Here we go again-Ukraine once again pt2

[Rockstar]

Originally Posted by August

You know Rockstar that's a pretty harsh statement. The Ukrainian people are not sitting around waiting for anything, they are fighting and dying for their country by the tens of thousands in an unequal battle against a powerful and cruel invader who wants to steal their homes and enslave their people.

When the USSR fell they ended up with the ultimate trump card against invasion, nuclear weapons. No nuclear armed nation has ever been successfully invaded, but WE promised to protect them if they gave them up in the name of "peace and stability".

Now people like you call them beggars and worse just because they are asking us to partially keep that promise and give them a few pennies worth of old ammo and gear.

Signatories of the The Budapest Memorandum made no such promises to protect anyone. The security assurances simply stated they would refrain from invasion. A lot of good that paper did because Russia basically round filed it.

IMO Ukraine has yet to step up to the plate and fully mobilize, last Ukrainian general to suggest it was fired. And Zelensky wanting us to ‘give’ him thirty 1.1 billion dollar each Patriot missile system is not asking for a pennys worth of old equipment. Nor is the 1.5 billion dollars worth 155 mm artilliary shells currently in production. If they want more than a pennies worth of anything it should lended and repaid in full. But then even IMF has concerns about their ability to repay loans. We’re not a Goodwill store.

Israel has spent billions upon billions in defense over the decades even took loans which they repay to prepare for what Iran threw at them they did not sit around waiting for it to happen then complain about hypocrisy and blaming others for there problems.

therein lies my problem it doesn’t appear to me they have their heart in this.

[Rockstar]

This is what the E.U. and U.S. interests are in Ukraine. Bleeding out Russian economic, military and regional influence.

Seeing reports Russian forces withdrawing from Nagorno-Karabakh after having been told the get out by Azerbaijan.

[Skybird]

Somehow we just dont get it right.


An influential global body has forecast Russia's economy will grow faster than all of the world's advanced economies, including the US, this year.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects Russia to grow 3.2% this year, significantly more than the UK, France and Germany.


https://www.bbc.com/news/business-68823399

[Aktungbby]

Originally Posted by August

You know Rockstar that's a pretty harsh statement. The Ukrainian people are not sitting around waiting for anything, they are fighting and dying for their country by the tens of thousands in an unequal battle against a powerful and cruel invader who wants to steal their homes and enslave their people.

When the USSR fell they ended up with the ultimate trump card against invasion, nuclear weapons. No nuclear armed nation has ever been successfully invaded, but WE promised to protect them if they gave them up in the name of "peace and stability".

Now people like you call them beggars and worse just because they are asking us to partially keep that promise and give them a few pennies worth of old ammo and gear.

Precisely the problem! What Nato should do, now that Vladimir the Grate has lost the strategic war against NATO inasmuch as Sweden and Finland are now members on Europe's 'threatening' northern shoulder, is to restore precisely the number of nukes that Ukraine gave up back when Clinton signed the(feel-good worthless) promise along with NATO members. With the MIT study stating that civilzation will end around 2040, four fuses are presently lit: Russia in Ukraine; China antagonizing Taiwan and the China Sea nations; N. Korea rattling its nuclear sabre against S.Korea-and actually altering it constitution to do so; and Iran's current aid to the Houthi's in Yemen, Hamas in Gaza, and Hezbolla in Lebanon... Like the triggering Archduke Ferdinand's assassination in 1914, which fuse will trigger armageddon is an interesting conjecture: they don't call it Big Bang Theory fer nuthin...and we started this mess in 1945 with "fatman" and "little boy" Thanks Harry (Tuman) and the Gratest generation??!!

[Rockstar]

Originally Posted by Skybird

Somehow we just dont get it right.


An influential global body has forecast Russia's economy will grow faster than all of the world's advanced economies, including the US, this year.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects Russia to grow 3.2% this year, significantly more than the UK, France and Germany.


https://www.bbc.com/news/business-68823399

Initially I was taken aback when the U.S. position was not in favor of Ukraine hitting Russian oil refineries. Especially since we stopped importing it over a year, I thought it was most likely a case of plausible deniability.

But I might have been wrong as it seems any increase in global energy prices benefits Russia. This article also goes an little into why Russia’s REAL GDP growth numbers may not be all what they say it is.

https://carnegieendowment.org/2024/0...lity-pub-92174

[Jimbuna]

I wouldn't have thought Putin will be losing any sleep as long as he can keep the truth from the Russian people.

