[April 3, 2022] New developments show the Russian attacks slowing down and shifting their main effort to eastern Ukraine and away from the Ukraine capital. Furthermore, there are reports of the killing of innocent civilians by Russian troops. If this is correct, it will be another instance of war crimes. See tomorrow’s article that discusses war crimes.
[March 25, 2022] The U.S. has announced new sanctions against Russia and said it would welcome 100,000 refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine as President Joe Biden met with world leaders for a series of emergency summits. Biden and U.S. allies were also set to discuss moves to bolster NATO’s eastern flank and how to counter the prospect of escalation from the Kremlin amid fears of a chemical or even nuclear attack.
[March 24, 2022] We are all hearing reports on how Vladimir Putin is attacking civilians, schools, hospitals, shopping malls and other so-called nonmilitary targets. While the news media and others are complaining about this, the fact is this is the way wars are fought. Like it or not, wars are not won by only attacking military targets. If you do just attack military targets, schools, hospitals, and everything thing else it will be used for military equipment, re-enforcements and command centers. I am not defending Putin, but we must face the reality of how wars are fought. They are ugly. Wars include the civilian population which is why the Second Amendment is so important. – Richard Pearson, Illinois State Rifle Association
[March 20, 2022] As the war in Ukraine drags on, one of the problems we have is to get a good view of the ground level combat and what is going on in Russian political circles. Since most news from Russia is censored by ‘independent’ media conglomerates (acting on behalf of Western governments), we are only getting a small piece of the pie to see. This bias has translated itself into misreporting of facts (usually selectively reporting info) in a very conscious manner by the news media. CNN, ABC, and Reuters, PBS, the NYT, and other liberal-leaning organizations have failed repeatedly of not giving a well-rounded view of what is going on. An unbiased free press is the answer. But that was lost decades ago. The lesson? Don’t trust everything you hear from the mainstream media.
[March 19, 2022] Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for talks with Moscow to stop its invasion and “restore territorial integrity and justice to Ukraine,” in a video message released late Friday. Does this signal that Ukraine has had enough and their president wants to stop the fighting. Or is this a ruse to lull the Russian military bear into complacency? We shall see!
[March 18, 2022] The Russian military continues to make gains across Ukraine as the people of Ukraine put up stiff resistance. In a developing situation, according to Ukraine’s foreign ministry, some 20,000 people from more than 50 countries have applied to join the International legion (similar to the French Foreign Legion) to fight against Russia. How much of this is propaganda is unknown.
[March 17, 2022] As Russia’s war machine grinds into the third week of its brutal invasion of Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin has launched a recruiting operation in the Syrian Arab Republic in an effort to attract reinforcements for his armed forces. Commentators believe the announcement is in part due to Russia’s poor planning of the war, which has led to many Russian soldiers being killed. Last week a U.S official told CBS News the number of Russian deaths could be between 5,000 and 6,000. Putin and his defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, recently declared that as many as 16,000 combatants from the Middle East will enter the Ukrainian war on the side of Russia.
[March 16, 2022] The longer the war drags on, the more Western nations are realizing that when media outlets cut off Russian media, we are no longer gaining the Russian view of the war and isolating our own views. This means an intellectual ‘bubble’ has enveloped our view and, consequently, our thinking how the war is progressing. This leads to an oversimplified, overoptimistic, and probably wrong look at how the war is progressing. The ‘fog of war’ is problematic enough in itself, but purposefully limiting our view of what the “enemy” sees is truly damaging.
[March 15, 2022] Russia and China deny that Russia seeks military aid from China and claimed that Russia does not need additional military support to complete its objectives in Ukraine. Both claim this is disinformation designed to show that Russia is weak and bit off more they can chew with their “incursion” into Ukraine. Time will tell. China’s support to Russia is widely viewed as a mistake for China.
[March 14, 2022] A number of pincers are poised to envelop increasingly damaged Ukrainian cities. The initial euphoria that Vladimir Putin’s surprise shock-and-awe assault failed may be waning, even as Ukraine inflicts historic damage on the Russian army. Even after three weeks, Russia has failed to grab key infrastructure and decapitate the Ukrainian leadership, as it did in the comparatively quick and relatively bloodless Georgia and Crimean campaigns in 2008 and 2014. – Victor Davis Hanson
[March 13, 2022] There are increasing signs that Ukraine and Russia are edging toward a compromise. The most likely arrangement continues to be that the mainly Russian-speaking areas of east Ukraine, which Russia has already declared to be self-governing, will secede from Ukraine, and Ukraine’s sovereignty will be affirmed as an independent-but-non-aligned state whose borders and national integrity would be guaranteed by both NATO and Russia.
