Why hasn't Russia wiped out Zelensky's regime yet?

Simplicius the Thinker has a new post out; this one concerns a Putin press conference, in which he (Putin) explains what is happening in the war in Ukraine. But the most interesting part of this post concerns an explanation for why Putin has not committed his full force to wiping out the current regime in Ukraine:

the other big idea is that in light of recent growing concerns about a potential NATO entry into the war or some kind of major NATO sneak attack, I believe that Putin may be holding a lot of his forces back “just in case”, and refraining from committing them all into the Ukrainian frontlines at once for fear that they may be bogged down when NATO decides to open up a second front.

A second front? What could that mean? Simplicius then goes on to post a video of a Mitt Romney allusion to a second front -- thus this idea that the proxy war continues so that NATO can "weaken Russia" by bogging it down in Ukraine. To exploit that, they told us, they'll be opening up a second front. Where? It sounds like a nuclear second front to me. What else would they do? Invade St. Petersburg?

Once upon a time, 1982 in fact, Robert Scheer published a book titled "With Enough Shovels" about how the initial crop of Reagan foreign policy advisers thought a nuclear war with the USSR was winnable. Joe was always one to dust off and reuse old ideas. His appointees are already going halfway there.

Simplicius continues with his reasoning about the warmongers in DC (and Putin's response to them):

Other top officials like Lindsay Graham have repeatedly echoed those words in different ways. So, if you’re Putin and you’ve heard people like Mitt Romney literally say on national TV that “if NATO were to “get activated” into Ukraine, Russia’s troops would be caught in a weak position” would you really commit the entirety of your forces so that all your flanks are now exposed to a NATO ambush attack? No, a smart leader would keep a few hundred thousand troops at the ready if for no other reason than to simply deter such an attack from even happening, so as not to give the feral, salivating hyena of NATO even the idea of trying it. And ultimately, I believe this is the main reason Putin hasn’t committed the entirety of the force.

So it's clear that Ukraine's defeat is being slowed down because Putin has not committed the whole of his force, yet it appears that this defeat is coming at some point or other. How 'bout it, Joe? Gonna drop the nukes when Ukraine loses? One would think that this defeat is coming -- if for no other reason -- because of the conditions under which the opposing forces fight. Simplicius discusses that just before the two quotes I made above:

Firstly, unlike Ukraine, Russia is utilizing its troops responsibly, giving a lot of rotations and making sure they are healthy and well for the long run. Even in today’s talk Putin mentioned the frequency of rotations. So that means if you have 600k troops, you can keep nearly half of them or more on the sidelines and make the war as ‘comfortable’ for the frontline forces as possible by repeatedly rotating them and giving them rest. Ukraine on the other hand doesn’t have that luxury and it results in mass demoralization, desertion, mutinies, and just mental/psychic disintegration of much of their forces.

Or here's another tactic Joe could try: a military draft. It worked for LBJ, right Joe? Get America's able-bodied men in there and keep attacking the Donbas!

Once again: thanks Joe -- thanks Bernie.

EXTRA CREDIT: Here's Scott Ritter:

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Cassiodorus's picture

who you gonna kill next?

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The ruling classes need an extra party to make the rest of us feel as if we participate in democracy. That's what the Democrats are for. They make the US more durable than the Soviet Union was.

Pluto's Republic's picture

Putin has no intention of wiping out Ukrainians. They are mostly all Russians, as far as he is concerned. His interest is in removing the NATO-Nazis from Ukraine, which he has been very clear about.

No matter what happens, Russia is going to be stuck with delivering humanitarian care and social services for much of western Ukraine, and for the more than half a million Ukrainians who fled to Russia to escape the war.

US news probably forgot to mention any of this.

••• A history of NATO and the NAZIs

^^^ Read that ^^^ or NATO is a Nazi Organization or NATO’s Nazi Beginnings: How the West implemented Hitler’s goals. It will speed things up.

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Cassiodorus's picture

@Pluto's Republic -- about this comment and the one below.

Putin has no intention of wiping out Ukrainians.

But Putin's armies do wipe out Ukrainians, though the dynamic appears to be that the Ukrainians attack and his armies wipe them out.

And then the comment below by Linda Wood deserves a response:

Putin clearly stated the goals of the operation, and they didn't include wiping out the government of Ukraine.

There is considerable sentiment within Russia for the idea of wiping out _Zelensky's regime_ (as distinguished from "the government of Ukraine"). If Putin is more restrained than that sentiment, it must be still pointed out that he, Putin, has plenty of incentive to find some way by which Zelensky can be tossed from power.

