Guest Post by Paul Craig Roberts
This morning Russian media sources reported that a Ukrainian followup attack to the one on the Crimea bridge by 28 drones was defeated by Russian air defenses. In response, Russia destroyed the manufacturing sites of the drones and fuel storage facilities that provide fuel for Ukraine’s military. The two words, “in response” tells us what is wrong with Putin’s conduct of the war. Why did it take a Ukrainian attack on Crimea for Russia to do what any other country at war would have done a long time ago—destroy its enemy’s armaments factories and fuel depots? It is as if Russia is not at war. The offensive initiatives are with Ukraine. All Russia does is to retaliate to Ukrainian attacks.
This is a mindless way for the Kremlin to conduct a war. It encourages the US neoconservatives to continue and to widen the conflict. Russia should have shut down Odessa long ago. It was mindless to leave Ukraine with bases on the Black Sea from which to launch attacks on the Crimea bridge. If Putin was conducting war as war should be conducted, the young girl’s parents would still be alive.
The Russian Foreign Ministry, like the Kremlin and the Defense Ministry, does not seen to comprehend that a war is in process. Russia termed the attack on the bridge a “terror attack.” The bridge is a legitimate military target. It was Putin’s limited operation that allowed Ukraine the resources and naval base with which to attack the bridge. Calling it a terror attack is a pretense that a war is not underway.
Perhaps one day the Russian government will come to its senses and comprehend that a war has too long been underway and make the decision to get it over with. As Prigozhin said, the Russian Ministry of Defense is asking his Wagner troops to die without offering them a prospect of victory.
Putin’s refusal to fight a war is going to cause the Russian people to tire of it. Why is Putin playing so totally into Washington’s hands?
Putin’s refusal to fight has even convinced his Chinese ally that Russia cannot win the conflict with Ukraine. Yesterday China’s UN representative, Geng Shuang, speaking to the UN Security Council wrote off any prospect of a Russian victory: “The evolution of the battlefield situation shows that military means cannot resolve the Ukrainian crisis, and the continuation of the conflict will only bring more suffering to civilians, and may even lead to unpredictable and irreparable situations.” Shuang agrees with me that the never-ending conflict is in danger of “getting out of control.”
It must be extremely embarrassing to Putin, to the Russian military, and to the Russian people to be seen as too weak and irresolute to defeat a third world military force. The encouragement Putin has given to Washington’s neoconservatives to push ever harder against Russia is leading, as I fear, to a wider conflict that could destroy organized life on earth.
https://www.rt.com/news/579877-ukraine-military-solution-china/
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Putin is insouciant. There. That’s out of the way!
An important aspect of the conflict for both sides is garnering support from other nations around the world. By acting only in retaliation, Russia portrays itself as the calm rational lesser aggressor, winning greater political support. It’s also a very demoralising tactic for the Ukraine side, where every small victory and advance is immediately negated by further losses.
Agreed- 2/3rds of the global population and landmass are not on NATO’s side of things. Now some NATO countries have tired of sending money and weapons to Z and his corrupt country.
It is often taught that the USA won the cold war by simply outlasting and bankrupting the USSR as they tried to maintain evenness with the US military spending/innovation. Russia is currently succeeding with the same method in Ukraine as they are out of munitions and running out of bodies to fight– even NATO countries ( including the USA) are running out of basic munitions for their own stockpiles. The US will further bankrupt herself and hasten her collapse by spendiing more money it doesn’t have on purchasing additional arms/munitions/weapons so Russia can casually blow them to pieces.
Seems as if Putin is using Reagan’s playbook against us.
That’s over-thought bullshit. Russia is fucking up. Russia needs to take the fucking gloves off, put on the Hulk Hands, and SMASH. Should’ve been done a year ago.
Nope. The Russians have turned Ukraine into the graveyard of the American Empire. And I believe we will soon create a false flag that will first drag Poland and the Baltic States into open war with Russia and Belarus, after which we get involved.
I’m ready to die. Are you?
