Why Russia Miscalculated in Ukraine: A Self-Inflicted Disaster in Three Acts

[@Gametheory101]

Small correction at 19:22: The fall of the U.S.-backed government in Afghanistan occurred in 2021, not 2022. And 26:16 is “Siberia”, not “Serbia”. Though I do wonder if a hypothetical ice fisher in Serbia is also aware of Russian corruption.

[@tnndll4294]

Russian Neo-cons: Never met a conflict they didn't like. Never met a dictator they didn't like. fact.

[@tnndll4294]

I hope Russia falls off a cliff.

[@y.israe1917]

😇 = 🇺🇸 Hope that's make you happy Why don't you just shut up and keep quiet 🐕

[@lizanderson1669]

Russian corruption LMAO you mean USA/Ukraine corruption

[@GronTheMighty]

I'm fairly sure that in fact 'most' ice fishers in Serbia are aware of Russian corruption, and likely ice fishers across the globe in general as well. I think we have to reach pretty far away from human civilization to find anyone who isn't aware. Or accept the pretence of lacking awareness as an actual lack of awareness. That aside, it's always good to see a youtuber bothering to make even minor corrections, kudos to you on that :)

[@Huvpalto]

I’m Ukrainian and my grandpa told me a story of a factory in Mykolaiv he worked at while studying when it all was the Soviet Union. A dude died horrifically after being sucked in some machine. Basically turned into pate spread all over the place. And people just kinda literally scrubbed it off the floor walls and machinery and threw it all in a bin, because they had to decorate that hall due to factory directors 30 year anniversary or something and didn’t want to spoil the moment and get punished. So they had their party and then under pressure from unions or something like that were like “oh yeah also a dude died a week ago, here’s the paperwork, it’s all fine, don’t worry about it”. This system of small bosses terrified of bringing bad news to higher ups to not get punished is a core of soviet and now russian bureaucracy. Now imagine that on a government level, in military sector. Tons of officers reporting downplayed casualties and exaggerated wins to colonels, they report those even worse to generals, etc etc until some dude brings Putin a document in red envelope saying that Russia has no losses in the war, they defeated 50 gazillion nazis, 50 himars, etc oh and btw sanctions don’t work, russia economy stronk, it’s the decadent west that suffer themselves and freeze without our gas etc. It’s a system where propaganda is told from top to bottom, but then it festers and goes back up exaggerated… and the funny thing, higher ups believe it themselves because those kissasses are their only source of information. Fascinating really. The typical story of CEO bringing company down by surrounding himself with “yesmen” but on a national scale with global international consequences.

[@brooklynlass2196]

You are so on point.

[@rightside1911]

the problem is it is ingrained in russia they have had to lie cheat and steal to survive for so long they no longer see anything wrong with it it goes far back into tsarist times with russian secret police.

[@killmozzies]

Thanks Alex, well said, and easy to read and understand.

[@JMM33RanMA]

Long live free, democratic, independent and sovereign Ukraine. Слава Україні, мужнім захисникам України славна перемога! Путіну і Росії ганьба, вічне прокляття і холодна могила!

[@ClickClack_Bam]

You've also described Ukraine. Russia & Ukraine are some of the most CORRUPT countries in the whole world. Ukraine is guilty of almost the EXACT same bullshit Russia is. The exception in recent times is that there's a serious American propaganda machine that ONLY paints Russia as having losses & Ukraine as ONLY winning. Meanwhile the DEATH count is almost the same on BOTH sides. Ukraine soldiers have raped & murdered Ukrainian women & it's went largely unreported. Ukraine is ABSOLUTELY mobilizing it's citizens to fight while the world thinks it's 100% volunteers. ZELENSKY wanted to join NATO after the US handed him $20 BILLION American taxpayer dollars. He wasn't trying to use any money he stole through corruption. He knows you can't join NATO when in conflict but he tried anyways knowing full well he was ONLY going for the brownie points he'd get when he tried & got denied anyways. Zelensky was warned by American intelligence that Russia was going to invade & he took the whole thing at first as nonsense. There are jokes Zelensky told about Russia "not having the balls to invade Ukraine". Yet most people don't know ANY of this stuff. What a testament to the power of propaganda.

[@dchiznit209]

I was watching the HBO series Chernobyl, during the first episode, everyone was downplaying how bad the explosion was even while witnessing the effects of extreme radiation poisoning in front of them, they still downplayed everything in order for the party to look good. I think that thought process never went away.

[@UGNAvalon]

@Don Cuyson The problem with using that show as a comparison is that the show writers intentionally magnified the strength & speed of the radiation while maintaining (or even amplifying) the incompetence of the leaders, all for dramatic effect. Off the top of my head: the smoke was white instead of black, the spotlight was fainter, the forest died after months instead of days, the first firefighters got itchy hands days after handling graphite instead of 3rd-degree burns within minutes, the “he’s just delusional” supervisor actually spent years defending the reputation of his scapegoated subordinates, etc. The tvtropes page has more details. EDIT for those who aren't understanding: It's easier for leadership to downplay the silent dangers of radioactive contamination when the visible signs are subtle (first responders getting mildly itchy hands after a few days, trees taking months to die, etc); by speeding up the timetable of the radiation damage so rapidly (third degree burns within minutes, entire forests dying overnight, violent vomiting mere minutes after the explosion, etc) it makes the otherwise-plausible denial of the incident's danger into cartoonishly dumb willing-blindness. - If the actual Chernobyl incident happened as it did in the series, and the leadership _Still_ acted like it was nothing, then it'd be more plausible to say "denying the obvious is a decades-long tradition in Russian politics". But it didn't, so we can't say that the dramatized depiction of Chernobyl is "proof" that Russian leaders have a history of denying the obvious.

[@dchiznit209]

@@UGNAvalon understandable, but I think the sentiment holds though, downplay any potential problems and be yes men even if the potential problems are smacking them in the face

[@hypercrack7440]

Every Major Country does, Yes no surprises here, ask the Chinese 😂😂

[@meeeka]

@Don Cuyson It is a thought process from before Peter the Great's shakeup of the boyars, forcing them to shave their beards --as a lesser order all the way to forcing the clans to move to Pitr, if they wanted to keep their properties, riches and positions. Boyars/Nobles/Party Bosses--that entire layer of the cake were very canny about telling the Tsar/tsarina/ Party Gensec unpleasant news. Ivan the Terrible killed his own son for disagreeing with him and from that down to the Bolshies, no one was ever willing to challenging or contradicting whatever the guy on the throne declared his chosen reality.

[@alexeecs]

Oh I thought you meant the documentary was downplaying The explosion and was very confused for a minute

[@adamesd3699]

We’ve all had the experience in life where we make good decisions, take calculated risks that work out, begin to believe in ourselves, take bigger calculated risks…that blow up in our face. Usually, however, these don’t involve tens of thousands of people dead.

[@LuisManuelLealDias]

hundreds of thousands and counting

[@bonchevpetar]

Usually...

[@jakobole]

A bit like Hitler that became over-confident after the 'ansluss' of Austria and annexation of Sudetenland. He thought he could do nothing wrong, even to be a kind of 'chosen one'.....

[@FLOWER-POWER]

I miscalculated the toxicity and half-life of a burrito fart about the same time Putin was being sworn in for his fourth term. It's still out there causing collateral damage to this day. Lest we forget.

[@tereterevanakere2132]

they took Arnold's advice and had no plan B

[@haigbalian7158]

Your use of relevant real images makes your videos documentaries of historical value. Clear and cogent speaking as well...great work.

[@MisterW0lfe]

The woman has also been a Fisherman, a mother of a deployed soldier in the meeting with mothers, a churchgoer at a mass, and in several other photos where Putin makes public appearances in recent years

[@grahamstrouse1165]

Talented lady! 😂

[@scp-2348]

@@grahamstrouse1165Still not as talented as Johnny Sins.

[@scoobydoobers23]

Yeah, but the real question is do Russians find it odd that guards pretend to be "the public" for PR? Or is that expected?

[@alaeriia01]

Either a bodyguard or a mistress.

[@FoxtrotYouniform]

@@alaeriia01 a mistryguard

[@codin4]

As a polish I have to note that all post soviet states wanted to join NATO and were doing everything to do so. Every country of the East block hates Russia and communism and it wasn't NATO pushing. The nations wanted safety from russian empire who is always thirsty for blood. We all here just remember what red has done to our ppl. Our heroes were put into mass graves at Katyń and we will never forget and never forgive, just like Ukraine now!

[@Architect_777]

🤡

[@werin117plays3]

As a Czech, i must agree

[@s5r581]

As a Cambodia, I must agree During Khmer rouge 2 million people died because they refuse to be a slave. Pol pot.

