MontyPython
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War in Ukraine
- Thread starter Burhead
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Rasputin_Vol
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Wow, so Poland started out before the conflict with 400 tanks. But now with them committing 200 to Ukraine, they have cut that in half.
As he says in the video, this is a war of attrition that neither Ukraine, or Poland or NATO (outside of the US), can win.
Also, he mentions what I talked about yesterday about the Russian central bank lowering interest rates from 17% to 14%. Before the conflict, they were at 10%, after Western sanctions, they started out at 20%. So they are unwinding some of their reactive fiscal policies to Western sanctions and are probably within months of having their interest rates lowered back to pre-conflict levels.
As he says in the video, this is a war of attrition that neither Ukraine, or Poland or NATO (outside of the US), can win.
Also, he mentions what I talked about yesterday about the Russian central bank lowering interest rates from 17% to 14%. Before the conflict, they were at 10%, after Western sanctions, they started out at 20%. So they are unwinding some of their reactive fiscal policies to Western sanctions and are probably within months of having their interest rates lowered back to pre-conflict levels.
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Vladimir Putin 'will undergo cancer operation in the near future' and is set to 'hand over power to hardline ex KGB chief while he is incapacitated', insider claims
The Russian dictator will reportedly nominate hardline Security Council head and ex-FSB chief Nikolai Patrushev to take control of the invasion while he is under the knife.
Shadowy Patrushev, 70, is seen as a key architect of the war strategy so far - and the man who convinced Putin that Kyiv is awash with neo-Nazis.
The extraordinary claims appeared on popular Telegram channel General SVR, which says its source is a well-placed figure in the Kremlin.
General SVR reported that Putin has abdominal cancer and Parkinson's 18 months ago.
Hardliner Nikolai Patrushev will reportedly take control of the war in Ukraine while Putin is under the knife to treat abdominal cancer
He has reportedly delayed surgery, which will now not take place before the Victory Day commemoration of Russia's World War Two victory in Red Square on May 9.
The news comes amid speculation Putin will launch an all-out war across Ukraine and order mass mobilisation of military-age men, a considerable political risk.
The surgery had been scheduled for the second half of April but was delayed, SVR claimed.
It went on: 'The Russian President Vladimir Putin has oncology, and the latest problems identified during [his latest] examination are associated with this disease.'
He also suffers from 'Parkinson's disease and schizoaffective disorder', which carries symptoms of schizophrenia including hallucinations and mania.
The Kremlin has always strongly denied Putin has medical problems and portrays he is in robust health, even as he has been mysteriously absent in recent years.
Putin 'will have cancer operation in the near future' and 'hand over power to hardline ex KGB chief' | Daily Mail Online
- Russian leader set for surgery, which officials insist is 'of no particular urgency'
The Russian dictator will reportedly nominate hardline Security Council head and ex-FSB chief Nikolai Patrushev to take control of the invasion while he is under the knife.
Shadowy Patrushev, 70, is seen as a key architect of the war strategy so far - and the man who convinced Putin that Kyiv is awash with neo-Nazis.
The extraordinary claims appeared on popular Telegram channel General SVR, which says its source is a well-placed figure in the Kremlin.
General SVR reported that Putin has abdominal cancer and Parkinson's 18 months ago.
Hardliner Nikolai Patrushev will reportedly take control of the war in Ukraine while Putin is under the knife to treat abdominal cancer
He has reportedly delayed surgery, which will now not take place before the Victory Day commemoration of Russia's World War Two victory in Red Square on May 9.
The news comes amid speculation Putin will launch an all-out war across Ukraine and order mass mobilisation of military-age men, a considerable political risk.
The surgery had been scheduled for the second half of April but was delayed, SVR claimed.
It went on: 'The Russian President Vladimir Putin has oncology, and the latest problems identified during [his latest] examination are associated with this disease.'
He also suffers from 'Parkinson's disease and schizoaffective disorder', which carries symptoms of schizophrenia including hallucinations and mania.
