Latest developments and discussion of recent events in the Ukraine War

[RayC]

9 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

did the Finish people get asked?

 

No doubt the propaganda machine was in full output, and I expect the inconvenient bits were not referenced.

 

The Finnish people asked their parliament to consider joining NATO.

 

"Opinion polling following the invasion showed an unprecedented increase in support for joining NATO among Finns, with a clear majority in favour. Several citizens' initiatives on the subject got the required 50,000 signatures, requiring the Parliament of Finland to consider the matter" (Source: Wikipedia)

 

Never let the facts get in the way of your pro-Russian stance.

[GroveHillWanderer]

https://x.com/trajaykay/status/1817126004717928953

 

Even Russian Duma members are commenting on how badly they're doing on the naval front.

[tgw]

5 hours ago, Bkk Brian said:

The Russian turret challenge is still on and it appears we have a record breaker!

 

 

they went out with quite a bang

[tgw]

3 hours ago, RayC said:

 

The Finnish people asked their parliament to consider joining NATO.

 

"Opinion polling following the invasion showed an unprecedented increase in support for joining NATO among Finns, with a clear majority in favour. Several citizens' initiatives on the subject got the required 50,000 signatures, requiring the Parliament of Finland to consider the matter" (Source: Wikipedia)

 

Never let the facts get in the way of your pro-Russian stance.

 

Quote

A fresh Helsinki University-led security policy poll found that over 80 percent of Finns support the nation's membership of Nato.

https://yle.fi/a/74-20066206

 

"a clear majority" doesn't even reflect the reality.

Fact is, 80% of Fins support their Nation's joining NATO, which means that nearly everyone except a few nutjobs, Ruzzia-supporters and contrarians is in favour.

[kwonitoy]

15 hours ago, frank83628 said:

ever notice all the 'evil dictators' bomb children & hospitals.

 

do you really believe that POW's bodies are being sent back minus organs? so, think about this logically.. you commit an illegal action, that would be condemned worldwide, then send the evidence of this act back... just how gullible are you?

ever heard of manufacturing conscent? 

How about this one frank? 

War crime? Y/N

[balo]

Hungary wants to join Russia if you ask Orban , they should be kicked out of EU for good. 

 

Hungary’s nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Saturday that the European Union was sliding toward oblivion in a rambling anti-Western speech in which he warned of a new, Asia-oriented “world order” while throwing his support for Donald Trump’s U.S. presidential bid.

“Europe has given up defending its own interests,” Orbán said in Baile Tusnad, a majority-ethnic Hungarian town in central Romania. “All Europe is doing today is following the U.S.’s pro-Democrat foreign policy unconditionally … even at the cost of self-destruction.”

 

 

https://apnews.com/article/viktor-orban-hungary-romania-eu-3ea649669de75d13b0ba3585c0e83239#:~:text=“Europe has given up defending,cost of self-destruction.”
 

[stevenl]

4 hours ago, balo said:

Hungary wants to join Russia if you ask Orban , they should be kicked out of EU for good. 

 

Hungary’s nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Saturday that the European Union was sliding toward oblivion in a rambling anti-Western speech in which he warned of a new, Asia-oriented “world order” while throwing his support for Donald Trump’s U.S. presidential bid.

“Europe has given up defending its own interests,” Orbán said in Baile Tusnad, a majority-ethnic Hungarian town in central Romania. “All Europe is doing today is following the U.S.’s pro-Democrat foreign policy unconditionally … even at the cost of self-destruction.”

 

 

https://apnews.com/article/viktor-orban-hungary-romania-eu-3ea649669de75d13b0ba3585c0e83239#:~:text=“Europe has given up defending,cost of self-destruction.”
 

There are other threads about this.

[thaibeachlovers]

6 hours ago, balo said:

Hungary’s nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Saturday that the European Union was sliding toward oblivion in a rambling anti-Western speech in which he warned of a new, Asia-oriented “world order” while throwing his support for Donald Trump’s U.S. presidential bid.

“Europe has given up defending its own interests,” Orbán said in Baile Tusnad, a majority-ethnic Hungarian town in central Romania. “All Europe is doing today is following the U.S.’s pro-Democrat foreign policy unconditionally … even at the cost of self-destruction.”

I'm no Russian fanboy but IMO he has a point. The Eu has been spiraling down for quite sometime now, IMO, which is why a majority of Britons wanted to get out of it.

[frank83628]

 

15 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I'm no Russian fanboy but IMO he has a point. The Eu has been spiraling down for quite sometime now, IMO, which is why a majority of Britons wanted to get out of it.

yep, sucking up to the US is all they do, although the UK is no longer part if the EU, they are still in the pocket of Murica, and jump when told!

