Category Archives: Ukraine

05/31/24

Ukraine War Escalation Or Not?

The Biden admin recently announced it would no longer compel Ukraine to limit its use of American supplied long range armaments (capable of flinging hot iron 190 miles down range) to its own country. Translated: Ukraine can now use American ATACMS to strike targets — only certain targets — inside Russia.

Russia, of course, has no restriction on using their weapons to strike Ukraine anywhere and everywhere.

MGM-140 ATACMS firing M-39 missile with range of either 103 or 190 miles from an M270  MLRS launcher.

Continue reading →

12/29/23

The Massive Russian Misinformation/Disinformation Campaign

Russia is a little country in economic terms with a GDP that is dwarfed by Italy. It is not a technologically advanced nation with most of its manufacturing expertise having been imported.

It is not unfair to say Russia is a little gas station owned by China and India.

Given the recent avalanche of Russian misinformation, one would think they are winning the war and their economy is booming!

That is simply not the case.

Come on, Big Red Car, how about an example?

Ahhh, dear reader, you want an example? OK, let’s chat about the Russian supposed 5th generation stealth fighter, the Sukhoi Su-57.

It is supposed to be better than the best US fighter. Haha. Sorry.

Recently, the Russians announced with breathless excitement that they had DOUBLED PRODUCTION OF THE STUPENDOUS SU-57. Continue reading →

12/12/23

Ukraine — The Summer Soldier And The Sunshine Patriot

If you know your Revolutionary War history, you will recognize the phrase turned by the pamphleteer and firebrand Thomas Paine in The American Crisis in which he urged the beleaguered American revolutionaries — the Continental Army now on the far side of the Delaware River driven before the victorious British — to hold steady and to justify the cause of freedom.

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07/21/23

The State of the Russian Economy

Russia invaded a peaceful Ukraine in February 2022 — seventeen months ago — and thereafter the West imposed broad economic sanctions on Russia. Putin, knowing he was going to invade Ukraine, prepared for the anticipated economic sanctions by stockpiling liquidity, but was caught off guard by the universality and depth of the West’s sanctions.

[It is now clear Putin made the decision to invade Ukraine more than a year before the actual date of the invasion based on actions he took in preparation for the invasion.]

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06/2/23

The Impending Ukrainian Counterattack

The Russians threatened a year round attack on Ukraine promising a robust winter offensive that failed to materialize and what fighting did occur took a bloody and disproportionate toll on Russian combat power. Essentially, the Ukrainians gave up little to no territory and exacted a massive price in Russian blood.

The Russians, during the winter, unleashed a terrific missile attack nightly on Ukrainian civilian targets that has been substantially negated by the addition of Western anti-air assets, most particularly the US Patriot missile system.

The Russians used hypersonic missiles that were routinely defeated by the Patriot thereby piercing the bubble of Putin’s braggadocios invulnerability. Continue reading →

05/16/23

Putin’s Khinzhal Head Fake

In 2018, Putin announced with great fanfare that the Russians had developed a hypersonic missile against which the West had no defense. At the time this was greeted with much alarm and angst with the American military industrial complex lathering at the bit to build more capable US missiles and missile defenses.

Khinzhal missile (Kh-47M2) touted as being able to fly more than 1,000 miles at hypersonic speed and deliver 1,000 lbs warhead with pinpoint accuracy.

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03/27/23

Ivan, Have I Got A Deal For YOU!

You are a young Russian in vocational school learning to become a BMW/Mercedes mechanic and a guileful, well-dressed, Russian recruitment officer comes to your school and says, “May I please have a word with you? Ivan, have I got a deal for you!”

“Oh, Russian recruitment officer, I am quite content here in my training to become a BMW/Mercedes mechanic. Thank you, but no thank you.”

“Please Ivan, hear me out. I know you are a patriot and your Mother Russia and Vladimir Putin himself — he mentioned you by name, comrade — require your assistance as cannon fodder a patriotic soldier in Ukraine. You are a patriot, yes?”

Vladimir Putin stages faux visit to “wounded” Russian soldiers in hospital. Same guy in both pics?

“I am as patriotic as the next Orc, comrade; OK, what’s the deal?” Continue reading →

03/17/23

Inferior Russian Tanks

We wrote about the numbers of Russian tanks back in December 2022. That blog post is here:

Russian Tanks By The Numbers 

Since then several things have happened:

 1. The Russian spring offensive began with attacks in southeast Ukraine and the continuing assault into the Bahkmut meat grinder where the Russians take seven KIAs for every one KIA for the Ukrainians.

This is the essence of a meat grinder.

 2. The Russians — even elite units — and the mercenary Wagner Group — powered by criminals — have made small progress, but appear to have taken a “tactical respite” for a couple of weeks.

The Ukrainians are doggedly defending and buying time for their own Spring/Summer dry land offensive.

 3. The US/NATO/West has promised Ukraine modern main battle tanks — Abrams M1A1, Crusaders 2s, Leopard IIs and others.

Deliveries are now happening.

Abrams tank — looking for work — arriving for deployment in Ukraine.

 4. The Russian tank situation has gotten worse from the perspective of raw numbers, tank crew training, and opposition. Continue reading →