Ukraine – Russia … not more of the last thread

GO-NAD!

GO-NAD!

Audioholic Spartan
WaPo is also reporting that Ukraine apparently planned an attack on the Nord Stream pipeline. Based on this report, it's still not entirely clear Ukraine was behind the attack (some aspects of the attack are not entirely consistent with the reported plan).

>>>Three months before saboteurs bombed the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline, the Biden administration learned from a close ally that the Ukrainian military had planned a covert attack on the undersea network, using a small team of divers who reported directly to the commander in chief of the Ukrainian armed forces.

Details about the plan, which have not been previously reported, were collected by a European intelligence service and shared with the CIA in June 2022. They provide some of the most specific evidence to date linking the government of Ukraine to the eventual attack in the Baltic Sea, which U.S. and Western officials have called a brazen and dangerous act of sabotage on Europe’s energy infrastructure.

The European intelligence reporting was shared on the chat platform Discord, allegedly by Air National Guard member Jack Teixeira. The Washington Post obtained a copy from one of Teixeira’s online friends. . . .

The European intelligence made clear that the would-be attackers were not rogue operatives. All those involved reported directly to Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the country’s highest-ranking military officer, who was put in charge so that Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, wouldn’t know about the operation, the intelligence report said. <<<

If this is true, this could lead to tense relations amongst those allied with Ukraine.
 
Trell

Trell

Audioholic Spartan
Residents flee, others are rescued in Ukraine as waters rise after dam break | CBC News

Russia and Ukraine blame each other for this catastrophe, but what incentive is there for Ukraine to destroy their own infrastructure?
Then there is the fact that the Russian aggressors have controlled the dam for many months (nine, if I recall correctly) and even let it dangerously overflow (as to make maximum damage when blown). Blowing such a wide part of the dam is not something a small charge can do.

So here I believe it's the Russians, with the caveat that I don't know.
 
M

Mr._Clark

Audioholic Samurai
The initial reports are sketchy, but seem to indicate that the Ukrainian forces are experiencing stronger resistance than expected. Two primary issues seem to be effective Russian artillery fire and mines.

>>>Ukrainian forces "have suffered losses in heavy equipment and soldiers as they met greater than expected resistance from Russian forces in their first attempt to breach Russian lines in the east of the country in recent days," CNN reported, citing "two senior US officials." . . .

The information emerging from the battlefield - provided largely by pro-Russian military bloggers and the head of the Wagner mercenary group - is chaotic and unconfirmed. But the reports indicate that Ukraine has suffered significant casualties in fierce battles with the first observations of Western tanks like the Leopards in combat.<<<


Separately, there has been concern that the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam and resulting drop in water level in the Kakhovka reservoir will prevent the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) from using cooling water from the reservoir. According to the twitter post below, the ponds at the ZNPP are being filled, which should provide sufficient cooling water for several months. However, it's not clear what would happen if the ponds run dry.


It wouldn't surprise me if Russia intentionally damages the ZNPP at some point. The following website discusses some possible scenarios. Not surprisingly, the possible outcomes range from bad to really really bad.

 
Trell

Trell

Audioholic Spartan
The start of the Ukrainian counteroffensive to liberate their country from the brutal Russian invaders is "apparently" confirmed:


>>>Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday appeared to confirm that his country’s much-anticipated counteroffensive against Russia’s invasion has begun, but he said Ukraine would refrain from giving details about the operation.

“Counteroffensive and defensive actions are taking place in Ukraine; at which stage I will not talk in detail,” Zelenskyy said at a joint press conference in Kyiv on Saturday with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who was on an unannounced visit to Ukraine.

“I am in touch with our commanders,” the Ukrainian leader was quoted as saying. “Everyone is positive.”

Zelenskyy’s comments came after Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that Kyiv’s long-expected counteroffensive was already failing. Reports earlier this week said the counteroffensive was under way, with Ukraine battling to retake territory occupied by Moscow’s forces. ...<<<
 
M

Mr._Clark

Audioholic Samurai
CENTCOM is sending a message to Putin. Short version: "Stop F'ing around or your planes are going down."

>>>F-22 Deployment To Middle East Aimed Squarely At Russia In Syria<<<


>>>Release Number 20230614-01

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TAMPA, Fla. - U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptors deployed to U.S. Central Command's area of responsibility as part of a multifaceted show of U.S. support and capability in the wake of increasingly unsafe and unprofessional behavior by Russian aircraft in the region.<<<

 
M

Mr._Clark

Audioholic Samurai
According to this, the Russian Kinzhal missiles are actually not that difficult to shoot down with a Patriot missile system, in part because the Kinzhals fly at only 1/3 of the velocity the Russians claim.


the Kinzhal is basically an air-launched ballistic missile. I'm guessing that the lower velocity seen by the Patriot operator is due to the fact that ballistic missiles have much lower velocity during the terminal phase compared to the midcourse phase (e.g. 15,000 mph vs 1,988 mph).

