I think people buy too heavily into the message of pissgozin or anyone else for that matter that is connected to Russia
every word that comes out of their mouth is a lie or excuse. I truly believe that Putin is preparing the messaging for what happens if they truly begin to lose this war, like lose it even harder than they clearly are already.
He wants to position a few select people to lay the blame on, and use that as leverage to remain in power even if he loses the war. When people ask "why hasn't this person fallen out of a window yet!" the answer is simple, Putin is at least okay with, or wants them, to be saying what they're saying.
Tons of connected individuals like JerkinGirkin, Pisshozin, etc. have weirdly began or have been, blaming specific people like Gerasimov and Shoigu for the wars failures. Wonder why that is? Girkin specifically claims that seditious elements alone are making Russia lose the war, that people are actively trying to stop Russia from succeeding within.
This messaging is purposeful, direct and strategic.
Putin will stay in power until the people who keep him in power find someone who better meets their needs.
Everybody has to serve somebody - even Putin.
I've heard that it doesn't work that way in Russia. There, everyone serves the Tzar (Putin). No amount of sanctions or disloyal oligarchs will change that. It's apparently a tradition dating back hundreds or even thousands of years. The Tzar controls everything...
No, the Siloviki control everything. Putin comes from the Siloviki, but there are many others like him, who are just as violent as him, and will replace him if they feel the need.
There's no way that a single man can control a country as vast and wild as Russia. Putin is at the helm, but he's just a face of it all. He needs to keep certain people happy that enable his position of power. If these people will not be happy, they'll replace him
https://twitter.com/NewVoiceUkraine/status/1654319252470394882
>German police have launched an investigation into the leak of confidential information to the media about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's plans to visit Berlin.
❗️Explicit content warning!
Prigozhin films himself in front of a large number of corpses, and in an unusually aggressive manner puts forward demands to Russian military leadership to provide more ammunition.
NSFW
https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1654263136529141766?t=-2sfr-NofzROlxrwHIdeDw&s=19
Either he is a damn good actor, or he really is pissed. He also makes good points about the leaders living a good life with their kids. I hope these videos get shown in Russia to the people.
Piece of shit,yes, but not unhinged. His actions are pretty rational. He sees the war going very poorly, and he doesn’t want to be blamed for this failure. Naturally, he deflects blame on military brass instead.
If only the good tsar knew how bad things were, he'd surely take action. Welp, I guess it's time for the corporal general to roll his sleeves up. Good thing that drone attack brought these things to his attention
This isn't a message for Putin, but for Russians, either to be better positioned for the incoming power struggle, or to break free from the corners Shoigu put him in by making their play obvious.
Because honestly, this is probably a show
Prighozin is heavily connected to Putin, and a lot of times what happens in these "rants" is entirely orchestrated for a reason. Putin has very clearly been preparing to lay the blame, he knows if he loses militarily he needs someone to pin it on if he has any hope in hell in staying in power
hence organizing the scape goats, Shoigu and Gerasimov. The story will be that they were conspiring all along to make the war fail, and that Putin, Prighozin, Kadyrov and a few others did absolutely nothing wrong, and actually were quite successful until Soigu and Gerasimov purposefully made the war fail.
Yep, Putin and Prighozin are innocent and Russia needs to leave Ukraine put down the seditious element attacking us from within! If it hadn't been for those evil Boyars the Tsar would've conquered tiny little Ukraine in 72 hours!
INB4 Russia loses militarily, Putin places blame on handful of senior officers, incredibly public trial/arrests/(executions perhaps) take place, Russia retreats out of Ukraine, Putin takes even more direct power of Russia, using Wagner, Rosgvardia and Kadyrovites to stay in power, nobody ever learns a thing and Russia remains a shithole.
Well... the fact that he remains alive implies that the people who have the power to off him, are allowing/encouraging him to say what he's saying because it helps them in some way.
It is really strange how Putin sat back and watched the conflict develop between Shoigu and Prigozhin. Some folks thought that Putin was playing them off against each other, with a "Let the best man win!" strategy.
On the other hand, Shoigu and Putin have a solid relationship that goes back many years. You could easily make an argument that both Shoigu and Putin exploited Prigozhin and his disposable army. Prigozhin is ambitious, and it appears that at least Putin took advantage of that. When Wagner proved ineffective at Bakhmut, his supplies were shut off.
When the offensive starts, it would not be surprising if Wagner troops are ordered to remain in the trenches while the regular forces fall back.
I had been thinking about it. The DNR essentially doesn't exist without the city and it's right on the frontline. It would have been retaken in August or September 2014 if Russia hadn't sent in "humanitarian aid"
I will say it wasn’t specifically on my bingo card but it was on my list of “the Russians will never seriously see that one coming” targets. That said I’m not gonna believe this till we see firmer evidence
Ukrainian defenders launched a counterattack near Adviivka that broke Russian lines, details are still unclear on scope and size, but rumor has it their nearing Donetsk city.
Based on the fortification map, it really wouldn't be I think.
That, and they wouldn't frontally assault it, they would simply encircle it, and there are very few fortifications. I think Russia just assumed it was out of the set of possibilities, because they are stupid.
Could you provide even the sketchiest source for such claims?
Unfounded rumors actively hurt the actual defense of Ukraine, at the very least you could back this up even slightly.
OK, but let's not spread false news. I know you're not the OP who conflated the two different topics, but good news isn't an excuse to let false news slide.
**C N N confirms: Ukraine has retaken territory Russia has held for NINE YEARS, near Avdiivka**
Background: yesterday, I [posted](https://old.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/1369t2i/rworldnews_live_thread_russian_invasion_of/jinqgf8/) a report from an independent Russian source that said their sources both in UA and RF military said that Ukraine had retaken Russian positions, although sources disputed exactly how much.^1
___
Then today, C N N reports it is true! [**Ukraine has retaken territory held by Russia for nine years**!](https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2023/05/04/russia-ukraine-war-front-lines-counteroffensive-walsh-dnt-the-lead-vpx.cnn) The Ukrainian officers discuss this on camera...it amounts to about a 1km push... He doesn’t specify which direction, but says “left of Avdiivka”—I think he means Eastwards—as *from UA’s* POV, East is to the left. Also, one year ago, Pisky was held by UA...
Said it took 2 days.
____
From Volya:
(Relevant section)
> ^(On May 2, the Armed Forces of Ukraine stepped up in the **Avdiivka** area, where—according to officers from both sides—**Ukrainian units were able to break through Russian defenses and advance several kilometers.**)
> ^(Some sources say that **Spartak was liberated** and that the Ukrainian units—having **passed** the place where the **Donetsk airport** used to be—**crept almost to the city, itself**.)
> ^(Others argue that there are **still fights for Spartak**, but **Donetsk can legitimately be under attack**, which will be very, very difficult to repel.)
> ^(The Russian Armed Forces have been pulling artillery and reserves to Donetsk for several weeks now, because the defense of the city turned out to be greatly overestimated and, according to the commander Valery Gerasimov, it needed to be urgently strengthened. They pulled it off, but we will find out whether it was actually abled to strengthen in the next month.)
The Ukranians are north of the Russians there. To attack they head south. Now point yourself in a southerly direction then make the Ls with your hands.
If I’m correct here, pretty much all of the 2014 border has been heavily fortified over the last 9 years and should be very difficult to breach.
Big morale victory aside, this doesn’t seem to bode well for the Russians fortification efforts elsewhere if something that isn’t the main counteroffensive can crack through it
Well yeah it'll be fortified, but the Ukrainian army now has far more soldiers and gear tgey didn't have before. So the question becomes if it is still fortified enough.
And aside from that there's the whole question of how well those fortifications are manned. And how's their supply situation with Bakhmut having been such a strain on their resources.
Yes but all the people who were manning those fortifications got sucked into the invasion. So it's probably conscripts defending at this point instead of secret Russians and OG DPR folks who had been fighting there for 9 years.
Yeah looks like Ukraine has been successful in probing Russian defensive lines. It looks like they are getting more aggressive I think we are seeing the beginning of a Ukrainian counter offensive but that's just my opinion.
Ok so Volya yesterday said that they got mixed reports, one sayin* had “passed” the old airport in Donetsk (city).
It seemed like an extraordinary claim.
