If the goal was to curb stomp, it would’ve been done last year. And there would be no “grain deal”, there would be no flow of oil and gas to Europe, there would be no fertilizer supplies, nothing.
Ukraine and Ukrainians are not the enemy in this war. Sure the Banderite Nazis are, but they are a minority that have taken the rest of the country hostage. The real enemy that Russia is fighting here is NATO. The goal is to defeat their proxy army and deplete the collective West’s military and economic resources without completely devastating Ukraine.
The West would like nothing better than for Russia to completely eradicate everything in Ukraine. On their tally every dead Ukrainian is just as much a victory for them as a dead Russian. They know that at the end of the day, when this conflict is over, Ukraine and Russia will still remain brotherly peoples, no amount of Banderite propaganda can change that reality of kinship and historical cultural closeness.
This is why Russia needs to keep a cool head and respond to provocations like this only with actions that advance the overall military and geopolitical goal. If the grain deal no longer benefits Russia, it will be cancelled, but by that point it will be clear that its failure will have been entirely to blame on the West and their puppet regime in Kiev being dishonest actors and not abiding by its provisions.
Same goes for whatever deals are still in place for oil and gas. Let the Europeans commit suicide by continuing to sanction themselves out of a supply of oil and gas, that way it will be clear to the entire world who is a reliable business partner and who is not.
The real enemy that Russia is fighting here is NATO
I understand that
On their tally every dead Ukrainian is just as much a victory for them as a dead Russian
This I also agree with
Ukraine and Russia will still remain brotherly peoples
This, however, I cannot agree with. The whole hohol/moskal junk didn’t start in 2022, nor 2014, nor even 2004 and orange “revolution”. Hell, looking around, I’m not even sure Russia and Russia are “brotherly peoples”
Let the Europeans commit suicide by continuing to sanction themselves out of a supply of oil and gas
They’re still receiving it. Sure, the standards of living might take a hit, but will it be as large of a hit as we experienced after USSR collapse? Large enough to shake people to awaken? I doubt it. Some petit bourgeoisie might get rekt and join us proles on the bottom, but the fat cats up top don’t seem affected much.
it will be clear to the entire world who is a reliable business partner and who is not.
It’s been clear for ages to no avail. Likewise with exposing western lies and atrocities
It seems that Russians are more “doomer” about this conflict than non-Russian supporters of Russia are.
Maybe you should read this: https://imetatronink.substack.com/p/ok-doomer
Now there are some things i don’t agree with in what this author writes, in particular all the cringy right wing culture war stuff, but i agree with the main message:
“Legendary Russian fatalism may be alive and well, but it will be ashamed of its doubts in the end.”
It seems that Russians are more “doomer” about this conflict than non-Russian supporters of Russia are
Well we live here and experience the liberal rot firsthand. Without knowing what it’s like elsewhere (or only experiencing it through tourism or successful émigrés stories) it does create a sense of futility. The talks about nukes and Russian citizens getting attacked inside Russia with apparent impunity doesn’t help. If we are so mighty, why are people dying in Bryansk? Belgorod? Tula?
Replied to your comment up above, but I’ll weigh in one more time: while recognizing the rot in Russia – and you should recognize it – don’t underestimate the rot in the west, especially the US. In many areas, our standard of living is still much higher than in much of the world (though we also have the worst levels of poverty of any developed nation, such that UN officials travelling through rural Alabama have actually been shocked by it), but the decline over the past ten years has been really precipitous, and perhaps more importantly, the legitimacy of the state is unravelling. Pretty much everybody thinks the central government is corrupt on an institutional level, there’s no real way to fix it, and that we’re headed for disaster; all the online talk you see about “voting for change” is cope, and everyone knows it. The media also doesn’t have the unifying power it once had, largely because it’s now blatantly just virtue-signaling shit produced by and for elites. Abroad, you might see the glittering images of American life and know it can’t be reality, but in my experience, most non-Americans have no idea just how far from reality it really is. What we’re going through here is not just a “malaise” like the 1970s, or a “cynical period” like the late 80s. It really is the prelude to some kind of collapse – not particularly heartening if one lives here, but maybe a bit of cheer if you’re living in a country that’s fighting the good fight against America.
