I'm not sure that Russia really has the usable airframes and pilots that they claim to have. They've lost a few pilots. I think war doctrine plays a large part, but the pilots clearly are not pressing attacks. And, I wonder if Russia is in this area holding stuff in reserve because they fear their Eastern borders are now very vulnerable.
That is awesome to read. It is still somewhat of a mindf*ck for me that there is a need for millions of 155mm artillery shells in EUROPE in 2023.
Inside the U.S. Army Plant Making Artillery Shells for Ukraine
Hundreds are working 24/7 to keep the pipeline of ordnance flowing as Ukraine fights back against Russian invaders.time.com
Already delivering more than normal this spring
apnews.com
Link if you want to read in one spot and see pics:
‘They Didn’t Understand Anything, but Just Spoiled People’s Lives’
How Russian invaders unleashed violence on small-town residentswww.theatlantic.com
Poland would roll their ass in about six weeks. 2 if the rest of NATO helps.
That's a war crime, right there...
Can always count on the Swiss to side with the fascists if money is involved. BAU.
This represents one of the key beliefs of the Russian mindset. Basically that the west is soft, won't be willing to make sacrifices, and will eventually lose interest.WASHINGTON (AP) — Support among the American public for providing Ukraine weaponry and direct economic assistance has softened as the Russian invasion nears a grim one-year milestone, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
Forty-eight percent say they favor the U.S. providing weapons to Ukraine, with 29% opposed and 22% saying they’re neither in favor nor opposed. In May 2022, less than three months into the war, 60% of U.S. adults said they were in favor of sending Ukraine weapons.
Americans are about evenly divided on sending government funds directly to Ukraine, with 37% in favor and 38% opposed, with 23% saying neither. The signs of diminished support for Ukraine come as President Joe Biden is set to travel to Poland next week to mark the first anniversary of the biggest conflict in Europe since World War II.
Ukraine aid support softens in the US: AP-NORC Poll
Support among the American public for providing Ukraine weaponry and direct economic assistance has softened as the Russian invasion nears a grim one-year milestone.
FIFYCan always count on the Swiss to side with the money if money is involved. BAU.
Didn't realize the squad and bat shit crazy MAGA voted together. Figures...
www.dw.com
I will just throw this out there - what is that actual, plausible downside of drawing down our stocks of ammo more while ramping up production to backfill long term? Would doing so lessen our operational readiness? Maybe, I do not know. But who is actually out there to fire the bullets and shells at? If one article is accurate, 97% of the Russian army is in Ukraine. So that leaves who, China? We are not engaging in a land war with China anytime soon. Am I oversimplifying it?"The current rate of Ukraine's ammunition expenditure is many times higher than our current rate of production. This puts our defense industries under strain," he said, adding that the alliance needed "to ramp up production."
Frank Sauer, a security expert at Universität der Bundeswehr München (University of the Bundeswehr in Munich), told DW that he also thought the shortage of ammunition was the "fundamental problem" at the moment — much more than the much-debated air defense systems and tanks.
Increasing production capacity is of the utmost importance, agreed Nico Lange, a military expert from the Munich Security Conference and former chief of staff at the German Defense Ministry.
"From my point of view, [the ammunition shortage] is more important than any symbolic discussion," he told DW, explaining that this was related to Russia's military strategy. Russia's attack tactic — "frontal attacks on the front line in many sections — can only be successful if Ukraine runs out of ammunition," he argued, adding that this should be avoided at all costs with Western support.
What are the consequences of the ammunition shortage for Ukraine?
Ukrainian commanders are being forced to make "very tough decisions" on the use of ammunition said DW correspondent Nick Connolly. "I've met commanders of howitzers, of artillery pieces, who've told me that they don't know how long they can keep doing their job, if they will be forced to withdraw and move away from positions and wait for more artillery," Connolly said in Kyiv. "This is a very real problem."
Ukraine war: Is the army running out of ammunition? – DW – 02/15/2023
The political debate in recent weeks has focused mainly on tanks, but Ukraine faces another urgent problem — a shortage of ammunition.
I think the problem with the Ukrainians is they have a hodge podge of Russian/Western artillery/APC's/Rocket launchers ect of multiple calibers....makes getting enough ammo to them even more difficult.
Makes sense. I guess I was thinking in terms of not plausibly calling into question our combat capabilities. For example, I assume our stocks are there for multiple fronts around the globe at the same time. Realistically though, we are not going to need to engage on multiple fronts around the globe at the same time. For example, when we engaged the Iraq wars, that put a major dent in our ability do that, but we did so anyways because we thought it was in our national interest, even though in theory another country could have attempted to attack us or our allies at that time. So if the Iraq war used up 50% of our ability to wage war or to protect our interests elsewhere, say through NATO, and drawing down stocks to help Ukraine would use up 1% of our ability to wage war while simultaneously eliminating a prime candidate on who would have to fight, is there really risk of actual downside?
