I'd forgotten the renewal date but my subscription was just auto-renewed. I am so glad! Your Substack is my one paid subscription. I really appreciate the fresh perspective you offer on Ukraine from your military and family background, as it's a world I know so little about. And your reminiscences of a long-ago New York life I do share and they always make me smile. Keep it going!
Vladimir Putin is clearly in over his head. He is former KGB, where assassination and torture are valuable skills. His ignorance of conventional combat on this scale is painfully evident from his ineffective strategy and awful management we see in the field.
What worries me now is that he has nukes, including smaller tactical nukes. Ukraine and its allies have to find a way to win while letting him lose and save face at the same time, or he may use those nukes in desperation.
Embedded links to several videos tweeted by "Witch," a woman commander in Ukraine's military, who before this war was a lawyer working on a PhD, a mother with a six-year-old kid --- instead she is doing this, it's very impressive stuff, some of it is humorous as she and the troops seem to retain their sense of dark humor. Maybe another sign among many of what #Russiaterroriststate is up against?
May appear to be counterintuitive however wimmin have a better feel for war than men. Starts with knowing men better than they know themselves. Due to being the bringers of life, they're far less likely to wasting lives. Same with resources.
daeshbags aka ISIS were defeated by a SDF woman commander along w/wimmin fighters in both the YPG and by the all-wimmin YPJ. That woman commander is the person who made the stand in Kobane. Is not a one off. Wimmin commanders go back to the partisans in WW2 thru the best asymmetrical leaders and fighters across SEA.
Said another way wimmin commanders think deeper and longer. And make the transition from JO to SO to FO/GO w/o dick measuring along the way.
Am grateful for the link. Put the Fun in FunDay Friday.
Agree there is a growing consensus with those who think that it is way past time to hand the keys over to wimmin. Is impossible to ignore both the history of a male dominated world juxtaposed with how wimmin have conducted themselves over the same period of time. Will toss in the most successful societies in the animal world are matriarchal or true partnerships.
"If you really want to heal the planet, empower women." Evidently that would include to empower them with firearms for self-defense, with all other legal and ethical guidelines observed. Not the crazy "system" we now have in the USA, of course. As part of a regulated militia, for sure!
I resisted buying a subscription. I'm so glad that I shelled out the money. Your writing and insight is really valuable. I always look forward to you posts. Thank you.
It will be most pleasurable if Putin is captured and held for war crimes against humanity very soon. His devoted generals should also get the axe as well as his trusty oligarchs and members of our Congress who are emboldened to Putin.
Surprised that you didn’t mention anything about China telling Russia to cease fire, Lucian. Even Xi knows that Western allies pack a punch of ammunitions and weaponry.
As a veteran and a student of military history, this essay moved me. My experience in the Air Force confirms what Lucian has to say in this essay. Service to one's nation is built on trust. Thank you, Lucian. But, for all of us, keep writing the truth as you see it.
I hope Putin’s war of cards crumbles soon. The Ukrainian people have already suffered so much loss at the hands of those criminals. I hope Putin is tried and convicted of war crimes alongside those who followed his orders,especially the Wagner group. Putin has destroyed the lives of the Russians as well as the Ukrainians. His lust for the past has caused great damage to many and he should be held up as the murder he is so they see the consequences of evil.
“The common curse of mankind, folly and ignorance” — William Shakespeare. The enormity of this war is staggering. The lost of life, the loss of home and hearth, with the loss of any semblance of reason almost too staggering to comprehend. In addition to the human costs, the belligerence towards the environment is appalling too. And yet, I fear that Putin will not retreat until there’s nothing left. A monster of epic proportions.
I like the idea of a war crimes tribunal in The Hague. Putin can be tried in absentia, but conviction will make him an international pariah. Good job, Vlad!
Once again Lucian is able to put some real meaning into what’s going on with this mindless and grotesquely unnecessary slaughter. It took about four years for our Vietnam house-of-cards debacle to implode, and another six before we were really and truly out of there. The Russians may stupidly be following the same road, but it can’t possibly go on for that nightmarishly long in Ukraine. Until the Russian public realizes what a disaster Putin has imposed on them the war fever may not break. He controls all the propaganda, and the Russian volk are not by nature rebellious, so the mass anti-war demonstrations that happened here in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s are not very likely in Russia. Nor does there seem to be an internal coup brewing, although how would we know. It’s going to take some decisive Ukrainian victories coupled with rebellion within the Russian ranks and civil unrest to bring this horror to a head, and perhaps the end of Putin. Give the Ukrainians everything they need. Now. It has to end.
It still took four years after Kerry's testimony to get out of Vietnam, and this in a so-called democracy. How long will it take to withdraw in Ukraine for Russia, led by a monomaniacal neo-dictator rabidly bent on re-establishing the autocratic greatness of his fevered dreams? Stalin said a million deaths are a statistic; a single death is a tragedy. Putin is a statistician of death.