Russia's meat grinder soldiers - 50,000 confirmed dead

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-68819853

[Dargo]

Nobody can really know what the economy of Russia doing, it does not give the figures any more and lie about their figures. No European country can on his own fight this kinda war and keep up their economy, that is why we give them economic support, it is a critical part of the war to keep Ukraine alive. The same was with the UK and the USSR in WW2 without economical and military support Hitler could never be defeated, Churchill and Stalin both begged for economical and military support. That is only what Ukraine ask for, give us the means so that we Ukraine can win this so that you western countries do not need to send troops.

Originally Posted by Jimbuna

I wouldn't have thought Putin will be losing any sleep as long as he can keep the truth from the Russian people.

Putin and his gang do not get this information, they are only told that all is going according to the plan. It is more important to be loyal to Putin than tell him the truth, for Putin this is the deal that is why he is surrounded by this type of people as every dictator deserves. These 50,000 are only what they could confirm there are a lot that are not included because we can not count the ones still rotting in the fields and that with shortages in ammo still in the beginning of the year tells this year will be bloody for Russia. All for a couple kilometres of wastes land and rubble that can not be used in the decades to come.

Let's hope I know..., but it is all Ukraine has on the moment. U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson said he is moving forward with his plan to hold a vote on a series of foreign aid bills for Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan despite pressure from Republican hardliners, CNN reported on April 17. Johnson told U.S. lawmakers that the vote will be held in the evening of April 20. https://kyivindependent.com/johnson-...e-on-april-20/

Ukraine's forces to receive 2,000 Ukrainian-made short-range electronic warfare systems

Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister for Innovation and Minister of Digital Transformation, has announced that 2,000 items of Ukrainian-made short-range electronic warfare equipment developed by Brave1 cluster companies will be deployed to the battlefield. "Short-range electronic warfare, particularly for trench warfare, protects soldiers and their locations, armoured vehicles, and evacuation cars. It disables Russian FPV drones, scavenger drones and reconnaissance drones. That means tens of thousands of lives and pieces of equipment saved."

According to Fedorov, there was no development of short-range electronic warfare in Ukraine before the full-scale invasion. Thanks to Brave1's systematic work, the industry has begun to expand, and there are now hundreds of technological solutions available for purchase by the state. The digital transformation minister added that he would continue to sign new contracts. "Our strategic goal is to ensure that every unit and every piece of equipment that needs EW protection gets it. And Brave1's objective remains to discover and support developers working to boost the military technologically." https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2024/04/17/7451663/

NATO allies are allowed to violate the NATO lower limit for, among other things, ammunition stock to support Ukraine, says Stoltenberg.

“The decision is up to the countries themselves.” This was the commitment of the Netherlands and Denmark today. Pressure is rapidly mounting on Dutch Defence to deliver one of its four Patriot systems (the Netherlands already gave two Patriot systems) to Ukraine. Prime Minister Rutte said Tuesday in a debate that NATO requirements stand in the way of such a delivery, but NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg gave short shrift to this argument Wednesday in Brussels. After speaking with three smaller countries at the forefront of military support to Ukraine (Denmark, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic), Stoltenberg sent a clear message. 'The situation on the battlefield remains extremely difficult. Ukraine needs more help. If allies have to make a choice between meeting NATO goals in terms of military capability and giving support to Ukraine, my message is clear: send more aid to Ukraine.' Stoltenberg cited as a shining example, Denmark, which has given all its artillery to Ukraine and ordered new artillery for itself. 'If bypassing the national targets set by NATO is the only way to deliver aid to Ukraine, then that is the right thing to do.' He added that this also underscores the importance of increasing production of critical weapons systems to replenish national stockpiles.

[Rockstar]

Lenin Revised — Russian Military Power Means De-Electrification And Unconditional Surrender Of The Kiev Regime
Posted on April 16, 2024 by Yves Smith

https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2024...ev-regime.html

Yves here. We were among those to point out, relatively early, that Russia would dictate terms when the Ukraine war ended. But John Helmer was first to recognize that de-electrification was the leverage point in this campaign. Turning out the lights, as much as they will need to be, is looking to be the mechanism to force Ukraine’s capitulation.

It was a relatively bright day, November 21, 1920, when Vladimir Lenin, having won the civil war and driven off the American, British, French, Canadian, and Australian invasion forces, announced: “Communism is Soviet power plus the electrification of the whole country, since industry cannot be developed without electrification.”

