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Russia/Ukraine conflict

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Allegedly:

Russia: The fascist government is supplying polling places with pens with disappearing ink. Identified in Kursk and Rostov-on-Don so far. Voters are supposed to use these government-supplied pens when they vote.

twitter.com/igorsushko/status/1768380360617029855


I really don't get why they go to such lengths, it's not like anyone is going to verify the votes or shout "voter fraud"? I doubt (end this proves) they keep the original vote slips as evidence even. And the majority votes Putin anyways.

So if we think about it rationally, only the opposition could benefit from forging the votes, but again, I doubt anyone is "really" counting them anyways.
 
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I really don't get why they go to such lengths, it's not like anyone is going to verify the votes or shout "voter fraud"? I doubt (end this proves) they keep the original vote slips as evidence even. And the majority votes Putin anyways. [My u.]

So if we think about it rationally, only the opposition could benefit from forging the votes, but again, I doubt anyone is "really" counting them anyways.

Source?
 
Well.. FSB probably can't identify them without a signature, eh? Takes little immagination but not a long (over)stretch of authority in Russia.

Ok. So how does that happen without a signature? Some kind of hidden or not hidden CCTV camera that with 100% certainty links every Russian's choice on the sham 'ballot' to some kind of face recognition system?
 
Ok. So how does that happen without a signature? Some kind of hidden or not hidden CCTV camera that with 100% certainty links every Russian's choice on the sham 'ballot' to some kind of face recognition system?

No. Russia's crowd management methdos don't punish 100% of the people, they simply choose some people and make visible examples of them. That keeps everyone in line, and if there is enough misalignment, they pick more examples.



It is enough to convince people that it can happen and it is as good as true:

 
100%. Can’t trust this guy. Slimy as they come.
Indeed. First it was the bogus "we have to get a border deal before we fund Ukraine". This let Johnson stall for months, while Ukrainians died and the Senate Republicans actually hammered out a deal, thinking he meant it. His strategy was dishonest... but effective if his goal is to stop Ukraine aid.
When he failed to even consider the deal the Senate made, Johnson, perhaps smelling the discharge petition in the works, shut down the entire House for 2 weeks to forestall any action, only reopening it just in the nick of time to fund the US government. Fund it only for a little while, to keep this tactic on the table in the near future, while the bloodhounds get time sniff out the House Republican members most likely to waver... Great strategy if the goal is to stop Ukraine funding, but downside risk for the US economy, and of course, once again against the will of the public and the majority of the House.
This latest gambit, loudly groused/previewed by our former President a week or so ago, that Ukraine should have to pay us back for the privilege of dying in our direct best interests while operating weapons we supplied (largely to the profit of our own defense industry), shows itself as just another way to delay popular funding, while pretending to be in favor of it. Again, an effective strategy if your goal is to go against your House's wishes, your Congress' wishes, your national government's policies to this point, and popular opinion, not to mention the interests of your actual nation and its allies, all just to support the truly stable, some would say 'genius' policies of the previous administration, which, let us never forget, exited the hallowed offices of the Presdency upon the end of their elected term with such grace and aplomb.
I have to say, as would the many Ukrainians hiding in bunkers right now, that Johnson is a very effective Speaker. For whom.... that is the problem.
 
Timothy Snyder on Ukraine, Russia, America—and What’s at Stake

Bill Kristol interviews Timothy Snyder.

“this is still a war that Ukraine can win. But it depends upon whether they have allies who are capable of seeing the political stakes and capable of behaving in a way which is consistent with simple military logic, which is what do you need to do to help your ally to win.”
Defeating Russia, Snyder explains, is vital not only for Ukraine, but also for America and our allies. Kristol and Snyder also discuss how understanding fascism might help us to comprehend contemporary Russian politics and other political developments around the world.
 
As I understand it – if it would come to it – France would enter this war in support of UKR:

Le Monde with AP and AFP
Published yesterday at 8:47 pm (Paris), updated yesterday at 9:39 pm

French President Emmanuel Macron reiterated Thursday, March 14, his position that sending Western troops into Ukraine should not be ruled out – though he said today's situation doesn't require that. But calling the conflict in Ukraine "existential for our Europe and for France," Macron said anybody advocating "limits" on aid to Ukraine "chooses defeat."

In an interview on French national television, Macron said a Russian victory in Ukraine "would reduce Europe's credibility to zero," and would mean that "we have no security." [...]

He added that "if the situation should deteriorate, we would be ready to make sure that Russia never wins that war." [...]

"Those who say 'let's not support Ukraine' do not make the choice of peace, they make the choice of defeat," he added. [My u.] [...



And Le Pen is backing Macron and Attal on this:

In France, all leaders have fallen in line with support for Ukraine.

Macron, Attal, Le Pen.

How often does that happen in democracies? I hope Macron reveals whatever he knows to Scholz in their meeting. [My u.] [...


twitter.com/NAFORaccoon/status/1768250134016451028?s=20



Some more in English on this from X:

twitter.com/RaduHossu/status/1768377655055769604



The original source in French (a language I unfortunately don't speak):

 
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As I understand Macron doesn't specify exactly what France would do, but my guess is that France – if it comes to it, would at a minimum deploy everything they have in terms of drone warfare. And the French Air Force. I'm only a layman at this, but guessing that the Rafale would fare rather well against the SU-35 and everything else the Russian Dictator has.

