If someone's career can be destroyed by releasing the Epstein Files it means it should be. If it was a politician a voted for, a journalist I like to read or my favorite movie star, I would say the same. I can't understand people who see it differently, like "he's in the files but he's our guy".

Of course it's bad that some officials in Ukraine are corrupt, but it's still good that it is being persecuted. Some countries have it worse. In some countries the president can literally build a gilded ballroom from oligarch's bribes and get away with it.

First time we heard Pokrovsk is about to fall was 15 months ago. Since then, we keep hearing the same. "The battle has entered the final phase, the fall is imminent". If it happens tomorrow (unlikely), it stopped Russian advance for more than a year. That is already "strategically significant".

Russian milbloger Kharchenko wrote interesting description of Pokrovsk. Both sides have considerable groupings outside of the city, but they can't approach due to drones. Inside, there is a handful of soldiers from both sides, who barely ever engage each other. He called it "battle of shadows".

Never forget that the people who lie to you currently that "Russia was forced to invade by the scheming West" lied to you that "Russia will never invade" - until the very day it did. And then they changed narrative overnight, considering their audience too stupid to notice.

It was Russian Z-blogger Romanov who wrote recently that once you sign this contract, you have no more than 12 days of life left and the countdown begins immediately

In World War 1, Brussels was captured by German army on 21 August 1914. When Belgium managed to fight it back? There was no need. When Germans surrendered, they still held a lot of what they captured in 1914-1915. But in late 1918, soldiers of the fallen German empire cared only about returning home

Sachs conspiracy theory defies basic common sense. There were dozens of thousands protesters. If they all got paid, how come it remain secret? Nobody ever bragged "look what I bought with this money"? How can anyone believe it?

My favorite kind of story is about a clueless person in the West, talking naive things about the greatness of communism and/or Russia without experiencing them in real life and going to a communist country and/or Russia to get this experience.

Looks like the only peace brokered by Trump is the one between Cambobia and Abu Bejran. The real wars between countries that actually exist are just beyond his threshold of competence.

In search of the silver lining: "ceasefire along current lines of contact" was always Ukrainian proposal, rejected by Putin and Trump (who was advocating "land swap" meaning Ukrainian giving up Donbas). Now Trump adopted Ukrainian negotiation stand thinking that it is his own. This is good.

If you think a tunnel connecting Russia and Alaska is a good idea, please remember that the road from Moscow ends in Yakutsk, where is no bridge. If you make it somehow across the river, you can drive (in good weather, in good vehicle) to Magadan, but NOT EVEN CLOSE to Bering strait.

Things that you really really need to know if you want to understand Russians - my new Substack open.substack.com/pub/eastspla...

Best "crying Russian" video since that lady on Crimea. Must watch!

Periodical reminder. While Ukraine has lousy friends (I'm ashamed our help is always "too little, too late"), Russia has no friends at all. India, China, North Korea, Iran demand hard cash for their "help". When Russia runs out of cash, it's all gone.

500% tariffs on Norway!

Some media report Putin's claim of seizing 5000 sq km in '25 as Russian success, but Ukraine has over 600 000 sq km. It's less than 1%, so it will take about a century for the rest. Probably more, as all that 1% are barren fields and abandoned villages. Russia failed to capture a single city in '25

Some people now defend Merkel by "she never said it". Indirectly, she did. She said she was pushing for new negotiation format. This "format" was in fact appeasement (like Trump's "let's do business, Vladimir"). That's what Poland & Baltics blocked (source in Polish): www.onet.pl/informacje/o...

Poland and Baltic states were right... maybe not about everything, but certainly about Russia. We understand Russia, we know their language and their culture. Merkel, Scholz, Trump, Macron (etc) - do not. Merkel should take this great opportunity to shut up in shame for getting Putin so wrong.

Russian commanders on Russian TV: we are at war with the satanic West People in the West: why would they attack us? They only want to sell us cheap gas. We don't know the origin of these drones. Let's be peaceful and friendly and roll out red carpet for Putin again.

In late 1918, Germany still occupied many territories they captured in 1914-1915. They surrendered not because they were pushed out of Belgium or Russia, but due to economical collapse. This war might end in similar way, not with a bang but insolvency.

Good news - yes! The staple of logistics for Russian army is UAZ-452 "Bukhanka" (in AI translate frequently called "Loaf"). Gasoline. Lada Niva - gasoline. BTR-60 and 70, gasoline. Most diesel powered stuff ended up destroyed in 2022-23.

Another Russian refinery is burning, this time in Yaroslavl. What's unusual is that the authorities reported the fire had nothing to do with Ukrainian drones, it was of "tekhnogenic origins". I'm not sure this version is better - but anyway, let them all burn (for any reasons, even cigarettogenic).

Remember all these idiots who said "Russia will not invade Ukraine, this is all NATO warmongering"? Neither apologized, they just got a new set of lies to push from their Russian handlers.

So this is Russia treating Russians (the victim screams "I am sorry, I will now obey you"). Do you think when they come to you, they will treat you better? Will you scream "I was always against NATO, big fan of Jeffrey Sachs here!"?