Come November 2024 it will be a century and four years to count what Lenin meant, and how Russia is proving itself against everything which the military industries, special forces, weapons, intelligence so-called, operations, and plans of the old invasion coalition, plus Germany, can throw at it. So on November 21, 2024, it will be time to revise Lenin’s maxim to read: Russia is military power plus the de-electrification of the countries which attack it.

This is electric war.

To make the war aim unambiguously clear, President Vladimir Putin ordered his ambassador to the United Nations (UN), Vasily Nebenzya (lead image, left), to read out a paper at his desk in the UN Security Council chamber on April 11: “very soon, the only topic for international meetings in Ukraine will be the unconditional surrender of the Kiev regime.”

Note what the terms “unconditional surrender of the Kiev regime” mean: total military defeat of the Ukrainian, American, British, French, Polish, and other forces on the Ukrainian territory and in the air surrounding; surrender of the municipal administrations of the east-bank cities, including Kharkov, Dniepropetrovsk, and Odessa; disarmament and demilitarization of the territory between Kiev and the Polish border; exit of every member of the regime, starting with Vladimir Zelensky.

This is an ultimatum without alternatives for either Moscow or Kiev. In electric war, are there any alternatives?

Nebenzya was making his announcement on the evening of Thursday, April 11, Kiev time. In the time it took for his text to be drafted, edited by the Foreign Ministry, authorized at the Kremlin, and Nebenzya given the go-ahead, it had been only a few hours after the lights of Kiev went out when the Tripolskaya power station was destroyed by a new Russian missile, the X-69 (lead image, right).

THE GEOGRAPHY OF TARGETING IN THE ELECTRIC WAR TO DATE


Click to enlarge key and identify locations: https://t.me/rezervsvo/53515
The strike against the Tripolskaya plant was carried out by X-69 missiles fired by Su-34 or Su-35 aircraft flying at a range of up to 400 kilometres from the targets. The aircraft were in Russian airspace, out of range of Ukrainian Patriot and other air defence batteries; the missiles, however, penetrated the air defence screen around Kiev and could not be intercepted. Source: https://t.me/s/Slavyangrad


Source: https://www.ft.com/
Note the single, tiny yellow blip southwest of Donetsk which the Anglo-American mapmaker calls “Ukrainian claimed counteroffensive”.


As of April 10, 2024: Source: https://t.me/sputniklive/78749


Boris Rozhin, whose Colonel Cassad military blog broadly represents General Staff thinking, reports the operational breakthrough demonstrated on April 11, and explains what the maps of current targeting foreshadow for the next round of strikes, and the rounds after that. Rozhin republishes his analysis from RT, the state media organ.

“By the evening of April 11, Ukrainian sources reported that air-launched X-69 missiles could be used to hit the Tripolskaya TPP [Thermal Power Plant]. So far, there is no confirmation of this information, but it is worth studying these missiles in more detail. Their range is almost 20 times less than that of the X-101 missiles [equivalent to about 250-500 kilometres], the carriers of which are strategic aircraft of the Aerospace Forces [Tu-95]. In their [X-69] function, they are closer to the foreign [Anglo-French] Storm Shadow/SCALP missiles, which are being attempted for strikes on the Crimean Bridge. The [X-69’s] long range of the 300 km could be enough if the launches of missiles were carried out from the territory of the Bryansk region. If the use of missiles is confirmed in the future, it will mean that no energy facility of the Ukraine on the Dnieper River can work safely, and the strike capabilities of the Aerospace Forces have multiplied.” https://t.me/rt_russian/197065

“Several factors have led to the weakening of the air defence in Ukraine, among which in the first place is the disproportionately high consumption of expensive anti-[aircraft] missiles SAMP-T, and Patriot, as well as daily losses of the foreign air defence systems near the front line. They have been deployed there to prevent Russian aircraft, or at least reduce their activity, but as a consequence, the foreign air defence systems themselves have become the target. And so the circle is closed — medium-range air defence systems cannot be placed on energy facilities now due to the risk of destruction; in the event they are destroyed, the West is in no hurry to replace the launchers and radars. As a result, the key energy facilities remain unprotected; it becomes easier to hit them; and for combined strikes it is no longer necessary to use [Russian] strategic aviation, as it was at the beginning of the SVO or throughout the past year. These circumstances allow the Russian Defense Ministry to reduce the consumption of long-range X-101 missiles, and open up for the General Staff the opportunity to expand the operational horizon in striking, and consider the following global steps, for which long-range means of destruction will be required.”

