This might be a little tougher than Putin thought...
- Thread starter Nole Lou
- Start date
hawkeyetraveler
HB Heisman
The Ukrainian government should give social media master classes
Isn’t part of the rift between the US and Turkey that they have bought some Russian gear lately? If they have, then I hope they kept the receipts.
Better video of the burning optics factory in Russia.
Yakhroma, Moscow region. Putin continues to mobilize the reserves of
to promote his campaign of annihilation in
on a daily basis. Tanks
for
: 0
Oktoberfest in Germany has been erased from my bucket list at this point.
I think the Baltic states would be a great trip instead.
I wonder if a "Boycott Germany" campaign would help them see the light.
They were cut out of the F-35 deal because they bought the Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missiles which is a big conflict of interest right there.
Have a couple friends that teach F-35 maintenance to the foreign buyers of the F-35. Had their Turkish groups class cut off in the middle...
Germany has given Ukraine weapons. We have video's of the Panzerfaust 3's in use they gave them in this thread. There are also video's of the Strella shoulder fired anti-aircraft missiles they gave them.
Germany has let their military atrophy for years so these type issues shouldn't be a surprise.
They've also given permission for other NATO countries to transfer some heavy weapons they gave them to Ukraine.
They've supplied
900 Panzerfaust 3's
100 heavy Machine guns
2600 anti-tank mines
500 stinger anti aircraft missiles
2053 Strela anti aircraft missiles
100,000 hand grenades
16M rounds of ammunition.
Heavy weapons is a problem....but to insinuate they've done "nothing" is BS
Pretty good article detailing the problems/politics in Germany for Der Spiegel.
Olaf Scholz and Ukraine: Why Has Germany Been So Slow To Deliver Weapons?
Half of all Germans – not to mention numerous allied nations – believe the German chancellor could be doing more to help Ukraine. Why has Olaf Scholz's government been so hesitant?
Seems like there a lot of folks with a hard on for Germany. A lot deserved...a lot it is over the top though..
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They can’t wrap their heads around why Germany doesn’t want this to become WW3.
"I hope I never live to see anything like this happen in America. But sometimes I wish people over there could at least see it. Sometimes I think they don't quite understand what it's like."
-Sergeant Eldridge Benefield, on viewing the ruins of Aachen, Germany, during World War II
I honestly wonder if Merkel would have done more. I want to be believe that is the case as I have a lot of respect for her.
I wonder what we offered if they had done that.
"WASHINGTON, March 19 (Reuters) - The United States has informally raised with Turkey the unlikely possibility of sending its Russian-made S-400 missile defense systems to Ukraine to help it fight invading Russian forces, according to three sources familiar with the matter.
U.S. officials have floated the suggestion over the past month with their Turkish counterparts but no specific or formal request was made, the sources told Reuters. They said it also came up briefly during Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman's visit to Turkey earlier this month."
https://www.reuters.com/world/us-su...de-missile-system-ukraine-sources-2022-03-19/
I didn't realize until this war how Germany had let their military go to hell. Was that under Merkel?
What is frightening is that German apparently could not have held up any of its army responsibilities had NATO been attacked. Hope this will change NATO's readiness awareness and that Germany will be held to their boost in military spending.
The United States has protected the free world since WWII.
that’s how Western Europe funded their social programs.
The Germans had a ‘peace dividend’ after the Cold War.
The U.S. invaded the Middle East instead.
The de-mining issue has stalled UN-sponsored negotiations in Istanbul between Russia and Turkey to establish a 'grain corridor' to get the vital exports needed for much of the world's food moving again. Kiev has charged that both the Russian naval blockade as well as Russian forces' theft of Ukraine's grain is the reason for the emerging global food and supply crisis, while the Kremlin has long blamed Ukraine for heavily mining its own ports.
Statements from the Ukrainian and Russian governments, as well as in international reports, indicate there are literally multiple thousands of mines up and down Ukraine's coast. For this reason, Ukrainian government officials have estimated that if it started demining efforts now, it would take a whopping six months to clear the coast of Ukrainian and Russian mines, as cited in The Guardian.
In his latest statements, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the onus is on the Ukrainian side:
"We state daily that we're ready to guarantee the safety of vessels leaving Ukrainian ports and heading for the (Bosphorus) gulf, we're ready to do that in cooperation with our Turkish colleagues," he said after talks with his Turkish counterpart.
"To solve the problem, the only thing needed is for the Ukrainians to let vessels out of their ports, either by demining them or by marking out safe corridors, nothing more is required."
Ukraine has rejected this narrative or that it bears responsibility for placing mines in the face of an invading power. The standoff and firm words on Wednesday strongly suggesting there's no resolution to the crisis in sight.
"Freight and insurance costs spiked after several merchant ships were hit in the early days of Russia’s invasion, and some shipping companies are still avoiding the Black Sea," Bloomberg details of a still dangerous situation for Black Sea shipping. "Three mines were detected free-floating in March, two off the coast of Turkey and one near Romania. In the northwest of the Black Sea near Ukraine, commercial ships have stopped operating," the report adds.
Statements from the Ukrainian and Russian governments, as well as in international reports, indicate there are literally multiple thousands of mines up and down Ukraine's coast. For this reason, Ukrainian government officials have estimated that if it started demining efforts now, it would take a whopping six months to clear the coast of Ukrainian and Russian mines, as cited in The Guardian.
In his latest statements, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the onus is on the Ukrainian side:
"We state daily that we're ready to guarantee the safety of vessels leaving Ukrainian ports and heading for the (Bosphorus) gulf, we're ready to do that in cooperation with our Turkish colleagues," he said after talks with his Turkish counterpart.
