Russia/Ukraine conflict

[iPlug]

Interesting vid about possible support of Ukraine from Israel due to Russia's support of Hamas.

The Israeli position on Russia is a curious thing. In my circle of friends, coworkers, and wife’s side of the family, have spoken to current and former Israelis about this.

They explained in the past, modern Israel has essentially been split between cultural sentiments and politics of the West (U.S.) and East (USSR/Russia) in part due to immigration from Russia and Soviet East Europe, some from the Russian sphere seeing Nazi Germany as the former greater enemy than Russia. This was despite Russia enabling many bad things to Jews like Pogroms and continued persecution throughout the late 20th century, described as being treated as second class citizens up to the point they left the USSR for Israel.

Yet with more recent discussions in this circle, it is clear with the Iran/Russia/China geopolitical alignment and peace deal with Saudi/Arabia seemingly being torn up with current event, that any sympathies towards Russia is at an all time low.

 

[wdolson]

Wouldn't interpret that as played MAGA and is Pro Ukraine funding. Just there will be no tying Israel funding with Ukraine funding. They will be separate.

But no guarantees that he will bring a Ukraine bill up for a vote.

As the saying goes: "talk is cheap."

 

[madodel]

So Mike Johnson played MAGA and is pro Ukraine funding after all??

https://twitter.com/x/status/1718682890257768504

Even though he voted against previously.

If he wanted to fund Ukraine he'd bring the Senate bill that funds both to a vote. These are just games that liars play.

 

[SmokyPeat]

Let's talk about rumor about Ukrainian aid.... [being sent to Palestine]

Apparently there was a bunch of (faux?) outrage sparked by faux rumors that American arms sent to Ukraine ended up in Palestine. Beau says this will become a self-fulfilling fantasy because Russian intelligence agents are now highly motivated to ship any US arms captured in Ukraine to Palestine in order fuel the anti-Ukraine outrage.

IMO the pro-Putin, pro-chaos faction in the US and the US government is pretty disgusting. Reminds me of the pro-Hitler movement in the US prior to our entry into WW-2.

I'm also reminded of the life-ruining outrage drummed up by Senator Joseph McCarthy where, oddly enough, I find some hope. An amazed television audience watched as Joseph Welch (a lawyer hired by the US Army) ended McCarthy's career with these words:

Until this moment, Senator, I think I never really gauged your cruelty or your recklessness. [...] Let us not assassinate this lad further, senator. You have done enough. Have you no sense of decency?​

​

The article goes on to say that McCarthy's popularity evaporated overnight. He was censured by his colleagues in the Senate, ostracized by his own party, and ignored by the press.

There is no guarantee but it's possible, every now and then, for the shrill, outraged part of the American public to wake up from their cruel, propaganda induced fantasies.

Even if the Russians were able to capture a significant amount of American arms from the Ukrainians, how exactly would they get them to Gaza? It just strikes me as a ridiculous proposition all around. And who would actually believe that they were supplied by Ukraine? The crazy fringe elements in the US don't require any "proof" of any sort to support their unhinged conspiracy theories, anyhow.

 

[MC3OZ]

Even if the Russians were able to capture a significant amount of American arms from the Ukrainians, how exactly would they get them to Gaza? It just strikes me as a ridiculous proposition all around. And who would actually believe that they were supplied by Ukraine? The crazy fringe elements in the US don't require any "proof" of any sort to support their unhinged conspiracy theories, anyhow.

If their espionage team couldn't ship the arms to Gaza they are fairly incompetent, they just need a shipping container to get to some location near enough.

If they can't get it into Gaza, they can pretend there was an attempt to smuggle it in via Egypt or some other nearby country..

Faking the packaging to make it look like it came from the US via Ukraine is the hard part. it just needs to be good enough to allow Russian lobbyists to make the claim. Evidence debunking their claim will simply be ignored.

Russia and those seeking to aid Russia are grasping at any straw they can, The real requirement is for citizens in the US and EU to call out those seeking to aid Russia, and lobby for Russia. IMO any US citizen lobbying for Russia is a traitor and a disgrace, and should be called out. I'm not suggesting legal, or even financial penalties, just a public questioning of their motives.

 

[BitJam]

Even if the Russians were able to capture a significant amount of American arms from the Ukrainians, how exactly would they get them to Gaza? It just strikes me as a ridiculous proposition all around. And who would actually believe that they were supplied by Ukraine? The crazy fringe elements in the US don't require any "proof" of any sort to support their unhinged conspiracy theories, anyhow.

