RUNNING UPDATES ON THE CONFLICT IN UKRAINE - 04.06.2023
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.
*** IS THE RUSSIAN VICTORY NOW COMING INTO FULL FOCUS? ***
…………
“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:
ALEXANDER MERCOURIS of THE DURAN
Russia Rapid Advance Marinka, Avdeyevka, Kupyansk; US Military Trainers Describe Dire State Ukr Army.
BRIAN BERLETIC of THE NEW ATLAS
Dark Truth Behind Ukraine's NATO-Armed Border Raids + Cost of Attrition Continues to Mount.
ALEX CHRISTOFOROU of THE DURAN
Crimea, psychological capture. 50 Patriots. Borrell, €700B on war. Daily Mail, Putin is 'toast.' U/1
DANNY HAIPHONG - THE DURAN
The Duran: The Collective West was DEFEATED in Syria, Ukraine is Next.
THE DURAN
German economic and political breakdown.
LEVAN GUDADZE
Update on Ukraine, Incident at sea - China vs USA, Erdogan is president again, Deflation in Russia...
Vladimir Putin's speech at the Valdai Discussion Club 2021
GARLAND NIXON
NEOCON UKRAINE PROJECT - NOTHING LEFT BUT THE NARRATIVE.
SERGEY LAVROV
I do not read English papers.
PROFESSOR JOHN J MEARSHEIMER
The ELITES Want WAR.
RUSSIAN NEWS
The shelling of the Zaporozhye NPP by Ukraine is absolutely unacceptable! UN.
HINDUSTAN TIMES
Putin's cruise missiles pound Ukraine's airfields near Kyiv | Russia downs five drones over Crimea.
India's Russian oil imports in May surpass U.S., Saudi, UAE and Iraq combined | Details:
Putin punches down U.S.-led West; Declares 'ready to accomplish war goals through...' | Watch:
Russia in rage after Ukraine shells schools, medical centres in Belgorod | Watch:
EMIL COSMAN
Your resources are taken from you, given to Ukraine in the name of a manufactured SCARE scenario.
They don't want Peace in Ukraine, they want Russia. Ukraine refuses all peace plans but "Zelensky's."
Russia not intimidated. Russia warns US: "Don't brandish ultimatums, change hostile stance."
Does Zelensky blackmail NATO? I will not attend if you don't give me. NATO has rules, Zelensky!
JACKSON HINKLE
Russia ENCIRCLES Kupyansk, SEIZES 5 Marinka Districts.
Russian Casualty Figures REVEALED.
Zelensky Threatens Transnistria INVASION.
Russia Encircles Kupyansk, Zelensky Threatens Transnistria INVASION.
DEEP WEAPONS
Russia’s Mystery Drone Spotted Near Ryazan, Can Carry 500kg Bombs.
MILITARIAN
Russian Troops Crushed The Ukrainian Company with 3 T-90M Tanks.
KATIE HALPER
How U.S. Sanctions On Russia Caused De-dollarization.
BORZZIKMAN
Russia has Perfected its Infernal Weapons┃NATO's Nightmare TOS-1A became More Deadly and Destructive.
THE JIMMY DORE SHOW
U.S. Building ANOTHER Illegal Military Base In Syria.
LINE FLUX
Russia's Magnetic Pull: Africa Flocks to BRICS.
GEOPOLITICAL ECONOMY REPORT w/ BEN NORTON
Why capitalism is inherently imperialist: Class struggle at the international level.
RICHARD MEDHURST
This Is How Iran & Venezuela Fight Western Sanctions | Prof. Marandi.
Proof That Iran Does Not Have a Nuclear Weapons Program.
ALEXANDRE GUERREIRO
A Ucrânia está preparada para a contra-ofensiva?
LIU SIVAYA
YOU HAVE TO LAUGH: the CIA tries to recruit Russian agents through Twitter | liusivaya. (In Spanish.)
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
PROFESSOR JOHN J MEARSHEIMER: WHERE IS THE UKRAINE WAR GOING?
Article published by Russia Today (RT) - 4th June 2023:
'Waging Peace': How a tour of Russia showed me that propaganda perverts reality in the minds of Americans.
My month-long tour of the country was an eye-opening experience, and so was the hostility that met me back home.
At the end of April, my daughter Victoria and I departed New York City’s JFK airport, ultimately bound for the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, the first destination of what would be a 26-day, 12-city tour of Russia.
While the official purpose of the visit was business (I was promoting my book, Disarmament Race, which has been published in the Russian language by the Komsomolskaya Pravda publishing house), the unofficial – and for me, most important – purpose of the visit was an opportunity to better understand today's Russia. To do this, I was going to dig deeper into Russian history, get a better grasp of the culture, and, in the process, try to understand the “Russian soul” in as precise a manner as possible.
