I am still absorbing this news - so I am relaying it, along with initial commentary from some of the people I have come to trust.
Donetsk militia confirm leaving stronghold cities of Slavyansk and Kramatorsk
Donetsk militia confirm leaving stronghold cities of Slavyansk and Kramatorsk
The self-defense forces of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) have left the cities of Slavyansk and Kramatorsk and are heading to the south of the region, according to the republic’s headquarters.
RT,
5
June, 2014
A
column of DNR militia arrived from Slavyansk - which had been
surrounded by the Kiev military - to Kramatorsk on Saturday night.
However, the self-defense forces later left Kramatorsk as well and
are now heading towards areas in the Donetsk region – such as the
city of Gorlovka - which remain under militia control.
“Kramatorsk
was difficult to defend because of its poor location. That’s why
the Command decided to leave the city,”
a representative of the DPR headquarters told RIA Novosti agency.
However,
the source stated, small self-defense groups remain both in Slavyansk
and Kramatorsk ready to fight with the Kiev forces.
Meanwhile,
Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk has announced that the
military operation on “liberating Slavyansk and Kramatorsk from
terrorists” has been accomplished, the government press-service
reported on Saturday.
The
country’s President Petro Poroshenko called the “liberation of
Slavyansk” symbolic.
“It’s
not a complete victory yet. But the clearing of Slavyansk from an
armed to teeth gang of bigots has a huge symbolic meaning,”
he said Saturday commenting on the issue, his official website
reports. According to Poroshenko, it is a turning point “in the
fight with terrorists for the territorial integrity of Ukraine” and
for “the
return to normal life”
in the Donetsk region.
Poroshenko
ordered authorities to provide humanitarian aid to residents of
Slavyansk and other areas “liberated
from militants”.
He also promised that works to resume water and energy supply will
start in the nearest future.
So
far though, the military operation seems to have brought local
residents only grief and devastation.
“You think you won? That was a tactical retreat. We will enter Slavyansk again, with victory,” Denis Pushilin, one of the DPR leaders twitted.
Slavyansk residents say government forces are checking locals’ IDs and detaining all suspicions individuals.
As Russian Channel One reported earlier, the self-defense forces have been forced to leave Slavyansk after a “massive shelling” of the city following which armored vehicles entered the area and street fighting began. That’s when the self-defense forces took the decision to leave the city, the channel said.
“Despite the massive shooting, the fighters stormed out of the city and headed for neighboring Kramatorsk. Part of their hardware was shot down in the process,” the channel said.
Ukrainian
President Petro Poroshenko ordered the military to raise the
Ukrainian flag over Slavyansk, his press service said.
“The
head of General Headquarters Viktor Muzhenko has reported to
Ukraine’s president, Petro Poroshenko, about the fact that
overnight, while the self-defense groups were trying to escape
Slavyansk they came under mortar fire from the Ukrainian military. As
a result, one armored vehicle, two infantry fighting vehicles and two
airborne combat vehicles belonging to the [self-defense] fighters
have been shot down,”
the press service also said.
Hours
later as self-defense troops left their second stronghold as well,
the Ukrainian flag was raised over the Kramatorsk administration
building, which was used as the DPR headquarters.
“In
the early afternoon all the DNR soldiers came to Kramatorsk from
Slavyansk. They all massed in the Lenin square and around the
center,” American
photographer Patrick Lancaster told RT by phone adding that two hours
later the self defense forces left the city.
Preparing
to leave the city, the self-defense fighters distributed food and
water supplies from DNR amongst the local population, Lancaster says,
adding that they had also taken down DNR posters and insignia, that
included the flag of the self proclaimed republic.
“When
the Ukrainian army entered the main square, there were around two
tanks, two APCs, and 15-20 foot soldiers, some of them snipers and
some carrying rocket-propelled grenades,” Lancaster
recalls.
They
went on to fly the Ukrainian bi-color flag on the roof of the former
DNR headquarters. After parading the flag around, “they
jumped back on their tanks, and left,” Lancaster
says.