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4 users have voted.

The ruling classes need an extra party to make the rest of us feel as if we participate in democracy. That's what the Democrats are for. They make the US more durable than the Soviet Union was.

@Cassiodorus @Cassiodorus he and Russia's MIC are in on this whole money grab. War makes everyone rich.

Dems=Reps. Russians=NATO.

They aren't enemies, they are business partners.

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@Battle of Blair Mountain

Nazis in prisoner swaps, but the Russian military captured over 2,400 Azov killers in Maripol alone. Their whereabouts and legal status haven't been reported, as far as I know. And Ukraine or some mercenary force blew up 70 Nazi captives with a HIMARS rocket in the Donetsk, which makes a point that we're supposed to understand as, what exactly.

I'm not trying to challenge you as much as to agree that releasing some Nazi prisoners does seem pointless, but that overall Russia isn't abandoning the denazification of Ukraine.

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If Russia was dealing with sane people I wound say that they were holding at about the borders of the areas that have voted to become Russian so that NATO can save face - negotiate for a status quo. But this is a terrible idea for two reasons - first it would result in a Ukrainian Nazi dominated resentful terror state on its borders (1938 all over again, what Russia was trying to prevent in the first place) and second, it assumes NATO is run by sane people, which is clearly untrue.
Another idea is that Russia is holding on to its 4 aces until the Ukraine gets fed up with dying and retreats to the Polish border. But what if - as is very likely - Biden is being fed the same lies everyone else is being fed? When Biden cannot be lied to any longer he will fly into a dementia fueled rage. He will call Putin "fat". challenge him to a push up contest, and reach for some poo to fling - the red button.
The problem is that this has been the problem all along.

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On to Biden since 1973

Pluto's Republic's picture

@doh1304

This proxy war hoax can only be fully understood through farce.

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usefewersyllables's picture

@Pluto's Republic

this:

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Twice bitten, permanently shy.

@Pluto's Republic

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On to Biden since 1973

the goals of the operation, and they didn't include wiping out the government of Ukraine. They referenced R2P, Responsibility to Protect, with respect to the independent republics, a legal tactic used by the United States when we have invaded and bombed countries in recent wars.

As U.S. military and intelligence sources have pointed out, Russia has not committed Shock and Awe, has not wiped out Ukraine's military or civilian infrastructure, but, as these sources point out, the Russian military could have done so at any point in this war. It's what we bragged about having done in Iraq within a matter of days of our invasion of that country.

The scary thing is not what Russia is doing to Ukraine but what NATO is practicing this week in order to show Russia what they will do if Russia doesn't stop, namely, kill everyone.

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Pluto's Republic's picture

@Linda Wood

That's my understanding, as well. It is the understanding of the Russian people, as well, from what I have read. I am surprised that there is not more animosity between people of Russian or Ukrainian descent. Apparently, there are historical realities that we cannot see.

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@Linda Wood
Russia has claimed and shown incredible restraint, even in the face of horrible provocations. But it is clear that Ukraine will not stop, and there comes a time when a rabid animal must be put down.

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On to Biden since 1973

QMS's picture

let them 'fix it'
RF is mostly concerned with the eastern side
Belarus can hold their own.

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question everything

ggersh's picture

that if your opponent keeps on making mistakes that
you don't fix it for him. This has been a war of attrition
to de-nazi, de militarize, Ukraine. I believe an unintended
consequence has been NATO joining in on the de-militarization
bit.

If this isn't a picture of a Banzai attack I don't know what
one is then, with the blue being the Ukraine attack, red being
the Russian defense.

https://www.theautomaticearth.com/2023/06/debt-rattle-june-14-2023/

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I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish

"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"

Heard from Margaret Kimberley

Pluto's Republic's picture

@ggersh

...in Russia's SMO. I have several similar maps from the same period. They attempt to portray what the area will look like.

Ukraine-protected-areas_0.jpg

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Your map shows those borders in the process of being established.

The US Neocon/Nazis tell the American People that Russia wants to conquer all of Europe and re-establish the Soviet Union.

This outrageous propaganda projection is what sane people in the West are up against. This is why the spoken truth is silenced

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snoopydawg's picture

.

A new writer that I’ve subscribed to because he seems to have good insights.

Round Two? There Is No Round Two

Game pretty much over in Ukraine.

