Russia

Trump to meet Putin in Saudi Arabia. Trump has also called President Z to explain the details of his conversation with Putin.

Some Ukrainian pundits are alarmed that a pause in the war will allow Putin to rebuild his shattered military. Yeah, no doubt. But, Ukraine will also have time to build their military, construct proper defenses along their border with Russia, and hopefully, with hostilities ended, Ukraine will be invited to join NATO. Just hope Trump doesn't lean too far toward Putin just so he can say he ended the war. Putin was the aggressor, the bad guy. He and Russia should get nothing extra from any agreement.

And, there is this, Putin is a wanted international criminal. The Saudis are obligated to arrest Putin then turn him over to the international court to stand trial for all his war crimes. But...

The 6th assassination attempt on President Z's life was thwarted yesterday. Those thugs didn't close to him as they were surrounded and arrested after they passed through the main gate of the presidential palace in Kyiv. One is a traitor pro-Putin Ukrainian, the other two were Russian special forces operatives who have lived the last 10 years in Ukraine as spies. Ukrainian intelligence knew of these three dudes, had been tracking their activity, and allowed them to pass through the main gate just to prove to a sometime doubting media of the assassination attempts on President Z. Yes, some media have expressed doubts about the reported attempts claiming President Z was just trying to make himself into some kind of hero. There are stupid media everywhere.

The first assassination attempt on Pres. Z came close to succeeding. It happened within days of the Russian invasion in February, 2022. Russian hitmen (4) and two Ukrainian traitors engaged in a shootout inside the presidential palace with security. Eventually all 6 of assassins were killed, as were 2 security guards and 3 civilians on the presidential staff. Another 8 people were wounded in the shootout. The Sun, a British media outlet, asked President Z in a scheduled interview last night about all the attempts on his life. Pres. Z shrugged it off saying it comes with the territory, and he was not nearly in danger as are the brave Ukrainian soldiers fighting every day.

One poster pointed out that Putin better be very careful as Ukraine has special forces in Russia, and together with all the anti-Putin partisans, his life is not safe either.

Trump's mouth....sheesh! His one real weakness is the stupid things he says time to time. He is now PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES and as such the world hangs on every word the POTUS says. I know sometimes he purposely says things just to root out some folks and to intentionally divert attention away from his real goals. But, not everyone understands that and sometimes his words, no matter his intentions, cause harm. He needs to be more measured in what he says publicly.

Otherwise, carry on President Trump!

Back on the war front, more successes for the Ukrans overnight. Another Putin oil storage facility hit and left burning. Ukrainian forces continue to advance on the eastern sector of the Kursk salient. And more Russians surrendered south of Pokrovsk. 19 members of an elite Russian paratrooper regiment waved the white flag and turned themselves over to Ukran troops. They had been isolated by the recent Ukran advance and decided it was not worth trying to hold out.

Ukran F-16s now armed with American-made guided bombs are patrolling the airspace in eastern Ukraine, attacking Russian targets. Thus far, the F-16s have not been sent on missions across the border in Russia.

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Originally Posted by dawg80

Trump's mouth....sheesh! His one real weakness is the stupid things he says time to time. He is now PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES and as such the world hangs on every word the POTUS says. I know sometimes he purposely says things just to root out some folks and to intentionally divert attention away from his real goals. But, not everyone understands that and sometimes his words, no matter his intentions, cause harm. He needs to be more measured in what he says publicly.

Otherwise, carry on President Trump!

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He trolls often. It works. I’m sick of “well spoken” liars who have us in the mess we are in.

Well, as expected, the world has reacted in an extremely negative way to Trump's and Hegseth's comments. Several European leaders have already released statements condemning Trump's remarks re: his phone conversation with Putin. The Chicoms are tickled warning Taiwan they cannot count on the US to help defend them, so might was well just surrender now and avoid bloodshed. The Russian stock market soared up 16% just on the news that "Putin has smashed Trump and Russia has won the war." That's the spin the pro-Putin propagandists are putting on it. Of course, Ukrainians are pissed, feeling betrayed. Poland and other eastern European countries are using this to rally NATO saying all countries need to beef up their defenses and get ready to go to war with Putin, because he's coming for them.

One pro-Ukrainian YouTuber, a Latvian, who has been the best of all such channels, very pro-Ukraine, very pro-USA...well, he was in shock. Expressed severe disappointment in Trump and the US "siding with Putin." Why? he asked. Why would the US side with an evil dictator?

All a bunch of over-reactions? That's what the ever-shrinking group of Trump defenders are saying. Just wait, they say, Trump is just getting started and is setting Putin up for a major fall. Really? Well, I certainly hope so.