"To solve the problem, the only thing needed is for the Ukrainians to let vessels out of their ports, either by demining them or by marking out safe corridors, nothing more is required."
Ukraine has rejected this narrative or that it bears responsibility for placing mines in the face of an invading power. The standoff and firm words on Wednesday strongly suggesting there's no resolution to the crisis in sight.
"Freight and insurance costs spiked after several merchant ships were hit in the early days of Russia’s invasion, and some shipping companies are still avoiding the Black Sea," Bloomberg details of a still dangerous situation for Black Sea shipping. "Three mines were detected free-floating in March, two off the coast of Turkey and one near Romania. In the northwest of the Black Sea near Ukraine, commercial ships have stopped operating," the report adds.
Trump was wrong about tons of things, and still is wrong today. But some of his complaints about NATO members have truth behind them. They knew that the USA would have their backs if things ever got bad like they had twice already, so they didn't fund their military "requirements" per the treaty.
And look where we are today, it seems that Germany would likely be not much more than a speed bump for a well prepared and equipped enemy Hell, Poland could probably have a good shot at rolling Germany right now if they wanted to. And Poland has half the population and a small fraction of Germany's GDP.
The Germans basically spent a large portion of their too small defense budget on the war in Afghanistan. The Army specifically was under funded.
Germany's long military mission in Afghanistan – DW – 03/25/2021
In 2020 the German Parliament has extended the Afghanistan mission for the last time. It was the bloodiest deployment of the Bundeswehr in Germany's postwar history. After two decades, witnesses take stock.
www.dw.com
Thanks for the link. Wonder where all that money really went. From the article -The Germans basically spent a large portion of their too small defense budget on the war in Afghanistan. The Army specifically was under funded.
Germany's long military mission in Afghanistan – DW – 03/25/2021
In 2020 the German Parliament has extended the Afghanistan mission for the last time. It was the bloodiest deployment of the Bundeswehr in Germany's postwar history. After two decades, witnesses take stock.
"But nothing came of the planned short deployment. The Taliban and other insurgents later attacked the German contingent in northern Afghanistan directly — a phase that escalated in April 2009. For the first time since its founding after World War II, the Bundeswehr had to carry out combat operations.
The commanders and combat troops in Kunduz were ready for this, emphasizes the military historian, who has evaluated soldiers' diaries and operational reports — but Germany's government was not. "Chancellor [Angela] Merkel did not want that, the defense minister did not want that and neither did the Bundeswehr inspector general."
When the soldiers demanded heavy weapons and more forces, they fell on deaf ears in Berlin. "We keep out of it, that's the Afghans' business," they said.
The result: Citing foreign policy reasons, Germany is always "a little involved" in multinational operations, but does not really want to fight, says the military expert. "Of course, that annoys everyone in NATO enormously."
This "strategic failure of the federal government," as Neitzel calls it, has weakened soldiers' loyalty to the state. He is therefore not surprised that the far-right populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) "is so popular among soldiers." Many who were previously loyal voters of Merkel's ruling conservative Christian Democrats would probably vote for the far-right party today.
Some 19 years on, the Afghanistan mission raises the question of why Germany spent €45 billion ($53.4 billion) per year to retain its fighting forces, including combat troops, special forces and expensive weapons systems. But the German government consistently evades this question, Neitzel says. "At the strategic level, we have learned nothing from the Afghanistan mission."
European NATO Members having been underfunding their militaries for decades on the back of the American taxpayers. Trump made a public issue of it but I guarantee every president has had some very direct and blunt talks with those members behind the scenes. Until the up close look at Russia's aggression and intentions they just did not care. Remove the USA and the Brits from NATO and it is less than a paper tiger.
The same players then made the situation worse by abandoning their own energy production and relying on Russian gas, oil and coal to run their economies.
If a truce was reached tomorrow, within a few months Western Europe would be back to business as usual.
Ignorance is bliss.
The same players then made the situation worse by abandoning their own energy production and relying on Russian gas, oil and coal to run their economies.
If a truce was reached tomorrow, within a few months Western Europe would be back to business as usual.
Ignorance is bliss.
To be fair, Russia's infrastructure is so old and crumbling and poorly built to begin with that things probably do just randomly catch on fire.
"British supplied Brimstones are back after not being seen in a while - here we can see the launch followed by 2 Russian armoured vehicles attacking near Male Vesele in #Kharkiv Oblast. Shock is very unique; because when looking for a target in an area, 2-3 times at a time will be redeemed."
I realize this is politics but what right does an invader have to decide who can fight against the invaders for the attacked country.
Hope the UK can make a strong point (threat) to Russia before this happens.
I realize this is politics but what right does an invader have to decide who can fight against the invaders for the attacked country.
Hope the UK can make a strong point (threat) to Russia before this happens.
I went when I was in college. It was fun, I had a good time, but it's a lot like New Year's Eve. It's amateur hour and overrated. The beer halls were much more interesting when it wasn't Octoberfest. Now, if getting shitcanned, stumbling around in thousands of other people's piss and puke, and trying to stumble back to where ever you are staying is your thing, have at it. But you really don't need to travel 7000 miles to do that. But if you want to listen to polka music, drink some beer, and eat some whole chickens, literally any other time of the year is better.
Russia has zero credibility to execute these two men after invading a sovereign nation…..with that being said these men have to know what they’re getting into. Doesn’t make it right so I hope the UK can pull some big dick moves.
I’ve mentioned this thread (now 858 pages) before on battlefront.com’s community forum.
LOTS of overseas posters, including from Ukraine, Poland, Germany, Greece, etc.
Always interesting to see their perspectives and takes.
Germany is taking a beating in public opinion in Eastern Europe on this, but they just really don’t want to have a military or be involved in a war.
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