Here we go again-Ukraine once again [Archive] - Page 21

Dargo

07-11-22, 10:58 AM

Ukraine residents say goodbye to their homeland: 'The Donbas is lost, no matter which army wins'

The Ukrainian army seems no match for Russian violence in the Donetsk province, which is hemmed in on three sides. Lucrative for Russia, the area no longer seems to be, as its industry has been almost completely destroyed after eight years of war. Far behind the front lines, an excavator draws a deep, dark chasm through the rolling fields of the Donbas. The trench lies even behind Kramatorsk, Slovyansk and Bakhmut, cities that the Ukrainian army has complete control over. The army is already reckoning with their fall. Most residents in the Donbas are giving up their native land, having lived for eight years in the vicinity of the war. 'Residents want to leave, they know what's coming,' says a volunteer from an evacuation team, as he escorts people with bags to the only functioning train station.

The Russian army has begun attacking Donetsk province from three sides, after capturing the last part of Luhansk province last week. Ukraine still controls just under half of Donetsk province. If that is lost, Russia will occupy the entire Donbas. But what is there left for Russia to occupy, other than hills with gorges? According to President Putin, the "special operation" revolves around "the liberation" of Russian-speaking residents of the Donbas. But there are hardly any people left. At a bombed-out square in downtown Kramatorsk, a woman in a summer dress displays the harvest of her vegetable garden, but there are few buyers. Stores are closed, on sidewalks anti-tank crosses stand ready. Only old Lada's drive through the deserted streets - everyone with a more expensive car has left.

'I always thought I would die here, I already knew which cemetery I would end up in,' says Gennady Alekseevich, who is leaving Donbas after 76 years. The former driving instructor for heavy industry truck drivers in the Donbas is saying goodbye to his native region along with Masha, a cat he carries in a bag. 'Hang on, Masja, you have to hang on,' he whispers to the cat as he waits in the warmth for a train to the west. While the people leave, the resources stay behind. Since the 19th century, the Donbas has been an industrial area that smells of coal and chemical fumes. Gray pyramid-shaped hills of mining stone rise high above the fields with factory pipes. But lucrative Donetsk province doesn't seem to be Russia's business. Its industry is badly damaged after eight years of war. Back in 2020, a group of economists estimated that 21 billion euros would be needed for repairs, and that was before the devastation of the artillery war that Russia began in February. After the destruction of colossal factories, such as the Azovstal plant in Mariupol, the same fate threatens industrial buildings in the area that Russia is now attacking. Forty sites were attacked on Saturday, the Ukrainian military states. In the village of Chasiv Yar, at least 15 people were killed that day in a rocket attack on an apartment building. In Avdiivka, a large coking plant was shelled more than ten times. On Friday, Russian explosives hit a power plant in Svitlodarsk.

'We are doomed here,' says 77-year-old Anatoli Ivanenko, one of the last stragglers in the town of Siversk, where the bombs have been falling for weeks. 'The Donbas is lost, no matter which army wins.' From the town, you can see the clouds of smoke rising from the front. A little outside Siversk, an oil refinery caught fire several times from shelling until the Russian army took the complex and moved a little closer still. There are still unharmed companies left in Donetsk province. Near the village of Soledar is the largest salt mine in Ukraine. In Bachmoet there is a winery from the time of Stalin, with 13 million bottles of sparkling wine under the ground. And Kramatorsk boasts the near 100-year-old NKMZ, in its own words "the largest machine building factory of customized products in Europe. But even if these companies survive a Russian offensive, they will not be able to offset the devastation in the Donbas.

In the Donbas, Putin does not seem to care about people or money, but simply about land. He hinted at his imperialist ambitions last month at the celebration of the 350th anniversary of Peter the Great's birth. Putin compared himself to the 17th-century tsar and said that, like Peter the Great, he has the right to "take back" "traditionally Russian" territories. Russia's capture of the Donbas is not a certainty. Ukrainian President Zelensky said last week that heavy weapons from the West are finally functioning "at full capacity" on the front lines. The Ukrainian army said it destroyed numerous Russian ammunition depots in recent days. The Russian military says the battle for Donetsk province will become more intense in the coming period. Russia has time in Ukraine, Putin said last week. 'Everyone should know that we haven't even really started yet.'

https://www.volkskrant.nl/nieuws-achtergrond/bewoners-nemen-afscheid-van-hun-geboortegrond-de-donbas-is-verloren-welk-leger-er-ook-wint~b34362af/

Jimbuna

07-11-22, 12:10 PM

Russian natural gas supplies to Germany via the Baltic Sea pipeline Nord Stream 1 have been halted for 10 days for annual maintenance work.

But German Economy Minister Robert Habeck warned that EU countries had to be prepared in case gas shipments did not resume.

He has accused the Kremlin of using gas "as a weapon" in response to EU sanctions over the war in Ukraine.

Mr Habeck admitted Germany had become too dependent on Russian gas.

He described that as "a grave political mistake as we can see today, which we are trying to remedy as quickly as we possibly can".

He said two floating terminals for deliveries of liquefied natural gas (LNG) would be ready by the end of the year.

In mid-June Russia's state gas firm Gazprom cut gas flows through Nord Stream 1 to just 40% of the pipeline's capacity. It blamed a delay in the return of equipment being serviced by Germany's Siemens Energy.

The Canadian government says it will now return a repaired Siemens turbine to Germany for the pipeline. That move angered the Ukrainian government, which accused Canada of adjusting the sanctions imposed on Moscow "to the whims of Russia".

Canada says it is granting Siemens Canada a "time-limited and revocable permit" to send repaired turbines back to Germany, despite the sanctions.

Germany's government is worried that gas supplies could be reduced or cut permanently.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-62121702

Catfish

07-11-22, 12:24 PM

Russian natural gas supplies to Germany via the Baltic Sea pipeline Nord Stream 1 have been halted for 10 days for annual maintenance work. [...]
Germany's government is worried that gas supplies could be reduced or cut permanently.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-62121702
Oh no, who would have thunk!?
After all Germany says that oil and gas is bad and they wanted to cut it anyway, so they got to thank Putin, or not?
I guess this also is the main reason they do not send tanks, their exhausts are harmful to the environment. Maybe electric tanks :yeah:
:doh:

Jimbuna

07-11-22, 12:31 PM

Jimbuna

07-11-22, 12:36 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjdMGu8N-5g

Skybird

07-11-22, 02:25 PM

Oh no, who would have thunk!?
After all Germany says that oil and gas is bad and they wanted to cut it anyway, so they got to thank Putin, or not?
I guess this also is the main reason they do not send tanks, their exhausts are harmful to the environment. Maybe electric tanks :yeah:
:doh:
Best: the last German factory producing windmill rotors and blades has shut down today. From now on German energy transfomration will depend even more on deliveries from - China.

Thank God China is so much better than Russia.
80% or more of solar panels also come from China.
And ore, pre-production products for building heat pumps come from Russia and China.

Eigentlich zum Totlachen. Doofheit, dein Name ist Deutschland. Böah...

On the other hand: has France already started readjusting the ploicy to buy its nuclear fuels not from Russian Rossatom but Australia or America...? :hmmm:

Skybird

07-11-22, 02:29 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjdMGu8N-5g
But true also is that Ukraine's best and most experienced units have been mauled in the recent two weeks, and now are just a shadow of their former self, filled up with new unexperienced recruits and reservists, too. The loss of experei nce and competence weighs heavy, too.

Dargo

07-11-22, 03:06 PM

mapuc

07-11-22, 03:16 PM

For Germany and other countries, it is not easy to cut gas there is no quick way to transport gas from other suppliers those supply lines are already on max

Denmark has it's own Gas field Tyra It was shut down.

Some month ago the Danish government decided to reopen it, but technicians said it would take about a year to replace rusty equipment before the gas once again can flow from Tyra to Esbjerg and further out in the country.

If I remember correctly it was shut down because the Russian gas was cheaper.

Sorry I was incorrect

From Danish wiki
In 2019-2023, the field will be closed while it is being rebuilt. 50,000 tonnes of platforms are recycled in Frederikshavn. Danish politicians wanted the field reopened earlier due to high gas prices, but the operator Total E&P rejected that it is technically possible

Markus

Dargo

07-11-22, 03:41 PM

Denmark has it's own Gas field Tyra It was shut down.

Some month ago the Danish government decided to reopen it, but technicians said it would take about a year to replace rusty equipment before the gas once again can flow from Tyra to Esbjerg and further out in the country.

If I remember correctly it was shut down because the Russian gas was cheaper.

Sorry I was incorrect

From Danish wiki
In 2019-2023, the field will be closed while it is being rebuilt. 50,000 tonnes of platforms are recycled in Frederikshavn. Danish politicians wanted the field reopened earlier due to high gas prices, but the operator Total E&P rejected that it is technically possible

MarkusThe Dutch phasing out gas production of the Groningen gas field because of earthquakes politics dare not start this field up again, their political life will be over if they decide that.

Catfish

07-12-22, 05:34 AM

French TV:
Foreign minister Lavrov's lies debunked one by one

https://www-tf1info-fr.translate.goog/international/entretien-avec-serguei-lavrov-nous-avons-verifie-les-arguments-du-ministre-russe-des-affaires-etrangeres-2221358.html?_x_tr_sl=fr&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=de&_x_tr_pto=wapp

Skybird

07-12-22, 06:02 AM

Iran offers Russia hundreds of drones.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-62130725

Reece

07-12-22, 06:36 AM

Unbelievable!! :stare:

Rockstar

07-12-22, 08:47 AM

Unbelievable!! :stare:

As unbelievable as it might seem. It says a lot about the lack of manufacturing capacity in Russia.

Jimbuna

07-12-22, 10:28 AM

As unbelievable as it might seem. It says a lot about the lack of manufacturing capacity in Russia.

Precisely :yep:

Jimbuna

07-12-22, 10:31 AM

Russian military equipment captured by the Ukrainian armed forces has gone on display in the Czech capital, Prague.

The display of war trophies, which includes a damaged T-90 tank, Buk air defence system and Msta howitzer, was unveiled on Letna Plain, a large open space a short distance from Prague Castle.

"This exhibition proves how vital support from partner countries is to us," Ukraine's Minister of Internal Affairs Denys Monastyrsky told the BBC via email after launching the exhibit.

"Russian propaganda likes to scare people that their tanks could reach Prague, Berlin or Paris. Ukrainians demonstrate - only in the form of scrap," he said. :)

Dargo

07-12-22, 12:18 PM

Major-General Aleksandr Shkirenko has been dismissed as the Chief of the Central Organization and Mobilization Office, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces and has been left at the defense minister's disposal. Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko signed relevant decree No.240.

mapuc

07-12-22, 12:19 PM

Dargo

07-12-22, 12:29 PM

Why was he dismissed ?

Markus
Maybe the mayor general is not willing to take the order to invade Ukraine or paranoid Lukashenko fears the power of the mayor general, but something happening in Belarus last couple days there are several reports of movement of Russian forces in Belarus.

Dargo

07-12-22, 01:48 PM

In this call intercepted by SBU, a Russian soldier admits that Ukrainian artillery and mortar crews are much more efficient and precise than their Russian counterparts. In particular, the Russian reconnaissance commander complains to a friend that they are barely holding their positions in the village of Dovgenke in the Kharkiv region. As specified by SBU this discussion was intercepted even before Novaya Kakhovka, Kherson and Chornobayivka – that is, before the Armed Forces started using high-precision HIMARS. https://wartranslated.com/intercepted-call-their-mortars-and-artillery-men-fire-accurately-as-fck/

(R1)=Russian man (R2)=Russian man 2
(R1): Their drones go up, drones or quadcopters. They go up, and we can’t do anything with these drones. Can’t block them, nothing. They can’t do anything with them. Only take them down. Take it down, but it’s f*cking high up there, you can’t even see it. And our services aren’t doing anything. They can’t block it. They *Ukrainians* get the drones up to look where they are hitting. And then they start mortar fire. Occasionally… not that long ago in a day they burned seven vehicles in a village. Some armored KAMAZ and some other sh*t. Just… *unintelligible*.

(R2): What’s up with our aviation?

(R1): Our aviation is cr*p. A helicopter can only be five kilometers away, fire from the distance and f*ck off. And we don’t see it again. In a week it might come two times, work at some forest and f*ck off. There’s f*ck all, nothing at all, no “Su”’s. Only the helicopter *fires* from distance. While the Ukrainian helicopter might come twice in a day, work at us and get the f*ck out similarly.

(R2): F*cking hell.

(R1): There’s nothing. Everything is for the show. There’s nothing. At all. Their mortars and artillery men fire accurately as f*ck. They’ll shoot, then adjust with drones. A drone is often hanging above us. They have drones with thermal vision for the night, and regular ones for the day. They’ll launch a drone, ours can’t do anything with the drones. They hold them roughly along the *front* line, adjusting. They launch a mortar bomb, it explodes somewhere. They will adjust. Ten bam-bam-bam-bam-bam they put down more, and that’s it. The square is closed. Losses inflicted. Worked well, time to go. That’s how they work. They don’t have some massive authority or something to have 500 bombs in their storage. Not a lot of people. They have like 2-3 people in a crew. They’ll come with a mortar, fire and go.

(R2): Everything’s automated.

(R1): Their training is more or less better than ours, but our guys all stand in one place. Missing all the time, nearly firing in their own trenches. F*cking fools.

Catfish

07-12-22, 02:16 PM

August

07-12-22, 02:25 PM

Thought this was pretty interesting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6x0O_oObJBU&t

Dargo

07-12-22, 03:02 PM

^ all good and well but the russians still advance.
Soon they will have hundreds of drones from Iran or whoknowsfrom, and then Himars and Howitzers will be difficult to hide from them.

Lots of troop and miltary movement in Belarus, do you think they will try to get for Kyiv again?On the Kherson front panic setting in Russians try to move more forces to that area, but Russians have logistical problems there certainly after Ukraine has destroyed Russian biggest munition depots. Do not think there will be a new campaign from Belarus Russians are not certain Belarus army will fight in Ukraine military staff is not willing that is why the purge by Lukashenko. Think a front in the north will have the same problems as before.

mapuc

07-12-22, 03:12 PM

On the Kherson front panic setting in Russians try to move more forces to that area, but Russians have logistical problems there certainly after Ukraine has destroyed Russian biggest munition depots. Do not think there will be a new campaign from Belarus Russians are not certain Belarus army will fight in Ukraine military staff is not willing that is why the purge by Lukashenko. Think a front in the north will have the same problems as before.

Someone said that Lukashenko is Putins little puppy which do anything Putin says he shall do.

Markus

Dargo

07-12-22, 03:25 PM

Someone said that Lukashenko is Putins little puppy which do anything Putin says he shall do.

MarkusHe is, but he needs the army and Secret Service to stay in power so problem in case of a refusal by the Secret Service, police or military, to keep order and defend his regime.

Skybird

07-12-22, 03:38 PM

A front in the North distracts Ukrainian forces from the South and East.

Also, war of attrition: the Kyiv region is I think home to a big share of Ukrainian economy not formed by heavy industry.

Catfish

07-12-22, 03:38 PM

On the Kherson front panic setting in Russians try to move more forces to that area, but Russians have logistical problems there certainly after Ukraine has destroyed Russian biggest munition depots. Do not think there will be a new campaign from Belarus Russians are not certain Belarus army will fight in Ukraine military staff is not willing that is why the purge by Lukashenko. Think a front in the north will have the same problems as before.
Thanks.
Do you see any chances that the Kerch bridge can be destroyed?
I would not risk bombers and drones do not carry enough explosives, but it is almost in reach for ukrainian neptune missiles.

Dargo

07-12-22, 03:46 PM

A front in the North distracts Ukrainian forces from the South and East.

Also, war of attrition: the Kyiv region is I think home to a big share of Ukrainian economy not formed by heavy industry.A northern invasion would be seen by US satellites not heard anything in that direction Russia can not build up that kinda army in the north without cannibalize it's southern front.

Dargo

07-12-22, 03:47 PM

Thanks.
Do you see any chances that the Kerch bridge can be destroyed?
I would not risk bombers and drones do not carry enough explosives, but it is almost in reach for ukrainian neptune missiles.Think it is better to destroy the supply lines and depots behind enemy lines is more effective.

mapuc

07-12-22, 03:49 PM

A northern invasion would be seen by US satellites not heard anything in that direction Russia can not build up that kinda army in the north without cannibalize it's southern front.

Couldn't Putin change it from special operation to War and thereby mobilize troops to Belarus from all over Russia ?

Markus

Dargo

07-12-22, 03:54 PM

Couldn't Putin change it from special operation to War and thereby get a lot more troops to Belarus from all over Russia ?

MarkusPutin problem is that Russians do not want a war they happy with an operation so their sons and husbands do not have to die most people fighting now are from the former Soviet Union southern republics the poorest and criminals with fighting experience.

mapuc

07-12-22, 04:23 PM

Putin problem is that Russians do not want a war they happy with an operation so their sons and husbands do not have to die most people fighting now are from the former Soviet Union southern republics the poorest and criminals with fighting experience.

In a meeting some weeks ago, where Putin said to the people who was there, that he hadn't begun yet in Ukraine-He used the word War together with Ukraine for the first time-This according to an article in a Danish newspaper

Maybe he knows that he has to mobilize his reserves to get more troops to Ukraine and Belarus.

The Russian do not want a war they happy with an operation

It has been said by some of you on many occasions
- No one dare to speak up against Putin not even fight him.

Markus

Dargo

07-12-22, 04:35 PM

In a meeting some weeks ago, where Putin said to the people who was there, that he hadn't begun yet in Ukraine-He used the word War together with Ukraine for the first time-This according to an article in a Danish newspaper

Maybe he knows that he has to mobilize his reserves to get more troops to Ukraine and Belarus.

The Russian do not want a war they happy with an operation

It has been said by some of you on many occasions
- No one dare to speak up against Putin not even fight him.

MarkusRussians has already problems to get personnel with good pay now do not think a mobilization will be successful and does not mean they ready for the fight that takes weeks/months training and getting material ready. At some point, fear of Putin and his henchmen will disappear, but that is more hope than written in stone.

mapuc

07-12-22, 05:45 PM

Does this make any difference ?

A pro-Kremlin party is calling for Vladimir Putin to be referred to as Russia's "ruler" rather than as the Russian "president," in order to move away from a job description derived from a foreign language

https://www.newsweek.com/vladimir-putin-called-ruler-russia-new-proposal-ldpr-kremlin-1723295

Markus

Skybird

07-12-22, 05:53 PM

If Russia wants to take Kyiv, it cannot evade massing troops in the Norht of the city, US stallites may see it, or not - they must am,ass tropps for such an attack.

In WW2, the first German attack on Kyiv also was repelled. After some time went by, the Wehrmacht nevertheless attacked it a second time, and this time successfully. The Sovjet Union needed two years to take the city back.

There were reports in recent days that Ukrainian troops hastily lay mines in Kyiv's North and along the border.

August

07-12-22, 07:28 PM

Does this make any difference ?

https://www.newsweek.com/vladimir-putin-called-ruler-russia-new-proposal-ldpr-kremlin-1723295

Markus

Don't know why he is going with half measures. You know that Putin really wants to be called "Czar".

mapuc

07-13-22, 06:39 AM

A clip of an explosion in Kramatorsk

Look at Cam 6 the explosion occur around 20 second into the clip.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRWgwwLYcOw

Markus

Reece

07-13-22, 06:51 AM

Weird that the sound was first!! :hmmm:

Jimbuna

07-13-22, 07:57 AM

Negotiations to unblock grain ports begin in Istanbul

The quadrilateral talks on the export of Ukrainian grain with the participation of delegations of Ukraine, Turkey, the UN and Russia began in Istanbul.

These are the first talks Ukraine and Russia have had with U.N. and Turkish officials to break the months-long deadlock over Ukrainian grain exports blocked by Russia.

Because Ukraine is a vital exporter of wheat and grain, Russia's invasion of the country has caused food prices to spike and millions of people face starvation worldwide.

Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said earlier that "we are two steps away from an agreement with Russia. The Minister added that he sees only one potential reason why Russia might change its position on the grain blockade.

The Foreign Ministry stressed that the country advocates that the issue of unblocking the Ukrainian grain be resolved under the aegis of the UN.

