He's also not going to specify when and where they will launch the offensive. Or give away how much reserves they have built up for the offensive.
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Russia/Ukraine conflict
- Thread starter amolina
- Start date
petit_bateau
Active Member
One way to avoid trial
Getting to be quite a useful force, potentially
And these, which are likely the UK ones
Good reasons to retake everything
Getting to be quite a useful force, potentially
And these, which are likely the UK ones
Good reasons to retake everything
petit_bateau
Active Member
This has peripheral relevance to Russia-Ukraine. Essentially Iraq is now better placed to control the Kurds' money. That in turn means Turkey can better cut meaningful deals with Iraq. That in turn makes Turkey less dependent on playing nice with Russia over Syria. It really would be nice if we could have a world where Russia wasn't always meddling to prop up bad regimes, and weaken good regimes.
/cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com/reuters/BTGDHZAJUBJ7JBNGGMUWDOL7NE.jpg)
www.reuters.com
Iraq halts northern crude exports after winning arbitration case against Turkey
Iraq halted crude exports from the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region and northern Kirkuk fields on Saturday, an oil official told Reuters, after the country won a longstanding arbitration case against Turkey.
www.reuters.com
petit_bateau
Active Member
18 Leopard 2 from Germany arrived in Ukraine on Mo-27-Mar-2023
www.focus.de
UK numbers are still somewhat ambiguous. This article from today says : 14 Challenger 2 plus 20 Bulldog armoured troop carriers and 30 AS-90 self-propelled artillery guns, which was also the same as the initial announcement. However there were some other subsequent reports a couple months ago that indicated about 30 Challenger 2. Given that we are seeing the AS-90 in transit through central Europe I wonder if there are two tranches envisaged.
www.theguardian.com
It is starting to warm up significantly in Ukraine. Still mud season, but drying out will begin.
In nächtlicher Operation zerstört Ukraine sechs russische Militärflieger
Ein ukrainischer Schlag gegen Putins Luftwaffe war wohl viel verheerender als bisher bekannt. Der russische Angriffskrieg auf die Ukraine betrifft immer wieder auch russische Grenzregionen. In der Nacht zum Freitag kam es erneut zu einem ukrainischen Angriff auf Militärinfrastruktur in dem Gebiet.
www.focus.de
UK numbers are still somewhat ambiguous. This article from today says : 14 Challenger 2 plus 20 Bulldog armoured troop carriers and 30 AS-90 self-propelled artillery guns, which was also the same as the initial announcement. However there were some other subsequent reports a couple months ago that indicated about 30 Challenger 2. Given that we are seeing the AS-90 in transit through central Europe I wonder if there are two tranches envisaged.
Ukrainian troops return home after Challenger 2 tank training in UK
Crews spent several weeks learning how to operate tanks expected to be used in a Ukraine counteroffensive
www.theguardian.com
It is starting to warm up significantly in Ukraine. Still mud season, but drying out will begin.
Hungary down, almost there. Turkey, the last remaining holdout, previously said it will ratify Finland’s bid by mid-May.
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@SwedishAdvocate, thoughts on Finland moving ahead first instead of trying to hold out longer against Turkey/Hungary to cross the finish line together with Sweden as a package deal?
SwedishAdvocate
Active Member
Finland is geographically much more exposed to the Dictator's Russia compared to what Sweden is. They also have another history with Russia/USSR compared to what Sweden has. So I personally completely understand the Finns. And as I understand it Sweden has received bilateral security guarantees from all the major powers within Nato including the US, UK, France and Germany, as well as from other Nato countries. Nato's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has also publicly stated that Nato would respond if Sweden were to be attacked. The best scenario would of course be if Sweden could join togheter with Finland. But since the political situation is what it is in Turkey and Hungary we will seemingly have to wait.
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The story about the planned genocide confirms what Wind of Change (the FSB leaker) was saying a year ago
The more we see of what Russia had planned, the more it looks like Nazi Germany's war on the USSR. Russia is playing the game of all dictators and wanna be dictators: accuse the other guy of doing what you are doing. The people actually behaving like Nazis in this scenario are in Moscow.
18 Leopard 2 from Germany arrived in Ukraine on Mo-27-Mar-2023
In nächtlicher Operation zerstört Ukraine sechs russische Militärflieger
Ein ukrainischer Schlag gegen Putins Luftwaffe war wohl viel verheerender als bisher bekannt. Der russische Angriffskrieg auf die Ukraine betrifft immer wieder auch russische Grenzregionen. In der Nacht zum Freitag kam es erneut zu einem ukrainischen Angriff auf Militärinfrastruktur in dem Gebiet.
