🇺🇦 Russian occupation authorities announced plans to destroy the Azovstal Steel Plant and turn Mariupol into a resort city. Depriving Russia of the most important economic benefits it hoped to reap by taking Ukraine and instead installing a Dream Island is some North Korea-grade thinking.
🇺🇦 Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin announced that Russia will make revenue off of the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant that Russian forces seized from Ukraine. This is because Russia is a mafia state and this is the kind of stuff they do.
🇺🇦 In the occupied town of Izium, Russia is forcing men to either join the Russian army, or be shipped to Russia.
🇺🇦 A command cohort of defenders is still in Azovstal, and they claim ‘a certain operation is underway’ and they can’t disclose what the operation is. These are the men men that have not learned the art of submission, nor have they been trained to the art of war, but their astonishing success will teach the enemies of liberty that undisciplined freemen are superior to veteran slaves.
🇺🇦 Former British spy Christopher Steele—of Steele Dossier fame—who ran the Russia desk at MI6 in London, claims that Russian President Putin is seriously unwell and now in need of constant medical care. This is the first credible and non-speculative evidence I’ve seen that Putin is, in fact, sick.
🇺🇦 Christopher Steele also said that high-ranking colleagues do not know what the illness is. This tells us that all of the speculation is just speculation. All the claims of Parkinson’s, brain cancer, blood cancer, etc, are just speculation.
🇺🇦 Christopher Steele’s authority on this topic comes from his network of high ranking Russian officials in and outside the Kremlin. (A large number of his Russian contacts were murdered after he published the Steel Dossier in 2016—this is what caused FBI special agent Clint Watts to say “Follow the trail of dead Russians”)
🇺🇦 Asov commander says that Azovstal defenders have received medical attention
🇺🇦 Russian forces are focusing on digging in and reinforcing defensive positions in Kharkiv and along the Southern Axis in preparation for Ukrainian counteroffensives
🇺🇦 Russian forces continue to make marginal gains to the north, west, and south of Popasna as a result of breaking through the lines.
🇺🇦 Reconstituting forces is taking longer than expected because of low moral
🇺🇦 Nothing is happening in Kherson other than RU digging in.
🇺🇦 The next big fight seems to be geared towards Izium
🇺🇦 (Thanks Rob B)
📢 Countries apply to be in NATO. NATO doesn’t seek to expand. Saying NATO is encroaching on Russia is Kremlin messaging. Russia has three primary propaganda efforts directed at the West, and that’s the first.
📢 Yes, Ukraine has a nazi problem, but it’s a very small percentage of the country, and not representative of the whole. Using a small group to smear the entire group is called “guilt by association.” Russia has three primary propaganda efforts directed at the West, and that’s the second.
📢 If you ever hear anyone say “What about America…” in an effort to redirect attention away from Ukraine and onto the west, that is called “Competitive victimhood” and the associated meme is *always* created by Russian-backed media. Russia has three primary propaganda efforts directed at the West, and that’s the third.
⚠️ Note: I got lazy with my citations and I apologize. My top sources are: Current and former military planners, singularly-focused pundits, and all manner of vetted open-source intelligence. Top cited open source pundits and sources include: CP Scott, Institute for the Study of War, Kyiv Independent, Aaron Parnas, John Aravosis, Malcontent News, and mainstream news with high levels of journalistic integrity and track records. Sadly I can’t source private individuals, of course.
⚠️ Speaking of sources, thanks to all of you who have forwarded me tips. You’re the private individuals I wish I could source publicly
⚠️ These posts are not affiliated with my employer, nor done during my employer’s time. Every item I report is from my own research, my own opinion, and written during my own time.
⚠️ Note: War happens fast and even high fidelity news needs a ton of corrections after the dust settles. Also, I’ve been spoiled by social media’s format where I can update the final product every time I find a typo. That poses a problem because…
⚠️ I started a Substack newsletter to accommodate the individual emails requests. Feel free to subscribe!