Ukraine navigated out of the crisis, 24 July 2024

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The single most important thing for a country like Ukraine, given their situation, is that everyone pulls in the same direction. History shows countless examples of countries and other state forms collapsing due to betrayal, unwillingness, internal conflicts, being late to act, and many other reasons.

The old classic story of the traitor who always opened the city gates at night for all the small kingdoms and was then hanged by the new owners as thanks for the help taught us in school that such behavior was bad.

Since Ukraine is a complex country with high corruption and an “old Soviet culture,” probably the single most important factors for their survival are that the citizens took up the fight and that they have inherited the approach of meeting violence with violence. I believe we can safely say that a low-arousal approach towards Russia ends in torture-murders and ethnic cleansing as thanks for shown restraint. Unfortunately, we in Europe have the luxury of letting Ukrainian children be tortured and murdered instead of our own, so we can still feel morally superior with low-arousal approaches on nice discussion forums with bottled water.

You can be completely calm that if Russia had succeeded in overrunning Ukraine, it would have resulted in enormous refugee flows to us. Then Russia would have sunk its claws into them and turned the tide against us instead, with the Ukrainians at the forefront just as they did with the breakaway republics in Donbass, always first as cheap human mine-clearers.

Either an expanded conflict or a Ukrainian underworld that took over Europe with the help of FSB, GRU, and SVR. A million unemployed soldiers who would have taken the pay they considered themselves entitled to in the way they knew best after five years of work experience.

Europe owes Ukraine everything, but still in 2026 we probably buy just under 15% of our LNG from Russia with poor excuses and visas we absolutely still throw out. In 2025, it was +450,000 Schengen visas from memory, now some Baltic minister has gotten upset about that again.

We are far beyond acceptable tardiness and now focused on our own priorities, which do not exactly include protection against Russia as point number one on the list. Firstly, Russia can still send in whichever operators they want to Europe with regular flights and legal visas, which is directly astonishing. If they had to be smuggled in, at least they would have had to sleep in the woods and grill sausages instead of, as now, sitting in the lounge with cheap champagne in ill-fitting tracksuits.

LNG is billions directly to the Russian war chest, the aluminum plant in Ireland provides them with the material they buy with all the euros they get from our LNG purchases – aluminum that then becomes drones to hunt Ukrainian children to death.

Not to mention all the German companies that have sold/sell technology to Russia still, or the machines for barrel manufacturing from Spain – from memory?

Greece has provided the ships so Russia could transship its dirty oil into legal fine oil for Europe to buy when we started tightening dirty oil purchases a while ago.

India has been the other outlet for Russia to build its war chest by buying Russian dirty oil that was refined and then sold to Europe, fuel Made in India is great, everyone exclaims happily.

Because we are environmentally friendly in Europe, we have a large import need, so in real money we are probably still a major provider of hard currency for Putin. The figures that we have stopped buying Russian are about as reliable as any parliamentary party’s election promises this summer.

If Europe had been this inventive and goal-focused when it comes to supporting Ukraine and clipping Russia’s wings, it would have been a very short war. Because when it comes to support for Ukraine, it has been completely stopped at times on technicalities that have directly caused momentum or offensive operations to die out. The conspiratorial might suspect that we used the support as a choke collar for quite a while.

Pretty simple to steal a page from the USA and inform everyone that if they are caught buying oil, LNG, or fuel of Russian origin, they get a 200 million euro fine straight away and a four-year business ban or 82 years in prison if the crime is considered serious, where the threshold for serious is more than 10 liters. Then you unleash thirty IT nerds who get to work full-time hunting sinners with bonus-based pay.

Despite all this, Ukraine keeps grinding on to protect Europe’s children against the Russian hydra, but this war has been allowed to go on far too long already. It is a tragedy every day that is still difficult to handle.

Everything has been said about the Baltics even though the Baltics are now starting to get worried; if it comes, it looks like we have described, nothing more to add. This article is good and in line with my own concerns. You also know the remedy for this: send in our brigades to the Baltics today and honor the long-standing agreements with our allied brothers/sisters/all other accepted gender identities.

https://unn.ua/en/news/russia-near-nato-borders-baltic-countries-actively-warn-of-possible-aggression

Ukraine thus has a loosely connected mosaic that pulls in the same direction as long as they have a clear common enemy, and they do until a ceasefire, which makes such an event high risk, as you know from previous posts. But in between, the conflict comes to the surface as now with Fedorov because he did not stay silent.

There is some concern because the Germans have had some secret meeting with the Russians in Azerbaijan which they are trying to deny.

At the same time, Rubio has met Lavrov.

The USA obviously wants an end to this horrific war as soon as possible to save the children. At the same time, they are bombing Iran to ruins and do not want to hear about any demands to protect the children there – a hidden agenda with Ukraine we can thus assume and entirely in line with how they have acted since 2022.

Fedorov and then Syrskyi have been fired, the new acting FM is Khmara and Drapatyi became Chief of Defense. In 2024, when Zalizhny was fired, Syrskyi threw out all of Zalizhny’s staff as well as many brigade commanders to appoint his own.

All the new appointments have one thing in common: plenty of marks in the protocol from Syrskyi, so it is not unlikely that some from Syrskyi’s gang will either resign voluntarily or be fired.

Yes, if they had not reshuffled at all, it probably would have been best right now because Ukraine is about to start offensive operations, but since the corps are ready, the defense forces are not paralyzed at all. Think of a Swedish parliamentary election when they cannot form a government and the country keeps going for a few months, and just when everyone starts wondering if national politics is needed, we have a new indispensable government.

Drapatyi’s and Khmara’s appointments also caused full panic on the Russian side – apparently a very big negative for them.

EU did right to keep quiet because this is an internal matter, but in the long run, it is our taxpayers’ money they use, and if it becomes too clear that much is being stolen, that tap will be shut off quite quickly. All Putin-controlled parties will scream about budget discipline as soon as that door is open. If tax collection starts to decrease this autumn in some kind of financial crisis, it will be even easier to push through.

The conflict between Fedorov and Syrskyi probably stems from where the money should go. Fedorov is the prodigy who has been working since 2022 on the drone weapon and finally became defense minister, where he immediately started reorganizing so that drones became a prioritized weapon system. He wanted to become Zelensky’s chief of staff after Yermak, but Zelensky thought he would cause less damage as defense minister, which was completely wrong.

Syrskyi is a “boots-on-the-ground” old fox within the armed forces and presumably has his contacts with the traditional arms industry. For a few years, we have been receiving a flood of information about overpriced products, unnecessary purchases, and all sorts of other things that are a natural part of the ecosystem in all countries, including Sweden.

You have to decide for yourself what is most important to prioritize; the drone weapon today accounts for over 90% of Russian losses. It is also not the case that all other capabilities drop to zero – there are still shooters and fragmentation protection that have previously conducted offensives with significantly less equipment than they have today.

In addition, Fedorov has actively cleared out corrupt bureaucrats in the MoD and started tender procedures, which naturally led to an outcry.

There are also many reports of abuses within the armed forces where some regiments have functioned better than others, and Skala is one of the worse. So it continues for quite a while with various comparisons, and one can certainly hold the opinion that tough new leadership is needed in a war, but the line is thin before it turns into something else, which has been simmering beneath the surface and led to the protests.

Yes, Fedorov was far ahead of his time; in construction, our municipalities always give contracts to the big giants PEAB and NCC, who steal 30%, hand the entire contract to a subcontractor, and go to sleep with pillows full of bills doing nothing. The drone weapon swallowed budgets from elsewhere, and moreover, there were new manufacturers who got direct contracts. The MoD redirected money flows from established companies to completely new ones without them being able to cut their 30%, which NCC and PEAB apparently have written into the constitution. You can consider whether M would ever have agreed to this after the defense industry and Wallenberg massaged them for a while.

