He's great at being a hard man in the Kremlin, but would he last 5 minutes playing CB on a rainy Monday night in Dalyer? I think not.
The danger then is when the Ukrainians take it back, which seems to be happening in a few places
Ireland should offer €1M & residency for every Russian pilot who defects with his plane.
That way we can build up our own claptrap airforce.
They would have to spend €500K on a house, have some left over and a paycheck from the new improved Air Core.
The longer this carries as is (assuming little Russian advance) the better negotiating hand Ukraine have to play with. Russia's strongest hand was nearer the beginning of war. Now after seeing what a clown show they are, Ukraine has the chance to possibly even defeat them. At least chase them back to Crimea and breakaway areas. Russia already laid waste to cities, so Ukraine is all in now.
Tbf, he could probably get a game the way things are at the moment. The replacement we need for Cornwall.
This is fascinating, where was this reported?
Shur that's less than a fiver of a hike 😁
Reportedly some of the latest fighting in NW Kyiv, featuring Chechen volunteers (and one mad b*stard) on the Ukrainian side
Well are you old enough to remember the oil crisis in 73 when people had to queue up for hours at some petrol station to get some petrol ?
And America was also affected and again in 1979.
Don't forget about the massive Roubles rates increase in order to try to strengthen it. I think it doubled to around 20%.
In Polish main newspaper (good one):
https://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/wiadomosci/7,114881,28250873,wojna-w-ukrainie-rosyjski-zolnierz-poddal-sie-i-oddal-czolg.html#s=BoxMMtImg3
For sure, but the equivalent would probably be Fox News with a panel of ageing war hawks. It's hard to tell how relevant these guys are (even some of the Russian audience must have their eyebrows raised at talk of nuking Poland etc).
But is he a full time mad b*stard?
They also carry troops and cargo, bit looking at their loitering flightpath, I'd say they are on station for air refueling.
I think Azov is alter boys in comparison to the Russian backed seperatists in Ukraine.
Warning graphic content
https://georgianjournal.ge/usa-news/29455-graphic-footage-pro-russian-separatist-qgiviq-tormenting-captured-ukrainian-soldiers-18.html
Actually to be honest I recall seeing something offering to pay for Russian Aircraft in Bitcoin
Joking aside if this were sweetened up a bit - with residency offered - and protection etc etc - It could sway maybe a few?
The problem with it is families remaining in Russia - they may be subjected to reprisals (would be i should say). A young pilot with few if any connections -maybe? A married man with wife and kids - not a chance
Or, they've consolidated their positions around Kyiv, their logistics are in play and out of effective range of the defending Unkrainians, putin is concentrating his active firepower in the Crimean corridor and playing a holding pattern game with Kyiv. He did fire a few salvos at Kyiv in the early stages, even a direct rocket attack in the centre of the city, but he's since mostly held back from doing a Dresden on the place. The lights are on, the power is running, the interwebs is up etc. I'm not seeing any evidence of the collapse of Russian lines.
If he does all of the above, secures the Crimean corridor by concentrating attention there, he'll have the Donbas and that southern region in hand and have Kyiv stuck in a vice he's not tightening yet, but can, or can threaten that enough. When they go to talks and bargaining he's in a pretty good position strategically. He doesn't want the whole country. He couldn't hold it and well he knows it. He also knows a puppet government won't fly either. Maybe once, not now. He does want the Donbas and Crimean corridor, Kyiv further distanced from NATO, claims that he's "de-nazified" Ukraine(Azov likely disbanded/renamed/under new commanders and other stuff for the optics being part of any deal) and he can go back with a "win" with spin for the home crowd.
The Americans have lost nothing in all of this, if anything they've gained real world training in overwatch intel and transmission to ground forces and a better understanding of the Russian military and their tactics and effectiveness. The EU have to deal with a new refugess crisis, but in the long run it should be good for the EU if they help Ukraine rebuild and get closer to the same EU and unlike many of the previous so called refugees, it's almost entirely certain Ukraine's women and children will go home.
Ukraine has lost land and the uncountable loss of too many of their men, women and children and that grieving will be in place for a long time and they will never forget this and Russia is dead to them, but in time a newer, better, more close to the EU and the checks and balances of that are very much on the table.
Russia? Let's face it a few of the sanctions will be lifted. If there's money to be made without it being lost elsewhere, it'll happen soon enough. Others will take longer, maybe much longer. World - or at least let's be frank the movers and shakers of the world - opinion is against them. They've lost trust in international trade and politics and they're way too small a market for that trust to be worth taking a risk on again. They're likely to be looking down the barrel of a long recession and going backwards at least ten years.
My humble anyway.
Actually maybe this is the reason, they don't use planes so much? Maybe they don't have enough trusted pilots?
Just so we're absolutely clear - that footage is quite old (it's from 2015, after the battle for Donetsk airport) but I take your point about how Russians and Separatists treat prisoners.
The man abusing prisoners in this video, Mikhail Tolstyky, was assassinated in 2017 (blown up with an RPG as he left his office)
Should have used trustpilot
True. I've been watching a German P-3 keeping a close eye on one particular area within the Economic zone of Kaliningrad just yesterday. It spent nearly 3 hours circling an area of less than a kilometer over the sea just to the south west of that long spit of land.
At one stage yesterday, there were 2 x E8's, a Swedish AF gulfstream, an Italian P-3, and two US Army Beechcraft ELINT. Every band of the radio spectrum is being monitored. If things were not so serious, it would be like arrivals day at RIAT over Poland at the moment.
Mark Felton did a superb analysis recently on the gaps left in the UK defence due to the selling off of the UK's AWAC's. The new ones are not due to go into service until late next year.
That bird has since become famous to the Ukrainians, and feared by the Russians. They call it "The Chicken of Kiev".
I'll get my coat..
.
It is,and Ukraine have been invaded since 2014 remember,using Putins hybrid warfare
On 22nd July 1941 General Dmitry Pavlov, commander of the Soviet Western Front, was shot after a disastrous defeat in the battles for Bialystock and Minsk. Much of the fault, however, lay with Stalin's purges of the Red Army during the 30's and his refusal to countenance any possibility that his new best friend Hitler would actually invade.
Not much changes is Russia...
Who really knows Wibbs? The wind may be changing for the Russian military on the ground. Long way from home, up against very motivated Ukrainian forces, who are in turn being supplied with weaponry and intelligence. Can the Russian military really risk attacks from afar with say chemical weapons? They'd cross a line and endanger their own forces inc those already captured. If Ukraine gets a sense it's winning, they'll drive the Russians back out to pre 2014 border. On other hand, you could well be right and the Russians will put all their eggs into seizing and holding that eastern region.
Thanks thomil and greenpilot. I'm looking at flight radar and haven't a clue what I'm looking at 😊 get excited when I see all the different military aircraft and think it must be something interesting happening ,but haven't a clue what they are all for. 🤔
a few extra popping up today. Hercules/chinnook/blackhawks, italy/Polish/Slovakia
My twitter keeps showing me more pro Russian tweets lately.
I don't want to be promoting that side, but this seems to be happening and I don't know if it's been covered yet.
"Mikhail Tolstyky, was assassinated in 2017 (blown up with an RPG as he left his office)"
Now THAT'S how you assassinate someone!!!
If this is true. Something very bad is going to happen in Ukraine, that Russian diplomats are leaving before they get expelled.
I wouldn't worry too much about those Kalibr missiles. They are useful but not going to win feck all for Russia
Young Peter will have to come home 😂😂
trump has a few investments too ?
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