[March 12, 2022] A question being asked about Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, is whether he should flee the country and set up a government-in-exile. As Russian forces start their final push to seize the capital city of Kyiv, some of Zelenskyy’s advisors have urged him to flee the country. If Zelenskyy goes down fighting, this just might rally the Ukranians for a major push against the Russian. Or, more likely, the loss of their charismatic leader may crush their morale. Fleeing the country may seem like cowardice but perhaps it is the best thing for Ukraine.
[March 11, 2022] Ukraine is being supplied with virtually inexhaustible stores of mobile and sophisticated anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles. In addition, their military receives exhaustive intelligence from NATO satellites, aerial reconnaissance, and other sources that detail all Russian movements in Ukraine. This gives Ukraine a substantial tactical advantage. Strategically, will it stop the Russian advance? That is a big question that remains unanswered.
[March 10, 2022] Ukrainian forces continue to successfully challenge Russian air and ground assets and disrupt extended supply lines. It has been clear for some time that the main objective of the Russians is to decapitate the senior Ukrainian leadership. This means that Kyiv is their primary target and will remain so as long as President Zelenskyy and his staff remain at large. Russian supporting effort is to cut off Ukraine’s access to the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. The pending attack on Kyiv is going slowly.
[March 9, 2022] We are now 14 days into the war in Ukraine, starting when Russian military forces crossed international borders. As made clear by Russian President Putin, his intent is to prevent Ukraine from aligning with NATO and Western powers in Europe.1
Before you believe anything about the war in Ukraine, remember this; almost everything you hear is filtered and re-filtered by people with political agendas and much of it is downright wrong. The political and military pundits – the experts – talking about the war have no more insight that the average kid on a playground in Brooklyn.
What you hear is usually a repeat of what others have said or, more likely, it’s made up out of whole cloth. Use your judgment. Use common sense and always ask questions. And, always always keep in mind that there is a massive propaganda effort emanating from both sides of the conflict.
What are the possible, reasonable outcomes of the war?
- Most Likely: Ukraine will lose the war and be forcibly split into two parts with the east closely aligned with Russia and the west non-aligned. My prediction.
- Least Likely: Russia loses the war and Putin decides to pull out his forces without any concession on the part of Ukraine. Retired GEN David Petraeus’ prediction.
I’m hearing more these days about the West being drawn into the war, resulting in World War III with billions of deaths in a nuclear exchange. Such talk is coming mostly from leftist media commentators and, frankly, they need to keep their mouths shut and stop reminding us how stupid they are. WWIII will not happen.
Two days after the war begin, I wrote a short article, titled The Courage of Ukraine, that included a few personal observations. I was correct. If anything, the war has reinforced what I wrote. I remain even more impressed by Ukrainian resolve in the face of the Russian existential threat.
At the time, I asked, “will Ukraine survive the night?” The answer to that question has been answered.
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- There are many reasons, often hidden or obfuscated, why one nation goes to war with another. Looking into the long history of Ukraine and Russia/the Soviet Union we can see a very complex, often adversarial relationship between the two. None of that is considered in today’s analysis of this war and that oversimplifies the war.
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Please read my new book, “Our Longest Year in Iraq,” at Amazon (link here).
Thanks Gen. Satterfield for your continued updates on this unfortunate Ukraine War. What the West/NATO is doing or not doing is foremost in our minds. Pres Joe Biden talked yesterday but didn’t tell us what he thought the goal for the West is. That is sad. It means that Putin is green-lighted to do what he wants.
Interesting developments as Muslims join the Russians against Ukraine.
“Fatwa By Muslim Leaders In Russia”
https://www.memri.org/reports/fatwa-muslim-leaders-russia-military-operation-ukraine-preventive-strike-russia-was-forced
Thank you Gen. Satterfield for your continued short-take updates on the war in Ukraine. Recent articles have continued to reinforce your long-running theme that strong “real” leadership can make a big difference. We are witnessing that now in Ukraine’s president Zelensky.
A number of developments over the past day or so, and thus I’m glad that Gen. Satterfield is giving us a highlight of what is or is not important from a leadership position.
Ukraine certainly survived the night and unexpectedly so.
Gen. Satterfield, thank you for the daily updates. The summary is a good way for me to put into context so much of the info coming from our media (our untrustworthy media).
Gen. Satterfield, your brief updates are good but I recommend a separate article or maybe a tab set aside for updates. There is too much goings on to restrict yourself to just a paragraph. This is the time to stand up to Putin as well as giving us updates on the Ukraine. What is happening because of the West’s weak and unclear leadership?
Right, where it goes from here needs more attention. This is an opportunity to learn more about leadership as it is happening.
What we are seeing is a classic impact of weak Western leadership and what it leads to …. evil.
