John Spencer
@SpencerGuard
Followers
223,526
Following
999
Media
2,170
Statuses
30,576
Chair of Urban Warfare Studies @warinstitute | Author, Understanding Urban Warfare | Host, UWP podcast | Thoughts my own ≠ Offical Gov | Follow, RTs ≠ endorse
United States
Joined October 2016
Don't wanna be here?
Send us removal request.
Explore trending content on Musk Viewer
Anitta
• 370803 Tweets
STARGAZING CLUB
• 229981 Tweets
#الهلال_الفتح
• 95295 Tweets
Melania
• 83508 Tweets
Adana
• 56715 Tweets
シンデレラ
• 54657 Tweets
オーディション
• 54238 Tweets
あんスタ
• 42313 Tweets
Kristi Noem
• 40166 Tweets
Ben Gvir
• 35305 Tweets
#ADSvGS
• 35292 Tweets
#KKRvsPBKS
• 33928 Tweets
新キャラ
• 33923 Tweets
Howard Stern
• 31166 Tweets
Knuckles
• 28875 Tweets
Arda
• 28457 Tweets
シャッフル
• 19313 Tweets
Shashank Singh
• 17618 Tweets
القحطاني
• 17470 Tweets
التعاون
• 17270 Tweets
LET'S COUNT 12345
• 16616 Tweets
Narine
• 15471 Tweets
Bairstow
• 14544 Tweets
Punjab Kings
• 14524 Tweets
Kerem
• 11542 Tweets
Pinned Tweet
Khan Yunis, Gaza. There is no replacement in understanding a battle or war than walking the ground. I had that privilege to walk with the
@IDF
Division Commander leading the fight against Hamas, seeing the challenges, talking to the soldiers, feeling the terrain. Ty
@GAvrilingi
327
487
3K
Just in case you are still not informed. Ukraine has launched the greatest counteroffensive since World War II. Ukraine has regained/liberated over 1,000 km of land & cities. Ukraine is winning. Ukraine is defeating Russia (once thought to be the second most powerful military)!
1K
15K
108K
I just watched the roughly 45-minute footage of October 7th at a private screening in NYC. Here are my immediate thoughts minutes after watching it. 🧵
4K
21K
54K
So I've been asked what my advice would be to civilian resistors in Ukriane, especially Kyiv. Someone with no military training but wanting to resist. Here are a few things
#Kyiv
#UkraineUnderAttack
:
843
17K
44K
I just watched the video showing Russian soldiers cutting off the genitalia of Ukrainian POWs. How do you unsee that? WTF are we waiting on to halt this evil? Stop incrementally sending weapons, we all know they need- 100 MLRS, all types of rounds, ATACMs, tanks, etc, send it! 🤬
2K
10K
36K
"History only remembers the victors, only the strong and the brave."
President Zelensky in Bakhmut. No script, no teleprompter, only pure leadership! Historic leadership!
1K
6K
34K
This makes me very sad. Like I am not doing enough. I have girls this age. We (the world) must do more to help Ukraine. I understand all the political and escalation lines. I don’t care. We can and must do more.
986
6K
33K
“I am changed forever more [after watching the Oct 7th video], there is your context madam presidents…this is not about a territorial dispute, it’s not about oppressors and the oppressed, it’s not about religion or ideology. Any agenda that was on the table before October 6 is…
1K
6K
24K
Merry Christmas to all the soldiers around the world not with their loved ones, but rather standing guard or fighting so I can be with mine.
190
2K
22K
An insane photo from Kharkiv, Ukraine today. Two police officers looking at a fragment pile of Russian rockets that hit Ukraine's second largest city. h/t
@alexbakus
#Kharkiv
#Ukraine
️
#ArmUkraineNow
#RussianWarCrimes
567
8K
22K
I hated having to watch the video. You can’t unsee the evil shown in it. No one should want to see it, but the horrors of that day should never be forgotten. Never rationalized away. The phrase in my head the whole time “Never Again” from the past, but I was watching it again.
888
3K
22K
Kherson is Ukraine!
Zaporizhzhia is Ukraine!
Donetsk is Ukraine!
Luhansk is Ukraine!
Crimea is Ukraine!
2K
3K
21K
Russia loses over an entire battalion of men, tanks, equipment in trying to cross a single river, but talks big against Finland 🤔
513
3K
21K
Yes please
@LEGO_Group
I will buy one for each of my three kids, and one for me of course. Immediately!
345
4K
21K
You are not a sniper, but you can put fear in their hearts if they think there are snipers everywhere. Again take care of yourselves to be able to resist. Drink water. 3 days without water and you won't be able to fight. More later.