As recent events have shown, arms have already been getting into Palestine and Lebanon. It's no secret that trade between Russia and Iran is already in full swing. Nor is it a secret that Iran is funding, training, and equipping Hamas and Hezbollah. So Hamas and Hezbollah can get US weapons captured in Ukraine the same way they get all their other weapons.

For example, it has been widely reported that:

Russia is providing 'unprecedented' military support to Iran in exchange for drones

Russia is providing 'unprecedented' military support to Iran in exchange for drones, officials say

“This partnership poses a threat not just to Ukraine, but to Iran’s neighbors in the region,” a senior administration official told NBC News.

www.nbcnews.com

Unless Russia is in full retreat mode, US arms will continued to get captured in Ukraine. A significant amount is not needed for a PR coup. The most convincing lies contain smidgens of truth.

The Speaker of the House (2nd in line to the presidency) recently claimed (falsely) that aid to Ukraine hasn't been properly accounted for, using this as an excuse to separate aid to Israel from aid to Ukraine in an attempt to curtail any further US aid to Ukraine. The Speaker of the House may well be part of the "crazy fringe" but if so then the crazy fringe has control of a significant part of the US government.

I wish you were right. I wish we lived in a world where this was ridiculous all around. Unfortunately, we live in a ridiculous and dangerous world where this kind of nonsense is all too real.

The point of the video wasn't "OMG, Russia is going to start capturing US arms!" The point is that breathless hyperventilation over fake news on social media has real world consequences. In this case by letting Russia know where they can get a lot of anti-Ukraine propaganda effect for very little effort.

Back in May, it appears Moscow staged photos of US vehicles purportedly used in a raid inside of Russia:

Moscow shares 'staged photos' of US vehicles used to attack Russian territory

Moscow shares ‘staged photos’ of US vehicles allegedly used to attack Russian territory

Analysis suggests the abandoned Humvees were winched into place, with US state department denying its weapons were used

www.telegraph.co.uk

If this had gotten significant traction in US social media then we would have seen a lot more of it. The Hamas/Israel conflict is a real hot button issue now with emotions running high in almost all directions. IMO it is utterly disgusting that some Americans who probably think of themselves as patriots are working overtime against US interests to help Russia exploit this tragedy as much as possible.

 

[SmokyPeat]

As recent events have shown, arms have already been getting into Palestine and Lebanon. It's no secret that trade between Russia and Iran is already in full swing. Nor is it a secret that Iran is funding, training, and equipping Hamas and Hezbollah. So Hamas and Hezbollah can get US weapons captured in Ukraine the same way they get all their other weapons.

For example, it has been widely reported that:

Russia is providing 'unprecedented' military support to Iran in exchange for drones

Russia is providing 'unprecedented' military support to Iran in exchange for drones, officials say

“This partnership poses a threat not just to Ukraine, but to Iran’s neighbors in the region,” a senior administration official told NBC News.

www.nbcnews.com

Unless Russia is in full retreat mode, US arms will continued to get captured in Ukraine. A significant amount is not needed for a PR coup. The most convincing lies contain smidgens of truth.

The Speaker of the House (2nd in line to the presidency) recently claimed (falsely) that aid to Ukraine hasn't been properly accounted for, using this as an excuse to separate aid to Israel from aid to Ukraine in an attempt to curtail any further US aid to Ukraine. The Speaker of the House may well be part of the "crazy fringe" but if so then the crazy fringe has control of a significant part of the US government.

I wish you were right. I wish we lived in a world where this was ridiculous all around. Unfortunately, we live in a ridiculous and dangerous world where this kind of nonsense is all too real.

The point of the video wasn't "OMG, Russia is going to start capturing US arms!" The point is that breathless hyperventilation over fake news on social media has real world consequences. In this case by letting Russia know where they can get a lot of anti-Ukraine propaganda effect for very little effort.

Back in May, it appears Moscow staged photos of US vehicles purportedly used in a raid inside of Russia:

Moscow shares 'staged photos' of US vehicles used to attack Russian territory

Moscow shares ‘staged photos’ of US vehicles allegedly used to attack Russian territory

Analysis suggests the abandoned Humvees were winched into place, with US state department denying its weapons were used

www.telegraph.co.uk

If this had gotten significant traction in US social media then we would have seen a lot more of it. The Hamas/Israel conflict is a real hot button issue now with emotions running high in almost all directions. IMO it is utterly disgusting that some Americans who probably think of themselves as patriots are working overtime against US interests to help Russia exploit this tragedy as much as possible.

I suppose anything is possible. Ridiculous things have happened before. I've already seen images of the Hamas terrorists that invaded Israel on Oct. 7 carrying both AK-47 and M16 rifles. The US manufactures a huge amount of arms. They are already in the hands of many undesirable forces. I just don't see much of a payoff for the Russians for that sort of operation. Imaginative, yes. Practical, maybe not so much.