Now that the Global West seems finally to understand that the war in Ukraine is going terminally badly for Kiev, its opinion-formers are comforting themselves with the thought that this is only Round One, and that there are still five or even ten years of juicy opportunities to bring down the Russian Bear by all sorts of devious means, and to finally plant the NATO flag on the roof of the Kremlin. They are deluded, of course, but it’s useful to take a step back and consider just how deluded they are, and why that is.
*****
Let’s just make a glancing reference back to Clausewitz who said, you will remember, that “War is an act of force to compel our enemy to do our will.” And he argued that the simplest way to do this compelling was the destruction of the enemy’s military capability. Whilst things can often be more complicated than that, the current war does actually illustrate the principle quite well. Ukraine’s armed forces are practically used up, and cannot be reconstituted in any useful timescale. When your country is disarmed, you don’t have many options other than to do what you are told, and it may be assumed that the Russians have a shopping-list of demands which they will present to the Ukrainians at the appropriate time.

He also talks about how he doesn’t think NATO will enter the war which puts my mind at ease with the war games happening now over Germany. But I also don’t know how far Biden’s puppets will go to make sure that Russia doesn’t win this conflict. They might think that using nukes is a good option. I’m sure I’m not the only one who has fears about that.

Remember that one of the goals for Russia is de-militarization of Ukraine and they not only achieved that goal in the summer of 2022 after NATO spent 8 years building it up, but they also achieved it again when lots more equipment was sent in and now they are doing it again with this 3rd round. After that it’s going to take years for NATO to build more equipment and weapons because they have emptied the kitties.

And why people are obsessed with Ukraine taking territory or Russia losing some need to remember that Putin never said that he was going to conquer all of Ukraine and then move on to Europe. That’s what the propagandists have been saying just to keep people afraid of Russia and they’re not accomplishing their goals…that they never made. Russia went in to protect the Russians living in the Donbas and to stop the war that America started. In the latest sitrep Karloff says he has transcribed Putin’s speech to the war reporters. Lots of people are going to be surprised when Ukraine sits down again for peace talks. Sadly I think it’s still going to be awhile before that happens. I’m just sick by how many people are being thrown away and fighting an unwinnable war. And fck this government for throwing billions into it while more Americans could use the money instead. We could have ended homelessness for much less than what has been given to Ukraine. Instead of doing anything real about this SLC is going to build a campground for the homeless and spend a couple hundred thousand dollars on it! Just like other states are doing.

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Pluto's Republic's picture

@snoopydawg

...on Reservations. It's not very original, is it? But this solution doesn't surprise me; it's typically American.

Your new source sounds very astute, and is certainly right about this:

.... it may be assumed that the Russians have a shopping-list of demands which they will present to the Ukrainians at the appropriate time.

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I found an educated guess of what those Russian demands are likely to be. It's an eye opener.

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snoopydawg's picture

@Pluto's Republic

killing them for being loud and obnoxious. The guy who killed Neely has been indicted by a grand jury. The comments on the story are interesting. Many feel that what the marine did was right because Neely had over 40 previous arrests that there is no way the marine knew about. Others point out that he had training on choke holds and should have stopped much quicker. I think what he did was to take the law in his own hands and killed someone and should have to be held accountable.

Maybe after Reagan closed the mental hospitals Clinton should have reopened them or done something to get people help. But then maybe it was more important to use the money to expand NATO and plan for the war of terror? Jimmy says it would cost $20 million to end homelessness. We’ve sent Ukraine $100 billion and Hersh says that Zelensky has stolen $400 million for himself.
What a totally F'd up world!

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The Liberal Moonbat's picture

@Pluto's Republic ...but I'm game.

I found an educated guess of what those Russian demands are likely to be. It's an eye opener.

What/where is that?

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In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is declared mentally ill for describing colors.

Yes Virginia, there is a Global Banking Conspiracy!

Cassiodorus's picture

@snoopydawg

It’s quite possible that in a month’s time, Ukraine will still be able to field a couple of hundred armoured vehicles, including tanks, perhaps a hundred artillery pieces, and perhaps 30,000 western-trained infantry. But they might as well not bother, because these are likely to be in penny-packets, in units which have been badly mauled and have taken heavy casualties.

This is why there is damned little point in continuing -- except, of course, that the whole thing is a con job being run by Biden appointees, and they view their careers as being successful to the extent to which they have you fooled.

Peace now!