Then Fedorov canceled directly inappropriate contracts that were overpriced or simply unnecessary. When I worked at Solna municipality for half a year during university work practice, I went through costs with a new head of the waste unit – found 15 containers that had been standing for 10 years and cost 25,000 SEK/month each, which no one knew what they were for; the company invoiced monthly. The small company could not explain it either, of course, but it probably led to a funeral drink and voodoo doll with needles for me after that move. The unit manager canceled a whole bunch of strange contracts, but I heard from her a few years later, so she was at least not thrown into a garbage truck and removed.

This was probably the real background to the conflict, and that Fedorov was hard-clearing the MoD among the arms industry’s contacts that they had bribed over time. Seeing such investments go down by five would make any CEO see red, especially if the bribe account had been a large budget item.

Syrskyi was probably the person who could take the fight with him since his side places orders for much of the other through the units’ requests but which then became deprioritized.

Corruption cannot be avoided; it exists everywhere, including with us as is well known if you have followed the media somewhat, even though it always dies out completely without action after some “we have been naive.” In Ukraine, there is more money and poorer control due to the war, but I think Zelensky should have handled this much more neatly.

This is the second time he has gone after those who want to sue corruption; the last time it was the anti-corruption authority he tried to force into obedience but had to give up.

I wonder if it was also like with Zalizhny, that Fedorov became a bit too popular – just thinking aloud and have no evidence at all. The only thing I know is that it has started to circulate that Fedorov has a political future, and we know that Zalizhny intends to run for president when that day comes. I wouldn’t be surprised if Fedorov appears in politics in the future.

Fedorov has refused to come back in any form other than FM, which Zelensky cannot give him now that he has been fired and also gone public in the media; that bridge is burned.

Syrskyi’s situation was completely untenable, so Zelensky had no choice but to also fire him to try to find a new balance – no one was allowed to stay instead of both staying, and Zelensky had set some clear boundaries instead.

Probably Zelensky underestimated the backlash.

Zelensky had one of the war’s most important decisions to make now – who would become the new Chief of Defense.

Last weekend he met corps commanders and all kinds of senior officers, so he probably tried to listen to the armed forces outside the general staff and seriously take in what the troop commanders had to say – after all, they are the ones who count, the corps commanders who represent the brigade commanders who represent the soldiers in the trenches in eastern Ukraine.

Now it turned out very well with Drapatyi and Khmera, so Zelensky managed to solve this by doing what was best for the country.

It is at least nice to see that Ukraine has democracy in the sense that parliament and citizens can speak up when power slips in the wrong direction.

The rumor mill is in full swing, so no point in writing a lot about it; the above is well known, but of course, there will now be full mudslinging and a Russia weighing in. I’ve seen some film where Drapatyi kneels before the British ambassador when he received some medal, so he is now (according to Russian psyops) the British paid man in Ukraine and an arch-capitalist.

Then you understand just like me that the reason Europe does not have any drone weapons today in 2026 but orders frigates so it smokes is exactly the same disease as in Ukraine.

Or Aurora 2026 where the entire defense Twitter praised the new capability of not being able to handle the drone threat at all as a great display of strength, and all criticism was to go Putin’s errands.

Ukraine is at least trying to handle its systemic problems; we buy frigates instead and call all criticism of tardiness Putinist treason.

Just like in a Swedish hospital where nothing works without the nurses, but they always save on them and instead hire layer upon layer of administrators who invent new tasks that are put on the nurses. Just as our administrators have to make themselves relevant, it works the same way in the Ukrainian armed forces.

Administration and staffs become top-heavy, corruption runs rampant, and everyone forgets the shooters, the critical resource that makes you either win or lose.

In October 2024, when Vuhledar fell, I was completely caught off guard but quickly understood why when the 72nd brigade, as the first unit and primary source, went on verbal defense and confirmed that they were a 300-strong brigade but covered an area for a full-strength brigade. This was after Zelensky went out during the summer and declared that the personnel shortage had now been addressed. It had simply spread a culture in the armed forces to try to find other tasks than lying in the trenches and taking the hit.

Understandable since 80% of the wounded returned to service and the brigades were acutely understaffed – front-line service was a death sentence or possibly a civilian life without arms and legs.

Now Russia will probably mobilize this fall after the elections in September, and Ukraine is trying to meet this with its own mobilization. It is now crucial that the citizens have full confidence in the armed forces, otherwise they choose to stay away. And that those mobilized choose front-line service, otherwise it makes no difference if no one goes to the front.

Putin is extremely pressured, the number of window jumps and purges within the former inner circle with people who have been alongside him since the 90s is becoming long. Most recently, Patrushev in hospital after some FSB poison, Rosenberg’s drug, and not least coup rumors within the officer corps that the FSB has begun to crack down on – more window jumps with obligatory underwear tugs for generals soon. Or Putin loses his grip and dangles, who knows. At least it is gratifying to see.

Thanks to the drone weapon, Ukraine can do great damage to the country Russia, and Putin has two cards left to play: escalate the war and mobilize to increase pressure in Ukraine.

It is therefore crucial that Ukraine holds together until Russia collapses, and that Europe does not let itself be talked out of it, but one should be clear that everything is constantly high risk so leaning back and believing everything will fix itself is a very bad risk management strategy. It has been terrible throughout the war but Europe has been extremely lucky that Russia made the mistake of attacking Ukraine first.

Ukraine has just navigated one of its worst crises in the entire war and it seems they have managed to come out on top, again.

Concerned about Germany’s shift in how they view the war but probably half-empty LNG tanks are becoming important for them?

https://www.reuters.com/world/azerbaijan-president-says-german-russian-talks-were-held-baku-2026-07-21

Continuing to push for paid subscription on my Substack, hope more can take this step to dare to press the button for an eternally world-leading flow of information.

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131 thoughts on “Ukraine navigated out of the crisis, 24 July 2024”

  1. MXT

    Russian losses in Ukraine

    No record numbers but overall high losses:

    • 1410 KIA
    • 10 Tanks
    • 6 AFVs
    • 76 Artillery systems
    • 7 MLRS
    • 1 Air defense system
    • 1 Aircraft
    • 1,652 UAVs
    • 12 UGVs
    • 544 Vehicles & fuel tanks
    • 1 Special equipment
    • 2 Cruise missiles Slava Ukraini

     

    SLAVA UKRAINI

  2. MXT

    Summary from the Ukrainian General Staff:

    • 233 combat clashes
    • 93 air strikes,
    • 308 KAB/CAB
    • 10,463 kamikaze drones
    • 3,230 shellings (25 from MLRS)
  3. MXT

    News of the night
    Further attacks on Wildberries

    If I interpret Kyiv Independent correctly, Ukraine attacked a total of four Wildberries logistics centers during the night. Two of the facilities are located in or just outside Saint Petersburg, while the others are in Simferopol in occupied Crimea and in Tver.

    • Novosaratovka outside Saint Petersburg – A facility located in the Utkin Zavod logistics park. Extensive fire and three reported injured.
    • Shushary in Saint Petersburg – Reports of heavy smoke development.
    • Simferopol in occupied Crimea – A large warehouse where Wildberries has confirmed it was hit but it is uncertain how extensive the damage is.
    • Tver – Reports of a fire, here too it is uncertain how extensive the attack and damage have been.