On the eve of the meeting in Istanbul, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had telephone conversations with Vladimir Putin and Vladimir Zelensky, in which they discussed the problems of grain exports from Ukraine and the need to create corridors in the Black Sea.

Jimbuna

07-13-22, 08:06 AM

Russian occupants take their damaged equipment out of Belarus in closed wagons.

Russians evacuate their damaged equipment from Belarus in closed wagons so that the Russian population won't see it.

As Censor.NЕТ informs, accrding photo was published by blogger Zloyodessit.

He noted: "This is how the Russian occupants evacuated from Belarus, particularly Gomel, their damaged equipment from the battles in Ukraine.

They evacuate them secretly, so that while they were driving through Russia, the Russians themselves would not see how the "second" army in the world was cut up by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. After all, the photos and videos of the Russian troops being fried up and down on the Internet are fakes filmed at the Dovzhenko Film Studio! And when such "Victory Trains" will ride around Russia, then there will be more and more unambiguous questions from zombies.

https://i.postimg.cc/FKPK6Xhg/780x1040.jpg (https://postimg.cc/gwZdw5Xn)

Jimbuna

07-13-22, 08:11 AM

Destruction of Kerch Bridge and liberation of Crimea are inevitable, - General Marchenko

Ukraine must destroy the Kerch Bridge and liberate occupied Crimea if it does not want to simply drag out the war for a few more years.

This was stated in an interview to "Apostrophe" by Major General Dmytro Marchenko, who in the first months of the war commanded the defense of Mykolaiv, reports Censor.NЕТ.

According to him, a counteroffensive by Ukrainian Forces and the liberation of both Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions and occupied Crimea is inevitable.

"On the counteroffensive of the Ukrainian side in the Kherson region and its dismissal - this is an inevitable process. But we must understand that this is a complex of means, and not just up and go. We need to prepare for it very carefully, we need to do very good reconnaissance, we need to prepare artillery assets. It won't be quick, but it's an inevitable measure, and sooner or later it will happen," he said.

"We have no choice but to liberate all our territories. We must not leave the enemy a single piece of our land, otherwise it will just be a postponement of the war for several more years," Marchenko added.

The General said that the AFU is planning to destroy the Kerch bridge.

"When it should happen, I, unfortunately, can't tell you. But I will tell you more: it is tactically necessary to destroy this bridge. You understand, it's a rollover of reserves, reinforcement of manpower, equipment, weapons. It's a tactical necessity," he explained.

Rockstar

07-13-22, 11:21 AM

There are some engineers who have warned the Kerch Bridge will eventually fall all by itself due to faulty design.

Dargo

07-13-22, 11:30 AM

Iran has officially refused to sell UAVs to the Kremlin

Russia has found itself in a situation where even Tehran, under sanctions, refuses to help, reports Defense Express. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran has officially announced that it has no intention of selling drones to the Russian Federation. This was a reaction to the corresponding warning from Washington about the Kremlin’s intention to purchase hundreds of UAVs and the beginning of training of Russian operators in the near future. Despite, at first glance, the absurdity of the situation itself, this news is the main indicator that China has finally abandoned cooperation with the Russian Federation. Otherwise, it made no sense for the Kremlin to turn to Iran. https://hindustannewshub.com/russia-ukraine-news/iran-has-officially-refused-to-sell-uavs-to-the-kremlin/

Skybird

07-13-22, 11:37 AM

Jimbuna

07-13-22, 11:40 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAJMQSt6_Ck

Dargo

07-13-22, 12:01 PM

I think they currently are not in a position to "retake the Crimea". But thinking of it for a minute, that it were possible. For Russia, this would be a nightmare scenario, I mean: its the Crimean peninsula, its the military base of Sewastopol, its the seat of the Black Sea Fleet.

I could imagine that if the ukraine threatens to indeed recapture the Crimean and defeat Russia around and in Sewastopol, this could be a trigger event for a Russian first-use of nuclear weapons to prevent this at any cost, no matter what. And what could be done in that case anyway? Would America, France, Britain retaliate? No, they wouldn'T. Russia does not need to fear nuclear retaliation.

But I currently do not see the ukraine in any way being able to launch such a counterattack. Mind you, the rule of thumb says the attacker needs 3:1 advantage in numbers, and in urban areas even 5:1 and more - and you can bet the Russians have dug themselves deeply in in Sewastopol. whwere should they UZkrian gets such enomrous troop superiority in numbers now that its best and most experienced units have been mauled and seized to exist?

I could also imagine that the West will try to keep an eye on this going and will cut ammunition deliveries if the Ukrainians gain too much momentum so that they could take on the Crimean seriously.

I am not saying one should not go after the Crimean if the situation developes to that degree. I only say that there is this nuclear risk involved, in this scenario more than in others. Before the ukrain cannot retaliate on equal terms against nuclear attacks, the Crimean maybe would prove to be one step too far.

Retaking Kherson is more important it is the administrative center of Kherson Oblast in the south of Ukraine, and it is a major economic center. Kherson is an important port on the Black Sea and on the Dnipro River, and the home of a major ship-building industry. If Ukraine can retake the whole Kherson Oblast, Ukraine has control over the water supply of Crimea and if they can regain control over the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant they deprive Russian future energy, those I think are the main military goals in the coming months. Also, fighting in the Kherson Oblast means for the Russian military longer supply lines, one of the things they are not good at organizing those.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine destroyed six Russian army depots in the past 24 hours, reports the speaker of the Odesa regional military administration Serhiy Bratchuk.

^^^

Jimbuna

07-13-22, 12:11 PM

If Russia voluntarily leaves our land to 1991 border, we will stop fighting, - Danilov

The liberation of all the occupied territories of Ukraine will be carried out one after another.

This was stated in Twitter by Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of the NSDC, reports Censor.NЕТ.

"There is no reason to accuse Ukraine that weapons provided by partners allegedly end up on the "black market".
The liberation of all temporarily occupied territories will be carried out one by one as the AFU is ready, there can be no deadlines in war - it is not a competition in production," he stressed.

"If the aggressor voluntarily leaves our land to the 1991 border, we will stop fighting, otherwise - there is no way but military. No one will deal with the liberation of our land except us, but we need the help of our partners," added the secretary of the National Security and Defense Council.

According to Danilov, the successes of the AFU have recently become noticeable, so the Russians are very nervous about this and do not know what to do.

"Now they are looking for human resources in places of detention. There is panic in the Russian troops. The occupiers are worried over the Crimean bridge, carefully guarding it, conducting constant drills, and deploying reinforced air defense there.
Through the so-called land corridor, the occupants are trying to export stolen grain and metal from enterprises, and the Russian Federation is a marauding country that takes advantage of the situation," he added.

Danilov also recalled that "the partisan movement is gaining momentum and is deadly for traitors.

Jimbuna

07-13-22, 12:14 PM

French company Matiere will provide Ukraine with 36 prefabricated bridges to restore tracks after combat operations - Kuleba

The French company Matiere will provide 36 prefabricated bridges to Ukraine.

This was announced by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba, reports Censor.NЕТ with reference to Іnterfax-Ukraine.

"Together with the French government and the federation of French industrialists MEDEF, we have agreed to transfer 36 lightweight prefabricated bridges ranging from 23 to 46 meters in length from the Matiere campaign to Ukraine. These constructions will be able to quickly replace destroyed Ukrainian bridges and then permanently replace them," Kuleba said.

According to him, the French company Matiere has years of experience in the rapid deployment of bridge crossings for road and rail transport, especially in countries where war has destroyed infrastructure.

"As early as July 25, the company's engineers will arrive in Ukraine and conduct a joint assessment mission with engineers of Ukravtodor. The company is potentially considering deploying production of these bridge crossings in Ukraine," Kuleba noted.

Jimbuna

07-14-22, 04:38 AM

Vladimir Putin's puppets 'preparing execution site' for captured Brits

Pro-Russian separatists have ramped up plans to execute two Brits captured while fighting for Ukraine, reports suggest.

Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner have been treated as foreign ‘mercenaries’ since they were apprehended by Moscow’s forces near Mariupol in April.

They were sentenced to death after being convicted of ‘mercenary activities and committing actions aimed at seizing power and overthrowing the constitutional order of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR)’ following what Western politicians labelled a show trial last month.

And their situation appears to have deteriorated even further after pro-Putin officials said they are now ‘preparing a place for their execution’.

In a chilling statement, the DPR says the British men will be killed by firing squad without prior notice, according to the Daily Mail.

DPR spokesman Denys Pushilin is quoted as saying: ‘Everything is ready. It won’t be public.’

Mr Aslin and Mr Pinner, along with Moroccan colleague Brahim Saadoun, were members of regular Ukrainian military units fighting in the southern port city, scene of some of the heaviest fighting

Relatives of the two British men, as well as Boris Johnson’s spokesman, have said they are therefore entitled to the protection of the Geneva Conventions on the treatment of prisoners of war.

Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK, Vadym Prystaiko, has also said that the death sentence does not exist in Ukraine and so the prisoners cannot be legally given this penalty in the territory.

The DPR is one of two breakaway Russian-backed entities in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine that Russia says it is fighting to liberate from Ukrainian forces.

The UK does not recognise it and British officials have not publicly engaged with officials there over the case.

Speaking after the verdicts, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov suggested that doing so may amount to de facto recognition of the region’s independence.

Their best hope for release may be as part of a prisoner exchange.

Mr Pushilin said appeals submitted by the three men earlier this month are being considered, the Mail reports.

But he added that once the legal process is complete ‘their cases will be transferred to the executive service for implementation, by firing squad’.

Earlier this month, Russian state media reported two more British men were captured in separatist-held Ukraine and charged with being mercenaries.

Cambridgeshire aid worker Dylan Healy, 22, and military volunteer Andrew Hill were charged with carrying out the same ‘mercenary activities’ as Mr Aslin and Mr Pinner.

The Tass news agency reported both men were refusing to co-operate with investigators.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/vladimir-putins-puppets-preparing-execution-site-for-captured-brits/ar-AAZyPhN?ocid=mailsignout&li=AAnZ9Ug

Jimbuna

07-14-22, 04:43 AM

Brussels raises inflation forecasts as Putin’s gas threat hangs over EU

The EU has ramped up its inflation forecasts and slashed predictions for economic growth amid growing fears Putin will cut off energy supplies to the continent.

Draft projections by the European Commission show that inflation, which is already at four times the 2pc target, will average 7.6pc in 2022. That’s up from previous forecasts of 6.1pc.

Inflation is then expected to fall to 4pc next year – higher than the 2.7pc previously predicted.

As surging prices dampen demand and the threat of energy shortages weighs, forecasts for economic growth have also been tempered.

GDP is expected to grow 2.6pc this year and 1.4pc in 2023 – down from predictions of 2.7pc and 2.3pc, according to the drafts seen by Bloomberg.

Countries across Europe are racing to refill storage sites and find alternative suppliers amid fears of energy rationing and blackouts this winter.

The Nord Stream pipeline from Russia is shut for planned maintenance, and there’s concern that Putin may never resume full supplies once the work is complete.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/other/brussels-raises-inflation-forecasts-as-putin-s-gas-threat-hangs-over-eu-live-updates/ar-AAZyBEd?li=BBx1bGE&ocid=mailsignout

Jimbuna

07-14-22, 05:05 AM

Deal in sight to end Ukrainian grain blockade - Turkey

Talks aimed at resuming Ukrainian grain exports blocked by Russia in the Black Sea have produced a deal, Turkey said.

It raises hopes for an end to the standoff, which left millions at increased risk of starvation.

Turkey's defence minister, Hulusi Akar, said both sides had agreed on ways to ensure the safety of shipping routes for grain ships.

He said the agreement would be signed next week, when more talks are set to be held in Turkey.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres called Wednesday's progress a "critical step forward".

He said more work was needed to finalise the deal, which would require "a lot of goodwill and commitments by all parties".
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-62159804

Jimbuna

07-14-22, 05:11 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpjfSeAgv_w

Catfish

07-14-22, 03:11 PM

Russia is well aware of an incoming attack on the Kerch bridge, since it is strategically important for them:

https://eurasiantimes.com/russia-boosts ... s-ukraine/

"Smoke on the waters, a fire in the sky ..." Cry me a bridge smoke screen test Lmao:

https://youtu.be/khCU0XdBtdA

Skybird

07-14-22, 05:15 PM

mapuc

07-14-22, 05:35 PM

Heads seem to roll in the leadership of the Russian producer of the much praised S-300 and S-400 air defence systems. They were sold to the Russian military with the explict promise that they could intercept HIMARS missiles. Well, it seems they obviously cannot. The directors are now not just in danger of gettign fired (or already got), but even getting sued.

The bridge of Kerch is 400km away from Mykolajev and 300km from Zaporizhia. What options have the Ukrainians to attack it?

I made a search to read more about it and found this page/article

Russian Armed Forces, their ammunition and fuel warehouses are completely unprotected from the power of American weapons,” both the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and Gerashchenko said in their comments. At the moment, there is no refutation of this claim by the Russian Ministry of Defense.

https://bulgarianmilitary.com/2022/07/13/russian-s-400-missile-system-isnt-able-to-intercept-himars-rocket/

Markus

Buddahaid

07-14-22, 07:33 PM

Good talk with Justin Bronk of RUSI about the air war in Ukraine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NZQMUclv5g

Catfish

07-15-22, 01:30 AM

[...]
The bridge of Kerch is 400km away from Mykolajev and 300km from Zaporizhia. What options have the Ukrainians to attack it?
Maybe the US can give Ukraine a few PrSMs (https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/ausa/2021/10/14/us-armys-precision-strike-missile-breaks-distance-record-in-flight-test/).

Skybird

07-15-22, 06:09 AM

They could be fired by HIMARS, but so far the US have ruled out long er distance ammunitions.

Dargo

07-15-22, 11:58 AM

They could be fired by HIMARS, but so far the US have ruled out long er distance ammunitions.Ukrainian Defense Minister Reznikov expects that Western countries will provide Ukrainian Armed Forces with shells for HIMARS missile systems capable of hitting targets at a distance of 300 kilometers. Think they're getting them.

mapuc

07-15-22, 12:13 PM

Ukrainian Defense Minister Reznikov expects that Western countries will provide Ukrainian Armed Forces with shells for HIMARS missile systems capable of hitting targets at a distance of 300 kilometers. Think they're getting them.

I thought they would not get them due to fear they-Ukrainian would use them to attack Russia.

Markus

Dargo

07-15-22, 12:24 PM

I thought they would not get them due to fear they-Ukrainian would use them to attack Russia.

MarkusReznikov is saying he is confident that Ukraine will get the 300 km HIMARS ammunition a little misleading still, unlikely he would say something so bold if he wasn’t pretty sure they are coming. And yesterday's Russian attack will help Ukraine to get these ammunitions.

Dargo

07-15-22, 12:31 PM

Chinese Firms Are Selling Russia Goods Its Military Needs to Keep Fighting in Ukraine
Rising exports of microchips, aluminum oxide, other dual-use items undermine Western push to stall Russian war effort... https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinese-firms-are-selling-russia-goods-its-military-needs-to-keep-fighting-in-ukraine-11657877403?mod=e2tw

Dargo

07-15-22, 01:02 PM

Putin’s long game in Ukraine may not play out as he predicts
President Vladimir Putin is betting that a long war in Ukraine will exhaust his adversaries sooner than it does Russia. He might be right, but there are ways for the United States and its allies to confound this strategy... https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/07/14/russia-putin-ukraine-sanctions-biden/

Dargo

07-15-22, 01:08 PM

Dargo

07-15-22, 01:23 PM

Post-Boris Britain will continue to stand with Ukraine against Putin’s war
News of Boris Johnson’s resignation has sparked concern in Kyiv and celebrations in Moscow. However, both reactions are probably wide of the mark. Far from heralding a geopolitical shift in Westminster, the departure of the UK Prime Minister is a strictly domestic affair that will not alter Britain’s staunch support for Ukraine in its fight for survival against Vladimir Putin’s ongoing invasion... https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/post-boris-britain-will-continue-to-stand-with-ukraine-against-putins-war/

Skybird

07-15-22, 03:37 PM

Germany'S biggest energy compoany UNIPER has started to use gas form the reserves to fulfill its contracts on electriv power. The gas reserves no longer climb, but currently have started to drop.

Russia has more or less openly threatened to not restart delivery of gas after the maintenance of Norstream 1.

German superhero Habeck' super"deal" with Quatar on delivering gas has meanwhile been found to have been not more than an unbinding declaration of intentions and ideas. :doh:

Not the only thing where it dawns on Germans that the man is talking much, but can deliver little. And he still agitates against nuclear energy while at the same time demanding an - unrealistic - speed for installing electricity heavy heat pumps.

Most Germans applaude these criminal clowns and even legitimise them by voting for them. They will get what they deserve, and it wont be pretty. The minority of the others wh warned and objected, get pulled down alongside with them.

Skybird

07-15-22, 03:42 PM

I jst red that the Ukraine got delivered - apparently by the UK - M270 MLRS systems, but again with range limitations in their ammunition to 80km.

mapuc

07-15-22, 03:46 PM

My opinion: Haven't we been hearing this a lot the last couple of month ?

“Putin will react to attempts to seize Kherson as an existential threat to Russia – as he considers that to be part of Russia already – and would be ready to use nuclear weapons,” Piontkovsky said, quoting Alexei Venediktov, former editor-in-chief, host and co-owner of recently banned Russian radio station Echo of Moscow.

https://news.yahoo.com/russian-dictator-putin-could-opt-090800846.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAGdgYHZQwglr_Oqck1WjJpy6JaIM fMNRgMxAO2m3FRD5zAvtFE5P7PeQONCncpglbml3WB3CbrzWuU BNZRn0UszPQugVnKjyXVB--Ci50i3wYhsISKUbRH0vLU6Us00OPrpemPMVs0KzCu-DFijIY5_KvDEGfpsTLUjtUOxUiLAj

Markus

Rockstar

07-15-22, 03:55 PM

Russia is preparing "volunteer battalions" instead of mobilisation – Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council

Oleksii Danilov, Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council, said that Russia has started a covert mobilisation, forming so-called "volunteer battalions"... https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2022/07/15/7358313/

Volunteer’s I think may have a stronger desire and will to fight because they ‘want’ to be there. Of course that may change once faced with the realities of war. Like Mike Tyson said: “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”

Dargo

07-15-22, 04:47 PM

Volunteer’s I think may have a stronger desire and will to fight because they ‘want’ to be there. Of course that may change once faced with the realities of war. Like Mike Tyson said: “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”Most of them do it for money because they are from the poorest regions of Russia and yes when they are abandoned on the front with inferiors material and support they change their mind quick.

Dargo

07-15-22, 04:51 PM

My opinion: Haven't we been hearing this a lot the last couple of month ?

https://news.yahoo.com/russian-dictator-putin-could-opt-090800846.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAGdgYHZQwglr_Oqck1WjJpy6JaIM fMNRgMxAO2m3FRD5zAvtFE5P7PeQONCncpglbml3WB3CbrzWuU BNZRn0UszPQugVnKjyXVB--Ci50i3wYhsISKUbRH0vLU6Us00OPrpemPMVs0KzCu-DFijIY5_KvDEGfpsTLUjtUOxUiLAj

MarkusAnd always the threat is empty and Russia is the loser :D

Dargo

07-15-22, 05:17 PM

I jst red that the Ukraine got delivered - apparently by the UK - M270 MLRS systems, but again with range limitations in their ammunition to 80km.Guarding Russian ammunition depots peaks in the least desirable job category. :O:

mapuc

07-15-22, 05:48 PM

This would be a game changer.

Well it would take about a year before they can use them fully

https://mil.in.ua/en/news/the-u-s-congress-is-initiating-the-training-of-ukrainian-pilots-on-f-15-and-f-16-jets/

The Press release:
https://kinzinger.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=402979

I know the White House have set a red line they wouldn't cross-It looks like they are pushing this red line in front of them.

Markus

mapuc

07-16-22, 09:24 AM

This was expected

Russia’s special services have stepped up their activities in Eastern Europe in an attempt to identify and track the routes by which weapons are supplied to Ukraine.

https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2022/07/16/7358458/

Markus

Jimbuna

07-16-22, 01:44 PM

Briton Paul Urey, who was captured by Russian-backed separatists in Ukraine, has died in detention, reports say.