“What goals can be affected after Tripolskaya? If you compare the range of the X-69 missiles with the location of energy facilities on the Dnieper, you can find that due to the shortage of air defences, the presence of cheap cruise missiles, and the large number of combatants from the Russian side, you can organize a massive strike on any target in the central part of Ukraine. It is noteworthy that a significant part of the TPP [thermal power plant], CHP [combined heat and power plant], and HPPs [hydroelectric power plant] on the Dnieper have already been attacked once or several times. But with the use of the X-69, the cost of which is several times less than X-101/X-555, the destruction of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure can reach a fundamentally new level.”

“At the same time, the cumulative effect of the blows continues to shake the Ukrainian energy network: the sudden loss of 1.8 GW of generation against the background of the destruction of the Tripolskaya thermal power plant and the general shortage of electricity is a serious and unsolved problem for the foreseeable future. There are not so many partially functioning and as yet not fully destroyed targets; three of them – Zmievskaya, Pridneprovskaya, and Kryvorizhska [Krivoy Rog] are now within reach of the X-69 missiles. For the final destruction of similar facilities in the west of Ukraine (Burshtyn and Dobrotrytskaya TPP) a combined missile strike with the use of long-range X-101 can be carried out.”

For a guide to the measurement units of electricity generation and consumption, click to read.

MAP OF LOCATIONS OF UKRAINE POWER GENERATING PLANTS BY TYPE


Source: https://en.wikipedia.org

“Given the fact that the Thermal Power Plants (TPP), as well as the hydropower plants [HPP], in the Ukraine play an important role in the system and have played the role of the energy balancer, their destruction will lead to the fact that there will be no stable electricity in the electricity system of the eastern and central part of the Ukraine. And without that it is impossible not only for industry to function, but also any normal life, not to mention serious military capabilities.”

The Ukraine has published electricity capacity levels before the war reaching their peak on January 25, 2022 — according to Ukrenergo figures, reported by the International Energy Agency (IEA) — of 21.13GW. Ukrainian demand on that day was 21.91GW.

Ukrenergo figures were last published for October 27, 2022, when the first phase of the electric war was under way. Generation amounted to 10.71GW; demand to 10.77GW. The estimated capacity which survived at the end of last month, after the electric war had resumed, was estimated in Colonel Cassad reporting on March 30 at 7.8GW.

Imports of electricity from the surrounding EU states were peaking last month, on March 26, at 18,649 MW per hour, or about 779.2MW of EU generating capacity; that is just over 10% of domestic generation. The figure is considerable for a single day and expensive, whether Kiev or the Europeans pay. For how long the Ukraine and its EU neighbours can agree to keep up the rate or expand it, is unknown. The line capacity from the EU networks was at 1.7GW by late last year. On paper, that looks like double last month’s peak. Russian attacks on the transmission grid inside Ukraine are likely to reduce that.

At best, on paper, the current generating capacity of solar energy plants is about 5GW; wind power, 1.3GW. In fact, according to the last report of the International Energy Agency (IEA) of electricity generation by source, dated February 25, 2022, the solar plants were producing just 0.10GW, wind plants, 0.04GW. The IEA data came from Ukrenergo, the Kiev state utility. Most of the Ukraine’s renewable energy sources are in the southeast of country, behind or just forward of the front.

CHART OF UKRAINE ELECTRICITY GENERATION BY SOURCE TO FEBRUARY 25, 2022


Click to enlarge view. In the IEA’s last public record on February 25, 2022, Ukrainian nuclear plants were producing 8.42GW, coal 3.82GW, hydro 1.28GW, natural gas 0.47GW, solar 0.10GW, and wind 0.04, totaling 14.13GW. For Rozhin’s analysis of how much of this capacity remained before last week’s round of strikes, read this, Rozhin’s estimate of the surviving balance on April 1 was 7.8GW. Based in Paris, the IEA is a propaganda agency for the Kiev regime; Russia is excluded from membership or association. “The IEA is partnering with Ukraine as it bolsters its energy security”, the international agency says on its website at the moment. “The International Energy Agency (IEA), which has deepened its relationship with Ukraine since Russia’s invasion, is stepping up to provide support…The IEA and many of our member countries are working closely with Ukraine to help the country’s energy system recover from Russia’s attacks.” The agency has been concealing the loss of Ukrainian electricity capacity since February 2022.