The Kremlin has always strongly denied Putin has medical problems and portrays he is in robust health, even as he has been mysteriously absent in recent years.
Putin 'will have cancer operation in the near future' and 'hand over power to hardline ex KGB chief' | Daily Mail Online
MontyPython
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Burhead
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Burhead
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Rasputin_Vol
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Vladimir Putin 'will undergo cancer operation in the near future' and is set to 'hand over power to hardline ex KGB chief while he is incapacitated', insider claims
Vladimir Putin may be forced to give up control of the war in Ukraine for days as he is set for cancer surgery, a 'Kremlin insider' has claimed.
- Russian leader set for surgery, which officials insist is 'of no particular urgency'
The Russian dictator will reportedly nominate hardline Security Council head and ex-FSB chief Nikolai Patrushev to take control of the invasion while he is under the knife.
Shadowy Patrushev, 70, is seen as a key architect of the war strategy so far - and the man who convinced Putin that Kyiv is awash with neo-Nazis.
The extraordinary claims appeared on popular Telegram channel General SVR, which says its source is a well-placed figure in the Kremlin.
General SVR reported that Putin has abdominal cancer and Parkinson's 18 months ago.
Hardliner Nikolai Patrushev will reportedly take control of the war in Ukraine while Putin is under the knife to treat abdominal cancer
He has reportedly delayed surgery, which will now not take place before the Victory Day commemoration of Russia's World War Two victory in Red Square on May 9.
The news comes amid speculation Putin will launch an all-out war across Ukraine and order mass mobilisation of military-age men, a considerable political risk.
The surgery had been scheduled for the second half of April but was delayed, SVR claimed.
It went on: 'The Russian President Vladimir Putin has oncology, and the latest problems identified during [his latest] examination are associated with this disease.'
He also suffers from 'Parkinson's disease and schizoaffective disorder', which carries symptoms of schizophrenia including hallucinations and mania.
The Kremlin has always strongly denied Putin has medical problems and portrays he is in robust health, even as he has been mysteriously absent in recent years.
Putin 'will have cancer operation in the near future' and 'hand over power to hardline ex KGB chief' | Daily Mail Online
Not good, if true. Patrushev would not be good for humanity. At least Putin is a moderate. I'm not sure if Patrushev is going to GAF. I spoke about Dmitry Medvedev yesterday, but this is one guy that I didn't expect.
Again, if true.
MontyPython
It's Just a Flesh Wound!
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Western artillery surging into Ukraine will reshape war with Russia
The Western artillery flooding into Ukraine will alter the war with Russia, setting off a bloody battle of wits backed by long-range weapons and forcing both sides to grow more nimble if they hope to avoid significant fatalities as fighting intensifies in the east, U.S. officials and military analysts predict. Are you on Telegram? Subscribe to our channel for the latest updates on Russia's war in Ukraine.
The expanded artillery battle follows Russia’s failed effort to rapidly seize Ukraine’s major population centers, including the capital, Kyiv. It comes as the government of President Volodymyr Zelensky and his Western benefactors brace for what is expected to be a grinding campaign in the Donbas region. The conflict there is expected to showcase the long-range cannons that are a centerpiece of Russia’s arsenal, weaponry already used to devastating effect in places such as Mariupol, a southern port city that has been pulverized by unrelenting bombardment. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, speaking alongside his Canadian counterpart at the Pentagon on Thursday, said long-range artillery will prove “decisive” in the next phase of the war. The Biden administration, which along with Canada is training small numbers of Ukrainian troops how to operate the dozens of 155 mm howitzers that both countries have pledged to provide, is expected to approve the transfer of even more artillery to Ukraine in the coming days, Austin said.
The U.S. and Canadian howitzers bound for Ukraine are towed on trailers, while those pledged by France — systems known as self-propelled Caesar howitzers — fire the same 155 mm explosive rounds, but from the back of a truck chassis.