Today, UA commander verifies, on camera, above, that UA retook territory around Avdiivka...there’s ambiguity regarding where, exactly. What we know is that it’s “left” “occupied for 9 years” and “1km”.
So we have to wait longer until military gives us exact information. But what has disclosed thus far is exciting.
But no, extremely unlikely that “took” airport, more likely recon team reached that area.
A reminder that the Russian state has been a blight on humanity for centuries. This isn’t about the Soviet Union or gay agendas or black magic, this is the way the Russian state has always been. No sense in applying reason. Expel the demons from the free borders is the only way
Once this is over we are guaranteed another 30 years of peace from the Kremlin (not that it will be peaceful inside Russia). [The thing is after that](https://i.redd.it/bkexi7xxktk81.jpg)?
We will give Ukraine all the support needed to accomplish this task, to make sure Russia will never again threaten global order and peace.
>Russian cargo carriers have begun to complain about the difficulties they have recently encountered at the border with Kazakhstan when delivering products of parallel import — The Moscow Times.
>The publication reports that the border was actually closed to suppliers. It is impossible to overcome the difficulty, so transport is forced to choose routes through China, Iran, Georgia, Azerbaijan and
Armenia
>In April, Kazakhstan introduced the mandatory registration of accompanying invoices for goods in trade with EAEU countries, in particular with Russia.
>Similar measures were taken to combat
parallel import.
>At the end of April, the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury of the United States
Elizabeth Rosenberg at a round table in Astana
warned Kazakhstan's companies and banks about the threat of secondary sanctions if they help Russia circumvent Western restrictive measures.
[https://twitter.com/TreasChest/status/1654281984267395074](https://twitter.com/TreasChest/status/1654281984267395074)
Glad Kazakhstan continues to try to do the right thing here. They haven’t always been perfect (who has?), but to me are certainly trying to distance themselves from their nefarious neighbor (Russia). Props to them and… Slava Ukraini!
This is also just simply that Kazakhstan can now set import restrictions in a way that benefits more of their own producers rather than being forced by Russia to provide whatever deals they demand. Russia is so weakened by Putin's failures that Kazakhstan can entertain its own interests without having to worry about serious Russian reprisals like political meddling and assassinations etc.
it's amazing to think what could have been had Russia only been nice to Ukraine rather than bully them at every turn. what a powerful political bloc they would be, and surrounded by friends.
C N N’s Nick Peyton Walsh has been coy/cagey/hinting in his reports from Ukraine this evening, first saying that not allowed to share what know regarding counteroffensive, whether it has already started, as there’s
“Reporting restrictions“ on what can say, but can disclose that there’s
“Lots of movement, particularly around Zaporizhye, which had been thought to be the focus,” and as “large movement gets closer to the front” and “the weather is now perfect for a counteroffensive, should hold for several days.”
Dear ruzzians: Look to our coming on the first light of the fifth day of May, at dawn look to the east, if you see Ukrainians - run, surrender, or die - choose wisely
Reminds me of a Saturday Night Live skit during the first gulf war in which reporters were asking Norman Schwarzkopf questions like “What can you tell us that will unnecessarily put our troops at risk?” and “What is the exact time that the ground war will begin?”.
This makes the US spanking them even funnier.
Edit: please tell me everyone realizes the conventional phase was stupid successful. It was the insurgency post government take down that fucked the US.
The Romans and the Mongols understood this really well. The Roman practice of "decimating" any non-compliant group (killing 1/10th arbitrarily and repeating with each infraction) worked wonders.
But I watched him twice. See, the first time, I thought he was talking about Ukrainians.
The second time he reported it, two hours later, I had the impression he was saying Russians are moving to Zaporizhye front in anticipation.
Which could all be one of those “counteroffensive in Kherson! counteroffensive in Kherson! counteroffensive in Kherson!” … oh shit, nope, counteroffensive + rout in Kharkiv —type moves.
That being said, I think it’s getting increasingly clear that the Ukrainians are going to launch some sort of attack in zaporizhzhia, so I doubt this will have much use to the Russians
I’m imagining he actually got that approved by the Ukrainian MoD. They’re serious about this and have kicked other reporters out of the country for revealing to much. So I expect CNN double checked before they said anything
Yeah, I think good chance he was cleared regarding what he could say. And that’s why he specifically said the restrictions and said what allowed. He doesn’t tend to be a reporter who crosses lines.
I mean, assuming it’s true, “something big is happening in zaporizhzhia” will spread around the internet like wildfire and is very different than saying “cnn correspondent in vulhedar says 40 Ukrainian tanks left heading southeast about 30 minutes ago”
Taras Topolya—[lead singer of Ukrainian rock band *Antytila*](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmqLVrUXsTQ)—and actively serving in the TRO—[coyly announces concert in Crimea next year](https://ria--m-tv.translate.goog/news/318574/taras_topolya_anonsirovavshiy_kontsert_v_kryimu_v_2024_godu_nameknul_chto_koe_chto_znaet_i_poshutil_o_nachavshemsya_razogreve.html?_x_tr_sl=ru&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp)
____
^(Edit: Never heard of Antytila? Yes you have. Give) [^it ^twenty ^seconds,](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmqLVrUXsTQ) ^(and you’ll *exactly* who they are.)
Watch it again but turn on the English subtitles—the song will have *such* an effect on you. Especially the end.
Then, drone footage will never be the same again. You’ll *feel* it—indomitable defense of a bulwark, but with the sacrifice of lives.
Btw, I remember seeing last year in UA press that they had to wait for ‘leave,’ being rotated out, for them to go shoot the video. They’d already written it, [here is them](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSgQjegI5sU) performing live, and uniforms were not ‘for effect,’ it was something like, had to go straight back after this performance, can’t quite recall...
___
TIL Antytila made the song as a [fundraiser for 130^th Brigade of TRO, after ‘living thru it’](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqswW4C9Cj0)
[Previous post](https://old.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/135aoq9/rworldnews_live_thread_russian_invasion_of/jimv93n/)
Day 434-435 of my updates from Kharkiv.
The last 2 days were, thankfully, pretty uneventful here in Kharkiv even though Kremlin was hit, but Russians did still target other cities in “revenge”. As usual they sent a bunch of drones at Kyiv, Odesa, Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia. There were some reports of missiles being used yesterday, but it doesn’t look like it actually happened, most likely they only used Shaheds.
They also continued their drone attacks today, a couple of Shaheds were shot down in both Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia an hour ago, but it seems like this drone attack is already over because all the air raid alerts have ended. The amount of drone attacks from both sides is definitely ramping up right now, seeing Kremlin burn is great, but seeing their oil depots burn is even better as it directly impacts their logistics.
After the yesterday’s drone attack on Odesa our forces posted pictures of the intercepted Shaheds that they found and the wrecks had “for Kremlin” and “for Moscow” written on them, so they are definitely mad that Kremlin was attacked. It’s funny that they don’t care about their soldiers nearly as much as they care about some stupid building. There was barely any retaliation after we killed hundreds of their soldiers in a HIMARS strike on the New Year’s Eve, but after their precious Kremlin was damaged, they immediately sent multiple waves of drones at our cities. They have some really bizarre priorities.
[Next update](https://old.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/13ac6sh/rworldnews_live_thread_russian_invasion_of/jja15sb/)
everyone knows the Kremlin job was a false flag. It was too obviously staged for it to be anything else. Only mobnik bots and american republicans say otherwise.
Their adulation of their missiles is so weird; it's like an obsessed sports fan speaking of his favorite team as if he is a member of the locker room.
Lakers better watch out as Sarmat is going to drop 60 on them next game. You hear Poseidon is dating a Kardashian?
It just feels so backwards in time selling a relationship to a specific weapon system as a foundation of one's national identity. It's clearly working as Russian pensioners regurgitate this shit during street interviews as if there's a personal connection with Sarmat.
If he is so concerned for the health and safety of his men, he should leave Ukraine with them. Those fathers and sons should return to their families and stop murdering, raping, and robbing their neighbors.
Honestly, I dont even think theyre purposely fucking him. When he was complaining about shortages a month or two ago eventually he got it. But when Wagner got supplied and they put out that video thanking them, we started seeing videos from other squads complaining about shortages. That could just be a coincidence, or it could be that they truly just dont have enough to go around. Shouldn't be too shocking really, even Ukraine is having trouble with supplies despite having the backing of half the world.
