War in Ukraine

Zelenskyy says Ukraine has taken back control in areas of Kharkiv region, aerial attacks continue

Doesn't look like Russia is taking Kharkiv easily or anytime soon.

Institute for the Study of War

It's a long read - feel free to scroll to the key takeaways.

 

the djt gifted window of opportunity has closed, would really like to know if the f16's are in play

 

Ukraine hits back: American precision bombs take Russian targets (msn.com)

The Ukrainians adapted post-Soviet aircraft to use GBU-39 bombs. Recently, photos showing this weapon mounted on towers, likely on a MiG-29 fighter, have surfaced online. Until now, Ukrainians did not possess the technology to carry and launch such ammunition from the air.

Reports about the installation of GBU-39 on Ukrainian aircraft—according to analysts—may explain some of the recent attacks on Russian positions, including an occupied hospital in Vovchansk. Suspicions that Ukrainians were using GBU-39 have surfaced recently, but there was no evidence proving that the defenders' army had the technical solutions to drop this weapon from aircraft.

It is also significant that the GBU-39 bombs are likely resistant to interference generated by Russian electronic warfare systems. Detecting and intercepting this American ammunition is difficult due to the missile's small size. It measures about 5.9 feet in length, just under 0.7 feet in diameter, and has a 4.6-foot wingspan during flight. A single bomb weighs nearly 287 pounds.

The precision of hitting targets with the GBU-39 bomb also remains significant. The hit accuracy is estimated at 16-26 feet, minimizing the risk of hitting a random civilian object. Accuracy is guaranteed not only by the GPS system but also by the wings of the bomb, which unfold during the dive phase. Thanks to these wings, a large strike range can be achieved, reaching up to 68 miles when the ammunition is dropped from a high altitude.

 

Eviscerating one trope after another …

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/the-new-theory-of-ukrainian-victory-is-the-same-as-the-old/

 

Would Ukraine allow western pilots no longer in the military to supplement their aviators? I imagine there may be a few that would love the opportunity to help Ukraine and get some real world combat sorties heads up against whatever Russia has to offer

Aerial Chessboard: The Impacts of F-16s in Ukraine's Skies Against Russian Jets (msn.com)

With deliveries from NATO allies Denmark, the Netherlands, and Belgium expected within weeks, President Zelensky's quest for "parity" against Moscow takes a new turn.These F-16 jets, notable for their maneuverability and versatility, are set to challenge Russia's deployed MiG-35 and Su-35 jets.

 

So your ignorant analysis of the war is based on Russia, a nation of imperialistic barbarians, being charitable and gentle with Ukraine, and Ukraine, an innocent victim of Russia's greed, being intently suicidal. News flash: no nation is suicidal. Putin is looking for a way out of this mess he's gotten himself into while claiming victory. No one forced Russia into an invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine just values its freedom more than you do.

 

Yes, Putin's on his hands and knees begging for a ceasefire while blowing up supermarkets in Kharkiv. That's the lie we should all agree on. It's amusing watching you all disbelieve anything and everything that comes out of the Kremlin until one day, he says something that fits your narrative and now we can all take Vladimir Putin at his literal word. He would never lie to us.

I used to have a difficult time understanding how some of the posts in this thread could be so dense, but then I take a 5 minute trip over to the football forum and I see people doing the same thing with the current state of the program and where it's headed. Some people refuse to live in anything but a fantasy world.

 

No idea which troll you’re responding to, but well said.

 

Ukraine knocks out one of Russia's nuclear defense radar stations. Not sure if intentional or by accident. Probably not what the West wants to see Ukraine do, if it makes Putin paranoid about possible nuclear attack, but it is believed to be doing double duty in directing defenses against aircraft and missile (ATACM) attacks, so probably a valid target. If Putin were really worried about losing his nuclear defenses, he wouldn't have attacked his neighbor.

Ukrainian strike on Russian nuclear radar system causes alarm in West

 

Seems like you are being very generous with the term analysis.

 

Here's an idea for Russia and all of there apologists: pull back to the 2014 borders and you can have all the peace you want. NATO and the US have zero desire to invade and conquer mother russia.

