Here we go again-Ukraine once again pt2 [Archive] - Page 9

Dargo

12-12-23, 01:57 PM

As mentioned before-If Ukraine lose this war it will not be on the battlefield, but in the west(American Congress)

I have no doubt that Ukraine would win this war, if the amount of supply would increase instead.

MarkusWhat General Breedlove said, we should give Ukraine the kit we use to fight this kinda war, meaning first air superiority no NATO army even begins an operation without this since the Korea war and no rules you cannot shoot in Russia or Belarus give Ukraine carte Blanche. Saying we do not have the stuff is bull**** we have also do have to not save it for in case of china does this or that if we do not do it now we have Russia and China to deal with in the near future better finish Russia than China thinks twice till they gone try something. There are no NATO soldiers dying now, but if we fail in Ukraine this will happen and the cost will be high.

U.S. intelligence assesses Ukraine war has cost Russia 315,000 casualties - source
WASHINGTON, Dec 12 (Reuters) - A declassified U.S. intelligence report assessed that the Ukraine war has cost Russia 315,000 dead and injured troops, or nearly 90% of the personnel it had when the conflict began, a source familiar with the intelligence said on Tuesday.

The report also assessed that Moscow's losses in personnel and armored vehicles to Ukraine's military have set back RussiaÂ’s military modernization by 18 years, the source said.

The Russian embassy and the Russian defense ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Russian officials have said Western estimates of Russian death tolls in the war are vastly exaggerated and almost always underestimate Ukrainian losses - which Russian officials say are vast.

The source spoke as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy made a last-ditch plea to U.S. lawmakers on Capitol Hill to keep U.S. military aid flowing to Ukraine, first meeting behind closed doors with U.S. senators.

The source said the recently declassified U.S. intelligence report assessed that Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 with 360,000 personnel.

Since then, the report found, 315,000 Russian troops, or about 87% of the total with which it started the war, have been killed or injured, the source said.

The source said those losses are the reason Russia has been forced to loosen recruitment standards and draft convicts and older civilians to deploy in Ukraine.

"The scale of losses has forced Russia to take extraordinary measures to sustain its ability to fight. Russia declared a partial mobilization of 300,000 personnel in late 2022, and has relaxed standards to allow recruitment of convicts and older civilians," the assessment said, according to the source.

The Russian army has been left with 1,300 armored vehicles on the battlefield and is having to bolster those forces with T62 tanks produced in the 1970s, the source said... https://www.reuters.com/world/us-intelligence-assesses-ukraine-war-has-cost-russia-315000-casualties-source-2023-12-12/

Nearly 80% of the personnel it had when the conflict began in others words Russia has suffered more casualties in less than 2 years than the US has lost since 1945, and 3000Â–4000 tanks, double that in APC/IFV, which is far, far larger than US losses. This is a military that can be defeated if we arm Ukraine properly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEj_oOgPFQ0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSHG90mjqDk

mapuc

12-12-23, 02:12 PM

U.S. intelligence assesses Ukraine war has cost Russia 315,000 casualties - source
WASHINGTON, Dec 12 (Reuters) - A declassified U.S. intelligence report assessed that the Ukraine war has cost Russia 315,000 dead and injured troops, or nearly 90% of the personnel it had when the conflict began, a source familiar with the intelligence said on Tuesday.

The report also assessed that Moscow's losses in personnel and armored vehicles to Ukraine's military have set back Russia’s military modernization by 18 years, the source said.

The Russian embassy and the Russian defense ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Russian officials have said Western estimates of Russian death tolls in the war are vastly exaggerated and almost always underestimate Ukrainian losses - which Russian officials say are vast.

The source spoke as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy made a last-ditch plea to U.S. lawmakers on Capitol Hill to keep U.S. military aid flowing to Ukraine, first meeting behind closed doors with U.S. senators.

The source said the recently declassified U.S. intelligence report assessed that Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 with 360,000 personnel.

Since then, the report found, 315,000 Russian troops, or about 87% of the total with which it started the war, have been killed or injured, the source said.

The source said those losses are the reason Russia has been forced to loosen recruitment standards and draft convicts and older civilians to deploy in Ukraine.

"The scale of losses has forced Russia to take extraordinary measures to sustain its ability to fight. Russia declared a partial mobilization of 300,000 personnel in late 2022, and has relaxed standards to allow recruitment of convicts and older civilians," the assessment said, according to the source.

The Russian army has been left with 1,300 armored vehicles on the battlefield and is having to bolster those forces with T62 tanks produced in the 1970s, the source said... https://www.reuters.com/world/us-intelligence-assesses-ukraine-war-has-cost-russia-315000-casualties-source-2023-12-12/

Nearly 80% of the personnel it had when the conflict began in others words Russia has suffered more casualties in less than 2 years than the US has lost since 1945, and 3000–4000 tanks, double that in APC/IFV, which is far, far larger than US losses. This is a military that can be defeated if we arm Ukraine properly.

Two things came into my mind.

1. It's nothing but a number or statistic for Putin & Co
2. If the ratio is 4 or 5 Russian for each Ukrainian-Then we also somehow know the number of dead or wounded Ukrainian since the war started.

Markus

Dargo

12-12-23, 02:22 PM

Two things came into my mind.

1. It's nothing but a number or statistic for Putin & Co
2. If the ratio is 4 or 5 Russian for each Ukrainian-Then we also somehow know the number of dead or wounded Ukrainian since the war started.

MarkusIf this only are numbers in statistics why do Russia not collect their dead and exchange their POW's because these numbers matter in public opinion and that is important for Putin he fears that if that goes bad for him. Russians who have received a call for military service have had to surrender their passports to the authorities since this week. In this way, the Kremlin wants to prevent them from running off to foreign countries. Those who have received a call for military service are given five days to surrender their passports to the authorities. You will not get it back until you can prove that you have completed your military service. To avoid civil unrest, the Kremlin keeps insisting that there are no plans for a new round of mobilization. According to authorities, the campaign to recruit people to fight in Ukraine has produced more than enough volunteers. Ex-President Dmitry Medvedev, currently vice chairman of the Russian Security Council, said recently that since the beginning of this year, more than 450 thousand people have signed a contract for what the Kremlin calls the "special military operation" in Ukraine.

Especially in remote areas of Russia, there is relatively high interest in the temporary contracts. The salary is significantly higher than normal, if there are any jobs at all in those regions. Moreover, the soldiers' families can count on generous compensation if they are killed on the front line. President Putin announced earlier this month that the Russian armed forces will be increased by 170 thousand men. This brings the total number to over 1.3 million. According to the Defence Ministry, the measure is necessary because of the war in Ukraine and the "ongoing expansion of NATO. To reach the desired number, earlier this year, parliament raised the maximum age for conscription by three years. From now on, all men between the ages of 18 and 30 are required to serve one year in the army.

It is expected that in view of the approaching presidential elections next March, the Kremlin will not declare a new mobilization for the time being. It is already certain that Putin will win those, but a low turnout would still be an embarrassment. Many Russians fear that a new round of mobilizations will come later anyway, given Russia's heavy losses in Ukraine.

mapuc

12-12-23, 02:32 PM

If this only are numbers in statistics why do Russia not collect their dead and exchange their POW's because these numbers matter in public opinion and that is important for Putin he fears that if that goes bad for him.

How much does the ordinary Russian citizens know about this war.

In a video Which I posted some days ago, a phone call between a Russian storm trooper and his wife, showed that the Russian population believe it goes very well for them in Ukraine

Why they haven't collect their dead !? I don't know why.

Markus

Dargo

12-12-23, 02:47 PM

How much does the ordinary Russian citizens know about this war.

In a video Which I posted some days ago, a phone call between a Russian storm trooper and his wife, showed that the Russian population believe it goes very well for them in UkraineRussian people do not know much, what is shown on TV is only propaganda most soldiers are from poor regions or convicts. Uberrussians do not care for them reason why Putin did not mobilize in the Moscow and St Petersburg regions they will start trouble when their sons, husbands die a big chunk of this money in the war budget is spent on internal security forces to suppress any dissent. Already people ask Putin what happened to their loved ones Putin can ignore them now on the moment but if the Moscow and St Petersburg regions complains it matters those region start revolutions any Russia leader knows that. This election is bought, the people get all kind of things from Putin to have not a low turnout at his reelection. Public opinion matters even for a dictator, certainly with an ego as Putin.Why they haven't collect their dead !? I don't know why.
MarkusSee my latest video.

Dargo

12-12-23, 03:10 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6de4M0jDDA&ab_channel=TimesRadio

MarkusEssential comment by General Breedlove, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR):
"Modern manoeuvre warfare, just like we taught the Ukrainians, starts with battlefield air superiority. Have we given Ukraine what they need to establish battlefield air superiority? No. No, we have not. And so you can be critical all you want, you just sort of demonstrate your lack of understanding of what manoeuvre warfare is and how it begins, and so let me just add one other big example. Manoeuvre warfare, and I would tell you especially American commanders, counts on long-range precise fire. We fight to hold the the enemy at risk before [stresses], before he brings his force to bear on us. We use long range precision strikes to strike them and then if they still persist in attacking, to strike them in depth. In depth and to strike them all along their lines of communication and supply lines before they can actually meet us, even after they begin an attack. And then we use long range precise strike to hold all the transhipment points, airfields and everything else, at risk when the fight is going on. Have we given Ukraine the ability to do that? The answer is no, we have not, and worse yet we in the West have forbidden Ukraine from using any of the kit that we give them to strike deeply and to hit the enemy before the enemy can bring his forces to bear on Ukraine. We have built sanctuary all the way around Ukraine. On the map, from Belarus in the Northwest all the way around through the East into Russia, all the way into the South, into the Black Sea, we have forbidden Ukraine from using our kit to strike into Russia and so [it] amazes me that people expect them to do manoeuvre warfare under that. So here's my answer that was all to set the stage for my answer: we should give Ukraine what we would take to the battlefield. We should give Ukraine what it needs to set conditions on the battlefield like we would set conditions on the battlefield. We're expecting Ukraine to fight a world superpower shorthanded and certainly demonstratively short of the kind of kit that we would use to fight that superpower."

Comment: many military experts have made these points repeatedly for many months, and for many months multiple voices from across our nations have made repeated calls for Western Allies to:
- Deliver combat aircraft
- Deliver longer-range strike capabilities
- Lift the insane caveats on strikes on Russian territory

Why did these limitations happen? For purely political reasons, because some of our key leaders and those who surround them live in ivory towers with theoretical models of "escalation" that have led to a deeply bloody, dangerous and unfair fight, costing the Ukrainians many thousands of additional lives, giving Putin more time to arm up and undermine us all, and failing to give the Russian state the stinging defeat it absolutely must experience so that Ukraine, and Europe, may overcome the monstrosity of this war and its attendant dangers.

Instead, hesitation after hesitation, delay after delay, have led us to a downward spiral of expectations which treasonous pro-Putin elements in our political systems are only too happy to exploit.

But this can still change and it must still change.
If the Russian bear is struck in the face so hard that his teeth fall out, he will retreat. That is the way forward. https://twitter.com/EHunterChristie/status/1734330973192430057

Skybird

12-12-23, 05:03 PM

As mentioned before-If Ukraine lose this war it will not be on the battlefield, but in the west(American Congress)

I have no doubt that Ukraine would win this war, if the amount of supply would increase instead.

Markus
As General Breedlove said in that video on the previous page: the US gave Ukraine much, much less than what it would take a US force with US doctrine to win against the Russians, and then expects Ukraine to nevertheless be successful. He compared to the logistic effort in desert storm - which was prepared under the indisputed cover or total air superiority. It did not work with that flawed logic in Ukraine. As I repeaetdly reported and linked to, Colonel Reinser wondered the same, and complains about the same, and for the same reasons. I also wondered, always wondered, why the Ukrainians attacked at three places at the same time and that way splitting up their power, instead of focussing on one attack. They should have focussed on the attack for driving south at Melitopol. Maybe distracting Russian focus by false attacks, but instead the Ukrainians wanted to seriously attack and fight and defend evertyhign, everywhere - they had not the power to do so. Had they never heard of "He who wants to defend evertyhign, looses everything"...?

Ukraine does not just need some more stuff. They need multiple times as much stuff than what they already have gotten so far - plus the means for air superiority.

That begs for one question. Who is weakening whom here? The US weakening Russia'S fightign power (boiling the frog), or China weakening the US' material pool...?

I have by now very serious doubts that the West has the long breath it claims to have. As I see it, the West just whistles while walking alone in the dark forest. And globally, it walks alone - Russia is NOT isolated at all. Mind you, in Europe you see almost no military adapatation process initiated to meet the new cold war and countering the Russian threats against members of NATO. Finland and Sweden went the longest way so far, the three Baltic states try what they can, butthey are economic and military dwarves. All otherS: No real adaptation process initiated. Nothing serious at all. NOTHING. And we still do very serious businesses with Russia, including the US.

We are in the process of letting down Ukraine. And many of us lied from day one on. This way Ukraine cannot avoid to lose.

mapuc

12-12-23, 05:24 PM

It makes me truly sad In the beginning we said to the Ukrainians -
We are with you all the way.

Now I know that our leaders was with Ukraine all the way...until they got tired of the war/lack of offensive success on the battlefield.

Markus

Skybird

12-12-23, 06:29 PM

Colonel Reisner:

https://www-telepolis-de.translate.goog/features/Die-Lehren-des-Ukraine-Kriegs-sind-in-westlichen-Armeen-noch-nicht-angekommen-9570178.html?seite=all&_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=de&_x_tr_pto=wapp

https://www-berliner--zeitung-de.translate.goog/politik-gesellschaft/geopolitik/interview-mit-oberst-markus-reisner-ukraine-verliert-das-momentum-li.2167310?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=de&_x_tr_pto=wapp&_x_tr_hist=true

https://www.n-tv.de/mediathek/videos/politik/Sehen-zunehmende-Verzweiflung-auf-ukrainischer-Seite-article24592986.html

Torvald Von Mansee

12-13-23, 03:27 AM

A huge amount of the proposed U.S. Ukrainian aid package would go right into red states via defense contractors selling to the Ukrainians. Why on earth would Republicans oppose that?

Skybird

12-13-23, 03:37 AM

A huge amount of the proposed U.S. Ukrainian aid package would go right into red states via defense contractors selling to the Ukrainians. Why on earth would Republicans oppose that?
Migration. Principle antibidenism. Trench-digging. And because Trump wants troubles.

I would agree with the first topic. But to link it to the fate of Ukraine is infame and unforgivable. No excuse accepted.

The best reason was given by Gen. Breedlove in the video one page earlier. With an amount of money representing 3-4% of the defence budget, they could let Ukraine destroy 40-50% of Russia's combat power, without US troops in combat. Thats an irresistable formula to me.

mapuc

12-13-23, 04:24 AM

Germany only has ammunition for two days of fighting. And Denmark has no artillery, no submarines, no air defense systems.

https://www-bt-dk.translate.goog/udland/alle-alarmklokker-ringer-over-rusland-eksperter-ser-katastrofe-i-horisonten-for?_x_tr_sl=da&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=da&_x_tr_pto=wapp

Markus

Skybird

12-13-23, 06:31 AM

[CNN] Russia has lost a staggering 87 percent of the total number of active-duty ground troops it had prior to launching its invasion of Ukraine (https://www.cnn.com/world/europe/ukraine) and two-thirds of its pre-invasion tanks, a source familiar with a declassified US intelligence assessment provided to Congress told CNN.

(...)

Of the 360,000 troops that entered Ukraine, including contract and conscript personnel, Russia has lost 315,000 on the battlefield, according to the assessment. 2,200 of 3,500 tanks have been lost, according to the assessment. 4,400 of 13,600 infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers have also been destroyed, a 32 percent loss rate.

“As of late November, Russia lost over a quarter of its pre-invasion stockpiles of ground forces equipment,” the assessment reads. “This has reduced the complexity and scale of Russian offensive operations, which have failed to make major gains in Ukraine since early 2022.”

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/12/12/politics/russia-troop-losses-us-intelligence-assessment/index.html

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

Republicans should not complain about Ukraine funding. The US gets really solid value for its money. Some political disillusionizing of Europeans even included for free.

Jimbuna

12-13-23, 08:17 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fR9X8O0a3Mg

Jimbuna

12-13-23, 08:54 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eGuxfQjlAg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tosNE4C1_0E

mapuc

12-13-23, 11:43 AM

Despite their huge losses they keep on attacking

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8w4x5q6RCI&ab_channel=CombatVeteranReacts

Markus

Dargo

12-13-23, 12:30 PM

The United States and its allies have spent millions to send tanks and other armoured vehicles to Ukraine and to train newly formed units in advanced military tactics. But despite Ukraine's advance during the summer and fall, Russian forces largely retained the nearly 20 percent of the country they control. For three months, American and allied soldiers trained the nine brigades, 36,000 Ukrainian troops that is, in the basic principles of manoeuvre warfare. The theory, proposed by American strategists, was that only a heavy force could break through the fortified Russian lines and recapture Ukraine's southeastern coastline. But while the U.S. taught Ukraine how to use the weaponry, the Russians dug in and prepared for the coming battle. American and Ukrainian strategists did not initially realize how much the Russians were strengthening their defences. Ukrainian troops training in Germany were practising breaking through much weaker defences than they would eventually face.

Deep Russian defences included more and larger minefields than ever seen since the Korean War, an ancient technology that slowed and then stopped the advancing Ukrainian army. But it was also Russia's use of a variety of drones, including Chinese-made commercial drones, that fundamentally changed the nature of mechanized manoeuvre warfare. In the past, breakthroughs along the front line could be exploited, allowing advancing troops to gain an advantage before the enemy could respond. Now that the battlefield is under almost constant observation, it is difficult for either side to gain advantage without being detected and stopped by artillery or a counterattack. Russian drones were able to break communications between frontline troops and Ukraine's command post. Other drones were used to detect Ukrainian mine clearance teams, allowing Russia to send attack helicopters to attack them.

