Jim Jatras on Ukraine: What We’re Not Being Told

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of interviewing our old friend, Jim Jatras.  

The reason of course is because of the situation in Ukraine.  Another reason is because the level of propaganda is positively staggering.  To say that there has been a news blackout would be the understatement of the century.

Jim’s an old hand, one who’s been around the block more than a few times.  In other words, he knows how the game is played. 

This just in:  foreign ministers from both China and Saudi Arabia told their American counterparts that they won’t back down from their support of the Russian Federation.   This not only changes the geostrategic calculus in favor of President Putin but will cause inflation to heat up dramatically in the West, thereby throwing a wrench in our support for the Ukrainian war effort. 

Please take the time to listen to the interview.  As always, we welcome your comments!

Comments

  1. Nate Trost says

    Three weeks on, the war still hasn’t dropped off front pages. There are hundreds of international correspondents on the ground in Ukraine. Some of them have died. The statement “…level of propaganda is positively staggering. To say that there has been a news blackout would be the understatement of the century” is entirely accurate…if you live in Russia. Europe and America, not so much!

    We’ve reached a point where it is now more likely that the war is still going on a year from now than it ends in the next few weeks. The die is cast, and Putin is committed. One thread analyzing the situation on the ground and where it likely goes from here:

    https://twitter.com/WarintheFuture/status/1503499716209754115

    And a look at why the initial plans went right off the rails:

    https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/the-russian-militarys-debacle-in-ukraine

    Make no mistake, invading Ukraine has been a military, economic and political disaster for Russia. China isn’t going to do anything for Russia out of the goodness of its heart. It may not have sunk in for some just how exploitable Russia’s weakness is to China. I see a lot of wishcasting as geopolitics going around.

    Drone and satellite imagery coming out of Mariupol is incredibly grim. I’ve seen some estimates of civilian deaths that reach into five figures.

    One of the biggest hazards going forward will likely be Putin’s attempts to reframe a war that is going to become increasingly unpopular at home. Attempting to bait or outright escalate outside of Ukraine to broaden the war to an actual NATO-Russia conflict (rally round the flag), instead of one where steady streams of Russian men are being sent home in body bags all for the sake of reducing Ukrainian cities to rubble. Mind you, the US and NATO have been pretty clear, and even in for example what I’d view as an unlikely scenario of Russia using chemical weapons in Ukraine, wouldn’t take the bait.

    • Molon Labe says

      These are opinion pieces…….as there is a Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy.
      From a retired non-combatant General (doubt he ever read Clausewitz or Sun-Tzu)
      and The New Yorker……ah! now there’s a cutting edge reputable source!

      The ground facts are quite different.
      Many would rather swallow the pablum they find palatable to their sensibilities rather than the bitter truth.

  2. Apart from the bad sound and dim pictures of the guy to the right I think this sort of conversations are really helpful for many people trying to clear their minds and brains in the present state of the world. So thanks a lot and all the best for the future – provided there is one, of course.

    • Jim Jatras says

      From the guy to the right: yes, I’m in a rural area with really bad dish internet service. Sorry.

  3. Just slightly off topic, they’re talking about jailing people who “repeat Russian propaganda”.

    I just want to say here on a public forum that I, Austin Martin, fully support Putin’s annexation of eastern Ukraine and wish him only success. If the government drafts me for the war, I will be the first person to defect to Belarus or Romania. I will not allow the federal government to bully or intimidate me with their Gestapo tactics.

    • Austin Martin, I should consider myself lucky then, while I’m not an ‘old’ guy (just in my early 50s), I (probably) don’y have to worry about getting drafted by the U.S. Military. Unless they want a guy with bad eyesight, tricky back problems, and a need for warm socks. But when they get desperate enough, they may start taking (almost) anyone.

      On a side note: I have a friend—a retired British Army (paratrooper), and he served in Northern Ireland in the 1970s. (The man is a U.S. citizen now.) Someone on FB tried to recruit him to fight as a mercenary in Ukraine. Kind of pathetic…trying to coax a 66-year old man to fight for you. Some of his former Army friends actually took them up on their offer from what he’s told me. Kind of makes you wonder?

