Practically the co-host of state TV propagandists

Happy Pi Day! In a Ukraine update from late Sunday afternoon Hunter of Daily Kos reported that Russia hasn’t accomplished much in the week beyond shelling buildings. Putin has said that military aid from the West is an act of war. Shelling in western Ukraine is an attempt to disrupt that. Hunter explained there is little Putin can do about blocking this aid. Russia holds only the perimeter of Ukraine. Resupply can be easily done through the rest of the country. Missiles can hit distribution centers, but those are easily moved. These defensive weapons are small and don’t stand out. And Russia doesn’t have much other than missiles. Those missiles have now struck within 10km of the Polish border. Their lack of accuracy risks one going over the border and widening the war. In a mid evening update Hunter discussed Russian contemplating asking China for military aid. The ask is a problem for Putin because it shows Russia is not a superpower. That we know about the possible ask is because the info was leaked by American officials. This forces China’s response to be public or further “leaks” will make it public. Wrote Hunter:

Though China has long looked to Putin's Russia as partner in combating U.S. influence in its hemisphere, Putin's invasion has put China's government into a no-win situation. External analysis of China's possible moves paints a bleak picture, as all roads appear to lead to a severely damaged Russia that can no longer fill that role—and new unity in the international community that will prove a greater obstacle to China's own military ambitions than the pre-invasion status quo. Chinese leaders have little to gain from standing by Putin even as Putin loses, cannot risk involving themselves to any extent that would genuinely help Putin to win, and could themselves face unified international sanctions for even attempting it. China's only plausible move, according to that analysis, is to abandon Putin and attempt to limit the damage. The current attempts to remain vaguely neutral will only rebound more harshly on China as a desperate Putin attempts to escalate his conflict in an all-or-nothing bid to salvage his nation's stature—and his own skin.

Kos of Kos walked us through still images of a video of a Ukrainian ambush of a convoy of Russian vehicles. Thankfully what Kos shows us does not include the human damage. Through the various steps Kos, with military training, explained what the Russians did wrong. That means they have little training on how to deal with an ambush. In an update to this update by Barbara Morrell there is a quote of a tweet by Phil Stewart:

(Reuters) - Russia has not asked China for military assistance and has sufficient military capability to fulfil all of its aims in Ukraine in time and in full, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Morrell added:

In other words, China said no. And we know the last part is just a lie.

In today’s pundit roundup Greg Dworkin of Kos quoted Julia Davis of Daily Beast discussing the Kremlin propaganda machine:

Carlson, who has been described as “practically the co-host” of state TV propagandists and “a voice of reason,” is often quoted to support official Kremlin narratives. Russian senator Alexey Pushkov claimed that the West—and not Russia—is “provoking war.” He asserted: “This isn’t just my opinion. Prominent Fox News commentator Tucker Carlson says that the mainstream media is getting us ready for war, demanding war.”

That was followed by a tweet from David Corn:

@MotherJones has obtained Russian government memos sent to pro-Putin media outlets telling them "it is essential" they feature Tucker Carlson in their coverage of the #Ukraine war "as much as possible."