Ukraine 4

[Timber Rattler]

It was the Russians who were anticipated to overrun Ukraine in two weeks. That didn't work, because the Ukrainians have had something to say about that. Those who have not fought have taken families and left, but those who remain are the epitome of "I'd rather die on my feet than live on my knees".

Well said!

 

Personally, I'm appalled at this corrosive new appeasement strain within Conservative circles that unconditional surrender to totalitarian dictatorships and terrorists to "save lives" is now preferable to fighting for freedom and liberty.  It's apparently better now to live on our knees before thugs like Putin and Xi than die fighting for the principles our Founding Fathers established during our War for Independence.  What if George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and the other "rebels" had surrendered to King George like the British and their Loyalists in America demanded?  That war lasted 8 years...it seems that there is now no appetite for any war to defend those principles, no matter how necessary, that lasts for more than six months, because it is just too damned inconvenient.

[mountaineer]

In a surprise Kyiv stop, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin offers Ukraine support, $100 million in military hardware
Visit comes as doubts grow over Western commitment to grinding fight with Russia                   
By Mike Glenn - The Washington Times - Monday, November 20, 2023

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin did not come empty-handed during his unannounced visit to Kyiv on Monday, where he sought to bolster Ukrainian resolve as its counteroffensive against Russian invaders appears to have stalled.

After traveling overnight by train from Poland, Mr. Austin said he came to Ukraine with the message that the U.S. will continue to stand with Kyiv. Along with words of encouragement, he announced a $100 million cache of military hardware.

The trip, Mr. Austin’s second to Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022, comes amid growing concern in Ukraine that the Israel-Hamas war has distracted the U.S. and its allies from this fight and could strain military supply chains. ...

[DB]

Maybe the early reports of Russian forces stuck in the mud, being a paper tiger, out of armaments, Putin's imminent death and those thousands of posts on social media showing Ukraine's magnificent and heroic battlefield victories laid the expectation of Ukraine's swift victory.  I believe it's called propaganda --- worked. .   @DB

So where is the quick win you claim we said?

Ukraine has had "magnificent and heroic battlefield victories". The likes of you thought Ukraine was done short after Putin invaded. Ukraine has successfully expelled a large number of Putin's invaders/mercenaries out of most of their country. That is nothing short of heroic. The "propaganda" has been all yours here.

And as far as the strength of Russia goes, Russia has been a continuous threat to all of Europe and the US for 70+ years. Clearly that threat has been laid bare by their inability to consume their smaller bordering neighbor to the west.

[Hoodat]

After traveling overnight by train from Poland, Mr. Austin said he came to Ukraine with the message that the U.S. will continue to stand with Kyiv. Along with words of encouragement, he announced a $100 million cache of military hardware. ...

Well there's a change.  Military hardware with no State Department or USAID graft attached?

[Hoodat]

It was the Russians who were anticipated to overrun Ukraine in two weeks. That didn't work, because the Ukrainians have had something to say about that. Those who have not fought have taken families and left, but those who remain are the epitome of "I'd rather die on my feet than live on my knees".

I am reminded of this scene from Red Dawn:  "Because we live here."

[kevindavis007]

Legit question:


If Russia demands Alaska back do we say:


1. No and risk a war with Russia?
2. Give them Alaska just to avoid war.


Yes, they do want Alaska back.

[sneakypete]

Legit question:


If Russia demands Alaska back do we say:


1. No and risk a war with Russia?
2. Give them Alaska just to avoid war.

Yes, they do want Alaska back.

@kevindavis007

We tell them "No",and let THEM risk going to  war with  US if they try to take it by force?

WHY  should Alaska,with all it's massive resources,be any different than Oklahoma,for example?

[Hoodat]

First action of Rheinmetall Skynex air defense system:

from r/UkraineWarVideoReport

https://www.reddit.com/r/UkraineWarVideoReport/comments/183lxpw/video_of_the_destruction_of_a_wave_of_black/

[Maj. Bill Martin]

Personally, I'm appalled at this corrosive new appeasement strain within Conservative circles that unconditional surrender to totalitarian dictatorships and terrorists to "save lives" is now preferable to fighting for freedom and liberty. 

I don't believe that the desire to save lives has anything to do with their position. Literally nothing.

Their motivation is the same thing we saw at TOS.  They see Russia as nationalist and pro-Trump, Ukraine as globalist and pro-Biden, and they want a Russian victory.  Most of them won't admit it publicly, but that's the truth.

[Maj. Bill Martin]

Maybe the early reports of Russian forces stuck in the mud, being a paper tiger, out of armaments....

To a great extent, that all is true.

This war began with Russia having a massive advantage in terms of conventional military forces.  When you consider Russia's reported reserves - including things like 12,000 tanks and 20,000 artillery tubes - It was all but insurmountable.

But as it turned out, a great deal of Russia's military was hollow. The reported reserve equipment was either not maintained or poorly maintained, and most of it was inoperable. That left them with a still very considerable advantage in conventional forces at the outside of the war, but that has been whittled down over time by extraordinarily tough Ukrainian generalship, and better training at both the small unit and staff levels.

The idea that Ukraine would still be able to hold all the territory at holds, and inflict the massive damage upon Russia's military that has been inflicted, is something that was almost inconceivable at the start of the war.