    Read more at Kyiv Independent

     

    Kirov

    Ukraine is also said to have attacked Aviatek in Kirov. They operate within the Russian aviation and defense sectors but it seems a bit unclear exactly what they do. According to some, they manufacture missiles while others write that it only concerns equipment for aviation. Some posts with information and videos here, here and here.

     

    Russian attack on Zaporizhzhia

    Russia attacked Zaporizhzhia with glide bombs during the evening, injuring at least 25 people. Among the injured, six are children and one of them is only three months old.

    The attack caused extensive damage to civilian infrastructure, including a private hospital, residential buildings, a preschool, and several vehicles.

    Read more at Kyiv Independent

     

      1. Pehr

        Interesting 🤔
        Then maybe there is some truth to the accusations after all 😂
        The Russian bastards are, after all, Sweden’s arch-enemies.

  7. MXT

    I previously wrote somewhat half-jokingly regarding Lara Loomer’s turnaround, that I suspected Russia could no longer afford to pay her. Now I wonder if that might have been a completely accurate interpretation.

    Tim Pool is one of four influencers who turned out to have been very well paid by a media company with Russian connections in the USA. There is no doubt that the payment was for spreading pro-Russian propaganda and smearing Ukraine if one has seen some of the crap they spread.

    Now suddenly it seems that he too has turned around (it will be interesting if more turn).

    So it no longer feels so far-fetched to suspect that when the money stops, one starts writing what one really thinks.

    Or it is as the quoted post insinuates, that they are simply trying to get money in other ways without caring where it comes from.

    In any case, one can almost assume that Russia no longer pays them. Maybe it is that Ukraine has simply outbid Russia and pays more. 😄

    If it were only about posts on social media, one could think that Ukraine hacked their accounts, but Lara has just visited Ukraine and even managed to meet Zelenskyy and interview him.

    Anyway, very interesting development!

    “The Parasites 🦠 are looking for a new host……” https://x.com/ShaunPinnerUA/status/2080521632070705530

  8. 205

    Моя робота — війна

    Олександр Сирський
    Олександр Сирський

    20 Липня, 2026
    19:21

    Скажу чесно: мені нецікава медійна робота. Я не будую імідж і не маю політичних амбіцій. Я займаюся війною. 24/7. Саме тому я рідко даю інтерв’ю і майже ніколи не пишу колонок.

    Але останніми днями моє мовчання почали трактувати як згоду. Навколо армії і Генерального штабу виросла ціла міфологія про конфлікти й саботаж. Тому один раз я скажу все сам.

    Про «конфлікт»
    Для мене було несподіванкою дізнатися, що у нас із паном міністром був конфлікт. Я сприймав наші відносини як робочі: зі складними питаннями, з різними позиціями. Так і має бути між двома інституціями під час великої війни.

    Якщо я когось чимось образив: Михайле Альбертовичу, вибачте. Буваю жорстким. Але прошу і вас, і всіх, хто зараз із захопленням стежить за цією історією: давайте фокусуватися не на особистому, а на глобальному. На перемозі.

    Бо є думка, важливіша за будь-які прізвища: Україна більша за Федорова, Сирського і будь-кого з нас. Україна вистоїть не тому, що в ній є незамінні люди, а тому, що в ній є армія, інституції та мільйони людей, які роблять свою роботу. Звести цю війну до протистояння двох персон — найбільша послуга, яку ми можемо зробити ворогу.

    І це стосується не лише нас із паном Федоровим. Я бачу, як люди діляться на «табір Федорова» і «табір Сирського». Щойно питання, пов’язане з війною чи військом, політизується, воно спрощується до гасла. А кожне з питань, про які зараз сперечаються в мережі, — контракти, закупівлі, мобілізація — набагато складніше за будь-який пост про нього. Гаслами не ухвалюються рішення, від яких залежать життя людей.

    І друга думка, з якої випливає все, що я скажу далі: війну виграє реальна робота, а не публічна драма навколо неї. Тому далі буде не про стосунки, а про роботу.

    Хто за що відповідає
    Почнімо з базових речей, які загубилися в дискусії.

    Міністерство оборони — це забезпечення війська, закупівлі, вироблення політик, цивільний контроль над ЗСУ. Це величезна робота, без якої армія не воює. Міністр не має особисто перебувати на нулі й не має бути стратегом війни. Це не його завдання і не його відповідальність.

    Стратегія війни, планування операцій, ситуація на фронті — за законом моя відповідальність перед Верховним Головнокомандувачем. Далекобійні удари, ізоляція Криму — це роблять ЗСУ, СБУ, ГУР, ДПСУ, і координується Верховним Головнокомандувачем і мною. Не тому, що я «не пускаю» когось до успіху, а тому, що так вибудувані інституційні процеси у всіх арміях світу.

    Коли мені закидають «відсутність стратегії», нагадаю просту річ: стратегія війни — не публічний документ і не пост у соцмережах. Вона доповідається Верховному Головнокомандувачу, а її результат видно на фронті, де мільйонна армія четвертий рік стримує переважаючого противника. Той, хто вимагає від Головкома «презентувати стратегію» публічно, вимагає презентувати її ворогу.

    У нас останнім часом багато говорять про візію. Візія — корисна річ: з візією можна побудувати стартап. Але для перемоги у війні потрібна стратегія. Візія малює бажане майбутнє. Стратегія відповідає на питання, звідки взяти резерви, снаряди, людей і час, щоб до цього майбутнього дійти.

    І тут же про «ручне керування». Я служу в армії понад 40 років. Я армійська людина: я не ставлю ультиматумів своєму керівнику і не керую військами через месенджери. Мільйонна армія не керується у вотсапі. Вона керується через штаби, накази і відповідальність командирів на місцях. Одне з нещодавніх рішень: я делегував командирам корпусів повноваження, зокрема й щодо переведень військовослужбовців у межах корпусів. Це і є протилежність ручному керуванню.

    Про дрони
    Найдивніший закид, який я чув — що я нібито «не хочу воювати дронами».

    Сили безпілотних систем як окремий рід сил створювався при мені. Я особисто подавав Президенту кандидатуру Мадяра, щоб поставити на чолі СБС майора Мадяра. Це було непопулярне рішення, і я взяв його повністю під свою відповідальність. Чому саме він? Бо він не просто виріс від солдата до офіцера, а створив унікальний підрозділ і має бачення. Результат ми всі бачимо щодня.

    Людина, яка «не хоче воювати дронами», не створює перший у світі окремий рід військ безпілотних систем і не ставить на нього командира всупереч усім традиціям військової ієрархії.

    Але скажу і другу частину правди, яку зобов’язаний казати саме я, бо результат на полі бою за законом лягає на мене. Дрони сьогодні дають велику частку уражень. Це факт. Але щоб підготувати поле бою для ефективної роботи дронів, потрібні артилерія, міномети, інженерні засоби, ППО, радіоелектронна боротьба і ще десятки номенклатур. Генеральний штаб подає міністерству повний перелік того, що потрібно для війни. Закуповувати треба все, а не лише те, що зараз у тренді.

    Ми не воюємо з умовною маленькою країною. Проти нас — переважаючий в усьому ворог, який воює зокрема й артилерією, і авіацією, і піхотою. Я не можу за два місяці перевести мільйонну армію «на дрони» і сказати: тепер воюємо так. Крім того, що це очевидна авантюра, будь-який експеримент такого масштабу оплачується нашими землями і нашими людьми.

    Про кадри
    Кажуть, що я просуваю «лише лояльних». Подивіться на факти. Мадяр. Апостол. Гнатов. Андрій Білецький. Редіс. Верес. Ахілес. Євген Карась. Цей список можна продовжувати. Це люди, які виросли з молодшого офіцерського складу до керівних посад. Я їх призначаю, я їх підвищую, я ними опікуюсь. Багато з цих призначень були непопулярними в системі. Я їх ухвалював, бо мій єдиний критерій — результат.

