>

Would you really use those on a house with some troops garrisoned in it?  Seems like overkill.
New post can be found here >

They absolutely should. Making Europe militarily less dependent on the US is a project mostly driven by France, so they shouldn't hide behind Abrams, even if Germany does. >

Yes but it's not easy. Out of 200 tanks, some are in maintenance and 70 are out of service to be upgraded to XLR standard this year. That doesn't leave many >

Similar to the Challenger numbers.  226 total and many of those not close to combat ready and yet UK still sent a full squadron.  I know it;s slightly easier for an island to give up its tanks but realistically what other land war are France expecting to fight in the next ten years? 
Leclerc's use standard NATO ammo as well which makes for easy resupply. >


but realistically what other land war are France expecting to fight in the next ten years? 

To be fair, they do border Spain, and as we all know, no one expects the Spanish inquisition. >

Or as I once joked as Santander bought out the company I was working for...
​
"no one expects the Spanish Acquisition."  
I thought I was really funny at the time.  
No one I worked with had watched Monty Python so 20 years later I'm determined to get a positive response on the best joke I ever came up with. >

Those glorious Viking bastards. >

important article
upvoted, thanks for posting >

Sweden just announced that it is transferring 50 Combat Vehicle 90 to Ukraine.
CV90 is a really good IFV. It has a 40 mm autocannon  and can carry 7-8 soldiers.
Sweden will also send artillery system Archer (unspecified amount), more NLAWs and AT-systems (presumably more AT4s), mine clearing equipment and automatic rifles.
Source is press conference with Swedish Prime Minister. >

Good news! >

Holy shit CV-90 is amazing news!
Ukraine now has like a lot of good armor. Like 400+
Thats great. In the beginning of the war, our defenders did marlvels and inflicted heavy damage upon Russians using our domestic BTR-4E. We lost a lot of them defending our land. This type of tech, its such an improvement! I hope it will help us free our land! >

So now that russia has captured Soledar, they feel obligated to hold on to it at all costs.
Meanwhile Ukraine has parked themselves next to the town while russia has no strength to secure a perimeter around it. Drones, artillery and recon forces on the ground hitting russians in the town pretty much 24/7. 
No matter how many losses they take, Soledar must'nt fall. So we can be sure russia doubles down. 
Sounds like a honey trap to me. But surely Prigozhin is a master strategist and I simply fail to see the big picture. >

I wonder if this is where the massive KIA numbers are coming from. >

That’s awesome! >

1% of GDP, damn. Heroes >

Previous post
Day 329-330 of my updates from Kharkiv.
It was relatively quiet during the last 2 days, we had no missile or drone strikes in Kharkiv, but they continue to shell and send S-300 missiles at Kupiansk every day. Just a couple of hours ago, at around 10pm, there was an air raid alert and people living in Kupiansk reported that center of the town was hit yet again. Also, the tragedy that happened near Kyiv yesterday can’t really be called quiet either, a helicopter crash is just horrible, hopefully something like that won’t happen again.
All those new announcements about more military aid are really exciting, but I wonder why do them right before the next Ramstein meeting starts instead of during it? I guess everything that is getting announced right now is already approved and doesn’t have to be discussed with anyone. It will be interesting to see what we will get out of the meeting, most likely more new tanks will be approved, but I wonder what else could also be announced.
The new US military package that was just announced seems amazing, that’s almost 1000 vehicles in just the last 2 packages, it’s an enormous amount of armor to get in a single month. Well, obviously we’re not getting them all immediately, but the amount is still staggering. I hope the rumors about us getting GLSDBs are not just rumors, because the 160km range would be really helpful. They are HIMARS ammo, so technically they still might be included in this package, but in that case, we won’t know about it until later. >

You've been a constant in many of our lives this past year and I'm sure I'm not alone when I say I can't wait for the day where your daily update is that you went out with your friends for a night on the town. >

Estimated Russian losses from 24.02.2022 to 19.01.2023 (Day 330):
|Category              |Change*|Total     |
|:---|:---|:---|
|Personnel             |+760      |118530    |
|Tanks                 |+6      |3136      |
|APVs                  |+10     |6235      |
|Artillery             |+14     |2122      |
|MLRS                  |-      |442       |
|Anti-aircraft Systems |-      |220       |
|Aircraft              |-      |287       |
|Helicopters           |+1      |277       |
|UAVs                  |+6    |1882      |
|Missiles              |-      |749       |
|Warships / Boats      |-      |17        |
|Other Vehicles        |+7      |4896      |
|Special Equipment     |-      |190       |
*Change since the previous day.
Source: The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine >

After the ruzzians took Soledar, their casualties only increased. Keeping that city might not go as planned, it seems! >

For anyone deciding whether to watch the video, please do. I am in awe at how this masterpiece works. >

Saab makes incredible tech. Their cars from back in the day were loaded with wicked cool technology too. >

Denmark is sending all 19 of their CAESARS. >

Respect to Denmark. >

Before this all started I (an American) thought Europe would be cowed by Russian threats. I thought we would see some condemnations and some furrowed brows but nothing more. Needless to say, I was pleasantly and happily surprised. The Baltic states in particularly have absolutely channeled the spirit of Gandalf on the bridge of Khazad-dûm. >

I’m swedish and i NEVER thought our government would aid Ukraine with weapons. We have been neutral for two hundred years and been firmly in the don’t provoke anyone camp and here we are handing out shipment after shipment of things that do real damage to the russian army. It’s like i ended up in a parallel universe.
I love it. Fuck the russian government.
Slava ukraini >

Yeah, you know Russia fucked up pretty bad when Sweden abandons neutrality. Glad to have you on board! >

The Tallinn Pledge: nine nations commit to equip Ukraine to push Russia out of its territory.
Signed by Estonia, the United Kingdom, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Denmark, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, and Slovakia, along with a long list of the latest hardware going to the war and an intention to push other allied nations at Ramstein to do the same. >

