NPR

Things are becoming clearer. It would appear that, completely under the radar, an entire Ukrainian brigade has been trained in Sweden on Strv 122s, CV90s, and Archers, and has just returned to Ukraine. To this point the Swedish pledges had been conspicuous by their absence so this may represent the final or next to final piece of the counter-offensive jigsaw. Personally I believe that the big push will start when the first battalions of Leopard 1A5s arrive, but at this point I think we can safely say within the next four weeks.

DIY SOS will have their work cut out here..

Hellraiser wrote: ↑Wed May 17, 2023 11:49 pm

Not a good sign when you're on a slab with an open wound and your 'medics' look like chefs!

Is this maybe a scene from a porno? That woman is giving off sexy 70s vibes with her shoes and trousers.

... but seriously, that thread has a shocking list of things you'd assume would have been addressed by now given someone mentioning they'd been flagged in both Afghanistan and Chechnya? I can understand corruption of mil tech, but top med people ignoring basic duty of care?

As of today Moldova is 100% free of Russian gas and electricity.

The Yanks have gone through the numbers and it seems they over estimated the value of the military aid they have supplied so far by $3bn. Which means there is a lot more money still in the pot. And that figure may still rise further.

This app provides the best "live" map updates of the front line.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... epstatemap

Hellraiser wrote: ↑Thu May 18, 2023 10:35 pm

Great.

So as we previously said; the satellites are old & unreliable, the radars haven't been properly maintained, & no one can trust the data from them, & the nexus that all the data gets funneled to, is one giant white elephant, because the people building it were more focused on grabbing rubles than anything else .......

The only question is how much of this are the Orcs honest with themselves about ?

Because; if they really think they have a functional system, & the system says they're under attack, they'll retaliate; but if they know it's a pile of shit, they won't do anything.

Hellraiser thanks for all the updates! I have been trying to dial back my obsessive doom scrolling about the war so it’s great to have a regular curated update

Hellraiser wrote: ↑Fri May 19, 2023 9:21 am

Nice and easy way to see who's taking russian money right there.

I may be a cynic, but it looks like this is rigged (in a good way).

The Pentagon overestimated the value of the ammunition, missiles and other equipment it sent to Ukraine by about $3bn, an error that may lead the way for more weapons being sent to Kyiv for its defense against Russian forces.

The error was the result of assigning a higher-than-warranted value on weaponry that was taken from US stocks and then shipped to Ukraine, two senior defense officials said on Thursday.

In its accounting, the Pentagon used replacement cost to value the weapons aid, instead of the weaponry’s value when it was purchased and depreciated, the senior defense officials said.

Changing the valuation of the equipment could delay the Biden administration’s need to ask Congress to authorize more funds for Ukraine as the debt ceiling fight intensifies.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... ine-russia

Raggs wrote: ↑Fri May 19, 2023 9:51 am

Hellraiser wrote: ↑Fri May 19, 2023 9:21 am

Nice and easy way to see who's taking russian money right there.

Oh yes, the FBI's to do list just got longer...

If the above is true, and RU has to use most of its resources to defend the flanks then the Bakhmut campaign looks even more pointless other than for a little dick-waving for Wagner PMC

tabascoboy wrote: ↑Sat May 20, 2023 9:19 am If the above is true, and RU has to use most of its resources to defend the flanks then the Bakhmut campaign looks even more pointless other than for a little dick-waving for Wagner PMC

Agreed, by any 'normal' rationality. However, it works for Prigozhin. Nobody can deny the efficacy of the Wagner group in this war, it all plays to his advantage on the home front back in Russian. He's now built a national image, better known than most politicians, he's very popular in hicksville demographics.

So, they won a city that is now ruined (as is the RU way). What happens over the next few days will be revealing - if PMC does withdraw its best can RU actually hold it without taking reinforcements that might be also needed elsewhere? No great need for UA to try and retake if they can keep nibbling away at the flanks

Imagine them getting encircled?

Remember Prigozhin making this claim at the beginning of March...

Well now it seems Zelenskiy's response was misunderstood, since the journalist asked two questions at once and he replied to the latter

Biden just announced at the G7 summit that Russia suffered over 100k casualties at Bakhmut.

Hellraiser wrote: ↑Sun May 21, 2023 11:53 am Biden just announced at the G7 summit that Russia suffered over 100k casualties at Bakhmut.

Sounds high, but it does appear they quite possibly burned through 40 - 50 000 convicts killed or wounded

In addition to below, another report of large explosion in Donets'k Oblast but some questions whether it's an old or new video

Russian oil revenue has dropped by 47% since the price cap sanctions were introduced.