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'It should be fairly reliable'. Are we talking in terms of manufacture or storage? Because given the state of Russian arms depots I cringe at the thought of North Korean ones are like after decades of neglect and it's the latter that would worry me if I was a Russian munitions handler. I can only assume the Russians are astute enough to insist on receiving recent more recently produced production runs over circa 1980's stuff.
Legit question. And I actually believe the NORKs storage has been better than Russia's. Most of the NORK facilities are underground...tend to be out of the elements more so than we have seen of Russia. And while there is corruption in NORK it has not been seen on the scale of Russia...execution by 23mm AA Gun will tend to suppress that.
Now...manufactured? That I do not know.
“Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.”
Mark Twain
Originally posted by Officer of EngineersView Post
I'm expecting nothing more than cannon fodder. "Sit your ass here. Shoot everything in front of you. And don't even think about retreating. There's a machine gun behind you." This can work if you have good thinkers who can figure out where to sit those men but those officers are getting their asses shot off right now.
Be that as it may, even bullet soakers can do their job by sucking up limited Ukrainian ammunition.
Back to your point on winter coming...that works for the Ukrainians as well. Several months of building supplies coming from Western nations, more training and integration of more capable combat systems than what 3AC will be getting (likely 3 AC will be BTR 70/BMP 1/T-64), more time to train forces and return wounded back to their units. And more time for SOF and H&I fires/drone strikes to wear on frontline RUS troops. It would be folly to imagine the UKRs would be in suspended animation as compared to the Russians. Winter will have varying degrees of impact on both sides.
“Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.”
Mark Twain
KYIV/RZESZOW, Poland, Sept 8 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Kyiv on Thursday to pledge $2 billion in fresh security aid, including support the Biden administration hopes will bolster a Ukrainian counteroffensive aimed at pushing back Russian forces in the south and east.
Blinken’s second visit to the Ukrainian capital since Russia's February invasion comes as Ukraine reported progress in its effort to retake territory seized by Russia near Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv. read more
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Meeting President Volodymyr Zelenskiy at his fortified presidential administration building in Kyiv, Blinken said his visit came at a "pivotal moment" for Ukraine, noting the counteroffensive was proving effective.
"I think the reason for this success is that this is your homeland, not Russia’s, and it’s as basic as that," Blinken told Zelenskiy.
Zelenskiy said Ukraine was grateful for the United States' “enormous support,” which he said was helping Ukraine “return our territory and lands.”
Blinken also met Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and visited a children's hospital, where he met youngsters injured in Russian bombardments.
Blinken announced a new $2.2 billion foreign military financing package for Ukraine and 18 other countries deemed at risk of future Russian aggression. An official earlier said the package would be worth $2 billion.
Approximately $1 billion would be allocated to Ukraine, an official said. The rest would be divided among Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia.
The money is intended to defend sovereignty, modernize security forces, enhance partnerships with transatlantic military alliance NATO, and strengthen capacity "to counter Russian influence and aggression," the official said by email.
The aid comes in the form of U.S. grants and loans that enable countries to purchase weapons and defence equipment made in the United States. It requires U.S. Congress to be notified.
President Joe Biden also approved a separate $675 million in weapons to Ukraine, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin announced earlier on Thursday as ministers met in Germany to discuss how to support Ukraine long-term.
The latest tranche of weapons will include more ammunitions, Humvees and anti-tank systems, officials said.
COUNTEROFFENSIVE
The latest aid brings total U.S. security assistance to Ukraine to $15.2 billion since Biden took office in January 2021, Blinken said.
“All of this security assistance (to Ukraine) is trying to help ensure that Ukraine is successful in this counteroffensive,” said another State Department official, who briefed reporters in southeastern Poland ahead of the visit.
Blinken had travelled to Poland with reporters but officials did not allow media to accompany him into Ukraine citing security reasons.
Regaining territory currently occupied by Russia would put Ukraine in a stronger position in potential future talks to end the war, a third State Department official said.
“Right now, the Ukrainians do not have a viable map from which to negotiate,” the official said.
