Tom Profile picture
Sep 30 6 tweets 2 min read
It's far too early to talk about "Ukraine's defeat".
This tweet comes off corny & condescending

You have all been wrong about many things

And by the way, the people who actually make reality hold a gun in their hand. You don't determine/predict whether the troops holding Liman had morale/will-to-fight etc

Even though I'm practically certain of a Russian victory, I've always warned against excessive optimism, and have predicted more of these upsets than probably most people.

E.g.
If we want to brag about predictions, here is one of mine back in May. Image
Contrast this with your unwarranted excessive optimism (see attached).

Quote: "they're attempting a thrust toward Kupyansk, with the aim of cutting the line connecting Izyum to Belgorod in the north. This operation is ... doomed to spectacular failure."

bigserge.substack.com/p/ukraine-coun…
I'm getting a bit sick of the whole "everyone else is panicking, but here is me: 😏the cool, calm one"

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More from @tom_username_

Oct 1
I don't know what the numbers are, but I encourage people to look at this Twitter account feed: twitter.com/UAWeapons

This is a serious loss for Russia. The destroyed/captured equipment in the Kharkov area speaks for itself

Big Serge, have you ever actually admitted a defeat?
I don't want to start in-fights like this, but the way you gloss over this is just embarrassing.
If you actually care about this like I do, you'd be losing sleep at the moment.

I know it seems cool to pretend to be indifferent, but this really just amounts to detachment from reality. It's an escape from reality rather than a courageous confrontation with it.
Read 4 tweets
Sep 27
As early as December 2021, German foreign minister Baerbock said: "In the event of further escalation (in Ukraine), NS2 could not come into service."

America wasn't hinting at sabotage. It was restating what Germany was already saying it would do. Sanctions were a last resort.
Germany already cancelled NS2. It has been extremely stubborn on this policy.

There was no reason for America to destroy it. If the US had gas to sell, it would already be selling it to Germany who is suffering shortages.
No one has provided a compelling reason why America would try to destroy NS1.

If America wanted strategic dominance over Germany, this wouldn't achieve it. The pipeline will either be fixed, or Germany will have to buy gas elsewhere. America doesn't have enough has to give out.
Read 4 tweets
Sep 27
America doesn't even do this kind of thing to its sworn enemy Iran, whose energy industry (esp. nuclear) it wants to undermine.

America is far more subtle than this. It doesn't just blow shit up in Europe. The device used for such a thing would also be visible.
Ukraine has already tried to destroy gas pipelines, and it is a common view among Ukrainians that Germany is an enemy of Ukraine for buying Russian gas in such high quantities.

Ukraine, unlike every other country in existence, shells nuclear power plants.
This kind of rogue insanity is in the DNA of the Ukrainian state.

I do not believe it is impossible for Ukraine to damage a 1.5 diameter pipeline which is only 60m underwater. I do not think this is beyond a highly industrial European country like Ukraine.
Read 6 tweets
Sep 27
Re: Nordstream

If everyone has their own theory of who "definitely" did it, then there is no certainty about who did it.

Looking through various channels, I see people saying it was "definitely" & "undoubtedly":

- Ukraine
- America
- Russia
- Britain
- Poland
- Eco-terrorists
What people actually mean by "definitely" or "obviously" is their own speculation.
This is a very serious event, and it's worth being right about who did it.

If Ukraine did it, this is a huge deal. I don't know why people are so ready to dismiss that possibility.

I refuse to jump to a conclusion when the conclusion matters this much.
Read 4 tweets
Sep 26
This is especially true in Krasny Liman at the moment.

The term "hero" is used a lot, often without justification, but there is no other term for the troops defending Liman right now.

They are up against a numerically superior enemy, and are holding the line like heroes.
In terms of morale, it is probably tempting to retreat in the knowledge that more troops will arrive soon and they can regain the city later.

They have resisted this temptation, and hold the line at extreme risk to themselves, even allowing the referendum to take place there.
The West thinks this is a humiliating moment for Russia. In reality, we are seeing some of the greatest moments of heroism in the war so far.

When Russia finally achieves numerical superiority in Ukraine, I wonder whether we'll ever see something like this again.
Read 4 tweets
Sep 25
300,000 mobilised reservists isn't a massive societal change.

It's not a high enough demand on Russian society to cause panic and make large numbers of people pack all their belongings and leave the country.
It's more of a "I know someone who knows someone who's being called up" type of societal impact. Your brother's friend or something, often not even that if you live in a city like St Petersburg.
A statistical analogy:

There are probably hundreds of thousands of people from your country who are on vacation. How many do you personally know who are on a vacation right now? Maybe 1 or 2?

Do hundreds of thousands of vacations leave a huge mark on society right now?
Read 5 tweets

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