Phil1111

The image of winning: Russian convoy blitzed near Kyiv by Ukrainian troops 'armed with Brit anti-tank weapons'

I love your quirky sense of humor. Putin was introduced to the Russian people in 2000. Isn't 22 years of continuous losing enough? Imagine 22 years of trump type "winning".

There was news footage today of Ukrainian troops with two stingers and two Javelin anti-tank weapons. Standing in a group of about 10 all about 20 meters from each other. They all seemed to be quite alert so the enemy must have been nearby.

Above is true but your earlier post had some factual errors. The swordfish did have an active role as a torpedo bomber and played a major role in the sinking of the Bismark They damaged the rudder of the Bismark.Together with a few other German ships during WW2. The French,Italians, Russians and British all had biplanes but only the Russians lost more than a handful. Britain withdrew its bi-planes from any fighting almost immediately(see below). As the RAF had already seen the results of German use of the 109 in Spain. "Hurricane " 6th November 1935 first flight of original variant, A total of 1,715 Hawker Hurricanes flew with Fighter Command during the period of the Battle of Britain, far in excess of all other British fighters combined. It is estimated that Hawker Hurricane pilots were credited with four fifths of all enemy aircraft destroyed in that critical period from July to October 1940." "The only British biplane fighter in operational service was the Gloster Gladiator which equipped No. 247 Squadron RAF, stationed in RAF Robourgh, Devon. Although no combat sorties took place at the height of the aerial battles, No. 247 Gladiators intercepted a He 111 in late October 1940, without result. No. 239 Squadron RAF using Gladiators in an army cooperation role and No. 804 Squadron, Fleet Air Arm outfitted with Sea Gladiators were also operational during the Battle of Britain.[67]"

IMO the Putin meat grinder could last years. Look how long the Syrian war lasted. I believe Ukrainians are determined. Putin didn't get where he is by giving up easily. There are weapons depots all over Russia. Putin will run out of A/C before he runs out of armored vehicles. Evidently there are already 20,000 none Ukrainian nationals in Ukraine fighting already. With volunteers from every corner of the globe besieging Ukrainian embassies to volunteer.

Seagal has been a long-time supporter of Putin and once called him “one of the greatest world leaders if not the greatest world leader alive today.”

IMO a good compromise for Ukraine in the absence of a no-fly-zone are drones. They have a history of operating Turkish and Israeli drones. Both to good effects. Prior to the war Ukraine operated 20 Bayraktar TB2s. They received new shipments this week of more TB2s.

Perhaps it time to review a bit of history. From the WP DECEMBER 1, 1991 "AMERICANS WILL always consider the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, the ultimate act of international treachery, a blow delivered without warning. But the prevailing Japanese view has always explained the attack in quite different terms, portraying it as a predictable response to American actions that left Japan mortally vulnerable and with no alternative but to strike. In the Japanese view, these U.S. actions centered on oil. As in most conflicts of this war-scarred century, oil was a major factor in World War II, a precious resource that shaped everything from global strategy to theatre military operations to tactical maneuvering at the battlefield level." From the Japanese point of view the oil embargo was an American effort to strangle Japan. The embargo was a direct result of Japanese military adventurism. Putin has already stated that the western response are "acts of war".

Yes 'Fifteen years ago, NATO opened its doors to the Baltic states(2004). In the United States this momentous historical decision is commonly framed either as one of the greatest U.S. foreign policy achievements or an ill-advised move that diluted the alliance by taking on indefensible nations. Meanwhile, Russian contemporary discourse on this matter revolves around broken Western promises not to expand the alliance towards its borders." For certain NATO would defend the Baltic states. The US, Canada and the UK have military forces there now.

It looks as if Putin is following Xi's play book on international negotiations. He has started taking hostages. The US state department has now recommended that all US citizens leave Russia immediately.

There was a older, female, 10 term, US, senator on CNBC? this morning. She was previously on Armed services committee and Intelligence committees. She had a couple good ideas. She suggested that previously SAM systems, or radar controlled AA?, had been mounted on flatbed trucks and supplied to allied supported combatants. No idea what systems those were or what war(Balkans?). Also suggested a worldwide cyber effort designed to educate the Russian population as to what is truly happening. Perhaps?

Its getting too depressing to watch news coverage much more. In other news" A proposed deal to allow Ukrainian pilots to fly fighter jets donated by European Union countries has fallen apart. Over the course of a confusing 48 hours, the EU announced it had brokered an arrangement for member states to allow Ukrainian pilots to start flying their used Russian fighter planes, only to have those countries deny there was any such deal even as Kyiv trumpeted the impending arrival of the jets...including 28 MiG-29s from Poland, 12 from Slovakia and 16 from Bulgaria, along with 14 Su-25s from Bulgaria.." Perhaps a Gofundme for this:1960 DOUGLAS A-4C SKYHAWK $995,000 USD, "completely restored" and its "Painted in Argentinian Navy markings" to really confuse the Russians

US Air Force Discusses Tactics with Ukrainian Air Force as Russian Advance Stalls 'Ukraine still has a “significant majority” of its military aircraft available nine days after Russian forces started their invasion of the country, a United States defence official told the Reuters news service on Friday." One of Putin's aces that didn't fare so well(a field outside the town of Volnovakha in the Donetsk region):

Thanks for that. I only get my news from BBC,CBC,ABC,NBC,CBC,France 24,DW, Haaretz and a couple others.

