NOTE: When providing a source, please provide a very brief summary on what it's about and what purpose it adds to the discussion. The supporting statement should clearly explain why the subject is relevant and needs to be discussed. Please follow this rule especially for tweets.
Your supporting statement should always come BEFORE you provide the source.
Ukrainian pilots have started flying F-16s for operations within the nation, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday, confirming the long-awaited arrival of the U.S.-made fighter jets more than 29 months afterRussia's invasion.
Or least a number of them, it's unclear how many pilots or jets Ukraine currently has. According to the article, there are still more pilots in training, and it's also likely that more jets are still on the way. The jets have probably been in action for days, but it's nice to have an official confirmation.
This also means that we'll almost certainly see some of the jets destroyed by enemy action. The airfields and airbases will be high priority targets from now on, so I hope that Ukraine is also receiving more air defense material.
e: Also, Finland a dependent country and considering directly participating in the war? Where are these things coming from?
It's so random but probably what his tv told him so it must be true.
Ukrainian armed forces crossed into Kursk Oblast and were met with only light resistance. Reports put the penetration depth at 8-15km (reports vary), considerably deeper than the Russian Kharkiv offensive in May achieved. As they push behind Russian lines they’re picking up free kills such as these tanks which were loaded for transport.
A KA52 that was scrambled to the breach has been confirmed destroyed with a second reported but unconfirmed. Seems that someone has given Ukraine permission to fight somewhere other than under concentrations of Russian artillery fire.
On August 07 2024 10:32 KwarK wrote: Ukrainian armed forces crossed into Kursk Oblast and were met with only light resistance. Reports put the penetration depth at 8-15km (reports vary), considerably deeper than the Russian Kharkiv offensive in May achieved. As they push behind Russian lines they’re picking up free kills such as these tanks which were loaded for transport.
A KA52 that was scrambled to the breach has been confirmed destroyed with a second reported but unconfirmed. Seems that someone has given Ukraine permission to fight somewhere other than under concentrations of Russian artillery fire.
Can we all take a moment to appreciate the irony of Putin complaining about this incursion being a "major provocation" with soldiers "firing indiscriminately at civilian buildings and residences" when those are exactly the things he's ordered his own military to do whilst encamped in eastern Ukraine?
On August 08 2024 15:43 MJG wrote: Can we all take a moment to appreciate the irony of Putin complaining about this incursion being a "major provocation" with soldiers "firing indiscriminately at civilian buildings and residences" when those are exactly the things he's ordered his own military to do whilst encamped in eastern Ukraine?
This speech wasn't meant for us but for his own people. The rest of the world knows this is BS :D
On August 08 2024 15:43 MJG wrote: Can we all take a moment to appreciate the irony of Putin complaining about this incursion being a "major provocation" with soldiers "firing indiscriminately at civilian buildings and residences" when those are exactly the things he's ordered his own military to do whilst encamped in eastern Ukraine?
This speech wasn't meant for us but for his own people. The rest of the world knows this is BS :D
I know it's not meant for me, but I'm still going to bathe in the irony.
I heard on BBC Radio 4 this morning that the incursions into Kursk involved the Freedom of Russia Legion, who are being supported by the Ukrainian military. But I've not been able to confirm their involvement from other sources, and even the BBC news article on Kursk doesn't mention them.
On August 08 2024 15:43 MJG wrote: Can we all take a moment to appreciate the irony of Putin complaining about this incursion being a "major provocation" with soldiers "firing indiscriminately at civilian buildings and residences" when those are exactly the things he's ordered his own military to do whilst encamped in eastern Ukraine?
This speech wasn't meant for us but for his own people. The rest of the world knows this is BS :D
I know it's not meant for me, but I'm still going to bathe in the irony.
I heard on BBC Radio 4 this morning that the incursions into Kursk involved the Freedom of Russia Legion, who are being supported by the Ukrainian military. But I've not been able to confirm their involvement from other sources, and even the BBC news article on Kursk doesn't mention them.
Same here. I have not seen any credible reports that Legion is involved.
On August 08 2024 15:43 MJG wrote: Can we all take a moment to appreciate the irony of Putin complaining about this incursion being a "major provocation" with soldiers "firing indiscriminately at civilian buildings and residences" when those are exactly the things he's ordered his own military to do whilst encamped in eastern Ukraine?
This speech wasn't meant for us but for his own people. The rest of the world knows this is BS :D
I know it's not meant for me, but I'm still going to bathe in the irony.
I heard on BBC Radio 4 this morning that the incursions into Kursk involved the Freedom of Russia Legion, who are being supported by the Ukrainian military. But I've not been able to confirm their involvement from other sources, and even the BBC news article on Kursk doesn't mention them.
Same here. I have not seen any credible reports that Legion is involved.
It's not FRL. It's mainly Ukrainian troops (and a lot of them, 18 battallion's worth at least I think - that's 25k men and a lot of equipment).
And in other news, Sweden has all of a sudden sent a really big aid package to Ukraine and promised even more.
