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On March 22 2022 22:57 Erasme wrote: My mistake, they can launch theirs but cannot maintain nor build new ones ? If it's just building new ones nbd as the world will be glassed. Anyway, lots of french candidates are talking about withdrawing from NATO and/or the EU. Which would have dramatic effects on both of those entities.
The UK can’t build or maintain much of anything anymore. They’re still a functionally independent nuclear power though.
On March 22 2022 22:57 Erasme wrote: My mistake, they can launch theirs but cannot maintain nor build new ones ? If it's just building new ones nbd as the world will be glassed. Anyway, lots of french candidates are talking about withdrawing from NATO and/or the EU. Which would have dramatic effects on both of those entities.
The UK can’t build or maintain much of anything anymore. They’re still a functionally independent nuclear power though.
If they can't make/maintain their nuclear capabilities, they are as much of an independant nuclear power as was Ukraine before giving them up.
On March 22 2022 22:15 RvB wrote: The UK can launch their nukes without permission from the US. It's just that the missiles are made in the US and there's joint maintenance. Turning over decision making for a nuclear launch to a foreign state (even when allied) makes no sense.
Maybe there is some confusion with the US nukes which are stationed in Germany, which obviously can only be launched by the US?
Interesting article. Didn't know that there are nukes here. The nukes can only be "launched" by Tornado jets. So it would be a joint effort by the US (arming the nukes) and Germany (carry and dropping/ launching)
On March 22 2022 22:57 Erasme wrote: My mistake, they can launch theirs but cannot maintain nor build new ones ? If it's just building new ones nbd as the world will be glassed. Anyway, lots of french candidates are talking about withdrawing from NATO and/or the EU. Which would have dramatic effects on both of those entities.
Serious candidates, or the people at the extremes which may exist, but which very likely will not get elected?
On March 23 2022 01:27 Sent. wrote: Does making it to the second round of presidential elections count as being a serious candidate?
It's Le Pen.
Don't know, french elections are weird and have weird rules.
If you get to the second round because the first round is a FFA between a lot of people and your 20% are enough to beat #3 in the list of 20 people, but then everyone hates you and you lose against anyone else in round 2 because the remaining 80% would prefer a broken stick to you, i don't think that necessarily counts as being a serious candidate.
Yeah, Le Pen doesn’t have a chance in hell unless for some weird reason she got into a second round against someone as fringe and hated as her. Maybe a Le Pen - Mélenchon second roubd could go both ways, but i just can’t see a world in which it happens.
Le Pen is the type of candidates that does 25-40% in many places but almost never 50% anywhere, which also explains why her party is so underrepresented in the national assembly.
Her ties with Putin will cost her very, very dearly in a forseeable future too.
Meanwhile on Russian TV some anchor asking to create a land bridge to Kaliningrad, saying there are 'serious problems at the border' there, and 'why not? it'll be easier than Ukraine'. Also casually about nuking Europe.
On March 22 2022 04:34 deacon.frost wrote: Doesn't look good for the shopping mall story. This is supposed to be a video of a rocket launcher parking there after it launched its payload...
I don't find it particularly hard to believe that there has been a military vehicle next to the mall. But holy shit that looks like some serious overkill. If this is the standard Russian approach to urban combat, nothing will be left of Kyiv.
They were showing the bombed out apartment buildings in Mariupol last night on the news. It looks just like the bombing aftermaths in Syria.
On March 23 2022 02:23 FueledUpAndReadyToGo wrote: Meanwhile on Russian TV some anchor asking to create a land bridge to Kaliningrad, saying there are 'serious problems at the border' there, and 'why not? it'll be easier than Ukraine'. Also casually about nuking Europe.
So he is thinking a special operation would much easier that what they have started in Ukraine! I wonder what is it he think was started in Ukraine... It's so hard to speak without words.
On March 23 2022 02:23 FueledUpAndReadyToGo wrote: Meanwhile on Russian TV some anchor asking to create a land bridge to Kaliningrad, saying there are 'serious problems at the border' there, and 'why not? it'll be easier than Ukraine'. Also casually about nuking Europe.
Typical Kremlin BS. Don't worry about it. Scaremongering has been their tactic for years to make you believe in their stuff. The best counter to Kremlin propaganda is united NATO and EU, which is exactly what we have now and they didn't expect.
On March 23 2022 02:23 FueledUpAndReadyToGo wrote: Meanwhile on Russian TV some anchor asking to create a land bridge to Kaliningrad, saying there are 'serious problems at the border' there, and 'why not? it'll be easier than Ukraine'. Also casually about nuking Europe.
Typical Kremlin BS. Don't worry about it. Scaremongering has been their tactic for years to make you believe in their stuff. The best counter to Kremlin propaganda is united NATO and EU, which is exactly what we have now and they didn't expect.
Yeah true, it has all backfired tremendously for the Kremlin regime. Still, the prospect that Putin has no winning moves left in Ukraine makes me uneasy about what happens then.
On March 23 2022 01:42 Biff The Understudy wrote: Yeah, Le Pen doesn’t have a chance in hell unless for some weird reason she got into a second round against someone as fringe and hated as her. Maybe a Le Pen - Mélenchon second roubd could go both ways, but i just can’t see a world in which it happens.
Le Pen is the type of candidates that does 25-40% in many places but almost never 50% anywhere, which also explains why her party is so underrepresented in the national assembly.
Her ties with Putin will cost her very, very dearly in a forseeable future too.
