Here we go again-Ukraine once again

[Dargo]

Poland's website Defense 24 reports that #Slovakia's defense minister Jaroslav Naď confirms the transfer of eight 155 mm self-propelled howitzers Zuzana 2 to Ukraine. https://defence24.pl/polityka-obronn...esna-artylerie

[Dargo]

Share of Russia’s economy in the global GDP is 1.7% In terms of GDP, in 2023 Russia will be smaller than Spain and only a bit bigger than the Netherlands. The Netherlands! Have you seen the size of the Netherlands?

[mapuc]

Originally Posted by Dargo

Share of Russia’s economy in the global GDP is 1.7% In terms of GDP, in 2023 Russia will be smaller than Spain and only a bit bigger than the Netherlands. The Netherlands! Have you seen the size of the Netherlands?

An off topic answer to Dargo
When it comes to its beauty it's huge I wish I could afford another trip to Holland.

End of an off topic answer to Dargo

Markus

[Dargo]

A Brutal Examination: Russian Military Capability in Light of Ukraine War

Russian armed forces’ lacklustre performance in Ukraine has surprised military analysts. Shortcomings have included breakdowns in logistics, poor equipment and morale, abysmal communications, and muddled command and control, as well as a weak showing by the Russian Aerospace Forces, air defense, and cruise and ballistic missiles. Chief among the contributing factors are wishful political thinking, overreliance on esoteric doctrine and endemic corruption. War, however, brutally exposes peacetime cheating. Consequently, estimates of Russian military capabilities – in particular, for large-formation combined-arms operations, logistics, air defense and intangibles such as morale – need to be carefully reassessed. Earlier analyses of a Russia–NATO conflict appear to have overstated the challenge of defending Europe. Looking ahead, the conventional threat from Russia seems less daunting than previously thought, and the country faces a formidable task in repairing depleted capabilities. That said, President Vladimir Putin’s appetite for risk is greater than anticipated.

As Russian President Vladimir Putin made an all-in bet on invading Ukraine, most analysts expected Russian forces to be relentlessly effective and campaign plans meticulous, commensurate with the enormous risks the operation inevitably imposed on Russia in theatre and internationally. While the future of Ukraine hinges on the outcome of the war, so do Russia’s standing as an aspiring world power and the political future of Putin himself. But war can be a brutal examination that ruthlessly reveals peacetime cheating. Indications quickly mounted that little was going according to Russian plans, and that the plans, means and measures were not sound... https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full...pkUM6E.twitter

[Dargo]

Governor of Lugansk: Severodonetsk largely in Russian hands

Most of Severodonetsk is in the hands of the Russians, says Serhi Hajdaj, the governor of Lugansk. Nearly 100 percent of the critical infrastructure has been destroyed, he reports on Telegram. 90 percent of homes have been damaged, 60 percent of them so badly that repair is no longer possible. Because of the shelling, it is impossible to deliver relief supplies or evacuate people, Hajdaj said.

He also reports that an airstrike on a chemical plant hit a tank containing nitric acid. Photos show a pink cloud hanging over the city. He urges everyone to stay indoors because of the toxic gases that can cause serious respiratory problems.

[Dargo]

Wall Street Journal: US to provide Ukraine with artillery with over 60 kilometers in range.

The Wall Street Journal reported, citing anonymous sources in the White House, that the precision-guided rocket systems could arrive within weeks, and training on how to use them would take at least 10 days. https://www.wsj.com/articles/guided-...s_pos14&page=1

[mapuc]

Ekstra Bladet wrote:

Officer: Russia wins the war -
'Soldiers used as cannon fodder'
Russia's superior military is winning and Denmark's support is only contributing to more deaths, says former Defence Intelligence Service officer

Although the Russian army has struggled with major teething problems, in the long run they will wear down the Ukrainians so much that they will surrender.

- The war, with its trenches and fixed defensive positions, is more reminiscent of the First World War than the war in Afghanistan. In that situation, artillery and tanks always win over men. And here Russia has the upper hand.

So says Jacob Skaarenborg, a former senior officer in the Defence Intelligence Service for 26 years.

In April, Russia announced it would focus on the eastern Donbas region, which is just a few hours' drive from Russia's border.

At the same time, Ukraine receives weapons from the West at the border with Poland. They have to be transported more than 1000 kilometres, mainly via the country's railway network.

- While the Russians can get new weapons and especially ammunition quickly, the Ukrainians will have to economise on ammunition to avoid running out. This means a significant difference in firepower in the Russians' favour. The party that can inflict the most firepower on its opponent wins.

Russia is deliberately bombing railway lines and bridges to stop the flow of arms and ammunition to Ukraine's forces, Reuters reports.

Ukraine loses motivation
According to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, up to 100 Ukrainian soldiers die daily in the war.