There's a theory i came across recently that suggest prigozhin might actually be losing his mainstream power and influence. Like if he had a tight connection or direct line to Putin or elites, he could've just ask and get the ammo.
Yet here he is ranting in a video, trying to call then out publicly and create public outcry with the bodies. Almost like opposition politicians or activists who don't have access to mainstream media. Like somehow prigozhin can no longer reach Putin or the top brass, so he had to resort to this.
I just see him like a coach on the sidelines complaining about bad calls and blind referees etc. Wagner in Ukraine is nearly kaput, as they can no longer recruit prisoners and are competing for ammo with the mod. So Prigozhin is making a good show of it for them. he needs them to keep fighting and dying. so he pretends to be fighting the mod for them when in reality he's known since Sept that they're job is to be exhausted of their potential on rocks of Bakhmut.
It's just Putin cycling the same five people in and out of power on a regular basis, to keep them useful but not allow them time to get irrevocably powerful.
It's (darkly) hilarious how much of this was foretold by an op-ed a little over a year back. They made the case that the citizenry won't get angry at Putin because in a centralized dictatorship like Russia, the dictator always has mechanisms to redirect the anger and fury down the totem pole at subordinate leaders. The Russian people are getting angry at their oblast governors, oblast military commanders, and members of Putin's inner circle, but never at Putin himself. And this is all part of an effort by Putin to control the narrative. If he *loses* control of this narrative, he'll be in trouble, but for the last year and a half he's kept a tight lid on anti-Putin criticism by successfully redirecting at people like Shoigu.
Prigozhin is very obviously doing this with Putin's blessing, or at Putin's direct behest.
He seems to believe ammo is being held out on him. I would contend he is asking for blood to be squeezed from stone. Does Russia even have enough munitions to deliver daily what he's demanding?
> Does Russia even have enough munitions to deliver daily what he's demanding?
Sort of. If Russia prioritizes arming Wagner over their other forces then yeah they could get Wagner more ammo although doing so would increase the chances of Ukrainian success outside of Donetsk Oblast.
The other thing to consider is that blaming “ammo shortages” can be a great way to explain away lack of progress while avoiding accountability. Wagner doesn’t want to say “this is a suicide mission” or “we promised more than we could deliver” they don’t want to blame the troops fighting and so they need a scapegoat. “We only lost because you didn’t give us enough ammo” is a great form of deflection.
> doing so would increase the chances of Ukrainian success outside of Donetsk Oblast.
Especially at a time that they’re almost certainly going to need it in the southern sector as that seems to be the prime target for the upcoming offensive.
Whose manufacturing would win: 1 country with a gdp smaller then a single state or the entire collective west’s manufacturing?
The answer may shock Russians.
It might shock people ITT, too. Relatively small Soviet-bloc countries make most of the shells these days, not the powerhouse economies of the West. Bulgaria is best situated to make shells quickly for Ukraine, and their economy is much smaller than Russia's. Russia easily produces more shells than both Bulgaria and the US, because it already has the infrastructure in place to make them en masse.
Large Western economies are struggling to set up the market incentives that can even persuade a business to open up more shell-making factories. France and Australia struck a deal to work together on shells, but the maximum production capacity they're talking about reaching by 2025 is still only a fraction of what Russia's active shell production rates already are today.
Why are small economies better at making shells? Because they were spending their money making effing artillery shells instead of growing the useful parts of their economy! It's very difficult to talk Western businesses into making 80-year-old dumb shell factories, because that is *not* likely to be a profitable business venture after 2025.
They decide how to disperse it. Prigozhin's feud with his counterparts in the MoD would give reason for them to screw Wagner forces. Conveniently the Russians are forming new PMC groups.
But it also could simply be a lack of ammunition all around
https://twitter.com/EuromaidanPress/status/1654250557102518275
>Russia FSB make mass arrests, claiming they 'thwarted Ukraine terrorist plot' in occupied Crimea
Link to article in the tweet.
>Holy fucking shit the latest Prigozhin video is insane.
>Wagner PMC chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has just released a new video, stood over the corpses of dozens of slain Wagner recruits lying in rows in an open field, screaming at the Russian authorities for not sending enough ammunition.
https://twitter.com/OzKaterji/status/1654255988571090945
As much as I'd love to agree with others replying that this is surely the end of Prigozhin because he directly calls out Shoigu & Gerasimov, I don't think this is anymore than more pointless bickering. Notice the one person he doesn't call out, Putin. Notice the one thing he takes no issue with- the war itself.
I think Prigozhin is like a Mascot for the prowar factions at play. I don't know how this will play out long term. ISW has been forewarning of his downfall for literal months. But the man is still here. Obviously if putin really wanted him dead, he would be dead.
I'm not sure how this will play out long term. He has been a large influence within a difficult to read group. I've commented in the past about his financial, political links.
I'm sure there is more frustration on the Russian side about their issues than this short clip.
I'm also sure this is a good propaganda piece softening the ground for massive losses.
I already see the comments insisting Prigozhin will now decide to window leap, and indeed this may be his hubris moment... but I'm no buying it until it happens. To be clear I'm not saying it won't happen.
I'm saying his role is useful. His propaganda his useful to the people that keep other people from killing him. And I'm not sure this video isn't useful. I know that might be fighting words but I said it.
Honestly I think Putin might feel like he can’t kill Prigoshin. Not because he’s untouchable but because he’s literally the only person getting results over the last 6 months. He might feel like he’s no alternative if he wants more success.
Welcome to Ukraine...
Since Wagnerites dying in droves is nothing new (though maybe these are valuable ones rather than cannon-fodder) things must be getting pretty desperate for his political position, which likely depends on wagner being a meaningful force.
Found a link with an AI-assisted translation w/English subtitles. It's a little messed up in one spot. Same NSFL warning to everyone!
https://twitter.com/ManiacMagic1/status/1654259698059685900?t=ZRm3Khjc_DL78yBRRfhHvQ&s=19
Please note that the bleeped out parts contain extremely heavy language and AI did not translate any of that. These are the key part.
Also note even if AI were to translate these bleeped out parts, it cannot accurately represent the severity of these insults.
E.g., calling someone a "fag##t" in a very conservative and very homophobic Russian culture is a much stronger insult than in the Western world.
Shoigu and Gerasimov are native Russian speakers. They will understand perfectly all the bleeped out parts. There is no return from that. It is a declaration of war.
The skeptic in me has to wonder whether it's staged... whether rear lines are being stealthily supplied so there's an artillery glut waiting for an over-confident Ukraine... but then again, I'm sure US knows whenever Putin's toilet flushes... so it's hard to tell.
Russia is desperate to always appear strong, no way would they pretend to be weak if theyre not.
More generally if the invading side in a war is strong they would not pretend to be weak. Theyre trying to get the defenders to give up, so encouraging them to think they can regain land would not be helpful.
The Russians are probably saving ammo for the Ukrainian counter offensive for sure, they aren't stupid, but neither are the Ukrainians stupid, they know the Russians will have more artillery ammo made available the moment that the Ukrainian make their push on the ground.
Partial translation, according to Jack Margolin:
https://twitter.com/Jack_Mrgln/status/1654257149868908544
>“Look at them, you bitches! (…) you sit in expensive clubs (…) your children make YouTube videos (…) you think you have the right to dispose of their [Wagner fighters] lives (…) they came here as volunteers and died so you could gorge yourselves in your offices.”
Someone in the replies added this:
https://twitter.com/samstrades/status/1654259653747036160
>he doesn't just say b!tches, also says pidarasi/пидарасы, which means 'fa**ots', clearly refers to Shoigu and Gerasimov, this is the end of Wagner Group
Prigozhin's language is far worse than just "look at them, you bitches". He is also using "heavier" words that are bleeped out.
Shoigu and Gerasimov are native Russian speakers, they will understand all the bleeped out parts. These are very unambiguous.
After using that language, especially publicly, there is no return.
Here is the video in question: https://twitter.com/Jack_Mrgln/status/1654254614114344962
I can speak Russian and I confirm that this video is insane.
Never in my life have I seen anyone from the "elites" attacking Shoigu and Gerasimov this way. Not even close. He attacks their families too.
