And...
Ukrainians have become drone pros: they have just found a way to attach anti-tank rocket launchers directly to quadcopters. I wouldn't like to be a Russian soldier facing a swarm of these drones
It is very unlikely that price caps and various other sanctions would be removed even if they withdraw, some date all way back to Crimea
thats the thing about sanctions most of time they never get removed, there is a cheery thought for Putin admirers
The ideal is for those posters that post the ‘wow Russians doing well’ with the ‘wow Ukraine’s doing well’ updates.
im happy to point out posters that post mainly Russian victories.
Russia seems to be in chaos, but they do propaganda well. I’d be slow to give them the airtime.
I think it's time for EU to stop doing what Russia does and stop calling these sanctions just sanctions. We are in a de facto economic war, Russia is the enemy, and henceforth any EU resident, citizen or not, who helps Russia should be accused of treason.
No..... blind
We ask residents of occupied territories, including the Crimean peninsula, to follow the officials’ recommendations during de-occupation measures. In particular, to prepare a bomb shelter, stock up on a sufficient amount of water and charge the powerbanks.
sounds overly confident
Vice-Chancellor of Germany Habek: "Gas deliveries no longer play a role in my safety considerations. The only thing reliable from Russia is lies. The only thing we can trust is that untruths will be told."
Someone mentioned that as front collapses (and it seems to be moving at least on northern bank of river) that means Russians become concentrated
but the reverse is also true as there are two sides
interestingly we could endup with a lot of captured equipment as most can’t be withdrawn and Russian casualties which be harder to hide as these are not lnr and dpr cannon fodder like the Donbass
Russians getting compacted means HIMARS getting waaaay more effective.
HIMARS probably kept for units further afield and resupply forces.
Other more appropriate shorter range artillery do the job as good as now probably in range.
Just a guess, I'm no artillery commander.
Quite an interesting read
The Russian turning off the gas play is massive absolutely massive. Interesting weeks and months ahead.
its the final throw of the Dice, a battle of civilisations, Russia will not be the first to blink but may be the first to collapse creating the new 'sick man' of EurAsia
True but that's assuming they have taken this into consideration and have contingency plans with large volumes of artillery as backup. Ukraine can send in the cheap guns and counter attack with the HIMARS completely out of range. They had plenty of time to dig in but seem to have been swept aside fairly easily. Some underestimate the power of a battalion of veterans vs conscripts too. I know what side of the line I would want to be on.
Your irrational hate of EU is clouding your judgement and misses basic human psychology.
All Putin’s antics will accomplish is ensure that generations of Western Europeans hate Russia and Russians as much as Eastern Europeans already do and that sanctions stay in place for a long time.
Expect an increase in calls to support Ukraine with even more weapons instead of your dream of EU collapse.
oh speaking of which
Unfortunately Russians are used to living in a shithole and will be able to tough it out longer than Europeans will. I honestly believe when blackouts begin to happen public support for Ukraine will drop quicker than a 20 dollar hookers knickers.
I'm not sure public opinion counts for a lot now. Support is now entrenched in the political system. If the west is smart they will get this debacle over with quickly.
Not so sure about that. I grew up with blackouts, Water off No gas and alike. You may be thinking of young people who lose the mind when the net goes down for 10 minutes.
A major push should have been made over the summer. Putin has been basically waiting for winter like the sneaky pr ick he is. The cold hard truth is politicians don't give a hoot about Ukraine despite what they say in public what they care about is getting re-elected and staying in power.
Anyone who believes that dropping their knickers will stop these criminals blackmailing them, deserves the shafting.
More on Bayraktar kills. A few tanks mentioned and they all seem to be recent-
Defending Ukraine - Listing Russian Military Equipment Destroyed By Bayraktar TB2s - Oryx (oryxspioenkop.com)
Sure that was years ago, i can remember black outs also but we've all been softened up over time. Anyway nothing that happens here will make a jot of difference, it's how the people of Germany, France, Italy and the other big boys populations react that Putin is counting on.
And what can Germany, Italy and France do in your scenario:
* Split EU in two over Russia? Or completely destroy it?
* Open a second front and take out Poland in process of getting to Ukraine??
* Send less aid than they already are???
* Send Macron to Moscow again???? What happens if US retaliates with secondary sanctions?
Can you please describe the “dropping pants and bending over scenario” by these countries as you envisage it
People don't like being blackmailed and bullied. I don't think most Europeans are going to say "f**k Ukraine, let them capitulate so our energy bills drop" and give Russia that victory.
What they will do is demand their governments provide emergency economic relief, just like during covid, which is fair enough.
They will begin to drop sanctions against Russia but before that the weapons will dry up. It's inevitable and won't be immediately obvious. PR and spin will play a huge part. I'd say talks are already taking place in the background.
As has been pointed out numerous times on this thread the US, Finland , Sweden , U.K. , Poland , et al will not give up the fight against Russia until they stop their madness or there is nothing left on this planet only cock roaches. Germany , France , Italy have no sway on that. That’s all that matters. Russia will never win. Their facade of an empire held together by fear collapsed in 1991 because they had a leader who was in some way grounded in reality. They were weak then they are even weaker now with a lunatic in charge.
Talk about smart weapons-
And in process break apart the EU?
What happens if US and half of EU countries for whom Russia is an existential threat retaliate against these three with secondary sanctions??
You speak of talks (how that work out for Macron?) and yet these 3 counties have no leverage over either Ukraine or Russia
Without leverage how exactly do you think they can force Ukraine to give up a fifth of its country for sake of German consumers???
I often find your posts good but I think you are wrong on this. The EU is united against Russia and these blackmail attempts by Putin will, I hope, only strengthen their resolve. He's a scumbag and a bully and the EU will look incredibly weak if it gives into his tactics. For Germany it would be total humiliation and don't underestimate national pride
I'm not just talking about energy bills. When the power keeps going out because we've no way to keep it on it won't matter how much money you have. Have yo any idea how dependent we are on that gas to keep industry going for example?
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