Further
to the south, in the capital of the region Donetsk, eyewitnesses say
they spotted a lot of DPR’s military hardware and “suntanned
and bearded men with tattoos,”
RIA Novosti quotes.
The
Donetsk authorities said earlier they did not have any confirmation
that the self-defense forces were moving toward the city, Mayor
Aleksandr Lukyanchenko’s website said.
Earlier,
one of the leaders of the Donetsk People’s Republic, Pavel Gubarev,
said the Slavyansk militia would probably relocate to Donetsk and the
surrounding area.
After
the militia were forced to leave their positions in the northern part
of the front, they moved to reserve positions that had been prepared
in advance, Itar-Tass news agency reported, citing Prime Minister of
the Donetsk People’s Republic, Aleksandr Boroday, as saying.
“Our
troops have consolidated at the reserve lines of defense, in an
organized way and having kept their weaponry. We were prepared for
this option, as we have to face tens of thousands of Kiev's military
men and hundreds of armored weaponry units – which means almost all
the battle-ready Ukrainian army,”Boroday
said.
"Taking
into account the ‘scorched earth’ tactics employed by Kiev's
punitive forces, and the strategy of genocide toward the Donbass
population, we declare that every hour of military action claims
civilians’ lives,” Boroday
said.
In
connection with this, he appealed to the international community,
calling on them to “influence
the Ukrainian authorities and stop the killings of civilian
Loud
explosions were heard in the area of the Donetsk airport, and gunfire
is going on there, local residents told RIA-Novosti news agency.
Also, two fighter jets were spotted carrying out strikes on
unidentified targets in the area where the airport is situated.
“We
are asking the people living near the airport not to leave their
apartments, to stay away from their windows and not to go outside
except in case of urgent necessity,” the
website of the Donetsk mayor’s office said in a warning.
The
Russian Foreign Ministry announced Saturday that Moscow is halting
the process of delivering weapons, Ukrainian military forces'
equipment and funds from the territory of Crimea to Kiev authorities
due to their military actions in the east, which have resulted in
the “deaths of
civilians, including children, and civilian infrastructure in Donetsk
and Lugansk regions being destroyed.”
“The
decision will be valid until a full ceasefire in the east of Ukraine
by the country’s military and until a peaceful solution is
reached,” Russia’s
Foreign Ministry said.
Kiev
to detect ‘traitors’ among police in Donetsk region
Ukrainian
Interior Ministry has announced it is going to launch an
investigation against “every
policeman”
in Slavyansk to find out whether they cooperated with the
self-defense forces.
Such
line-of-duty checks will define if “an
employee of Slavyansk police cooperated with separatists or
maintained loyalty to the Ukrainian people,”
Deputy Interior Minister Sergey Yarovoy said, as cited by Ukrainian
media.
Police
in the Donetsk region will be reformed - starting from the cities of
Donetsk and Lugansk “due to necessity” - said Interior Minister
Arsen Avakov. And for now, law enforcers from other Ukrainian regions
will be sent to work in the area.
“Policemen
from the entire country will be working there, including those who
got though the filter of fighting during the anti-terrorist operation
– in other words guys who were not afraid,”
he told journalists, as sited by segodnya.ua news portal.
All
the policemen who violated their oaths and left their guard posts in
Donetsk and Lugansk region have been fired, Avakov said. He added
that in some cases, “these
people were arrested”.
I follow this with commentary from Mark Sleboda, Vladimir Suchan, the Saker and others who have their fingers on the pulse.
There's
been no statement about the situation in the Ukraine from the Kremlin
or from the Russian Foreign Ministry or from any official of the
government all day. There's no indication that they have even been in
touch with the western powers. The whole government is in lock down
as they decide what to do. It reminds me of the silence that followed
the February coup and which was only fully broken by Putin's press
conference on 4th March 2014. As I have said elsewhere what is
probably of most concern to the Kremlin is not the fall of Slavyansk
and Kramatorsk but the fact that its diplomatic strategy is exhausted
with the failure of the tripartite negotiations to commence today
despite the agreement to start them which was made on Wednesday.