The 45-year-old's family, who was contacted by the UK Foreign Office about the reports, told the BBC they had "begged" him not to go abroad.

The UK's Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said Russia must bear full responsibility for his death.

The UK is seeking urgent clarification from Ukraine and Russia about the reports.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said it had summoned the Russian ambassador, Andrey Kelin, to express its "deep concern".

Mr Urey, from Warrington, Cheshire, was detained at a checkpoint near the south-eastern city of Zaporizhzhia in April and accused of being a mercenary.

He was held captive in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) along with another man, Dylan Healy, while reportedly trying to rescue a woman and her family trapped by the fighting.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-62178505

Dargo

07-16-22, 04:55 PM

Russian Volunteer Units and Battalions
The Russian Federation has launched a large-scale drive to form volunteer battalions in the 85 “federal subjects” (or regions) that comprise the federation. Recruiting for some volunteer battalions began in June but has intensified in July, with new volunteer units being reported daily. The battalions apparently will consist of roughly 400 men, each aged between 18 and 60. They will belong to various branches of service including motorized rifle, tank, and naval infantry, but also signals and logistics. Recruits are not required to have prior military service and will undergo only 30 days of training before deployment to Ukraine.

This recruitment effort will likely be expensive if it comes close to meeting its targets... https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-volunteer-units-and-battalions

The "Salaries generally start at roughly $3,000 per month per soldier or..." I saw they upped that to $4,000

Skybird

07-17-22, 07:56 AM

Neither money nor eocnomy count in Putin's caculation. The inn er-Russian battle against oppsoition to the war has been won by his police force and fake justice.

He does not need to care for such things. Only for having enough bodies to throw at the front, that is his only concern, pretty much like the Sovjets did in the great battles against the Wehrmacht, and who was not shot during assault by the Germans, got shot by their own Sowjet officers. Time is working for Putin, the more time passes and the colder thw itne rgewts, the more mood in Europe and political stability and solidarity will crumble. He only needs to secure a constant of flow of Russioan bodies to the front. Its like driving an old locomotive, you only need to care for having enough water in the kettle and enough coals to throw into the fire, thats all. Of both Russia has plenty, come rain or come shine.

This works because many Russians living in urban areas and big cities miss the real taste of war, do not realise whats going on, because it is not their sons and fathers so much falling in Ukraine, but poor, socially disadvantaged poor lads from abandoned countrysides and ethnic minority groups, as well as crminals and mercs. Thats why I think it is absolutely necessary to enable the Ukraine to pay out the change in the currency Russia has choosen: the Ukraine must get the weapons to strike at Russian metropoles. Not necessarily civilian appartment buildings like the Russian terrorists prefer as targets to terorrise the population intentionally, but state and military buildings and institutions and garrieon inside big metropoles, powerplants, waterplants, bridges, communications, HQs, ministries, and so forth. Russians by majority must get a realistic taste of what is going in their name. They must be chase dout of bed by sirens in the night and near explosions. They must see in daylight the funerals in their neighbourhood.

Dangerous game. But such is the nature of war. Either you play it by its rules or you sit down and shoot a bullet right through yoor own head, it would not make a difference for the outcome. You play or you dont. Send them HIMARS, send therm MLRS - in the end the ukraine is currently loosing this war over the long distance. Putin plays the long-brertah card now. This cannot be allowed, a decision must be enforced much earlier by critically messing up situation inside Russia. Russia is much strionger than the Ukraine, has much more material and personnel reserves. If it is allowed to strangle Ukraine over time, Russia will win.

I would even consider to give them equivalents to the nuclear weapons they once had and then accepted to give up for prevcious US and UK "security guarantees". What these guarantees were worth we know since 2014: nothing. Not to enable them to start a nuclear escalation, but to keep Russia thinking twice before starting nuclear steps itself.

Jimbuna

07-17-22, 08:32 AM

Ukraine moves closer to getting F-15 and F-16 fighter jets as Washington approves training programme https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/ukraine-moves-closer-to-getting-f-15-and-f-16-fighter-jets-as-washington-approves-training-programme/ar-AAZEARs?ocid=mailsignout&li=BBoPWjQ

mapuc

07-17-22, 08:52 AM

Translated from a Norwegian article.

Foreign fighters talk about failing motivation
Foreign fighters who have traveled to Ukraine to fight against Russian forces are shocked by the brutality of the war, and many have returned home.

- "They fought in Afghanistan or in Iraq, but say they were not prepared for what met them here," said Polak, one of the foreign fighters fighting with the Ukrainian army.

He estimates that there are hundreds like him in the country, but says that many of them are becoming increasingly disillusioned.

- After the first encounter, they sometimes say that they were not prepared for this, and that they want to go home, he says.

Between 10 and 30 percent of those who enlist in the service of Ukraine, therefore pack their bags and return home after a short time. These are also said to have received weapons training, says a spokesman for the Foreign Legion, Damien Magrou

This generate a question.
Are these mercenary well trained soldiers from where they came or are they nothing than fortune hunters seeking an adventure ?

Some of them have been fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq. This tells me that war has become more and more brutal and todays soldiers aren't trained for this.

Markus

Jimbuna

07-17-22, 09:10 AM

The High Representative for Foreign Policy and Common Security of the European Union, Josep Borrell, has assured this Saturday that international sanctions against Russia for invading Ukraine are "taking effect" and has called for "strategic patience" on the resulting energy crisis because "it is the price to pay to defend democracy".

"Sanctions require strategic patience because it can take a long time for them to have the desired effect," Borrell explained in his personal blog in a text in which he recalled that, since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Brussels has adopted six packages of sanctions against Moscow, targeting nearly 1200 people and almost 100 entities in Russia.

Borrell defended that sanctions, including restrictions on the purchase of Russian oil, "remain an important instrument of political action".

The EU's top diplomat acknowledged that "Russia can sell its oil to other markets but this benefit is limited by the fact that Russia is forced to offer large discounts for each barrel", before indicating that this restriction "frees Europe from its energy dependence on Russia", an issue long on the table in Brussels.

"Reducing our structural energy dependence on Russia matters a lot because this dependence has been an obstacle to developing a strong European policy in the face of Moscow's aggressive actions," he expanded on this, in what he described as a European process of "detoxification" from Russian energy.

"By breaking its energy dependence, in line with its climate ambition, the EU is learning that interdependence is not always a neutral and win-win instrument," he said.

Borrell has defended the effectiveness of sanctions against Russia, which is now trying to replace imports with domestic products; a relatively successful policy in the agricultural sector but "much more difficult to achieve" in high-tech products.

"Sanctions on semiconductor imports, for example, have a direct impact on Russian companies producing consumer electronics, computers, aircraft, automobiles or military equipment," Borrell gave as an example.

The diplomat warned that the war "will be long" and the "test" hard, but "allowing Russia to prevail would mean allowing the destruction of democracies and the very basis of the world order based on international rules."

To the countries most vulnerable to the crisis, such as those in Africa, Borrell extended the EU's hand. "We stand ready to help with any difficulties they may encounter in relation to our sanctions, while urging them not to be misled by the lies and misinformation of the Russian authorities on this issue," he said.

"Since we do not want to go to war with Russia, economic sanctions and Ukraine's support are at the heart of this response. And our sanctions are beginning to take effect and will do so even more in the coming months," he concluded.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/other/borrell-says-sanctions-against-russia-over-ukraine-invasion-%c2%abare-having-an-effect%c2%bb/ar-AAZEl3J?ocid=mailsignout&li=BBoPWjQ

Skybird

07-17-22, 09:16 AM

It means that Westerners now re-learn (once again) the real nature of war, and that they can throw their super-clever assumptions about designed clinically sterile and super-intellectual warfare into the bin.

Every illusion is like a soap bubble. It bursts.

Jimbuna

07-17-22, 09:47 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAB3pd5eHxU

Jimbuna

07-17-22, 09:53 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdSSWkpDz7s

Anvart

07-17-22, 11:10 AM

Dargo

07-17-22, 01:16 PM

Jimbuna

07-17-22, 01:20 PM

Ukro-Nazi regime Orly? Sod off, dictator lover.

There are enough problems over in Ukraine right now without adding to them here on the Subsim forum so I will thank you to desist right now and thank you in advance for your co-operation.

mapuc

07-17-22, 01:54 PM

They seem scared since they come with such a threat

Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev threatens Ukraine with a "judgement day" in the event of a strike on Crimea. The Presidential Office of Ukraine responded that Medvedev causes only pity.

https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2022/07/17/7358632/

Markus

Jimbuna

07-17-22, 01:56 PM

I doubt many take him all that seriously seeing as how it is generally accepted he is looking to build support for replacing Putin whenever he lives one way or the other.

Dargo

07-17-22, 02:19 PM

UK defense chief: 50,000 Russian soldiers were either killed or injured. Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, British chief of the defense staff, told BBC that Russia lost over 30% of land combat effectiveness with nearly 1,700 tanks and nearly 4,000 armored fighting vehicles destroyed.

Catfish

07-17-22, 02:52 PM

I watched a couple, three speeches of the last persons and saw with what appetite they are swallow various kinds of fakes of the rotten through Ukro-Nazi regime and of the others russophobic lie.
One of the speakers very accurately indicated his location.
:03:
So you want to threaten anyone here? :hmmm: Grow up, compare the information you get, and cope with it.
edit: i am not anti-russian, but this thing that Putin started cannot be justified.

Jeff-Groves

07-17-22, 03:42 PM

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/24/0b/06/240b06576b518a353907d536df60e013.gif

Skybird

07-17-22, 03:53 PM

I doubt many take him all that seriously seeing as how it is generally accepted he is looking to build support for replacing Putin whenever he lives one way or the other.
I said one or two days ago the same concern - before Medvedev. I think that scenario is real. The Russians cannot give up the Crimean. The loss of face in their view would be too big. In mine and ours, too. ;)

Its the Crimean. Its Sewastopol. Its tradition, history, nationalistic narration, sentimentality, dreams of a glorious past - its all that and then more. Its Putin, and Putin always escalates, cannot accept to be seen as weak, must slam fists on table and stomp with his feet. Macho worldview. Men are tough and strong. Russians are invincible. Boys dont cry.

I think if there is a realistic chance for an offensive against Crimea, they should go for it. But not without being properly prepared to retaliate in case of the Russians then runnign total amok. I bet 3:1 they would. Crimea is a red rag for them.

Better maybe to destroy Kerch bridge, establish an air traffic denial zone via SAMs and and anti-ship missile screen in the Asow sea, retake the Southern coast of Ukraine to the Black sea, and then cut the water supply from the North (Ukraine) to the South (Crimea). Maybe not clever to attack the Crimean peninsula head on. Let Russia choke on it while Crimea gets stuck in its gullet.

But first Ukraine must get there, and win the rest of the war first. I dont take it for granted they can. Its open. Time is on Russia's side.

Skybird

07-17-22, 04:34 PM

The journalist Marina Ovsyannikova, who became known through her protest action against the military intervention in Ukraine, which was shown live on Russian television, has been arrested in Russia. This was announced on Sunday evening by her lawyer and her family. There is no information about the journalist's current whereabouts.

mapuc

07-17-22, 04:45 PM

I said one or two days ago the same concern - before Medvedev. I think that scenario is real. The Russians cannot give up the Crimean. The loss of face in their view would be too big. In mine and ours, too. ;)

Its the Crimean. Its Sewastopol. Its tradition, history, nationalistic narration, sentimentality, dreams of a glorious past - its all that and then more. Its Putin, and Putin always escalates, cannot accept to be seen as weak, must slam fists on table and stomp with his feet. Macho worldview. Men are tough and strong. Russians are invincible. Boys dont cry.

I think if there is a realistic chance for an offensive against Crimea, they should go for it. But not without being properly prepared to retaliate in case of the Russians then runnign total amok. I bet 3:1 they would. Crimea is a red rag for them.

Better maybe to destroy Kerch bridge, establish an air traffic denial zone via SAMs and and anti-ship missile screen in the Asow sea, retake the Southern coast of Ukraine to the Black sea, and then cut the water supply from the North (Ukraine) to the South (Crimea). Maybe not clever to attack the Crimean peninsula head on. Let Russia choke on it while Crimea gets stuck in its gullet.

But first Ukraine must get there, and win the rest of the war first. I dont take it for granted they can. Its open. Time is on Russia's side.

Now where did I read it I can't remember only that someone wrote

They(Ukrainian forces) don't have to take Crimea-It's enough they take Kherson oblast thereby they can cut.... to Crimea.

Markus

Catfish

07-17-22, 05:14 PM

[...] They(Ukrainian forces) don't have to take Crimea-It's enough they take Kherson oblast thereby they can cut.... to Crimea.
Markus
Ukraine should take back all the territory illegally occupied by Russia including Crimea, only question is whether they will be able to.
I am still for putting boots on the ground in Ukraine by the free world. Maybe just individually (not as Nato). Or even with Nato, does not matter. Russia has to be stopped.

Dargo

07-17-22, 05:17 PM

Now where did I read it I can't remember only that someone wrote

They(Ukrainian forces) don't have to take Crimea-It's enough they take Kherson oblast thereby they can cut.... to Crimea.

MarkusThe Kherson oblast is the water supply for Crimea, if Ukraine controls Kherson oblast they have ports for exporting grain, and they can cut the water supply to Crimea

mapuc

07-17-22, 05:35 PM

Ukraine should take back all the territory illegally occupied by Russia including Crimea, only question is whether they will be able to.
I am still for putting boots on the ground in Ukraine by the free world. Maybe just individually (not as Nato). Or even with Nato, does not matter. Russia has to be stopped.

I totally agree-As you said will they be able to-I doubt it for now.

Kherson would be easier to take.

Boots on the ground-Here I have some thoughts..Can't make up with myself whether I support it or not.

Markus

Reece

07-17-22, 07:11 PM

nikimcbee

07-17-22, 10:46 PM

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/24/0b/06/240b06576b518a353907d536df60e013.gif

I vote Jeff get a Nobel peace prize for this!:Kaleun_Applaud:

Catfish

07-18-22, 03:24 AM

All the things that never were, lies in the russian media
(german captions but english spoken text)

Russian TV Show 'Fake News' Deconstructs Kremlin's Disinformation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvC66iTtEc4

Jimbuna

07-18-22, 05:55 AM

^ Why am I not surprised?

Jimbuna

07-18-22, 06:14 AM

President Volodymyr Zelensky has suspended the head of Ukraine's spy agency (SBU) and the prosecutor general, citing many cases of treason in the two powerful organisations.

He said more than 60 former employees were now working against Ukraine in Russian-occupied areas.

A total of 651 collaboration and treason cases had been opened against law enforcement officials, he added.

The officials, Ivan Bakanov and Iryna Venediktova, have not commented.

In a video address late on Sunday, Mr Zelensky said: "Such an array of crimes against the foundations of the national security of the state... pose very serious questions to the relevant heads [of the two organisations]."

"Each of these questions will receive a proper answer," the Ukrainian president added.

In a later appearance on Ukrainian TV, Andriy Smirnov, one of Mr Zelensky's top advisers, clarified that the officials have not been fired, as initially suggested, but merely removed pending an investigation.

"In order to prevent the potential influence of these two officials on criminal proceedings, which are being investigated in relation to SBU employees who are suspected of cooperation with the aggressor country, and the same applies to the prosecutor's office, the president made appropriate decisions," Mr Smirnov said.

The removal of SBU chief Ivan Bakanov, a childhood friend of Mr Zelensky, follows the high-profile arrest of a former SBU regional head in Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014. Oleh Kulinych is suspected of treason.

"Everyone who together with him was part of a criminal group that worked in the interests of the Russian Federation will also be held accountable," Mr Zelensky said. "It is about the transfer of secret information to the enemy and other facts of co-operation with the Russian special services."

Senior intelligence officials based in Kherson have also been charged and Mr Zelensky suggested that further action would be taken against other SBU officers.

It has long been assumed Ukraine had a problem with Russian infiltration of its security services and in his speech Mr Zelensky sought to lay out the impact of repeated security breaches.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-62202078

Exocet25fr

07-18-22, 07:34 AM

You forget to say about the journalist Marina Ovsyannikova, she is free now after she said Putin is a killer...........!, curious no !?

Catfish

07-18-22, 07:46 AM

Maybe too famous to be vanished just so?
She was reportedly "detained and led to a white van" before some interrogation, no one knew anything until now. I guess she got a stern warning at least. She should be careful, no one is famous enough not to be pursued.

August

07-18-22, 08:31 AM

You forget to say about the journalist Marina Ovsyannikova, she is free now after she said Putin is a killer...........!, curious no !?

Putin is a killer and she is lucky to be famous enough not to be disappeared into the Gulag.

Regarding Joiner, I support the effort to get her out of that horrible excuse for a country but I wonder about other not so famous Americans also held by the Putin regime like Paul Whelan for example.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/27/politics/paul-whelan-left-behind-statement/index.html

Jimbuna

07-18-22, 01:16 PM

Total combat losses of Russian Federation since beginning of war - about 38,450 people, 220 planes, 188 helicopters, 1,687 tanks and 3,886 armored vehicles.

News Censor.NET War in Ukraine

The Russian invaders, who invaded the territory of Ukraine, continue to suffer losses. As of the morning of July 18, the loss of enemy personnel is approximately 38,450.

This is reported by Censor.NET with reference to the press center of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

As noted, the total combat losses of the enemy from 24.02 to 18.07 are approximately:

personnel - about 38,450 (+150) people were eliminated,

tanks - 1687 (+3) units,

armored combat vehicles - 3886 (+7) units,

artillery systems - 849 (+3) units,

multiple launch rocket system - 248 (+0) units,

air defense equipment - 113 (+3) units,

aircraft - 220 (+0) units,

helicopters - 188 (+0) units,

UAV of operational-tactical level - 690 (+2),

cruise missiles - 166 (+0),

ships/boats - 15 (+0) units,

automotive equipment and tank trucks - 2753 (+7) units,

special equipment - 70 (+2).

Dargo

07-18-22, 02:15 PM

Russian forces are moving the train offload points out of HIMARS range conclusion is the transport times have doubled, so they need twice the amount of trucks to be able to keep up the rate of delivery.

Skybird

07-18-22, 03:11 PM

Shoigu issued command to all fieldf commanders to absolutely prioritize the destruction of Ukrainian long range artillery and missiles.

Moral of the story: Russians do not like HIMARS and 777 and MLRS.

Conclusion: send Ukraine more. Much more. Make russians dream of them every night.

Can production of these be activated again?

Otto Harkaman

07-19-22, 07:52 AM

Russia-Ukraine live news: Iran to host Putin, Erdogan for talks

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will hold Syria talks with Iran’s Ebrahim Raisi in Tehran.

https://www.aljazeera.com/curious what will come out of this meeting

Putin arrives in Iran as he looks to create new anti-West alliance... after it was revealed Tehran will supply Russia with drones to aid its war in Ukraine
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11027163/Putin-arrives-Iran-looks-create-new-anti-West-alliance-secure-Tehrans-drones.html

Catfish

07-19-22, 09:13 AM

There is a bit of frustration regarding the russian "Kilo" subs, indicriminately shooting Kalibr missiles into ukrainian cities.
https://www.navyrecognition.com/index.php/naval-news/naval-news-archive/2022/april/11681-russia-fires-at-ukrainian-targets-with-a-improved-kilo-class-submarine.html
If we cannot track and destroy these things without having ships in the vicinity, this is basically a declaration of bankruptcy.
I know that they are silent and theoretically able to stay up to 260 hours submerged and 45 days overall patrol time, however their submerged operational radius should not be that big.

Could we detect them snorkeling?
How about a net of passive/active stay-in-place sonobuoys dropped by helicopters.
Self-activating loitering torpedos tuned on their noise signature.
Why are they not attacked when being rearmed in Sevastopol?
There is some growing fury about this, and not only in our "club".

Skybird

07-19-22, 09:46 AM

Why are they not attacked when being rearmed in Sevastopol?

