This is a great summary. I try to keep up with Ukraine stuff because of my former colleagues there, but it's hard because the Ukraine blogs are very detailed with a lot of minutiae. This really helps cut that all down. I had gotten the sense of a lot of good "hits" on the refineries, but I had no idea the impact was this substantial. Awesome stuff. I also like how "War of choice" is becoming a common phrase for the behavior of these primitive men.
Charles, I agree that this is a good summary for a non Ukraine expert. I also recommend the weekly reports of Martin Belderson whose Substack Ukraine: The Under Reported War. His posts keep me optimistic for Ukraine. He was gone for 6. months but has returned with the same good quality weekly updates on the status of the war in Ukraine.
I also see Jacob Kaarsbo and Ken Harbaugh reporting on him. Both have fought in Ukraine as has Malcolm Nance who has usually. been covering the Iran war with Jacob, but Jacob has recently been to Ukraine as has Ken. They talk with the military there as well as other people. Jacob is former Danish Intelligence and Ken is former US Navy. Also, there is a new podcast by experts including Fabian Hoffmann, who does the Missiles Matter Substack and analyzes the weapons situation mostly in Europe and often on Ukraine. He is working on his dissertation on this topic in Oslo, but I think he is German.
Hooray for Ukraine!! Who would have thought they could hold out this long against Russia especially since the orange sub human cut off sending them weapons. Clearly other countries have stepped up. The world continues to turn without the US. President Zelensky is a super hero.
The country that stepped up was Ukraine, they are on target to manufacture 4 million drones a year of varying sizes, small, medium and large, they are mounting daily attacks against Russian supply lines and logistics. Crimea is on the verge of being being cut off. Petroleum product production is down at least 20% in Russia. Russia can no longer maintain troop numbers, so their army is shrinking. Ukraine is starting to give their Frontline troops raises and term limited contracts.
Crimea is already virtually cut off. Russia has had more trouble supplying Crimea than we hear about. Eventually, Ukraine may decide to destroy the bridge that deliveries come in on. They've already hit the Crimean oil refineries on more than one occasion and that has pushed out some of the Russian agents that occupied Crimea. Ukraine has proven that drone warfare is the next way for warfare to go besides the cyber warfare that many countries engage in.
I would bet good money that Trump cut off Ukraine funds because Putin told him to. It's the same strategy Trump is working on Cuba and Canada--starve the country of needed funds or materials, wait for them to collapse, and then walk in to take over. Unfortunately for Cuba, that country doesn't seem to have the needed resources to resist and Trump is making sure no one steps in to help.
One thing both Putin and the Orange Blight never took into consideration when Putin invaded Ukraine and the Orange Blight invaded Iran, they are attacking a people's country. They are causing harm to the Ukrainian and Iranian people, their friends and families. Putin and the Orange Blight are creating a lot of damage to homes and infrastructure too. Both the Ukrainians and Iranians are going to fight like hel, to protect their loved ones, their homes and avenge their dead. The Russian people and the American people are paying dearly for our stupid leaders' ego driven disasters.
Putin and the Orange Blight are both war criminals. They both must be removed from office for the good of all humanity!
KnA really great story. Zelenskyy has accomplished a lot with forward-looking brain power. Still, I would hope that he remains distrustful of Trump. All of Europe seems to make the mistake of placating Trump. Wise people, like Iran, are dealing with him IN THE LIGHT OF his mental illness. You have to make your own wise decisions knowing your opponent is I'll. You do the wrong thing by altering what you do in order to keep the mentally unbalanced person happy. (That makes ALL of you doing crazy stuff!)
I agree but I still think he and the Europeans have stop flexing for Trump. Nothing they give him will ever be enough; he'll always be back for more. That's the goal of someone who wants total domination of everyone. If Trump wants Ukraine's drone technology, he should have to pay dearly for it. It shouldn't be given to him in the spirit that Ukraine "owes" it to him. No one OWES Trump anything--the selfish bastard.