      • Gail Sheppard says

        The thing is, you ARE in this fight. You’re using your typing skills! Don’t underestimate your role.

      • If the Ukrainians are winning and if the invasion has been such a disaster for Russia, why is Zelensky begging Congress for help? Why is there a blackout in the MSM Fox regarding the surrounding of a large part of the Ukrainian military in the east? Why is the Biden Junta begging China not to assist Russia? Why is it pressuring India not to buy Russian oil? If Russia is failing, why was the State Department scheming to send fighter jets via Poland? Why does Zelensky need a no-fly zone? Why does he need anti-aircraft systems? And lastly, if Russia is failing so badly, why is the Western press corps holed up in Kiev, the safest place in the whole country at the moment? Why not go to Kharkov, Mariupol, etc.?

        There are no plausible answers to those questions other than that the Russians are beating the Ukrainians like a rented mule.

        • Nate Trost says

          I’ve posted on the ground coverage from Kharkiv. There are AP correspondents in Mariupol. This is what they filed yesterday:

          https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-mariupol-descends-into-despair-708cb8f4a171ce3f1c1b0b8d090e38e3

          Didn’t you more or less proclaim Russia should have the whole thing wrapped up in about a week, a little over a week ago?

          If Russia was handily winning the war, there would be no point in further assistance to Ukraine. There is no question Ukraine needs the additional material to continue the fight, and that Russia needs external economic pressure to actually negotiate a peace at some point. I’m not optimistic about that happening in the near future.

          • George Michalopulos says

            If I did, then I was mistaken. In any event, you should investigate another blog, the one belonging to Gonzalo Lira, who lives in Kharkov. I will provide you with links later.

            The Russian military doctrine is to encircle and slowly strangle the enemy in something called “the Cauldron.” The Russians engage in strategic retreats while a surreptitious flanking on both sides takes place, thereby trapping the opposing army. Right now, the majority of the Ukrainian Army (~60,000 men) are trapped in the East, which is near the Russian border, hence closer to their supply lines. They have been completely encircled and cut off from any weapons that may be coming in from the West. In fact, all units of their army are cut off from their command-and-control and each other.

            In the very first days of the invasion, the Russians completely neutralized the Ukrainian Navy and obliterated their Air Force. (The “Ghost of Kiev” was a clumsy attempt at pro-Ukrainian propaganda.) Hence, the Russians were able to concentrate on dismantling their Army, which they are presently doing.

            I have a question for you though: do you know how many days it took us to conquer Baghdad in 2003?

            • Gail Sheppard says

              25 days to move into Bagdad. If only that had ended the war as we were promised with the whole shock and awe thing. But the war didn’t end until Dec. 18, 2011, right Saunca? Did your husband have to do multiple tours of duty in Iraq?

              • Gail Sheppard says

                I’m not asking a question, I was answering what George wants to know. Entering Bagdad didn’t end anything except for a statue! It took years to resolve it.

            • George Michalopulos says

              23 days actually. But then again, the Russians haven’t bombed any Ukrainian city to smithereens, either.

              This leads me to another question: were we justified in our invasion into Iraq? I for one believed so.

              • Gail Sheppard says

                No. LOL

                And Sauna doesn’t believe we have different views on this blog!

              • George,
                Conquering Iraq was part of GWB’s team’s plan even before GWB took office. Members of his staff had made plans about this in their paper “Securing the Realm” before his election.

                A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm

                A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm (commonly known as the “Clean Break” report) is a policy document that was prepared in 1996 by a study group led by Richard Perle for Benjamin Netanyahu, the then Prime Minister of Israel.[1] The report explained a new approach to solving Israel’s security problems in the Middle East with an emphasis on “Western values.” It has since been criticized for advocating an aggressive new policy including the removal of Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq and the containment of Syria by engaging in proxy warfare and highlighting its possession of “weapons of mass destruction”.

                https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Clean_Break:_A_New_Strategy_for_Securing_the_Realm

                Perle was Chairman of the Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee under GWB in 2001-2003.

