RUNNING UPDATES ON THE CONFLICT IN UKRAINE - 05.07.2023
Including geopolitical issues affecting the balance of power in the ongoing end game war to establish our common future, a closely monitored prison planet or tolerance for diverse modes of governance.
THE ROAD TO THE ULTIMATE CONCLUSION OF WORLD WAR III RUNS THROUGH HERE.
*** CAN UKRAINE ARMY PROVIDE A BIG WIN BEFORE THE 12th? ***
…………
“Ukraine. What is the truth...?
Why won’t western media tell both sides…?”
***
VIRTUALLY UNREPORTED ATROCITY IN LUGANSK, 2nd JUNE 2014
A lot has been said about atrocities in the western media claimed to have been perpetrated by the Russians, for example at Bucha and Mariupol among others. These assertions are conveyed on the say so of the Ukrainian authorities. How willing though are western news broadcasters to convey atrocities attributed to the Ukrainians? The following will I think provide the answer.
If anyone wonders if they are receiving accurate coverage of the conflict in Ukraine I would suggest watching the video below of an event which occurred on the 2nd of June 2014 and ask themselves if they recall hearing about it on any mainstream media news channel at the time.
The video is harrowing to watch. The bodies (five women and three men) are real. Yet across western media there was only one single news report that occurred a day later. This was from CNN and occurred only because a CNN team happened to be nearby at the time of the atrocity and so the network could hardly ignore it as all others so obviously did.
The video below shows the unvarnished truth that was not considered newsworthy in western mainstream news.
THE SINGLE WESTERN MSM REPORT ON THE LUGANSK ATROCITY, 3rd JUNE 2014
The video at the CNN link below is the crime scene sanitised by CNN, though played straight with honest reporting on the scene not playing things to Kiev’s tune.
(There was a time early in the war in the Donbass when CNN were not afraid to contradict the Ukrainian regime in Kiev.) Watch because it's the first and last time you will see this.
5 women and 3 men died, all civilians.
Air attack on pro-Russian separatists in Luhansk kills 8, stuns residents.
…………
Lead feature:
PROFESSOR JOHN J. MEARSHEIMER
THE CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF THE UKRAINE WAR. A LECTURE BY JOHN J. MEARSHEIMER.
ALEXANDER MERCOURIS of THE DURAN
Rumours Attack Zaporozhzhye NPP, Ukr Bakhmut Attack Repelled, West Cools F16s; Rus Economy Grows.
ALEX CHRISTOFOROU of THE DURAN
NATO, Biden wants Ursula. Elensky, ZNPP rooftop explosives. China cancels EU Borrell. U/1
THE DURAN
Debriefing, Prigozhin in Belarus w/Robert Barnes (Live).
RT 'CROSSTALK' w/ SCOTT RITTER
Russian offensive will begin soon.
JUDGE ANDREW NAPOLITANO - ALASTAIR CROOKE
Zelenskyy: Russian explosives planted on nuke plant roof | w/ Alastair Crooke, Fmr British Diplomat.
THE CONVO COUCH
Zelensky Projects NATO False Flag on Zaporozhye, Israel Attacks Refugees, & Biden Appoints Abrams.
GARLAND NIXON - SCOTT RITTER
TALKS NATO-CHINA & FALSE FLAGS.
NEIL OLIVER
‘…message in a bottle’
LEVAN GUDADZE
Ukrainian counter-offensive, ZNPP, Grain deal, Beijing - Borrell, Jenin, Inflation in Russia 5%.
SCOTT RITTER
Scott Ritter Extra Ep. 79: Ask the Inspector.
DANNY HAIPHONG - SCOTT RITTER
Russia is Ready to FINISH Ukraine as NATO Rejects Peace Negotiations.
GARLAND NIXON
THE REAL UKRAINE - WITH KIEV INSIDER ANDRII TELIZHENKO.
SCOTT RITTER
Artillery, Air Defense, and Electronic Warfare.
GEOPOLITICAL ECONOMY REPORT w/ BEN NORTON
What is neoliberalism? How the 'Washington consensus' was imposed on the world.
TELESUR
Russian President underlines SCO's commitment to a multipolar world order.
