Reply will come after today's Putin closing speech for SPIEF and later at his press conference.
He will talk to state Security Council soon.
Yesterday he had a short press conference and mentioned Oreshnik planned to be deployed armed with proper warheads, not just for testing accuracy with it's only kinetic power.
Those 20 thousand guests from 100 countries in Petersburg are not scared, they walk slowly, with dignity. They know they are well protected, they trust Russian hospitality.
They will remember Ukrainian welcome salvo for years to come.
Clearly, what a spectacle, and what orgasms for Spectre receiving those 36 nuclear warheads! You could say Igor Bond really gave him a good thrashing. Sorry, but as soon as someone mentions nuclear weapons, my mind goes blank.
So far Oreshniks don't have any warhead, they fly empty and use only kinetics for strikes.
As a pacifist, conscientious objector and internationalist, I do not advocate for any armaments and conflicts.
I believe in a peaceful world without any armies, armaments, countries, borders, any form of government. A classless society without rulers and oppressed, without any laws and state coercion
Before them were countless others with even more radical ideas on societal development.
Beatles and hippies have learned from them. One of them is the Socialist Party in Clapham High Street in London and the World Socialist Movement. They had direct influence on Lennon
No, proper warhead doesn't have to mean nuclear. You're the one bringing up nuclear power, aren't you? "I believe in a peaceful world without any armies, armaments, countries, borders, any form of government." The Moon, the perfect place for you. Elon could take you there and even give you a Starlink terminal so you can stay and keep posting the site.
Do not put in my mouth statements, which I have never expressed.
Yes, there are nuclear power stations in the Middle East, like Bushehr in Iran, which can be bombed by conventional missiles and be destroyed. Or missiles with dirty nuclear warheads send on them. There would be hell.
There can be nukes in Asia, limited, small and border areas.
There can be a very large one in the Middle Pacific as a posture, a test, no damage, before Chinese and American sea armada meet.
Russia is simply powerless now. No Russian action except nuclear attack can bring the Russian deterrence back. EU laughs at Russia. The whole world now disrespects Russia as it is in nature human animal to respect the power.
Do you remember from Serbian recent history, when all your refineries were bombed by NATO and you had to make a line at petrol stations to fill up with imported and smuggled max 10 litres into metal containers?
That's how Serbia and most Europe might look in the coming future.
And pay e6 per litre.
For those tourists, that might be their last summer holiday for a long time. Say for 10 years.
PR. It's always just PR. Russia cannot stop the attacks. Hate to break it to you, but when the enemy can kill your people and disrupt life in your major cities at will, that's no longer a public relations stunt, but a sign of your impotence.
You can't wave these things away as PR anymore. Imagine drones casually descending on Wall Street or Washington, D.C. That would not be PR, but a sign that you're under siege and losing the plot, and the war.
As exchange bodies between Russia and Ukraine show for many years, for each 1000 Ukrainian coffins there are 30-40 Russian soldiers. Simplicious wrote about it multiple times, back to 2023 Ukrainian offensive.
I don't see a problem with it for Russia. I don't see Russia losing anywhere.
For many years already Russia has 6 experimental armaments being tested and some in serial production, including Oreshnik, Kinzhal, Zircon. They are unstoppable and powerful.
If they won't be understood properly by any aggressor, they would have nuclear warheads. Russia has recently changed it's nuclear policy, that after New START nuclear treaty expired in February. Russia has offered multiple times to extend this treaty, but the USA refused. Trump stated those treaties are not that important, because he is a peacekeeper
Could you be more specific on who are the Baltic supporters of the ongoing war of NATO on Russia?
Lithuania. Population ~2.88 million.
Since 2004 EU accession around 744,000 emigrants have left Lithuania overall. Youth (15–29) population declined by about ~25% from 2006.
Latvia. Population ~1.85 million.
Over 40% reduction in 15–29 age group since mid-2000s baseline. Net migration losses were among the highest in Europe, often estimated at ~9% of total population loss due to migration alone.
Estonia. Population: ~1.37 million
Roughly ~30–35% decrease in the 15–29 cohort since mid-2000s baseline.
They are dying. "The three nations face distinct rates of population decline, largely driven by a combination of historical shifts and modern economic pressures"
Depends on what you mean by "country" - their leadership or people. The people there are absolutely in panic mode, there are online forums where people from baltic states and russians living close exchange their experiences about drone sightings and all are united in their hatred for Ukraine. And didn't leaders of one Baltic state just quit?
They probably don't care, if for nothing else they would have to exchange them and admit additional loses as opposed to keeping them in the MIA category.
However, usually one does not collect the dead of the adversary when retreating.
That is not because Russians are dying less. Russians are slowly advancing and they are always able to collect their dead. The Ukrainians are retreating so their dead remain on Russian side who can collect them.
‘Over the recent period, the strength of the Ukrainian Armed Forces has decreased by 100,000 personnel, with monthly losses amounting to approximately 40,000.’
If Putin’s statement in the video is correct UAF will have to collapse in 12 to 24 months with mathematical certainty. The type of process he is describing there has a tendency to accelerate at the late phases.
Meanwhile, NATO Secretary General travels freely, untouched on the train to Kiev. It's safer in Kiev than St. Pet's. However, I do think Russia controls the battlefield along its Western Front.https://x.com/MilitarySummary/status/2062090546676449791
That might be because it's not objective of SMO to target civilian trains and to decapitate head of states or leaders of military organisations.
If Russia really wanted it would take out Zelensky on the first day of war, as well as each of his visiting guests afterward. Russia sees it as counterproductive.
Long before war has started Russia had many agents in Ukrainian state apparatus, including secret services. Some of them had to escape from Ukraine, some were liquidated by Ukrainians.
Still, there are many Russian agents within Zelensky's closest group. Some of the hard-die Ukrainian nationalists are switching loyalties as an exit door from collapsing state.
Very many Ukrainian citizens have ethnic Russian roots, about 11 millions. They have close families across border. Many were educated and worked in Russia. Besides, all Ukrainians speak fluent Russian. Most speak better Russian, as their mother language, than Ukrainian.
Certainly, Russia needs them in the future. That's why railways and any other civilian objects are never targeted.
Possible yes, but unnecessary as Russia never attacks civilian objects, no matter who might be there. Collateral damage is always high.
American would kill all wedding party guests with a rocket or mow down urban street market with heavy machine guns with 200 hundred killed within a minute. Russia doesn't
You should tell that to the residents of Kiev not here on this board. They have the simplistic view that if they are getting hit with a thousand heavy weight drones, complete with accompaying unstoppable hypersonic missiles a week, they are in greater personal danger than someone in a city that gets hit with one or two lightweight drones a week. .
Actually the London Blitz like British bombing of German cities focused on working-class areas in a sort of Marxist doctrine that the proletariat would overthrow the regime.
Bombing affluent areas did not appeal to the supervisors of such raids since „their people“ might not be so bloody-minded as to stiffen resistance
The Blitz was the result of a childish tantrum by a unhinged moron which lost the Germans the Battle of Britain. There was no plan behind it except "We must bomb their cities because they bombed ours!"
My mother was blown up by a V1 in Queensgate. Near Gloucester Road station. She found herself in a cellar - the railings had been removed. Her lungs were damaged. She was evacuated for some time. This is a very posh part of London.
May I remind you that the vast majority of bombers and fighters were involved on the Eastern Front? Imagine that this front didn't exist or that it was quickly swallowed up. Eighty years later, the archaeologists of the Reich would still be excavating the ruins of London.
No man , refresh your knowledge , the blitz was before Barbarossa , all luftwaffe engaged the britz but they got distracted and instead of winning focused on making smoke from civilian targets
No man , refresh your knowledge, Blitz ended in May 1941 because Hitler redeployed most of the Luftwaffe to Eastern Europe. He was preparing Operation Barbarossa (the invasion of the Soviet Union), relegating the air campaign against Great Britain to a secondary priority.
I got what you think but all people put the battle as ending in 31 oct and the turning point 15 sept . That's not near Barbarossa and is honestly a form of revisionist cope . Luftwaffe made a mistake , early , and it costed them the battle and in the end the war
Ach, scheisse. If we could turn back time, we'd ask Stalin to stop at the borders of the USSR instead of going on to exterminate the Germans all the way to Berlin. That way, we could have a better perspective on the ruins of the old city of London and Buckingham Palace.