[@s5r581]

@@Architect_777 clown

[@Pidalin]

Mainly, people from former communist countries see that Russia haven't changed and under Putin, they act like tsarist empire again and that's scary for us. Putin was always just a KGB moron for me, you can see it on his face that he is liar and criminal, probably even murderer as a former KGB agent. How the hell could western leaders do some deals with such person? I just don't get it, I was right about him since I started watching politics, I always hated him and he looked always scary to me. You can see how he totaly don't care about lives, he lost like 200 000 soldiers and fall back would mean he lost so he is ok with sending another 200 000 people to death and he doesn't care that it's totaly pointless, what should be result of this stupid war, so he conquer Ukraine and what then? He will be still seen as dictator and west will do even stronger sanctions against him. Isn't better just peacefully trade with Ukraine and have good relation ships and earn money? What Putin is doing doesn't make any sense. Russia could be part of NATO and EU if they wanted, it's their fault that they are seen as enemies now, they chose that. The fact that some western people think that NATO pushed us to beying part of it is just bizar, we obviously entered NATO because we ARE the west and we want to be safe from Russia and not become east again. Our culture and values are western and we really don't want to fall back to Russian sphere of influencem even when you can see many people who want it, you can be sure that vast majority of people don't.

[@joshm3484]

I know why he did, because I did the same thing, though on a much smaller scale. Many people, maybe even most, believe they'd be happy if every time they tried something, it went even better than expected. And it is nice. But when you're always successful and always achieve whatever you want, you start to believe that you can do anything you want, and somehow, magically, despite all evidence and common sense to the contrary, it will still turn out well, because everything always has. Until it doesn't. And let us be frank. If Zelensky had fled or surrendered, Ukraine would almost certainly have fallen in days, and the ever increasing sanctions and weapons aid packages would never have had time to take effect. Zelensky is widely hailed as a hero, but I don't think it is possible to overstate his importance in keeping Ukraine in the fight, and building a sense of unity and purpose in Ukraine that will assure that if anything did happen to him now, Ukraine would continue to fight effectively. This is to say nothing of his political maneuvering, coalition building, and his ability to keep Ukraine in the Western mind. “The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride,” whether an actual quote or not, _does_ perfectly summarize Zelensky, and Ukraine in general.

[@LRRPFco52]

Putin's plan relied on Joe Biden removing Zelensky from Kiev. This would have allowed the Russian "Special Military Operation" to be quickly executed, without much response from the West, just like in Georgia 2008. When Zelensky refused to comply with Biden's evacuation, it left a leader in Kiev who could rally Ukraine to fight, while serving as a legitimate coordinator to receive foreign military articles. Had Zelenensky fled, Ukraine would have collapsed into resistance fighting of an occupier, vs an organized military force under national leadership. This changed everything, since Russia was stopped from taking Kiev and Odessa, and fought back with great effect.

[@brianmcnevin1419]

Excellent read! Zelenskyy is the 21st Century Winston Churchill. When Churchill died I thought they broke the mould. I feel so fortunate to live in the same time as Zelenskyy.

[@weik-2936]

Putin started this war to write another chapter in history about how great he was... And in the process he made his opposite a legend

[@no59do56]

You forget to factor in when American Taxpayers get tired of being fleeced by one of THE MOST CORRUPT. WELL GOD BLESS.

[@baltulielkungsgunarsmiezis9714]

I think his problem is not using the internet. If Putin used the internet he could get first hand informtion from anywhere and gauge the pulse of the international language groups.

[@tonyvinelli2796]

This is the most Educational and no nonsense show . I look forward for every update from this show . It gives me a significant point of Truth.. I know nothing about Military College.. William Spaniel . And your show is military college for me ..( im 60) Thank You For your educational show.. Your show is my #1

[@lavantz345]

This is why having a leader that nobody can say no to, or be held accountable for anything, is dangerous for any country.

[@g3nng3nn19]

That’s why he is a leader , and you an idiot who wants an opinion !

[@markiobooker218]

How old are you to dare presume to lecture us?

[@marianene8073]

Yup ...

[@smark667]

I think the politician class should be retired. Time to let AI run things. Humans are corruptable. Good luck

[@joshgordon2484]

YOU MEAN, LIKE BIDEN?

[@JiraPets]

This video has more talented analysis and palatable content in 36 minutes than you might see in 36 days on tv.

[@MuffinManUSN]

Because this is humanity at its finest. Don't just be good at what you do, but love what you do. If there isn't a good mix of money, heart and dedication in every day we punch in then we are doing it wrong.

[@Jubel06]

36 months for some networks. 36 years for others...

[@cosmosofinfinity]

Somehow all of cable news can't afford a single Spaniel

[@EffortlessEthan]

@@Jubel06 I was gonna say, I think he means 36 years.

[@MuffinManUSN]

@cosmosofinfinity well then it would be news and not just Op-Ed bobble head madness that it has become. Not paid as good I assume, but hopefully having character, integrity and a sould make up for having 1 less 0 in the bank account total amount

[@stormwolf3255]

With respect to the ice-cream seller woman, Putin has a rent-a-crowd set of 'trusted employees' ready to dress in the outfit of the day. The same people have been seen at other events dressed as fishermen, soldiers and anywhere Putin is seen interacting with 'the Russian people'. The BBC had an article on their news site a few weeks back.

[@taggart64]

🤣🤣are you for real, Joe biden has used the corruption within Ukraine to try and push the WEF global governance. Don't worry Vlad and Russia will end the 3 sea project

[@Blackadder75]

it doesn't get more soviet than that, the whole system has always been a fraud on every level. The western system is far from perfect but it is a 1000 times better

[@menghuakin8574]

Even pop has security guard, what U expect. Be real pro!

[@purplehz97]

Theatre. Just like China & North Korea. Gotta love those commies.

[@RCXDerp]

@@menghuakin8574 that whale must do some mean krav maga or something

[@RobertoAtkinson-q3x]

Russia invaded Ukraine because tiny Georgia, population 3,7 million didn't put up a fight. Invading Ukraine was a mistake. Ukraine will not stop fighting. One reason is In 1933 Stalin murdered more than 3 million Ukrainians in the Donbas region because he wanted to collectivize their farms. Then moved Russian onto Ukrainian lands. Ukraine will never let that happen again.

[@khananiel-joshuashimunov4561]

That woman in the photo shoot appears any time Putin needs a stand in. She's also the mother of many dead soldiers, and a well respected community leader of many communities. Most of the people in that photo fill the same role.

[@razagan1343]

any source on that? because I very badly want it to be true.

[@NuclearFridge1]

Because the "mighty leader" is afraid that someone is going to get close to him with a weapon. A small man scared of his own people.

[@daniel_dumile]

Seriously though do you have a source? I’ve read her connection to a son lost in Ukraine is tenuous at best, but this is saying she and others are a known actor in multiple similar state events? Is FSB this sloppy or are you just being hyperbolic?

[@Fortify2030]

@@daniel_dumile Its well known in russian-speaking media, many noticed this woman in many meeting with Putin, she as a factory worker, a fish worker, mother of soldier, random person in a church-mesa during Putin's church visit.

[@cecasander]

FSB director: "Agent Natasya, the president needs you by his side, to serve him." Agent Natasya: "Oh, of course I will serve! Will he need a body guard? Or my expertise on counter-terror measures?" FSB director: "No, he needs you to serve him ice cream."

[@camilledouglas7991]

Thanks!

[@jonmopjovi2734]

The ultimate gut check for any leader is when the country looks likely to fall you stay to go down fighting. I still think more than anything else Zelenskys refusal to leave Kiev was a critical event in this war.

[@FlukeTog]

100% Legend

[@sepnyte9422]

Had he taken off, Ukraine would probably not have been standing for long. Him staying gave people faith in their own country.

[@dishankb9213]

This wasn't Afganistan that people had to run away. Only internal turmoil presidents tend to run.

[@WoahJustTakeItEasyMan]

Compare that to putin who didn't even stay in Moscow when he heard wagner was coming 😂

[@sepnyte9422]

@@WoahJustTakeItEasyMan Putin and his cronies ran faster than Usain Bolt. 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@tonyluckens50]

The UK was the first country to supply Ukraine with anti tank weapons BEFORE the invasion. This was a major factor in the Ukrainians managing to stop the Russian tank regiments moving down the main highway to Kiev. It is a fact that Ukraine would now be in Russian hands whilst America and, particularly Europe, we’re still mulling it over. That said, all have now stepped up to the plate, especially America, whose response has, and continues to be, magnificent.

[@alexeitrebounskikh5920]

Johnson was also the first to ever speak of necessity of an eventual MILITARY defeat of Russia, while everyone else tried to pretend that expressing a grave concern was enough.

[@VenturiLife]

St. Javelin

[@kirstencarpenter663]

They stopped the budget to ship weaponry to Ukraine. The delay cost thousands their life. They ran out of amunishens. Shameful Congress

[@TimMountjoy-zy2fd]

You sure cos Trump withheld some Ukrainian aid and then released it Oct 2019 and that included Javelins.