So Lavrov just said "these drones are not ours, but if you shoot them, you gonna regret". If someone still has any doubts... don't you think if he wasn't lying, he'd say something like "shoot them if you like, we don't care, they're not ours anyway"?

In case of WW3, Russia instantly loses access to Baltic sea and all the frozen assets in the West. That's why there will be no WW3. However, Russia will continue provocations that might cause actual fatalities (while saying "it wasn't us"). Just because they know it will go unpunished, as always.

So, seriously: I think Trump's "change of heart" is a Big Thing, even if he will not follow with any real support for Ukraine. Merely negating Moscow propaganda, "Russian victory is inevitable, the sooner Ukraine surrenders the better, give them Donbas, they'll take it anyway", already means a lot.

Some hard to translate humor from Russian TG (heavy use of diminutives and profanities). Red line, "we are here". Sinusoid: "Donald smart / Expletive expletive / Darling cute little Trump is our darling cute little elephant / lets nuke Washington / lets fly to Washington"

Russian TG channel "Two Majors" confirms "acute shortage" of fuel in "certain regions" and conclude that the problem will "continue or worsen" if someone doesn't take responsibility for improving AA protection of refineries. Meaning: it will not improve anytime soon, certainly not before winter.

3 years ago Putin announced "partial mobilization". These people never returned to civilian life - they are either dead of forced to sign "voluntary" contracts. Pro-Russian blogger PriZrak Novorossi is posting a touchy relation of one of the "mobiks" who apparently lost all hope for return

For sake of clickbait, media create headlines like "Russia/Ukraine occupied seven towns", but please remember: the only towns captured this year were in Russia (the Kursk incursion). In Ukraine, in 2025 neither side captured anything bigger than abandoned village.

Russia lost so many planes in the first months of invasion, they no longer dare to enter Ukrainian airspace. Russian MiG's would not have survived 12 minutes over Ukraine. Looks like NATO countries should apply to join Ukraine for better protection.

I saw many questions like "why is Russia doing this". It's simple: (1) they get lot of intel from these incursions (2) their useful idiots in the West scream "let's avoid WW3 at any cost!" even louder (3) Russia looks stronger and NATO looks weaker, because NATO never does anything about it

So in just one week Russian drones attack Poland, then Russian drone attacks Romania, and then three Russian fighters violated Estonian airspace. NATO should not be worried, Russia wants only peace?

On this day in 1939, Soviet Union invaded Poland - still fighting the German invasion, in violation of Polish-Soviet non aggression treaty of 1932. Most of the Polish officers who surrendered to Soviets were murdered, while most of those who surrendered to Germans survived until 1945.

Just imagine Trump as a president in 1942. "Hitler and the Jews hate each other so much, it's impossible to say who's right and who's wrong, but Adolf, stooohhp, let's do business, do you want oil fields in Alaska?".

Let us never forget for what he stood for.

So this is now all too obvious, that Trump never had any good idea how to end Putin's war (let alone in 24hrs). Rolling red carpet and whining "VLADIMIR STAHP!" is useless. But being the narcissist that he is, he will never admit his ideas were wrong - he will blame everybody else.

So, first Russian drones "accidentally" attack Poland. Then they "accidentally" attack Romania. Just how stupid one has to be to believe Russian propaganda?

So now pro-Russian propagandists will move from "Putin will never attack NATO country" to "it didn't happen, it was an accident, Ukraine is to blame anyway".

Dear President Trump. If you finally DID something about war in Ukraine - like properly sanction Russia or give Zelensky all the weapons he needs, it would divert the attention from the Epstein files. I, for one, would never mention them again, if I could praise you for being tough on Putin.

It's been 389 days since the first time I heard that Pokrovsk will fold in a matter of days (August 9, 2024).

Russian diplomacy works by preparing psychological profiles of foreign players and presenting them tailor-made temptations. They fooled Trump with mirage of "Nobel prize if Ukraine surrenders" just as they fooled George W. ("we fight terrorism together") or Obama ("we only want to sell gas & oil").

Summer's almost gone and the Russian summer offensive yielded a handful of deserted villages, but no city. Pokrovsk and Kupyansk seem endangered, but they seem endangered for year(s). Soon the weather will render combat impossible. So much of Putin's "100% of Donbas this year".

I don't know about America, but when in Europe someone is calling you "boss" it is probably meant to be an insult (unless you're Bruce Springsteen)

So... if your city gets invaded by hostile power, what would YOUR mayor do? Collaborate with the occupiers or say "no, I remain faithful to the constitution" - even if he knew this answer puts him in a camp (at best)?

British born Russian propagandist based in Donetsk denies there's acute water shortage due to Russian invasion while actually confirming it. "It will get better once Russia takes Slavyansk" - well, maybe so, but it won't happen this year, so... water shortage won't end before 2030.

I'm afraid this means no noble pwize for owange baby. Sad!

After all the pleasantries exchanged about jackets and tans I still expect no results from the recent summits. Putin will say "we never agreed to any of this, our goals remain unchanged" and the war will go on. Like it does.