Topics:
Welcome back to Political Misfits on Radio Sputnik, where we bring you news, politics and culture - without the red and blue treatment. I am John Kiriakou here with Michelle Witte.
International affairs and security analyst Mark Sleboda
Tired Ukrainian Troops Fight to Hold Back Russian Offensive: ‘They Come Like Zombies’ - WSJ
Our warnings on Hamas were ignored, Israel’s women border troops say – POLITICO
Let’s start in the past - it’s the 10 year anniversary of the Maidan demonstrations - a turning point in Ukraine’s modern history. In those demonstrations, 100 people were killed “by security forces,” some under circumstances the US and EU are surprisingly content to allow to remain mysterious. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksy called those demonstrations “the first victory in today’s war.” Al Jazeera says the ouster of President Victor Yanukovych “gave space to the rise of a new generation of anticorruption, pro-democracy movement leaders.” I feel like there’s quite a lot being flattened out of this history - if that was victory number one, and Ukraine has now had a decade of anti-corruption, pro-democracy leaders … how did we get here?
Maidan is a turning point, but is it really accurate to call it a straight line from Maidan square to today? Were there off ramps to remember?
https://x.com/I_Katchanovski/status/1727005230208778595
(DOC) Maidan Massacre Trial Verdict Selected Excerpts Confirming False-Flag Massacre (English Google Translation) | Ivan Katchanovski - Academia.edu
Poll: More Ukrainians disapprove of EuroMaidan protests than approve of it (kyivpost.com)
ABC News: US shell deliveries to Ukraine have dropped over 30% since Hamas' Oct. 7 attack
The US defense minister was in Kiev yesterday, Germany’s defense minister has popped up today, with another billion dollars for the war. Meanwhile, ABC cites a Ukrainian official telling them that US deliveries of NATO-standard 155mm shells have dropped by 30% since Israel launched its war on Hamas/Gaza. An American official has said this is just a coincidence. What do you think?
Scoop: U.S. to send Israel artillery shells initially destined for Ukraine (axios.com)
Talk to us about where we are today - I’m looking at these reports of what’s happening around Avdiivka - what’s the importance of this city?
Last time we spoke, you said you didn’t expect the war in Ukraine to end any time soon. Do you think the front line is close to where it will end up frozen, if this does indeed go on for some time?
Qatar has said Israel and Hamas are very close to reaching a truce, and the Israeli prime minister convened his cabinet a couple of hours ago. ????? - Waiting to see what kind of news we get on this
What do you make, by the way, of the evidence Israel has presented so far for targeting Gaza’s hospitals, including Al Shifa? Have you seen anything that you think justifies their assertion that bombing these complexes was the only way to go after Hamas?
What do you make of the Israeli army’s performance so far? They’ve done a good job of killing civilians in Gaza. Do you have any sense of the headway they’ve made against Hamas so far?
There’s another story today offering more explanation as to how Hamas was able to surprise Israel so badly six weeks ago. We’ve talked about the root of this failure, which seems to be prioritizing signals intelligence over direct human observation. Politico reports that Israel’s border surveillance forces witnessed changes in Hamas’ behavior - sending up far more drones, practicing taking out gun operators along the border fence, placing explosives, practicing taking out tanks. They say they shared all this with their superiors, who blew them off. There’s perhaps an element of sexism here - I guess most of these soldiers are women. This could be one unit just trying to wash its hands of responsibility, but it also seems to fit a pattern - and it might indicate that the problems within Israel’s military and intelligence services are pretty widespread. Does this tell you anything new?
Share this post