                “Seven countries in five years”
                Wesley Clark’s new memoir casts more light on the Bush administration’s secret strategies for regime change in Iran and elsewhere.
                By JOE CONASON
                PUBLISHED OCTOBER 12, 2007
                https://www.salon.com/2007/10/12/wesley_clark/

                While the Bush White House promotes the possibility of armed conflict with Iran, a tantalizing passage in Wesley Clark’s new memoir suggests that another war is part of a long-planned Department of Defense strategy that anticipated “regime change” by force in no fewer than seven Mideast states. Critics of the war have often voiced suspicions of such imperial schemes, but this is the first time that a high-ranking former military officer has claimed to know that such plans existed.

                The existence of that classified memo would certainly cast more dubious light not only on the original decision to invade Iraq because of Saddam Hussein’s weapons and ambitions but on the current efforts to justify and even instigate military action against Iran.

            • Nate Trost says

              My comments and attribution were directed at Misha. If they had been directed at you, if I recall correctly, you posted ridiculous false rumors about Zelensky fleeing the country a little while ago.

              At any rate, responding to your comments, a few points:

              One, Ukraine had no real navy to speak of. As far as meaningful surface combatants, they had a whopping one frigate, the Hetman Sagaidachny. It was down for refit when hostilities started and the Ukrainians scuttled it. Russia sank a few patrol boats, but that’s kind of like a Class A minor league team boasting about beating some Little Leaguers. Ukraine used to have a few more small ships, but they, uh, were based out of Crimea and Russia seized them and never gave the good ones back.

              Second, more or less everybody, myself included, expected Russia to obliterate Ukrainian air assets in the opening couple days of the war. Surprisingly, Russia failed to actually do so. As of last week, the US assessment was that they still had about 80% of their initial airframes functional. Ukraine’s total to start with was tiny, I believe the 80% figure amounts to 56 aircraft. It is worth noting that Ukraine has a lot of legacy nonfunctional airframes, and Russia has arguably been doing a better job of destroying those than the ones that can actually fly.

              Also, from the US assessment, the Ukrainians have only been running 5-10 sorties a day, and gradually taking losses, so that number is going to continue to go down over time. Both sides appear to be suffering severe mission loss rates when attempting to use their Su-25s in close ground attack. Russia has failed to conduct a proper SEAD campaign, and Ukraine still has significant SAM capabilities. This has led to Russia burning through their cruise missile stocks on standoff missions launching outside Ukrainian airspace even as they continue to take losses on sorties run inside Ukraine. Ukraine is enough of a MANPADS threat you see Russian helicopters doing stuff like this:

              https://twitter.com/Globe_conflicts/status/1504310612502978560

              The Polish MiG-29s are really of limited utility to Ukraine, what is going to be useful to Ukraine is it is quite possible that a bunch of Eastern European countries that still have S-300s and lesser systems are going to give them up. Probably in exchange for some shiny new Patriot batteries. That won’t happen overnight, but the war isn’t likely to end overnight either.

              This is 2022, there is no “surreptitious flanking” when talking about the unit sizes and distances involved in the ground conflict. Ukraine has visibility into major Russian ground movements. Strategically, Ukraine will likely eventually have to make some tough decisions about repositioning military forces in the East against *potential* encirclement. Your assertions that “the majority of the Ukrainian Army” are trapped, completely encircled, supply lines cut off, etc. are not supported by available OSINT information, which jives with what US/European defense officials have briefed on background. If you believe this to be true, you are highly likely to be disappointed. Russia has not yet been able to encircle and cut off Kyiv, which is probably their number one strategic objective of the whole war.

              It is worth repeating that Russia is attempting multiple offensive axis with under 200,000 men committed. It is apparent they are running into resourcing limitations having divided that up between assaulting towards Kyiv, the offensive in the east, and the coastal advance in the South.

              In 2003, the US invasion force had to travel a little over 300 miles to reach Baghdad. As noted, it took a little over three weeks to travel that distance and take the city. The Novi Yarylovychi crossing in Belarus is a 140 mile straight shot to Kyiv. This is not actually a flattering comparison for Russia!

              BBC filed a video report this afternoon fresh from the front lines in Kharkiv. At one point, in the city proper, the correspondent and cameraman are rather close to incoming Grad fire:

              https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-60786964

              • Gail Sheppard says

                Anyone can comment on anything. It’s an open forum.