Ukraine's problems were compounded by sharp disagreements with American generals over how and where to deploy the new mechanized forces. Ukrainian officials, including Zelenskyy, concluded that eastern Ukraine was the main theatre of war because Russian forces concentrated their efforts there. In contrast, Washington saw eastern Ukraine, including the Donbas, as less strategically important than the occupied southern coastline. The Americans wanted Ukraine to concentrate on the south to break or threaten Moscow's hold on the strip of Ukrainian land between Crimea and the Russian border. The Ukrainian military leadership believed that this line of defence was too strong to break through and that an offensive due to land mines there would result in huge losses.

So Ukrainian forces remained divided between the east and the south, and Kyiv refused to focus on one main attack route. Instead of a decisive breakthrough, an agonizing stalemate ensued. Ukraine's military leaders have said they believe U.S. expectations were unrealistic, especially since they had no air force to protect their ground forces. "There are many reasons why the counteroffensive failed, but there is a grain of truth in the Ukrainian criticism," said Eric Ciaramella, a scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "There was a kind of collective inflation of expectations."

Ukraine does not need to recapture all the land it has lost, about 20 percent, to win the war, U.S. officials say. A few strategic and symbolic victories, strengthening their defences and building up their own ability to produce more weapons could be enough to improve Ukraine's position when calls for peace talks inevitably begin again. American officials are trying to prepare Ukrainians for next year by telling them that the aid approved by Congress is unlikely to match the funding of the first two years. "They need to fight smart and efficiently," said Michael Kofman, a researcher specializing in Russia and Eurasia at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, who recently visited Ukraine. "If Ukraine and the West make the right investments in a long-term strategy, Ukraine can regain the advantage." https://www.demorgen.be/nieuws/na-het-mislukte-tegenoffensief-broeden-oekraine-en-de-vs-op-een-nieuwe-strategie-ze-moeten-slim-en-efficient-vechten~b89e0fb2d/

Dargo

12-13-23, 12:40 PM

Despite their huge losses they keep on attacking

[SNIP]

MarkusThe attacks unleashed by the Russian military along the eastern front in Ukraine this fall are primarily designed to undermine Western support for the country. So far, the offensives along the eastern front lines have barely provided the Russians with strategic ground gains. "It seems that Russia believes that a military stand-off over the winter will dry up Western support for Ukraine, and will ultimately favour the Russians, despite Russian losses and continued shortages of trained soldiers, ammunition and equipment," a National Security Council spokesman told CNN Tuesday night (https://edition.cnn.com/2023/12/12/politics/russia-troop-losses-us-intelligence-assessment/index.html).

The Institute for the Study of War pointed out Tuesday night (https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-december-12-2023) that winter conditions in Ukraine are unfavourable for conducting offensive ground operations. That the Russians are on the offensive despite the bad weather and heavy losses is also an indication, according to the U.S. think tank, that the Russian attacks are being carried out deliberately at a time when there are plenty of discussions in Europe and the United States about continuing military support for Ukraine.

The Russians are downplaying their goal of encircling and capturing Avdiyivka they now say they're conducting "active defence" even though the Ukrainians are not on the attack in this sector. Slowly, the Russians realize their offensive has failed.

Jimbuna

12-13-23, 01:21 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdmiwlx5gNE

Exocet25fr

12-13-23, 01:50 PM

Ukraine connection lost:
The IT systems of Ukraine's largest telecommunications operator have been partially destroyed following a hack.

https://www.rt.com/business/588997-ukraine-telecom-internet-cyberattack-russia/

Kiev urges EU not to wait for US to send aid:
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba warned that hesitation on Brussels’ part could have “devastating” consequences .

https://www.rt.com/news/589007-kiev-urges-eu-decision/

Abuse only gets worse with time: How the US increasingly mistreats its closest allies:
A mainstay of Washington’s policy since even before the end of World War II has been to make economic dependencies of its friends.

https://www.rt.com/business/587983-us-allies-abusive-relationship/

Zelensky gives US TV viewers fake frontline facts:
The Ukrainian president touted his country’s supposed military success on Fox News.

https://www.rt.com/russia/588976-zelensky-no-village-lost/

Ukrainian general reveals discord among frontline troops:
The government is “teasing the tiger” with its attitude, the former deputy secretary of the security council has warned. The general said Kiev was “teasing the tiger” with its treatment of troops, who, he warned “may act quite harshly” in response.

https://www.rt.com/russia/588968-ukraine-troops-discontent-krivonos/

Dargo

12-13-23, 02:07 PM

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

Skybird

12-13-23, 02:41 PM

Dargo

12-13-23, 03:06 PM

Hodges also predicted that Crimea would be liberated from winter 2023 (!) on. And when he started doing so he knew Ukraine would have no air cover and -superiority.

I do not say he is stupid, but his statements often make little sense and are more wishful thinking. I also do not say that as a former general he is incompetent, he most likely is not. He speaks moral-boosting propaganda, thats the point. As the war is now, it is easier to damage/destroy the Kerch Bridge than retake land if we give Ukraine the needed tools for that it will degrade the Russian supply to the fronts. We had all the hype around a counteroffensive this past summer, a lot of expectations built up inside and outside of Ukraine, especially in the United States. If we look at other wars, major wars, often these much-anticipated individual battles don’t turn out the way that the planners or the fighters actually anticipate. Now we are in a scenario where, having not succeeded in reaching the stated goals of the counteroffensive, we’re basically positing that Ukraine has somehow lost the entire war. Ukraine has succeeded so far because of massive military support from the US, European allies and other partners. If it can destroy 87% of Russian pre invasion army in two years, Ukraine won more than retaking occupied land. That is why I understand that Ukraine will not make peace with that kinda damage caused on your enemy.

Skybird

12-13-23, 04:14 PM

(...) if we give Ukraine the needed tools (...)

Well.

Dargo

12-13-23, 05:03 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEhdgPw4uG8
Journalists have obtained a video that appears to show several Russian military personnel firing from behind three captive Ukrainian soldiers. Ukrainian troops deployed in the region provided RFE/RL with the footage.

The journalists reported they were able to identify the location of the events but have not disclosed this information at the military's request. However, they noted that Russian forces from the 234th Air Assault Regiment, part of the 76th Air Assault Division, were present in this frontline sector. https://english.nv.ua/nation/russian-troops-use-ukrainian-pows-as-human-shields-during-assaults-video-50376286.html

mapuc

12-13-23, 05:38 PM

Wasn't it something with the fact that Nato feared an escalation if Ukraine destroyed the Kerch Bridge and this was the reason why Ukraine didn't get these long range missiles.
(Could remember wrong though)

Markus

Ostfriese

12-14-23, 01:53 AM

It may come as a huge surprise to some of you, but wars aren't won by predicting things or printing headlines. :D:03:

And concerning plans of reconquering territory in summer offensives: "No plan of operations extends with any certainty beyond the first encounter with the main enemy forces. " Helmuth von Moltke, 1871.

Jimbuna

12-14-23, 05:56 AM

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

Jimbuna

12-14-23, 06:36 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaSMsyZb-Zg

Skybird

12-14-23, 06:56 AM

^ I again remind of this:

In case of EU membership, 17% of the 1 trillion EU budget would flow into Ukraine.

https://www-welt-de.translate.goog/wirtschaft/article248981732/Ukraine-17-Prozent-des-EU-Haushalts-Studie-berechnet-Folgen-des-Beitritts.html?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=de&_x_tr_pto=wapp

I say it since last year, a Ukrainejoining the block would mean an absolute heavyweight joins the block, turning things upside down. The architecture of power and i nfouence would be completely chnaged. Paris and Berlin cannot like it, nor can others, like Poland which is by now the biggest receiver of EU funds. The EU in no way is in a shape to even consider Ukraine membership now or in the next 5-10 years.

Skybird

12-14-23, 07:23 AM

Next year, and the years after that...

https://www-faz-net.translate.goog/aktuell/politik/ausland/das-patt-im-ukraine-krieg-warum-nicht-alles-von-der-us-wahl-abhaengen-muss-19370676.html?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=de&_x_tr_pto=wapp

My main quarrel with Western politicians is two-fold. First, their unconditional sympathy for always endlessly wasting time, and second their unshakable belief they were so examplary that they could afford the illusion to be able to pedagocially educate Putin to become a better and more reasonable man who could be taught by military example to make the - from a Westenr point of view - "right" decisions. In a way that is nothing but Westsern megalomiania, still. Putin fights with warhammers and two-handers. The West talks about how to resharpen used second-hand bought scalpels.

mapuc

12-14-23, 07:37 AM

Ukraine can't accept this demand

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtGYwbIYhJ8&ab_channel=CombatVeteranReacts

Markus

Jimbuna

12-14-23, 01:34 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5L2YAIk0vSc

Skybird

12-14-23, 03:21 PM

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67714719

Shell shortage forces Ukraine to limit firing.

Jimbuna

12-15-23, 06:23 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKB3MdK_0Os

Jimbuna

12-15-23, 07:01 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkMJ5V_v0uY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKNyNJT4wzg

Jimbuna

12-16-23, 06:21 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1V2r9Q8itA

Jimbuna

12-16-23, 07:13 AM

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

Skybird

12-16-23, 07:24 AM

https://edition.cnn.com/ukraine-war-us-eu-analysis/index.html

Ukraine is developing a “drowning not waving” problem. It is struggling to say clearly how badly the war is going.

Giving a candid public assessment of how poorly a conflict is going can be an unwise move as it can result in morale and support draining. After Obama boosted troops in Afghanistan, public support declined over the years, in part because of a lack of realism about how the war was going.
Ukraine’s acutely bad presentation of its troubles (https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/13/politics/what-comes-next-for-ukraine/index.html) is mostly due to the myopia of its allies.

The lack of understanding in parts of US Congress is breathtaking. A congressman this week suggested Ukraine should name a finite price tag and a specific, simple goal. It’s staggering after two American wars of choice in two decades, costing trillions of dollars, that congressional memories are so short, and comprehension so limited.

Instead, Kyiv consistently points to past successes and future goals. They have reclaimed about half the territory Russia took last year; they have damaged its Black Sea presence strategically. They have a plan for 2024, Zelensky said, but it is secret.

Yet in truth, the most useful headline for Kyiv should be how unutterably bleak the frontlines are for them now. In nearly every direction, the news is grim. Russian forces are hiving off parts of the eastern city of Avdiivka, yet another town Moscow seems content to throw thousands of lives at despite its minimal importance. Along the Zaporizhzhia frontline, where the counteroffensive was focused but ultimately slow and unrewarding, Russian units have come back with renewed vigor and the defense is costly for Ukraine. Ukraine has made a plucky (or foolhardy) dash across the Dnipro River, with some small progress into Russian lines. The casualties have been immense, their supply lines are problematic, and their prospects dim.

(...)
If the West does not soon DRAMATICALLY boost military aid, finds a way to send equipment and ammo,m gettign these form anywhere, I dont know form where, then Ukraine looses. That simple it is. Right now they are loosing. And the speed of this process is currently accelerating.

In the medium and long range perspective, the West must accept that a new arms race has been started and a new cold war as well and that we need to reactivate war production capacities. This all is not about to come to us: but Russia already has brought this upon us. We are already in it.

Stop talking the talk, but do the deed by start sending the goods NOW.

Dargo

12-16-23, 09:18 AM

Ukraine indicates that they will dig in, which they refused to do until now because they assumed they would drive the Russians back. With the current ammunition shortage and Russian artillery superiority at the front, perhaps greater than it ever was, that is becoming a necessity. I don't think Russia is capable of a major breakthrough now, though. Their ground gains are still expressed in tens of square kilometres. That seems like a lot, but Ukraine still controls more than 400,000 square kilometres, the vast area of the country will make it difficult for the Russians to break through, especially given their difficulties with logistics. This will lead to long instability in these regions, as Russia would encounter fierce resistance from parts of the Ukrainian population through civil unrest and guerrilla wars. I don't know if because of this the war will become even bloodier, the past two years the casualty numbers were already horrendously high, but it does become more difficult the front will not move much in 2024.

In the very short term, many commitments have yet to translate into deliveries. Europe, like other countries, has ordered a lot of ammunition for Ukraine and planned that very far ahead and that is being delivered in a steady stream (Countries like France and others do not make public what they give, but there is a whole covert supply to Ukraine.). Production has to go up, but for now that really continues to flow to Ukraine. Restarting old production lines in Eastern Europe has taken more time than they had hoped. But European countries have now signed major contracts with defence companies. As for munitions, it's about bringing production capacity up to par and keeping it up. Things are happening that have never been seen. Within a year, Europe was able to reach an agreement with a major American company Raytheon to open a new production line for Patriot air defence missiles in Europe, based on contracts with countries like Germany and the Netherlands. That is crucial capability. F-16 training facilities in Romania also unprecedented, and within a year. But if you are a Ukrainian front soldier, it takes a very long time, but it is coming.

mapuc

12-16-23, 09:36 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEG0KO6zxNw&ab_channel=CombatVeteranReacts

Markus

Dargo

12-16-23, 10:06 AM

Russia’s Election Gives Ukraine an Opportunity to Rebuild Forces
As the two-year anniversary of the war approaches, the Russian and Ukrainian armies are facing a common set of problems. The supply of volunteers willing to sign up to fight is drying up. Soldiers are tired of being on the front lines for too long, their female relatives are demanding a limit to the length of their military service. Right now Ukraine has an advantage over Russia in this regard as its people remain more resolutely behind continuing its fight than its opponent. But the window of opportunity to use that advantage is closing. According to Bloomberg, the Verkhovna Rada has approved a plan that would allow the Ukrainian army to mobilize an additional 140,000 men. But it has been waiting for President Volodymyr Zelensky's approval since June. Zelensky fears that approving the plan could increase citizens' desire for peace at any cost, hampering the war effort.

Bloomberg also raises concerns that Russia is covertly mobilizing the entire country, whose population is over three times larger than Ukraine’s. They cite statements from ex-president Dmitry Medvedev that Russia has managed to recruit more than 385,000 contracted soldiers (on Dec. 1, he claimed the number was 452,000). However, the figures in the report are obviously inflated. Russian journalist Michael Naki believes that the official volunteer recruitment figures can only make sense if we were to interpret “contract soldiers” as troops who were already enlisted and forced to sign a contract. He estimates the actual number of these soldiers is far smaller at 80,000-130,000.

His assessment is supported by the political anthropologist Jeremy Morris, who notes that the media are forced to rely on figures from Russian authorities, which are impossible to verify. Moreover, the Russian authorities themselves are not aware of the true state of affairs. In authoritarian systems, it is common practice to produce figures that are "good enough" to please their superiors, but have little to do with reality. https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/12/14/russias-election-gives-ukraine-an-opportunity-to-rebuild-forces-a83426

Skybird

12-16-23, 12:16 PM

Dargo

12-16-23, 12:41 PM

Very bad it is for the troops that were meant to attack and take Tokmak (and maybe Melitopol). They planned to camp over the winter in these towns' protection from the chillling temperature, wind, and rain and snow, but ended up in the open field with winter coming - and artillery shelling. The Russians on the other hand spent over one year now to dug themselves in and establish bunkers.Ukraine has better and more winter gear than Russians reports are Russian get none also no adequate water, food and no rotation think Russians have it worse in winter command do not care for them.

Jimbuna

12-16-23, 01:07 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgFRkRztWa4

mapuc

12-16-23, 02:44 PM

Dargo

12-16-23, 03:13 PM

^ :wah: It makes me so sad that we have left the Ukrainian all alone-So it seems when reading the news and the post in this thread.

I still have hopes for Ukraine and that our leaders come to their senses and start to send military aid en mas to Ukraine.

MarkusMaybe this defeatism in the coverage at this time is part of a Russian campaign (I mean this in a general way not saying they^ are part, but it is known that Russia has a strong disinformation apparatus specially created for this), I do not see a majority against Ukraine if you start reasoning too much "Ukraine can't win," you are doing exactly what Putin wants. He expects us in the West to become war-weary. But Putin has not achieved any of the goals he started with. Indeed, he has run into enormous problems. Finland and Sweden at NATO. He spends a third of his government finances on war. He continues to mobilize people and send them forward as cannon fodder. No one expected on Feb. 24, 2022 that Ukraine would be so successful. They have recaptured a lot of conquered territory. They are very successful on the Black Sea and are putting pressure on Crimea. Some wars take a long time, but we should not let Putin get the upper hand because he has more strategic patience than we do. I hope common sense prevails there as well. We are doing it for the Ukrainians, but also for ourselves. How it will turn out in the U.S., I dare not say. You do see there, as in some other countries, a mixing of domestic and foreign politics. The U.S. elections seem to be casting their shadow ahead. But a sizable portion of the Republican Party still strongly supports support for Ukraine, and wants even more.

Catfish

12-16-23, 03:20 PM

Whatever happens now with Ukraine, there will be war between other countries and Russia soon.

mapuc

12-16-23, 03:35 PM

Maybe this defeatism in the coverage at this time is part of a Russian campaign, I do not see a majority against Ukraine if you start reasoning too much "Ukraine can't win," you are doing exactly what Putin wants. He expects us in the West to become war-weary. But Putin has not achieved any of the goals he started with. Indeed, he has run into enormous problems. Finland and Sweden at NATO. He spends a third of his government finances on war. He continues to mobilize people and send them forward as cannon fodder. No one expected on Feb. 24, 2022 that Ukraine would be so successful. They have recaptured a lot of conquered territory. They are very successful on the Black Sea and are putting pressure on Crimea. Some wars take a long time, but we should not let Putin get the upper hand because he has more strategic patience than we do. I hope common sense prevails there as well. We are doing it for the Ukrainians, but also for ourselves. How it will turn out in the U.S., I dare not say. You do see there, as in some other countries, a mixing of domestic and foreign politics. The U.S. elections seem to be casting their shadow ahead. But a sizable portion of the Republican Party still strongly supports support for Ukraine, and wants even more.

Thank you for your answer

May Ukraine kick the Russian to Kingdom come That's my sincerely hopes-May Putin burn his fingers on Ukraine.

As I wrote in my latest comment
"So it seems when reading the news and the post in this thread."

Can't say if it's going not so well on the battlefield or not for the Ukrainians

Watching some of the videos gives the allusion it's going very well for the Ukrainians on the battlefield.