 

[MC3OZ]

I suppose anything is possible. Ridiculous things have happened before. I've already seen images of the Hamas terrorists that invaded Israel on Oct. 7 carrying both AK-47 and M16 rifles. The US manufactures a huge amount of arms. They are already in the hands of many undesirable forces. I just don't see much of a payoff for the Russians for that sort of operation. Imaginative, yes. Practical, maybe not so much.

The aim is political pressure in the US to stop arms supplies to Ukraine.

All that is needed is an excuse for those sympathetic to Russia to slow walk US supplies to Ukraine. This is already happening, but the fight for US political support for Ukraine is on going.

 

[SmokyPeat]

The aim is political pressure in the US to stop arms supplies to Ukraine.

All that is needed is an excuse for those sympathetic to Russia to slow walk US supplies to Ukraine. This is already happening, but the fight for US political support for Ukraine is on going.

We'll see what developes. I'm not expecting that particular conspiracy will gain traction.

 

[MC3OZ]

We'll see what developes. I'm not expecting that particular conspiracy will gain traction.

He was just saying it if seems that US arms intended for Ukraine have been supplied to Hamas, don't take that at face value.

He was also saying the false alarm about that might show the Russians that this could be a profitable option.

I don't think he was saying the Russians will definitely try to do it.

 

[wdolson]

Even if the Russians were able to capture a significant amount of American arms from the Ukrainians, how exactly would they get them to Gaza? It just strikes me as a ridiculous proposition all around. And who would actually believe that they were supplied by Ukraine? The crazy fringe elements in the US don't require any "proof" of any sort to support their unhinged conspiracy theories, anyhow.

Russia has forces in Syria that are supplied by air from Russia. They fly the arms into Syria, smuggle them into Lebanon, then they can ship them by small boat from the shores of Gaza. A small boat can get small arms ashore in many places along the Gaza coast. The distance from Labanon to Gaza is about 120 miles. Smugglers run boats that distance all the time. Ask the US Coast Guard who have been trying to catch smugglers crossing from South America to the southern coast of the US for years. Those smugglers have built submarines to move drugs.

Smugglers with state actors backing them have at least the level of resources that drug smugglers have.

 

[SmokyPeat]

I'd much rather talk about Ukrainian pilots in F-16s interdicting Russian cruise missiles than the IDF interdicting imaginary US arms shipments.

Ukrainian Pilots Start Training on the F-16 in Arizona

A small group of Ukrainian pilots began training with the 162nd Wing on F-16 fundamentals this week. The course will take several months.

www.airandspaceforces.com

 

[Surfer of Life]

I'd much rather talk about Ukrainian pilots in F-16s interdicting Russian cruise missiles than the IDF interdicting imaginary US arms shipments.

Ukrainian Pilots Start Training on the F-16 in Arizona

A small group of Ukrainian pilots began training with the 162nd Wing on F-16 fundamentals this week. The course will take several months.

www.airandspaceforces.com

Thanks for speaking up! I was beginning to think that’s what we were here for.

Also, I find it disturbing that Ukraine wasn’t trained to fly F16s a year and a half ago.

I hope we soon hear more good results from things Ukraine has been doing behind the scenes in Ukraine and Russia; hasn’t it been a bit quiet lately in that respect?

 

[Bobfitz1]

Russia has forces in Syria that are supplied by air from Russia. They fly the arms into Syria, smuggle them into Lebanon, then they can ship them by small boat from the shores of Gaza. A small boat can get small arms ashore in many places along the Gaza coast. The distance from Labanon to Gaza is about 120 miles. Smugglers run boats that distance all the time. Ask the US Coast Guard who have been trying to catch smugglers crossing from South America to the southern coast of the US for years. Those smugglers have built submarines to move drugs.

Smugglers with state actors backing them have at least the level of resources that drug smugglers have.

Florida, Louisiana,Texas, North and South Carolina, and Georgia have a combined coastline of 2700 miles. Gaza's coastline is 25 miles.
I think the IDF can shut down weapons smuggling by sea into Gaza.

 

[SwedishAdvocate]

There's this Swedish author that has been blogging about the war since it began. Todays blog post to a large extent consists of the Russian Dictator unfortunately 'making progress'...

The following is not based on accessible sources, but instead of various forms of direct communication this author has had with several sources in Ukraine during several weeks of time. So kind of hard to assess the quality of this info...

...] According to several sources Russia already has a production of ten thousand drones a month, and the Russian FPV drones are a big and rising threat that makes it impossible to move Ukrainian vehicles near the front. In addition, the newer Russian FPV drones use frequency bands that can no longer be disrupted by anti-drone weapons. They also have AI that autonomously searches for targets if they lose contact with their operator. This is not Russian propaganda. It is instead based on reports from several Ukrainian front units.