              • Molon Labe says

                I watched the BBC video…..
                What if it were the US instead of Russia going into Ukraine ?
                Would it be called Biden’s War ? Under the circumstances that would be a more accurate assessment. After all, who prodded Z to rattle his little saber at the Bear ?
                Why not commit US troops instead of NATO ?
                (Yeah,,,,,go ahead…..I’ve got your back)

                When the US went into Iraq (with another US puppet) the media were hyperventilating cheer-leading a vastly superior force. Displaced and KIA civilians were barely mentioned. Smoldering ruins of homes and infrastructure were perfectly acceptable .

                What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. Gotta love the double standard.

                BTW…..if the bad-think Gestapo want to carry me away, many of them will not go home that evening……and i’ll have dinner.

          • Μωλον Λαβε says

            On the cutting edge, the only reliable source of information is oneself.
            There are very few if any bona-fide, unbiased reports that exercise objective journalism (i.e. no adjectives and no adverbs), and reporters who have the testicular fortitude to be at the front line.

            Since WWII there have been very few real reporters and photographers who were outside the wire where the down gets dirty. Many of them died.

            William Randolf Hurst during the “Spanish- American War” told his reporter in Gitmo who was partying down with margaritas and senoritas “You supply the stories, I’ll supply the war”.

            One must ask themselves, who do these reporters have the best interests at heart ? Who provides their paycheck ? Who benefits ? Who loses ? How much does one see hunkered down in a bunker wearing a flak vest and a tin hat ?
            But that explosion sure sounded like a Russian missile hitting that school and killing hundreds of children – Oh! the horror !

            No one can tell whose bullets, bombs, rockets hit what, where and whom.
            The combatants wear practically the same uniforms, use the same weapons, fire the same calibers provided by the same MIC. From a distance the combatants become indistinguishable. From up close, the same people die.
            Can you say – Yugoslavia ?

            The Western interests want this war to continue – and expand – because certain interests, especially the bankers (who profit greatly from – any – sanctions) make a great deal of money, while not-a senators-son and not-a fortunate-one go fight and die to make these oligarchs richer.

            I know – lets send Hunter Biden, even his papa, Hillary and Barak to hump ruck and rifle – and take point in Ukraine to protect their cash flow. I want to be there when they realize those aren’t buzzing bees flying past them and they mess their drawers.

            It’s easy to blame the one pulling the trigger rather than the one who supplied the bullet.

            Someone once said ” What’s good for America, is good for business – and war is good for business “. Invest your sons and daughters.

            It is in the MIC and Western interests to continue the festivities while the oligarchs can keep lighting their cigars with $100 bills, paid for with someone else’s sons and daughters blood while supplying Ukraine (and yes, Ukro-nazis, Banderistas, Z,) with weapons, mercenaries, intel and money.

            Russia on the other hand would have ended this action much sooner had it not been for their desire to minimize civilian deaths and infrastructure damage. While Western interests want to keep the money – and the blood – flowing. What is Russia’s financial gain in all this ? Be honest with yourself, Use the little gray cells for some cognitive analysis.

            What happens when Russia cuts off the natural gas supply to Europe ? Fertilizer, neon, strategic metals, grain ? What happens when the Ruble and the Yuan go on the gold standard ? What happens when Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Iran, India tell the West to go pound sand ? The “sanctions” have boomeranged right in the Wests face – like an exploding cigar.

            When it comes right down to it – I may be wrong. I’d rather be on point at the dirty cutting edge to let the world know the truth of what is happening. My life expectancy then would be about – 10 minutes.

            Or perhaps I should be at a safe distance with the other “reporters” and “media” sipping my cappuccino reporting the “war”.

            • Gail Sheppard says

              You’re not alone, my friend.

            • George Michalopulos says

              Brilliant.

              BTW, look for my next piece. At the bottom will be an interview with Lara Logan, who drops several truth bombs on Ed Henry and CBS News.

              Spoiler alert: we’re not getting the real picture.

        • Anyone who wants to know what is really happening should look to The Duran who give detailed briefings about what is going on on a daily basis.