Reading some of the article where military expert is quoted gives another picture.

Markus

Dargo

12-16-23, 03:55 PM

Thank you for your answer

May Ukraine kick the Russian to Kingdom come That's my sincerely hopes-May Putin burn his fingers on Ukraine.

As I wrote in my latest comment
"So it seems when reading the news and the post in this thread."

Can't say if it's going not so well on the battlefield or not for the Ukrainians

Watching some of the videos gives the allusion it's going very well for the Ukrainians on the battlefield.

Reading some of the article where military expert is quoted gives another picture.

MarkusWhat we see on the fronts is half what they're actually happening both sides are in active defence mode meaning keep what you got but when opportunity arise take the ground on many parts we see daily change of captured areas not all is worth to defend certainly not those open fields with a tree line or a couple tree lines that in winter and by all that shelling give no shelter and cost only lives to keep. In general, Ukraine has hold, it has not retreated to any last main defence line yet.

mapuc

12-16-23, 05:36 PM

What we see on the fronts is half what they're actually happening both sides are in active defence mode meaning keep what you got but when opportunity arise take the ground on many parts we see daily change of captured areas not all is worth to defend certainly not those open fields with a tree line or a couple tree lines that in winter and by all that shelling give no shelter and cost only lives to keep. In general, Ukraine has hold, it has not retreated to any last main defence line yet.

We do not know what's going on in Ukraine - I for once do not know what's exactly going on at the front in Ukraine-

I see it everywhere people making a stand for or against Ukraine and it all comes down to our political standpoint.

Some of us quote one or more military and/or political expert-
Not saying they don't know what they are talking about. No! They are more divided in their sayings/prediction.

And still we take their statement as valid and reject other expert since they goes against what one believes.

Markus

Skybird

12-16-23, 08:03 PM

https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/12/08/ukraine-russia-war-aid-congress-biden-victory-counteroffensive-crimea/

This is hidden, I post a re-translation therefore.

https://www-fr-de.translate.goog/politik/der-kuerzeste-weg-sieg-ukraine-krieg-krim-halbinsel-putin-russland-marschflugkoerper-militaerhilfe-zr-92732789.html?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=de&_x_tr_pto=wapp

Such analysis may be nice and correct, but I tick empirically and by the example of the past 22 months I have overwhelming doubts by now that Western politicians will reflect them in their decision making.

Skybird

12-16-23, 10:22 PM

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WoP1i9ZzwOs

Jimbuna

12-17-23, 08:55 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1lmCaduMgk

Jimbuna

12-17-23, 09:50 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0mB8Niwysw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Pnl5lAdwnY

Dargo

12-17-23, 11:57 AM

“Russia is winning the war” – sure?
There are increasing voices everywhere that see Russia as having an advantage in the war against Ukraine: it is only a matter of time that Moscow wins. However, there are reasonable doubts about this claim. A reply Karl-Heinz Kamp. Vladimir Putin and his loyal followers are likely to take note of the current press coverage in Germany and other NATO states with goodwill. “Russia is winning the war of aggression,” one reads, because time is working for Moscow in the current trench warfare in eastern Ukraine.

Russia has larger reserves and can throw almost unlimited people and material to the front - the defeat of Ukraine is therefore inevitable sooner or later. Ukraine's phalanx of Western supporters will crumble as other crises, such as the fighting between Israelis and Palestinians, overshadow the war in Eastern Europe. The everyday worries of people in Germany, from rising prices to growing migration pressure, would also lead to growing fatigue with Ukraine. The USA, still the strongest supporter of Ukraine, would significantly reduce its aid under pressure from the Republicans, and if Donald Trump were elected president again next November, then everything would be over anyway. Apart from the fact that it is not even defined what exactly is meant by a Russian “victory” or a Ukrainian defeat, there are considerable doubts about such a scenario of decline.

Russia's position remains difficult
Firstly, it should be remembered that on February 24, 2022, it was considered almost certain that Ukraine would only be able to withstand the Russian attack for a few days or weeks. That wasn't even implausible, as the small Ukrainian defence force was opposed by the supposedly huge Russian armed forces, which saw themselves in the tradition of the glorious Red Army. The idea that a year later, a possible “victory” for Ukraine would even have been envisaged would have been dismissed as fantasy at the time.

Even today, Russia finds itself in a position that is anything but comfortable. In nine years of war against Ukraine, Russian armed forces have occupied just 19 percent of Ukrainian territory. The toll in blood paid is unimaginable. A few days ago, American intelligence published estimates of 315,000 casualties on the Russian side, almost 90 percent of the 360,000-man invasion force with which Russia launched the attack. Other estimates, which estimate the number of dead and injured based on the Russian government's (known) payments to victims' families, come to even higher figures.

Further waves of mobilization are likely to be extremely difficult, not to mention the consequences for the motivation of the armed forces. The loss of soldiers and material, the American report continued, would set Russia back 18 years militarily. Russia has also not been able to intercept any of the trains or convoys that bring Western aid to Ukraine via Poland. The Black Sea Fleet has had to withdraw a large number of its ships from Sevastopol and move them further east because just a few British Storm Shadow cruise missiles pose a significant threat. The ammunition supplied by North Korea is said to cause significant security problems and is unlikely to be usable. Further sanctions packages from the European Union and the USA close loopholes through which Russia had obtained modern technology.

Huge costs
The costs of the war are also enormous for Russia and will consume 40 percent of total government spending next year. Gazprom, whose profits once accounted for ten percent of the state budget, has lost 80 percent of its markets in Western Europe without being able to compensate for this with deliveries to India or China - there are simply no pipelines. Having to supply oil to India at $70 a barrel is not a bonanza either. With NATO, we are also faced with an alliance whose gross domestic product is around twenty times higher than that of Russia - not to mention Ukraine's other supporters within the G-7.

But, it is said, Russia is capable of suffering and can endure its own hardships until Western support for Ukraine dwindles. However, it doesn't look like that so far. The members of the European Union have just decided to start accession talks with Ukraine, offering the country anchoring in the West - something that Putin was determined to prevent. A new aid package for Ukraine will be decided sooner or later, despite the current resistance from Hungary, and even if the EU's overall commitment were to weaken at some point, countries like Poland, Finland, Sweden or the Baltic States will always support Ukraine.

Unbroken solidarity
It is also noteworthy that Germany has largely excluded the defence budget and aid to Ukraine from the budget cuts that have recently become necessary and is instead saving on social and climate protection spending - and that under a Social Democratic Chancellor and a Green Economics Minister. Surveys show that this prioritization even finds a clear majority among the public.

But what about the growing unwillingness of US Republicans to continue providing funds for Ukraine - didn't President Zelensky just leave Washington without having achieved anything? Here too it is worth having a closer look. The majority of Republicans in Congress are not against supporting Ukraine, but above all against President Joe Biden, who they do not want to begrudge success.

The real domestic debate revolves around means of securing America's southern border against migrants - a discussion that Republicans are keen to have but that Democrats want to avoid. Aid to Ukraine is the pawn in this heated dispute. If both parties manage to overcome their shadows despite the deep social divisions, aid can continue to flow to Ukraine. On December 13th and 14th, the Senate and House of Representatives passed a compromise resolution with a large majority of both parties that would allow aid for Ukraine for two more years, provided President Biden makes concessions on border security. Opposition to the decision came only from the ranks of Republican isolationists.

What if Trump wins and is sworn in as the new president on January 20, 2025? Then everything will be different anyway, not only when it comes to Ukraine, but also with regard to transatlantic relations or the future of NATO. But firstly, that is not guaranteed and secondly, there are still 13 months until then - a time that could be very long for Putin given the problems described.

Does all of this mean that, conversely, Ukraine's success is assured? Absolutely not, the losses there are also huge, and without the great international support the country would never have been able to withstand the pressure from Russia for so long. It is up to Ukraine to decide how long it can and will continue to make its own sacrifices, and whether it means “victory” as the reconquest of its entire national territory or some form of compromise. Until then, further Western help for Ukraine is absolutely necessary in terms of security policy, military and moral aspects. Any rhetoric like “Russia will win anyway” undermines the international solidarity that has allowed Ukraine to survive so far. https://internationalepolitik.de/de/russland-gewinnt-den-krieg-sicher

Jimbuna

12-17-23, 12:55 PM

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

mapuc

12-17-23, 03:51 PM

"Russia will win anyway"

This is not what my friends says-They say:
"Ukraine can't win/beat the mighty Russian army
By giving aid to Ukraine we are only postpone the inevitable"

Me myself disagree with them.

Markus

Skybird

12-17-23, 04:23 PM

I say: if not dramatically more material support reaches Ukraine, then it is doomed to fall. Paroles and wishful daydreams, symbolic acts like beginning EU engotiations and endlessly repeatding how soldiareic the West is, mean nothing. The deed is what counts, and the deed is done by managing to bring more support to Ukraine then it alraedy has gotten so far.

Ukraine does not need these negotiations. They will lead nowhere for many, many years to come. What it needs is weapons, weapons, weapons, and ammo for them.

And if this does not come from American arsenals, then I do not know where it should come from. Which is a risk for the US, since it must also plan for the war over Taiwan, if it is serious over its committment there.

Also, the Ukraine must be brought into shape and given allowance to use such weapons on key infrastructure and industrial targets deep inside Russia. You want to win a war against an enemy state? You must bring down its logistic supply chains for the war.

How Ukraine should solve its demogrpohcis and recruitement problems, which gets bigger from month to month, I have no idea. The problem already affects the military operations right now. It degrades morale and human will of the soldiers in the trenches.

Russian production of drones and missiles now outclasses that of NATO, in numbers, and that of Ukraine. Iranian drones now get produced in license in Russia, they do it much faster than the Iranians could ever do it. Loitering amo of Russia now is suerior to that used by Ukraine, both in numbers and qulaity. Zalushnji has relatively openly admitted that. They strike deep into the West of Ukraine, and go after strategic targets.

I am tired of rewaidng dand hearing that russia cnanot do this and cannot maintain that. Its beyonsd me that Russia still is beign underestimated and that it is not recognized that it has learned and adapts. The wa rof high losses is the war what the Russian army always ahs trained, and what its tanks are build for, very different to that of Western design philosophy. Most of the Western armour , most of those Bradlkey sand Marders and Lepard-2s seem to be down now. Unfortunately Putin did not promise too much when he predicted they would burn as good as just any other tank. And nione fo those armorued paltforms has antgi-.drone capabilities. The rsusian have air superioreity now. And the battlefield is totally transparent to both sides, everybody sees everything as soon as it moves.

Ukraine has not yet lost, but it cannot win this way, that much is certain. And the offensive - was a very costly DESASTER, costing it much of its best troops and equipment. For a dent 10x12km in the Russian frontline, not more. This year, if looking at the full frontlof 1200km, Russian and Uktianain territorial gaisn all were minor, menaignless if viewed at indioviodually, and if adding them up, the aolmost nullified each other. Its a stalemate, with Ukraine'S supply situation beign threateningly bad, and that of Russia constanlty imrpoivned and alraeyd being much better than that of Ukraine. Means: what is a stalemate now must not stay to be a stalemate for ever, sooner or later the situation will tip in Russia's favour if Ukraine does not get dramatically- DRAMATICALLY - more material supply and solves its recruitment problem.

No European nation is either willing nor capable to repeat the material supply of the past 18 months. Currently the signs cannot be gonroed that war fatugue is spreaidng in European capitals, and hat governments try to avoid sending more. Biden is more concerjed in telling ukraine what it is nto asllwoed to do with its wepaons, and the 20-30 ATACMS of first generation that it got, are almost all spent in combat to take out Russia's helicopters.

Nowe the hpe is on the F-16, and while it will be useful, it is no wonder weapon that will all by itself change the war. Also, to bring its strength out in all force it dpends on beign embedded into the NAOT doctrine of warfare and embedded in the system of combined arms and interlinked sensors. The Ukraine seems to be overburdened with these demands, we saw durign the ofegfsnbiove, they lack the ability to brign all what they were trained in in the West to count in combat, also, the ylack thre technical equipment. The Vipoersd will be sueful, but not as useful as they would be if they would be opeating within a NATO framework of operations. They will fight with one wing bound on their backs, so to speak. Which will still deliver some combat value. Its a very versatile fighting bird. But neither invulnerable nor invincible. And Russian loitering ammunition all over Ukraine will spy for and chase its ground bases.

mapuc

12-17-23, 05:00 PM

If Russia should win then
It saddens me that Russia can get away with their aggressive actions in Ukraine

I wish Putin got a real hard smack on his fingers.

Underestimate the Russians is wrong, well overestimate them is wrong too.

Even though it doesn't look so bright for the Ukrainians I still hope they going to give Russia such a headache that they withdraw

Markus

Skybird

12-17-23, 05:06 PM

I wish Putin got a real hard smack on his fingers.

Not so shy, a slit throat would suit him much better - and his successors. Unfortunately not feasible. Too bad.

mapuc

12-17-23, 05:55 PM

I go against the Germany's Minister of Defence
Putin isn't interested in attacking a western country not tomorrow or in 10 years from now

https://www-bt-dk.translate.goog/udland/tysk-forsvarsminister-advarer-nato-mod-putin-vi-har-seks-til-otte-aar?_x_tr_sl=da&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=da&_x_tr_pto=wapp

I can't predict what he will do with former Soviet countries such as Kazakhstan or Georgia

Markus

Skybird

12-17-23, 07:53 PM

Although the German Minister of Defense uses pithy words, he wasn't hired to succeed (he hasn't so far), but to deflect criticism of Babble Olaf and draw it to himself. A decoy.

Skybird

12-18-23, 05:06 AM

A mike was found in Zalushnji's office. :-?

Could be the Russians behind it (most likely scenario). Could be Zelenskji's camp behind it (possible and not unrealistic at least). Both are not good.

Ukrainian military counter intelligence certainly does not look good here.

Very low probability that it was the US, or another NATO country, UK or France.

Skybird

12-18-23, 09:22 AM

The balance is shifting ever faster in Russia's favor. Western reaction: none.

https://www-achgut-com.translate.goog/artikel/russlands_verlustreiche_ueberlegenheit?_x_tr_sl=au to&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=de&_x_tr_pto=wapp

Jimbuna

12-18-23, 09:32 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22PqQ3Ao3Fs

Jimbuna

12-18-23, 09:41 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UU5Q68XFfSw

Dargo

12-18-23, 10:12 AM

https://i.postimg.cc/PxwCSqcd/18-Dec2023.jpg
Members of Russian Shtorm-Z units are highly likely being returned to combat duties with unhealed wounds, and even after limb amputations. This follows credible reports that members of Shtorm-Z, Donetsk militias, and Wagner Group have frequently received minimal or no treatment.
It is likely that convict recruits - who make up a large proportion of Shtorm-Z units - are especially liable to receive poor treatment. One reason is that prisoners often lack the paperwork required to access military hospitals.
Whilst reducing pressure on an overburdened military medical system, the lack of proper in-theatre medical attention will transfer the administrative and medical burden back to troopsÂ’ home units.
https://twitter.com/DefenceHQ/status/1736734710288535688
Do and will not see this as a sign of a victorious army (country), Russians do not have it to win.

Further call-off from artillery framework agreement - order value in the Â€300 million range
The German Bundeswehr has again called off 155 mm artillery ammunition from Rheinmetall under the framework agreement. Rheinmetall has been commissioned to supply a total of several tens of thousands shells of various types for the Ukrainian armed forces. The order is worth a three-digit million euro amount. Delivery is scheduled for the course of 2025.

The new call-off continues the series of artillery ammunition orders previously placed by the Bundeswehr for the Ukrainian and German armed forces. In July 2023, Rheinmetall concluded a new framework agreement with the Bundeswehr in the artillery sector. It covers the delivery of several hundred thousand shells, fuses and propelling charges. The new framework agreement runs until 2029 and has a potential gross order volume of around Â€1.2 billion (including VAT).

The need to replenish stores of ammunition caused by the war in Ukraine is resulting in major artillery ammunition contracts for Rheinmetall. https://www.rheinmetall.com/en/media/news-watch/news/2023/12/2023-12-18-rheinmetall-artillery-fc-call-off-ukraine

This is eggcellent eggciting news now Eggia need help with eggs as well everything in Eggia is going eggceptionally swell.

The Council of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) has zeroed the duty on egg imports to Russia to stabilize prices. The duty will be effective from January 1 to June 30, 2024. EEC Trade Minister Andrei Slepnev expects that it will allow importing up to 1.2 billion eggs into the country. According to him, Turkey and Iran will provide supplies. According to Rosstat, over the past month and a half, the price of chicken eggs has risen by 20%, and by 46.18% since the beginning of the year.

Skybird

12-18-23, 11:38 AM

This is eggcellent eggciting news now Eggia need help with eggs as well everything in Eggia is going eggceptionally swell.

The Council of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) has zeroed the duty on egg imports to Russia to stabilize prices. The duty will be effective from January 1 to June 30, 2024. EEC Trade Minister Andrei Slepnev expects that it will allow importing up to 1.2 billion eggs into the country. According to him, Turkey and Iran will provide supplies. According to Rosstat, over the past month and a half, the price of chicken eggs has risen by 20%, and by 46.18% since the beginning of the year.

:haha: :salute:

Jimbuna

12-18-23, 01:09 PM

Surely there must be some vehicle in the rules that can be used to ban a country from the EU

EU 'reaches new low' as infighting erupts after Vladimir Putin ally's shameless move

The European Union reached a "low point" as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban continues to throw a spanner in the works of Brussels.

Despite weeks of threats he would oppose the decision for the bloc to begin accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova, the Hungarian leader backed down at the last minute by leaving the room at the moment of the vote, essentially abstaining from it.

Hours later, however, Mr Orban made Brussels' work difficult again as he vetoed a €50billion (£43bn) four-year financial aid package for war-torn Ukraine.

