Ukraine destroys a thermobaric weapon launcher with a HIMARS missile. Video shows Ukraine using HIMARS to destroy a Russian thermobaric weapon launcher hidden in a forest
Russia's bombing of its own towns is attributed to poor training and fatigue. Poor training and troop fatigue behind Russia accidentally bombing own territory — UK Defense Intelligence
Russian troops are so poorly equipped that they are stealing from each other. There is also a lack of shovels, so they can't even steal shovels from each other. "Bullets? You mean we're supposed to have bullets?" Russian soldiers are stealing clothes, razors, and backpacks from each other: report
How many Ukrainian paratroopers does it take to defeat a group of four Russian armored vehicles? Sharpshooting Ukrainian paratrooper destroys four Russian armored vehicles in single battle – video Probably needs to change his name to Jon Ramboskyy.
they should have had the long range HIMARS a long time ago. Biden killed a lot of Ukranian soldiers delaying the transfer of the more advanced weapons. Russia has no answer for them and they are doing significant damage
Ukrainian hackers doing work. Wonder how much help they are getting from others Ukraine Blackjack hackers take down Moscow ISP in revenge for Kyivstar attack, but apparently they’re just warming up (msn.com) In response to the recent takedown of the Ukrainian telecom provider Kyivstar, the Blackjack group has targeted the Moscow based M9 Telecom. The group claimed that the attack resulted in the total destruction of M9’s servers, website, branch websites, and mail server. All in all, around 20 terabytes of data was apparently deleted. The Blackjack group said this attack is just a warmup for a later assault, “which will be a serious revenge for Kyivstar.” In the aftermath of the attack, the group also publicly released 10GB of data from M9’s mail servers and their client database. Last month, the Russian-backed Sandworm group took down Kyivstar services after lingering within its network since as early as May 2023. The attack resulted in a total network outage, causing disruption to communications in the capital and disabling a number of early warning systems in local villages. Last year's attack also prompted Kyiv residents to seek alternative telecom providers, causing network overloads for Lifecell and Vodafone in Ukraine. The Blackjack group earlier targeted a Russian water utility firm with support from the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) resulting in the group deleting 6 terabytes of data and stealing an additional 1.5 terabytes.
Ukraine waxes eloquent about Russia's Moskva cruiser. Apparently the ship contained: 7 floors with an elevator, a swimming pool, and Russia's pride, all of which are at the bottom of the Black Sea. The loss of the cruiser caused Russia's "fleet" to be downgraded to a "flotilla". One more downgrade, and it will be called "flotsam and jetsam". The future of Russia's Navy is as black as black can be, I must say . . . The Ukrainians are well qualified to talk about the ship because it was made in Ukraine. Navy Commander tells what Moskva cruiser looked like: 7 floors, elevators, swimming pools and Russia's pride
Inflation is climbing in Russia, and Putin has brought back some old Soviet nostalgia for something Russians haven't seen in decades: long lines for eggs. This should be popular with the masses. Putin was stupid enough to claim that the shortages were due to "rising incomes of Russian citizens." Yes, citizens are buying more eggs than they need and vandalizing each others' houses with them for fun (or going on an all-egg diet), just so they can stand in line longer and complain about the lack of eggs. Unprecedented inflation for basic foods has Russians queuing for eggs – Soviet-style
Moscow is having heating problems, with residents unable to heat their apartments in -20 degree C weather. Utility lines are freezing, bursting, and spilling their contents because Russia cannot afford to maintain them properly. In one neighborhood that was home to Russian government ministers (including Defense Minister Shoigu at one time), the heat was provided by a horse farm's boiler. But the farm could not afford to keep the boiler running, so it shut down. Moscow Oblast residents endure freezing homes amid heating crisis
Now I'm confused. House Republicans are apparently complaining that Biden is not doing enough to supply Ukraine with what it needs to win the war. Weren't they the ones holding up aid to Ukraine to try to get more money spent on Trump's foolish wall at the southern border? "Plan for victory in Ukraine": US Republicans set out their vision for US role in defeating Russia
Putin's support level among Russians is down to 60%. In a communist dictatorship where the president gets to pick opponents for the election for his office and assassinate anyone who upsets him, that is about as close to zero support as you can get. More Russians support the war than support Putin. Two-thirds of Russians support war in Ukraine, though only 6 in 10 plan to vote for Putin
I thought the wall was foolish four years ago. I don't think so today. From talking with friends in Arizona and Texas, I moving towards thinking the wall isn't such a bad idea, for several reasons. I think we need to realize it isn't just about immigration. We need a solid border to deal with the cartels. And, I'm in favor of liberalizing immigration but I don't want the farce that exists today. But in any event I need to study what the Republicans' plan is for helping Ukraine. Thanks for sharing. I appreciate following your posts on this thread
OK...I read it. Other than complaining that they've been playing politics with the White House over the Ukraine financial aid and seeking to bolster spending on protecting our Southern bordern, I'd love to know what you think of their five part plan.