[frank83628]

9 hours ago, kwonitoy said:

How about this one frank? 

War crime? Y/N

so a photo with a caption is 100% facts right?, posted by someone calling themselves 'Total space nut'. ok, guess they are a seasoned war correspondent.

[Bkk Brian]

Another shameful anniversary recording the war crimes of Russia. Today, #Ukraine remembers the victims of one of the biggest Russian war crimes. An explosion ripped through the Russian-controlled Olenivka prison barracks two years ago, killing more than 50 Ukrainian prisoners of war and leaving dozens injured.

 

Takeaways from an investigation into deaths of over 50 Ukrainian POWs in a barracks 2 years ago

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — An explosion ripped through the Russian-controlled Olenivka prison barracks two years ago, killing more than 50 Ukrainian prisoners of war and leaving dozens injured.

The Associated Press interviewed over a dozen survivors, investigators and families of the dead and estimated 120 missing still being held captive. All described evidence they believe points directly to Russia as the culprit. The AP also obtained an internal United Nations analysis that found the same. Russia accused Ukraine of striking its own men with U.S.-supplied missiles.

Of the 193 Ukrainians in the barracks, less than two dozen made it back home. More than 50 died the night of July 29, 2022.

Here’s what to know from AP’s reporting:

https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-pows-olenivka-investigation-25f1b367aeb861883861d67e6318c03c

[Social Media]

Questionable source link has been removed and a post making unsubstaniated claims

 

A questionable source exhibits one or more of the following: extreme bias, consistent promotion of propaganda/conspiracies.

 

Any alleged factual claims must be supported by a valid link to an approved credible source.

 

 

[RayC]

12 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I'm no Russian fanboy .....

 

😂😂😂😂😂

[thaibeachlovers]

On 7/28/2024 at 8:37 PM, GroveHillWanderer said:

https://x.com/trajaykay/status/1817126004717928953

 

Even Russian Duma members are commenting on how badly they're doing on the naval front.

IMO that is the new reality. Surface naval vessels are just large slow moving targets in an age of cheap drones and hypersonic missiles. Even low economy countries like Yemen can destroy naval forces, given sufficient numbers of attack UAVs ( to use up the defenders surface to air missiles, which cost a whole heap more than drones ). IMO navy's as they are now are heading for the same fate as battleships.

[Bkk Brian]

Russia's summer offense went well then.......

 

Russia's Artillery Losses Highest Since War Began: Kyiv

Kyiv's military said at the start of July that Russia had lost the highest number of artillery systems in a single month throughout June. Moscow lost a total of 1,415 systems across the month, according to Ukraine's figures.

Updated statistics published on Tuesday suggested that Russia has lost 1,457 artillery systems on Ukraine's battlefields since the beginning of July, including 46 in the past 24 hours.

That means, going by Kyiv's data, Russian artillery losses hit a new high each of the past three months, with the 4032 units lost in this period making up a quarter of Russia's total alleged artillery losses in Ukraine.

https://www.newsweek.com/russia-artillery-losses-record-month-ukraine-1931806

[Mavideol]

Karma works in very funny ways

Dozens of Russian mercenaries killed in rebel ambush in Mali, in their worst known loss in Africa

 

https://au.yahoo.com/news/dozens-russian-mercenaries-killed-rebel-200508785.html

 

[Mavideol]

Betrayed and embarrassed: Russian soldiers desert Putin’s war

 

Betrayed and embarrassed: Russian soldiers desert Putin’s war (msn.com)

[Mavideol]

Ukraine developed new shields for its US-made Bradleys, which are excelling against Russia

https://www.yahoo.com/news/ukraine-developed-shields-us-made-112242481.html

 

[Mavideol]

Ukraine says it struck an oil depot in Russia, as Moscow claims new gains in Donetsk region

https://www.yahoo.com/news/five-killed-dozens-wounded-ukraine-124349656.html

 

[beautifulthailand99]

Tatarigami_UA - @Tatarigami_UA and a hugely influential pro Ukrainian mil blogger and Former UA officer - tells it as it is. As does the NYT - despite brave Ukraine defense the front is collapsing at many points over a 600 mile front. 

 

 

After Furious Battles, Ukraine Loses a Pair of Hard-Won Villages

“It was like a fight between two packs of dogs,” said an officer, describing the struggle for one of the areas, Urozhaine. But “there came a moment when it made no sense to keep people there.”