Daniel Hegedüs, senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund think-tank, told the Financial Times: "It was a low point for the EU and a new high point of escalation."
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/eu-reaches-new-low-as-infighting-erupts-after-vladimir-putin-ally-s-shameless-move/ar-AA1lFGxM?ocid=msedgntp&pc=EDGEDSE&cvid=3cecd88cb776423995c8f6edc6cd03d1&ei=14

Dargo

12-18-23, 01:23 PM

Surely there must be some vehicle in the rules that can be used to ban a country from the EULeaders of EU countries have been left brainstorming ways to stop Viktor Orbán from blunting Brussels’ support for Kyiv, officials and diplomats said, after the Hungarian leader’s intransigence over Ukraine aid marked a new low in his relations with the bloc...

Some officials have considered reactivating the so-called Article 7 punishment procedure for rule of law breaches, which can result in the suspension of voting rights. It can be blocked by another member state, but a change of government in Poland means Hungary no longer has a guaranteed protector. Still, multiple countries are nervous about using what is essentially the EU’s biggest weapon against a member state. https://www.ft.com/content/96d15e1a-4e23-4013-a5ba-8234f993b8b4

Jimbuna

12-18-23, 01:43 PM

Cheers, wasn't aware of that (Article 7) :salute:

Skybird

12-18-23, 03:45 PM

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67748813

^ I assume this will be the reason why Russia will push on its offensives and maybe even widen them if it can, no matter its own losses. Not so much to gain ground but to force Ukraine to deplete its precious and shrinking reserves in ammo. The losses for russia may be high, but as things stand Ukraine finds its own losses and material investments lost even more damaging to Ukraine than the Russian losses are to Russia. That way Ukraine also gets hindered to rest its exhausted troops, to form reserves, to prepare for any future offensive next year. I do not even expect to see a Ukrainian offensive next year anymore, they will have both hands full already to just consolidate their status, if they can and if Russia lets them. I think next year Ukraine will be operating exclusively defensively - out of need, and out of lack of everything. I forsee no end of the war next year, just a slow but steady decline of Ukraine. More is not in the game for them anymore - if the West does not dramatically boost its support deliveries to them, and quickly so. Which is unlikely, very much so. If Russia succeeds further to make the electronic battlefields its own playground again (on land they dominate the electronic war already), Ukraine might even see the Russian fleet returning into striking distance to its coasts. Ukraine's naval drones then may become obsolete.

mapuc

12-18-23, 05:15 PM

If Russia win the war it would send some signal to the rest of the world.

China they know they only has to haul the war against Taiwan to get USA and its citizens war fatigue

The world now knows that aggression pay off

Russia may get blooded teeth and start a war against some former Soviet state.

Lets hope the west wakes up and start to send a lot more military stuff.

A thought- Let say USA and Nato increase its military stuff to Ukraine What good would that make when their having problem getting fresh manpower to the front.

Markus

mapuc

12-18-23, 06:44 PM

How many times has Ukraine changed their Offensive Strategy ?
Will they have success this time ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tg4XtBgA6_E&ab_channel=UkraineMatters

Markus

Jimbuna

12-19-23, 06:25 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFbVk-Zb5HQ

Jimbuna

12-19-23, 07:02 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzPe2qJKNgA

Exocet25fr

12-19-23, 09:52 AM

Russia-Ukraine war live: Russia likely fired ‘super weapon’ at Ukraine last week, says UK

Russia likely fired a ballistic missile – described as a “super weapon” – at Ukraine last Thursday, in the first such launch in several months, the UK’s Ministry of Defence has said.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2023/dec/19/russia-ukraine-war-live-us-aid-kyiv-white-house-congress-zelenskiy-putin-

Jimbuna

12-19-23, 12:07 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtM8W4oSZcM

Jimbuna

12-19-23, 12:32 PM

Putin now so desperate he's sending amputees into combat as Russia makes hollow NATO claim

Vladimir Putin is sending combatants with "unhealed wounds" and amputated limbs into the fighting in Ukraine, the Ministry of Defence has said. The MoD has claimed members of Russia's Shtorm-Z penal units are "highly likely" being returned to combat duties with wounds which haven't healed, and even after amputations.

Shtorm-Z members are recruited from Russian prisons with the promise successful service will lead to a reduced sentence and earn them £1,700 ($2,200) per month.

In an intelligence briefing posted on X, the MoD said: "This follows credible reports members of Shtorm-Z, Donetsk militias, and Wagner Group have frequently received minimal or no treatment.

"It is likely that convict recruits - who make up a large proportion of Shtorm-Z units - are especially liable to receive poor treatment. One reason is that prisoners often lack the paperwork required to access military hospitals."
The MoD said while it reduces pressure on an "overburdened military medical system", the lack of "proper in-theatre medical attention" would transfer the administrative and medical burden back to troops' home units.

The MoD's claim came days after Reuters reported a declassified US intelligence report said Russia has lost 315,000 killed or injured troops in Putin's war in Ukraine. Moscow maintains Western assessments of its combat losses are exaggerated.

It cited a source as saying the report also showed losses in personnel and military vehicles has set back the modernisation of Russia's military by 18 years. The source said Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February last year with 360,000 personnel, but since then about 87 percent of those it started the wider war with have been killed or injured.

Russia's return of wounded Shtorm-Z unit members into combat perhaps suggests Moscow is struggling to maintain its fighting ability in Ukraine. Putin signed a decree in September which laid out Russia's routine autumn conscription campaign, whereby 130,000 citizens- will be called up for statutory military service.

It comes after reckless Putin insisted that Russia has "no interest" in invading NATO. However, a report by the Institude for the Study of War (ISW) has claimed that this promise rings hollow, given that the Russian leader previously claimed his country had no interest in invading Ukraine until the eve of the illegal invasion.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/putin-now-so-desperate-he-s-sending-amputees-into-combat-as-russia-makes-hollow-nato-claim/ar-AA1lJ80p?ocid=msedgntp&pc=EDGEDSE&cvid=d5c31149883a49bcbc10dd960a4785cb&ei=16

Dargo

12-19-23, 01:03 PM

:haha: :salute:Yeah laugh now those Eggians gone fishy according to Russian media there are lines to buy cheaper fish in the Russian city of Voronezh this take us back to the USSR circa 1981. If Lenin would reappear his slogan would be "Eggs, fish, peace, all power to the soviets".

mapuc

12-19-23, 01:24 PM

So Ukraine lack material and manpower while Russia has old equipment and wounded soldier fighting in Ukraine.

It's going very well I can see-Wonder how times could benefit any of them.

Edit
Just seen in the news at 7 that Ukraine need 500.000 troops
End edit

Markus

Skybird

12-19-23, 06:36 PM

Neue Zürcher Zeitung:

War weariness, mobilization, and the quiet fear of betrayal: Selensky seems more thoughtful than ever at the end of the year

The Ukrainian president wants to regain sovereignty over interpretation after a difficult year of war. At his press conference he spreads optimism, but at times also seems perplexed. He can or does not want to have much influence on solving the most pressing problems.

Volodymyr Zelensky held the third press conference since the Russian invasion on Tuesday evening. The Ukrainian president received dozens of media representatives from home and abroad in Kiev. The occasion is rare: Selenski usually prefers to give exclusive interviews to selected media outlets - or to speak directly to the population via his video channel.

But the president feels under pressure after a difficult year. The Ukrainian, who has long been demonstratively confident of victory, no longer appears as untouchable as he did in the first months of the war. He now has to dispel the impression among an exhausted society and increasingly skeptical international partners that the brutal struggle with Russia is heading in the wrong direction.

Sitting in front of a large video wall with his country's flag, which alternately turned into the European flag and the outline of the Ukrainian national territory, Zelenskiy nevertheless initially emphasized the successes: He described the opening of accession negotiations with the EU as a "historic victory". The Russian Black Sea Fleet has been weakened militarily and his country is receiving new air defense systems from the West, said the 45-year-old. “We are getting stronger every month.”

The tone quickly became more sober when Zelensky opened the group to the journalists. In contrast to Vladimir Putin's annual press conference, their questions were not rehearsed; both large and small media had their say. For almost two hours, the president answered questions about the military situation, corruption, mobilization and foreign policy. Most of the time the media professional appeared confident, but at times he also appeared visibly tired and even quite irritated when asked questions about corruption.

Zelenskiy did not want to comment on details regarding the front, although he indicated that the Ukrainian summer offensive did not go as planned. The war was still at the center of the questions, with Ukrainians primarily discussing mobilization: 22 months of defensive fighting have left tens of thousands of dead and wounded in the army.

The army leadership is therefore calling for the mobilization of a further 450,000 to 500,000 men, the president explained - a number that was not officially known. He made no secret of his skepticism: “That is a serious number and I need further arguments.” The president also cited the financial burden of the equivalent of almost 12 billion francs as a reason for the reluctance. It would be difficult to reach so many recruits on a voluntary basis. Leading military representatives are therefore increasingly calling for coercive measures that are unpopular among the population.

The military and political leadership in Kiev needs success on the front, but cannot demand endless sacrifices from the population without losing their support. This leads to tensions, including between Zelensky and the commander-in-chief, Valeri Zalushni. The two recently argued publicly about the assessment of the situation at the front, and Zelensky is said to be trying to undermine the popular general's authority behind the scenes.

Zelensky demonstrated on Tuesday evening that the Ukrainian leadership is trying not to let such internal conflicts escalate and thereby strengthen Russia. “It’s not about people,” he said in response to a question about the conflict. Saluschni and he both have the great honor of serving the state and when they have discussions, it is always about the matter.

The president knows that a dispute with the army would harm him: According to a survey published on Monday by the International Institute of Sociology in Kiev, 96 percent of Ukrainians trust the armed forces. Zelensky remains the most popular politician. But compared to May last year, his values fell from 90 to 77 percent. Confidence that things are developing in a good way also fell by 14 points to 54 percent.

This also has to do with Ukrainians' increasing problems securing aid abroad. Here Selenski was able to point to aid commitments recently made by European and Asian countries amounting to tens of billions. Nevertheless, he did not hide the fact that Kiev is primarily looking to Washington, where the future of support remains open. Selensky didn't have anything more to offer than practical optimism: "I'm convinced that the USA won't betray us," he said somewhat helplessly.

Meanwhile, the reduced deliveries are already making themselves felt on the battlefield. One of the leading generals reported a reduction in operations. “We don’t control the sky and we don’t have enough ammunition,” Zelensky also admitted. We are working on solutions. “But we really need support for that.”

It was a fine line between disillusionment and optimism that Zelensky walked with his unusually thoughtful answers. The fact that he sometimes didn't have this seemed pleasantly honest at times, especially in comparison to Putin's sterile confidence. But sometimes the Ukrainian president also conveyed a certain perplexity. He admitted that no one knows whether the war will end in 2024. In February he was still convinced that this would end in 2023. “War, victory, defeat, stagnation – all of this depends on our decisions.”

mapuc

12-19-23, 06:57 PM

It looks like the west have turned our back to Ukraine and let them drown in problems-Despite the promises that the west would stay side by side with Ukraine as long it could take to win the war.

I think he is right the one who mentioned boiled frog in some comments.

The west must have thought the Russian has suffered enough, now it's time for a peace treaty.

There is also the possibility that our leaders are concerned about their voters war fatigue.

Markus

Skybird

12-20-23, 03:32 AM

More and more it dawns on people that this war will most likely not end well for Ukraine.

https://www-focus-de.translate.goog/politik/ausland/ukraine-krise/ex-oberst-analysiert-gegenoffensive-war-gestern-jetzt-entfaltet-putins-krieg-seine-wirkung_id_259513043.html?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=de&_x_tr_pto=wapp

Step by step, Russian superiority in the war against Ukraine is now becoming more noticeable and visible. Regardless of whether it concerns personnel, material, ammunition or morale - Vladimir Putin's war of attrition is having its effect.

Things have never really been good for Ukraine since the Russian war of aggression began on February 24, 2022. A horrific slaughter ensued in which Ukraine was able to withstand the Russian storm thanks to its own high morale and flexibility, massive support from the West, unexpected mistakes on the part of the Russians and a generous dash of fortune - the luck of the brave.

The storm continues. Russian mistakes are decreasing. Massive support from the West is waning. Ukrainians' morale is beginning to show cracks. And the luck of the war of the first few months also fails to materialize.

Little by little, Russian superiority is becoming more noticeable and visible. The increase in Russian drone, missile and ground attacks corresponds to territorial gains. In contrast, Ukraine is acting predominantly defensively along the entire front. Counteroffensive was yesterday. Moscow is becoming more confident. Kiev and its Western supporters are becoming less secure. Vladimir Putin's war of attrition is having an impact.About the author

Retired Colonel Ralph D. Thiele is Chairman of the Politisch-Militärische Gesellschaft e.V., President of EuroDefense (Deutschland) e.V. and CEO of StratByrd Consulting. In his military career, he has served in significant national and international, security and military policy, planning and academic assignments, including on the planning staff of the Minister of Defense, in the Private Office of the NATO Supreme Commander, as Chief of Staff at the NATO Defense College, as Commander of the Center for Transformation and as Director of Teaching at the German Armed Forces Command and Staff College.

And another effect: despite the heavy losses, Russia's war forms a core pool of combat-experienced, battle hardened professionals that still will serve in the army or Wagner when the war in Ukraine has come to an end. Show me a European army that has that practical experience with WW1 style warfare and its horrors, too. It makes a difference, and not for NATO's advantage.

Exocet25fr

12-20-23, 07:12 AM

Putin's Russia is closing in on devastating victory

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/12/09/putins-russia-is-closing-in-on-devastating-victory/

Jimbuna

12-20-23, 07:14 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvdsCln6XbU

Jimbuna

12-20-23, 08:16 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyHvNuPoy1Q

Skybird

12-20-23, 12:02 PM

Jimbuna

12-20-23, 01:16 PM

^ Personally I have never believed it and believed it was in fact the UK in 'military' terms.

mapuc

12-20-23, 02:43 PM

https://www.nzz.ch/international/militaerhilfe-fuer-die-ukraine-die-deutsche-regierung-blaest-die-zahlen-auf-ld.1770180?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=de&_x_tr_pto=wapp

It seems another German bubble is bursting - the bubble of splendid German military aid. Bu/abble Olaf in his element.

I got the German version and not the English.

Doesn't matter I understood what the article said.

Deutschland ist der zweitgrösste militärische Unterstützer der Ukraine? Nein, ist es nicht

Germany is the 2nd biggest provide of military aid to Ukraine- No it is not.

Markus

Skybird

12-20-23, 04:27 PM

Colonel Reisner, in a text, and then in a (German) video).

https://www-n--tv-de.translate.goog/politik/Die-Russen-gehen-mit-noch-mehr-Vehemenz-in-den-Angriff-article24609494.html?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=de&_x_tr_pto=wapp

https://www.n-tv.de/mediathek/videos/politik/Oberst-Reisner-Ukraine-hat-Verlust-gekonnt-ueberspielt-article24609466.html

He confirms what I said yesterday: it seems the Ukraine prepares to stay all next year and probably even 2025 in defensive mode, trying to consolkiudate and restructure, also rebuild some arms industry, to get the means to start another offensive 2026. While Russia feels more and more confident and starts to threaten NAOT members again. Putin even travels beyond Russian borders. I dont think this Ukrainian long term "strategy" can work, not with a delay of 2 years. With the support level from the west like now, it will not live to see a refurbished defensive industry sector until 2026, but will see more of itself destroyed.

If i would want to sound pessimistic I would say: they realise that they have lost it - and now they need more time just to admit to themselves that they understood that.

Even if the West decides to help more - I do not see the big pool where such ammounts of aid and supply as needed should come from. I also do not think the Ukrainian people will have the psychological stamina to endure another two years, staying optimistic for the - imagined - big offensive in 2026. And who says that will be more successful? The Russians in relation will then be even stronger than they are today, because different to the Ukraine's and the West's their war production runs at maximum speed, and a minimum 3 factors more output than before the war, in drione and certain types of greandes and ammuntions up to 7-10X more. Plus deliveries from Iran, North Korea.

What a royal mess. Considerably caused by Western fear, hesitation and indifference. Our leaders should feel deeply ashamed. They failed, completely.

On a sidenote, NATO has lost its credibility. It got put to the test, toi help a neighbouring country, not even in combat, but onyl by deliveries of goods and items - and not even that it managed to get done. Our enemies in all the world will take note of it. They will win in confidence and will set up more challenges. My own trust in NATO has suffered beyond repair. I cannot take it serious and credible anymore.

mapuc

12-20-23, 04:50 PM

Skybird wrote:
"My own trust in NATO has suffered beyond repair. I cannot take it serious and credible anymore."

I had been thinking about starting a new thread about NATO.
The reason behind this is that USA has made exclusive agreement with NATO member states, such as Finland, Sweden(they see them as a member), Norway and Denmark*.

This made me think-Do USA see NATO as a dead thing ?

* The agreement gives the US army right to place troops in these countries in peace time as in wartime-However it is American law who is being used if an American soldier commit a crime.

Markus

mapuc

12-20-23, 06:57 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27eIR6AFniE&ab_channel=CombatVeteranReacts

Markus

Jimbuna

12-21-23, 05:36 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Swwk_1eEGmw

Jimbuna

12-21-23, 06:58 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8f9HvfmCzY

Skybird

12-21-23, 10:44 AM

In fact most of the grounds Ukrainians won back from Russia at Bakhmut, has been retaken by Russia, or are about to be retaken to Russia. High losses, yes, and dah and dah and dahdahdah - still Russia marches.

Avdiivka seems to be on the brink of falling. Not that there is much left to "fall", practically no stone and no brick has been left unturned. But at the end the technical scoring has Russia in the lead.

I assume that Ukrainians sooin act accpording to the needed cobclusoon that they must straightne their defence lines, and thus they will pull back a bit in many places, loosing more - relatively unimportant amounts of ground. If they don't, their losses will climb and their ammo reserves will deplete faster.

Russia will concentrate on all territories in the embattled oblasts that are not yet under its control. It seems Putin wants them to be completely Russian. In these areas, Russia will push the offensives.

mapuc

12-21-23, 10:50 AM

Yes for the Russian it's nothing but a number when they lose 10.000 or 20.000 men. For the Ukrainian on the other hand it's a disaster.