"U.S. Navy Carrier Strike Groups: The U.S. routinely deploys Gerald R. Ford and Nimitz-class nuclear supercarriers to the European theater under the U.S. Sixth Fleet. These heavily armed strike groups operate interchangeably with European allies to ensure maritime stability."
Just plain wrong. The USA is still pulling strings in Ukraine. Despite whatever the JUSA says or does, they are in charge and doing all the planning behind the curtain... Chip
Actually it is good to have these spectacles. EU is unfazed by ecological damage of burning oil which reveals only peaceful emissions are „haram“ in EU eyes.
Visitors to SPIEF understand what Russia endures snd appreciate the retaliation post-SPIEF as justified.
Russians know they are at war with NATO even though NATO populations seem oblivious
The Baltics are dead meat and without security.
Finland has a corrupt elite which has destroyed the country and returned it to 1941 and Siege of Leningrad with a Russian leader whose family endured it
Hard to fathom stupidity on such a scale. It will not end well for U.K. or Baltics or Germany or France - Poland is irrelevant. Just a few weeks until Hormuz bites and societal dislocation is entrenched
the zionzied google insists that NATO has nothing to do with the war in Ukraine. There are rather indecent explanations of why NATO is in a love-union with Bandera followers.
these thing are not new. This one is just PR timed.
> "Russia cannot stop the attacks."
of course it can. Just strike Helsingfors (the Swedish city that Finns call Helsinki) with "ukrainian" drones out of their path. NATO will not move an article-5 finger.
A more tedious way is to keep hammering Ukraine more trying to eliminate if possible NATO people there.
All in all it is similar from USA and UK, as the terrorist actions in the mid to late 90's around Chechen wars.
Brits and Banderists are not so smart. The point is not this PR stunt in SPb, but a drone voluntarily flying after and hitting a regular passenger coach on the route to Simferopol the other night, killing 8 passengers.
And you have the arrogance to think that the Russian leadership doesn't know all that? The constant tightrope is whether to launch WWIII or not with the very real chance of going nuclear. This has nothing to do with strength or weakness. It has to do with the future.
If Iranian drones were regularly penetrating U.S. airspace and destroying military and civilian targets in major urban centers, would you be brushing it off as a PR tactic?
The fact that Russia can neither prevent nor deter such attacks from NATO means they will continue to occur and, with time, increase in their intensity and effectiveness.
If Russia cannot solve the drone problem or hit back hard enough such that the consequences of launching a drone attack become unthinkable, Russia will eventually be bled dry by NATO, notwithstanding the disparity in military size on paper.
Brushing off these attacks as PR is the only PR I see. Spin control at its most transparent.
@ Octavia Moya - based on your summation, then Germany was winning WW II in late 1944 and 1945 as Germany was still able to bomb England (London and the SE) and killed people.
You really do present the knowledge of a person who has no idea of military strategies and the concept of responding to provocation which in fact is very limited.
I do hope your arm chair is able to accommodate your BS understanding.
"Russia cannot stop the attacks." Nonsense. Russia *can* stop the attacks, and rather easily, by striking the nearly defenseless Western nations that power those attacks. That Russia chooses *not* to do that is the fundamental paradox of this conflict.
"We are ready to start shipping gas to Germany tomorrow"
Why? So that Germany can make drones and missiles more cheaply to kill Russians with?
And "We are ready to end the war tomorrow if the **compromise** in Anchorage is adhered to".
So you are giving up multiple regional capitals of the Russian Federation for the "privilege" of Russia going back to the 1990s direct neocolonial arrangement.
There is no paradox. It is indeed a gas station with nukes. Correction, it is a gas station *without* nukes because these peopel will never use them so effectively they don't have them. And gas station owners care only about selling gas.
The Western three-letter agencies appear to have done a very accurate psychological profile of Russian leadership, which they have then masterfully used to boil the Russian frog to the point where St. Petersburg gets bombed directly from NATO territory (for some reason Simplicius does not mention the reports of the drones being launched from trucks on Estonian highways) and the cuck-in-chief pretends nothing is happening.
One can indeed arguably say the Kremlin does not have the upper hand in the propaganda war. During Stalin's time there was an entire government body tasked with countering every single false propaganda coming from the enemy, Germany. It was highly successful. This is not so today. More at The Duran, reliable as always.
In WWII, after the invasion, the Allied Air Forces had absolute superiority over the continent. But German air raids could still punch through to England if they were well prepared and in suitable weather conditions - there is no way to close an airspace! And second, all the bombs in WWII were more or less useless; German production went up and up. You can argue that the thousand bomber raids were just a PR show (and killed a lot of civilians) because they generated no real results.
Don't need to be a military expert - common sense logic is enough. 1. This IS a PR stunt because of the TIMING (drones were launched during SPIEF opening). 2. If hundreds or thousands of drones attack at the same time, it is logical that some will get through. Actually, Russian air-defence is extremely effective. I don't know what country you live in, but I bet that one single drone would be too much for your air-defence - and you would be sh... your pants. BTW, your tone is repulsive. Show some respect towards Russian nation - the collective West is waging war against them, they are defending themselves! Their cause is just, and that's why they will not only survive, but WIN. And you will not, because your lack of empathy and nihilism show that you are self-destructive.
They will not win because their cause is 'just'. They will win because they have the resources and military ability to do it. "God is on the side with the best artillery."
It's enough to cut 100 km Suvalki Corridor between Kaliningrad Enclave district and Belorus, to disarm those countries.
It will be done within the next 10 months.
Russia would enter from Kaliningrad on the Lithuanian side and take it over without a single shot. That would be permanent set up.
Trump is already withdrawing troops from East Baltics and consolidating in Poland. It's difficult to maintain those troops, as sea ports are small and degraded. Their military and economic value fall after USSR break up, transit cargo went to Russian ports.
There would be tension on Estonian border after Russia make claims to 2 small areas. Again, they take them without a single shot.
There is no need for annexation - each those countries have 20% ethnic Russian population. Good enough to keep the state in positive relations with Russia. Also most elder locals are not nationalists, being rose in multicultural USSR society.
At same stage NATO will be disintegrating and Baltics will the first to chop out. Poland will remain in NATO with heavy military contingent, amounting to occupational force, keeping civil order on Warsaw streets.
Because they know Russia won’t hit nato territory…it will never happen. People can dream and hope all they want but Russia is afraid to hit Nato and made devision they will not.
The bright side now, despite some of my criticism, Russia controls the war on its Western front and delivers a higher attrition cost against Ukraine. But anything should be a fair target in Ukraine.
Once Ukraine is dealt with, then Russia can deal with NATO. That way, you divide the conflict into two over two separate timelines, and you only fight one force at a time.
What is an escalation in a war? Do you think you're in a boxing ring with rules and a referee? You'd be capable of telling us "war kills, it's horrible".
They don’t have to. They will defeat the yapping poodles simply by existing which is such anathema that it literally causes suicidal insanity. By the time Russia does strike it will take but a tiny nudge and the regimes will collapse in on themselves like the rotten corpses that they are.
If it's true that Russia fears NATO, then the latter would be capable of devouring it, as it has never hesitated to do with others so far. Yet, within NATO, care is taken never to run out of diapers. In war, common sense dictates that one eliminates one enemy at a time. NATO's creation was intended to be the US's nuclear umbrella, even if the Americans would never risk their annihilation by nuclear fire in defense of rowdy dwarves. Russia's fear lies elsewhere; the menstruating women who lead France and the UK might be tempted by their leaden generals to press the wrong button, given that someone in these two nations might be capable of finding and deciphering the launch codes—the possibilities are highly plausible.
When NATO aircraft gather data during an “AFU” drone attack, what they are doing is trying to make the *next* attack more effective. So maybe Russia should treat this kind of surveillance as an act of war and start reacting accordingly.
Seems a good alternative to strikes on NATO territory. Most current-day civilians have no experience or understanding of war, so they usually choose not to care about military things getting blewed up, or even military casualties.
There should have been a no-fly zone in the Black Sea imposed already back in 2022. Had it been done back then, before those flights started, it would be much easier to impose than now, when they are routine.
Four and a half years of deterrence erasure later, what is called for now is a no fly zone inside NATO territory, and whatever Russia can reach inside it should be shot down with zero hesitation. If they want all-out war, well, let it be so.