In remarks this month to the Financial Times of Tokyo and London, Ukrainian energy officials claim they have three alternatives – repair the damage, bringing the system back to normal demand levels; add alternative power sources such as imported electricity from Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Moldova, Romania, and the Baltic states or local renewables, such as solar and wind generation; or defend the electricity system with more Patriot missile systems.

“Our goal,” according to Maxim Timchenko, chief executive of DTEK — the dominant Ukrainian power company which is owned by Rinat Akhmetov, “is to restore as much as we can by October… Subject to no further attacks, at least 50 per cent of damaged power units will be reconnected to the grid.” Had it not been for the warm weather, energy imports from the EU, and an increase in renewable energy generation, the current situation would be much worse, Timchenko added.

The Russians “are trying to cut off large industrial regions and cities from the power supply,” a spokesman for Ukrenergo, the state-owned grid system operator, told the newspaper. “Smaller substations — managed by Ukrenergo — can be shielded from attacks with protective structures. But it is very difficult, if not impossible to cover the large power plants, which take several months or even years to restore.”

In a separate report, the FT claimed after the Tripolskaya attack that the plant had been “protected by air defences.” Whether these were Patriot missiles or something else, the newspaper omitted to acknowledge that they had been defeated.

It then quoted Ilya Yevlash, Ukraine Air Force’s brand-new spokesman, as saying that “only the Patriot system was capable of shooting down Russia’s hypersonic Kinzhal and Zircon missiles. Obviously we need more, which may help us to protect our critical infrastructure and cities.” The newspaper didn’t ask — Yevlash didn’t say –why the NATO-Ukrainian crews manning the Patriot batteries have been unable to defend either their missile batteries or themselves from hypersonic Kinzhal strikes or the subsonic X-69s.

Other Russian military bloggers are reporting new strikes in the west against thermal power plants (TPP) at Dobrotvir, Lvov region, and Burshtyn, Ivano-Frankivsk region, as well as the vast underground gas storage in Lvov known as Bilche-Volitzko-Ugerskoye.

Alexei Slovtsov has summed up the current situation in the military blog Slavyangrad: “The enemy’s ability to manoeuvre [redistribute and balance] the load has practically disappeared. The base load is carried by the nuclear power plants, and all fluctuations in the schedule can now be covered only by imports from outside. And that is limited by the network bandwidth and power on the other side. The ability to control frequency in the power system will be greatly reduced. The east of Ukraine is now stuck in dependence on several lines of 330 kV and below. There, literally, the last click is needed for everything to go out from the Dnieper to Kharkov. If the 750 kV network is killed, the system will break up into three isolated nodes around the nuclear power plants.” Source: April 12, 01:21.

MAP OF UKRAINIAN TRANSMISSION LINE TARGETS


This targeting map was drawn by military sources for this publication on April 1. It is not yet a map of new Russian strikes.

According to a NATO veteran and expert in applying electrical engineering to war, there is no prospect that the regime in Kiev can fill the power hole being created by the Russian operations. “Renewables [solar, wind] are not even remotely close to filling the gap. They’re a scam, especially in the Ukrainian case. Taking generation out of the equation, if the Russians continue striking transmission and distribution infrastructure, as well as production, transportation and storage facilities, the inevitable conclusion is the collapse of the Ukrainian electricity grid. This means the collapse of Ukrainian society. As we watch the electric war unfold, I get the impression that pushing [Ukrainian] people west of the Dnieper is the [Russian] goal of the current phase of the electric war – so call this Phase 2.”

The source said the bordering NATO states lack the capacity to increase their electricity supplies to the Ukraine, even with the addition of newly announced power sources in the Baltic states. This European industry publication has reported that in 2023 Ukrainian imports from the European Union (EU) had doubled from 2021 to 935 million kWh.

How much more EU sources can provide is uncertain. Ukrainian sources told the Financial Times last week that “in the aftermath of the March strikes, imports from the EU reached a record 18,700MWh, the equivalent generated by two power plants. In the months after Russia’s full-scale invasion of 2022, Ukraine connected its grid to neighbouring EU countries Romania, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland.”