You love to see it.
Send to theater area. Shortens logistics, keeps em guessing, bolsters defenses. >

Challenger 1 are a surprise.  
But if even the Bundeswehr hardly has to give up anything, I'm definitely in favor of it. >

Good to see. Hopefully this will be the making of Kazakstan. >

Spot on, Ukraine needs to reach a point where they are fucking the Russian raw on the battlefield.
They need Russians to be thinking "but sending me to the frontline is imminent death". >

Abrams in 3-2-1... >

Strykers and Bradleys are much more useful in this conflict and don't require extreme logistics to support, like Abrams, that takes 10 gallons of high grade jet fuel to start the engine. >

If it takes Abrams to finally push Scholz to release Leopards then I hope it happens. Announcing maybe 10 Abrams to open up the floodgates wouldn't hurt. >

Vladimir Milow on Foreign Affairs

The Sanctions on Russia Are Working! Slowly but Surely, They Are Weakening Putin 
The assertion that the Russian economy has shown remarkable resilience to sanctions hinges on misleading macroeconomic indicators. Specifically, critics of sanctions point to the strengthened ruble, the modest contraction of Russian GDP, and low unemployment. But these figures do not in fact reflect the situation on the ground. >

No trial or anything, just murdered. Disgusting behaviour from the SBU. >

It's being investigated by Governmental Bureau of Investigations at the moment. >

Leopards gonna be eating Russian faces >

r/aleopardtankatemyface >

I'm not a fan of our government but at least they've been handling supply and funding of weapons for Ukraine quite well. >

No one wants to recognize annexation like that as legitimate >

Plus the fact that Iran has had border problems in its own history, with the Iraq/Iran war being a recent example. >

Precisely >

Boris Pistorius has now been officially appointed as the new defense minister of Germany.  At around 9:40 a.m., Pistorius will be received by the Inspector General of the German Armed Forces, Eberhard Zorn, with military honors and a short press statement is also planned.  At around 11 a.m. the minister will receive his first foreign guest, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
Edit: At CET Time. >

I still love that the inspector general is called Zorn, meaning anger/wrath in German. >

.
@BWallaceMP
 has announced the UK is sending 600 Brimstone radar-guided missiles to Ukraine. 
The British-made Challenger 2 tanks will be delivered “in the coming weeks.” >

Swedish Archer system in action >

Now I just hope we Finns try to outdo the Swedes and give the Patria AMOS to Ukraine. That thing is the best mortar system in the world. >

time for Dark Brandon to just show up with Abrams. >

It is kind of wild that we don't have a stock of older tanks in the U.S. without such unique maintenance and fuel needs.
I guess it would be a challenge to keep them maintained if they're using obsolete parts. >

Why maintain old tanks when you can just military industrial complex yourself a whole armada of new ones >

At this point, it seems possible, perhaps even likely that Ukraine will eventually get the 700 IFVs requested by Zaluzhnyi. The 300 MBTs, on the other hand.... Let's just see what happens in Ramstein tomorrow. Fingers crossed. >

Going from the latest info from German minister of Defence, the rhetorical change in Polands communication and the more or less promise of several other states to send tanks, we will see approved Leopards shortly. >

I think it’s hilarious that we’ve basically dumped something like a thousand humvees in Ukraine and have a endless supply to go, they’re gonna be literally everywhere there for the next three decades lmao >

From 3 day millitary operation to this... They're probably expecting strikes on Moscow after their next big escalation. >

Gotta keep the population scared. 
"Oh we HAVE to continue fighting Ukraine because they are going to kill you all if we dont. Didnt you see the air defense systems we set up. Clearly Ukraine is an enormous threat" >

Ramstein is the airbase, Rammstein is the band. >

It should be 50 CV90 from Sweden and 100 Stryker plus 50 Bradley from the US (100 total with the previous 50) >

Lol... they set the entire truck on the roof.
That actually kinda explains why they thought 'HIMARS on the third floor of the building' might have sounded plausible not that long ago. >

What you wanna bet the roof ain't exactly engineered to carry a load like that? >

The load plus the structural deflection and rebound when the thing is fired would be concerning. I imagine they know that, but they're definitely going to have to fire off a few shots at something when the locals realize that UA will not be attacking Moscow. Got get their fearmonger on. >


Make this make sense, please.

I'll take a shot:

"We are taking Kyiv in 3 days because evil Nazi Ukrainians and their Western handlers pose an existential threat to the brave Russian Federation. The enemy is both weak and strong."

 

"We are installing a [Pantsir air defense system] on [the roof] of our own Ministry of Defense [building] in Moscow" because the people we're trying to recruit didn't buy the nonsense of the former statement. So we're conducting some performative bullshit to hammer home the notion that the Russian motherland is under attack, and it's really important that you sign up to die in a ditch. 
The enemy is both weaker and stronger than we thought. >

Russian telegrams were squealing over the last couple of days something about the end of the "special military operation", with speculation here and probably other places that that would end up being a legal conversion to a "war".
Did anything come of that or was it nothing as suspected?
I've been out of the loop today but a search of the now-locked day's thread shows nothing as well as all the usual places. Just Russian telegram having a tantrum again? >

It was a whole lot of nothing, afaik. >

Sorry, can you explain this reference >

The ex-prime minister is known to pepper his speech with literary references, here citing a servant character in Charles Dickens’ novel, The Pickwick Papers, known as the fat boy, who tells an old lady “I wants to make your flesh creep” with a shocking revelation. >

Cant wait for the Crimea Boogaloo 2.0 to begin. Hopefully it will give Putin a heart attack which he dies from >

implying he even has a heart >

Objective: "demilitarize" Ukraine
Progress: Ukraine turns into most widely scoped military in the world
Title: In praise of folly - russian revision >

Nearly all Putins plans blew up in his face.
Split and weaken NATO
Use energy to blackmail the west
3 day invasion
Topple Kyiv
And on, and on. >

