I've read in a few places saying possible prep for Moscow City Day which will be held tomorrow. I don't know though
Video I saw earlier was of military armored vehicles moving towards central Moscow, but who knows if that's on the level. What's is on the level, however, is in this quote from the BBC - "The Russians have now lost two key logistics hubs - the railway cities of Izyum and Kupiansk. This is a military setback and a public humiliation for President Putin." More than a military "setback," in my opinion. It's strategically a catastrophe for the Russian military.
Something weird is going on.. makes me wonder if something is up with Putin - be it health or a coup brewing that he's worried about.
Ukraine counter-offensive: Russian forces retreat as Ukraine takes key towns Russian forces have withdrawn from key eastern towns, as a rapid Ukrainian counter-attack makes further gains. Ukrainian officials said troops entered Kupiansk, a vital eastern supply hub for Russian forces, on Saturday. Russia's defence ministry then said its troops have retreated from nearby Izyum to allow them "to regroup".' Russia's admission of a withdrawal from Izyum is significant because it was a major military hub for Moscow. The Russians have now lost two key logistics hubs - the railway cities of Izyum and Kupiansk. This is a military setback and a public humiliation for President Putin.
Zaporizhzhia plant in full cold shutdown per Ukranian power producer Energoatom. It makes it as safe as possible, with the control rods fully inserted and the core won't melt down if the water pumps stop pumping. Basically you'd have to directly hit the reaction chamber with an explosive for any sort of major radiation release. No Cherbobyl style runaway reaction is possible at the moment.
There's a reason the Russians are treating mobilization like its the third rail. It is. The idea that Russians are still brainwashed Stalin-worshiping Commu-zombies, willing to jump in front of bullets by the millions for Uncle Joe for the glory of the Soviet Union is simply not true. USA did full mobilization during WWII, too. We simply couldn't at this point unless the country was being invaded. There would be riots in the streets. It's the reason we ended the draft after Vietnam. It is every bit as true for the Russian population, though I'm sure they'll eat a lot more **** than the American population will. But, I'm sure Pootie-Poot curses his fate every day that he doesn't have the same level of mind control over the population that Stalin did. (As an aside, this is why we are so adamant about Ukrainians not striking inside Russia. Russia could spin that in a way to convince the public that it was an existential crisis, and the The whole point of the "Special Operation" presentation to the population was to convince the Russian public that invading Ukraine was no big deal, and that it wouldn't materially affect every day life. Bad enough they lost easy access to Big Macs and iPhone 14's. If it becomes a real war, and little Vadim Jr. gets drafted to die in a Ukrainian wheat field is going to be a very difficult pill to swallow. Mobilization may actually be more dangerous to Putin than not mobilizing. It's not 1939 anymore. Russians aren't happy to die за родина, like they were 80 years ago. The West made a similar mistake leading up to WWI. All the major powers were terrified of the "Russian Bear" and the Tzar's army because of what they did in the Crimean war in the 1850s. But the Russian Army was a paper tiger, and a corrupt shell of what it had been 60 years previously, and disintegrated at first contact, much to the surprise of everyone paying attention. Don't get caught up in what the Soviet Union was 100 years ago. Whatever it was, it isn't that anymore.