          The Russians are moving slower than I would have liked or anticipated. They seem to be doing so for humanitarian reasons and in order to preserve the Zelensky government in order to have someone to negotiate with. I do not believe for a second it is because they are somehow being repelled by the Ukrainians. Had they gone in heavy, it would not have lasted two weeks.

          At this point, though I support the Russian war effort, I have to disagree with Putin’s strategy. The cauldrons are fine, but speed is of the essence. He should have encircled Kiev asap, and the other cities, and the Ukrainian army in the east. He should have opened humanitarian corridors for a limited window of time, perhaps a week or less. Then he should have told them to surrender or be annihilated.

          As it stands, that is the likely result, just drawn out in time for negotiations. There’s nothing to negotiate, IMHO. He should simply impose the design he feels most benefits Russia, factoring the hostility of the western Ukrainian population and perhaps partitioning the country.

          The really good thing about all of this is that the West’s ultimate impotence has been exposed. They’ve thrown everything they dare to at Russia and Russia has simply shrugged it all off. Bear in mind, Russia has not even begun to retaliate against the sanctions.

          • Gail Sheppard says

            When two parties are fighting, neither is in total control of when the war stops. Zelinsky needs to quit dragging his feet and admit defeat. If he doesn’t, Putin will keep on going until he takes all of Ukraine.

            I think Zelensky thinks someone will rescue him. Germany, the EU, and NATO have turned him down. For all Biden’s talk, he turned him down, too. Poland’s not going to save him. No one is. Zelensky has played his hand and it is time to wave the white flag. Every day he waits, more Ukrainians die.

            • just a dad says

              That is one of at least 2 clear outcomes. The other, I fear, is just as likely: the West moves in (at the behest of the globalist leaders in the shadows) and this goes very very badly.

              • Gail Sheppard says

                I sense there are people in the shadows, too, but I don’t think they’re globalists!

            • If I were Putin, I would concentrate on capturing or killing the 75,000 Ukrainian troops encircled in the east. Once that is done, it is much more likely that a surrender will materialize. If it does not, then he will have to pressure the cities which will be nasty, but necessary to win if they decide to remain defiant. But without those troops in the east, the very notion of holding out indefinitely evaporates and wills will be broken.

              • George Michalopulos says

                I imagine that that’s the game-plan. Once the 60K+ soldiers in the East are defeated, then negotiations will proceed along Russia’s terms. While the West will view it as a pyrrhic victory for Russia, at the end of the day the Russians will have achieved their aims:

                1. The neutrality of Ukraine (what is left of it),
                2. Their demilitarization (no Air Force or Navy and an attrited Army),
                3. New territory (in addition to the Crimea, with a contiguous land-corridor to Russia proper),
                4. Destruction of NATO’s Ukrainian bioweapons program,
                5. A rump state that will continue to atrophy, i.e. no foreign investment.

                Those are the strategic goals which Russia is very close to achieving.

                Now what does Russia gain?

                1. An economy based on the gold standard,
                2. An economy that is inward-looking (“autarkic”),
                3. The solidification of the majority of the world’s population solidly behind them (i.e. China, India, Pakistan and the Islamic world),
                4. The slow-motion fragmentation of the EU,
                5. Hyperinflation in the West, especially the US, which will possibly lead to our disintegration,
                6. The decoupling of the USD as the world’s reserve currency (that’s a financial nuclear bomb dropped from the sky courtesy of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman).

                All of the latter stages will become increasingly apparent within 3-6 months.

                Unexpected consequences?

                More knowledge about the Biden crime syndicate. Interestingly, a liberal echo chamber of The New York Times , Trevor Noah and Bill Maher (and Hilary Clinton) are expressing concern about Biden. Noah and Maher are even praising Trump.

          • Μωλον Λαβε says

            Misha,

            I tend to agree with Russia’s strategy only for the sake of minimizing civilian casualties (to hell with infrastructure – it can be rebuilt) rather than going blitzkrieg, all over Ukraine. Otherwise not as exciting for the cameras and the hyperventilating reporters.

