The view from the front: military matters and motivation for 6/28/22.
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Hi friend,
Happy Tuesday! Hope your week is off to a great start.
We’ll start outside Ukraine for a change.
NATO meets today in a big meeting in Madrid. It’s expected to adopt a couple of measures.
-- An increase in troops on “high alert” from 40k to 300k (Hi, Putin).
-- And a resolution to cite China as a concern for the first time.
Moving to Ukraine, The Economist highlighted a few points I’ve been trying to make the past few weeks.
espresso.economist.com/f85ac96813ea9c… from @TheEconomist ","username":"StanRMitchell","name":"Stan R. Mitchell","date":"Fri Jun 24 22:15:19 +0000 2022","photos":[],"quoted_tweet":{},"retweet_count":0,"like_count":0,"expanded_url":{"url":"http://espresso.economist.com/f85ac96... bitter fight for Donbas","description":"Things look grim for Ukraine’s army in Donbas.","domain":"espresso.economist.com"},"video_url":null}">
Stan R. Mitchell @StanRMitchellThe bitter fight for Donbas espresso.economist.com/f85ac96813ea9c… from @TheEconomist 
The bitter fight for DonbasThings look grim for Ukraine’s army in Donbas.espresso.economist.com
June 24th 2022
From the story:
Things look grim for Ukraine’s army in Donbas (see map below). In Luhansk province, the town of Severodonetsk, where a small number of Ukrainian fighters and civilians are holed up in a chemical plant, is now cut off by road. On Friday Ukrainian troops were ordered to retreat. Russian troops are also advancing from the south on Lysychansk, a town on the river’s other bank. Ukrainian officials warn that Russia may be preparing to mount an assault on Sloviansk, a city in the neighbouring Donetsk province.
Ukraine War Map @War_MapperUpdates:🇷🇺 have captured Vovchoyarivka and Bila Hora, solidifying their control south of Lysychansk and threatening any chance of 🇺🇦 withdrawal from the city.
June 28th 2022
78 Retweets336 LikesWhether it does depends on how much Russia’s army has left in the tank. Its recruits are receiving only three to seven days of training before being thrown into battle, according to BBC Russian. The army has also had to rely on mercenaries from the Wagner Group. An American shipment of High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, which arrived on Thursday, may yet enable Ukraine to mount a counter-offensive against their weary Russian foes later in the summer.
To me, the thing that stands out from that article was the fact that Russian soldiers are getting less than a week’s worth of training.
Having received three months of boot camp training, and then two full months of infantry-only training, I can say with absolute certainty that one week isn’t going to cut it.
It’s frankly almost criminal, but how could we expect anything more from Putin?
While the ground war grinds on with little real gain in either direction, Russia has stepped up its terrorism. (See below.)
Secretary Antony Blinken @SecBlinkenThe world is horrified by Russia’s missile strike today, which hit a crowded Ukrainian shopping mall -- the latest in a string of atrocities. We will continue to support our Ukrainian partners and hold Russia, including those responsible for atrocities, to account.June 27th 2022
7,232 Retweets36,032 LikesI’m not sure I have anything to add. The Russian act like barbarians on a daily basis.
But there is so much that Ukraine must contend with.
Besides savage fighting in Donbas and missile strikes on residential areas, the Ukrainians are also having to deal with mines left behind.
#UkraineWar #UkraineUnderAttack ","username":"Gerashchenko_en","name":"Anton Gerashchenko","date":"Tue Jun 28 07:06:54 +0000 2022","photos":[{"img_url":"https://substackcdn.com/image/upload/...
Anton Gerashchenko @Gerashchenko_enThis is how our fields are de-mined so that farmers can harvest crops.#UkraineWar #UkraineUnderAttack June 28th 2022
1,181 Retweets5,107 LikesIt’s truly staggering what all the Ukrainian people are having to deal with.