Like Kertch bridge: range. They cannot reach the place currently. Might become possible if they manage to retake their southern coast. In a straight line, Odessa is 300+ km from Sevastopol. The Harpoons they got from Denmark and that get launched from 4x launchers on trucks cannot cover that distance, most versions of the AGM-84 are in the range of 150-220km range. I dont think Denmark got the most recent ones either.

Sonobuys from helicopter needs platforms in the vicinity that can make use of their pings and data. NATO helcioters dping that would mean that NATO enters the war. If the Ukrianioans learn to conduct such ASW operations, they would expose their helicopters to Russian air defence fire.

The only way for NATO would be to run a hunter killer sub in the region, sink the Kilos (if possible, that is...) and then officially denying that one has a sub in the region. Russia does such denial tactics all the time, but it would not buy them if they are being used against it, of course. So again there would be a high risk that a formal war between NATO and Russia becomes the consequence. The Turks would be ropyally pissed, since the straights are closed for military traffic of EVERY nationality currently, not just Russians. At least that is how I understood the treaty to work. We should not worry for that treaty maybe, but the Turks will. If only to stage another of their drama stunts again that brag with how indispensable they think they are.

Our treaties with Russia in general I do not care for anymore. They have all become obsolete, as far as I'm concerned.

Whether I would take the risk of a UK or US (nobody else would will to even just consider that) sub operation in the Black Sea or not, does not matter. We all know that no government politician in the West would take that risk, and that is what forms the official policy.

mapuc

07-19-22, 10:37 AM

Catfish

07-19-22, 12:50 PM

Like Kertch bridge: range. They cannot reach the place currently. Might become possible if they manage to retake their southern coast. In a straight line, Odessa is 300+ km from Sevastopol.

Sonobuys from helicopter needs platforms in the vicinity that can make use of their pings and data. NATO helcioters dping that would mean that NATO enters the war. If the Ukrianioans learn to conduct such ASW operations, they would expose their helicopters to Russian air defence fire.
I take it the Kilos have manpads, but then helicopters have flares and decoys. Ukraine has helicopters, i do not know about any ASW systems though. Probably not easy to equip and lacking training.
The only way for NATO would be to run a hunter killer sub in the region, sink the Kilos (if possible, that is...) and then officially denying that one has a sub in the region. Russia does such denial tactics all the time [...]
No chance for a nuclear sub to get past Istanbul, also a ('n even modern US) nuclear sub is noisier than a Kilo. You would need a modern 'conventional' submarine, and i see no way to get such to the Black sea.
Radar, sonar buoys and properly equipped Helicopters could do it, maybe with Snake island as a base.
Or reactivate the 30th flotilla. Getting subs to the black sea overland has been done before :03:

Seriously, Kilos have been introduced in the 1990ies. 30 years and no idea to find them?
Armed drones with radar?

Skybird

07-19-22, 01:35 PM

I take it the Kilos have manpads, but then helicopters have flares and decoys.
I am worried about LR SAMs and Russian interceptors.

Seriously, Kilos have been introduced in the 1990ies. 30 years and no idea to find them?
Armed drones with radar?If you can fill the sky with them 24/7 to not miss the Kilos snorkeling, while covering a significant part of the Black sea. Some hundreds should do, I assume. ;)

---------

Easier it would be if the ukraine gets ASMs of sufficient range. Indeed they have threatened today that they would attack the fleet in Sevastopol and strike targets all on Crimean territory once they have gotten such missiles. Tells me this: they want such weapons, but do not yet have them.

Skybird

07-19-22, 01:39 PM

Here is a list of what type of Harpoon Denmark have and the year they got them

Ships version (RGM-84A): 1977
Air version (AGM-84A): 1979
Sub version (UGM-84A): 1981
SLAM (AGM-84E): 1990
SLAM-ER (AGM-84H): 2000
SLAM-ER ATA (AGM-84K): 2002

Markus
Quick Google says ranges of Harpoon variants vary from 70 to 280km. In the list of yours, the one with the highest range seems to be the H and K versions with ranges of up to 250km.

Jimbuna

07-19-22, 01:53 PM

TV Rain, Russia's last independent channel is back on air, more than four months after being forced to close over its coverage of the war in Ukraine.

Known as Dozhd in Russian, it resumed broadcasting from Latvia, streaming a news programme on its YouTube channel.

Dozhd was blocked by Russia's authorities in early March - just days after Moscow had invaded Ukraine.

Many employees then fled Russia, and later started work on rebuilding the channel abroad.

Dozhd resumed its operations from a studio in Latvia's capital Riga at 20:00 Moscow time (17:00 GMT) on Monday with a Here and Now news programme.

It said it had received an EU broadcasting licence and full programming would resume in the autumn from Riga and also Amsterdam, Paris and Tbilisi, Georgia.

However, analysts say YouTube is likely to be the only way most people in Russia will be able to access the channel's output via virtual private networks (VPNs).
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-62216940

Catfish

07-20-22, 06:26 AM

An interview with journalist and author John Sweeny about his new book called "The Killer in the Kremlin"
(Sorry for the long text copy (google translation from the german t-online site), but i think it is well worth reading)

"Vladimir Putin will not be with us much longer

"War and murder is the norm under Vladimir Putin's rule. But where does this aggressiveness come from? Journalist John Sweeney has a disturbing suspicion.
Putin has ruled Russia longer than some tsars have. How did the previously inconspicuous KGB man manage to get to the Kremlin? Through murder , war and complete lack of scruples, says the British expert on Russia, John Sweeney. In the t-online conversation, the journalist explains why he thinks Putin is a psychopathic serial killer whose days are likely to be numbered soon"

t-online: Mr. Sweeney, Vladimir Putin has ruled Russia since 1999. How many people has his rule cost the lives of during this time?

John Sweeney: Not even Vladimir Putin himself knows the exact number. But he will have killed around 150,000 people so far through his direct actions. Tens of thousands died in the Second Chechen War alone, with which Putin presented himself as a strong man to the Russians at the beginning of his term in office. In 2000, as a war correspondent in Chechnya, I saw for myself the crimes committed by Russian soldiers there. Civilians were tortured and summarily shot.

But Chechnya was only the beginning. The war against Georgia followed, for example, and later Putin sent his army to Syria . And now he is fighting Ukraine.

As sad as it is, these are not the only deaths that Putin is responsible for. He murders at home and abroad . Brave people like the journalist Anna Politkovskaya or the politician Boris Nemtsov had to die because they criticized Russia's rulers and could be dangerous to them - I'm convinced of that.

Politkovskaya was shot dead in her home in Moscow in 2006 , and Nemtsov in 2015 on the Great Moskva Bridge in the Russian capital.

Exactly. And in both cases there is evidence that Chechens did Putin's dirty work by committing these murders. They are said to have been men in the service of Ramzan Kadyrov, who rules Chechnya with an iron fist on behalf of Putin.

You also accuse Putin, for example , of pulling the strings in a series of bomb attacks on residential buildings in Moscow in 1999. Hundreds died, and Chechens were officially accused of the crimes.

The investigations at the time were a farce. The security authorities only had circumstantial evidence, and some of the accused were then "shot" during the Chechen war. This was very convenient for the Kremlin. The whole thing stinks of Russian intelligence. In September 1999, a bomb was also planted in Ryazan, south of Moscow. However, not by terrorists, but by employees of the secret service FSB. After the thing was blown, it was said that the bomb was a dummy and that the whole thing was an exercise. I have my doubts. Putin had a hand in this to infuriate the Russians for his war in Chechnya.

While the Russian troops were still fighting in Chechnya, Vladimir Putin was celebrated in the German Bundestag in 2001 with what appeared to be a conciliatory speech. Didn't anyone in the west want to understand what kind of man Putin is?

Everyone, western politicians in the lead, wanted to see the good in Putin: finally a guy who would ensure a certain order in Russia! A guy who would let gas and oil flow West in peace. But what they didn't really understand or didn't want to understand: Putin is a real psychopath. He gets his proverbial kick from taking stuff that other people own. And again and again and again. Putin behaves like any addict: the next kick has to be better than the one before.

Are you alluding to the many wars and murders? You list them in your new book "The Killer in the Kremlin" about Vladimir Putin.

Exactly. Chechnya, Georgia, Crimea, Syria and now Ukraine again. We've already touched on the sad list. It's getting worse and worse, Putin wants more and more. But there is a second problem that nobody in the West really wanted to admit: Putin is not only a psychopath, he is also a serial killer. And people like that don't just stop killing. Western politicians are quite used to negotiating and doing business with autocrats. Only the Kremlin boss was simply a house number too big. Putin has screwed all of us powerfully.

Most recently on February 24, 2022, when the Russian army invaded Ukraine.

Well, Putin made a very big mistake by attacking Ukraine. Because now everyone knows what kind of guy we're dealing with. The solution is also obvious: we must eliminate Putin forever. Cost what it may. Russia must suffer total humiliation so that the people there themselves want to get rid of Putin.

Do you think it is likely that Putin's end could be near?

Vladimir Putin will not be with us much longer. I dare to make this prediction. He is making the same mistake as Tsar Nicholas II, who led Russia into the First World War: Putin vastly overestimates his power - and the strength of his army anyway. Not to mention the loyalty of his courtiers.

Is Putin's rule really that fragile? That's hard to believe.

The Russian oligarchs certainly don't like to see Putin jeopardize everything they've accumulated over the decades. If the war goes badly, things will get tight for Putin. He's also a lot weaker than we think. The Kremlin still does not call the war war, still does not call for universal conscription. The people of St. Petersburg and Moscow don't want their sons to die on the battlefields in Ukraine. That's why Putin only sends the poor people from northern Russia to the front, who die there in large numbers. These are all signs of weakness.

After initial failures, the Russian army is now operating successfully in Ukraine.

And precisely for this reason, the West must continue to arm the Ukrainians. Tanks, artillery, everything that is there must be delivered. So far we have been too hesitant for fear of an escalation, but the Americans in particular now seem to have got the message. One can only impress Putin with strength, he will mercilessly exploit any weakness.

You've seen Putin up close yourself. For example, in 2014, after a Russian-made surface-to-air missile fired from the pro-Russian separatist areas in Ukraine destroyed a Dutch passenger plane. How did he make you feel?

Even then, Putin was slippery. But in a way it was different from today. When I confronted him about the downing of the Dutch plane, he seemed approachable and flexible in a way. This is no comparison to today's Putin. Do you remember his appearance at the National Security Council a few days before the Russian invasion of Ukraine? Putin was in full James Bond villain mode, especially when he almost snarled at his intelligence agent, Sergei Naryshkin, when he didn't act quickly enough on what his boss wanted him to do.

Why has Putin changed so much? Because he always got away with his machinations?

The Kremlin boss is a complex man, nobody knows what's going on in his head. Putin can be very humble and caring, but it's just as easy for him to unleash his army on Ukraine, which then massacres civilians. I think there are two reasons Putin has become so unabashedly aggressive. For one thing, he has been in power for around 22 years – and he now believes the nonsense that Russian propaganda spins together.

What is the second reason?

Something is absolutely wrong with Putin's health . Is it some kind of cancer, as is so often claimed? That would be possible. That's why Putin is now risking everything with the war against Ukraine. Because he's running out of time. But I also suspect that Putin is on steroids.

Do you have evidence?

Many years ago, Putin had a horse riding accident, it must have been a painful affair. Steroids are used to treat persistent pain. On the side, they can also make you aggressive - and turn a gaunt, thin-faced guy like Valdimir Putin into the man we fear today. His face looks bloated, and today there is nothing to be seen of the perspicacity I saw in the Kremlin boss in 2014. Probably Putin is addicted to steroids - I stand by it.

Now we cannot explain Putin's aggressiveness solely by possible drug abuse.

That's correct. But the Russian president has always been callous. The KGB, where Putin had been hired in 1975, issued him with an appraisal at the time. Thus, Putin showed a serious lack of empathy for other people and a fairly underdeveloped ability to assess risks correctly. We should still shake hands with the man who judged Putin that way back then for his knowledge of human nature.

But what will happen in Russia when Putin is gone?

There will be no peaceful Russia and no end to sanctions without real elections. Think of Willy Brandt. He drove to Warsaw , fell on his knees and begged for forgiveness. That was a great moment for Germany and Europe. A future Russian president will have to admit that his country has made tragic mistakes. This is the only way Russia can find its way back to Europe. Until then, it will remain a sad copy of North Korea.

Who do you see as a possible successor to Putin? About Alexei Navalny , who is currently in prison ?

Alexei Navalny is the number one candidate - if Putin will allow him to live. My Ukrainian friends are very wary of him. After all, Navalny supported the annexation of Crimea and flirted with the nationalist right. However, he has abandoned these positions and now surrounds himself with liberals. If Putin were really strong, he would have killed Navalny long ago. But if Navalny died, there would be uprisings in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Putin is very afraid of that. Or let me put it this way: this is the moment that Putin really fears.

What about the power structures in the Kremlin? You write in your book that Putin is a creature of the secret service. But what is the source of his power?

It's a mixture of carrot and stick, Putin operates with corruption and fear. Corruption in Russia is virulent, the carrot consists of an offer: If you do what Putin wants, you can keep your money as an oligarch. And the sums are extraordinarily high. Anyone who rebels ends up in a camp like former oil billionaire Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Or in a grave. That's the whip, consisting of the Kremlin's judiciary, the police , but above all the secret service. Basically, the secret service has ruled Russia, or rather the Soviet Union, since 1917. With a short break under Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin. That is why there has never been any real de-Stalinization. And that's the basic problem: Putin is a legacy of Stalin.

Speaking of the secret service: in recent weeks and months there has been a lot of talk about alleged suicides by oligarchs associated with the Russian company Gazprom. What do you make of it?

In some cases, they are likely suicides. For some rich men, the invasion of Ukraine is a disaster, they probably suffered heavy financial losses. In other cases, I think it's possible that someone helped, so the people were murdered. Some men at the highest level of the Russian state may have said something that didn't sit well with the Kremlin. If Russian authorities speak of suicide, I would be generally cautious.

Let's talk a little bit about Gerhard Schröder , the former German Chancellor. What do you think of him?

Gerhard Schröder is Putin's man. Look at his involvement with the Nord Stream pipeline project, his dinners with Putin, his wealth and his adopted children from St. Petersburg. He has been married four times but has no biological children. But now Schröder was able to adopt two Russian children. The compromising material that Russian intelligence agencies love to use isn't always about sex or money. Often it is also about family and children. In my opinion, Schröder should be held accountable for what he did.

But Schröder is not the only one who maintained a conspicuous closeness to Russia. In addition, evidence of misconduct by the former German chancellor would have to be determined, if it existed.

Russia's secret services have built and financed the extreme right everywhere: Britain , USA, Germany, France , Italy . Brexit , for example, was promoted by Moscow, and Trump was supported by Moscow in his election campaign. Therefore, the people who received Russian money must be investigated. Gerhard Schröder should be the number one target of this necessary investigation. Boris Johnson comes second.

Now Olaf Scholz , as Chancellor, has to face the threat posed by Russia. Will he make it?

I think Olaf Scholz is an honest man. He will do his best.

Mr. Sweeney, thank you very much for the interview."

Jimbuna

07-20-22, 09:04 AM

Russia's military focus in Ukraine is no longer "only" the east of the country, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said.

In an interview with Russian state media, he implied Moscow's strategy had changed after the West supplied Ukraine with longer-range weapons.

Russia would now have to push Ukrainian forces further from the front line to ensure its own security, he explained.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-62231936

Any excuse will do.

Jimbuna

07-20-22, 09:10 AM

The European Commission has urged countries across the bloc to cut their gas use by 15% from August to March amid fears Russia could halt supplies.

It says the target is voluntary but will become legally binding if Moscow turns off the taps this summer.

The key Nord Stream 1 pipeline from Russia to Germany has been offline for maintenance for 10 days and is due to be turned back on this Thursday.

But there are concerns Moscow will not follow through on its promise.

Adding to the uncertainty, Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that it was not clear what condition a turbine from the pipeline would be returned in after repairs in Canada.

The Russian president said there was a risk the equipment would have to be switched off at "some point" and Nord Stream 1 would be shut down.

Russia supplied Europe with 40% of its natural gas last year, with Germany the continent's largest importer in 2020, followed by Italy.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said a Europe-wide cut-off was now a "likely scenario".

"Russia is blackmailing us. Russia is using energy as a weapon," she said. "Therefore, in any event, whether it's a partial, major cut-off of Russian gas or a total cut-off of Russian gas, Europe needs to be ready."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62230201

Skybird

07-20-22, 02:09 PM

This hopefully will do severe damage to Germany's long time reputation. It deserves it. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes:

Many words, but no ring exchange

Berlin wanted to help Ukraine with a ring swap procedure. It was supposed to be quick. But so far nothing has come of it.

Some time ago, the Bundestag called on Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (both SPD) by a large majority to send Ukraine more than solidarity greetings and some old tank fists. The Ukrainian army, the parliament decided at the end of April, should also receive "heavy weapons and complex systems" for its resistance against the Russian attackers. This was also to be done via the so-called "ring swap," whereby several NATO partners would quickly deliver their older Soviet-designed tanks to Ukraine in exchange for swift replacements from Germany.

The advantage for Berlin: It would not have to send Kiev itself any or only a few heavy weapons such as artillery, tanks or rocket launchers and would thus be less likely to anger Moscow. Some complied with the proposal; the Czech Republic and Poland, for example, swiftly delivered their T-72 stocks to the Ukrainians; Poland alone brought some 300 battle tanks across the border. Warsaw hoped that Germany would quickly replenish the depleted depots of Polish tank troops. "That's where we are in talks at the moment, and it's happening very quickly now," Lambrecht said as early as April 21.

However, the talks are dragging on. On June 1, Scholz told the plenum that they had launched "a first ring exchange with our Czech friends." Ukraine will get Soviet battle tanks, Scholz said, familiar equipment, and "we will provide replacements." He also spoke with his Greek counterpart, he said. He, Scholz, had "agreed with Prime Minister Mitsotakis that Greece will supply infantry fighting vehicles from former NVA stocks and that we will replenish the Greek stocks with German infantry fighting vehicles in return."

Not a single tank from Germany

But so far nothing has come of all this. So far, not a single tank from German stocks has been replaced for the eastern neighbors. As the Defense Ministry admitted on Wednesday only after multiple requests, there is currently not even an initial agreement. Negotiations with Slovenia, Slovakia, Greece, the Czech Republic and Poland are reportedly underway. At the end of June, Lambrecht criticized in plenary those who doubted that they would succeed. She said in plenary on June 22 that there was "good exchange with Slovakia, with Poland, with the Czech Republic and with Greece. I sometimes read that things are bumping along. The responsible minister in the respective ministry in the other country knows nothing about difficulties. We are not impressed by that." A month later, almost the same information: a ministry spokeswoman says, "We are in constructive talks with our partners."

In addition to the usual legal-bureaucratic procedures that show little regard for wartime events, the negotiations may also be so difficult because Lambrecht's offers are so poor. On Tuesday, for example, it became known from the Polish parliament what the SPD politician had offered her Polish colleague: To replace some 300 Soviet T-72 main battle tanks, Germany offered to supply 20 Leopard of an older version. But by no means immediately, but rather one per month starting in April 2023, and later three tanks per month. "20 for almost 300," Polish politicians and also CDU defense politician Roderich Kiesewetter were outraged by this.

He said, "We're visibly gambling away trust built up over years here, and I certainly feel deceived as a parliamentarian when weeks ago there was simultaneous talk of immediate implementation." Kiesewetter called the policy of the traffic light coalition a "failure to help Ukraine." He said it was a loss of Germany's reputation in Eastern Europe; "every day that deliveries are not made costs lives in Ukraine." Experts in Britain and the United States believe there is political intent behind this, in addition to incompetence and shortages. Berlin, the British "Guardian" and the "New York Times" agreed this week, wants to supply Ukraine with just enough so that Russia can't simply win. "Cynical procrastination" is what the Guardian calls Germany's stance.

The decision to supply heavy weapons, not just a few helmets and old bazookas from moldy boxes, was also supported by the Social Democrats at the end of April. In the plenum, party chairman Lars Klingbeil almost pathetically praised the fact that there was now "a clear signal to Vladimir Putin and a clear signal to the people in Ukraine that we as the German Bundestag are on the right side of history." Meanwhile, the "ring exchange" is a symbol of disappointment with Berlin.