The drones are man-controlled as long as possible; otherwise, all these NATO surveillance aircraft are not needed. These aircraft check the Russian defenses while the attack is ongoing and give the Ukrainians the necessary information on what to hit, where to avoid AA, where to avoid ECM, and where radar coverage is low. Then the operators in Ukraine (?) will alter the flight path; therefore, even highly mobile Russian AA cannot protect the targets. Question: What is the communication method of these drones? Starlink is expansive; I expect they use a 4/5G modem, roaming into the Balic cell phone providers net. The Russians and Ukrainians blocked their cell phone net with very simple methods. To me, it is not so important if the drones are flying in the airspace of the Baltics, because close to this airspace the Ukrainians can use 4/5G net. Then things are not so easy to address diplomatically, even though it is obvious what happens.
"Lingchi (IPA: [lǐŋ.ʈʂʰɨ̌], Chinese: 凌遲), usually translated "slow slicing" or (incorrectly) "death by a thousand cuts", is a form of torture and execution that was used in China from c. 900 until it was banned in 1905. It was also used in Vietnam and Korea. In this form of execution, a knife is used to methodically remove portions of the body over an extended period of time, eventually resulting in death. Lingchi was reserved for crimes viewed as especially heinous, such as treason. Even after the practice was outlawed, the concept itself has still appeared across many types of media."
Good to see it was banned in 1905.
I had met a WW2 Veteran once who told me he had seen another unit do this to a German prisoner.
From a military perspective, they are PR stunts. From a political perspective, they are Death by a Thousand Cuts. The Russians will put up with it until they won't as no significant military damage is being done. Nothing will distract them from a Ukrainian victory. Why broaden the war prematurely if you don't have to? It's a dog fight. The big bruiser has the other by the throat on the ground. People around are hitting it with everything trying to distract and separate. but the bruiser maintains concentration. After the other dog is dead, people back off as he turns his eyes on them.
I'm a little surprised the Russians don't deploy warships for air defense near St. Petersburg. I can see where they might think it was too risky in the Black Sea, but in the Baltic I would think it would be hard for the Ukes to deploy naval drones against them. I don't know what they have for naval assets up there, yet I would be surprised to find out there was nothing with even self defense anti-air capability, which is all they would need to deal with these drones.
This would make no sense. The NATO surveillance aircraft are detecting everything; St. Petersburg is very close to the border. NATO tells the Ukrainian operators where the best flight path is, so either the drones fly around the ships or the ships are targeted.
I live in the area that was attacked on the south side of St. Petersburg, about 5km from the Gulf of Finland where the oil terminal was hit. The road I live on (Prospect Veteranov) wraps around and goes out to where the SPEF conference is held.
Pulkovo Airport is to the east of where I live, and we are close to the flight path of arriving and departing aircraft. They fly north to south in a straight line on departure, and reverse on arrival. There's planes landing and taking off all the time.
I heard the first drones and anti-aircraft machine gun fire around 2 a.m., and it lasted until 7 a.m. I don't know how or why - but the drones were absolutely flying in a nearly straight line from east to west, perpendicular to the normal flight path of aircraft, and overlying the area I live in. It's possible they were launched from within Russia. I can't say more out of prudence, but there is a large response by authorities down here. The sound of the Geran-style drones ("mopeds") is unmistakable, although it's not the first time we're heard it around here.
The long-distance Geran-style drones have two-cycle engines and are physically fairly large. You can hear their distinctive noise from a long way off. The interceptor drones I've seen on various Telegram channels are small and fast, and the noise in the videos and looking at them seems like it would be more on the line of the short-range drones and much quieter.
Rybar appears to have geolocated various drones coming from every direction. Some from east to west, some from north to south, and the one I got from west to east.
Substack roled out this feature with fanfare. Ostensibly allowing Substack owners to set automatic controls on comments that will then be imported by Substack's own AI to make "informed guesses".
The selling point is less need for manual control. The hidden agenda is, of course, something else - Substack gains control of all comments everywhere, and it'll no doubt proceed - with AI's help - to hide whatever it deems the author would want, but the trick is ij the "deems" part.
There is a huge effort out there by the elite contyrollers to gain a measure of 'supervision" and therefore "control" over the paltform itself. Way too many people are challenging the narrative.
So, I see very little upside in this new policy. For now, it is voluntary. For example the author can set criteria such as "no spam, no slop, no porn" but you can imagine how broadly this can be interpreted.
has Simplicius raised the question about this new feature yet? I didn't see it...
BTW, I can see those hidden replies following yours. Not sure whether the X post you brought in triggered some feature somewhere. The replies to your comment were good, so this does bring up a serious question, IMHO.
Thanks so much for the detailed explanation, Proterran.
What were looking at is the early stage of narrative control.
But this feature is mild because it doesn't fully remove the comment. It just puts it in purgatory, where I will get my fair share of sin time. lol.
The feature might backfire by drawing people eager to read what the sinners said. Hallelujah, Proterran. Hell ain't such a bad place to be after all. 😂
"Early stage of narrative control" - that is what this is IMO also.
They are testing the waters. See the reactions. See who notices and whether there back fire. That's why I just put up my own comment, drawing attention to yours. people should not be naive and pay attention (but will they?).
Being of apparently simple mind and short of observational talent, I have no idea what you guys are talking about. Is this control "feature" something we commenters can see, or is it strictly on the author's side of things. You said you could see the "hidden replies" - hidden? How could you see them if they were hidden?
What do you mean "purgatory"? Your comment is still there. And you continue to be able to comment, yes? So where is the purgatory? If what you say is true, then it seems to go entirely against the whole substack philosophy. For the time being, I am going to assume that it is simply a way to give limited ability to the creators to monitor their own substacks - not some government conspiracy forced on to the platform.
Victor, Dimming is the new purgatory. It's the early onset of wrongthink. Watch how often GM ends up there. That might be his new home in constant, dimmed purgatory. I think the feature will encourage people to read what the sinners say. Hey everybody, let's go see who sinned. lol
You are a true believer and I commend you for that. But us simpletons out there, see some a smoldering fire behind the dim smoke of the "hidden".
People don't seem to realize that there is growing intensity of voices from the usual PTB quarters against free speech on a platform like Substack that has become truly popular. And while those voices sure aren't coming from us, the hoi polois of the internet. Alas, those charming and oh so lovable PTB have all the money in the world to push heither and theither.
So mark me as one beset with trepidations, but you are welcome to try and calm those down....
Ah, but we are Johnny come lately's so we just noticed it (and Denis drew our attention to it).. Rather, I should say that Substack sent its notice around to ALL asuthors only 3 or so days ago, presenting the feature as the next best thing to sliced bread. Which claim, of course, made me raise a brow or two (I have nothing against sliced bread so please don't dim my light!)
I can't quote post I was replying to, because I can't find it anymore. It has vanished, together with my replies, which I have to try post 2x. Also vanished a reply I have received there.
I would never support getting rid of the likes of Dhdh. Everyone has a right to disagree and to offend - that is the core of free speech. When Dhdh is forced off the platform, that's the day I leave ( so there you go, Mikey, I have given you cause for hope - as I am both offensive and in the current vernacular, "anti-semitic")
I totally agree with you. That said, the right to speak doesn't give the right to be heard. Dhdh is the only commenter I have blocked.... My choice, though, not the site's, as it should be.
Agree. If you don't want to always be faced with such comments, block the use - that is your right as well. But the site should not be forced to do it.
I havent blocked him/it either. But it is a real pain to read all these one-liners of who is to blame regardless of the articles topic. Sometimes he express on-topic and factbased perspectives worth to read and think about.
And he and others cause problem for Simplicius and Substack as a whole because those who wish to silence any discourse other than the ruling just wait and gather information to use against sites like this one.
Which is why in the past it occurred to me that dhdh was making those inflammatory comments precisely to draw attention to thenblog which could result in recrimination.
I believe that's called a false flag, or rather, the speech equivalent of it. I know for a fact that this tactic was used deliberately to shut down discourse on all kinds of platforms and also as an excuse to disable comments on many newspaper articles.
That said, I think that as a favor to the no-doubt-overworked blog owner, we, the commenter rabble that we are, should try and bring those types of comments to his attention. They are easy enough to detect and it is quite a burden to police the comments section when there are lots of them, all the more so when the topic goes against the favored narratives.
So perhaps, we, whoever we are, haven't done enough? (I include myself, lazy bum that I am, in that).
Count me out. On the last blog dhdh was, I believe, cancelled only once out of 28? Of course I think it was his only comment...LOL. Censorship is never good or right. If you don't like someone, block them.
I am in all honesty surprised that Chris Best would allow such censorship - seems totally out of his character. Perhaps it was forced on him by his institutional investors. OTOH had that been the case, seems he would have complained publicly about being forced to implement such a tool.
