– The State of the Battle in Eastern Ukraine (Washington’s Blog, Sep 5, 2014):
Showing what’s left after the invading troops were allowed to leave:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhFEwfF9wz0
http://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/1766826.html
And, then, there is this summary of the situation, by the Russian military analyst, “Vineyard of the Saker”:
“all the signs are that the JRF [Junta Repression Forces] have reached their breaking point: this is the moment when a military force suddenly and completely collapses, like a dam which blows out under the pressure of water. The JRF is not retreating on one, two or even three directions, it is retreating everywhere (except north of Lugansk). Entire battalions are leaving the front under orders of their battalion commanders and without the approval of the Junta leaders. At least one such battalion commander is already being judged for desertion. The entire Ukie [Ukrainian Government] leadership seems to be in a panic mode, especially Yatseniuk and Kolomoiski, while the Nazis are mad as hell at the Poroshenko administration. There are constant rumors of an anti-Poroshenko coup by outraged Nazi nationalists. And then, there are the absolutely staggering Ukrainian losses.. …
“If, as it appears likely, the real number of dead JRF soldiers is anywhere near the 30’000+40’000+ figure, then this is something absolutely unique in modern warfare. There might be an exception to this I have missed, but as far I can know in every single conflict since WWII (and including WWII), civilians have died in far greater numbers than combatants. This is also absolutely true of NAF soldiers who have died in far smaller numbers than Novorussian civilians. So unless these figures are completely off the mark, and I see no reason to believe this, the Junta forces were absolutely massacred in an horrible butchery which cannot completely be explained by the superb fighting skills of the Novorussians: clearly the Junta has used these forces as cannon fodder with not even a modicum of care, nevermind support, for them. …
“The bottom line is this: Poroshenko promised a victory in a matter of weeks and his forces suffered one of the most total defeats in the history of warfare. Can the Ukies rearm? Yes, to some degree. Do they still have huge weapons stores? Yes, but all the (comparatively) better gear has been used by now. Can they still conduct a 4th, 5th and 6th mobilization? Possibly. Though the public mood is ominous at this time. Can the AngloZionists send them instructors, equipment and money? Yes. Will that turn the tide? Probably not. Unless the Ukies have held back and secretly trained a large number of soldiers over the past 3-4 months (like the Novorussians have done in Russia) and unless these soldiers are now ready to be sent in, fully equipped and ready to go, I don’t see the JRF bouncing back for a very long time.”
Whereas the destroyed tanks in the video shown above are clearly from the Ukrainian Army, the many fresh tanks that are shown in the video from the Ukrainian Government, below, are merely assumed to be Russian. The text says, without documentation or explanation: “Whatever it is, these units have been brought in by Russia and they are on Ukrainian territory.”:
http://ukraineatwar.blogspot.com/2014/09/russian-moves-huge-convoy-of-armor-into.html
All that’s not being seriously disputed is that the Ukrainian troops are being slaughtered by the tens of thousands, while additional tens of thousands just quit and are allowed to go back home in the west.
The emerging victory by the separatists did not develop overnight, however; it has been slowly building for months. Here are some earlier reports from me on that:
I headlined on June 29th, “America Seems to Be Losing Ukraine’s War.”
Then, on July 26th, I bannered “Obama’s Ukrainian Ploy Collapses; Ukraine Now Seeks Direct U.S. Bailout,”
Three days later, the title was, “Obama’s U.S. Presidency Hangs by a Thread in Ukraine.”
Perhaps Putin now has sent in “122 army vehicles,” to snap that “Thread,” so as to get the million-plus refugees now in refugee tents in Russia back to the former southeastern Ukraine, now become Novorossiya, and to get it done before winter. Perhaps Putin has decided that now is the time finally to end Obama’s ethnic-cleansing campaign in Ukraine’s southeast.
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Investigative historian Eric Zuesse is the author, most recently, of They’re Not Even Close: The Democratic vs. Republican Economic Records, 1910-2010, and of CHRIST’S VENTRILOQUISTS: The Event that Created Christianity.