From my perspective, both objectives were accomplished. I’m inclined to believe that Komsomolskaya Pravda was pleased with the results of a tour that drew positive media coverage, resulted in well-attended town hall-style events involving vigorous question-and-answer sessions, and reportedly resulted in the initial print run of 10,000 books to be sold out in a manner of days. Through the considerable interaction I had with Russians of all walks of life, I came away with deeper insight into the complexity of what comprises the modern Russian nation circa 2023. However, divining an articulable definition of the Russian soul – if indeed possible at all – requires deeper introspection into the plethora of data and experiences captured during this journey than the passage of several days affords and is beyond the scope of this article.
I left on this adventure fully cognizant of the existence of an informational pandemic in America known as Russophobia, and I always believed that I was realistic as to the challenges that I would have to face in trying to convert my Russian experience into a fact-based vaccine to counter this disease of the American mind. However, the scale of the obstacles that I imagined overcoming paled in comparison to the reality that hit home literally as I stepped off the aircraft on our way back home, when Victoria and I were both pulled out of the passport checkpoint for an hours-long interrogation by investigators from Customs and Border Protection who specialize in travelers from designated nations such as Russia.
I will start by noting that the treatment my daughter and I received was professional and courteous. I understand the political reality of the times we live in, and the perceived necessity of questioning US citizens who travel to Russia while relations between our two nations are at an all-time low. My concern is not in the conduct of the interrogation, but rather the substance of the foundational information upon which the questions asked of me were based. As the CBP officer admitted, he had interviewed hundreds of Russians after the start of the military operation in Ukraine in February 2022. The picture he had of Russia was singularly grounded in the perspective of political dissidents who had a bone to pick with President Vladimir Putin, and the narrative that they painted about Russia had become gospel for the CBP. By extension, it has heavily influenced the overall assessment by the US government, since these dissident debriefings constitute a major source of the primary intelligence used by national security analysts throughout the American intelligence community.
In short, my interrogation quickly became a debate between myself on the one hand, and a combination of Alexey Navalny (the imprisoned Russian opposition figure who most of the Russian dissidents support, according to the officer) and the Ukrainian government on the other. Virtually every point I made was immediately defined as “pro-Russian propaganda.” I tried to impress upon the CBP officer the reality of Russia, today, especially concerning both the high level of support for, and underlying criticism of, the Russian government about the military campaign in Ukraine. However, in the end my arguments, and the facts they were based upon, were categorized as “Kremlin talking points” no matter how hard I tried. I left the interrogation with a new appreciation of how deeply ingrained into the intellectual DNA of the official US government the Navalny and Ukrainian narratives have become, and how difficult it will be to root them out.
I had held out a modicum of hope that I would be able to engage in a responsible fashion with some elements of the mainstream media about my visit and what I experienced and, in doing so, help make inroads in countering the official US line on Russia. As such, when I was contacted by a local columnist for the major regional newspaper, I called him back in hopes that he would be interested in writing something that accurately captured the substance and tone of my trip.
I am not naming either the newspaper or the columnist, for the simple fact that I do not know if there will be an article or what the actual content would be. However, what I do know is this – he was familiar with many of the interviews I gave while in Russia (they were published on US social media), and as such, sufficiently empowered to ask relevant questions.
Instead, the columnist sought to cherry pick statements I made during these interviews, void of any factual context, to paint me as a pro-Russian shill. And when I pushed back, he then turned to the age-old tactic of bringing up a past criminal conviction as a way of defining me and, by extension, my trip. This, apparently, is what passes for journalism in America today. I hope that events prove me wrong, but this is not my first media rodeo – I know how the game is played, and how the players behave. Sadly, any hope I had placed on garnering the support of local, regional, and national mainstream media in helping disseminate my Russian experiences, insights, and analysis in an accurate and fair manner appears to have been misplaced. The mainstream media will continue to do what it has done for many years now – mindlessly echo the official narrative and undermine anyone who dares challenge it.
Upon my return home, I was able to access my email account, which I was not able to do while in Russia, and immediately stumbled upon an intramural discussion among people I respect, who possess similar professional backgrounds and anti-war inclinations. It revolved around the issue of whether there was anything more Russia, and in particular Putin, could have done to avoid a war in Ukraine. Some amongst this group insisted that Putin had no choice but to act, while others argued that there were always options short of war that could have been pursued.
What struck me about this debate was the reality that, save for very few exceptions, the underlying analysis was conducted from an American point of view, with little or no regard as to what would be politically possible in Russia, or what the factual foundation of the problems being discussed were. The mirror-imaging of American perspectives onto Russian reality resulted in the creation of a counter-narrative that was as fundamentally flawed as it was factually challenged. For those who argued that Putin could have avoided war, their arguments lacked any grounding in Russian reality or the facts of the case.
