Gen. Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forcse and First Deputy Minister of defense, via AP
Originally published by ZeroHedge
A lengthy and wide-ranging New York Times assessment of “Putin’s War” detailing the last ten months of how a “walk in the park” became a catastrophe for Russia – as the story is sub headed – includes a particular bombshell buried deep within the narrative which has yet to be subject of widespread reporting.
US officials cited in the report say that Ukraine’s military and intelligence attempted to assassinate General Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, even after American officials urged against such a brazen action of unpredictable consequences, on fears it would invite uncontrollable Russian military escalation.
While the key details embedded within the dozens of pages-long NYT Saturday report have received scant notice in broader US mainstream media, Russian state media has certainly already taken note, with TASS – among others – highlighting it.
The alleged Ukrainian attempt for a ‘decapitation strike’ on Russia’s top commander and Putin’s military right-hand during the planning phase involved Washington pleading for Kiev to call off an attack, only for US officials to find out they already launched it.
It reportedly happened in late April, during a time period in which unnamed American officials boasted that US intelligence was helping the Ukrainians take out Russian generals who were positioned on or just behind front-lines of fighting, as we detailed at the time.
In its new reporting, the Times says that last Spring, Russia’s top military brass decided it was necessary for generals to make trips to the front lines due to worsening morale: “But the generals made a deadly mistake: They positioned themselves near antennas and communications arrays, making them easy to find, the Americans said.” NYT describes further as follows in this key section of the report, thus allowing US intel to begin identifying top commanders’ whereabouts on the Ukrainian battlefield:
“Ukraine started killing Russian generals, yet the risky Russian visits to the front lines continued. Finally, in late April, the Russian chief of the general staff, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, made secret plans to go himself.”
The US apparently knew of the ‘secret’ trip in real-time, leading to the dilemma of whether to share the information with the Ukrainians. But the Times’ sources say Washington “kept the information from the Ukrainians, worried they would strike.”
The driving concern was that a provocation of that magnitude would increase the likelihood of direct war between nuclear-armed superpowers. The NY Times reveals what happened next:
The Ukrainians learned of the general’s plans anyway, putting the Americans in a bind. After checking with the White House, senior American officials asked the Ukrainians to call off the attack.
“We told them not to do it,” a senior American official said. “We were like, ‘Hey, that’s too much.’”
The message arrived too late. Ukrainian military officials told the Americans that they had already launched their attack on the general’s position.
Dozens of Russians were killed in the strike, officials said. General Gerasimov wasn’t one of them.
Gerasimov is the equivalent of Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest-ranking military officer…
And as the report concludes of that key time period of April to May, “Russian military leaders scaled back their visits to the front after that.”
In May, unnamed senior American officials had begun leaking to US media greater intelligence-sharing with Kiev. This had reportedly led to the Ukrainians having killed in pinpoint strikes an estimated 12 Russian generals, which during those opening months of the invasion was an astonishingly high number (given the rarity in any war of deaths from among these highest officer ranks).
The month prior to that, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin bluntly admitted of policy aims in Ukraine that the US wants to see a greatly “weakened” Russia. “We want to see Russia weakened to the degree it cannot do the kinds of things that it has done in invading Ukraine,” he had said at the time.
If the Ukrainians had managed to kill Gen. Gerasimov, it’s very possible the world could have already been in the throes of nuclear Armageddon. But thankfully this scenario until now has been avoided, but very narrowly …if the fresh NYT revelations are indeed accurate.
As many other “claims” and “presumptions” this one is a just another projection of The Empire of Lies’ own practices or thinking. Russia would never launch nuclear strike for loosing a general or even higher official. Everyone is replaceable.
No, not everybody is replaceable. Come to think of it, practically nobody. Your grandfather isn‘t, neither your daughter. But I agree the US claims are absurd. They‘d kill the general if they could.
In any respectable chain of command, anyone is replaceable.
This was the strength of the Roman army, they had reserves of commanders, of allies, of legionnaires etc. Russian commanders are greater than Alexander The Great, they cultivate their chain of command… Alexander Suvorov, probably the greatest military scientist since Sun Tzu was from the Russian breed so they know quite a few on military art and science, they have a school of military thought.
I believe though , Dushan is right , he seems to know what’s the Russian thinking about. I don’t like the last paragraph of the article , it looks like insinuation , Russians MoD would start nuclear Harmaggedon because of personal revenge , just the narrativ of MSM relating to Putin and Kremlin. There is however no reason to believe that. Rather the opposite : Russians seem to fight this war very rational.
Russia would respond “symetrically” which would mean assassinating a US general. Of course this could lead to nuclear war.
I pity the poor Ukrainians who skedaddled off to Europe seeking safe haven. If nukes ever started flying, the locals would tear them apart limb from limb anywhere they found them.
Western mainstream media would have a hernia if it ever spoke anything resembling the truth. By now, most westerners know it, but only the alpha males will admit it. The rest are sheeple with government issued blinders.
That makes me an Alpha male for saying this everywhere, all the time, to anybody? 😁
I never knew it is that easy…
Awwwww… Another alpha cuckold showed up with his dick in hand.