I mentioned how Trump's mouth gets him into trouble, and it also gets good people killed! I will remind you of the 19,000 Kurds slaughtered...the elderly, women, and children in large numbers...when asinine Trump casually said he was removing US troops from northern Syria. The very next day Turkey launched a huge invasion into Syria attacking the Kurds. No US troops had actually been removed because the Army hadn't even had time to digest Trump's comments. But Erdogan, of Turkey, took Trump's comments as gospel. Several US special forces fellows were slightly wounded in Turkish artillery fire, and finally it was the incredibly brave and heroic US special forces troops who deliberately placed themselves in harm's way, communicating with Turkish commanders on the ground they were still there. This halted the Turkish attacks, but it was already too late for 19,000 innocent people.

Trump still does not understand that as POTUS his words MEAN SOMETHING! No US president can utter stupid comments without causing repercussions. I have always said Trump's mouth is his own worst enemy. And here we go again. In what, I'm sure, Trump thinks were just some harmless comments summarizing his conversation with Putin has been seized upon, spun, twisted by friends and foes alike.

Meanwhile, the heroic Ukrainians continue to enjoy success on the battlefield. They have also started attacking Putin's critical infrastructure in another way, using cyber warfare. Ukrainian operatives successfully shut down an oil pipeline bringing oil from eastern Russia across the Ural Mountains by attacking the computer-controlled pumping stations. Don't know how long the pipeline will be shut down or if the Russians can take steps to prevent it happening again, but any interruptions to Putin's ever-dwindling oil industry hurts Russia's military operations.

Look...Russia is reeling. On the actual battlefields they are losing the war. Now is not the time to pull back support for Ukraine. Why the f**k does Trump insist on throwing Putin a lifeline?

Putin attacked the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, deliberately striking the containment dome which houses the very dangerous radioactive material from the meltdown. In case you don't know, Chernobyl is in Ukraine. Fortunately, the drone did not penetrate the thick concrete dome, but did cause some minor damage. This is Putin in all his glorious evil.

Ukraine attacked Russia's largest steel mill which produces 22% of all steel in Russia, and more importantly 100% of its high-quality steel, the kind needed for military equipment. Drones struck the mill in two waves leaving fires raging. At first, as usual, the Putin propagandists claimed all the Ukran drones were shot down, none hit the mill. Then when reports started leaking out about fires at the facility, the propagandists said, well, a few shot down drones did hit inside the complex but no serious damage. Then videos of the drones actually striking key parts of the mill were leaked...the Putin propagandists went silent. At this time, we don't know the extent of the damage to the mill. If it is still operational or if the Russians can make repairs, then the Ukrans will simply strike it again.

The mill is only 250 miles from the Ukrainian border, well within the range of an array of Ukrainian drones. I'm surprised they hadn't struck it before now.

President Z is making the rounds lobbying for more support and the creation of a "European army." A standing army composed of troops from all European nations. This idea is being readily shot down by most European nations. On blogs it has created quite a backlash against President Z and Ukraine itself. The prevailing sentiment is, "No way! fight your own war."

Well, I understand the negative response to a permanent "European army." But, it is a sad testimony to the times we live in that other nations, free nations, free peoples simply dismiss the plight of a fellow democratic nation, a nation of peaceful people who were brutally attacked/invaded. Putin invaded Ukraine for his own selfish reasons. He has literally murdered women and children, the elderly, obvious non-combatants. And yet some want to blame Ukraine for having the audacity to want to defend itself against such naked aggression.

Putin "read the room" correctly when he launched his evil, criminal invasion. He knew, with the idiot Biden in charge, the US wouldn't "man-up" and he guessed the pathetic European conglomerate lacked the will, the character to come to the aid of an innocent victim...sans sending some military equipment/financing. What Putin didn't consider was the enormous will and ingenuity of the Ukrainians themselves to mount a credible defense. Putin, and his evil inner circle, had forecasted a 3-month war, at worst! That was it, they thought, 90 days and all of Ukraine will be ours. Then we'll regroup, refit, and invade Poland next.

Well, February 24 will mark 3 YEARS of war, not 3 months. And Ukraine is winning.

Okay, here we go.

CONFIRMED...China has engineers in Russian-occupied Donbas extracting critical REMs. (Rare Earth Metals). All technology and future technology require these REMs. Ukraine is a big source of REMs, something Trump recognizes which is why he is tying further US aid to guarantees the US will be able to mine REMs in Ukraine. President Z has already agreed to that provision. Meanwhile, the goddamn Chicoms are busy stealing as much of the REMs as they can in eastern Ukraine.

I wonder if Ukraine will be willing to attack these Chinese mining operations, effectively shutting them down and saving as much of the critical materials as possible. Obviously, all of Donbas is within easy reach of Ukran drones and HIMARS missiles. US-made HIMARS. Will this provoke the Chicoms to taking an active role in the Russia-Ukraine war if some of their engineers are killed in drone attacks?