I remain a master strategist >

I don't know what made Western countries open the flood gates, but I'm all for it.
Ukraine is basically getting a new modern army. >

Likely planned escalations with the seasons + intelligence pointing to another Russian mobilization. >

Those mine rollers will come in handy. Especially if they're pushing South by Zap. >

Russia is about to have another batch of bad weeks. Sucks to suck… >


590 TOWs

Hoping to see a lot of Russian scrap metal in the coming year! >

Keep 20 in reserve for t-14s only. >

Been listening to the hardcore histories podcast about wwii and it describes how the Germans would leave massive stockpiles of alcohol for Soviets as they retreated west on the Eastern front. Wonder if the Ukrainians have left similar in the cellars of Soledar... >

The ruzzians would be exemplary stupid if they touched that alcohol.
There have been plenty of examples of ruzzians drinking alcohol they looted that ended up being poisoned. But they've been also shown to be resistant to learning. >


The ruzzians would be exemplary stupid if they touched that alcohol.

Indeed. So it would probably work. Best plan would be to lace it with something that didn't kill them immediately but instead made them seriously ill in a week or so. >

There's been a dramatic uptick in heavy weapons pledges since December. Is there an expectation that Russia will do something massive soon, or do they just hope Ukraine wraps this up in spring/summer? >

Making the decision to send another 500k+ to the meatgrinder more painful. Deterrence with conventional weapons. >

For those who know epic poetry, I feel like we have entered the catalogue of arms phase here. >

Now drunken sleep had seal’d each bloodshot eye,  
Stretch’d in the shit the cursed mobiks lie. >

*snaps fingers repeatedly >

Tonight, perusing the preposterous Russian delusions online, I was reminded of an absolutely incredible story I read a month ago that I didn’t post.
An 80year old man is fighting.  Why?  Bc as a child, the Russians ripped his Ukrainian family apart, imprisoning, splitting from each other, deporting deep into Russia, into Siberia.  Why? Because the Russians learned his father was УПА. He was five, sister was ten in 1947:

“When my parents were taken away, my sister and I were sneaked out the window and hidden with relatives, then at my grandmother's. But at the beginning of the fall of 1952, two men in blue pants [most likely from the NKVD) came and took my sister and me to the district center. In Vysotsk, we were kept in some kind of cells, and for some reason our clothes were steamed.” Then they took him to Rivne. “I remembered how the column was led to the train, how the dogs barked. I was wearing a very long coat, because my sister had put on our mother's coat, which was left over, and I was wearing my sister's coat. I got caught and fell... Then in Kyiv, we were stuffed into prison wagons.”
They traveled in these cages almost across the country. “We were dropped off in Chelyabinsk or Sverdlovsk. There we washed in a cold bath together with the women [prisoners]. From there to Omsk, where we were first put in a local prison. When I was taken to the cell, I cried because my sister and I were separated for the first time. It was very scary. Some man picked me up by the arms, took me to the bunk beds and showed me a spot: ‘You will be here with me.’ As it turned out later, he was a thief. He took good care of me. When we were taken out for a walk in the bitter cold, he took a hat and felt boots from someone and dressed me. I walked in grown men's clothes with him holding his hand, and armed guards walked along the towers.
Soon an incredible meeting happened. “Later, we were sent from the prison to the settlement in the district of the 6th brick factory, where we later lived, there were many people on the bus. The bus left. And suddenly everyone heard a woman's voice: ‘Hey! Excuse me, turn around!’ Someone was calling my sister. As soon as she turned around, a shout rang out: ‘My daughter!’  It was our mother. She recognized my sister by the fur collar of her coat.”

They stayed in Omsk.  He learned Russian, then actually went into the military (initially, something similar to the Army Corps of Engineers), joined the Communist Party, changed his surname (which had precluded acceptance into the prestigious military schools) and went into aviation, after being accepted Kharkiv’s Aviation Institute.

He served in various aviation units. He started as an aviation technician. In 1981, he became the deputy chief engineer of the Central Asian District. The last position before Ukraine gained independence was Dep Chief Engineer for aviation equipment and armament of the Western operational-strategic group of troops [East Germany]. While in Germany, he finally left the party [Communist Party]. He went to the commander and put the report on the table. It was like a bolt of lightning for him—in the evening, they held a meeting. “The punishment was returning me to the Union within 24 hours.” In response, he demanded: "I will only go to Ukraine" and announced a hunger strike. “Starved for two days. In the end, I was offered to go to Lviv as the commander of a transport aviation regiment. It was a demotion, because I was already a colonel then.” But he agreed. “Our regiment was one of the first to swear allegiance to the Ukrainian people.”
After that, he worked in the [Ukrainian] Ministry of Defense. ...He made his way from the senior officer of the aviation equipment operation department ... to the head of the central administration of aviation equipment and armaments. This is the position of Lieutenant General.

Obviously, he eventually retired. But hardly.

“. . . I became a participant in hostilities during the Revolution of Dignity.” On January 19, 2014, he received two gunshot wounds, which is why he was included in the lists of victims who, according to the law, were given the status of combatants. “I got it in 2018. But it did not satisfy me. How could I say that I was a combatant if I was not at the front? I am an officer. Boys are dying, and why should I protect my life? I would never go to a staff job. Therefore, I decided that I should be where I can be useful.”

Since he is still able to hold a weapon in his hands, he joined the ranks. But it was not so easy either. He turned to Right Sector and Svoboda, and to friends and acquaintances. “I heard everywhere: ‘How old are you??’”
In 2018, he told Stepan Khmara he wanted to fight but no one would accept him due to his age.  "Go to the OUN battalion," he was told. 

“After a month of training in Pavlograd, I proved for another month in Yuryivka near Mariupol that I could be a useful fighter. In the end, at a meeting of the chiefs of staff, I was allowed to go directly to the ATO zone.” For three months, he took part in hostilities in Vodyan. 