“That's why we're supporting this counteroffensive … to put them in the strongest possible position, and have (Russian President Vladimir) Putin understand that after hemorrhaging all this money, all this capital, all these weapons, all these young Russian boys - who have also been chewed up along with Ukrainians - that it's time for him to come to the table in good faith.”
The trip also comes ahead of the United Nations General Assembly later this month in New York, where Blinken will address world leaders as Washington attempts to hold together opposition to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Meeting Ukraine’s leaders would help Blinken push back on concerns about the economic impacts of the war, including in the global south where the raised cost of grain and fertilizer have led to food security concerns, the U.S. officials said.
Blinken travels to Brussels on Friday to rally support among U.S. allies for Ukraine as Europe braces for a winter of high energy prices and possible shortages with reduced gas inflows from Russia, the officials said. NATO said Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Blinken would hold a joint news conference.
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany, Sept 8 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden approved an additional $675 million weapons package for Ukraine, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Thursday, as U.S.-allied ministers met to discuss how to give Kyiv long-term support in countering Russia's invasion.
The six-month-old conflict, which has killed thousands and reduced Ukrainian cities to rubble, has settled into a war of attrition fought primarily in eastern and southern Ukraine.
Austin, who was speaking at the start of a meeting of dozens of defense ministers at Ramstein air base in Germany, said the gathering would discuss how countries can work together to train Ukrainian forces and improve their defenses.
"This contact group needs to position itself to sustain Ukraine's brave defenders for the long haul," Austin said, referring to the meeting. "That means a continued and determined flow of capability now."
The latest U.S. package will include more ammunitions, humvees and anti-tank systems.
Washington has already provided more than $10 billion in military assistance to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's government since Russian troops invaded on Feb. 24.
Separately, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will announce $2 billion in new U.S. military financing to Ukraine and 18 other countries at risk of future Russian aggression, a senior State Department official said.
Ukraine has been carrying out a counter offensive in the south, though details about it are sparse. Western military analysts believe Russia may have left itself exposed in other areas as it rushed to reinforce the south.
U.S. officials say they are aware that Russia is hoping that Western unity will be tested in the coming months with European countries squeezed by reduced supplies of Russian natural gas and the upcoming November mid-term elections in the United States.
Control of the U.S. Congress is at stake in November's midterm elections, along with Biden’s remaining policy agenda. Those advocating for Ukraine are concerned that Washington's attention may turn to domestic issues as November nears and voters may be more driven by issues closer to home like the economy.
The White House earlier this month said Biden would request $11.7 billion in emergency funding from Congress to provide weapons and budget support to Ukraine.
"Our support for Ukraine’s bedrock right to defend itself doesn’t waver based on any given clash," Austin said. "We must evolve as the fight evolves."
Russian President Vladimir Putin calls the campaign a "special operation" to demilitarize Ukraine, while Kyiv accuses Moscow of an imperial-style land grab to retake a pro-Western neighbor that shook off Russian domination when the Soviet Union broke up in 1991.
On the sidelines of the meeting, Germany and the Netherlands announced details on their planned joint training mission for Ukrainian troops, saying the training of some 20 soldiers in the clearance of mines and improvised explosive devices would start soon in southern Germany.
"We will not only provide the training ... but also equipment that is urgently needed for Ukraine to fight these hideous weapons, namely mines and improvised explosive devices," German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht told reporters.
Berlin will also supply Kyiv with generators, tents and winter clothing, Lambrecht added.
“Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.”
Mark Twain
It was a ferry that got hit, not a pontoon. Looks like cell phone footage. Basically there's two clips, one of the Russian soldier saying the area had been hit before, he was praying it wouldn't get hit while they were crossing, before the ferry got hit some seconds later. Then blyat, the aftermath with the wounded having been taken out of vehicles and being treated.
That just it. If it was cell phone footage, wouldn't it be aimed at something interesting instead of just ground? If it's bodycam, why only one soldier carrying one?
Back to your point on winter coming...that works for the Ukrainians as well. Several months of building supplies coming from Western nations, more training and integration of more capable combat systems than what 3AC will be getting (likely 3 AC will be BTR 70/BMP 1/T-64), more time to train forces and return wounded back to their units. And more time for SOF and H&I fires/drone strikes to wear on frontline RUS troops. It would be folly to imagine the UKRs would be in suspended animation as compared to the Russians. Winter will have varying degrees of impact on both sides.