Putin warns of possible global economic crisis due to accumulation of developed countries' debts.
Chinese President calls for closer ties and resisting sanctions.
Iran officially joins Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
HINDUSTAN TIMES
Putin's Men Obliterate Leopard Tank in Direct Hit; Russian Army 'Wipes Out' Over 760 Soldiers.
Russian FSB Foiled Attack on Indian Firms? Dramatic Operation in Sakhalin Island, 'Neo-Nazi' Held.
No Respite for Ukraine; Kadyrov’s Chechen Fighters & Convicts to Counter Kyiv Forces in Bakhmut.
Russia Exposes Kiev's Bakhmut Gains "Lie"; Watch Putin's Men Inflict Pain on Ukraine Army.
Germany Vs Poland Tussle Over Kyiv’s Leopard Tank Repairs as Russia Decimates Western Tanks in War.
Putin’s Electronic Warfare Deals Blows To Kyiv, U.S.-Supplied Smart Bombs Losing Precision | Details:
India's 'Friend' Iran Joins SCO; Chabahar Port, INSTC Corridor Win-Win For New Delhi | Details:
Putin's "Beasts of War" Wreak Havoc in Ukraine; Why Russia Deployed Tyulpan Mortar at Frontline.
Putin Lauds PM Modi in Front of Xi Jinping, Shehbaz Sharif; Russia Backs India's Proposals at SCO.
Putin Roars at SCO Summit Chaired By Modi; "Russia Resilient, Foreign Powers Failing" | Watch:
JIM RICKARDS
🔎 The Truth is Out There: 🧭 How to Navigate Yourself on the Journey to Clarity.
BORZZIKMAN
NATO Generals Are Preparing For The Worst┃Russian Army Has Launched An Offensive on 'Chasiv Yar'.
THE HILL
Watch: CNN, MSNBC FREAK OUT Over Biden Admin’s LOSS of Social Media Censorship Powers.
THROUGH THE EYES OF... ANIA
(Reporting from Russia.)
“BAD NEWS BEFORE NATO SUMMIT “, POLISH GENERAL ADDRESS THE NUCLEAR SHARING.
ANGRY WARHAWK
Silk Road 2.0 the Rise of Eurasia.
CGTN
Former Italian ambassador to China calls for true multilateralism at international conference.
SEAN FOO
America Runs To China - Help Save Our Economy!
ASIAN QUICKTAKE
THE DEMISE of the PETRODOLLAR SYSTEM. Iran and other 100 Nations DE-DOLLARIZE.
TECH REVOLUTION
More Countries BRACED For An Economic STORM | Huge THREAT To The Entire Global Economy.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
PROFESSOR JOHN J MEARSHEIMER
U.S. Power & the Darkness Ahead for Ukraine.
Article published by Russia Today (RT) - 5th July 2023:
Russian nuclear giant claims Ukrainian attack on power plant imminent.
Kiev is expected to strike the Zaporozhye facility with a 'dirty' nuclear device, a senior Russian official says.
Ukraine is expected to launch a large-scale attack on the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) overnight, a senior Russian atomic energy industry official warned late on Tuesday. Kiev may also strike the plant with a missile stuffed with radioactive waste, he added.
The warning was voiced by Renat Karchaa, a senior aide to the head of Rosenergoatom, a subsidiary to Russia’s state-owned atomic energy giant Rosatom. The official cited intelligence data received by the industry.
“On July 5, literally overnight, while it’s still dark, Ukrainian forces will attempt an attack on the Zaporozhye plant with long-range high-precision munitions, as well as suicide drones,” he told Rossiya 24 TV channel.
Kiev is also expected to attempt a strike on the plant with a heavy, Soviet-made Tochka-U tactical ballistic missile, Karchaa went on. The munition has been filled with radioactive waste collected from the South-Ukrainian nuclear power plant, the official claimed.
While Karchaa did not elaborate, the apparent goal of the secondary attack is to cause an uptick in radioactivity readings in the region should the main launch fail to damage the facility enough to cause the release of hazardous materials into the air.
