Russia/Ukraine Megathread V6

[TheGreatA]

McCain saying that does not make it so. Is there some inconsistency in Rand Paul's behaviour that makes it a valid argument? What makes this case different from all the other cases in which he or his father have opposed government spending?

McCain was a war-mongering lunatic. It was a breath of relief for the rest of the world when Obama won the election.

 

[NoSmilez]

Is this war still going on? Any updates? It seems like people on social media stop giving a fuck.

 

[The XL]

John McCain was a warmongering idiot. Everything that ever came out of his mouth was utter nonsense.

 

[TheGreatA]

Is this war still going on? Any updates? It seems like people on social media stop giving a fuck.

It's a low intensity war at this point. Not much direct engagement by troops, more about bombings and drone attacks. It doesn't seem like Russia has the ability to supply its troops for a long campaign, so they seem to be gradually pulling out of most of Ukraine, fortifying in places that they deem to be meaningful.

They just retreated from Kharkiv entirely. The regions around Mariupol will probably see the heaviest fighting.

 

[Joe]

Ran right into it, damn

 

[Yotsuya]

Been saying this war could be over pretty soon once Ukraine gets the ball rolling. This military guy agrees:

 

[Strychnine]

McCain saying that does not make it so. Is there some inconsistency in Rand Paul's behaviour that makes it a valid argument? What makes this case different from all the other cases in which he or his father have opposed government spending?

What I get from it is that Sen. Paul would be more than willing to carry water for Pres. Putin, even if it costs a country their freedom. And he's doing it under the guise of lowering government spending.

 

[Limbo Pete]

Russia withdraw from the second largest city, Kharkiv. Russian Army is probably falling apart.

@PrinceOfPain btfo!

 

[Anewt]

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said on May 13 that the state was boosting the defense sector to provide for potential new recruits. “We are focusing on the need to provide for 1 million people who will be facing the enemy,” he wrote. He also said that 1,500 Ukrainian soldiers are already training or will start mastering Western weapons and return as instructors.

I hope that 1 million is all voluntary

 

[Deleted member 585708]

Is this war still going on? Any updates? It seems like people on social media stop giving a fuck.

Total retreat in Kharkiv.

Abject failure from Putin, who is deescalating his rhetoric towards Finland all of a sudden.

The South of Ukraine, Mariupol in particular, looks like the only 'victory' Russia will get in the near future.

Despite the people saying Russia can't lose and could destroy Ukraine at any moment... They can't.

Estimates have been brought forward to thinking the war will end this year, and will not drag on as previously anticipated.

Russia cannot match the huge support for the Ukrainian military and will likely be defeated in front of the whole world.

Putin is losing the backing of the real powerful people behind him, and I doubt he'll be alive (or at least a free man) this time next year.

Russia is losing.

 

[SandisLL]

Pushing from the east through donbas would have been a massacre for Russia. The defensive line facing East has had 7 years to prepare for a Russian invasion from the east. Your talking 200 miles plus of fortified lines ... ( trenches bunkers etc ) lines not only defensively protecting the forces there ( Ukrainian veterans ) but lines dug to slow even the armored vehicles that are designed to bridge trenches.

Blitzkrieg with armor would have failed drastically.. same with infantry as those lines are incredibly defensive and they've had 7 years to prepare for a assault from the east..

View media item 34936View media item 34935View media item 34934View media item 34933
Edit .. the goal of the Kiev fient was for Ukraine forces to be forced to defend northern and western Ukraine... whilst they focused on connecting Crimea to donbas

Edit 2 - also coming from the east would have just like the past 7 years been artilleried constantly.. Ukraine doesn't particularly care about civilian loses or infrastructure there.

So pushing from the east.. literally head on to the most defensive part of Ukraine.. occupied by some of the most veteran soldiers Ukraine has.. .. through a region Ukraine would be more than willing to go scorched earth would have been a ridiculous strategy imo

About average ant even in peactime no one cares...
Ant is ant, even to get benefits for ukr refugee in EU is faster than for local ant who had worked xx years in row and had paid all taxes.
Now it is popular mainstream: help ukraine.
For example one country had year long talks about possible just 24 m from budget for startups in field xy ...tax allowances for initial period.
1 year!
While for the same scumbags it took just 50 minutes!!!
to accept such spendings:116 m to cover expenses cos refugees and 63m for weapons purchases ( thanks to God at least these will not be sent to Ukraine ).

Voluntary donation org: support for human aid in Ukraine had get more money than....donation camlaigns for local ILL kids for better rehab!
Cos it is now mainstream and popular...

Next: they are telling us that we should waste lesser money and emmisions are bad.
For example peat as fuel is....not trendy today.
While waste our money to buy diesel fuel for Ukraine? NO problems!!!

Dear God and for long term this looks really damn more costly than to buy weapons and to sent them.

Ukraine claims that they can't export apporx 5m tons food industry and agriculture production each month.
This is reality.
While why they even needs our money transfered to get food? Imagine beauty level IRL?

___
Next.
About infrastructure like natrural gas transit from Russia to Ukraine in order deliver this to Hungary looks that both countries CARES damn a lot!!!

_____
Now even is supposed big shit: it is advised to sell 10b worth eurobounds in order to....TACKLE Ukraine's finances.
We will PAY this and loan % if this will happen.
They even afforded to tell that this will be enough for few months!!??

Next beauty: they are working in order to get next idiotism: ECB money printing for....next bounds sales purchases...

It is really awful...

 

[Anewt]

Total retreat in Kharkiv.

Abject failure from Putin, who is deescalating his rhetoric towards Finland all of a sudden.

The South of Ukraine, Mariupol in particular, looks like the only 'victory' Russia will get in the near future.