[@aw2584]

​@@alexeitrebounskikh5920 uhh... yeah I think central and Eastern europe has been SCREAMING FOR HELP against Russia since the 90s, but western europe including Britain claimed all these countries, all 20 or so of them, are just being hysterical and rusophobic. Poland for example has been fighting Russian troll farms for DECADES at this point and warning Germany and entire EU that Russia and Putin might pretend to be westernising, trying to be friendly and get closer economically but in reality they're trying to manipulate, influence and overtake Europe by causing chaos within EU and influencing political events (mostly by supporting far right parties; there's a reason countries like Poland used to have far right groups that were FURIOUSLY against Russia, and then "magically" started calling Russia "the bastion of European Christian culture", Putin "the greater Conservative leader" and so on and so on... look at a Polish party called "Konfederacja" which consists of smaller parties which used to be extremely anti Russian, celebrated Polish underground fighters who fought against Russian occupation after 1945 and were wiped out of Polish history books for 50 years due to this, to a point where "Żołnierze Wyklęci" ("cursed/banished soldiers") became a mainstream topic... and then around the time Russia invaded Crimea, all these heroes were thrown into the garbage, as these "great patriots" leading said parties all instantly switched to calling Ukrainians nazis and talking about Volhynian massacre 24/7, while praising Russia and even suggesting Poland should partition Ukraine alongside Russia... thankfully Poles know what nazism and fascism is and they are a laughing stock of the country but you can CLEARLY see Russian influence on European politics. But my point is ... while ALL Polish governments, left and right winged were attacking Germany for being SUPER tight with Russia even at the cost of fellow EU members, Poles were laughed at for being "silly" "russophobic" etc. And now when Russia did what Russia does, random western nations are like "oh, WE did know it all along!". Lmao sure.

[@lucboulanger8128]

A really savvy analysis, enlightening. For those who can read French, a book was recently published by an exiled (Paris) ex-KGB spy, Sergeï Jirnov, who knew Putin as they both worked there at the same time. Titled "L'engrenage", Jirnov offers his appreciation of Putin, describing him as a manipulative thug, not particularly intelligent, but having the knack to always be at the right place at the right time. Putin's career at the KGB was rather lackluster and he was demoted a couple of times for bad judgment. Boris Yeltsin was the one who positioned Putin to become the new Russia Tsar when he appointed him acting president. Putin was never part of a structured political party or had any political doctrine to offer.

[@pervertt]

Just prior to the invasion, there was a lot of speculation on whether the massing of Russian forces near Ukraine's border was part of a giant Putin bluff. He's a smart guy, the thinking went, surely he wouldn't be that stupid to commit to an actual invasion. It soon turned out he was that stupid.

[@ПравдаЖизни-д3н]

Great recap!!!

[@МартинИден-с1м]

You are brainwashed. Congrats

[@lizanderson1669]

And what did the exiled KGB have to say about himself LMAO everyone out to make a buck for himself lol

[@lucboulanger8128]

@@lizanderson1669 Liz, Actually, Jirnov defected in 2001 and achieved post graduate studies at the French highly reputed ENA "Ecole Nationale d'administration". He earns his living as a journalist and consultant. He authored other books on the subject prior to his latest work.

[@zollen123]

It is astonishing Putin weren't aware of his country problems and shortcomings before the war. It is as if you were on the job for more than *twenty years* and you knew nothing of your company's problems. This would only be possible if you never went to work to begin with.

[@Desmaad]

A culture of lying will do that to you.

[@sirdavidoftor3413]

@Stephen Kong: if you watched Perun’s video on Russian lying and corruption, you wouldn’t be surprised. It explains a lot. His channel is on KZbin, and the 1 hour PowerPoint is very well done. He is an Aussie, who works in the logistics field of the military industrial complex. Each week there is a new topic about the war, or armies in particular. As a layman in this field, his research and expertise, is explained in terms that even I can understand. Stay safe, stay sane, stay strong Ukraine 🇺🇦

[@stevengordon3271]

Nobody tells the emperor he is naked.

[@petriew2018]

i don't think he was unaware, since whatever you want to say about Putin's morality, i don't think anyone would ever think him unintelligent I think he just disregarded it because he thought sheer overwhelming force would make up for the obvious bullshit in the reports. And let's be honest, most people even in the west kind of assumed the same thing on day 1

[@本荘京作]

裸の王様はえてしてこのようなものだ。はい王様、３日で陥落させます。そうかよしよし！

[@rhea7756]

Something being underestimated is the Zelensky effect. Putin tried to leverage divisions in Ukr. Zelensky was the first prez acceptable to both East and West Ukraine. He was in fact more popular in Russ speaking E. Ukr. On top of that Zelensky was the most popular Ukrainian leader. Even though his ratings went down, it was the highest for any Ukr prez. His ratings went down before the war mainly because people were unsure of his capabilities as a wartime prez. He is a strong man with his party securing the majority in Ukr parliament too. In reality, Zelensky ratings was high enough to win another prez term. So under Zelensky, the period of political chaos in Ukr could be over. A strong and democratic Ukr was Putin's fear. So he invaded Ukr

[@davidford3115]

Well, and his famous meme "I don't need a ride, I need ammunition" solidified Ukrainian resolve. I have no doubt that had he fled, Kiev would have fallen that very night.

[@tinawilson4120]

Russian people you have to get Putin's out-of-office

[@Godsplan4ever]

Zelensky was pushed in by the coup plot organized by the American government in 2014, in which the elected Ukrainian presidente was ousted forcefully. If not so,why did the government of zelensky begin to kill the Donbas people of Eastern Ukraine, if they truly voted zelensky into power and did not oppose the coup plot by refusing to support him? That began the blood shed and civil war that are still going on till today?

[@PedroFerreira-ze5yp]

@@tinawilson4120 I´ll second that! Putin has made ruZZia a fascit country and a threat to the whole world, including themselves!

[@joeka8772]

🥱😱

[@WallNutBreaker524]

Nineteen minutes in, and as a formerly brainwashed pro-russian anti-western person. This is one of the most perfect videos explaining the Russia-Ukraine War. 😊👌

[@WallNutBreaker524]

@Forgorgogrgrgr Russ1@ is allied to Ch1na. Ch1na is feck1ng over my country. America is helping my country. It's quite simple. ☺️

[@danieldavidisson9906]

@Forgorgogrgrgr Now you are brainwashed.

[@DJ_ScratchandSniff]

​@danieldavidisson9906 says the the brainwashed person?

[@a5cent]

Can you explain your brainwashing? How you got in and out again? It's very hard to understand for me.

[@WallNutBreaker524]

@@a5cent I can't explain because everytime I do KZbin decides to delete my comment. 🤦‍♂️ F U K KZbin.

[@florobanag706]

Im from the Philippines and i like it very much how clear you presented every topic you discussed . More power to you Mr Spaniel ... Always waiting for your upload ...

[@iwantyourcookiesnow]

I hoped Pacquiao was going to be PI president.

[@augustuslunasol10thapostle]

@@iwantyourcookiesnow so you wanted a idiot as my countries president

[@howardleach5340]

William Spaniel. What a journey through pure intelligence and thought!

[@MakeAllThingsBeautiful]

yes i agree totally. I would recommend checking out the Jehovah's Witnesses understanding of the 'King of the North', Totalitarian, militaristic and diametrically opposed to the 'King of the South', Liberalism. There is a whole chapter in the bible Daniel ch 11 about this opposed 'kings'. Where they started out and into the 'last days' ... see Daniel ch 12 v 1 to 4. The best book on this topic is probably 'Pay Attention to Daniel's Prophecy' published in 1999. Though even more fascinating is a talk, on youtube from Sept 1942 'Peace Can it Last?' ... it's a bit crackly but profound ... even mentions the United Nations as becoming a key player. Politics, particularly like Putin's Russia its allies are sinister but combine this with western politics which is just that .. politics .. unreliable, untrustworthy, sometimes strong, but like the last year very slow to act ... this latter bit is maybe something Putin got right, the slow support for Ukraine, particularly France/Germany who could of maybe been more effective.

[@Barrystue]

@@MakeAllThingsBeautiful it’s a weird, thick skulled, wait a minute ITS A JEHOVAH’S WITNESS what are you doing down here, in the realm of the military enthusiasts. Just pick a real denomination mate. I can’t concentrate on what you’re saying if you keep- pick one PICK ONE. You’re a funny little thing.

[@MakeAllThingsBeautiful]

@@Barrystue the bible is really about the planet earth and particularly what the future holds. I think the JW's make sense of Daniel chapter 11, specifically at this moment the 'king of the north' and obviously the 'king of the south' as each is required to help identify the other. For the last 120 years the 'north' has been militaristic and to initiate, engage and keep people onside it defaults or already is totalitarian. The 'king of the south' is also at this moment in time the seventh world power, Anglo American alliance and there allies. The ultimate winner will be the United Nations as the political solution to the earth's woes. Could go into all the scriptures if you wish. As it happens the bible is as good a source of reliable military history as any.

[@loganlabbe9767]

This channel makes me feel like when you find out how a magicians trick is performed, except for massive geopolitical events.