Knut
Strømfors:
"The irritating thing is that 3 months ago the Kiev junta had 5000 man in a disorganized army. Now they have 60 000. It is better to fight the monster in its infancy rather than having to fight it when it has mutated and got hundreds of offspring."
True. And these 60,000 and growing are no longer disorganized, but combat-trained so at the end of the summer there is a prospect to see at this pace at least a 100,000 army driven by combat fury, hate for Russia, and fascist nationalism.
Those who helped blocked Russia's effective action with the mirage of World War III when the danger was many times smaller than it is now (neutralizing a 5,000 force), will have a chance to reuse the argument for the chances of a world war and NATO's direct involvement do rise with the stakes and the rapid rise of the power of the Ukrainian army. Risking a world war for several thousands of militants led by the RIght Sector on behalf of a coup d'etat is one thing. Risking a world war when you have suddenly 40 million people harnessed to a fascist dictatorship with a whole modern army of 100,000-500,000 on the move and Moscow only 400 miles away is a whole new game. Moreover, if this happens against the backdrop of a moral and political crisis and disorientation.
It is only a matter of time till the Ukrainian government, as Moscow also calls it, will issue its new "ultimatum"--not just to the Donetsk insurgents or "terrorists," as they call them--but to Russia over Crimea. And we already know that, once Kiev does that, it will have the US and whole NATO lined up behind them with "strategic destabilization" in Russia, the Caucuses, and Central Asia in full swing.
Russia's strategy from the late 1980s has been to trade nearly all its allies--for concessions and partnership. For its own progressive concessions. One major exception to this rule has been China.
The Roman Empire started falling apart when it exhausted its expansion and, with it, new sources to plunder. In this regard, the resources of Russia are enough to give the Empire a new lease on life for hundreds of years.
"The irritating thing is that 3 months ago the Kiev junta had 5000 man in a disorganized army. Now they have 60 000. It is better to fight the monster in its infancy rather than having to fight it when it has mutated and got hundreds of offspring."
True. And these 60,000 and growing are no longer disorganized, but combat-trained so at the end of the summer there is a prospect to see at this pace at least a 100,000 army driven by combat fury, hate for Russia, and fascist nationalism.
Those who helped blocked Russia's effective action with the mirage of World War III when the danger was many times smaller than it is now (neutralizing a 5,000 force), will have a chance to reuse the argument for the chances of a world war and NATO's direct involvement do rise with the stakes and the rapid rise of the power of the Ukrainian army. Risking a world war for several thousands of militants led by the RIght Sector on behalf of a coup d'etat is one thing. Risking a world war when you have suddenly 40 million people harnessed to a fascist dictatorship with a whole modern army of 100,000-500,000 on the move and Moscow only 400 miles away is a whole new game. Moreover, if this happens against the backdrop of a moral and political crisis and disorientation.
It is only a matter of time till the Ukrainian government, as Moscow also calls it, will issue its new "ultimatum"--not just to the Donetsk insurgents or "terrorists," as they call them--but to Russia over Crimea. And we already know that, once Kiev does that, it will have the US and whole NATO lined up behind them with "strategic destabilization" in Russia, the Caucuses, and Central Asia in full swing.
Russia's strategy from the late 1980s has been to trade nearly all its allies--for concessions and partnership. For its own progressive concessions. One major exception to this rule has been China.
The Roman Empire started falling apart when it exhausted its expansion and, with it, new sources to plunder. In this regard, the resources of Russia are enough to give the Empire a new lease on life for hundreds of years.
Mark
Sleboda
What
the Kremlin's inaction over the Ukraine means for Russia's
geopolitics, international relations, and the Eurasian Union:
All
moral and national security issues aside for a moment, the precedent
that Russia's inaction is setting in the Ukraine in terms of both
geopolitics and foreign policy alone is crippling. The surrender of
Ukraine to the West by Russia inevitably means exactly that the US
achieves its primary goal - the end of the Eurasian Union project and
the Russian/Eurasian civilizational space.
