Putin and His Army on the Ropes, AGAIN!!

by Larry Johnson

I am not making this up. There is a growing conviction in many eminent circles in the United States and Europe, who believe and embrace this article from Business Insider=
 
The army Putin spent 2 decades building has been largely destroyed in Ukraine, and Russia’s ‘strategic defeat’ could threaten his regime.
 
Only when you read the article and examine the “experts” consulted do you realize this is more delusional nonsense devoid of evidence. Here is the claim by George Barros:

“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been a strategic defeat. So far the Kremlin has not been able to achieve its strategic level objectives and it has incurred significant costs. Russia’s military is going to have to be rebuilt,” George Barros, a military analyst with the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), told Insider.

This dude must have tons of military experience to reach this stunning conclusion. Right? WRONG!!

George Barros is a geospatial analyst on the Russia and Ukraine portfolio at the Institute for the Study of War. His work focuses on Russian information operations, the Kremlin’s campaigns in Ukraine and Belarus, and Ukrainian politics. George received his B.A. with Honors in International Relations and Global Studies with a concentration in Russian and Post-Soviet Studies from the College of William & Mary. Prior to joining ISW, he worked in the U.S. House of Representatives as an advisor on Ukraine and Russia for a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Barros has zero military experience and apparently learned nothing at William and Mary about Russia during his time there.
 
So let us consider some actual facts:
 

1. Russia and its allies captured the major industrial port city of Mariupol from frontline Ukrainian troops and are still in full control of that city.
2. Russia and its allies expelled the Ukrainian Army from the Luhansk Republic and are in full control there.
3. Russia and its allies are continuing to retake cities and villages in the Donetsk Republic and pushing Ukraine to the west.
4. Russia carried out a tactical retreat from the Kharkiv Oblast and moved those forces to the Donetsk region. Yes, they surrendered territory. They retreated.
5. During the current offensive, according to Ukrainian sources, Ukrainian troops are suffering at least 5 times the casualties of Russia and its allies.
6. Russia’s Air Force is intact and has suffered minimal losses while Ukraine’s Air Force has been erased.
7. Russia is producing its own missiles, rockets and artillery shells and is not dependent on another country to continue its fire missions while Ukraine is totally dependent, now, on western supplies.
8. In its current offensive in the Kharkiv oblast Ukraine has failed to carry out an operation in depth–its attacks have been confined to the frontlines while Russia’s artillery and missiles continue to rain down on exposed Ukrainian troops.

These facts are totally ignored by the author of the Business Insider piece (i.e., John Haltiwanger), who accepts uncritically the unsupported claims by his sources. Consider these whoppers:

A recent intelligence update from the British defense ministry said that the elite 1st Guards Tank Army and other Western Military District units have suffered heavy casualties, indicating that “Russia’s conventional force designed to counter NATO is severely weakened.” The ministry added that “it will likely take years for Russia to rebuild this capability.”
 
The Russian military has also seen the damage, destruction, and abandonment of astonishing amounts of equipment in Ukraine. It is estimated to have lost thousands of armored vehicles since the war began in late February. These losses have forced the Russian military to resort to pulling obsolete, Soviet-era equipment, such as T-62 tanks, out of storage.

Haltiwanger apparently does not know how to use Google. Russia is using its T90 tanks in Donetsk. Not exactly a relic of the Cold War. Haltiwanger also forgot to ask whether or not Russian factories that produce tanks are still operating and turning out replacements every week. Guess what? Russia does not have to wait years to rebuild a force supposedly eliminated.
 
Remember during the first few weeks of the war the exploits of that incredible Ukrainian pilot–aka the Ghost of Kiev–who downed several Russian fighter jets? Yeah, that was a lie but it was eagerly gobbled up by western pundits, media and politicians.
 
Let me ask this simple question. Who destroyed the “elite 1st Guards Tank Army?” And what weapons did the attackers use to destroy that tank army? Ukraine has no combat air or rotary wing force. Their artillery, even supplemented with HIMARS, is very limited in part because of scant supplies of shells. Did a group of NINJA Ukrainians sneak up on the unsuspecting Russian tank army and take them all out with the spotty Javelin’s? Just asking.
 
Unlike Ukraine, Russia’s Ministry of Defense provides a daily briefing on the Ukrainian units it is hitting, including their locations and detailing the equipment destroyed. Ukraine has not provided any detailed briefing like this:

Massive fire attacks have resulted in causing casualties (https://t.me/mod_russia_en/4107) of up to 500 servicemen and over 40 units of military equipment of 24th and 28th AFU mechanised brigades near Krasnoye Znamya and Novogrigorovka (Nikolayev region), as well as of 46th Airmobile Brigade of the AFU near Sukhoy Stavok and Belogorka (Kherson region).
 
High-precision air attacks launched at the provisional bases of 116th Territorial Defence Brigade and Omega special detachment near Odnorobovka and Kharkov (Kharkov region) have resulted in the elimination of up to 30 Ukrainian servicemen (https://t.me/mod_russia_en/4107) and 10 units of military equipment.

 
If these are lies it should be easily refuted by western journalists. That has not happened.
 
So, with all of this dire news about the devastated Russian Army pouring in, I imagine that Vladimir Putin was curled up in the fetal position in his office, sobbing uncontrollably and begging for a bottle of vodka (Polish vodka at that) to drown his sorrow.. Right?
 
Nope, Putin was in Samarkand meeting with world leaders from other countries. Pretty strange behavior for a man whose political future is dead because of the ass-kicking delivered by Ukraine. In fact, he even had time to meet with his Chinese counterpart:

Read more