    Так, процедури переведень довгі та складні. Але ці процедури визначені нормативними актами, які розроблялися задовго до мене і змінювати які має саме міністерство. Я підтримаю будь-яке спрощення, яке не зруйнує керованість війська.

    Про адміністративну роботу

    Я не буду переходити на особистості. Скажу лише про факти, бо вони стосуються мотивації мільйона людей у війську.

    Нові контракти було презентовано понад місяць тому. Станом на сьогодні їх підписали близько 2000 військовослужбовців на мільйонну армію. Водночас я отримав велику кількість демотивованих солдатів і офіцерів, які очікували одних умов, а отримали інші. Сама постанова щодо «експерименту» викликає серйозні юридичні питання. Порівняйте: підвищення грошового забезпечення в системі МВС провели через зміни до бюджету і через Верховну Раду. От вам і різниця між рішенням і презентацією. Бо презентації не мають перетворюватися на саморепрезентації: за кожним слайдом мають стояти документ, бюджет і процедура. Інакше замість рішення армія отримує розчарування.

    Те саме стосується реформи мобілізації — завдання, яке поставив Президент. Сухопутні війська і ТЦК у моїй вертикалі, і ми готові до змін: ходимо на всі засідання у Верховній Раді, передаємо всі порушення в ДБР, наполягаємо на залученні поліції. Але сама реформа — законодавча й адміністративна робота міністерства. Я чекаю на неї так само, як чекає вся країна.

    І останнє, про що не маю права мовчати, — грошове забезпечення. Пан міністр сам публічно сказав, що частину коштів із зарплат військових було спрямовано на закупівлю дронів. Через це на друге півріччя виникло питання фінансування виплат.

    Скажу прямо: зарплата солдата — не резерв для перерозподілу, а зобов’язання держави перед людьми, які щодня ризикують життям. Разом з урядом ми зараз шукаємо рішення, щоб кожен військовослужбовець отримав своє вчасно і в повному обсязі. Іншого варіанту просто не існує. Але висновок на майбутнє зробити треба: рішення про мільярди не можна ухвалювати без розрахунку наслідків для мільйона людей.

    Зазначу окремо: ця колонка — не для тих, хто сперечається у соцмережах. Вона для тих, хто щодня тримає на собі тягар війни. Нашим воїнам байдуже, хто кого переспорив в інтернеті. Їм потрібні снаряди, ротація, вчасна виплата і впевненість, що держава за їхніми спинами працює, а не свариться. Все, що я написав вище, — саме про це.

    Замість висновку
    Я не воюю з міністерством. Я воюю з росією. Генеральний штаб ніколи не протидіяв міністерству: ми співпрацювали і будемо співпрацювати з будь-яким міністром, якого призначить держава. Бо в армії не вибирають, з ким служити. В армії виконують накази і роблять свою роботу. Але роблять її якісно.

    Моя робота — війна. Стратегія, фронт, люди. Цим я займаюся і займатимусь далі. Бажано без інтерв’ю і колонок.

    Україна більша за будь-чиї імена. І Україна вистоїть, якщо кожен робитиме свою справу на своєму місці.

    Зміни в тексті:

    20.07.26 20:26: фраза «рід військ створив я» замінена «створювався при мені»
    21.07.26 14:19: слово «військ» замінено на «сили»

    https://militarnyi.com/uk/articles/moya-robota-vijna/

    1. MXT

      Saw that the image crashed so I checked it to see if there was possibly something wrong here on the site (or if the link had become strange).

      It is the site from which it is taken (https://militarnyi.com/) that has implemented a so-called hot-link blocking to prevent exactly linking it from other sites.

      The link is completely correct and if you check the HTML code and find the image there and choose to open it in a new tab, it works as it should, but when the image is supposed to be displayed here on the page itself, it results in a 403 Forbidden.

    2. maggan

      Good with pushback 205! I appreciate that, as I seem to be one of the few who is a bit more positive (or maybe neutral) towards Trump. Insults against the blog owner might be a bit much, I think Johan appreciates the debate without us throwing dirt at each other. Everyone is (so far) entitled to an opinion, even if it is contradictory. I appreciate that you dare to stand by your opinion.

  11. MXT

    ** Ukraine’s defense industry outgrew its wartime rules

    Four years of existential war against Russia have produced a military technology model in Ukraine few traditional procurement systems could replicate.

    Brave1, Ukraine’s state-backed defense tech platform, currently connects more than 2,500 companies and over 5,000 products, and Ukraine no longer needs to prove that it can turn battlefield problems into fielded capabilities at speed. Today’s challenge, though, is preserving the incentives that let it adapt faster than the threats it faces.

    This is why the Ukrainian government’s move to open up defense exports is such a big deal. And even though the reform will obviously increase sales and revenue for Ukrainian defense companies in foreign markets, the real need is to ensure Ukraine’s miltech has a future. **
    https://kyivindependent.com/ukraines-defense-industry-outgrew-its-wartime-rules/

  12. Pehr

    Japan seems to have caught on and is investing in the SHIELD system, a multi-layered defense network that uses thousands of unmanned systems to intercept enemy naval vessels and amphibious assault forces before they can land on Japanese beaches. SHIELD stands for synchronized, hybrid, integrated, and enhanced littoral defense.
    https://www.byteseu.com/2223079/

    1. Lasse W

      Solovyov has an introductory part where he sounds resigned and says that there are traitors in the country who leak information to the enemy. They are an internal enemy who should be hanged, not shot, he says. He also says that there is a war going on and that wars are not won half-heartedly. He seems to think that the war against Ukraine is being conducted half-heartedly. He also mentions the meeting between Rubio and Lavrov in Manila. He dryly notes that the meeting was over after 35 minutes and that the agreement in Anchorage did not seem to be respected.

      In the latter part, he says that Russia must show strength. Only strength commands respect internally and towards other countries. The war must be won. Nothing else exists.

  14. MXT

    There is apparently one more big chain in Russia, OZON, that Ukraine has not yet gone after, so it doesn’t seem to be a lack of targets to attack.

    The bingo card is ready! 😂

  15. MXT

    Off-Topic, the war in Iran

    Unfortunately, it doesn’t sound like Iran feels heavily pressured and ready to give up. The USA will probably need to escalate the war significantly to achieve its goals (whatever they are, as they vary a bit from day to day).

    The oil price is likely to continue rising; it’s fortunate that we have made some progress in reducing dependence, but there is still a risk that we could end up in a global economic recession if the war becomes prolonged and more extensive. Iran will probably target neighboring countries with the risk of further destruction of gas and oil infrastructure and production.

    “Iran has rejected a ceasefire proposal from the USA, according to Iranian and Iraqi sources reported by the New York Times.

    The proposal is said to have been delivered by Iraq’s President Ali al-Zaidi during a visit to Tehran. Iran’s President Abbas Araghchi seems in a statement to state media to confirm that they have received the message, but also says that it has not changed the relationship with the USA.

    – The problem is the USA’s attitude, which is illogical, greedy, and controlling, he says.”
    https://omni.se/kallor-iran-har-avvisat-forslag-om-vapenvila-fran-usa/a/k0KwBk

    —

    “Iran has quickly rebuilt infrastructure damaged in American and Israeli airstrikes. This is according to satellite images and information from Israeli and Western sources, writes the Wall Street Journal.

    Military bases, bridges, ports, and factories have been repaired and weapon stockpiles replenished at a speed that worries Israel. This explains how Iran has been so resilient despite tens of thousands of airstrikes, according to the sources.