People who didn't understand the strategic imbalance at the beginning of the war have tended to confuse Ukrainian battlefield victories with strategic victory, and an ability to end the war quickly.  But that doesn't render the Ukrainian battlefield victories or the degradation of the Russian military any less remarkable

[sneakypete]

To a great extent, that all is true.

This war began with Russia having a massive advantage in terms of conventional military forces.  When you consider Russia's reported reserves - including things like 12,000 tanks and 20,000 artillery tubes - It was all but insurmountable.

But as it turned out, a great deal of Russia's military was hollow. The reported reserve equipment was either not maintained or poorly maintained, and most of it was inoperable. That left them with a still very considerable advantage in conventional forces at the outside of the war, but that has been whittled down over time by extraordinarily tough Ukrainian generalship, and better training at both the small unit and staff levels.

The idea that you crane would still be able to hold all the territory at holds, and inflict the massive damage upon Russia's military that has been inflicted, is something that was almost inconceivable at the start of the war.

People who didn't understand the strategic imbalance at the beginning of the war have tended to confuse Ukrainian battlefield victories with strategic victory, and an ability to end the war quickly.  But that doesn't render the Ukrainian battlefield victories or the degradation of the Russian military any less remarkable

@Maj. Bill Martin

Amen,brother,amen!

[Smokin Joe]

The idea that you crane would still be able to hold all the territory at holds, and inflict the massive damage upon Russia's military that has been inflicted, is something that was almost inconceivable at the start of the war.

People who didn't understand the strategic imbalance at the beginning of the war have tended to confuse Ukrainian battlefield victories with strategic victory, and an ability to end the war quickly.  But that doesn't render the Ukrainian battlefield victories or the degradation of the Russian military any less remarkable

I agree with your assessment, but must note: Gotta love 'voice to text'...

If AI takes over, I am just going to sit back in a safe place with ample popcorn, snacks, and beverages and watch the wheels come off...

[Maj. Bill Martin]

I agree with your assessment, but must note: Gotta love 'voice to text'...

If AI takes over, I am just going to sit back in a safe place with ample popcorn, snacks, and beverages and watch the wheels come off...

At least I know somebody read it. Thanks!

[Hoodat]

from r/UkraineWarVideoReport

https://www.reddit.com/r/UkraineWarVideoReport/comments/1867vbf/preliminary_information_came_out_that_russian/

[Smokin Joe]

Lots of senior officers gone...

[sneakypete]

Lots of senior officers gone...

@Smokin Joe

Which  is pretty rare,historically.  These are "bosses",not  combat commanders.

It ALMOST seems like someone at,or close to the top of the Soviet hierarchy is starting to "clean house". For what reasons,I can't even begin to guess.

[Elderberry]

Putin is urging women to have as many as 8 children after so many Russians died in his war with Ukraine

Yahoo News by Tom Porter 11/29/2023

•   Russian President Vladimir Putin is urging Russians to have more children.

•   "Large families must become the norm," Putin said in a speech Tuesday.

•   Russian birth rates are falling amid war in Ukraine and a deepening economic crisis.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is urging women to have as many as eight children as the number of dead Russian soldiers continues to rise in his war with Ukraine, worsening the country's population crisis.

Addressing the World Russian People's Council in Moscow on Tuesday, Putin said the country must return to a time when large families were the norm.

"Many of our grandmothers and great-grandmothers, had seven, eight, or even more children," Putin said.

"Let us preserve and revive these excellent traditions. Large families must become the norm, a way of life for all of Russia's people. The family is not just the foundation of the state and society, it is a spiritual phenomenon, a source of morality."

"Preserving and increasing the population of Russia is our goal for the coming decades and even generations ahead. This is the future of the Russian world, the millennium-old, eternal Russia," Putin continued.

More: https://news.yahoo.com/putin-urging-women-many-8-115933811.html

[mountaineer]

Putin is urging women to have as many as 8 children after so many Russians died in his war with Ukraine

I thought this sounded familiar ...

On August 12, 1938, Adolf Hitler institutes the Mother’s Cross, to encourage German women to have more children, to be awarded each year on August 12, Hitler’s mother’s birthday.

The German Reich needed a robust and growing population and encouraged couples to have large families.  ...

History.com

[DB]

Putin needs more pawns to wage war with... What mother wants their child to be used as cannon fodder?

[mountaineer]

I hope this doesn't mean Vlad plans to continue this war into the 2040s or so, whenever these new bouncing baby boys become of military age.

[DefiantMassRINO]

 

[Smokin Joe]

I thought this sounded familiar ...History.com

Well it beats opening your borders...

[sneakypete]

Putin is urging women to have as many as 8 children after so many Russians died in his war with Ukraine

@Elderberry

Pooty Poot is running out of peasants willing to die  for him,and needs to restock. That is a long-term prospect,so he  had better start talking peace soon in order to get the soliders back home so they can pump out some future corpses.

[mountaineer]

In re Ukraine's courting of Hollywood celebrities, e.g., Sean Penn, Ben Stiller, Matt Damon, etc.:

Danny Trejo refused a visit to Ukraine because the Office of the President wanted a “kickback".

https://twitter.com/SteveLovesAmmo/status/1730233266190344327

[mountaineer]

Actor Danny Trejo was offered $100,000 to visit Kiev and shake the hand of Ukr’s president. However, there was one catch: he’d receive $150,000, of which he'd give Andrey Yermak, the head of Zelensky’s office, $50,000 in cash.

https://twitter.com/RothLindberg/status/1730328896988405887