TheOldGuy @TheOldGuy@qoto.org

In Paris, 15 Russian athletes will compete at the Summer Olympics under the “neutral.” Some of them support the war and Putin.

Among the neutral Russian athletes:

◾️Tamara Dronova (cycling).
She worked for the Dynamo security forces and traveled to the occupied Crimea in 2016 and 2019, as described in an interview.

◾️Olena Ivanchenko (cycling)
She left “likes” under several social media posts in support of the war, including posts questioning Ukraine's right to exist and posts supporting the annexation of Donetsk and Luhansk.

◾️Anzhela Bladtseva (trampolining)
She competed in a competition in Krasnodar, Russia, where the championship was held against the backdrop of a banner with a “Z” symbol (a symbol of the Russian invasion of Ukraine) made of a St. George's ribbon.

◾️Alexey Korovashkov (canoeing)
Positions himself as a “Russian-Transnistrian athlete”. It should be remembered that the self-proclaimed Transnistria is not recognized globally, so this violates the IOC regulations.

@liveukraine_media

Ukraine war latest: Around 20,000 Russians killed in Kharkiv offensive, Zelensky says

President Zelensky said in a July 20 interview that no one can force Ukraine to give up territory in order to achieve peace. "If one person in the world, and this person is Donald Trump, can stop the war in 24 hours, the question is at what price, and who will pay?" Zelensky said in an interview with BBC.

Meanwhile, Hungary is facing a fuel shortage following Ukraine's decision to ban Russian oil passing through its territory.

@Ukraine_Report ~ 4rrasoe 🇮🇩❤️🇺🇦

‼️ Russia’s vast stocks of Soviet-era weaponry are running out

It may have to scale back its offensive in Ukraine

When the then-Russian defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, boasted in December last year that 1530 tanks had been delivered in the course of the year, he omitted to say that almost 85 per cent of them, according to an assessment by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a London think-tank, were not new tanks but old ones (mainly T-72s, also T-62s and even some T-55s dating from just after the World War II) that had been taken out of storage and given a wash and brush-up.

Since the invasion, about 175 reasonably modern T-90m tanks have been sent to the front line. IISS estimates that annual production this year could be approaching 90.

Pavel Luzin, an expert on Russian military capacity at the Washington-based Centre for European Policy Analysis, reckons Russia can build only 30 brand-new tanks a year. When the Ukrainians captured a supposedly new T-90m last year, they found that its gun was produced in 1992.

Luzin reckons Russia’s ability to build new tanks or infantry fighting vehicles, or even to refurbish old ones, is hampered by the difficulty of getting components.

Stores of components for tank production that before the war were intended for use in 2025 have already been raided, while crucial equipment, such as fuel heaters for diesel engines, high-voltage electrical systems and infrared thermal imaging to identify targets, were all previously imported from Europe and their sale is now blocked by sanctions.

The lack of high-quality ball bearings is also a constraint. Chinese alternatives are sometimes available, but are said not to meet former quality standards.

Furthermore, the old Soviet armaments supply chain no longer exists. Ukraine, Georgia and East Germany were all important centres of weapons and components manufacture. Ironically, Kharkiv was the main producer of turrets for T-72 tanks.

Source
@Ukraine_Report ~ 4rrasoe 🇮🇩❤️🇺🇦

Inflation is greedy billionaires seeking to wring every last cent out of you.

https://open.substack.com/pub/robertreich/p/debunking-myth-9-inflation-is-caused?r=70k1h&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email

Two Grumpy old men.

https://open.substack.com/pub/twogrumpyoldmenonukraine/p/blitz-interview-julia-gorodetskaya?r=70k1h&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email

Mr. Vance has no respect for the free travel protections enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.
https://www.palmerreport.com/analysis/stunning-new-leaked-audio-from-jd-vance/57328/

Good Morning Resisters everywhere. My kitty alarm failed me this morning. One cat is huge and has a hard time with the kitty door. The other is tiny. For some reason he was on the roof this morning I woke myself up late.

