LongTimeLurker Posted January 28, 2023 Share Posted January 28, 2023 Now Putin clearly isn't going to do anything mental in response to supposed red lines hopefully Leopards and Abrams tanks were only the first step to giving the Ukrainians what they need to win: 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweet Pete Posted January 29, 2023 Share Posted January 29, 2023 With HIMARS, heavy weapons, artillery, small arms, IFVs and now MBTs all donated, and discussions happening about donating fighter jets (which seems to mean that they will indeed be sent at some point), can we now call this a proxy war? Sending a few cases of old stored rifles is one thing, but sending entire armies of modern heavy duty military hardware and all the associated training, parts and ammunition is really just a war of West v Russia by another name. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweet Pete Posted January 29, 2023 Share Posted January 29, 2023 There's been bickering and grumbling for some time now from Ukrainian troops that all isn't above board with the US 'charity' Ripleys Heroes which now seems to be coming to a head. Seems that American volunteer, James Vasquez, who has been becoming something of a celebrity off the back of his volunteering to fight, has been using his profile to drum up donations for an org run by an ex US military guy which purports to send equipment to Ukrainian units. The Ukrainian units are claiming that donations don't reach them, they masquerade as being helpful for financial gain, and the organisation isn't even set up as a legit charity. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bennett Posted January 29, 2023 Share Posted January 29, 2023 31 minutes ago, Sweet Pete said: With HIMARS, heavy weapons, artillery, small arms, IFVs and now MBTs all donated, and discussions happening about donating fighter jets (which seems to mean that they will indeed be sent at some point), can we now call this a proxy war? Sending a few cases of old stored rifles is one thing, but sending entire armies of modern heavy duty military hardware and all the associated training, parts and ammunition is really just a war of West v Russia by another name. NATO sending in an coalition air force would probably be easier and quicker option at this stage rather than trying to train Ukrainian pilots on F16s. -1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongTimeLurker Posted January 29, 2023 Share Posted January 29, 2023 (edited) 17 hours ago, Sweet Pete said: ...The Ukrainian units are claiming that donations don't reach them, they masquerade as being helpful for financial gain, and the organisation isn't even set up as a legit charity... That's probably what the infamous Canadian volunteer twitter handle was really all about as well. He just wasn't able to stay credible with it after the bike ride through mine fields into Kherson stuff. All kinds of chancers are always likely to be looking to take advantage. That's just how life works basically. The Ukrainians were expected to have lost by now or signed some sort of armistice giving Vlad the Crimean land bridge. If they are not going to roll over then it's best for the west to give them what they need to win and hope for the best where the future of the Russian Federation is concerned. Having this war drag on for years doesn't help anybody other than maybe Vlad and his inner circle. Edited January 30, 2023 by LongTimeLurker 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweet Pete Posted January 29, 2023 Share Posted January 29, 2023 4 minutes ago, LongTimeLurker said: That's probably what the infamous Canadian volunteer twitter handle was really all about as well. He just wasn't able to stay credible with it after the bike ride through mine fields into Kherson stuff. All kinds of chancers are always likely to be looking to take advantage. That's just how life works basically. The Ukrainians were expected to have lost by now or signed some sort of armistive giving Vlad the Crimean land bridge. If they are not going to roll over then it's best for the west to give them what they need to win and hope for the best where the future of the Russian Federation is concerned. Having this war drag on for years doesn't help anybody other than maybe Vlad and his inner circle. Yes there will always be those looking to exploit any situation. There's been a few accounts of naughty behaviour from the international legion and the Georgian legion. Saw an interview with a recently returned UK volunteer recently that said a lot of guys from those units are over there 'on the rob'. Saw another with a French Canadian volunteer who said that the military gear they're supplied with is stolen and sold off by the Ukrainian officers. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshbairn Posted January 29, 2023 Share Posted January 29, 2023 3 hours ago, bennett said: NATO sending in an coalition air force would probably be easier and quicker option at this stage rather than trying to train Ukrainian pilots on F16s. I bet if there's any intention of sending F16s, Ukrainian pilots and engineers will have been quietly training on them for months, same with battle tanks. Last thing that's needed is Russion pilots shooting down American flown planes from inside Russia and America responding. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TxRover Posted January 29, 2023 Share Posted January 29, 2023 38 minutes ago, welshbairn said: I bet if there's any intention of sending F16s, Ukrainian pilots and engineers will have been quietly training on them for months, same with battle tanks. Last thing that's needed is Russion pilots shooting down American flown planes from inside Russia and America responding. Fighters aren’t really what’s needed, as they can’t effectively work within the Russian AA umbrella. Interceptors to take out high-speed missiles, if they aren’t within Patriot range, would help. The F-16 could do it, but isn’t as suited to the task as perhaps the F-15…but the F-15 would be a serious threat to Russia compared to the F-16 due to its range, altitude, radar and missile capabilities relatively easily allowing targeting of flights in Russian airspace. The F-16 is the better choice to keep things more limited, as would the rumored AH-64’s. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvio Tattiescone Posted January 29, 2023 Share Posted January 29, 2023 Every ex-Soviet state has problems with corruption and it's taken some time to reduce it in places like Poland and other former Eastern bloc countries. That was part of the EU exploratory work over the last 10 years, ensuring Ukraine has a functioning state before allowing it membership. Those laughing and pointing saying "Haha - Ukraine is corrupt" are missing the point. It's the desire of Ukrainians to have a less corrupt state free of Soviet Russian mafia types bleeding them dry that's infuriated Putin. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Binos Posted January 29, 2023 Share Posted January 29, 2023 1 hour ago, Newbornbairn said: Every ex-Soviet state has problems with corruption and it's taken some time to reduce it in places like Poland and other former Eastern bloc countries. That was part of the EU exploratory work over the last 10 years, ensuring Ukraine has a functioning state before allowing it membership. Those laughing and pointing saying "Haha - Ukraine is corrupt" are missing the point. It's the desire of Ukrainians to have a less corrupt state free of Soviet Russian mafia types bleeding them dry that's infuriated Putin. That exploratory work should never have been done No attempt to investigate whether should be suitable for eu membership should have taken place Just left as a buffer state 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loonytoons Posted January 29, 2023 Share Posted January 29, 2023 5 minutes ago, Binos said: (Ukraine should have been) Just left as a buffer state Same argument could be used for Putin's special military offensive. Now he's got less non-NATO buffer zones and an increase in Defence budgets throughout NATO members. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshbairn Posted January 29, 2023 Share Posted January 29, 2023 16 minutes ago, Binos said: That exploratory work should never have been done No attempt to investigate whether should be suitable for eu membership should have taken place Just left as a buffer state It was before Russia invaded. Ukraine would have needed unanimous votes from EU states, it would never have happened. Hungary for example would have blocked it, and they would have had zero chance anyway given that they didn't even have control over their own territory, a minimum requirement, without even considering endemic corruption. Putin was playing Farage's Turkey card. who have as much chance of joining the EU as Venezuela. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TxRover Posted January 29, 2023 Share Posted January 29, 2023 Now up to 77 Leopard 2/Abrams M1A2/Challenger 2 pledged, plus the Poles are sending another 30 PT-91 (modernized T-72M with better systems and reactive armour) and 30 T-72M1M. Ukraine pushing for ATACMS, and Putin’s strikes aren’t helping stop that. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherrif John Bunnell Posted January 29, 2023 Share Posted January 29, 2023 Maybe this Putin bloke isn't as bad as everyone thinks he is. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ICTChris Posted January 30, 2023 Share Posted January 30, 2023 Reports that Russian attempts to storm the town of Vuhledar, as well as attacks in Avdiivka, have failed. Russian Naval Infrantry were used in these attacks, elite Russian troops. Girkin reports that they suffered heavy losses, he also hints that the real purpose of these attacks is to draw Ukrainian reserves away from Bakhmut to help Wagner there. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottsdad Posted January 30, 2023 Share Posted January 30, 2023 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MazzyStar Posted January 30, 2023 Share Posted January 30, 2023 1 hour ago, scottsdad said: Eddie Gallagher? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshbairn Posted January 30, 2023 Share Posted January 30, 2023 (edited) 1 hour ago, ICTChris said: Reports that Russian attempts to storm the town of Vuhledar, as well as attacks in Avdiivka, have failed. Russian Naval Infrantry were used in these attacks, elite Russian troops. Girkin reports that they suffered heavy losses, he also hints that the real purpose of these attacks is to draw Ukrainian reserves away from Bakhmut to help Wagner there. Girkin's been having a tiff with Prigozhin, accusing him of squandering Wagner troops in Bakhmut and being unworthy of a public position given his criminal background. In return Prigozhin accused him of taking bribes from Ukrainians, offered him a position on Wagner's front lines and promising to piss on his face when he inevitably runs away, and burying him. Edited January 30, 2023 by welshbairn 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikingTON Posted January 30, 2023 Share Posted January 30, 2023 17 hours ago, Newbornbairn said: Those laughing and pointing saying "Haha - Ukraine is corrupt" are missing the point. It's the desire of Ukrainians to have a less corrupt state free of Soviet Russian mafia types bleeding them dry that's infuriated Putin. Well no, the Ukrainian state has been getting passed between one branch of corrupt kleptocrats to another since the Soviet Union collapsed. This really hasn't changed and was Zelenskiy's own path to power. The desire to rid the country of its corrupt oligarchy is just as real in Ukrainian society as it is in Russian society. But in both states, the oligarchic system of power has until now remained intact regardless of any change in national leadership - and 'EU exploratory work' has not changed that reality. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ICTChris Posted January 31, 2023 Share Posted January 31, 2023 (edited) Russian search engine Yandex had some of it's source code leaked (hacked?) last week - there are numerous instances of racially abusive terms being used for function and variable names. Analysis has also shown that a number of search terms are blocked from returning images of Putin. Some of the terms that barred images of the Russian president were: Bald Cuntball Dick The Main thief Bunker grandfather f**k in the ice hole dick in a space suit what do paedos look like Edited January 31, 2023 by ICTChris 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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