I’ll end with one final point about Ukraine. If you watch the video below… (waiting for you to watch it) lol
Maria Avdeeva @maria_avdvLooting, rape and destruction, that’s what Russian troops brought to these people in the liberated villages of Kherson region. Troops that were occupying the area were from the poorest regions of Russian, crushing everything around out of envy and hatred. June 24th 2022
2,361 Retweets5,265 LikesYou’ll see that this invasion by Russia is likely as much about envy and hatred as anything else. And clearly propaganda and poverty have helped fuel it.
Also, apparently, the Russians have no idea how to take care of their own yards or even pull weeds.
Moving to other news, I mentioned in a previous newsletter that China is launching its third aircraft carrier.
The Economist also had a great, in-depth piece on it since I wrote the above. What to make of China’s new aircraft-carrier. (See below.)
Stan R. Mitchell @StanRMitchell
What to make of China’s new aircraft-carrierA big and expensive demonstration of its ambitionseconomist.com
June 28th 2022
The interesting thing from the piece was that analysts are saying the carriers aren’t about a future war in America. Something I had wrong in my head. Rather, they’re about influence.
From the article:
China’s carriers are not designed for direct confrontation with America, naval experts say. In a war over Taiwan or in the seas around China (the likeliest conflicts involving China and America) ballistic and sea-skimming missiles would quickly destroy any big ships.
China is more likely to use its carriers against less powerful countries—much as America has since the cold war. Think, perhaps, of a confrontation with Vietnam over disputed islands or an intervention in Africa to protect Chinese interests. In the missile era, it is unrealistic to imagine a clash like the battle of Midway in 1942, which involved three American carriers and four Japanese ones, says Sam Roggeveen of the Lowy Institute, a think-tank in Sydney. “I really view it as a gambit to build a navy that will be useful when the Americans are far less powerful and when China has more space to coerce and punish smaller countries,” Roggeveen says.
Moving to a different topic, in not-so-great news for our military, there was this sad story.
Let’s not end on such a negative news note. Let’s instead end with this amazing video.
@usairforce formation of 48 F-35A Lightning II and 12 F-16 aircraft from 354th Fighter Wing participate in a readiness “elephant walk” exercise at @EielsonAirForce, Alaska. ","username":"DeptofDefense","name":"Department of Defense 🇺🇸","date":"Sun Jun 05 16:00:46 +0000 2022","photos":[{"img_url":"https://substackcdn.com/image/upload/...
Department of Defense 🇺🇸 @DeptofDefenseReady for the close up. A @usairforce formation of 48 F-35A Lightning II and 12 F-16 aircraft from 354th Fighter Wing participate in a readiness “elephant walk” exercise at @EielsonAirForce, Alaska. June 5th 2022
406 Retweets1,949 LikesThat’s it for this edition! Here’s some motivation and wisdom to send you off with.
Success Minded @_SuccessMinded_Your goals don't give a damn about your excuses.June 25th 2022
1,221 Retweets5,256 Likes
Daily Dose of Philosophy @PhilosophyDose_"The purpose of knowledge is action, not knowledge." - AristotleMay 31st 2022
787 Retweets3,841 Likes#Inspirational","username":"IMQuotes_Videos","name":"Inspired Motivation Quotes","date":"Fri May 27 14:00:03 +0000 2022","photos":[],"quoted_tweet":{},"retweet_count":55,"like_count":142,"expanded_url":{},"video_url":null}">
Inspired Motivation Quotes @IMQuotes_VideosA year ago, I wasn't who I am today. A year from now, I aspire to be even better. Personal growth takes time, but all great things do, so I've learned to stay patient.#InspirationalMay 27th 2022
55 Retweets142 LikesDaily Dose of Philosophy @PhilosophyDose_"It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop."- ConfuciusJune 26th 2022
400 Retweets2,052 LikesAs a reminder, please be kind and endeavor to love your fellow Americans. We need to pull this country together, and that starts with all of us.
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Semper Fidelis,
Stan R. Mitchell
P.S. Don’t forget to check out my books. I’ve written a CIA/Marine sniper series, a detective series, a private investigator series, an action-packed Western, a leadership/biography book, and two realistic war novels: one about World War IIand one about Afghanistan.
P.P.S. And here’s a short bio about me and what I’m trying to do with the newsletter.