"In a dramatic shift from its neutral stance, Sweden has delivered a powerful blow to Russian forces by providing a substantial military aid package to Ukraine. As NATO's newest member, Sweden's $1.23 billion contribution includes cutting-edge technology and crucial artillery, signaling its commitment to supporting Ukraine's fight for freedom. This historic move has sent shockwaves through Moscow, altering the balance of power in the region."
The video also touches on the fact that UA still needs training within the officer cadre and attributes the failure of previous counter-offensive to their inability of coordinating and commanding a sufficient amount of troops in prolonged conflict (they're OK at squad and platoon level but don't know what to do at brigade level).
Also, not sure how accurate this is but it's mentioned that Estonians did some research and calculated that if UA is able to kill 100k RU troops in 2024 it'll cross the border of what RU is able to replenish. They'll still have manpower but will only be able to train 80k/year with the rest being basically untrained cannon fodder.
"In a dramatic shift from its neutral stance, Sweden has delivered a powerful blow to Russian forces by providing a substantial military aid package to Ukraine. As NATO's newest member, Sweden's $1.23 billion contribution includes cutting-edge technology and crucial artillery, signaling its commitment to supporting Ukraine's fight for freedom. This historic move has sent shockwaves through Moscow, altering the balance of power in the region."
Supporting Ukraine has been popular in Sweden and has been done a lot when looking at military size and GDP size. US is at 0.347% of GDP (Rank: 17), Sweden 0.765% of GDP (Rank: 6). So Nato is part of why the number is as high as it is but this new aid package is just continuing the trend.
The US number is very interesting considering that of the nations with large donations they have the option of doing the most, even as part of GDP. This is due to large stockpiles of vehicles, which nobody else really has. In other categories such as artillery and air defense the US is doing a great job based on available vs sold to Ukraine.
I can't be bothered to look it up right now but recall somebody quoting that the US had donated more vehicles to the Taliban than they have to Ukraine.
This Ukrainian offensive into Russia seems to be going off the rails suddenly. Starting to wonder if this has a much bigger impact than we all expected.
On August 09 2024 09:59 Mohdoo wrote: This Ukrainian offensive into Russia seems to be going off the rails suddenly. Starting to wonder if this has a much bigger impact than we all expected.
I hope it is an attempt at ending the war. They a ver strong position for negotiations, and the front lines in Ukraina are so fortified, any advancement is just too costly.
Doing this might hurt their image as the "good guys" a bit, but war is war, and they need to win somehow.
People are fools if this impacts Ukraine's 'good guys' image. At the point at which the Allies entered the Rhineland did not suddenly change the moral balance of the war. If an aggressor nation is to be defeated, it's very likely you will have to enter their territory to do so.
Russia has benefited for far too long due to the West hobbling Ukraine's ability to flank and strike where Russia is weak. Because Russia can attack from anywhere, Ukraine must defend everywhere, dispersing their troops. However, Russia, already with the larger army can empty entire parts of the same border and stack their men wherever they want because Ukraine was not allowed to attack across certain lines.
I hope we see some long term value in this attack that can either cut off/ blow up significant supply depots or roll up a flank and capture many troops, easing the northern front because I have no idea if they can afford to hold a huge swath of Russian territory long enough to do land swaps or whatever.
Russian sources are reporting lots of dead. The convoy was supposedly carrying mostly troops. If Ukraine can keep doing that, they could inflict some massive casualties on Russia.
Russian sources are reporting lots of dead. The convoy was supposedly carrying mostly troops. If Ukraine can keep doing that, they could inflict some massive casualties on Russia.
I was thinking this was likely to happen. Making Russia sweat and start moving troops en masse is a perfect opportunity to take out large clusters of people at the same time
On August 09 2024 16:22 Falling wrote: People are fools if this impacts Ukraine's 'good guys' image. At the point at which the Allies entered the Rhineland did not suddenly change the moral balance of the war. If an aggressor nation is to be defeated, it's very likely you will have to enter their territory to do so.
Russia has benefited for far too long due to the West hobbling Ukraine's ability to flank and strike where Russia is weak. Because Russia can attack from anywhere, Ukraine must defend everywhere, dispersing their troops. However, Russia, already with the larger army can empty entire parts of the same border and stack their men wherever they want because Ukraine was not allowed to attack across certain lines.
I hope we see some long term value in this attack that can either cut off/ blow up significant supply depots or roll up a flank and capture many troops, easing the northern front because I have no idea if they can afford to hold a huge swath of Russian territory long enough to do land swaps or whatever.
I was mainly meaning that civilians have been targeted in Russia, which the Russians are very eager to point out.
Land swaps, encirclement, cutting supply lines, hurting Russian pride and morale... I trust that the Ukrainian generals have good plan! Predicting rushed troop replacements and destroying them on their way seems like a good start.
Yeah with a lot long range precision weapons, Ukraine has a lot of potential to knock out Russia on the move. They've been getting a lot of Western equipment with the idea of maneuver warfare but have been unable to maneuver anywhere except straight into minefields. Moving fast and striking Russia's panicked reactions favours Ukraine whereas these static WWI trench warfare plays more to Russia's quantity over quality: Just send in the next wave.
EPT
