Here we go again-Ukraine once again pt2

[Jimbuna]

US set to provide six billion dollars in long-term military aid for Ukraine

The US is expected to announce that it will provide around six billion dollars in long-term military aid to Ukraine, officials have said, adding that it will include much sought after munitions for Patriot air defence systems.

The officials said the aid package will be funded through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which pays for longer-term contracts with the defence industry and means that it could take many months or years for the weapons to arrive.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet made public.

The new funding — the largest tranche of USAI aid sent to date – will include a wide array of munitions for air defence, such as the National Advanced Surface to Air Missile System (NASAM) and the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), as well as the Patriot munitions, Switchblade and Puma drones, counter drone systems and artillery.

The announcement is expected to come on Friday as defence secretary Lloyd Austin convenes a virtual meeting of defence officials from Europe and around the world to discuss international aid for Ukraine.

The gathering — created by Mr Austin and known as the Ukraine Defence Contact Group — has been meeting monthly for the past two years, and is the primary forum for weapons contributions to Kyiv for the war.

The meeting is expected to focus largely on air defence systems, Mr Austin said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Kyiv needs Patriot missiles to create an air shield against further Russian missile attacks.

He discussed the need for Patriots on Friday at the Pentagon-led meeting.

His address marked the second anniversary of the group, which has “moved heaven and earth” since April 2022 to source millions of rounds of ammunition, rocket systems, armoured vehicles and even jets to help Ukraine rebuff Russia’s invasion, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said at the meeting.

Mr Zelensky said at least seven Patriot systems are needed to protect Ukrainian cities.

“We urgently need Patriot systems and missiles for them,” Zelenskyy said. “This is what can and should save lives right now.”

It follows the White House decision earlier this week to approve the delivery of one billion dollars in weapons and equipment to Ukraine.

Those weapons include a variety of ammunition, including air defence munitions and large amounts of artillery rounds that are much in demand by Ukrainian forces, as well as armoured vehicles and other weapons.

That aid, however, will get to Ukraine quickly because it is being pulled off Pentagon shelves, including in warehouses in Europe.

The large back-to-back packages are the result of the new infusion of about 61 billion dollars in funding for Ukraine that was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden on Wednesday.

They provide weapons Kyiv desperately needs to stall gains being made by Russian forces in the war.

Bitterly divided members of Congress deadlocked over the funding for months, forcing house speaker Mike Johnson to cobble together a bipartisan coalition to pass the bill.

The 95 billion dollar foreign aid package, which also included billions for Israel and Taiwan, passed the House on Saturday, and the Senate approved it on Tuesday.

Senior US officials have described dire battlefield conditions in Ukraine, as troops run low on munitions and Russian forces make gains.

Since Russia’s February 2022 invasion, the US has sent more than 44 billion dollars worth of weapons, maintenance, training and spare parts to Ukraine.

Among the weapons provided to Ukraine were Abrams M1A1 battle tanks.

But Ukraine has now side-lined them in part because Russian drone warfare has made it too difficult for them to operate without detection or coming under attack, two US military officials told The Associated Press.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world...5076055e&ei=10

[Dargo]

[Jimbuna]

[Dargo]

Russia outdrone Ukraine, nah! Also, Russia stock is declining APC are in shortage Russia now use T-55 with sheds on top to transport troops and have no production capability to produce them in large numbers an attack would normally contain more than 40 rolling material now they attack with 5.

The fall of Avdiivka on the 17th of February 2024 is one of the more sobering junctures of the Ukrainian-Russian war for both the Ukrainian side and its allies. This defeat did not arrive without warning but was instead expected by both Western observers and the Ukrainian high command which, unlike during the battle for Bakhmut, opted to tactically withdraw its forces to a better position. This article intends not to investigate the circumstances which led to the fall of Avdiivka but will assess some characteristics germane to understanding the situation the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) faced there, before moving onto the role of FPV drones west of Avdiivka... https://tochnyi.info/2024/04/fpv-dro...nt-31-04-2024/

[mapuc]

Markus

[Dargo]

Britain estimates that 450,000 Russian military personnel have been killed or wounded and over 10,000 Russian armoured vehicles have been destroyed in Ukraine. Leo Docherty Minister of State, Minister for the Armed Forces:

We estimate that approximately 450,000 Russian military personnel have been killed or wounded, and tens of thousands more have already deserted since the start of the conflict. The number of personnel killed serving in Russian private military companies (PMCs) is not clear. We also estimate that over 10,000 Russian armoured vehicles, including nearly 3,000 main battle tanks, 109 fixed wing aircraft, 136 helicopters, 346 unmanned aerial vehicles, 23 naval vessels of all classes, and over 1,500 artillery systems of all types have been destroyed, abandoned, or captured by Ukraine since the start of the conflict.

https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/brit...ed-or-wounded/

Ukrainian forces dismiss AP report on withdrawal of Abrams tanks due to drone threats