The German government has moved to supply heavy weapons itself. However, this seems to be mainly for political self-defense: For five months after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the strongest economic power on the Western continent has been deprived of a total of seven self-propelled howitzers. And even this was accompanied by the minister's lamentation that she would soon reach the very limit of what was possible. As to the weight of the German howitzer delivery, it should be said that Ukraine initially had about 200 such weapon systems and a similar number of multiple rocket launchers. According to Western estimates, Russia has about 1300 self-propelled howitzers in service in the theater of war, plus a similar number of multiple rocket launchers.

The total quantity of military equipment supplied by Germany is manageable. Even faraway Canada has sent Ukraine more armaments, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy. Most recently, Lambrecht had announced his intention to deliver three more howitzers, not without lamenting: "With that, I'm already going to the absolute limit of what's responsible."

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (http://www.DeepL.com/Translator) (free version)

Add to this the fact that meanwhile it became known that Germany'S defence budget in the coming 5-7 years will stagnate at 1.5% and sometimes will even drop below that (down to 1.2%), and that the special 100 bn budget for the BW is being used to already reach these reduced yearly budgets, is no special budget additional to the yearly defence budgets.

The real financial demand of the forces is caöcukated to be severla times as high than just this.

Germany remains to be a security vacuum in the centre of Europe. And will not be able to fulfill its treaty obligations in NATO in the future.

Business as usual. I read that anger and rage and antipathy towards Germany is growing in Eastern European countries. Rightly so!

Dargo

07-20-22, 02:36 PM

Strategic bridge near Kherson badly damaged by Ukrainian missiles A Ukrainian missile attack has severely damaged a crucial bridge near the southern city of Kherson. The Antonivsky Bridge is the only bridge over the Dnieper River near the Russian-held city and is used by Russia to supply troops. Smaller vehicles can still cross the badly damaged bridge, but it is too unsafe for trucks. Local authorities say the over one kilometer long bridge will be repaired. The attack with the Himars missile installation was carried out yesterday morning around 04:00. Twelve missiles reportedly slammed into the road surface. There were no injuries in the attack.

This morning, U.S. Defense Secretary Austin announced that four more Himars installations will be sent to Ukraine. Kiev hopes to use this long-range artillery to turn the tide of the war. With such weapons, often deployed from relatively safe territory, Ukraine aims to weaken Russia's supply lines.

"If the attacks continue, the bridge may collapse," a deputy head of the pro-Russian administration of Kherson told a local news agency. The bridge is important not only for supplies but also for the possible withdrawal of troops from the region, the British Ministry of Defense reported in its daily intelligence briefing. "Control of the Dnieper crossing is likely to become of great strategic importance in the outcome of the fighting in the region."

nikimcbee

07-20-22, 03:03 PM

Holy cow, subs actually do something? So, who sinks one first?:Kaleun_Periskop:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BH_3WhdpSSM

Catfish

07-20-22, 03:40 PM

^ ahem:
https://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showpost.php?p=2818787&postcount=5111

Obviously not so easy. They were built in the 1990ies, have been improved, and no one can obviously find them.
This is why i asked which methods COULD be used to find and destroy them.

mapuc

07-20-22, 06:41 PM

Saw this live as it happened.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDDMtvhum2o

Markus

Skybird

07-21-22, 04:38 AM

Some severe mistakes by Selenski. Part of the old problem of nepotism and corruption in the Ukraine.

https://beta.dw.com/en/opinion-zelenskyy-is-the-problem-not-his-friends/a-62540903

Add to this ^ that Selenski before the war objected to American warnings about a Russian attack being imminent and delayed starting preparations endlessly, until it was too late.

All in all the Ukraine is lucky to have him right now, he is a strong and motivating identification figure, but its not that he is perfect or that no shadows fall on his "legacy". Some of what the article says is the reason why I still object to Ukrainian EU and NATO membership. First the war must have come to an end, and then they will need years and years of doing their homeworks (all the time while repairing their country on the material level, and the eocnomy). The state's power structures in essence are that of a hijacked and/or failed state. Before this obstacle has been fixed by the inhabitants of the Ukraine, I think the West cannot even afford to let them in.

Skybird

07-21-22, 05:00 AM

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/ukraine-russia-foreign-soldiers-invasion-morale-us-veterans-rcna39268

Ukraine Armed Forces estimate that Russia is using eight times as many artillery munitions each day, firing thousands more shells than the Ukrainians and stymying their efforts.
(...)
“The number of people that are upset and have low morale has increased, and that’s partly because of the way the Russians have chosen to fight,” Ripley Rawlings, a retired U.S. Marine Corps lieutenant colonel and author, who is supplying foreign fighters in Ukraine through his U.S.-based organization, Ripley’s Heroes, said.

(...)
Despite the challenges, fighters who spoke to NBC News remained adamant about their commitment to pushing out the Kremlin’s forces. The soldiers admitted, however, that supply shortages, delays in receiving weapons promised by the West, and communication frustrations have challenged their spirits after months of battle.
Other common complaints included that counter-offensive strategies were undermined by older Ukrainian commanders sticking to Soviet tactics. They also noted poor communication among groups, with one soldier highlighting the lack of “a centralized unit that has everybody by the tail and knowing where people are.”

(...)
The American fighter who was in Severodonetsk said he and his unit were trapped in a trench for 14 hours on the front in Ukraine’s east due to constant Russian shelling, but the next day they could see a clear horizon thanks to the truck-mounted long-range rocket launchers sent by the U.S.
“Every single one of those artillery positions was destroyed, and there were no artillery barrages all day,” he said. “The Russians got it back up and running because they seem to have an endless supply of s—, but those weapons, man, they’re a game changer.”

Dargo

07-21-22, 12:45 PM

Dozens of artillery guns, hundreds of drones and tens of thousands of ammunition rounds are to be sent by the UK to Ukraine over the coming weeks. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the package would ensure that Ukrainians had the "tools to defend their country from Putin's illegal invasion".

The announcement follows last month's government pledge of another £1bn in military support to Kyiv. Russia has said its military focus is no longer limited to eastern Ukraine. In an interview with state media on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov implied Moscow's strategy had changed after Western nations supplied Ukraine with increasingly powerful weapons.

The latest support from the UK is set to include more than 20 M109 155mm self-propelled guns and 36 L119 105mm artillery guns, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said. A further 50,000 rounds of ammunition for Ukraine's Soviet-era artillery have also been promised, along with drones and at least 1,600 more anti-tank weapons.

Jack Watling of the Royal United Services Institute said the latest package of British support was "very much attuned with what Ukraine needs". He said some of the guns offered are capable of outranging Moscow's artillery. But because Kyiv's troops were using around 6,000 rounds a day, there would be a "ongoing requirement", he added. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-62253202

Jimbuna

07-21-22, 12:48 PM

This hopefully will do severe damage to Germany's long time reputation. It deserves it.

Germany remains to be a security vacuum in the centre of Europe. And will not be able to fulfill its treaty obligations in NATO in the future.

Business as usual. I read that anger and rage and antipathy towards Germany is growing in Eastern European countries. Rightly so!

And that my friend is the gospel truth :yep:

Jimbuna

07-21-22, 12:57 PM

There is no intelligence that Vladimir Putin is unstable or in bad health, the director of the CIA has said.

There has been increasing unconfirmed media speculation that Mr Putin, who turns 70 this year, may be suffering from ill health, possibly cancer.

But William Burns said there was no evidence to suggest this, joking that he appeared "too healthy".

The Kremlin has again dismissed the reports of Mr Putin's ill-health as "nothing but fakes".

It came as the US announced it would provide Ukraine with more long-range weapons.

Earlier Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia's military focus in Ukraine was no longer "only" the east and implied Moscow's strategy had changed after the West supplied Ukraine with such weapons.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-62246914

Jimbuna

07-21-22, 01:14 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZeFMxGiAdU

Jimbuna

07-21-22, 01:27 PM

Russia will struggle to maintain its military campaign and Ukraine may be able to hit back, the head Britain's foreign intelligence service says.

MI6 chief Richard Moore said Russia had seen "epic fails" in its initial goals; removing Ukraine's president, capturing Kyiv and sowing disunity in the West.

He was speaking at the Aspen Security Forum, in a rare public appearance.

He called the invasion "the most egregious naked act of aggression... in Europe since the Second World War."

He said recent Russian gains were "tiny" and that Russia was "about to run out of steam".

"Our assessment is that the Russians will increasingly find it difficult to find manpower and materiel over the next few weeks," Mr Moore told the conference in Colorado. "They will have to pause in some way and that will give the Ukrainians the opportunity to strike back."

That view may be seen as optimistic and Ukraine's ability to counter-attack may well depend on greater supplies of Western weaponry, which its officials say has often been too slow in arriving.

The MI6 chief said some kind of battlefield success would be an "important reminder to the rest of Europe that this is a winnable campaign" - particularly ahead of a winter which was likely to see pressure on gas supplies.

"We are in for a tough time," he said. A further reason to maintain support to help the Ukrainians win, or "at least negotiate from a position of significant strength", he said, was because China's leader Xi Jinping was "watching like a hawk".
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-62259179

Skybird

07-21-22, 01:59 PM

Der Spiegel:

Russian troops are reportedly storing heavy military equipment at the occupied Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant. This was announced by the Ukrainian nuclear energy company Energoatom via Telegram. with. Heavy equipment and ammunition are now located next to the technology that ensures the operation of a generator, it said.

"The occupiers continue to cynically violate all norms and requirements of fire, nuclear and radiation safety of the nuclear power plant operation by storing heavy military equipment, ammunition, weapons and explosives in the engine room of the power plant of the largest nuclear power plant in Europe," it says. If ammunition were to explode, it could cause a dangerous fire.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

-----------

Hungary ordered additional 700 million qubic meters of gas from Russia. The Kremlin is checking the order, they say.

--------------

Dargo

07-21-22, 02:44 PM

+ over 20 M109 155 mm howitzers
+ 36 L119 105mm artillery guns
+ 1,600 anti-tank weapons
+ counter-battery radar systems
+ over 50,000 rounds of ammunition
+ hundreds of drones
+ hundreds of loitering aerial munitions
The UK is giving near 25 percent of their artillery to Ukraine, while the German government is complaining about not having enough to give.

mapuc

07-21-22, 04:28 PM

Physiologically, according to the CIA, Putin should be healthy - I'm not a trained doctor, so I can't comment on that. But how is he doing psychologically?(can't comment on that either)

Markus

Skybird

07-22-22, 02:49 AM

I stick to what I said before: he has a psychopathic personality disorder. He has PSYCHOPATH written all on him from head to toes.

Reece

07-22-22, 06:51 AM

Russia issues new threats to Ukraine

Blow it out of your pants Putin!! :Kaleun_Goofy:

Skybird

07-22-22, 07:55 AM

When Poland complained about the Germans' broken promises regarding the "Ringtausch" on tanks, some media over here said, following government sources apparently, that the deal fialed so far only becasue the Poles did not just want replacement tanks, but they wanted the newest and latest version of Leopards that even the BW does not yet have.

Apparently that was just another German lie. Details now get reported that border the hilarious. While Poland managed to send the Ukraine 200 T-72 within just two months, the German offer for that jujst 20 (!) Leopard-2s of older versions, with a delivery rate of one per month and not starting before Spring 2023.

It is unimaginable for me that the incompetent and clueless dilettanttee heading the defence ministry is acting without knowledge and okay by Bubble-Olaf. That is not imaginable. So in the end, the responsibility for this policy is with Olaf "the Smokescreen" Scholz once again. Lügensack.

Its gettign worse and worse with the Germans and their standing in thiscrisis. It gets worse and worse. It makes me sick. There were according deals promoted by the Germans with Slovenia, Czech Republic, Greece, and all have failed so far, with the partners turning away, smoking and furious. The Germna govenrment n evertheless sells it as abig success story to the Germna public, and already counts the tlake dbaout and notdleivered tnaks as concoluded deals.

Thats the same government that says that within short time the Bundeswehr will become NATO's biggest and most powerful land army in Europe. :doh:

The point is the tanks must not be taken from the active BW service force, but the industry has them readied by the many dozens, both MBTs and IFVs, and coudl deliver them immedoiately. Its Bubble Scholz, the split-tongued cheater and windtalker, who prevents it.

Liars and idiots, idiots and liars. Lying and incompetence as a government program.

And economy minister Habeck still rejects to consider extending the running time of the last 3 nuclear powerplants. His speakers still give the impression that heat pumps and electricity have no link.

How can one switch off one's own modern nculear powerplants - and at the same time planning and basing on importing nuclear power from other countries and older reactors...??? Two of these last three German powerplants are amongst the most modern nuclear plants in service worldwide...

Partei, Partei über alles,
über alles in der Welt...

Catfish

07-22-22, 03:18 PM

Lambrecht ... :03:

Next Hungary and the Russia gas deal..

mapuc

07-22-22, 06:39 PM

I stick to what I said before: he has a psychopathic personality disorder. He has PSYCHOPATH written all on him from head to toes.

What if Putin is a cynical power-hungry president instead and not suffering from Psychopathically personality disorder ?

Only a guess from my side.

He is a leader who have seen NATO grow/expand up to his front door and now his side door have this turned him mad or did he become a cynical President ?

(This is NOT an attempt to defend Putins war in Ukraine-Cause there's NO excuse for his action in Ukraine)
Edit
Thinking, maybe I should search to see if Psychopath and cynicism is the same and here is what I found
The headlines on google search page: Are psychopaths inherently cynical ?
"Yes they are, like psychopaths they have no empathy. All on the same spectrum."
End edit

Markus

mapuc

07-23-22, 07:39 AM

If true then we then we know Russia again

Russian missiles strike Odessa port day after grain deal, Ukraine says

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/07/23/russian-strike-odessa-port-ukraine-grain/

Markus

Reece

07-23-22, 07:57 AM

Typical Russian nazi's, didn't expect anything else from them! :Kaleun_Mad:

Skybird

07-23-22, 10:55 AM

What if Putin is a cynical power-hungry president instead and not suffering from Psychopathically personality disorder ?

Only a guess from my side.

He is a leader who have seen NATO grow/expand up to his front door and now his side door have this turned him mad or did he become a cynical President ?

(This is NOT an attempt to defend Putins war in Ukraine-Cause there's NO excuse for his action in Ukraine)
Edit
Thinking, maybe I should search to see if Psychopath and cynicism is the same and here is what I found
The headlines on google search page: Are psychopaths inherently cynical ?
"Yes they are, like psychopaths they have no empathy. All on the same spectrum."
End edit

Markus
Psychopaths lack the ability to feel empathy, are highly abusive and manipulative, and their whole world consits of only one word: "I". They accept neither law nor rules, only their own interst and desire, and for that they most "naturally" do whatever it takes to get their will, their interest and desire. If brutality is needed: they pratcice it. If its necessary to pretend, they do it. If kindess is in need to get what they want, they show it (without feeling it). If a virtuous mix of all this is needed, they alter their approach effortlessly form one seocnd to the next. They feel nothing in all this, and certainly no regret, no scruples, no remorse.

The others do not exist for them as valid entities with their own rights and needs. The others only are objects that cna be handled and manipulated and used like you arrange the items on your table the way you want them to lay there, or sort books on your shelves in the way you desire it to be. Resistance to this justifies any amount of force, violence, cruelty, abuse necessary to enforce the will the psychopath has.

Psychopaths know no remorse, no differentiation between good and evil. They lie, cheat, betray, kill, torture, steal, manipulate as they see necessary, and like with empathy they lack the aiblity to even feel such things. This is important to understand: we are talking about a real deficit here, not about something abused or crippled, but something that is not there. Like somebody cannot speak if he has no vocal cords, and cannot hear if he has no nerves in his ear.

No known therapy, AFAIK. You can only protect the public by locking such individuals away - or kill them. Scorpions sting. Frogs squawk. Sharks bite. Psychopaths are what they are. End of story.

mapuc

07-23-22, 11:25 AM

Thank you so much for your in-deep explanation of the true nature of a Psychopath.

Can you by hearing and watching a person from distance tell if he or she has psychopathic tendency ?

Markus

vanjast

07-23-22, 01:09 PM

If nobody has noticed yet.. is what has really surprised me.

The Republic of the USA, Republic of China, Russia, India, Iran and as many countries are working together. The last I heard 9 out of 10 of the worlds largest military's are on board. I'm guessing now that this number could be as much as a 100+ countries.
The odd one out I'm not sure of, but most likely a lesser unit.

The Ukraine gov (not the people) and anyone supporting it, is just one problem they intend to be rid of, with a possibility of Taiwan being next.

It was always a forgone conclusion that Ukraine gov will fall (like many other govs currently) there's been plenty of intelligence to support this for many years - Just don't watch MSM you'll get the wrong idea.

From what I hear Ukraine has been the centre of some really bad things for many years, propped up by the biden/obama/clinton/bush clan.
Ukraine has fallen, MSM just hasn't told you yet.

BTW real raw news dot com will give you an idea of what's happened to those 4 characters I mentioned, and all their close supporters. :D
It is but one site.
Keep in mind when you read these sites, everything is in 'code'.:03:

Catfish

07-23-22, 02:25 PM

:D

Nope.

Dargo

07-23-22, 02:44 PM

Catfish

07-23-22, 02:53 PM

Dargo

07-23-22, 03:02 PM

So Turkey and Russia and Ukraine signed a contract to export grain from Ukraine. Next i hear is Russia is shelling Odessa harbour, you know the one where the grain exports start.
I don't know, Russia is lying all the time.. but could we consider to send some missiles via Kreml? I mean just to thank them for their peaceful action, tolerance, respecting treaties and so on.This is the only thing that the pathetic Putin can do, sending his last guided missiles else where on the fronts he loses and destroys his army capacity for decades to come and was he not a liar from the beginning of his career the KGB did conclude that with his criminal mindset.

Skybird

07-23-22, 03:22 PM

Thank you so much for your in-deep explanation of the true nature of a Psychopath.

Can you by hearing and watching a person from distance tell if he or she has psychopathic tendency ?

Markus
Watching Putin since over 20 years, in his case yes. :03:

Rockstar

07-23-22, 03:38 PM

"The Republic of the USA" I LOL'd for the rest the same Qism NAO go come back when you can write code!

He may not be be very good at crypto but he is correct in that the United States is a Republic. :). In fact it’s even in our pledge of allegiance in accordance with U.S. Code 4 USC 4.

”I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

A sturdy old woman, wearing a shawl, approached Benjamin Franklin and asked him, “well, Doctor, what do we have, a republic or a monarchy?” Franklin replied sagely, “a republic, if you can keep it”. She said, “and why not keep it?” And Franklin continued, “because the people, on tasting the dish, are always disposed to eat more of it than does them good.”

Dargo

07-23-22, 03:53 PM

He may not be be very good at crypto but he is correct in that the United States is a Republic. :). In fact it’s even in our pledge of allegiance in accordance with U.S. Code 4 USC 4.

”I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

A sturdy old woman, wearing a shawl, approached Benjamin Franklin and asked him, “well, Doctor, what do we have, a republic or a monarchy?” Franklin replied sagely, “a republic, if you can keep it”. She said, “and why not keep it?” And Franklin continued, “because the people, on tasting the dish, are always disposed to eat more of it than does them good.”The United States Constitution "guarantee[s] to every State in this Union a Republican form of Government" in this union nobody refers to the republic of America

Dargo

07-23-22, 03:57 PM

So Turkey and Russia and Ukraine signed a contract to export grain from Ukraine. Next i hear is Russia is shelling Odessa harbour, you know the one where the grain exports start.
I don't know, Russia is lying all the time.. but could we consider to send some missiles via Kreml? I mean just to thank them for their peaceful action, tolerance, respecting treaties and so on.Russia's pinpoint accuracy Kalibr missiles missed targets in Odesa port, but hit very precisely remnants of trust that Turkey and UN apparently still had. Any deal with Russia is no more than monkey business.

Catfish

07-23-22, 04:15 PM

Russia's pinpoint accuracy Kalibr missiles missed targets in Odesa port, but hit very precisely remnants of trust that Turkey and UN apparently still had. Any deal with Russia is no more than monkey business.
I do not understand how ANYONE in this world can support Russia, unless he or she is a psychopath.