Agree. You never know with these fanatics and their inflammatory comments - could be FBI/ADL/ShinBet or numerous other shady elements to catch som flies.
Given the subject matter of this blog, having some stupid AI throw comments into the purgatory based on an "incitment of violence" filter is rather idiotic, isn't it?
The essence of War is people k*lling each other and the core of the discussions is whether one or both sides are having the right strategy, tactics and goals to bring the War to a Victory/Conclusive End.
The best way to keep the masses ignorant of facts is to eliminate all those who dare think a thought and express it. Cant find any better way to do it than letting AI automatically make them disappear.
The ”incitement of violence” has the same meaning as the ”rule based international order” for me - it can only function from the stronger position.
I looked up the previous article with about 500 comments. 25 of them was hidden/dimmed. But it was 25 first comments and then all subsequent comments was also dimmed - all in all close to hundred.
Of course all those dhdh rants was dimmed and, not so astonishing either, all those calling for m*rder of named peoples.
I found one peculiar dimmed comment from you, GM, where you discussed raw materials and essential geopolitic. Maybe off-topic.
So if the first comment is dimmed, then all of the answers/discussion will be dimmed.
That's the bigger problem I see. many a time, the responses to those one disagrees with, be it GM or someone else, are, in themselves enlightening. Rebuttals often carry lessons in them and those who care to put in the effort to rebuke a comment by fact or argument, deserve to have their comments viewed.
I believe that the sport of poking the bear won't change the course of the war & if somebody
thinks that Putin will mud the way of ending this war moving out of Ukraine, what he really want's
is to get to Nüremberg 2.0 with his hands clean of war crimes, to be able to judge the last 80 years
of medling stealing, perverting the world as a WHOLE, those who are behind. the only way to rebuild a new UN where reality at list is built over basic principles, as the real sovereignity of each
but really only on their side. There's more anger and Putin has done a couple of bigger hits, but like that Russian agent said at the World Economic Forum - Russian Secret Agent, Bezrukov who operated undercover in the US for over a decade, tells about the "new type of wars" & "strategy of the West": "The West's strategy is very simple. They gradually increase the degree of escalation. And they will not stop, because they have nowhere to retreat. We are an existential threat to them.It's now useless to seize territories, prices have stopped rising & no point in occupying them. This is a war of attrition and devastation. We already see this on our front and in the Middle East."
Maybe it's because I don't have any experience in military matters or surveillance, but what is purported to be a Ukranian drone flying over the waters in early morning looks to me like a goose. Call me a goose, but I don't see anything more than that. If you look closely, you can actually see its wings flapping. Drones don't do that. Or do they?
Reply will come after today's Putin closing speech for SPIEF and later at his press conference.
He will talk to state Security Council soon.
Yesterday he had a short press conference and mentioned Oreshnik planned to be deployed armed with proper warheads, not just for testing accuracy with it's only kinetic power.
Those 20 thousand guests from 100 countries in Petersburg are not scared, they walk slowly, with dignity. They know they are well protected, they trust Russian hospitality.
They will remember Ukrainian welcome salvo for years to come.
That is bad PR for Ukraine.
They will be now hated, not supported and loved.
Oreshniks with warheads, that will be a sight to behold.
Clearly, what a spectacle, and what orgasms for Spectre receiving those 36 nuclear warheads! You could say Igor Bond really gave him a good thrashing. Sorry, but as soon as someone mentions nuclear weapons, my mind goes blank.
No, proper warhead doesn't have to mean nuclear.
So far Oreshniks don't have any warhead, they fly empty and use only kinetics for strikes.
As a pacifist, conscientious objector and internationalist, I do not advocate for any armaments and conflicts.
I believe in a peaceful world without any armies, armaments, countries, borders, any form of government. A classless society without rulers and oppressed, without any laws and state coercion
Imagine all the people....
Before them were countless others with even more radical ideas on societal development.
Beatles and hippies have learned from them. One of them is the Socialist Party in Clapham High Street in London and the World Socialist Movement. They had direct influence on Lennon
No, proper warhead doesn't have to mean nuclear. You're the one bringing up nuclear power, aren't you? "I believe in a peaceful world without any armies, armaments, countries, borders, any form of government." The Moon, the perfect place for you. Elon could take you there and even give you a Starlink terminal so you can stay and keep posting the site.
Do not put in my mouth statements, which I have never expressed.
Yes, there are nuclear power stations in the Middle East, like Bushehr in Iran, which can be bombed by conventional missiles and be destroyed. Or missiles with dirty nuclear warheads send on them. There would be hell.
There can be nukes in Asia, limited, small and border areas.
There can be a very large one in the Middle Pacific as a posture, a test, no damage, before Chinese and American sea armada meet.
Elon doesn't fly to Moon. He plans Mars.
Russia is simply powerless now. No Russian action except nuclear attack can bring the Russian deterrence back. EU laughs at Russia. The whole world now disrespects Russia as it is in nature human animal to respect the power.
The thing is Russia is growing their strength for the last 20 years.
Outpaced the US Army 2 years ago.
Together with China they form a very strong alliance economically. They are in the centre of BRICS.
Energy crisis is grinding the West Europe and the EU, as well as NATO, they are on shaky grounds.
"Energy crisis" Look at tourist hysteria in Greece, Italy, Montenegro, Croatia...
Where is that "Energy crisis" ?
American can live with 10 dollars per gallon.
Do you remember from Serbian recent history, when all your refineries were bombed by NATO and you had to make a line at petrol stations to fill up with imported and smuggled max 10 litres into metal containers?
That's how Serbia and most Europe might look in the coming future.
And pay e6 per litre.
For those tourists, that might be their last summer holiday for a long time. Say for 10 years.
Yes I remember. That is true.
But I cannot see that happening in Europe. The global loss of oil due to Iran war is just 15%.
What a twisted mass murderer logic...
That is the logic of the contemporary "humanity" but the dark prince Niccolò Machiavelli teaches us that it was always so.
because,, Is Netanjahy in prison? Not at all.
Mass murderers walk freely and are respected.
No EU state broke relations with Israel. Probably no state in the world at all.
Humanity is such, the evil naked ape is such that the mass murderers are respected.
That's the logic of a sociopath, but true that they are the ones who climb to power. That's not an every day normal person logic
Well, in many many companies, specially high tech, you have many sociopaths.
There is much hidden violence among people who have to go to work and work for companies, specially corporations.
That's certainly true
PR. It's always just PR. Russia cannot stop the attacks. Hate to break it to you, but when the enemy can kill your people and disrupt life in your major cities at will, that's no longer a public relations stunt, but a sign of your impotence.
You can't wave these things away as PR anymore. Imagine drones casually descending on Wall Street or Washington, D.C. That would not be PR, but a sign that you're under siege and losing the plot, and the war.
Waaaahhhhhh
Because PR is important for Zelensky and NATO, as a losing site.
Not important in war of attrition for Russia, as they are winning it.
Yes, Russia is winning the attrition by 2 or 3 to 1 at its Western Front.
But Russia is not winning at everything else. That's the problem.
As exchange bodies between Russia and Ukraine show for many years, for each 1000 Ukrainian coffins there are 30-40 Russian soldiers. Simplicious wrote about it multiple times, back to 2023 Ukrainian offensive.
I don't see a problem with it for Russia. I don't see Russia losing anywhere.
Russia lacks the kind of deterrence that would make countries afraid of it. That's why even the puny Baltics don't fear Russia.
For many years already Russia has 6 experimental armaments being tested and some in serial production, including Oreshnik, Kinzhal, Zircon. They are unstoppable and powerful.
If they won't be understood properly by any aggressor, they would have nuclear warheads. Russia has recently changed it's nuclear policy, that after New START nuclear treaty expired in February. Russia has offered multiple times to extend this treaty, but the USA refused. Trump stated those treaties are not that important, because he is a peacekeeper
Could you be more specific on who are the Baltic supporters of the ongoing war of NATO on Russia?
Lithuania. Population ~2.88 million.
Since 2004 EU accession around 744,000 emigrants have left Lithuania overall. Youth (15–29) population declined by about ~25% from 2006.
Latvia. Population ~1.85 million.
Over 40% reduction in 15–29 age group since mid-2000s baseline. Net migration losses were among the highest in Europe, often estimated at ~9% of total population loss due to migration alone.
Estonia. Population: ~1.37 million
Roughly ~30–35% decrease in the 15–29 cohort since mid-2000s baseline.