187
2K
17K
His speech was not Churchillian, it was Zelenskillian. It was excellent.
"When I was in Bakhmut yesterday, our heroes gave me their battle flag...they asked me to bring it here...let this flag stay with you...this flag is a symbol of our victory...We will win because we stand and fight. Ukraine, America, and the entire free world."
54
786
4K
227
2K
17K
I am still in awe. A President visiting his troops, his people, on the very front line, with the enemy less than 10km away. A man who rose to the occasion and became the leader his people needed. A historic hero for others to embody. Be more like
@ZelenskyyUa
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited Kherson, the biggest prize his troops have won so far, and vowed to press on recapturing all occupied lands
153
438
3K
580
3K
17K
Genocide committed in Ukraine! Reports/photos show civilians w/their hands tied behind their backs, shot in head. Could be thousands. Mass graves. Massacre of Bucha, northwest of Kyiv. I pray the cover of all our newspapers tomorrow show front page. The U.S. must intervene!
550
4K
16K
A legend has been freed. Give the equivalent of a Medal of Honor. Protect him.
190
951
16K
Stop listening to the opinions of people with a lot of money, followers, or fame but with zero education or experience in strategy, geo-politics, history, or military disciplines. No, actually Ukraine does not have to make peace or come to terms with Russia to end the war.
385
3K
15K
Three point peace plan in Ukraine:
1. Removal of all Russian military forces from sovereign Ukraine land.
2. Return home of every single Ukrainian citizen kidnapped by Russia. Men, women, children!
3. Payment plan for all damages caused by Russia’s illegal invasion.
515
3K
15K
I still strongly believe the U.S. should provide
#Ukraine
ATACMS, Grey Eagle, Patriot missile systems, & more. It will greatly assist in ending Russia's illegal war quicker. Stop appeasing Putin. The longer the war continues, the risks of escalation/spill-over actually increase.
795
2K
15K
You have the power but you have to fight smart. The urban defense is hell for any soldier. It usually take 5 attackers to 1 defender. Russians do not have the numbers. Turn Kyiv and any urban area leading to Kyiv into a porcupine.
74
2K
14K
Since there has been a sudden burst of experts on the handling of prisoners of war, here is what I see from the photos of the
@IDF
and Hamas prisoners of war in Gaza. 🧵
760
3K
14K
This was my M2 Bradley in Baghdad, Iraq, 2008. There are many like it, but this was mine. I am looking forward to seeing pictures of Bradleys in Ukraine soon.
#ArmUkraineNow
568
1K
14K
I've seen my share of evil firsthand around the world in wars of the Middle East/Ukraine/etc. I've seen heinous cruelty/dehumanization/mutilations. I've looked evil men in the eye. But I've never seen so many evil men (hundreds, thousands) show such joy in committing their acts.
108
3K
13K
To the United States Congress: I support Ukraine 100% until victory. And I vote. I’m watching to see which US representatives and senators have a moral backbone and which are cowardly and weak. Slava Ukraini! 🇺🇦
To the United States Congress: I support Ukraine 100% until victory. And I vote. I’m watching to see which US representatives and senators have a moral backbone and which are cowardly and weak. Slava Ukraini! 🇺🇦
212
704
4K
478
2K
13K
"[U.S.] Air-defense system is finally doing what it was designed for, 40 years later...No one was 100% sure that the Patriot was capable of destroying a Kh-47 hypersonic missile...Ukrainians proved it.”" Ukraine is fighting for us all.
719
2K
13K
My name is John Spencer. I am the Chair of Urban Warfare Studies. I have fought in the hell that is urban warfare. I have studied and written about it for almost a decade. I have advised many militaries. These are my standing orders for the urban defenders.
201
3K
13K
Go out and build obstacles in the streets! Start with any bridge you can find (they should have been destroyed). Block them with cars, trucks, concrete, wood, trash, anything! Then block any spot in the city where there are tall buildings on each side. Already tight areas.
69
2K
13K
Kyiv most be held. Ukraine is winning. Not losing is winning. The one objective of the Russian Army is to move as quickly as possible to encircle (isolate) and penetrate
#Kyiv
More humble advice from
#urbanwarfare
history/studies:
155
2K
13K
The days are numbered for the Russian military in Ukraine.
445
745
12K
"But the price of not supporting them [Ukraine] will be much higher...you should care about your own security interest...step up and provide support, full stop." Europe must do more!
#ArmUkraineNow
#RussiaIsCollapsing
#russiaisateroriststate
#russia
#ukraine
#PutinsWar
396
3K
12K
Do NOT stand in the open and shoot or throw anything (to include molotov cocktail) at a Russian soldier or vehicles. Shoot from windows, behind cars, around alleyway corners. Build positions (concrete best) to fire from.