    Iran recovered just as quickly after the twelve-day war with Israel last summer, according to former Israeli commander Ran Kochav.

    – They replenished their stockpiles. They have very impressive industrialization and reconstruction capabilities, he says.”
    https://omni.se/satellitbilder-visar-iran-ateruppbyggs-snabbt/a/0prQOE

    —

    “In an interview with Axios, Trump says he is considering attacks on Iran that are even larger than those the USA carried out when the war began. He says he has not made a final decision yet, but that he is close.

    Furthermore, Trump says that Iran ‘wants to negotiate’ but is not ready to make a deal yet.

    – They have not felt enough pain yet, he says.

    In a post on his own platform Truth Social, he promises a ‘major military punishment’ for Iran and its allied Houthi rebels, after the Houthis attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea.

    In the post, Trump writes that he is ‘very disappointed’ in the Houthis, who ‘until now have behaved very professionally and smartly,’ according to the president.”
    https://omni.se/trump-overvager-massiv-attack-mot-iran-de-har-kant-for-lite-smarta/a/wr9Ag4

     

  16. MXT

    Russian shadow fleet changes tactics after boardings: Arming the crew

    The Swedish boardings of Russian-linked ships in the Baltic Sea seem to have prompted the principals behind them to change tactics, reports Sveriges Radio. Dubious shipping companies now appear, to a greater extent than before, to have reflagged to Russian affiliation. They have also changed routes and armed their crews.

    – The purpose of this is to send the signal: if you board us, you may be met with armed resistance, says Niklas Granholm at the Swedish Defence Research Agency to Svenska Dagbladet.

    Swedish authorities have so far this year boarded five ships on suspicion of, among other things, environmental crimes and sanctions evasion. Other countries as well, mainly Finland, France, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, have tightened controls and boarded ships in recent months.
    https://omni.se/ryska-skuggflottan-har-bytt-taktik-pa-ostersjon/a/M79oxK

      1. Pehr

        🏴‍☠️ Lasse i Gatan. Issue letters of marque. There are surely Ukrainians who are not desperate and who have proven to be capable of disabling boats for the Russian bastards.

      2. CB500four

        Should be quite simple, if permission is not granted for authorities to board, they get 5 minutes before they are stopped by force.

         

  17. MXT

    Off-Topic, the fires in Europe

    Wondering if Spain and France will soon need to request help from the EU.

    “Spain has declared a national emergency due to the three uncontrolled wildfires raging in the country, writes Libertad.

    The Madrid municipality states in a statement that the fires are ‘beyond our ability to extinguish.’ Over 10,000 people have been evacuated in the area.

    ‘The government has mobilized all resources to be able to stop the terrible fires,’ writes Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on X.”
    https://omni.se/nodlage-i-spanien-bortom-var-formaga-att-slacka/a/QJ87GP

    —

    “Over 20,000 people are being evacuated from a ‘particularly intense’ wildfire currently raging in southwestern France. Among them are thousands of tourists who have been forced to flee campsites and holiday accommodations, several media outlets report.

    – The police came and knocked on the door. It’s scary and hard to take in, says Patrick Martineau, who was evacuated from the village of Le Porge, to The Guardian.

    Swede Sofia Krigsman is about a half-hour drive from the fire in Gironde. She has not yet needed to evacuate but is closely following the news broadcasts.

    – It is terrible to see such extensive damage to nature, she tells TT.

    About 700 firefighters and four water planes are trying to get the fire under control.

    – The work was relentless throughout the night. At present, we are dealing with an unpredictable fire, so we cannot lower our guard, says Marc Vermeulen, fire chief in Gironde, to the BBC.”
    https://omni.se/tusentals-turister-evakueras-fran-fransk-storbrand/a/j0wa2n

     

    2. MacMelmac

      The worst thing is that most fires could have been avoided if people had not thrown trash like bottles, etc., in nature or around waste stations, if people had stopped throwing cigarette butts out of car windows, and if the brush around crops, etc., had been maintained.
      Some are unfortunately deliberately set, and some are pure accidents when work machines cause sparks, etc.

  18. MXT

    Off-Topic, heatwaves, drought, and the climate

    “Record heatwaves caused by the climate crisis “suck the water out of the soils in Europe during the summer and intensify soil drought.” This is shown by a scientific analysis reported by The Guardian.

    The persistent heat means that water in the soil, rivers, and lakes has evaporated significantly. According to the study, such conditions were 80 times more likely in Western Europe and 40 times more likely in Eastern Europe due to global warming.

    The extreme soil drought was five times more likely in the west and eleven times more likely in the east as a result of fossil fuel emissions.

    Drought is usually associated with low precipitation, but researchers believe that the climate crisis has changed this. After a winter with heavy precipitation, they argue that it is the high temperatures that are instead the main factor.”
    https://omni.se/rekordvarmen-suger-vattnet-ur-europas-marker/a/WvJqxk

  19. MXT

    ** 🇪🇺 UPDATE: The EU has approved the 21st, largest, package of sanctions against Russia in four years.

    • Finance and crypto: 130+ banks and financial institutions, 14 crypto platforms and A7 network blocked; the EU will be able to completely ban crypto services in countries that help Russia.

    • Oil and energy: Oil price ceiling frozen until 2027, 18 companies/refineries restricted (including in Belarus and Georgia), 5 oil traders and 41 new “shadow fleet” vessels (632 in total). Sanctions against gold, diamond and metal miners added.

    • Military-industrial complex and trade: Sanctions imposed against 56 individuals/companies (including drone manufacturers) and 51 intermediary companies (China, India, UAE, etc.). Export of military components and import of Russian goods worth €60+ million banned (mirrored for Belarus).

    • Justice and personalities: Entry ban for Russian combatants is being prepared, sanctions imposed against 8 propagandists and a general for torturing prisoners; EU companies protected from Russian court decisions. **

    https://bsky.app/profile/maks23.bsky.social/post/3mreuahwcp22j

  21. MXT


    Under the morning and early afternoon on Friday, the Armed Forces and the police will conduct an exercise with a helicopter in central Stockholm. This is stated by the Armed Forces in a press release.


    According to the press release, the exercise “may be noticeable if you are in the central parts of the capital.” The helicopter to be used is the UH-60M Black Hawk model, which the Armed Forces refer to as Helicopter 16.

  22. Pehr

    The Sun of all tabloids continuously releases good videos about the Russian devils’ war against Ukraine.
    Most recently, one about the threat to, among others, the Baltics, which Johan has commendably written about repeatedly.

    **Is Kaliningrad still a frightening nuclear fortress… or has it just become a prison?

    Packed with over a hundred tactical nuclear weapons, heavy armor, and powerful electronic warfare jamming, Kaliningrad was built to be Vladimir Putin’s ultimate spearhead in the heart of Europe.

    Now that threat has been turned upside down.

    While Poland is building its multi-billion “eastern shield” and NATO locks down the Baltic Sea, Russia’s most dangerous forward base is completely cut off.

    https://youtu.be/LSplPSlOD6A?is=_x8_OZgkgtDns2Kw

  24. johan No.1

    MXT, could it be because China has just introduced export restrictions against us in Europe, as retaliation for the new package you posted above?

  25. johan No.1

    Lara Loomer and now Tim Pool are very interesting.

    It’s a bit like Göran Greider switching to the Tidö Alliance.

    Pivot from Trump on the way?

    Then Putin’s days are probably numbered 🤩🤩

    However, I trust nothing until we have irrefutable evidence, like the US sending reinforcements into the Baltics 😀

    1. SneakyPete

      Absolutely, it smells from a long way off like Trump will soon come out of the closet as a Ukraine lover.
      They are probably just fine-tuning how it should be presented ahead of the elections for the intended effect, and it probably also depends on Iran.

