How to fake a scholarly argument — Abrahms in The Atlantic

March 8, 2023 This article caught my eye because its author, Max Abrahms, charges that there is "frequent disconnect between international-relations scholarship and common espoused views in Western media about the war." Now, I do not know why common views should reflect IR scholarship necessarily, but I do have an issue with the claim that …

Russia is never as strong as we fear, or as weak as we hope

October 28, 2022 There is an increasingly widespread, and popular, narrative in Ukraine and in the West that Putin realizes he's losing the war, has taken relatively extreme measures -- unthinkable until recently (mobilization, re-creating penal battalions, moving the economy to wartime footing) -- to slow this down because he fears the impact a defeat …

The Tragedy of Putin’s Rule: Turning Decent Russians into Monsters

October 12, 2022 This is Vladimir Solovyev, the current don of the Kremlin propagandists, who spreads hatred of Ukraine and demands blood on his shows, back in 2008. Back when he was a decent Russian who made sense: https://videopress.com/v/Hf3GJyeg?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true Vladimir Solovyev in 2008. "There will never be war between Russia and Ukraine because anyone who …

Blitzkrieg, Ukrainian-style

September 9, 2022 The situation on the front is changing so fast, it's hard to keep track. Briefly, South of Kharkiv, ZSU took Balakleya and Shevchenko, has continued its headlong advance toward Kupyansk and is now on the outskirts of this key transport hub. The city is now threatened by encirclement and the Russians are …

Atrocities and the Slow Death of Russia

August 3, 2022 Friends: I am writing another somewhat long-ish blog post because Facebook has banned my account yet again for 30 days (again, from the Bulgarian side, which really seems to be going after any accounts that seem pro-Ukrainian). I will give you a quick front update before moving on to some interesting strategic …

The war grinds on while Russia’s near-abroad erupts in turmoil

June 20, 2022 It has been several days since my last update, so it's time for some analysis of the war in Ukraine and its global repercussions. As usual, we begin with an operational update, starting from the North, with Kharkiv. Unfortunately, the RFA has made some small advances toward the city, which has now …

Fighting stalls as politics heat up: Will the West hold the line?

June 2, 2022 As usual, we start with an operational update, going clockwise from the north, starting with the most intense situation in Luhansk. The Russians threw everything but the kitchen sink in their offensive designed to occupy Luhansk Region to its administrative borders. Some information leaked that Putin had given the army until June …

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Kremlin spokesman Peskov: "That wretch over there is writing all sorts of garbage about us."