Ukraine and the Russian invasion, 2022-24

[Pickman's model]

ISW have repeatedly said in their various daily reports & other "backgrounders" that Putin retains his maximalist objectives ie the destruction of Ukraine as a country.
Furthermore, ISW have repeatedly assessed that Putin would not negotiate in good faith, despite any noises that Lavrov might make.

{ as has been proved by his invasions of Ukrainian territory after signing the Budapest Memoranda in 1994
- the first article of which states
1. Respect the signatory's independence and sovereignty in the existing borders
and the second states, in part ...
2. Refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of the signatories to the memorandum ...}

are you sure putin and/or lavrov signed the Budapest memo?

 

[Artaxerxes]

Mariinka

 

[The39thStep]

ISW have repeatedly said in their various daily reports & other "backgrounders" that Putin retains his maximalist objectives ie the destruction of Ukraine as a country.
Furthermore, ISW have repeatedly assessed that Putin would not negotiate in good faith, despite any noises that Lavrov might make.

{ as has been proved by his invasions of Ukrainian territory after signing the Budapest Memoranda in 1994
- the first article of which states
1. Respect the signatory's independence and sovereignty in the existing borders
and the second states, in part ...
2. Refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of the signatories to the memorandum ...}

Who funds ISW?

 

[PTK]

View attachment 406246

Mariinka

That is appalling.

 

[editor]

View attachment 406246

Mariinka

All those lives ruined.

 

[Dystopiary]

We mustn't forget that the Belarusian dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka and his cronies have participated in this war in multiple ways. They've repeatedly allowed their territory to be used to launch deadly missiles at civilians, participated in the kidnapping and forced repatriation of children, and they harshly punish anyone in Belarus who criticises the war. (Even a "like" on social media can result in incarceration and beatings, and repercussions for family members.) The Lukashenka regime is 100% culpable in all this suffering.

 

[Dystopiary]

We mustn't forget that the Belarusian dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka and his cronies have participated in this war in multiple ways. They've repeatedly allowed their territory to be used to launch deadly missiles at civilians, participated in the kidnapping and forced repatriation of children, and they harshly punish anyone in Belarus who criticises the war. (Even a "like" on social media can result in incarceration and beatings, and repercussions for family members.) The Lukashenka regime is 100% culpable in all this suffering.

More children from Russia-held regions of Ukraine have arrived in Belarus.

Belarusian officials have not said how many children were brought this time.

A recent study by Yale University has found that more than 2,400 Ukrainian children aged 6-17 have been brought to Belarus from four Ukrainian regions that have been partially occupied by Russian forces.

Earlier this month, the International Red Cross suspended the organization's Belarusian chapter after its chief, Dzmitry Shautsou, stirred international outrage for boasting that it was actively ferrying Ukrainian children from Russian-controlled areas to Belarus.

More Ukrainian children from Ukraine's Russia-held regions arrive in Belarus despite global outrage

 

[StoneRoad]

Who funds ISW?

It's a non-profit that accepts donations from the general public - and is not a government organisation / operation.
The BBC quote them quite often.

have a read ...

Institute for the Study of War

Our Mission The Institute for the Study of War advances an informed understanding of military affairs through reliable research, trusted analysis, and innovative education. We are committed to improving the nation’s ability to execute military operations

www.understandingwar.org

 

[StoneRoad]

Overnight, Ukraine took quite a pasting from russian drones and missiles - over 150 items. Although the Ukrainian defences did manage to shot down a significant proportion.
Sadly, reports indicate that the Dnipro maternity hospital was badly damaged [that was on ClassicFM's news bulletin this morning]

Ukrainian air defense shot down 27 of 36 Shahed drones, and 87 of 90 Kh-101 missiles, launched by Russia. Also Russia used 5 Kh47-m2 missiles, 4 anti-radiation Kh-31P missiles, 1 Kh-59, at least 14 ballistic missiles(S-300/S-400 or Iskander), 8 Kh-22

Ukrainian air defense shot down 27 of 36 Shahed drones, and 87 of 90 Kh-101 missiles, launched by Russia. Also Russia used 5 Kh47-m2 missiles, 4 anti-radiation Kh-31P missiles, 1 Kh-59, at least 14 ballistic missiles(S-300/S-400 or Iskander), 8 Kh-22 missiles. Live Universal Awareness Map...

liveuamap.com

 

[teuchter]

It's a non-profit that accepts donations from the general public - and is not a government organisation / operation.
The BBC quote them quite often.

have a read ...