[@longbeach13]

And no matter how many times you block this channels they still pop up in your feed😂 comment against and you get banned 😂 internet wars are more dangerous i see

[@aroudedinsulance4307]

@@longbeach13 i mean you're doing it now and your comments lasted 5 hours, nice bait though

[@kendexter]

@@longbeach13 U know you can clean cache, delete cookies and set youtube settings on or off to show video's based on your previous search and watched , your problem solved. learn how to internet..lol.. and after that you can go to some channel like RT ,Fox or other Pravda suited for you and or dictators , if you could comment here you are yet not banned nor blocked

[@toxikwastedump]

this is western imperialist propaganda

[@tjk3430]

@@aroudedinsulance4307 15 hours and counting.

[@phettywappharmaceuticalsll8842]

He would’ve laughed if you told him they’d still be at it in Aug 2024 and Ukraine would imagine them back

[@topspot4834]

Imagine if you told him Ukraine would be occupying territory inside Russia ... He would've never invaded had he known this would be the outcome. Now he's just trying to save face ... Scary how literally one man's fragile ego can change history. *_"A crown is merely a hat that lets the rain in."_* *-FREDERICK THE GREAT*

[@phettywappharmaceuticalsll8842]

Invade damnt but yall know what I meant lol

[@yoshimeier3060]

I think age and illness increase the willingness to take risks substantially. If you have a dude that convinced himself to be the chose one and that has been unopposed for years and that guy is suddenly or creepinly confronted with his mortality... he might just decided its time to cement his legacy now rather than later.

[@oscareriksen2240]

What surprises me is that nobody speculates about drugs. The trembling could easily be related to drug abuse. Pills or whatever.

[@thiloreichelt4199]

That is the far more important point about his speculative illness. Putin does see himself as a big player, who can shape the world. Knowing his time remaining is limited would be likely to push him into action. Drug abuse is unlikely. If anything, he might get pills from his personal MD, but I doubt even that. Putin noted Yeltsin being regularly drunk, and hated him for that. And he is well aware of the amount of alcohol abuse common in Russia.

[@Elkarlo77]

@@thiloreichelt4199 Some Drugs to fight Parkinson or Cancer will lend to overconfidence. So he might be on a "normal" level for his illness or to keep it under control but it will lead to misjudgements and overconfidence. About the Cancer Theorie: Putin's Poo is for a while a state secret. Before he used normal toilets since a while his excrements when he is visiting other Countries is flown back to Russia. Now he got his own portable Toilett with a special Bodyguard for it, and everything goes back. Not unusual for Paranoid Dictators, Kim Jong-Un does the same.

[@peterkobor5470]

I agree . Considering all of these facts there is a very likely chance he will use nuclear weapons if he is pushed into a corner . I am his age and after a good life I would have absolutely no problem pushing the red button .

[@rv637]

Exactly. Crazy Pootin has nothing to lose. He is old (and probably with some illness) and sitting at the comfort of his mansion. I really believe he doesn’t care about the average Russian.

[@UncleTonyshotsauce]

I like when intelligent people do their research for others and history 🇺🇸👍

[@user-oc1zq1ej5c]

His intelligence is full of excrement.

[@anamokena-nicol4247]

Intelligence is only measurable within the culture and peoples the test was formed for... An earth worm means nothing to someone in the USA who lives in an apartment in a concrete arena with plastic, robots and more concrete for company...

[@nonye0]

we are all intelligent.

[@baltulielkungsgunarsmiezis9714]

@@nonye0 Ones who watch this chanel for fun likely so.

[@randomname5338]

@@nonye0 where have you been for the past 3 years we are all very very very dumb , borderline psychotic

[@1Gsttl2007]

I rarely commented, but I must say that I love the humor and witty words used, in addition to the excellent and insightful analysis! I feel like I was treated to a well prepared lecture. Thank you! Looking forward to the next piece!

[@alexeecs]

This is much more captivating than a lecture

[@billybarnes1763]

If only it was true.... Lets just leave out the American intervention since the 80s.

[@andreimustata9829]

@@billybarnes1763 Which part exactly doesn't seem true to you? What is your point? He did in fact mentioned the expansion of US influence in East Europe as one of the factors of Putin's aggression.

[@aiyadwolf]

This is definitely my favorite from you! Thank you for putting it all together, excellent!

[@cpMetis]

1:30 These pictures are absolutely perfect. With the commentary, it feels like a sketch you'd see on LWT or something with edited cut-ins.

[@Gametheory101]

I was very pleased when I found those!

[@danlei88]

In Finland there's a belief that the weird Putin walk is a result of permanent damage to his collar bone when he played football against a team of bishops in the finnish city of Turku. Apparently one of the holy men tackled him and damaged his collar bone/shoulder. That could explain the asymmetric walk at least for the arms but not the limp. Also need to note that this happened 30 years ago and I don't have the expertise to know if it's possible for it to still cause a chronic issue after decades.

[@GeneralWinter9]

Nobody cares about what you believe in finland

[@danlei88]

@@GeneralWinter9 I know it sucks that in Russia you're not able to freely talk about your political leader in any bad light but you don't have to take your jealousy out on me =)

[@Brian-om2hh]

It's a well known fact that excessive bashing of your bishop can have lasting health repercussions.....

[@tomriley5790]

Certainly posilbe for things 30 years ago to cause chonic (lifelong problems) but impossible to know without more information if the story is the real cause.

[@paddington1670]

One of the skinniest graduating kids in my year got tackled by a large boy and folded his collarbones together. His shoulders basically touched in front of his chest. He couldnt go to school for the rest of the year, bed ridden. I dont know what happened to him, because we all moved on, i did hear he joined the Canadian Forces but that's hearsay at a random birthday party decades later that i heard that.

[@brutusvonmanhammer]

24:55 I'm slightly confused by this part. How do you see "tank after tank after tank" sitting around rusting, with no mechanics, and soldiers selling off military equipment to buy alcohol, and then conclude from that information that they were preparing for an invasion?

[@Dan-nx9zn]

Because the tanks had been pulled from storages all over russia to the border and

[@jeroylenkins1745]

8:00 I think one thing that is being overlooked here is the military response by NATO to the annexation of Crimea. NATO troops were deployed to Ukraine in massive numbers in a training and mentoring role post-2014. This 8 year training support and professionalization of the Ukrrainian forces had a lot to do with how well they did in the initial stages of the invasion.

[@taleon3986]

You are not supposed to say any truth on this channel. You have to keep in line with the Western media narrative - Russia is bad, the West and NATO are good, moral and humane.

[@abc-mr7we]

Angela Merkel admitted a few weeks ago that the 8 years was indeed used in preparing Ukraine.

[@whitegoose2017]

There are no NATO troops in Ukraine. There never have been. Instructors? Absolutely. If the Russian army faced NATO in Ukraine they wouldn't have gotten 20 kilometers past the border. That's just the raw truth of it. Airspace would be 100% controlled by NATO and not a single thing would fly that wasn't fired or sent by NATO. And we know Russians don't have enough of those fancy long-range missiles as they're now firing Iranian ones.

[@abc-mr7we]

@@whitegoose2017 Nato DEFINITELY has troops in Ukraine. "Instructors" = special forces. That's the first thing that happens in any modern conflict.

[@whitegoose2017]

​@@abc-mr7we Ukraine wanted to get rid of its systematic corruption problems in the military that are still prevalent in Russia as both are successor states to the former USSR. Ukrainians knew exactly where to get help how to do that. That's very much different from having a troop presence. Right now there are volunteers from everywhere in Ukraine. These volunteers also come armed with military expertise a most of the times. Oh and special forces? It sounds really silly to say that considering special forces are quite simply "elite" light infantry. Many Westerners are getting flashback vibes to WW2. It wasn't that long-ago that people have forgotten. Russians obviously never learned the history of the past century, ergo they can't see the parallel between Sudetenland/Austria/et cetera and eastern Ukraine. Me, I can't see this war ending even this year. Europeans are willing to superficially bleed over this by sending old munitions and equipment, but really, what we should have done in Europe is go in there and just completely destroy the Russians and say there's no war going on. We are simply destroying terrorists. That's just how retarded this whole affair is. We're waging a war while we're not waging a war. To quote HBO series "Chernobyl" or Valery Legasov, I don't know if he said it or not, "what is the cost of lies?" Russian and Ukrainian lives. Yeah. I feel like ranting about this. Sorry about this. Even here we've got Ukrainian refugees. I'll probably see them at the bar on friday. I will ask you something though. Imagine living a life where you've got everything. You've got the ultimate power in everything. Power to destroy the world, power to take away everything from your associates, power to acquire anything you want and power to disappear people. how does that not CORRUPT a person?

[@TheMightymolar]

Excellent breakdown. Thank you. Two notable additions: 1) Putin had apartment buildings bombed in Moscow and blamed it on Chechen rebels. Going to war against Chechnya was one way he built his national support. It's not a conspiracy theory - the FSB was caught doing it and it was reported in Russia at the time. 2) In 2008 Russia invaded Georgia and the west did nothing.

[@hoosthere]

Was he president in 2008

[@fe7kh]

911. Pffft.

[@TheMightymolar]

@@fe7kh great reply. I'm not sure if it's a rebuttal, but you did type things.