This will eventually wear down the soldiers' will to fight, says Jacob Skaarenborg.

- The Russian artillery will cause significant Ukrainian losses at the front, and the Ukrainian soldiers will have no choice but to dig deeper and wait. They will see a lot of artillery coming towards them, and much less going the other way.

Russian soldiers, according to Study of War, a US think tank that researches defence and warfare, are fighting with such a severe lack of fighting spirit that they are drinking large quantities of alcohol and shooting their own vehicles to avoid the front line.

- Ukrainian morale is better than Russian, and that's fine if you're man to man. But with the Russian superiority in heavy weapons, they can be motivated enough without it making a difference, says Jacob Skaarenborg.

NATO involvement would be suicide
Joe Biden calls Ukraine's soldiers heroes, Nato's Jens Stoltenberg admires their courage, and Mette Frederiksen describes Zelenskyj as a 'proud leader of a brave people' on Facebook.

Despite praise, neither has sent troops to fight in Ukraine, just as Nato did not heed Zelenskyj's plea for a no-fly zone.

- If Nato soldiers go to war with Russia, we have trouble. That would mean World War III, the use of tactical nuclear weapons and ultimately the deployment of strategic nuclear weapons. That would be suicide, and that is why it is not happening.

Skaarenborg believes that the West's strategy in supplying weapons to Ukraine is to do so much damage to Russia that they are unable to invade other countries.

- Were a Ukrainian victory assured, it would be a good idea. But it isn't, and instead they end up dying as cannon fodder in our fight against Russia, with no benefit to themselves.

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

Are we doing more harm than good ? What is he saying between the lines-That we should increase our help to Ukraine or what ?

Markus

[Rockstar]

[Skybird]

As long as they have sufficient cannon fodder to sacrifice, the Russian approach now somewhat "works". Its not elegant, its not subtle, its not precise, it certainly looks not easy-handed, surely not. But it wins by indiscriminatory annihilation of each and everything.



As long as they can maintain it it rounds and bodies.

[Otto Harkaman]

^ 18th century warfare

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by mapuc

Ekstra Bladet wrote:

Are we doing more harm than good ? What is he saying between the lines-That we should increase our help to Ukraine or what ?

Markus

Nobody else than the Ukrainians are to decide whether they fight or surrender. But without their fight, we might be even more in trouble on our nato borders right now, and other countries would be at risk to get attacked by Russia.

So as long as Ukrainians by their own decision continue to fight, we should do our best to cause as much damage and loss on Russia as possible by providing them wepaons and ammo that they need. So that Riussia's appetite for other military adventures in other people's lands gets muted for long time to come.
And we should not try to force Ukraine to accept Russian conditions by not supplying it anymore. My fear is that is what Macronman and Bubble-Olaf prepare to do.

[Skybird]

Biden announces delivery of HIMARS MRLS systems with ammunitions of 70 km in range. This has been long time coming.

Scholz announces to deliveran IRIS-T SL air defence system - and one radar. The Unimog-mounted-system has a maximum range of 35 km and a maximum altitude of 20km. Thats a circle with 70km in diameter at max. Thats around a third to a quarter of the distance between Odessa and Mykolajev. The system is modern and very agile, but for Germany is meant only as a secondary backup system beside a Patriot system with longer reach.


In his govenrment proclamation before the parliament yesterday Bubble-Olaf again rejected to take the words "Ukrainian victory" in his mouth. He has absolutely refused to mention this word combination since as long as this war lasts now. He was pressed on it on several occasions, and strictly weasels away every single time.


"No victory for Ukraine!", that means.

[Skybird]

Comparison between the German two attacks on Kyiv 1942, and the Russian attack 2022.

https://www.nzz.ch/international/kie...ich-ld.1682003

Not everybody might be interested, thats why I do not post the whole translated text. You can paste and copy the text yourself and then delete the German sections in the left window when you have red the English translation in the right one (ther eis a 5000 letter limit). The translator I use and recommend is just so much better than Google (which allows to have whole websites translated).

https://www.deepl.com/de/translator

[Skybird]

Germany announces to deliver four missile artillery systems by the end of the month. I missed that news so far. No word on type and range AFAIK.

[Jimbuna]

The US will send Ukraine more advanced rocket systems to help it defend itself, President Biden has announced.

The weapons, long requested by Ukraine, are to help it strike enemy forces more precisely from a longer distance.

Until now, the US had refused the request out of fear the weapons could be used against targets in Russia.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the US was "directly and intentionally adding fuel to the fire" with its weapons deliveries to Ukraine.

Separately, the German government has promised to send an air defence system to Ukraine.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz told MPs that the IRIS-T system was the most modern Germany possessed and would enable Ukraine to defend an entire city against Russian air attacks.

He added that he would provide tracking radar capable of detecting enemy artillery, and multiple rocket launchers.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-61655577