Gen. Satterfield, thank you for the update. Please continue with these updates and more importantly, I think, with the on-goings of Ukrainian President Zelenskyy. He is the man of the hour. 👍
Yep, I would like to see it too. Less on the tactical movements of the Russians and more on the leadership ofthese forces.
Long live the free peoples of Ukraine. Will they live free? Are their days of freedom coming to an end? Sure looks like it. American leaders dithers as Ukraine is methodically destroyed by Russia.
Yeah, we do have WEAK leadership. Strong men, like Putin (he may be evil but he is still strong), walk all over weak men. Same on the international scene. The US has been consistently embarrassed. Our SecDef Austin, SecState Blinken, and POTUS Biden — all weak, indecisive, lack clarity, lack the balls to do anything right.
Weak leadership leads to bad times. We are in bad times. Thus —-
The World War III gambit is stupid but is being shoved around to get media ratings up.
Short and to the point. I think you’ve captured what is often missing from most analyses so far. Yes, the Russian attack might be off a little but I think they are actually following their military doctrine very closely. Most “experts” and military “pundits” are focusing on the tactical nature of this war and are missing the strategy of the Russian army which is working, altho slower than expected. I predict that Ukraine will lose (just like Gen. Satterfield says) and that the country will be split up. Of course, we could all be wrong.
Max, I’m afraid you are right. But it doesn’t stop others from doing stupid things. The big threat, unspoken, is China.
Correct in what you write Audrey.
Excellent article. Next, if you could give us a perspective of the Ukraine and Russian armies.
Yes, that would be great!
General Satterfield, I was hoping you would write an article like this. Well done! I look forward to reading your leadership blog every day.
Folks reading here, just a warning. Watch out for the propaganda. Gen. S. has warned us and he is not joking.
Another spot-on article from Gen. Satterfield and I would like to say much appreciated. Oh, Gen. Satterfield when are you coming out with your next book? I read “Our Longest Year in Iraq,” and was impressed. Looking forward to your next book.
Wesley, yes I am writing another book; actually two books. More on them later. I expect one of them on leadership for young folks to be out in a few months.
Great, good news. We welcome all your writings and appreciate your guidance too. ❤
Gen saterfield, thanks for insights.
Great article. I look forward to you updating this so we can get latest analysis.
More will be better. I’m glad that Gen. Satterfield is back and in rare form.
A guy catches a golden fish, which says to him:
“Let me go and I’ll fulfill your every wish!”
The man answers:
“I want to become a Hero of the Soviet Union!”
He blinks… and finds himself in a field holding two grenades, facing five Ukrainian tanks…
I know, Army Vet, you just couldn’t help it with the Russian soldier joke! Great to have you back at Gen. Satterfield’s leadership blog.
Some fun memes on the war in Ukraine.
https://coffeeordie.com/ukraine-war-memes/
I’m following the war closely. But I’ve seen some pretty crappy analysis. So, BEWARE of what you see and hear. And, like Gen. S has noted, there’s a sh$$ load of propaganda out there.
Liking your blog post today and thank you Gen. Satterfield.
Just to add my input to Gen. Satterfield’s daily blog. This war in Ukraine could quickly become a HUGE mess for the average American citizen. Yes, the American citizen. You are going to pay a big price with inflation, esp. in gas prices and then everything else you buy. So don’t think your virtue signaling is without costs. Joe Biden is a dumbass because of what he has done here and not done. This is what happens when you get a senile old man, without any record of accomplishments as your leader.
Pow, tell us what you think Army captain. Of course, I agree. But you walk the line with the leadership you have, good or bad. In our case ‘bad.’
Nicely done, Gen. Satterfield. Please keep us updated.
Everyone underestimated Ukraine’s people willingness to fight for their homeland. Putin truly underestimated this. Now what will Putin do? He certainly has his finger on the pulse of his army and surely is getting round-the-clock reports of what they see on the ground. But be careful, directing his army from his perch in Russia, far away from the fighting.
Yes, take great care when leading from the rear. US Pres Obama lead from the rear and look at the results (bad for America, good for our enemies).
We all know by now, with PC ideology to the side, that Obama was, at best, a mediocre president. Not nearly as bad as Biden but still mediocre. That is the result of affirmative action.
👍👍👍👍👍
Ukraine survives!!!
Looks like we have some very different opinions on the outcome of the Ukraine War.
Yes, to be expected. Will Russia win? That is the real question and I believe most think they will “win.” The question is what Putin believes to be a “win.”
Agree with you Rev Cain. And, I’ll be praying for those families who lose loved ones in the fight. ✔
That is a good thing Stacey. Let’s hear more from different perspectives. it is up to us to chose what we think is the best opinion, not some govt bureaucrat that the Demorats would like us to do.