  26. johan No.1

    David D is in full fight with the Ukrainians.

    He fully supported Sirskyi as is known and now he is angrier at the Ukrainians than the Russians 🤣🤣

  27. johan No.1

    Enumeration of tanks et.al.

    RU has more deployed units today than at the beginning of the war but fewer in the depots.

    Rosgvardia is also beginning to mechanize

  29. johan No.1

    Iran…

    They were on the border and the people were ready.

    Then tens of thousands of militias from the entire region arrived, even on regular flights…

    The USA stopped for a few months and the result was the most predictable possible.

    Israel tried but was rebuffed.

    The IRGC had started leaving their posts and Iran, somewhere there the break occurs.

    Did Russia and China reach Trump?

    incompetence like Clouseau?

    completely different agenda?

    1. CB500four

      Well, they could have done so much more the first time they were there and rampaged, but suddenly it became so urgent to get a deal when there was dissatisfaction at the pump in the USA.

      Now the bombing is happening again left and right, and the possibility for the people to break free from the theocracy is approaching zero.

      The enriched uranium has probably been moved to other facilities, or maybe to Russia during the ceasefire.

      So, what are Trump and Iran really after? Iran wants control over Hormuz, and they basically had that with the deal they had signed; ultimately, Iran wants death to Israel, which assumes that the USA abandons Israel and the Middle East.

      How do they get the USA to abandon the Middle East? By making the war too expensive for Trump and the USA, financially and image-wise. If Trump starts bombing civilian installations all over Iran, it will be a huge image problem for the USA.

      Why is Trump on the move again? He wants control over Hormuz and to take tolls from those who pass through. He wants an oil price that benefits American producers, but not too expensive gasoline at the pump.

      Who benefits from the Hormuz blockade? Oil and gas producing countries, including Russia. It will create pressure to ease the sanctions, and the war means the USA cannot deliver weapons to Ukraine and Europe.

      Who suffers from the Hormuz blockade? All other countries, but perhaps mostly India, the world’s most populous country. 

      Nothing good will come from this except that the world is forced to become independent of fossil fuels faster. If they had succeeded in overthrowing the regime from the start, it could have started a golden age for Iran and the entire Middle East; now it looks dark.

       

  30. MXT

    Good that we are stepping up!

    Just keep our fingers crossed that we don’t also encounter a major fire.

    “The Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency is sending two planes intended to assist in extinguishing the large forest fires currently raging in Spain and France, writes TT. Announcements have come during the day about reinforcements also from other countries. Croatia and Portugal are also contributing help, as well as the Czech Republic and Slovakia, according to France’s president Emmanuel Macron. The challenges both countries face are massive. A few miles outside Madrid, the largest forest fire recorded so far in the region is raging, and in France, residents have been evacuated by boat because the fire has cut off other escape routes. In addition to the planes, Sweden may also send team leaders.”

    https://omni.se/a/0prpbg

  31. johan No.1

    Reading on AB about the shooting in Gävle MXT 😲

    You got busted 🤣🤣

    You did bring it up but never understood that six people were shot, that probably makes it one of Sweden’s more violent shootings anyway?

    All publicity is good publicity, they say, so you should be grateful that the Foxtrot gang put you on the map.

    1. johan No.1

      14-year-old who gets a job, brings two weapons and empties them straight into some place with a liquor license?

      Does Foxtrot have beef with Gävle IF maybe?

  32. johan No.1

    An old friend of mine lives out on the outskirts of Bredäng and has to go through the center to and from.

    He says that the young guys are the most dangerous, armed and with no inhibitions because they are too young, can shoot just because you happen to look at them the wrong way.

    My tip for MXT in Gävle is to look down at the street and not accidentally look up if preschool classes up to fifth graders are passing by – then you should be safe.

  33. MXT

    Now you are probably exaggerating the risks, here in Gävle at least, even though it is starting to resemble Stockholm which in turn is starting to resemble the USA.

    There is a primary and middle school nearby, there have been no problems even when passing the schoolyard in the evening where they usually hang out.

      1. MXT

        Yes. Especially when they happen to get ahead of you at a crosswalk and there comes a hundred meters long swarm of them all wearing small yellow reflective vests that dazzle you.

        You are forced to sit and wait forever and get a headache.

        You don’t dare to drive over them either because then some of them pull out a .357 Magnum each and make big holes in you.

        Completely hopeless.

  35. Pehr

    Article in SVD about Wildberries’ owner who just got a harsh lesson in the meaning of FAFO.

    Her company is Ukraine’s new war target
    Tatjana Kim (formerly Tatjana Bakaltjuk) became Russia’s first female dollar billionaire.
    Tatjana Kim (formerly Tatjana Bakaltjuk) became Russia’s first female dollar billionaire. Photo: Anatoly Maltsev/EPA
    Businesswoman Tatjana Kim’s success story is like a mirror image of how Putin wants Russia to be perceived by the world. Now her business empire is burning under drone attacks, in front of the eyes of millions of shocked Russians.
    Image by Mathias Ståhle
    Mathias Ståhle
    Published 14:34
    Updated 15:08
    The sky over Vladimir Putin’s hometown Saint Petersburg filled with dark smoke on Friday morning. The result of the latest Ukrainian drone attack on Russian major cities was visible for several miles.

    The attack, which was once again directed at Russia’s largest e-commerce chain Wildberries, was the seventh in order. Ukraine now deliberately targets Tatjana Kim’s business premises when long-range drones fly over Russian territory.

    But why has her business empire become a target in the war and who is she?

    Tatjana Kim, 50, whose family has Korean background, was born in Grozny in Chechnya but grew up in Moscow. Her father was an engineer and her mother a teacher. Tatjana Kim herself trained as an English teacher and cannot be said to have come from a particularly wealthy background.

    Today she ranks among Russia’s richest and is the country’s first female dollar billionaire, with a net worth of 8.1 billion dollars, according to Forbes.

    Started with clothes

    Tatjana Kim founded the company Wildberries in 2004 together with her then husband. In interviews, she usually emphasizes that she got the idea when she was at home with her first child and surfed foreign e-commerce sites.

    Her original business idea was a simple dropshipping setup. She bought clothes cheaply from German mail order companies and sold them at slightly higher prices to other Russians.

    She kept the stock at home and delivered the first orders herself, by taking the bus. Her husband, who worked in IT, helped her build a functioning sales site and was a co-owner of the company.

    Smoke from the drone attacks on Wildberries rises over Saint Petersburg.
    Smoke from the drone attacks on Wildberries rises over Saint Petersburg. Photo: Stringer/EPA
    What distinguished her business from other dropshipping setups was that she not only saw the opportunities with the growing private market in a then still increasingly prosperous Russia. She also saw the shortcomings that remained after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

    For example, the terrible postal handling system and the lack of online payments. Customers who shopped with her would never dare to order goods just to try on clothes and then return them if they did not fit. Therefore, Wildberries combined pickup points with fitting rooms, like regular stores, even though the goods were ordered online.

    “We were never out to make big money. We saw it all as a challenge,” Tatjana Kim has said in an interview with the Financial Times at the beginning of the corona pandemic.

    Grew during the pandemic

    The business grew quickly. But it was precisely during the pandemic that Wildberries got its really big breakthrough.

    When large parts of Russian society went into lockdown, online shopping took off. Already during the first quarter of 2020, Wildberries doubled both turnover and returns.

    This is the image Tatjana Kim herself prefers to highlight in the few interviews she has given over the years: a self-made businesswoman, without connections to other oligarchs, a female Jeff Bezos and the founder of a “Russian Amazon.”