While Russia is stocking up weapons in this nuclear power plant to prevent attacks, Ukraine still attacks them with surgical strikes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ib14UOXBR0w

Rockstar

07-23-22, 04:19 PM

I do not understand how ANYONE in this world can support Russia, unless he or she is a psychopath.

While Russia is stocking up weapons in this nuclear power plant to prevent attacks, Ukraine still attacks them with surgical strikes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ib14UOXBR0w

That looks like someone kicked over an ant hill.

Catfish

07-23-22, 04:39 PM

Russians: "All they tell on TV is F'n nonsense"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Fk2URk9tX4

mapuc

07-23-22, 05:07 PM

Watching Putin since over 20 years, in his case yes. :03:

In which way do you see Zelenskyy..? Please don't tell me he has psychopathic tendency too.

Markus

Otto Harkaman

07-23-22, 05:17 PM

I hope we are prepared to stop him (Putin) if he decides to do something unthinkably desperate.

mapuc

07-23-22, 05:32 PM

I hope we are prepared to stop him (Putin) if he decides to do something unthinkably desperate.

If Putin decide to use Nukes then I can't see any other way than reply with same weapon or is there a third way-to prevent the Pandoras box open fully

Markus

Catfish

07-23-22, 06:19 PM

^ True that.

B.t.w. up to now no Himars system has been destroyed and
"Ukraine to Take Back Kherson This Summer"
(Apart from the above there are some good statements made here)

https://youtu.be/fAnCn5H6LU8

mapuc

07-23-22, 06:54 PM

Correct me if I'm wrong or have forgot something.

The Ukrainian army has enough manpower but lack weapons, but the weapon they do have is mostly modern weapon from West.

The Russian army lack manpower but has a lot of weapon where most of it is from old age.

Markus

vanjast

07-24-22, 04:27 AM

"The Republic of the USA" I LOL'd for the rest the same Qism NAO go come back when you can write code!

Think of it this way.. :03:

Your boat is in thick mist, and a sailor warns you of rocks nearby (how he knows is irrelevant).
Do you ignore the sailor, or do you take precautions.. ( ie change course).

This is the situation.:)

mapuc

07-24-22, 09:22 AM

A must read I think it is this article. (the most interesting is when you scroll past the article and come down to an interview)

Highlights
Vladimir Putin: "I think he's pragmatic, he's ruthless. He has ambition. He has a goal to resurrect the former Soviet Union, the sphere of influence. And he wants to disrupt and rewrite the post-1991 Cold War order…his ruthlessness is not new. I'm sorry to say that… Putin abhors weakness. So I think we don't want to put him in a position of feeling weakened or beaten or humiliated because that that can lead to further problems down the road."

From the interview
KENNETH DEKLEVA: Of course. The analysis that I do is what I would call 'leadership analysis,' or others have called it 'leadership psychology.' It draws from a long tradition, starting with the process during World War II, when a psychiatrist, Dr Langer, at the request of General William Donovan, prepared with a team a psychological profile around 1943 of Germany's chancellor Adolf Hitler.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/putin-russia-profiling-world-leaders-intelligence-matters/

Markus

ET2SN

07-24-22, 11:21 AM

Putin abhors weakness. So I think we don't want to put him in a position of feeling weakened or beaten or humiliated because that that can lead to further problems down the road.

On the contrary, I think Vlad needs to understand how it feels to get his ### kicked. :yep:

While we're all concerned about his feelings and not wanting to make too many waves, a lot of people are dying just to keep him happy.

Enough, already. Let him figure out that acting like the world's bully has consequences. :up:

Skybird

07-24-22, 11:38 AM

Monsters like this never have enough, any resistance to them is a provocation to them, and any concession to them is provoking them to demand more. The only way to stop them is by being more brutal than they are: and smashing their monster faces bloody until they cannot hit back anymore, or better: are dead.

Brute force is the only means of communication they understand and respect. Either you are superior, or you are prey. They will never see you as "equals".

If you think that is below your oh so civilizational standard and you are not in the right mood for playing foul and dirty and being brutal to him, then why the hell did you even care to get started on him... Stupid, very stupid to try dealing with him in this indifferent way.

Dont just step onto the dragons tail. If you go into his cave, do so to slay him, not to convince him. The bones you see scattered on the ground are either from weaklings who were not strong enough - or from clever wits before you who came to "convince" him.

Mind you, Putin always reacts with escalation, and he is possibly extremely resentful as well. Don't care to talk. Walk to him and immediately start hitting him into his face with all your strength, and dont stop anymore. If you are not strong enough to keep doing that, you are doomed if you go there, and you are doomed if you dont.

Strength - brute force - is the only thing all this about. Old fashioned, barbaric, brutal force. Diplomatic plans are for getting printed on toilet paper.

mapuc

07-24-22, 12:12 PM

Jimbuna

07-24-22, 01:23 PM

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of "barbarism" after a missile attack on the port of Odesa.

A landmark deal to resume Ukraine's grain exports - signed hours before the strike - now hangs in the balance.

Kyiv has said preparations are still under way to resume the grain exports despite the apparent breach.

Russia says it carried out the strike, destroying a Ukrainian military vessel and a number of US-supplied Harpoon anti-ship missiles.

Ukrainian military officials have admitted that a ship was hit, but have not said whether it was a military or civilian vessel.

In his comments, President Zelensky said the strike showed that Moscow cannot be trusted to stick to the deal.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-62278010

Jimbuna

07-24-22, 01:24 PM

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky says his forces are advancing "step by step" into the occupied southern region of Kherson.

Kherson city fell to Russia early in the war and sits on a strategic location west of the Dnipro river.

On Saturday, UK defence officials reported heavy fighting near Kherson.

The Ukrainian advance meant that Russian supply lines west of the river were "increasingly at risk", according to their assessment.

Earlier this month, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minster Iryna Vereshchuk urged Kherson residents to evacuate the city as soon as possible to avoid becoming trapped in the city during a counteroffensive in southern Ukraine.

"It is necessary to do so for the Armed Forces of Ukraine not to endanger the civilian population during offensive operations," she told state TV.

Serhiy Khlan, an adviser to Kherson's government, told Ukrainian television the region would "definitely be liberated by September", AFP report.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-62283196

vanjast

07-24-22, 02:11 PM

Weakness is what we will see from our leaders here in West.

It's not a weakness, it's due to the fact that they've had all their power removed - they currently are mere puppets under a control group.
NATO for instance, only exists on paper.
All those promises of weapons, soldiers and support has amounted nothing, or very little.

I am 99.999 % Sure that the response to a nuke attack on Ukraine will be met with strong word and useless sanctions-which mostly will kick back
Markus
There won't be any nuke attack on the Ukraine by the Russians.

The Russians actually want the Ukrainians alive to govern their own country without western/NATO influence, hence the limited action over the past few months. The more west 'weapons' anybody pours in there the longer the action will take.

They (Ivan) is waiting for the Ukranians to rebel against their goverment, and by all indications it might be coming soon.
:03:

BTW... this is not about supporting one side or the other.. it's just plain common sense the see that the Russains have not yet even started to deploy their forces en masse.
The sooner the west weapon supply for Ukraine dries up, the sooner the death toll stops.:arrgh!:

mapuc

07-24-22, 02:22 PM

vanjast

07-24-22, 02:58 PM

I
I support Ukraine

Markus
That's fine.

From what I hear, Ukraine is still part of Russia.
It never completed/ratified it's independence from Russia - and why it was not accepted into the EU.
If that is the case.. this is technically not a Russian Invasion, but a Nato/US one.

:hmmm:

Skybird

07-24-22, 03:01 PM

Weakness is what we will see from our leaders here in West.

I am 99.999 % Sure that the response to a nuke attack on Ukraine will be met with strong word and useless sanctions-which mostly will kick back

Markus
Sanctions...? Sorry, that powder keg is almost empty now. It would be different if the state system in Russia would be comprabale to that in the West, but it isn't, and by what it is instead it poses problems to the West's range for sanctions.

The Rounbles is stronger than before the war, their ifnlaiton is stiöl higher,. but is falling, they nromalize interest rates down (we need to push them up), and Russia is not at all isolate din the world, but has the majority of the globe on its side or at leats not agaunst it.

Politically, the West's position is weak. Economically too. And we give gratis demonstrations to China how not to attack Taiwan, but how to attack it better instead.

We have no reason to be impressed by our performance.

Dargo

07-24-22, 03:09 PM

I hope you're right when it comes to nukes I hope however that you are wrong on the other parts.

Member states of NATO has said as long the Ukrainian fights they will send weapons and soon the Russian fighter pilot will se Ukrainian fighter pilot attacking them with either F-15 or F- 16(they are being trained or are going to be trained)

En masse-Does this not mean that Putin has to declare open war so he can call up the reserves ?

I support Ukraine

MarkusNot all the power in Russia are willing to sacrifice their sons in this conflict, dictators always need the approval of all. Cities like Moscow, St Petersburg will allow this operation but not a war.

mapuc

07-24-22, 03:11 PM

Catfish

07-24-22, 03:15 PM

vanjast

07-24-22, 03:28 PM

Many sources of alternative information... :03:

https://www.bitchute.com/video/QSmvGgAN6Syl/

Dargo

07-24-22, 03:43 PM

That's fine.

From what I hear, Ukraine is still part of Russia.
It never completed/ratified it's independence from Russia - and why it was not accepted into the EU.
If that is the case.. this is technically not a Russian Invasion, but a Nato/US one.

:hmmm:With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine became an independent state, formalized with a referendum in December 1991. On 21 January 1990, over 300,000 Ukrainians organized a human chain for Ukrainian independence between Kyiv and Lviv. Ukraine officially declared itself an independent country on 24 August 1991, when the communist Supreme Soviet (parliament) of Ukraine proclaimed that Ukraine would no longer follow the laws of the USSR and only the laws of the Ukrainian SSR, de facto declaring Ukraine's independence from the Soviet Union. On 1 December, voters approved a referendum formalizing independence from the Soviet Union. Over 90% of Ukrainian citizens voted for independence, with majorities in every region, including 56% in Crimea. The Soviet Union formally ceased to exist on 26 December, when the presidents of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia (the founding members of the USSR) met in Białowieża Forest to formally dissolve the Union in accordance with the Soviet Constitution. With this, Ukraine's independence was formalized de jure and recognized by the international community.

Poland and Canada were the first countries to recognize Ukraine's independence, both on 2 December 1991. On the same day (2 December) it was reported during the late-evening airing of the television news program Vesti that the President of the Russian SFSR, Boris Yeltsin, had recognized Ukraine's independence.

Dargo

07-24-22, 03:49 PM

Many sources of alternative information... :03:

https://www.bitchute.com/video/QSmvGgAN6Syl/And that WUNDERWAFFE backfired it will cause more guided weapons being sent to Ukraine Russia lost it get used to it.

The United States' Senate Foreign Relations Committee had adopted a resolution to designate Moscow a state sponsor of terrorism, officially. Earlier, the US Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Republican Senators Susan Collins, John Cornyn and John Barrasso had also similarly travelled to Kyiv to visit Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and reaffirm Washington's support. The US "stands squarely behind Ukraine and will sustain our support until Ukraine wins this war,"

Dargo

07-24-22, 04:06 PM

That's fine.

From what I hear, Ukraine is still part of Russia.
It never completed/ratified it's independence from Russia - and why it was not accepted into the EU.
If that is the case.. this is technically not a Russian Invasion, but a Nato/US one.

:hmmm:When Putin came to power, Ukraine and Russia were in many ways practically indivisible shared a common cultural, economic and political space in just 20 years, Putin has destroyed these ties Russia is now understandably desperate to blame others for this historic failure.

Dargo

07-24-22, 04:12 PM

Think of it this way.. :03:

Your boat is in thick mist, and a sailor warns you of rocks nearby (how he knows is irrelevant).
Do you ignore the sailor, or do you take precautions.. ( ie change course).

This is the situation.:)I am a longtime skipper, always steer my own course.

mapuc

07-24-22, 04:19 PM

With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine became an independent state, formalized with a referendum in December 1991. On 21 January 1990, over 300,000 Ukrainians organized a human chain for Ukrainian independence between Kyiv and Lviv. Ukraine officially declared itself an independent country on 24 August 1991, when the communist Supreme Soviet (parliament) of Ukraine proclaimed that Ukraine would no longer follow the laws of the USSR and only the laws of the Ukrainian SSR, de facto declaring Ukraine's independence from the Soviet Union. On 1 December, voters approved a referendum formalizing independence from the Soviet Union. Over 90% of Ukrainian citizens voted for independence, with majorities in every region, including 56% in Crimea. The Soviet Union formally ceased to exist on 26 December, when the presidents of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia (the founding members of the USSR) met in Białowieża Forest to formally dissolve the Union in accordance with the Soviet Constitution. With this, Ukraine's independence was formalized de jure and recognized by the international community.

Poland and Canada were the first countries to recognize Ukraine's independence, both on 2 December 1991. On the same day (2 December) it was reported during the late-evening airing of the television news program Vesti that the President of the Russian SFSR, Boris Yeltsin, had recognized Ukraine's independence.

Thank you, then I did remember correctly when I posted following one page back

https://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showpost.php?p=2819667&postcount=5175

Markus

mapuc

07-24-22, 04:21 PM

And that WUNDERWAFFE backfired it will cause more guided weapons being sent to Ukraine Russia lost it get used to it.

The United States' Senate Foreign Relations Committee had adopted a resolution to designate Moscow a state sponsor of terrorism, officially. Earlier, the US Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Republican Senators Susan Collins, John Cornyn and John Barrasso had also similarly travelled to Kyiv to visit Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and reaffirm Washington's support. The US "stands squarely behind Ukraine and will sustain our support until Ukraine wins this war,"

This could very well mean that we sooner or later will see Nato boots on the ground in Ukraine.

Markus

Dargo

07-24-22, 04:29 PM

This could very well mean that we sooner or later will see Nato boots on the ground in Ukraine.

MarkusDo not think that, the weapons Ukraine received now can only hold of the advance of the Russian army, hope more will allow Ukraine to retake occupied areas.

mapuc

07-24-22, 04:49 PM

Do not think that, the weapons Ukraine received now can only hold of the advance of the Russian army, hope more will allow Ukraine to retake occupied areas.

Our leaders has made mistake before when it comes to Russia and their President Putin.

They, like you, say Putin would not openly declare war on Ukraine. If Skybird and Kenneth Dekleva is correct then, Putin would not stop before he gets what he wants and if it mean to declare war on Ukraine and thereby be able to call in the reserves.

If and when this happens the weapon we have send or is sending would not be enough far, far from it.

And it is here I see boots on the ground.

But then what do I know-You could be right and in a couple of month from now the Ukrainian has retaken most of what they lost in the beginning of the war- Or I could be right.

Markus

Dargo

07-24-22, 05:19 PM

Our leaders has made mistake before when it comes to Russia and their President Putin.

They, like you, say Putin would not openly declare war on Ukraine. If Skybird and Kenneth Dekleva is correct then, Putin would not stop before he gets what he wants and if it mean to declare war on Ukraine and thereby be able to call in the reserves.

If and when this happens the weapon we have send or is sending would not be enough far, far from it.

And it is here I see boots on the ground.

But then what do I know-You could be right and in a couple of month from now the Ukrainian has retaken most of what they lost in the beginning of the war- Or I could be right.

MarkusRussia already could declare it a war it has a reason it has not I think Putin does not have the support to do that also not think any NATO member will send troops it is far easier to supply and train the Ukraine army then take loses of NATO personnel body bags do not do good on the support of this war

mapuc

07-24-22, 05:41 PM

Russia already could declare it a war it has a reason it has not I think Putin does not have the support to do that also not think any NATO member will send troops it is far easier to supply and train the Ukraine army then take loses of NATO personnel body bags do not do good on the support of this war

I wanna believe that you are fully correct.

This is copied from Twitter)

Ukraine’s Air Force destroys 3 Russian strongholds.Air Force Spokesman Yuriy Ignat reported in a televised address on July 24 that Ukrainian forces destroyed equipment and personnel at three Russian strongholds.

https://twitter.com/KyivIndependent/status/1551323666457235457?s=20&t=HUOTgphMXRJ-Ylzs_RFmkw

Here's another article from twitter

The Ukrainian military said it targeted a Russian S-300 position in Zelenotropinsky, Kherson Oblast after 7 S-300 missiles were fired at Mykolaiv. The footage shows two S-300 TELS on fire.

https://twitter.com/RALee85/status/1551327602346016770?s=20&t=HUOTgphMXRJ-Ylzs_RFmkw

Markus

mapuc

07-24-22, 06:01 PM

Russia seems to break every civilian rules there is

In the temporarily occupied city of Berdiansk, Zaporizhia region, Russian invaders are placing military equipment and arms depots in residential areas.

https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3536002-in-berdiansk-russian-forces-placing-military-equipment-arms-depots-in-residential-areas.html

Markus

Skybird

07-25-22, 07:10 AM

Three German Gepards are confirmed by Kyiv to have arrived - with ammo, produced now in Norway.

If I were the Russians, i would carefully think twice now what to do next. :D

Twelve more cats should follow, at some point.

Meanwhile it got reported that Bubble-Olaf (the chancellor's offic, so it is Olaf in the end) is actively blocking Ukrainian orders for air defences that Kyiv was invited by Scholz to order diretcly from the German industry. The chancellor's office blocks the processing of the paper work since many weeks.

German inaction for Russian gas?

Jimbuna

07-25-22, 10:00 AM

German inaction for Russian gas?

I suspect that may well be the case.

Jimbuna

07-25-22, 10:04 AM

Moscow has charged 92 members of the Ukrainian armed forces with crimes against humanity, the head of Russia's investigative committee has said.

Alexander Bastrykin told government newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta over 1,300 criminal investigations had begun.

He also proposed an international tribunal backed by countries including Iran, Syria and Bolivia - traditional allies of Russia.

Ukraine is also conducting its own war crimes investigations.

As well as the 92 who have already been charged by Russia, some 96 people, including 51 armed forces commanders, are wanted, Mr Bastrykin said.

The Ukrainians were involved in "crimes against the peace and security of humanity", he told the paper.

The BBC has been unable to verify claims made in the interview and Kyiv has not commented.

But this month, Ukraine said it was examining more than 21,000 war crimes and crimes of aggression allegedly committed by Russian forces since the start of the invasion in February.

I'm surprised it has taken so long for the worm to turn.

Jimbuna

07-25-22, 10:10 AM

The North Atlantic Alliance will provide Ukraine with hundreds of portable anti-drone systems.

This was stated by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Censor.NET informs with reference to UNIAN.

"NATO will provide a comprehensive package of assistance that will include secure communications, fuel, medical supplies and protective vests, equipment to protect against mines, chemical and biological threats, as well as hundreds of portable anti-drone systems," Stoltenberg said. He did not specify which complexes are in question.

According to the Secretary General, in the long term, NATO will help Ukraine transition from Soviet-era equipment to modern equipment used by the Alliance. There is also a desire to improve operational interoperability and further strengthen Ukraine's defense and security institutions.

Stoltenberg emphasized that NATO leaders agreed at the summit in Madrid to significantly strengthen the defense and deterrence system in connection with Russia's creation of a threat to world security.

It is about strengthening the first line of defense of the Alliance, improving battle groups in the eastern part of NATO. The number of rapid response forces will be increased to more than 300,000 people.

Dargo

07-25-22, 10:16 AM

Russian soldiers who no longer want to fight are bad for the army's image, so they disappear into the basements and garages of Luhansk
Over two hundred Russian soldiers who refuse to continue fighting in Ukraine are being held in a provisional detention center in the Luhansk region, according to independent Russian media. There, according to parents and witnesses, they are being held in appalling conditions in basements and garages. They are kontraktniki, soldiers serving on contract in the army and often sent to fight in Ukraine against their will. Recently, there have been more and more reports of soldiers canceling their contracts out of dissatisfaction with the conditions under which they have to fight. Officially, they have the right to terminate their contract. Russia is not in a state of war, no mobilization has been declared, so if kontraktniki give up it cannot be considered desertion. At best, it can be considered a breach of contract. According to the independent news site Vjorstka, over 1,700 Russian soldiers serving in Ukraine have already terminated their contracts since March. This is starting to become an increasing problem for the Kremlin, as recruiting new recruits is also very difficult. So much so that the army is now trying to recruit prisoners for the war in Ukraine. According to Vjorstka and several other independent media outlets, Russian commanders are doing everything they can to stem the exodus: they are not processing resignation letters, or saying they can't leave until replacements are in place. They also put pressure on the refusers and have recently sent some to Brjanka, a town in the Luhansk region, which is in the hands of the pro-Russian separatists.

