KEY TAKEAWAYS OF WAGERN REBELLION:
1-I've given up trying to guess what's in Prigozhin's head or what his relationship w/ Putin is; you should too
2-This killed remaining effectiveness of Putin's propaganda; nearly every Russia now knows war going bad
3-Putin is greatly weakened
4-Anyone else thinking of pulling off revolt is heartened as Russia seems fairly defenseless from attack; this will not be the last rebel attack
5-Could take less than a day for future Russian rebels to threaten Moscow, which wouldn't have enough troops if rebel army large enough
6-Free Russia Legion/Russian Volunteer Corps will gain recruits & attacks will increase
7-This is not good at all for Putin's regime or its war effort (especially Russian morale and recruitment) and this aids Ukrainian advances, will likely inspire boost in aid going to Ukraine
8-Whatever this "deal" really is, Prigozhin could be dead in days or he might find a way to march again on Moscow. Uncertainty reigns
9-Putin will be eager to demonstrate his power now, but has few options to do so that can succeed. Even his hypersonic missiles can be shot down
10-Overall, this is another great example of Russia's incompetence, dysfunction, and that it is losing this war. Expect more of that from Russia and more winning for Ukraine. Ukraine's counter offensive hasn't even entered a main phase, with lots of Ukrainian units uncommitted
11-Losing horribly has consequences & the idea that all this could go on indefinitely at no cost to Putin and his regime is insane... More from me on these dynamics here: realcontextnews.com/recent-raids-a…
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Folks, IT is happening. Counteroffensive THREAD🧵 1- underway now in Bakhmut. Ukraine making gains north & south of city eve while Wagner keeps attacking in middle. Russia setting itself up for disaster because it needs to focus on defense, as Ukraine could encircle Bakhmut. Why?
2-1 reason is new Western IFVs mean LOTS of new mobility for Ukraine. Also, 1 reason Russian offensive struggled is HIMARS has meant it can't have logistics bases close to front line. UK's Storm Shadow missiles mean where Russia THOUGHT was safe ain't
3-One major hub for Russia for Bakhmut operations is Luhansk, apparently hit by Storm Shadows today (out of HIMARS range). Supply situation about to deteriorate horribly for Russia near Bakhmut. This means no fuel for vehicles, very tough to retreat in face of Ukraine's IFVs. Bad
1-Ukraine ALREADY has Storm Shadow. Certainly not surprise to U.S. but coordinated ahead of time. Announced AFTER delivery so Russia wouldn't be looking for 'em. Whole time people screaming ATACMS LOOKED like Ukraine didn't have missiles in this range, Russia prepared accordingly
2-So armchair generals loving to thump their chests might CHILL & remember:
1-Lots in motion that isn't announced on Twitter ahead
2-Coalition looking to surprise Russia not telegraph every move
3-What's said/announced isn't real time & is never full picture
4-Psyops/infowar real
3-This U.S.-led coalition supporting Ukraine has achieved A LOT & moved mountains historically speaking to support Ukraine & this is a big part of the reason why Ukraine is winning. Those focusing so much on what coalition hasn't done might look at bigger picture of what it has
Israel generally needs to be more careful. But trying to understand the rules: If Islamic Jihad, which is not governing like Hamas but is mainly just a terrorist group, has 3 leaders that are legit targets, are they off limits if with their families, which are then human shields?
Misleading to start w/ "13 Palestinians killed" (Al-Haq didn't, others are), makes it sound like Israeli just killed 13 rando civilians minding their own biz. Mostly 3 PIJ commanders & their families. Israel misleads too, calling Palestinians defending their homes "terrorists"
Both sides constantly use maximalist rhetoric exaggerating actions of the other side. Many of the Palestinian fighters killed in Jenin months ago were just protecting their community; the key targets of this strike weren't "13 Palestinians but 3 PIJ commanders. Context matters
"WHAT RUSSIA DEFENSE DOING?"
Not much that can stop Ukraine.
1-My THREAD🧵on Ukraine's coming counteroffensive, & especially why Ukraine's crossing of the Dnipro River is such a crucial and overlooked development that affects the context of the entire Ukrainian battlespace
2-Be wary of anyone telling you they know where/when Ukraine's main thrusts will come from. Obviously, there are only so many options making sense but it's a large front & Ukraine is wily, keeping an eye on Russia & adjusting to opportunities it presents realcontextnews.com/russian-army-c…
3-Ukraine will have a good sense of where Russia is making its own adjustments/sending reinforcements. Ukraine will have a few good options for attack & with interior lines, logistics superior to Russia, new Western APCs ready to be deployed. Ukraine can quickly change up plans
THREAD🧵1-Apart from predicting that Finland and Sweden were being driven to NATO by Russia's saber rattling , I engaged in a series of related articles on NATO and the lessons of the Soviet-Finnish Winter War of 1939-1940
2-Here I am debunking Putin's NATO narrative as, to use the clinical term, BULLSHIT, bearing no resemblance to reality (just look at what Gorbachev himself said!) realcontextnews.com/putins-nato-na…
3-In my first on the lessons of the 1939-1940 Soviet-Finnish Winter War, I noted how scary it was that Stalin in 1939 with Finland was far more rational with his calculus than Putin with Ukraine realcontextnews.com/a-terrifying-c…