michaelc
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Post by michaelc on Aug 2, 2024 12:57:47 GMT
Leading from this and the arrival of F16s, I think the F16s are going to be a bit of a damp squib/side show. Too few of them, too late, too spread out over time, pilots too inexperienced in them, (and possibly also ground facilities too vulnerable to attack) ... I hope I'm wrong but.... If I had to chose whether to have my F16s piloted by battle hardened Ukranian pilots with years of experience in their own difficult aircraft followed by a year or more f16 conversion vs a dutch pilot with 5 years training only I know who I'd want on my team.
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registerme
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Post by registerme on Aug 2, 2024 14:56:54 GMT
What's the shortest joke in Russia?
Putin the Democrat.
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Post by captainconfident on Aug 2, 2024 18:26:29 GMT
The West is inserting the final blocks into of the completion of the rearmament of Ukraine from a 1980s soviet equipped army to a modern NATO army, a difficult transition during an active conflict. The F16s are emblematic of the completion of the process as the last of the Migs are retired and Ukraine exits the Russian sphere. Russia has about 12 months of Scrapheap Challenge material left at the current burn rate and apart from the arsenals of North Korea and more golf carts from China, they are looking at the end of their ability to maintain such a long front line. Hmm, most of the tanks have been pulled from the front lines as unsuitable ... a modern Nato army equipment hasn't been found to be entirely suitable for a modern war. Some wins, Bradleys, some losses, Abrams, so have to wait & see if F-16 is a hit or miss That's fair and the unsuitability is partially down to drones and the evolution of war during the rearmament. Noting that Russia kept their most modern tanks well away from the battlefield, there is clearly no current solution for NATO either. In a situation where no breakthrough is possible in the sense of bashing through into open country beyond, it comes down to attrition. In a war of attrition, be the army on the defensive. Behind your own minefield, with falling back on your own supports and prepared positions while drone operators take out anyone in the open. This is why Russia will declare the job done sooner or later. Because they have thrashed their army to bits. Drone talk:- www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/8/2/2259957/-Ukraine-is-ahead-in-the-war-of-drones-Can-it-win-the-war-with-them
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michaelc
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Post by michaelc on Aug 4, 2024 20:48:13 GMT
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adrianc
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Post by adrianc on Aug 4, 2024 21:04:37 GMT
Russia Today is blocked for me, of course. This appears to be the original interview: www.waz.de/politik/article406938792/dann-kann-es-ganz-schnell-gehen-und-wir-sind-im-krieg.htmlThe relevant section, autotranslated: "War is always murderous. But Putin started this war , and whoever is attacked must be able to defend themselves. That is why it is right to support Ukraine. President Selenskyj has now said for the first time that territorial cessions can only take place with a referendum. That is an interesting sentence...
… because you believe that Ukraine should cede territory to Russia?
Ramelow: No, because only Ukraine can decide on this issue itself. It is important to me to put all the questions into a broader context. Look: Moldova and Georgia are to be admitted to the EU , although there are unresolved territorial conflicts in both states. All the weapons that the Soviet army had in the GDR are stored in the Moldovan region of Transnistria. These are simmering conflicts that Putin can stir up at any time. NATO is building a brigade in Lithuania led by Thuringian soldiers. And in the Duma in Russia there is a motion to revoke Lithuania's sovereignty. If this is dealt with, it could happen very quickly and we could be in the middle of a war.
What's your point?
Ramelow: We need a European peace order that includes Russia . All participating states must conclude a non-aggression pact and form a defense community that focuses on resolving conflicts on the European continent.
And NATO?
Ramelow: I am not speaking against NATO, but for a reorganization of European defense. Germany needs an army for national defense that deserves its name. That is why I am strictly in favor of equipping the Bundeswehr well. But we must finally think of Europe as a whole, and Russia is part of that.
Putin's Russia as part of a European peace order? This idea is naive at best.
Ramelow: Of course, that won't work with a dictatorship, an apparatus of oppression, and Putin is not a representative of freedom and peace. But we have to keep an eye on the country - and strengthen those who want change in Russia.
Do you see a powerful Russian opposition?
Ramelow: The ongoing war , but also the massive repression in the country, can release forces in Russian society. We should trust in that. We simply should not underestimate that."I'm guessing that Russia Today gave a somewhat different spin to it? He is, of course, no more than the regional head of one smallish rural part of Germany (<2.5% of the population), up for election and clearly concerned about the overlap between the far-right AfD and Russian-backed interests. 
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Post by captainconfident on Aug 8, 2024 0:17:39 GMT
Nobody really knows what to say about this Ukrainian liberation of the oppressed people of Kursk. The Russians of course defeated it on day one, and it has expanded ever since.
One has to guess that the Ukraines have been watching this area for a while and found no major Russian units anywhere near, so it gives time to evict the border guards and advance. Question is why? Morale booster? Prelude to besieging Moscow?
I imagine they will withdraw only when Putin delivers a capable brigade or two from the fighting front. Question then of not leaving it too late to pull out. Or Ukraine has been hiding an iron glove under complaints of difficulties, and is in better condition than they let on. Either way, it beats Russia's bash away today the same as yesterday strategy.
Perhaps they saw the Colonels video about Russia being about to capture Odessa? Anyway, hard for Russian state TV to explain this one.
