Good! the Ukrans need our assistance.Quote:
Originally Posted by PawDawg
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Good! the Ukrans need our assistance.Quote:
Originally Posted by PawDawg
Abrams tanks seen near the frontline. In a drone video three Abrams are seen firing on Russian positions but there is no information included, such as location, if there were just those three, what happened as a result of the action, etc.. perhaps more information will come out. The Ukrans introduced the British Challenger and German Leopard tanks by at first using three tanks in limited action. This is probably the same thing with the Abrams.
Breaking news! Ukrans absolutely crush Russians south of Bakhmut and retake two towns and about 35 square miles of territory. Three formerly elite Russian brigades, degraded by two years of losing combat, were overwhelmed by a Ukran counter-attack and quickly dissolved away. The three brigades were the 72nd Motor Rifle Brigade and two elite paratrooper brigades, the 31st and 82nd. In early reporting the Russians abandoned their defensive works in a pell-mell retreat. Many were killed/wounded/captured and those that escaped are now a disorganized mob without any combat effectiveness left. Ukrainian sources report it began as a mere reconnaissance in force and the Ukrans just kept going meeting no or very light resistance. After advancing for over a mile the recon unit sent word back that an opportunity exists to take some ground, so other Ukran units quickly went forward, also meeting practically no resistance.
Now, as is my usual practice, I must caution that this initial report comes strictly from pro-Ukrainian sources, so I will wait for independent confirmation before believing this. Clearly, something happened south of Bakhmut because official Russian, pro-Putin sources, are reporting the "withdrawal" of elements of those brigades but no more details than that. It might be that it was planned to withdraw elements of those brigades for some R&R and/or refit and the Ukrans got lucky and took some positions. We'll have to see what comes from this.
Assistance? We have no idea where that money is actually going, but the swamp creatures who vote for it do.Quote:
Originally Posted by dawg80
Yes, we know exactly where the money is going....to fight the evil invaders. Oh, I get it, you think howitzer shells grow on trees and the Ukrans have groves of howitzer shell trees, therefore they don't need the aid. Most of the aid the US and NATO has sent has been in the form of physical materials, not cash. Oh, I see, some crook in the Ukrainian corrupt government steals a howitzer shell then takes it to his local Walmart buying stuff for himself. Wow! they are so corrupt :shocked2:Quote:
Originally Posted by PawDawg
Tucker Carlson is in Russia to meet with Putin. Wants to appease the evil dictator, apologize on behalf of all of you who hate Ukraine and want to see the old Soviet Union return to power.
Congress failed to reach a 2/3 vote last night for aid to Israel. Biden said he would veto the bill because the dems are evil pieces of shit and want to see the democracy, Israel, fail and they support moooslim terrorists. Maybe the stand-alone aid to Ukraine will fail too, should it ever come to a vote. That will make you happy...you can send Biden a thank you card.
Meanwhile back to the evil Russkies...more on the evil Swamp later.
Russian troops have penetrated a little further into the northern suburbs of Avdiivka. They have yet to reach the factory complex or any main roads, just empty houses so far. I wasn't sure how/why the Russians were suddenly enjoying success in their advance until!! one of the quality/accurate/honest YouTubers revealed the reason....FOG! The Avdiivka area has been socked in with heavy fog, right down to the ground, visibility is down to less than 30 yards and that means the Ukran drones have been grounded and that also means Ukran artillery cannot be accurately spotted. The Russians, with their human meat waves, overwhelmed Ukran defenses in that part of the city and captured several blocks of vacated houses. Just wait til the next clear day, those Russkies will be blasted into oblivion.
I know you are passionate about the Ukraine for personal reasons and I understand. I also know that you aren’t naive enough to believe that the swamp is not involved in corruption in connection to what we are sending them. The reason the bill didn’t get 2/3 is because of the horrible policies regarding the border.
If you mean there is corruption in everything the federal guvmint touches, then yeah, true, I agree. So, what does that mean, that we do absolutely nothing about anything? News flash! given that truism that also means the Swamp will be involved in corruption in the border crisis, there will be kickbacks, even if Trump can finish building the wall, so...do we do nothing? Corruption, kickbacks (how do you think idiots like AOC become $millionaires in two years) are all part of the government, at every level, and the absolute worse in DC. As for Ukraine...according to some sources I trust...there has been some corruption with some of the aid they have received. Not necessarily aid coming directly from the US as that has been carefully monitored. But perhaps aid from some NATO countries that don't have as tight of safeguards as the US does. If some Ukrainian officials have skimmed some off the top, then that is just the cost of doing business and it happens everywhere.Quote:
Originally Posted by PawDawg
As for the bill for aid to Israel, that was a stand-alone bill and forever reason needed 2/3 vote to avoid Biden's veto. The measure passed with a majority but lacked the 67% total needed. So, how does the border figure in a stand-alone bill to fund military aid to Israel? Except for the MOB and few other terrorist-sympathizers that bill should have easily passed with 90% voting yes.
