Standing today before ambitious communication design students, I found myself veering away from the usual disjointed bushwa about visible language and maps of the mind and centers that cannot hold toward a reiteration of thoughts from an article I read two years ago, by that bright fellow Zaluzhny.
With only one day left before the Kamala vs. Donald debate in Philadelphia, Z on the banks of Lake Como in Italy decided to interject himself in Team USA’s self-deterrent policy for helping Ukraine to avoid complete obliteration, as well as avoiding the takeover of Taiwan by China.
Z says Russia’s center of gravity, the point where all force must be directed, are Russian airfields, which should be attacked in order to bring a quick end to the war, according to Lindsey, who adds that F-16 pilots “all over Europe” can be recruited to fly the six (6) fighter jets Ukraine has received from partners and that, according to Z, sanctions against Russia are not working.
Ukraine’s Telemarafon left the F-16 part of the Victor Plan (also known as the Peace Formula) completely.
News at 0800 went like this: an army spokesman talked about the number of attacks, estimated Russian casualties last week, a bunch of pro-Ukraine public service announcements, Z talked about demolishing Russia’s center of gravity with long-range missiles, followed by a story about athletes fighting with Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Agency and back to Z telling us victory depends on western leaders authorizing use of long-range missile strikes against Russia.
Z and Lindsey and Telemarafon all skipped the catastrophe unfolding for the last three or four months in Donbas1.
Yury, a soldier attached to the 59th brigade based near Ukrainisk, says Ukrainian losses have been significant. A reinforcement of inexperienced infantrymen sent from Ukraine’s 71st brigade were wiped out. “Over three days, 100 became zero. Some ran, some fell.” It is not all one-way traffic. A Ukrainian counter-attack on Friday, using tanks and infantry, pushed the Russians back somewhat. They are out of the southern districts of nearby Selydove. But the situation remains precarious. The Russians are still focused on control of the roads leading to Pokrovsk. “We have been fighting with our last guard, and have thrown our logistics guys into the trenches.”
Reason for the Donbas disaster :
failed forced conscription campaign,
failure to erect fall-back defensive positions,
failure of command and control.
In his daily pep talk, Z said:
Our main focus now, at the beginning of the fall, is to strengthen the positions of Ukraine and Ukrainians as much as possible, protect our cities and villages from Russian terror, and, of course, provide more capabilities for our warriors on the frontlines. Pokrovsk, Toretsk, Kurakhove direction, and other areas of the highest concentration of Russian forces.
Wonderful. Maybe that should have been the main focus six months ago.
In other news, Lucy at The Guardian is getting a lot of criticism for her completely batshit review of BBC’s three-part mini series about of Z, which is def not meant for an Ukrainian audience2.
Danger in Donbas as Ukraine’s front line falters. Russian fighters are trying to encircle the defenders (The Economist, September 8, 2024)
Without wading into Lucy's fantasy that was probably bullshit she felt radiating from the bullshitter. The more you know, etc.