Russia

[dawg80]

According to a Ukranian source, a financial/economic service, and who has conducted audits of the Ukranian government including the aid flowing in since Putin's invasion, here are the numbers on where the money has come from.

The total is $238 billion, of that the US has contributed $67.7 billion, which is 24%. Of that $22 billion is "cash" and $45.7 billion in military equipment, ammo, supplies, etc... The EU has contributed $85 billion, most of that in the form of "cash." That money comes from the dues each of the nations in the EU pay annually. In addition to their EU dues going to Ukraine, Germany has contributed $22.1 billion and Great Britain another $15.7 billion. Other European nations have contributed additional aid ranging between $4 billion and about $8 billion. Canada sits at $5.8 billion.

FWIW

[PawDawg]

According to a Ukranian source, a financial/economic service, and who has conducted audits of the Ukranian government including the aid flowing in since Putin's invasion, here are the numbers on where the money has come from.

The total is $238 billion, of that the US has contributed $67.7 billion, which is 24%. Of that $22 billion is "cash" and $45.7 billion in military equipment, ammo, supplies, etc... The EU has contributed $85 billion, most of that in the form of "cash." That money comes from the dues each of the nations in the EU pay annually. In addition to their EU dues going to Ukraine, Germany has contributed $22.1 billion and Great Britain another $15.7 billion. Other European nations have contributed additional aid ranging between $4 billion and about $8 billion. Canada sits at $5.8 billion.

FWIW

So the corruption is worldwide? I'm sure the entire $238 billion is accounted for right? No way Ukraine would participated in corruption.

[dawg80]

So the corruption is worldwide? I'm sure the entire $238 billion is accounted for right? No way Ukraine would participated in corruption.

Ukraine is so corrupt that every government official has a fabulous mansion and a yacht. They don't spend one penny on their military, their soldiers have been fighting with sticks and stones all along. Which is all the more amazing, given how gallant a fight they have put up.

[dawg80]

Meanwhile, using those sticks and stones, the Ukrans have shot down three more of Putin's $40 million SU-34 jets! That brings to 10 the number of lost jets for the Russkies in a week+.

Another Russian convoy was obliterated! No details, yet, but from the released drone video looks like 12-15 vehicles, including some tanks.

Russians have made some small gains in ground, in several places along the front, but in each case, they paid a heavy price for it.

[dawg80]

Ukrans shot down all 10 Russian Shahed drones, those big ones built/sold by Iran. They were headed for targets in Odesa, and one did take out a communication tower but quite by accident as it was not the intended target. These Shahed drones were supposed to have sophisticated electronic jamming equipment designed to cause missiles to stray off course and protect the drone from anti-drone attacks. Well...guess it didn't work because the Ukrans were a perfect 10 for 10 shooting them down last night.

France's president Macron mentioned possibly sending NATO troops to Ukraine, but so far no other NATO country is buying into that.

[dawg80]

The 3rd Brigade struck again, completely eradicated 1,000 Russians in a recently occupied town. Russians refused demands to surrender so reports are they were killed to a man.

It's gotten to the point that there is no "news" because nothing "new" is happening, for the most part. The Russians exchange scores of lives and a dozen pieces of equipment for a small chunk of ground. Then, usually, the Ukrans counter-attack, take that ground back, temporarily, only to have the Russians send even more goons to their deaths and retake that same ground. General Patton famously said, "I don't like paying for the same real estate twice," when he was asked why he didn't retreat in the face of the big German offensive (Battle of the Bulge). The Russkies are willing to pay many, many times for the same real estate.

[dawg80]

Just watched bodycam footage from the 3rd Brigade from overnight. Brutal! They slaughtered 30 Russians who, ready for this, were asleep in a trench with no guards posted. The Ukrans have advanced night vision and use it very well to their advantage. The Ukrans literally walked into the trench and started killing Russians with automatic weapons fire. They did not give the Russians a chance to do anything but die.

The Ukrans also have night vision, thermal targeting capability with their anti-tank weapons. The Russians started moving equipment at night trying to avoid the drones which before used just cameras but now the Ukran scout drones are also equipped with night vision/thermal and it is comical to see a convoy of Russian tanks, APCs, trucks moving across a field or down a road at night, no lights, and they are clearly revealed with the thermal technology making them even easier targets than they are in daylight.

