"All of Vlad's forces and all of Vlad's men, are out to put Humpty together again." (6 Viewers)

[GTX]

How Ukraine is playing its own version of the propaganda game

Not only has it proved surprisingly effective against better equipped Russian forces on the ground, Kyiv is also dealing Russia a blow in an information war playing out on the sidelines.

www.abc.net.au

 

[Admiral Beez]

So a silence before the strom ?
also good to make the enemy nervous.

Yep. That's why Lukashenko was making noises last week, in order pull AFU troops away from whatever they've got planned. No chance that worked.

 

[GrauGeist]

Lukashanko was making noise to justify the troop buildup in Belarus as well as looking good to his master by making traditional Soviet noises.

Any incursion from the north will be met by a battle-hardened and well eqipped military that did not exist eight months ago and it will not end well for anyone that attempts it.

 

[Admiral Beez]

Any incursion from the north will be met by a battle-hardened and well eqipped military that did not exist eight months ago and it will not end well for anyone that attempts it.

Distraction of the AFU rather than incursion was the plan from the onset. Lukashanko needs all his soldiers at home to keep from ending up like Ceausescu.

 

[buffnut453]

Look for Kherson to fall soon (I hope):

Ukraine war: Russia admits Kherson 'tense' under shelling

The Russian army chief in Ukraine says Ukrainian shelling is causing many supply problems.

www.bbc.com

 

[vikingBerserker]

from BBC

German cybersecurity chief fired over Russia connections

Germany's cybersecurity chief, Arne Schönbohm, has been fired after allegations of being excessively close to Russia through an association he helped set up.

IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES
Mr Schönbohm has led the Federal Cyber Security Authority (BSI) - charged with protecting government communications - since 2016, but was accused by German media of having had links with people involved with Russian intelligence services.
His former employer, a private company called the Cyber Security Council Germany, is accused of having a subsidiary of a Russian firm set up by an ex-KGB officer as a member. The company denies any wrongdoing.
A spokesperson for Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said public trust in Mr Schönbohm's "neutrality and impartiality" had been damaged, but emphasised that the security chief would be "presumed innocent" while an investigation into the allegations was conducted.

 

[Admiral Beez]

German cybersecurity chief fired over Russia connections[/h2]Germany's cybersecurity chief, Arne Schönbohm, has

I wonder how many Rasputin types with Russian connections are whispering into Olaf Scholz' ear…. "no Leopards for Ukraine…they can't support them, they don't have the skills, we'll endanger Germany, we must wait for the Americans to act first…" and so on.

 

[SaparotRob]

Was there a raid on Schweinfurt that we did not hear about?

I was thinking the same thing. It just took 79 years to work. Sanctions do take time, I guess.

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

On the plus side, something is definitely afoot with the AFU. There's a near total news blackout. MSM guesses are that the AFU are about to smash their way to Kherson City or make a dash for Melitopol. We'll know in the next 48-72 hours.

I've noted this over the last four or five days, that the news is very samo-samo, and that the information flow from the battlefields in both the Eastern and Southern fronts has dried up. Someone's laying doggo. I expect the Russians are wondering right now where the next shoe will drop. If Ukrainian intelligence has some info about where the recent call-ups are going, that might decide the thrust -- assuming there is one in store.

 

[Admiral Beez]

I've noted this over the last four or five days, that the news is very samo-samo, and that the information flow from the battlefields in both the Eastern and Southern fronts has dried up. Someone's laying doggo. I expect the Russians are wondering right now where the next shoe will drop. If Ukrainian intelligence has some info about where the recent call-ups are going, that might decide the thrust -- assuming there is one in store.

I'm optimistic, but I also fear that the news blackout is due to some offensive going tits up for the AFU and the good guys are now struggling to regroup somewhere away from the media, cameras and bloggers.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

from BBC

German cybersecurity chief fired over Russia connections

Germany's cybersecurity chief, Arne Schönbohm, has been fired after allegations of being excessively close to Russia through an association he helped set up.
View attachment 691097IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES
Mr Schönbohm has led the Federal Cyber Security Authority (BSI) - charged with protecting government communications - since 2016, but was accused by German media of having had links with people involved with Russian intelligence services.
His former employer, a private company called the Cyber Security Council Germany, is accused of having a subsidiary of a Russian firm set up by an ex-KGB officer as a member. The company denies any wrongdoing.

I wonder how many Rasputin types with Russian connections are whispering into Olaf Scholz' ear…. "no Leopards for Ukraine…they can't support them, they don't have the skills, we'll endanger Germany, we must wait for the Americans to act first…" and so on.