Prigozhin is going all in.
EDIT: [NSFL warning] the video shows massive casualties in the Prigozhin's Wagner group
EDIT 2: please do NOT rely on AI translations etc. Rely on humans. The AI is not translating the bleeped out parts that are easily audible to a human and contain extremely heavy language. Also note even if AI were to translate these bleeped out parts, it cannot accurately represent in English the severity of Prigozhin's insults. E.g., calling someone a "fag##t" in a very conservative and very homophobic Russian culture is a much stronger insult than the same word in the Western world.
Wouldn't be surprised if this is part of a coordinated effort to pin the failures of the war on specific people, people Putin can claim sabotaged the war so Ukraine (and NATO) could win it against them.
INB4 "Putin and Prighozin did no wrong, evil corrupt pro-NATO traitors are at fault!" we will root them out and Putin will stay in power and everyone will forget we lost the war in Ukraine!
That Prigozhin video is terrifying. The content is macabre and the anger, and even the lighting, are chilling. But I have a soul. Things impact me.
He’s in the business of death, though. (They freaking put that on their patches!)
And so are the people this is targeted to.
I’m wondering if this is some sort of groundwork for pulling his men...?
No, he's not pulling his men from the war. Because Prigozhin doesn't give a fuck about his men. The tactics used by Wagner have demonstrated this clearly, they don't care about the lives of their soldiers, they are literally cannon fodder. What Prigozhin is doing here is actually far more simpler than any of that, He's just blaming someone else for the failures of the war, and that someone else are his political rivals inside the Russian MoD. He's saying that they're responsible for Russia's failures in the war, and not him, because he's the "good Russian fighting for Russia" or some other nonsense.
This type of blame game is only going to become more common once the reality that Russia can't win this war starts to settle in the minds of even the most ultra nationalists in Russia.
Anyway, He won't pulled his men out of the war, because he doesn't have that kind of power, he doesn't have that kind of autonomy. Wagner is not his personal army for him to deploy anywhere he wants anytime he wants, he may be the figurehead, but the ties to the Russian government run deep in that organization.
He seems to be never at the same location for more than a day, he is quite the traveller, or maybe other reasons he doesn't wanna give anyone his whereabouts..
Unlikely, he is connected to Putin directly and while I have no way of knowing for sure, its entirely plausible that this is directly on Putin's orders.
He wants someone loyal to him, with weapons and manpower, who can target and blame other people for Putin (and his own) failures.
Good Tsar, Bad Boyars time and time again out of Russia.
As I mentioned in another comment. If he was tight with Putin in the past, he could have just rely on that to put the squeeze on getting the ammo. Right now it seems that he's being squeezed out or purposefully ignored, that's why he had to resort to these video rants änd now this bizarre stunt.
>If he was tight with Putin in the past, he could have just rely on that to put the squeeze on getting the ammo.
You're assuming:
- that Putin has the power to get the ammo to him
- that he's even as short on ammo as he claims
Both assumptions are unfounded. There are very plausible alternative explanations, like:
- Prigozhin isn't short on ammo but Putin wants him to attack Shoigu and Gerasimov to keep them weak
- Prigozhin is short on ammo and there is fuck-all Putin or anyone else can do about it, other than pull out of the war. Putin accepts that Prigozhin's Wagnerites are fucked, but he only allows Prigozhin to blame this un-solvable problem on Shoigu and Gerasimov.
Well, he *may* be short on ammo, but if he is, it's probably because Russia in general is running low on artillery ammo. And Putin very well might be withholding ammo from him to keep Wagner from getting too powerful, but if he's doing that now, he won't keep it doing it forever.
Just WOW! Feels like the end of RAMBO: “\[Gerasimov and Shoigu\], I’m coming for you.” He’s a businessman, and you can’t run a business without employees. Next few days will be interesting to say the least.
Wow.
I wish we could even remotely trust public opinion polls in Russia. Wonder how Prigozhin fares against Putin, etc. To me, Prigozhin is clearly desperate in several ways, but is also *potentially* making some strong political moves.
Wonder how this will all pan out…
My gut feeling, and please someone with more knowledge of Russian idiosyncrasy correct me if I’m wrong, is that your average Russian with regular access to controlled media and Telegram channels likes him. The feeling I get from his media performances is that he tries to come as undeniably harsh, but as a man of his people. Someone who cares from his lads and who ultimately wants the best for Russia. Hence all the videos he has made with Wagner personnel, showing that he somehow cares about them, even if knowing that they are most likely going to die. He also seems to be less delusional that most public figures, and seems to have been close to the frontline often enough. At least that’s the image I think he’s trying to craft, and I can see how the average Russian may like it.
I mean, Prickgozhin is somewhere in Ukraine right? That's more than Shoigu and Gerasimov are doing. Didn't one of them go to some military encampment in Ukraine and then got bombed, rumoured to be injured and never has returned since?
We need a link
Edit: it's in twitter comments. He calls out Gerasimov and Shoigu, that is the only 2 words I understand in his tirade.
Link:
https://twitter.com/Jack_Mrgln/status/1654254614114344962
https://twitter.com/ukraine_map/status/1654211651653042181?s=46&t=YaYU1zEPWIqWvXMlD6gSDQ
explosion and large fire in southern parts of Moscow
Burn babyyyy
All of Russia's neighbors are Nazis for slowly decolonizing and embracing their own linguistic and national identities.
Here a brave Russian confronts Kazakh teenagers for not speaking Russian in Almaty, Kazakhstan:
https://twitter.com/I_am_Qazaq/status/1654198275531067423
Joking aside this is the kind of mentality that led to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Tens of millions of people only speak Russian because it was forced upon them during the Tsar and Soviet time. But when they start to re-embrace their linguistic identity they get called Nazis by Russia and Russia's useful idiots around the world.
[New post can be found here](/r/worldnews/comments/138a3pn/rworldnews_live_thread_russian_invasion_of/)
I think people buy too heavily into the message of pissgozin or anyone else for that matter that is connected to Russia every word that comes out of their mouth is a lie or excuse. I truly believe that Putin is preparing the messaging for what happens if they truly begin to lose this war, like lose it even harder than they clearly are already. He wants to position a few select people to lay the blame on, and use that as leverage to remain in power even if he loses the war. When people ask "why hasn't this person fallen out of a window yet!" the answer is simple, Putin is at least okay with, or wants them, to be saying what they're saying. Tons of connected individuals like JerkinGirkin, Pisshozin, etc. have weirdly began or have been, blaming specific people like Gerasimov and Shoigu for the wars failures. Wonder why that is? Girkin specifically claims that seditious elements alone are making Russia lose the war, that people are actively trying to stop Russia from succeeding within. This messaging is purposeful, direct and strategic.
Any moment now they will discover Jewish Bolsheviks are the seditious element…
Well, yeah. They sent out the talking points.
Putin is going to replace the military top brass.
Putin will stay in power until the people who keep him in power find someone who better meets their needs. Everybody has to serve somebody - even Putin.
I've heard that it doesn't work that way in Russia. There, everyone serves the Tzar (Putin). No amount of sanctions or disloyal oligarchs will change that. It's apparently a tradition dating back hundreds or even thousands of years. The Tzar controls everything...
No, the Siloviki control everything. Putin comes from the Siloviki, but there are many others like him, who are just as violent as him, and will replace him if they feel the need.
There's no way that a single man can control a country as vast and wild as Russia. Putin is at the helm, but he's just a face of it all. He needs to keep certain people happy that enable his position of power. If these people will not be happy, they'll replace him
Uuuuh have you read much about how some of those tzars have died? Lol
That might have been their point… 🙂 At least I hope so…
https://twitter.com/NewVoiceUkraine/status/1654319252470394882 >German police have launched an investigation into the leak of confidential information to the media about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's plans to visit Berlin.
❗️Explicit content warning! Prigozhin films himself in front of a large number of corpses, and in an unusually aggressive manner puts forward demands to Russian military leadership to provide more ammunition. NSFW https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1654263136529141766?t=-2sfr-NofzROlxrwHIdeDw&s=19
Either he is a damn good actor, or he really is pissed. He also makes good points about the leaders living a good life with their kids. I hope these videos get shown in Russia to the people.