Markus

Jimbuna

12-21-23, 02:30 PM

vanjast

12-21-23, 05:32 PM

Strange, there are no longer stories/theories going around that Putin is dead.
Well.. If you look at the 'history photos' you will find that the 'Putin' you see now, is very different to the legacy Putin.. not to mention 'biden', not to mention all other 'executed' USA/EU of world so called 'leaders'.

I'm really crying here at the blindness of you lot,.
:Kaleun_Cheers:

Skybird

12-21-23, 06:14 PM

Strange, there are no longer stories/theories going around that Putin is dead.
I have my doubts that he is still alive, and said so on three or four occasions, but since I cannot tell for certain I do not push this opinion every time. Somehow this Putin on TV now, and the way he socially behaves - something irritates me. I cannot nail it, but I am not convinced this is the living original Putin.

The Kremlin ma yhave supported such ideas, however, to delay reacitons by the West. If they did, they were successful. You know, making the Wets beleive the ymust not do much since Putin will be dead soon and then all will get better again all by itself. At least that illusion I never fell for, but always said that with his successor things likely get even worse.

Philip K. Dick's simulacron would be proud of me. :D

Jimbuna

12-22-23, 06:22 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2OmgEjfOMk

Jimbuna

12-22-23, 07:14 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrD4Inv8W8Q

Commander Wallace

12-22-23, 01:37 PM

Skybird

12-22-23, 05:02 PM

https://www-fr-de.translate.goog/politik/ukraine-krieg-putin-gegenoffensive-verluste-kalaschnikow-armee-waffen-russland-92744224.html?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=de&_x_tr_pto=wapp

The title is a bit, well, somewhat misleading. Take the content for what it is: about new rifles, new ammo callibres.

Bilge_Rat

12-23-23, 03:40 AM

The Ukraine is reporting that they shot down three Russian SU-34 Fighter / Attack Aircraft.

Quote: Su-34 aircraft are carriers of guided bombs and X-59 missiles, which Russians are using to attack Kherson Oblast and other regions of Ukraine.According to the Ukrainian military’s General Staff, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia has lost 324 warplanes and helicopters.

Russia is thought to have had 155 Su-34s before it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. More than 20 of them were reported shot down by Ukraine before today’s losses.

The Su-34 can carry out air strikes on targets up to 600 miles away while carrying 12 metric tons of bombs and missiles.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/ukrainian-forces-shoot-down-three-142800378.html

I checked out the news report, but not much details to go on.

Russians have been very careful to only use their SU34s to launch ordnance from high altitudes out of range of UKR SAM defences and have managed to keep losses to a minimum since the beginning of the war.

good explanation here:

https://xxtomcooperxx.substack.com/p/ukraine-war-2-december-2023-fabs?utm_source=profile&utm_medium=reader2

p.s. checked out X, but as usual, impossible to get a clear answer. If the Russians did decide to risk their SU34s inside of UKR SAM defences, it would be a very foolish move.

p.s.2 - checked out another forum, according to a UKR national who follows this closely and usually has good info, UKR received a new Patriot battery and they took the risk to move it closer to the frontlines to ambush the Russians. So something was shot down, only question now is what and how many. Russians confirm 1, no confirmation yet that it was a SU34.

Jimbuna

12-23-23, 06:28 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKaPYqx9TG4

Jimbuna

12-23-23, 07:07 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYFvf1Q3JUc

Jimbuna

12-23-23, 08:07 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WIgSopo6Zk

Exocet25fr

12-23-23, 08:36 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvsXER7Y60g

Catfish

12-23-23, 01:38 PM

Oh we know how Sarkozy tries to slime on into Putin, but he's wasting his time.
Question is when the US thinks it is enough.

Jimbuna

12-23-23, 02:10 PM

Putin Initiates Action in NATO Country Today

About a month ago, Finland decided to close its border with Russia.

The reason was a sudden influx of migrants appearing from the Russian side, intending to seek asylum in the EU country.

The Russian regime was identified as responsible for the rush, and the tactic has been called "hybrid warfare" by the Finnish government.

"We accept no attempts to undermine our national security," said the country's Prime Minister Petteri Orpo at the end of November.

Now, Russia is reportedly doing the same thing again, but in a different part of Europe.

The Putin regime also includes a new country in the operation.
According to Germany's largest daily newspaper, Bild, Russia has established a new airline in Turkey.

The intention is to organize a stream of refugees to Europe through the NATO country, thereby causing chaos on the continent.

As early as today, December 23, the first airplane is supposed to have taken off.

"Polish security authorities explicitly warn of a 'new, organized rush of refugees via Russia and Belarus'," the German newspaper reports.

One of the airlines identified in the operation is the Turkish Southwind.

Yesterday, Friday, Belarusian authorities also announced that the company will start flying between the major cities in Turkey and Belarus.

Belarusian Belavia also flies between the two countries. The airline is nominally Turkish but is not subject to EU sanctions and can therefore fly directly between Istanbul and Minsk.

However, it is Southwind that is primarily portrayed as an airline that, through abnormally cheap ticket prices, will fly migrants from Turkey to Belarus, who will then be sent further into the EU.

According to Bild, the airline in question is controlled from Russia, even though its headquarters are in Turkey.

"Three of their airplanes and most of their staff come from 'Nordwind Airlines,' a Russian airline based in Moscow," the newspaper reports.

Tensions between Poland and Belarus have increased over the year after a large number of migrants tried to cross the border into the EU from the dictatorship.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has for several years threatened to send immigrants to Poland.

"The Belarusian border guards help the migrants with ladders and bolt cutters to get over the fence," reported Krystina Jamkimik Jarosz, a border police officer, to Ekot last summer.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/putin-initiates-action-in-nato-country-today/ar-AA1lX67O?ocid=msedgntp&pc=EDGEDSE&cvid=2b60329a428f4a28b1bbd95b588d78b1&ei=16

Commander Wallace

12-23-23, 04:05 PM

I checked out the news report, but not much details to go on.

Russians have been very careful to only use their SU34s to launch ordnance from high altitudes out of range of UKR SAM defences and have managed to keep losses to a minimum since the beginning of the war.

good explanation here:

https://xxtomcooperxx.substack.com/p/ukraine-war-2-december-2023-fabs?utm_source=profile&utm_medium=reader2

p.s. checked out X, but as usual, impossible to get a clear answer. If the Russians did decide to risk their SU34s inside of UKR SAM defences, it would be a very foolish move.

p.s.2 - checked out another forum, according to a UKR national who follows this closely and usually has good info, UKR received a new Patriot battery and they took the risk to move it closer to the frontlines to ambush the Russians. So something was shot down, only question now is what and how many. Russians confirm 1, no confirmation yet that it was a SU34.

Thanks for the Information, Bilge Rat. It's hard to get an accurate picture of the happenings in the Ukraine. It seems both Russia and the Ukraine are using a strategy of " air denial." The environment there is too dangerous for aircraft from either side with regards to SAM missiles. Most Russian aircraft appear to be deploying long range Air to Surface missile against Ukraine well within the own borders. I think it's for this reason it was felt that F-16 fighters given to the Ukraine would have a limited utility unless they themselves deployed long range weapons outside of contested areas where it is relatively safe.

mapuc

12-23-23, 04:15 PM

^ As said a few times by now-We base our comments on our political and social standpoint and we use preferred newspaper and videos to make our comments more reliable.

Not saying that article or videos people post is wrong, it may have some truth in it. But getting a correct picture from the war is impossible.

Markus

Catfish

12-23-23, 05:02 PM

https://twitter.com/i/status/1735826534131179710

Gorpet

12-24-23, 12:45 AM

The Republicans' manouvering is irresponsible - and against America's very own national interest.

https://www.nzz.ch/meinung/ukraine-krieg-ohne-fortgesetzte-militaerhilfe-der-usa-geht-es-nicht-ld.1769588?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=de&_x_tr_pto=wapp

Of course, European behavior also raises questions. But the current American failure is at least as serious, in my opinion even more so. Without weapons aid from the USA, nothing would work in Ukraine. Nothing at all. Europe will not be able to replace American supplies in terms of production capacity for many years to come - even if it wanted to. A defeat in Ukraine will cost Europe first - but also America woudl need to change its flows of geopoliticla ressources and would need to invest to contain the consequences - and much more then than what the funding of the running war now costs. The US economy is far too internationally intertwined these days for isolationism to be a viable foreign policy option.

Are you crazy? really how in the hell can the United States keep supplying Europe. And every other socialist welfare country in Europe with weapons and a way to defend themselves.Bitch it's time for Europe to grow up. And step up we Americans are getting tired of paying the bill.

Bilge_Rat

12-24-23, 02:25 AM

Thanks for the Information, Bilge Rat. It's hard to get an accurate picture of the happenings in the Ukraine. It seems both Russia and the Ukraine are using a strategy of " air denial." The environment there is too dangerous for aircraft from either side with regards to SAM missiles. Most Russian aircraft appear to be deploying long range Air to Surface missile against Ukraine well within the own borders. I think it's for this reason it was felt that F-16 fighters given to the Ukraine would have a limited utility unless they themselves deployed long range weapons outside of contested areas where it is relatively safe.

Tom Cooper, whose blog I linked to above, is a military aviation expert. He has been providing a running commentary on the air war over Ukraine.

In a nutshell, both sides have massive SAM defences on their sides of the front lines. Any plane which tries to cross the front lines will likely be shot down. so yes, RUS AC will launch from their own sides. We all hear about the strikes on UKR civilian targets, but vast majority of bombs are dropped on UKR troops in the front lines. By launching from high altitude and using "lofting" (i.e. dive toss), RUS AC can launch dumb bombs up to 70 km away.

This of course is a big problem for UKR since they do not have air superiority over their own frontlines which is limiting their offensive operations. They would need to move their SAM defences forward, but SAM sites are very vulnerable and of course, UKR SAM sites are high priority targets for RUS.

on the F16, yes, the planes themselves are not as important as what weapons they will carry.

Jimbuna

12-24-23, 05:43 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQWWir5kJjk

Jimbuna

12-24-23, 06:36 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdFZ8rCiRuw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXbEru5Yk3Q

Skybird

12-24-23, 06:52 AM

Russia stole in the early stages of the war a three digit number of Western airliners that at that time where docked at Robbers airports.

The cease fire hinted at by Putin, is a manouver that aims at making Ukraine - that without doubt will reject it at this stage and thes ecoinditions - look like the bad guy wanting to war-monger. Only fools take this move as a sign of that Putin has changed his goals and indeed wants peace. He wants consolidation of his forces at best - and then continue by surprise, at a time of his choice. We saw such manouvers by him before, since 2014.

Jimbuna

12-24-23, 08:48 AM

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

Jimbuna

12-25-23, 04:32 AM

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

Jimbuna

12-25-23, 05:04 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NvbAi_yspA

mapuc

12-25-23, 02:30 PM

Good question is it another Russian propaganda trick ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76oVTHDDavk&ab_channel=CombatVeteranReacts

Markus

Exocet25fr

12-25-23, 03:06 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0cB6gnUgyU

Dargo

12-25-23, 04:19 PM

mapuc

12-25-23, 05:18 PM

For propaganda this is a big victory, in reality they captured the remaining 200 meters of ruins (the town has been reduced to rubble in the 22 months since Russia’s invasion). After Bakhmut, the military commanders promised a further offensive (victory) this is only crawling with enormous losses Ukraine still holds all fronts and can hold this a long time.

For those who are against Ukraine or support Russia this is a victory. Doesn't matter how many thousand soldiers Russia has lost-it's a victory.
If it's a big one seen from the propaganda perspective I can't say

Thinking about it. Every single victory how small it may be, has to be multiplied up to a huge victory in their propaganda.

Markus

Dargo

12-25-23, 05:42 PM

For those who are against Ukraine or support Russia this is a victory. Doesn't matter how many thousand soldiers Russia has lost-it's a victory.
If it's a big one seen from the propaganda perspective I can't say

Thinking about it. Every single victory how small it may be, has to be multiplied up to a huge victory in their propaganda.

Markus yeah in Russia but the cost is high even for Russia specially when you lose 5 jets in the last 5 days that lose is more than a pile of rubble.

mapuc

12-25-23, 05:57 PM

yeah in Russia but the cost is high even for Russia specially when you lose 5 jets in the last 5 days that lose is more than a pile of rubble.

True and there are those who wonder if the first couple of F16 has arrived and being used.

Saw a picture on a video about Ukraine already got some F16.

Edit
found the video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyLmlVcq914&ab_channel=Military%26History
End edit

Markus

Dargo

12-25-23, 06:12 PM

True and there are those who wonder if the first couple of F16 has arrived and being used.

Saw a picture on a video about Ukraine already got some F16.

Edit
found the video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyLmlVcq914&ab_channel=Military%26History
End edit

MarkusFour Su-34 and one Su-30SM, costing over US $250 Million. There are reports of possibly another Russian aircraft being possibly shot down. A Su-35 allegedly based at Yeysk, Krasnodar region has reportedly not returned to base after taking off and flying towards Ukraine. Russian channels claim their Su-34 over the Black Sea was shot down by a NATO-Ukrainian F-16. But wait, I thought Russia had destroyed all the F16s? And I thought F16s wouldn't matter because Russian Su-30 series are so superior. :hmmm: Also cost is more in terms of combat capability, fewer aircraft and fewer trained and experienced pilots. Do not think the F16 is the cause the “Ghost of Kiev” strikes again or some patriot battery at work.

mapuc

12-25-23, 06:20 PM

Dargo

12-25-23, 06:33 PM

< It hasn't been confirmed yet, whether Ukraine got the first couple of F16 or not

Now I'm thinking ahead.

Let presume it was F16 who shot down these SU-34 fighter jets, who should be one of Russians best jet (SU-57 is the best, but still in testing)How soon could we expect Ukrainian air superiority ?

MarkusAir superiority is not only jets Ukraine needs more anti-air defence to rule their airspace a couple of F 16 will not make a difference if we do not supply them with the right missiles for those jets, I do not know which they're getting.

mapuc

12-25-23, 06:44 PM

Air superiority is not only jets Ukraine needs more anti-air defence to rule their airspace a couple of F 16 will not make a difference if we do not supply them with the right missiles for those jets, I do not know which they're getting.

Heard in the Danish news some month ago, Ukraine will get AIM 120 (Can't remember which type-e.g. A, B, C or D)and short-range Heat seeker.
Beside this they would get other type of ammo to their F16

What they said the Ukrainian should have benefit in the air to air and air to ground ammo

Edit
Here's a link to what weapon Ukraine would need in the effort to kick Russian butt
https://mil.in.ua/en/articles/weapons-for-f-16-what-bombs-and-missiles-ukraine-will-need/
End edit

Markus

Jimbuna

12-26-23, 06:16 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4B5waIRUbY

Skybird

12-26-23, 06:23 AM

Russia's honour. May it rot in the gutter.

https://img.nzz.ch/2023/12/21/32368bf1-9089-45c2-965a-e6dc0553865b.jpeg?width=760&height=427&fit=bounds&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=6001,3376,x0,y625

Lightning struck me and for a brief moment only I felt like being in the place of that poor old mother. And then felt miserable for an hour afterwards.

Jimbuna

12-26-23, 06:28 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RqfcjIVG5g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCcTVFcmP2U

August

12-26-23, 08:24 AM

There are those who wonder if the first couple of F16 has arrived and being used.

Saw a picture on a video about Ukraine already got some F16.

From what the news said over the weekend the jets were brought down by Patriot missiles.

The Ukrainians apparently used a second smaller radar unit closer to the front to track the jets into the range of the Patriot battery which was located further back and once they had come close enough they fired up the Patriot batteries radar and launched their missiles. The Russian jets by that point were far too close and couldn't evade.

Exocet25fr

12-26-23, 09:09 AM

The title said: ship destroyed, the text said ship only damaged ?:hmmm:

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/26/ukraine-claims-to-have-destroyed-russian-ship-in-crimea-attack

August

12-26-23, 09:19 AM

Doesn't look like there is much left to me.

https://defence-blog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/23918910-464f-4781-9c23-b08b9dd9e8cf-1-1068x801.jpg

mapuc

12-26-23, 12:08 PM

From what the news said over the weekend the jets were brought down by Patriot missiles.

The Ukrainians apparently used a second smaller radar unit closer to the front to track the jets into the range of the Patriot battery which was located further back and once they had come close enough they fired up the Patriot batteries radar and launched their missiles. The Russian jets by that point were far too close and couldn't evade.

Guess you're right

A while ago I read in the newspaper that the Ukrainian pilot are doing so well that they could get the F16 already in December 2023. Otherwise it was scheduled to spring 2024

I myself are convince they will make a different in the air and ground.

Markus

Catfish

12-26-23, 02:34 PM

Doesn't look like there is much left to me.

https://defence-blog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/23918910-464f-4781-9c23-b08b9dd9e8cf-1-1068x801.jpg

" ... the Moscow-installed governor of Crimea, Sergey Aksyonov, said the strike triggered a fire that had been brought under control."

Brilliant solution indeed.

Skybird

12-26-23, 03:32 PM

^ :D

But meanwhile, heavily fortified Mariinka, seen as a strategic gateway into Donezk oblast, has fallen. After 9 years.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67820916

Dargo

12-26-23, 04:33 PM

^ :D

But meanwhile, heavily fortified Mariinka, seen as a strategic gateway into Donezk oblast, has fallen. After 9 years.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67820916"We protect every piece of our land but the lives of our soldiers are more important to us," Zaluzhnyi said, adding that in any case the town "no longer exists" after being destroyed "street by street" by the Russians. Good for Putin propaganda but no breakthrough into the Donetsk oblast now they have open fields without much shelter to take. Seeing Russia fight last year, this will a hard job to gain much out this contested victory.