The ZNPP was seized by Moscow from Ukraine early into the ongoing conflict, getting formally transferred under Rosatom management as the Zaporozhye region became incorporated into Russia after a referendum. Both Moscow and Kiev have repeatedly accused each other of subjecting the Russian-controlled facility to artillery fire and drone strikes.
The rhetoric around the plant escalated in recent weeks, with the top Ukrainian official repeatedly claiming Moscow had been preparing a nuclear incident at the ZNPP. President Vladimir Zelensky, for instance, said Moscow wanted to cause a “radiation leakage” at the plant, while his aide Mikhail Podoliak accused Russia of placing mines in the plant’s cooling pond.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has called the claims by Zelensky and other Ukrainian officials “yet another lie” coming from Kiev, stressing that Moscow remains in close cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The UN watchdog’s boss, Rafael Mariano Grossi, visited the facility recently and disputed Ukraine’s allegations, stating in his report that “no mines were observed at the site during the director general’s visit, including the cooling pond.” The danger to the ZNPP has also been questioned by the White House, with National Security Council spokesman John Kirby saying last week that Washington has not “seen any indication that that threat is imminent.”
MAPPING/ANALYSIS CHANNELS
* Updates will be added here as and when they become available.
MILITARY SUMMARY UPDATE
Summer Operations | The Russians Hold The Red Line. Military Summary For 2023.07.05
The Ukrainians Continue To Develop Operational Success At Orekhov. Military Summary For 2023.07.05
Summer Operations | Sides On The Path Towards Nuclear Escalation. Military Summary For 2023.07.04
Operation Day-D | Nuclear Provocation To Be. Military Summary And Analysis For 2023.07.04
NWE WAR REPORTS UPDATE
No update posted so far today
DEFENSE POLITICS ASIA UPDATE
UKRAINE MOST LOVED BRIDGE NOT ABANDONED; Ukr Offensive @ W Avdiivka [ Ukraine SITREP ] Day 496 (4/7).
DPA WAR UPDATE
No update posted so far today
THETI MAPPING UPDATE
No update posted so far today
BALKAN MAPPING UPDATE
Ukraine front update [5 July 2023].
Ukraine front Update [ 4 July 2023].
KEEP IT SECRET NEWS UPDATE
No update posted so far today
PROJECT GREAT UPDATE
No update posted so far today
MILITARY AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS UPDATE
No update posted so far today
RYBAR UPDATE
Ukraine War Map, July 4th.
Ukraine War Map, July 3rd.
M MAPPING UPDATE
No update posted so far today
HS MAPPING
New Developments on Bakhmut Front l Fighting Near Bakhmut.
WEEB UNION UPDATE
Bakhmut Southern Flank Under Threat As Attacks Intensify | Both Sides Advance 07/05/23.
Detailed situation reports can be found on a daily basis concerning events in Ukraine over the past 24 hours at the ‘A SKEPTIC’ Substack account:
Link to 'A SKEPTIC' Substack channel.
***
SUPPORTING SCOTT RITTER
I've been listening to Scott Ritter describe how things are for him and I suspect have been for him for quite some time now.
He has been doing a LOT of unpaid work with a great many interview requests coming in that he has been ready and willing to agree to. But the work where receives some pay for have suffered due to this, being left until the wee small hours of the night to complete work on.
Scott, I think you will agree, has been one of the most influential voices out there on Russia and Ukraine.
I was moved by Scott's words to take an annual subscription to his Substack account that he runs in coordination with his colleague on 'U.S. Tour of Duty', Jeff Norman. This is the main way that Scott recommends to help him with finances with which to upgrade his delivery of comment on Russia and Ukraine, via a better microphone etc. and perhaps the creation of a recording studio in his basement to create a more professional and impressive look. To invest in these things he would like to be sure that this has a viable financial future.
Would you also like to help by subscribing at one of the various levels to Scott's Substack account? I hope so. If so the link is here:
Below you'll find the edited part of the video where Scott talks of his commitments to get the facts out on events in Ukraine and of the finances that would come in handy to enhance their delivery:
***
VICTORY BELONGS TO RUSSIA: IT IS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME
Each day that passes makes a conclusive Russian victory in the Donbass and beyond more certain. As Russia bolsters her forces, and weaponry, those of Ukraine decrease. Russian forces gain ready access to rest and recuperation as troop numbers increase. The increasingly exhausted and demoralised Ukrainian troops have an ever decreasing prospect of such respite. This situation is likely to bring them to complete breakdown as Russia unleashes the firepower of the more modern and advanced weaponry that is arriving with the newly mobilised Russian troops.
