A reminder that as the US continues to threaten countries around the world, fedposting is to be very much avoided (even with qualifiers like “in Minecraft”) and comments containing it will be removed.

Image is of smoke rising after Iranian missiles impact a US military site in Bahrain.

My weekly preamble is in spoiler tags below.

preamble

After a few weeks of both diplomatic and military manuevering - mostly over Iranian control of Hormuz - we have hit the hottest phase of military exchanges since at least the MoU period began. The US has generally focussed on striking southern Iran, although they have also sporadically hit transportation infrastructure elsewhere, which was repaired in less than 24 hours. Meanwhile, Iran has struck a wide range of targets, with an interesting focus on Jordan, but has, up to the time of me writing this, so far relented on striking the Zionist entity. The US and Iran have had little periods of mutual military strikes during the “ceasefire” before, and so it’s hard to tell for sure whether this yet another temporary spat or if it represents a full return to the pre-ceasefire conflict.

A complicating factor in this conflict is that Ansarallah has become increasingly active, and seems eager to start to break the siege it has been put under by threatening to attack Saudi Arabia and Saudi-aligned forces. This has put Iran in a somewhat awkward spot. On the one hand, it has greatly helped Ansarallah resist foreign attackers and has even recently sent civilian airplanes into Sana’a to begin to break the siege. On the other hand, Iran has, with China’s help, generally desired to improve its relationship with the Saudis over the years. While in this latest war there have been a major dispute between them over whether Iran is “allowed” to strike US military infrastructure located in Saudi Arabia, the Saudis strike me as considerably less anti-Iran as the UAE, let alone the Zionists, and did send a delegation to Khamenei’s funeral. I guess we’ll just have to see what happens next, but I strongly suspect that Iran is going to help Yemen over the Saudis.

And finally, Lindsay Graham has died of a sudden heart attack a suspiciously short time after visiting Ukraine. He was a true enemy of civilian populations all the way to the end of his life, and he seemed to particularly despise children. He advocated for using nukes against Gaza and the total annihilation of anybody and everybody who had even the meekest criticism of Zionism. If God (and, more pertinently in this case, Satan) does exist, I hope Graham is extended the exact same level of courtesy and respect in the afterlife that Graham extended to all Palestinians.

Last week’s thread is here.
The Imperialism Reading Group is here.

Please check out the RedAtlas!

The bulletins site is here. Currently not used.
The RSS feed is here. Also currently not used.

The Zionist Entity's Genocide of Palestine

If you have evidence of Zionist crimes and atrocities that you wish to preserve, there is a thread here in which to do so.

Sources on the fighting in Palestine against the temporary Zionist entity. In general, CW for footage of battles, explosions, dead people, and so on:

UNRWA reports on the Zionists’ destruction and siege of Gaza and the West Bank.

English-language Palestinian Marxist-Leninist twitter account. Alt here.
English-language twitter account that collates news.
Arab-language twitter account with videos and images of fighting.
English-language (with some Arab retweets) Twitter account based in Lebanon. - Telegram is @IbnRiad.
English-language Palestinian Twitter account which reports on news from the Resistance Axis. - Telegram is @EyesOnSouth.
English-language Twitter account in the same group as the previous two. - Telegram here.

Mirrors of Telegram channels that have been erased by Zionist censorship.

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

Examples of Ukrainian Nazis and fascists
Examples of racism/euro-centrism during the Russia-Ukraine conflict

Sources:

Moon of Alabama, which tends to have interesting analysis. Avoid the comment section.
Understanding War and the Saker: reactionary sources that have occasional insights on the war.
Alexander Mercouris, who does daily videos on the conflict. While he is a reactionary and surrounds himself with likeminded people, his daily update videos are relatively brainworm-free and good if you don’t want to follow Russian telegram channels to get news. He also co-hosts The Duran, which is more explicitly conservative, racist, sexist, transphobic, anti-communist, etc when guests are invited on, but is just about tolerable when it’s just the two of them if you want a little more analysis.
Simplicius, who publishes on Substack. Like others, his political analysis should be soundly ignored, but his knowledge of weaponry and military strategy is generally quite good.
On the ground: Patrick Lancaster, an independent and very good journalist reporting in the warzone on the separatists’ side.

Unedited videos of Russian/Ukrainian press conferences and speeches.

Pro-Russian Telegram Channels:

Again, CW for anti-LGBT and racist, sexist, etc speech, as well as combat footage.

https://t.me/aleksandr_skif ~ DPR’s former Defense Minister and Colonel in the DPR’s forces. Russian language.
https://t.me/Slavyangrad ~ A few different pro-Russian people gather frequent content for this channel (~100 posts per day), some socialist, but all socially reactionary. If you can only tolerate using one Russian telegram channel, I would recommend this one.
https://t.me/s/levigodman ~ Does daily update posts.
https://t.me/patricklancasternewstoday ~ Patrick Lancaster’s telegram channel.
https://t.me/gonzowarr ~ A big Russian commentator.
https://t.me/rybar ~ One of, if not the, biggest Russian telegram channels focussing on the war out there. Actually quite balanced, maybe even pessimistic about Russia. Produces interesting and useful maps.
https://t.me/epoddubny ~ Russian language.
https://t.me/boris_rozhin ~ Russian language.
https://t.me/mod_russia_en ~ Russian Ministry of Defense. Does daily, if rather bland updates on the number of Ukrainians killed, etc. The figures appear to be approximately accurate; if you want, reduce all numbers by 25% as a ‘propaganda tax’, if you don’t believe them. Does not cover everything, for obvious reasons, and virtually never details Russian losses.
https://t.me/UkraineHumanRightsAbuses ~ Pro-Russian, documents abuses that Ukraine commits.