Good article. I might add that, along with strikes on the Russian oil system, as a secondary effort Ukraine is also hitting factories significant to ballistic missile and other weapons production. Strikes on "chemical plants" hit facilities important for explosives / propellant production.
"Speaking of Putin, Schulmann remarked, “The president is the status quo. If you like it, then you approve of him. If you start disliking the status quo, then you start disliking him as well.”"
A foreshadowing of MAGA discontent? Unless you are in the upper-income realms it's hard to like the status quo.
Thank you for such an all-inclusive summary in an easy-read format, Jay. Wow. Ukraine is the David vs. Goliath story of the 21st Century. It shows what a unified country can do to defend its existence— without shedding its morals for humanity. How I wish that were possible on our side of the pond…
You have left a big smile on my face with this essay. I love that Ukraine is so innovative and smart in how they are conducting themselves in this war. Crimea used to be a decent place. We visited Sevastopol briefly, and just prior to that,Sochi, a Russian resort. The latter was depressing, the former very pleasant. I did not find out until many years later that most of the residents of Sevastopol were Russian. Ukraine clearly elevated their attitudes. I would like to see Ukraine get Crimea back as well as all the rest of their territory. And I'm also thinking that maybe we need to consider following in Ukraine's footsteps and elect a serious comedian for our next president.
I think Zelensky is a one off. I don't love non-professional politicians. Our system of government is very complex, we need people who understand how it works.
This is very good news! The more Ukraine attacks military and economic targets deep inside Russia, the more it will destabilize Putin's hold on power, weaken his military on the front lines, and weaken his support amongst average Russians and even his own supporters. This is all good news for Ukraine. This war can't last too much longer at this rate.
Sadly, Russia is fine with throwing bodies at the problem. They can keep going for a while because of their population. Putin doesn't care about casualties. The government just hides the dead.
I am not someone who advocates violence just for the sake of satisfaction. But given that Putin deliberately bombed a church, and one particularly symbolic for Ukrainians, I have to ask: Would it be possible and desirable to send a 99 drone swarm and just wreck the Kremlin palace in center Moscow? Might make an outsize statement.
And yes to Robert Israel--why do we not see this kind of clear factual reporting on CNN, MSWhateveritisthisweek, and the front page of NYT?
Great summary Jay. If anyone is interested they should check out Daily Kos. There are two writers, "quaoar" and "annieli" that write daily stories on the Ukrainian war. In my opinion the daily work they do is outstanding. So, if you want to know what actually is going on, what the MSM won't talk about, check them out.
Thanks for the tip! My comment after yours was why isn't this being covered in the media? I've seen bits and pieces about things not going so well for Putin, but nothing as comprehensive as this. I'll have to check out the Daily Kos writers.
Thanks Jay it’s difficult to get accurate information on all that is going on in Ukraine. Also there only so much time in the day keeping up with all that is going on here. We have turned our back on Ukraine and am pleased the EU has stepped in and now have their backs. Our own felon in DC always claims that Zelenskyy doesn’t have the cards but would say that same idiot doesn’t even have a full deck to play in any poker game…
This is a great summary. I try to keep up with Ukraine stuff because of my former colleagues there, but it's hard because the Ukraine blogs are very detailed with a lot of minutiae. This really helps cut that all down. I had gotten the sense of a lot of good "hits" on the refineries, but I had no idea the impact was this substantial. Awesome stuff. I also like how "War of choice" is becoming a common phrase for the behavior of these primitive men.