Dargo

12-26-23, 04:52 PM

It has been reported that Ukraine has outfitted Su-24MR Fencer attack aircraft with pylons allowing it to carry the Franco-UK developed Storm Shadow "stealthy" long-range air-launched cruise missile. Such a munition, when used in combination with something like the ADM-160 decoy missile, would have a good chance of defeating even advanced air defences as are likely deployed by Russian forces in port facilities like Feodosia. Col. Yurii Ihnat of the Ukrainian Air Force, said "Our pilots use sophisticated means we cannot disclose, but as you can see most of our cruise missiles hit their targets."

https://i.postimg.cc/Jz8LfRYd/battleship.jpg

Two Russian vessels had left Feodosia a few hours after Ukrainian forces struck the port in Russian-occupied Crimea, RFE/RL's Crimea.Realities reported on Dec. 26. https://kyivindependent.com/media-2-russian-ships-left-feodosia-in-occupied-crimea-after-ukraines-strike/

Skybird

12-27-23, 06:10 AM

While Germany still has not placed orders to replace the Panzerhaubitzen 2000 it sent to Ukraine, Russia has high expectations regarding its new 2S35 Coalition-SV self-propelled howitzer which mimics Western designs and digital capabilities but exceeds them in firing range. Rostec said that they are delivering the first series of these from now mass-production. And while German minister president Kretschmer (Thuringia) has publicly told Ukraine it should "temporarily" give up territories (Temporarily? He who believes it is blessed...), Russia undergoes a phase of ever increasing its industrial output of weapons, platforms, and ammunitions.

https://cdn.tickaroo.com/api/mediaproxy/v1/external-image/ThumbnailatorCropResizeCenterFillFilter/w1280dp-h897dp-webp?url=imageservice%3A%2F%2Fmedia%2Forganization %2F5e4f8bc97718b779d70097dc%2Fliveblog%2F00kyo6oki i56u1fmjalc1c%2FemkdKHB72Qcr2AzvVRGL%2FmmkdbmJT2Qc r2AzvVRGj

Its a design not having seen combat so far, but if it proves itself, it will mean big trouble for Ukraine. Russia has already drone and ELINT and jamming superiority, if they can add superior range of SP howitzers to that list, then they can do to Ukraine what Ukraine has done to them in the first 20 months of the war: having a clay pigeons shooting. The 2S35 howitzer is an unmanned automatted turret on an Armata chassis. Russia is not happy with its Armata MBTs so far, thats why one does not see them. Hope they messed something up with the howitzer, too, else - bad times ahead for Ukraine.

Jimbuna

12-27-23, 06:12 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVFWYjqUq-k

Jimbuna

12-27-23, 07:15 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-C_kCurKdJo

Exocet25fr

12-27-23, 01:31 PM

On 4 June 2023, the Armed Forces of Ukraine launched a large-scale counter-offensive prepared by foreign supervisors.

The enemy was stopped and suffered enormous losses failing to cross the tactical defence zone of Russian troops.

The enemy's losses included 159,000 troops (killed and wounded), 121 airplanes, 23 helicopters, 766 tanks, including 37 Leopards, 2,348 armoured fighting vehicles of various classes, including 50 Bradleys. Apparently this is why we still do not see the American Abrams on the battlefield that were delivered a few months ago.

Since the special operation began, the AFU's losses have exceeded 383,000 troops killed and wounded, 14,000 tanks, IFVs, and APCs, 553 airplanes and 259 helicopters, 8,500 field artillery guns and MLRS vehicles.

https://eng.mil.ru/en/news_page/country/more.htm?id=12491871@egNews

August

12-27-23, 02:09 PM

Jeff-Groves

12-27-23, 02:35 PM

:har:

It's hilarious that the russians actually think anyone would be dumb enough to believe such wildly inflated numbers. If they were even remotely accurate they would be on the Romanian border by now. You do realize that right?

I want some of that LSD he's taking cause he's TRIPPING!
:haha:

mapuc

12-27-23, 02:40 PM

:har:

It's hilarious that the russians actually think anyone would be dumb enough to believe such wildly inflated numbers. If they were even remotely accurate they would be on the Romanian border by now. You do realize that right?

If you substitut Ukraine with Russia and Ukraine weapon with Russians then you have a trustworthy comment.

Markus

Exocet25fr

12-27-23, 03:03 PM

Russian shelling has left 70% of Kherson without electricity, says the Kherson oblast governor, Oleksandr Prokudin. Shelling by Russian forces on Tuesday had “badly damaged” the infrastructure of the city, he said, adding that it was “difficult” to say when engineers would be able to complete restoration works. A railway station in the city was also attacked as a train was set to evacuate residents, killing one police officer and injuring four people.

Russia’s newest howitzers will be deployed “soon” against Ukrainian forces. The head of the state-owned defence conglomerate Rostec, Sergei Chemezov, told the RIA news agency that testing of the new self-propelled artillery units, named Coalition-SV, had been completed and mass production had already started, with the first pilot batch to be delivered by the end of this year.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2023/dec/27/russia-ukraine-war-maryinka-putin-zelenskiy

Jeff-Groves

12-27-23, 03:15 PM

. A railway station in the city was also attacked as a train was set to evacuate residents, killing one police officer and injuring four people.

So your a sick SOB that enjoys the fact Russia attacks, and kills, people trying to get out of town.
Bet you killed little animals as a kid for fun.

Skybird

12-27-23, 03:51 PM

[Deutsche Welle]

Ukraine international aid topped $42 billion in 2023

Ukraine has received over €38 billion ($42 billion) in international aid throughout the year 2023, its finance minister told Forbes Ukraine on Wednesday.
"It has allowed us to finance all necessary expenditure," Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko said.
The majority of the aid poured into Kyiv's defense against the ongoing Kremlin attack. However, some of the money has also been used to fund internal refugees, pensions and state wages.
Marchenko said that 2023 saw more financial stability than 2022, the year in which Russia launched its full-scale invasion. He added that every day of war costs €120 million.
"I am less concerned about 2024 than I am about 2025," he said.
Ukraine is heavily dependent on funds from the US and the EU (https://www.dw.com/en/eu-summit-hungary-blocks-50-billion-ukraine-aid-deal/live-67727457)in its battle against the Russian aggression. But US President Joe Biden has faced challenges in the Republican-dominated Congress at attempts to extend aid to Ukraine (https://www.dw.com/en/ukraine-updates-zelenskyy-meets-with-biden-in-white-house/live-67697016). Biden is also up for reelection next year, with many observers concerned about the US possibly changing its stance on Ukraine if the US Democrats lose the White House. The European Union is also set to hold elections for its parliament next year.

Russia reports rapid growth in India oil sales amid sanctions

Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told Russian state broadcaster Rossiya-24 on Wednesday that 2023 oil export revenues should be broadly similar to 2021, before the invasion of Ukraine, amid EU and US sanctions on deliveries (https://www.dw.com/en/will-eu-oil-embargo-really-hurt-russian-war-machine/a-63983159).
He said that sales to China and India combined accounted for between 85-90% of total exports for the year.
Novak also said that the vast majority of the growth had taken place in India over the last two years.
"Earlier, there bascially were no supplies to India; in two years, the total share of supplies to India has come to 40%," Novak said.

Russia warns Japan over delivering Patriot air defense to Kyiv

If Japan (https://www.dw.com/en/japan/t-19035046) supplies Ukraine with Patriot air defense systems, (https://www.dw.com/en/what-are-patriot-air-defenses-and-why-does-kyiv-want-them/a-64115825) it will have "grave consequences" for ties between Moscow and Tokyo, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.

Ties between Japan and Russia have deteriorated rapidly since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with Tokyo joining Western allies in imposing sweeping economic sanctions on Moscow.
Japan's pacifist constitution has meant it has so far not sent direct military assistance to Ukraine.
However, in late December, Japan eased previous rules on arms exports to allow the export of finished weapons made in Japan under foreign licenses — such as the Patriot surface-to-air missiles, made in Japan under an American license — to the licensing nations.
Although Japan still bans the export of weapons to countries in conflict, the Foreign Ministry has now said it will ship Patriot missiles to the US, thus freeing up Washington's own stockpiles.
Patriot air defense systems delivered to Ukraine by the US and other Western allies have played a major role in helping defend civilians against Russian aerial attacks.

Catfish

12-27-23, 04:04 PM

https://i.imgur.com/sz3ne5Rh.jpg

Catfish

12-27-23, 04:05 PM

So your a sick SOB that enjoys the fact Russia attacks, and kills, people trying to get out of town.
Bet you killed little animals as a kid for fun.
He should go back to Russia from his Paris exile and suck Putin's di.k, his mouth is full of excrement anyway.

mapuc

12-27-23, 04:41 PM

I would die of shame if I knew that my fellow countrymen was killing civilians in a war or if it was soldiers from a country I support.

I would say to him find a forum where they support Russia, 'cause here in this thread we support Ukraine.

Markus

mapuc

12-27-23, 06:48 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIw31HHmIls&ab_channel=CombatVeteranReacts

Markus

Skybird

12-27-23, 07:05 PM

^ ^ ^ Guys, stay classy.

Jeff-Groves

12-27-23, 08:12 PM

^ ^ ^ Guys, stay classy.

Pretty convinced "Classy" went out the window when one cheers killing civilians.

:hmmm:

Bilge_Rat

12-28-23, 02:47 AM

The Biden Administration Is Quietly Shifting Its Strategy in Ukraine.

With U.S. and European aid to Ukraine now in serious jeopardy, the Biden administration and European officials are quietly shifting their focus from supporting Ukraine’s goal of total victory over Russia to improving its position in an eventual negotiation to end the war, according to a Biden administration official and a European diplomat based in Washington. Such a negotiation would likely mean giving up parts of Ukraine to Russia.

Over the past year — with U.S. military support flagging fast on Capitol Hill and Zelenskyy’s once-vaunted counteroffensive failing since it was launched in June — Biden has shifted from promising the U.S. would back Ukraine for “as long as it takes,” to saying the U.S. will provide support “as long as we can” and contending that Ukraine has won “an enormous victory already. Putin has failed.”

Some analysts believe that is code for: Get ready to declare a partial victory and find a way to at least a truce or ceasefire with Moscow, one that would leave Ukraine partially divided.

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/12/27/biden-endgame-ukraine-00133211

It has been obvious for a few months a shift in policy was coming, but I did not think it would be this fast, although quietly announcing it over the holidays when no one is paying attention to the war is probably as good a time as any.

Hopefully, Biden will handle this better than the Afghanistan withdrawal.

Skybird

12-28-23, 03:38 AM

^ I predicted this already last year's summer to autumn, 2022. So I am not really surprised.

Anyhow, Newsweek has this:
Ukraine F-16 Speculation Mounts as Russia Loses 8 Fighter Jets in 3 Weeks

https://www.newsweek.com/ukraine-f16-russia-fighter-jets-crimea-su34-1855709

Russia will adapt somehow, sooner or later.

Also, the last share of US military aid for the forseeable future has been handed over. Europe will be unable to compensate for that, especially the hardware deliveries by the US cannot be compensated. If no new US help comes in, then in the medium to long term perspective its game over. Of course most politicians - not all... - will fire damning phrases at Russia for having won the war, and everybody wilkl reiterate that this statzus is just "temporary".

Temporary like Crimea since 2014. Temporary like Korean ceasefire. Temporary like several generations, if not forever.

Jimbuna

12-28-23, 06:05 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkbQuCd0-Yo

Jimbuna

12-28-23, 06:15 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBRlM1sjjBU

Jimbuna

12-28-23, 06:35 AM

I want some of that LSD he's taking cause he's TRIPPING!
:haha:

So your a sick SOB that enjoys the fact Russia attacks, and kills, people trying to get out of town.
Bet you killed little animals as a kid for fun.

He should go back to Russia from his Paris exile and suck Putin's di.k, his mouth is full of excrement anyway.

I would die of shame if I knew that my fellow countrymen was killing civilians in a war or if it was soldiers from a country I support.

I would say to him find a forum where they support Russia, 'cause here in this thread we support Ukraine.

Markus

Pretty convinced "Classy" went out the window when one cheers killing civilians.

:hmmm:

@Exocet25fr

Whilst I endeavour to remain fair minded and level handed in my moderation I feel it is now time you take into consideration the comments above (and there are further comments made previously).

Whilst I fully support and uphold the right of anyone to have a differing opinion I have felt the need to look back at your posting history and it begs the question as to whether you are consistently and deliberately flowing against the weight of majority opinion around these parts or perhaps even trolling members?

I will lock this thread until about 1600 GMT to give you an opportunity to read this post and hopefully reply to me in a PM

Be advised, no decision has been arrived at regarding this matter but you should realise if not already which way the weight of opinion lies in the forums community.

Regards
Jimbuna (Senior Moderator)

Jimbuna

12-28-23, 12:07 PM

No response at time of posting...thread reopened.

Catfish

12-28-23, 12:44 PM

Catfish

12-28-23, 12:45 PM

[...]in the war, and everybody will reiterate that this status is just "temporary". [...]
Temporary like Crimea since 2014. Temporary like Korean ceasefire. Temporary like several generations, if not forever.
If the west chooses a "temporary" solution Russia/Putin will invade the Baltic states and Poland in less than a decade, when Russia's economy can make it.
Russia/Putin need a thorough punch in the face. Nothing else will stop him, surely not ethics, moral or treaties.

Jimbuna

12-28-23, 12:50 PM

re Skybird and Jim, maybe I should also (try to) excuse myself, I just read something about Putin and one post by Ex was the straw that broke the camel's (ahem mine) back. Never let yourself dragged down to certain levels .. I then decided not to delete it, but will if you want to.

All is good Kai and if nothing else, said party can no longer deny they are aware of peoples feelings.

For my own part I will maintain a watchful stance.

Jimbuna

12-28-23, 12:50 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4Jwt5nva4s

Dargo

12-28-23, 01:04 PM

Putin Promised Xi That Russia Will Fight ‘5-Year War’ in Ukraine
President Vladimir Putin promised Chinese leader Xi Jinping that his invasion of Ukraine would last five years, the Japanese newspaper Nikkei reported Thursday, citing multiple anonymous sources familiar with Russian-Chinese diplomatic manoeuvring. Putin’s remark apparently came during Xi’s visit to Moscow in March 2023, when Russia was already one year and one month into the war and had suffered a series of embarrassing setbacks. Nikkei interpreted Putin’s words that Russia “will fight for [at least] five years” as an assurance that Moscow would emerge victorious in the end and a possible warning for Xi not to reverse China’s pro-Russia policy.

It also said that Putin’s comments to Xi call into question recent reports that the Russian leader is quietly signalling readiness for ceasefire talks, saying Putin may be creating an “illusion” of seeking peace to use to his advantage in the 2024 presidential vote. Neither the Kremlin nor Beijing have commented on Nikkei’s report, which could not be independently verified. According to the publication, Xi may have not fully trusted Putin’s 2023 pledge because he had previously “misjudged” the Russian leader’s intentions ahead of the Feb. 24, 2022, invasion of Ukraine.

On Feb. 4, 2022, the opening day of the Beijing Winter Olympics attended by Putin, the leaders declared a “no-limits” partnership. Nikkei reported China likely concluded that the Russian troops amassing at the Ukrainian border would only invade eastern Ukraine, where Kyiv had been at war with pro-Moscow separatists since 2014, rather than the full-scale invasion it launched 20 days later. Following Xi’s March 2023 visit to Putin, China dispatched a so-called “peace mission” to Europe, including Ukraine and Russia, in what Nikkei described as a “subtle shift in Xi’s pro-Russia stance.” https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/12/28/putin-promised-xi-that-russia-will-fight-5-year-war-in-ukraine-nikkei-a83588
https://asia.nikkei.com/Editor-s-Picks/China-up-close/Analysis-Putin-promises-Xi-to-fight-for-five-years-in-Ukraine

Catfish

12-28-23, 03:04 PM

Then we know that China will wage war against Taiwan as long as the US are distracted, meaning within the next five years? :hmmm:

mapuc

12-28-23, 03:18 PM

Then we know that China will wage war against Taiwan as long as the US are distracted, meaning within the next five years? :hmmm:

I think USA will change their interest from Europe to Middle east and far east.
Europe have to take care of its own backyard so to say

Markus

Catfish

12-28-23, 03:40 PM

Completely off topic here:
"Putin Ally Found Dead After Falling From Third Floor Window: Reports"

"Vladimir Egorov, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was found dead on Wednesday, according to Russian state media."

Read more at: https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/nation-world/world/article283590933.html#storylink=cpy
https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/nation-world/world/article283590933.html

How original :hmmm:

mapuc

12-28-23, 06:47 PM

It's true is only a fraction we get to know by watching video clip on YT.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=na7thh_Xhfk&ab_channel=CombatVeteranReacts

Markus

Skybird

12-28-23, 06:51 PM

The Japanese Nikkei newspaper reports Putin "promised" Xi during a meeting in March this year that he would fight the war in Ukraine for at least five years.

The article, so says the German source I have this from (FR), is not just anybody, but a well-connected and in Japan reputable political commentator and political chief editor. That wording leaves room for creative interpretation. For example, that China has an interest that that the war lasts long. Which leads to the question: why is that so?

I give you a hint: distracting American attention away from certain other hotspots...

Taiwan, brace yourself. War is coming. I make no predictions on what the US and Japan will do. Can do. I only hope the US navy and air force and Japan are better set up with their smart ammo and supply situation than the armies in Europe are. Any naval war between the US anbd China will become costly for both sides. Losses will be high for both sides. Thats why I have doubt that the US will go beyond logistical support for Taiwan. The US miulitary may be willing (or not, i dont know), but the potlicians will sense the mood in the street to calculate their election chances, and I think herein lies the key to what any government would do. But ther eis one bgi unnown: the next giovenrment, by all what canm be said today, will be anohter Trump regime, with the word "REVENGE" written in big latters across its banner. And the revenge is aimed - in the meaning of an obsession - inner-politically, not at China. Trump was a lucky event for Russia, and could be a lucky event for China as well.

If we want to play the innocent naive squirrel of the park, we can conclude the opposite from the Nikkei article, of course, that is that Putin reassured Xi that he could achieve his goals in Ukraine in just five years, and that the war would not trouble China - for whatever reason it might be troubled - any longer than that, and that Chinese support for Russia will ultimately not be in vain.

My preferance for one of the two interpretations is clear.