 

In conversations after the fall of the village, soldiers on the nearby front said they were feeling the strain of three large-scale Russian assaults in October, November and February, and then three months of intense fighting in Urozhaine. They described the Russian assault troops as a determined and motivated force.

 

https://archive.ph/7xPah

 

 

Russia Punches Through Weakened Lines in Eastern Ukraine “The situation is critical, as the pace of the enemy’s advance is worrying,” Mr. Butusov said. Russian forces have made rapid gains in the eastern Donetsk region over the past week- NYT

 

https://archive.ph/EA1DN#selection-685.0-689.153

 

In recent months, the experts say, Russian forces have increasingly focused on identifying weakened and poorly organized Ukrainian units before breaking through by throwing scores of troops and armored vehicles onto the battlefield.

 

“Russians probe the lines to see if a battalion holds or retreats,” said Mykola Bielieskov, a military analyst at the government-run National Institute for Strategic Studies in Ukraine. Once they “find weakened battalions and brigades,” he added, “they press them no matter the losses

 

Still, Russia’s recent advances are threatening Ukraine’s last defensive belt in the Donetsk region. Russian forces are now within artillery range of a key road linking Pokrovsk to other Ukrainian strongholds in the area.

 

 

Russia inches toward strategic supply route in Ukraine's east

 

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russian-forces-press-toward-strategic-ukrainian-city-pokrovsk-2024-07-29/

 

 

"Yeah. Don’t trust the images, don’t trust their advances, don’t trust Ukrainian activists, don’t trust the guy who has been five times to the front line.
Trust danny, because he is not coping, but knowing."  Julian Ropcke

 

A senior official at the U.S. Defense Department spoke to Foreign Policy on the condition of anonymity and admitted that political considerations were a factor, but said that corruption, lack of civilian oversight over the armed forces, and limited transparency in government institutions was a major hindrance.

“There has been particular concern around defense procurement,” the official said. “There have been cases where we have seen favorable awarding of contracts to people close to certain leaders.”

 

https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/07/29/ukraine-is-still-too-corrupt-to-join-the-west/

 

 

 

[tgw]

Russian Tactical Gains vs Russian Attrition

 

[beautifulthailand99]

Probably the bleakest take on Ukraine I've read to date  - because in the end when the money stops then it game over and private creditors don't like to take haircuts - they privatise the profit and socialise the losses. If you don't realise that Zelenskiy is desperate to sue for peace now probably on poor terms then you probably don't understand the conflict. So in the case of our forum member who bought a Canadian Ukrainian guaranteed war bond  - the haircut won't come for him but as an unfunded liability to the Canadian taxpayer which according to this article is currently running atound 70%.

 

https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/07/26/ukraines-other-problem-spiraling-debt/

 

So, as the Ukrainian economy—it’s totally perverse—recovers from the depths of the shock that it suffered from the Russian invasion in 2022, it is required to make payments. And we’re talking about billions of dollars of debt service added to which are the IMF loans at 8 percent-plus interest. And so Ukraine has a very considerable debt service obligation running to several percentage points of GDP—it depends on how it’s calculated—which it’s desperately trying to renegotiate. I think it’s very difficult to imagine a full-on default. But it puts huge stress on Ukraine at a time when it’s struggling militarily and when it is trying, in fact, to assemble an adequate package of support from the outside to enable it to continue the war into what looks like a fourth year at this point. A really grim prospect.

[Bkk Brian]

Back to supporting Ukraine and its defense from the illegal invasion.

 

US will provide its own weapons for F-16s to be delivered to Ukraine, WSJ reports

The U.S. will arm dozens of F-16 jet fighters being sent to Ukraine with American-made missiles and other weapons, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on July 30.

Ukraine is awaiting at least 79 F-16s from the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, and Norway, with up to 20 expected to arrive this year.

The Pentagon has limited stocks and production capacities, but it will supply Ukrainian F-16s with air-to-ground munitions, precision-guidance kits for bombs, and advanced air-to-air missiles in sufficient quantities to meet Ukraine's most urgent needs, a senior U.S. official told WSJ.

https://kyivindependent.com/us-will-provide-its-own-weapons-for-f-16s-to-be-delivered-to-ukraine-wsj-reports/

 

US will send $1.7 billion in military aid to Ukraine

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. will send $1.7 billion in military aid to Ukraine, officials announced on Monday, including an array of munitions for air defense systems, artillery, mortars and anti-tank and anti-ship missiles.

The package includes $1.5 billion in funding for long-term contracts through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, and $200 million in immediate military aid taken from Pentagon stockpiles.