He’s seen combat in this war, too—he serves as a regular volunteer, a soldier, not as a Lt General.

“At first we fought in Kharkiv Oblast, near Izyum.” They crossed the Siversky Donets in rubber boats. There they spent five days in the trenches, then back. Mines and rockets were constantly flying overhead. As volunteers, the unit could abandon, but there was no one who was afraid.
“After the deoccupation of Izyum, we were transferred to Soledar... 
“Our battalion has now been taken out for re-formation, why? Because we suffered big losses in two months. Five were killed, 10-15 were wounded of various degrees and 15 were contused. All were sent for treatment. There are 20 combat-ready fighters left out of 60.”

He’s now asking to go back to the front, to help bring down “the empire.” >

That's a wild story, thanks for posting. What a hero he is. >

19 Caesars, that's awesome. So Europe has made the decision that enough is enough and Russia must be defeated this year. Good. >

Yes. They see that Putin now wants a long war and the only way to end it is to make Russia lose definitively. You do that by giving decisive support to Ukraine. Anything they ask for. >

The first killed one is going to be famous >

Can't wait for tomorrows meeting, hopefully Ukraine get's decent amount of weapons which will help them offensively. >

It sounds like Russia has move on to step three of their usual playbook whenever Ukraine gets cool new toys. For those unaware:
Step 1: Sending X will be an unprovoked escalation of the conflict. We have nukes and aren’t afraid to use them. 
Step 2: Well, X will be meaningless on the battlefield anyway. X is an overrated piece of trash. 
Step 3: We’ll send our own version of X to the frontlines. It’s like X with hookers, blackjack, a ball pit, etc. 
Step 4: Complete silence on the matter of X for the rest of the war. 
Sometimes there is a step 1A of a missile tantrum, but those have gotten sparser and tend to just encourage other countries to give Y on top of X. On a side note, this is basically a guarantee that Ukraine is about to get Western tanks once the diplomatic theatrics are over. >

Step 1 was recently changed and now they destroy whatever was announced even before it reaches Ukraine. >

Ah. I consider that part of step 2. Russia claims to have destroyed 100+% of X sent to Ukraine as proof of it being trash. >

the CV90 looks very cool >

Pretty substantial coming from a small country like Sweden. 👍 Lets see if others will follow up. >

Himars Man >

As much as there are still glaring omissions from what’s been announced (tanks, jets), damn it looks like Ukraine is getting some juicy kit. >

M2 Bradley, Strykers, and HMMWVs. No tanks but USA's contribution is incredibly practical and arguably more important than tanks. >

The only way in which USA sending Abrams could possibly be more impactful than sending larger numbers of other stuff that USA has plenty of (such as Bradleys) is if it is really the one and only thing that will open the spigot for Leopard 2 tanks.
Which really illustrates why it's not beneficial to Ukraine to make such a condition (if that source wasn't BSing). Pulling numbers completely out of my ass just to illustrate, if the choice were between 14 Abrams and 50 leopard 2's, or 50 more Bradleys and 50 leopard 2's, it seems to me the latter would be preferable.
Speaking as an only-slightly-less-than-completely-ignorant civilian. >

In case anyone disagrees, remember the Bradley’s are a fantastic companion vehicle to tank cause they see everything. They see the enemies before the enemy tank even knows someone is coming. Their ability to see and then coordinate an armored attack will make them crucial in the battle field. >

German defense minister: "US-Tanks not a condition" and "expect a decision tomorrow morning"
​
Article in german >

Sure hope the decision is a resounding ''yes''. >

I hope it’s “Psych! They’re already on the train” >

Ukraine war: Ukraine admits retreat from front line town of Soledar
There's an interesting comment near the end of this BBC story.  The Ukrainian air force is flying sorties over Bakhmut.  It's amazing that the UAF can attack targets in the most hotly contested theatre, eleven months into this war.
The UAF surviving the early phase of the war and then carrying out missions to this point & beyond is an incredible story.  I hope we see the pilots in F16s at some point. >

The army may have retreated from Soledar but the UA is still actively hitting Russian targets in the city and defenses outside of it have been prepared for when this withdrawal was going to happen. The Russians have gained nothing and the UA can still target them from a distance. >

The Russians have won themselves a death pit >

The American defense secretary is an absolute unit. >

He IS the defense. >

A new Kings and Generals dropped this morning 
Battle of Kyiv - Russian Invasion of Ukraine >


Battle of Kyiv - Russian Invasion of Ukraine

Incredibly informative. Thank you for sharing. >

I'm almost confident these will be the m1128 gun versions. The US army has around 72 according to Wikipedia and have no use or want of them. >

Holy crap those things look insanely cool >

In real life they look very confused >

Reading the wikipedia article on them, they sound very confused.  Good opportunity to get them out in the field one final time, since they will be retired anyway. >

Can we sell them the Littoral Combat Ships when this is all over? They'd probably be of much more use in the Black Sea than they are in the US Navy. They have been a total headache to the US Navy as they don't perform the way they were meant to perform in blue water operations, but I could see them working just fine patrolling the coast of Ukraine. >

Ukraine is getting Patriots, but it's going to be months before a viable line of defense is established. The US could send Abrams, but that takes (what I have been led to believe) 5 or 6 months worth of training. Is there anything, aside from more HIMARS, that America could send that would be of immediate use? >

Long range missiles are badly needed. >

Thoughts and prayers >

arrogance ----> bigotry ----> illusions of grandeur ---> russia
progression of a deluded mind >

With all the announcements I wonder if Rammstein will have anything left to above after that meeting is done. >

Well, I know Lindemann is 60, and that they've put out 8 albums already, but their last one just came out in 2022.  Given how active they still seems to be, I doubt they're done making new music any time soon. >