 

First off, I’m right there with you on football season. It’s going to make me unpopular to say it, but the optimism in the face of all evidence can be downright revolting. I wish it were otherwise, but I have seen nothing in how we finished last year, recruiting, or staff changes to indicate that we are not in for more of the same inexplicable buffoonery, such as two players on the field with the same number or going for it on fourth down inside our own 30 in the 2nd quarter. No one will be more pleased than me to be wrong.

Now that said, you need to apply the same reasonable evidence-based analysis you have for our football team to the current situation in Ukraine. What is happening there now is neither what you wanted or what you predicted, but it is what it is. The Russians were not some inexorable juggernaut that could impose their will on Ukraine with enough time. The handful of Republicans who placed party over country in hoping to hand Biden another foreign policy defeat like Afghanistan failed to stop the flow of munitions indefinitely, and even Trump had to tell them to knock it off. Ukraine is not just going to fold and let Russia have its way. In fact, I like their chances on offense and defense this fall a lot better than our own team’s. Make me bet the mortgage on who between Zelensky and Napier is still running their organization six months from now. A lot of people won’t like an honest answer.

This war is far from over, but you need to start accepting in your heart that it is going much worse for the Russians than you thought or maybe even hoped. That’s what the evidence says, not the emotions.

 

I don't have a dog in the fight other than I do not want the United States of America spending taxpayer money in Ukraine. It is and has been historically the most corrupt jurisdiction in Europe and that is saying a lot. Our ROI on adventurism the last quarter century is not dissimilar to our ROI on the head coaching carousel we've had going on for about 15 years now. There is no way we are pushing Russia back to pre-2014 borders in Ukraine without a very serious direct intervention, which would metastasize into a human catastrophe. It is simply not worth it and if you think Putin is begging for a ceasefire now, then we've made our point, haven't we?

Let's cut to the chase. We know what this "football game" is about. It's about money, resources, business. Ukraine is very rich in minerals and has some of the most fertile farmland in all of Europe. You could call it the breadbasket of Europe, but it's the mineral deposits and natural resources which are likely valued in the trillions that we are attempting to rest from the Russian sphere of influence. From their standpoint, most of Ukraine used to be Russia, most of the people in the contested regions speak Russian and it is Russia's last buffer between NATO and home. Russia is not just going to fold either and they have nukes.

The stuff with Ukraine blowing up nuclear radar stations and the Nordstream pipeline are definitely worthy of the concern being mentioned. Those concerns are valid and not misplaced. And the reason for that is you don't want to deal with a country like Russia who, in their minds, have their backs against the wall. It will not have a pretty outcome. And so I hope you get your minerals and your Blackrock stock makes you a lot of money. But a lot of people have died and a lot more people are going to die, because of it.

 

it is Russian adventurism that has us in this position. Not the us. We don’t have troops there. It is stunning to me that you keep blaming the United States for a war of aggression by Russia. It is also amazing to me that you are fine with the us spending a trillion dollars a year on defense, most of that to deter superpowers in China and Russia, but are somehow upset about spending a small fraction of that to keep Russia mired in shit.
Also who cares about the language spoken? By that logic the UK should feel free to violate our sovereignty?

Finally, Trust me you will not like a world where countries go back to thinking invading each other is a good way to get what they want.

 

Well played.

 

To add to that, a “sphere of influence” is an anachronistic term of bygone eras. One can cite the Monroe Doctrine and say we wouldn’t like it if China or Russia got friendly with countries in the Western Hemisphere. And we don’t “like” it, but we do tolerate it. Under this “sphere of influence” thinking, we never would have let the Cuban or Venezuelan regimes exist or China to buy up property around the Panama Canal, but we do. Because under an open rules-based international order, you respect the sovereignty of countries, big and small, to enter into negotiations and agreements with other sovereign countries. It falls to us to make Cuba, Venezuela, Panama et al better offers sans intimidation just like it fell to Russia to persuade Ukraine to prefer a Russian partnership to one with the EU. Russia couldn’t provide a healthy alternative so they threw a temper tantrum and tried to intimidate instead. When intimidation failed, they resorted to brute force, which has at least partially failed. Ukraine does not fall under Russia’s or anyone else’s “sphere of influence,” like this is 1875. There are none. You have your borders, within which you are sovereign. Over those borders, you have agreements with other countries. That’s it.

 

Biden is losing WWIII …

https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/4678430-biden-is-losing-world-war-iii/

 

The most Russophobic of Ukrainians in no mood to fight Russians …