Well said, Shankar, excellent as always. And as Zelenskyy has stated, there is no point wondering what a psychopath will do, which is why this war of attrition and aggression by Russia is a zero sum game.
It’s no different for Zelenskyy and Ukraine, than what Cersei Lannister said during the final confrontation with Eddard: "When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground."
Keep up the good work Ukraine, all this pain and suffering is about to pay off!…:)
A part of the reason for the Ukrainian success in this operation was in NOT telling the US (ie. Trump) what they were going to do...like the Kursk operation. The US is a sieve these days. I'm suprised that the other "Four Eyes" are still interacting with the "Fifth" one...or is it just "window dressing" now?
Yep. They learned the lesson the hard way. Their orginal plan in late 2022 was to cut the Russian force rights in the middle and go for the Sea of Azov. Some genius in Washington, forced them off the path and asked them to take the bite at the eastern and western edges, shrinking the Russian footprint and allowing Putin to further consolidate. It was such a mess the American plan was. No wonder their start failed in Iraq, failed in Afgan and no surprise they failed in Ukraine too. They did not tell the US about Kursk and there is exactly 0% chance that they informed them about the Spider.
yessssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss!. I will keep looking. Thank you so much. You saved me hours.
Two journalists/analysis have been shown video footage of drones landing on the domes of the A-50s before blowing up. The same footage shows other strategic bombers also being blown up.
Excellent article. I am hopeful Ukraine can build on their victory and make Russian surveillance far less useful. I am sorry we have Trump muddying the waters. But at least everyone is now clear that Putin has zero interest in peace. What Putin will do I suppose depends largely on those around him with perhaps a glance toward potential U.S. sanctions.
If Russia is down to two A50's, Ukraine appears to have an incredible opportunity to hit hard and often. And by not relying on American 'advice', they can hit faster, too. "Spider-web" may prove to be the harbinger of the fall of two empires.
I’m VERY satisfied with this morning’s news about Ukraine bombing the bridge between Russia and Crimea. I felt there should be a second strategic attack right after June 1st drones to keep Russia from exhaling and still off-kilter.
I guess we’ll find out just how deep Putin’s fury is in the near future. I pray for Ukraine’s citizens.
Excellent reporting, Mr. Narayan. The lose of multiple AWACS is huge. We hear from Krassenstein Ukraine hit the Kerch Bridge today with 1,100 kg of underwater explosives!
After the longest time, I feel Ukraine is in a position to win this war. Any ships crossing to replace the Kerch Bridge will be subject to Ukrainian naval drones. That means supplies have to be routed through Mariupol. With AWACS reduced, some key rail sabotage will slow down supplies further. Russia might lose a chunk of Crimea without having Ukraine invade.
You always go deeper, and add details and thoughts I don’t find elsewhere. Well written too, I might add. In this you are spot on, and I admire Zelenskyy’s restraint and moral clarity. I hope they do find and exploit every weakness to defeat Russia soundly, and end the Putin era.
ohh. Indian military will be in a spot of bother. That is why they are furiously trying to balance the composition of weapons. France remains their main focus for diversification right now. India is the biggest potential customer-- European defense manfacturers can tap into.
Media, they will happily swing. They don't care. For now, they fully remain pro-Putin lite.
If media in India are anything like those in the West, it won’t affect them at all. They’ll just go on publishing story after story, without bothering to truly reality-check and form any strongly held beliefs that could potentially get proven wrong.
I believe that when dealing with people from the USSR back in the day—especially engineers, other scientists, and military specialists—many in India were mistaken in thinking that they were Russians, when it is quite likely that they were Ukrаіnіаns...
(This, btw, is also the reason that without Ukraine, Рutіn cannot make Russia great again.)
I told my husband there would be more than one action planned by Ukraine. The two A-50’s are game changing, the other bombers are great relief, and the deep underwater hit to the bridge is intense satisfaction. Love the spider web!
Well said, Shankar, excellent as always. And as Zelenskyy has stated, there is no point wondering what a psychopath will do, which is why this war of attrition and aggression by Russia is a zero sum game.
It’s no different for Zelenskyy and Ukraine, than what Cersei Lannister said during the final confrontation with Eddard: "When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground."
Keep up the good work Ukraine, all this pain and suffering is about to pay off!…:)
haaa. Looks like we have a GOT fan. May be more than a fan I am guessing. (Me too, except for the last episode).
Agreed..:)
So now Putin has a blind eye as well as a black one to match his black heart. Slava Ukraini.
wish i created that picture for the preview image. Good one.
Well said!
Shankar!
You are “top of the charts” for us!
Keep up your great reporting!
We need your insights too!