I hast you >

The German quote is actually more definitive than that, he directly said that US tanks would not be a condition for sending German tanks and that he did not know where such reporting came from because this was not something Scholz said. >

ooopsie! >

Air raid alert over Ukraine right now. Possibly another missile attack >

No, MiGs flying in belarus, at least for now >

Does someone know at what local time the Rammstein meeting will take place tomorrow? >

10am Central European Time, opening remarks by Austin. >

We've yet to see any evidence of Iranian ballistic missiles being transfered to Russia or used in Ukraine as far as I'm aware. >

It’s weird that the most perfidious, the most unscrupulous people seem to all be in the Foreign Ministry.  Bc that’s Russia’s face to the world. Lavrov, Zakharova, Nebenzya—they sit at 0% credibility from the outsiders perspective.  Only Medvedyev sits that low.
I mean, even Naryshkin, Gerasimov, Peskov, Bortnikov, and bonkers Patrushev can interact with their international counterparts and be relied upon to at least nominally speak in reasonable terms.  I mean, those guys live on planet earth (again, patrushev is wacko, but as I understand, some have has a smidge or logical dialogue w him).
I’d think that Peskov works better serve as foreign minister.  Bc at least he doesn’t say the most offensive things, and at least some things he says are true.  He’s also no where near as condescending as Lavrov, Zakharova, and Nebenzya. >

The thing is, you can't recruit a healthy somewhat normal guy for a job such as the Russian Foreign Minister. You need a scum, broken person that has no self worth, empathy or balls. You can't hire a regular guy for that. You need someone who will lie all day and all night for you. Most of these high rankers are likely only doing their jobs from the application of a particular combination of blackmail, bribery, and regular threats of violence against them if they falter.
People such as Lavrov have multiple psychological issues and many are likely sociopaths. Just like senior CEOs for example, have been shown to be much more likely to have psychopathic traits (google the studies yourself if you dont believe me.) >

Ukraine needs your help!


Donate directly to the Ukrainian government (for defence, medical aid, rebuilding efforts) via United24


Find other ways to help >

Is that possible? Their T72 donation was massive >

Despite the noise, i don't think they ever donated any Twardys, and those tanks are probably marked for delivery the moment they have enough replacements. Maybe we hit that moment :) >

The older of us, and I say this not as a German but as a North-European, lived through the nuke scares of the 60's, 70's and 80's. We learned duck and cover, we had nightmares as kids about mushroom clouds and never seeing our parents again. We're immune now to nuke dick waving. And we know how shitty the cold war was. We see that dick putin trying to revive "the good old days", and we're not going back without punching Russia solidly on the jaw first. We are also not willing to see our eastern European brothers and sisters dissappear back into the abyss this time. >


We're immune now to nuke dick waving.

Yeah, as a GenXer it's been simultaneously sad and amusing to watch the Youth of Today realizing that nuclear weapons never went anywhere and we're still 20 minutes from annihilation...and have been for literally every minute of their lives but they never worried about it up to now.
The silver lining is, there's like literally two generations' worth of great music to help you deal with it... >

And weed is legal now!  All we had was Mexican brick weed, with lots of stems and seeds. >

While I think it's silly to tie these two together but in the end the US will have to send the Abrams anyway. Simply because there aren't enough Leopards available for Ukraine to defeat Russia. They might not even manage to get to 100. >

Since logistics is one of the most important aspects of this war and will be post war as well I wonder if the Ukrainians will take on the Herculean task of changing rail gauges to the euro standard instead of Soviet standard. I would think that opens up the ability to transport everything as well as remove the ability of Russians to use the lines in case all this happens again. >

Guaranteed, regardless of difficulty. For all the reasons you mentioned.
National security matter. Only wish it was a joke. >

I wonder how many things played behind the curtains all this time.Time will tell! >

I think it's like an iceberg. We can only see the top of it. >

MH17 will bite Russia in the ass. F16 is big if true. >

What goes around comes around >

is there a updated list on recent weapon pledges? its getting crazy here. >

They can target everything with that, except some parts of Crimea.
Can do some real dmg if they get many. >

They can target the part they need to get a good start. >

We are shaping up as one of the biggest per capita supporters (not close to the Baltics though). Both in direct and indirect support through the EU.
Paying taxes is becoming worth it. >


In#Moscow,#Russia, the military are deploying air defence systems in several locations, including very close to residential buildings.
This happens after#Ukraineconfirmed that it completed tests of a combat UAV with a 1,000 km range.
— Alex Kokcharov (@AlexKokcharov)January 19, 2023

I feel this is more to scare Russian people than an actual threat. Ukraine won’t be going for civilian targets, they’ll be going to hurt the Russian armed forces. >

Maybe they don't want another kid landing a Cessna near the redsquare lmao. >

Hello fellow old person lol >

Zelensky, speaking at a Davos breakfast, discloses that he doesn’t know for sure that Putin is alive.

"I don't quite understand who to talk to and about what. I'm not sure that the president of Russia, who sometimes appears on the chromakey [green screen], that that it is him. 
I don't quite know for sure that he is alive or that he makes decisions, or who even makes decisions there. What kind of people? I have no such information.
I don't quite understand how you can promise European leaders one thing, and the next day launch a full-scale invasion of a country. I just don't quite understand who we are dealing with. When we say "peace talks," I don't quite understand with who exactly.
I am communicating with you now—you know exactly who I am, and I know exactly who you are. There are witnesses of our life. And even if we talk about different things, we can reach a consensus....