The United States alone already has promised Zelensky nearly 190,000 artillery rounds, plus 90 howitzers to fire them. As of Thursday, more than half had arrived in Ukraine, said a senior U.S. defense official who, like some others, spoke on the condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the administration. A new $33 billion request to Congress for additional Ukraine aid includes proposed funding for “longer-range artillery of a heavier caliber,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken told lawmakers on Capitol Hill, though he stopped short of identifying which specific systems are under consideration. Other allies, such as Britain and Sweden, also could send artillery, analysts said.
To date, Russia and Ukraine have traded fire using some of the same systems, including the powerful 300 mm Smerch multiple-launch rocket system, which can shoot rounds some 55 miles, and aging 122 mm howitzers first fielded in the 1960s. The introduction of various Western artillery pieces is expected to accelerate a tactical shift by both sides to employ what is known as counter-battery fire, in which military forces seek out their enemy’s artillery, determine its location and attack, analysts said.
“You’re trying to find, fix and finish,” said George Flynn, a retired three-star Marine general and former artillery officer. “You want to find the enemy howitzers. You want to fix their position. And then you want to finish them off. That’s the essence of targeting.” After an artillery unit attacks an adversary, it needs to keep moving, Flynn said. “Once you get into a counter-battery fight, it’s shoot and scoot,” he added. “You don’t stick around and let yourself get targeted.”
Ukraine’s ability to target Russian artillery units is especially important, analysts say, because of the Kremlin’s demonstrated willingness to lob round after round into cities and towns, destroying civilian homes and infrastructure. “Just the existence” of more Ukrainian artillery units performing counter-battery fire will degrade Russia’s ability to “sit there, pile up ammo and go to town,” said Scott Boston, a former U.S. Army field artillery officer who studies the Russian military for the Rand Corp.
“The problem” that Ukraine and its Western allies would “like to impose on the Russians,” he said, “is for them to never have confidence that a headquarters, or a key ammunition dump, or an important cluster of firing platforms, can ever be stationary for very long.” The Pentagon on Friday assessed that Russia has not been as effective as it would like at using long-range artillery. A senior defense official noted that, as the West continues to send so much artillery to Ukraine, “this could become a bit of a gun battle.” Artillery units often disguise themselves with camouflage or other forms of cover, and it can require a mixture of intelligence, unmanned aircraft and radar to spot them. The West is providing Ukraine with drones and counter-battery radar to do just that.
Zelensky also has requested some form of multiple-launch rocket artillery, such as the highly accurate M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, known as HIMARS, that is used by the U.S. Army and Marine Corps. Such weapons launch rounds quickly, which is useful in firing on enemy artillery forces before they reposition, said Mark Cancian, a retired Marine Corps colonel who studies the war for the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. Cancian, a former artillery officer, said that there “will be a lot of pressure to provide” HIMARS in the coming days and that he would not be surprised to see the United States begin supplying it soon. Another type of multiple-launch rocket system, such as the M270 operated by the U.S. Army, also could be sent, he surmised. The HIMARS is newer and moves about the battlefield more freely, while the M270 carries more rockets. “I think there will be a lot of pressure to provide that, and since we seem to be announcing an aid package a week, I wouldn’t be surprised to see HIMARS next week or the week after,” Cancian said.