Also watched a brief video released by the Russians of a soldier riding atop an APC with a bodycam and a Ukran anti-tank rocket just missing him and the vehicle, whoa! The video was looped to repeat every 5 seconds and you can see the rocket coming from across an open field and missing the soldier by no more than 2 feet, maybe even closer. It flies by VERY fast! The Russian lets out a cuss, probably "Oh f**k!" The launch site from the hidden Ukran soldier looks to be about a 1/4 mile or so and that rocket took only a few seconds to cover the distance. Had it been a few feet lower, bam! no more Russian APC. Does show how vulnerable armored vehicles are on the modern battlefield.

[dawg80]

Make that a "baker's dozen!" the Ukrans have now shot down 13 Russian SU-34 fighter-bombers over a 10-day span. Russia's jet industry can build 17 of the advanced SU-34 jets per year. So, four more will equal a whole year's production.

Russia is also using the older SU-25 on some missions. It cannot deploy the large glider bombs (in either 500 or 1,000 lb form), but instead has 100 lb bombs and "dumb" rockets. Neither are very accurate or effective. But, the SU-25 is built to fly and operate low, usually below radar, and so they have shown a capability of surviving missions over Ukraine. The SU-25s lost have been to Ukran handheld stinger missiles and other such weapons. But, the Russian SU-25 pilots have learned from experience how to get in and get out before Ukran ground forces can respond to their presence.

Russia has also finished some of their latest generation fighter-bombers, the SU-57. But they don't have very many operational and so far, none of them have seen action over Ukraine.

When Ukraine finally has the F-16 Falcon fully deployed they will gain air superiority and the war will move in a different direction.

[dawg80]

A Turkey cargo ship has been hit by two Russian missiles and is in trouble of sinking. The ship put into a Ukrainian port in February, 2022, just two days before Putin's invasion began. It has been stranded there all this time. Finally, it's owners, a company HQ in Istanbul, Turkey, ordered its crew to make a run for it. They didn't get far. No reports of casualties in the crew as apparently the missiles hit the side of the ship, severely damaging it. The ship is empty, no cargo, so it is (or was) riding high out of the water. A Russian navy source has warned other ships from attempting to provide aid to the ship. It is hoped it might be able to make it back to port, otherwise it will continue to take on water and sink. So...what now Turkey, President Erdogan? Still want to remain neutral in this war?

More Russian losses in attempted advances west of Avdiivka.

[dawg80]

Three "breakaway" regions in Moldovia have asked Putin for help, including sending in troops to allow them to become part of the Russian Federation. The central government of Moldovia is standing firm against Putin, and has, thus far, refrained from taking any police/military action against the leaders in these three regions. But, something has to give. One of the regional leaders, a provincial governor, a woman, is in Moscow now begging for a Putin invasion of Moldovia.

But, no, let's not stand up to Putin in Ukraine because the Russkies are no threat to world peace...

[dawg80]

The Netherlands joins France, Lithuania, and Estonia in pledging to send troops to fight in Ukraine IF (big IF) other NATO countries do also. In other words, these countries are not willing to act unilaterally or lead in this endeavor, but they are willing to follow. Canada is planning to send troops to Ukraine but NOT in any combat role, but rather to train Ukrainian troops and to serve in some technical capacity. While this doesn't appear to be a change to the status quo, it most certainly is!!! For the past two years no western ally was even willing to consider sending the troops, it was off the table, no way, not gonna happen! These announcements represent a change in attitude toward the situation in Ukraine.

North Korea has announced suspension of supplies/ammo/weapons to Russia, at least by sea, effective immediately. NK officials gave no reason, but a container ship bound for a Russian port, assumed to be military stores, has turned back to North Korea. If NK was planning to continue supplying Putin overland, just not by sea, that is also out for the time being as the Trans-Siberian Railroad line remains cut and all east-west train traffic has been halted pending repairs to the track/bridges. Ukran commandoes took credit for destroying a tunnel, two bridges, and several miles of track that now blocks train traffic on that line.

Of course, Russian artillery crews should welcome this news as many of the NK artillery shells have been exploding in the barrels, killing/wounding many Russian soldiers.

[dawg80]

Two more Russian jets shot down last night, that makes 15 in about two weeks.

