Two good initial wrap ups are here and here. No surprise Vladimir is going to try to pin this on Ukraine and the West. That was a given. Also no surprise the no-nukes crowd (‘Oh my stars Vladimir will use nukes we need to abandon Ukraine now’) crowd are jumping all over this as yet another reason to run away.
I’ve made no secret that I have thought our support was not terribly well thought out, and I maintain that Ukraine is not a fight requiring American blood. I do think that allowing Russia to break it’s teeth is a good thing, and that having the myth of Russian armed might exposed is also a good thing. I just think we could have done it a lot smarter. A LOT smarter.
As for the run-away crowd, you might want to read this before joining Sir Robin and company. I would also commend this article. As for additional possibilities as to who really was behind the attack, this is interesting reading. I will admit, in many ways it doesn’t matter who really did it. What matters is who Vladimir thinks did it, and who he decides to blame.
Right now, looks like he’s going to blame Ukraine and the West for several reasons. Probably need to sit down and go over some of the reasons, but keep in mind that Vladimir could be behind this directly or indirectly. More soon I hope.
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I was surprised at the incompetence of the Russian Army, especially in allowing their Kiev attack to bog down and get slaughtered. I’m reading analyses that the new 100,000 troops Moscow is gathering will come with either obsolete armor or none at all. Also that the Russian Army’s tube artillery is wearing out and the 152mm guns will be replaced with 122mm howitzers, with the corresponding reductions in range and burst radius.
Well, I was too to some extent, despite the fact that I must have known (stupid lightning) that the opening up of the military to full-up graft/corruption by Vladimir was having a negative impact. The signs were there, and some others did catch it and were talking about it before this invasion. Given that everyone and their brother apparently were buying the Russian encrypted com gear for a song should have seen it coming. Linked to a couple of the articles about the tube liners and such, and they have been throwing troops into battle without armor or even first aid gear for a while. If the devastating losses ever switch from Chechen/related and to the Rus population (other than prisoners and other undesirables), expect to see support for Vladimir and the war both go up in flames. There may be no way to avoid that given the numbers they need to hold on, much less advance.
Putin was KGB, the sword and shield of the Party. They play off the Party and the Army and the KGB (now FSB) to maintain a balance. Shouldnt be surprised that an Ex KGB guy would allow the Army to decline to reduce the threat against him as the new face of the Party.
True. FSB is dominant now and has been for a while, and given how they staged the apartment building bombings to propel Vladimir into power, no surprise many are not shy to suggest they may be behind this latest event.