Russia
has now set the precedent that it does not have the right, ability,
or political will to act or intervene in the post Soviet space when
facing serious Western opposition. Further it has set the precedent
that the US and EU DO have both the right and ability to act to the
point of orchestrating regime change, civil war, and the complete
domestic political reordering and geopolitical reorientation of a
country in what was once considered Russia's "near abroad"
and that Russia lacks the ability and/or political will to counter or
resist this in any way. It will grumble but just accept the new
status quo to preserve "peace" and a conception of
"business as usual". That is to say, appeasement.
The
lessons that the governments and peoples of Belarus, Kazakhstan,
Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Azerbaijan will
invariably take away from Russia's inaction in the Ukraine are:
(1)
that they can neither trust nor rely on Russia to support or defend
them when the West comes for them, as it inevitably will, whether
with unconventional warfare/color revolutions or with direct military
action and
(2)
the complete impunity with which the new Kiev regime is not only
massacring people who are calling directly on Russia for succor but
has also shelled Russian territory, borderposts, homes, and citizens
no less than 9 times in 3 weeks tells the former Soviet space that
they need neither respect nor fear us, as we have no respect or
political will even to defend ourselves, whether out of fear of
Western ostracism, economic dependability, or fear of using our own
military force in earnest to defend our interests when faced with
serious opposition by the West. Respect, loyalty, and fear are
important and essential aspects of Russian and Eurasian
socio-cultural values and conceptions of leadership and hierarchy
throughout history. Without them, there is no leadership and the
center cannot hold.
I
was going though his out loud with my wife just earlier today, and
when we arrived home she coincidentally stumbled across prominent
Armenian political bloggers despairingly mocking and deriding the
Kremlin's paralysis in near those same terms, confirming my fears.
If
Putin's inaction in the face of what is happening in the Ukraine
continue much longer it will not only mean the loss of Ukraine to the
West, but in the long-term the suicide of Putin's own plans for a
re-consolidation of even the core of the post-Soviet space
particularly in the form of the Eurasian Union, as well as the end of
dreams of a wider Eurasian civilization or "Russian world".
The US will have achieved its primary goal in all of this, Russia's
geopolitical horizons will shrink further to its own borders (or not
even that), and it will in truth fade and diminish itself to the role
and form of just another "normal nation-state" as fifth
columnists like Dmitri Trenin at Carnegie speak of so longingly. "The
end of Eurasia" as he once put it, in truth...
Peter
Lavelle
"“Not
one step back” or Kiev overreaching and becoming the occupier? The
resistance’s loss of Slavyansk was inevitable, but still a painful
moment for those fighting the western-placed and backed regime in
Kiev. However, the cause is far from over. Modern Ukraine has always
been divided and those divisions are now drenched in blood and part
of the historical record. The Kiev regime is now an occupier in the
east in every sense. This does not bode well for the “Chocolate”
oligarch and “Ms Cookies” Nuland. Yes, territory has been lost,
but Kiev and Washington have also lost the battle for hearts and
minds. As unpopular as my position is, I still maintain a “long
view” of the Ukraine crisis. Russian military intervention would
make Moscow into an international pariah – the Washington Consensus
would see to that. Russia must at full speed continue its domestic
modernization to resist Washington’s hegemony. Ukraine, on the
other hand, faces a bleak future. Kiev’s mobocracy is unstable.
Poroshenko’s ability to rule is in doubt. The Ukrainian economy is
crashing and winter is coming. Without energy from Russia – paid
for upfront – Ukraine is set to descend into chaos. Soon Russia
will, out of normal and calculated self-interest, completely
recalibrate its economic ties with Ukraine – the Kiev regime will
pay a heavy price for what is called it’s “civilizational
choice.”