Everybody is trying to avoid Russian oil, but I'm guessing thats a discount to current mkt values of $22 a bbl. China will happily buy those crude and CNG cargoes. You forget that Russia's only real exports is energy. They get paid in cash for that and the denomination is always in USD. The few Russian banks not sanctioned. Is so that Finland, Germany,etc. can pay for their ongoing imports. "European Union could reduce its reliance on Russian natural gas by more than one-third within a year by turning to other suppliers and using other energy sources." meanwhile "The European benchmark natural gas price surged on Thursday morning to hit a new record-high for a second consecutive day, trading at the equivalent of $360 per barrel oil, " So still be dependent on Russian energy for 2/3 of use a year from now. Thats more than enough cash to pay the KGB, the generals and the propaganda machines. i.e. FOX

Perhaps. The big issue with no fly is that Russian SAM sites on the ground have to be destroyed. Russia has S400 mobile launchers that have a range of 250km. So everything about 250km west of Kyiv would be subject to attack by them. Certainly they and the Russian AF can be dispatched. But that means all out war. You're on the right track though. Stingers, mortars, AK-47s, ammo, food, fuel need to pour across the NATO borders into Ukraine. Ukrainians want to fight. Then pour more ammo, food, fuel, anti-tank weapons in. Because Molotov cocktails make for a good narrative. But its a waste of a good life trying to employ them.

Putin and Xi are dancing the same step. The Chinese people are cheering Russia. Cheering the narrative that the west and the US hate China. Are out to stab China in the back. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

IMO he answers to nobody. He is a KGB hardnut who is recalculating his next response. He got where he is with poison, prison, assassination and calculation. The average Russian is used to hardship. Sacrifice for Mother Russia. Putin will use that in his calculations. The KGB will sell the narrative that sacrifices are necessary for the military.He will reward the generals with cash. Reward the mothers of dead sons with cash. Give them all medals. Tell them that they are heroes for what they are doing. The ones that disagree. Will get the same cells that Russian opposition members have right now. Its all a calculation for Putin. For him the games in Ukraine have just started. The war is only a week old. In another three weeks he might have the Polish border closed. The NATO borders closed. Then he can starve Ukraine. He has seen sanctions slip over time. What happens if a cold wave strikes Europe and he turns the gas taps off? Neither Putin, nor his oligarchs will miss a single meal. Over any of this.

Yes Oh he can last a long long time. He cares less about his population. He will turn this into a mother Russia v. Bad USA battle and he controls totally Russian media. Ever notice that its the US thats the bad guy and not the UK, France, Canada, etc. There has been little attention to China in this equation. China will become Putin's enabler in entire affair. They will supply him with cash, buy his oil,gas, etc. China will leak sanctioned products to Russia. i.e. Boeing and Airbus parts.

"A former Fox News producer was charged on Thursday with violating U.S. sanctions by working for a Russian oligarch who has been accused of being a leading financial supporter of separatists in Crimea and eastern Ukraine and has close ties to President Vladimir V. Putin." Its just too bad that the US justice dept stopped there. Murdoch, and Sean Hannity haven't been investigated. Speaking of which. Has anyone heard trump condemn the attack on Ukraine, or Putin? Or is that a dumb question.

Jerry! Such talk is counter-revolutionary. Anti- American. Russian and Chinese military power must be exaggerated at every corner. Otherwise the military industrial complex will be compromised. No that's not the Russian A/C carrier burning after a NATO airstrike "the first crash on Nov.14—where a MiG-29KUBR ran out of fuel and crashed into the Mediterranean—the aircraft was orbiting while deck crews attempted to fix a broken arresting cable that had become entangled with one or the three remaining wires. The cable had snapped when another MiG-29KR had landed safely onboard Kuznetsov—however, that aircraft had caught the fourth and last cable on deck. Meanwhile, the second crash on Dec. 5—this time involving a Su-33 Flanker—was also due to a snapped arresting gear cable...Kuznetsov does not have the ability to launch a tanker—or even buddy-refueller configured fighters."

Well their getting a deal now. "Oil Trader Trafigura Offers Russia’s Crude at a Record Discount...The oil trading giant offered the cargo at a $22.70-a-barrel discount to Dated Brent, a benchmark for physical oil transactions globally. That surpassed the prior discount it offered by about $34. There were no bids. A mostly Kazakh oil that gets exported from a Russian terminal in the Black Sea also slumped."

Germany has revealed plans to build two liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals in the near future in an effort to reduce its dependence on Russian gas. One more LNG terminal in the south of Europe would server it from Russia completely.

Its only a matter of time till Russia holds US prisoners. "Estonians, Latvians, Poles and Georgians were all traveling to border crossings following an appeal by Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky." "A group of 10 special operations forces veterans are staging in Poland and preparing to cross into Ukraine,...composed of six US citizens, three Brits, and a German,Two former American infantry officers are also making plans to come to Ukraine Meanwhile Poland wants to increase defense spending to 3% of GDP.

"At the June 2021 Brussels Summit, NATO leaders reiterated the decision taken at the 2008 Bucharest Summit that Ukraine would become a member of the Alliance with the Membership Action Plan (MAP) as an integral part of the process and Ukraine's right to determine its own future and foreign policy course without outside interference" Plans for NATO membership were shelved by Ukraine following the 2010 presidential election in which Viktor Yanukovych(Putin Stooge), who preferred to keep the country non-aligned, was elected President. Amid the Euromaidan unrest, Yanukovych fled Ukraine in February 2014. Subsequently France and Germany have in the past opposed Ukraine’s inclusion, In the last week Finland had a petition submitted such that its government debate NATO membership. In the last two years polling went from 20% to 53% approving NATO membership. Sweden is at 63% polling approval of membership.