The end?

Odessa is a super place to visit - had a great time there last time out, and look forward to going back in the not so distant to catch up with my refugees ( Little Grasshopper and Poppet ) - and the rest of the family ( Mykolaiv) , has been a rough time even without a war.
 
Druss_The_Legend said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/1810296348995998012

Give Ukraine whatever it needs to win this war. I really hope this has given the NATO leaders something to think about at the summit, this has gone on too long and has gone far enough.
Click to expand...
Straight from the how they bombed the Syrian opposition to hell and back playbook

Shops, medical, shelters - all legitimate targets as far as ZZ is concerned & never share info with UN as the locations almost certainly will receive a loud visit.

There is a Twitter account @killedinukraine focussing on listing dead Ruzzian officers during the 3 day SMO and every other one of them has a medal for “bravery” murdering Syrians.

UKR should be given free reign to use every weapon they are supplied with wherever they want.
 
Last edited:
Decent_Left said:
UKR should be given free reign to use every weapon they are supplied with wherever they want.
Click to expand...
And the promise made that for every non military infrastructure targeted in Ukraine by Russia, weapons will be supplied for Ukraine to target double the amount of legal targets anywhere within Russia.
 
Defender 4x4 said:
Blow that ucking bridge up, and sort the uckers out.
Click to expand...

They're still split on that one. Lots of pressure to leave it standing, as blowing it wouldn't have a huge impact militarily. Sneaky has instead given Budanov some targets to go at on the "railway". One has already been damaged.
He's quiet today. The childrens hospital attack has upset him deeply.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Hap
Defender 4x4 said:
Blow that ucking bridge up, and sort the uckers out.
Click to expand...
I’m not sure there’s much point other than it being symbolic.
It can’t take any heavy traffic, trucks/military, but would allow a foot run escape passage for an otherwise cornered RF force. If they have nowhere to run, they’re more likely to fight.
 
borolad259 said:
They're still split on that one. Lots of pressure to leave it standing, as blowing it wouldn't have a huge impact militarily. Sneaky has instead given Budanov some targets to go at on the "railway". One has already been damaged.
He's quiet today. The childrens hospital attack has upset him deeply.
Click to expand...
The hospital is shocking.
 
Not so quiet now

"
As you know Russia ragemissiled today against 3 hospitals.
2 of those was childrens hospitals, and 1 was Europes largest childrens cancer hospital.
It got to me seeing the pictures of hairless children being evacuated from a ruined hospital with the staff still trying to treat them.

And for those trying to say that it was misfire, AD missiles... etcetera.
No, it was KH-101 missiles, caught on camera, and debris was found.
And Russia double-tapped the targets to make certain to hit people fleeing and first responders coming to the scene.
They always do that when attacking hospitals.

May I remind that 93 percent of all launched missiles during the war has been against civilian targets, and only 7 percent has been used against permissible military targets and infrastructure.

Anyway, I had one of my dark days.
But, feeling somewhat better.
Many have asked today what can be do to improve things, and thinking on that helped.

So, I have been talking a lot about more AD, more fighter jets, more cruise missiles for Ukraine like Patriot etcetera, and most crucially I talked about removing the limitations completely on hitting military targets inside of Russia.
After all, every single of the 40 missiles launched was from airframes, we must be allowed to take out their airfields at least.
I think I made a difference, but we shall see, it is after all easier to convince generals and a couple of Sec Defs about it, than to convince the politicos.


UK
The new UK Government is at least as good at supporting Ukraine as the previous was, and that says a lot, because they were good before.

There is though a key takeaway in the new package.
There's 10 new AS-90 Artillery Systems to supplement those previously donated.
With those are 32 newmake barrels, and this is big, very big even.
Why now?

This means that the Royal Armories Vickers are finally up and running.
Previously all AS-90s have had cold war barrels, or been relined versions at the Bofors Rifle Factory.
UK making newmakes is a big thing, that factory was in really bad shape after 30 years of neglect, and was non-operational.

EU pitched together with the former UK Government to get it up and running.
This means that Europe now have 4 operational heavy artillery producers together OTO Melera, Rheinmetal, Bofors and now RAVs.
Frenchies buy their barrels, but are trying also to get their old factory up.

Also, with that package came 60 000 155mm shells, also newmake.
This means that UK is on target now to produce 200K shells in 2024, and from beginning of 2025 500K per year, this is also bigger than people believe.

Also, the 50 Riverine Boats are also very important for later.


Fonts
A milestone has been achieved near Kharkiv.
Parts of Hlybkove has been liberated, and over at the Vovchansk boob 50 percent of the entire boob is since of today wrestled out of Russian grasp.
The Hlybkove boob is roughly 30 percent liberated now.
So, slow but steady.

I have been harping about Russia having staffing issues.
In the last 7 days we have seen a marked increase in the usage of conscripted youths in combat.
According to Russian law they are not allowed to be even near combat situations, and are meant to only do conscript training, and that might include border guard duty in non-combat areas.

In the last month conscripts have been the main force guarding the Russian border behind the boobs, between them, and in other areas that anyone would consider combat border areas since the various Russian Free Brigades are running in and out of Bilhorod on a daily basis.
Already at that stage the conscripts was used as soldiers in combat.

