All I can give them — is victory

It’s been eleven days since I last wrote about the invasion of Ukraine. Back on Tuesday, September 12 Mark Sumner of Daily Kos wrote about Russia’s tally of Ukrainian losses. That tally is higher than all of the Western tanks donated to Ukraine (even counting those that haven’t arrived yet) and more than a third of all the tanks Ukraine is estimated to have. As for armored vehicles the number Russia reports lost in just a few months is more than twice as many as Ukraine ever had.

But there is one way in which Putin’s massive numbers might make some sense. While Ukraine may not have an extra 11,000 APCs on hand, it might have that many fake APCs. Ukraine has been sending out whole new battalions of decoy weapons to draw in Russian drones and artillery.

First there were the rather hilarious inflatable tank decoys. Now a metalworking firm Metinvest has increased production of high-quality decoys, costing about $1000 each. And even up close they’re rather convincing. On Wednesday, September 13 Sumner reported that Ukraine launched an attack against drydocks associated with the naval port at Sevastopol in Russian-occupied Crimea. They destroyed a submarine and a landing ship. The price of the sub is at least $300 million and that class of sub is regarded as among the most stealthy. Russia reported the attack and the condition of the sub as just a scratch, back in service in a few days. Photos of the sub and ship and analysis since then say that neither is going anywhere other than the scrap heap. On Friday, September 15 Sumner updated the story of Elon Musk shutting of his Starlink internet satellite service that blinded Ukraine as it launched an attack on Russian assets in Crimea. A quick summary of Sumner’s reporting: Musk did help Ukraine with internet access. But it is a lot less help than Musk claims. Also Musk has been preventing Ukraine from using Starlink to attack any of the territory Russia is occupying – and not telling Ukraine that’s part of his terms. Musk claims his network is not to be used for offensive purposes. On Sunday, September 17 Kos of Kos wrote that a recent far right conference the biggest applause line was one about it’s time to stop supporting Ukraine. That line got more applause than the nasty guy. Anti-Ukraine sentiment will quickly spread through the party. But winning the war is still vitally important. And Putin has no incentive to end it before the 2024 election. So the current policy of announcing more goodies for Ukraine every few weeks, even though the money was allocated quite a while ago, should end. Instead announce it all at once. The lock deliveries in place so Republicans and the nasty guy can’t undo it. Showing the full magnitude of America’s contribution gives Putin a clear picture of what he’s up against. On Monday, September 20 Charles Jay discussed two contrasting interviews. The nasty guy was on Meet the Press where he bragged how he would get Putin and Zelenskyy into a room and work out a deal. The war would be over! Of course, no details were mentioned. Knowing the players the deal would leave Russia in control of Ukrainian territory. There were also lots of lies with little fact checking. The other interview was of Zelenskyy that appeared on 60 Minutes. It was thoughtful in ways the other interview couldn’t be. And it included Zelenskyy saying things like:

We're defending the values of the whole world. And these are Ukrainian people who are paying the highest price. We are truly fighting for our freedom, we are dying we are not fiction, we are not a book. We are fighting for real with a nuclear state that threatens to destroy the world. ... If Ukraine falls, Putin will surely go further. What will the United States of America do when Putin reaches the Baltic states? When he reaches the Polish border? He will. ... Today you … saw me awarding people [medals]. [Well] today is a day like that. A week ago, I gave awards to parents [of soldiers who have been killed]. There were 24 families of the dead. There was a woman. She was with three children. There were parents, very old. They could barely walk and they had had only one son. One of the women was pregnant. She arrived holding a baby in her arms. And she was pregnant. And that baby will never see… what should I tell them? That all of them died so that we could say, `It's okay, [Russia] you can take it all.’ It's a difficult job. You understand me, right? Giving awards to people whose faces show their whole world has collapsed. And all I can give them, all I can give them—is victory.

On Wednesday, September 20 Sumner reported on Biden’s and Zelenskyy’s speeches at the United Nations. Both discussed how vital support for Ukraine is, not just for Ukraine, but for the whole world. If Ukraine falls, Russia will attack elsewhere as will other strongmen. Lower down Sumner included a map showing the Russian units around Robotyne, where Ukraine has made the most progress. The Russian units across the line are quite likely not at full strength, with gaps filled with poorly trained conscripts. And behind that line there’s... very little.

Why aren’t those third and fourth rows of trenches filled with waiting soldiers? Because there’s no one to fill them. What Russia has now is what Russia has on the line.

And yesterday, Friday, September 23, Laura Clawson of Kos reported:

Putin Republicans were cool to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to the Capitol, and it didn’t go unnoticed or uncelebrated on Russian state TV. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Sens. Ron Johnson and J.D. Vance all featured in a Russian report on Zelenskyy’s U.S. trip.

That Russian report also included a rant with a lot of dehumanizing language of Zelenskyy, as in how could anyone support such a low-life as him? From the serious to the ridiculous. The top entries in the annual Bulwer-Lytton contest have been announced. This contest was inspired by Edward Bulwer-Lytton and the opening line of his story, “It was a dark and stormy night.” The goal of the contest is write the opening sentence of a bad novel. Some of my favorites from this year’s top entries:

It was a dark and stormy night at the harbors of Sydney, where wind whipped the seawater across the docks and the torrents of rain soaked everything that the waves could not reach, but luckily for James Tyche this story begins at a beach in Southern France, where it was currently day and James was gradually developing a healthy tan and less healthy sunburn. Robin Alberts, Ludenscheid, Germany After the unfortunate events involving the wicked stepmothers of Cinderella, Snow White, and Hansel and Gretel, the city council set out to ban all men from remarrying until further notice. Ezra Greenhill, Portland, OR Quintus Arias, along with many other Romans, came out of their hiding spots to observe the multitudinous bolts of burlap which festooned their city and glimpsed the tail end of the retreating Goths, concluding that as far as sackings go, this could have been a helluva lot worse. Rob Greer, Queen Creek, AZ Wherefore art thou?” she whines, like she don't know wherefore I art, when I damned sure told her like 50 times the old man makes me work the bar every Saturday night, like the Montague Lounge can't survive without me! Jon Hardi, Falls Church, VA