The International Energy Agency (IEA), which publishes what it calls “real-time data on electricity demand and generation in Ukraine”, stopped reporting the demand and generation data after February 2022. The US propaganda source, Atlantic Council, is currently claiming that “Ukraine expands EU energy exports in fresh display of wartime resilience”; In fact, Ukrainian electricity exports have stopped, and imports from the EU may already be greater than the Atlantic Council estimated in March to be 1700MW (1.7GW).

Last month, the western press was repeating Kiev’s claims. “In its latest update on energy security in Ukraine, the country’s Energy Ministry said Sunday [March 17] the power supply system remained ‘balanced’ despite technical disruptions and shelling. ‘No shortage of electricity is expected’, it said in a press release on its website. ‘For the current day, electricity imports are expected to reach 3,900 MWh, while exports are also expected to reach 2,000 MWh’ it added. On March 5, 2024, the ministry, which oversees Ukrenegro, said Ukraine achieved an electricity surplus which was exported to Poland in the amount of 246 mWh.”

In the four weeks since then the Russian General Staff have despatched Kinzhal and X-69 to contradict the claims.

The NATO electrical engineer adds: “I don’t believe the transmission lines between the Ukraine and the EU have the capacity for the compensating increase required to fill the gap.”

Oleg Tsarev is an influential Ukrainian political figure and potential Russian candidate to take the presidency in Kiev; he was the target of Ukrainian assassination last October. He now lives and works in Crimea. Here is his Telegram piece of April 7, analyzing the new phase in the electric war: “What has happened? Why have our operations become more striking? Partly this is due to the fact that the Russian Aerospace Forces have pretty much blasted the Ukrainian air defense systems. Since the summer of 2022, the losses of such AFU [Armed Forces of the Ukraine] systems have sharply decreased due to the integration of air defence with Western intelligence systems. Our people looked closely at the western air defence systems, analyzed their work, and looked for vulnerabilities. And so it went on for a long time: for the whole of 2023, according to the official reports of our Ministry of Defense, only 46 anti-aircraft missile systems (SAMs) of Ukraine were hit. And in three months of this year, 52 have already been counted.”

“Our military has studied how Western systems work, how to bypass or hit them. We have improved the quality of the intelligence. The defeats of the SAM on the combat front and in the rear are vivid examples of this. Plus a combination of Geranium drone strikes and rocket launches is used. This is confirmed by the statistics of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in their analysis of combined air strikes and UAVs: if at the beginning of 2023, our [Russian] strikes averaged about 22 per day, then in the middle and end of the year, there were over 50; in February 2024 this number jumped abruptly to 84 per day, and in March the rate continued. Our missiles and drones have really increased. There are fewer enemy air defences.”

“The most important thing is, apparently, that after the attacks on our refineries and on Belgorod, decisions were made to use our capabilities to the fullest. Last year, they [Russia] tried not to hit production facilities, and even blows to large transformers in network nodes were inflicted reluctantly. Today, our weapons are hitting the engine rooms of power plants and any associated military targets. Important political decisions have been made, and all these strikes are just the tip of the iceberg.”

NOTE: The impact of the Tripolskaya, Dobrotvir, and Burshtyn strikes has not yet materialized in a surge of Ukrainians heading out of the blackout and into Poland. These are the latest outward and inward figures issued by the Polish Border Guard:

UKRAINIAN POPULATION MOVEMENT ACROSS THE POLISH BORDER THIS MONTH


As of compilation of these data on April 14, the Polish Border Guard (Straż Graniczna) was lagging in its public reports by three days; in the first year of the war it published these data every day.

[mapuc]

Markus

[Jimbuna]

Denmark allocates 295 million euros in aid to Ukraine

The Danish government has decided to allocate 200 million Danish kroner for investments in the Ukrainian defense industry, according to the Danish Ministry of Defense.

In addition, funds have been allocated for the creation of significant maritime capabilities, drones, and the production of missile components. A total of about 2.2 billion Danish kroner (295 million euros) was allocated.

"In March, I visited a number of Ukrainian defense companies in Kyiv, and it became clear that there is great potential for future cooperation that can provide Ukraine with much-needed equipment that will help change the situation on the battlefield," says Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen.

The Minister emphasizes that direct investment in the Ukrainian defense industry is a new initiative that can inspire other countries to do the same so that Ukraine can produce more military equipment itself.
In total, Denmark has already announced military support for Ukraine worth almost 41.4 billion Danish kroner (5.9 billion euros).

Denmark's assistance to Ukraine

In February 2024, Denmark not only announced assistance to Ukraine but also donated all of its artillery to Ukraine. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called on Western partners to follow Copenhagen's example by sending Ukraine weapons, ammunition, and air defense systems that are not used in their arsenals.