[@theo3030]

the invasion in georgia was limited and brief though. He stopped short of reaching the capital of georgia. Most people-including world leaders like Erdogan- thought that the invasion of ukraine was going to follow a similar pattern but were terribly wrong.

[@fe7kh]

@@theo3030 weird. Did NATO feed Georgia w mercenaries and weapons? The answer is no. You know it. I know it. Why even compare?

[@bixbysnyder-00]

"338 days into my 3 day war, I am still master strategist" -Vladimir Putin

[@rykson161]

Why does America and nato back African nations as they back Ukraine?

[@Lewd-Tenant_Isan]

@@rykson161 because African nations aren't in Europe duh

[@AWMJoeyjoejoe]

@@rykson161 the clue is in the name. North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. Not sure how long it's been since you looked at a map but Africa isn't anywhere near the North Atlantic.

[@sergeyshunin548]

Don't forget, the Russian army was already in Gostomel, near Kiev, 2-3 hours after the start of the conflict. The narrative about 3 days is the narrative of US propaganda. No one has declared about 3 days.

[@bixbysnyder-00]

@@sergeyshunin548 That's right, you proved my point. The Russians were near Kiev in 2 to 3 hours, and they got obliterated. Putin tried to decapitate the Ukrainian government but failed miserably.

[@senaniwet]

Thanks

[@Gametheory101]

Thank you!

[@pclifton4]

I really need to remember to use youtube's 'watch later' button more, stuff like this is so well done and interesting that what I know I should be doing becomes an afterthought

[@JR-bj3uf]

I had a friend who, while at the airport, decided to have his shoes shined. The man shining shoes looked at him as he approached and said "Parkinson's right?" "No" my friend said "not that I know of." When he got back he went to the doctor and the tests confirmed that he had Parkinson's disease. It is sometimes possible to diagnose for visual clues. The shoe shine guy told my friend that his brother had Parkinson's and he knew what to look for.

[@tomlxyz]

Question is how many wrong things that man said that didn't get much attention because of it

[@johnbrown-rm8kc]

yes correct my mates father had Parkinsons and after that i always picked up on people with Tremors etc

[@zelmo73]

@@johnbrown-rm8kc alcoholics just coming off a binge have tremors too. I’d trust a doctor over a shoeshine boy any day.

[@poohoff]

Nice bullshit story, but try harder next time

[@JR-bj3uf]

For clarification: It was the way he walked. The shoe shine guy turned on his stool and watched my friend walk toward him. It was not tremors but the shuffling gate with which he was walking that triggered the response.

[@PedroFerreira-ze5yp]

A one year "3 day Special Superkalifragilistic Military Operation"

[@vaestkusten6041]

Lol.. when you believe your own lies and propaganda. Then reality kicks in and the 3 day special op turns into a nightmare.

[@psychologianiestacjonarna6558]

"Russia's democratic backsliding" ? Russia has never ever been democratic. That's the problem, the Russians don't even understand what the word "democracy" means. Russia has always been a feudal state, currently run by Putin's mafia

[@wellesmorgado4797]

the 1936 spanish civil war started as a military "proclamacion" (a coup, in general a fast thing that would be over in days, leading to the destitution of the government), but the reality had significantly changed since the end of the XIX century. In the end, Spain had to endure 3 years of a terrifying civil war, full of atrocities by both sides. Actually both sides miscalculated then.

[@murraychadwick9362]

When people actually believe their imagination is real life.

[@ThomasSmith-rj4zt]

"Three days" was stated by US General Miley. How it became "Russians plan" I'll never know. As it stands, Russia seems completely intent just wiping Ukraine out. They appear to be planning to either take a bunch of land, or effectively destroy Ukraine. As funny as Russian troops dying is, what's not funny is the Ukrainian citizens spending night after night without power, power which the old and weak need to survive.

[@Lanwarder]

Numerous world leaders have mentioned that Putin hasn't been the same since Covid-19. He apparently spent most his time isolated and did a lot of reading of books depicting a very embellished version of Russian history. I don't know to what extent it is true, but I definitely heard multiple world leader say that Putin just wasn't the same, and that even though he never was especially easy to deal with, he now seemed more.....let's say "disconnected from reality",

[@adolfshitler]

Guaranteed he's been planning this for at least 10 years, probably more!

[@TheDennys21]

@@adolfshitler absolutely!

[@Lanwarder]

@@adolfshitler Probably, but I think that isolation might have contributed to miscalculate how Ukrainians, and Ukraine's allies to react. The war is far from over, but I think that Putin being isolated, and only receiving the answers he wants to receive from his advisers probably made him overly confident that his plan would work.

[@adolfshitler]

@@Lanwarder No doubts of that

[@schakiarligonde1736]

He was always like that imo it just became more noticeable after the pandemic happened

[@SilverfoxJB]

Excellent work. I totally did not expect to watch more than a few minutes. It was better than any TV documentary on the subject.

[@Itried20takennames]

Agree, a great discussion and analysis, and answered a number of things I wondered about - how could Putin think the invasion was a good idea? Did he believe his own propaganda on the state of Russias military, or did he know it was that bad, but thought still enough?

[@yespls6260]

@@Itried20takennames I think he really thought that he could get away with it and drank his own "Kool-Aid", so to speak. Throughout history Russia has successfully conquered regions *and* defended its borders by having the sheer numbers and resolve, despite at times having quite under-equipped and under-trained forces in the face of occupying forces. I don't think he believed that he had forces that could take on the West, but that he had the numbers and resources at least to crush the resolve of Kyiv and cause Ukrainian citizens to concede. Perhaps he did have the US invasion of Iraq in mind; he thought that Ukrainian soldiers wouldn't have confidence in their own government, but unlike in Iraq-- where a major portion of Iraqis disliked the idea of an occupier from a land extremely far away in both distance and culture telling them how to live-- Ukrainians might believe that at least Russians had many cultural similarities and would treat them kinder than, say, the Nazis treated them during WW2. It seems that he definitely had a major personal disdain for Zelensky and didn't view him as a serious person that citizens could place their confidence in. I think he miscalculated Zelensky and he *really* miscalculated how much Ukraine had formed a new national identity since the Soviet Union that was quite separate from Russia and placed value on building democratic institutions and ties with other democratic countries.

[@terencehurst8636]

Anything is better than a TV documentary.

[@ltfreeborn]

I think the "It hurt itself in its confusion" fits here.

[@kiin.offiiciial]

what a comment

[@meatbyproducts]

I was in Ukraine helping in the mission to train the Armed forces of Ukraine in 2021, we were not teaching insurgent tactics. We were training higher level brigade tactics and obse4ving their Battalion and company level training being concudted by the Ukrainians.

[@OffGridUrbanist]

Seeing Putin standing uncomfortably in a cake bakery made my day…. There is too much happiness and sweetness in this place…

[@itheuserfirst3186]

"Why are these people smiling? We are Russians. NATO is already over our border!"

[@patm6704]

The US/UK/EU anti-Putin, anti-Russia demonising has been cranked up to max since Russia intervened in Syria, a full year after the U.S. was supposedly bombing ISIS. Instead, the U.S. was protecting ISIS convoys of stolen oil, convoys of ISIS fighters and weaponry, etc. Without Russia, Syria would now be ruled by the duped head-chopping proxies of the U.S., U.K. etc. Then, the U.S. and U.K. would get public support to invade Syria. The US still illegally controls 80% of Syria's oil fields. Russia daring to intervene in Syria - which could have meant their planes being shot down by US planes which were protecting ISIS convoys of fighters and oil - was the start of a game changer i.e. the first country to prevent the US regime-change agenda which had been 100% successful up until then. The inability of the US to declare a no-fly zone in Ukraine because of mutually assured nuclear destruction is more evidence. And, with the rise of China's military strength, the US can no longer dominate world events.

[@arupmallick3923]

Ukraine relied on US and Western countries in the hope of building military strength... But now it has become like a dying patient on life support.... Accept the reality before mocking Someone....

[@patm6704]

@@arupmallick3923 US Senator Lindsey Graham said, "With U.S. weapons and money, Ukraine will fight Russia to the last Ukrainian." Utterly shameful but typical US colonial/imperialistic mentality.

[@Barrystue]

@@arupmallick3923 better than the country who hadn’t learned from the Germans who they “single handedly defeated” (when in reality their logistics were shite, a problem they still gave today) The Russian military was long thought an absolute juggernaut with top of the line equipment. I guess it would be top if the line If it actually worked worked correctly

[@Im-just-Stardust]

This video really shows well how Pootin is truly evil.

[@Brian-om2hh]

We didn't need a video to tell us that, but point taken anyway.....

[@PedroFerreira-ze5yp]

He´s a textbook case psychopath

[@Caylynmillard]

Please. I mean PLEASE make more of these videos asap. I wait for weeks for your content because I love the depth and insight you have. I check KZbin almost everyday! Thanks for the great content

[@ThunderAppeal]

I'm sure you would have been thrilled if adolf shitler was still alive, I know you would be waiting eagerly for germanys war reports regularly.