There they are locked up in garages or cellars where they are pressured to return to the front. Fatima Gorshenina, a mother of a soldier from the Samara region, told Vjorstka that her son Artyom, along with other soldiers from his unit, has been held captive in a basement in Brjanka since July 12, without light and water. They are also barely fed, according to her. In total, according to her son, there would be 160 men from his unit alone, who were scattered among a number of cellars in Brjanka. There they are watched by guards who call themselves "musicians. Presumably they are members of the notorious Russian mercenary army Wagner, whose owner Yevgeny Prigozhin has close ties to President Putin. By law, soldiers who cancel their contracts cannot be pressured by their superiors, but in practice they are. Sometimes they are warned that they will be court-martialed for refusing to serve. Or that they will be sent to the front again, but this time without arms. Refusers who stand their ground are told that they will receive a notation in their discharge papers: "Inclined to treachery, lies and deceit. This makes it virtually impossible to find work after you are discharged from the army, especially in remote regions like Buryatia, where many young men signed a service contract because there is hardly any other work.

At a unit from Budyonnovsk, in southern Russia, they take a different approach. There, the names of refusers are recorded on a "board of shame," as soldiers who have "disgraced their comrades, their families and their region. Refusers from the Caucasus Republic of Dagestan, where family honor plays an important role, received such an unfriendly reception upon their return that some of them returned to Ukraine under pressure from their families. Most of the soldiers who cancel their contracts do so out of dissatisfaction with the conditions: they have been fighting for months without relief, there is a constant lack of provisions and their equipment is no good. Everything in the army is sold, or you have to buy it,' complained one soldier. He also did not receive the promised war zone allowance. But even if they are not objections to the war on principle, the authorities are concerned about the effect. It is bad for the army's image if the refusers return with stories of poor supplies, poor armament and troop losses in Ukraine. https://www.volkskrant.nl/nieuws-achtergrond/russische-soldaten-die-niet-meer-willen-vechten-zijn-slecht-voor-het-imago-van-het-leger-dus-verdwijnen-ze-in-de-kelders-en-garages-van-loehansk~b4857819/

Dargo

07-25-22, 10:23 AM

I wanna believe that you are fully correct.

This is copied from Twitter)

https://twitter.com/KyivIndependent/status/1551323666457235457?s=20&t=HUOTgphMXRJ-Ylzs_RFmkw

Here's another article from twitter

https://twitter.com/RALee85/status/1551327602346016770?s=20&t=HUOTgphMXRJ-Ylzs_RFmkw

MarkusThe S-300 and I believe S-400 systems can not counter the HIMARS Russia is thinking to sue the company for that. It is HIMAR O'Clock. :D

Dargo

07-25-22, 10:33 AM

German inaction for Russian gas?No gas to Germany, production of the fourth-largest economy going to slow down result will be a global economic crisis, let's hope for a mild winter.

mapuc

07-25-22, 10:38 AM

Is there any who support the Russians ??

In the temporarily occupied territory of Zaporizhzhia region, a Russian military truck drove over a car with civilians inside.Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fedorov said in a Telegram post, Ukrinform reports.
"Today, on the road between Melitopol and Berdiansk, a Russian military Kamaz drove over a car with three people inside," he said. Fedorov emphasized that two adults and a child died on the spot.
:nope::nope:

Markus

Jimbuna

07-25-22, 10:40 AM

The atrocities committed by both sides (presumably) will be made known for many years to come.

Skybird

07-25-22, 10:46 AM

improving battle groups in the eastern part of NATO. The number of rapid response forces will be increased to more than 300,000 people.
As long as 200000 of these 300000 are not made of US troops, we believe that when we see it, okay? ;) The current ploan says that two third or threre quarters of these 300 thousand will not be stationed in the East, but will remain to stay in their national home bases across all Europe, being designated on paper to be send there if need arise.

Manpower if European armed forces is too low in general.

Skybird

07-25-22, 10:47 AM

No gas to Germany, production of the fourth-largest economy going to slow down result will be a global economic crisis, let's hope for a mild winter.
I meant to indicate that Bubble-Olaf apparently calculates that he could appease Putin so that he will not cut gas completely if Germany does not do too much for the Ukraine, and assists in Russia'S intererst to discourage or hinder others to help the Ukraine more.

Jimbuna

07-25-22, 10:54 AM

I meant to indicate that Bubble-Olaf apparently calculates that he could appease Putin so that he will not cut gas completely if Germany does not do too much for the Ukraine, and assists in Russia'S intererst to discourage or hinder others to help the Ukraine more.

The problem being Bubble-Olaf did little to nothing even before the threat to the supply of gas was mentioned.

At least that is how I understand it :hmmm:

Dargo

07-25-22, 11:05 AM

The problem being Bubble-Olaf did little to nothing even before the threat to the supply of gas was mentioned.

At least that is how I understand it :hmmm:Yes all talk no action

Dargo

07-25-22, 11:10 AM

mapuc

07-25-22, 11:10 AM

Seems like his easy walking around the hot topic doesn't help

From an article in a Danish newspaper

Gazprom halves gas supplies to Europe via Nord Stream 1
Gas supply via gas pipeline to Europe will be reduced to 20 percent of maximum capacity from Wednesday

From Wednesday, the state-owned Russian gas company Gazprom will further reduce the gas supply to Germany via the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline.

According to the company, the reason is maintenance of a gas turbine. The company announced this on Monday, according to the Reuters news agency.

The daily gas supply via the gas line will be reduced to 33 million cubic meters from Wednesday morning. This corresponds to approximately 20 percent of the maximum capacity.

It is not clear how long the significantly reduced supply of gas will last.

Markus

Skybird

07-25-22, 11:11 AM

The problem being Bubble-Olaf did little to nothing even before the threat to the supply of gas was mentioned.

At least that is how I understand it :hmmm:
Germany is more Russophile than Americophile, and the SPD especially very much so. It slike that since always, since before WW1. Germans always have transfigured russisa, with romantic ideas about how natural and human the deep (deepness as a symbol for insightfulness) Russian soul is. And in the federla states that formed the GDR and where Russians were stationed fore 40 years, 60-70% of Germans are agaunst supporting the Ukraine at all, and that we should talk with uncle Putin.

Bubble.-Olaf did little, yes, but already before: Merkel. Schroeder. Schroeder with the Greens. Merkel with the SPD and today's Bubble-Olaf and Steinmeyer (whom the then Ukrainians did not want to have, how dare they...). Total polticla fialure, sicne decades. There is a reason why I call the past 20 years a deep and total national narcosis. They could as well have mixed LSD into the tap water. The falure you see not just with regards to Russia, but also with regards to a realistic assessment of the EU, the Euro, development policies in Africa, South America, with regard to China, Iran, Turkey... And most of these mistakes are still being pushed forward with great enthusiasm.

Germany is an idiot when it comes to realistic foreign diplomacy. Always has been. Because we do not think strategically (that is unkind and too cold-hearted), and not in long terms (thats too hard to the claimed poor).

Wait until it dawns onto the Germans that all their liabilities for the credits and debts of othe rnatiosn never will come back, and the Euro can no longer be held up. Das wird ein Spass in Deutschland! Compared to that desaster, the problem with Russian gas now is still minor.

Its now like the fairy tale told in the post I made in the Germany thread today.

Rockstar

07-25-22, 12:30 PM

Ukraine central bank has sold over $12 billion of its gold reserves during the war, its deputy head says

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-cbank-has-sold-over-12-bln-its-gold-reserves-during-war-deputy-head-2022-07-17/

KYIV, July 17 (Reuters) - Ukraine's central bank has sold $12.4 billion of gold reserves since the beginning of Russia's invasion on Feb. 24, the bank's deputy head said on Sunday.

"We are selling (this gold) so that our importers are able to buy necessary goods for the country," Deputy Governor Kateryna Rozhkova told national television. She said the gold was not being sold to shore up Ukraine's hryvnia currency.

So I have to ask from who or where the hell did get the other 10.4 billion in gold from? According to CEIC and WGC they only had 1.6 billion in reserves to begin with.

https://www.ceicdata.com/en/indicator/ukraine/gold-reserves

Nationalization of banks and confiscation of personal wealth? They wouldn’t be the first government to do that though. In 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Order 6102, requiring the Americans to hand over all their gold coins, bullions, and certificates to the government for a fixed price.

Jimbuna

07-25-22, 01:05 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDPqOBFzAec

mapuc

07-25-22, 01:57 PM

Jimbuna

07-25-22, 02:02 PM

That is the million dollar question and I think currently the answer is NO but if military aid continues then after a month or so they may have built up a reserve to make limited pushes.

Russia has and always will have far greater numbers,

Dargo

07-25-22, 02:14 PM

A thought.

I could be thinking in a wrong way..If I have planned on starting an offensive against my enemy I must see to that my chain of supply or the logistic works so I can get an never ending supply of material and manpower.

Ukraine is planning on such an offensive-Do they have enough material and if needed manpower ?

Markus...Ukraine can win. In terms of manpower, President Zelenskyy can eventually put up to a million trained soldiers in the field, despite heavy losses to date. This is far more than Russia can likely generate.

Virtually the entire Russian army has been committed inside Ukraine, including units stripped from the Far East and the Kaliningrad exclave. Though often touted as “850,000 strong,” the Russian military on the ground is actually significantly under 300,000, with the rest belonging to internal security troops (the Russian National Guard), border police and other organizations unsuited for combat in Ukraine. This force has suffered painful losses that cannot be offset with poorly trained conscripts and recalled reservists. Nor can Putin resort to full mobilization without putting his regime at great risk. As time goes on, Ukraine’s manpower advantage will only grow... https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/ukraine-can-win/

Catfish

07-25-22, 02:37 PM

[...] Russia has and always will have far greater numbers,
Russia having far greater numbers than Ukraine, yes. But against the rest of the world (ok sans China and Africa, but still) ?
Russia has lost almost a third of its overall military hardware. Much more when it comes to modern systems.
Russia will not stop with Ukraine, me and others told you so before.
Up to now Ukraine is fighting the war for Europe and the west, and if we do not stop them now this will develop into a world-wide war.

I wonder why anyone here thinks that things will get back to normal "when the war is over". The war will not be over with Ukraine, stop dreaming. And there is not enough engagement now to end this war, by the west. Nothing will get "back to normal".

mapuc

07-25-22, 02:47 PM

Dargo

07-25-22, 03:14 PM

Kazakhstan is significantly increasing its defense spending and seeking closer ties with China and NATO countries amid fears of Moscow’s geopolitical ambitions spreading beyond Ukraine, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing a Kazakh official.

The Central Asian country will commit an extra 441 billion tenge ($918 million) to its defense budget, a nearly 1.5-fold increase over last year’s budget of $1.7 billion, WSJ reported. Part of the additional funds will be spent on strengthening its military reserves. https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/07/25/kazakhstan-boosts-defense-spending-amid-ukraine-invasion-wsj-a78400

Skybird

07-25-22, 03:17 PM

vanjast

07-25-22, 03:26 PM

The US "stands squarely behind Ukraine and will sustain our support until Ukraine wins this war,"
That's just it.. The US backs Ukraine down to the last Ukrainian male standing.

There are many alternative info resources to the MSM... they all produce a completely different story to what is being said on MSM, 90+% exact opposite.
They cannot all be 'propaganda'. :03:

Truth is the first casualty of war, as the 'ministers of propaganda' (MSM) bamboozle their peoples.
Alternative media is the way to go.:up:

Dargo

07-25-22, 03:39 PM

A Russian Sociologist Explains Why Putin’s War Is Going Even Worse Than It Looks
Loren Balhorn: How long do you think the Russian economy can hold out?
Boris Kagarlitsky: It can continue for another two or maybe three months, depending on the particular industry. The important thing, however, is that the guys who really own everything start taking losses. Nobody cares about industries or people, everybody cares about profits.

https://jacobin.com/2022/07/russia-ukraine-war-media-public-apolitical-vladimir-putin?mc_cid=dae6ee9231

VipertheSniper

07-25-22, 03:44 PM

Just had this in my recommends on youtube and I think this fits here nicely, talking about russian propaganda

https://youtu.be/_j6Vg7yLx54

August

07-25-22, 07:31 PM

Russia having far greater numbers than Ukraine, yes. But against the rest of the world (ok sans China and Africa, but still) ?
Russia has lost almost a third of its overall military hardware. Much more when it comes to modern systems.
Russia will not stop with Ukraine, me and others told you so before.
Up to now Ukraine is fighting the war for Europe and the west, and if we do not stop them now this will develop into a world-wide war.

I wonder why anyone here thinks that things will get back to normal "when the war is over". The war will not be over with Ukraine, stop dreaming. And there is not enough engagement now to end this war, by the west. Nothing will get "back to normal".

Agree 100% Catfish.

IMO there is really no such thing as a European "normal". Viewed historically the past 77 years, or at least the last 31, have been an uncharacteristically peaceful period in European History and I have often wondered how long it would last.

Skybird

07-26-22, 02:28 AM

Russia having far greater numbers than Ukraine, yes. But against the rest of the world (ok sans China and Africa, but still) ?
Russia has lost almost a third of its overall military hardware. Much more when it comes to modern systems.
Russia will not stop with Ukraine, me and others told you so before.
Up to now Ukraine is fighting the war for Europe and the west, and if we do not stop them now this will develop into a world-wide war.

I wonder why anyone here thinks that things will get back to normal "when the war is over". The war will not be over with Ukraine, stop dreaming. And there is not enough engagement now to end this war, by the west. Nothing will get "back to normal".
They have the intention to continue beyond Ukraine, yes - but do they have the ability, after losses of the scale you describe....? They can take the baltic states probably, surprising Nato. Europeans, on the other hand, have not focussed their forces on the eastern frontline, but scattered all across Europe, away from the eastern borders. Even that force of 300 thousand is planned to be stationed not in the endangered territories, but mostly in its individual national homebases, far away. And ammo stocks are unexcusably low.

The Russians may have second and thjrd grade equipment only, but it nevertheless shoots. Ammo for that they have plenty, it looks like.

Catfish

07-26-22, 02:54 AM

Agree 100% Catfish.

IMO there is really no such thing as a European "normal". Viewed historically the past 77 years, or at least the last 31, have been an uncharacteristically peaceful period in European History and I have often wondered how long it would last.
Seems we lived in golden times indeed. I wonder if things would have developed differently with Russia (after 1990) being in NATO and/or the EU but this option is over anyway.

They have the intention to continue beyond Ukraine, yes - but do they have the ability [...]
The Russians may have second and thjrd grade equipment only, but it nevertheless shoots. Ammo for that they have plenty, it looks like.
Putin has enough conventional if older weapons for a limited war in Europe, if China holds still. He has to mobilize more troops of course.
(Maybe China will intervene though, with who do they want to trade to bolster their own economy. With Russia or North Korea?)

And if he does not do it immediately it will come in few years, when the depleted reserves have been filled up again. Making it only harder for all.

Putin only needs to invent a staged "attack" by Nato on russian soil so he has to "react".

He did so before, from staged assassinations, to faked bomb laying, to the school incident, to "protect" russians in Donbas. He will create the pretext for a general mobilization against the evil invaders, we heard all this before.
"Seit 5 Uhr 45 wird jetzt zurueck [sic!] geschossen!"

Never expect Putin or Medwedew would not do it.

Skybird

07-26-22, 05:14 AM

Putin has enough conventional if older weapons for a limited war in Europe, if China holds still. He has to mobilize more troops of course.
(Maybe China will intervene though, with who do they want to trade to bolster their own economy. With Russia or North Korea?)
It is declared goal of Xi, since a few years, to make China autark and self-supplying, and to disconnect the core economy from international trading dependencies. The sanctions tried on Russia will strengthen that will. Xi wants Taiwan, no matter the cost, and he will learn from the war now two things: China mjust become more autark, and the first attack must be done with absolutely superior and totally devastating firepower, overwhelming the defender already in the beginning. The Ukraine war possibly has drivben the Chinese attack on Taiwan a bit back in time - but it then will be conducted with much, much more brute force and firepower. Thats the two lessons China learns form this.

And if he does not do it immediately it will come in few years, when the depleted reserves have been filled up again. Making it only harder for all.Completely agree.

Putin only needs to invent a staged "attack" by Nato on russian soil so he has to "react".

He did so before, from staged assassinations, to faked bomb laying, to the school incident, to "protect" russians in Donbas. He will create the pretext for a general mobilization against the evil invaders, we heard all this before.
"Seit 5 Uhr 45 wird jetzt zurueck [sic!] geschossen!"

Never expect Putin or Medwedew would not do it.Again, I see it like you.

I only doubt that Europe and especially Bubble-Olaf have understood this. Putin did not cause the crisis Europe is being worn out by, but he accelerated and accentuated them, so does Corona, both are not the origins but catalysts for Europe's self-made many crisis.

Looking only at the conditions in Europoe and ignoring Russia'S capabilties right now, the situation now is extremely right for Russia to try whatever it wants to do regarding Europe. Europe is weak and in disarray, hollowed out, internally split (if it ever was united...), every month new rifts appear and widen, several key governments are either knocked out or are busy with themselves, the economy is in recession and de facto in stagflation, the loans-prices spiral is accelerating every month, the currency is blowing up, the logistic supply chains are disrupted, the militaries are only shadows of their cold war selfs, and the celebrated multi-diverse identity of a stellar ammount of social subgroups in European nations' societies has drastically reduced the needed feeling of shared identity and unity that is precondition to bear a strong resistence will and strength to stand your ground in a fight. Its not a team, its a group of jealous narcissistic self-promoters Europe has to show up with

Russia sees all this - and slobbers. Its decades of intel campaigns to undermine the peace movement, the ultra-right, the anti-atom movement, the left groups, the gender groups (due to their corrosive effect on society and inner politics, not because of their claimed ideals), Brexit, Trump, fascists in Italy, France, weak and indifference in Germany, separatist tendencies in some Eastern European countries, a trend for isolationism in the US - it all pays off for Russia.

Putin is a psychopath, and he made a huge mistake when calculating the war in Ukraine. Possibly because he was ill-advised by his intimidated military advisers. But since then, he has taken control again, calculates the war again, plays the smart game to manipulate Europe and to keep it busy over its energy needs. He has a brutal personality structure, but nevertheless he plays an icy-cold global chess match again, keeps the Europeans running around like hens. And yet, many again expect him to be stupid, to act to his disadvantage (his - not necessarily Russians' !), to comply with rules that are to his disadvantage. Instead he keeps the Europeans runnign around, and slowy lets tim e do its job and corrode soldiarity and unity in the West. That is not the behaviour of a stupid player, but a sly, cold-blooded fox. Will we ever stop underestimating him?

More and more military analysts in the West dare to comment that the ukraine does not have the ressources and manpower to launch the expected real big counter-offensive in the East and South. So, comes time, comes momentum again - for Russia, probably. Russia can live with a long lasting war in the ukraine. Can Europe? Look around on the political stage in Germany, and you know the answer.

Mordered destroyed Arthur's brotherhood of the round table. And, as you said, Europe has come to the end of its golden age after WW2. They call it a Zeitenwende, but still behave as if all this drama of the past years were just an intermezzo that will go over, and after that we return to the previous routines. It won't go that way, its the new reality to stay.

Und Deutschland wird noch lernen, wie man Bauklötze staunt, and not in a positive context. For us in Germany, this year and the next years will be a true revival experience, governed and managed by the Augsburger Puppenkiste.

Skybird

07-26-22, 06:46 AM

Wars need weapons ammiunition - and financial ammunition. But the Ukraine is broke.

