have now applied to join BRICS, following the recent summit in South Africa.
G20, The African Union and Modi
Modi is pushing for the African Union to be given full membership of the G20 ahead of the Summit in New Delhi this September. Jaishankar, Indian foreign minister, suggested that African membership would make the summit more balanced and more in tune with the emerging multi-polar world order. Modi is currently visiting the US. I'll say more about his visit next time.
The Changing Narrative
Many Western 'legacy media' articles in the UK, US and Germany are admitting that the Ukrainian offensive is not succeeding and will not succeed - mainly due to lack of air support. Some articles are highlighting problems with Western materiel which is breaking down or has not been delivered at all. The problem of having many different types of equipment and the difficult maintenance issues associated with this are also being highlighted. Among those media outlets that are presenting bleak prognoses that acknowledge huge Ukrainian casualties for little gain are: The Telegraph, WAPO and Sky News. CNN is reporting that the Ukrainian offensive 'has not met Western expectations'. This would not have happened six months ago when the legacy media would be covering up Ukrainian reverses. Even Z has said that the offensive is 'slower than expected'. So, the Western 'sheeple' are being prepared for defeat and are being given 'explanations' that will account for this. If this were a football match the Ukraine supporters would have been jubilant when their team reached half-time 4-0 up and a little incredulous that they should now be losing 4-10. Many will have left the ground already. Watch out for media distractions to take people's minds off the Ukrainian defeat.
To be balanced, I should say that some media stories are not changing the narrative. These include an article in the Telegraph which insists that the Ukrainian offensive is going so well that Russian military leaders are hitting the bottle in dismay. Doh!!
On a sad and sobering note, it is being reported that bodies are being disinterred from cemeteries in Western Ukraine to accommodate those of recently killed soldiers. That's how horrifying and cruel this war is. The awful thing is that you can't be certain that many things being reported by various sources are true. The fog of war is thick indeed.
That's it for another week. I know this has been a little long so I'll aim to make it shorter next time.
Best Rob