The lack of insight into how Russia functions created artificial expectations of Russian behavior which, when not met, generated angst among the participants about the irresponsible actions of Putin and his government that in turn helped feed an overall anti-Russian narrative. As this debate underscored, even among well-meaning people inclined to have an open mind about the country, Russophobia and an overall ignorance of the Russian reality creates pre-conceived intellectual obstacles which are difficult to overcome.
The byproduct of such a fundamentally flawed approach toward understanding Russia is the hate-filled rhetoric of officials like South Carolina Republican Senator Lyndsey Graham, a lifelong Russophobe, who has crowed about US taxpayer dollars used to finance military aid to Kiev being “the best money we’ve ever spent” and gloated about how “Russians are dying” in the war. Under normal circumstances, such blood curdling rhetoric would be openly challenged by most Americans as unreflective of our values. Russophobia, however, is a disease of the mind, the symptoms of which are the termination of rational thought.
My work is cut out for me. While daunted by the challenges that immediately manifested themselves upon my return, I am optimistic that I will succeed. I remain empowered and emboldened by the strength of the impressions made upon me during my journey inside Russia, especially the enthusiasm of the people who entrusted me with this experience. I am also encouraged by the support that exists in the world of social media, where ideas that challenge the official narrative are freely exchanged, generating momentum that has the potential to shape the minds and attitudes of a significant number of my fellow Americans.
The defining theme of my Russian visit and the journey of education and awareness derived from this trip is “Waging Peace.” The underlying assumption made in selecting this theme is that the processes envisioned from it involve inevitable conflict of an ideological nature. To prevail, those engaged in this campaign will need to muster all the fact-based arguments possible to counter the government-backed mainstream narrative. This sort of activity cannot occur in a vacuum, but rather must be rooted in the age-old maxim of “know your enemy.”
Rather than being disheartened by the reality of the CBP questioning, the pre-conceived slant of American reporters, or the lack of viable Russian context in the relevant debates and discussions about the country taking place in the US, right now, I am empowered by the fact that I have come face to face with the enemy early on in this struggle, have familiarized myself with their modus operandi, and as such will be able to make the appropriate adjustments in strategy and tactics necessary to prevail.
The war against Russophobia was never going to be an easy one. But for the sake of the future of America, Russia, and the rest of the world, it is one that must be won. “Waging Peace” is not a casual cause, but rather a struggle of existential proportions.
We will win, if for no other reason than defeat is not an option.
MAPPING/ANALYSIS CHANNELS
* Updates will be added here as and when they become available.
MILITARY SUMMARY UPDATE
Donbass Zugzwang| Escalation & Meat Grinder Along The Entire Front Line. Military Summary 2023.06.04
The Return Of Big Bad Wagner. Military Summary And Analysis For 2023.06.04
NWE WAR REPORTS UPDATE
Russia takes 10 City Blocks in Marinka | Ukraine Begins Counter Offensive.
DEFENSE POLITICS ASIA UPDATE
[ Kreminna Front ] MAJOR ASSAULT THRU SEREBRYANSKE FORESTRY; Russia counter with shelling/airstrikes.
DPA WAR UPDATE
No update posted so far today
THETI MAPPING UPDATE
WAR UPDATE: Russia ADVANCE Deep Into Maryinka.
BALKAN MAPPING UPDATE
More advances in Marinka [4 June 2023].
THE RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE UPDATE
Ukraine Russian War, Map and Combat Footage for June 3, 2023, Russian Forces move on Seversk.
PROJECT GREAT UPDATE
3 Ukrainian Counterattacks Failed On Southern Front. Wagners Might Attack Kharkiv. Leo Is Here.
MILITARY AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS UPDATE
No update posted so far today
RYBAR UPDATE
No update posted so far today
M MAPPING UPDATE
Marinka Nearing Liberation.
HS MAPPING
No update posted so far today
WEEB UNION UPDATE
Ukrainian Probing Attacks | F16 For The Summer Offensive? | Full Front Update 04/06/23
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.
BOTH WESTERN & UKRAINIAN LEADERSHIPS READY THEIR MUD FOR SLINGING
Ukraine lost the battle of Bakhmut while sustaining horrendous losses in a useless slaughter indulged in by the Ukrainian regime for purely PR purposes. Now it seeks to initiate an offensive that will further decimate its military ranks. Conscripts with only a few days training are taking the place of professional troops who have died in their droves.