Zemmour is fairly against Europe as well and so is Melenchon. And the trio have their hands deep in putin's pocket.
On March 23 2022 01:42 Biff The Understudy wrote: Yeah, Le Pen doesn’t have a chance in hell unless for some weird reason she got into a second round against someone as fringe and hated as her. Maybe a Le Pen - Mélenchon second roubd could go both ways, but i just can’t see a world in which it happens.
Le Pen is the type of candidates that does 25-40% in many places but almost never 50% anywhere, which also explains why her party is so underrepresented in the national assembly.
Her ties with Putin will cost her very, very dearly in a forseeable future too.
Zemmour is fairly against Europe as well and so is Melenchon. And the trio have their hands deep in putin's pocket.
They do, but they also have no chance to win. It’s hard to believe but most french people are actually somewhat moderates. Extremist of the left and the right are very vocal and very loud minority, and most people would prefer a candidate of the opposite side rather than an extremist of their own. My family, as an example, is firmly left wing but we would all vote for a right wing candidate if it was the only alternative to Mélenchon.
I donw’t see any of these clowns winning an election in a forseeable future and i think France is to stay in both nato and the eu unless something really massive happens.
So another major meeting this Thursday, possibly even a decision to kick Russia out of the G20. Although I have no idea how that is decided.
President Joe Biden and allies meeting Thursday in Brussels are expected to announce both new sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine and fresh measures designed to keep the Kremlin from sidestepping existing economic penalties, the White House said.
The announcement will involve “not just on adding new sanctions but on ensuring there is joint effort to crack down on evasion,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters Tuesday.
The moves are expected to cap an intense day of diplomacy that will see Biden attend an emergency NATO summit, a meeting of the Group of 7, and a session of the European Council.
In addition to sanctions, the U.S. and partner nations are expected to announce a new action aimed at “enhancing European energy security and reducing Europe’s dependence on Russian gas,” Sullivan said. The White House did not provide details of what that effort would entail, though the U.S. has sought to recruit energy producers to step up exports during the crisis.
Biden will also use the meeting to coordinate potential responses to hypothetical outcomes, including the possible use of weapons of mass destruction or cyber attacks by Russia, Sullivan said.
Leaders will also discuss how to respond if China provides assistance to Moscow to bolster Russia’s military or subvert economic sanctions. The U.S. wants to discuss the matter before the European Union holds an April 1 summit with Chinese leaders, Sullivan said.
“We believe we’re very much on the same page with our European partners, and we will be speaking with one voice on this issue,” he said.
Earlier this month, U.S. officials said they believed the Russians had requested assistance from Beijing. But Sullivan said Tuesday that since Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke last week, the U.S. had not seen the provision of military equipment to Russia.
Biden is also expected to announce additional U.S. contributions to the humanitarian response to the Ukraine conflict, benefiting both Ukrainians still inside the country and refugees who have fled to other Eastern European countries.
I guess losing large amounts of hardware to the Ukrainians does make friendly fire more confusing. It could be both coming from your own artillery and decidedly unfriendly.
It's remarkable because it confirms so much that has been said from the outside about the Russian war - No clear objectives - Not able to hold territory conquered - Bad communications - Bad / no leadership - Expectation it would be over in a few days - Terrible logistics
I wouldn't read too much into the friendly fire part. That shit just happens, to everyone.
That they have been sitting around with the bodies of their fallen comrades for 5 days is pretty grim though.
Fun fact: famous Canadian sniper "Valley" has posted a picture confirming he's alive and well in Ukraine. Russia has spread the news about his death several times now.
This is an inexcusable loss on Russia's part, there is no way that someone from the CIA/MI6/DGES has not taken a closer look at this. I'd hate to be the one that was responsible for such a piece of equipment and it being captured.
A curious 'container' that Ukrainian troops captured today looks to actually represent a significant Russian loss and a potential intelligence goldmine. What Ukraine's forces found looks to be a containerized command post that is part of the Krasukha-4 mobile electronic warfare system. The Krasukha-4 is primarily designed to detect and jam large radars, such as those on airborne early warning and control aircraft, such as the U.S. Air Force's E-3 Sentry, and spy satellites.
Regardless, the loss of even one-half of a Krasukha-4 system could be significant for Russian forces from an operational perspective. Though its origins trace back to the late 1990s, this remains one of the Russian military's most capable mobile EW systems, with serial production only beginning in the early 2010s. It was developed as part of a larger project to field systems to shield Russian assets on the ground and in the air from the prying eyes of various ground-based and aerial surveillance and imaging radars, along with certain radar-equipped intelligence-gathering satellites.
Russian officials have at least claimed in the past that Krasukha-4 can spot and jam various types of radars, including surveillance radars, airborne radar imaging sensors, and active radar seekers and altimeters found in missiles. It has a stated maximum range against ground-based and aerial targets of between 150 and 300 kilometers, or around 93 to 186 miles, in any direction, depending on various environmental factors, according to the manufacturer, Concern Radio-Electronic Technologies, better known by its Russian acronym KRET. It's not entirely clear if this reflects the range at which radars can be detected, engaged, or both.
There are reports that Krasukha-4's jamming system can emit powerful enough beams of RF energy to physically damage sensitive electronic systems on certain targets.
If they're able to get it over the border into Poland with it's hardware and software intact they could reasonably sell it to the us for another few hundred million in equipment.
EPT