            The US is all about shock and awe, rock & rolla, kill ’em all let God sort ’em out.
            (Constantinople in the morning, tea in the evening)

            Conducting “surgical” operations especially on a large scale is very difficult since the battle becomes more fluid, wide-spead pockets, break up larger forces into smaller bites, and having to continually maneuver while sticking to the desired end result. Definitely not static. More like chess than checkers.
            This form of “warfare” is not easy to explain or plan and definitely not easy to implement. You have to “work” your adversary into the position you want until they realize it’s game over. Think of the idea of capturing feral pigs by building one section of fence at a time.
            (No, I am not referring to the Ukranian forces as feral pigs !)

            Negotiations can drag on and on……sometimes you need to use a strong pimp hand and shmack the offending party into whimpering submission – kinky, eh !

            (NOTE: Yes, I have great disdain for reporters – I used to be one – for a short while. Most of them would do anything for a by-line. My degree is in Mass Communications – I’m an παλια πουτανα at this game)

          • George Michalopulos says

            True that. In the final analysis, four outcomes await the West:

            1. Russia will retreat into autokarchy,
            2. The Global South will join the Russians and repudiate the West (whose avatar for all intents and purposes is Drag Queen/Baphomet reading fairy tales to pre-schoolers),
            3. The destruction of the liberal world financial system, and
            4. Hyperinflation.

            Let me expand on #3: The hallmark of classical liberalism is a “rules-based system.” The US has now proved that it can seize anybody’s assets. At the very least this will cause people to retreat among themselves. Nations too.

            #3 will lead to the fracturing of NATO and then the EU. Last month, Poland and Hungary were put under sanctions because they did not want to welcome globohomo education for their children. It also led to the Saudis blowing kisses to the CCP, telling them that “of course we will take your yuan for our oil.”

            That last thing is financial armaggedon for the US.

            This could lead to the US invading Saudi Arabia because reasons.

  4. Jatras is a treasure. Very bright and well versed. It is always a pleasure to hear his views.

    This too shall pass. But the West really needs to quit digging. Getting NATO directly involved in this would turn it from a cold WWIII to a hot WWIII very quickly.

    • Gail Sheppard says

      I believe Zelinsky went first to Germany, then to the EU, and finally, to NATO, to ask them to step in for Ukraine. They all declined with NATO saying that they would only last 5 days against Russian weapons.

      Trump stopped the major funding of NATO during his administration and the European countries are dealing with the influx of massive migration. Not to mention COVID. They have their hands full. And Biden, the purported Commander and Chief of our military, can’t seem to muster the military of the U.S. to support Ukraine which begs the question: Who is in charge of our armed forces?

      • George Michalopulos says

        This just in: the prime ministers of Slovenia, Poland, and the Czech Republic took a train to Kiev last night. The Russians made sure that nothing happened to this train, you know, an “accident.”

        NATO and the EU are pissed. The official story is that they were going to go show “solidarity” with Zelensky. In reality, they told him that he needs to throw in the towel.

        Anyway, these three nations are making side-bets with Russia. Why? My guess is that the more religious nations are tired of GAE (the Global American Empire). And also not happy with rising gas prices. I imagine many are wondering why they have to “defend” the Ukraine so Hunter Biden can have his cushy job back.

        As I predicted a few weeks ago, the Russians played the long game and waited to see the EU fracture. This is happening.

        • George I haven’t seen that story. Is this visit confirmed? I’ve only found the Indian media to be impartial. And they and their guests anywhere from generals to diplomats are saying it’s immoral for the west to supply weapons to only prolong their agony and fight to the last Ukranian. By the western media you’d think Russia was getting routed. Hopefully the Americanos will not pull. A chemical false flag attack, but its exactly what both Zelensky and the Americans want.

      • https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/peace-talks-more-realistic-says-ukraine-president-biden-visit-nato-2022-03-16/

        Let’s pray reasonable heads prevail. Last few peace talks were nothing but stall-tactics for Zelensky as more funds and weapons to funnel their way in. I know Putin needs considerable concessions from Ukraine to make this justifiable, but he seems to have it 100% his way or no deal.

        As you said it does seem we are in WW3 underground, because openly funding Russia’s adversary with munitions, funds and offering to host bases for airstrikes is “unoffically” at war. There is so much diplomatic posturing the West can keep doing without declaring war, but as it stands Ukrainian people are bearing the costs with NATO’s false hope campaign.

