A few months ago, this would have seemed impossible.

from
https://pjmedia.com/vodkapundit/2022/09/12/ukraine-strikes-multiple-targets-inside-russia-more-deputies-call-for-putins-ouster-n1628687?utm_source=pjmedia&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl_pm&bcid=893610eff4e6a5bc8df6b64626036cd266c0b90a528f48a482db66f5495cbcc4&recip=22426602

Ukraine Strikes Multiple Targets INSIDE Russia, More Deputies Call for
Putin's Ouster
BY STEPHEN GREEN SEP 12, 2022 1:53 PM ET

AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti
Ukraine hit targets inside Russia in the past few hours, complicating
Russian efforts to stabilize their lines.

The weekend rout of Russian forces out of the Kharkiv Oblast (region) is
nearly complete, and all signs indicate that Ukraine is moving quickly
to continue the counteroffensive into the disputed Donetsk Oblast.

Meanwhile, in Russia’s capital and second-largest city:

BREAKING:
Deputies in 18 districts of Moscow and St Petersburg have signed a
statement demanding that Putin resign.
"President Putin's actions are detrimental to the future of Russia and
its citizens."

I’ll get back to Russia’s domestic politics shortly, but first let’s
look at their deteriorating position on the ground in Ukraine — and
inside their own borders, too.

The Ukraine Army barely paused for breath after clearing almost all of
Kharkiv of Russian forces in a six-day counteroffensive that was
basically wrapped up on Saturday. But that doesn’t mean the advance has
stopped, as forces move into position to retake more and more of Donetsk.

This first video is from Russia’s Taganrog Air Base, which is home to a
military air transport unit. It’s in Russia’s Rostov Oblast, about
halfway between the cities of Rostov-on-Don and Russian-occupied
Mariupol. That’s in the south on the Azov Sea.

Translation: “A powerful explosion occurred in Taganrog, according to
Russian media and Telegram channels. Explosions were heard in Rostov,
Azov, Taganrog, Novoshakhtinsk, Mines, Novocherkassk, Aksai and Yeysk.”

It isn’t yet clear whether the strike on Taganrog Air Base was so loud
that it was heard in all of those locations, or if there were strikes on
various locations in Rostov.

UPDATE: As it turns out, the video above is actually from Ukraine’s
strike last month on Saki Air Base in Crimea. So I’m less sure what was
it in the Taganrog area, but it was heard for miles.

In Ukraine’s north, something is up in the Russian city of Belgorod.

Long lines of cars can be seen fleeing the city.

Belgorod is about as far from the Russia-Ukraine border as Kharkiv is,
and this isn’t the first time Ukraine has struck there. But with Russian
forces cleared out of Kharkiv Oblast, there might not be much in the way
of Russian forces left to defend Belgorod.

With Kharkiv basically back in Kyiv’s possession, the battle turns east
toward Donetsk without pause.

Due to the speed of Ukraine’s advance and the heavily forested terrain,
Russian troops have left behind untold ammunition stores and abandoned
countless vehicles.

When the roads are covered by the other guy’s HIMARS missiles, you stay
off the roads and flee on foot.

It appears the greatest danger Ukraine faces is overextending and
exposing themselves to local ambushes or even an encirclement. But
unless and until the Russian Army gets its act back together, the risk
seems low. Even the Air Force is suffering increased difficulties in
recent days.

None of these developments are lost on Russia’s politicians or public
figures.

PJ Media’s own Rick Moran reported on Saturday that “five Russian
municipal deputies from St. Petersburg have been arrested after
publishing a request to the Duma to have Vladimir Putin arrested and
charged with treason.”

Under Russian law, those five deputies could face the death penalty —
but they won’t be alone.

On Monday, 20 more municipal deputies from both Moscow and St.
Petersburg signed a similar petition.

“We, the municipal deputies of Russia, believe that the actions of
President V. V. Putin are detrimental to the future of Russia and its
citizens.”

“We demand Vladimir Putin’s resignation as President of the Russian
Federation!” reads the text of the petition, signed by about 20 deputies.

Torstrem emphasized that “the text of the petition is laconic” and does
not “discredit anyone.

As I write this, there have been no reports of further arrests.

Further down the political food chain lie Russia’s milbloggers — but not
that much further down.

For our VIPs: The Pity of War: Ukraine Edition

Milbloggers serve an important role in how the Kremlin shapes narrative
and public perceptions about all things military. As semi-independent,
pro-Russia voices, their words carry weight with the Russian public.

One group of milbloggers I follow is Russian With Attitude, because they
provide timely and generally accurate updates of events on the ground —
served up with a bit of attitude.

Today they’re reduced to lashing out at Ukraine in general.

Ukraine War Update

I used the RWA guys as an example, but the negative feelings are
widespread in the milblogging community:

Russian milbloggers voiced concern that this Ukrainian counterattack
seeks to cut ground lines of communication (GLOCs) to Russian rear areas
in Kupyansk and Izyum, which would allow Ukrainian troops to isolate the
Russian groupings in these areas and retake large swaths of territory.
These milbloggers used largely panicked and despondent tones,
acknowledged significant Ukrainian gains, and claimed that the Ukrainian
counteroffensive in the south may be a distraction from the ongoing
actions in Kharkiv Oblast, which they name as the main Ukrainian effort.

That was from four days ago, before Kyiv’s Kharkiv counteroffensive had
realized even half the gains we see today. There’s no reason to believe
their mood has brightened any since then.

Think of all those Russian soldiers, thrown into the meat grinder. The
ending that Vladimir Putin deserves is his own military giving him the
Full Ceaușescu Treatment.

But I have the feeling that however this stupid, needless war ends, it
won’t end soon -certainly not soon enough.

Stephen Green
Steve launched VodkaPundit on a well-planned whim in 2002, and has been
with PJ Media since its launch in 2005. He served as one of the hosts of
PJTV, a pioneer in internet broadcasting. He also cohosts "Right Angle"
with Bill Whittle and Scott Ott at BillWhittle.com. He lives with his
wife and sons in the wooded hills of Monument, Colorado, where he enjoys
the occasional adult beverage.
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