A spokesperson for Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said public trust in Mr Schönbohm's "neutrality and impartiality" had been damaged, but emphasised that the security chief would be "presumed innocent" while an investigation into the allegations was conducted.

It makes me wonder (no, wait I have always wondered this) how many "agents" are in place throughout NATO. Look at the attempt to weaken NATO and its relationship with the US with the last 6 years. It's just too convenient to be coincidence.

 

[Admiral Beez]

It makes me wonder how many "agents" are in place throughout NATO.….

POTUS45 and whomever was pulling his strings comes to mind. No US politics, but the world and Ukraine's future dodged a bullet on 3 Nov 2020. If only Ukraine and the world were as lucky 12 Nov 1933 with the German general election. It's amazing how domestic elections can have such an impact on global peace and security.

Anyway, back to Ukraine. Japan appears to be stepping up nicely. There are a few neutrals left, but not too many nations on Russia's side.

https://ukranews.com/en/news/888815-japan-will-help-ukraine-with-energy-infrastructure-restoration-energy-ministry

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

I'm optimistic, but I also fear that the news blackout is due to some offensive going tits up for the AFU and the good guys are now struggling to regroup somewhere away from the media, cameras and bloggers.

I think they've been pretty good about transparency on this. If they got beaten badly somewhere, I think we'd be hearing about if, for no other reason than they might need more of this or that bit of kit, or would have more civilian casualties or refugees. Plus, satellite imagery etc would tell the tale anyway.

And of course, no victorious war is an unbroken string of successes. Even after Falaise in France, the Germans put a beating upon the Allied paratroopers in Market-Garden two months later. There will always be setbacks, and Ukraine is not exempt from that.

I'm thinking that the silence has fallen for opsec reasons -- after misguiding the Russians at the beginning of Sept regarding eastern vs southern offensive, the Ukrainians could well be not broadcasting anything at all simply to change their pattern of behavior. I know I'd change up a successful approach if I thought the enemy might have gotten wise to it.

 

[Greg Boeser]

Hmm. Would DJT have left Zelenskey twisting in the wind after having refused to investigate JRB's meddling in Ukraine domestic corruption investigation of Burisma? The world will never know.

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

Compare this map of controlled territory to what we were seeing back in mid-March.

It is trending in the right direction at a good time, seasonally. Given that mud is about to shut down ops, the lack of a raging battle is understandable given the preparations for winter both sides must be making right now.

Here's the roughly-current map:

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

Hmm. Would DJT have left Zelenskey twisting in the wind after having refused to investigate JRB's meddling in Ukraine domestic corruption investigation of Burisma? The world will never know.

Why are you injecting American politics into this? We've already had plenty of warnings about introducing politics into this discussion. I care much less about your hypothetical than I do about what's happening on the ground there, myself.

Edit: as you may read below, I went off half-cocked here, and wasn't fair. I've apologized to Greg and do so to readers here as well.

 

[WARSPITER]

Why are you injecting American politics into this? We've already had plenty of warnings about introducing politics into this discussion. I care much less about your hypothetical than I do about what's happening on the ground there, myself.

In this case the post would not have been made if an earlier post had not had a go at one side of US politics thus provoking the response.

As an outsider it is a bit humorous to see conspiracy theories as to what Ukraine would have been like if a US election had gone down a different
path and at the same time it is also tedious as none of these past events has any relevance to the current situation.

 

[wlewisiii]

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

In this case the post would not have been made if an earlier post had not had a go at one side of US politics thus provoking the response.

This is a fair point; because of the way the forum software works I saw Greg Boeser 's reply before I saw the provocative post he was replying to. I stand by my sentiment, but apologize to Greg for my oversight and subsequent post which made him look like the one starting it all. I was wrong about that.

 

[Greg Boeser]

I was responding to a previous post, which suggested that our previous president was in the bag for Putin.
That was in response to Der Adler, who wondered how many politicians/bureaucrats have been targeted/turned by Russian influence campaigns.
His post was in response to the firing of the German cybersecurity chief, who was found to have connections with Russian interests.
The war is not just in Ukraine. That is the physical battlefield, but the whole world is taking part, in one form or another. People who couldn't find Ukraine on a map are suffering because of this ill-conceived adventure by Putin. People around the world are facing hunger and higher energy costs due to the disruption of normal trade brought on by this "special military action". We know that Russian (and Soviet) intelligence has been targeting our leaders for the past century, that they are running misinformation and disinformation campaigns in every western nation, and that more than a few have been co-opted. Their methods are broad-ranging and subtle. And, sadly, there are people in every country willing to sell out their country for nothing more than a feeling of moral superiority.