Nope, I’m not “ready to die.” And I’m not willing to die, either.
Only a dumb goyim would say something as stupid as, “I’m ready to die. Are you?” You don’t see our non-goyim friends – the ones who instigated this – saying stupid things like that, do you? They’ll go on living well and laughing at all the dumb dead goyim.
Stop being a dumb goyim, that’s what they count on.
What would PCR like to see happen at this point?
He’s an American, so he wants a Hollywood style victory in 100 minutes. Hero gets the girl, etc. Emotional music score. Americans expect a big show. “Shock and Awe”. Then we get bored or tired and eventually withdraw, defeated. In the tortoise and the hare scenario, we’re the hare.
Russia undoubtedly has regrets about things they’ve done wrong in this war – targets not hit sooner, areas not adequately defended, etc. They have a complicated balancing act. Hell, just dealing with Erdogan would drive you crazy. But listening to some American saying “you’re doing it all wrong”? That’s ridiculous. Americans are always saying “you’re doing it all wrong”.
In WW1 the good guys were not allowed to shell certain industrial operations that supported the war for either side.
Trade in the raw materials to wage war continued behind the scenes throughout the war, otherwise it would have been over by 1915.
My thoughts are similar to your own. Perhaps Putin is just doing what he’s being instructed to do?
The offensive initiative is with the Ukraine … except for Russia illegally seizing the Crimea and invading the rest of Ukraine and bombing civilians since that invasion. I guess “initiative” means a start wherever one chooses to place it.
Hate to tell you, cupcake, that this war was started by the United States, and your country will soon collapse. Your narrative means nothing.
It’s all over for Putin & Russia now. Just like the last aid pkg. did him in and the one before that and the one before that…. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/us-announce-13-bln-military-aid-ukraine-sources-2023-07-18/
PCR testing with an incorrect MMQ analysis.
Great quarterbacking polly!
I am pretty sure Putin told us it wasn’t a war. Russia was primarily going in to free two provinces that were given freedom from Ukraine in the Minsk accords. Response to terrorist attacks are just that. Russia is even guarding the Nuclear power plant so that the Ukraine troops cannot destroy it and blame Russia.
Ukraine attacks:
Ukrainian Camouflage:
And a new Kamikaze regiment training in Scotland:
[No time to lose!]
Perhaps Putin knows more about the current instability of the American Empire than most. Perhaps Putin has said if we drag this out, the United States will collapse a whole lot quicker than it would had the Russians already won this war. This is a war of attrition, and American power will end when it can no longer send weapons to Ukraine. That day will be here far sooner than most dare to entertain.
PCR doesn’t have the slightest clue what Putin is up to and how he is prosecuting this SMO.
Neither does NATO or the rest of the west.
Like a highway construction project that goes on forever. The MIC of many countries wants to milk this war for all its worth. profits over people. There’s a long-term plan we’re not privy to. Blackrock and the billions that will be spent trying to make Ukraine livable in the future? (what’s left of it)The energy sales to Europe? It should get spicey if f-16s show up.
It’s been funny reading about the fear of the Russians expanding territory when the real fear should be the response to NATO and the build-up of arms at Russia’s border. Poland appears to have serious common sense problems as a country, Finland also. let’s just poke the bear many times and get others to join in. I’m sure nothing bad will happen.
The problem with Mr. Roberts article is that he thinks Ukraine is a third world military. It is not. Ukraine’s military, amply supplied by NATO countries since 2014, is actually more powerful than almost all NATO countries. After initially underestimating the Ukraine military the Russians have re-adjusted and fought a very intelligent war. They have devastated their opponents forces, resisting the urge to occupy territory (something NATO forces would do) to instead inflict burdensome losses on their adversary. The seemingly failure of the Ukraine counteroffensive is an example of how Russian military forces are dominating the battlefield against a tough foe. One of the important military lessons to learn from this campaign is to never underestimate your opponent, and two, how the Russians not only have higher performing weapons, they also are employing them more effectively than Ukraine, and NATO (volunteer?) forces.