Joyce Vance - First Time Voter
https://open.substack.com/pub/joycevance/p/how-do-you-help-a-first-time-voter?r=70k1h&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email

https://t.me/WarriorsUkrainian/32613

https://t.me/WarriorsUkrainian/32617

The Russian Federation has ignored Türkiye's requests to visit Ukrainian prisoners of war, according to Turkish Ombudsman Şeref Malkoç during a meeting with relatives of the prisoners. He stated that in the absence of a response, Türkiye intends to raise this issue with the UN Secretary General.

"After my visit to Ukraine, we held an online meeting with the Russian ombudsman, Tatyana Moskalkova, and sent a letter but received no response. Consequently, on July 5, 2024, I wrote to the Russian Embassy in Ankara. In the letter, I mentioned my visit to Ukraine, visiting Russian prisoners of war in Ukraine, and expressed my desire to visit Ukrainian prisoners of war in Russia. Now, I am awaiting a response," Malkoç said.

Russian authorities continue to increase the number of barges near the Kerch (Crimean) bridge to protect it , says Brady Afrique, an analyst with the American Enterprise Institute's Foreign and Defense Policy Research Department.

Satellite images from different periods indicate an increase in the number of protective barriers towards the end of July.

“ Russia continues to place barges along the Crimean Bridge to serve as a barrier against Ukrainian Navy drones. The latest images of the bridge show more than 30 barges nearby ,” the analyst noted.

Chechens have decided to engage in the "re-education" of Ukrainian children (read: stripping them off their Ukrainian identity).

Children from the occupied territories are taken to a camp in Luhansk financed by the Akhmat Kadyrov Foundation. There, they are dressed up in military uniforms and forced to shout "Allahu Akbar" and "Akhmat Power."

The video that Kadyrov published speaks for itself. The ICC doesn't even need to make an effort - all the evidence of the crimes simply comes right into its hands.

Romania strongly condemns the actions of the Russian Federation, - this is how the head of the country's Foreign Ministry reacted to the wreckage of Russian Shaheds on the territory of Romania

- Next time, will they stand ready to shoot the lethal drones down once they enter Romania, or will they escalate to "strongly strongly" condemning the actions, or maybe even go as far as "deeply" condemning it?

CONT…The allies bent like a reed, somehow despite their near collapse, French leadership and British unflappability managed to avoid a near disastrous collapse that would have seen the Germans win the war. Ukraine is having to do the same now. American and allied aid is getting in, reserves are being built up, Russia is acting out its front-wide gambit. It knows this is its last fling before the tide turns. Ukraine too must bend but not snap, eventually these Russian attacks will be broken and they will cease, they cannot go on at this pace for ever.

‘The Analyst’ MilStratOnX
SLAVA UKRAINI 🇺🇦!