Institute for the Study of War

Our Mission The Institute for the Study of War advances an informed understanding of military affairs through reliable research, trusted analysis, and innovative education. We are committed to improving the nation’s ability to execute military operations

www.understandingwar.org

It's quite something that they openly state

We are committed to improving the nation’s ability to execute military operations and respond to emerging threats in order to achieve U.S. strategic objectives.

And then in the very next sentence claim

ISW is a non-partisan, non-profit, public policy research organization.

Presumably with a straight face.

Basically all the main people are ex US military.

 

[StoneRoad]

ISW also do analysis of various conflicts in the Middle East, and Taiwan ...

 

[PTK]

Radio 4 World At One, discussing the Russian missile attacks on Ukraine today: where is the “Russian Mark Regev” putting the Russian point of view? Why it is stated as unchallenged fact that the Russian Federation attacks civilian targets, when this would never be stated of the State of Israel?

 

[StoneRoad]

It's quite something that they openly state



And then in the very next sentence claim



Presumably with a straight face.

Basically all the main people are ex US military.

bollocks to bib

board - 2 of 12 state retired military
leadership - 1 of 13 state retired military
fellows - 1 of 5 state retired military

None of the analysts / associates / staff members [27 people] headline having military service.
Do I need to read all the full biographies ?

 

[StoneRoad]

Oh, and teuchter - I have been in contact {actually several time over some of their reporting and opinion pieces} with at least one ISW board member, and they assure me that they are not ex-military.

 

[The39thStep]

It's quite something that they openly state



And then in the very next sentence claim



Presumably with a straight face.

Basically all the main people are ex US military.

I get the feeling that the 'non-partisan' bit is about being neither Democrat or Republican

Still can't find out who funds them, can't just be on a dollar here dollar there public donations stream as the links StoneRoad kindly posted up show a large staffing structure.

This tweet pretty much spells out where they are coming from

 

[emanymton]

It's quite something that they openly state



And then in the very next sentence claim



Presumably with a straight face.

Basically all the main people are ex US military.

What is the contradiction there?

 

[sleaterkinney]

I get the feeling that the 'non-partisan' bit is about being neither Democrat or Republican

Still can't find out who funds them, can't just be on a dollar here dollar there public donations stream as the links StoneRoad kindly posted up show a large staffing structure.

This tweet pretty much spells out where they are coming from

View attachment 406304

They're right, after Ukraine he would go for the baltic states.

Russia's Dmitry Medvedev claims Baltic countries belong to Russia

The former Russian Prime Minister referred to the three Baltic states as "our" on Tuesday, adding Poland was "temporarily occupied".

www.euronews.com

 

[teuchter]

bollocks to bib

board - 2 of 12 state retired military
leadership - 1 of 13 state retired military
fellows - 1 of 5 state retired military

None of the analysts / associates / staff members [27 people] headline having military service.
Do I need to read all the full biographies ?

Ok. The chairman is a retired US army general. The president & founder was embedded in the US military in Iraq.

 

[StoneRoad]

I get the feeling that the 'non-partisan' bit is about being neither Democrat or Republican

Still can't find out who funds them, can't just be on a dollar here dollar there public donations stream as the links StoneRoad kindly posted up show a large staffing structure.