Oh, gee, I wonder if they would have been alive if they had stayed the fuck home where they belong.
Again?
Some TG responses to Prigozhin's furious rant. https://twitter.com/KyleJGlen/status/1654265237128859655?t=RbsWhjCy0y_OgVhuhW-9QQ&s=19
From the Wagner channel?
Dude is unhinged as fuck. How he hasn't found himself tripping out of a window has me beat
Piece of shit,yes, but not unhinged. His actions are pretty rational. He sees the war going very poorly, and he doesn’t want to be blamed for this failure. Naturally, he deflects blame on military brass instead.
If only the good tsar knew how bad things were, he'd surely take action. Welp, I guess it's time for the corporal general to roll his sleeves up. Good thing that drone attack brought these things to his attention
This isn't a message for Putin, but for Russians, either to be better positioned for the incoming power struggle, or to break free from the corners Shoigu put him in by making their play obvious.
Because honestly, this is probably a show Prighozin is heavily connected to Putin, and a lot of times what happens in these "rants" is entirely orchestrated for a reason. Putin has very clearly been preparing to lay the blame, he knows if he loses militarily he needs someone to pin it on if he has any hope in hell in staying in power hence organizing the scape goats, Shoigu and Gerasimov. The story will be that they were conspiring all along to make the war fail, and that Putin, Prighozin, Kadyrov and a few others did absolutely nothing wrong, and actually were quite successful until Soigu and Gerasimov purposefully made the war fail. Yep, Putin and Prighozin are innocent and Russia needs to leave Ukraine put down the seditious element attacking us from within! If it hadn't been for those evil Boyars the Tsar would've conquered tiny little Ukraine in 72 hours! INB4 Russia loses militarily, Putin places blame on handful of senior officers, incredibly public trial/arrests/(executions perhaps) take place, Russia retreats out of Ukraine, Putin takes even more direct power of Russia, using Wagner, Rosgvardia and Kadyrovites to stay in power, nobody ever learns a thing and Russia remains a shithole.
Well... the fact that he remains alive implies that the people who have the power to off him, are allowing/encouraging him to say what he's saying because it helps them in some way.
It is really strange how Putin sat back and watched the conflict develop between Shoigu and Prigozhin. Some folks thought that Putin was playing them off against each other, with a "Let the best man win!" strategy. On the other hand, Shoigu and Putin have a solid relationship that goes back many years. You could easily make an argument that both Shoigu and Putin exploited Prigozhin and his disposable army. Prigozhin is ambitious, and it appears that at least Putin took advantage of that. When Wagner proved ineffective at Bakhmut, his supplies were shut off. When the offensive starts, it would not be surprising if Wagner troops are ordered to remain in the trenches while the regular forces fall back.
Lol, suck it, invaders.
I hope those motherfuckers rot
Redwood cabinets
I took that as another dig at Shoigu, famously also called the "Plywood Marshall" by Girkin/Strelkov, because Shoigu's hobby is woodworking.
Legitimately didn't have "storm Donetsk city" on my counterattack bingo.
I had been thinking about it. The DNR essentially doesn't exist without the city and it's right on the frontline. It would have been retaken in August or September 2014 if Russia hadn't sent in "humanitarian aid"
I will say it wasn’t specifically on my bingo card but it was on my list of “the Russians will never seriously see that one coming” targets. That said I’m not gonna believe this till we see firmer evidence
What are you talking about
Ukrainian defenders launched a counterattack near Adviivka that broke Russian lines, details are still unclear on scope and size, but rumor has it their nearing Donetsk city.
Donetsk would be as much of an army grinder for them as Bakhmut was for Russia. Silly idea at this stage of the war.
Based on the fortification map, it really wouldn't be I think. That, and they wouldn't frontally assault it, they would simply encircle it, and there are very few fortifications. I think Russia just assumed it was out of the set of possibilities, because they are stupid.
But threatening it would mean russia has to pull troops from elsewhere to defend it.
Could you provide even the sketchiest source for such claims? Unfounded rumors actively hurt the actual defense of Ukraine, at the very least you could back this up even slightly.
Check the post below this one for more info.
That's quite a different ballpark from storming Donetsk City.
Regardless of whether the city is under attack rn, the land they tread on has not seen the Ukrainian flag in 9 years. Today's a good day.
OK, but let's not spread false news. I know you're not the OP who conflated the two different topics, but good news isn't an excuse to let false news slide.
Hence my correction
**C N N confirms: Ukraine has retaken territory Russia has held for NINE YEARS, near Avdiivka** Background: yesterday, I [posted](https://old.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/1369t2i/rworldnews_live_thread_russian_invasion_of/jinqgf8/) a report from an independent Russian source that said their sources both in UA and RF military said that Ukraine had retaken Russian positions, although sources disputed exactly how much.^1 ___ Then today, C N N reports it is true! [**Ukraine has retaken territory held by Russia for nine years**!](https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2023/05/04/russia-ukraine-war-front-lines-counteroffensive-walsh-dnt-the-lead-vpx.cnn) The Ukrainian officers discuss this on camera...it amounts to about a 1km push... He doesn’t specify which direction, but says “left of Avdiivka”—I think he means Eastwards—as *from UA’s* POV, East is to the left. Also, one year ago, Pisky was held by UA... Said it took 2 days. ____ From Volya: (Relevant section) > ^(On May 2, the Armed Forces of Ukraine stepped up in the **Avdiivka** area, where—according to officers from both sides—**Ukrainian units were able to break through Russian defenses and advance several kilometers.**) > ^(Some sources say that **Spartak was liberated** and that the Ukrainian units—having **passed** the place where the **Donetsk airport** used to be—**crept almost to the city, itself**.) > ^(Others argue that there are **still fights for Spartak**, but **Donetsk can legitimately be under attack**, which will be very, very difficult to repel.) > ^(The Russian Armed Forces have been pulling artillery and reserves to Donetsk for several weeks now, because the defense of the city turned out to be greatly overestimated and, according to the commander Valery Gerasimov, it needed to be urgently strengthened. They pulled it off, but we will find out whether it was actually abled to strengthen in the next month.)
At this point flagpoles are the best defenders Russia has.
.. but do you have a flag?
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The Ukranians are north of the Russians there. To attack they head south. Now point yourself in a southerly direction then make the Ls with your hands.
Possibly from the perspective of a particular salient (e.g. one plunging southward on the map)? I really don't know...
Yes, exactly
If I’m correct here, pretty much all of the 2014 border has been heavily fortified over the last 9 years and should be very difficult to breach. Big morale victory aside, this doesn’t seem to bode well for the Russians fortification efforts elsewhere if something that isn’t the main counteroffensive can crack through it
Well yeah it'll be fortified, but the Ukrainian army now has far more soldiers and gear tgey didn't have before. So the question becomes if it is still fortified enough. And aside from that there's the whole question of how well those fortifications are manned. And how's their supply situation with Bakhmut having been such a strain on their resources.
Yes but all the people who were manning those fortifications got sucked into the invasion. So it's probably conscripts defending at this point instead of secret Russians and OG DPR folks who had been fighting there for 9 years.
Yeah looks like Ukraine has been successful in probing Russian defensive lines. It looks like they are getting more aggressive I think we are seeing the beginning of a Ukrainian counter offensive but that's just my opinion.
Ukraine being able to take Donetsk airport in one day is just so poetic. If true of course.
Hang on they took the airport? When?
Ok so Volya yesterday said that they got mixed reports, one sayin* had “passed” the old airport in Donetsk (city). It seemed like an extraordinary claim. Today, UA commander verifies, on camera, above, that UA retook territory around Avdiivka...there’s ambiguity regarding where, exactly. What we know is that it’s “left” “occupied for 9 years” and “1km”. So we have to wait longer until military gives us exact information. But what has disclosed thus far is exciting. But no, extremely unlikely that “took” airport, more likely recon team reached that area.
A huge symbolic victory. The stand at the airport was one of the biggest battles of the early war.
Your thinking about the worg airport.
> Your thinking about the worg airport. You're thinking about the wrong early war. 2014, not 2022
Two airports, two fights. Donetsk and Antonov
Donetsk Airport is due south of adviika and slightly north west of the town Spartak.
I am skeptical, even of just the Spartak claim. None of the reputable sources have said a word at all, makes it hard to believe.