I
will repeat what I have written before: Washington and Brussels
created the Ukraine crisis and Russia is not obliged to fix and pay
for Ukraine. The beginning of this crisis has ended, there are many
more parts ahead……" ~
THE
SAKER ON THE FALL OF
SLAVYANSK
Alexander Mercouris
I
have criticised the Saker recently but his latest piece echoes my
sentiments exactly. Whatever the military significance or lack of it
of Slavyansk's fall politically a line has now been crossed.
In
addition it seems clear to me that the diplomacy has gone as far as
it can go. On Wednesday Russia, the Europeans and Poroshenko's
foreign minister agreed on an unconditional ceasefire and a convening
of talks on 5th July 2014. Following a round of talks Poroshenko had
with Biden, Ashton and Hague that simply didn't happen. Merkel told
Poroshenko on Friday that he must abide by the Wednesday Berlin
Statement but he continues to ignore it Since it seems Merkel is not
prepared to translate her promises to impose a ceasefire into action
the Russians can now validly tell their allies and their own public
that they did all it was in their power to do to seek a peaceful
solution but they failed and that they are now under a duty to act
under Article 51. This comment by an expert on VoR (written before
the fall of Slavyansk) makes essentially the same point.
If
Russia fails to act now then it seems to me that those who say that
Russia has abandoned the resistance will have been vindicated. Either
way the decision must be made within hours.
The
Fall of Slaviansk, its
meaning and implications
Military
analysis:
5
July, 2014
So
today Slaviansk has finally fallen to the Nazis. Those of us with a
military background all understood that this was pretty much
inevitable and, obviously, so did the leaders of the Novorussian
resistance. The fact that it took so long for the entire Ukie army
to take that small town really says a lot about the amazing courage
of its defenders and/or about the no less amazing incompetence (or
lack of motivation) of the attackers. It appears that what happened
is that Strelkov took the (wise) decision to abandon the town and to
only leave a very small covering force to protect his retreating
units. This plan apparently went well, the defenders broke through
the Ukie lines with no losses and they are now heading towards the
city of Gorlovka (as defending Kramatorsk and Konstantinovka makes no
sense at this point). The military purpose of Slaviansk was to
concentrate the Ukie death squads around itself to allow for the
preparation of the real line of defense along the
Donetsk-Gorlovka-Lugansk axis. The battle for Slaviansk achieved
this purpose.
In
purely military terms, the above is pretty much all which can be said
about this event. But war is not a purely military phenomenon. In
reality, wars are always deeply political, and politics is a
multi-dimensional realm in which purely military factors are always
secondary to much more important ones such as symbolism.
Political
dimension
In
political terms, the fall of Slaviansk is a disaster for Novorussia
and even Russia.
If
Slaviank had been taken weeks ago after a couple of days of fighting,
it would have been a no big deal loss. But Slaviansk resisted for
weeks and in the course of these weeks it became a symbol of
resistance. Now that it has fallen, however, Slaviansk has become
the symbol of Russian inaction. Purely military arguments simply
don't matter here and perceptions become everything. And the
perception is clearly that Putin failed to deliver on his promise to
protect Novorussia and that the defenders of Slaviansk fought and
died in vain. Furthermore, now that Slaviansk, Kramatorsk and
Konstantinovka have fallen (or are in the process of being overrun by
the Ukies), there is no way to avoid the worst kind of combats:
Donetsk, Gorlovka and Lugansk are next.
Furthermore,
what matters here is not only that Slaviansk has fallen, but why and
how it has fallen. Slaviansk has fallen because Russia did
absolutely nothing or, at least, nothing adequate, to prevent it from
falling. As for how it fell, it fell in a bloodbath of murdered
civilians: the Ukies essentially used only artillery to basically
flatten the town. In other words, Russia let a mass murder of
civilians go not only unpunished, but even unchallenged. One could
argue that Russia had no obligation to take any action. This would
be true if Putin had not officially promised not to allow such an
event to take place. But he did commit himself and, through him, all
of Russia, to extend a protection to the people of Novorussia.