This tweet pretty much spells out where they are coming from

View attachment 406304

Have a look at their "planned giving" page ... Institute for the Study of War

That page indicates sources such as legacies, life assurance, payroll giving - all of which give tax breaks to the donor {as well as ISW, I assume, although as a non-american I have no idea how their IRS works}
They also hold fund-raising events / dinners etc plus they accept the odd donations of a dollar here & there via a donate button.

 

[StoneRoad]

They're right, after Ukraine he would go for the baltic states.

Russia's Dmitry Medvedev claims Baltic countries belong to Russia

The former Russian Prime Minister referred to the three Baltic states as "our" on Tuesday, adding Poland was "temporarily occupied".

www.euronews.com

Which is, probably, the main reason why Finland & Sweden are either already in, or about to join, NATO.

 

[teuchter]

What is the contradiction there?

They explicitly state a partisan interest and then claim to be non-partisan.

 

[StoneRoad]

They explicitly state a partisan interest and then claim to be non-partisan.

For crying out loud
They are partisan towards the safety of the USA & it's geopolitical interests.

Within the USA the non-partisan means neither democrat nor republican.

These two positions are not mutually exclusive.

 

[existentialist]

Ah, I do love the smell of whataboutery in the morning...

 

[teuchter]

If Wikipedia is to believed they are at least partly funded by various US defence contractors.

This seems a reasonable write up

A case study in American propaganda

What is the Institute for the Study of War? And why do America’s elite media outlets trust it for all of their on-the-ground Ukraine information?

responsiblestatecraft.org

As it says none of this means that what they write is necessarily inaccurate. But it's worth being aware of what exactly they are, which is a well funded think tank. Think tanks always like to have "institute" in their names because it makes them sound academic and boffin-led.

But you can even tell from the ISW's graphic design choices that they are military-aligned. Also telling is that you get a crystal paperweight if you join their legacy something or other scheme.

 

[Spandex]

Still can't find out who funds them

The corporate donors aren't hard to find...

Institute for the Study of War

A bunch of defence, finance & tech companies.

They don't publish names of individual donors.

ISW clearly have their biases. Just have a look at their 'Iran Updates' to see their coverage of Israel-Gaza, which is solidly from the Israeli pov. Just like their Ukraine coverage is solidly pro-Ukranian.

But that doesn't mean that they're without value when it comes to the updates on the various conflicts they cover. Those defense contractors and finance companies want accurate information to base their corporate decisions on. And ISW provide a level of detail that few others sources provide. Just be aware of what their biases are and think twice when looking at their analysis.

 

[teuchter]

For crying out loud
They are partisan towards the safety of the USA & it's geopolitical interests.

Within the USA the non-partisan means neither democrat nor republican.

These two positions are not mutually exclusive.

They want to help improve the USA's ability to pursue military operations, internationally, and they want those operations to be focused on US interests.
That is absolutely a partisan line even if you're only taking about "within the USA". It's not a line that all people in the USA would support. It's a political position.

 

[PTK]

For crying out loud
They are partisan towards the safety of the USA & it's geopolitical interests.

Within the USA the non-partisan means neither democrat nor republican.

These two positions are not mutually exclusive.

"National interests" are actually the interests of the ruling class, i.e. big business, who want to continue to accumulate capital, and will oppose anything that threatens that.

 

[PTK]

Neither the Democratic party nor the Republican party is a “political party” in the sense that people in most of the rest of the world would use that term, with no clearly-defined differences and no actual party discipline, so to be "non-partisan" in the sense of being neither Republican nor Democrat does not mean anything politically in the USA.

 

[TopCat]

The Russian negotiating stance is “give in and drop your weapons and we’ll be in Romania before we actually speak to your government, also your government is not acceptable so here’s a guy Putin skis with to take over”

Like we know that’s what Russias position is as everyone from Putin to the stooge on the Russian news channels keeps saying it. So.

Any quotes from Russian Govt officials to bolster your assertions?

 

[TopCat]

You think Putin is trustworthy and open to that?.

You make peace with enemies