The various Ukrainian offensives are now weak when confronted by the reinforced Russian lines. A few futile efforts achieve quite miserable results before fire reigns down on the Ukrainian troops and they are forced back to their starting positions.
And now, all this being said, we have arrived at the wet, and later, freezing conditions where these pathetic Ukrainian forces will be subject to myriad forms of abject misery with death and injury all around them while they lie sodden or frozen, abandoned to their fate by Kiev.
The pitiable young and old of Ukraine have been frogmarched to their deaths as cannon-fodder while the bestial elites of the collective West urge their "president" to add more to their number there at the gates of Hell and their doom. We must feel for the majority of them as they are not the Nazis we revile, in most part they are decent men, fathers, sons, brothers, husband and uncles, who no doubt saw through the coup of 2014 for what it was. But sadly, their fate seems sealed.
Nothing will stop Russia now. Every factor favours them. Victory will be Russia's. In Donbass and beyond and in due course across the world.
Victory belongs to Russia: It is now only a matter of time.
UPDATES TO BE ADDED HERE AS AND WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS.
UPDATES TO BE ADDED HERE AS AND WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS.
WHAT ARE THE UKRAINIAN ARMY’S CHANCES OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS?
Currently the Ukrainian military, despite the protestations of its top general, is conducting sporadic attacks on Russian positions in preparation for a long-awaited counteroffensive. The Russian positions being attacked however are not those that have been displayed in the news in recent weeks, they are not those with anti-tank dragon’s teeth and vast array of trenches, dugouts and heavily armoured positions. The areas where Ukrainian attacks are taking place are part of the grey zone, the disputed regions many kilometres from Russian defensive lines.
How are they doing there?
Without air cover and outgunned many times over regarding artillery the Ukrainians are finding it extremely difficult to make any serious headway. They have taken some eight villages within the grey zone so far, some of which they have subsequently lost again. During the attacks they have had major losses regarding both men and materiel. The majority of the so-called ‘game changer’ ‘Leopard 2’ tanks received from various NATO states including Germany, have been destroyed. Absent anything approaching air cover to protect attacking troops, or those moving forward in the hope of attacking, the Ukrainian military, in coordination with NATO are using HIMARS and StormShadow missiles to take out Russian artillery and ammunition dumps.
It is certain that in the next few days the Ukrainian military will initiate a concerted attempt to achieve some major success. This is due to the necessity to create an event of sufficient magnitude to impress those attending the next NATO summit which starts on July eleventh in Vilnius, Lithuania. Already, today, July 4th there has been a large-scale Ukrainian assault on Russian artillery and munitions supply in the region of Bakhmut/Arteomovsk. These assaults using HIMARS/Stormshadow missiles were many by comparison with anything seen elsewhere across the battle lines either today or in fact on any previous day. On the face of it this indicates that Arteomovsk/Bakhmut may well be the site of the spectacular event the Ukrainian regime needs to impress its NATO sponsors on July 11th to 12th. Of course tomorrow may bring a similar series of strikes elsewhere. We will see.
Apart from arranging some kind of spectacular achievement, how do Ukrainian chances stand at the moment?
The last month since the Ukrainian military began moving its forces toward the outer Russian lines has been a dismal failure during which a massive number of Ukrainians have died and an equally massive number of military vehicles have been destroyed. Russia has maintained air superiority over the entire period and particular use of the Russian ‘Alligator’ helicopter has proven devastating against both troops and vehicles. Ukraine has been unable to down a singly aircraft of the Russian air force during this period. The Ukrainians appear to have been totally unprepared also for the Russian minefield with many Ukrainian military vehicles hitting mines on a regular basis. Russia has deployed a distance mining methodology which has succeeded in taking out Ukrainian forces and vehicles when they both advance and retreat to regroup before advancing once more.