Please write on how this war can end compared to the way the wars in RVN and Afghanistan ended with the engaged armies fell apart in disarray. I look forward to seeing the Russian army fall apart in the face of a Ukr attack just as the South Vietnamese and Afghan armies fell apart.
I did quite a bit of comparing to VN in this column. Afghanistan had many similarities to VN, especially the stopping fighting thing -- after awhile, U.S. army forces just stayed put on their bases. Casualty figures for the waning years of the war reflect that. When the U.S. stops being willing to sacrifice soldiers for the cause they say they're fighting for, they should just get the hell out, and that was true in Afghanistan in spades.
The biggest problem with the war in Ukraine -which the Russians have lost, but only one person doesn't believe it-Vladimir Putin-is how do you tell the man who started it, who believes it is a valid war, that he has lost?
How do you make him understand that when you know he will never admit it to himself or to his people because the first time he does, he knows his power is over and that his life and job are done?
Putin has the military right now propping him up. When the military finally gets tired of losing the war, all their men and their weapons, I think that will be the time that he will actually understand that it's over, and he no longer rules Russia.
The fact the head of the Wagner Group and the Russian military are now sniping at one another is a sign that all good order in either group is dissolving and it's a matter of time before Wagner stops providing his 'troops' to Putin and the regular military will too.
Let's hope sometime soon someone will be brave enough to stand up to Putin and tell him, "Hey, Vald, let's just get the hell out of Ukraine because it's not going anywhere, and we've lost this 'special operation' but good"
That person will have to know in advance that his life is forfeit but that he will be doing a greater public good for the sake of the Russian nation.
I think that the only way this war will end is for someone in Putin’s inner circle to kill him. The rest of those in this group must also agree to this action.
I'd forgotten the renewal date but my subscription was just auto-renewed. I am so glad! Your Substack is my one paid subscription. I really appreciate the fresh perspective you offer on Ukraine from your military and family background, as it's a world I know so little about. And your reminiscences of a long-ago New York life I do share and they always make me smile. Keep it going!
I pray that somebody pulls that bottom card OUT quickly.
Vladimir Putin is clearly in over his head. He is former KGB, where assassination and torture are valuable skills. His ignorance of conventional combat on this scale is painfully evident from his ineffective strategy and awful management we see in the field.
What worries me now is that he has nukes, including smaller tactical nukes. Ukraine and its allies have to find a way to win while letting him lose and save face at the same time, or he may use those nukes in desperation.
news.yahoo.com/witch-ukraine-reveals-teeny-weeny-140000039.html
Embedded links to several videos tweeted by "Witch," a woman commander in Ukraine's military, who before this war was a lawyer working on a PhD, a mother with a six-year-old kid --- instead she is doing this, it's very impressive stuff, some of it is humorous as she and the troops seem to retain their sense of dark humor. Maybe another sign among many of what #Russiaterroriststate is up against?
May appear to be counterintuitive however wimmin have a better feel for war than men. Starts with knowing men better than they know themselves. Due to being the bringers of life, they're far less likely to wasting lives. Same with resources.
daeshbags aka ISIS were defeated by a SDF woman commander along w/wimmin fighters in both the YPG and by the all-wimmin YPJ. That woman commander is the person who made the stand in Kobane. Is not a one off. Wimmin commanders go back to the partisans in WW2 thru the best asymmetrical leaders and fighters across SEA.
Said another way wimmin commanders think deeper and longer. And make the transition from JO to SO to FO/GO w/o dick measuring along the way.
lol....sooo much more good can be accomplished w/o dick measuring!
"In the war of the sexes, I defected to the enemy long ago."
Not just one of my favorite quotations, something that more or less happened in my own life, based on my close observation of what's goin' on:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-kA3UtBj4M
Am grateful for the link. Put the Fun in FunDay Friday.
Agree there is a growing consensus with those who think that it is way past time to hand the keys over to wimmin. Is impossible to ignore both the history of a male dominated world juxtaposed with how wimmin have conducted themselves over the same period of time. Will toss in the most successful societies in the animal world are matriarchal or true partnerships.
Love me some Marvin!
Well, Marvin is now an ear worm in me noggin'. Feel free to take it away
I know for sure I wouldn't want to tangle with ANY of the uniformed women I met in Israel in 1969. at least not with any hostile intent.
"If you really want to heal the planet, empower women." Evidently that would include to empower them with firearms for self-defense, with all other legal and ethical guidelines observed. Not the crazy "system" we now have in the USA, of course. As part of a regulated militia, for sure!
"Is dis a system?" --- Zap Comix
and IDF wimmin are accomplished MWD handlers as well as crack shots .
Wow!
Now that's a totally badass woman! Wow!
