It was an old gag in WWII that if a German officer was impatient with somebody and got into threatening mode, his words were, “I’ll send you to the Russian front.” From what is being heard nowadays in the Kremlin, being at the Russian front, i.e., fighting in Ukraine, might be preferable to being with Vladimir Putin in Moscow. At least in Ukraine there is the possibility of desertion and being taken in by the nice Ukrainian people. No such solace and comfort appears available to those closest to Putin right now, as he creates a scenario which a whistleblower describes as “like Germany in 1943-44 — but that’s our starting position.” The Times Of London:
A report thought to be by an analyst in the FSB, the successor agency to the KGB, said that the Russian dead could already number 10,000. The Russian defence ministry has acknowledged the deaths of only 498 of its soldiers in Ukraine.
The report said the FSB was being blamed for the failure of the invasion but had been given no warning of it and was unprepared to deal with the effects of crippling sanctions.
The whistleblower added that no one in the government knew the true figure of the dead because “we have lost contact with major divisions”.
And of course, that’s only the beginning. It gets worse.
The letter said that Ramzan Kadyrov, the Chechen leader and an ally of Putin, was on the verge of outright conflict with the Russians after his “hit squad”, sent to kill President Zelensky, was destroyed by Ukrainian forces.
Even if Zelensky were killed, the report said, Russia would have no hope of occupying Ukraine. “Even with minimum resistance from the Ukrainians we’d need over 500,000 people, not including supply and logistics workers.”
The FSB is run by one of Putin’s old KGB buddies, Alexander Bortnikov. They were KGB officers together in Leningrad in the 70’s. If he didn’t leak this out, he might know who did. I’m sure he’ll be the first Putin will call when this story leading to the British press gets back to the Kremlin, if it hasn’t already. The 2,000-word document was published by Vladimir Osechkin, a Russian human rights activist who runs the anti-corruption website Gulagu.net.
The war, the writer said, had been given a “provisional deadline” of June because by then the Russian economy will have collapsed. “I have hardly slept at all recently, working all hours, in a brain-fog,” they wrote. “Maybe it’s from overwork, but I feel like I am in a surreal world. Pandora’s Box has been opened.”
The author said they could not rule out international conflict and that they were expecting “some f***ing adviser to convince the leadership” to send an ultimatum to the West threatening war if sanctions were not lifted.
“What if the West refuses?” they wrote. “In that instance I won’t exclude that we will be pulled into a real international conflict, just like Hitler in 1939.” Elsewhere in the letter they said: “Our position is like Germany in 1943-44 — but that’s our starting position.”
Sergiy Kyslytsya, the Ukrainian ambassador to the United Nations, has already suggested to Putin that if he had a death wish he go to a bunker and do what Adolf Hitler did. That way both the Ukrainian and Russian people could have some peace. Nice thought, but it won’t happen. Things are crazy now and will get crazier still.
And because some people consider things too calm at the moment, the American consulate in Erpin, Iraq just got hit with long-range ballistic missiles from somewhere inside Iranian territory. No details on who did the deed as yet.
Update: apparently Iran was aiming for the Mossad facility next door and missed. Also, the consulate had been newly built and yet to be occupied so zero casualties. To sum it up, Iran is basically saying “Um, never mind…”
Sargent Schultz was always under threat to be sent to the Russian front in Hogan’s Heroes. ‘I know nothing’ was a favorite line of his. I can’t imagine how a show making comedy about Nazi prison camps ever got green lit by the network but it did. Ran from 65-71.
The Chechen hit squad being wiped out is a new one to me. I wonder which intelligence agency found out about that one and sent the information to Ukraine. Sounds like the vaunted Russian secrecy is leaking worse than a trump white house.
Personally, I’d put my money on FSB as the source for that intel. Recall that the FSB director in charge of Ukraine and his deputy are now under house arrest for “corruption” when it’s more likely to be for failing Putin. Which is a howler when you think about it; they told him what he wanted to hear and would have been punished sooner for telling him the truth. That’s as no-win as it gets.
Speaking of the Chechens, word I’m hearing is that they’ve got hit squads to kill any would-be Russian deserters. There’s video of Ukrainian troops finding some dead Russians chained to a tree that sounds like their handiwork.
I was disgusted when Hogan’s Heros first aired and I’m disgusted that’s it’s being shown again on stations that air old programs. Concentration camps are not, and never were, funny.
No less than Rod Serling, himself a WWII vet with a contempt for Nazis that BURNED in his Twilight Zone episodes “Deathshead Revisited” and “He’s Alive”, hated on Hogan’s Heroes because he knew it gave the Nazis a way back in. Sadly, as with so many of his other pointed observations of the human condition, he was right on the money.
Ok, In Hogan’s Heroes defense, it doesn’t much matter that I loved the show and how it made Nazi’s look foolish as I was only born in /61 so I was probably too young to really get the nuances. However, Werner Klemperer (mostly Jewish), and Robert Clary and John Banner (both VERY Jewish Holocaust survivors who lost significant family in the War) agreed to do the show with eyes wide open. I even remember Klemperer decades ago saying it made him feel good making the Nazis the butt of jokes for their foolishness. So, there is that.
A little like springtime for Hitler and Mel brooks
Did the Brits surrender to the Nazis when their economy was in tatters? Does Venezuela surrender to the US because it’s economy is in tatters? Does Iran surrender? Does Cuba surrender? No country has ever surrendered because of sanctions.
Sanctions have opposite the intended effect. They pull the people affected together.
I have a news flash for you: Russia is already occupying Ukraine.
After the many lies told to hide the war crimes of the US and people still believe them.
Just a few days ago they were claiming Ukraine was winning. Russia was bogged down. (The Allies in WW2 took two months to take Caen just 20 miles from the coast. Who won?)
Come back a month from now and tell me how much sanctions have moderated Russia.
Below a link to a photo of Fallujah after the US bombed it during an illegal war of aggression. Few complained because US are the most propagandized people on earth. WMDs anyone?
https://www.armytimes.com/resizer/TRFQB5tyezDw5qYCCHyHq6TYA78=/1920×1080/filters:quality(100)/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-mco.s3.amazonaws.com/public/4Y5XPRCUQVGTRGLGC2NEZDZ544.jpg
People realize anyone may be attacked by the US on the basis of lies. That fear has united many countries. They’re combining.
The desire for revenge is one of the most powerful human emotions. Think about that as gasoline and other imports reach record prices. They really thought Venezuela and Iran would forget US aggression and sell them oil.
Crazy is when you hurt other people for no or negative gain.