Pro-Ukraine Telegram Channels:

Almost every Western media outlet.
https://discord.gg/projectowl ~ Pro-Ukrainian OSINT Discord.
https://t.me/ice_inii ~ Alleged Ukrainian account with a rather cynical take on the entire thing.

  • Redcuban1959 [any]@hexbear.netMEnglish
    48·
    10 days ago

    Zelensky faces protests over ousting of Ukraine’s defense minister despite military gains - CNN

    Article

    The removal of Ukraine’s popular defense minister despite recent military successes has sparked rare protests in Kyiv and an unprecedented public split in the military over the conduct of the war against Russia.

    Mykhaylo Fedorov – who has proved a dynamic and innovative minister in his six months on the job – said late Wednesday he had been removed from the post, amid disagreements with the armed forces chief Oleksandr Syrskyi.

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged the protests Thursday and said he was “confident that [Fedorov] will remain on my team, and we will discuss a little later what that will look like.”

    The removal of Fedorov has set off a political storm in Kyiv and shaken Ukraine’s Western allies. One senior European official in Kyiv told CNN the decision to remove Fedorov was “a bit of a shocker” and suggested it could have wide-ranging repercussions for Ukraine’s relations with key allies, who see Fedorov as committed to efforts to tackle corruption both in the military and the wider government.

    Fedorov, previously Ukraine’s minister for digital transformation, was popular among troops for improving pay and frontline rotations. If he is replaced, his successor would be Ukraine’s fifth defense minister since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.

    Fedorov, 35, has been credited with an innovative approach to technology and recruitment but clashed with others in Ukraine’s defense establishment.

    He championed Ukrainian start-up companies in developing a wide range of drones that have helped blunt Russian advances on the battlefield and inflict widespread damage on refineries and pipelines hundreds of miles inside Russia.

    He was also responsible for developing mid-range drones that have helped isolate Crimea, which Moscow illegally annexed in 2014.

    But he met with resistance among some in Ukraine’s military hierarchy and on Thursday launched an outspoken attack on Syrskyi in the most public split within Ukraine’s defense team since the war began.

    “Decisions are made based on loyalty, not data,” Fedorov said at a news conference on Thursday. “There is sabotage of changes. There are constant lies, including about me.”

    Hundreds of people, mostly young, gathered in Kyiv Thursday to protest Fedorov’s departure. Several people CNN spoke with said it made no sense, with one noting that he was “the person who introduced the technology that allowed drones to do most of the fighting instead of people.”

    It was a rare wartime protest in Kyiv; the last being a year ago when thousands rallied to demand the independence of the anti-corruption bureau.

    Zelensky announced on Thursday evening he had appointed Yevhenii Khmara, the acting chief of Ukraine’s Security Service, as acting defense minister and called on Ukrainian lawmakers to support Khmara’s nomination for the job.

    Fedorov’s removal came as Russian missiles struck Kyiv early Thursday, with loud explosions heard in the Ukrainian capital.

    “I would very much like to see unity” between the army and Defense Ministry, Zelensky said Thursday – but they had only communicated through him.

    “And the problem lies not only with the parties, but with me as well…I respect the parties; I know their strengths, I know their weaknesses.”

    It’s unclear what role Zelensky sees for Fedorov, who analysts say had clashed with Ukraine’s military chief, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, over priorities.

    The former defense minister made a blistering attack on Syrskyi in his news conference on Thursday. “You can’t solve mobilization issue unless you there are real changes in the military. What are we offering? Lies, chaos…” he said.

    The idea that “Syrskyi can hold the frontline is a fake,” he added. “Instead of coming up with how to win over Russia he came up with how to split the country.”

    Complaining about opposition to change among some commanders, Fedorov said: “Strong military leaders were sidelined. There is constant resistance we need to overcome.”

    One of the senior commanders he named, Mykhailo Drapatiy, said that “over the past six months, the military has gained a partner in the Ministry of Defense – one that not only met our needs but also demanded new approaches, faster decision-making, and support for those willing to take responsibility for those decisions.”

    “There is now a willingness to listen to commanders, make decisions more quickly, and support changes that emerge from the units themselves,” Drapatiy added.

    Responding to Fedorov’s remarks, Syrskyi thanked him for his work in a message posted on Telegram and added: “I wish him to remain part of Ukraine’s team in the future as well.”

    In an earlier statement, Fedorov had set out his achievements, asserting that during his tenure, “we procured more drones in four months than in the entire previous year,” and launched a support program for modern drone-assault units.

    Ukraine’s advanced drone campaign has had a major impact on the conflict in recent months. Kyiv has sometimes launched hundreds of drones in a single night, targeting oil refineries, naval vessels and increasingly the Moscow region.

    This week, Russia was forced to suspend traffic through the gateway to the Black Sea from occupied Ukrainian territory after dozens of ships were targeted by Ukrainian drones.