[@nzs316]

Just tap the bell icon and you will get an alert the moment there is new material.

[@alexeecs]

Nah I don't want him to burn out

[@Caylynmillard]

@@ThunderAppeal good one…😅

[@Caylynmillard]

@@alexeecs clever 😅

[@DCFunBud]

“Sharp. As sharp as these pencils.” That creative writing class was worth the money.

[@SuperEugene1956]

Living in Ukraine I am aware of the information you have presented in this video. An excellent summary of events and has brought back vivid memories of waking up on February 24 and finding out that we had been invaded.. I have remained in Ukraine despite advice from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs. It is a matter of conscience to remain here and help a count.ry that gave me permanent residence.

[@eric.loves.to.fish1]

​@@apocalypse-now A) 14,000 died in Donbass? Plse supply the source of info. B) Even if above is true, none of Russia's business to go and grab Ukrainian land. It's not Russia's land in case you don't understand the concept of 'sovereignty' . Yep, Ukraine is a sovereign country as according to the UN Charter. No wonder practically the whole world condemned Russia's invasion and its land-grabbing. And yep, its leader putin is a thug and a robber. Not to mention a killer.

[@lillibitjohnson7293]

Thank you for helping as much as you can

[@digital827111]

I am sure the women and children of the Donbass felt the same way when your nazis poured artillery barrages upon them for the eight years prior. Anyone who watched Oliver Stone's documentary "Ukraine on Fire" knows the truth and are glad retribution is being meted out to these nazis.

[@Thee-_-Outlier]

So you're a Nazi supporter then. Good to know

[@marioformosa4259]

Yes many foreigners have been urging the Ukrainians to fight and die.

[@zarroaster3009]

Thank you for your work. I admire your objectivism and tenacity.

[@matthewhuszarik4173]

Ukraine and Afghanistan couldn’t be more different. One failed battle didn’t stop Russia in Ukraine. The Ukrainians were willing to fight to the end to protect their families and country. Despite everyone telling them they didn’t have a chance.

[@robertstennett7566]

Everyone was right the Ukrainians did not have a chance they never did. They have lost the war, they have lost 500,000 young men a whole generation. The tragic thing is Ukraine brought this war on themselves by killing 14,000 of their own citizens that lived in Eastern Ukraine, the invasion was made to stop the killing of the citizens of Eastern Ukraine. Zelensky could of stopped the war, 2 years ago in Istanbul he signed a peace agreement with the Russians that would have stopped the war. The USA and UK talked him out of implementing the agreement. So all this misery they are suffering is self inflicted by their leader Zelensky. The 14,000 count of the people killed in Eastern Ukraine by the Ukrainian Government statistics is on the United Nations website. In case you did not know about all this is because the US government lies to it's citizens and the major news networks knowingly broadcast the government lies.

[@azizithelethargic9229]

I implore you, do not compare Afghanistan, to an extent Afghans, with* Ukraine. It sounds very wrong.

[@matthewhuszarik4173]

@@azizithelethargic9229 What does “couldn’t be more different” mean?

[@azizithelethargic9229]

@@matthewhuszarik4173 My mistake, but, it's a useful reminder to those who would later reply to you here. Again, my bad.

[@matthewhuszarik4173]

@@azizithelethargic9229 No problem I just was wondering if there was some reason I shouldn’t contrast how the Ukrainians responded to the Russian invasion and Afghanistan responded to the Taliban wanting to take back over?

[@Subhumanoid_]

15:25 Hahahahaha! _"opportunism from the Baltic states" or "Finland"_ brilliant analysis!

[@davidshanahan5134]

Loving your channel William! Do a collaboration with Perun - both masters of analysis and clear presentation.

[@gaoxiaen1]

I was thinking the same thing. Perun can mesmerize with a Powerpoint and a little humor.

[@Homer-OJ-Simpson]

William got in depth look at all things Ukraine - Russia, Perun for 1hr deep look at geopolitical matters around the world.

[@krisfrederick5001]

"READY! FIRE! AIM!!" -Russian Military Doctrine

[@Kodakcompactdisc]

Also, we will outdie you

[@redcrewmate927]

Ukrainian Soldier #1: Ah, fuck!! More artillery round again.... So how many of us do you think will die today? Ukrainian Soldier #2: Hmm.... I say about 50.... No 60 at best.... Really wish we could at least see one Russian Soldier to gun instead of these endless barrages of artillery.

[@FandersonUfo]

@@redcrewmate927 - easier to drop bombs on orc heads with drones Ivan

[@alltat]

Ready! Aim! Sell the ammo on the black market instead!

[@randomcommenteronyoutube1055]

🤣🤣

[@GregL-zt4xf]

Wow! That is an outstanding documentary. Thank you very much, Mr. Spaniel.

[@lydiamacanang9052]

In I'll look loll look it up lolol

[@so2bk]

Putin’s miscalculation may end by breaking up Russia as one country.

[@jefftheriault5522]

Yes, she is likely a member of his protection detail, and perhaps the most competent of the lot. She would be ideal for initial screening duties, in addition to roles where she plays the part of a member of the general public in "reaching out to the Russian in the street" scenarios.

[@Ymirec]

33:33 about the "swagger walk", when we saw that on TV, my dad who has been walking the same way for many years said this: "Putin has hip problems." ... it's a relieving posture.

[@Cheeky-fingers]

Putin had a desk job in the KGB in East Germany. He was never a field agent from what I read.

[@AndriiF]

Haha! You can find this women in almost all Putin's foto with group of "simple people". None casual person can come close to him for years! I personally saw her on not less than 5 fotos😁. Thanks for your work and greetings from fighting Ukraine 🇺🇦

[@Tespri]

Only Ruzzian propagandists are so incompetent that they would use same actors in their photos.

[@Chakradhar52]

Moral.." one should not chew more than he could swallow"

[@admiralbenbow5083]

THAT has been russias` habit for 100s of years.

[@Mikearice1]

The issue behind the lack of western response in 2014 was that there was war fatigue from Iraq and Afghanistan, and the public (and therefore politicians) were reluctant to be dragged into another long conflict. That fatigue wasn't going to last forever.

[@cdjhyoung]

I'm not trying to blame Obama here, but when Russia invade the Crimea, I don't think Obama or the US was prepared to offer resistance or much assistance. Ukraine had a history of corruption, a weak link to the west, and didn't really appear that it wanted to fully remove itself from the Russian sphere in 2014. That is not the situation now. After 2016, with a change of leadership in Ukraine, Ukraine actively tried to align itself with the west and aggressively sought arms and training for its military. For some reason, Russia (Putin) seems to have ignored this sea change of attitude. It also helped that Biden is a known entity on the world stage in the west. He may not be a king maker in Europe, but he knows who to call and they listen. Being to rally the best intentions of our allies in Europe to oppose this invasion is no small feat for any President. Biden also knew how to get support from enough Republicans to be able to get the needed funding for Ukraine.

[@cdjhyoung]

@mike There is next to zero chance that Trump will ever be US President again. He will not survive the Republican primary system, and if he tries to run as a third party candidate, he will only guarantee the Democrats win. The person you need to fear is DeSantis, he is even more of an isolationist than Trump.

[@mooglemy3813]

I agree with some of this. Look at previous Chancelor Angela Merkel and her ensuring Ukraine never got a chance. She got way to close to Putin, gas and oil were the reasons. That's my take on it.

[@nesciusplayground]

@@cdjhyoung Not had, HAS

[@Thesamurai1999]

@Как говорить с Украиной? Конечно на языке ракет🚀 Taliban war strategy didn’t defeat the US. They only took it back when the US left. Didn’t stand a chance while the US remained there.

[@jakeaurod]

Several people have pointed out that the same people show up in different outfits in lots of Putin's PR photos.

[@philliprobinson7724]

Hi. They're actors, he has his very own fan-club. Cheers, P.R.

[@bolobalaman]

Nothing quite like a 3 Day plus almost a year Operation The planning to the preparation and the execution was true to its name : *SPECIAL*

[@hamzamahmood9565]

Special extended operation

[@ghostinanutshell4768]

Special needs operation

[@suyashneelambugg]

Can you share a source where Russia had declared it to be a 3 day operation? We all know Russia expected Ukraine to stand down, and then Ukraine has just declared the peace deal in Turkey was aimed at buying time! During that period as well, the soldiers were not advancing. So the miscalculation is rather a case of wrong expectations from Ukraine and peace deal. And lo and behold, Ukraine is falling piece by piece since Russia has realised this won't end with warnings and light combat!

[@bolobalaman]

@@suyashneelambugg Ok comrade falling pieces by pieces ?Is this coming from the same source that proudly claimed it captured 4 regions as some sort of saving face victory after the fuck ups that is called *capturing Kiev in a blitzkrieg manner* ?? To clarify: It was found in memo, journal from dead Russian during Feb and March at Hostomel and other region around Kiev during the most heated part of the battle for the capital. They even found parade outfit among Russian’s equipment and corpses

[@notusneo]

@@suyashneelambugg if i have a dollar every time an Indian try to defend Rusia atrocious decision i would be a wealthy man right now

[@thisbushnell2012]

At 23:10 or thereabouts the attitude described is what i call Ensign Pulver syndrome. Keep your head down. 'As long as the captain doesn't know I exist, I am safe.'