Ukran drones brought death and destruction to several Russian cities overnight. Targets were Russian munition plants/storage, but some of the drones, struck by anti-drone fire, went careening out of control and hit an apartment complex near the facility. Don't like civilians paying the price, but it was their country that started this war with an evil invasion.

The 3rd Assault Brigade slaughtered more hapless Russians. Numbers reported from the recent engagement are 100 KIA and another 175 wounded/captured. Wonder if the Ukrans will murder the captured Russians like Putin's thugs have been doing to Ukrans that have been captured. Meanwhile, west of Avdiivka, the Russian advance has ground to a halt. Ukran defenders finally got organized after the chaotic retreat from the city, dug in, and have dealt repeated blows to attacking Russian units. It is daytime in Ukraine, early afternoon Sunday March 3, and Ukran drones show the Russians have started digging in too, meaning they are not planning any more offensive attacks, at least for a while. The Ukran units in that area are the 47th, 79th, and the 110th brigades, or what is left of the 110th as it suffered heavily in the defense/collapse of Avdiivka.

The rest of the 900-mile front has been more of the same, lots of combat between small units, usually platoon-sized engagements, with ground being traded back and forth. The Russian advances at Robotyne have been completely thwarted and the Russkies have backed off their attacks. Ukrans made a small gain at Krynky, seizing some houses and a strip of woods west of that town. Nothing major though.

[dawg80]

Bingo! Bravo! Brilliant!

The Ukrans have rendered the key manufacturing facility, especially the coke plant, at Avdiivka inoperative with a surgical cruise missile strike! This is awesome! Well done! The very reason Putin sacrificed 30,000 Russian soldiers and poured 6 months of effort into capturing Avdiivka, while trying not to damage the industrial complex, has been yanked away from the evil dictator. Putin has to be fuming!

There was damage done to complex during the final month, especially the final days, of the fight there. That couldn't be helped. But, most of the damage was confined to out-buildings, warehouses, and portions of the facility with rather common machinery that can be readily repaired or replaced. The heart & soul of the facility was the main coke oven and its supporting machinery, something that Russia desperately needs, especially given the sanctions they have been facing for 2 years. The building housing this key machinery managed to be spared damaged during the battle because both sides made it a high priority. Well, Ukran engineers who worked the plant and who had just been evacuated the final month of the battle, worked with the Ukran military to target the precise point to destroy, rendering the facility null & void, without causing widespread damage, a SURGICAL strike! Last night...BAM! a single Ukran cruise missile struck that "heart." Sorry Putin....

Pundits say the Russians lack the resources to repair the machinery destroyed, but even if they manage to do it, the Ukrans will simply strike it again.

Tip of the hat to the Ukrans...brilliant!

[dawg80]

Russian sources are mocking the US as they claim three Abrams tanks have been destroyed. Russians call them "tin cans" and are a joke. One Russian YouTuber laughingly said, "Please Biden send our enemy more Abrams tanks, LOL!"

One Abrams has been destroyed, another damaged, but that one hit a mine and lost a track. It has been recovered, repaired, and has already returned to operation. No one knows anything about a third Abrams being damaged. The destroyed Abrams was the one abandoned between the lines and the Russians sent swarms of kamikaze drones attacking it. The Ukrans had posted some infantry near the tank trying to protect it, pending retrieval, but for some reason the Ukrans could not get the retrieval vehicle to the disabled tank, and the Russians finally hit it enough times to destroy the tank.

Now, it is true the Ukrans have failed to fit the Abrams tanks with the anti-drone cages, which is a mistake.

[dawg80]

Ukran sea drones struck, and have reportedly sunk, another Russian ship. This one the Sergey Kotov, a "patrol boat" as they call it, but it's the size of one of our Coast Guard cutters. The Ukrans have really developed their sea drones into very effective weapons, state-of-the-art, using satellite guidance, aided by drones, and the crafts are very, very fast that no navy ship can outrun them or out-maneuver them. The only recourse once a sea drone has locked onto a ship is to try to destroy it. Usually the Ukrans send two, sometimes three, drones after one ship, coming in from various directions, such that one of them is bound to get through. They carry a 1,000-lb, armor-piercing warhead, which will knock a hole in the hull. And, also, the back portion of the drone also carries explosives and often those make it into the ship after the hole is punched and explode inside the ship, a double whammy.

Another good job by the Ukrans.