Honest question re Ukraine and Russia continuing to be “brotherly peoples:” what is sentiment of average Chechens towards Russia these days? From the outside, it looks as if they have largely realized the collective West was using them, and as a result the anger they had towards Russia has turned into anger at the west. I wonder if, following either (1) a Russian victory, (2) collapse of the Ukrainian government, or (3) Ukrainian victory leading only to IMF-imposed austerity, the Ukrainians could similarly realize that they were used, and become friendlier to Russia.
About Ukraine, note the turn of events:
- 1991, all the shit that happened
- 2004, colour revolution putting the rabid russophobes and western puppets in power
- After few years, Ukrainians elect president that promised normalisation
- 2014, coup putting the rabid russophobes and western puppets in power
- After few years, ukrainians again elect president that promised normalisation
- 2024??? seems like 2023 or 2024 will bring another huge upheaval
So while i wouldn’t say Ukrainians and Russians are brothers, not after century of chauvinist propaganda and now literal war, but they sure as hell don’t want to be enemies and USA needs to coup them every decade to remind them of their place.
I’d have to know at least one Chechen personally to answer this. I can say that ethnic Russians I know tend to dislike Chechens and frankly other Caucasus peoples. Hell, I’ve gotten crap for it in the past, and I’m not even from Caucasus.
As for “realized being used” bit… There’s anectodal evidence that the second Chechen war strategy of getting locally popular leaders on your side had its fruits. And you might have seen how well Grozny got rebuilt. This, however, only fuels animosity towards Chechens.
Interesting – thanks for the inside view. Honestly, while I support Russia and the SMO, and think (for reasons I’ve explained elsewhere) that western communists should refrain from criticizing Putin’s government, it can be easy for us westerners to think Putin is better than he really is. Mainly out of reaction to the blatant Russophobia in all the media, and also because, as a competent, dignified leader, he automatically comes off looking better than the clowns we have in charge.
On Telegram we’re 90% sure it hit the dome, it just didn’t penetrate. Likely due to the weight of payload limitations of drones.
Many are rightly jumpy about this. This hasn’t happened in a very long time. Russian natives are telling the concerned who have turned cynical to pipe down or step up and do better themselves. It is not a good time on Telegram info channels.
The strategy being deployed by Kremlin officials has clearly come with risks, and those risks have not been adequately addressed. The alternative is these risks were accepted as they knew the drones could not penetrate. This is still a troubling sign to have to allow even an impotent assault on the Kremlin.
Kremlin members have verbally lashed out referencing revenge and a desire to kill Zelensky and his entourage, however I hope thoughts are also being expressed to keep themselves alive throughout this war.
Since the 1940s, Russia has known the primary strategy utilized against them by the western bourgeoisie; Fight them militarily via proxy puppet regimes, and fight them economically by capturing the world economy and turning it against them. For decades we’ve watched/read of Russia taking their bait, only fighting the puppet regimes and never addressing the cause of the world’s problems - the cause of their problems also. This weakness culminated in the 1980s when fascist reformists finished their take over of the Soviet state and sealed any chance Russia had of defeating the west. The traitors broke up the Soviet Union, severely weakening and exposing Russia to enemies on all sides save for Belarus. Now Russia is stripped of it’s peripheries and is still the primary target of the western bourgeoisie who have a collection of sock puppet regimes surrounding them.
Despite this, Russia can still win, and easily so. They simply have to choose to accept victory instead of insisting on a power balance, an equal yet sovereign partnership with the western (imperial) bourgeoisie. Anyone who has studied even the simplest of Marxist texts knows the futility of idealistic whim. Anyone with a scientific orientation understands the west to be self-centered, chauvinistic, and ruthless by it’s nature, thus again demonstrating the futility of the Russian state and bourgeois’ idealistic whims. Victory must be accepted by the Russian bourgeois and state. Outside from this, the Russian people are already ready.
