A Purge and Strategic Hits…

Let’s start with what looks like a regular purge at this point. When things go badly in Russia, never blame the Tsar unless the Tsar is dead. Then, sure, blame the Tsar. Things are going from bad to worse for the Russian army. We just passed north of 500,000 dead Russians, per the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense.

I honestly expected Russia to cry uncle by 300,000; now I know they are willing to sacrifice millions. Oh, never mind, this will make their demographic crisis unsustainable. So now the FSB is arresting generals. Assuming Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov is still alive, that arrest is coming. So here is a partial list:

Russian media reported that the former commander of the 58th Army, General Popov, had been charged, but he refused to admit guilt. Vibes of ’37 — Comrade Putin, a monstrous mistake has occurred. There’s also the removal from office of the commander of the 20th Combined Arms Army, searches of the brother of the head of Ingushetia, the arrest of Russian Ministry of Defense employee Vladlen Verteletsky, right at his workplace (like in the movies, damn it), and Lieutenant General Vadim Shamarin was arrested, now he’s facing up to 15 years. Like over 50, for a moment, such terms for these epaulets are considered lifelong. In general, we will continue to monitor these purges.

https://t.me/yigal_levin/67116

The one that truly catches my eye is General Ivan Popov. For a Russian commander, he is a rare bird. Yes, he skimmed from the top. If he didn’t, he would almost be a…