      • Agreed, Galinushka.

    • The west is evil as Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Christianity itself needs to take some of the blame for allowing it to happen in what was their backyard. As a Greek I wish Russia could take over Greece, the rot in the west goes that deep. I’m atleast luckier than others I’m single with some resources so
      my one foot is out the door and
      not stuck in Natostan. And why has no one brought up as to why NATOs flag has a cross? Ironically a swastika is embedded within that cross but leaving that aside why has no European church called them out for portraying themselves as crusaders?

      • . . . WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU WANT RUSSIA TO TAKE OVER GREECE???? . . . REMEMBER THE GREEK WAR OF INDEPENDENCE AND STOP BLAMING THE WEST…………THE ROT GOES DEEP IN GREECE AS WELL!!!!

        • Μωλον Λαβε says

          The idea for the Greek War of Independence started in Odessa.
          Greece has more in common with Russia than the West, especially Orthodoxy.

          Imagine if you will, Greece leaves NATO and aligns with Russia. Poor Turkey
          caught in the middle ! If either Greece or Turkey were not NATO allies – all hell would break loose. However, it is very likely that Russia would help Greece (reference St. Paisios prophesy). Consider Turkey being thrown under the bus by the US – maybe. The US does not want to lose Greece from NATO either – things that make you go – hmmmmm.

          This gets delicious ! Like Turkish Delight

          Turkey playing negotiation host and playing nice with Russia. Closed off the Bosporus except to Russian navy. I don’t think Uncle Sam is happy about this – or did the US tell Turkey to be the fly on the wall ? BTW, relations between US and Turkey haven’t been all kissy-kissy lately.

          In other news…….who’s that behind the curtain ? (Look! bright, shiny object!)

          • Gail Sheppard says

            AND Russia asked to set up an Exarchate in Turkey! All this intrigue is almost too hard to handle!

  5. Superb material George. Thanks be to God for you, Gail and your well-informed guests.

  6. I think and hope that most Americans, Ukrainians, Europeans, and Russians want Ukraine and Russia to reach a peace agreement. But this is a challenging situation for both parties.

    “Former senior advisor the Secretary of Defense Col. Doug Macgregor joins Max Blumenthal and Aaron Mate for a candid, live discussion of the Russia-Ukraine war and his time in the Trump administration when an Afghan withdrawal was sabotaged and conflict with Iran and Syria continued.”
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFngc_8RiVc&ab_channel=TheGrayzone

    At 50:00, Colonel MacGregor asserts that Zelensky’s peace-negotiating ability is practically in the hands of Biden, who in terms is stuck because of the “war party.” MacGregor explains that if Zelensky made too many concessions, he could risk getting ousted or worse. MacGregor compares Biden’s position to LBJ’s position in the Vietnam War in 1968-1969. MacGregor thinks that LBJ wanted to end the Vietnam War, but he risked getting labeled as “soft” if he did.

    • This is why I don’t believe in any peace agreement. Putin should quit pussyfooting, lay pipe and end this thing. Close the cauldrons, send in an ultimatum, turn up the heat until they surrender or there’s no one left. Forget about negotiations. Take out Zelensky if they know where he is. Annihilate the Azov battalion. Set up a puppet government. Block off the west of the country. Destroy any warmaking capability in western Ukraine. And move on.

      We all have better things to do than watch this sick farce play out.

      • Misha I agree. I rather this end than escalate to a nuclear war, which is right around the corner. Westerners are psychopaths who think humanitarian aid to Ukraine means smuggling in billions in weapons to fight to the last Ukranian I a war they can’t win. Biden and most of the U. S. Government are sickos. Biden calls Putin a war criminal then goes to China threatens the most populous country with severe consequences if they help Russia and then sends Ukraine thousands of drones and various killing machines, instead of calling for a Ukraine surrender. Under the western Poroshenko and Zelensky this western pivot has only brought more corruption and more persecution to Ukraine. It’s time to end this the hard way before the Antlanticists who are the real racist sickos destroy all of western civilization for their hatred of Russian people.