[@StefanHoffmann84]

23:40 Haha. I mean, it is not comparable, but somehow reminds me that our military in Germany constantly gets media attention about something that is not working. Good to have these checks.

[@NorNamor]

Those checks are very real!! We had the same shit in Norway where one manufacturer of missiles were chosen over another because they sponsored a really expensive luxurious ski trip to the alps on the whole general staff. The media cought it and it became a major laughing stock in the media and the contract got annulled.

[@jur4x]

In Russian speaking environment they managed to create a perception of blogers not being real journalists. Basically if someone posted anything wrong about the country, most people would simply dismiss them as crying for attention or outright Western agents spreading propaganda. The irony is, most of those independent analysts were way more aware of real state of things than official media. Best example - pension reform was predicted almost 10 years before it happened.

[@georgehewitt1917]

r suzuki.jimmy.jipl

[@georgehewitt1917]

Georg3e

[@ArcturusOTE]

Ah eys, the G36 controversy

[@yespls6260]

I was in Ukraine during the first round of the Presidential elections in 2019 and I remember how apprehensive people were about Zelensky. I had to be neutral when I was there, but there was something about him that I could see was special. I liked him and felt like he was genuine (despite being an actor and entertainer). I remember walking around Maidan square in the center of Kyiv and seeing candles and memorials to those that died during the bloody revolution of 2014 and the war in the east. It was an extremely important presidential election for Ukraine, being the first to take place since 2014. There were real fears that the democratic gains since the revolution would be lost. After all, Ukraine had many revolutions since the fall of the Soviet Union that led to naught. When Russia officially invaded Ukraine in February 2022, I thought that Kyiv would fall to Russia within days. I hadn't spent much time in Ukraine (just over a week) and had few social connections there, but my stomach felt sick for days thinking about how people I passed on the street were now fleeing a fascist invasion. As everyone says, no one believed that Russia would fully invade Ukraine. Even though I liked Zelensky, I believed that he would flee or be killed early on like what often happens in newly democratic nations. The fact that he didn't flee, I agree, played a monumental role in the survival of Ukraine as a sovereign nation. I'm rarely someone who believes that the fate of nations can hinge on individual people, but if Zelensky had fled I think it's possible that the house would have come crumbling down.

[@yoda2661]

I quote Zelensky in a TV show : "My salary is small, but it's not a problem since we are allowed to take money and property from the Russians. And earlier, the same applied to Jews. If you can, please send me Hitler's book 'Mein Kampf'. They are sold ou there. Sometimes I do morning exercises on the balcony. I do like it, from the heart to the sun (performing a nazi salute)" Zelensky, 10 nov 2014.

[@ihorv44]

dude, you didn't understand Ukraine. zelensky is just pretty picture for western tv shows. he is great fundraiser but he awful top manager. his team is the most corrupted that ever Ukraine had before. his team destroyed economy and instituts of sucsesseful country. so stop beliving him. he is terribul president for Ukrainians. when you told about unresulting revolutions it is absolute bull shit. each revolution gave to Ukrainins much more democracy and rights then we had before. if we lost in revolutions in 2004 or 2014, today Ukraine would be Belarus 2 - country with authoritarianism regime without election and democracy.

[@klauskant8086]

Unfortunately the bloody revolution you mentioned was quite cynically sponsored by the west in order to kill off democracy and hand power to west friendly right wing Ukrainian nationalists - what you have today is the result of that. In an ethnically divided country it was a certain recipe for civil war and predictably a proxy war when nations start taking sides

[@freikorpsdamonisch8127]

Not really. It's exaggeration I think. Because it's, as you wrote, fascist invasion. So with or without Zelensky fighting would be fierce and people resilient.

[@AlexeiVoronin]

@@yoda2661 Zelensky is Jewish. The mere idea that he might be admiring Hitler is absurd.

[@cytrynowy_melon6604]

KGB has actually not disintegrated. It's changed its name, but actually the only Soviet structure that has not deteriorated severely. That's why they gained even more power in the 90s.

[@davexb6595]

This might be another reason they failed.

[@Corvinwhite]

We need to give everything Ukraine needs two of them we do not go down to dictators

[@jehadeid3264]

William Spaniel, excellent analysis, it's an education watching your videos, thank you so very much.

[@tomperkins5657]

This was EXCELLENT. Unlike most lengthy videos, I stayed. Well documented and awesome insights.

[@occamraiser]

Admirable Work. Thank you William

[@michaelthompson6772]

First time on the channel…well produced video! This qualifies as professional journalism.

[@glenn3948]

Great info. William. I always look forward to your postings.

[@monsieurgrigny]

Excellent video, analysis and narration.

[@magr7424]

Fantastic analysis! I would like to add a personal experience of mine that convinced me on February 25th, that Ukraine will fight no matter what to defend their country I live in Heidelberg, Germany. 10 km away is Mannheim, there is a big railway hub connection between all trains coming from France and southwest Europe linking to railway that leads to Berlin and then to eastern Europe, Poland and Ukraine. On the morning of February 25th I was at the big Mannheim railway station to drive back to Heidelberg. I realized there were much more people as usual, I sensed kind of a unrest, tension in the air, so I went back into the station and saw many young men with backpacks. I asked some guys what is going on and they told me they wait to trains to Berlin and Poland. I went with them to the tracks and trains from France arrived packed with young men, holding out ukrainian flags, French flags, german flags and the men on the tracks were cheering and step into the trains. Many of them were ukrainians living in Germany France Spain Portugal... And Many of them were Germans, French volunteers who wanted to help. I gave the guys around me all the money I had in my pocket and wished them good luck and that they stay save, I was very emotional, they were driving to a war! in Europe! against a gigantic and brutal Russian army and I don't know if they are still alive.. I realized at that moment that Pootin has miscalculated, that this war will not be over in 3 days and they really managed to stop them, driving them away from Kiew and holding the line against these ruthless Russians.. I hope that bloody stupid war will be over soon and those responsible for it will pay for their crimes

[@GraemeMurphy]

Well said. Watch what happens later this month.

[@rphb5870]

So did the Germans in world war two. At some point it is better to negotiate with a superior force then it is to be forced into an unconditional surrender

[@mongol100mongol3]

If Russia was prosperous and benevolent nation, every neighbour would've rush to be friend of Russia. Things would've been whole different.

[@118Shadow118]

That woman you mentioned in the end (along with some other people) is seen in many of Putin's publicity photos

[@Vilamus]

I want to joke that Putin is doing this to impress his women, who is this lass in the photos But...I am scared that in 30 years time, that was the real reason Putin invades Ukraine xD

[@LeCharles07]

"Straight out of central casting" Donald Trump

[@SnabbKassa]

yes, they are actors, who are used repeatedly, because Putin is scared to be photographed with random people.

[@NewGeoEconomics]

As a Pole and a history enthusiast I am not sure whether Ukraine was a legit independent country pre 1991. But they definitely developed an identity over the last 30 years and they had the right to be independent. They definitely eyed the west rather than influence of “mother” Russia.

[@himachalarana3454]

Please tell us all, if there is a country called Ukraine exists and what are its official borders as registered with UN.

[@marcel621]

@@himachalarana3454 Please tell us all, if there is a country called Russia exists and what are its official borders as registered with UN.

[@himachalarana3454]

@@marcel621 My reply to you has been deleted by Utb AI, it looks like. I will post it in batches.

[@himachalarana3454]

@@marcel621 Section 1 My reply to you comes in two parts. Part 2 will be an answer to your question posed to me. Part 1 will be the antecedent to your posting, based on my question posed to Ericsson, explaining why I posted such a question to Ericsson. Ericsson posits that Ukraine definitely developed an identity over the last 30 years and they had the right to be independent. This for sure goes on the premise that Ukraine is not an independent county. Facebook had some Russians post that professed that Ukraine is not a legit country and that it’s borders are not registered with UN. Corollary to this argument is that Russia therefore had the right to walk in and grab territory.

[@himachalarana3454]

@@marcel621 Section 3 Poles generally don’t like Ukraine. Of course there are some sections of the Poles who like Ukraine, given historical factors, but enmity between Poland and Ukraine is well known. Given Ericsson is a Pole, I was prodding him to tell me if he questioned the legitimacy of Ukraine to be independent country, based on the Facebook postings and the KZbin videos. You butted in with your question, thus all these explanations. In any case, there is no necessity for any country to register it’s borders with UN. Only under one situation, does UN comes into the picture to look at borders. Let me explain further. If there are two countries A and B, which came into existence, say post WW II. A & B , then become members of UN. A & B countries are then allowed to demarcate the land border by bilateral agreements between them. Once this land border is firmed up life goes on. If A & B entered into disputes and a war, say, and subsequently UN was involved in settling the disputes, at this juncture, UN will ask for the border demarcation bilateral agreement, in case peace keeping forces are to be posted. Other than this UN involvement, the borders are not UN concern. My question to Ericsson was to find out if he believed in the facebook postings and the KZbin videos thus positing that Ukraine definitely developed an identity over the last 30 years and they had the right to be independent..