^(Indeed, Putin is unrecognizable.  He’s had had—from my observation—extensive lower blepharoplasty, two rhinoplasties, combined malar cheek implants, genioplasty or chin implants, cheek fillers; he also may have received jaw implants and upper blepharoplasty.  It’s a complete transformation of his face from, say 2001, which was prominent nose, sunken cheeks, dark circles/bags, and receded chin.) >

It's curious that Girkin has started to qualify his mentions of Putin with "Putin (or an individual almost identical to the original)" >

Are rooftop vehicles an actual defense strategy? Can a heavy piece of equipment fire without falling through the roof? It looks like a fraternity prank to this layman. As such, I can’t tell if it’s a real thing or more Russian Looney Tunes thinking. >

The most important thing to understand is that it's almost entirely performative.
Russia wants to pretend that Moscow is under threat of attack when they aren't. Simple as that. >

Yep this. Why else put it in such a conspicuous location. >

It doesn't really matter, Ukraine are on a big hill over looking the area, it's a kill zone. >

Sweden just announced delivery of:
50 cv90
More NLAWs
And archers! >

I think the miss use/ miss interpretation of nazi by russians is a form of intentional doublespeak. >

Nope, in Russia a "Nazist" is someone who opposes Russian imperialism. >

Norwegian and Danish media reporting that Denmark is sending 19 Caesar artillery.
 
Edit;
, 
Holy shit, I did a quick check and this is the full compliment of all Caesars Denmark has, if confirmed. And I think it might be, because I saw a tweet yesterday from a Ukrainian official commenting that an unnamed European country was emptying its artillery stocks to aid them. This is for anyone not paying close attention to every model of equipment, top notch state-of-the-art 155mm wheeled french artillery wagons. Time-on-target, insane accuracy, high mobility, high shot frequency. It is as they say; the shit. >

It's every single piece Denmark has. >

I am so proud to be Denmarks neighbor right now, you wont believe it. They can call me a mountain ape anytime! (They already could, its a term of endearment between the Danish and us Norwegians, and Norwegians LOVE the Danish! We don't hate the swedish intensely either. (Those that get it gets it, those that don't will not) Way to go Søta bror!) >

Last year, in the first two weeks of the war, in-person negotiations were taking place. Ukraine was putting forth a good faith effort, sending a team which had members representing different factions—government, military, and the private sector.  Those representing the private sector were kept quiet, as they are often referred as “back channels” and tend to be people who have contacts in Russia.  Ukraine used bankers, oligarchs and businessmen in this role. 
One of these was Denis Kiriev, who was a Ukrainian businessman who managed large assets owned by Russian-sympathists (Yanukovych-linked people who had fled).
Budanov—the head of UA Military Intelligence—had secretly recruited Kiriev back in 2021, to find out what the Russians are up to.  That was secret.
But Budanov also placed him on the negotiation team, and was sent to Belarus to negotiate with the military and government representatives.  In this capacity, he just looked like a businessman with Russian contacts who might have sway in negotiations. 
A week after the Gomel dead-end negotiations, he was arrested by the SBU.  A couple hours after that, he was discovered dead, shot in the back of the head, lying on the sidewalk. 
Reports surfaced that he was a traitor.
But then, strangely, several days later, Zelensky awarded him “hero,” and buried him with honors.
Reports then surfaced he wasn’t a traitor after all, it was a mistake; that he’d died in an operation; that the SBU had traitors; and even that he was a double agent.
It’s all very mysterious. 
Today, the WSJ published Budanov’s account, “if it hadn’t been for Kiriev, Kyiv would’ve been taken.”  Kiriev learned Russia’s plans, told Budanov, and they were prepared.

In 2021, Kireev, who was at the crossroads of Russian and Ukrainian business and security, caught Budanov's attention. When Russia began massing troops on the border with Ukraine in the spring of 2021, Budanov summoned Kireev to the GUR HQ in Kyiv and asked him to use his connections to infiltrate Russian military intelligence. 
According to WSJ sources, the banker traveled from Kharkiv to Russia and then reported to Budanov.
In the fall of 2021, when U.S. military and intelligence agencies began warning of a Russian threat, Kireev learned from his sources that Moscow was preparing for an invasion, Budanov said, and became the first to sound the alarm in Ukraine.
On February 18, Kireev refused to go skiing with his family to the French Alps.
On the afternoon of February 23, Kireev relayed new intelligence to Budanov: Russian President Vladimir Putin had just ordered an early morning invasion. According to the head of the GUR, Kireev also knew the main point of impact. [emphasis in original]
At 8 o'clock in the morning on February 24, Russian combat helicopters landed at Antonov airport near Kyiv. The Kremlin planned to capture the airport in order to transfer troops and equipment there to storm the capital.
According to Budanov, Kireev's tip gave Ukraine several precious hours to redeploy troops to counter the Russian attack. After a fierce battle with the Russians, the airport was damaged and could not be used by the occupying forces.
When Russia's plans for a quick strike were foiled, the parties agreed to negotiate a ceasefire in Belarus. Since Kireev was familiar with two members of the Russian delegation, Budanov offered him to take part in the negotiations, and he agreed. 

"After he appeared there, his connection with the special services became obvious to everyone. Unfortunately, the situation was critical then, and we had to take risks," Budanov said.

After returning from Belarus, Kireev met with Budanov for several hours. Kireev, according to a member of his security service, was aware that he was in danger and left the meeting in a silent mood.
A few days later, a friend visited Kireev at his house on the northern outskirts of Kyiv. Holding a large-caliber hunting rifle, Kireev said he had already fired it at some Russian operatives who had come to his home a few nights earlier.
When Russia and Ukraine agreed on the second round of talks, scheduled for March 3, Budanov again insisted that Kireev take part in them.
According to Budanov, on the night before the negotiations in Belarus, Kireev got a call from the office of the head of counterintelligence of the SBU, Oleksandr Poklad. Poklad, who is responsible for the detention of intelligence and security officials suspected of working for Russia, wanted to meet. Poklad himself has refused to comment [to WSJ], as did the SBU spokesman, citing the law on state secrets.
Kireev arrived at the Kyiv railway station with his personal security and military intelligence agents [GUR] for the trip to Belarus. He told his security that he might be arrested on the way. "Don't interfere," he said, according to a member of his bodyguard.
The group went to the center of Kyiv and stopped near St. Sophia Cathedral. Several minibuses with SBU agents drove up and ordered the military intelligence officers [GUR] and Kireev's bodyguards to lay down their weapons. Kireev was taken to a minibus. His bodyguards remained lying on the street while the minibus drove away.
About 90 minutes later, military intelligence agents were called to the scene, where they found Kireyev's body.
The State Bureau of Investigation of Ukraine, which deals with such murders, declined to comment. >

