Here we go again-Ukraine once again

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by mapuc

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

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

Markus

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

[Jimbuna]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[Catfish]

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


"Vladimir Putin will not be with us much longer

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


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

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


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

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


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

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


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

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


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

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


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

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


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

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


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

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


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

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


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

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


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

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


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

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


What is the second reason?

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


Do you have evidence?

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


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

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


But what will happen in Russia when Putin is gone?

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


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

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


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

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


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

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


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

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


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

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


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

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


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

[Jimbuna]

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

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

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

Any excuse will do.

[Jimbuna]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[Skybird]

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

Many words, but no ring exchange

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

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

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

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

Not a single tank from Germany

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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



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


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

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

[Dargo]

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

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

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

[nikimcbee]

Holy cow, subs actually do something? So, who sinks one first?

[Catfish]

^ ahem:
https://www.subsim.com/radioroom/sho...postcount=5111

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

[mapuc]

Saw this live as it happened.



Markus

[Skybird]

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


https://beta.dw.com/en/opinion-zelen...nds/a-62540903


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


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

[Skybird]

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/u...rans-rcna39268

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

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

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

[Dargo]

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

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

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

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

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Skybird

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

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

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

And that my friend is the gospel truth

[Jimbuna]

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

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

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

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

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

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