France also has 11 of these:

I don't know, but I'm guessing that France has X amount of ATACMS missiles...

If France were to lead a coalition in UKR, the Baltic states also seem to be game. As does Poland and the Netherlands. Guessing that ground troops from the Baltics could man a segment of the defense lines against the Belarusian Dictator. That would give UKR X amount of troops to deploy elsewhere.

I don't know what Poland and the Netherlands could add, but the Dutch does allegedly have 31 F-35As in service...
 
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And yet another 'double-tap' Terrorist Attack by the Russian Dictator. He allegedly used so called Iskander missiles.

UPDATE: Russian missile strike kills 14, injures 46 in Odesa

by Kateryna Denisova andThe Kyiv Independent news desk March 15, 2024 12:39 PM [...]

First responders treat a man at the site of a Russian missile strike on Odesa on March 15, 2024. (State Emergency Service)

Editor's note: This is a developing story.

A Russian missile strike on Odesa killed 14 people on March 15, Odesa Oblast Governor Oleh Kiper reported.

The victims include a paramedic and a first responder who arrived at the scene following the first explosion, according to Kiper.
Fourty-six people were injured in the attack, including seven first responders, Kiper said.

Rescuers immediately arrived at the scene of the impact and began extinguishing the fire, sorting out the debris, and searching for the injured, according to the State Emergency Service. During the operation, Russian forces struck the site again. [My u.] [...


 
As I understand Macron doesn't specify exactly what France would do, but my guess is that France – if it comes to it, would at a minimum deploy everything they have in terms of drone warfare. And the French Air Force. I'm only a layman at this, but guessing that the Rafale would fare rather well against the SU-35 and everything else the Russian Dictator has.

France also has 11 of these:

I don't know, but I'm guessing that France has X amount of ATACMS missiles...

If France were to lead a coalition in UKR, the Baltic states also seem to be game. As does Poland and the Netherlands. Guessing that ground troops from the Baltics could man a segment of the defense lines against the Belarusian Dictator. That would give UKR X amount of troops to deploy elsewhere.

I don't know what Poland and the Netherlands could add, but the Dutch does allegedly have 31 F-35As in service...

The French air force is fairly small: 100 Refale and 91 Mirage 2000. France does not have any ATACMS.

Poland's air force is not large, but they do have one of the largest armies in Europe. Poland has been working with South Korea to license build a number of SK military vehicles including tanks. First they ordered some of the SK vehicles, but the second batch of those vehicles will be domestically built. Poland has F-35s on order, but their air force is even smaller than France's. Their combat aircraft contingent is smaller than Ukraine's at the start of the war: 13 MiG-29s (which I think already went to Ukraine), 12 Su-22s, and 36 F-16s.

If Poland contributed their ground forces, it would be a significant boost to Ukraine's side.

However, few armies in the world have the logistical depth of the US. NATO doctrine is pretty much to have enough on hand to stem the initial tide of an attack from Russia and then depend on replacement ammunition to come from the United States. A lot of the NATO armies depleted their already thin stocks of ammunition sending them to Ukraine.

The US has been more circumspect in sending ammunition because US doctrine requires the US keep a certain level of stock of ammunition in case the US does have to go to war anywhere in the world. It's part of the deterrence the US puts up 24/7 around the world. Part of what has kept Taiwan safe is the promise that the US Pacific Fleet would be off Taiwan within a few days of China making a move and they would bring the Marines with them, with the USAF and US Army following very soon after.

Relations with Saudi Arabia are a bit strained these days, but that same promise has kept SA safe for decades too.

If Russia did attack a NATO country, the US would be obligated to join in the defense (though Russian allies in government would probably try to prevent it), but there is no obligation for the US to join in if European allies voluntarily join the war in Ukraine.

Various NATO countries could probably send small forces to Ukraine without logistical problems, but without US supply chains and US European Command running the NATO response, they would run into scaling issues if they tried to send in large forces.

European countries need to work out their ammunition production issues and they need to come up with a work around to go to war without EUCOM. The NATO operation against Libya was limited because the US president can only commit US forces to a military operation for 90 days without Congressional approval and Congress refused to approve it (more politics like we're seeing now). NATO couldn't conduct operations within EUCOM in the loop and they had to shut down operations when EUCOM had to pull out.

It contributed quite a bit to the mess we see in Libya today.
 
The drone war revolution is just getting started. War will be much different 10 years from now and mostly fought with drones, for those that have the resources to do so. Current robots are rather crude. Even in just a few years capabilities will increase remarkably employing new LLM hardware and software. . Russia may have a difficult time matching this, since they have limited access to chips.
Quote: Officials at Brave1, a government defense-technology hub tasked with getting new capabilities field-ready, announced that more than 50 ground robotic systems and more 140 unmanned ground vehicles have been submitted for evaluation.
Hundreds of them will be procured through United24 to strengthen the Ukrainian army on the battlefield in a few months ...

Ukraine plans to mass-produce mobile robots capable of mining, demining, operating attack drones, evacuating wounded soldiers, and transporting ammunition, Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov announced...
 
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