Going beyond words, in March, Denmark allocated an additional $330 million in military aid to Ukraine. This package included, among other things, Caesar self-propelled artillery systems.

Thus, Denmark has become one of the leaders in providing military support to Ukraine, not only by providing weapons but also by calling on others to do the same.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world...c7344a87&ei=19

[Jimbuna]

NATO is working to make sure Trump won't be a problem for Ukraine

Donald Trump's public rhetoric has been extremely critical of NATO ever since his first term and recent comments have worried some of the alliance's members. But plans are being put in place to make sure the former president doesn't become a problem for Ukraine if he's reelected in November
NATO is working on a five-year plan to secure a $100 billion dollar aid package that will be managed by the defensive alliance in an effort to protect Ukraine from the possibility of Trump taking office and cutting Kyiv’s assistance.
Known as the Mission for Ukraine, the plan was put forward by General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg and would see NATO’s thirty-two member states commit the money, which would be coordinated by the alliance according to The Telegraph.
“If approved, it would also give the alliance control of the US-led Ramstein weapons support group and see it manage the supply of lethal weapons to Ukraine for the first time since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022,” explained The Telegraph’s Henry Foy.
Stoltenberg pitched the new plan as a way to “shield the mechanism against the winds of political change” according to unnamed sources briefed on the plan and the alliance decided to move forward with it after talks on April 3rd.
NATO member state foreign ministers met in Brussels as part of two days of meetings that saw the alliance celebrate its 75th anniversary and begin preparing for the group's upcoming Washington Summit that will take place in July 2024.
Ministers discussed the possibility of preparing the $100 billion dollar aid plan that was proposed by Stoltenberg and agreed to move forward with the proposal that would put NATO in more control of aid to Ukraine, Stoltenberg said.
NATO would not only control the purse strings to a large amount of money and weapons but it would also take a primary role in coordinating security assistance and training for Ukraine as well as providing the support Kyiv needed for the long term.
“The Ukrainians are not running out of courage, they are running out of ammunition,” Stoltenberg said after the meeting according to a press release. “We discussed how to put our support on a firmer and more enduring basis for the future.”
Stoltenberg added that the details of the plan would take shape over the coming weeks and noted: “Ukraine can rely on NATO support now, and for a long haul." But why would such a plan be needed and what is the alliance worried about?
As some sources suggested, there likely is a real fear among the alliance’s members that Trump could be swept back into office in 2024 and then enact policies that would put the future of Ukraine at risk by withholding security assistance.
However, one unnamed European official also told Newsweek that the reality of the war in Ukraine and the brutal nature of the fighting raised “alarm bells” for member states more than the prospect of a resurgent Donald Trump in the White House.
“This happened before Trump 2.0 actually became a viable future," the official said. "I would rather say that a potential new Trump term is speeding up that process and stressing the importance of Europe's own defence capabilities."
Regardless of why NATO is making a move to take on a greater role in Russia’s war against Ukraine, it's still a serious step for the alliance that will put it at even greater odds with Moscow and could change the nature of the alliance.
“This will be crossing a Rubicon. Nato will have a role in coordinating lethal support to Ukraine,” one diplomat said according to The Telegraph. “I see consensus emerging and I think it will be there by the time we get on the plane to Washington.”
If the Mission for Ukraine were to move forward it would need the support of all NATO member states, which could be a problem. Negotiations will likely take place over the coming months and two diplomats warned the final program may be scaled back.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/cars/news/...&ei=28#image=1

[Dargo]

Slovak citizens raise $1.6 million for Czech ammunition initiative after government refuses to contribute

Slovak citizens have raised over $1.6 million in three days for the Czech ammunition initiative after Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico refused to contribute to the campaign to aid Ukraine. The initiative was founded in February when Czech President Petr Pavel said that Prague had identified 500,000 155 mm shells and 300,000 122 mm shells outside of Europe that could be bought and sent to Ukraine if provided with the necessary funding. Ukrainian forces are facing a critical ammunition shortage, with Russia currently firing shells at a ratio of around 10:1, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky on April 16.