Thx Delia
A part of the reason for the Ukrainian success in this operation was in NOT telling the US (ie. Trump) what they were going to do...like the Kursk operation. The US is a sieve these days. I'm suprised that the other "Four Eyes" are still interacting with the "Fifth" one...or is it just "window dressing" now?
Yep. They learned the lesson the hard way. Their orginal plan in late 2022 was to cut the Russian force rights in the middle and go for the Sea of Azov. Some genius in Washington, forced them off the path and asked them to take the bite at the eastern and western edges, shrinking the Russian footprint and allowing Putin to further consolidate. It was such a mess the American plan was. No wonder their start failed in Iraq, failed in Afgan and no surprise they failed in Ukraine too. They did not tell the US about Kursk and there is exactly 0% chance that they informed them about the Spider.
Looks like you have your wish Shankar https://x.com/michaeldweiss/status/1929909529275175045
yessssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss!. I will keep looking. Thank you so much. You saved me hours.
And https://x.com/JimmySecUK/status/1929894575369302054
Can you summarize briefly for those of us who don't wade in that particular pond?
Two journalists/analysis have been shown video footage of drones landing on the domes of the A-50s before blowing up. The same footage shows other strategic bombers also being blown up.
Thanks! Domes *plural* implies two confirmed hits?!
Yes. Two hits confirmed.
Excellent article. I am hopeful Ukraine can build on their victory and make Russian surveillance far less useful. I am sorry we have Trump muddying the waters. But at least everyone is now clear that Putin has zero interest in peace. What Putin will do I suppose depends largely on those around him with perhaps a glance toward potential U.S. sanctions.
We value your commentary always. And Slava Ukraini!
Excellent, in-depth reporting and analysis. Well done!
Thx, Amy
If Russia is down to two A50's, Ukraine appears to have an incredible opportunity to hit hard and often. And by not relying on American 'advice', they can hit faster, too. "Spider-web" may prove to be the harbinger of the fall of two empires.
Second hit confirmed.
One hit is clearly confirmed. The second one I am still hunting for data. It will come through.
Just to be clear, Russia lost two A50s, leaving them with somewhere between five and seven operational units.
I’m VERY satisfied with this morning’s news about Ukraine bombing the bridge between Russia and Crimea. I felt there should be a second strategic attack right after June 1st drones to keep Russia from exhaling and still off-kilter.
I guess we’ll find out just how deep Putin’s fury is in the near future. I pray for Ukraine’s citizens.
Excellent reporting, Mr. Narayan. The lose of multiple AWACS is huge. We hear from Krassenstein Ukraine hit the Kerch Bridge today with 1,100 kg of underwater explosives!
Just heard the news. Yep.
After the longest time, I feel Ukraine is in a position to win this war. Any ships crossing to replace the Kerch Bridge will be subject to Ukrainian naval drones. That means supplies have to be routed through Mariupol. With AWACS reduced, some key rail sabotage will slow down supplies further. Russia might lose a chunk of Crimea without having Ukraine invade.
You always go deeper, and add details and thoughts I don’t find elsewhere. Well written too, I might add. In this you are spot on, and I admire Zelenskyy’s restraint and moral clarity. I hope they do find and exploit every weakness to defeat Russia soundly, and end the Putin era.
Thank you, sir. I've always had a knack for data collection—now I'm channeling that same precision into my writing.
If Russia loses, how will that impact the Indian media and security establishment? Won't it destroy some strongly held beliefs?
ohh. Indian military will be in a spot of bother. That is why they are furiously trying to balance the composition of weapons. France remains their main focus for diversification right now. India is the biggest potential customer-- European defense manfacturers can tap into.
Media, they will happily swing. They don't care. For now, they fully remain pro-Putin lite.
I find the India Cable.a newsletter from The Wire quite informative and even handed.
thx
I was more thinking around India's grand strategy. Russia is a significant part of that grand strategy.
If media in India are anything like those in the West, it won’t affect them at all. They’ll just go on publishing story after story, without bothering to truly reality-check and form any strongly held beliefs that could potentially get proven wrong.
I believe that when dealing with people from the USSR back in the day—especially engineers, other scientists, and military specialists—many in India were mistaken in thinking that they were Russians, when it is quite likely that they were Ukrаіnіаns...
(This, btw, is also the reason that without Ukraine, Рutіn cannot make Russia great again.)
I told my husband there would be more than one action planned by Ukraine. The two A-50’s are game changing, the other bombers are great relief, and the deep underwater hit to the bridge is intense satisfaction. Love the spider web!
Up and coming, you are! You are on my radar, and I am making sure people I know are as well!
Thank you...
👍