Very curious. Ukraine special forces fighting Wagner group in Sudan. Sorry for the sorry link instead of the tweet but can’t seem to copy a tweet since the bird became an X. Tried everywhichway on my Mac. https://x.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1710295024863244449?s=20 UKRAINE’S LONG ARM: Indications & Warnings has received (and geolocated) this additional footage, depicting Ukrainian GUR operators conducting ground operations against RU Wagner targets in Sudan. According to sources, the units in the video are task elements led by Ukrainian Defense Intelligence SOF. Operations in the Republic of Sudan are intended to Frustrate, Degrade and Interdict Russian Wagner mercenaries, forcing them out of the conflict zone or eliminating them. The broader aim of UKR task elements operate to restore the constitutional order within the republic and protect the legitimate authorities of an independent state. Kyrylo Budanov, Gen in charge of UKR Defense Intel neither confirmed nor denied the presence GUR operators in Sudan. Regardless of official disavowals, this video is assessed as legitimate with a high degree of confidence.
Russia wants to dominate rare earth resources. I'm glad it's being countered by Ukrainian (translated / NATO) mercenaries.
This is bizarre, unless Ukraine is winning the war so completely at home that they can afford to do this.
I thought China was dominating rare earth resources. We need to exploit what is here domestically. Can’t be held over a barrel by tyants.
I don't think that Ukraine has much in the way of rare earth metals. They have a lot of iron, some manganese, and some serious amounts of coal, plus titanium, bauxite, nepheline, alunite, mercury, potassium, sulfur, and phosphorites. Their coal mining is often dangerous because they have the deepest coal deposits in Europe. Ukraine - Resources, Power, Economy The rare earth metals are: lanthanum, promethium, samarium, gadolinium, cerium, europium, lutetium, ytterbium, praseodymium, dysprosium, thulium, terbium, holmium, erbium, neodymium, scandium, and yttrium. Lithium is not a rare earth metal, but is often mentioned in association with them because of its use in batteries. What are rare earth elements, and why are they important?
Is there any Russia/Hamas link? They both use the same tactics of killing women and children. Hamas sent high-level delegation to Moscow at Russia’s invitation – Middle East Monitor
As of yesterday, Putin was calling for a ceasefire. Biden, by contrast (though glazed over by dementia) was bellowing fire. What would it profit Russia to facilitate an attack on Israel, Israel being a lukewarm ally ?
That said, what’s happening in Israel has certainly sucked the oxygen out of the room that is Ukraine. It could afford Washington a welcome off-ramp and distract from another US proxy war defeat, this being the most catastrophic.
Respite: not all Ukrainians hate Russians. Leonid and Friends is a Russian-Ukrainian collab and this is sublime …
Eh, NATO's advantage over Russia isn't that much greater than say Russia's over Ukraine. If Russia can secure China's material assistance, which it probably could because China knows how devastating and draining such a war would be for the West, then it'd probably be a lot like Ukraine with Russia playing the part of Ukraine. Russia's air force is paltry compared to NATO's, but so is Ukraine's compared to Russia's. What Ukraine has and Russia also has is a good air defense system. That's the beauty of the A2/AD strategy and the reason why countries like Russia and China have invested disproportionately into air defense and long range strike systems. You don't need the tech and money to build a competitive air force, you just need to prevent the opponent from establishing air dominance over the battlefield. Without air dominance the early 21st century battlefield is essentially the same as the early 20th century battlefield.
What the heck is this article talking about? The Abrams ground pressure is pretty damn high, definitely not suited for muddy terrain. It was designed for the Fulda gap, in Germany, not the muddy Ukrainian soil. Its jet engine's main advantage is fuel flexibility, as in it can take a variety of fuel, not its power, but that doesn't even really matter. The power/weight ratio of the M1A1 SA's we're sending to Ukraine is pretty solid, it is in fact better than Russian tanks, but gearing and ground pressure will be much more important for operations in difficult terrain. Anyone who's ever owned an off road vehicle knows that power is not the main determinant of a vehicle's off road capabilities.
+ =/= Sounds more like a double dog dare red line in the sand. (caveat: I'm relying on the purported translation there).
There isn't much that either country could do in Israel without putting boots on the ground, which won't happen. The U.S. may be able to limit the overt involvement of outside countries like Syria, but that's about it. Israel can handle the situation on their own. It's not their first rodeo.
