sburke

Prigozhin suggests granting Navalny Internet access to pursue further investigations (yahoo.com) Prigozhin claimed some "comrades from Rublyovka" were actually behind the leaked information about his alleged meetings with Ukrainian intelligence. Rublyovka is the informal name for a prestigious residential suburb in western Moscow where many of the country’s political, business and cultural elite have luxurious homes. "Instead of engaging in nonsense, connect Lyosha Navalny to the Internet," Prigozhin said, using the familiar version of Navalny’s first name." He'll paint you a hell of a picture of f*cking dragons. And he will paint not only me, but also all the other comrades from Rublyovka. So don't try to replace Lyosha Navalny. You're not any bloody good at it. He’s much more professional." It is difficult to say exactly how to interpret the words of Prigozhin, who is known for his media provocations, but his rhetoric, whatever its actual meaning, is increasingly showing signs of a confrontation between factions in the Kremlin, against the backdrop of the failure of the Russian Armed Forces in Ukraine and the upcoming counter-offensive of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which, according to some experts, could eventually lead to the collapse of the current Russian regime.

Putin’s Reportedly Had to Ban His Top Officials from Quitting as Ukraine War Falters (yahoo.com) When Russian President Vladimir Putin decided to invade Ukraine last year, he dragged millions of his countrymen into a conflict in which they had no say. Now a report suggests that high-ranking officials within his administration have been banned from resigning from their jobs while the war rages on. The unofficial decree was reported by independent Russian outlet iStories on Monday citing four sources who anonymously disclosed details of the ban. One former FSB officer said they were aware of “at least two cases” where governors made failed attempts to leave their posts in which they were not just blocked from doing so, but the threat of “criminal cases” was also hinted. The outlet also spoke with another source described as an acquaintance of an official within the Kremlin’s Presidential Administration who had heard about the ban. “There are many who want [to leave] after the start of the war,” the source said. “If everyone leaves, control will be lost.” The report described a view in the administration which regarded the desire to leave as flat-out betrayal, with civil servants instead being ordered to demonstrate “unity” by remaining in post. Officers within the FSB—Russia’s main security agency—have previously spoken out about being unable to quit in the wake of Putin’s military mobilization. A decree from the Russian president meant that servicemen under contract could not leave their roles even after their contracts had expired. But the draconian rules were not previously known to also apply to civil servants.

that would require commitment of additional Russian resources. Doubt this is Putin inspired, but doesn't necessarily mean someone else isn't.

Ukraine Is Preparing For Drone Attacks By Dropping Training Grenades On Its Troops (yahoo.com)

good lord, really? "We have attractive new option for you, A nice stay in Bakhmut.. maybe a bit east of Bakhmut.. *what's that?, oh* Okay maybe a lot east of Bakhmut!" Concerned about exodus from Russia, Putin orders country to be made "attractive" (yahoo.com) and then this - Putin announces call up of Russians to military training camps (yahoo.com)

aren't we due for another prig rant?

heh I really love this guy. Zelenskyy predicts deaths of Kremlin officials: Medvedev experiences aggressive outburst (yahoo.com) "Our people are the priority; our land is the priority. And those in the Kremlin, believe me, they will end up badly. I don't know how, to be honest, but I would like things to end as soon as possible. But they will definitely not end up dying naturally."

That is an awfully good target. I would be hesitant to put that many boots in that small a space. It also makes for an enticing logistical tail target. the RA may suck. but even they could do some damage there.

Even if it isn't and it is just some brigade level push to take advantage of Russian exhaustion, the effect it is having on the enemy is fascinating. If UA does start pushing in multiple locations and present the RA with several problems to solve, the impact on RA morale is going to increase a lot as well as likely causing even more backstabbing within Russian leadership.

I think the plan is to let one drive onto the Kerch bridge and watch it collapse from the weight.

It will be curious to see if that sudden retreat represents something larger within the ranks of the RA. The coming counter offensive has been hyped not just by the West, but Putin and the Russian command as well. Considering what they have experienced in the last couple months and how badly the RA fared at Kharkiv, I wonder if this sense of panic isn't a reflection of a very corroded Russian resolve. It is one thing to be told to throw yourself into a forlorn hope. it is quite another to not know if you are now on your own and wanting to race to the rear with no cohesive leadership that you trust.

That is why I said Prig. have you seen Princess bride - there is more than one reason I suggested Wallace Shawn.

what could possibly go wrong when among your friends?

Too bad James Gandolfini passed away. He'd be the prime guy to play Prig. Wallace Shawn from "the Princess bride" could play the master strategist Putin.

hell with that, just make Wagner survivors dig for them. Kind of like a community service sentence.

LOL I should have said MR skeptical. Now I just feel like an average reddit poster skeptical. But thank you for the capital S, my ego feels a little better. back to Russian defense lines. Gawd would I love to have some idea of what the war gaming that went on in Mannerheim was like. The UA has a lot of lessons to learn from Kherson and Kharkiv while their allies have a lot to learn about this new face of war. It is going to be very interesting to see if they can come up with a winning strategy to hammer the RA. Be nice to see Putin have a heart attack for real. Not enough to die, just enough for someone in Russia to trade him to the Hague for an off ramp to this war.

so is he assuming the Russians will actually man all these lines? err.. with what? I mean we have done some analysis on these pages of the requirements to man a single line. Now we have to multiply that (or divide the person per km figures?) Call me skeptical.

The other thing is Prig probably didn't really have an ammo shortage. I don't think the UA feels he did, but he needs an excuse for not taking Bakhmut.

See! We didn't really want it. Here is our REAL secret plan! Wagner Group leader now claims Russians were not that keen on taking Bakhmut (yahoo.com)

in that case be prepared all of you to bow to my greatness! India, psshaw, I have the above qualities in spades! Incidentally I have been to India multiple times. To anyone who thinks they are destined for world power greatness I submit the following. This is a pic I took from the Westin hotel. It is the main highway heading toward Gurgaon, IT capital for India. (that isn't my camera issue, the air was really that bad.)

Russia says there's a problem with billions of rupees it has in India that need to be converted (yahoo.com)

you gotta wonder with all the hubbub over the drone attack. Not a good time to try to put the squeeze on Putin.

Ha I was once accused by a cop of breaking windows in a windowless storage shed!

and even if it makes sense to him, it doesn't mean it still isn't stupid even with those facts.

I think the training and arming piece might be a reach.