War in Ukraine

Happy to see. Hopefully more later

 

with nuclear weapons. that's why

 

Egon Spengler:
There's something very important I forgot to tell you.

Peter Venkman:
What?

Spengler:
Don't cross the streams.

Venkman:
Why?

Spengler:
It would be bad.

Venkman:
I'm fuzzy on the whole good/bad thing. What do you mean, "bad"?

Spengler:
Try to imagine all life as you know it stopping instantaneously and every molecule in your body exploding at the speed of light.

Ray Stantz:
Total protonic reversal.

Venkman:
Right. That's bad. Okay. All right. Important safety tip. Thanks, Egon.

 

Cnn live...
"Ukraine's president to NATO: Give us just 1% of what you have

From CNN's Andrew Carey and Yulia Kesaieva in Lviv

....
“You can give us 1% of all your planes. One percent of all your tanks. One percent!” he said in an address on Facebook. “You have thousands of fighter jets, but we have not been given one yet … we turned [to you] for tanks so that we can unblock our cities … you have at least 20,000 tanks … but we do not have a clear answer yet,” Zelensky said.

He appealed to leaders to make the necessary decisions to make it happen.
....

He also said NATO leaders should acknowledge what Ukraine’s armed forces have demonstrated in the war against Russia.

“Please, never tell us again that our army does not meet NATO standards. We have shown what standards we can reach. And we have shown how much we can give to the common security of Europe and the world," Zelensky said."

 

Not good. Cnn live

"Top Russian military leaders have declined calls from US military leaders, Pentagon says

From CNN's Barbara Starr

Senior Russian military leaders have declined calls from their US counterparts since before the invasion of Ukraine began, the Pentagon spokesman said Thursday.

"Over the past month, Secretary Austin and Chairman Milley have sought, and continue to seek, calls with their Russian counterparts. Minister Shoigu and General Gerasimov have so far declined to engage. We continue to believe that engagement between U.S. and Russian defense leaders is critically important at this time," Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said in a statement.

CNN has previously reported that the last known time Austin last spoke with Russian Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu was on February 18. Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley last spoke to the Chief of Russian General Staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov on February 11."

 

That's one way of securing your market...cnn live

"Russian stocks close the day higher as trading resumes in partial reopening of Moscow stock exchange

Russia’s MOEX stock index has closed the session higher after partially reopening for the first time in almost a month.
....
The central bank has brought in measures to support stocks, including blocking foreign investors from selling their shares and banning short selling. It has also brought in currency controls, limiting the amount of foreign currency people can take out of Russia.

This morning the White House criticized the move to reopen, calling it a charade and a "Potemkin market opening" that will obscure the dire effects of western economic sanctions.

"Russia has made clear they are going to pour government resources into artificially propping up the shares of companies that are trading," deputy national security adviser Daleep Singh wrote in a statement."

 

Cnn live...forcing folks to use rubles

"A "responsible" Europe will ignore Putin’s "humiliating demands" on gas, says Ukraine

From Andrew Carey in Lviv

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister has urged Europe to ignore Russia’s insistence that payment for future deliveries of Russian gas will need to be made in rubles.
....

"If any EU country bows to Putin’s humiliating demands to pay for oil and gas in rubles, it will be like helping Ukraine with one hand and helping Russians kill Ukrainians with the other," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in a tweet. "I urge relevant countries to make a wise and responsible choice."
....

Putin's message was clear: If you want our gas, buy our currency. It remained unclear whether Russia has the power to unilaterally change existing contracts agreed upon in euros."

 

Defense Minister Shoigu apparently hasn’t been seen at all in about 2 weeks. Speculation is he is under house arrest or is ill. So with that in mind, not surprising the U.S. hasn’t been able to contact him.

 

Good guys with a big hit ...cnn live

"Ukraine claims to have destroyed large Russian warship in Berdyansk

From Tim Lister, Celine Alkhaldi, Olga Voitovych and Gianluca Mezzofiore

The port of Berdyansk in southern Ukraine was rocked by a series of heavy explosions soon after dawn on Thursday. The port had recently been occupied by Russian forces and several Russian warships were docked there.
....

The Ukrainian armed forces said that, besides destroying the Orsk, "two more ships were damaged. A 3,000-ton fuel tank was also destroyed. The fire spread to the enemy's ammunition depot. Details of the damage inflicted on the occupier are being clarified."
It's not known what weapon was used to attack the port.
....

The Russian Ministry of Defense had previously reported that "the large landing ship Orsk is the first warship of the Russian Federation to enter the port of Berdyansk. It delivered equipment -- armored personnel carriers."

"The ships of this project are very spacious and can take on board a large amount of equipment, up to 20 tanks or up to 40 armored personnel carriers," the ministry added."

 

Would a switchblade drone be able to do significant damage to a warship in port? Maybe hit a container full of munitions?

 

This is going to sound counter-intuitive, but strategically, Ukraine should be cautious and not push Russia back too far. The closer they are to the Russian border (or Belarus), they closer they are to supplies via the Russian rail network. An extended Russian force with logistical issues is far more vulnerable.

 

They don't need any car warranties.

 

What you are saying makes sense to an extent, but ultimately the Ukrainian end state desired is not merely the destruction of Russia’s armed forces. They also need to have physical control of all Ukrainian territory, including Donbas and Crimea. The only way to make that happen is to advance. So the question there is a matter of timing.

 

Agree but (a) seems the period is longer than that and, (b) you'd think they'd have a 2nd in command of someone else that can at least say "he's too busy, talk to me instead" *shrug*

 

Agreed. There's just a danger built into that - a properly supplied Russian army likely leads to heavier Ukranian army losses, and Russia would win a war of attrition. You're absolutely right though, the timing is key.

But if the Ukranian path to victory is bogging down Russia and forcing them to take losses until the occupation becomes unpalatable...

 

I suspect they just want to push them out of range of long range artillery. But the proximity of the border is obviously an issue, including the ability to persuade Ukraine as the aggressor

 

Not sure. They're most effective against Russian artillery which is out of range for other weapons systems. The US and NATO have just begun sending anti-ship weaponry to Ukraine. That would probably mean LRASM (long range anti-ship missiles) which are cruise missiles launched from aircraft. The combination of those two weapons systems could give a huge tactical boost to Ukraine's military.

 

Which does beg the question as to whether Ukraine, given the opportunity, enters Russian territory or stops at the border.