The tanks “are performing excellently on the battlefield and we certainly have no intention of hiding from the enemy what usually makes them hide,” Ukrainian forces wrote. In a recent statement, the 47th Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces has labeled as false an Associated Press report suggesting that Ukraine had withdrawn its American-supplied Abrams tanks from the frontline due to threats from Russian drones. The brigade, through a post marked with “Fake,” refuted claims that these tanks had been repositioned away from the battlefields. The post included a screenshot of the AP news item with a clarification that contradicts the reported information. The tanks “are performing excellently on the battlefield and we certainly have no intention of hiding from the enemy what usually makes them hide. Especially, we wouldn’t leave our infantry without such powerful fire support,” the brigade stated in its communication. The Ukrainian military did not disclose specific operational details but urged the public and media to rely only on verified information and to seek official comments from their press service before publishing such materials. ... https://euromaidanpress.com/2024/04/...drone-threats/

Ukraine ranks 8th globally in terms of defence spending. In 2023, Ukraine’s defence spending increased by 51% compared to 2022

[mapuc]

Wasn't it some of you who wrote that it was not in NATO's interest to beat Russia, but weaken them. This is not the case according to this guy in the video



Markus

[Jimbuna]

Russian rebels vow to burn Putin in the 'flames of revolution' as panic grips Kremlin

Russia's Freedom Legion has told the Express.co.uk that they will drag Putin from the Kremlin on the "tips of their bayonets" and burn him in the "flames of revolution".

The Legion is one of three armed militias made up of Russian volunteers fighting in Ukraine against Putin's army.

Along with fellow rebels in the Russia Volunteer Corp (RVC) and Siberian Battalion, they have staged a number of daring raids in the Kursk and Belgorod border regions of Russia.

The most recent was carried out on March 12, and was timed to coincide with the Russian Presidential elections three days later.

Despite Putin having seemingly tightened his grip on power, the rebels insist that his regime is doomed and will be violently overthrown sooner rather than later.
The Legion sees itself as being the "spark" to ignite the revolution that will rid Russia of its murderous tyrant.

Alexey Baranovksy, a drone operator with the Legion, told the Express: "Putin left Russian citizens no choice but to carry him out of the Kremlin on the tip of a bayonet. Well, let's move along this path.

"How to initiate a revolution? The main thing is to start. There are a lot of dissatisfied people in Russia - the regime is supported, for the most part, by the batons of the police and the repression of the special services.

"Only armed rebels - like us - can resist them. We are the spark from which the flame of rebellion will ignite.

"Consider that our regular visits to the border areas of Russia are attempts to fan the flames. And one day this fire will flare up at full power and turn into a forest fire in which Putin will burn."

The 42-year-old volunteer said the rebel raids were sowing panic in the Kremlin, as evidenced by Putin's unexpected public reaction to the March attacks.

The Kremlin boss commented on the raids twice, having previously ignored the rebels' activities, while there was also a "big commotion" in the state media.

This demonstrated clearly that the rebels had struck a vulnerable spot of Putin's regime, according to the Legion fighter. Alexey, whose call sign is "Lutik", confirmed the March raids had inflicted heavy losses on Putin's army.

"Dozens of armoured vehicles were destroyed or disabled, hundreds of Putin's soldiers were killed or wounded," he said. "Unfortunately, we also have losses, but this is war."

He added: "This was the largest raid of the Russian liberation forces since the beginning of the great war in 2022, all three units of Russian volunteers took part in it.

"There will be more in the future and we will be able to solve even more complex military-political problems."

Many Russian political analysts have questioned whether the anti-Putin opposition can really topple the blood thirsty tyrant given their own internal disagreements and lack of unity.

Given the fact that Putin seemingly has consolidated his political power and would appear to be edging towards a military victory in Ukraine, some experts have suggested that the Russian opposition is fast becoming irrelevant.

Alexey however, dismissed the scepticism of critics, pointing out that Legion numbers are experiencing "explosive" growth and that there was a growing synergy among the different factions of the anti-Putin movement.

"There are at least two clusters that make up the Russian opposition," he explained. "There's the classic old opposition, which sits in Europe and holds various conferences and forums of varying degrees of usefulness. This is, for the most part, not opposition, but emigration, although anti-Putin-minded. And there is a new opposition - us. This is the armed resistance.

"If the old opposition supports us more effectively than now (not only politically, but also infra-structurally and with resources), then the synergy of our cooperation will become a big problem for the Kremlin regime.

"And this process is already happening - for example volunteers are actively supported by Gary Kasparov's Free Russia Forum and Ilya Ponomarev's Congress of People's Deputies."

He added the armed rebels were actively trying to create closer ties with Alexey Navalny's widow Yulia and the former Yukos oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world...8e00d4d6&ei=13

[Jimbuna]