Ukrainian officials also have sought more self-propelled howitzers rather than towed weapons such as the M777. A Ukrainian official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the issue is sensitive, said that while it appears easier to perform maintenance on and find parts for the M777 howitzer, they are more vulnerable to Russian counter-battery fire than self-propelled howitzers, like the Army’s M109 Paladin. Cancian said he would be watching to see whether advanced, highly accurate 155 mm Excalibur rounds make it to Ukraine. The weapons are guided by GPS and designed to fly up to 25 miles, according to Raytheon, the Excalibur’s manufacturer. The Pentagon has declined to specify what types of artillery rounds are being sent. The shipping of Western artillery into Ukraine is important partly because there are few places where Ukraine can find replacement rounds for its Soviet-era systems, said Sam Cranny-Evans, an analyst at the Royal United Services Institute in London. Poland, Bulgaria and a few other NATO allies produce them, but many more countries produce ammunition for Western weapons. Lethal darts were fired into a Ukrainian neighborhood by the thousands While the West has promised tens of thousands of artillery rounds to Ukraine, they may be depleted quickly, Cranny-Evans said, requiring defense contractors to ramp up production. Russia also has a significant advantage in the number of artillery pieces it possesses, and it’s unclear how many of Ukraine’s legacy systems are still operational or how much ammunition is available for them, he added.
The Western artillery flooding into Ukraine will alter the war with Russia, setting off a bloody battle of wits backed by long-range weapons and forcing both sides to grow more nimble if they hope to avoid significant fatalities as fighting intensifies in the east, U.S. officials and military analysts predict. Are you on Telegram? Subscribe to our channel for the latest updates on Russia's war in Ukraine.
The expanded artillery battle follows Russia’s failed effort to rapidly seize Ukraine’s major population centers, including the capital, Kyiv. It comes as the government of President Volodymyr Zelensky and his Western benefactors brace for what is expected to be a grinding campaign in the Donbas region. The conflict there is expected to showcase the long-range cannons that are a centerpiece of Russia’s arsenal, weaponry already used to devastating effect in places such as Mariupol, a southern port city that has been pulverized by unrelenting bombardment. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, speaking alongside his Canadian counterpart at the Pentagon on Thursday, said long-range artillery will prove “decisive” in the next phase of the war. The Biden administration, which along with Canada is training small numbers of Ukrainian troops how to operate the dozens of 155 mm howitzers that both countries have pledged to provide, is expected to approve the transfer of even more artillery to Ukraine in the coming days, Austin said.
The U.S. and Canadian howitzers bound for Ukraine are towed on trailers, while those pledged by France — systems known as self-propelled Caesar howitzers — fire the same 155 mm explosive rounds, but from the back of a truck chassis.
The United States alone already has promised Zelensky nearly 190,000 artillery rounds, plus 90 howitzers to fire them. As of Thursday, more than half had arrived in Ukraine, said a senior U.S. defense official who, like some others, spoke on the condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the administration. A new $33 billion request to Congress for additional Ukraine aid includes proposed funding for “longer-range artillery of a heavier caliber,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken told lawmakers on Capitol Hill, though he stopped short of identifying which specific systems are under consideration. Other allies, such as Britain and Sweden, also could send artillery, analysts said.
To date, Russia and Ukraine have traded fire using some of the same systems, including the powerful 300 mm Smerch multiple-launch rocket system, which can shoot rounds some 55 miles, and aging 122 mm howitzers first fielded in the 1960s. The introduction of various Western artillery pieces is expected to accelerate a tactical shift by both sides to employ what is known as counter-battery fire, in which military forces seek out their enemy’s artillery, determine its location and attack, analysts said.
“You’re trying to find, fix and finish,” said George Flynn, a retired three-star Marine general and former artillery officer. “You want to find the enemy howitzers. You want to fix their position. And then you want to finish them off. That’s the essence of targeting.” After an artillery unit attacks an adversary, it needs to keep moving, Flynn said. “Once you get into a counter-battery fight, it’s shoot and scoot,” he added. “You don’t stick around and let yourself get targeted.”
Ukraine’s ability to target Russian artillery units is especially important, analysts say, because of the Kremlin’s demonstrated willingness to lob round after round into cities and towns, destroying civilian homes and infrastructure. “Just the existence” of more Ukrainian artillery units performing counter-battery fire will degrade Russia’s ability to “sit there, pile up ammo and go to town,” said Scott Boston, a former U.S. Army field artillery officer who studies the Russian military for the Rand Corp.