The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes:

Holders of Ukrainian government bonds still have until the end of next week to respond to the Kiev government's request for a two-year moratorium on payments. But the rating agencies have already made their judgment: They doubt the fundamental ability of Ukraine, which is at war with Russia, to service debts in foreign currency in the long term.

New uncertainties around grain exports after the shelling of the port of Odessa are also unlikely to raise expectations of stabilization of Ukrainian agricultural exports. Before the invasion, they had accounted for one-fifth of export value and were a major foreign exchange earner. In any case, Scope Ratings and Fitch, the more important agency in the market, have already downgraded Ukraine's credit rating to "C," the lowest level before default. Kiev is further encouraging this by prohibiting the state-owned company Naftogaz from servicing maturing paper.

The two-year deferral requested by Kiev covers 13 Ukrainian sovereign Eurobonds worth about $20 billion, of which $3 billion matures by July 2024, according to Dennis Shen of Scope Ratings. With the deferred interest payments on the Eurobonds, the savings by 2024 would amount to about $5 billion. The restructuring would ease financing pressures on Kiev.

Suspending debt service would send a signal to private Eurobond borrowers. At the end of April, non-government Eurobond debt stood at $6.5 billion, according to Scope Ratings.

Two weeks ago, state-owned Naftogaz asked its creditors to defer repayments and interest for two years under pressure from the government. After they rejected that and Naftogaz wanted to pay what the group feels it is financially able to, the government prevented that, it says Monday: "As of the publication of this notice, Naftogaz has not received government approval and therefore cannot transfer funds for payments to bondholders." However, it said it now wants to talk to creditors again.

Fitch had previously downgraded Naftogaz to "C." Other Ukrainian companies, such as Dtek Energy, which belongs to the empire of billionaire Rinat Akhmetov, are hardly rated better.
The risk of non-payment in the future remains high

According to Scope Ratings, the recession, the uncertainty of war and the risk to the long-term sustainability of sovereign debt "increase the likelihood that a more substantial debt restructuring may be required in the medium term following a possible suspension of selected external debt." A prolonged conflict with Russia increases military and humanitarian costs and delays the prospect of a full economic recovery, it said. A long-term reconstruction program would affect debt sustainability even if the recovery progressed, he said.

Fitch also believes that Ukraine and its creditors will not be able to avoid debt restructuring. The only question is the timing. Even if creditors currently accept the moratorium offer with the necessary two-thirds majority, the risk of missed payments in the future remains high, "as the government seeks to preserve liquidity in the face of acute pressure on military spending."

Given the considerable international goodwill toward Ukraine, there is a likelihood that it will move toward debt relief in the longer term, Scope Ratings' Shen writes. The downgrade of Ukraine's foreign currency loans will also have a limited impact, if any, on official aid from the EU, the U.S. or other multilateral or bilateral organizations. In fact, he said, the aid actions of multilateral creditors and financiers had already accelerated in the face of Kiev's acute financial woes, as evidenced by a group of G-7 countries that had suspended debt servicing for Ukraine until at least 2023. They had also urged other creditors to do the same. Major funds such as Blackrock and Fidelity have already agreed, according to information provided by the Kiev government.

Kiev also relies heavily on domestic financing through local currency bonds. Of the nearly $25 billion it has raised through July 21, 2022, the equivalent of $7.7 billion has been raised through the central bank and another $4.2 billion through the issuance of local government bonds. Slightly more, just under $13 billion, was injected during the period by international donors such as the U.S., EU, World Bank and International Monetary Fund. Another $20 billion has already been pledged.

The high level of credit financing reflects Ukraine's strained economic and financial situation. Economic output is likely to collapse by a third this year, and tax revenues have also fallen. An excessively large share of financing is therefore secured through loans, which poses a problem for public debt in the medium term.

According to unanimous estimates, the budget deficit will reach a record level, and the national debt will almost double to about 90 percent. Inflation was near 22 percent in June. The central bank is seeking to contain the expected rise to 30 percent with record high interest rates of 25 percent. Analysts such as those at Deutsche Bank and Raiffeisenbank International are already bracing for further rate hikes.

Jimbuna

07-26-22, 09:03 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlXcTGXssjA

Jimbuna

07-26-22, 09:33 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIJuWneJXXM

mapuc

07-26-22, 09:37 AM

Russia has conducted a massive missile attack on Odessa Russian fighter jets and longrange bomberplane fired It was KH22 and KH59 missile.

Most of them was shot down by Ukrainian air defence.

Here is how I see it..If UN wants this wheat or whatever they call it..then they should place a lot of soldiers in the Odessa area to protect it.

Markus

Jimbuna

07-26-22, 09:40 AM

They could make a start by sending Denmarks army in first then? :hmmm:

mapuc

07-26-22, 09:47 AM

They could make a start by sending Denmarks army in first then? :hmmm:

Some Danish UN soldier could be part of this UN operation.

It's not going to happen. UN is a peacekeeping organization.

A friend send me this link

https://kyivindependent.com/hot-topic/exclusive-inside-ukraines-covert-operation-to-take-out-elite-wagner-group-mercenaries-in-donbas

Markus

Jimbuna

07-26-22, 09:49 AM

Russian energy giant Gazprom says it will once again drastically cut gas supplies to the EU through its main pipeline due to maintenance work.

Gazprom said stopping another turbine at the Nord Stream 1 pipeline would cut daily gas production to 20%, halving the current level of supply.

The German government said there was no technical reason to limit gas supply.

It is likely to make it more difficult for EU countries to replenish their stores of gas before winter.

The Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which pumps gas from Russia to Germany, has been running well below capacity for weeks, and was completely shut down for a 10-day maintenance break earlier this month.

Russia supplied the EU with 40% of its gas last year, and the EU has accused Russia of using energy as a weapon.

The European Commission has urged countries to cut gas use by 15% over the next seven months after Russia warned it could curb or halt supplies altogether.

Under the proposals, the voluntary target could become mandatory in an emergency.

European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, has said the prospect of Russia cutting off all supplies to the EU is a "likely scenario".

On Tuesday energy ministers will meet in Brussels in an attempt to sign off the plans.

But numerous opt-outs are expected amid resistance from some member states.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62291458

Dargo

07-26-22, 11:23 AM

The first detailed academic paper about the impact of economic sanctions on the Russian economy.
As the Russian invasion of Ukraine enters into its fifth month, a common narrative has emerged that the unity of the world in standing up to Russia has somehow devolved into a “war of economic attrition which is taking its toll on the west”, given the supposed “resilience” and even “prosperity” of the Russian economy. This is simply untrue – and a reflection of widely held but factually incorrect misunderstandings over how the Russian economy is actually holding up amidst the exodus of over 1,000 global companies and international sanctions.

That these misunderstandings persist is not surprising. Since the invasion, the Kremlin’s economic releases have become increasingly cherry-picked, selectively tossing out unfavorable metrics while releasing only those that are more favorable. These Putin-selected statistics are then carelessly trumpeted across media and used by reams of well-meaning but careless experts in building out forecasts which are excessively, unrealistically favorable to the Kremlin.

Our team of experts, using private Russian language and unconventional data sources including high frequency consumer data, cross-channel checks, releases from Russia’s international trade partners, and data mining of complex shipping data, have released one of the first comprehensive economic analyses measuring Russian current economic activity five months into the invasion, and assessing Russia’s economic outlook.

From our analysis, it becomes clear: business retreats and sanctions are catastrophically crippling the Russian economy. We tackle a wide range of common misperceptions – and shed light on what is actually going on inside Russia, ... https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4167193

Dargo

07-26-22, 11:36 AM

What’s in the Ukraine Grain Deal for Russia?
The easing in sanctions that Moscow obtained as an informal part of the Ukraine grain deal will enable it to address some critical vulnerabilities in Russia’s own food security, as well as to take advantage of the current high prices on the global market and ensure that agricultural holdings with ties to the Kremlin expand their export revenues. ... https://carnegieendowment.org/eurasiainsight/87576

Dargo

07-26-22, 11:50 AM

The Russians are accumulating heavy weapons near the Kherson region. "3 columns drove towards Kherson - about 80 units of military equipment" - the mayor of Melitopol.

Wonder if Ukraine wait till they can destroy them all with HIMARS.

Jimbuna

07-26-22, 12:34 PM

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan allegedly told colleagues at a top party meeting that Russian leader Vladimir Putin proposed a military deal during a meeting in Tehran. In particular, he wanted to create a production enterprise of Bayraktar drones in Russia.

This was reported by CNN Turk sources, Censor.NET reports with reference to UNIAN.

According to the publication, Erdogan told a party meeting on July 25 that Putin approached him during a recent meeting in Tehran with a proposal to conclude a deal with the Turkish firm Baykar.

"Putin told me that he wants to work with Baykar. He offered to create a factory in Russia, as they did in the UAE," Erdogan said.

Although a company spokesperson denies it, Baykar is indeed in the process of setting up a production line in the UAE, according to a source familiar with the matter.

At the same time, Baykar CEO Khaluk Bayraktar said that he will not sell his drones to Putin.

"There are strategic relations between Turkey and Ukraine, especially in the field of aviation and space. Turkey supports Ukraine with armed drone technologies. We have not transferred or supplied anything to Russia. We would never do such a thing," he emphasized.

mapuc

07-26-22, 12:37 PM

Dargo

07-26-22, 12:48 PM

Could this be because the Russian think the Ukrainian offensive will come in that area ?

MarkusThink? :) They know Russia lost most of their occupied area in Kherson oblast the past month(s) and it is an important area seaports, industry, water supply for Crimea (Putin made a promise to the population of Crimea that he would solve their water supply) they do not want to lose that.

Jimbuna

07-26-22, 12:55 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Um4plSXq8gs

Jimbuna

07-26-22, 01:03 PM

The UK government has sanctioned Russian-imposed leaders of breakaway regions in Ukraine.

Two leaders of the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics have had their assets frozen.

Separatists in the eastern regions, which together make up the Donbas, set up unrecognised pro-Russian statelets in 2014 after the annexation of Crimea.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-62308191

Dargo

07-26-22, 01:48 PM

Landscape. I can't help but notice that Russia was largely unable to take much advantage of the comparably favorable terrain of southeastern Ukraine in May and June, at a time when Ukraine did not deploy large numbers of long-range weapons received from partners. In the north Russian soldiers had to deal with natural barriers such as hills and forests. In the southeast this is not case -- and yet even so Russian progress has been very slow. And now those weapons are coming.

Mode of combat. Russian soldiers do not like to get close to Ukrainian soldiers. Russian warfare depends on artillery, on killing from a great distance. The Russians shell a position until it is unrecognizable, and then claim the rubble. This kills civilians, flattens cities, and makes whole regions wastelands, but no one in the Russian system cares about that. Ballistics comes down to a kind of math, and so far the Russians have had the advantages: more artillery pieces, more shells, sites that are out of reach.

But if the Russian advantage in artillery disappears, the war changes character. Ukraine is now getting the long-range, accurate weapons to hit Russian ammunition dumps. Russia can adjust to this, but only in ways that slow the distribution of ammunition, and thus the firing of artillery. If the right kinds of weapons continue to be delivered, Ukraine might soon be in a position to dictate the mode of combat. Russians are unlikely to fight well if they have to fight close. If Ukraine gains the advantage in artillery, we may see slow Russian retreats as commanders find themselves unable to rally troops for close combat.https://snyder.substack.com/p/the-state-of-the-russo-ukrainian?r=8ii14&s=r

Jimbuna

07-26-22, 01:53 PM

On the Kramatorsk and Bakhmut directions, Ukrainian defenders repelled enemy assaults and pushed back the enemy.

This is stated in the operational information of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine regarding the Russian invasion as of 07:00 a.m. on July 26 on Facebook, Censor.NET reports.

Thus, the one hundred and fifty-third day of the heroic resistance of the Ukrainian nation to the Russian military invasion has begun.

In the Volyn and Polissia directions, in the armed forces of the Republic of Belarus, training was held on the communication of control points. From the territory of this country, the conduct of aerial reconnaissance by UAVs of the operational-tactical level in the directions of the cities of Lutsk and Kovel of the Volyn region was noted. The threat of missile and air strikes from the territory and airspace of the Republic of Belarus remains.

In the Siversk direction, the enemy shelled the areas of Khrinivka, Chernihiv region, and Tovstoduboho, Sumy region, with barrel and jet artillery.

In the Slobozhansk direction, the enemy is conducting combat operations with the aim of holding the occupied lines and preventing the advance of our troops.

In the Kharkiv direction, they carried out fire damage from tanks, barrel and rocket artillery in the areas of the settlements of Borshcheva, Pytomnyk, Sosnivka, Ruski Tyshki, Petrivka, Dementiivka, Rubizhne, Duvanka, Mospanove, Ruska Lozova, Chuhuiv, Kluhino-Bashkyrivka, Svitlychne, Pryshyb and Slatine . He carried out airstrikes near Zalyman and Mospanove.

In the Sloviansk direction, the enemy shelled the districts of Nortsivka, Bohorodychne, Dolyna, Chepil, Hrushuvaha, and Velyka Komyshuvakha.

In the Donetsk direction, the enemy is concentrating its main efforts on trying to improve the tactical position and creating conditions for an offensive on the cities of Siversk and Soledar. Enemy units replenish stocks of ammunition and fuel and lubricants.

In the Kramatorsk direction, shelling from barrel and jet artillery was recorded near Kryvya Luka, Zakitne, Dronivka, Hryhorivka, Verkhnokamianske, Zvanivka, Spirne and Pereizne. The enemy launched airstrikes near Spirne and Serebryanka. Our soldiers successfully repelled enemy assaults in the areas of Spirne and the National Nature Park "Svyata Hora" and pushed the enemy back.

In the Bakhmut direction, the enemy is shelling the areas of the settlements of Berestovo, Bilohorivka, Yakovlivka, Soledar, Bakhmut, Pokrovsk, Kostyantynivka, Vesela Dolyna, Zaitseve, Vershyna, Semihirya, Kodema, Travneve, Mayorsk and New York. He carried out airstrikes near Soledar, Vesela Dolyna and the territory of the Vuhlehirska TPP.

Assault actions in the areas of the settlements of Berestov and Semihirya ended with losses and retreat for the enemy. But enemy units are trying to advance in the Pokrovsky direction, hostilities continue.

The enemy did not conduct active operations in the Avdiivka, Novopavliv, and Zaporizhzhia directions. Shelling was recorded in particular near Avdiivka, Zelene Pole, Orikhiv, Shcherbakiv and Kamianske.

In the South Bug direction, the enemy continues to defend himself, concentrates his efforts on preventing the advance of our troops. Fired artillery and tanks along the contact line. He also carried out airstrikes near Velyke Artakovo, Kaluha and Olhine.The enemy pays considerable attention to aerial reconnaissance by UAVs.

In the waters of the Black Sea, outside the base points, there are two Kalibr sea-based cruise missile carriers. There is still a threat of missile strikes on critical infrastructure facilities.

Our planes and helicopters continue to carry out airstrikes against concentrations of enemy manpower and military equipment in designated directions. The occupiers continue to suffer significant losses in battles with Ukrainian soldiers.

Otto Harkaman

07-26-22, 02:01 PM

https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/07/26/12/60707093-0-image-a-1_1658836629109.jpg

Rockstar

07-26-22, 02:39 PM

Just adding a little information to go along with otto’s map.

https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF11177

Dargo

07-26-22, 03:23 PM

https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/07/26/12/60707093-0-image-a-1_1658836629109.jpgThe Netherlands does not import any Russian gas Russian state gas company Gazprom stopped supplying gas to the Netherlands 31 May. Netherlands is on course of its buildup of gas reserves for this winter.

Catfish

07-26-22, 03:33 PM

Hey Putin how's that Blyatskrieg going?

Nothing like being a russian soldier, holding a beer in his hand and watching one of his army's ammunition depots explode, perfect excuse to not have to go and fight

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ie7x950vKdE

mapuc

07-26-22, 04:06 PM

Skybird

07-26-22, 04:26 PM

Following is from memory taken from a book written by Tom Clancy.

In a war the frontline can stretch very far, where the main battle will be is difficult for the generals to know. As soon they get indication into where on the map the material and troops are quickly moved to this spot.
(Not exactly what Tom wrote in the book Red Storm Rising, It been more than 20 years since I read it last time)

When you see both side building up strength around Kherson I believe the main battle will be there.

Markus

Or its just Feint and Reposte. :D

vanjast

07-26-22, 04:26 PM

There's no getting away from it... Russia is winning :D
AZOV'S LAST STAND DOCUMENTARY
https://www.bitchute.com/video/qpvQozRm5pou/

Dargo

07-26-22, 04:30 PM

mapuc

07-26-22, 04:36 PM

Ukrainian strike on the large Kherson city bridge at least a dozen hits tonight on several sections of the Antonov bridge across the Dnipro river. There will now be thousands of very nervous Russian soldiers on the northern side of this bridge.

Found this article

The war in Ukraine may be heading for its bloodiest phase yet, according to senior Ukrainian officials and western analysts, who say a long-threatened southern counteroffensive by Kyiv’s forces will result in a “huge battle” and will need to overcome increasingly well dug-in Russian troops.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/22/ukrainian-counter-offensive-may-bring-war-to-bloodiest-phase-yet-say-analysts

Markus

mapuc

07-26-22, 05:10 PM

A friend from a livestream send me this link.

Let’s remember that four days before that, Putin claimed that “conditions for negotiations were basically there when Russian troops pulled back from the capital of Ukraine… The Kyiv authorities refused to implement the agreements, even though they were almost reached. Therefore, the final result does not depend on the mediators, but on the willingness of the parties to fulfil the agreements reached. We see today that Kyiv authorities do not really want this.”

https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3537232-does-orban-remember-son-of-saul-a-digest-of-russian-propaganda-for-july-2224.html

Markus

Skybird

07-26-22, 06:56 PM

The historian Niall Ferguson in Die Welt. His arguments unfortunately tick at the same direction like my thought, too.
-----------
The well-known historian Niall Ferguson believes that the U.S. made a major tactical mistake in the Ukraine war. His prognosis for Ukraine is therefore bitter. It also has to do with the West and the expectation of how it will behave toward Russia.

"The war is harder to end the longer it goes on. And it's getting harder by the week," says Niall Ferguson. The well-known Scottish historian is currently a professor at Havard University and has written numerous best-selling books on political and historical topics.

The problem from Ukraine's perspective here is that "unfortunately, time is working in Putin's favor." Although the Russian invasion was disastrous to begin with, "the more Ukraine is devastated," the harder it is for Kiev to win, Ferguson told " Welt " in an interview.

"Putin has bought time to change his strategy, and instead of conquering Kiev and occupying all of Ukraine, he has focused on the Donbass." Now Russia is waging "a war of attrition" without ceasefires, he said. "That plays into Putin's cards," Ferguson said.

But a major problem, he said, is also the question of future support from the West, especially the United States. The sticking point here: consistency. "The U.S. has already given $50 billion in aid to Ukraine. Will they give another 50 in the second half of the year? And next year?" asks Ferguson, making a grim prediction: "Putin knows that Western unity in defense of Ukraine has an expiration date."

War fatigue was already setting in among the West, he said. Moreover, Washington has made serious tactical mistakes, he said. "Joe Biden's administration did nothing to end this war early," Ferguson says. The reason: It believed it would be bad for Putin if the war lasted longer. However, she says, that did not materialize, nor did hopes for a Putin withdrawal or even a palace coup.

"In my opinion, this was a mistake and stupid," Ferguson criticized. "The war should have ended when Russia was doing badly and Ukraine was doing well." Instead of seeking an end to the war, he says, Biden flew to Poland, called Putin a war criminal and called for his overthrow. "Now it's too late. Russia is getting stronger and Ukraine is getting weaker." According to Ferguson, however, Biden would continue to rule out U.S. and NATO military intervention in Ukraine.

The historian also does not believe that Russia will give up because of the imposed sanctions. "I have never believed in the effectiveness of sanctions. As long as Russia can sell gas and oil, the ruble will remain strong and Russia will survive."

Instead, the expert predicts that the Russian food blockade will lead to inflation in the West and potentially famine in Africa. "This will only increase the pressure." The inevitable consequence, according to Ferguson: "In the fall, the West's resolve to support the war will weaken. The demand for Ukraine to make territorial concessions and the de facto partition of the country will begin."