From ‘The Analyst’ (Military & Strategic) X: MilStratOnX

RUSSIANS STRIKE AT VUHLEDAR

So much of the eastern front is dependent upon a number of key logistics routes - some rail, but principally roads. The open terrain that controls the crucial southeastern corner of the front, between Konstantinivka and Vuhledar, both of which have been the repeated focus of major Russian failed operations to take them - depend on a single road that runs in a straight line for over 50km between the two: the T0524.
If they can cut this the position for both towns worsens because the Ukrainian forces will lose any lateral communication line to transfer forces and supplies up and down the front in support of either town, or to prevent a further breakthrough. Ukraine obviously knows this and they have been assiduously defending it for two years.
The Russians decided to pile on the pressure here again in addition to everything else they’ve been doing, in an effort to find a weak spot Ukraine can’t defend.
The Ukrainians have been careful not to loose what little air superiority they have in this area by systematically eliminating every anti-air system they can find, leaving the Russians without air defences. An entire S-300 system was wiped out using HIMARS cluster munitions even as the operation began.
The Russians and Ukrainians began an operation around Konstantinivka the same day, Ukraine pushing south of the town going east while the Russians pushed north of it heading west. The Ukrainian plan was to disrupt the Russian attack which they managed to do, as they aimed to clear important tree line defences.
Drones played a major role for both sides, but especially for the Ukrainians who targeted Russian supply trucks relentlessly ensuring they couldn’t support the frontline operation.
However the Russians moved in turn to disrupt the Ukrainians by attacking further south against the T054 and the made rapid advances that alarmed many. The Russians carried out one of their ‘spike’ attacks, using a number of vehicles, many of which were lost, until they managed to get one to interdict the road itself.
The Ukrainian General Staff admitted the attacks had taken place and they were doing their best to defend from them.
The battles continue to rage - both sides know their significance and neither side wants to lose - Vuhledar has been a symbol of Ukrainian resistance for years now.
Yet again relentless Russian attacks that cost it dearly in men and machines have rested the situation. Most of the machines have been lost and yet again the men are in thick of it, casualties mounting. Some reports say that Russia has lost so many MT-LB type APC’s that the type is in effect, extinct. They started the war with thousands of them.
Russia is struggling to maintain this many offensive operations almost as much as Ukraine is struggling to defend from them.
There’s no question that the Russian strategy is one designed to overwhelm almost everywhere and breakthrough something to make a decisive move. The effort it’s taking is pushing them to breaking point.
There is an historical analogy in the German offensive Operation Michael of 1918. This was a massive operation that went from March 1918 through to September - and it came within a hairs breath of collapsing the allied forces after the Germans piled every last resources they had into the front- the trenches were broken, Paris was endangered and it took huge self control and thoughtfulness for the British and French forces, which were almost exhausted to hold the onslaught back. The Germans were their own worst enemy in the end. They over extended themselves, the operation was too great and too quick and had too many objectives. Parts stalled and parts moved too far. Eventually it exhausted itself and allied forces including Americans, counter attacked. The balloon popped. The German collapse began and the retreat was rapid. Soon they were well behind their start lines. It was the end. On November 11th Germany surrendered. CONT…

🇷🇺 One of the reasons for the enemy's constant advance is the total superiority in manpower - DeepState

📷 In this photo, you can see an infantry column moving from Ocheretino to the west across the railway. Katsaps in whole platoons of 40-60 men move to the front line and occupy it. The insufficient number of barrels and ammunition also plays a role.

😐 I would really like to bring Western partners there so that they see the seriousness of the need to provide more resources to inflict damage on the enemy, as well as Ukrainians who mocked on Facebook the proposal to assemble FPV drones in the kitchen, because these drones also become a huge help to our fighters in the destruction of freaks that can be seen in the picture and they will not disappear by themselves. Everyone should join this war in any way, and not write angry posts on Facebook, because it is the fighters of the Defense Forces who are holding back this influx, so that everyone can at least collect drones in the kitchen.

👥 We do not know with what forces and which "Progress" one of the spokesmen wanted to repulse yesterday, but as of 24.07, enemy forces were concentrated in the village of Progress of the Grodiv community in the number of at least 3 companies.

⤴️ Accordingly, there can be no reflection of the village and the language. What's more, the katsap approached Ivanovka and Vesely. Behind them is Grodivka, the oldest (founded at the end of the 17th century) Cossack settlement of the Pokrovsky district.

📈 According to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Oleksandr Syrskyi, the enemy will increase the number of contingents on the TOT to 690,000 people. This means that katsaps not only manage to replace losses, but also continue to increase the total number of soldiers.

The Czech Republic will deliver approximately 500,000 rounds of 155 mm ammunition to Ukraine by the end of 2024 as part of its initiative, according to Prime Minister Petr Fiala. He stated that deliveries will continue at the predicted pace in the coming months, ensuring that the Ukrainian army receives the ammunition by the end of the year.

Two Grumpy Old Men - The Zelensky Landslide

https://open.substack.com/pub/twogrumpyoldmenonukraine/p/the-zelensky-landslide-in-2019?r=70k1h&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email

Joyce Vance
https://open.substack.com/pub/joycevance/p/registered?r=70k1h&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email