The US gives coordinates of the positions of the generals and then constructs plausible deniability and then adds propaganda for the US media.
@LED
It not worth troubling. It is war against both USA and Russia, infact also against Europe.
https://joshf731.substack.com/p/pre-planned-jewish-collapse-of-the
Russians need to know that not “the USA” or “the Europeans” are the problem , but this is =>
https://shorturl.me/we0Ay
Yep. This is smoke of war, another BS written by Biden the Clown™ like the secretly modified “hardware and software” of the HIMARS rocket launchers bound for Ukraine.
Biden the Clown™, Anglo-Ameriscums™ are trademarks of Carlo, a high ranking commentator to SouthFront. Any abusive use of these terms is encouraged
OK, will do. I also encourage the use of my just concocted ditty concerning US support for UA:
“A friend in need is a friend to bleed”
May it go viral on the interscape.
A friend in need is a friend to bleed.
LOL
Yeah, what would have been achieved by that?!
Russians have reserves, nothing would have really changed, only more hate from Russian military towards Ukronazis. Maybe they would have taken seriously the problem of Ukraine by now…
Like always Western media reporting is always full of contradictions, Q? how can one spot a person lying now exactly that by their contradictory statements and inconsistencies which seem all part of these propaganda stories of the NYT and all the other state depending media outlets come out with, they want the reader to give the impression that they the West control the battlefield, is winning the war and ultimately the narrative all I hear are lies and half-truths!
I’m really the only one to think that removing an incompetent top general could only improve Russian changes?
Its way past time Russia incinerated the Ukraine Regime leadership.
I recall a meeting of senior Russian officers on the battle lines on the Northern sector was shelled by the Ukies.
I forget the actual date, but it was in the Spring or early Summer, I think. General Gerasimov was absent from the briefings for a few days after he returned to Russia.
Some senior officers and other ranks were killed or wounded.
Whether it was Telegram or Southfront, or both, who reported this at the time, I am not sure.
Slava Rossiya.
At the time this happened it was known that they got the information from USA IIRC the Ukrainian side said so. That the USA denies it and says they told the Ukrainian side to not do it is the official communication since the USA understands the consequences of such action.
If you factor in the Russian response to all of the other Western/Ukrainian Provocations, I can guarantee you that even if a Russian General was assassinated, the Cowardly Russians would have just stood by hand done nothing! Man they sure don’t breed Russians like they did their Forefathers in WW2, today Modern Russians can only Cower in Fear of their Enemies, their Forefathers would be so ashamed if they were still alive!
You will find those russians from ww2 in the ukrainian armed forces.
Slavic men who can only choose to either fight for the devil who rules them and have a chance of survival or be killed by the henchmen of the devil.
In WW2 the russians fought cause the georgian despot stalins had jewish commisarys standing behind them ready to kill them if they do not march forward.
Now the ukrainians fight cause the jewish despot zelinsky has galician banderist deathsquads standing behind them ready to kill them if they do not march forward.
The equivalent of the sowjets then is not russia but ukraine. Not in ideology or geopolitical alignment but in the methods.
Back then stalin did not see the slavic soldiers of all russian lands as anything more then his cannonfodder and now zelinsky is seeing the slavic soldiers of ukraine as his cannonfodder. The jews have allready left to safety as have their most important employess. And the galicians are the ones standing behind the slavs who are the only ones who fight and die.
I thought the ‘walk in the park’ was what all the NATO honchos were talking about, after beefing up their incredible and invincible Ukrainian anti-terror terrorists, and then finding out they were just another bunch of Syrian-style ISIS jihadis.
Two can play the same game! Does the regime in Kiev actually think there would be no response to a terrorist attack of this nature against the Russian leadership then they should think again……
Russia should kill 12 yankee generals as reward. Incredible the arrogance shown by the West.
Russia would have killed Zelenski and Gen Milley.
Military are being geolocated on battlefield by blue tooth low energy via the four nano meter chips in the shots. A b ourla is responsible for eliminating more israelis than the extremists combined.
This is clearly stupid propaganda. The US or Kiev did not know about the visit, nor could they have struck him anyway, the Russians had all their air defense systems and air assets on high alert.
Many Russian generals, ambassadors and senior military officers plus a whole national military orchestra have been killed by Israel and Anglo-Sax without Kremlin lifting a little finger.
To maintain good relationship with our global partners are more important………………LOL.
Ever thought about why you can’t kill death? :)
What a jokers the are.
This story is complete BS – and utter nonsense for wasting editorial space
“We told them not to do it,” a senior American official said. “We were like, ‘Hey, that’s too much.’”
WTF and some morons believe any filth that the Joo Yawk Times screed spews? C’mon man.
It happened in syria
General Valery Gerasimov, Chefe do Estado-Maior das Forças. A cara dele não negar, está cheio de vodka, cara de ressaca.
The irony is that within ten years the U.S will be cut in half and won’t be doing even a fraction of the foreign involvement that it has been in the last 50 years.