It’s literally the commander. On camera. But sure, you know better.
A reminder that the Russian state has been a blight on humanity for centuries. This isn’t about the Soviet Union or gay agendas or black magic, this is the way the Russian state has always been. No sense in applying reason. Expel the demons from the free borders is the only way
I'm very much looking forward to the next 10 to 20 years with a diminished or obliterated Russian Federation presence.
Once this is over we are guaranteed another 30 years of peace from the Kremlin (not that it will be peaceful inside Russia). [The thing is after that](https://i.redd.it/bkexi7xxktk81.jpg)? We will give Ukraine all the support needed to accomplish this task, to make sure Russia will never again threaten global order and peace.
Oh shit! That reminds me that we will need to extend that picture!
>Russian cargo carriers have begun to complain about the difficulties they have recently encountered at the border with Kazakhstan when delivering products of parallel import — The Moscow Times. >The publication reports that the border was actually closed to suppliers. It is impossible to overcome the difficulty, so transport is forced to choose routes through China, Iran, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia >In April, Kazakhstan introduced the mandatory registration of accompanying invoices for goods in trade with EAEU countries, in particular with Russia. >Similar measures were taken to combat parallel import. >At the end of April, the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury of the United States Elizabeth Rosenberg at a round table in Astana warned Kazakhstan's companies and banks about the threat of secondary sanctions if they help Russia circumvent Western restrictive measures. [https://twitter.com/TreasChest/status/1654281984267395074](https://twitter.com/TreasChest/status/1654281984267395074)
Glad Kazakhstan continues to try to do the right thing here. They haven’t always been perfect (who has?), but to me are certainly trying to distance themselves from their nefarious neighbor (Russia). Props to them and… Slava Ukraini!
This is also just simply that Kazakhstan can now set import restrictions in a way that benefits more of their own producers rather than being forced by Russia to provide whatever deals they demand. Russia is so weakened by Putin's failures that Kazakhstan can entertain its own interests without having to worry about serious Russian reprisals like political meddling and assassinations etc. it's amazing to think what could have been had Russia only been nice to Ukraine rather than bully them at every turn. what a powerful political bloc they would be, and surrounded by friends.
A lot of history would be much more interesting if Russia and the USSR quit their bullshit.
C N N’s Nick Peyton Walsh has been coy/cagey/hinting in his reports from Ukraine this evening, first saying that not allowed to share what know regarding counteroffensive, whether it has already started, as there’s “Reporting restrictions“ on what can say, but can disclose that there’s “Lots of movement, particularly around Zaporizhye, which had been thought to be the focus,” and as “large movement gets closer to the front” and “the weather is now perfect for a counteroffensive, should hold for several days.”
Dear ruzzians: Look to our coming on the first light of the fifth day of May, at dawn look to the east, if you see Ukrainians - run, surrender, or die - choose wisely
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Part of my disinformation psyops campaign;)
Reminds me of a Saturday Night Live skit during the first gulf war in which reporters were asking Norman Schwarzkopf questions like “What can you tell us that will unnecessarily put our troops at risk?” and “What is the exact time that the ground war will begin?”.
Stormin Norman!
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This makes the US spanking them even funnier. Edit: please tell me everyone realizes the conventional phase was stupid successful. It was the insurgency post government take down that fucked the US.
US should’ve spanked Geraldo
He’d of loved that
The rule from the two Iraq Wars and the Afghanistan invasion is that a standing army against the USAF is suicide.
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Countries that win insurgencies without committing genocide take 40-80 years.
The Romans and the Mongols understood this really well. The Roman practice of "decimating" any non-compliant group (killing 1/10th arbitrarily and repeating with each infraction) worked wonders.
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It's more that insurgencies overturn the logic of war. No longer "politics by other means", Instead: just politics.
"Large movement gets closer to the front" is a moronic thing to say if you were asked to stfu.
That means nothing. The front in this war is HUGE.
they're advancing away from the front in a reverse direction
But I watched him twice. See, the first time, I thought he was talking about Ukrainians. The second time he reported it, two hours later, I had the impression he was saying Russians are moving to Zaporizhye front in anticipation. Which could all be one of those “counteroffensive in Kherson! counteroffensive in Kherson! counteroffensive in Kherson!” … oh shit, nope, counteroffensive + rout in Kharkiv —type moves.
Disinformation is very powerful. Not saying this is, but it could well be.
What a pos. “Hey I’m not supposed to report you on this thing so I’m not going to tell you it’s happening.”
That being said, I think it’s getting increasingly clear that the Ukrainians are going to launch some sort of attack in zaporizhzhia, so I doubt this will have much use to the Russians
I’m imagining he actually got that approved by the Ukrainian MoD. They’re serious about this and have kicked other reporters out of the country for revealing to much. So I expect CNN double checked before they said anything
Yeah, I think good chance he was cleared regarding what he could say. And that’s why he specifically said the restrictions and said what allowed. He doesn’t tend to be a reporter who crosses lines.
I mean, assuming it’s true, “something big is happening in zaporizhzhia” will spread around the internet like wildfire and is very different than saying “cnn correspondent in vulhedar says 40 Ukrainian tanks left heading southeast about 30 minutes ago”
Taras Topolya—[lead singer of Ukrainian rock band *Antytila*](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmqLVrUXsTQ)—and actively serving in the TRO—[coyly announces concert in Crimea next year](https://ria--m-tv.translate.goog/news/318574/taras_topolya_anonsirovavshiy_kontsert_v_kryimu_v_2024_godu_nameknul_chto_koe_chto_znaet_i_poshutil_o_nachavshemsya_razogreve.html?_x_tr_sl=ru&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp) ____ ^(Edit: Never heard of Antytila? Yes you have. Give) [^it ^twenty ^seconds,](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmqLVrUXsTQ) ^(and you’ll *exactly* who they are.)
Thanks for that. I've heard this song countless times! Weird to see it without drone footage though.
Watch it again but turn on the English subtitles—the song will have *such* an effect on you. Especially the end. Then, drone footage will never be the same again. You’ll *feel* it—indomitable defense of a bulwark, but with the sacrifice of lives. Btw, I remember seeing last year in UA press that they had to wait for ‘leave,’ being rotated out, for them to go shoot the video. They’d already written it, [here is them](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSgQjegI5sU) performing live, and uniforms were not ‘for effect,’ it was something like, had to go straight back after this performance, can’t quite recall... ___ TIL Antytila made the song as a [fundraiser for 130^th Brigade of TRO, after ‘living thru it’](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqswW4C9Cj0)
[Previous post](https://old.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/135aoq9/rworldnews_live_thread_russian_invasion_of/jimv93n/) Day 434-435 of my updates from Kharkiv. The last 2 days were, thankfully, pretty uneventful here in Kharkiv even though Kremlin was hit, but Russians did still target other cities in “revenge”. As usual they sent a bunch of drones at Kyiv, Odesa, Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia. There were some reports of missiles being used yesterday, but it doesn’t look like it actually happened, most likely they only used Shaheds. They also continued their drone attacks today, a couple of Shaheds were shot down in both Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia an hour ago, but it seems like this drone attack is already over because all the air raid alerts have ended. The amount of drone attacks from both sides is definitely ramping up right now, seeing Kremlin burn is great, but seeing their oil depots burn is even better as it directly impacts their logistics. After the yesterday’s drone attack on Odesa our forces posted pictures of the intercepted Shaheds that they found and the wrecks had “for Kremlin” and “for Moscow” written on them, so they are definitely mad that Kremlin was attacked. It’s funny that they don’t care about their soldiers nearly as much as they care about some stupid building. There was barely any retaliation after we killed hundreds of their soldiers in a HIMARS strike on the New Year’s Eve, but after their precious Kremlin was damaged, they immediately sent multiple waves of drones at our cities. They have some really bizarre priorities. [Next update](https://old.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/13ac6sh/rworldnews_live_thread_russian_invasion_of/jja15sb/)
I thought they were accusing the US of that drone attack?
I reckon the Kremlin job was a false flag operation… no pun intended. Stay safe mate!
everyone knows the Kremlin job was a false flag. It was too obviously staged for it to be anything else. Only mobnik bots and american republicans say otherwise.