As so, if “modern Russia” falls, it will be because of the failures of the liberals in charge. The weakening of the Russian Empire turned Soviet Union (Russian land) began with the traitor and revisionist Khrushchev and continued until Yeltsin. Putin attempted to regain lost land however the damage done by these liberal traitors and the inferiority of bourgeois nationalism failed Russia. There can be no other explanation.
Maria Zakharova has expressed the recognition by the Kremlin of the true enemy in this fight being NATO and most notably the US and UK. The question I am sure is on everyone’s mind is, will Russia finally correct their mistakes from the Cold War and kill the imperial capitalists responsible for this war against Russia?
I hate to make my comment sound reflective of a newscast however that is exactly what this scenario is at this point - an open question, from history and the peoples of the world to Russia. “Will you do what must be done this time or is Russia over?”
Great comment.
I am sure a protracted proxy conflict is not what the pro-SMO proletarians and communists had in mind.
Yes, no doubt.
We don’t need to escalate the situation, gotta say this seem way to convenient that when Kiev makes contact with Beijing about a peace talks this happens
Rash escalation would indeed be a mistake. Provocations like this happen because the trajectory on the actual battlefield is not going the way that Ukraine’s western handlers were hoping. It is an attempt to make Russia make emotionally motivated changes to their strategy.
The thing to focus on now is the defeat of the upcoming “counter-offensive”: https://bmanalysis.substack.com/p/operational-update-4
This doesn’t mean that another wave of large scale missile strikes/bombings is out of the question, and Russia may well choose to claim that these are retaliation for the terrorist act, but they will hit meaningful military targets like concentrations of troops, equipment and logistics hubs.
As for the “talks” between Kiev and Beijing, if they can even be called that, they are a formality, nothing more. No one expects anything to come of such initiatives because Kiev are in no position to negotiate or be negotiated with. The ones making the decisions sit in Washington and Brussels. They are the ones who will eventually sit down at the negotiating table with Russia, mediated by China.
As for the “talks” between Kiev and Beijing, if they can even be called that, they are a formality, nothing more. No one expects anything to come of such initiatives because Kiev are in no position to negotiate or be negotiated with.
Didn’t Zelensky straight up told Xi they want Crimea back? Not exactly surprising since that is the official position of UA government and he couldn’t say anything else since i bet some ears were listening to that call, but it does not left any margin for real negotiations.
That just shows how un-serious they are. The clowns in Kiev know that that demand is a non-starter for Russia. There will sooner be a nuclear war than Russia giving up Crimea. China knows it too. And so does Washington. All that it does is confirm to the Chinese that the Ukrainians and their puppetmasters in the West have no intention of negotiating.
But China needs to go through the motions to show to the rest of the world that they are the reasonable adult in the room. They can say: hey, at least we tried, and we will not be the ones to blame for the continued destruction of Ukraine. It also helps Russia justify why it needs to keep fighting because clearly it is dealing with irrational people who do not want peace.
Yeah exactly what i was thinking too, especially with how seriously is Chinese diplomacy treated right now. That action with Iran and KSA did a huge impression even in the west, after all it’s western media who were telling the story how they are natural enemies.
Exactly, and furthermore this drone strike could have been ordered by elements in the Ukrainian government (or in the US) who want to sabatoge even the remotest possibility of negotiations.
But China needs to go through the motions to show to the rest of the world that they are the reasonable adult in the room
Show it to whom, exactly? The global south either knew that already or cares little for some whities killing each other somewhere far away. The west doesn’t care and neither do western-brained libs worldwide
To the fence sitters of 3rd world, there’s plenty of them.
Are you suggesting it’s an inside job?
an enemy drone managed to fly that deeply into russian airspace?
I wonder if it could have been launched by Ukrainian operatives within Russia – the way that German sabateurs tried to blow up power stations in New York during World War II. If so, this kind of thing isn’t all that unusual in war.
That seems like the most likely scenario.
It could have been launched close by, like the one that bombed Engels airbase.
Or it could have gone past the defences. Why not? Soviet made Tu-141 went past NATO air defences and landed in Bulgaria. Later a similar one crashed in Tula oblast, killing people. Check the map. Neither are close to the border.