Today,
this promise appears to have been just words.
Consequences
for Putin
The
consequences for Putin of this situation are now becoming very
serious because not only has the lack of Russian proactive measures
terribly disappointed the Novorussian people, but it is now also
beginning to alienate more and more people inside Russia including
Putin's core base of support. As I have written many times, the rage
in Russia about the actions of the Nazi junta is huge and becoming
stronger every day. The risk for Putin is that this rage might
eventually become directed at him personally.
Does
that mean that Putin has to send in the tanks ASAP?
No,
but at the very least, Russian officials should stop their
never-ending flow of appeasing statements and also express that
popular rage. Today, the Russian TV channels have announced that
Russia is "suspending" the return of Ukie military hardware
from Crimea to the junta. If that is their idea of a sign of rage,
then they PR folks in the Kremlin should be immediately fired. Not
only is it both lame and crazy to hand back even one old and broken
AK to an illegal Nazi regime in Kiev (remember, symbolic actions
matter), but the notion that stopping this shameful handover is an
adequate reaction to the events in the Donbass is simply delusional.
The
great disconnect
There
is something really weird happening in Russia right now. While it is
true that most Russians probably would not support an overt and
full-scale Russian intervention in the Donbass, the Russia media is
constantly barraging the public with reports about Ukrainian
atrocities and about the Novorussian resistance. Representatives of
the resistance, including top-level political figures like Tsarev,
get to speak on the main Russian TV news and talk shows no less than
once a week and with the exception of a few confused and isolated
"liberals", almost every single guest on these shows
advocates some kind of retaliatory measure against the junta. For
example, it is my honest impression that a strong majority of Russian
intellectuals and analysts favor a massive humanitarian, technical
and financial support campaign for Novorussia. I would also say that
most of them feel that Russia has to send enough military aid to
allow the Novorussians to defend themselves. Again, with the
exception of a few completely discredited (and openly ridiculed)
pro-US "liberal", everybody shows a total contempt for, and
condemnation of, Poroshenko and the Nazi junta in Kiev. The best and
kindest thing you hear about Poroshenko is that he does not matter,
that he is only a spokesman for the US, that the real ruler of Kiev
is the US Ambassador and that Poroshenko has no real power at all.
Most think of him as a Nazi war criminal.
So
there you have it. The people who for years have formed the power
base of Putin openly call the Kiev regime a Nazi junta while the
Kremlin makes one appeasing statement after another, interspersed
here and there with lame protests which everybody simply ignores.
This
cannot continue for much longer.
If
the Russian betrayal of Iran and Libya could be legitimately blamed
on Medvedev and his "Atlantic Integrationists", a now
possible collapse of Novorussia will be blamed directly on Putin, and
I would argue fairly so.
Now
Russia cannot retreat a single centimeter further
That's
it. The conflict has now reached a critical phase. If in purely
military terms the fall of Slavianks and Kramatorsk are really no big
deal, the fall of Donetsk or Lugansk would mean the end of the entire
Novorussian project. In simple terms, that would mean a NATO
controlled russophobic Nazi regime right across the Russian border.
True, Banderastan is not viable and objective economic and now social
factors (tens of thousands of heavily armed Nazis roaming across the
country, for one thing) will inevitably result in an explosive
collapse, but until that happens Lugansks and Donetsk must be held at
all cost, including, if that is what it takes, a full-scale ground
operation of the Russian armed forces.