August

12-29-23, 01:30 AM

If the west chooses a "temporary" solution Russia/Putin will invade the Baltic states and Poland in less than a decade, when Russia's economy can make it.
Russia/Putin need a thorough punch in the face. Nothing else will stop him, surely not ethics, moral or treaties.

Agree. Of course there's the chance he might not live ten more years. He's 71 and reportedly in ill health. Joe Stalin kicked off at 74 so there is always that happy possible outcome to consider.

But the question is who takes over from Putin when he finally does go to hell and will they want or be able to continue his expansionist wars? I would guess there will be a fair amount of factional infighting and jockeying for the vacant throne. That might play a factor as well.

Skybird

12-29-23, 07:49 AM

[Süddeutsche Zeitung, Frankfurter Rundschau] The stamina of Russia's soldiers has not been recognized, says a German general. What lessons should the Bundeswehr learn from this?

Berlin - Ukraine is currently battling the heaviest Russian air strikes in a long time. Kiev refuses to accept a "temporary" loss of territory, as Saxony's Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU) has now proposed. Germany is the second strongest single supporter of the government there after the USA. In an interview with the Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ), a Bundeswehr major general now warns that the Bundeswehr must also learn its lessons from the events.

According to Christian Freuding, some Russian capabilities were not initially recognized when looking at the war in Ukraine. The head of the Ukraine Situation Center at the Ministry of Defence told the SZ that "the Russians' resilience was not initially seen in the same way as we judge it today".

"We also did not see that they would succeed in what we are now clearly observing: That they are ramping up their military-industrial complex, expanding it, increasing production capacities, despite the draconian sanctions regime." In Germany, it must therefore be assumed that Russia could "reposition/newly setting up itself" in around five to eight years. "We are taking this seriously," Freuding told the SZ. In this time frame, Germany would then have to "credibly equip and train its armed forces to be capable of deterrence".

Freuding also explained that perhaps one had not seen or did not want to see the Russians in a position to continue to be supplied by allies. "Be it North Korea, be it China, even states from the global South. And if these states only supply refrigerator lighting that can then be used for military purposes."

The expectation that the Ukrainians would quickly achieve the greatest possible military successes in their counter-offensive was "certainly exaggerated in retrospect". At the same time, Freuding emphasized that from his military point of view, the Ukrainian armed forces had been successful.

"80 percent of Ukraine is still free, and that after two years against a supposed military superpower. They have regained 50 percent of the territories they lost. The Russian Black Sea Fleet has de facto been pushed out of the western Black Sea." Ukraine is increasingly succeeding in "striking deep behind Russian lines, even with self-built weapons systems".

Freuding emphasized that the Russian losses in terms of men and material were enormous. "We assume that they have suffered losses of battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles in the high four-digit range."

With regard to the Bundeswehr, Freuding, who also heads the planning staff in the Ministry of Defense, said that an important lesson from the war in Ukraine was the completely new significance of drone warfare. "We have now set up a drone task force. It should enable us to quickly introduce different types of drones and drone defense systems to the troops so that we can also start training and experimenting."

This will not only be relevant for mechanized army units. "The use of and defense against drones will become a task for 'everyone' in the armed forces," he announced.

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

50% of the territory lost, Ukraine has retaken, he said. That is correct, however its tells something that both these events have taken place in the opening stage of the war. Since autumn 2022, since 15-15 months, the Ukrainians have not made strategically relevant territorial gains and no operational breakthroughs anywhere. I do not see them being able to regain any meaningful offensive in 2024, possibly also even not in 2025.

Russia will grow stronger, it will boost its military production further, and it will adapt further, for example by learning how to take out the Ukrainian military production faiclities it plans to build in its country with Western partners. Lets face it, such factories and production facilities are just this: hiuge, fixed, unmovable targets. If the defence perimeter has 4 SAM launches with 4 missiles each - fire more than just 16 cruise missiles, and one or more get through - you get the basic idea of "flooding the defenses".

I see nowhere in the West the political will to counter this with the necessary determination and vigour. Its not as if we have the choice to kindly accept or reject a sporting challenge. We are being challenged already now, whether we like it or not.

What is poredictable is thta everbyody will try to boost his drone and anti-drone combat capabilities. It is clear for everybody now that drones are the raising new military elephant in the room.

Skybird

12-29-23, 08:40 AM

Good comment on the bigger picture. Free to read for as long as they do not hide it again behind their paywall

https://www.nzz.ch/meinung/russland-gegen-ukraine-putin-plant-einen-langen-krieg-ld.1772254?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=de&_x_tr_pto=wapp

mapuc

12-29-23, 09:32 AM

Again Russia has shown its ugly face in their massive airstrike on civilian targets.

Markus

Jimbuna

12-29-23, 01:35 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfS4x4erVR4

Jimbuna

12-29-23, 01:36 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x29rGc-FuJE

Exocet25fr

12-29-23, 03:00 PM

Mossieur Jimbuna

WHERE?, WHERE?, WHERE? did you read you and other members I was happy about Ukrainian Civilians killed when I report the Guardian link only?

It's a PURE DEFAMATION!!!. Catfish and JeffGrooves constantly tried to provocate me on few threads, I hope you noted I ignored them since a long time!

I respected the rules, but the INACCEPTABLE Catfish INSULT is a SHAME! and you, the SENIOR MODERATOR, you ACCEPT THAT!?, and you let it in place and didn't delete that?

I don't waste my time anymore with this thread. So be happy now , you can continue your Unilateral Propaganda without me, keep your illusions, the fall will be harder.....!

And let me laught about your fully support and uphold the right of anyone to have a differing opinion!

BONSOIR!

Dargo

12-29-23, 03:09 PM

Jeff-Groves

12-29-23, 04:11 PM

That's Jeff-Groves dude. NOT JeffGrooves!
Try to get something right.

Catfish

12-29-23, 05:54 PM

Mossieur Jimbuna [...]
Obviously not french :03:

mapuc

12-29-23, 06:39 PM

Why should they do as many politicians want them to do-Let Russia win ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LquIXLFShJQ&ab_channel=CombatVeteranReacts

My own thoughts on this:
We in the west can't change our factories to produce tanks en mas or other war material. The politicians know this it is therefore they want to end the war sooner than later ?

Markus

mapuc

12-30-23, 05:05 AM

If true then it is a good thing, I doubt it though

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8h32BDngo0&ab_channel=TimesRadio

Markus

Skybird

12-30-23, 05:25 AM

^ The UK sends 200 anti air missiles. Well, Russia fired 156 cruise missiles and drones in one night. The UK delivery is 1-2 nights' defence. Dont get me wrong, I do not want to attack the UK here. i want to point out that the small volume of supplies sent is sufficient only to serve as an alibi, but is not sufficient to influence the war on behalf of Ukraine. ITS NOT ENOUGH.

Factors more, please. FACTORS. And not just defences, but weapons by which the war can be carried deep into Russia. Its the aggressor who should burn - not his victim.

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

The cynical scum in the Kremlin says that they destroy so many civilian targets is because Ukraine tries to defend them. Circular logic. Obviously the Kremlin gang is drunk of the bloodbath they have created and now lies yelling and singing under the table, ordering the waiter to bring them more blood reserves.

Skybird

12-30-23, 05:35 AM

We in the west can't change our factories to produce tanks en mas or other war material.
Why not? The Russians can, and did so , despite sanctions and an economy that already at peacetime was just a joke, compared to the economic strength of Western coutnries.

We DO NOT WANT our factories to be switched to more war production. That is a difference. We could, but we do not want. Its so - inconvenient. Better tell Ukrainians they should go down more silently to no disturb us so much. I know they hurt, but all their yelling does not change anything, right? So, dear Ukraine, please: plus de contenace s'il vous plaît.

Dargo

12-30-23, 01:51 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9CBdzpZEmw

Dargo

12-30-23, 02:13 PM

Russia is working to subvert French support for Ukraine, documents show
From the top floor of the house he shares here with a senior Russian diplomat — to whom he rents the apartment below — the man who helped bankroll the French presidential bid of far-right candidate Marine Le Pen has been working on plans to propel pro-Moscow politicians to power.

“We have to change all the governments … All the governments in Western Europe will be changed,” Jean-Luc Schaffhauser, a former member of the European Parliament for Le Pen’s party, said in an interview. “We have to control this. Take the leadership of this.”... https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/12/30/france-russia-interference-far-right/

Russia's losses increase in 2023 – UK intelligence
UK Defence Intelligence has noted an increase in daily casualties in the Russian Federation's forces in the war against Ukraine and predicted that at this rate, the total number will cross the 500,000 mark by 2025. UK intelligence noted that in 2023, the average daily losses of Russian personnel, both killed and wounded, increased to almost 300 per day, which is more than in 2022."The increase in daily averages, as reported by the Ukrainian authorities, almost certainly reflects the degradation of Russia’s forces and its transition to a lower quality, high quantity mass army since the ‘partial mobilisation’ of reservists in September 2022. It will likely take Russia five to ten years to rebuild a cohort of highly trained and experienced military units."UK Defence Intelligence noted that if the current rate of losses continues through 2024, Russia's losses in terms of those killed and wounded will reach more than half a million by 2025. UK intelligence pointed out that during the nine years of their war in Afghanistan, the USSR lost approximately 70,000 people. https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2023/12/30/7435196/
https://i.postimg.cc/q71WVH9M/GCm7352-W8-AAfarg.jpg

Skybird

12-30-23, 04:26 PM

However, these losses can be afforded and so do not decide the war. The demogrphic problems for Ukraine weigh much heavier. So does the significantly higher weight of the Russian military production.

I linked a text some posts ago that argued that in 7-10 years, at this rate they might have "modenrized" the equipment of their entire army, by "getting rid" of their current stuff and having replaced it with newer stuff.

Plus they learn form the war they currently run. I preict ion 5-10 years Russia will be boith mor ednageoruzs and moe capable to us. I do not see that European states read thge sign of the times and scrablew to make use of the time they still have by beefing up military production capacities by the needed scale to make a difference.

We are wasting time. Possible that in the end we - our children - will regret that. Ich könnte kotzen bei so viel politischer Lahmarschigkeit. Many still have not heard the shot.

The US must focus on Taiwan. Europoe must focus on Russia and learn to relief the Americans in Europe and build the capabilities to do that. Instead: wasting money and time on EU green deals policies, m,igrations chaos, gender-drivel and moral lecturing of the rest of the world that does no longer listen to the West since longer time already.

But what do I expect? We have no politicians with political foresight and strategic longterm understandig anymore, all these dubious figures are managers of their own careers only. Whats the alternative to the Macrons, Sunaks and Scholzs and Bidens of the present? Only populists who have one thing in common: they all are Moscow-friendly.

No sign for optimism in sight. None. I'm already pissed by 2024, and the year after as well.

Heck, i even start to hope that Trump wins. It would be a jump-kick right into the Europeans' faces, with boots that have spikes. Maybe that would wake them up. They would not have any right to complain - they then would have had years of warning time, and choosed to do nothing to make use of it. Well, some thign sthey did. But so little that I rate it as symbolic only. Deeds of conviction, of insight into the necessity, look differently.

mapuc

12-31-23, 09:46 AM

The Russian soldiers fight for truth and justice at the front line and are the true heroes of Russia. They are admired by the Russian people.

This is how it sounds on Sunday afternoon in Russian President Vladimir Putin's New Year's speech, which is broadcast on Russian television

My response :nope: (Was looking for the puke smiley)

https://ekstrabladet-dk.translate.goog/nyheder/putin-i-sin-nytaarstale-vi-vil-aldrig-traekke-os/10077490?_x_tr_sl=da&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=da&_x_tr_pto=wapp

Markus

Dargo

12-31-23, 12:04 PM

Killing Russians By The Truckload Around Avdiivka, Ukraine’s M-2 Fighting Vehicles Are Showing How Russia Loses—And Ukraine Wins
On Oct. 10, elements of two Russian field armies—together possessing 40,000 troops and thousands of vehicles—attacked the Ukrainian garrison in Avdiivka, just northwest of Russian-occupied Donetsk in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region. It was the first and main attack of Russia’s third annual winter offensive in its 22-month wider war on Ukraine. And it failed. More accurately, it has been failing. The Russian operation around Avdiivka is ongoing. But after advancing a short distance—a mile or so—north and south of the city last month, the Russian 2nd and 41st Combined Arms Armies at best have stalled. Some analysts believe they actually are losing ground around the village of Stepove on Avdiivka’s northern flank.

It’s no secret that Moscow’s new strategy is to outlast Kyiv—to win a war of attrition. But the Russians can’t win a war of attrition if they continue to lose many more vehicles and troops than the Ukrainians lose. In that context, the battle for Avdiivka has been a disaster for Russia. It’s exactly the kind of fight the Kremlin can’t afford if its goal is to grind away Ukraine’s military strength. Around Avdiivka, it’s the Russians who are getting ground down.

The numbers tell the story. The Russian field armies have lost at least 411 tanks, fighting vehicles and artillery pieces trying, and failing, to capture Avdiivka. The Ukrainian brigades garrisoning Avdiivka—including the 110th, 57th and 47th Mechanized and the 1st Tank—have lost just 30 pieces of heavy equipment. Russian casualties—dead and maimed—exceed 13,000 in just this one sector. Ukraine’s own casualties likely have been much lighter. Perhaps a few thousand. Yes, the Russian army in Ukraine—at least 400,000 strong—is larger than Ukraine’s own front-line force is. Yes, Russia can mobilize many more replacement troops than Ukraine can mobilize. Yes, Russian industry out-produces Ukrainian industry.

No, Russia’s resources are not limitless.

This is apparent in Avdiivka, where the Russians repeatedly have switched up tactics in order to preserve one portion of their force or another. In October, Russian attacks around Avdiivka were heavily mechanized, with tanks and fighting vehicles leading the way. When the tanks and fighting vehicles ran afoul of Ukrainian mines, drones and artillery, Russian commanders pulled back their remaining vehicles—and sent in the infantry, on foot. When the infantry got massacred, the Russians deployed more explosives-laden drones in an effort to sever Ukrainian forces’ supply lines. That didn’t work, either. Yesterday, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky himself safely traveled to Avdiivka—and shot a selfie within view of the front line. The most recent Russian attacks on Avdiivka have included tanks and infantry. But in the most critical northern part of the battlefield, in and around Stepove, the conditions—for the Russians—are unforgiving.

It’s there in Stepove that the Ukrainian 47th Brigade, with its mix of American-made M-2 Bradley fighting vehicles and German-made Leopard 2 tanks, is killing Russians by the truckload. To the east, Stepove abuts east-west treelines and a north-south railway. “Ukraine is using the railroad treelines to isolate Stepove from the rest of the battlefield,” analyst Donald Hill wrote in fellow analyst Tom Cooper’s newsletter.

“As Russian troops and vehicles move out from [neighboring] Krasnohorivka across the open fields, Ukrainian artillery and drones reduce their numbers,” Hill explained. “They remain under fire until the assault loses momentum and stops.” “Ukraine then counterattacks, sometimes with Leopards—and often with Bradleys raking the treelines with 25-millimeter cannon fire. Bradleys also transport small assault teams that clear out Russian stragglers from time to time. Once Stepove and the treelines by the railroad are clear, or mostly clear, of Russian troops, Ukraine pulls back to their functional defensive positions and waits for the next Russian attack.” “Constantly pushing the Russians back helps preserve the defensive positions Ukraine currently occupies,” Hill explained. “This tactic is much easier for the 47th Brigade to use because of the firepower of the Bradley, which can engage Russian armor and has done so, and its cannon fire is very effective against Russian infantry even when they are in cover.”

The 30-ton, 11-person M-2 with its side-mounted reactive armor effectively resists Russian rocket-propelled grenades. “This not only keeps the crew alive, it gives them the confidence to aggressively attack the Russians, which makes a huge difference,” Hill wrote. The 47th Brigade got all 190 M-2s that the United States pledged to the Ukrainian war effort early this year. The brigade has lost at least 30 M-2s. But it needs just a hundred of the vehicles fully to equip its battalions. All that is to say, the 47th Brigade isn’t hurting for firepower. And it’s found the perfect place to use it: Avdiivka. More specifically, Stepove. The Russians keep sending men and vehicles for the M-2 crews to chop to pieces. This is not a winning strategy for Russia. The Kremlin can build, and restore from long-term storage, at most 1,500 tanks and a couple thousand fighting vehicles a year.

Taking into account the need to backfill losses from 2022, Russian forces can afford to lose at most 50 tanks a month without depleting their overall armor holdings. The Avdiivka fight lately has pushed the Russians’ armor losses well above sustainable levels. The Kremlin drafted 300,000 fresh troops this year but, amid protests and labor-shortages, hasn’t yet begun a second mobilization. Extreme losses—at least 315,000 killed or severely wounded in 22 months—have contributed to what the RAND Corporation, a California think-tank, described as a “ticking social time-bomb” in Russia, a country with just 143 million people.

Ukraine, a country with 44 million people, also has lost a lot of soldiers: at least 70,000 killed and several times that number wounded. But in recent months the loss ratio—Russian losses compared to Ukrainian losses—greatly has favored Ukraine. Around Avdiivka, it might be 10 to one as those M-2 crews go about their bloody work. Say what you will about Russia’s material and manpower advantages and Russian society’s appetite for a cruel war of choice. Russia cannot sustain the kinds of losses it has experienced in the battle for Avdiivka. Not over the long term. And to be clear, Russia is counting on staying in the war for the long term. That’s its whole plan for victory. A plan that a few battalions of Ukrainian fighting vehicles have exposed as a farce. https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2023/12/30/killing-russians-by-the-truckload-around-avdiivka-ukraines-m-2-fighting-vehicles-are-showing-how-russia-loses-and-ukraine-wins/

vanjast

12-31-23, 06:57 PM

Dargo

12-31-23, 07:59 PM

So sad ye are .. to yearn for such yarns. :hmmm:

Sooner ye all learn that Putin was arrested/hanged, as with all biden, billary..etc.. the sooner you'd all wake up from ye slumber.