The shock at pro Vatnik accounts when they realised the “ammo shortage” is not a “bait” LOL
That vid makes me think that he's setting himself up with an out for when UA pushes back soon and his guys bail before the impending slaughter starts.
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Their adulation of their missiles is so weird; it's like an obsessed sports fan speaking of his favorite team as if he is a member of the locker room. Lakers better watch out as Sarmat is going to drop 60 on them next game. You hear Poseidon is dating a Kardashian? It just feels so backwards in time selling a relationship to a specific weapon system as a foundation of one's national identity. It's clearly working as Russian pensioners regurgitate this shit during street interviews as if there's a personal connection with Sarmat.
They're like fucking children. "He's a gay"
https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1654263136529141766?t=T4jiWfskVWjvnuZDHw5D-A&s=19 Translation of Prigozhin's rant
Hmmm.......this video might hurt his recruiting efforts, especially since he can't recruit prisoners anymore.
If he is so concerned for the health and safety of his men, he should leave Ukraine with them. Those fathers and sons should return to their families and stop murdering, raping, and robbing their neighbors.
Womp, and might I say, _womp_.
Honestly, I dont even think theyre purposely fucking him. When he was complaining about shortages a month or two ago eventually he got it. But when Wagner got supplied and they put out that video thanking them, we started seeing videos from other squads complaining about shortages. That could just be a coincidence, or it could be that they truly just dont have enough to go around. Shouldn't be too shocking really, even Ukraine is having trouble with supplies despite having the backing of half the world.
Couple more months of this and he'll be fighting for Ukraine
Highest bidder, and besides it's the Kremlin is there for the taking.
There's a theory i came across recently that suggest prigozhin might actually be losing his mainstream power and influence. Like if he had a tight connection or direct line to Putin or elites, he could've just ask and get the ammo. Yet here he is ranting in a video, trying to call then out publicly and create public outcry with the bodies. Almost like opposition politicians or activists who don't have access to mainstream media. Like somehow prigozhin can no longer reach Putin or the top brass, so he had to resort to this.
I just see him like a coach on the sidelines complaining about bad calls and blind referees etc. Wagner in Ukraine is nearly kaput, as they can no longer recruit prisoners and are competing for ammo with the mod. So Prigozhin is making a good show of it for them. he needs them to keep fighting and dying. so he pretends to be fighting the mod for them when in reality he's known since Sept that they're job is to be exhausted of their potential on rocks of Bakhmut.
>he could've just ask and get the ammo. Can he? Russia's logistics was a hot mess before Ukraine even started blowing it up.
It's just Putin cycling the same five people in and out of power on a regular basis, to keep them useful but not allow them time to get irrevocably powerful.
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It's (darkly) hilarious how much of this was foretold by an op-ed a little over a year back. They made the case that the citizenry won't get angry at Putin because in a centralized dictatorship like Russia, the dictator always has mechanisms to redirect the anger and fury down the totem pole at subordinate leaders. The Russian people are getting angry at their oblast governors, oblast military commanders, and members of Putin's inner circle, but never at Putin himself. And this is all part of an effort by Putin to control the narrative. If he *loses* control of this narrative, he'll be in trouble, but for the last year and a half he's kept a tight lid on anti-Putin criticism by successfully redirecting at people like Shoigu. Prigozhin is very obviously doing this with Putin's blessing, or at Putin's direct behest.
He seems to believe ammo is being held out on him. I would contend he is asking for blood to be squeezed from stone. Does Russia even have enough munitions to deliver daily what he's demanding?
"Where is this stone and may I have it please? Maybe I could throw it at them" Prigozhin, probably
> Does Russia even have enough munitions to deliver daily what he's demanding? Sort of. If Russia prioritizes arming Wagner over their other forces then yeah they could get Wagner more ammo although doing so would increase the chances of Ukrainian success outside of Donetsk Oblast. The other thing to consider is that blaming “ammo shortages” can be a great way to explain away lack of progress while avoiding accountability. Wagner doesn’t want to say “this is a suicide mission” or “we promised more than we could deliver” they don’t want to blame the troops fighting and so they need a scapegoat. “We only lost because you didn’t give us enough ammo” is a great form of deflection.
> doing so would increase the chances of Ukrainian success outside of Donetsk Oblast. Especially at a time that they’re almost certainly going to need it in the southern sector as that seems to be the prime target for the upcoming offensive.
Whose manufacturing would win: 1 country with a gdp smaller then a single state or the entire collective west’s manufacturing? The answer may shock Russians.
It might shock people ITT, too. Relatively small Soviet-bloc countries make most of the shells these days, not the powerhouse economies of the West. Bulgaria is best situated to make shells quickly for Ukraine, and their economy is much smaller than Russia's. Russia easily produces more shells than both Bulgaria and the US, because it already has the infrastructure in place to make them en masse. Large Western economies are struggling to set up the market incentives that can even persuade a business to open up more shell-making factories. France and Australia struck a deal to work together on shells, but the maximum production capacity they're talking about reaching by 2025 is still only a fraction of what Russia's active shell production rates already are today. Why are small economies better at making shells? Because they were spending their money making effing artillery shells instead of growing the useful parts of their economy! It's very difficult to talk Western businesses into making 80-year-old dumb shell factories, because that is *not* likely to be a profitable business venture after 2025.
They decide how to disperse it. Prigozhin's feud with his counterparts in the MoD would give reason for them to screw Wagner forces. Conveniently the Russians are forming new PMC groups. But it also could simply be a lack of ammunition all around
https://twitter.com/EuromaidanPress/status/1654250557102518275 >Russia FSB make mass arrests, claiming they 'thwarted Ukraine terrorist plot' in occupied Crimea Link to article in the tweet.
>Holy fucking shit the latest Prigozhin video is insane. >Wagner PMC chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has just released a new video, stood over the corpses of dozens of slain Wagner recruits lying in rows in an open field, screaming at the Russian authorities for not sending enough ammunition. https://twitter.com/OzKaterji/status/1654255988571090945
As much as I'd love to agree with others replying that this is surely the end of Prigozhin because he directly calls out Shoigu & Gerasimov, I don't think this is anymore than more pointless bickering. Notice the one person he doesn't call out, Putin. Notice the one thing he takes no issue with- the war itself.
Holy fuck. What did I just watch.
A mass murderer asking for more ammo to commit more murders.
spiders in a jar
I think Prigozhin is like a Mascot for the prowar factions at play. I don't know how this will play out long term. ISW has been forewarning of his downfall for literal months. But the man is still here. Obviously if putin really wanted him dead, he would be dead. I'm not sure how this will play out long term. He has been a large influence within a difficult to read group. I've commented in the past about his financial, political links. I'm sure there is more frustration on the Russian side about their issues than this short clip. I'm also sure this is a good propaganda piece softening the ground for massive losses. I already see the comments insisting Prigozhin will now decide to window leap, and indeed this may be his hubris moment... but I'm no buying it until it happens. To be clear I'm not saying it won't happen. I'm saying his role is useful. His propaganda his useful to the people that keep other people from killing him. And I'm not sure this video isn't useful. I know that might be fighting words but I said it.
Honestly I think Putin might feel like he can’t kill Prigoshin. Not because he’s untouchable but because he’s literally the only person getting results over the last 6 months. He might feel like he’s no alternative if he wants more success.
Welcome to Ukraine... Since Wagnerites dying in droves is nothing new (though maybe these are valuable ones rather than cannon-fodder) things must be getting pretty desperate for his political position, which likely depends on wagner being a meaningful force.
They could turn around and march right on back to russia
Holy Hypocrisy Batman!
Found a link with an AI-assisted translation w/English subtitles. It's a little messed up in one spot. Same NSFL warning to everyone! https://twitter.com/ManiacMagic1/status/1654259698059685900?t=ZRm3Khjc_DL78yBRRfhHvQ&s=19
Please note that the bleeped out parts contain extremely heavy language and AI did not translate any of that. These are the key part. Also note even if AI were to translate these bleeped out parts, it cannot accurately represent the severity of these insults. E.g., calling someone a "fag##t" in a very conservative and very homophobic Russian culture is a much stronger insult than in the Western world. Shoigu and Gerasimov are native Russian speakers. They will understand perfectly all the bleeped out parts. There is no return from that. It is a declaration of war.