On the Mayorkas impeachment vote, which failed 216-214 there were 4 RINOs who voted against it. The GOP has only tiny slither of a majority, made worse by the recent vacated seats of Santos and McCarthy. No margin for error. Every dem voted no, as they always do, march in lockstep with whatever the mind-numb morons are told to do. The stupid Repubs have to shoot themselves in the foot, which they do with the same certainty.
Bob Hope nailed it 84 years ago...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5PInhXkfvs
Massive explosion at a Russian ICBM factory, province of Udmurt, which is about 300 miles east of Moscow, so very deep into Russia itself. The plant makes engines for all of Russia's missile systems, including their long-range ICBM nukes. The facility is about 4 miles outside of the city of Izhevsk and windows were shattered in many buildings and houses when the largest of the KABOOMS! went off. Also video shot from a rooftop in the city showing a massive mushroom shaped fireball and then smoke. Fire is raging through the facility, which includes warehouses storing finished ICBMs and component parts. More explosions expected during the day as firefighters do their best to contain the inferno.
Ukranian official government release simply reported the explosion but has taken no credit for it. Nor have they denied having anything to do with it. It is very possible it was sabotage from domestic anti-Putin forces, which have grown in number and boldness in recent months. And to illustrate that point last night there was an attack against two Russian army facilities near the city of Belgorod, which is only about 30 miles from the Ukranian border and has been the site of numerous attacks and battles between Putin forces and groups like the "Freedom Legion," para-military units of freedom-loving common Russians tired of Putin's bullshit.
In other news, the Russians gained more ground in northern Avdiivka, gobbling up two more streets of vacant houses in one of the suburbs. The weather is still rotten, heavy clouds and fog, but it has cleared enough for the Ukrans to deploy some drones, but they have not yet done so against these Russian gains. This has led to speculation the Ukrans are planning to abandon Avdiivka, but Kyiv has remained silent on any official word.
Better news from the Bakhmut area, the Ukrans have continued a successful counter-attack south of the city driving Russian units back another mile+ overnight.
Other than this, no news from the 900-mile long front, end to end, as there has been just the routine gains/losses, attacks/counterattacks, back and forth, a virtual stalemate taken as a whole.
From The Sun...video of massive explosion in Udmurt
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uig8f49mxE8
Beautiful man!
Ukrainian special forces knocked out two Russian radar sites in Crimea, which were placed on platforms off shore in the Black Sea. Early warning radar which have not been very helpful anyway as the Ukrans have successfully been attacking Russian bases in Crimea. Ukran special ops went in a rubber boat/outboard motor and climbed the platforms/towers, planted explosives and utterly destroyed the radar and some other kind of electronic systems. I think those were anti-drone electronics designed to jam guidance on the drones. All kaput now.
Speaking of jamming drone systems...some unidentified "western hackers" cracked the security code on the Iranian-made long-range drones they have been selling to Putin. Those drones are actually pretty salty, good engineering/technology and have been very effective against Ukrainian targets. Well, not any longer, at least not until the Iranians fix the problem. These unidentified "western hackers" shared the jamming secret with the Ukrans who used it to bring down 100% of a recent Russian drone attack. Some 47 large and previously effective drones headed toward civilian targets in Ukraine were all brought crashing down when the Ukrans pointed electronic jamming signals at them using this hacked code. Several of the drones landed in soft ground and have been retrieved by the Ukrans, mostly intact and undamaged, and now will be reverse-engineered by Ukraine. Good job!
Just wasted two hours watching the Tucker Carlson-Putin interview. Carlson would ask a question then there was a pause as an interpreter translated it into Russian, Putin would pause, organize his thoughts than respond. Then we would hear his answer translated into English, as would Carlson. That pause allowed me to predict exactly what Putin would say...and I nailed it 100% of the time.
In a nutshell, here is Putin's position today:
1) he is getting his ass kicked in Ukraine and now wants to settle for the eastern provinces, which includes Crimea
2) of course he says he has no interest in invading/seizing all of Ukraine because he now knows he lacks the military capacity to accomplish that
3) likewise he says he has no interest in invading Latvia and Poland, for the same reason, he'd get his ass kicked
4) he wants the US and NATO to stop supporting Ukraine so he can seize the eastern provinces and be able to hold them against any Ukran counter-attacks
5) he says why don't the US worry about your own problems, which he lists: the national debt, the border...(got that one right)
6) claims Russia has offered to talk/negotiate with Ukraine but have been rejected...of course because Ukraine refuses to reward a hostile land grab
7) he said he was willing to discuss the release of that Wall Street journalist but the US has to come to the table with something to offer..(he didn't say what that should be)
And those most alarming part of what he said. He defended his invasion of Crimea because the people (voters) of Crimea elected a non pro-Russian governor, ousting the incumbent who was very pro-Russian in 2014. And he did the same thing when President Z was elected in Ukraine because he is also not pro-Russian. I get it! So that means any nation can invade another country if they don't like the domestic politics of that nation. The Chicoms, President Xi, went ballistic with the results of the recent Taiwan presidential election, since the new guy also favors complete Taiwan independence.