Charles, I agree that this is a good summary for a non Ukraine expert. I also recommend the weekly reports of Martin Belderson whose Substack Ukraine: The Under Reported War. His posts keep me optimistic for Ukraine. He was gone for 6. months but has returned with the same good quality weekly updates on the status of the war in Ukraine.
https://underreported.substack.com/archive
I also see Jacob Kaarsbo and Ken Harbaugh reporting on him. Both have fought in Ukraine as has Malcolm Nance who has usually. been covering the Iran war with Jacob, but Jacob has recently been to Ukraine as has Ken. They talk with the military there as well as other people. Jacob is former Danish Intelligence and Ken is former US Navy. Also, there is a new podcast by experts including Fabian Hoffmann, who does the Missiles Matter Substack and analyzes the weapons situation mostly in Europe and often on Ukraine. He is working on his dissertation on this topic in Oslo, but I think he is German.
https://missilematters.substack.com/
and
The Podcast is called Mildly Alarmed.
https://podcastaddict.com/podcast/mildly-alarmed/6981979
I also follow The Counteroffensive by Tim Mak Substack.
https://www.counteroffensive.news/
and some others.
Try Ukraine the Latest. A fantastic daily podcast by the Telegraph
Very good article-of course one would have no idea of Ukraines success if you relied on U. S. corporate media-
Also as I have said before
Phillips P. OBrien’s Substack newsletter is a fantastic read for information on the Ukraine war -and the orange monsters disastrous foreign policy
So the monster is 80 , I hope he never sees 81 -
Hooray for Ukraine!! Who would have thought they could hold out this long against Russia especially since the orange sub human cut off sending them weapons. Clearly other countries have stepped up. The world continues to turn without the US. President Zelensky is a super hero.
The country that stepped up was Ukraine, they are on target to manufacture 4 million drones a year of varying sizes, small, medium and large, they are mounting daily attacks against Russian supply lines and logistics. Crimea is on the verge of being being cut off. Petroleum product production is down at least 20% in Russia. Russia can no longer maintain troop numbers, so their army is shrinking. Ukraine is starting to give their Frontline troops raises and term limited contracts.
Crimea is already virtually cut off. Russia has had more trouble supplying Crimea than we hear about. Eventually, Ukraine may decide to destroy the bridge that deliveries come in on. They've already hit the Crimean oil refineries on more than one occasion and that has pushed out some of the Russian agents that occupied Crimea. Ukraine has proven that drone warfare is the next way for warfare to go besides the cyber warfare that many countries engage in.
I would bet good money that Trump cut off Ukraine funds because Putin told him to. It's the same strategy Trump is working on Cuba and Canada--starve the country of needed funds or materials, wait for them to collapse, and then walk in to take over. Unfortunately for Cuba, that country doesn't seem to have the needed resources to resist and Trump is making sure no one steps in to help.
One thing both Putin and the Orange Blight never took into consideration when Putin invaded Ukraine and the Orange Blight invaded Iran, they are attacking a people's country. They are causing harm to the Ukrainian and Iranian people, their friends and families. Putin and the Orange Blight are creating a lot of damage to homes and infrastructure too. Both the Ukrainians and Iranians are going to fight like hel, to protect their loved ones, their homes and avenge their dead. The Russian people and the American people are paying dearly for our stupid leaders' ego driven disasters.
Putin and the Orange Blight are both war criminals. They both must be removed from office for the good of all humanity!
KnA really great story. Zelenskyy has accomplished a lot with forward-looking brain power. Still, I would hope that he remains distrustful of Trump. All of Europe seems to make the mistake of placating Trump. Wise people, like Iran, are dealing with him IN THE LIGHT OF his mental illness. You have to make your own wise decisions knowing your opponent is I'll. You do the wrong thing by altering what you do in order to keep the mentally unbalanced person happy. (That makes ALL of you doing crazy stuff!)
Zelenskyy actually TALKS to Trump. He knows Trump much better than we do. He's got skilled at pushing Trump's buttons.
I agree but I still think he and the Europeans have stop flexing for Trump. Nothing they give him will ever be enough; he'll always be back for more. That's the goal of someone who wants total domination of everyone. If Trump wants Ukraine's drone technology, he should have to pay dearly for it. It shouldn't be given to him in the spirit that Ukraine "owes" it to him. No one OWES Trump anything--the selfish bastard.
