I agree but I read something that may just be bluster but the Ukrainians claim to be getting ready to go on the offensive.
Staggering, even with a healthy measure of salt. I would be shocked, embarrassed, and heartbroken if our military was taking those kind of losses (with no end in sight) while engaged in an unjust war of conquest for the ego of our president.
new heavy artillery with smart shells will be a game changer for the war. Ukraine’s New Heavy Artillery Will Cause Russia a World of Pain (msn.com) Ukraine will almost certainly get Western precision-guided rounds as part of the package. The American-developed M982 and M982A1 Excalibur artillery shells can home in on a set of GPS coordinates, and unlike artillery of the past, can hit a target with the first round. Excalibur is so precise, the U.S. Army claims, it will hit within two meters of the target “regardless of range.” This level of accuracy will allow Ukrainian artillerymen to hit more targets faster and without so-called “collateral damage” to civilians still living in combat areas. Excalibur will allow Ukrainian forces to take out enemy forces quickly and more efficiently than ever before—a major asset for a defending force that might find itself outnumbered. A Bayraktar-type drone, for example, could act as a spotter for an Excalibur-armed artillery unit, locating dozens of enemy targets in a single sortie and sending back GPS coordinates for nearby artillerymen to service. Excalibur could take out stationary enemy vehicles one at a time, or even rain down a curtain of well-placed explosive shells along a trench line of enemy troops. A target that might take one battery of six howitzers to destroy might well just take one Excalibur-armed howitzer to destroy. Another round likely winging its way to Ukraine is the UK/French BONUS artillery shell. BONUS was developed for one thing and one thing only: to kill tanks and other armored vehicles. BONUS, once fired from the muzzle of a howitzer, flies downrange and ejects two smart submunitions. The two submunitions use a multispectral sensor package to detect enemy armor across an area of up to 32,000 meters. Once an enemy tank or armored vehicle is detected, the submunition fires a self-forging warhead that lances down through the top of the vehicle, penetrating the thin armor and destroying it. BAE Systems, which is in the process of supplying BONUS to the U.S. Army, says one shell will on average take out one target. Imagine a Russian tank company of ten tanks advancing across an open Ukrainian field. A nearby battery of six M777 howitzers responds to the attack, firing six BONUS at the column. The Russian tank company could lose up to six tanks in a single salvo, instantly rendering the company combat ineffective. BONUS would be devastating against Russian artillery units in firing positions, seeking out and destroying howitzers, ammunition carriers, and headquarters vehicles alike.
Well, we did have Iraq… Obviously not as staggering in terms of American lives, but in terms of treasure and Iraqi lives…it was a low point in our history (and personally I think a big part of the insanity on the right we are still dealing with nearly 20 years later, is the reckoning with this reality that it was all lies, that they vocally supported this evil). I guess the key difference is we had a fairly vocal opposition from the start (that I was proud to be on the side of). Unfortunately the propaganda worked as far as getting their war.
While I suspected this (almost a “duh” that we’ve been assisting Ukraine in more ways than just dropping supplies), these leaks are problematic to me as they deal in national security and obviously highly classified information. What is the intent of such a leak? To attempt to inflame Russia? Broaden the conflict? Seems like a mistake leak it if it was strategic or higher up w/ approval, if it’s someone just going rogue it very well could be criminal.
Russia annexed Crimea and is actively trying to annex both Donbas and Luhansk, and you think war was “easily avoidable”?
hmmm....maybe the Ukes will march to Moscow to save the Russians from their oppressive regime...and be welcomed as liberators.