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The ruling classes need an extra party to make the rest of us feel as if we participate in democracy. That's what the Democrats are for. They make the US more durable than the Soviet Union was.

snoopydawg's picture

You and whose army?

And that’s the problem. The West is so intoxicated with the perception of its own power, that it assumes everyone else is as well. After all, the US spends far more on defence than Russia, so it should be much more powerful, shouldn’t it? Well, in certain areas, like Carrier Battle Groups, it is. But the Russians don’t want to play that game : they want to play High-Intensity Land/Air War in Europe, which is a game that the West essentially gave up on a generation ago, and which it can only play for a week or two at most before it runs out of ammunition. The other delusion is that the West is untouchable. They wouldn’t dare drop a missile on NATO HQ, would they? I mean, if they did, we would … we would… well what would we do? Nuclear threats are recognised to be dangerous, pointless and irrelevant. Like King Lear in the quotation at the start of this essay, NATO will do … something, when it works out what that is. But if I were the Russians I would be sceptical: after all, remember what happened to Lear.

Bottom Line is once they enter the war then Russia can go after any country’s military targets and we know that right now there is no defense against Russia’s hypersonic weapons. Russia deployed its subs last year and just recently deployed one of their biggest and most powerful from its base in the Arctic. Sigh…I think this should put us at ease some. Now the only thing I’m worried about is someone deciding that yes indeed the world can survive mini nukes.

I think people should be questioning their politicians about why we are spending more money on the military than the other 10 big countries spend on their military combined. Take the F-35 for example. It’s one of the biggest cons run on us for decades and yet it’s still having problems flying or doing anything that less expensive jets can do. Billions have been spent on it only to see it constantly being grounded. I bet Russian defense companies charge $100 for a toilet lid. Or a hammer. Why? Because many of their defense companies are state owned unlike our private ones. We’ve been had for too many decades.

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Cassiodorus's picture

@snoopydawg

I think people should be questioning their politicians about why we are spending more money on the military than the other 10 big countries spend on their military combined.

gjohnsit's diary of today is really appropriate to this discussion. What you have in this country are two parties, both of which are completely sold out to the notion of handing lots of money to the already rich and then, if anyone asks, saying "national defense" or something like that. Nobody questions that because it's not a point of difference between the parties. What's important to American politics, you see, is Disney's woke policies, because Ron DeSantis or something like that. Or Kamala Harris, because Black women have an equal right to perform the function Dan Quayle used to perform -- big Democratic Party turf.

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11 users have voted.

The ruling classes need an extra party to make the rest of us feel as if we participate in democracy. That's what the Democrats are for. They make the US more durable than the Soviet Union was.

@Cassiodorus

Or Kamala Harris, because Black women have an equal right to perform the function Dan Quayle used to perform

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snoopydawg's picture

@Cassiodorus

the corruption that is strewn through out the military industrial complex and making crap that costs an arm and a leg even though they are still having problems after working on it for decades. And that all the infinity wars are just ways to suck money out of the taxpayers while government tells us that they just can’t find the money for the things we want. Instead we get rah, rah and more rahs and kudos to the troops.

Take the F-35 for example. It’s one of the biggest cons run on us for decades and yet it’s still having problems flying or doing anything that less expensive jets can do.

Plus how much they overcharge for simple items.

And since we are stuck with this 2 party system that only serves the donors and that’s not going to change then why do people get so excited when someone runs and tells us what we already know will never happen because we’ve been told that for decades and yet it hasn’t happened.

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to the rearward. That de militarization stuff they take seriously, and from the sounds of it they are getting lots of help from the Ukrainians. De Nazifying too. When they show vids of Russians shooting Russians for retreating they are really showing what are probably Ukrainians Nazis dressed up in Russian uniforms right?

I think Putin is luring the Ukrainian Army to the Moscow Ring road where they will be easier to annihilate. Taking over Ukraine in 3 days was obviously too easy, and Putin simply wants all his soldiers to be well trained and experienced.

Biden is waiting for the opportunity to install FEMA camps administered by those newly arrived aliens from outer space that our intelligence agencies have been keeping secret. I have all this info from absolutely reliable source, just because the rest of the world says otherwise proves nothing.

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The Liberal Moonbat's picture

@ban nock The fact that they expect us to believe THAT now, that you can now talk about THAT without being ridiculed but Cornel West and RFK Jr. are "right-wing"...what've they got left?

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In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is declared mentally ill for describing colors.

Yes Virginia, there is a Global Banking Conspiracy!