EVERYTHING IS GOING SWIMMINGLY FOR VLAD: Russian forces have yet to capture a city in Ukraine, U.S. defense official says.
Related: Danish PM says volunteers can join Ukraine fight.
I can’t find anything linkable yet, but I’m told the French Foreign Legion is allowing its Ukrainian members (of whom there are quite a few) to take “home leave.” They’re solid, well-trained soldiers who will make useful cadre for the less-trained Ukrainian militias.
The European nations, with no one to look to but Slow Joe, are actually standing up to Russia on their own.
The trick will be figuring out a way to let Putin back down. In Sun Tzu’s words, “Build your opponent a golden bridge to retreat across.”
Meanwhile, you’ve got to figure that any Chinese generals who’ve issued optimistic forecasts for how an invasion of Taiwan would go are rethinking. My own sense is that if China takes Taiwan it will be via subversion, not outright force. But this definitely underscores that.
Meanwhile, Putin (and the Chinese), after spending a decade trying to divide the West and seeing Covid exacerbate those divisions to an enormous degree, are now seeing the West come together. That can’t be encouraging for them.
UPDATE: Ukraine National Guard Shares Video of Fighters Greasing Bullets In Pig Fat for Chechen ‘Orcs.’ Putin’s plan was to terrify the Ukrainians out of any thoughts of resistance through fear of the fierce Chechens. It doesn’t appear to have worked out as planned, which seems to be par for the course so far this week.
Related: From Berlin streets to Sydney, global outpouring of support for Ukraine.
Also: Russia’s Ukraine attack forces Beijing into diplomatic dance.
It’s worth noting just how quickly the leadership of the West acted here. I suspect some of this is so that they have a golden road to retreat from the Covid nonsense, and a way to distract the citizenry from what was done to them, including the greatest transfer of wealth and political power in human history. Some of it is also based on historical memory that appeasing dictators who invade eastern European countries hasn’t worked out well in the past. And in Europe, some of it is people who saw the EU project in danger of collapse finding an opportunity to shore it up via a common enemy.
ANOTHER UPDATE: Via the comments to this post:
Also: EU Member Countries in Talks to Supply Ukraine With Jet Fighters.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has asked the European Union for jet fighter jets some EU countries plan to supply them, EU foreign-policy chief Josep Borrell said Sunday.
A person familiar with the talks later said that discussions are still ongoing. The person said any planes would be supplied directly by EU member states and not funded through an arrangement announced earlier for the EU to finance weapons deliveries to Ukraine.
Mr. Borrell said that Mr. Kuleba had requested planes that Ukrainian Air Force pilots can fly. Ukraine’s jet fighters are Soviet-built MiG and Sukhoi models.
Some current EU members that were once part of the USSR-led Warsaw Pact still fly such planes or have old ones parked.
Plus: Sweden to Send Military Aid to Ukraine – PM Andersson.. “Sweden is now proposing direct support for Ukraine’s armed forces. It includes 135,000 field rations, 5,000 helmets, 5,000 body shields and 5,000 anti-tank weapons.”
MORE: From tonight’s Open Thread:
I suspect the Russian police are more likely to feel guilty than the Canadians did.
STILL MORE: Logistical, Strategic And Tactical Analysis Of The Russian War Against Ukraine. “At the moment, Ukraine probably controls the information war. That’s the way of things, and you may want to take that into consideration in your own assessments.”
Plus: “As best as can be determined, Putin’s original goal was to drive in heavy armor, rush to Kiev, surround the capital city, and then drop paratroopers in to kill or arrest Zelenskyy and his government. Then install a puppet regime, and leave (or leave some contingency of troops behind for stability operations). This seems to comport with the actions we’ve witnessed thus far. But Kiev wasn’t really surrounded and incapable of self-defense, and Russia didn’t control the battle space. The most amazing thing about this plan is the ability of the generals to sell Putin on the idea.”