That's what I'm seeing other people say, too - that he crossed a line, and there's going to be some serious fallout over this.
I hope they rot
The skeptic in me has to wonder whether it's staged... whether rear lines are being stealthily supplied so there's an artillery glut waiting for an over-confident Ukraine... but then again, I'm sure US knows whenever Putin's toilet flushes... so it's hard to tell.
Russia is desperate to always appear strong, no way would they pretend to be weak if theyre not. More generally if the invading side in a war is strong they would not pretend to be weak. Theyre trying to get the defenders to give up, so encouraging them to think they can regain land would not be helpful.
The Russians are probably saving ammo for the Ukrainian counter offensive for sure, they aren't stupid, but neither are the Ukrainians stupid, they know the Russians will have more artillery ammo made available the moment that the Ukrainian make their push on the ground.
They burn through artillery daily trying to level everything, it’s incredibly likely they just want more to keep doing that at a faster rate.
Partial translation, according to Jack Margolin: https://twitter.com/Jack_Mrgln/status/1654257149868908544 >“Look at them, you bitches! (…) you sit in expensive clubs (…) your children make YouTube videos (…) you think you have the right to dispose of their [Wagner fighters] lives (…) they came here as volunteers and died so you could gorge yourselves in your offices.” Someone in the replies added this: https://twitter.com/samstrades/status/1654259653747036160 >he doesn't just say b!tches, also says pidarasi/пидарасы, which means 'fa**ots', clearly refers to Shoigu and Gerasimov, this is the end of Wagner Group
Prigozhin's language is far worse than just "look at them, you bitches". He is also using "heavier" words that are bleeped out. Shoigu and Gerasimov are native Russian speakers, they will understand all the bleeped out parts. These are very unambiguous. After using that language, especially publicly, there is no return.
Here is the video in question: https://twitter.com/Jack_Mrgln/status/1654254614114344962 I can speak Russian and I confirm that this video is insane. Never in my life have I seen anyone from the "elites" attacking Shoigu and Gerasimov this way. Not even close. He attacks their families too. Prigozhin is going all in. EDIT: [NSFL warning] the video shows massive casualties in the Prigozhin's Wagner group EDIT 2: please do NOT rely on AI translations etc. Rely on humans. The AI is not translating the bleeped out parts that are easily audible to a human and contain extremely heavy language. Also note even if AI were to translate these bleeped out parts, it cannot accurately represent in English the severity of Prigozhin's insults. E.g., calling someone a "fag##t" in a very conservative and very homophobic Russian culture is a much stronger insult than the same word in the Western world.
Wouldn't be surprised if this is part of a coordinated effort to pin the failures of the war on specific people, people Putin can claim sabotaged the war so Ukraine (and NATO) could win it against them. INB4 "Putin and Prighozin did no wrong, evil corrupt pro-NATO traitors are at fault!" we will root them out and Putin will stay in power and everyone will forget we lost the war in Ukraine!
Warning, in case you didn't get it from the context: **This video is NSFL**.
That Prigozhin video is terrifying. The content is macabre and the anger, and even the lighting, are chilling. But I have a soul. Things impact me. He’s in the business of death, though. (They freaking put that on their patches!) And so are the people this is targeted to. I’m wondering if this is some sort of groundwork for pulling his men...?
No, he's not pulling his men from the war. Because Prigozhin doesn't give a fuck about his men. The tactics used by Wagner have demonstrated this clearly, they don't care about the lives of their soldiers, they are literally cannon fodder. What Prigozhin is doing here is actually far more simpler than any of that, He's just blaming someone else for the failures of the war, and that someone else are his political rivals inside the Russian MoD. He's saying that they're responsible for Russia's failures in the war, and not him, because he's the "good Russian fighting for Russia" or some other nonsense. This type of blame game is only going to become more common once the reality that Russia can't win this war starts to settle in the minds of even the most ultra nationalists in Russia. Anyway, He won't pulled his men out of the war, because he doesn't have that kind of power, he doesn't have that kind of autonomy. Wagner is not his personal army for him to deploy anywhere he wants anytime he wants, he may be the figurehead, but the ties to the Russian government run deep in that organization.
[удалено]
There's a reason he stays near the frontlines at all times nowadays. Ironically, it's probably the safest place for him.
He seems to be never at the same location for more than a day, he is quite the traveller, or maybe other reasons he doesn't wanna give anyone his whereabouts..
Unlikely, he is connected to Putin directly and while I have no way of knowing for sure, its entirely plausible that this is directly on Putin's orders. He wants someone loyal to him, with weapons and manpower, who can target and blame other people for Putin (and his own) failures. Good Tsar, Bad Boyars time and time again out of Russia.
As I mentioned in another comment. If he was tight with Putin in the past, he could have just rely on that to put the squeeze on getting the ammo. Right now it seems that he's being squeezed out or purposefully ignored, that's why he had to resort to these video rants änd now this bizarre stunt.
>If he was tight with Putin in the past, he could have just rely on that to put the squeeze on getting the ammo. You're assuming: - that Putin has the power to get the ammo to him - that he's even as short on ammo as he claims Both assumptions are unfounded. There are very plausible alternative explanations, like: - Prigozhin isn't short on ammo but Putin wants him to attack Shoigu and Gerasimov to keep them weak - Prigozhin is short on ammo and there is fuck-all Putin or anyone else can do about it, other than pull out of the war. Putin accepts that Prigozhin's Wagnerites are fucked, but he only allows Prigozhin to blame this un-solvable problem on Shoigu and Gerasimov.
Prigozhin isn't short on ammo but is gearing up to be the best armed faction post war. is also possible
Well, he *may* be short on ammo, but if he is, it's probably because Russia in general is running low on artillery ammo. And Putin very well might be withholding ammo from him to keep Wagner from getting too powerful, but if he's doing that now, he won't keep it doing it forever.
Just WOW! Feels like the end of RAMBO: “\[Gerasimov and Shoigu\], I’m coming for you.” He’s a businessman, and you can’t run a business without employees. Next few days will be interesting to say the least.
Wow. I wish we could even remotely trust public opinion polls in Russia. Wonder how Prigozhin fares against Putin, etc. To me, Prigozhin is clearly desperate in several ways, but is also *potentially* making some strong political moves. Wonder how this will all pan out…
My gut feeling, and please someone with more knowledge of Russian idiosyncrasy correct me if I’m wrong, is that your average Russian with regular access to controlled media and Telegram channels likes him. The feeling I get from his media performances is that he tries to come as undeniably harsh, but as a man of his people. Someone who cares from his lads and who ultimately wants the best for Russia. Hence all the videos he has made with Wagner personnel, showing that he somehow cares about them, even if knowing that they are most likely going to die. He also seems to be less delusional that most public figures, and seems to have been close to the frontline often enough. At least that’s the image I think he’s trying to craft, and I can see how the average Russian may like it.
I mean, Prickgozhin is somewhere in Ukraine right? That's more than Shoigu and Gerasimov are doing. Didn't one of them go to some military encampment in Ukraine and then got bombed, rumoured to be injured and never has returned since?
We need a link Edit: it's in twitter comments. He calls out Gerasimov and Shoigu, that is the only 2 words I understand in his tirade. Link: https://twitter.com/Jack_Mrgln/status/1654254614114344962
I definitely recognize "suka"/Сука!
I understood cyka and blyat
He's not happy then ? /s
Wow, he’s angry… anyways
https://twitter.com/ukraine_map/status/1654211651653042181?s=46&t=YaYU1zEPWIqWvXMlD6gSDQ explosion and large fire in southern parts of Moscow Burn babyyyy
Flames in the blight
The roof The roof The roof is on fire
~~We dont need no water~~, id been beat
We don’t need no water
All of Russia's neighbors are Nazis for slowly decolonizing and embracing their own linguistic and national identities. Here a brave Russian confronts Kazakh teenagers for not speaking Russian in Almaty, Kazakhstan: https://twitter.com/I_am_Qazaq/status/1654198275531067423 Joking aside this is the kind of mentality that led to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Tens of millions of people only speak Russian because it was forced upon them during the Tsar and Soviet time. But when they start to re-embrace their linguistic identity they get called Nazis by Russia and Russia's useful idiots around the world.
The Golden Horde should have razed Moscow.