Regardless, something has to be done. While the West sits on its collective asses debating support for Ukraine, Russia and its evil allies are milking Ukrainian territory for all its worth.

And now, it is being reported (by just one source, so..) that President Z has rejected Trump's offer on REMs for us in exchange for continued (enhanced?) US military support. Have to emphasize that thus far only one source is reporting this. And even if true, Pres. Z has made such a statement, bear in mind usually other world leaders beat their chests, then buckle to Trump's deal.

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Originally Posted by dawg80

And now, it is being reported (by just one source, so..) that President Z has rejected Trump's offer on REMs for us in exchange for continued (enhanced?) US military support. Have to emphasize that thus far only one source is reporting this. And even if true, Pres. Z has made such a statement, bear in mind usually other world leaders beat their chests, then buckle to Trump's deal.

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The full story.

Yes, Pres Z rejected Trump's proposal because Z had proposed his own plan back in October, which greatly includes the US getting the "lion's share" of Ukraine's REMs. Z's plan also includes several European nations, most prominently France, also sharing in a project to mine the elements. Apparently, Trump wants 100% of Ukraine's REMs, and some other elements.

Ukraine has 20% of the world's lithium. Bingo! And about 65% of that is in Donbas. Goddamn it! We, the US, and NATO, need to get off our asses and drive Putin and his axis of evil out of Ukraine for good. There are also huge supplies of titanium and lanthanum. Do you know how CRITICAL these elements are?

First a little bad news...the town of Dachne, Ukraine, has fallen to Russian forces. This is the culmination of an intense 3-month long battle, waged 24/7 for the past 90+ days. The Ukrainian forces there successfully withdrew, falling back 5 miles to the next town along that highway. Russian losses taking this town were enormous.

In better news, the Ukrainians struck a major blow to Russia's drone warfare completely destroying a huge drone operations' center and warehouse of drones in a village called Elizavetovka, Russia. This town is located just 5 miles across the border, inside of Russia. It had been used as the HQ for Russia's 60th Rifle Regiment, itself wiped out and no longer a viable unit. But, the flags and signs of the 60th Rifle Regiment had been left on the buildings, and then those buildings had been quietly occupied by the Russian drone operations. Over the past 6 months the Russians had been growing this center until it was the largest drone operations HQ covering two of Ukraine's provinces, Kharkiv and Sumy. It was a tipoff by an anti-Putin militia unit, operating in that region, and investigated by Ukran special forces. They confirmed the reports and so a strike was ordered. It is being reported that the strike was carried out by a single Ukran jet...a US F-16 deploying 4 US-made JDAMS glider bombs each armed with a 1,000-pound warhead. The bombs are so accurate that all four struck the exact critical part of the complex of buildings targeted.

Putin has warned he will nuke any nation whose weapons are used by Ukraine to strike "Mother Russia." Well, if this report is confirmed, here ya go Vladimir.

Note: it is very possible the Ukrans used a Soviet-built SU-25 fighter-bomber, and the bombs were manufactured in Ukraine. Some sources seem to want to taunt Putin by stating it was an F-16 and American bombs.

Ukraine has been winning where it matters most, on the battlefield. Not huge gains, but gains nonetheless. Very cold temps have returned and this allowed the Ukrans to launch a surprise attack south of Pokrovsk by crossing a frozen river during the night with infantry and several rubber-tired fighting machines. They wiped out Russians hunkered down in their trenches and bunkers trying to stay warm. Well, the Ukrans "warmed them up" using flamethrowers. Brutal.

Greece is sending 32 F-16s to Ukraine. These are the older versions so they will need upgrades before entering service. The Czech Republic is sending 12 Leopard II tanks, 20 155mm howitzers and a variety of small arms and ammo to the cause. Small donations but at least "Europe" is continuing to support the gallant Ukrainians.

BTW, just saw an update on the monetary support (cash + value of equipment) provided by the US vs. Europe. The US has still contributed more to Ukraine then all of Europe combined. But, that gap is quickly closing. As of this report, the US has provided $16 billion more than Europe has. Some European leaders, such as the president of Poland, are calling on all European countries to step up. He says Europe should not depend on the US "to fight our battles for us." I think most Americans would agree with that.

Trump has moderated his deal regarding Ukraine's REMs. Says the US will settle for $500 billion worth. The estimated value of Ukraine's minerals is $12 trillion. So, Trump is asking for just 1/24th of it. Sounds fair to me. Meanwhile, while the West plays stupid political games, Putin and the Chicoms are taking steps to steal Ukraine's valuable resources. They haven't yet, but China has mining engineers on the ground in Donbas mapping out the locations of the pockets of REMs, and will start mining them by this summer...unless they are stopped.