The message from Ukraine last week was that they themselves were on the way to a production of 10,000 drones a month, but is seems Russia is already there. [...

And according to these sources China is involved in this in some way.

Source (in Swedish):

UPPDATERAS: Hård situation för Ukraina på flera platser, kritiskt läge, Västs stöd för klent och för sent - ryska FPV-drönare allvarligt hot - lynchmobb jagar judar i Ryssland

Situationen är mycket hård för Ukraina på flera platser längs fronten och läget kan lokalt vara kritiskt. Västs stöd har varit för klent och kommit för sent och även hela ukrainska brigader kan de facto vara utplånade. Ryska FPV-drönare är ett allvarligt och stigande hot, där ryssarna redan har till

cornucopia.se

 

[Fred42]

I have noted for a while that, although the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) daily reports speak about Russian failures and shortcomings and also the ISW seems to favor Ukraine, the impression I get from their reporting is bleaker about Ukraine's prospects than the sense of posters on this thread. And I don't recall that the ISW has addressed the impending large reduction in US aid. Germany recently announced another 500 million euros in aid, but it would be a stretch for Europe to step in to replace the US, and even if they found the will, they don't have the inventory of munitions that the US has.

 

[navguy12]

The printer can fashion a precision prosthesis in as little as eight hours. The old way was so labour-intensive that the same process took three days. Dr. Derkach said the two 3D printers at Unbroken will be followed by others.

“We are just beginning, really,” he said. “We want to build on their capabilities as the war will require a great increase in prostheses production.”

Two of the three soldiers interviewed by The Globe at the Unbroken site said they will use their newfound mobility to go back to the war. All three of them seemed thrilled that they could finally walk again, almost as well as they could before their gruesome injuries.

“I will go back into the army,” said Mr. Yevtushenko. “I am capable of killing Russians again, and if I die, I would prefer to die as a free man in the battlefield.”

(Paywalled)

A Canadian-donated 3D printer is making artificial limbs for Ukrainian soldiers so they can walk, run – and fight again

The site specializes in emergency medical care, reconstructive surgery, orthopedics, psychological rehabilitation and prostheses, which are both fitted and manufactured there

www.theglobeandmail.com

 

[CorneliusXX]

There's this Swedish author that has been blogging about the war since it began. Todays blog post to a large extent consists of the Russian Dictator unfortunately 'making progress'...

The following is not based on accessible sources, but instead of various forms of direct communication this author has had with several sources in Ukraine during several weeks of time. So kind of hard to assess the quality of this info...

...] According to several sources Russia already has a production of ten thousand drones a month, and the Russian FPV drones are a big and rising threat that makes it impossible to move Ukrainian vehicles near the front. In addition, the newer Russian FPV drones use frequency bands that can no longer be disrupted by anti-drone weapons. They also have AI that autonomously searches for targets if they lose contact with their operator. This is not Russian propaganda. It is instead based on reports from several Ukrainian front units.

The message from Ukraine last week was that they themselves were on the way to a production of 10,000 drones a month, but is seems Russia is already there. [...

And according to these sources China is involved in this in some way.

Source (in Swedish):

UPPDATERAS: Hård situation för Ukraina på flera platser, kritiskt läge, Västs stöd för klent och för sent - ryska FPV-drönare allvarligt hot - lynchmobb jagar judar i Ryssland

Situationen är mycket hård för Ukraina på flera platser längs fronten och läget kan lokalt vara kritiskt. Västs stöd har varit för klent och kommit för sent och även hela ukrainska brigader kan de facto vara utplånade. Ryska FPV-drönare är ett allvarligt och stigande hot, där ryssarna redan har till

cornucopia.se

It's concerning the the west has no motivator for ultra high volume production of cheap drones with AI. This is clearly going to be a paradigm shift in terms of cost vs effectiveness.

 

[SwedishAdvocate]

...] And I don't recall that the ISW has addressed the impending large reduction in US aid. Germany recently announced another 500 million euros in aid, but it would be a stretch for Europe to step in to replace the US, and even if they found the will, they don't have the inventory of munitions that the US has.

Is there currently no efforts at all ongoing for getting more US aid through the US Congress?

This seems to suggest otherwise...

McConnell, Speaker Johnson headed for shutdown clash over Ukraine

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and newly elected Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) are headed for a showdown over emergency funding for Ukraine and funding the government beyond Thanksgi…

thehill.com

 

[Buckminster]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1719040329574396370

Combined with the drone news.