The latest infusion of weapons comes a bit more than two weeks after the NATO summit in Washington, where allies focused a significant amount of time on shoring up support for Ukraine as it fends off Russian forces.

https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-russia-weapons-war-military-aid-2bc961d302b86c54e424a28ffed30cc2

[beautifulthailand99]

Its because the Ukrainian Air Force needed their existing pilots to operate the MIGs and Sukhoi’s it already had in order to stay in the fight these last two years. It would have been preferable to have experienced pilots train on the F-16’s but wasn’t an option. So basically with new inexperienced trainees they have had to start from scratch. And then you have the airfileds/maintenmcnme facilities which will be sitting <deleted> for the Kinzhals and the language training for these pilots for which everything from the pilot and ops manual, maintenance instructions and part detail to the instruments text and software has to be fully translated and verified as error free when it concerns something on the scale of multi-purpose fighter aircraft. Or you run into issues... A lot of issues.

 

When you see how the President is framing this "too little too late" and that peace will come by November it's very clear what is going on behind the scenes.

 

Only six Ukrainian pilots have reportedly been trained by European Nato members to fly F-16 fighter jets due to be delivered to Kyiv next month.

Ukraine has been urging its allies for months to send them the jets, claiming they would help defend against long-range strikes and bring about a swift end to the war.

Citing Ukrainian and Western officials, the Washington Post reported that not only are there far too few trained pilots to give Ukraine an edge but the jets can not immediately be used on the front line due to improving Russian air defences.

 

Basing the F-16s in Ukraine has also become a problem. F-16s need a long, clean runway, free of stones or debris. Over the past few weeks, Russia has been bombing the only suitable bases.

 

 

https://archive.ph/5wJQM

[Bkk Brian]

Jeez, always looking to put downers on things when there is no need..............

 

The first Ukrainian pilots have completed F-16 fighter jet training at a military base in Arizona, with others soon to follow this summer.

"The first batch has graduated, and other Ukrainian pilots are finishing their training here by the end of August," Arizona National Guard spokesperson Capt. Erin Hannigan told VOA.

https://www.voanews.com/a/first-ukrainian-pilots-graduate-from-f-16-training-in-us/7634529.html

 

In addition to US the UK and other countries are also training pilots for Ukraine.

[thaibeachlovers]

17 hours ago, beautifulthailand99 said:

They described the Russian assault troops as a determined and motivated force.

Their morale will be high as they are winning, the Ukrainian conscript troops will IMO have zero morale and will be more concerned about staying alive than taking the battle to the Russians.

Can't see it, can't touch it, can't force it on people, but without it an army is just a collection of men trying to get out alive.

[thaibeachlovers]

17 hours ago, beautifulthailand99 said:

Still, Russia’s recent advances are threatening Ukraine’s last defensive belt in the Donetsk region. Russian forces are now within artillery range of a key road linking Pokrovsk to other Ukrainian strongholds in the area.

An army marches on it's stomach, as Napoleon is reported to have said. Cut the supply lines and it's all over for the front line.

[thaibeachlovers]

15 hours ago, beautifulthailand99 said:

So, as the Ukrainian economy—it’s totally perverse—recovers from the depths of the shock that it suffered from the Russian invasion in 2022, it is required to make payments. And we’re talking about billions of dollars of debt service added to which are the IMF loans at 8 percent-plus interest. And so Ukraine has a very considerable debt service obligation running to several percentage points of GDP—it depends on how it’s calculated—which it’s desperately trying to renegotiate.

I doubt our armchair warriors consider the financial aspect when urging that more other people should be thrown into the conflict.

IMO the 1% are not going to let this one end unless they get their cut of the profits.

[thaibeachlovers]

17 hours ago, beautifulthailand99 said:

A senior official at the U.S. Defense Department spoke to Foreign Policy on the condition of anonymity and admitted that political considerations were a factor, but said that corruption, lack of civilian oversight over the armed forces, and limited transparency in government institutions was a major hindrance.

Seems that one of the most corrupt countries in the western sphere of interest just can't give up the corruption even as their side struggles because of the corruption.

Who'd have thought that would happen when the west has been throwing billions of $ at Ukraine?

[thaibeachlovers]

53 minutes ago, beautifulthailand99 said:

Only six Ukrainian pilots have reportedly been trained by European Nato members to fly F-16 fighter jets due to be delivered to Kyiv next month.

If it wasn't so sad for the poor guys getting slaughtered because of this proxy war, that'd be laughable- IMO it's a very bad joke except for the dead.

Just how incompetent are the people in charge to imagine that 6 pilots are going to make a difference, and then to use what may be the most inappropriate plane, given the technical aspects and the need for a perfect runway.