I think it was folks inside Russia. From the Telegram channels I am in, at least one Anarcho-Communist group is claiming it as being them. BOAK is their initials “Combat Organization of Anarcho-Communists”. So far they have claimed a number of rail line sabotage attacks and some fire bomb attacks on (I think) recruitment building(s).
I respect that they are willing to do more than just talk of taking actions, but I do wish they would be working against all nations involved (given they are Anarcho-Communists). At bare minimum I would at least like to see the Anarchists and Anarcho-Communists fighting for Ukraine start merc-ing the open/known fascists on that side of the war. They can’t attack Russia because of their thoughts of Putin being fascist while expecting that the very real ones in Ukraine will just go away. And it would be best to take out said fascists now while they are very visible and in groups. It is also much easier to get all kinds of weapons to go hunting Nazis than it was before shit popped-off.
I respect that they are willing to do more than just talk of taking actions,
You respect that anarchists are doing the dirty work of the CIA? You respect them heightening tensions at a moment where the threat of nuclear war is high. You respect unprincipled adventurist violence? Ignorance. Disgusting.
but I do wish they would be working against all nations involved (given they are Anarcho-Communists).
Oh yes, equivocation. The tool of the propagandized, the coward, or both. Maybe, just maybe it’s in a way a small miracle that Russia hasn’t folded under the pressure already and is still standing tall. Certainly the collective west thought they would and are upset by this fact. It’s almost as if Russia is outside the club of dominance, hegemony, and imperialist-capitalist violence monopoly of NATO/Eyes/US-puppets and the US (aka the other side) is inside and the far greater threat. So maybe, just maybe, attacking Russia even equally as the US/NATO (as if, come on) would still be doing the US a great favor and advantaging them. This is the kind of childish thinking I’m so tired of from anarchists. All sides are nowhere near equal.
Anarchists are often puppets of reaction and adventurism is bad and often serves capital. Anything beyond mutual aid they do has often been to the detriment of the anti-capitalist cause. Certainly given how many we see joining literal Nazis in Ukraine to fight by them, the fact those in the west rather than rejecting western propaganda eat it up and only scream “neither Washington nor Moscow” while continuing to repeat Washington’s version of events, Washington’s lies, and cheering openly for Washington’s fascist puppets.
Anyone who says it’s only online anarchists who are liberals need look no further than what happened during the Soviet revolutionary period, need look no further than what’s going on now. Yeah there are good anarchists on the periphery. But clearly those within the imperial core, the US, most of western Europe (the core countries, not places like Greece and maybe not even France given their revolutionary spirit hasn’t been totally crushed) and especially the reactionary hellscape of former Soviet states in eastern Europe seem to me to be deeply compromised effectively by the NATO propaganda.
Feels like, for every noble, principled anarchist who I can respect who sees through the propaganda and refuses to repeat it and support fascist puppets of the NATO monstrosity, who understand geopolitics and have some basic grasps of the main enemies of anti-capitalism and can think and act tactically, there are 2 in person and two dozen online who do the opposite. Again at least in the imperial core and those areas I outlined.
Someone will become kalibrated i guess.
I feel like an attempted assassination wasn’t approved by the NATO overseers
I don’t buy it because there’s no way this tiny little drone could have done any damage. Why did it hit the flag pole too? Loss of control?
this tiny little drone could have done any damage
There’s plenty of footage, both Russian and Ukrainian, of teeny tiny copters butchering whole squads of soldiers with a single grenade drop. And this one isn’t even that tiny
The explosive charge strapped on this drone so it can still fly could never do any real damage to the roof of the Kremlin.
So what are you suggesting?
Maybe false flag, although it would be an egregious one, or this was planned by someone who has no idea what they were doing… not sure which one is more believable.
Maybe this thing? It’s not the first time armed drone flied near Moscow.
I don’t believe in the false flag, western and UA propaganda used this card with every single terrorist attack and atrocity before.
Also this explosion wasn’t really that small if you look at it few times (for example compare scale with seats), if the target was some particular room it would easily kill eveyone inside. Roof was definitely not the target and i read that Russiasn said they jammed that drone so it was most likely out of control at the moment of explosion.