“The problem” that Ukraine and its Western allies would “like to impose on the Russians,” he said, “is for them to never have confidence that a headquarters, or a key ammunition dump, or an important cluster of firing platforms, can ever be stationary for very long.” The Pentagon on Friday assessed that Russia has not been as effective as it would like at using long-range artillery. A senior defense official noted that, as the West continues to send so much artillery to Ukraine, “this could become a bit of a gun battle.” Artillery units often disguise themselves with camouflage or other forms of cover, and it can require a mixture of intelligence, unmanned aircraft and radar to spot them. The West is providing Ukraine with drones and counter-battery radar to do just that.
Zelensky also has requested some form of multiple-launch rocket artillery, such as the highly accurate M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, known as HIMARS, that is used by the U.S. Army and Marine Corps. Such weapons launch rounds quickly, which is useful in firing on enemy artillery forces before they reposition, said Mark Cancian, a retired Marine Corps colonel who studies the war for the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. Cancian, a former artillery officer, said that there “will be a lot of pressure to provide” HIMARS in the coming days and that he would not be surprised to see the United States begin supplying it soon. Another type of multiple-launch rocket system, such as the M270 operated by the U.S. Army, also could be sent, he surmised. The HIMARS is newer and moves about the battlefield more freely, while the M270 carries more rockets. “I think there will be a lot of pressure to provide that, and since we seem to be announcing an aid package a week, I wouldn’t be surprised to see HIMARS next week or the week after,” Cancian said.
Ukrainian officials also have sought more self-propelled howitzers rather than towed weapons such as the M777. A Ukrainian official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the issue is sensitive, said that while it appears easier to perform maintenance on and find parts for the M777 howitzer, they are more vulnerable to Russian counter-battery fire than self-propelled howitzers, like the Army’s M109 Paladin. Cancian said he would be watching to see whether advanced, highly accurate 155 mm Excalibur rounds make it to Ukraine. The weapons are guided by GPS and designed to fly up to 25 miles, according to Raytheon, the Excalibur’s manufacturer. The Pentagon has declined to specify what types of artillery rounds are being sent. The shipping of Western artillery into Ukraine is important partly because there are few places where Ukraine can find replacement rounds for its Soviet-era systems, said Sam Cranny-Evans, an analyst at the Royal United Services Institute in London. Poland, Bulgaria and a few other NATO allies produce them, but many more countries produce ammunition for Western weapons. Lethal darts were fired into a Ukrainian neighborhood by the thousands While the West has promised tens of thousands of artillery rounds to Ukraine, they may be depleted quickly, Cranny-Evans said, requiring defense contractors to ramp up production. Russia also has a significant advantage in the number of artillery pieces it possesses, and it’s unclear how many of Ukraine’s legacy systems are still operational or how much ammunition is available for them, he added.
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Rasputin_Vol
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Rasputin_Vol
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Oh, I know. Poland has been spending a ton of money on their defense for years and actually it's a good thing that they can get some newer hardware while giving Ukraine their older stuff. The military suppliers were itching to sell some more stuff, hence the $33B "aide" package to Ukraine. This is a cycle that has been ongoing my entire life and I don't see it stopping until someone launches the first nuke and we eliminate 99% of the human population.
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India's recent order for 145 M7777's for $750M. We give Ukraine probably about 100. India going WTH. Personally I would not of provided them M777. They are veery expensive and meant for ease of transport due to being light. Older 155MM howitzers would of met the need and could fire same precision projectiles, which are very expensive as well.
If one looks into the $33B aid package, some of that is to replenish American stock, which was 1000 M777's and associated kit.
If one looks into the $33B aid package, some of that is to replenish American stock, which was 1000 M777's and associated kit.
Rasputin_Vol
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From what was stated early on in the conflict, these countries were willing to give weapons to Ukraine in exchange for the US/NATO replacing them with newer weapons. I'm sure that there is some sort of dealing going on where they are either getting grants or discounts, and the US taxpayer is still on the hook somehow.
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