Comments on: Putin didn’t take the bait: will Kursk offensive, including chemical weapon use, backfire on Ukraine?

By: penny2

penny2 — Sat, 24 Aug 2024 22:33:18 +0000

And Russia/Ukraine did a fairly large prisoner swap today
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp8nykdnlkpo

Russia and Ukraine exchanged 230 prisoners of war on Saturday- The Russians were captured in Kursk-

They were according to Dima, conscripts. Not special forces or anything along that lines

Ukraine got 115 Pow’s as well- one possibly an Azov fighter

The United Arab Emirates reportedly mediated the swap.
The Polish leader was in Ukraine today
“Poland’s president joins the commemorations in Kyiv
Polish President Andrzej Duda arrived in Kyiv by train early Saturday in a symbolic show of support from one of Ukraine’s key allies.”

By: penny2

penny2 — Sat, 24 Aug 2024 22:26:55 +0000

In reply to penny2. "The group has previously claimed responsibility for attacks that it was not involved in, including a mass shooting in Las Vegas in 2017."

By: penny2

penny2 — Sat, 24 Aug 2024 22:22:23 +0000

Just want to put these items of interest here
First up- The responsibility for the stabbing in Germany has been claimed by ISIL- So, the ever changing alphabet soup names are on my mind.
Before ISIS there was ISIL (ISIL was more common) but then ISIS became more common, perhaps it was catchier?
But now, we’ve gong back to ISIL- The L stands for the Levant. The second S in ISIS stood for Syria.

Highly suggestive that the intelligence agencies through there media assets are trying to get the audience to think about a larger geographical area- one that takes in Turkey through to Africa (Libya)
Though the destabilizing activity in these areas has been ongoing for a very long time- the entire area has not been at the forefront for some time

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/8/24/isil-claims-responsibility-for-stabbing-attack-in-germanys-solingen
Why the change in branding at this time?

By: Gary Wilson

Gary Wilson — Sat, 24 Aug 2024 02:12:57 +0000

In reply to penny2. Yes Penny: Since few if any of the invading force will be able to make it out alive, Russia can take their time identifying the dead bodies. I would expect many of them would be dead mercenaries with some being American. That would not make the US or NATO look very good.

By: penny2

penny2 — Fri, 23 Aug 2024 23:30:47 +0000

In reply to Gary Wilson.

Hi Gary
I do not think this was a good idea on Ukraine’s part at all -your right on the no air support too!
Good for short term propaganda. Internally and internationally. You can get some of the hype even in the linked article
And yes, my understanding is they used some of their best troop as well.
This move was an act of desperation, in my opinion, and the only way, the only chance of succeeding was to get the Kursk NPP. They didn’t. And all was lost.
I’m not expecting many will make it out alive- Though Russia may keep some for prisoner exchanges? There are also rumours of US based mercenaries on the ground- they might be worth hanging on to?

By: Gary Wilson

Gary Wilson — Fri, 23 Aug 2024 23:06:56 +0000

Hi Penny:
Do you think invading a lightly populated, forested area of Russia without air support was a good idea? It was good in only one way, for short term propaganda. It is unlikely that any of their troops will make it back to Ukraine alive. Russia has the situation under control as in fish in a barrel. Apparently Ukraine used some of their best troops in this operation. Thus, this will speed up the coming fall of Ukraine.