The truth above however, cannot be tolerated. Therefore, comforting, self-serving delusion must take its place and the guilty parties must be found elsewhere. So, in tandem with delusions internally there will be a need for others for western public consumption. A plethora of semi-believable excuses have long been readied alongside a generous supply of responsibility-obscuring mud to throw obscuring guilt.
The entire panoply of western leadership are continuing to surround themselves in mirages of misplaced breast-beating over Ukraine rather than facing anything as onerous as facts. But the facts are now becoming too obvious to ignore and both the western leaders and that of Ukraine are preparing their excuses.
The fact in question are of course incredibly hard to face considering the assumption of western leaders have that they are hugely righteous, amounting to the greatest collective global power in existence to whom the concept of defeat is entirely unknown. And that defeat therefore has become entirely unthinkable.
Meanwhile, Ukraine goes from one defeat to another, talking all the while of an eventual victory. Its leaders appear blind to the stark reality facing them or are simply too far gone within the media facade that has been created to escape the weight of lies created. But the reality is one of imminent defeat, a dfeat so complete it cannot possibly be hidden.
Therefore, happily for them (for the time being) all will be wished away by means of one means of deceit or another. If you look closely you will see those deceits being prepared, this evidenced by signs of an inevitable blame game starting.
The first example concerns Joe Biden, who brought up the fact that Zelensky had initially been unwilling to accept the fact that Russia was about to initiate a campaign in Ukraine. It was a purely gratuitous criticism that had no current context to explain it, except an indication from Biden (and perhaps a warning to Zelensky) that if things carried on as they were the mud-slinging would not be one-sided in the event of a debacle.
Then there was the article in the New York Times which bemoaned the fact that the western powers knew less than they should about Ukraine’s military tactics, giving the distinct impression that they were to some degree in the dark due to Ukraine not providing adequate information to them. We can predict much more of this kind of talk in due course.
On the Ukrainian side we can also see the mud being gathered ready for slinging at the USA and its proxies.
Neither Zelensky nor any of those in the front line of Ukraine’s leadership are going to capitulate. They are going to act in defiant fashion, forever calling for more assistance by way of heavy weaponry, never for a moment suggesting any desire to come to any agreement with Russia, always ready to fight to the last Ukrainian. However, the western world is rapidly diminishing in its ability or willingness to supply what the Ukrainian leadership demands. Zelensky and his people cannot say any different than they do. To capitulate for them means ignominy. A much safer strategy is to keep breast-beating, to keep posturing heroically, keep insisting on eventual victory and most importantly of all, keep demanding more weaponry from the West.
This latter point is vital as it provides the mud to sling later when the protective spin for them will be that they fought like devils for Ukraine but were let down by those who promised so much but then failed to deliver.
There is no way Zelensky and co. can agree to talks with Russia now. This route was taken only a few weeks into Russia’s campaign. It was even bearing some fruit. Ukraine agreed to some important (though not enough) crucial aspects that provided some hope that continued talks might bring a meaningful breakthrough. It was the western leaders who apparently convinced Zelensky to break off these talks and row back on the progress made. Chief of those who convinced Zelensky of this was seemingly Boris Johnson but undoubtedly Joe Biden had a hand in it also. It seems Zelensky was told that if he abandoned talks with Russia he would be delivered overwhelming firepower with which to defeat Russia.
Zelensky will say, if only the West had provided the number of weapons he required Ukraine would have defeated Russia and taken back all the lands Russia now counted as its own. The western leaders will say Zerlensky wasn’t honest with them and never let them know the true position of his army.
The logistics of providing the arms, ammunition and training necessary by the West make the task of defeating Russia unattainable and the decimation of Ukrainian troops via tactical incompetence by Ukraine make it unattainable also. Russia has the manufacturing base to supply and resupply both men and materiel on such an unlimited basis to defeat Ukraine no matter what was done. The West could never match the virtual war economy Russia has at her command.
The theatre of the absurd will continue a while yet with both the western powers and the Zelensky regime talking pie in the sky while that sky increasing falls down upon them. Neither are willing to face reality. Too much is at stake for them personally if they do. Meanwhile Ukrainian troops die in their droves.
The politicians on both sides are doing their level best to save their own necks while the abominable suffering drags on and a Russian victory looms ever larger on the horizon. No talks. No concessions. More deaths. More territory taken. But the illusory heroic status of Zelensky will be retained till the end with a finger pointing at the deceivers and foot-draggers of the West who let his country down.
In the USA and across the western world we will hear a different refrain however, one that talks of Ukrainian officials providing “inaccurate information”, officials who talked up victories that had no reality but that which was conjured up only in their own minds.
Zelensky and Biden will spit out both their excuses and denials, their finger pointing will descend into a farcical black comedy. And all the while Russia will reap the full reward for her victory, the achievement of every single goal set at the start of her victorious campaign.