As regards replenishment of numbers the Ukrainians have once again resorted to forced conscription into the Ukrainian army. The vast majority of trained Ukrainian troops have been taken off the battlefield either killed or severely wounded over the near 18 previous months. This was due in most part to Ukrainian high command fighting over every square kilometre of territory, throwing troops into areas where they were wiped out at a rate of some 400 to 600 per day. The freshly conscripted recruits being forced into the Ukrainian army now receive at best two weeks training before being sent to the front. By contrast Russia has conserved its forces, keeping them in relatively safe positions while Russian artillery softens up Ukrainian positions to the required extent before sending them in. Regarding fresh forces Russia is experiencing an ongoing surge of volunteers wishing to join the Russian army numbering some 1,500 per day. The volunteers are receiving several months training before being given limited experience of the battle front before receiving even more training behind the line of conflict.
As with western armouries the stock of Ukrainian weaponry and ammunition-supply is fast dwindling. In addition, Russia is targeting and destroying between four and eight Ukrainian arms dumps per day on average. This has got to have an effect eventually along with Russia taking out railway infrastructure, arms dumps and vehicle repair workshops on a regular basis. Then we must add the undoubted superiority of Russian air power, only partially utilised to date. As stated before, Russia has air superiority and this superiority is growing by the day. Only today, July 4th Russia brought down two Ukrainian planes, one of which was flying quite some way from Russian lines at the time. In recent weeks Russia has successfully put several new military satellites in orbit which are now providing extremely accurate data on Ukrainian positions, hardware and troop movements.
If there is a surge of attacks from the Ukrainians over the next few days as expected it may well be enough to sufficiently impress those attending the NATO summit. Ukraine’s sponsors will then no doubt promise yet another tranche of money and promises of more weapons… though not, it is thought, a promise of F16 fighters. The most likely promise will be the immediate transfer of Lockheed-Martin MGM-140 ATACMS tactical missiles. These will be described as the latest ‘game changer’ weapons with which Ukraine will “win” the war. However, as with all previous ‘game changer’ weapons this is almost inevitably not going to live up to the name. The array of Russian forces and military might is simply too great for any so-called ‘game changer’ device to make that much of a difference.
No doubt the Ukrainians will make as much use of the ATACMS missiles as they have of the HIMARS and Stormshadow missiles that preceded them which though significant (at least at first) certainly did not change the direction of the conflict which has never varied for any significant time throughout the last eighteen months of combat. Russia has taken a vast amount of territory and has waged a war of attrition against rapidly dwindling Ukrainian forces for a large proportion of the last six months at the very least. A partial mobilisation took place in Russia around six months ago which added some 300,000 additional troops from reserve forces who had already served and an additional 70,000 or so volunteers who went immediately into many months of training. All these additional Russian troops are either manning the enormously long, multi-layered defensive positions awaiting any Ukrainians breaking through from the grey zone or are now active on the front lines.
So, what are the Ukraine military’s chances?
The word negligible is probably the term most appropriate. Naturally there will be occasional successes here and there but will they make a fundamental difference, will they seriously and permanently breach Russian lines of defence? It is just possible that one attack may come close and appear to have done so. But what will the Russian response be after making a tactical withdrawal perhaps? Will they throw their hands up and surrender? Unlikely. The most likely scenario is an extremely massive attack on any such Ukrainian forces including their routes of supply. They will be in short order surrounded in what the Russians term a ‘cauldron’ and annihilated. This is the most likely scenario even in the event of a breach in Russian lines.
These are the chances that Ukraine has currently, use the remaining stock of HIMARS and Stormshadow missiles plus whatever drones they have left in one concerted forward movement also including a vast wave of infantry to attempt by sheer force of numbers to break through the Russian wall of death awaiting them. Estimates of how many Ukrainians are likely to die in such a suicide campaign vary but the figure is unlikely to be lower than 25,000 and this is likely too low an estimate. The remainder of western weaponry including the British ‘Challenger’ tanks are likely also to be destroyed also.
Would you like to bet on the chances of a Ukrainian victory? Perhaps keep that shirt on your back? Losing it would leave yourself and the entire political elite of the west naked and terribly exposed to ridicule and humiliation having bet everything on what should be quite clear to you now, is a losing bet.