They are dying. "The three nations face distinct rates of population decline, largely driven by a combination of historical shifts and modern economic pressures"
Also, the great irony in Baltic and Ukrainian depopulation is, IIRC, most of those emigrants have gone to Russia.
Depends on what you mean by "country" - their leadership or people. The people there are absolutely in panic mode, there are online forums where people from baltic states and russians living close exchange their experiences about drone sightings and all are united in their hatred for Ukraine. And didn't leaders of one Baltic state just quit?
The insignificant Baltic states will be learning the value of their NATO membership.
It might be due to Ukraine not caring to collect the bodies of Russian dead while Russia will collect every body it can.
Yes, it means Russians are advancing so fast, that Ukrainians are running and don't have time and will to collect their injured and dead.
Before Russians arrive at trenches those left there are half-dead from blood loss. They die in Russian field hospitals.
Many of them were forcibly conscripted.
Survivals don't want to be exchanged back to Ukraine, as they well know they will be send back to front line again, until killed for good.
That's why Russia has 20 thousands POW's, while Ukraine 2 thousands.
Some of POW's in Russia want to serve in army against Zelensky's regime. That's the only way for them to come back home alive.
I think there is a whole unit made up of former Ukrainian PWs.
Patrick Lancaster did a video on it I believe.
Many of them were forcibly conscripted. Were there any voluntary conscripts?
They probably don't care, if for nothing else they would have to exchange them and admit additional loses as opposed to keeping them in the MIA category.
However, usually one does not collect the dead of the adversary when retreating.
That is not because Russians are dying less. Russians are slowly advancing and they are always able to collect their dead. The Ukrainians are retreating so their dead remain on Russian side who can collect them.
If ratio is 1000/30-40 it means huge difference in deaths.
Means fast advancement.
Means lack of will and possibilities to collect wounded and dead.
Means high morale and good organisation of Russian medical service, which is able to save their soldiers.
Russia do care about human costs, Ukraine doesn't - literal cannon fodder
But that does not matter at all for the West and Ukraine.
The Ukrainians are gladly dying, even if forced into their army.
The Ukrainians do not care much for their lives, they are sacrificing themselves for the West. For all Eastern Europeans that means a fulfilled life.
‘Over the recent period, the strength of the Ukrainian Armed Forces has decreased by 100,000 personnel, with monthly losses amounting to approximately 40,000.’
If Putin’s statement in the video is correct UAF will have to collapse in 12 to 24 months with mathematical certainty. The type of process he is describing there has a tendency to accelerate at the late phases.
How do we know if that is true?
Because he's not a lying sack of shit like the USSA/NATO.
Meanwhile, NATO Secretary General travels freely, untouched on the train to Kiev. It's safer in Kiev than St. Pet's. However, I do think Russia controls the battlefield along its Western Front.https://x.com/MilitarySummary/status/2062090546676449791
That might be because it's not objective of SMO to target civilian trains and to decapitate head of states or leaders of military organisations.
If Russia really wanted it would take out Zelensky on the first day of war, as well as each of his visiting guests afterward. Russia sees it as counterproductive.
Long before war has started Russia had many agents in Ukrainian state apparatus, including secret services. Some of them had to escape from Ukraine, some were liquidated by Ukrainians.
Still, there are many Russian agents within Zelensky's closest group. Some of the hard-die Ukrainian nationalists are switching loyalties as an exit door from collapsing state.
Very many Ukrainian citizens have ethnic Russian roots, about 11 millions. They have close families across border. Many were educated and worked in Russia. Besides, all Ukrainians speak fluent Russian. Most speak better Russian, as their mother language, than Ukrainian.
Certainly, Russia needs them in the future. That's why railways and any other civilian objects are never targeted.
Those trips are cleared with Russia
No politician from West visited Kiev without informing Russia first. Back channels are everything
Possible yes, but unnecessary as Russia never attacks civilian objects, no matter who might be there. Collateral damage is always high.
American would kill all wedding party guests with a rocket or mow down urban street market with heavy machine guns with 200 hundred killed within a minute. Russia doesn't
Denis
<<<<<< It's safer in Kiev than St. Pet's.<<<<<<<
You should tell that to the residents of Kiev not here on this board. They have the simplistic view that if they are getting hit with a thousand heavy weight drones, complete with accompaying unstoppable hypersonic missiles a week, they are in greater personal danger than someone in a city that gets hit with one or two lightweight drones a week. .
You are correct, Ron. I was being facetious.
Facetious?
Is that some kind of weird fancy woman's under britches?
Or is it all part of that little moustache dude from the last century?
Sorry - but every time I hear/read that word I think of a friend who used to say such things.
lol,
Had a Shakespearian moment, Chris.
Perhaps you haven't heard of the Geneva Conventions?
Just shows who is the real murderer and aggressor here. Literally everyone can see it now on their evil mainstream TV
I don't remember the London blitz losing the war for brits , rather the opposite
Actually the London Blitz like British bombing of German cities focused on working-class areas in a sort of Marxist doctrine that the proletariat would overthrow the regime.
Bombing affluent areas did not appeal to the supervisors of such raids since „their people“ might not be so bloody-minded as to stiffen resistance
The Blitz was the result of a childish tantrum by a unhinged moron which lost the Germans the Battle of Britain. There was no plan behind it except "We must bomb their cities because they bombed ours!"
Sounds kinda familiar, actually.
My mother was blown up by a V1 in Queensgate. Near Gloucester Road station. She found herself in a cellar - the railings had been removed. Her lungs were damaged. She was evacuated for some time. This is a very posh part of London.
May I remind you that the vast majority of bombers and fighters were involved on the Eastern Front? Imagine that this front didn't exist or that it was quickly swallowed up. Eighty years later, the archaeologists of the Reich would still be excavating the ruins of London.
No man , refresh your knowledge , the blitz was before Barbarossa , all luftwaffe engaged the britz but they got distracted and instead of winning focused on making smoke from civilian targets
No man , refresh your knowledge, Blitz ended in May 1941 because Hitler redeployed most of the Luftwaffe to Eastern Europe. He was preparing Operation Barbarossa (the invasion of the Soviet Union), relegating the air campaign against Great Britain to a secondary priority.
I got what you think but all people put the battle as ending in 31 oct and the turning point 15 sept . That's not near Barbarossa and is honestly a form of revisionist cope . Luftwaffe made a mistake , early , and it costed them the battle and in the end the war
Ach, scheisse. If we could turn back time, we'd ask Stalin to stop at the borders of the USSR instead of going on to exterminate the Germans all the way to Berlin. That way, we could have a better perspective on the ruins of the old city of London and Buckingham Palace.
But wasn't it the whole point of the war instigated by Anglos - to prevent Russia and Germany from uniting (kinda like today)?
shhh, the more Putin is convinced he wins, the better.
Trump has made back door deal with Putin.
Ukraine and Europe war theatres are finished.
Everything shifting now to Middle East and Asia, where hell will open, nukes will fly and aircraft carriers and destroyers will sink. Hell on hell.
That's why withdrawal of Americans from East Baltics and 5000 from Germany.
Also departing from Europe:
8 KC-135 refueling aircraft (63 will remain)
8 KC-46 refueling aircraft
36 F-16 fighter jets (63 will remain)
22 F-15Es (36 will remain)
11 Boeing P-8A (15 will remain)
All long-range UAV's, as they're needed in the Middle East
One of the two aircraft carrier strike groups
Half of the cruiser and destroyer units
One of the two bomber squadrons
What is your source?
Yesterday's Die Welt
About as good as the NYT or Wall Street Journal... Chip
Us rarely, if ever, has two carrier strike groups in Europe. Currently (usually?) there are none.
https://news.usni.org/category/fleet-tracker
Weekly deployment location maps going back to 2017
I have googled.
"U.S. Navy Carrier Strike Groups: The U.S. routinely deploys Gerald R. Ford and Nimitz-class nuclear supercarriers to the European theater under the U.S. Sixth Fleet. These heavily armed strike groups operate interchangeably with European allies to ensure maritime stability."
https://www.c6f.navy.mil/Press-Room/News/Article/2925036/american-french-italian-carrier-strike-groups-sail-together-in-the-mediterranea/
Ford is damaged much more then reported previously
https://t.me/Slavyangrad/165808
Just plain wrong. The USA is still pulling strings in Ukraine. Despite whatever the JUSA says or does, they are in charge and doing all the planning behind the curtain... Chip
Actually it is good to have these spectacles. EU is unfazed by ecological damage of burning oil which reveals only peaceful emissions are „haram“ in EU eyes.
