The report told of the Russian general who got tough.

"Surovikin summoned one of his colonels for a dressing down. Moments after the encounter, the soldier fatally shot himself."

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63217467

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/06/28/russian-general-arrested-following-wagner-mutiny-mt-russian-a81685

Quite apart from alleged injurious use of Australian made cardboard drones said to have been been 'downed' in Russia, comes report of a blight that may more severely impact the citizens of Russia.

That is the news of a Russian soldier returned to his village who "drunkenly wandered the streets of the hamlet 800 kilometres east of Moscow, carrying a pitchfork and threatening to kill everyone".

Intensity of exposure to open warfare has injurious effect on humans, not only from projected metal.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-28/pro-putin-military-blogger-claims-australian-built-drone-crashed/102530180

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-28/wagner-fighter-charged-with-murder-in-russia/102533296

There is no hint of celebration in Putin.

A gripping read, that trooping trod, a nation prized. All at a rush.

Report by live updates: "Wagner mercenaries allegedly march into Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, as leader Yevgeny Prigozhin is accused of calling for mutiny."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-24/live-wanger-mercenaries-russia-rostov-yevgeny-prigozhin-mutiny/102519712

Like Lindsay I continue to follow the course of the Russo-Ukraine war very closely.

To date the Ukrainians have defeated Russia in the battles of Kyiv, Kharkiv and Kherson, while the grinding battle of attrition at Bakhmut has gone on for months with the Russians making glacial progress at huge cost.

Even if Bakhmut were to fall it would be a Pyrrhic victory for Russia. The expenditure of blood and treasure involved is so great as to render the term 'victory' meaningless except for propaganda purposes.

Ukraine's general staff is still following its strategy of holding the Russians at bay whilst simultaneously converting its military into a modern force capable of undertaking what is called combined arms operations.

This form of warfare was first perfected by an Australian, General Sir John Monash, and its lethality demonstrated at the Battle of Hamel on the 4 July 1918.

Monash had about 1,000 American troops under his command at the time (grudgingly released by the US commander, General 'Black Jack' Pershing, who greatly distrusted the allied generals).

So the date, 4 July, was symbolically significant for them.

Hamel was only a small battle but its ramifications for the future of warfare were profound and lasting.

It signalled the doom of the German imperial forces who had no answer to simultaneous attack from artillery, tanks, aircraft and infantry.

Today, the acquisition of Western artillery, infantry fighting vehicles and tanks will allow Ukraine to emulate Monash by creating several brigades of highly manoeuvrable and very lethal units capable of punching a hole in the Russian defences.

If, as I hope, Ukraine eventually acquires Western aircraft and when their pilots are trained to conduct suppression of enemy air defence systems operations, then the game will be up for Russia.

Still, all that said, Russia is a huge country, has considerable military assets (albeit mostly obsolete) and Putin is willing to sacrifice many thousands of troops in pursuit of his aims, so the war will go on for some time yet.

Only death will prevent Putin from pursuing his aims. He cannot be appeased by any measure short of capitulation and the Ukrainians will not do that.

Too much blood has been spilt, too many war crimes committed and too many non-combatants killed for any peace to occur unless and until Russia is comprehensively defeated.

I think that Europe's leaders have very belatedly understood this last point and have now committed to doing whatever it takes to ensure a Ukrainian victory.

From 'verse' to worse, that in 2022, in the season to be jolly, a national leader strides on with his ruse of mere 'proxyismaticism'.

"President Putin indicated that some Belarusian military aircraft have been re-equipped to potentially carry nuclear missiles and that Russia is helping to train their crews."

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64030975

Has Putin no thoughts original, but to stretch from times terrible past, tactics that fool none?

Example from 1936:

"Franco’s air bridge from North Africa to the Spanish mainland was made possible by the first consignment of German-supplied aircraft in July 1936.

"The following month, 20 heavy Junkers bombers and five chaser planes piloted by Luftwaffe pilots in plain clothes landed in Sevilla as support for the Nationalist air force."

https://www.military-history.org/feature/the-spanish-civil-war-a-proxy-war-and-a-dress-rehearsal.htm

Putting money where the 'out' is? Reported as because of the war in Ukraine and in condemning "Putin fascism", "billionaire Russian banker, Oleg Tinkov, has given up his Russian citizenship".
Mr Tinkov founded the online Tinkoff Bank, one of Russia's largest lenders, with about 20 million customers.