This is like something out of The Departed >

Glory to Ukraine! >

 ‘They have us over a barrel’: Inside the US and German standoff over sending tanks to Ukraine >

This reads a lot like that colleague at work who comes to your desk and flatters you, saying that you're always so quick to learn and good at everything, and could you just quickly help with this task. Then you discover that task is super time consuming and tedious but it's too late, you're now known as the go-to person for the task and stuck with it for the rest of your career.
Maybe twenty years from now when some information gets declassified we'll find out what's really behind this standoff. Money and technology are probably involved. >

Lukashenko taunts Russia—“Ukraine pleasantly surprises me”—showing Lavrov he’s not inclined to enter war.

"Today, security is not only even more important for us. You know, the plans of our Western neighbors, not only Ukraine. They are also trying to use Ukraine against Belarus. But what amazes and pleasantly surprises me is that Ukraine is holding its own, it is against provocations towards Belarus and is not budging, although they’re being actively pushed by our Western neighbors, you know who, too." >

The Atesh channel—which purports to be Crimean Resistance^1 and seeks assistance from Russian servicemen—posted how-to videos this week.  For example, how to disable T-72B3 tank, how to break a MTLB  engine, etc.
They’ve roped in several success stories so far.  Every little bit helps!

^(^1) ^(given that they pay for information, for proof of sabotage, constantly demonstrate how to sabotage, while every other telegram channel asks for donations, I suspect this is a GUR operation.) >

Special Ops recon encounters Russians, near Kreminna, battle ensues.
video of intense fight >

Fighting in the forest has to be so effing terrifying. It's easy enough to get lost in a forest when there is no possibility of anyone shooting at you. When the chaos rips out and you can't hear your own voice over all the echoes of gunfire and bombs going off? Christ. >

The first Minister of Defense I don't have a very bad initial feeling about. Actually the first one that brings some form of competence with him since at least 14 years. >

Breaking News: Russia shoots its own su-37 into Moscow high rise mistaking it for Ukrainian drone >

Imagine the depression level of those vatniks manning that system... >

If you get assigned to Moscow, you are a happy soldier. >

Here's a quick summary of today's USA Depart of Defense press briefing:


Abrams are harder to sustain in combat operations than the Leopard 2. It's up to allied nations to decide if they'll send their equipment to Ukraine.


Implied that we should expect to hear more aid packages after tomorrow's meeting at Rammstein.


Crimea is Ukraine's sovereign territory and the US will continue to support Ukraine's efforts to liberate its territory and people from Russian invasion, including Crimea.


We can 'expect' armored vehicles to be a part of the next aid package, likely means more Bradleys and Strykers from the US, but that's just from context and the rest of the briefing. Also we can expect more air defenses from the US.


~~Each country is training Europeans on their own~~ Each European country is training g Ukrainians on its own. So there isn't any local coordination of training. The US is focusing on Bradley fighting vehicles. But currently 500-600 Ukrainians are being trained in Grafenberg for combined arms operations.


She skirted around the question of long-range weapons, reiterated that nothing is on or off the table officially.


The US is not training Ukrainians with the assumption they'll get patriot batteries from other countries. But "welcomes" further commitments from partners.


Edit:
8: No confirmation on Wagner Group's claims of capturing Klishchiivka near Bakhmut. But did say that both Ukrainian and Russian forces are fighting very hard and that territory is changing hands at the rate of blocks or kilometers. And that with the ground frozen mechanized forces are at work again. Basically, it's fluid. >

This is in addition to the 50 Bradleys on their way. Excellent, search the couch cushions for more! >

Found them.  Sierra Army Depot.
Its always the last place you look. >

Oh my god that is full off some of the most insane and asinine comments I’ve ever seen >

Its all performance art. >

Yep, it’s possible this is a sign of what’s to come.
1 million further mobilised Russians will lead to a million bodies. >

I cant even begin to imagine the complexity of the logistics needed to supply,maintain,train for all the different equipment supplied to Ukraine. >

I would imagine there is a fair amount of compartmentalization. E.g. One units gets only CEASERS, another unit gets only Archers, one unit gets only M777, that why they can concentrate trained personel, ammunition, and upkeep to that specific unit with the specific weapon system. 
In my mind that's the only way this works. would be a nightmare if I was a battalion commander with 3 different artillery systems from three different countries. >

If Germany has truly learned from its history, it will send tanks to defend Ukraine >

The Kremlin seema to be very concerned about potential tank deliveries from Germany and has launched a strategic propaganda campaign.
Social media activity has increased significantly, woth main talking points about nuclear war and (a new one)'why does the US stir upna fight between two brotherly slavic nations'.... 
Combine that with useful idiots from the German party Die Linke (successor party of East German communists) , who stir upna oublic debate. Unfortunately Die Linke sits in the Bundestag and they also have somewhat good commections to the SPD, the party of Scholz. >


'why does the US stir upna fight between two brotherly slavic nations'.... 

