Ukraine
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@mariner4life said in Ukraine:
So who's winning?
weapons manufacturers and arms dealers
same as always
“The criminals are even now, as we speak, focusing on them.”
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Sanctions blowback. Another empire backfire?
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@Kruse yeah, out of professional interest.
edit - hmm, that's a bit vague so I'll give an example: The importance of secure battlefield communications. as we know a disproportionate number of generals have been killed, mainly because they've been using unsecured comms - mobile phones - to communicate.
Now we can operate vehicles and weapon systems autonomously, that combined with drones and smart weapons has changed the face of warfare. Outside of the rapid advancement in technology, my experience was practically largely devoted to brown enemies hopelessly outgunned. This conflict is much closer to the doctrine we learnt.
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@Kiwiwomble 'President Zelensky calls it a "unique and historical moment...Ukraine's future is within the EU."'
Well, those bits that remain in Ukraine...
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Morale is collapsing.
“The reality is different from the official comments.”
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Entirely predictable, so much so, the cynical conspiracist waving a Big Red Flag inside your head begins to wonder whether it’s all by design.
Nato and EU states are pushing for better tracking of weapons supplied to Ukraine in response to fears that criminal groups are smuggling them out of the country and on to Europe’s black market. […]
“All these weapons land in southern Poland, get shipped to the border and then are just divided up into vehicles to cross: trucks, vans, sometimes private cars,” said one of the western officials. “And from that moment we go blank on their location and we have no idea where they go, where they are used or even if they stay in the country.”
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Made for tv psy-ops, a propaganda campaign designed by the love child of Justin Trudeau and Meghan Markle. Same drama-school mindset. These are professionals employed in a world of make-believe.
[…]
“[Jessica] Chastain is only the latest celebrity du jour to hold court with Zelensky, who has taken on a celebrity status of his own in American media culture. He was asked to appear at the Oscars and did appear at the Grammys via video message. Last month, actor Sean Penn took a meeting with Zelensky. In June, actor Ben Stiller met with Zelensky in the presidential palace. In May, on Zelensky’s invitation, U2 gave a 40-minute performance in a Kyiv metro station. Angelina Jolie, a UN-designated humanitarian, visited as well. Last month, Zelensky and his wife Olena posed for a much heralded photo spread in Vogue for famed photographer Annie Leibovitz. The spread drew head scratches and some backlash on social media for what was deemed misguided priorities.
“I don’t fault Zelensky for taking high-profile meetings with international celebrities. He’s doing what he can using a star-hungry media to keep the atrocities in his country at the forefront of people’s minds. I do, however, question what kind of military strategy and diplomatic expertise the guy from Zoolander and the chick from Zero Dark Thirty can offer.”
[…]
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Big strike on Crimea air base - ammunition dumps and several planes go boom. Reports of huge traffic jams as people get the fuck out which is unsurprising. Seems Ukraine is keeping quiet on how it happened, with a bit of trolling that it could be a Russian 'accident'. Not sure if this is special forces wizardry or the new weapons systems Ukraine are using.
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On Sunday (local time), Russian- the appointed Governor of annexed Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozzhaev, wrote a warning on Telegram to Russian tourists.
"I remind you: try to shoot less photos and do not upload videos of how our AD works. If you are filming or taking pictures, at least don’t reference to the area,"Razvozzhaev said.
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I read they are heading towards a town/city (Kupyansk) which is a railroad nexus - if Ukraine forces can secure that it'll really fuck up Russian supply lines in the Kharkiv region.
edit - found the place names
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I wonder if the Kherson offensive was a ruse? Get the Russians reinforcing west of the river then bottleneck them after the bridges are blown. Then real counter attack in Kharkiv oblast.
Its the only thing that makes the 'much publicused' part of the Kherson offensive make sense. I just thought every one in the modern age were just blabber mouths. Maybe they were smarter than I thought. Including some US source going off record saying they had helped with the Khrrson plan,advising to limit it etc. That kind of off-record comment made me roll my eyes, but if it was a ruse then my impression should be revised up.
Maybe I'm giving too much credit, could just be opportunism.
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@Rapido it makes a lot of sense and given the US intel and advice Ukraine is receiving I'm sure that is helping with tactics (or is it strategy... I always get that mixed up). From a bunch of sources today it sounds like the biggest surprise has been how fast and how far the offensive has gone. Seems Russian defense in depth was pretty shallow and now a big issue is the number of POWs!
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Looks ripe for encirclement if Russia still has forces available.