Good article. I might add that, along with strikes on the Russian oil system, as a secondary effort Ukraine is also hitting factories significant to ballistic missile and other weapons production. Strikes on "chemical plants" hit facilities important for explosives / propellant production.
Trump is much better at losing wars than Russia. Trump can lose a war much faster and have it more expensive per day than Russia can hope to match!
Lol!
Nobody does it better than the Dotard!
"Speaking of Putin, Schulmann remarked, “The president is the status quo. If you like it, then you approve of him. If you start disliking the status quo, then you start disliking him as well.”"
A foreshadowing of MAGA discontent? Unless you are in the upper-income realms it's hard to like the status quo.
Good for Ukraine.
Thank you for such an all-inclusive summary in an easy-read format, Jay. Wow. Ukraine is the David vs. Goliath story of the 21st Century. It shows what a unified country can do to defend its existence— without shedding its morals for humanity. How I wish that were possible on our side of the pond…
You have left a big smile on my face with this essay. I love that Ukraine is so innovative and smart in how they are conducting themselves in this war. Crimea used to be a decent place. We visited Sevastopol briefly, and just prior to that,Sochi, a Russian resort. The latter was depressing, the former very pleasant. I did not find out until many years later that most of the residents of Sevastopol were Russian. Ukraine clearly elevated their attitudes. I would like to see Ukraine get Crimea back as well as all the rest of their territory. And I'm also thinking that maybe we need to consider following in Ukraine's footsteps and elect a serious comedian for our next president.
Definitely no more “business” men, reality show wash outs, or faux news idiots.
reality show = xymoron
I agree about the Crimea. I can't understand how Russia got away with taking it in the first place. I guess nobody wanted to poke the bear
I think Zelensky is a one off. I don't love non-professional politicians. Our system of government is very complex, we need people who understand how it works.
This is very good news! The more Ukraine attacks military and economic targets deep inside Russia, the more it will destabilize Putin's hold on power, weaken his military on the front lines, and weaken his support amongst average Russians and even his own supporters. This is all good news for Ukraine. This war can't last too much longer at this rate.
I hope you’re right!
Sadly, Russia is fine with throwing bodies at the problem. They can keep going for a while because of their population. Putin doesn't care about casualties. The government just hides the dead.
I am not someone who advocates violence just for the sake of satisfaction. But given that Putin deliberately bombed a church, and one particularly symbolic for Ukrainians, I have to ask: Would it be possible and desirable to send a 99 drone swarm and just wreck the Kremlin palace in center Moscow? Might make an outsize statement.
And yes to Robert Israel--why do we not see this kind of clear factual reporting on CNN, MSWhateveritisthisweek, and the front page of NYT?
President Zelenskyy is one smart cookie!! Thanks for sharing this article. It gives me a much better perspective.
I've been an anti-war activist since 1970! And now I'm cheering on Ukraine!!! 💖 I think I've lost my moral center and I'm loving this! 😱
They are defending their country, so it's a bit different to be on their side.
Great summary Jay. If anyone is interested they should check out Daily Kos. There are two writers, "quaoar" and "annieli" that write daily stories on the Ukrainian war. In my opinion the daily work they do is outstanding. So, if you want to know what actually is going on, what the MSM won't talk about, check them out.
Thanks for the tip! My comment after yours was why isn't this being covered in the media? I've seen bits and pieces about things not going so well for Putin, but nothing as comprehensive as this. I'll have to check out the Daily Kos writers.
Thanks Jay it’s difficult to get accurate information on all that is going on in Ukraine. Also there only so much time in the day keeping up with all that is going on here. We have turned our back on Ukraine and am pleased the EU has stepped in and now have their backs. Our own felon in DC always claims that Zelenskyy doesn’t have the cards but would say that same idiot doesn’t even have a full deck to play in any poker game…