Russia & Ukraine

TreeFrogTrader said:
No doubt most of the Russian soldiers in Ukraine would love to go to Texas right now.

It might take them almost five minutes to adjust to switching from vodka to tequila but we know they can do it!

Also, in case Mr. Ruskie Lawmaker does not know it, quite a few former Russian soldiers are coming through Texas every day right now.
More...
Facts.

They caught some :
timestamped

The bellz is takes to start talking something like this, while entering an ,,enemy'' country, or, he was desperate.
Poor woman/girl/daughter next to him. Those goat lovers have them like hostages, where they don't dear even to speak.
 
TreeFrogTrader said:
No doubt most of the Russian soldiers in Ukraine would love to go to Texas right now.

It might take them almost five minutes to adjust to switching from vodka to tequila but we know they can do it!

Also, in case Mr. Ruskie Lawmaker does not know it, quite a few former Russian soldiers are coming through Texas every day right now.
More...

Sure, Biden thinks we need more terrorists so that we can be multicultural like the Europeans.

Or should I say, "like the Europeans used to be." They are currently sending illegal migrants to Rwanda if they are caught. Not saying that is a bad thing.
 
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/...-arrive-as-soon-wednesday-in-ukraine-00138566

New US-made longer-range bomb expected to arrive as soon as Wednesday in Ukraine

The Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb doesn’t even exist in the U.S. inventory.

By Lee Hudson, Lara Seligman and Paul McLeary

01/30/2024 01:11 PM EST

Updated: 01/30/2024 02:07 PM EST

The Pentagon has successfully tested a new long-range precision bomb for Ukraine that is expected to arrive on the battlefield as soon as Wednesday, according to two U.S. officials and two other people with knowledge of the talks.

Ukraine will receive its first batch of Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bombs, a brand new long-range weapon made by Boeing that even the U.S. doesn’t have in its inventory, according to the four people, all of whom were granted anonymity to discuss matters ahead of an announcement.

The new bomb, which can travel about 90 miles, is expected to be “a significant capability for Ukraine,” said one of the U.S. officials.

“It gives them a deeper strike capability they haven’t had, it complements their long-range fire arsenal,” the U.S. official said. “It’s just an extra arrow in the quiver that’s gonna allow them to do more.”

An Army spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder declined to comment on timing “due to operational security.”

“I will refer to Ukraine to talk about any delivery,” he told reporters on Tuesday. “But we do, as I mentioned, continue to work closely with Ukraine and with our industry partners to ensure that Ukraine receives and is ready to use the capabilities that we’re delivering to them, and as quickly as possible.”

The weapon, co-developed by Boeing and Saab, is made up of a precision-guided 250-pound bomb strapped to a rocket motor and fired from various ground launchers. The U.S. military has a similar version of the bomb that is air-launched, but a ground-launched version does not yet exist in U.S. inventory.

The extended range will put a new capability in Kyiv’s arsenal at a time when fighting along the front is in a stalemate, and as Ukraine looks for new ways to hit Russian forces and infrastructure behind the front lines.

The bomb will join other long-range weapons given to Ukraine over the past year that have allowed its troops to hit Russian logistics and naval sites in Crimea. While the new bombs don’t have the range of the British Storm Shadow or the U.S.-made Army Tactical Missile System, it is arriving as Ukraine’s stockpiles of artillery and munitions are running low.

New funding for Ukraine is part of the $111 billion emergency supplemental that’s been stalled on Capitol Hill. Despite the fact that the U.S. has no new money to authorize weapons transfers from existing stocks, the U.S. signed a contract with Boeing last year to provide the weapon to Kyiv.

Ukraine will be the first country to use the bomb in combat, making it a critical test case for other countries that have been snapping up long-range munitions since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The Pentagon announced last February that the Biden administration was providing the new bomb to Ukraine. But before sending the new version, the U.S. military needed to test the weapon — and that took many months.

The Army oversaw the testing of the new precision-guided bomb before providing its stamp of approval to send the weapon to Ukraine, according to an industry source.

The air-launched version was created in 2019, but despite successful tests, Boeing and Saab did not make a sale until the U.S. decided to donate it to Ukraine as part of an aid package.
 
https://www.yahoo.com/news/cia-chief-says-russias-failures-030559472.html

CIA chief says Russia's failures in the Ukraine war have sealed its fate as 'China's economic vassal'
Kwan Wei Kevin Tan
Wed, January 31, 2024 at 4:05 AM GMT+1·2 min read
  • The Russia-Ukraine war has dealt multiple setbacks to Vladimir Putin, says CIA chief William Burns.

  • Burns said in an op-ed for Foreign Affairs that the war has "proved foolish and illusory" for Putin.

  • The invasion, Burns said, had weakened Russia's military and economy.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has crippled its economy and left it beholden to China, says CIA director William J. Burns.

"Russia's economy is suffering long-term setbacks, and the country is sealing its fate as China's economic vassal," Burns wrote in an opinion article for Foreign Affairs on Tuesday.

Russia has been struggling under the West's crippling economic sanctions ever since it invaded Ukraine in February 2022. But the ties between Russia and China have only deepened, with bilateral trade reaching a record $240 billion in 2023, per Chinese customs data.