    An image that fits well with how the Kremlin likes ordinary Russians to perceive their homeland under Putin’s rule: a country where ordinary people can succeed just as well as Western business moguls through hard work.

    But Wildberries today is far from the upstart company its founder likes to portray it as. And the chain no longer only sells clothes. The assortment also includes electronics, real estate, electronics, and technical components.

    Pointed out as drone supplier

    According to Ukrainian intelligence, Wildberries, with its large warehouses and well-developed logistics chains, is an important supplier of drone components used by the Russian military. Just over a tenth of the chain’s sales concern electronics, according to Kyiv Post.

    Wildberries is Russia’s leading e-commerce chain with developed payment systems and logistics chains for heavy transports.
    Wildberries is Russia’s leading e-commerce chain with developed payment systems and logistics chains for heavy transports. Photo: Alexander Zemlianichenko /AP
    Show more
    This is the reason why Wildberries’ facilities in Moscow, Tambov, Krasnodar, and Stavropol Krai have been attacked in recent months, according to Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky. Several of the company’s buildings have been completely destroyed or damaged in fires. How extensive the damage was in Friday’s attack on Saint Petersburg is still unknown.

    What is clear, however, is that Wildberries nowadays – due to its monopoly position on the market – is closely intertwined with the Russian state’s business.

    In 2024, Wildberries merged with Russia’s largest advertising chain Russ. A deal that both required and received Putin’s personal approval before it was carried out. Tatjana Kim herself wrote to the president that it could become a Russian Amazon and according to the Financial Times, Wildberries could thereby provide Russia with a functioning payment system for online business during ongoing sanctions.

    Part of the power

    Among outside observers, the deal is mainly considered to have incorporated Wildberries into a more Kremlin-loyal or at least Kremlin-dependent part of Russian business.

    – If you are just close enough to Putin, you have immunity and can stage takeovers quite risk-free, said Tomas Malmlöf, Russia researcher at the Swedish Defence Research Agency, to SvD when the deal was closed.

    Tatjana Kim herself has always been cautious about commenting on how the connections between her growing e-commerce company and the Kremlin look, even though she outwardly defends the company with both beak and claw.

    When the first warehouses were destroyed earlier this summer, she avoided all questions about why the goods stocks were attacked and instead wrote on her Telegram page:

    “The company will support the relatives of those killed and those injured in the attacks on our logistics facilities.”

    Relatives of those killed were then offered two million rubles in compensation, while relatives of seriously injured were offered one million rubles (about 125,000 kronor), according to state-controlled Ria Novosti.

    https://www.svd.se/a/43rBlR/sa-blev-tatjana-kims-bolag-wildberries-en-maltavla-i-kriget

      1. Pehr

        The Russian bastards have been okay with the terror war against Ukraine for four years. They really need a proper lesson in the meaning of FAFO.

    2. MXT

      The Russian bastards and their fans in the rest of the world are trying to exploit this. “How can they do that?!”

      Personally, I am deeply impressed that Ukraine does not lose patience and applies “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” and bombs civilian Russians.

      Only 4 years after Russia had long been bombing their infrastructure and energy infrastructure, dams and power plants as well as shopping centers, etc., they begin to give back in kind.

      I would not have had that restraint.

       

  36. Pehr

    Off topic on the Trump effect’s impact on the image of the USA even Communist dictatorship China is now more popular than the USA.

    https://www.di.se/mobil/nyheter/kina-mer-poppis-an-usa-trumpeffekten/

    China more popular than the USA – “The Trump effect”

    BEIJING. For the first time, China is considered to have a more positive reputation than the USA – even among Swedes. This can now further help China gain business and investment advantages worldwide, especially in emerging markets that do not trust Donald Trump’s new USA, according to several people Di has spoken with.
    Published: July 24, 2026, 06:37

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    Johan Nylander
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    For the first time, China has a better reputation than the USA in 25 of the 36 countries Pew Research Center shows it has investigated.
    For the first time, China has a better reputation than the USA in 25 of the 36 countries Pew Research Center shows it has investigated. Photo: Andy Wong
    Just a few decades ago, it would have been difficult – if not impossible – to imagine that a brutal dictatorship would be more liked than an open world-leading democracy. But that is now the case.

    Advertisement
    A new global survey from the independent think tank Pew Research Center shows that China for the first time has a better reputation than the USA in 25 of 36 surveyed countries.

    This is also true in several of the USA’s closest allies, such as Sweden, Germany, and Canada.

    “My country is being dragged through the mud. I notice it when I talk to customers and contacts in different countries,” says an American businessman Di speaks with at the airport in Beijing.

    “I voted for Trump, and support many of his ideas. But how he behaves is unworthy. It is embarrassing.”

    He is not alone in his concern. The situation may now have major effects on the USA’s attractiveness for investments and in international business relations, according to several people.

    “Many countries, including allies of the USA, no longer see the USA as a trusted ally and do not trust the USA’s commitments,” says Joseph Cheng Yu-shek, former professor of Chinese political science at City University in Hong Kong.

    “This means that the USA is losing strength in the competition with China. Rather, it is that China has more to offer in terms of trade and investments than the USA has.”

    The USA’s deteriorated reputation may have economic consequences as investors dislike uncertainty. When the country is perceived as politically unpredictable, more conflict-ridden, and less reliable, the risk premium increases – and capital seeks other markets. The consequence may be that long-term decisions are postponed.

    While the Trump administration has thrown tariffs and trade aggressions left and right, and the Iran and oil chaos finds no solution, China’s president Xi Jinping plays his cards calmly.

    In Sweden, the view of the USA has weakened significantly.
    In Sweden, the view of the USA has weakened significantly. Photo: Julia Demaree Nikhinson /AP/TT
    In contrast, many today see China as a more stable and responsible actor, while Chinese technology and AI companies gain ground worldwide. China has also become visa-free for people from a large number of countries over the past two years, which has contributed to an increased number of tourists and business delegations.

    China also benefits from a new trend called “Chinamaxxing” that has spread on social media, a trend to adopt Chinese everyday habits, health methods, and aesthetic expressions – such as drinking warm water, wearing indoor slippers, and using traditional Chinese medicine.

    “When it comes to the Trump effect, invasion threats, insults, tariffs, and unpredictable behavior have all contributed,” says Dexter Roberts, researcher on Asian security policy at the think tank Atlantic Council.

    “Xi Jinping has therefore had great room to present himself as the responsible international actor, including on climate change, global cooperation on health, and even free trade.”

    He says it is almost ironic that Beijing is considered the new standard-bearer for openness and free trade, considering how China strictly controls market access and capital flows.

    Dexter Roberts is uncertain whether the USA’s deteriorated reputation will have a major effect on investments from Europe, where many companies have already reduced their direct investments in China. In emerging markets, however, he believes China can gain significant advantages in the new situation.

    “We already see a change on the trade front where China focuses much more on relations with the so-called global south. That trend will continue.”

    In countries such as Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Sri Lanka – closely tied to Beijing’s infrastructure initiative the New Silk Road – the view of China is significantly more positive than that of the USA. At the same time, the USA remains the country valued highest in democratic states with clear conflict with China, especially Japan.

    In Sweden, the view of the USA has weakened significantly, Pew particularly points out in its report. The proportion who believe the American government respects personal freedom has fallen from 61 percent in 2021 to 27 percent today.

    1. MXT

      BUT he is doing what is best for the USA!

      It is of course both damn strange that China’s reputation is increasing, and at the same time fully understandable. Trump behaves like a bully while China basically just keeps quiet and watches as he embarrasses himself.

