War in Ukraine

Foreign fighters fighting for Ukraine are believed to have originally been on the order of 3,000-4,000 people, with almost half of them being defectors from Russia and volunteers from Georgia, Belarus, and other Russian neighbors. The number may currently be down to 1,000-2,000 people. Ukraine originally announced 20,000 foreign fighters, but that was either an exaggeration or a lot of people that did not follow through on their commitment.

If anyone tells you that there are two million troops supplied by 50 nations fighting for Ukraine, they are illiterate morons with a thumb up their ass. Don't disturb them, because it might not be their own thumb--it could be a Russian thumb. Just laugh and shake your head at the stupidity. It's extreme propaganda.

Ukraine was a magnet for foreign fighters. After 2 bruising years, many are disillusioned or dead.

 

A moment of silence, please, for the first North Korean military personnel killed in action on the Russian side of the lines.

Six North Korean soldiers killed on Russian frontline: Reports

 

Lithuania confiscates military goods from Kaliningrad-Moscow trains, gives them to Ukraine (msn.com)

They were tracking munitions, storage, failure rates. Putin not paying for duds, QAQC team just got retired. Read story elsewhere

 

You must mean only the stuff that wasn’t spectacularly blown up the other day. Putin most certainly paid for that.

 

Gazprom falling on hard times

Crisis for Vladimir Putin as financial blow sees Russia issued nightmare warning (msn.com)

The Kremlin-owned energy behemoth Gazprom experienced a dramatic plunge in its North Sea profits last year, due to the double whammy of sanctions and the windfall tax, dealing another significant blow to Vladimir Putin.

Gazprom UK, under the ownership of the Russian government, witnessed its pre-tax profits nosedive from 45 million euros ($50 million) in 2022 to a mere four million ($4.4 million) last year.

The firm shelled out 1.7 million euros ($1.9 million) in dividends to its Russian parent via a Dutch subsidiary, a sharp decrease from 41 million ($45 million) the previous year.
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These figures emerge as a report released this summer by the company's top brass issues an 11-year warning to the Russian tyrant, forecasting that revenues are unlikely to exceed pre-war levels for at least a decade, with gas exports to Europe barely hitting a third of pre-war levels by 2035.

 

$50 million isn’t a massive sum. This seems to be just one subsidiary of gazprom.

 

That's a decent start.

 

another day, another depot

Ukraine strikes a Russian oil hub as Zelenskyy says the war is in 'a very important phase' (msn.com)

Ukraine’s military said it struck a major oil terminal Monday in Crimea that provides fuel for Russia’s war effort as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the war has entered a key phase.

Ukraine’s General Staff said on social media that the oil terminal in Feodosia, on the south coast of the Russia-occupied Crimea Peninsula, has been supplying the Russian army with fuel and that the strike was part of an ongoing effort to “undermine the military and economic potential of the Russian Federation.”

 

Ukraine blows up Russia's largest oil terminal and hacks state TV (msn.com)

Vladimir Putin's 72nd birthday celebrations will be somewhat muted today after Ukraine managed to hack Russian state TV and deal a punishing strike on a key oil facility in occupied Crimea. The Moscow headquarters of Russia's main state broadcaster VGTRK - the All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company - was hit by a 'very serious' hacking attack, insiders claime

The crippling cyber operation scuppered all television and radio broadcasts overseen by the state body - one of the key tools used by the Kremlin to shape the narrative around the war in Ukraine and perpetuate support for Russia's supreme commander-in-chief. A source at the broadcaster said: 'VGTRK has been subjected to an unprecedented hacker attack. Online broadcasting and internal services are not working, there is no Internet or telephone service. This will last for a long time. I heard that everything was erased from the servers, including backup copies. The problem, as I understand it, is very serious.'

Meanwhile, some 1,180 kilometres further south, Crimea's largest oil terminal was set ablaze amid a Ukrainian kamikaze drone attack. The Feodosia Oil Terminal, located on the southeastern shore of the Crimean peninsula, erupted into flames amid the aerial assault around 4:30am local time. Shocking images and clips showed the terminal completely engulfed in a blazing inferno that sent thick black plumes of smoke trailing into the sky.

 

Russia apparently lost one of its latest drones over eastern Ukraine, and Ukraine has recovered it (intact). This could be a very good intel coup for Ukraine and the West. It's an S-70 Hunter drone.

