Hi Foxy,
Regards Putins speech:
One thing that annoys me with western media, why don't they just link to the source and afford the reader the ability to make up their own mind about it, instead of relying on their 'opinion' of it, including cherry picked parts that can be taken out of context.
- Even your 'opinion of someone elses opinion', have misquoted parts, and thus now allowed those parts in the full context of what was said.
The Kremlin even has English translations, no need for the reader to guess, link below.
Why comment about something you haven't watched or read?
http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/70315
Furthermore for one, you're relying on a government funded service,
- of a government is party to the conflict.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaaction/about/funding
- Secondly, funded by USAID, Bill and Melinda Gates, UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, European Union and others.
Thirdly, 'Censorship in British Broadcasting: The Government's Role'
http://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1285&context=uhp_theses
- And that's before we even get to the author.

If you want a less bias commentary on his speech, as well as the questions you raised answered, try this instead.
http://youtu.be/f9RdjkPjjQA?t=526

Hi shadowminister,
"...Russians acknowledge that there were up to 700 people in the building at the time of the attack..."
- Do you please have a link or source to that info?
"The photos of the large multistory building after the attack was that the entire building was completely destroyed leaving only a pile of rubble."
- I haven't seen the photos but yes I'm told the place was more or less completely vapourised.
"Between partisans on the ground, US satellites and the HIMARS accuracy of 1m the Russian penchant for still closely grouping their men and munition is either stupidity or incompetence."
- Agreed, no arguments from me there.

The Ukrainian army kept its troops in barracks until it lost over 100 in a cruise missile attack. The Russian army has no choice: If they put the troops in small groups they have a problem with desertion. I also read that there was warning of the Himars strike, but the Russian command structure meant they could not make a decision to save themselves without the approval of their commanding officer: The strike came before the call was returned.

What is awful is putting your troops and ordinance together, indicative of the value the Russian army places on its troops.

Armchair Critic,

I see that you are still buying into Putin's
"alternative reality," concerning the war.

I did link into the Kremlin source.
I did read the entire Putin speech.
BBC's Steve Rosenberg did an excellent
summation. That's why I used it.

I have no further interest in communicating with you.
I'm sure there's plenty of kindred spirits on this
forum who you can talk to

Hi Foxy,
"I see that you are still buying into Putin's 'alternative reality,' concerning the war."
- No offense, but I'm starting to think your mind exists in an alternate reality.

"I did link into the Kremlin source."
- No you didn't, you've added 3 links on this thread, one to a BBC article but it's not Rosenbergs, one to a foreignpolicy.com article you had 3 goes at, and another to an article at journalofdemocracy.org
We can all see what you've posted.

"I did read the entire Putin speech."
- I find this extremely doubtful considering your entire comment came from Rosenbergs piece, here:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64138731
- With no mention of anything else whatsoever in Putin's ACTUAL speech.

I'm thinking 'liar', and 'liar' but I don't want to say it.
Oops.

"What is awful is putting your troops and ordinance together, indicative of the value the Russian army places on its troops."
- Lives just thrown away.

This whole damn war is awful Fester.
And sadly there'll be plenty more lives taken needlessly before it's over.
- And this is why I don't support western sponsored coups.

Between NATO and Russia, neither side can afford to concede.
This one here seen smiling has more blood on her hands that any other.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Victoria_Nuland_2021.jpg

To all the mum's out there on both sides of this conflict;
Whose boys will never be comimg home, you all have my deepest sympathies.

"This whole damn war is awful"

Well said, AC. I get the impression that the Russians are nearing a point of not being able to sustain their war machine. I also have a suspicion that the people in the occupied territories wont be all that sad if the Russians are forced out. Tipping off the Ukrainians as to where the Russians are bunking will hasten their departure.