From what I have seen, there's a wide range of takes on Ukraine within the Republican party. I hate it when we presume tribalism for everything. I mean, I get why we would presume this, but everything I've seen to date indicates there are multiple positions on Ukraine within the GOP. The ones who are pushing the Ukraine aid are the old war hawks, George W Bush republicans who think we can export our democracy by force.
Yes, they are three committee chairmen, old guard. I take it from your characterization of them as "old war hawks, George W. Bush republicans" you don't agree with any of their five point plan. I'm not sure I'd agree with your point that they are thinking we can export democracy by force. I really hope that is not the case. In reading their report I got the impression they are more worried about us getting into a protracted conflict that will drain our resources and they are concerned about the tag-team we are facing in China, Iran, North Korean and Russia. Do you discount their concern as just war hawks spreading needless fear?
I agree completely with the need to give Ukraine what they need to win the war. The threat is real, even though it is not imminent for us. Our defense spending will go up if Russia wins this war, I have no doubt of that. And the world will be a more dangerous place if Russia is still making and selling weapons to anyone who has enough money to afford them. Getting the Russian economy to collapse is the best path towards a more peaceful world, and a smaller U.S. fiscal budget in the future. We nearly went bankrupt (10+% inflation) getting into an arms race with one superpower in the 1970's, and if Russia wins, we will be up against two hostile superpowers. Bill Clinton screwed up royally when he allowed Russia to keep its military production factories when we helped them rebuild after their economy collapsed. The factories should have been torn down, melted, and cemented over, or no help with the economy. If Russia is defeated again, we may get another opportunity to correct Clinton's mistake. My answer for the southern border problem is simple: make it easier for legal immigrants to visit here. Work with Mexico to build a consulate outside of Mexico City to process all of the immigrants. Take their biometrics, check them out, screen their luggage just like the airports do (dog sniffing, etc.), and then bus them to their choice of San Diego, San Antonio, or Houston, and from there to other locations that need immigrant workers (tourists can take Greyhound). If they have a history of criminal behavior, don't let them in. This will reduce the foot traffic at the border by 95-99%, and greatly increase the chances of the border crosser being a drug smuggler or worse. The problem is not that Border Patrol can't catch the border crossers, it is that they release them to the Mexican side of the border within a couple hours, and they sneak back in at another location. They catch the same people 4-5 times in a single night, and eventually they get through. Processing all of them takes a lot of resources and time, and creates gaps in the border security coverage. The only "problem" would be that there are still legal border crossers at the places that have cities on each side of the border, because they live in one country and work in the other. I think that is currently managed pretty well, and would not create a problem for the consulate plan.
Perhaps they should have considered this before American involvement? The American involvement has been happening for a long time now. There is a carve out of both parties who have money interests in Ukraine and for them, Russian influence is off the table. That's why we're involved in the first place. If we actually cared about Ukrainian lives, we wouldn't be giving them just enough to hang themselves and lose hundreds of thousands of soldiers in the process.
himars? long range drones? european munitions? f-16 launched missiles Two Dozen Russian Helicopters Downed in One Day with 'Secret Weapon'—Kyiv (msn.com) Ukrainian forces destroyed 26 Russian helicopters in a single day using an unknown long-range weapon supplied by Kyiv's allies, Volodymyr Zelensky has claimed. During a press conference with journalists in Latvia on Thursday, the Ukrainian president remained light on details when discussing the use of the mystery weapon, not disclosing which country had provided the system, how long it had been in operation or when it had been used against the helicopters. "Partners have provided us with some long-range weapons," he said, according to a translation by Ukrainian news outlet RBC. "I won't say what, but our partners will understand. "With it, we destroyed 26 helicopters in a day, and 12 planes that took off and attacked with missiles, against which these systems were working. We destroyed 12 at once."