Russia may have lost a rare drone over Ukraine — and it could be an intelligence win for the West

Another story claims that a Russian fighter shot it down by accident.

Russia’s S-70 Hunter Drone Was Armed When Shot Down By Friendly Fighter Over Ukraine

 

Putin Orders Birthday Clean-Up, Dismisses 8 High-Ranking Generals (msn.com)

Today on the presidents birhtday is no different as eight high-ranking Russian generals from various departments, were dismissed from their positions, according to reports from RIA Novosti and Ziare. The dismissals were confirmed by a source familiar with the situation, although no official reason has been given for their removal.

Among those relieved of their duties are General Igor Ivanov, head of the Investigative Committee for the Stavropol Territory, and General Aleksander Molcianov, deputy director of Operational Management at the Ministry of Emergency Situations.

Also included are Lieutenant General Sergei Poletikin, head of the Moscow Region’s Emergency Situations department, and General Vyacheslav Sukhorukov, who led the Investigative Committee in Buryatia.
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The shifts have fueled speculation that internal disagreements or fears of betrayal are reshaping the Kremlin's power structure, as Putin prioritizes loyalty and control to maintain his rule during the ongoing conflict.

 

Ukraine destroys a $10 million "Osa" air defense system with a drone worth a few hundred dollars.

Video shows the apparent destruction of a $10M Russian air defense system with a cheap drone worth a few hundred dollars

 

Huge news: the Brits say that September was the deadliest month in the war for Russia since the war started. It is slightly higher than the casualty rate in May. Russia is really pushing hard with meat waves to gain real estate before the weather changes, I suspect.

Deadliest month for Russian army as ‘meat wave’ assaults take their toll

Looks like Ukraine is still winning the war.

 

Blow that candle out, Vlad.

 

Putin's pretense that he is interested in protecting ethnic Russians in eastern Ukraine has been laid bare by his destruction of cities and targeting of civilians in eastern Ukraine.

Opinion - Russia never cared about ethnic Russians in Ukraine

 

Democrats needed to keep the war going to avoid having the "L" tattooed to their foreheads before the election. After Nov 5 the negotiations can begin.

Are there any lessons to be learned from this thread?

1) Don't poke the bear

2) When you get stuck in a hole stop digging

3) Virtually every Democrat on this thread got owned by duggers_dad, who did it with grace, style and humor. Hats off to all the others who got it right

4) War should be avoided. Life is precious. Wars always cost more than predicted. Wars help bad people get rich. Bad people control our gov't

 

Russia has another ship damaged, this time a minesweeper in the Baltic Sea, by a Ukrainian sabotage operation. Apparently water entered the ship's engine through a mysterious hole in a gas pipe, damaging the engine and sending it to port. Ukraine swears that they did not use the old "exploding banana in the tailpipe" ploy.

Ukrainian sabotage damages Russian ship in Baltic Sea, Kyiv says

 

The same Moms and Pops who’ve been cheerleading our wars will be anguished when their sons and daughters are fed into the chipper

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/americas-failed-grand-strategy-guarantees-the-drafts-return/

 

From the Financial Times article:

Behind the scenes the mood is darker than ever …

Increasingly the lens is being narrowed onto territorial concessions as Ukraine’s end game. Behind the scenes, all Ukraine’s Western allies now understand that it’s impossible to compete with Russia and the only way they can salvage some of their blood-investment is by freezing the conflict under the false promise that Ukraine can regain its lost territories at some future date, after a few years of rebuilding.

The War's Pivotal Impasse Crystallizes as Russia Cements Negotiation Terms

 

sanctions taking a bite..SU57 production shut down for lack of critical components

Russia suspends Su-57 fighter jets production: Reason named (msn.com)

According to the report, sanctions imposed by the West have throttled the supply of this critical hardware, placing the production of the Su-57 at risk, Frontelligence Insight concluded.

After reviewing Russian documents, Frontelligence Insight identified several key bottlenecks, including the WA36 attenuator (an electronic device that reduces signal amplitude or power without significantly distorting its shape, - ed.) and power supplies. These components are part of the MPPU-50, a German device used to calibrate the communication system of the Su-57.

Previously, Sukhoi could legally import the MPPU-50 and its parts, but now they are forced to illegally acquire them from third-party sources.

"Considering that Russian military production continued to expand in 2023 and 2024, it’s clear that they find ways to smuggle key components or purchase Chinese replacements to maintain production," Frontelligence Insight said.