>>>Ballistic missiles have three stages of flight . . .During midcourse phase, ICBMs can travelaround 24,000 kilometers per hour (15,000 miles per hour). . . . strategic warheads can be traveling at speeds greater than 3,200 kilometers per hour (1,988 miles per hour)[during terminal phase].<<<

 

Attachments

Trell

Trell

Audioholic Spartan
Sweden is to begin training pilots and support personnel on the Swedish jet fighter JAS 39 Gripen. It appears that JAS 39 Gripen will not be given to Ukraine in the short term but are planning for that the war till take a long time.

Google translated press release from the Swedish Government:

>>>... Training on the JAS 39 Gripen

The armed forces are tasked with orientation training for Ukrainian pilots and associated aeronautical personnel on the JAS 39. The background is that the Ukrainian armed forces have expressed requests to be able to operationally evaluate the JAS 39 as one of the most urgent measures is to strengthen the Ukrainian air defense with a modern combat aircraft system. ...<<<

Press release in Swedish: https://www.regeringen.se/pressmeddelanden/2023/06/tolfte-stodpaketet-till-ukraina/
 
M

Mojo Navigator

Junior Audioholic
I commend Ukraine for taking the high road and treating Russian POWs humanely. Meanwhile the barbaric treatment meted out to Ukrainian POWs is as from a different age. But, I suppose abusive behaviour has become normalized in Russian society - especially in the military - so we can't be surprised.
Freed Ukrainian P.O.W.s Report Abuses in Russian Captivity - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
Every day and in every way, the Ukrainians are showing the World that they are not Russians.
 
GO-NAD!

GO-NAD!

Audioholic Spartan
Is the first use of nuclear weapons ever justified? A top adviser to Vladimir Putin now says yes | CBC News

"The enemy must know that we are ready to deliver a pre-emptive strike ... to prevent a slide into global thermonuclear war," wrote Sergei Karaganov, chair of the Council on Foreign and Defence Policy, a prestigious Russian think-tank, and an adviser to Putin.

Karaganov is believed to be one of the architects of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and has frequently provided an ideological justification for waging war on that country.

Laid out in an article titled "A Difficult but Necessary Decision," Karaganov's thinking appears to be that to prevent a civilization-ending nuclear war, Russia needs to lower the threshold for using nuclear weapons and consider initiating a smaller, containable attack that will split the NATO alliance and ensure Russia emerges victorious against Ukraine.

He says the only way Russia may be able to break the will of Western countries so they stop helping Ukraine is by launching nuclear weapons at "a bunch of targets in a number of countries."
A pre-emptive strike would prevent global thermonuclear war? It would more likely trigger one. What a clown. :rolleyes:

Not long after Karaganov's article was published, another politically well-connected Russian foreign policy analyst, Dmitri Trenin, doubled down on his own view.

Nuclear deterrence has not stopped the West from trying to contain and destroy Russia by conducting a proxy war in Ukraine, he argued.

"To avoid a general catastrophe, it is necessary to return fear to politics and public consciousness," Trenin wrote.

Trenin was director of the Carnegie Moscow Center until it closed in April 2022, and his opinions were widely respected and sought after by Western governments and institutions.
I have a hard time accepting that these guys believe their own BS. It's more likely a sign that the Russian regime and plutocracy are well aware of the consequences for them personally should Russia lose to Ukraine. So, desperate times call for more desperate - but empty - nuclear threats.
 
Trell

Trell

Audioholic Spartan
Is the first use of nuclear weapons ever justified? A top adviser to Vladimir Putin now says yes | CBC News


A pre-emptive strike would prevent global thermonuclear war? It would more likely trigger one. What a clown. :rolleyes:



I have a hard time accepting that these guys believe their own BS. It's more likely a sign that the Russian regime and plutocracy are well aware of the consequences for them personally should Russia lose to Ukraine. So, desperate times call for more desperate - but empty - nuclear threats.
Putin has threatened with nuclear weapons several times during his brutal invasion of Ukraine in order to weaken the democratic world’s support of Ukraine.

The statements above are just more of the same.
 
M

Mr._Clark

Audioholic Samurai
The reports concerning Prigozhin have gotten even more strange. He seems to be openly challenging the main Russian military. It's unclear if this is some sort of a disinformation campaign.

>>>Yevgeny Prigozhin, the chief of private military group Wagner, has vowed to retaliate after accusing Russia’s military leadership of killing a “huge amount” of his forces in strikes – a claim that defense officials quickly denied.<<<


There are also (very unconfirmed) reports/rumors that there is some sort of security lockdown being implimented in Russia.



Things could get interesting in the next few days. Or not.
 
newsletter

  • RBHsound.com
  • BlueJeansCable.com
  • SVS Sound Subwoofers
  • Experience the Martin Logan Montis
Top