Visitors to SPIEF understand what Russia endures snd appreciate the retaliation post-SPIEF as justified.
Russians know they are at war with NATO even though NATO populations seem oblivious
The Baltics are dead meat and without security.
Finland has a corrupt elite which has destroyed the country and returned it to 1941 and Siege of Leningrad with a Russian leader whose family endured it
Hard to fathom stupidity on such a scale. It will not end well for U.K. or Baltics or Germany or France - Poland is irrelevant. Just a few weeks until Hormuz bites and societal dislocation is entrenched
the zionzied google insists that NATO has nothing to do with the war in Ukraine. There are rather indecent explanations of why NATO is in a love-union with Bandera followers.
NATO populations keep asking '@grok is this true (being at war with Rus)?'
these thing are not new. This one is just PR timed.
> "Russia cannot stop the attacks."
of course it can. Just strike Helsingfors (the Swedish city that Finns call Helsinki) with "ukrainian" drones out of their path. NATO will not move an article-5 finger.
A more tedious way is to keep hammering Ukraine more trying to eliminate if possible NATO people there.
All in all it is similar from USA and UK, as the terrorist actions in the mid to late 90's around Chechen wars.
Brits and Banderists are not so smart. The point is not this PR stunt in SPb, but a drone voluntarily flying after and hitting a regular passenger coach on the route to Simferopol the other night, killing 8 passengers.
And you have the arrogance to think that the Russian leadership doesn't know all that? The constant tightrope is whether to launch WWIII or not with the very real chance of going nuclear. This has nothing to do with strength or weakness. It has to do with the future.
Octavia Moya
<<<<<at will<<< <<<casually>>>> ??!!?? What planet are you on?
Planet Empire. There is a spiritual sickness of epidemic proportion sweeping through it's inhabitants. Will a cure be found?
Drones on wall street or Washington D.C. … a pipe dream unfortunately. Like they say: bring the war home
Bullshit
If Iranian drones were regularly penetrating U.S. airspace and destroying military and civilian targets in major urban centers, would you be brushing it off as a PR tactic?
The fact that Russia can neither prevent nor deter such attacks from NATO means they will continue to occur and, with time, increase in their intensity and effectiveness.
If Russia cannot solve the drone problem or hit back hard enough such that the consequences of launching a drone attack become unthinkable, Russia will eventually be bled dry by NATO, notwithstanding the disparity in military size on paper.
Brushing off these attacks as PR is the only PR I see. Spin control at its most transparent.
@ Octavia Moya --- Again you speak gibberish with no military strategy understanding.
@ Octavia Moya - based on your summation, then Germany was winning WW II in late 1944 and 1945 as Germany was still able to bomb England (London and the SE) and killed people.
You really do present the knowledge of a person who has no idea of military strategies and the concept of responding to provocation which in fact is very limited.
I do hope your arm chair is able to accommodate your BS understanding.
"Russia cannot stop the attacks." Nonsense. Russia *can* stop the attacks, and rather easily, by striking the nearly defenseless Western nations that power those attacks. That Russia chooses *not* to do that is the fundamental paradox of this conflict.
You saw what Putin said.
"We are ready to start shipping gas to Germany tomorrow"
Why? So that Germany can make drones and missiles more cheaply to kill Russians with?
And "We are ready to end the war tomorrow if the **compromise** in Anchorage is adhered to".
So you are giving up multiple regional capitals of the Russian Federation for the "privilege" of Russia going back to the 1990s direct neocolonial arrangement.
There is no paradox. It is indeed a gas station with nukes. Correction, it is a gas station *without* nukes because these peopel will never use them so effectively they don't have them. And gas station owners care only about selling gas.
The Western three-letter agencies appear to have done a very accurate psychological profile of Russian leadership, which they have then masterfully used to boil the Russian frog to the point where St. Petersburg gets bombed directly from NATO territory (for some reason Simplicius does not mention the reports of the drones being launched from trucks on Estonian highways) and the cuck-in-chief pretends nothing is happening.
Putin is probably a CIA asset.
One can indeed arguably say the Kremlin does not have the upper hand in the propaganda war. During Stalin's time there was an entire government body tasked with countering every single false propaganda coming from the enemy, Germany. It was highly successful. This is not so today. More at The Duran, reliable as always.
In WWII, after the invasion, the Allied Air Forces had absolute superiority over the continent. But German air raids could still punch through to England if they were well prepared and in suitable weather conditions - there is no way to close an airspace! And second, all the bombs in WWII were more or less useless; German production went up and up. You can argue that the thousand bomber raids were just a PR show (and killed a lot of civilians) because they generated no real results.
Don't need to be a military expert - common sense logic is enough. 1. This IS a PR stunt because of the TIMING (drones were launched during SPIEF opening). 2. If hundreds or thousands of drones attack at the same time, it is logical that some will get through. Actually, Russian air-defence is extremely effective. I don't know what country you live in, but I bet that one single drone would be too much for your air-defence - and you would be sh... your pants. BTW, your tone is repulsive. Show some respect towards Russian nation - the collective West is waging war against them, they are defending themselves! Their cause is just, and that's why they will not only survive, but WIN. And you will not, because your lack of empathy and nihilism show that you are self-destructive.
They will not win because their cause is 'just'. They will win because they have the resources and military ability to do it. "God is on the side with the best artillery."
The little Baltic yappy dogs deserve to be annexed good and hard.
It's enough to cut 100 km Suvalki Corridor between Kaliningrad Enclave district and Belorus, to disarm those countries.
It will be done within the next 10 months.
Russia would enter from Kaliningrad on the Lithuanian side and take it over without a single shot. That would be permanent set up.
Trump is already withdrawing troops from East Baltics and consolidating in Poland. It's difficult to maintain those troops, as sea ports are small and degraded. Their military and economic value fall after USSR break up, transit cargo went to Russian ports.
There would be tension on Estonian border after Russia make claims to 2 small areas. Again, they take them without a single shot.
There is no need for annexation - each those countries have 20% ethnic Russian population. Good enough to keep the state in positive relations with Russia. Also most elder locals are not nationalists, being rose in multicultural USSR society.
At same stage NATO will be disintegrating and Baltics will the first to chop out. Poland will remain in NATO with heavy military contingent, amounting to occupational force, keeping civil order on Warsaw streets.
Perhaps Russia should just retaliate along the route the drones took. I'm sure nobody would mind😉
Yes, the Baltics and everyone else in NATO, are fully aware and actively participating, basically daring Russia to fo anything about it.
Because they know Russia won’t hit nato territory…it will never happen. People can dream and hope all they want but Russia is afraid to hit Nato and made devision they will not.
FFS another one. Just because they haven't doesn't mean they will not.
It's not a good time to hit NATO right now, Grr.
That would cause an escalation of conflict.
The bright side now, despite some of my criticism, Russia controls the war on its Western front and delivers a higher attrition cost against Ukraine. But anything should be a fair target in Ukraine.
Once Ukraine is dealt with, then Russia can deal with NATO. That way, you divide the conflict into two over two separate timelines, and you only fight one force at a time.
You're preaching to the choir Denis :)
The choir has a few members singing off key. They need to be corrected. ;-)
What is an escalation in a war? Do you think you're in a boxing ring with rules and a referee? You'd be capable of telling us "war kills, it's horrible".
They don’t have to. They will defeat the yapping poodles simply by existing which is such anathema that it literally causes suicidal insanity. By the time Russia does strike it will take but a tiny nudge and the regimes will collapse in on themselves like the rotten corpses that they are.
If it's true that Russia fears NATO, then the latter would be capable of devouring it, as it has never hesitated to do with others so far. Yet, within NATO, care is taken never to run out of diapers. In war, common sense dictates that one eliminates one enemy at a time. NATO's creation was intended to be the US's nuclear umbrella, even if the Americans would never risk their annihilation by nuclear fire in defense of rowdy dwarves. Russia's fear lies elsewhere; the menstruating women who lead France and the UK might be tempted by their leaden generals to press the wrong button, given that someone in these two nations might be capable of finding and deciphering the launch codes—the possibilities are highly plausible.
Baltics are three broken mannequins operated by the dishonorable NATO
Did Putin even acknowledge St. Petersburg was attacked? I didn't watch the whole thing, but I don't think so.
That's... a bird? You can see the wings flapping, surely?
Got to watch it again and look lower down below the bird.
