https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjjL5fPLfyQ

Ground Game in UKRAINE: RUSSIAN OFFENSIVE /HistoryLegends Alex & Col DAniel Davis

The discussion revolves around the current state of the Russia-Ukraine war, especially focusing on Ukraine’s defensive posture in the Donbas region and the significance of strategic cities like Donetsk, Luhansk, Pokrovsk (Pakrosk), and Kostiantynivka.

Key Points:
Ukrainian Strategy & Morale:
Many trenches being attacked are reportedly empty, suggesting possible Ukrainian withdrawal or redeployment. The analyst believes Ukraine may have already internally accepted the loss of Donbas and is continuing the fight to exhaust Russian forces—similar to Germany's late WWII Eastern Front strategy. Some Ukrainians seem to be holding out hope for a Russian collapse or internal revolution, akin to 1917.

Ukrainian Public Sentiment:
There is declining interest among the general Ukrainian population, especially outside the eastern regions. A second wave of mass mobilization might only happen if Russian forces threaten Kyiv again.

Russian Advances:
Russia has captured nearly all of Luhansk and is heavily focused on Donetsk oblast, particularly targeting Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivka. These cities are seen as vital logistical and strategic hubs, not just political trophies.

Tactics and Terrain:
Russians are bypassing entrenched urban defenses to avoid heavy street battles, preferring encirclement tactics, as seen in Avdiivka. Urban centers are prioritized over rural advances due to their strategic importance.

Operational Concerns:
Though Russia has operational reserves and momentum, advances could stall due to industrial bottlenecks, minefields, and increased Ukrainian drone strikes. Russian attempts at rapid breakthroughs could be costly, and large-scale Desert Storm-type offensives are unlikely.

Pokrovsk’s Importance:
Considered a potential tipping point: if it falls, it could open a broader area to Russian forces. However, whether that leads to full front collapse is debatable.

Drone Warfare and Manpower:
Drones are at parity between both sides, but thinning Ukrainian lines and reduced availability of skilled operators could eventually create weak spots exploitable by Russia.

Outlook:
Russia is making consistent gains and appears focused on city-by-city domination. However, large-scale, rapid collapses of Ukrainian defense lines remain uncertain due to terrain, defensive tactics, and logistical challenges. Urban centers like Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivka remain the key to the next phase.

MAKE A DEAL PRONTO BEFORE THE SHIT HITS THE FAN:

NO NATO IN "UKRAINE" (WHAT'S LEFT OF IT)

THE DONBASS REPUBLICS ARE NOW BACK IN THE RUSSIAN FOLD — AS THEY USED TO BE PRIOR 1922. THE RUSSIANS WON'T ABANDON THESE AGAIN.

THESE WILL ALSO INCLUDE ODESSA, KHERSON AND KHARKIV.....

CRIMEA IS RUSSIAN — AS IT USED TO BE PRIOR 1954

TRANSNISTRIA WILL BE PART OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION.

A MEMORANDUM OF NON-AGGRESSION BETWEEN RUSSIA AND THE USA.

EASY.

THE WEST KNOWS IT.

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YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT.

         Gus Leonisky

         POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.

Trump Says U.S. Will Send Patriot Missiles to Ukraine
The president is unhappy with Putin’s response to American diplomacy.

President Donald Trump announced Sunday that the U.S. will send Patriot air defense missile systems to Ukraine. “Putin really surprised a lot of people,” the president told reporters. “He talks nice and then bombs everybody in the evening. But there’s a little bit of a problem there. I don’t like it.”

The missiles will be paid for by the Europeans, Trump implied. “We basically are going to send them various pieces of very sophisticated military equipment. They are going to pay us 100 percent for that, and that’s the way we want it.”

The announcement follows an about-face by the White House last week on a potential pause on U.S. aid to Ukraine. The Pentagon suspended on July 1 shipments of some munitions, including air defense missiles, to Ukraine over concerns about the state of American stockpiles. The president repudiated the pause in comments to the press last Monday, and shipments were resumed shortly thereafter.

Trump, who has unsuccessfully pushed for a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine since his inauguration in January, has expressed his increasing frustration with Russia’s response to American diplomacy. “We get a lot of bulls*** thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth,” he said in a July 8 press conference. “He’s very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless.”

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/trump-says-u-s-will-send-patriot-missiles-to-ukraine/

GUS: TRUMPIAN DIPLOMACY IS AKIN TO DROWNING KITTENS....

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YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT.

         Gus Leonisky

         POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GmkPYIASbs

Attorney General Pam Bondi said Tuesday that last week’s memo declining to release files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein “speaks for itself,” rejecting questions about making more documents public. “Today our memo speaks for itself, and we will get back to you about anything else,” Bondi told reporters Tuesday, responding to questions about President Donald Trump’s earlier comment that Bondi should release “whatever she thinks is credible.”