42
2K
12K
Yes, use your molotov cocktails. Think about where you will stand to throw (then run). Dropping from windows above vehicles most ideal. Vehicles without weapons on top the most vulnerable, but if it is armor, choose where to hit.
51
3K
12K
IMO Israel has implemented more measure to prevent civilian casualties in urban warfare than any other military in the history of war. This includes many measure the U.S. has (or has not) taken in wars & battles but also many measures no military in the world has ever taken. 🧵
1K
4K
12K
I understand now why this video must be selectively shown. You can't watch it without be in some way traumatized. I will never forget the children. Photo after photo of dead children in their PJs. Mickey Mouse, Stitch (my daughter loves at the moment). Covered in blood. Dead.
184
2K
12K
If it is a street you still need to use. Build a S pattern obstacle that still slows a vehicle down. Think police check point (which you could set up if you wanted to catch saboteurs before military reach your location)
25
2K
11K
.
@joerogan
you are very wrong on Israel and how the war is going in Gaza. I just got back from Gaza. I am one of the world’s leading experts on urban warfare. Let’s have a conversation about the facts, opinions, disinformation, myths about it and the history of warfare.
2K
2K
12K
Again, your survival to fight is important so think hard about where you will shoot from. Elevated positions down long streets. Shoot and run. Ambushes. Aim for the windows and doors of non-armor vehicles. Soldiers in open. One of the greatest fears of a soldier is a sniper.
35
2K
11K
What does Russia have to show for 6 months of an illegal war in sovereign, democratic, free Ukraine? Just a list of strategic failures. A review/🧵
236
2K
11K
You must prepare for the Russians to start using artillery to help their troops. Make sure the places you choose to shoot from are strong. If in a building, make holes in the walls so you can shoot from and bigger ones to move to other rooms or buildings. You must survive.
30
2K
11K
Once you have obstacles (never stop building). I really mean thousands of barriers/obstacles. You can decided places to fight. Places to shoot from or ambush any soldier or vehicle that stops or slows down at your obstacles.
19
2K
11K
Russia invades a sovereign nation to fully annex/subjugate 40+ million breaking the fundamental principle of the UN Charter. Russia commits massive war crimes & genocide in Ukraine while the world watches. But
@nytimes
calls Ukraine's fight for freedom "hard-line." Disgusting!
413
2K
11K
The United States can and must fully support BOTH Ukraine and Israel!
It is why we are who we are.
1K
2K
11K
A lot of reports of Ukrainian forces on the march, gaining momentum on the Zaporizhzhia to Melitopol axis. This would be operationally significant, making possible cutting of the land bridge from Russian occupied Crimea to the Donbas.
#SlavaUkraini
on the Sea of Azov…
409
1K
10K
Russia is a threat to global security. It is a state that allows its uniformed soldiers to commit war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, kidnapping, rape, torture w/no state accountability. They are a terrorist regime with a nuclear weapon. They will only stop, if forced.
249
2K
10K
BREAKING: Reports of stand still traffic jams on the Kerch bridge (the bridge linking Ukrainian Crimea to Russia). Other reports of explosion in Crimea.
🙏 Hoping Ukraine struck the Kerch Bridge again!
312
1K
10K
My name is John Spencer. I'm the Chair of Urban Warfare Studies. I have studied & written about urban warfare for near 10 yrs. If I was defending a city, this is what I'd say/do. The manual is rough draft. It will be updated often. PDF download available
227
3K
10K
For god sake will the U.S. send Ukraine ATACMs already?! How many massive Russian terror attacks on Ukrainian civilians will it take to send them what they need to defend themselves? Send tanks, IFVs, planes, ATACMs (a lot of them), air defenses, anything we can!
#ArmUkraineNow
420
2K
10K
A picture of Ukrainians studying resistance tactics, including my material!! I am both humbled and extremely proud.
#urbanwarfare
@ZelenskyyUa
@KyivIndependent
@KyivPost
@CNN
@AnaCabrera
165
928
9K
Form into groups. Ideally 3 to 5 and decided where to shoot at Russians from. You get to decide. Best if coordinated with another group and using your obstacles to slow something and shoot at from concealed and protected positions.
18
1K
9K
"Every day Putin continues this war, Russia becomes weaker, and it will take years - decades - to repair. Putin has not had a single victory. He will go down in history as one of the worst leaders of a state in modern times."
@dagbladet
476
2K
9K
My “Mini-Manual for the Urban Defender” is now available in Farsi. Originally written for Ukraine, now available in 13 different languages.
