His viewpoint is interesting. I think he’s basically Neville Chamberlain level naive but I don’t think he’s a bad guy.
This might be a little tougher than Putin thought...
- Thread starter Nole Lou
- Start date
His viewpoint is interesting. I think he’s basically Neville Chamberlain level naive but I don’t think he’s a bad guy.
There's probably been covert shit that's been done for 75+ years.
All Presidents from both Parties.
Some things the general public shouldn't know about anyway.
So maybe not driving over a mine-
Still strange to me to see weapons mounted on pickups though it is a widespread practice.
"Recent storms on the Black Sea have heavily damaged the Russian defenses at the entrance to the port of #Sébastopol , in #Crimée ."
Wrong in a prediction is not the same as being wrong in fact.
I based my prediction on the fact the Russians had conducted similar exercises, and troop build ups in the region as recently as a few months before then. Zapad-2021 was conducted in September with Belarus:
In August, the Russian Ministry of Defense stated that up to 200,000 troops will be involved in Zapad-2021, including participants from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (presumably the 50 Kazakh soldiers mentioned by its Belarus counterpart). Zapad is therefore Europe’s largest “small” exercise, with the Russian defense ministry issuing an inflated count of 200,000 participants while often claiming, for reporting purposes, that no more than 13,000 will be involved simultaneously in the exercise. Actual figures of how many Russian soldiers participate in these strategic exercises vary wildly, depending on who is included as participating and over what time frame. The generally cited figure for Zapad-2013 is around 75,000 troops and associated personnel. Zapad-2017 was expected to be much larger – with official and media sources estimating 100,000 participants — but ended up being smaller, more in the ballpark of 50,000–60,000. Back then, Igor Sutyagin, a defense researcher at the London-based Royal United Services Institute, estimated the size of the exercise at 48,000. Yet media narratives in advance of Zapad-2017 proved sensationalist: Some projected 100,000 troops on NATO’s borders, and there were reports that Russian troops might get left behind in Belarus as part of an undeclared occupation.
In retrospect the Russians decided to go to war after NATO told them to pound sand on the subject of enshrining Ukrainian neutrality via UN registered treaty in December of '21.
Recall also that the invasion date kept moving. Attributable to weather or other considerations we'll never know, but to the end the Ukrainian government publicly insisted their intelligence indicated an attack was not imminent. That's the main reason I suspected the Biden WH was playing games.
"Explosion last night at the airport in Saki (Crimea), where the Podorsky Air Force Regiment is stationed ...As a result, about 30 people died."
I've had explosive diarrhea before but nothing like this
Covid and Putin's folly must have shaved 5 years off of the life expectancy of Russian males.
I keep coming back to this possible transfer of Mirage 2000s. Is six a starting point? If so, that is a small number, and with an older aircraft that has been out of production for close to 20 years the training, maintenance, and supply issues would seem to be problematic. Integrating all of that while at war doesn't seem wise. So, desperation to get any airframes possible into action, or is there a move to get significantly more airframes to Ukraine. I believe the number of F-16s promised is around 50, which includes some for training purposes.
"Russian-made air defense system destroyed. In these images, we see how a Buk-M1 anti-aircraft missile system was destroyed"
Beefing up Ukraine's AF in a truly meaningful way may end up being a post war thing...unfortunately.
Just a lot of time consuming training, supply chain issues to deal with.
Might get some in the fight piece meal but not in the numbers required to really swing the balance IMO.
Of course if this war goes on for a couple more years that could change.
I can't believe 325k mothers aren't raising more hell about losing children. Maybe they are and we just don't see it or maybe they are afraid of being silenced.
There is some limited protesting, but, get too loud and mom goes to prison. Putin isn't above throwing grieving mothers into a prison cell. As posted throughout this thread, small acts of disobedience or questioning of the war is resulting in sentences of several years in prison.
I am going to enjoy coming to this thread when Ukraine wins the war and there is no WWIII and see Seminoles response LOL. I am sure he will be worried about something else.
How do you qualify 'win the war'?
Is it 1991 borders?
The prior line of demarcation in 2021?
Ceasefire on current battle lines?
I would say restore the previous borders. There is a possibility they get Crimea back as well. Then a likely membership to Nato in the next 5-10 years.
"Kherson, Ukrainian forces have released what is most likely some of the first footage of a US-supplied AGM-88 HARM anti-radar missile attacking and destroying a Russian Buk-M2 SAM system."
Most Americans support cease-fires in Middle East, Ukraine wars: Poll
Majorities of Americans support cease-fires in the ongoing wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, according to a new poll.
The new Economist/YouGov poll found that 68 percent of American respondents support a cease-fire between Russia and Ukraine, while 8 percent said they would not. In addition, 65 percent of respondents said they would support a cease-fire between Israel and the militant group Hamas, which are nearing their two-month mark of fighting. Meanwhile, 16 percent said they are opposed to a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war.
Most Americans support cease-fires in Middle East, Ukraine wars: Poll
Majorities of Americans support cease-fires in the ongoing wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, according to a new poll. The new Economist/YouGov poll found that 68 percent of American re…
thehill.com