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YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT.

         Gus Leonisky

         POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.

The president revealed his wife as a source of counsel on matters of state as negotiations with Vladimir Putin grind on. This week, Donald Trump announced missiles systems for Ukraine and a ceasefire deadline for Russia.

Ukraine has, seemingly, a surprise advocate in the White House: first lady Melania Trump.

A flurry of laudatory posts shared across Ukrainian social media this week came after US President Donald Trump revealed that his wife had taken to pointing out the contradictions in his negotiations with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, toward a deal to end the war in Ukraine.

"I speak to him a lot about getting this thing done," Trump said on Monday.

"And I always hang up and say: 'Well, that was a nice phone call,'" Trump said. "And then missiles are launched into Kyiv or some other city. After that happens three or four times, you say: 'The talk doesn't mean anything.'"

On Monday, Trump set a 50-day deadline for Putin to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine or risk substantial economic sanctions. The deadline, like others set by the president, appears flexible. On Tuesday he said that, though he didn't think 50 days was a long time, "it could be sooner than that."

"I go home, I tell the first lady: 'I spoke with Vladimir today. We had a wonderful conversation,'" Trump said. "She said: 'Oh really? Another city was just hit.'"

On platforms such as X and Telegram, Ukrainian social media users shared posts and memes welcoming Melania Trump's apparent role.

"So all this time Melania was for us?" the prominent blogger Ihor Lachenkov posted.

"Melania for President of the United States" a Telegram account with 1.5 million followers wrote.

Many have dubbed her "Agent Melania Trumpenko" and modified photos of the first lady to attach Ukrainian iconography to her clothing.

Others have used memes to poke fun at the suggestion that the first lady was the crucial voice that changed the US position on Ukraine.

One such post shared by the national TV news program TSN shows a cartoon animal, a cinema detective and a picture of Melania Trump in a wide-brimmed hat at the 2025 inauguration with the text "Secret Agents: In cartoons, In movies, in real life."

Another shows Godzilla marked as former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, and King Kong marked as prime ministerial candidate Yulia Svyrydenko brawling, saying "A Woman Will Save Ukraine," only for the Doge dog to attack both, saying: "It will be Melania Trump."

Melania Trump is Slovenian and grew up in the former Yugoslavia. Slovenia has provided humanitarian, economic and military support to Ukraine.

She has voiced her support for Ukraine previously, notably in a 2022 social media post on the platform X (formerly Twitter) calling on people to support the International Committee of the Red Cross's humanitarian efforts after Russia began its full-scale invasion.

In an interview with DW TV, Tanja Fajon, Slovenian minister of foreign affairs, said she "really [doesn't] know what Melania's influence on Donald Trump" is. But, Fajon added, it was "good to know we have a first lady" on Slovenia's and Ukraine's side.

Many Ukrainian users have noted that, because of her upbringing in Yugoslavia, which had a fraught relationship with Russia, she is the best-placed member of Trump's circle when it comes to understanding the threat posed by Vladimir Putin.

US first ladies have often exercised influence within the White House. Melania Trump's predecessors have involved themselves with social programs and tried to help achieve policy outcomes for their husbands.

In an interview with Ukrainian television Kanal 24, former state security service officer Ivan Stupak said he hoped that Melania Trump's sympathies for his country were having an effect on US foreign policy.

"We’ve seen in the histories of different countries that first ladies ... it’s not a 100% rule, but, in many cases, they don’t just exist in the background, as a formality," Stupak said.

"I want to believe that she does have some influence," Stupak said, "that she can say something, and Trump will listen to her."

While Melania Trump may be providing counsel to her husband on military matters, he continues to take his own advice when it comes to business.

Trump has typically run a transactional presidency, ensuring that he — and by extension the United States — can claim a victory or benefit in any negotiations.

Though his predecessor Joe Biden willingly provided military aid to Ukraine, Trump has been quick to turn off the tap in a tumultuous first six months in office. While he had a catastrophic falling out with Ukraine's president Volodymir Zelenskyy earlier in the year, the lack of response from Putin has seen Trump seemingly warm to the Ukrainian cause in recent weeks.

But only on the condition that supplies are paid for.

Most recently, Trump confirmed that the United States will supply Patriot missile batteries to Ukraine, with European partners to bear the cost of supply.

Anna Chaika contributed to this story.

https://www.dw.com/en/did-agent-melania-change-donald-trumps-mind-on-ukraine/a-73300763

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YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT.

         Gus Leonisky

         POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.