Ahh, I see it now. Thanks. The camera was tracking the bird, lol. Damn that drone seemed low.
I cannot imagine why Russia might want to annex these hateful and hated Baltic states. Doing so could would be to invite never-ending trouble.
They also have Russian populations 887,000 approx
When NATO aircraft gather data during an “AFU” drone attack, what they are doing is trying to make the *next* attack more effective. So maybe Russia should treat this kind of surveillance as an act of war and start reacting accordingly.
Seems a good alternative to strikes on NATO territory. Most current-day civilians have no experience or understanding of war, so they usually choose not to care about military things getting blewed up, or even military casualties.
… inevitably, it will happen any time soon.
The point is the West has intentionally kept this war going. Quibbling over their causing the war is futile.
Trump is all bravado but is bringing down the whole world, especially the West, faster than any of our supposed enemies ever could.
Why react to provocations when that's what Nato wants?
There should have been a no-fly zone in the Black Sea imposed already back in 2022. Had it been done back then, before those flights started, it would be much easier to impose than now, when they are routine.
Four and a half years of deterrence erasure later, what is called for now is a no fly zone inside NATO territory, and whatever Russia can reach inside it should be shot down with zero hesitation. If they want all-out war, well, let it be so.
The drones are man-controlled as long as possible; otherwise, all these NATO surveillance aircraft are not needed. These aircraft check the Russian defenses while the attack is ongoing and give the Ukrainians the necessary information on what to hit, where to avoid AA, where to avoid ECM, and where radar coverage is low. Then the operators in Ukraine (?) will alter the flight path; therefore, even highly mobile Russian AA cannot protect the targets. Question: What is the communication method of these drones? Starlink is expansive; I expect they use a 4/5G modem, roaming into the Balic cell phone providers net. The Russians and Ukrainians blocked their cell phone net with very simple methods. To me, it is not so important if the drones are flying in the airspace of the Baltics, because close to this airspace the Ukrainians can use 4/5G net. Then things are not so easy to address diplomatically, even though it is obvious what happens.
At what stage do you call these innumerable attacks "PR stunts" or "Death by a Thousand Cuts".
On the bright side, Gisela, death does not happen till the thousandth cut. 😂
The Chinese came up with this as a method of torture.
Yea, primitive human cruelty.
I didn't know it was the Chinese that started it.
I wanted to know more so I checked the WIKI :
"Lingchi (IPA: [lǐŋ.ʈʂʰɨ̌], Chinese: 凌遲), usually translated "slow slicing" or (incorrectly) "death by a thousand cuts", is a form of torture and execution that was used in China from c. 900 until it was banned in 1905. It was also used in Vietnam and Korea. In this form of execution, a knife is used to methodically remove portions of the body over an extended period of time, eventually resulting in death. Lingchi was reserved for crimes viewed as especially heinous, such as treason. Even after the practice was outlawed, the concept itself has still appeared across many types of media."
Good to see it was banned in 1905.
I had met a WW2 Veteran once who told me he had seen another unit do this to a German prisoner.
There not innumerable. They are the opposite. Numerable
From a military perspective, they are PR stunts. From a political perspective, they are Death by a Thousand Cuts. The Russians will put up with it until they won't as no significant military damage is being done. Nothing will distract them from a Ukrainian victory. Why broaden the war prematurely if you don't have to? It's a dog fight. The big bruiser has the other by the throat on the ground. People around are hitting it with everything trying to distract and separate. but the bruiser maintains concentration. After the other dog is dead, people back off as he turns his eyes on them.
>From a military perspective, they are PR stunts.
So the loss of the corvette in dry dock was no big deal and has zero effect on the operations of the Baltic Sea Fleet?
Very poetic, Victor. Your skills are wasted it seems.
LOL. My wife would disagree.
I'm a little surprised the Russians don't deploy warships for air defense near St. Petersburg. I can see where they might think it was too risky in the Black Sea, but in the Baltic I would think it would be hard for the Ukes to deploy naval drones against them. I don't know what they have for naval assets up there, yet I would be surprised to find out there was nothing with even self defense anti-air capability, which is all they would need to deal with these drones.
They would be targets.
This would make no sense. The NATO surveillance aircraft are detecting everything; St. Petersburg is very close to the border. NATO tells the Ukrainian operators where the best flight path is, so either the drones fly around the ships or the ships are targeted.
I live in the area that was attacked on the south side of St. Petersburg, about 5km from the Gulf of Finland where the oil terminal was hit. The road I live on (Prospect Veteranov) wraps around and goes out to where the SPEF conference is held.
Pulkovo Airport is to the east of where I live, and we are close to the flight path of arriving and departing aircraft. They fly north to south in a straight line on departure, and reverse on arrival. There's planes landing and taking off all the time.
I heard the first drones and anti-aircraft machine gun fire around 2 a.m., and it lasted until 7 a.m. I don't know how or why - but the drones were absolutely flying in a nearly straight line from east to west, perpendicular to the normal flight path of aircraft, and overlying the area I live in. It's possible they were launched from within Russia. I can't say more out of prudence, but there is a large response by authorities down here. The sound of the Geran-style drones ("mopeds") is unmistakable, although it's not the first time we're heard it around here.
Keep aware when you go out, Bear. Not a good time for the deaf and blind.
Best wishes.
Maybe they were Russian interceptor drones hunting for incoming Ukrainians.
The long-distance Geran-style drones have two-cycle engines and are physically fairly large. You can hear their distinctive noise from a long way off. The interceptor drones I've seen on various Telegram channels are small and fast, and the noise in the videos and looking at them seems like it would be more on the line of the short-range drones and much quieter.
how interesting - thanks for comment
Rybar appears to have geolocated various drones coming from every direction. Some from east to west, some from north to south, and the one I got from west to east.
That first video is actually bad PR news for NATOstanis and Judeo-Banderites. People not really paying attention to attacks and taking it easy.
What's the purpose of the new reply hidden feature?
Substack roled out this feature with fanfare. Ostensibly allowing Substack owners to set automatic controls on comments that will then be imported by Substack's own AI to make "informed guesses".
The selling point is less need for manual control. The hidden agenda is, of course, something else - Substack gains control of all comments everywhere, and it'll no doubt proceed - with AI's help - to hide whatever it deems the author would want, but the trick is ij the "deems" part.
There is a huge effort out there by the elite contyrollers to gain a measure of 'supervision" and therefore "control" over the paltform itself. Way too many people are challenging the narrative.
So, I see very little upside in this new policy. For now, it is voluntary. For example the author can set criteria such as "no spam, no slop, no porn" but you can imagine how broadly this can be interpreted.
has Simplicius raised the question about this new feature yet? I didn't see it...
BTW, I can see those hidden replies following yours. Not sure whether the X post you brought in triggered some feature somewhere. The replies to your comment were good, so this does bring up a serious question, IMHO.
Thanks so much for the detailed explanation, Proterran.
What were looking at is the early stage of narrative control.
But this feature is mild because it doesn't fully remove the comment. It just puts it in purgatory, where I will get my fair share of sin time. lol.
The feature might backfire by drawing people eager to read what the sinners said. Hallelujah, Proterran. Hell ain't such a bad place to be after all. 😂
"Early stage of narrative control" - that is what this is IMO also.
They are testing the waters. See the reactions. See who notices and whether there back fire. That's why I just put up my own comment, drawing attention to yours. people should not be naive and pay attention (but will they?).
It seems like it’s halfway to being watered down in which case we will just pick up and find a new patch of desert to build a city in
Early? Lol.
?
Being of apparently simple mind and short of observational talent, I have no idea what you guys are talking about. Is this control "feature" something we commenters can see, or is it strictly on the author's side of things. You said you could see the "hidden replies" - hidden? How could you see them if they were hidden?
Ah, I see them now. I hadn't progressed enough down the comments. But I still don't understand the why they are "hidden" when actually they aren't???
I have the honour of being the first hidden, henceforth put in purgatory as the sinner that I am. 😂 Yet the same comment passed elsewhere.
Well, the hidden replies are dimmed only to encourage people to see who has sinned.
It's a mild form of what the UK has started moving to Canada soon.
Narrative control.
Thought crimes.
What do you mean "purgatory"? Your comment is still there. And you continue to be able to comment, yes? So where is the purgatory? If what you say is true, then it seems to go entirely against the whole substack philosophy. For the time being, I am going to assume that it is simply a way to give limited ability to the creators to monitor their own substacks - not some government conspiracy forced on to the platform.