I resisted buying a subscription. I'm so glad that I shelled out the money. Your writing and insight is really valuable. I always look forward to you posts. Thank you.
It will be most pleasurable if Putin is captured and held for war crimes against humanity very soon. His devoted generals should also get the axe as well as his trusty oligarchs and members of our Congress who are emboldened to Putin.
Surprised that you didn’t mention anything about China telling Russia to cease fire, Lucian. Even Xi knows that Western allies pack a punch of ammunitions and weaponry.
As a veteran and a student of military history, this essay moved me. My experience in the Air Force confirms what Lucian has to say in this essay. Service to one's nation is built on trust. Thank you, Lucian. But, for all of us, keep writing the truth as you see it.
I am 1,000% sure Putin has a small dick.
Yup...but, unfortunately, big balls. Maybe made of papier maché, we hope.
I hope Putin’s war of cards crumbles soon. The Ukrainian people have already suffered so much loss at the hands of those criminals. I hope Putin is tried and convicted of war crimes alongside those who followed his orders,especially the Wagner group. Putin has destroyed the lives of the Russians as well as the Ukrainians. His lust for the past has caused great damage to many and he should be held up as the murder he is so they see the consequences of evil.
Very good article, as always. It is just so, so sad that so many lives are lost because of lies.
“The common curse of mankind, folly and ignorance” — William Shakespeare. The enormity of this war is staggering. The lost of life, the loss of home and hearth, with the loss of any semblance of reason almost too staggering to comprehend. In addition to the human costs, the belligerence towards the environment is appalling too. And yet, I fear that Putin will not retreat until there’s nothing left. A monster of epic proportions.
I like the idea of a war crimes tribunal in The Hague. Putin can be tried in absentia, but conviction will make him an international pariah. Good job, Vlad!
based on what we're all witnessing, I have trouble believing that Putin cares about his "international pariah" status.
Once again Lucian is able to put some real meaning into what’s going on with this mindless and grotesquely unnecessary slaughter. It took about four years for our Vietnam house-of-cards debacle to implode, and another six before we were really and truly out of there. The Russians may stupidly be following the same road, but it can’t possibly go on for that nightmarishly long in Ukraine. Until the Russian public realizes what a disaster Putin has imposed on them the war fever may not break. He controls all the propaganda, and the Russian volk are not by nature rebellious, so the mass anti-war demonstrations that happened here in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s are not very likely in Russia. Nor does there seem to be an internal coup brewing, although how would we know. It’s going to take some decisive Ukrainian victories coupled with rebellion within the Russian ranks and civil unrest to bring this horror to a head, and perhaps the end of Putin. Give the Ukrainians everything they need. Now. It has to end.
It still took four years after Kerry's testimony to get out of Vietnam, and this in a so-called democracy. How long will it take to withdraw in Ukraine for Russia, led by a monomaniacal neo-dictator rabidly bent on re-establishing the autocratic greatness of his fevered dreams? Stalin said a million deaths are a statistic; a single death is a tragedy. Putin is a statistician of death.
Please write on how this war can end compared to the way the wars in RVN and Afghanistan ended with the engaged armies fell apart in disarray. I look forward to seeing the Russian army fall apart in the face of a Ukr attack just as the South Vietnamese and Afghan armies fell apart.
Otherwise, how are you John?
I did quite a bit of comparing to VN in this column. Afghanistan had many similarities to VN, especially the stopping fighting thing -- after awhile, U.S. army forces just stayed put on their bases. Casualty figures for the waning years of the war reflect that. When the U.S. stops being willing to sacrifice soldiers for the cause they say they're fighting for, they should just get the hell out, and that was true in Afghanistan in spades.
The biggest problem with the war in Ukraine -which the Russians have lost, but only one person doesn't believe it-Vladimir Putin-is how do you tell the man who started it, who believes it is a valid war, that he has lost?
How do you make him understand that when you know he will never admit it to himself or to his people because the first time he does, he knows his power is over and that his life and job are done?
Putin has the military right now propping him up. When the military finally gets tired of losing the war, all their men and their weapons, I think that will be the time that he will actually understand that it's over, and he no longer rules Russia.
The fact the head of the Wagner Group and the Russian military are now sniping at one another is a sign that all good order in either group is dissolving and it's a matter of time before Wagner stops providing his 'troops' to Putin and the regular military will too.
Let's hope sometime soon someone will be brave enough to stand up to Putin and tell him, "Hey, Vald, let's just get the hell out of Ukraine because it's not going anywhere, and we've lost this 'special operation' but good"
That person will have to know in advance that his life is forfeit but that he will be doing a greater public good for the sake of the Russian nation.
I think that the only way this war will end is for someone in Putin’s inner circle to kill him. The rest of those in this group must also agree to this action.
Its not a question whether Putin and Wagner will be assassinated. Its WHEN.
"I never think about why
but how and when.
Joubert