"Putin's war has already been a failure for Russia on many levels," Burns wrote in his article. "His original goal of seizing Kyiv and subjugating Ukraine proved foolish and illusory."

The Ukraine war, Burns said, has dealt "immense damage" to Russia's military.

"At least 315,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded, two-thirds of Russia's prewar tank inventory has been destroyed, and Putin's vaunted decadeslong military modernization program has been hollowed out," Burns wrote in his op-ed.

Russia's military and economic setbacks have also seen it turn to countries like North Korea and Iran for munitions.

"Putin's overblown ambitions have backfired in another way, too: they have prompted NATO to grow larger and stronger," Burns said in his article.

The military alliance has seen its ranks grow in the past year, with Finland joining in April. Sweden's application for NATO membership has received the endorsement of all members except Hungary's.

Burns' withering assessment of Putin and Russia was echoed by UK Defense Secretary Grant Shapps earlier this month.

"The world has turned its back on Russia, forcing Putin into the humiliation of going cap in hand to North Korea to keep his illegal invasion going," Grant Shapps wrote in an X post on January 5.

Representatives for Burns did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider sent outside regular business hours.
 
https://www.yahoo.com/news/walking-away-ukraine-own-goal-215058791.html

Walking away from Ukraine would be an 'own goal' as the war hollows out the army Putin spent decades building, CIA chief says
Chris Panella
Tue, January 30, 2024 at 10:50 PM GMT+1·4 min read

  • If the US abandons Ukraine and cuts off crucial aid, it'll be a historic "own goal," the CIA director said.

  • Burns wrote that continuing to support Ukraine is a modest investment with significant returns for the US.

  • With aid tied up in Congress, the US and Ukraine's next steps have critical geopolitical implications.
Should the US walk away from the war in Ukraine and abandon it as it attempts to fend off the Russians, it'll be it'll be an "own goal of historic proportions," the CIA director said.

The warning comes as new, crucial aid is held up by Republicans in Congress. It is a critical time for the US, which has contributed a significant amount of aid to Ukraine, to question its vested interests in seeing a stronger Ukraine and a weaker Russia.

In an opinion article published Tuesday in Foreign Affairs, William J. Burns, the director of the CIA, wrote that Putin's war had already severely impacted Russia in a variety of ways, such as isolating it globally and damaging its military and economy. He added that Putin's efforts to modernize the Russian military had suffered as a result of this devastating, high-casualty conflict.

The CIA director wrote that "at least 315,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded, two-thirds of Russia's prewar tank inventory has been destroyed, and Putin's vaunted decades-long military modernization program has been hollowed out." Burns added that "all this is a direct result of Ukrainian soldiers' valor and skill, backed up by Western support."

The war isn't over though. Russia is launching offensives on multiple fronts, and despite losses, the operations continue. Russia's defense industry is on a war footing, and support from pariah states like North Korea and Iran is fueling its war efforts. Ukraine is holding the line, but its defense is strained by shortages in ammunition and other supplies.Putin appears to be gearing up for a longer war that will require Ukraine to receive committed and stable support from the West if it's going to survive the fight.

There are many benefits for the US to continue supporting Ukraine, Burns noted, a "relatively modest investment with significant geopolitical returns."

Among other benefits, with more ammunition and weapons aid, which translates to a greater ability to resist, Ukraine will be in a stronger position should it opt to negotiate a deal with Russia.

"It offers a chance to ensure a long-term win for Ukraine and a strategic loss for Russia; Ukraine could safeguard its sovereignty and rebuild, while Russia would be left to deal with the enduring costs of Putin's folly," Burns wrote.

A weakened Russia licking its wounds for years to come might offer some sense of peace to NATO members and other nations concerned about an increasingly aggressive Putin invading them. And the US would be to able to shift its focus to tensions elsewhere, such as the Taiwan Strait.

There's no guarantee, but Burns presented a bleaker alternative.

Burns wrote: "For the United States to walk away from the conflict at this crucial moment and cut off support to Ukraine would be an own goal of historic proportions," effectively allowing Russia to achieve its goal of conquering Ukraine or forcing it into an unfavorable peace deal, and leaving Putin emboldened and more aggressive.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned about that exact scenario previously, including to US lawmakers back in December. During a Washington, DC visit, the Ukrainian leader pleaded for more US aid and explained that if Russia took Ukraine, Putin wouldn't stop there.

Such aggression would draw the US into a much larger, costlier war than the one it's supporting in Ukraine right now, experts and analysts have argued. But aid is still held up in Congress.

The latest aid package to Ukraine has been on hold since October, when Republicans blocked it, along with assistance to Israel.

Since December, Republicans and Democrats have been working on a bipartisan bill that includes the $111 billion aid package for both nations, as well as stricter border security and immigration measures, although it remains unclear if such a deal will have enough support, particularly from former President Donald Trump's allies, to pass.
 
https://www.yahoo.com/news/video-shows-ukraine-taking-front-160352480.html

Video shows Ukraine taking out the front and back vehicles of a Russian armored convoy, trapping the others

Russia loses over 1,000 more soldiers and several dozen armoured vehicles – General Staff

61c4d804cdd75b2cf35b1647bde712a0


Moscow recruits ‘construction brigades’ from Russian students, Ukraine says
 
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