UK numbers are still somewhat ambiguous. This article from today says : 14 Challenger 2 plus 20 Bulldog armoured troop carriers and 30 AS-90 self-propelled artillery guns, which was also the same as the initial announcement. However there were some other subsequent reports a couple months ago that indicated about 30 Challenger 2. Given that we are seeing the AS-90 in transit through central Europe I wonder if there are two tranches envisaged.
Ukrainian troops return home after Challenger 2 tank training in UK
Crews spent several weeks learning how to operate tanks expected to be used in a Ukraine counteroffensive
It is starting to warm up significantly in Ukraine. Still mud season, but drying out will begin.
View attachment 921837
The ground may be drying out faster than it normally does because with a warm winter, the ground never froze in many places and water was able to flow away rather than get locked in place to all melt at once. It's also been a dry spring. It rained this weekend, but the last rain of any significance before that was on March 17. They had more than a week of dry weather to allow the ground to dry out.
There have been several reports of Zelensky saying they don't have enough of the right equipment recently. Ukraine are very good at laying false trails and keeping the Russians off balance. They convinced everyone they were about to launch a big offensive near Kherson and then launched at Kharkhiv instead. All this talk may be part of the deception to convince the Russians the Ukrainians are in no shape for a full offensive?
Ukraine did issue a gag order on journalists asking them to keep quiet if they see any unusual Ukrainian activity. They have done that before launching other offensives.
In ground like this, with heavy equipment, you'll want to be several more weeks out. With most of the heavy artillery...even a few weeks more.
I can see lots of probes, lots of recon in force, feints, etc. Continued strikes deep into held territory with drones or loitering munitions or what have you. Shaping and diverting attentions.
I can see lots of probes, lots of recon in force, feints, etc. Continued strikes deep into held territory with drones or loitering munitions or what have you. Shaping and diverting attentions.
Zelensky, if anyone bothers to call out the tactical deception of continuing to say they need more for an offensive, can just explain he meant an offensive into Russian not merely an offensive to retake what is theirs.
More on mud season. if you've never had to put 40 tons of tracked equipment through mud than it is difficult to explain. Just know ..it can be horrible. Wheeled is worse. The best is tracked up boggied forestry equipment but it can't support the speeds required by combat. One could google up a Ponsse Bear or Elephant in mud to get an idea of what's bad but possible. For a tank...no way.
petit_bateau
Active Member
It seems the first full force package is there, inc Challenger 2
And Moldova is getting the benefit of a helpful exercise with UK - US - RO
kyivindependent.com
and here is a recent thread on ground conditions that is well worth a read - I've pulled out just two slides to pique interest
And Moldova is getting the benefit of a helpful exercise with UK - US - RO
Moldovan Defense Ministry announces joint military exercises with US, UK
The drills, set to take place on March 27-April 7, aim to help the personnel exchange experience and increase interoperability between participating contingents, Moldova’s Ministry of Defense reported.
kyivindependent.com
and here is a recent thread on ground conditions that is well worth a read - I've pulled out just two slides to pique interest
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JRP3
Hyperactive Member
Possible odd connection to the conflict, weapons manufacturer says TikTok is using so much electricity it's slowing down production.
www.yahoo.com
Weapons firm says it can't meet soaring demand for artillery shells because a TikTok data center is eating all the electricity
Morten Brandtzæg, the CEO of Nammo, told the Financial Times that the demand for artillery rounds was 15 times higher than normal.
Possible odd connection to the conflict, weapons manufacturer says TikTok is using so much electricity it's slowing down production.
Weapons firm says it can't meet soaring demand for artillery shells because a TikTok data center is eating all the electricity
Morten Brandtzæg, the CEO of Nammo, told the Financial Times that the demand for artillery rounds was 15 times higher than normal.
Maybe we should forcibly relocate all of TikTok's servers to Russia? I know why they put the server in Norway: cheap hydropower. Washington state has a lot of crypto currency miners for the same reason.
SwedishAdvocate
Active Member
"Russia increasingly launching guided air bombs - Air Force spox
28.03.2023 15:16As Russia’s tactical aviation is becoming more active in the front line zones and the enemy is using guided aerial bombs more often, Ukraine needs long-range air defense capabilities and modern multi-purpose warplanes. [My underline.]
That’s according to Yuriy Ihnat, the spokesperson for the Ukrainian Air Force, who spoke at the national telethon, Ukrinform reports.