  7. Elizabeth says

    I picked this off of Jimstone.is . for me it explained a lot and I can see why the west would want an all out Nuc. war to scuttle any evidence. I dont see it stated elsewhere though yet, however I have been reading comments of people who want to but cant find all of Putin’s speech of March 16th and I wonder if he mentions it there:
    “Putin has now boldly stated coronavirus was developed in Ukraine
    Some of the Ukranian biolab employees defected to Putin and spilled the beans. This goes well with it already being known that the labs were being used to study how to get pandemics to spread via migratory animals – that’s why in China it showed up in bats.

    Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland threw gas on the topic by stating “We are now in fact quite concerned that Russian troops, Russian forces, may be seeking to gain control of those labs, so we are working with the Ukranians on how they can prevent any of those research materials from falling into the hands of Russian forces should they approach”

  8. just a dad says

    I can certainly make blind assumptions or uneducated guesses, but does anyone have an informed assumption or educated guess on who these guys are? Driving in a beat up civilian vehicle?

    I don’t know for sure this is recent, in Ukraine, etc. – but the caption is “English-speaking foreign volunteers in #Ukraine take cover from Russian artillery fire.”

    https://twitter.com/i/status/1504603454181986305

  9. Joseph Lipper says

    Thank God for His Grace Bishop Savvas of the Georgian Patriarchate in America. Yesterday at a prayer service for Ukraine he said, “Today, those who believe in Christ must stand by Ukraine! Because Christ is persecuted in Ukraine today! In Ukraine today is Calvary!”

    https://orthodoxtimes.com/bishop-of-the-patriarchate-of-georgia-we-share-the-pain-of-ukraine-20-of-our-country-is-occupied-by-russia/

  10. just a dad says

    Who needs Jim Jatras when we have historian and scholar, Brian Kilmeade explaining things to us? (How this dim bulb sells his books is just beyond my comprehension…)

    “Fox News host Brian Kilmeade made his case on why America should be “all-in” helping Ukraine fight for freedom:

    BRIAN KILMEADE: I’m now going to make my case today by looking back in the recent past. Year 1938, Europe looked like this, then a belligerent Germany led by Adolf Hitler decided they wanted to gradually dominate the continent, dominate Europe. We thought we could rationalize with them. We thought we could negotiate with this genocidal maniac. He would swallow nation after nation, killing at least 35 million people, including 8 million Ukrainians. They remember that before biting off more than he could chew with the Soviet Union, who ironically signed a non-aggression pact with the führer before they were invaded and cut up. We would eventually get into a war we did everything to avoid, and we would lose over 400,000 Americans on two fronts.

    Now, after the war, we tried to make our ally in battle Joseph Stalin an ally in peace. What we got was a 45-year foe in the Soviet Union and a long, costly Cold War, which, by the way, would lock down half of Europe behind an Iron Curtain. Now, once the wall fell in East Germany, we tried to turn the page and help the new slimmed-down Russia become an upstanding member of civil society. But another brutal despot would emerge, Vladimir Putin. Determined to take back what his predecessors had given up when he says they lost by poisoning, murdering and killing anyone who got in his way. And once again, we are trying to talk with reason and talk with a brutal dictator who is every bit as evil as Hitler and Stalin showed us they were.

    What are we doing? We’re not leaving. We’re not fighting. We are arming and supplying. We’re trying to reset. How did that go? Talk … We’re still doing it, and appease … It seems to be what we’re doing now. Does that pattern sound familiar? Now, I’m not going to ask you to back in ancient history and learn. I’m going to ask you to go back to recent history and not repeat what we did wrong. That’s why we must do everything to make sure in this case, the good guys win, the Ukrainians. Win their fight for freedom, Ukrainians, because if they don’t survive, mark my words, we will be in this fight all over again. And the death and destruction will make World War II look like a small skirmish. ”

    They don’t make enough face-palms for this insightful analysis.

    • For eight years the Donbass was bombed.
      Some had eyes and would not see,
      had ears and would not hear…

  11. George Michalopulos says

    An overview of the military situation from an interview with Larry Johnson, a former CIA officer:

    https://www.unz.com/mwhitney/larry-c-johnson-the-ukrainian-army-has-been-defeated-whats-left-is-mop-up/