Sun Tzu Illustrated

Warthog Defense - Ukraine's kick-ass operation.

Some takeaways

• "Sunshine Forces"
• Whenever practicable, isolate and bypass
• Don't press a desperate adversary too hard - leave him an out

Times Radio - Putin's failures

Putin met with Xi, probably expecting China's help, if not some kind of supportive rhetoric, which he didn't get.

Putin says Xi has questions and concerns over Ukraine

SAMARKAND, Uzbekistan, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said he understood that Xi Jinping had questions and concerns about the situation in Ukraine but praised China's leader for what he said was a "balanced" position on the conflict.

Russia's war has killed tens of thousands of people and pushed the global economy into uncharted waters with soaring food and energy prices amid the biggest confrontation between Moscow and the West since the Cold War.

At their first face-to-face meeting since the war, Xi said he was very happy to meet "my old friend" again after Putin said U.S. attempts to create a unipolar world would fail.

"We highly value the balanced position of our Chinese friends when it comes to the Ukraine crisis," Putin told Xi, whom he addressed as "Dear Comrade Xi Jinping, dear friend".

It's not unreasonable to think "balanced position" can be translated to mean "neutral", which means "Nope - you're on your own". Putin needs allies, and he's not getting them.

"We understand your questions and concern about this. During today's meeting, we will of course explain our position, we will explain in detail our position on this issue, although we have talked about this before."

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And then Modi piled on:

India's Modi tells Putin: Now is not an era of war

SAMARKAND, Uzbekistan, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday that now was not a time for war, directly assailing the Kremlin chief in public over the nearly seven-month-long conflict in Ukraine.

Locked in a confrontation with the West over the war, Putin has repeatedly said Russia is not isolated because it can look eastwards to major Asian powers such as China and India.

But at a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), concerns spilled out into the open.

"I know that today's era is not an era of war, and I have spoken to you on the phone about this," Modi told Putin at a televised meeting in the ancient Uzbek Silk Road city of Samarkand. read more

As Modi made the remark, Russia's paramount leader since 1999 pursed his lips, glanced at Modi and then looked down before touching the hair on the back of his head.

Putin told Modi that he understood the Indian leader had concerns about Ukraine, but that Moscow was doing everything it could to end the conflict.

"I know your position on the conflict in Ukraine, the concerns that you constantly express," Putin said. "We will do everything to stop this as soon as possible."

He said Ukraine had rejected negotiations.

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It grows more likely that Putin will not survive this war.