After seeing his forces get their asses thoroughly kicked by Ukrainian fighters, Putin is now pivoting to a strategy of ‘liberating’ the Donbas region in the far east of Ukraine

Reuters

Make no mistake, this is a great victory for Ukraine, but Putin can never be taken on his word. By no means do I think he is done inflicting terror upon all of Ukraine and its people. He is buying time, knowing he has been seriously embarrassed on the world stage. Exposed as a ‘paper tiger.’ More to the point, however, the horrific damage has been done, and Putin is a war criminal who must be brought to justice. Entire generations of Ukrainians - those who are not dead - are scarred for life. An entire generation of Ukrainian children will never know innocence again. There is no going back for Vladimir Putin, and there is no forgiveness: He is defined forever as a murderer and a monster. Via the BBC -

Is the Russian military having to change its plans? Perhaps even reduce the scale of Moscow's ambitions in Ukraine?

It's probably too early to tell, but there's definitely a shift in emphasis.

A top Russian general - Sergey Rudskoy - says the "first stage" of what President Vladimir Putin calls Russia's "special military operation" has been mostly accomplished and that Russian forces will now concentrate on "the complete liberation of the Donbas".

This is likely to mean a more concerted effort to push beyond the "line of contact" that separates Ukrainian government-held territory in the east of the country from the Russian-backed separatist "people's republics" of Donetsk and Luhansk.

The pace of Russia's advance in other areas of Ukraine remains glacial. Its forces have been pushed back from positions around the capital, Kyiv, and are said to have started digging defensive positions to avoid losing more or prepare for some kind of pause.

It's probably way too early to conclude that Russia has given up on capturing Kyiv, but Western officials say that Russia continues to experience setback after setback.

On Friday, they said Russia had lost another general - the seventh - and that morale was at rock bottom in some units. (Read more)

Jeff J Mitchell / Getty Images

As he visits Poland and meets with Ukrainian refugees, I am going to submit that - along with President Ronald Reagan - Joe Biden is showing us right now that he is one of our two greatest post-WWII leaders. Those who oppose him will never give ground or admit error – even if their very lives depended upon it - but no matter. The fate of the world is in the balance, and thus far humanity is surviving, and even thriving, against Mr. Putin’s aggression. As to you Republicans, your hero would have just handed Ukraine over to Putin on a silver platter. Would any of you Trump fans *really* feel good about that, knowing it means the destruction of the entire free world? Yes, that will mean all of us, don’t be a fool. Check yourselves! President Biden is delivering, nobody could possibly do more, so give him credit. (CBS News 3/26)

Putin cites author J.K. Rowling as an example of Western ‘cancel culture.’ - Harry Potter is the least of your worries right now, motherf**ker. Let there be no doubt where most of these nationalist populist talking points in America are coming from. (Sky News 3/25)

As for the Supreme Court nominee, Ketanji Brown Jackson - I truly don't care about this nonsense. She appears to be qualified enough, the only job of the Senate is to confirm her. The GOP is going to undergo a reckoning sooner or later, they can't afford to fall on their swords over this. It is only the job for a Justice to interpret the law, not to validate anyone's ideology or work on the behalf of a political party. Vladimir Putin is seeking to kill us all, get serious, GOP. (New York Times 3/25)

Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins dies at 50 - Shocking. Not really much of a fan of this group, but no matter. The guy was well-loved and respected, may he rest in peace. (AP 3/26)

Copyright 2022, Sunking278. Stay up-to-date: Twitter – @Sunking278 and Facebook – click here. DONATIONS - click here.