I'm expecting nothing less and I'm expecting each new Ukrainian soldier better motivated if not better trained but the 3AC numbers worries me that Putin is ready to outbleed Zelensky.
Originally posted by Officer of EngineersView Post
That just it. If it was cell phone footage, wouldn't it be aimed at something interesting instead of just ground? If it's bodycam, why only one soldier carrying one?
No idea what point you're trying to make. Is this like the fake grass thing? The footage has been geolocated. Sorry if it doesn't show everything you'd like to see.
"Every man has his weakness. Mine was always just cigarettes."
Russian reports from Kharkiv are saying Ukrainians have collapsed the Russian defensive line. Balakliya liberated yesterday, Ukrainian forces geo-located to Shevchenkove shortly thereafter.
looks to me like the Ukrainians achieved both tactical and operational surprise, although the little shit Igor Girkin claims the Russians knew all along, but that they were undone by treason....bwahaha.
There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "My ignorance is just as good as your knowledge."- Isaac Asimov
Originally posted by Officer of EngineersView Post
]I'm expecting nothing less and I'm expecting each new Ukrainian soldier better motivated if not better trained but the 3AC numbers worries me that Putin is ready to outbleed Zelensky.
Yeah, in that case the correlation of forces is not in Ukraine's favor. But to your point...I expect a highly motivated and dedicated UAF and they will be out for blood!
“Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.”
Mark Twain
looks to me like the Ukrainians achieved both tactical and operational surprise, although the little shit Igor Girkin claims the Russians knew all along, but that they were undone by treason....bwahaha.
The stabbed in the back comment sounds better in the original German.
“Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.”
Mark Twain
No idea what point you're trying to make. Is this like the fake grass thing? The footage has been geolocated. Sorry if it doesn't show everything you'd like to see.
I like the context. Was the guy sightseeing or filming intel. And everyone of us here HATES the edited version of these things. There's a lot to be learn from the full footage. Like why did the guy pick up filming again or was he filming all along and if he was filming all along, what else did he see?
Might this be like an Inchon situation? A horrible-on-paper place to launch an attack, with basically no preparatory advance bombardment, where the Russians are weakest because who in their right mind would attack such a place?
Originally posted by Officer of EngineersView Post
Joe called it.
That's very kind of you to say but I thought that Kherson was going to be the Inchon
“He was the most prodigious personification of all human inferiorities. He was an utterly incapable, unadapted, irresponsible, psychopathic personality, full of empty, infantile fantasies, but cursed with the keen intuition of a rat or a guttersnipe. He represented the shadow, the inferior part of everybody’s personality, in an overwhelming degree, and this was another reason why they fell for him.”
#Ukraine: It appears that the Ukrainian army started to use Iranian-made artillery ammunition - in a video from Ukraine we identified Iranian OF-462 122mm projectiles.
Though some Iranian weapons were already observed, this case is worth paying attention and we will tell why:
Though markings are barely seen we can still identify them as Iranian by some parts of the packaging list which is identical to what Iranian ammunition crates have. The crate itself is also very similar to what we usually see coming from Iran - a tan wooden box with black text.
Why is this special, since Iranian mortars were already spotted in Ukraine? Well, in the previous case we assumed the mortars were intended for Houthis, but were intercepted in transit by the US some time ago.
However projectiles here were made in 2022! and no interception of them was ever reported.
Considering this, we can say with great certainty that we can see ammunition here that was purchased from Iran, perhaps via a deniable third party - however, it is impossible to say exactly who the buyer is just from one video.
It's worth a mention that the UN Arms Embargo on Iran was lifted only in 2020, but the EU Arms Embargo is still active, making this finding more special.
How rational, or even moral, it is to fund the Iranian weapons industry (if this is the case): well, that's a moot point.
“Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.”
Mark Twain
I was worried about Ukraine's chances of winning this conflict, But I see that they are getting the greatest ,most awesome weapon system the world has ever known. Victory is assured
I was worried about Ukraine's chances of winning this conflict, But I see that they are getting the greatest ,most awesome weapon system the world has ever known. Victory is assured
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