That means Putin is afraid
Hes like a 5 year old with my father is stronger than your father attitude.
It's on the RTÉ website
I'd hazard that it's more a case of them having a lot of combat experience under their belts now, combined with those encircling them being very "vincible" indeed. The change of attack axis won't have solved all of the Russians' problems. The systemic defects are unlikely to have gone away. You can shift your poorly-supplied, poorly-motivated, poorly-trained soldiers to more favourable ground for an attack, but that just means you've got more favourable ground. The more friendly nature of eastern Ukraine is likely to alleviate morale and supply problems to some degree, but I vey much doubt that it'll be a cure-all, especially given the unprecedented losses* the Russians have suffered to date.
*Since WW2
Just spotted it now.
They allready have a laser guided Kvitnyk
With heads to fit shell that makes it universal
It can be used on 120,122,152 and 155 mm shells
Combined with the laser designator on a drone,most likely Bayraktar,they can pinpoint Artillery towards armoured targets.
But if you really want a tank destroyer you need the swedish Bonus round.
It was on RTE radio earlier. They met with him for an hour.
He said he didn't have time for the regular photo op with pints of Guinness in a pub and signing hurleys so the lads ran out of ideas of how to publicise it
The plane was just making a fuel stopover before heading to Andrews Airport Base, hence why they didn't leave the airport, it's just off the East Coast of America so no doubt a few pics with Biden or someone else high up later on.
That's great, but can it hit any target intentionally or is it just a launch it and see where she goes?
What's the most up-to-date, reasonably neutral tally on military casualties for either side?
Of course if it accidently hits somewhere it shouldn't...
Photo Ops posturing BS is all it is really.
Yep. Plus on top of thinking the ruling classes of both nations were keen on giving up power, the big mistake the West made was to assume and arrogantly in many ways that both nations wanted to be liberal democracies like ours. It's a laudable if naive aim on the surface, but again it assumes other cultures want that and assume they think we have things better than them. Since WW2 and what that led to, the drive in Europe in particular has been to see any form of nationalism and social conservatism as very very bad, which is understandable, but many cultures beyond Europe; Russia, many nations in Africa, China, the Middle East, most of East Asia do not feel the same way to nearly the same degree and see much of it as either a bit mad or weakness in our "Western culture".
The American Dream has certainly lost its lustre for many onlookers. Their various wars for "freedom" when it was clear oil was a major factor in most of them, their ever increasing wealth gap, gun violence including mass shootings by nutters, a mad homeless problem(search youtube for living in a van/car and its almost entirely Americans), bugger all social support, where they need their army to go into some poor areas to set up field hospitals to give basic care to citizens because a headache pill or whatever costs a weeks wages(compare the cost of insulin for diabetics in the US and pretty much anywhere else), never mind the seemingly deepening divides politically and along ethnic lines. I personally wouldn't want a bar of living in the place myself, whereas if this was the 1960's I'd be on the next boat.
You jest, but is Putin posturing, boasting, threatening or what?
God alone knows how many billions these enormous nuclear weapons have cost for Russia to develop and produce. And I believe Putin would be itching to try out his "new toys".
For all that certain posters on here shy away from confrontation with Putin because of the nuclear threat, I've said it before and I'll say it again.... HE NEEDS NO EXCUSE to use these weapons. The continuing supply of arms to Ukraine by the West. Failure to succeed in his war in Ukraine. Russia ultimately being reduced to a shambles on the world stage. Sanctions eventually totally crippling Russia. The loss of global trade and manufacturing devastation. The exclusion of Russians from an ever growing list of places, sports, etc. I could go on... Anything could set him off. Absolutely anything.
Apparently just a single one of these new massive nukes would completely destroy the UK and Ireland.
If the West has no intention of ever intervening, and is content to continue letting Putin do exactly as he pleases, then we had better hope that senior army figures or those close to or within his inner circle eventually decide that Putin himself is doing more to destroy Russia than anything the West could have come up with, and he gets taken out.
There are hit men, mercenaries, special ops and elite forces that would have had opportunities to terminate him previously. We've now let it get to the stage where he's likely untouchable unless it's done from within.
I catch up with the overnight news each morning with a genuine feeling of apprehension. It's quite chilling how Putin is increasingly threatening to use the nuclear option.
And for anyone who's thinking of replying alone the lines of: ...He's only bluffing, Putin's family would also die, Russia would be destroyed, etc... then please don't bother as we've heard it all before. The bottom line is that I don't believe Putin cares. He believes he's some kind of messiah or demigod on a crusade for the motherland, and if Russia goes down the pan he'll take as many of us with it as he can.
I know your just been sarcastic of Russia's capabilities? But did you read any of the linked post's about it?
Russia has test-launched its new intercontinental ballistic missile - which Vladimir Putin has boasted can overcome any defence system.
The Sarmat missile was launched from Plesetsk in the country's northwest and hit targets in the Kamchatka Peninsula in the far east. ~~ Link
They've already gained and kept far more real estate in the Donbas and the Crimea corridor than they have in their push for Kyiv. And 100kms is plenty far enough if your supply lines can't stretch that far in enough time. It quite clearly was and they've seen that(took their time) and have pivoted to an area of Ukraine they think and have more chance of winning, at least in the short term.
