NPR

TB63 wrote: ↑Fri Dec 15, 2023 11:47 am Wtf?..

Hellraiser wrote: ↑Sun Dec 17, 2023 8:43 pm The Russians shot down another of their own planes, a Su-25.

Hellraiser wrote: ↑Mon Dec 18, 2023 11:07 pm https://www.euronews.com/2023/12/18/eu- ... ster-warns

Pistorius gave an interview yesterday where he bluntly stated that the EU needs to prepare for war with Russia by the end of the decade. That's a remarkable thing for a German politician to say, particularly a SPD politician. Shows just how radically the geopolitical landscape has changed in the last two years.

Russian blogger Zhivov proposes creating "Himars hunters" units while describing the situation on the left bank of the Dnipro river. He says Ukrainian artillery is uncatchable at the moment and is taking apart the Russian advancing positions.

Yeah, so for some reason Putin decided to start making excuses again today, perhaps the feedback from his 4-hour conference was not as good as he had hoped?

Apparently, he was doing nothing in Ukraine in 2014, just observing, but then "was forced to intervene!".

And his BEST next decision was to wait another 8 years until deaths came down to almost zero in the Donbass, and kill another 500,00 people, and counting.

Who is buying these pathetic excuses? Just admit you're a maniac who wants to kill, kill, kill. It will be better for eveyrone.

You cannot claim that Russians of Putin’s war machine are not speaking the quiet part out. In the contrary, they scream their intent right into all our faces and prove it with actions on the ground. Putin’s plan is nothing less than the complete destruction of the Ukrainian nation, state and beyond. Bucha, Irpin and Mariupol are no outliers, they are the plan. Russians under the umbrella of “Russkyi Mir” will kill as many people as they deem necessary in order to accomplish this barbaric goal. I added two pictures which reveal more examples of this development.

This is the Russkyi Mir which never ever will be compatible with values of the civilized world. Western leaders deliberately ignored this fact because it was easier to ignore the hard truth rather then to face it. When thought to the logical end then this hard truth requires measures which lead to the only conclusion:

There won’t be peace for Ukrainians and not even for us, as long as Putin’s minions get the chance to rampage through Europe’s East. There is also no way to sit this one out because he declared war on us a long time ago. You can try to ignore him but he certainly won’t ignore you. Putin thinks only in these categories and he will not stop until he gets thoroughly eliminated.

The only and still ongoing question is to how long it will take until the last one in decision-making positions in the West realizes this undeniable fact and draws the proper conclusions which is to finally help Ukrainians so that the job can be finished by them.

The performance of the few M2 Bradley IFVs Ukraine received from the USA is absolutely astonishing. In some cases a single Bradley wiped out entire Russian units and single-handily blunts entire Russian assaults near Avdiivka, thanks to the superior optics and accurate 25mm cannon.

The information regarding the 3 destroyed Russian Su-34 is still fluid and we still need some more solid facts, but the evidence already at hand and the fuming in Pro-Russian social networks we can be sure that it is basically genuine.

Everything points to an event similar to the so-called "Bryansk Massacre" in May 2023, where in a matter of a few minutes 2 fighter planes and 3 choppers of the Russian air force were blown out of the skies of Bryansk, Russia. The Ukrainian Air Force later confirmed that it was responsible and that a MIM-104 Patriot air defence system was used, finally proving all speculations.

The events today in the south of Ukraine are similar but in some aspects even more impressive. It required extensive coordination and planning. The three Russian Su-34 were likely part of an air group attacking the Ukrainian detachment in Krynky, Kherson. Russians have been using improved FAB-500 missiles which they fired more than 50km from the impact points and out of range of short and medium-ranged air defense assets of the Ukrainian army. Russians felt basically safe to deploy their standoff weapons.

This has dramatically changed. It is highly likely that Ukraine deployed the latest MIM-104 Patriot battery in the south, likely the latest Patriot battery from Germany. The PAC-2 variant has a range of at least 160 km (probably more). This considerably extended the zone in which the Ukrainian air defense was able to destroy enemy planes. I marked it in orange on my map but it is a relatively conservative estimation and considers that the battery is not deployed too close to the current frontline. You can easily extend that area and strike even far deeper.

I speculate that once the 3 Russian fighter planes were in the killzone, the Patriot system turned on, targeted the enemy planes and then fired its missiles. This is common practise for all missile-based air defense assets. The missiles travel with the speed of Mach 4 and reached their targets within 1-2 mins which is virtually impossible for the Russian planes to counter or to lose altitude. Yet, the level of planning and coordination is extremely difficult. Even with a excellent weapon system such as MIM-104 Patriot system, you cannot take this for granted. Even small errors could cause failure in this undertaking or even threaten the own survival of the air defense system. The window of success is short and dangerous. But just like in Bryansk they succeeded. The Ukrainian air defense system once again showed us how capable they are. A tribute to their never-ending ingenuity.

For the Russian war effort this is extremely bad news. The Russian swarms of drones and missiles in this winter are getting effectively repelled so far. Ukraine finally allows to use its best air defense system even for offensive operations. Krynky is only an example but a good one. Despite the Ukrainian forces only having around 300-500 men in Krynky and Russians on the other side around 7 brigades, which should actually be enough to repel the small Ukrainian detachment in Krynky alone, it was mainly the Russian air force which countered the small Ukrainian unit. The Russian ground forces were pummeled by artillery and drones. It was only the Russian planes which weren't countered, yet. This has obviously changed and it will be another painful thorn in Russia's side. This also comes only after weeks when the Russian Su-24M was shot down over the Black Sea near Snake Island. The message is clear: the south is now officially an hot area for the Russian air force.

Even though we shouldn't get too much carried away around these events, it nevertheless shows us that even with a limited extension of supplies Ukrainian forces can inflict decisive losses on the Russian war machinery. The is also no new development. Ukrainians always overperformed with that little they got and with the right weaponry and especially with the right amount they can finish the job. The Russian "strategy" is purely based on the West to stop delivering supplies. They have no plan B, no alternative, and when we start raising the stakes and go seriously in with our supplies and industry, then Ukraine will liberate all the Ukrainian territory and finish the war which Russia started.

petej wrote: ↑Sun Dec 24, 2023 1:40 pm Lots of pissing and moaning from Russians but disappointed by how putin can keep chucking thousands of them into a meat grinders with no negative objections at home or at the front.

Sandstorm wrote: ↑Sun Dec 24, 2023 6:20 pm

petej wrote: ↑Sun Dec 24, 2023 1:40 pm Lots of pissing and moaning from Russians but disappointed by how putin can keep chucking thousands of them into a meat grinders with no negative objections at home or at the front.

Russia is not like anywhere else.

Uncle fester wrote: ↑Tue Dec 26, 2023 9:35 am Another one bites the dust.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-67821515

tabascoboy wrote: ↑Tue Dec 26, 2023 12:17 pm Guess he wants his Italian villa back...

Hellraiser wrote: ↑Wed Dec 27, 2023 11:24 pm

Port of Odesa last night from the bridge of a civilian ship. Like something out of a film or video game. More than likely Gepard fire.