What is new now is that Russia has started to send them in for meatwave attacks inside the boobs.
It speaks volumes about how hard pressed they are now, previously Russia didn't use them and once when a mistake was made Putin himself ordered them withdrawn and made damn certain that they was moved out.
And they were moved out, and he even appologised to the mothers on live TV for the mistake.
So, it has been a big nono until now, sign of pure desperation I would say.

Down in Donetsk Russia did advance in 3 places, their record advancement was 110 by 250 meters.
So, pure frationals of fields again.
Zyrskyi is now taking a more personal and direct approach to his leadership in this area to set up defense lines and turning the area into the same type of hell he has delivered for Russia in Luhansk.
It will though take weeks for even him to slam the door shut definitely here, but if anyone can do it..."

Ithink Ukraine is hitting back hard tonight
 
Defender 4x4 said:
.... but Putin needs to realise the world is against him,
Click to expand...

But it isn't ... an article this week from the Finnish President ...

We are witnessing a realignment of the balance between three spheres of power: the Global West, the Global East and the Global South.
The Global West encompasses roughly 50 states, mostly in North America and Europe, plus Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
The Global East is composed of 25 countries, led by China. The followers include Russia, Iran and a cluster of countries that tend to vote with them in the un. This group has a strong authoritarian streak and would like to see the West’s wings clipped.
The Global South, a group of roughly 125 countries, is naturally a simplification because of its diversity. It includes democracies and more authoritarian states from three different continents. Countries such as India, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, South Africa and Brazil have established themselves as swing states in a shifting balance of power.

So, then we get this, this week ...

1000011952.jpg

..... I spend a lot of my year in Brasil, India and Turkey .... these countries are by no means uniformly against Putin and Russia in Ukraine....

I know it is difficult for the West to accept but, for other reasons, different parts of the world have a different view.
 
masquesmog said:
But it isn't ... an article this week from the Finnish President ...

We are witnessing a realignment of the balance between three spheres of power: the Global West, the Global East and the Global South.
The Global West encompasses roughly 50 states, mostly in North America and Europe, plus Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
The Global East is composed of 25 countries, led by China. The followers include Russia, Iran and a cluster of countries that tend to vote with them in the un. This group has a strong authoritarian streak and would like to see the West’s wings clipped.
The Global South, a group of roughly 125 countries, is naturally a simplification because of its diversity. It includes democracies and more authoritarian states from three different continents. Countries such as India, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, South Africa and Brazil have established themselves as swing states in a shifting balance of power.

So, then we get this, this week ...

View attachment 78895

..... I spend a lot of my year in Brasil, India and Turkey .... these countries are by no means uniformly against Putin and Russia in Ukraine....

I know it is difficult for the West to accept but, for other reasons, different parts of the world have a different view.
Click to expand...

The west are fully in the picture. And countries pursuing their own self-interest, whatever that may be, is no surprise. China and India have their own desires and agendas. Both are milking the situation.... but not necessarily for Russia's benefit.
 
borolad259 said:
The west are fully in the picture. And countries pursuing their own self-interest, whatever that may be, is no surprise. China and India have their own desires and agendas. Both are milking the situation.... but not necessarily for Russia's benefit.
Click to expand...

Of course they see the benefits .... I was responding to "the world is against him" comment. The 'world' Isn't.

Watching a programme/debate in Brasil, very heated etc. Then one participant said, "Europeans killing each other? Isn't this why our grandparents came to Brasil?"

It isn't right, it isn't wrong. But not all of the world has the same view on what is happening in Ukraine.
 
masquesmog said:
But it isn't ... an article this week from the Finnish President ...

We are witnessing a realignment of the balance between three spheres of power: the Global West, the Global East and the Global South.
The Global West encompasses roughly 50 states, mostly in North America and Europe, plus Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
The Global East is composed of 25 countries, led by China. The followers include Russia, Iran and a cluster of countries that tend to vote with them in the un. This group has a strong authoritarian streak and would like to see the West’s wings clipped.
The Global South, a group of roughly 125 countries, is naturally a simplification because of its diversity. It includes democracies and more authoritarian states from three different continents. Countries such as India, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, South Africa and Brazil have established themselves as swing states in a shifting balance of power.

So, then we get this, this week ...

View attachment 78895

..... I spend a lot of my year in Brasil, India and Turkey .... these countries are by no means uniformly against Putin and Russia in Ukraine....

I know it is difficult for the West to accept but, for other reasons, different parts of the world have a different view.
Click to expand...
I would never trust India, they will side with whoever offers them the best deal.
 
Defender 4x4 said:
Blow that ucking bridge up, and sort the uckers out.
Click to expand...
I understand that the occupiers move air defence there because of the propaganda nature of it and then Ukr blow them up. This is draining the russ reserves of AD units which they’re dragging from other parts of Russia, while they still can, this fits perfectly with the Ukr tactic of gradually bleeding Russia of their resources, so I’m inclined to believe it.

Also Sun Tzu said to always leave your enemy a route to escape.

ETA, it might survive during the war but it won’t survive when there’s peace.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top