#urbanwarfare
281
4K
9K
I hope everyone realizes the historic moment of the meeting today in Germany. 40 countries rallied against one. The world is against Putin and Russia. Against the illegal invasion of Ukraine. Against evil. Russia must withdrawal all forces from Ukraine. Now!
179
1K
9K
The video is a compilation of mainly Hamas GoPro cameras/cellphones carried by hundreds of the terrorists, but it also includes Israeli CCTV, car dash cams, traffic cams, first responder cell videos to piece together before, during, and after single events of the massacre.
83
1K
9K
My grandfather fought in World War II. I personally think he would be embarrassed by what we have allowed Putin to do in Ukraine. Never again was supposed to mean something.
256
1K
8K
"Because we didn't want to, quote "provoke Vladimir Putin," By showing weakness we provoked Vladimir Putin...I was deeply disappointed in the United States of America when they (Ukraine) begged us for defensive weapons." I miss John McCain. He screamed to
#ArmUkraineNow
272
2K
8K
So Russia can launch > 80 missiles & Iranian drones at Kyiv playgrounds, apartment bldgs, civilians freely & the U.S. won’t publicly give Ukraine rockets (ATACMS) to help defend their land, inside Ukraine, because we are scared of what Putin will do? Stop the appeasement!
329
1K
8K
To be clear, 30,000 civilians have not died in Gaza. The Hamas run Gaza Health Ministry casualty numbers do not distinguish between Hamas combatants & Palestinian civilian noncombatants. Israel says they have killed over 13,000 members of Hamas. By omission, the Gaza Health…
2K
2K
8K
God damn it that is powerful. This is what I felt when I visited Ukraine to study the battle of Kyiv. A country united, a people fighting for each other, their families, their freedom.
131
2K
8K
You must choose a side. You’re either pro-Ukraine or pro-Russia. You’re pro-good guys or pro-evil guys. Yes, I do try to make objective assessments of the military and political situation. But I am or course pro-Ukrainian (good guys), pro-freedom, pro-democracy, pro-laws of war.
552
1K
8K
I speak for no organization. As a person, a human, I strongly believe we (the west) can & should do more to help
#Ukriane
fight Russia. They are fighting for us. Dying for us. Children, pregnant women. I understand the escalation concerns/constraints, but we can/must do more, NOW
249
1K
8K
The video starts w/ Hamas terrorists riding in the back of trucks armed with AK-47s, RPGs, & a few heavy machine guns, through a cut in the border wall. The terrorists all screaming with joy, yelling over & over “Allahu Akbar!” More trucks & motorcycles into Israel behind them.
38
955
8K
While it is clear a Ukrainian counteroffensive in Kherson is happening, recent reports say Putin has fired 6 more top generals, sidelined his Defense Minister, and is directly commanding the Ukraine war. That is a great recipe for failure.
#SlavaUkraini
513
1K
7K
"There are more than 50 MQ-1Bs predators and 40 C-12 Hurons...that can collect intelligence as well as jam enemy radars...There are more than 100 decommissioned A-10s ready to go." Send it all to Ukraine. Today! They will put it all to use!
559
2K
7K
The more I learn about the Battle of Kyiv, the more impressed I am. The complexity, the critical moments, the valor. The lessons for all militaries are many and I hope to help spread them far and wide.
#urbanwarfare
#RussiaUkraineWar
#Kyiv
128
868
7K
Thanks
@amnesty
for giving me an example to show others what happens when people are disconnected from the realities of war, know little about warfare. Conclusion "Ukraine military should stay and die in the open fields and wooded areas." Shame on you.
362
1K
7K
If the USSR can be excluded from the League of Nations after attacking Finland in 1939, why can’t Russia be excluded from the
@UN
for attacking/invading Ukraine and conducting countless war crimes/genocide in 2022?
#russiaisateroriststate
288
1K
7K
It’s HIMARS’oclock across Ukraine! (Unknown source of photo, but I love it).
97
737
7K
.
@ZelenskyyUa
&
#Ukriane
is teaching the world what military leaders have known for centuries. Soldiers don't fight for dictators or when forced, coerced, or paid to. They fight for a cause, for their families, and for each other. Ukraine has the will & power. They will prevail.
96
1K
7K
First scene is on a hwy in Southern Israel from a vehicle dash cam, over 10 terrorists spread out, shooting down cars, bullets come through the glass, then to Hamas GoPro engaging the car, they approach & shoot the man & woman in the car at close range to ensure they were dead.
26
896
7K
Great! Now let’s do the same in the U.S.