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Post by bracknellboy on Aug 8, 2024 8:29:21 GMT
Nobody really knows what to say about this Ukrainian liberation of the oppressed people of Kursk. The Russians of course defeated it on day one, and it has expanded ever since. One has to guess that the Ukraines have been watching this area for a while and found no major Russian units anywhere near, so it gives time to evict the border guards and advance. Question is why? Morale booster? Prelude to besieging Moscow? I imagine they will withdraw only when Putin delivers a capable brigade or two from the fighting front. Question then of not leaving it too late to pull out. Or Ukraine has been hiding an iron glove under complaints of difficulties, and is in better condition than they let on. Either way, it beats Russia's bash away today the same as yesterday strategy. Perhaps they saw the Colonels video about Russia being about to capture Odessa? Anyway, hard for Russian state TV to explain this one. I think quite likely the two bolded sentences answers the question why they did it. Perhaps also a bit of a morale booster. But I'd think the propaganda impact (on the Russians) and the potential of drawing out and tying down Russian units from elsewhere would be the chief reasons.
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Post by captainconfident on Aug 8, 2024 15:09:25 GMT
Nobody really knows what to say about this Ukrainian liberation of the oppressed people of Kursk. The Russians of course defeated it on day one, and it has expanded ever since. One has to guess that the Ukraines have been watching this area for a while and found no major Russian units anywhere near, so it gives time to evict the border guards and advance. Question is why? Morale booster? Prelude to besieging Moscow? I imagine they will withdraw only when Putin delivers a capable brigade or two from the fighting front. Question then of not leaving it too late to pull out. Or Ukraine has been hiding an iron glove under complaints of difficulties, and is in better condition than they let on. Either way, it beats Russia's bash away today the same as yesterday strategy. Perhaps they saw the Colonels video about Russia being about to capture Odessa? Anyway, hard for Russian state TV to explain this one. I think quite likely the two bolded sentences answers the question why they did it. Perhaps also a bit of a morale booster. But I'd think the propaganda impact (on the Russians) and the potential of drawing out and tying down Russian units from elsewhere would be the chief reasons. The dictator derives his legitimacy from claiming to protect the people from the many threats and nightmares projected by their captive media. This invasion is not an optimal look for Putin when he has to phone his friend in Beijing, and the Russian State TV is going to struggle to explain this one to the people the longer it lasts, and it looks like the Ukranians have blindsided everyone with this coup de main.
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Post by overthehill on Aug 8, 2024 22:17:27 GMT
Russian Newspapers 'Odessa about to fall'
Global Newspapers
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Post by captainconfident on Aug 9, 2024 9:51:57 GMT
The great thing about this raid/incursion/invasion is that nobody knows what it is, where it is going, how much reserves and supplies it has.
In modern warfare this is a unique achievement. You assume the Ukrainian army is riven by spies, under constant drone observation. The Russian defeat is at the moment primarily an intelligence defeat. Next the question is, can the Russians assemble and control the movements of a defensive force? Or have they wasted their experienced soldiers?
My guess, this is a bite and hold operation in order to have a bargaining chip at the peace conference. Question is if they can capture Kursk using German Panzers. Only joking. Ah but Zelensky is a comedian.
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registerme
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Post by registerme on Aug 9, 2024 12:39:20 GMT
The great thing about this raid/incursion/invasion is that nobody knows what it is, where it is going, how much reserves and supplies it has. I can't attribute this data, or verify it but... "As of Jan 1 2006 the plant had generated 560bln KWh. Today Kursk NPP is the key energy supplier of Central Chernozemya, a region that produces 48% of iron ore, 13.5% of steel, 19% of ferrous metals, 9.6% of meat, 19.5% of sugar in Russia. Without Kursk NPP the region would hardly develop". I don't know that this is Ukraine's target, but, assuming that it's at least approximately correct, you can be confident that it will be in the forefront of both Russian and Ukrainian thinking at the moment.
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angrysaveruk
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Post by angrysaveruk on Aug 9, 2024 17:54:38 GMT
The great thing about this raid/incursion/invasion is that nobody knows what it is, where it is going, how much reserves and supplies it has. The aim of Ukraine Military is probably to capture this*: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kursk_Nuclear_Power_Plant* - unfortunately/fortunately the Russians are probably aware of this and have probably already sent their special forces/airforce there to defend it.
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k6
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Post by k6 on Aug 9, 2024 17:59:56 GMT
The great thing about this raid/incursion/invasion is that nobody knows what it is, where it is going, how much reserves and supplies it has. The aim of Ukraine Military is probably to capture this*: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kursk_Nuclear_Power_Plant* - unfortunately/fortunately the Russians are probably aware of this and have probably already sent their special forces/airforce there to defend it. Special forces you saying ? . . . U R a Joke. . .sorry
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angrysaveruk
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Post by angrysaveruk on Aug 9, 2024 18:37:39 GMT
The aim of Ukraine Military is probably to capture this*: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kursk_Nuclear_Power_Plant* - unfortunately/fortunately the Russians are probably aware of this and have probably already sent their special forces/airforce there to defend it. Special forces you saying ? . . . U R a Joke. . .sorry As usual, I am not quite sure what your point is and assume it is some garbled nonsense you read in the Sun. If you are saying Russia does not have any elite fighting units or that the Russian army is second rate you would be very wrong on both counts*. * - although I suspect being wrong is the only thing you Excel at.
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registerme
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Post by registerme on Aug 9, 2024 19:27:17 GMT
Special forces you saying ? . . . U R a Joke. . .sorry As usual, I am not quite sure what your point is and assume it is some garbled nonsense you read in the Sun. If you are saying Russia does not have any elite fighting units or that the Russian army is second rate you would be very wrong on both counts*. * - although I suspect being wrong is the only thing you Excel at. And your assessment is based on... what, precisely?
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