Russian Civil War?

[Rumpelstiltskin]

Thank you, ByzantophileTheodore !
I like receiving an overview of the situation at any given time, which you gave.

I have to say I can not bring myself to think of even going to a Pravda website, as I remember that lying news organization ALL TOO WELL from the Soviet days ! Whereas, RT is comparatively new and not tainted by that heavy Communist past.

Why is it that Nato is restraining Ukrainians from attacking the major installations, do you think ? That sounds SO out of character for fiercely anti-Russian Nato.

I think part of it is due to the fact that, to my knowledge, some European nations get oil from Russia, I'm pretty sure Germany is one of them, so that would create a conflict of interest. And could help explain why NATO is trying to not confront Russia directly.

[eish]

from what I can tell, the incursion into Russia does appear to be a legitimate operation done by Ukrainian SOF. Unsurprising as the Russian military has allowed such incursions in the past. From an actual tactical decision, it seems unproductive for the Ukrainian military.

One of the greats of chess once said: "When you are losing, every move is a mistake."

[Barbara]

You mean the Ukrainian side, I hope ?

[ByzantophileTheodore]

You mean the Ukrainian side, I hope ?

I wrote a big long reply to everyone but then the page refreshed and I lost everything. Here’s the short version.

Yes, I think he meant that the Ukrainians are in a worse military situation. It’s the view of many people just looking at the cold hard facts. This isn’t something hopeful though as a Russian occupation of Ukraine would cause a lot of global instability and suffering for both Russia and Ukraine. Hopefully a ceasefire can end the war without either side collapsing, but perhaps this is a pipe dream.

RT is Russian state media funded, founded, and controlled by the Kremlin. That isn’t to say it’s always garbage but Sava is right. It’s basically Russian CNN.

NATO is anti-Russia, but they don’t want the Ukrainians firing American missiles and cluster munitions into core Russian cities. It’s just not a good idea on many counts. They basically want to keep the proxy war limited and not escalate it into a World War (for now).

[Suaidan]

"RT is Russian state media funded, founded, and controlled by the Kremlin. That isn’t to say it’s always garbage but Sava is right. It’s basically Russian CNN."

I venture to say it's worse. It's as craven and regime-controlled as CNN now, but it has the prestige and as much of the trust of much of the global public as CNN 20 years ago.

[Barbara]

Yes of course, but we can still glean some information from RT, I think.

Regarding the progress of the Russia-Ukraine war, this statement appeared today in RT.
It represents a distinct turn of the tide from when we last discussed this topic in August :

"Kiev’s military is now close to complete collapse, the head of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), Sergey Naryshkin has said, adding that the current Ukrainian government has completely lost its legitimacy and is unfit for talks.

In an interview with the Russian magazine Razvedchik (“Spy”) released on Tuesday, Naryshkin reiterated that the Ukraine conflict is essentially not a battle against Kiev but rather a struggle against the collective West, and that Russia’s freedom and sovereignty is at stake."

https://www.rt.com/russia/609122-russia ... -conflict/

[Barbara]

Interesting development. I didn't know any of this bacground, but the Slovak Prime Minister's description of hell-ensky sounds apt :

MENAFN) Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, accusing him of "begging and blackmailing" European countries for money. Fico expressed frustration at Zelensky’s approach, saying it needed to stop. The relationship between Slovakia and Ukraine soured recently after Ukraine halted the flow of Russian gas, which affected Slovakia, Austria, and Italy.

Fico, a vocal opponent of Western aid to Ukraine, has been critical of Ukraine's military strategy and has advocated for a diplomatic solution to the conflict with Russia. Upon taking office in 2023, he stopped military aid to Ukraine and opposed its potential NATO membership.

Tensions between Slovakia and Ukraine intensified when Ukraine refused to extend its gas transit agreement with Russia. Slovakia, heavily dependent on Russian gas, now faces challenges and has demanded compensation from Ukraine, even threatening to cut off electricity and humanitarian aid to the country.

Fico also criticized Zelensky’s leadership, stating that Slovakia and the EU had no reason to tolerate his actions, particularly given the support already provided to Ukraine.