Tucker Carlson is patting himself on the back for this interview, and there are others who congratulate him for it, but all Carlson did was give a platform to a madman who came across as some reasonable person. Putin is a stark, raving lunatic on par with Stalin, Hitler, Xi, the Fat Boy of North Korea, and the Iranian lunatic leaders.
Not a fan of Putin, however the one thing I agree with him on is he is anti WEF and the Davis globalist.
Pains me to report this, but...
it's looking bad for the Ukrans in Avdiivka. Russian advances from the north and the south are now a mere 3 miles apart west of the city and that means they can close the encirclement of the Ukran forces stationed there. And even more alarming the Russians have advanced to just over a 1/2 mile from the last major highway which is used to supply the Ukran garrison, that is toward the northern part of Avdiivka. There are two secondary roads the Ukrans have been using to ferry supplies, reinforcements, wounded soldiers out, but they are vastly inferior to the paved, major highway, which is Highway 542. If the Russians reached this highway they can halt all traffic on it.
An official Kyiv, Ukrainian army report just released is sobering for the prospects of holding Avdiivka. The Russians have over 20X the manpower and resources of the much smaller Ukraine and they are exploiting this advantage all along the 900-mile front, but especially in a concerted effort at Avdiivka. If the Ukrans try to relocate reinforcements it weakens their positions elsewhere along the front and the Russians are quick to exploit that. The official report uses technical military language like: "the Russians readily replace depleted units in exchange for tactical gains..." which simply means the Russians sacrifice literally thousands of grunts and scores of pieces of equipment in exchange for taking small patches of ground, because they have the resources to do so. We have seen that at Avdiivka, countless hapless Russians soldiers slaughtered, dozens and dozens of tanks and APCs destroyed and all Putin does is send in more.
Avdiivka is to Putin what Atlanta was to Lincoln, he needs this "victory" to convince the Russian populace to support his re-election. Only in this case, Putin's forces won't be marching to the sea. They will not be able to advance much past Avdiivka as the Ukrans have been preparing defensive works west of the city and it is all open, low, wet ground.
Even if encircled can the Ukrans hold Avdiivka? It's possible but will depend on resupply. They have stockpiled supplies in the city so the garrison can hold out for some period of time. Then can the Ukrans mount a counter-attack to open the encirclement up? That is a much tougher task for the same reason a Russian advance west is nearly impossible. Relieving Ukran forces would have to cross that same flat, open, wet ground. They would be pummeled by artillery, drones, and Russian fighter-bombers.
Putin (really Wagner) lost 100,000 men taking Bakhmut. Estimates are they are approaching that number already in the 5 months of the intensive attack on Avdiivka, and they have yet to actually take it. Putin was unable to advance past Bakhmut, and has in fact, surrendered miles of territory south of that city as the Russians have not been able to stabilize the front south of Bakhmut. The terrain north of Bakhmut greatly favors the Russians who are dug in on the high ground there. So, other than being able to say "We took Bakhmut," what did Putin accomplish there? Avdiivka is home to an industrial complex that Putin needs to support his war machine. I can see the Ukrans setting charges in the factories and blowing it all sky high, depriving Putin of those resources. If push comes to shove, I hope the Ukrans do exactly that. Blow the shit out of Putin's plans.
Even without taking Avdiivka Putin will "win" re-election because if you think our elections are rigged....whoa!
Getting real tight in Avdiivka. Russians now 2 1/2 miles away from closing the circle around the city. But, in the midst of this, there remains a little hope. First, the secondary roads the Ukrans can use to keep access to the city have been improved and can be used even during the worst of winter/wet weather. Of course, that won't matter if the Russians close the gap as that would mean cutting those two roads as well. But, in the short term, losing the main highway will have no impact on the Ukrans being able to operate and sustain the garrison there. Secondly, the reason the Russians have enjoyed some success pushing through the empty streets of the northern suburbs is precisely because they are empty! The Ukrans withdrew most of their troops two weeks ago in favor of enhancing the defense of the all-important industrial complex. The critical factories/plants complex is situated in the northwestern section of Avdiivka, and the main highway, HWY 542, runs through the complex. The Russians are threatening to cut Hwy 542 but much further east and that will have no impact on the Ukrans' use of it in and out of the complex.
The industrial complex is the reason Putin has pushed so hard to seize Avdiivka. Other than that, the city has no strategic importance. It is a mid-size city no different than more than a dozen others just like it along, or close to, the front. Putin has issued orders the industrial complex has to be captured intact. Which is why the Russians have not used any heavy weapons in their assaults at or close to the complex.
In other not-so-good news, the Russians have been supplied with Starlink technology. Such technology is on the banned list for Putin but somehow he got his hands on some of it. The Ukrans have enjoyed an ENORMOUS advantage in satellite technology allowing them to guide long-range drones deep into Russian territory and detecting Russian drones heading their way. If the Russians equalize that former advantage the Ukrans will be placed at a disadvantage because they have been able to offset Russia's huge advantage in the numbers' game with superior technology. Who is responsible for Putin getting his hands on Starlink? One Ukran official says it had to be Elon Musk and has declared Musk a wanted criminal.