Here we go again-Ukraine once again

[Catfish]

China has provided Serbia with missiles last week, now Turkey sends dozens of Bayraktar drones.
Plans of a pince movement? Will they send it to the Russians?
Serbia is a simmering powder keg.

[Jimbuna]

^ I suspect they just might.

[Catfish]

Turkey is a NATO member

But maybe they learned something from Trump
"It is not treason, it is alternative loyality"

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by Catfish

Turkey is a NATO member

Is it?
I question that since many years.

[Aktungbby]

Originally Posted by Skybird

Is it?
I question that since many years.

Now yer talkin, Turkey!

[Rockstar]

Originally Posted by Catfish

Turkey is a NATO member

But maybe they learned something from Trump
"It is not treason, it is alternative loyality"

Or maybe they learned something from Putin’s favorite German lobbyist, Putin whisperer, and one time Chancellor of Germany Gerhard Schröder: “As far as my relationship with President Putin is concerned, it's fine.”

[Rockstar]

https://www.csis.org/analysis/latest...lation-support

The Latest Aid Package to Ukraine Is a Major Escalation of Support
April 20, 2022

U.S. aid packages to Ukraine have become routine—four in the last three months—but the recently announced $800 million package is different. It expands support by including major crew-operated weapons and, for the first time, major U.S. weapons. The latter requires Ukrainians to be trained by U.S. troops. The package acknowledges the provision of Soviet-era weapons and, by what it does not include, implies that supplies of Javelins and Stingers may be getting low. The inclusion of items that will take weeks to deliver indicates that the United States now expects a long war. Finally, the U.S. record of providing about $52 million a day of military support means that the next aid package will be announced in late April and may involve another escalation.

Let's start with the biggest change: the provision of major U.S. weapons. Until now, the United States has provided self-contained munitions like Javelins and Stingers. This package includes two major crew-operated weapons: 18 howitzers and 200 M113 armored personnel carriers (APCs).

The APCs are large, tracked vehicles, essentially battlefield taxis, designed to protect troops as they maneuver. Troops exit the vehicle to fight. APCs are not tanks―the armor is relatively thin and they generally have only a machine gun for firepower―but they improve the infantry's mobility. They will allow the Ukrainians to conduct mobile operations in the open spaces of the east. This is a change from previous operations, which were primarily defensive, seeking to stop Russian advances from fixed positions.

The large number of APCs being provided means that it will take weeks or even months to get them all to the Ukrainians. Even if the vehicles come out of stocks already in Europe, they will require some servicing before they are ready for shipping. Some vehicles will likely require extensive work. Pushing that many vehicles through maintenance takes time.

The howitzers attack enemy forces at long ranges up to 20 miles. They fire 155-millimeter shells, approximately 6 inches in diameter, a NATO standard but new to the Ukrainian military, which uses the Soviet standard of 152 millimeters. The artillery will be needed for the longer-range combat that is likely to occur in the open spaces of the east. Previously, combat was mainly in urban areas where it was hard to find and attack targets without endangering civilians. The package provides only 18 howitzers, but the United States has large numbers and could easily increase that number. These systems are towed by a truck, which makes them easier to operate. There is no mechanized element requiring special parts and maintenance training. Ukrainians can use their own trucks with their own maintenance personnel and supply chains.

An advantage of the 155-millimeter is that it can fire a wider variety of projectiles than the Soviet-era 152-millimeter―high explosive, smoke, illumination, extended range, and cargo―and has more fuse types: point detonating, delay, and airburst. Of particular interest is the Excalibur, a guided munition that the United States used extensively in its Middle East wars. Although not explicitly included in this package, Excalibur could become available in the future. Excalibur would be a game changer because of its ability to hit targets precisely on the battlefield, a capability Ukrainians currently lack, and the Russians don't seem to be using.