Victor, Dimming is the new purgatory. It's the early onset of wrongthink. Watch how often GM ends up there. That might be his new home in constant, dimmed purgatory. I think the feature will encourage people to read what the sinners say. Hey everybody, let's go see who sinned. lol
You are a true believer and I commend you for that. But us simpletons out there, see some a smoldering fire behind the dim smoke of the "hidden".
People don't seem to realize that there is growing intensity of voices from the usual PTB quarters against free speech on a platform like Substack that has become truly popular. And while those voices sure aren't coming from us, the hoi polois of the internet. Alas, those charming and oh so lovable PTB have all the money in the world to push heither and theither.
So mark me as one beset with trepidations, but you are welcome to try and calm those down....
It hid a lot of comments in the previous thread already
Ah, but we are Johnny come lately's so we just noticed it (and Denis drew our attention to it).. Rather, I should say that Substack sent its notice around to ALL asuthors only 3 or so days ago, presenting the feature as the next best thing to sliced bread. Which claim, of course, made me raise a brow or two (I have nothing against sliced bread so please don't dim my light!)
Reddit has been doing automated moderation and administration for a while now.
Comments get removed and users banned within seconds, no human involvement, nobody to complain to
Mark Wauck made reference to that topic. He hates it.
could you give a link please? I am not familiar with Wauck, alas.
https://meaninginhistory.substack.com/p/briefly-re-reply-rules-and-hidden
To get rid of ”dhdh” anti-semitism and other deranged comments.
Very good to dim ”off-topic” comments and also those where you instigate and call for murder of people.
A few days ago I made a comment about messiah coming back in symbolic Trump's posts since Easter. About his son Barron fitting into that narration.
Also about verbal and possible real conflict between Trump and Natanyahu.
And danger to Trump's life from somebody very close to him.
As well as about allegory of grand stairs in maso.ic theatre.
They were not antisemitic in any sense.
You was probably off-topic again.
I can't quote post I was replying to, because I can't find it anymore. It has vanished, together with my replies, which I have to try post 2x. Also vanished a reply I have received there.
At first they were hidden.
The ending of that topic was about messiah.
Probably that world triggered strict censorship.
I do hope you are wrong. I would like to hear directly from Simp on this issue.
I would never support getting rid of the likes of Dhdh. Everyone has a right to disagree and to offend - that is the core of free speech. When Dhdh is forced off the platform, that's the day I leave ( so there you go, Mikey, I have given you cause for hope - as I am both offensive and in the current vernacular, "anti-semitic")
I totally agree with you. That said, the right to speak doesn't give the right to be heard. Dhdh is the only commenter I have blocked.... My choice, though, not the site's, as it should be.
Agree. If you don't want to always be faced with such comments, block the use - that is your right as well. But the site should not be forced to do it.
I havent blocked him/it either. But it is a real pain to read all these one-liners of who is to blame regardless of the articles topic. Sometimes he express on-topic and factbased perspectives worth to read and think about.
And he and others cause problem for Simplicius and Substack as a whole because those who wish to silence any discourse other than the ruling just wait and gather information to use against sites like this one.
Well, if that is what they are doing, then they have a lot of ammo available on this site - not just dhdh.
Agree. They could knock on your door any night. Or mine.
Just for expressing opinions contrary to the ruling narrative.
Free speech is a crime in itself.
Which is why in the past it occurred to me that dhdh was making those inflammatory comments precisely to draw attention to thenblog which could result in recrimination.
I believe that's called a false flag, or rather, the speech equivalent of it. I know for a fact that this tactic was used deliberately to shut down discourse on all kinds of platforms and also as an excuse to disable comments on many newspaper articles.
That said, I think that as a favor to the no-doubt-overworked blog owner, we, the commenter rabble that we are, should try and bring those types of comments to his attention. They are easy enough to detect and it is quite a burden to police the comments section when there are lots of them, all the more so when the topic goes against the favored narratives.
So perhaps, we, whoever we are, haven't done enough? (I include myself, lazy bum that I am, in that).
Count me out. On the last blog dhdh was, I believe, cancelled only once out of 28? Of course I think it was his only comment...LOL. Censorship is never good or right. If you don't like someone, block them.
I am in all honesty surprised that Chris Best would allow such censorship - seems totally out of his character. Perhaps it was forced on him by his institutional investors. OTOH had that been the case, seems he would have complained publicly about being forced to implement such a tool.
Chris Best could be the target of ADL - who knows when you have 47th President not able to curb the usual suspects.
Agree. You never know with these fanatics and their inflammatory comments - could be FBI/ADL/ShinBet or numerous other shady elements to catch som flies.
Given the subject matter of this blog, having some stupid AI throw comments into the purgatory based on an "incitment of violence" filter is rather idiotic, isn't it?
The essence of War is people k*lling each other and the core of the discussions is whether one or both sides are having the right strategy, tactics and goals to bring the War to a Victory/Conclusive End.
The best way to keep the masses ignorant of facts is to eliminate all those who dare think a thought and express it. Cant find any better way to do it than letting AI automatically make them disappear.
The ”incitement of violence” has the same meaning as the ”rule based international order” for me - it can only function from the stronger position.
I looked up the previous article with about 500 comments. 25 of them was hidden/dimmed. But it was 25 first comments and then all subsequent comments was also dimmed - all in all close to hundred.
Of course all those dhdh rants was dimmed and, not so astonishing either, all those calling for m*rder of named peoples.
I found one peculiar dimmed comment from you, GM, where you discussed raw materials and essential geopolitic. Maybe off-topic.
So if the first comment is dimmed, then all of the answers/discussion will be dimmed.
That's the bigger problem I see. many a time, the responses to those one disagrees with, be it GM or someone else, are, in themselves enlightening. Rebuttals often carry lessons in them and those who care to put in the effort to rebuke a comment by fact or argument, deserve to have their comments viewed.
Agree. I was myself dimmed when I questioned why a inventor/genious like Musk should be X:ed.
Free speech is an illusion.
Its only allowed if it fits the current narrative.
But I warned Simplicius years ago that the censor would sweep in if he didnt get control of commentators sabotaging the site.
I believe that the sport of poking the bear won't change the course of the war & if somebody
thinks that Putin will mud the way of ending this war moving out of Ukraine, what he really want's
is to get to Nüremberg 2.0 with his hands clean of war crimes, to be able to judge the last 80 years
of medling stealing, perverting the world as a WHOLE, those who are behind. the only way to rebuild a new UN where reality at list is built over basic principles, as the real sovereignity of each
country. Just saying
Your Patagonian-Spanish follower
Sorry= least not list.
Patagonia having their own problems these days.
Yep, overflowing with the juice...
so betrayed by their own govenrment - did they really vote that idiot in or was it rigged ? He's been ' voted in ' twice.
I'd wager rigged. Smartmatic 'counts' the votes. They state they use the highest US standard LOL
https://www.smartmatic.com/
yeah - sounds about right. They're so cunning. Already installed and beyond stopping before we ( or Argentinains in this case ) even know about it
I know Ann, I have family from Tierra del Fuego to Bariloche, where I have not only
family, also friends
Albania has been amazing over the past few days. Jared Kushner - Top Mossad dude. Higher than Mossad.
Sue, the three horizontal dots to the right of your posts; click on them to edit.
Thank you very much for the tip
Yes, and they do not need to lower themselves to the level of terrorists
>I believe that the sport of poking the bear won't change the course of the war
It has in fact already dramatically changed the course of the war
but really only on their side. There's more anger and Putin has done a couple of bigger hits, but like that Russian agent said at the World Economic Forum - Russian Secret Agent, Bezrukov who operated undercover in the US for over a decade, tells about the "new type of wars" & "strategy of the West": "The West's strategy is very simple. They gradually increase the degree of escalation. And they will not stop, because they have nowhere to retreat. We are an existential threat to them.It's now useless to seize territories, prices have stopped rising & no point in occupying them. This is a war of attrition and devastation. We already see this on our front and in the Middle East."
Maybe it's because I don't have any experience in military matters or surveillance, but what is purported to be a Ukranian drone flying over the waters in early morning looks to me like a goose. Call me a goose, but I don't see anything more than that. If you look closely, you can actually see its wings flapping. Drones don't do that. Or do they?
Look at it again and look below the bird and you'll see another thing moving left to right at a great speed.
The bird is overtaking the low flying drone which is further out in the sea.
Could Lyuti drones be launched from the sea? Supposedly they were launching drones from civilian vessels in the Caspian Sea.