Today we have a seemingly authoritative source confirming the concepts we’ve been discussing. Obviously the Russian military are past masters at misdirection. On the other hand, on the modern battlefield it’s nearly impossible to hide major moves. We’ll see how things develop, but for now this remains a good working theory. Ukraine can’t afford NOT to attempt to plug the holes in the Kharkov direction, which are serious. On the other hand, they can only do so while stripping resources from the Chasov Yar area while ignoring the possibility of Russian moves toward Sumy, northwest of Kharkov:
-- GEROMAN -- time will tell - -- @GeromanAT
“The situation is on the brink”: the Russian Federation will launch a new attack in the Sumy region, - Budanov from a bunker in Kharkov The main thing from the interview with the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate:
Russian attacks in the Kharkov region will continue for another 3-4 days, after which their troops “will make a decisive offensive in the direction of Sumy”;
I used everything we had. Unfortunately, we have no one else in reserve;
It will be possible to stabilize the front and push the Russians across the border over the next few days;
Russian attacks in the Kharkov region are aimed at depleting Ukraine’s already weak reserves and sowing panic;
Our forces are either here or in Chasov Yar. Sad Budanov .
Regarding Russian Defense Minister Shoigu being more or less kicked upstairs to Putin’s Security Council, many Western commentators are maintaining that this is a signal that Shoigu was a failure at the Defense Ministry. I don’t share that view. Shoigu faced a difficult job in that, while the Russian Armed Forces had been undergoing a fundamental makeover, they were not preparing specifically for an industrial scale war against a strong foe that had spent 8 years building concrete reinforced fortifications and wass supported at every step by Western ISR. Shoigu did, in fact, guide the Russian Armed Forces and the military industrial complex to the current point, at which Russia is in a dominant position and is able to maintain its forces, at home and abroad, at a high level of preparedness—all this at a time when Russia’s forces have increased enormously in size and complexity and have incorporated multiple new weapons systems.
That said, the new Defense Minister, Andrey Belousov, is widely considered to be a major upgrade—one quote I’ve seen is that Belousov is at least 20 IQ points smarter than most of the other ministers. His appointment is seen as preparing Russia for a long period of conflict with the West, and his background in economics suggests that he will be a major asset for Russia in dealing with allied or aligned BRICS nations. Here are his career highlights:
He studied economics at Moscow State University and graduated with honors in 1981.
Career
From 1981 to 1986, Belousov was probationer-researcher and then junior researcher in the simulation laboratory of human-machine systems of the Central Economic Mathematical Institute. From 1991 to 2006, he was head of laboratory in the Institute of Economic Forecasting in the Russian Academy of Sciences. He was external advisor to the prime minister from 2000 to 2006.
Federal civil servant (2006-2013)
Belousov served as deputy minister of economic development and trade for two years from 2006 to 2008.
From 2008 to 2012, he was director of the finances and economic department in the Russian Prime Minister's office.
Belousov has the federal state civilian service rank of 1st class Active State Councillor of the Russian Federation.
On 21 May 2012, he was appointed minister of economic development to the cabinet led by prime minister Dmitry Medvedev. Belousov succeeded Elvira Nabiullina as minister of economic development.
Presidential civil servant (2013-2020)
On 24 June 2013, he was appointed as Putin's Presidential Assistant in Economic Affairs.
Belousov was Putin's only economic adviser who supported the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014. He believed Russia was "encircled by enemies".
First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia (2020-2024)
On 21 January 2020, Belousov was appointed as First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia in Mikhail Mishustin's Cabinet. From 30 April to 19 May 2020, Belousov was appointed by Vladimir Putin as Acting Prime Minister of Russia, temporarily replacing Mikhail Mishustin, after the latter was diagnosed with coronavirus. According to Politico, he is one possible successor to Putin.
He appears to be something of a big picture guy. Someone who, in an American setting, would definitely be a breath of fresh air. Get a load of some of his views:
Russians With Attitude @RWApodcast
An interesting quote by the new Russian Minister of Defence Andrey Belousov: 'By preserving traditional values of the West, which are originally the values of Western Christian European civilization, Russia can become a guardian of these values. This may seem like a paradoxical idea, but it is nonetheless true. Therefore, it is incorrect to say that the West is our enemy.'
Belousov's father, Rem Belousov, was responsible for developing Kosygin's reforms, the same reforms that could have saved the USSR, but Brezhnev decided against them.
Honestly it's all very white-pilling, friends.
What i like about Belousov is that he's obviously smart. He might lack the military experience - just like all the previous ministers of defence. But at least he's 20 iq points smarter than them.
Some more Belousov quotes to get a better picture of the man: 'The ideology of a multipolar world is that a self, something independent, must be developed. This self is not the persona, or the mask that we wear. It is the self that should be manifested in all countries with confidence. For countries that do not have sovereignty, it cannot be manifested by definition.
…
We have no other choice for our country than to acquire or recreate this self. We have huge resources and a talented population, but the most important prerequisite is a strong culture. We have our own cultural code, which most countries and peoples lack. Dostoevsky, in his works such as The Writer's Diary, expressed this idea very well."
What he’s saying is that a prerequisite for Russia to take its place in a multi-polar world is the maintenance of its sovereignty and its stronng culture. Can you imagine any of our Deep State apparatchiks speaking like that?
Tony Blinken just showed up in a Kiev bar playing Neil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World" on guitar as Kharkov burns. Words fail.
I would rather live under communism while having strong cultural and family values than under capitalism with neither.