Short message from the Saker

Dear friends,

I am still on the road, but I want to tell you all that things are looking much better for the Resistance and infinitely worse for the junta in Kiev.  I will write an analysis of all that when I get all the facts (and the couple of hours behind to sit my keyboard), but already I will tell you that we might well have reached a turning point in this war.  Hence this hate-laced hysterics of BHL in the NYT.

Also, I hope to get a very interested statement of the Russian Deputy Defense Minister translated and subtitled very soon.

As for the Khodakovskii interview hoax, the Reuters reporter apparently never realized that his entire "one on one" conversation with Khodakovskii was video taped.  I have not seen it yet, only excerpts, but this video proves that Reuters is guilty of a gross hoax and political manipulation: they tried to do two things simultaneously a) make it look like they had THE proof that the Resistance had (working) BukM1s and create a conflict between Khodakovskii and Strelkov.  Now that their forgery has been uncovered it leaves is most "prestigious" and "respectable" organization looking like just an CIA/MI6 front.  Good.

I hope to get a military SITREP either from Gelb or from Juan soon, but I think I can already tell you the following: there was some *very* heavy fighting almost everywhere, the Ukies gave it their very best, there are heavy losses on both sides, some villages have changed hands, but all in all, I think that I see the contours of a comprehensive failure of the Ukie plan.  If I am correct, then there is a very real change of a Ukie collapse along the entire combat area.  Don't take it to the bank quite yet - but I think we can begin to hope that the Resistance has succeeded absorbing and repelling the Ukie assault.

I am going offline again for a few hours and I leave you in the tender care of my trusted friend /dev/null who will keep an eye on the open thread.

Kind regards,

The Saker