Chris - I have five initial takeaways on the European war.

1 With historical knowledge of Stalingrad why did Russia want to get involved in battles in urban areas that ironically included the battle in the Mariupol Steelworks?

2 Though we have seen terrible numbers of casualties and destruction it could be said that Russia has adopted almost a kid-gloves approach.

It reminds me of the Korean War when Britain, its allies and hundreds of thousands of Koreans had to suffer losses when the Chinese military became involved on the North Korea side. No way said President Truman and sacked his General.

(Read: 'Douglas MacArthur wanted to use atomic bombs to contain China and ultimately win the Korean War.' https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/douglas-macarthur-atomic-bombs-will-win-the-korean-war

For warmongers perhaps MacArthur was right if you consider the North is now a nuclear armed nation and how the South's portion of the peninsula and Japan live in the shadow of ever more capable rockets.

What about the General sparing Emperor Hirohito from being tried as a war criminal. Forget Pearl Harbour! Wikipedia says in August to October 1938 Hirohito authorised the use of toxic gas on 375 separate occasions

3 Another cerebral memory is that the USA has a history of invasions of sovereign nations. The most recent being Iraq which is still under partial USA occupation. Syria of course was invaded by USA who still occupy parts of the nation overlapping Iraq and the site of lucrative spoils of war. Oil.

Chris - Concerning the eloquent Austrian colonel.

Austria's official last battle was in 1934 despite some years later aiding Hitler by supplying many hundreds of thousands of troops. It should be noted that post-World War II Austria has been neutral for over 60 years.

I love the Wikipedia report of the 1943 Moscow Declaration which in politico-speak said: “In contrast to the earlier Allied acceptance of the Anschluss, the declaration described Austria as 'the first victim of Hitlerite aggression' and called for the re-establishment of an independent Austria." Good on you guys.

It continued: “At the same time, however, the declaration also held Austria liable for its participation in the war, effectively giving it the status of an enemy state.”

Four years later the WW2 winners in the Treaty of Paris did the same double talk with Romania stating: 'Allies did not acknowledge Romania as a co-belligerent nation but instead applied the term 'ally of Hitlerite Germany.'

So thanks for your article, Chris, but in my short political career I several times advised fellow politicians to be careful in their opinions of today's enemies who tomorrow may be your friends.

I believe that most of us proles in every nation do not want any war or oppression to continue for even one more day.

Yet the USA puppets in NATO poured trillions into its puppet masters' wars that had no acceptable exit plan post the so-called victory as we sadly saw in last year's shambles in Kabul.

The recent advent of YouTube on my TV screen daily exposes the terrible inhumane lives of millions living existing in abject squalor and dying of curable diseases. Watch:

1 Nigeria's biggest slum or Manila's etc

2 Or the hand mining of gold and other minerals including cobalt

3 See the millions slowly dying from lack of pure water in the Horn of Africa or in the terrorised Sahal nations

Yet amazingly there are plans for helping that part of north-central Africa by the UNO hoping for sustainable development by 2030 or the 'dream' of the African Union for 2063..a generation will have died before the latter is achieved.

4 For the last 60 years I have seen no US president give a damn for the millions who have lived through the horrors of life in the Congo which has spread across it neighbours' borders and where we have been made aware of the traumas inflicted on women from rape which is used again as a weapon of war. Mrs Obama and other celebrities of the METOO# mobs across the West seem so sadly silent!

5 I even read how in preparation for the Panguna mine the mining company was allowed to use Agent Orange for defoliating many hectares of rainforest.

Perhaps buying up cheap stock from the Pentagon warehouses or even from UK's stockpiles as we were allegedly the first nation to use it in the Malaya Emergency pre 1960.

What a sad world it is but where are the peace-mongers (also called Traitors of Western Democracy)>

Finally - Here is another take on the War in Ukraine:
https://schillerinstitute.com/blog/2022/04/26/video-col-richard-black-u-s-leading-world-to-nuclear-war/"

2022/04/26 US is Leading World to Nuclear War - Mike Billington with Executive Intelligence Review interviews Col. Richard Black (ret.).