U.S. inventory levels for howitzers and APCs are not an issue. The U.S. Army is replacing the APCs with the Armored Multipurpose Vehicle, allowing the older M113s to be spared. The current U.S. 155-millimeter towed howitzer, the M777, is still in production, so transferred articles can be replaced with new production...

https://www.defense.gov/News/Release...e-for-ukraine/

Attributed to Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby:

This afternoon, April 13, the Department of Defense (DoD) announces the authorization of a Presidential Drawdown of security assistance valued at up to an additional $800 million tailored to meet urgent Ukrainian needs for today’s fight as Russian forces shift the focus of their ruthless aggression to eastern Ukraine. This authorization is the seventh drawdown of equipment from DoD inventories for Ukraine since August 2021.

Capabilities in this package include:

18 155mm Howitzers and 40,000 artillery rounds;
Ten AN/TPQ-36 counter-artillery radars;
Two AN/MPQ-64 Sentinel air surveillance radars;
300 Switchblade Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems;
500 Javelin missiles and thousands of other anti-armor systems;
200 M113 Armored Personnel Carriers;
100 Armored High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles;
11 Mi-17 helicopters;
Unmanned Coastal Defense Vessels;
Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear protective equipment;
Medical equipment;
30,000 sets of body armor and helmets;
Over 2,000 optics and laser rangefinders;
C-4 explosives and demolition equipment for obstacle clearing; and
M18A1 Claymore anti-personnel munitions configured to be consistent with the Ottawa Convention.
The United States has now committed more than $3.2 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of the Biden Administration, including approximately $2.6 billion since the beginning of Russia’s unprovoked invasion on February 24.

The United States also continues to work with its Allies and partners to identify and provide Ukraine with additional capabilities.

The United States will continue to utilize all available tools to support Ukraine’s Armed Forces in the face of Russian aggression.

[mapuc]

Today we have Russia against NATO by proxy soon there will be other countries who will openly support Russia. Serbia and China is two countries I could see as candidate to this

Markus

[Jeff-Groves]

Serbian Forces would have to go through Romania.
Don't think Dan would like that much.

[mapuc]

Originally Posted by Jeff-Groves

Serbian Forces would have to go through Romania.
Don't think Dan would like that much.

Your comment made me wonder..how many Serbian has join the Russian army in Ukraine ? We may never know.

google is your friend

Mentioning Serbs who had already reached the Ukrainian battlefront, he said he cannot offer more concrete information about them, or about the routes, they used, as “people will be directly accused of a criminal offence”.

https://balkaninsight.com/2022/03/08...ht-in-ukraine/

Markus

[Jeff-Groves]

It's tattooed on the back of their necks.


A Monty Python thing.

[mapuc]

I toke a look at the map and it made me remember something.

Hungary is also pro Russia..Not so much as Serbia though

Markus

[Rockstar]

Originally Posted by mapuc

Today we have Russia against NATO by proxy soon there will be other countries who will openly support Russia. Serbia and China is two countries I could see as candidate to this

Markus

Russia is now a poor backward country, three quarters of a century of Soviet rule has inflicted unprecedented damage on the Russian people. Millions of highly gifted Russians we’re killed or perished in gulags, stifling doctrinal orthodoxy which isolated Russians from the rest of the world. Not too mention policies completely indifferent to the environment which has caused untold damage to the environment and the human body. Only 40 percent of newborns are born healthy, one fifth of Russian first graders have some form of mental retardation. Male longevity has decline to an average of 57.3 years of age and more people are dying than being born.

Yet the faithful long for these old ways and continue to cheer Putin on!

The failure of Russia to take Ukraine will only serve to embolden Russia’s former Soviet satellite neighbors to the South such as Turkmenistan and all the other ‘Stan’s’ to either unite as one or form an alliance independent of Putin’s Russia. As for China I don’t think they are in a rush to help Russia achieve victory in Ukraine since they’re probably negotiating with all the ‘Stans’ to gain access to their natural resources without Russian interference.

[mapuc]

^ Why I mentioned China is:
How interested are they in a beaten Russia or
are they interested in a strong Russia.

Markus

[mapuc]

propaganda or threat ?



Markus