"Brotherly" as in Cain and Able? >

It seems like the last few times new vehicles were added, all that poopin says is "we will destroy every new vehicle blah blah blah" so it seems he is running out of steam, not even a nuclear threat, why not just send a shitton more stuff? Seems like it's kinda happening since Strykers are newer and added so soon after the Bradleys. >

Sweden is also sending CV90s, which are likely better IFVs than Bradleys. And Bradleys are very good IFVs already. Ukraine is getting a ton of new vehicles and artillery. Maybe it's finally becoming too much stuff for Putin to throw a tantrum every time a new aid package is announced. >

Perun did a good rundown on this in his recent video on IFVs in Ukraine. Basically, Russian units are likely to increasingly be haves and have nots. The Russians had three types of equipment available at the start of the war. There was top of the line stuff produced in small quantities for the export market. A bunch of stuff dating from the end of the Soviet era into the Chechen Wars that was the work horse of the military. The stuff in the boneyards from the 1960s and earlier. The middle group, the stuff from the end of the Cold War, is what Russia used first and is running out of. That leaves small quantities of top of the line equipment getting distributed to units with connections and boneyard crap sent to everyone else. >

OPEN THE FLOODGATES FOR UKRAINE! THE FUTURE OF FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY IS AT STAKE! Let's show that the free world will not sit idly by while our friends are getting invaded by fascist scumbags! It is not only our duty, it is also the right thing to do! >

Democracy is non negotiable >

Omg. The Russian bots are working overtime today.
It looks like a very desperate attempt to influence aid being sent to Ukraine. >

Twitter is alight isn't it. 
Apparently Bakmut is going to fall with in weeks >

From "Kyiv in 3 days" to "Please let us have Bahkmut in 3 weeks". >

"Look we're putting AA on our MOD building because it's a totally normal thing to do, K?" >

How many IFVs is Ukraine receiving now? 200? >

50 Bradley
40 Marder
50 CV90
Unknown number of AMX 10 RC >

Rumour is another 50 Bradleys will be announced by the US soon, and also an unknown number of Strykers. >

Rumored to be 100 Strykers. They aren't IFVs, but they're good replacements for Ukraine's lost BTRs. >


The German right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and the German left-wing (Die Linke) Left party opposed the transfer of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.
— NOËL

fancy that. >

That’s basically a proxy for it being a good idea. >

Also a hint where the funding to extremists parties is coming from.. >

Sweden gets it by sending 50 CV90s (probably the best IFV in the world).
If we want peace and fewer casualties on all sides we should give Ukraine all the military gear we can.
If countries like Germany want to drag their feet the least they could do is to allow export of Leo 2s to Ukraine by other countries.
Living in Finland it's very hard to understand Germany's stance. This is a fight between democracy and autocracy. A fight that decides the future of Europe. Escalating is exactly what Democracies need to do, not bend over to an autocrat, but kick his teeth in as soon as possible.
Anything else just makes Russia bolder. >

What was the big announcement yesterday from Putin? I didn’t read anything about it. >

He's launching his own line of NFTs for the holidays. >

I heard he just copied Trumps NFTs and then head swapped Trump for Putin and called it day. >

These happen regularly, there's a chance it's unrelated to Ukraine.
Edit: Unrelated, just a standard update on what's going on. Austin has the meeting in Rammstein tomorrow, condolences for the helicopter crash, etc.
Edit 2: In the Q&A part the deputy press secretary reiterated that Abrams are far more difficult to sustain than a Leopard 2. And it's up to German to make the decision on those. It's up to other nations to announce what they'll be doing.
Edit 3: Reiterated that Crimea is Ukraine and Ukraine can use its weapons how it sees fit to retake its occupied territory.
Edit 4: When asked about whether Austin's goal is to push allies to give Leopard 2s to Ukraine, the response was that the goal is to get Ukraine what it needs, and more than just Germany has tanks.
Edit 5: We can "expect" armored vehicles (taken together probably more strykers) and air defense in the next aid package. But nothing definite. She also said something to a French reporter about F-16s, but I missed what the answer was exactly. I think just more 'I won't get ahead of tomorrow's aid package.'
Edit 6: Europeans are doing their own training of Ukrainians. The US is focusing on Bradleys. Long-range capability question was avoided, she focused on long-range defensive capabilities, rather than offensive. No update on Wagner Group's claims in Bakhmut, Ukrainians and Russians are both fighting very hard, blocks and kilometers is how it's happening "Grinding fight."
Edit 7: Unrelated, but amusing question about what the DOD is trying to get from new studies of UFOs. And the US "welcomes" more commitment from partners on giving PATRIOT batteries. And that the US isn't training Ukrainians with the assumption they'll get more batteries.
Edit 8: 500-600 Ukrainians are being trained in Grafenberg in combined arms operations. And clarification, nothing is on/off the table regarding long-range offensive weapons, expect more tomorrow.
Reiterated the US isn't dictating Ukraine's operations. It's their right to retake their sovereign territory, including Crimea. The US would continue offering support if Ukraine began the liberation of Crimea. >

I miss having recaps. It's tough to keep up with all the details day to day. >

One thing I don't understand about the tank arguments is that it's completely irrelevant what people think will work or not for Ukraine. At the end of the day, it's Ukrainians that are going to drive those tanks.
So if Ukraine can't receive Leo2 because Germany says they want US to send Abrams tanks... Ukraine can simply say: "But we don't need Abrams" and then Germany's argument completely fall apart because there's no point requesting US to send Abrams if Ukrainian don't want something they can't handle...
And at the end of the day, NATO members shouldn't argue on which equipment get sent to Ukraine based on its origin but on how effective the equipment would be.
So to be honest this public discussion is completely meaningless because if anything has been decided we're going to know at the last moment.
Edit:
I have to say that there's one thing that public discussion can be useful at. From the Russian strategic point of view, it must sound like listening to people arguing which doomsday machine they'll use to annihilate you... but either would be likely fine. >


So to be honest this public discussion is completely meaningless

The public discussion is mostly about raising awareness (to put political pressure on relevant officials) and, if the deal doesn't go through, making sure there's appropriate political accountability for the ones who blocked it. >

Starting to? Lmao >

Fuck, maybe there is a god. >

The Fuck Russia is strong with this one. >

That’s their national anthem. No other lyrics, just “fuck Russia” over and over again. >

What the hell did they get hit with? 
Maybe they had an artillery shell dump stashed in the house as well or something? >

Ukraine probably still has a fair number of SRBMs, they started the war with hundreds.