Оn
July 28, 1942 Stalin issued his famous Order 227 which contained the
key sentence "ни шагу назад" or "not a
single step backwards". This order included the following words
in which I have just substituted the words "Soviet" and
"Red" with "Russian" and "German" with
"AngloZionist":
The
enemy throws new forces to the front without regard to heavy losses
and penetrates deep into Russia, seizing new regions, destroying our
cities and villages, and violating, plundering and killing the
Russian population. (...) The population of our country, who love
and respect the Russian Army, start to be discouraged in her, and
lose faith in the Russian Army, and many curse the Russian Army for
leaving our people under the yoke of the AngloZionist oppressors, and
itself running east. Some stupid people at the front calm themselves
with talk that we can retreat further to the east, as we have a lot
of territory, a lot of ground, a lot of population and that there
will always be much bread for us. They want to justify the infamous
behavior at the front. But such talk is falsehood, helpful only to
our enemies. Each commander, Russian Army soldier and political
commissar should understand that our means are not limitless. The
territory of the Russian state is not a desert, but people - workers,
peasants, intelligentsia, our fathers, mothers, wives, brothers,
children. (...) Therefore it is necessary to eliminate talk that we
have the capability endlessly to retreat, that we have a lot of
territory, that our country is great and rich, that there is a large
population, and that bread always will be abundant. Such talk is
false and parasitic, it weakens us and benefits the enemy (...) This
leads to the conclusion, it is time to finish retreating. Not one
step back! Such should now be our main slogan. It is necessary to
defend each position, each meter of our territory, up to the last
drop of blood, to cling for each plot of Russian land and to defend
it as long as possible. Our Motherland is experiencing hard days. We
must stop, and then to throw back and smash the enemy regardless of
cost. The AngloZionists are not so strong, as it seems to the
panic-mongers. They strain their last forces.
To withstand their impact now, means to ensure our victory in some months.
To withstand their impact now, means to ensure our victory in some months.
Amazing,
no? Prophetic words which I wish we would hear from the Kremlin
today. Instead, all I hear from the Kremlin are vapid and lame
protests. This cannot continue any further: Russia must react in a
determined and effective way.
What
exactly that way must be is for Putin and his Security Council to
decide. But what is certain is that action must be taken now to
clearly and visibly stop the Ukie assault. And if the only way is to
bring in the Russian military, then I say "do it!".
The
Saker
Does
the shelling of the
Russian border posts really
matter?
Russian border posts really
matter?
5
July, 2014
For
days now the Ukie forces have been regularly shelling Russian border
posts "by mistake". So far, I think that only one officer
was wounded, but that nobody has been killed. Russian ammo-disposal
control specialists have been sent to get rid of the unexploded
ordinance, and some border crossings had to be closed, typically for
a couple of hours.
Does
that matter and should anybody care?
Absolutely.
Just like the fall of Slaviansk, the regularity of such "mistaken"
shelling of the Russian side of the border is militarily irrelevant,
but it is symbolic of the fact that the Ukie chihuahua can bite the
Russian bear in total impunity. And what is the point of ignoring
these "provocations" when there is an obvious response
which nobody could dispute and which would be absolutely legal in
terms of international (and Russian) law: fire back to *protect the
Russian servicemen and civilians". This is really not that hard
at all. Install a few batteries of Uragan MLRS in the right spots,
set up a few counter-battery radars, place a few fire controllers
along the border and wait for the Ukies to make yet another
"mistake". And then turn the offending unit into dust with
a single well-placed strike. Finally, announce that you will be
doing just that every time the Ukies make that "mistake"
again.
Again,
that would be absolutely legal in terms of international law, that
could not be construed as a Russian "escalation" or
"provocation" and it could even serve as a very nice
protection to any NDF unit near the Russian border.
Right
now, all the Russian passivity is achieving is further exiting the
Ukie arrogance and total sense of impunity.
The
Saker
A
musical requiem (of sorts) for those who died in Slaviansk
Warning:
the language of war is not a delicate one, nor is the language used
in this song. To those who might be shocked by the kind of
"non-normative lexicon" used here by Grebenshchikov, and
who clearly have never been anywhere near a Russian military unit, I
will say that this is nothing compared to what you could have heard
form the defenders of Slaviansk. As for the message of the song -
"we have been betrayed" - I am not saying that it is
factually correct, only that it is emotionally right. I sure hope
that those who died defending Slaviansk did not die in vain.
The
Saker
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