[@AC3handle]

Being a general under Putin is like being an officer under Darth Vader. Instead of getting force choked, they get forced window walking.

[@Mozart22072012]

I must say, this documentary was VERY informative and well maid. Thank you❤

[@billcook7285]

Russia has a very large and modern army. The problem is, the modern part ain't very large, and the large part ain't very modern. 🤭

[@criptin4075]

This feels like its only part 1 of a bigger video. Am I missing something? I want to know what happens next! Not very informed what actually happened once the invasion began and i appreciate your insight. So much misinformation is floating out there so its nice to see this. Cheers.

[@brotherhbush7836]

THIS VIDEO Conveys How Essential A FREE PRESS/MEDIA IS -ACCURATE INFORMATION IS CRUCIAL TO A FREE FUNCTIONING SOCIETY!!!!!!!! THIS REPORT CLEARLY CONVEYS HOW EASY IT IS TO BEGAN A WAR - HOW DIFFICULT IT IS TO FIGHT/WIN THE ENTIRE WAR !!! H Bush Very Thankful Viet Nam War Disaster Survivor

[@LiberalsHateFacts]

f or when Ukraine runs out oi Conventional Weapons it will IMMEDIATELY fall back on use of Dirty Bombs. Figure it out for yourself ... What is the quickest route to WW3. If or when Ukraine runs out oi Conventional Weapons it will IMMEDIATELY fall back on use of Dirty Bombs. Figure it out for yourself ... What is the quickest route to WW3. If or when Ukraine runs out oi Conventional Weapons it will IMMEDIATELY fall back on use of Dirty Bombs. Figure it out for yourself ... What is the quickest route to WW3. If or when Ukraine runs out oi Conventional Weapons it will IMMEDIATELY fall back on use of Dirty Bombs. Figure it out for yourself ... What is the quickest route to WW3. If or when Ukraine runs out oi Conventional Weapons it will IMMEDIATELY fall back on use of Dirty Bombs. Figure it out for yourself ... What is the quickest route to WW3. If or when Ukraine runs out oi Conventional Weapons it will IMMEDIATELY fall back on use of Dirty Bombs. Figure it out for yourself ... What is the quickest route to WW3. If or when Ukraine runs out oi Conventional Weapons it will IMMEDIATELY fall back on use of Dirty Bombs. Figure it out for yourself ... What is the quickest route to WW3. .

[@LabGecko]

Look at his other recent videos. He goes into detail on all aspects of the Russia-Ukraine war

[@dzenan7322]

I don’t think we hear enough praise for Zelensky throughout this war. This guy went from a comedian, to president then to fight mighty Putin and not once did he back down so far.

[@bananian]

I think it would have went down like Crimea had it not been for him, and of course the people who overthrew yani

[@theprogressivecynic2407]

Yeah, if the leader of a nation runs out the door the moment a war starts, it devastates morale and dramatically reduces the military effectiveness. If the leader, who presumably has the most information, thinks that it's hopeless, then soldiers don't see a point in fighting. If Zelensky ran, it likely would have been over before the aid could even make a difference.

[@mikelittle5250]

you forgot to mention in contrast, Putin went from President to comedian

[@Thee-_-Outlier]

You need to be slapped

[@TremereTT]

I will praise him if he will step down after the war and free press and democratic elections take place in Ukraine. Then he would get a statue in every European capital.

[@evanb4189]

26:17 Thar should be "Ice fishers in Siberia". Serbia is a different country near Greece.

[@mikaeljonsson4686]

Must say it! You´re a GREAT speaker! 👍 Found your channel just now, you´ve got a new subscriber!

[@cindianajones9049]

Thank you for the time, effort and clarity that you put into these analyses. Zelenskys behavior throughout this whole awful mess, has raised the bar for leadership. It's nearly impossible not to admire him... flaws and all.

[@justinpaul3110]

Excellent video, as always. One detail that seems to be forgotten about that I do recall from last year: I know there was skepticism about a Russian invasion of Ukraine because the force accumulation was considered insufficient for a successful invasion and the placement of troops and materials was strategically poor. I recall some thought it was a bluff. Also, I do think there's something wrong with Putin. If you compared a picture of him just two years ago (as opposed to 8, like you did) the aging is far more obvious.

[@Emanon...]

I was one of those people. I didn't believe that they had the force to push through and that the exercises was a political ploy. In my mind: If Putin actually wanted to subjugate Ukraine, why did he give them 8 years since 2014 to train and re-arm their forces? It just didn't add up at the time...

[@JULIAN11.]

It was insufficient, if you were based in reality it was insufficient, it should have been at least 3 times higher (Around ~700k), and even then success wasn't completely guarantied But if you are based on a fantasy, a fantasy that said that the US and Europe won't help Ukraine, that the Ukrainian army is just a bit better than it was in 2014, that the Ukrainian people were mostly going to receive the Russians as liberators, that you army is modern and very well trained then ~200k troops were sufficient If Russia wasn't such a big corrupt mess, where people give far better numbers than what they actually are to their superiors so they don't get punished, and then that superior makes those number better before handing them out to his superior and then his superior... you get what I mean, If it wasn't like that plus the widespread corruption then this war wouldn't had happend because anyone that looks at the actual correct numbers would know that a successful invasion would be almost imposible

[@ianstewart6021]

Great report mate. Keep going. 👋👋👋

[@judithcampbell1705]

This is my first time watching you. You did an excellent job, thank you.

[@BrandonOrtizCasas]

William still uploading videos to downplay the fact he sabotaged the Nord Stream. What a legend.

[@weldercody1]

This video was more in depth than others I've seen...especially about this topic.

[@furerorban1488]

dont forget the ukronazis and their blut und boden aka language law which declared that only the ukrainian and the nenec are native people on the land and jews gipsies roma russians should be eliminated

[@donatta1857]

Useless propaganda

[@georgestem2039]

@@donatta1857100%

[@winthanttun5814]

Wow such a good conclusion on the whole event , you deserved more subs. Thank you for the video.

[@QuasiRandomViewer]

20:24 "Undoubtedly, some within the FSB were skeptical of the official reports." Several times when the FSB (Federal Security Service) is mentioned, Sergey Naryshkin, head of the SVR (Foreign Intelligence Service) is shown.

[@QuasiRandomViewer]

Properly identified at 29:53.

[@zephyrast3036]

Zooming in on the pencils next to Putin was great haha

[@olehdovban6540]

The problem with authoritarisn that people who secure the power eventualy loose true picture of reality and because of that they inevitably make wrong decisions

[@hanro50]

That and people who say "Wait, this is a bad idea" tend to become more scarce.

[@JesusChristMarie]

I being cautious when I say this, but I think that thus far, the defense of Ukraine has been highly successful. This was the first time ever that a unified west stood up militarily to a major power, and it displays a good level of unity and cohesion among NATO members. I don’t know what the future will hold, and there will be much more suffering, but I think that as long as the US and its allies supply Ukraine with everything it needs to continue the fight, the odds are good.

[@DWman1997kmaster]

I think right now one of the main pictures is how these Spring offensives work. If Ukraine can take over the Oblasts of Dontesk and Kherson, they can cut off the land bridge to Crimea (which is it's own nut to crack.) However, Putin being pushed all the way back to 2014 borders despite the massive loss in life is not a good sign. I read this morning Putin told Russian Million/Billionaires to "put patriotisms before profit." When your country is essentially an oligarchy of the very rich (Similar to US) then this is a huge sign of weakness.

[@siewloonpor5088]

Did Zelensky name his party after his TV show ?😂😂He is too funny and find it hard to dislike him.

[@Gal_Moran]

One of your greatest videos! Informative and super interesting even more than usual

[@ukrainianigor]

agree!

[@aJarrowLad525]

I think it would be a good idea to hear an alternative view

[@aJarrowLad525]

O dear me

[@thaduece6376]

@@aJarrowLad525 go watch Douglas MacGregor Col. One of few ppl I've seen tell truth from start of this

[@alex.velasco]

@@aJarrowLad525 Nice try, Russian troll.

[@secretarykilkennychoir7137]

Brilliant, concise summary. Putin is dealing with intense pain when he clutches the table and wiggles his foot. Looks like nerve pain to me.

[@tiahenry4743]

No he just does it.

[@stereomaster4231]

PooTin built this persona that can't quit the Ukraine invasion. It'll be interesting to see how this all ends for him.

[@garynew9637]

Let's see how it ends for nato/usa

[@stereomaster4231]

One delusional old man vs 500 million humans. You must really love old sick KGB agent?

[@alexxie6963]

@@garynew9637 prosperously

[@elkosins1686]

Zelenskyy looks so uncomfortable wearing a suit and tie I gotta say the military fatigues work way better

[@tinawilson4120]

Putin will kill every man that's in Russia just to prove his point