As the Trump team begin talks with Ukraine and Russia for a peace deal, questions will arise over who lost Ukraine its southeast region? The Answer is Zelenskyy and Biden: 1) Zelenskyy: The Sunday Times (see link below) shows how Zelenskyy is to blame for allowing infiltration of Russian agents into the SBU, appointing his buddy Bakanov (with no experience on intelligence operations) as head of the SBU, and being naive abut Putin and Russia. Zelenskyy did not prepare greater defences on the Kherson-Crimea line: why, for example, did Zelenskyy not order minefields to be laid on the Kherson-Crimea line? 2) Biden: In Autumn 2022, Ukraine liberated the Kharkiv region and sent Russian troops running with their tails between their legs. In Autumn 2022 there were only 170,000 Russian troops in Ukraine (at that stage they were a third of the size of Ukraine's forces), no "Surovikin Lines" and no minefields in the southeast. If the Biden administration had then given Ukraine a large volume of high level military aid, Ukrainian forces would have driven south and pushed the Russian army to the Black Sea coast. The Russian army would have suffered a catastrophic defeat and Ukraine's southeast would have been liberated. It would have taken (as it did) months for Putin to mobilise Russian forces. Because of Zelenskyy and Biden's mistakes, naivety and weaknesses, in a Trump peace deal that freezes the contact line, Ukraine's southeast region will remain under Russian occupation. @skudelia @UmlandAndreas @PopovaProf @OxanaShevel

Attention Fake News! The Russian army was never the 2nd best in the world. Russia was never a great power.

The Institute for the Study of War reported that Russia continues to expand its military activities: "Russia continues to expand its military capabilities, indicating that the Kremlin has no immediate interest in negotiations or a lasting peace with Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, citing Ukrainian intelligence, reported on February 8 that Russian forces are forming new military divisions, building additional defense-industrial base (DIB) facilities, planning to increase military personnel by over 100,000 soldiers, and deepening military cooperations with North Korea. Then–Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced in January 2023 that Russia would create 14 new military divisions, but ISW is unable to assess whether Zelensky is referring to these previously announced plans or the creation of additional new divisions. ISW also cannot verify the status of the formation of the 14 divisions Shoigu previously announced. Zelensky highlighted that Russia's force-generation, restructuring, and defense-production efforts make it clear that Putin is not interested in negotiations with Ukraine and seeks to continue Russia’s war. Such Russian plans suggest that Russia, not Ukraine, is the party refusing good-faith negotiations and actively pushing for protracted war rather than peace, while also setting conditions to prepare for a potential broader conflict with NATO. Russian officials and information space have frequently framed the war in Ukraine as a part of a larger confrontation with the West."

The Trump team does not understand that the different factors in the Russian-Ukrainian war are integrated: 1) The Trump team talks about increasing  pressure on Putin's Russia. But sanctioning the ICC reduces international and domestic pressure against Putin's fascist and criminal regime and reduces the chances of a coup against him. 2) Trump uses imperialist rhetoric towards Canada, Greenland, Panama Canal, and Gaza. This gives legitimacy to Russian imperial nationalists' belief they also have a right as a great power to act as imperialists. 3) Trump champions Make America Great Again. Yet, the evisceration of USAID has destroyed US global soft power. 4)The Trump team quotes Roland Reagan's slogan "peace through strength." Ukraine's military morale is upheld by Ukrainian societal resilience, independent media, volunteers, and civil society which USAID has supported. The ending of USAID support reduces Ukrainian societal resilience and military morale and increases the chances of Russian victory. 📷 Sans Serif

When will the EU adopt a consistent policy towards Russia? 1) The Baltic States cut ties with the Soviet-era power grid that connected them to Belarus and Russia to achieve full energy independence from Russia and further integrate their energy infrastructure with the European Union (EU). EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and former Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas wrote on X on February 7 that this move ensures Russia can no longer use energy as a “tool of blackmail”- something Russia has repeatedly leveraged against countries reliant on Russian energy, including Moldova, Belarus, and Ukraine. 2) The EU is assisting the Russian puppet enclave of Transnistria to survive with gas supplies. The EU proposed an aid package on January 27 to Moldova and Transnistria that includes an immediate loan of three million cubic meters of gas to Transnistria and offers a grant of 30 million euros (about $31.4 million) for Moldova to purchase gas – presumably from the European market – from February 1 to 10 to support Transnistria's electricity production for domestic consumption and export to the rest of Moldova.

Message to South Korean Intelligence: Time to rush back from extended vacation and drop your opposition to cooperating militarily with Ukraine: "Russia may be providing drone and missile technology to North Korea in exchange for North Korean troops fighting in Kursk Oblast. Japanese outlet NHK, citing multiple sources familiar with Russia–North Korea relations, reported on February 8 that Russia has agreed to assist North Korea in developing and mass-producing various types of drones in exchange for North Korean forces supporting Russia’s war effort against Ukraine. NHK noted that Russia remains reluctant to help North Korea develop nuclear weapons, fearing that North Korean nuclear tests could further strain relations with the United States and complicate relations with the People’s Republic of China (PRC), however. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky noted on February 8 that Russia is specifically spreading modern technology to North Korea, including drone technology, and told Reuters on February 7 that thousands of North Korean troops have returned to active combat in Kursk Oblast after a brief pause.A Ukrainian brigade operating in Kursk Oblast published a video on February 8 reportedly showing North Korean forces conducting assaults alongside Russian forces in Kursk Oblast. South Korean sources recently reported that Russia withdrew North Korean troops from the battlefield in Kursk Oblast in mid-January 2025, possibly for rest and reconstitution or to rethink how Russia is using these troops. ISW assesses that North Korea is using the war in Ukraine as a testing ground for its own military capabilities. Reuters reported on February 6 that North Korean ballistic missiles fired by Russian forces since December 2024 have demonstrated significantly improved accuracy, likely an example of North Korean capability enhancement gained through the North Korea-Russia alliance."

