Russo-Ukrainian War Thread - Page 464

On June 21 2023 21:55 {CC}StealthBlue wrote:
Apparent update on the morale of some Russian units that are still on the front after several months.

https://twitter.com/ChrisO_wiki/status/1671486485944565764

+ Show Spoiler +

A coalition of Western countries is eyeing Romania as a possible location to train Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 fighter jets, according to three people with knowledge of the planning, indicating that NATO countries are moving closer to starting a program that could see the warplanes above Ukrainian skies within months.

“Romania is one of the sites that the coalition is looking at for hosting training in,” said a Western official, who along with a current and a former Defense Department official were granted anonymity to discuss a sensitive effort.

The group is working to negotiate a contract to conduct the aircraft training at a site in Romania, the current and former Pentagon officials said. It’s likely that Lockheed Martin, which builds the F-16, would conduct the training, they added.

Details about the training program have been slow to emerge since President Joe Biden lent his support to the effort last month. The Netherlands and Denmark are leading the multinational training effort, but the partners have not yet settled the question of which countries would provide the aircraft required for training.

European officials would neither confirm nor deny that the proposal to train Ukrainian pilots in Romania is under discussion. A Dutch Defense Ministry spokesperson would say only that the partners are working to establish an F-16 training center in Eastern Europe. But the discussion of which country will donate jets has not yet been settled.

A Lockheed spokesperson pointed to comments by the company’s chief operating officer, Frank St. John, this week that the firm stands ready to train Ukrainian pilots to fly and maintain the F-16s as soon as Western countries agree to send them.

“The delivery of F16s is not at the table now. We are working very hard to start the F-16 training [with Denmark to train Ukrainian] pilots as soon as possible,” the spokesperson said. “Delivery requires a separate decision-making process.”

Denmark’s acting minister of defense, Troels Lund Poulsen, said he hopes to be able to present a “concept” in time for the NATO summit in Vilnius in July, and that the training will begin later this summer.

“The last few weeks I’ve had several opportunities to discuss possible models for training of Ukrainian pilots and support staff for the F-16 jets with my colleagues. I am very pleased to see that the coalition behind training pilots and support staff for F-16 continuously broadens,” he said in a statement emailed Wednesday. “It will be an important strategic step in the long term.”

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Mark Milley received a briefing on the group’s progress last week, Austin told reporters during a visit to Brussels, adding that “there’s a lot of work to do.”

Romania’s air force operates a fleet of 17 secondhand F-16s acquired from Portugal, and is buying an additional 32 jets from Norway. However, Bucharest recently approved a plan to purchase the more advanced F-35.

The country plays a critical role in NATO’s air policing mission, an international task force dedicated to continuously patrolling European skies in order to quickly react to airspace violations. NATO countries regularly scramble to intercept Russian aircraft flying in the area.

Asked whether negotiations are ongoing for Ukrainian pilots to be trained in Romania, the country’s defense ministry neither confirmed nor denied that the country is under consideration.

But commenting more broadly, the ministry did say in an emailed statement Wednesday that the country “welcomes the initiative to establish a coalition of NATO Allies to provide training of pilots for F-16s.”

On June 22 2023 03:46 Magic Powers wrote:
Satellite images from the Kakhovka dam showing the reservoir being completely dried out. Before and after.

https://twitter.com/War_Mapper/status/1671207967843139584

On June 22 2023 05:28 Zaros wrote:


I guess this supports rumours that Ukraine are moving troops across to try get a foothold on the other side.

On June 22 2023 05:42 Magic Powers wrote:
Eventually it'll be possible to pass, so Russian forces will have to take care of the region. This gives hope to future offensives. But I think it's not yet critical, and the Russian forces will likely have some time to set up fresh defense lines.

Russian invaders are beginning to panic following a Ukrainian strike on a bridge connecting the occupied Crimean peninsula to Kherson Oblast, Denys Chystikov, the Deputy Permanent Representative of the President of Ukraine in Crimea said in an interview with Radio NV on June 22.

The attack reminds them of last year’s strike at the Antonivskyi bridge in Kherson, Chystikov claims.

“Today’s explosions on the Chonhar bridge, as we can see from the photo and video, remind the invaders of a similar situation with the Kherson bridge, which paved the way for the liberation of the right bank,” he said.

“This is a certain associative series that causes panic among the Russian military.”

Explosions overnight on June 22 were reported not only near the village of Chonhar in Kherson Oblast, where the bridge is located, but also near the town of Dzhankoy in occupied Crimea. However, the occupying authorities are trying to cover up the results of the strike, Chystikov added.

“Dzhankoy has been panicking since morning,” the official said.

“Local residents are reporting a large number of explosions in this area, which the occupation authority is silent about. Many Crimean residents are engaged in the transportation industry. Now their relatives have started to worry as they cannot contact the drivers by phone, and this results in the spread of negative opinions and dissatisfaction with the authority’s actions.”

No casualties have been reported in the blast at the Chonhar bridge. Meanwhile, Volodymyr Saldo, the Moscow-appointed head of the Kherson occupation authority, claimed that “the connection between Kherson Oblast and Crimea continues to operate, as vehicle traffic has been temporarily organized onto a backup route.”

On June 23 2023 15:43 Copymizer wrote:
https://twitter.com/igorsushko/status/1672029829573787648

I think this is a very good and powerful message to send in order to deter russia

On June 23 2023 16:01 Acrofales wrote:

Eh, I don't like it.

1. It seems designed as a way to say "look, Ukraine is protected by NATO, job done" when it covers the scariest but also least likely attack Russia is going to do, but none of the ways Ukraine needs help right now.

2. The US cannot unilaterally declare that nuclear attacks on Ukraine are an attack on NATO. Why isn't this a NATO statement that France, Germany, UK, and even Turkey have to agree with? It feels like overreach.

3. Ironically, it creates a perverse incentive for Ukraine to do a false flag attack on Zaporizhze if they are ever feeling truly desperate in their war effort and force NATO to invoke article 5. Anything that creates a potential incentive to blow up a nuclear power plant is a terrible idea.