Since then, a number of countries, including Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Canada, Poland, France, Denmark, and Slovenia, have contributed funds to the initiative. The organizers of the Slovak fundraising campaign said that they "refuse to accept" that their government did not join the initiative. "Let's show that it's not just them who decide. We are convinced that the attitude of the government does not represent the majority of citizens. We are sure that we, the inhabitants of Slovakia, want and know how to help," the fundraising campaign's website says. Over 23,000 people have donated to the campaign so far, one of whom is former foreign minister Ivan Korcok, who lost to Fico's ally Peter Pellegrini in Slovakia's presidential election on April 6.

"Supporting Ukraine is not prolonging the war, it is supporting the existence of a neighbor," Korcok wrote on Facebook, describing it as "sad" that the current government does not offer more support to Kyiv. Environment Minister Tomas Taraba reportely responded with hostility when journalists asked him whether he would contribute to the fundraising campaign. The minister said the reporters should "go to Ukraine" and take up arms themselves or sell their property and contribute to the fundraiser, according to the news outlet Euractiv. Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala reported on April 15 that the first 180,000 ammunition rounds for Ukraine have already been contracted as part of the initiative and will be sent to the front line in the coming months. https://kyivindependent.com/slovak-c...on-initiative/

This month, the Ukrainian defense industry is to produce 10 Bohdana self-propelled howitzers, with more to come

This month, the Ukrainian defense industry is producing 10 Bohdana self-propelled howitzers for the first time, with more to come in May and beyond. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky announced this. “The share of our own production is constantly growing. The state enters into serious, long-term contracts with our enterprises, which provide predictability, the ability to recruit people and attract investment. This month, our industry will produce 10 Bogdana howitzers for the first time, and in May and beyond, even more,” the President shared.

At the beginning of April, Militarnyi reported that the Ukrainian arms industry is building eight Bohdana self-propelled howitzers each month... https://mil.in.ua/en/news/this-month...-more-to-come/

Not only Netherlands wants to buy Patriot for Ukraine

Several countries are ready to buy a Patriot battery from any country in the world that agrees to sell it, and for the price it offers, states the Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba. "I will reveal a small diplomatic secret: The Netherlands is not the only country that is ready to buy a Patriot battery from any country in the world right now for the price they will name," Kuleba emphasized. The minister stressed that the Netherlands' public declaration of readiness to purchase the Patriot battery is an important moment. However, according to Kuleba, equally important is NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg's statement that there is no need to hide behind NATO standards.

"In fact, when some NATO countries tell us that they cannot deliver a battery because they will not meet the NATO standard for the number of available batteries, and the Secretary-General tells them, do not hide behind this, but give what Ukraine needs because this is the main thing now," the Minister emphasized. As we reported earlier, Stoltenberg said that when it comes to choosing between fulfilling NATO's goals and helping Ukraine, his message is clear. https://newsukraine.rbc.ua/news/not-...713464251.html

Ukraine has a new drone with a range of 3,000 km. It can fly to Siberia

Since President Volodymyr Zelenskyy prioritised the technology, Ukraine has invested hundreds of millions of dollars into long-range drones, capable of searching out and striking distant targets. Half a dozen firms now make them. The best of the new models has a range of 3,000km, able to reach Siberia. Born out of necessity—the West has been reluctant to provide Ukraine with long-range weapons—the programme has disrupted much of Russia’s oil and military infrastructure. But the White House is not happy. It is pushing the Ukrainians to stop the strikes... https://www.economist.com/europe/202...-inside-russia

[mapuc]

There are truly positive things when it comes to Ukraine effort to fight the Russians.

However it doesn't look that good at the frontline for the moment. I hope the supply from USA will come through the H.R. this weekend and that these F16 will arrive very soon-Will they make a change in the warfare ?

Markus

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Originally Posted by mapuc

There are truly positive things when it comes to Ukraine effort to fight the Russians.

However it doesn't look that good at the frontline for the moment. I hope the supply from USA will come through the H.R. this weekend and that these F16 will arrive very soon-Will they make a change in the warfare ?

Markus

The frontline does not change much, and Russia losses are very high to advance on the moment nothing has really change much then a year ago. Ukraine fights with the handbrake on (saving ammo, material) what the press writes is based on the fog of war wars are unpredictable, I take the press with a grain of salt. Russia is still crawling meters in his own blood forwards no front has been broken, no strategic goal is fulfilled. F-16 will not change the war, it will help to keep the Russian air force further away because of its longer radar range and with its missiles (that I do not know what they equip them with) F-16 will help there is no game changer in this war but combined with other equipment it will help Ukraine.

[mapuc]

Markus