Russia unlike America has a military system far more based on defence than overseas attack. America is pretty much the complete opposite and they have incredible logistics and the ability to prosecute a war almost anywhere on the planet and in double quick time. In another dimension if America thousands of miles away wanted to take Ukraine and launched their attack at the same time as Russia did, most of Ukraine's military infrastructure would have been taken out within the first ten days, air superiority would be a given and anything bigger than a boxkite would be targetted, even before they put a boot or track on the ground and the country, or at least the centres that matter would almost certainly have fallen by now. If putin didn't have the nuclear threat I'd be willing to bet if the Americans said they were at war and were joining Ukraine, Russia after some posturing would sue for peace in double quick time.
There is ZERO proof Putin "NEEDS NO EXCUSE".
All evidence points to him never using a nuclear weapon in attack. There is plenty of evidence of him using conventional weapons.
Excellent article. Thanks for posting that. Tend to agree with that too.
Every neutral observer is of the opinion that Russian casualties are much higher than those of Ukraine.
Zelensky admitted to CNN that about 3000 Ukrainian troops have been killed and perhaps 10,000 injured, which sounds very plausible.
The US reckons that at least 10,000 Russian troops have died, but many observers suspect the real number could be a lot higher (perhaps 15k or 20k or even more).
Hmmm. I see Ukraine doesn’t recognise Kosovo as an independent state.
Some of the Agricultural machinery stolen by the Russian military in Ukraine has been located in Chechnya.
There's a first time for absolutely anything.
All evidence points to him never using a nuclear weapon in attack
And that is for the simple reason that he has never previously needed to. But in the nuclear age, Russia has never previously dug itself into such a big hole as the one it's in now.
Do you know how much its cost to maintain a nuclear arsenal?
If you look at US figures,and also at the russian economy,you will understand that its impossible for Russia to keep their nuclear arsenal operational and maintained.
The Congressional Budget Office is required by law to project the 10-year costs of nuclear forces every two years. This report contains CBO’s projections for the period from 2021 to 2030.
And looking at the state of the Russian army and Navy i doubt Putins arsenal is as great as he wants us to believe.
However i do agree that he is well capable lf using one if he feels threatened,all it takes is one warhead,but does Putin have enough to counter a retaliation strike from NATO is the question i would like to ask.
Thats where he is bluffing i think
I still reckon he's dying.... given he was anticipating everything to be done by now, with a huge May victory parade, I wouldn't say he has too long....
I think when the doctor eventually tells him there's nothing more they can do (possibly the second or third doctor, as the other will have had heart attacks out a 10th floor window)... he'll think "f it" and push the nuke button...
where, I don't know. Even tactical nukes don't make sense in Ukraine, and area he is trying to take, unless he is going with an area denial approach...
With N.Korea's posturing, wouldn't surprise me if he go them to do it and gave Kimmy a nice cushy bunker
In other words you've no evidence
Yourself and Goldenmick have this idea that Putin can just press a button and launch a nuclear missile. From anything I've heard/ read on such matters, it don't work like that thankfully in that there is a chain of command. Others have to take, presumably agree with and follow his orders. None of that is a given if there is no immediate threat to Russian territory from a nuclear attack. Big difference between using nuclear weapons in defence and using them as an offensive weapon.
You could the next James Patterson if you just turn that into a novel
I get where you're coming from.
But Putin's Russia doesn't operate within any rules and regulations. Putin himself is alleged to be worth over $20 billion. Most of his oligarchs and cronies are probably not that far behind. And the majority of Russians are impoverished and living in the Stone Age.
Russia is not far behind China in the secrecy league table, and putting aside the Russian nuclear arsenal (which I didn't refer to), these RS-28 Sarmat missiles they've developed have obviously been completed by using money from budgetary cuts everywhere and a great deal of illicit funding.
As you say, one nuke is all it takes. But unlike you I don't think he is bluffing. I think he has a certain level of humiliation that he (and Russia by association) are prepared to descend to. After that, well...
I don't think that... I mean push the button as a figure of speech...
He has enough yes men around him that it could be as easy as just giving the order, you would hope more than likely not though...
Hence the N.Korea approach..
Putin is a very small man with a very big ego, he'll want to be remembered for something before he pops his clogs, and it won't be the shitstorm he left his country in and his advance in Ukraine... with so many losses, even if he took Donbas and Luhansk, it'll be very hard to justify that the losses were worth it
It really boggles the mind that western democracies is the primary reason why China and Russia are now so powerful. Our appetite for cheap plastic products and cheap fossil fuels has caused irreparable damage. What genius thought it would be a good idea to allow a despotic Russian leader the decision on whether or not our lights stay on? I will come back to that question.
What can we do about China? Maybe if we collectively stop buying their landfill products then maybe they will not be the Number 1 economic superpower in 6 years (largest economy by 2028). While I’m just an ant in all of this, I deliberately make an effort not to buy Chinese products. While I understand that some core components can originate in China, my hope is that it would be Taiwanese rather than from the Chinese mainland. If we all do something similar, then it would be impactful.
Going back to Russian oil, gas, coal, and other minerals from that country; I look at Germany and point a sizeable finger at them. Their behaviour during and prior to the invasion of Ukraine is appalling. There is something inherently wrong as I look at the stock markets all around the world today only to see that the German DAX the best performer of all the major indices. Something really stinks about that, and no doubt there is a correlation to Russian oil and gas imports.
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