The Trump team has no frigging idea how all the different factors in the war come together. - They talk about increasing pressure on Putin's Russia but sanctioning the ICC reduces international and domestic pressure against his corrupt regime and reduces the chances of a coup against him. - Trump uses imperialist rhetoric towards Canada, Greenland, Panama Canal, and Gaza which confirms to the Kremlin they are right as a great power to act as imperialists

Not so sure about Ukraine’s 2025 Eurovision song. What do you think?

Russophiles Arel and Driscoll's poorly researched book Ukraine's Unnamed War claiming the 2014-2021 conflict was a"civil war" in Ukraine (and not Russian military aggression) take another hammering in a new book by Martin Larys, Rebel militias in Eastern Ukraine: from leaderless groups to proxy army. New York: Routledge, 2025. In a review by Lawrence E. Cline (Small Wars & Insurgencies): "One continuing unresolved issue is the level of Russian control of the insurgency in Eastern Ukraine at its inception. Laryš makes a point in his discussion of addressing the conclusions of another study by Arel and Driscoll, whose approach emphasised the reactive nature of Russian responses to the early stage of the insurgency. By contrast, Laryš argues that there was significant Russian control or at least support from the beginning. He states that ‘secessionist leaders in Donetsk, Luhansk, and other towns in Donbas closely coordinated their activities with various political actors in Moscow as early as March – April 2014’. (page 53) He also reports: According to local sources in eastern Ukraine, intermediaries affiliated with Russian secret services reportedly traversed Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts in April 2014 carrying suitcases of money . . . Despite these efforts, attempts to bribe officials at the helm of local patronage networks were unsuccessful, as many of them opted to flee to Kyiv or abroad. However, the situation differed among middle-ranged officials who, motivated by a desire to supplant their former superiors, proved more receptive to such inducements. (page 54). Overall, Laryš presents a convincing argument of significant Russian involvement early in the insurgency." @LucanWay @skudelia @PopovaProf @OxanaShevel @UmlandAndreas

Da domoy - dispatched by Ukrainian cyborgs to orc hell!

Putin's Russia is a schizophrenic country

Russia's Self-Declared "Privileged Zone of Influence" (Medvedev, August 2008) is Shrinking: As the Kremlin's relations with Azerbaijan and Armenia deteriorate, in the South Caucasus the only country Russia has warm relations with remains Georgia "Azerbaijan-Russia relations continue to sour following Russia’s refusal to take full responsibility for the December 25, 2024 downing of an Azerbaijani Airlines (AZAL) passenger plane, likely shot mid-air by Russian air defense before crashing in Aktau, Kazakhstan. Azerbaijani outlet APA News, citing sources familiar with the matter, reported on February 5 that Azerbaijan is preparing to take legal action against Russia in an international court, citing recent clear evidence identifying unspecified Russian actors responsible for the crash and Russia's failure to take responsibility for the crash.[21] Azerbaijan’s intent to sue follows the Azerbaijani Ministry of Digital Development and Transport's February 4 briefing of the initial investigation results attributing the AZAL crash to unspecified "foreign objects." Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev previously accused Russia of attempting to cover up the incident, calling the Kremlin’s response “surprising, regrettable, and infuriating.” Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized to Aliyev on December 28 that the crash occurred in Russian airspace but stopped short of admitting Russia’s fault in the crash and taking action against those responsible – demands Aliyev set forth following the crash. Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov announced on February 7 that Russian President Vladimir Putin does not intend to make another statement regarding the AZAL plane crash. Azerbaijani outlet noted on February 6 that Azerbaijani officials have also formally notified the Kremlin of the closure of the local branch of the Russian Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Compatriots Living Abroad, and International Humanitarian Cooperation (Rossotrudnichestvo), a Russian cultural diplomacy agency, citing national security concerns and a move away from “external interference.” Russia currently has over 80 Rossotrudnichestvo branches concentrated in Europe, Africa, Latin America, and Central and Southeast Asia aimed at promoting Russian culture, strengthening the influence of the Russian language, supporting “compatriots abroad,” and preserving historical sites abroad with significance to Russia. Moldovan and Ukrainian officials have previously warned that Russian officials use the branches to promote Russian propaganda and conduct “subversive work” abroad.

The "second best army in the world" explains why donkeys will bring a decisive victory for Russia's "superior civilisation" and special military operation against Ukrainian Nazis and decadent Western LGBTQ

How Britain's right-wing Daily Mail newspaper became a mouthpiece for Kremlin disinformation about Ukraine's capitulation

Should that not be 844070 + 47 donkeys?