125
1K
7K
Putin has lost his illegal war in Ukraine. He doesn’t have the means to break the will of the Ukrainian people to continue fighting. He doesn’t have the means to break the will of the west supporting Ukraine. The only question is how many Russian soldiers die before he stops?
413
1K
7K
Thank you Russia for your donations to Ukraine’s military. But seriously, it blows my old soldier mind the amounts of vehicles, ammo, supplies reported/seen abandoned by Russian soldiers - panic, no will to fight, broken.
240
1K
7K
Just to be clear, Hamas has no legal basis to take prisoners of war (POWs). Hamas is not a military from a recognized nation. It does not have the right under international law to take IDF soldiers as POWs. In a fantasy world even if they [Hamas as the terrorist body/political…
2K
2K
7K
“To be clear, I am outraged by the civilian casualties in Gaza. But it's crucial to direct that outrage at the right target. And that target is Hamas.
It is outrageous that Hamas spent decades and billions of dollars building tunnels under civilian homes and protected areas for…
1K
2K
7K
I missed this.
@TuckerCarlson
critizied
@ZelenskyyUa
" the president of Ukraine arrived at the White House like the manager of a strip club and started to demand money. Amazingly, no one threw him out.” Tucker is a cancer to American ideas, hate monger.
466
849
7K
Continuing Mariupol research. Interviewed Gena, a former Marine who fought in the Battle of Mariupol, was captured, killed his Russian captors to escape, hid in basements of Mariupol for 9 months, eating dogs/pigeons anything to survive & was eventually rescued🤯Respect!
299
905
7K
The boys are pulled out of the shelter over their dead father’s body by a terrorist. They are taken back into the house, put on the couch in the house. Now sounds vividly of their moans of pain, blood from their injuries covering them, the boys talking to each other “Dad is dead”
29
946
7K
1 Hamas terrorist used an Israeli woman’s cellphone to call his parents “Father I am in...I just killed 10 jews, their blood is in my hands, thank god, tell mom, your son is killing jews.” The man (dad) and woman (mom) he is talking to just yell & reply “kill, kill, kill.”
57
1K
7K
Seconds later a Hamas approaches the shelter the father and sons entered, looks in, and then throws a grenade into it. The father falls out of the shelter dead, clearly having attempted to stand between his sons and the terrorist.
22
927
7K
“You are on the side of Russians, or you are on the side of Ukrainians...You have to choose.” - President Zelensky
100%
617
955
7K
The fact that the UN Charter has NO mechanism to remove a permeant member (oh say when they are committing genocide on another member state, violating the charter) of the UN Security Council is insanity. Either amend the charter or disband the council & start something different.
212
1K
7K
The older brother trying to comfort the younger, covered in blood now. “Can you see out of your eye? No? Not at all?” “No I can’t see anything.” The terrorist next to them going through their fridge picking out the water and coke to drink.
43
933
7K
Putin is our generation's Hitler. We (the free world) either help Ukraine defeat his aggression now or pay a major price in the near future. Appeasement has never worked with evil men.
#ArmUkraineNow
292
1K
7K
Next a Kibbutz entrance gate CCTV, Hamas terrorist walk up to the gate hoping to sneak in but closed, they walk off camera. Civilian car approaches the gate which starts to open. The terrorist fire at their windows at close range, make sure all dead, and walk into the Kibbutz.
22
843
7K
If you don't understand how powerful this video is, you don't understand soldier morale, motivation, will to fight. This is gold.
The time has come to take back what belongs to us.
4K
15K
78K
531
800
7K
A home CCTV footage in the Kibbutz, a father in his underwear (looks to have just woken) frantically carrying his two sons, running, boys also in underwear (both appear between 8-12 like my son). Another camera shows them leave the house & enter a shelter in their backyard.
20
828
7K
Thank you Turkey.
76
550
6K
“the most senior Russian officer captured since WW II.”
#SlavaUkraini
TAKEN: Yesterday, videos featured a RU officer captured on the Kharkiv front. He was assumed to be a local commander-- he was, in fact, Lieutenant General Andrei Sychevoi, General in command RU’s “West” Group. Sychevoi is the most senior Russian officer captured since WW II.
445
3K
14K
222
1K
6K
One girl from the original huddle, from the line walked out, separated and put into a jeep. Later same girl moved, pants covered in blood just around anus to front of pants. More photos of dead teenage women laying in the field of the festival, no pants, legs appear broken.
64
1K
6K
The battle of
#Kyiv
is coming. Ukrainians must never stop preparing the defense: blocking all roads/alleys/doors/windows, setting up caches/fighting positions, putting holes in walls 2 move between bldgs & shoot thru, digging, & being ready to both get underground/ready to fight!
130
2K
6K