Despite the people saying Russia can't lose and could destroy Ukraine at any moment... They can't.

Estimates have been brought forward to thinking the war will end this year, and will not drag on as previously anticipated.

Russia cannot match the huge support for the Ukrainian military and will likely be defeated in front of the whole world.

Putin is losing the backing of the real powerful people behind him, and I doubt he'll be alive (or at least a free man) this time next year.

Russia is losing.

I disagree with a bit of your assessment. Even Ukraine isn't as positive as that lol

Ukraine's general staff said the Russians were pulling back from Kharkiv — the nation's second-largest city in the north-east — and focusing on guarding supply routes, while launching mortar, artillery and airstrikes in the eastern Donetsk region in order to "deplete Ukrainian forces and destroy fortifications".

Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said Ukraine was "entering a new — long-term — phase of the war."

Yet the American/ media spins it as

The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War said that the Russian military had "likely decided to withdraw fully from its positions around Kharkiv City in the face of Ukrainian counter-offensives and the limited availability of reinforcements".

"Ukraine thus appears to have won the Battle of Kharkiv," it said.


Same story 2 completely different outlooks.

Ukraine’s head of military intelligence, Maj Gen Kyrylo Budanov, told Sky News he believed Russian advances would stall completely over the summer.

He said: “The breaking point will be in the second part of August. Most of the active combat actions will have finished by the end of this year. As a result, we will renew Ukrainian power in all our territories that we have lost including Donbas and the Crimea.”


Also quite interesting is the families of those still in the steelworks are asking Xi Jinping to help get them out


"After all these negotiations, there is one person worldwide who it would be difficult for Vladimir Putin to refuse. We hope that strong and good China can make difficult decisions for the good.

“We ask the esteemed premier of China, Xi Jinping, to express love and care for global values and eastern wisdom and to join the process of rescuing the defenders of Mariupol.”


https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/14/ukraine-says-russian-forces-withdrawing-kharkiv

 

[SandisLL]

China? Looks that Ukr always had attempted to trade with China, maybe to install chinesses nor russia's forces in Ukraine is not bad idea...

 

[Yotsuya]

What I get from it is that Sen. Paul would be more than willing to carry water for Pres. Putin, even if it costs a country their freedom. And he's doing it under the guise of lowering government spending.

As far as I know he's been continuing his father's work who consistently opposed budget increases and voted against every unbalanced budget since late 70's: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Paul#Economic_issues

These I found about Rand:
https://spendingtracker.org/sen/rand-paul
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/dr-rand-paul-votes-against-unbalanced-budget

Rand had the second highest rating among Republicans to vote against Trump (70%) which would be weird for a Putinist.

As I said, I don't see how voting against this bill breaks the well established pattern of him and his father voting consistently the same way over last 45 years.

 

[Rod1]

Been saying this war could be over pretty soon once Ukraine gets the ball rolling. This military guy agrees:

Yup, the "long war" scenarios were assuming both sides had a will to fight, but due to Russia low morale a chain collapse is likely due to Kharkiv's front collpase, Russians will simply run away once they are cut-off.

 

[SandisLL]

If there earlier one poster had mentioned defense spendings % in europe, most likely this was with data older than 2022 th.
All Baltic countries had approved budget for defense >2% GDP for 2022th and further increase in next year and so on. I mean Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia.
For these 3 countries together ukr refugee problem alone took > 400 000 000 EUR.
Help ukraine mee too : > 600 000 000 EUR.
It is ONLY beginning here!
Poland? God, please help them....dunno now ~ 2 500 000 refugees. Better not to talk.
Ofc poles have 0 problem to get food for them, this is piece of cake.... While accomodation ( rooms ) for them.
+ besides these refugees huge economic immigrants influx from countries not called Ukraine...

 

[Rod1]

As far as I know he's been continuing his father's work who consistently opposed budget increases and voted against every unbalanced budget since late 70's: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Paul#Economic_issues

These I found about Rand:
https://spendingtracker.org/sen/rand-paul
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/dr-rand-paul-votes-against-unbalanced-budget

Rand had the second highest rating among Republicans to vote against Trump (70%) which would be weird for a Putinist.

As I said, I don't see how voting against this bill breaks the well established pattern of him and his father voting consistently the same way over last 45 years.

He only voted against Trump when it came to bills where his votes didn't matter, when it came to tie breaking votes, he fell in line like a good little boy.

 

[Rod1]

@PrinceOfPain btfo!

Its the double feint bro, never heard of that maneuver?

 

[Strychnine]

Israel agrees to equip Ukraine with Blue Spear system through Estonia - report

"Estonia, which purchased an unspecified number of Blue Spear systems from its manufacturer Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) in October 2021, asked Israel for its authorization to transfer one of the systems to Ukraine's Armed Forces, currently defending Ukraine against the Russian invasion.

Israel complied with the Baltic nation's request, according to Demchuk.

The Blue Spear missile system is one of the most advanced anti-ship missile systems in the world, allowing for launching from land-based platforms with flight at high subsonic speed.

The anti-ship system will be pivotal in Ukraine's southern theater, which mainly revolves around naval battles in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov."
Israel agrees to equip Ukraine with Blue Spear system through Estonia - report (msn.com)

@GhostZ06 This thing any good?

Pro-tip for Russia...

- Don't have your spokesman (Lavrov) tell a nation of Israelis that the man who tried to genocide them was of Jewish decent.

 

[SandisLL]

What else they will attempt to " sell to ukraine ".
THEmis or Type -X ?
Type X is like БМП-3 and might be AI guided. Unmanned.
I hope they will not deliver this to Ukraine, it is top notch stuff. Estonian product ( together with US and Israel ).