      It is easy to forget that China is fundamentally (at least so far) significantly worse on most points. “They haven’t done anything to us.”

      On the other hand, Trump seems to be doing everything he can to dismantle democracy in the USA. If he succeeds, the USA could actually become a bigger threat than China.

      Feels almost unreal that we have ended up here.

       

    2. johan No.1

      Then you have never worked with the Chinese, that is a whole different league…

      But yes, the USA hasn’t exactly improved its image in recent years 😀

      1. Pehr

        I have lived and worked in China for three years. A very interesting and educational time. In my youth, I also lived in the USA. NEVER did I think, just as MXT writes, that we would end up here.

  37. Pehr

    ** 🇺🇸🇺🇦 Zelensky on what the US gets in return for supporting Ukraine:
    America gained the experience. All the experience from this war.
    All the generals in the US, they have already accepted it…
    America has exclusivity, without paying for this experience with their lives.
    Without your experience for America… they could reach this level… in 10, 20 years. So America got completely exclusive things in return.
    Our drone deal is win-win. We will build a fantastic factory in the US.**

    https://bsky.app/profile/maks23.bsky.social/post/3mrfqxpzdqs2b

    2. johan No.1

      I’m probably behind all of you with this, have only seen the headlines and become suspicious.

      Guess a large part of the GOP voters are pro-Ukraine?

      It’s almost starting to look like a Swedish parliamentary election, you do anything 😀

  39. johan No.1

    SneakyPete – yes, you have thought the furthest 😀

    Of course, it is the midterm election that is bothering, in a few weeks D proputin completely missed that.

    That’s probably why they have started with the communist scare as well?

    I only saw the course change but was busy leveling up in Rise of Nations, so I left the why to the big thinkers.

    Zelensky will surely be invited to meetings with Trump several times before the election and treated like a king.

  40. johan No.1

    Now I managed to read through the posts, 

    “But in the debate, it was the opposite of what Johan himself claims: THAT is low-affect response. The public scorn and mass hysteria about Syrskyi as Chief of Staff completely without basis, which was what forced Zelensky to dismiss him, shall pass in silence. THAT (2) no (zero) lessons learned going forward. Kind of like the Democrats never learned what it costs to wildly throw around the racist card. Now instead it’s the dementia card that applies. Or the Russian troll card that someone pulled against me on the other blog, which made the blogger block me and delete hundreds of posts when I protested. Not a single voice of support, neither from Erik14, Johan, nor anyone else. Instead a +1 from our appreciated guest visitor Fram i Natten. No, damn it. Go to hell, Johan!”

    So, on Cornucopia you don’t have much say, which is probably why I moved over to Substack and johanno1.se to avoid being blocked, mocked, and hated?

    Over there it completely went off the rails with an opinion corridor about as big as a mole tunnel, roughly.

    Just so I understand this correctly – it was on the other blog you got blocked and not here, right? You have no problems here, do you?

    As far as I know, you are one of the few who got the image function that MXT seems to be extremely restrictive with, so you have some kind of honorary fellow status?

    I could go to Gävle and get barked at, that city seems pretty much like hell right now with Foxtrot’s entry. 

    Otherwise, I have a bit of a hard time understanding the anger, is it because I don’t like Syrskyi?

    Here it’s supposed to be open-minded, so I don’t wish for you to move back to Gävle, I was already mad at Syrskyi when Zelensky fired Zalizhny but you are right that he pushed on some things and above all he got fired JUST BEFORE Ukraine’s offensive operations got underway.

    I think I mostly criticized Zelensky for messing up badly but now both Fedorov and Syrskyi are gone which is probably the fairest?

    Last question – I don’t usually argue with you, do I? You got upset once and started venting on my Substack but then I kindly asked if we shouldn’t take it here instead, that’s the only thing I remember?

     

    2. johan No.1

      In the end, I was just being chased there, joked with Dengamle, and got everyone on me until Dengamle wrote that he appreciated the joke.

      Then “two black cats in a cage” was reinterpreted to mean that I wanted to put all black immigrant children in cages or something and as a reason for punitive measures – that I wrote that I sawed two black cats in a cage exactly as it was written was interpreted as me wanting to reinstate gas chambers for dissenters (the last part I added myself for effect).

      The point here is that you can have different opinions because discussions rarely progress if everyone thinks the same, then it becomes an echo chamber with back-patting that eventually dies out on its own.

    3. MXT

      I can’t keep up.

      Have 205 left because of you? Isn’t it usually me who is the thorn in the side with my constant dissing of Trump?

      You’re never mean, you just become endlessly stubborn and nagging when someone points out that you’re wrong?

      (Now let’s see how open-minded it is here! 😉)

       

    4. MXT

      205, if I understand correctly, Johan has now been the last straw that made the cup overflow

      I pushed you earlier over the same line

       Encouraged you to stand your ground. Are you convinced that you are right? Fight for it.

      Let neither me, Johan, nor anyone else stop you.

      Then, of course, it is another question whether this is the right forum to fight in, but on the other hand, there is no use preaching to the already converted.

    5. MXT

      It is only you, me, and 205 who can upload images for now. It is a risk in many ways and so far no one has asked for it. Now it seems the technology is not quite on 205’s side, so it probably hasn’t been utilized.

  41. johan No.1

    Sorry for the OT again but it’s quite funny that the guy who shot wildly at the restaurants got an attempted murder charge per guest inside the restaurant – 29 attempted murders is what the indictment states.

    It was among the most sensible things I’ve heard but how he could have killed 29 people with nine shots is unclear?

    3. DJ

      Late comment but haven’t you seen Raylan in Justified when he shoots two people with one shot? Movie enthusiasts are surely familiar with predecessors from old western films.

  42. johan No.1

    Next week I plan to tackle the fronts, more information is starting to come out now.

    Deepstate was threatened with forced mobilization if they reported too much otherwise.

  45. MXT

    😂 It is Venezuela that is biased and does not dare to go against the USA.

    “Venezuela has informed the UN of its ‘irrevocable’ decision to withdraw from the International Criminal Court ICC. This was stated by Foreign Minister Felix Plasencia according to Reuters. The Venezuelan government accuses the ICC of ‘geographical bias’ in the court, and claims that the ICC disproportionately selects targets from countries in Africa and Latin America. Recently, the USA has also heavily criticized the ICC. Among other things, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has called the court ‘a bunch of crazies and fools,’ following discussions about whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, against whom the ICC has issued an arrest warrant, should be arrested when he comes to the USA.”

    https://omni.se/a/d4G7nX

    1. Pehr

      Rubio who calls the shots. This smells really bad.
      According to SR p1 interview with a Swedish international law lawyer, Khan has done a very good and brave job at the ICC, the woman in question who accused him of sexual harassment refused to testify under oath. The USA has previously sanctioned him financially, no bank, VISA or Mastercard is allowed to have him as a customer, as they risk losing the right to handle the Dollar. Rubio has announced that the USA will dismantle the ICC, even though they are not members, by sanctioning everyone who works there personally.

  47. Pehr

    Interview with Pål Jonsson
    **Pål Jonson has been Sweden’s Minister of Defence since 2022. Over the years, the relatively small country Sweden has joined NATO and acted as one of the most consistent supporters of Ukraine, both in terms of humanitarian aid and military support.
    With around 12 billion euros, this makes Sweden the fifth largest military donor in Europe relative to its GDP. In this interview, we talk with the minister about where this conviction comes from, the new agreement on the delivery of Gripen fighter jets to Ukraine, and what can be expected in the future.**
    https://youtu.be/qvp_qhqTiB4?is=iAyU2-e8G4GKM_Zu

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