"We see that the activity of tactical aviation has somewhat increased recently, and that the enemy is now using not only missiles that can fly at fairly long distances, but also guided aerial bombs in the frontline regions," the spokesman emphasized. [..."
Russia increasingly launching guided air bombs - Air Force spox
As Russia’s tactical aviation is becoming more active in the front line zones and the enemy is using guided aerial bombs more often, Ukraine needs long-range air defense capabilities and modern multi-purpose warplanes. â Ukrinform.
www.ukrinform.net
To clarify vocabulary:
liberal:
willing to respect or accept behavior or opinions different from one's own; open to new ideas.
relating to or denoting a political and social philosophy that promotes individual rights, civil liberties, democracy, and free enterprise.
Communism:
an economic ideology that advocates for a classless society in which all property and wealth are communally-owned, instead of by individuals.
To equate those two concepts is a serious misunderstanding of basic vocabulary. The former encourages discourse and debate. The latter inherently discourages any dissent. One only need include a couple fo other words, fascism and conservatism, to understand the danger of misusing these words. Sadly, all four of them are widely misused today.
In my opinion it s not a misuse to describe the current Russian government as fascist:
fascism
Reflecting on current affairs around the world it is not, in my opinion, incorrect to describe trends toward fascism as the largest threat against liberal democracy.
It is interesting to note that The Economist, a conservative publication, has been a defender of liberalism since it's inception. All of su should understand that conservatism can comfortably coexist with liberalism. That coexistence thrives unless someone successfully stifles dissent.
I apologize if this post seems pedantic. I do so because there is no societal threat greater than that which stifles dissent, most often beginning with demonizing clear vocabulary.
The easiest demonstration might be a 'novel' George Orwell's 1984. US 99 cents can show the perils of loose vocabulary.
SwedishAdvocate
Active Member
"Moscow Elite in a Panic Over Tape Blasting Putin as ‘Satan’
A leaked phone call lacerating Vladimir Putin and his inner circle of “cockroaches” has caused quite the stir in Moscow’s upper echelons.By: Noor Ibrahim
Updated Mar. 28, 2023 3:28AM ET / Published Mar. 27, 2023 10:22PM ETTwo prominent supporters of Vladimir Putin have been accused of calling the Russian president “Satan” and a “dwarf” in a leaked phone conversation that has erupted into a full-blown scandal.
The 35-minute phone call, shared by Ukraine’s Channel Five, allegedly features Russian oligarch and former senator Farkhad Akhmedov and prominent Moscow music producer Iosif Prigozhin delving into a profanity-laced tirade against Putin and his inner circle.
The Russian government has “****ed us, our children, their future, their destiny,” Akhmedov allegedly said in the leaked call, referring to the Kremlin’s handling of the war in Ukraine, according to Meduza. [..."
Moscow Elite in a Panic Over Tape Blasting Putin as ‘Satan’
A leaked phone call lacerating Vladimir Putin and his inner circle of “cockroaches” has caused quite the stir in Moscow’s upper echelons.
www.thedailybeast.com
For the near future they should avoid going above the entry level floor. Also not terribly bright speaking on the phone in a fascist dictatorship."Moscow Elite in a Panic Over Tape Blasting Putin as ‘Satan’
A leaked phone call lacerating Vladimir Putin and his inner circle of “cockroaches” has caused quite the stir in Moscow’s upper echelons.
By: Noor Ibrahim
Updated Mar. 28, 2023 3:28AM ET / Published Mar. 27, 2023 10:22PM ET
Two prominent supporters of Vladimir Putin have been accused of calling the Russian president “Satan” and a “dwarf” in a leaked phone conversation that has erupted into a full-blown scandal.
The 35-minute phone call, shared by Ukraine’s Channel Five, allegedly features Russian oligarch and former senator Farkhad Akhmedov and prominent Moscow music producer Iosif Prigozhin delving into a profanity-laced tirade against Putin and his inner circle.
The Russian government has “****ed us, our children, their future, their destiny,” Akhmedov allegedly said in the leaked call, referring to the Kremlin’s handling of the war in Ukraine, according to Meduza. [..."
Moscow Elite in a Panic Over Tape Blasting Putin as ‘Satan’
A leaked phone call lacerating Vladimir Putin and his inner circle of “cockroaches” has caused quite the stir in Moscow’s upper echelons.www.thedailybeast.com
BitJam
Active Member
You know, Lord, I got them defenestration blues ...