You've all being seeing nothing but a movie show from a deeper enemy.
:03:Hanging arresting will not change anything, you are the one being lost, they play you. The ends never justify the means. Those who go down that road, who cast all morality aside, do not come back. You think you are driving the machine, and yet it’s driving you, and suddenly other hands than yours are on the wheel. Your option will only result in terror, widespread arrests and executions to crush the autonomous, self-governing free men to create a centralized, autocratic ruling elite. Criminalizing dissent, outlaw competing political parties, muzzled the press and instituted a system that strip all of their autonomy and rights. Like Maximilien Robespierre, Lenin “desired the good … but created evil.” Stalinism was not an aberration. It was the natural heir of Leninism.

mapuc

12-31-23, 09:27 PM

If the supply comes to an end in 2024 or decrease a lot-Then Ukraine will have difficulty in winning the war.

If the west gear up the supply in 2024 Ukraine can fight Russia one more year.

Markus

August

12-31-23, 09:44 PM

Well just think of this.

Putin is nearly as old as Stalin was when Iron Joe suffered a fatal stroke. Unlike the USSR with it's extensive political structure and complex ideology though I don't think the present regime will survive him. There will be too many factions vying for the fallen crown.

Dargo

12-31-23, 10:57 PM

Russia is already back to the Bolshevik planned economics spiced with fascist sauce it is cannibalizing its economy when this falls ultranationalist will try to take over this will be a bloody civil war zillion worse than the 1917-1923 civil war. But not worse than it is already is under Putin we did not see anything enlightening from Russia for centuries, so the fall of the Russian Federation can only be good for our sake.

Reece

01-01-24, 01:14 AM

Your statement gives me new hope Dargo! :hmmm:

Skybird

01-01-24, 04:25 AM

Wishful thinking. After Putin, another Putinator will win the crown. Economics will suffer, and thus the outbound aggression will be pushed further. Russians are used since centuries to live under the whip. They do not know it differently. With friendly help by the orthodox church keeping them obedient and servile.

Reece

01-01-24, 04:42 AM

Thanks Marc, I needed that!! :haha:

Skybird

01-01-24, 05:51 AM

Always steady, always grounded. :D

mapuc

01-01-24, 03:48 PM

If I get this correct-The Russian is loosing their elites a lot faster than they can replace them

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDRvwabT6iw&ab_channel=CombatVeteranReacts

Markus

Skybird

01-02-24, 06:52 AM

https://www-achgut-com.translate.goog/artikel/was_nuetzen_schlaege_gegen_die_schwarzmeerflotte?_ x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=de&_x_tr_pto=wapp

(...) How should the latest attack be interpreted? Although the destruction of the Novocherkassk undoubtedly affected the logistical potential of the Black Sea Fleet, this event should not be given undue importance. Contrary to numerous Western comments in recent days, the attack should by no means be interpreted as a signal of the success of Kiev's counteroffensive. Likewise, it would be inappropriate to see it as a turning point in the course of the war.

Instead, what remains is that Russia retains a strategic advantage as long as it can use Crimea to supply its armed forces in southern Ukraine. In order to thwart this, the Crimean Bridge, the main traffic routes on the peninsula and the intact rail connection would have to be permanently destroyed. However, as things stand, Kiev is far from achieving this goal. (...)

mapuc

01-03-24, 10:59 AM

There are fortune seekers in every war-so this doesn't come as a surprise

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJR4DuuIMgU&ab_channel=CombatVeteranReacts

Markus

Jimbuna

01-03-24, 11:39 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iNqiRFXJvA

Skybird

01-03-24, 11:52 AM

Jimbuna

01-03-24, 11:55 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orw1B3tCqLQ

Jimbuna

01-03-24, 12:11 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55LeTzzVCHU

Dargo

01-03-24, 04:00 PM

[Westfälische Nachrichten]
According to the British government, Russia is particularly targeting the Ukrainian defense industry in its airstrikes. Russia has increased the intensity of its attacks against Ukraine since December 29, according to the Ministry of Defense. Russian armed forces have deployed a significant proportion of the cruise missile and ballistic missile stocks built up in recent months.

The latest attacks were probably aimed primarily at Ukraine's defense industry - not the energy infrastructure as was the case last winter, the British wrote on the X platform (formerly Twitter). At that time, Russia had massively attacked thermal power plants, for example. Some people were left without electricity and heating for long periods. The new attacks now indicate at least a temporary change in strategy, the British wrote. Russian planners were certain that the defense industry would become more important when preparing for a long war. The Russian military leadership had also declared the previous day that it was targeting defense companies.
Ukraine air defence shoots down 80%-90% (After 5 strikes, no mayor military damage is done all ten Kh-47M2 Kinzhal hypersonic missiles fired were intercepted by Ukrainian air defenses. If these claims are true, this may be an incredible milestone for the Ukrainian military, given that Moscow has projected the Kinzhal as an invincible weapon that can easily penetrate enemy defenses.) what Russia used is months of stock build up 1 or 2 strikes is left then they can do 1 strike in this way per month. Ukraine will get its ammo, so damage will be small in the coming months, do not see Russia gain a win with this campaign. Because Russia can not win on the fronts not this year but also not in 2025 it tries to carpet bomb, but losers forgot they do not have the carpet to bomb Ukraine into surrender and this strategy never worked on its own in history Germany production hit its peak during all that carpet bomb campaigns from the allies in WWII.

Skybird

01-03-24, 04:55 PM

Nobody knows how it will be with missile supplies to Ukraine this year. The US has delivered its last package for the forseeable future short before christmas. If Trump wins, then... well...

Just today I have red that international customers turn away form Geran defence producers. Last years defence sales went up, ye,sm but that is eslcuzsively due to dleiveries into Ukraine - in all other fields, sales declined. Its not that they do not like the quzality, the quality of that stuff that gets sold is very very good, but there are very severe doubts that the German idniustrywill be able to deliover spare parts and replacements in the needed quantity already in peacetime. How it would be in times of war when demand is such that more is needed in even shorter time, has started to scare customers away. I am very certain that this is another reason why the Polish turned to South Korea. The German simply take too loing to build their stuff, and thus the quantity and speed at which it is made available is not sufficient. And that is just the de facto production capacities, they are insufficient. I do not even mention the overregulation, the bureaucracy, the paperwork demands, which are absolutely hilarious in Germany. And it gets worse and worse.

Ask the British about German rejection to allow the British to deliver Eurofighters to Saudi Arabia. The English are fuming, and it was to be read in some papers that behidn the stage the diplomatic row is very severe indeed. And they are right, Germany is breaking obligations it once signed.

Lets face it: Germany is an unreliable ally and a friend I would not trust when needing to go into dangerous territory. Both willingness and capability are missing.

mapuc

01-03-24, 05:01 PM

Maybe Trump would be like the rest of our politicians-Say something before the election and then turn 180 degree.

Markus

Dargo

01-03-24, 05:10 PM

If NATO places an order to replenish their stock that what is in stock will be delivered to Ukraine, the Netherlands like many other NATO members do not publish what they send to Ukraine those countries constantly buy from over the world munition for Ukraine. With the so-called big Russian stock and war production, Russia has not gained much in the past even not when they had millions of artillery shells to shoot do not see this will change in the coming year. If you only can produce/refurbish/repair 50 tanks a month, and you lose that amount in two weeks, you're on the losing side.

Dargo

01-03-24, 05:27 PM

Maybe Trump would be like the rest of our politicians-Say something before the election and then turn 180 degree.

MarkusDmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, does not believe that the potential election of Donald Trump as US president in 2024 could negatively affect support for Ukraine if an approach is found."Trump is known for of his, I would say, ultra-charismatic actions, his reputation and his phrases. But who sold the first American weapon to Ukraine? President Trump [sent us] Javelins. Who launched the programme of free delivery of the first naval vessels, the Island and Mark VI boats, to Ukraine? Trump. Who fought the Nord Stream 2 project and imposed sanctions on the well-known but already forgotten Fortuna ship that laid this pipeline? It was Trump."https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2024/01/3/7435700/

Jimbuna

01-04-24, 08:50 AM

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

Jimbuna

01-04-24, 09:04 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Om9ENrw2U7M

Jimbuna

01-04-24, 01:18 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42B0iZQTg6U

mapuc

01-04-24, 05:05 PM

Seems like North Korea is getting more and more involved in the Ukrainian war

North Korea has equipped Russia with ballistic missiles and launchers, which have been used recently in attacks on Ukraine.

https://ekstrabladet-dk.translate.goog/nyheder/krigogkatastrofer/usa-nordkorea-udstyrer-rusland-med-ballistiske-missiler/10081781?_x_tr_sl=da&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=da&_x_tr_pto=wapp

Markus

Eisenwurst

01-04-24, 05:20 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZQhNb1aMHM

Reappropriated commie partisan song.

Glory to Ukraine.

mapuc

01-05-24, 03:58 AM

May it not come so far

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2ascXs6LiA&ab_channel=TimesRadio

Markus

Jimbuna

01-05-24, 07:33 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSPN0GSnVvI

Skybird

01-05-24, 07:44 AM

Colonel Reisner is once again not optmistic.
english translation: https://exxpress-at.translate.goog/oberst-reisner-analysiert-feierstimmung-bei-russen/?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=de&_x_tr_pto=wapp
Click twice to proceed to article.

German video: https://www.n-tv.de/mediathek/videos/politik/Reisner-Aktuelle-russische-Angriffe-haben-drei-Absichten-article24632467.html

Jimbuna

01-05-24, 08:36 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zU9hzTTQRJs

Dargo

01-05-24, 04:14 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_9B3D5lmSI
Russian soldiers packed into Moscow's tanks and infantry fighting vehicles (IVFs) are "afraid" to launch operations "when they know that a Bradley will be against them," said Kach, a Ukrainian commander of the country's 47th Mechanized Brigade who goes by his call sign, as is common among Ukrainian fighters. Kach is adamant—the U.S.-supplied Bradleys save Ukrainian lives along the hottest parts of the front line against Russian troops and armored vehicles. The M2 Bradley certainly did back in June 2023. One of the infantry fighting vehicles—only operated by the 47th Brigade—took a "direct hit" from a Russian Grad rocket, only for every crew member onboard the struck IVF to survive.

It was quickly dragged away for repairs, and the incident showed the vehicle's "outstanding combat survivability," Hanna Maliar, former Ukrainian deputy defense minister, said at the time... https://www.newsweek.com/bradley-fighting-vehicles-ukraine-avdiivka-47th-brigade-russia-1857732

Skybird

01-05-24, 05:22 PM

Earlier this week German media echoed a news that of the 18 Leopard-2A8 Germany sent, most are either destroyed or out of aciton, awaiting repairs since long time now. The long wait for repairing is due to the problem that haunts German industry more and more and incraisngly makes customers of the in principle much wanted German defence tech and weapons turning away form Germany despite the soaring numbers of German arms sales that are because of Ukraine taking the kit and overcompensating: the repairs take this long because the Germans cannot deliver spare parts. The tanks used in Ukraine are in such intense wear and tears that they break down additionally to the effects of enemy fire, and the German industry lacks the capacity to deliver as much and as fast as its needed. This is unneeded, becasue the Leopard is the better tank for Ukraine over the Abrams and Challengers - the Leopard should be MUCH more easier and faster to maintain and be repaired, the Abrams is described as a primadonna in these regards. But if there are not spareparts produced, then no spareparts get sent to Ukraine, of course...

The Leopards sent by other countries also have taken hugh losses, it seems, but nobody wants to put it into numbers. These damn drones change everything, plus the Russian artillery and ammo superiority. The Challengers in some news weeks ago were said to be held back by the Ukrainians.

And still we do not see any major, really major change enforced by European politicians to drastically boost production capacities. They just dont do it, only some smaller alibi actions. And Bubble Olaf? Is quoted with being angry with Poland for having filed this super-huge order with the South Korean defence industry. The logistics and support chain is the big archilles heal of the German defence industry. - Lets see what Tusk makes with this korean defence deal. Absolutely possible that he dramatically cuts it back. Hopefully not. After all thsi deal is about also buying knowledge and building their own independent Polish defence industry.

Dargo

01-05-24, 06:28 PM

During 2023, Putin managed to capture just 0.01% of Ukrainian territory (Putin lost 30% of his military to get those 0.01%), despite fighting on his own doorstep and mobilising more than 300,000 additional troops. We hear much about Ukraine’s failed counteroffensive, but Russia’s military failures are far more profound. Given the comparative size of the two armies, and countries, it's unbelievable the media criteria for who is winning and losing went from, "how many days can Ukraine possibly defend Kyiv?" to "did Ukraine retake all its territory last autumn?"

mapuc

01-05-24, 06:49 PM

Eisenwurst

01-05-24, 06:50 PM

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

Dargo

01-05-24, 07:09 PM

(No pun intended)
I think there's a middle road between Dargos very positive description of how well the Ukrainian is fighting the Russian and Skybirds negative description of the same.

Both is supporting Ukraine

MarkusThis is not a "very positive description" it is a fact. Each Russian offensive results in thousands of dead and wounded, millions in lost weaponry. This is the biggest ongoing failure in this war, Ukraine controls over approximately 82% of the country Ukraine’s military strategy for 2024 will focus on holding the front line and ensuring that remains in Ukrainian hands. The most important conclusion to draw from the past two years of fighting is the dominance of defensive warfare over offensive operations. This has been demonstrated again and again, beginning with the failure of Russia’s initial blitzkrieg in the first month of the war. Crucially, a more defensive posture would allow Ukraine to exploit Moscow’s pressing need for victories. With the Russian army under huge political pressure to advance, Ukrainian commanders would have plenty of opportunities to steadily bleed out Putin’s invasion force, much as they are currently doing at Avdiivka.

In parallel, Ukraine should look to continue degrading Russia’s ability to wage war by conducting an escalating campaign of air strikes on targets far behind the front lines throughout occupied Ukraine and inside Russia itself. This could include attacks on troop concentrations, military bases, and munitions stores along with logistical hubs and armament production facilities. By embracing a strategy of active defense in 2024, Kyiv can achieve the twin goals of preventing any major Russian advances and creating conditions that strongly favor Ukraine in what is increasingly a war of attrition. This would set the stage for a return to offensive operations in 2025.

The effectiveness of any defensive strategy in 2024 will rely heavily on the level of support provided by Ukraine’s partners. In terms of weapons deliveries, priorities will include vast amounts of artillery ammunition together with electronic warfare systems, strike drones, additional air defense capabilities, and long-range missiles. The hotly anticipated arrival of F-16 fighter jets in the coming months will also significantly enhance Ukraine’s ability to deny Russia control of the skies. To defeat Putin in a long war, Ukraine must switch to active defense in 2024 (https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/paving-the-way-for-putins-defeat-ukraine-must-prioritize-defense-in-2024/)

To say Ukraine already lost or will in 2024 is not a reality WWI had his many crises (1915 the artillery shell shortage crisis) same as WWII it tokes the allied almost 2 years to counter Germany all that say Ukraine has lost have no idea how wars work certainly not this kinda long wars. I do not predict I only see no Russian victory based on that their leader is a gambler there is no Kyiv in 3 days, WWIII, Nuclear war and Europe will freeze all gambles did not come true also Russian war doctrine is outdated sure Ukraine has less of all but what they got is precision and saver than Russia can make. OK Russia has many drones and drone jammers so why do we see so many armor destroyed by Ukraine drones why we see the minute a Russian hear a drone he gets the ******* away and jumps in hiding/bunker if this is so a great army why we see targets destroyed far far away with Ukraine material, has failed to achieve air superiority, its Black Sea Fleet is retreating from Sevastopol, over 330K killed and wounded, and they are begging North Korea for ammunition. every action has its reaction that is war. Nobody predicted the outcome of WWI and WWII right, there were many moments it was a doom plans always fail but eventual the allied won making many mistakes, with many losses also not always in unity there were many doubts and distrust.

Dargo

01-05-24, 08:25 PM

Ukraine’s wartime economy is performing surprisingly well
Visitors to today’s Ukraine are often surprised to find that away from the front lines, everything looks so normal. Most people in central and western Ukraine have returned home. Shops and restaurants in towns and cities across the country are open and fully stocked. Everything functions, including mobile phone networks, internet, electricity, and public transport. Foreign credit cards can be used virtually everywhere and digital banking services are both advanced and near-ubiquitous. There is no rationing, nor is there any sign of price controls. If anything, people complain that life is a little too normal.

Signs of ordinary everyday life in wartime Ukraine are a reflection of the remarkable resilience demonstrated by Ukrainians since the onset of Russia’s full-scale invasion almost two years ago. This normality is also due to the little-noticed fact that the Ukrainian economy did surprisingly well in 2023.

Ukraine’s strong economic performance is reflected in recent EU and IMF assessments. These traditionally harsh reviews now read like love letters. “Despite the war, the country has benefited from a stronger-than-expected recovery and steadfast reform momentum,” noted the IMF in an entirely typical December 2023 summary. https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/ukraines-wartime-economy-is-performing-surprisingly-well/

Skybird

01-05-24, 08:47 PM

(No pun intended)
I think there's a middle road between Dargos very positive description of how well the Ukrainian is fighting the Russian and Skybirds negative description of the same.

Both is supporting Ukraine

Markus
To make one thing clear, I think the ukrainians mostly make excellent use of what is available to they, and fight very well - they just do not have enough of anything. I just think that better quality can counter superior numbers by Russia only so and so far - and not further. We are now in a phase where the industrial and demographic weight of Russia sets in in full.

Reports are mounting that Russia is about to start an offensive in the Charkiv area. Ukrainian SAM amo is depleting rapidly. The critical infrastructure take a more severe beatign than last year in winter. The scattered attempts of Ukraine to build a de.-centrlaised defenc ein fdustry also get heaily targetted. Russia now has a number of factors in it s favour: electronic warfare, artillery, drones, cruise missiles, air superiority, bigger numbers in general.

Ukraine possibly will be forced to straighten the frontlines in the coming weeks, such repositioning must then be differentiated from indeed being pushed back and loosing ground. The one is manouvering, the other is loosing ground by force.

If ammo supplies become very low, I think they will focus on the towns and cities and try to lure the Russians into these. In that terrain the Ukrainians seem to fight much better than the Russians. As long as Russia does not start to "grozhnidize" such towns and cities with endless shelling from heavy artillery.