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This might be a little tougher than Putin thought...

That would be amazing. Yes, it allows Russia to regroup and redeploy assets to the eastern front in Ukraine, but it could also eliminate fronts to the west of it, allowing more Ukrainian assets to focus on eastern Ukraine. Part of the concern was that Russia would overwhelm Ukraine with pure numbers and this could go a long way toward alleviating that concern.
Some CNN reports seem to indicate that the Russkies have taken Mariopul (sp)
And that they’re now shifting strategy to a long term engagement and destruction it Kyiv by air.
Which is why we and others must keep the supply lines active.
 
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Some CNN reports seem to indicate that the Russkies have taken Mariopul (sp)
And that they’re now shifting strategy to a long term engagement and destruction it Kyiv by air.
Which is why we and others must keep the supply lines active.
If that is accurate, hopefully, "taking" and "holding on to" prove to be very different things as it been shown elsewhere in Urkaine. Frankly, Mariupol is so destroyed and depleted at this point, it should be fairly easy to counterattack.
 
SIAP - Atlantic article on how Ukraine is successful.

"First, Jed wanted to discuss anti-armor weapons, particularly the American-made Javelin and the British-made NLAW. The past month of fighting had demonstrated that the balance of lethality had shifted away from armor, and toward anti-armor weapons. Even the most advanced armor systems, such as the Russian T-90 series main battle tank, had proved vulnerable, their charred husks littering Ukrainian roadways.

When I mentioned to Jed that I’d fought in Fallujah in 2004, he said that the tactics the Marine Corps used to take that city would never work today in Ukraine. In Fallujah, our infantry worked in close coordination with our premier tank, the M1A2 Abrams. On several occasions, I watched our tanks take direct hits from rocket-propelled grenades (typically older-generation RPG-7s) without so much as a stutter in their forward progress. Today, a Ukrainian defending Kyiv or any other city, armed with a Javelin or an NLAW, would destroy a similarly capable tank."

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/a...g_j7F8cSwCvzpbc-4_oNWpO8vciuYlff0IJT9Ll-3Lh-0
 
Just let them in NATO and the EU already. Ukr improves the quality of both organizations on day 1. Long term they are a much better asset than more than one of the Old NATO countries.
Ukraine as a country and people have proven a dedication to democracy and homeland which is to be truly admired. They should be rebuilt by the West better than it was before, admitted to NATO, and held up like Simba in Lion King for the rest of the world to exalt.
 
Ukraine as a country and people have proven a dedication to democracy and homeland which is to be truly admired. They should be rebuilt by the West better than it was before, admitted to NATO, and held up like Simba in Lion King for the rest of the world to exalt.

The entire West and democracies all over the world owe Ukraine enormously. They deserve something similar to the Marshall Plan, on steroids.
 
Ukraine as a country and people have proven a dedication to democracy and homeland which is to be truly admired. They should be rebuilt by the West better than it was before, admitted to NATO, and held up like Simba in Lion King for the rest of the world to exalt.
To a large extent you are right. However, it was (and might still be) replete with governmental corruption and legit Nazis and racists in power--the Azov battalion comes to mind. If it can reform itself, it would indeed become a special country.
 
To a large extent you are right. However, it was (and might still be) replete with governmental corruption and legit Nazis and racists in power--the Azov battalion comes to mind. If it can reform itself, it would indeed become a special country.

Ukr has a Soviet past so it should be no surprise that is has a corruption problem. However, it clearly has a fraction of the corruption of Russia and arguably similar or less than the US or Londongrad.
 
Ukr has a Soviet past so it should be no surprise that is has a corruption problem. However, it clearly has a fraction of the corruption of Russia and arguably similar or less than the US or Londongrad.
All govt's to an extent are corrupt. I don't dispute that. However, post 2014, events in Ukraine have made it clear there were many bad actors. This is open source info.
 
To a large extent you are right. However, it was (and might still be) replete with governmental corruption and legit Nazis and racists in power--the Azov battalion comes to mind. If it can reform itself, it would indeed become a special country.
I am certainly not saying any of the Azov stuff isn't true, just as I would admit pockets of that bullshit remain in the United States, and some of those people are in our military. With that said, in my humble eyes, Urkraine as a whole has proven its mettle in its commitment to democracy and self-governance, and is what we hoped for with Iraq, Afghanistan, etc. I suppose it is proof that the people must want (and die for) democracy for it to take root and make it work long term, and to believe otherwise is a fool's errand.
 
Ukraine as a country and people have proven a dedication to democracy and homeland which is to be truly admired. They should be rebuilt by the West better than it was before, admitted to NATO, and held up like Simba in Lion King for the rest of the world to exalt.
Rebuilt with seized Russian foreign currency reserves as well.
 
So, what are those troops that Biden spoke to in Poland going to “see when they get there”?

 
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When I mentioned to Jed that I’d fought in Fallujah in 2004, he said that the tactics the Marine Corps used to take that city would never work today in Ukraine. In Fallujah, our infantry worked in close coordination with our premier tank, the M1A2 Abrams. On several occasions, I watched our tanks take direct hits from rocket-propelled grenades (typically older-generation RPG-7s) without so much as a stutter in their forward progress. Today, a Ukrainian defending Kyiv or any other city, armed with a Javelin or an NLAW, would destroy a similarly capable tank."
A couple of things.

It’s not 2004 anymore.
The Marines got rid of their tanks.
The latest version of the M1 incorporates anti-missile defense:

The primary role of Trophy is defence against missile strikes, particularly for lighter armored personnel carriers, which are very vulnerable to rocket attacks. Since 2011, the system has achieved 100% success in all low and high-intensity combat events, in diversified terrain (urban, open and foliage). The system has intercepted a variety of threats, including the Kornet ATGM, RPG-29, etc. the U.S Army has reported similar success in tests. “I tried to kill the Abrams tank with ATGM 48 times and failed, despite the fact that some of them were supersonic,” said US Army Col. Glenn Dean. According to Rafael, by 2017, Trophy has accrued over 50,000 operating hours in deployment, bringing the system to a maximum reliability level.
 
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Ukraine as a country and people have proven a dedication to democracy and homeland which is to be truly admired. They should be rebuilt by the West better than it was before, admitted to NATO, and held up like Simba in Lion King for the rest of the world to exalt.
What they’ve also clearly shown is that their freedom from the old USSR is so highly treasured that they’d rather be dead than Red.
 
The entire West and democracies all over the world owe Ukraine enormously. They deserve something similar to the Marshall Plan, on steroids.
I wonder seriously in 5-10 years from now you will see adjective Ukraine added to products all over to give connotation of tough and durable. Like Ukrainian Steel or Ukraine Woven Fiber or Ukraine forged etc etc.

That and Russian will stand in as adjective for shit.
 
To a large extent you are right. However, it was (and might still be) replete with governmental corruption and legit Nazis and racists in power--the Azov battalion comes to mind. If it can reform itself, it would indeed become a special country.
Yeah but so are we…no country is perfect. We all have trash.
 
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