Of course, I am writing this with a jaundiced eye. But then, bear in mind the cause of this affliction. "Mainstream Media". (I hate the term but it is the only one available). I honestly don't know if the BBC (which I consider the bulwark of UK Mainstream Media) is deliberately creating and publishing crap or whether they are doing the bidding of others but as this war in Ukraine goes on they are beginning to really stretch the boundaries of stupid.
Let's take a look at one of today's headlines on the BBC web site: "Celebrations in Ukraine after 'extraordinary victory' in Kherson". I would like to offer an alternative view: There was no victory in Kherson or anywhere else for that matter. The Russians announced a few days in advance that they would be withdrawing from the right bank of the Dnieper River. And some time before that, they had issued a call for civilians on that side of the river to evacuate the area. To me, that does not sound like the actions of a force that was taken by surprise and subsequently beaten back by the enemy that was some miles away still. And, despite the BBC and others proclaiming Ukrainian victories here, there and everywhere since the much trumpeted Ukrainian counter-offensive which began in August and was getting nowhere, they were not yet in a position to seriously threaten the city of Kherson. They had won a couple of minor victories in some villages around the boundaries between them and the Russians.
So, despite the Ukrainian hot air about what was going on, there was effectively a stalemate. Bearing in mind the probable 3:1 ratio of Ukrainian forces to Russian, it probably seemed to the Russians that lines should be shortened here and there and that logic probably extended to the area within and around Kherson. The Russians had forces on the right bank of the Dnieper and they had to be reinforced and supplied via the bridge over the river, which was subject to shelling by the Ukrainians and was not expected to last too long and posed a danger to the forces on the right bank. It was therefore sensible to leave the right bank and to consolidate their forces along a more defensible line on the left bank.
Meanwhile, the Russians had been defending the dam across the Dnieper at Nova Kakhovka. The Ukrainians had been shelling this fairly regularly, presumably with the intention to breach the dam and flood the city of Kherson and its environs. The dam is reported to be damaged but still holding. I wonder if the Russians have looked at this and thought it may be on its last legs? If so it does eventually fail, who will suffer the effects of the subsequent flood in Kherson. Maybe Ukraine? If so, that would be classed as a self-inflicted injury. Is the BBC reporting this? Don't be silly! Of course they are not. Update: As of 15th November, the BBC are reporting on the dam but of course everything has the usual caveats such as "According to sources" and "The BBC was unable to verify this".
Did anybody notice that within 30 minutes of Ukrainian forces entering Kherson, Zelensky was claiming that the Russians had "committed 400 war crimes" in the city. So soon after the events and so precise! Then the BBC stepped on its dick, publishing photos of alleged Russian collaborators tied to a lamp post in Kherson. A search of the BBC news for13th & 14th November no longer shows this photo. I wonder why? Could it be that someone has realised that publishing this war crime photo was a big whoopsie as it demonstrates a war crime being perpetrated by the Ukrainian side? And still they are banging on about "mass grave sites" in Mariupol and elsewhere. Using their criteria, there must have been some tremendous "war crimes" here in the UK as the place is littered with "mass grave sites". There are so many of these in the UK that we have a name for them; they are called "cemeteries"!
A few days ago, the BBC did a big piece on "Russians Kept in Dark by Internet Search" (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-63246153). How interesting. Nowhere does it mention how, here in UK, a government decree was issued months ago, not only banning RT news from broadcasting but instructing all internet providers to block internet access to RT (and no doubt other news organisations that don't fit the narrative). So, Russia blocks/interferes with internet in Russia: "Bad boys, Russians". While the UK does exactly the same but "Hoorah for the bastion of Free Speech in the UK". Now there's balance for you. A living working example of "Don't do as I do, do as I tell you".
Finally (for today at least), I found myself getting very wound up this Sunday. I was one of the 10,000 veterans attending the parade at the Cenotaph, remembering all those who had given their lives in conflicts throughout the ages. Stood on Whitehall, I happened to look up and see, on the roof of the Foreign Office, a bloody big Ukrainian flag. Given the special day Remembrance Sunday is, they could have given this some thought and, if they considered it necessary to fly the flag of another nation alongside the Union Flag, they could have chosen from 100 others. No! They chose to fly the flag of a nation with a dark past from WW2. In that period, Ukraine was the nation of Stepan Bandera and others of his ilk. This was one of the WW2 war criminals that are celebrated in Ukraine today. His followers are very same modern era Nazis that were the target of the Russian invasion of Ukraine earlier this year. By giving the Ukrainian flag a prominent place on Sunday, I take it that the UK government is fully supportive of the Nazi ideals
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