"All of Vlad's forces and all of Vlad's men, are out to put Humpty together again." (5 Viewers)

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Denniss said:
Some info about the three SU-3x shot down. Russians seem to deny Ukrainians any shoot-down, claim only one a/c lost and even that by friendly fire. But why are there active emergency beacons from at least four pilots?

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLLfE_60_o0
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The spacing of those beacons tends to support the Ukrainian claims. Two fairly close together being from one aircraft and the other two too far apart to be from one aircraft.
 
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Lucky13 said:
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yulia-tymoshenko.jpg
 
Lucky13 said:
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Definitely not. I hate having to interfere with discussions, let alone having to thread-ban or even fully ban users. Every time we have to ban someone, it feels like something failed.

We try to make this forum as pleasant for everybody as possible, while preserving its main aim, which is discussing ww2 aircraft.
 
MOSCOW/KYIV, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Russia on Sunday said it had full control of the Ukrainian town of Avdiivka after Ukraine withdrew though Moscow said that some Ukrainian troops were still holed up in a vast Soviet-era coke plant after one of the most intense battles of the war.

The fall of Avdiivka is Russia's biggest gain since capturing the city of Bakhmut in May 2023, and comes almost two years to the day since President Vladimir Putin triggered a full-scale war by ordering the invasion of Ukraine.

Russia's defence ministry said its troops had advanced 8.6 km (5.3 miles) in that part of the 1,000-km (620-mile) front line, and that Russian troops were pressing forward after a deadly urban battle that has left the town an almost completely depopulated wreck.

Ukraine said it had withdrawn its soldiers to save troops from being fully surrounded after months of fierce fighting. Putin hailed the fall of Avdiivka as an important victory and congratulated Russian troops.

After the failure of Ukraine to pierce Russian lines last year, Moscow has been trying to grind down Ukrainian forces just as Kyiv ponders a major new mobilisation and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy appoints a new commander to run the war.

"The head of state congratulated Russian soldiers on this success, an important victory," the Kremlin said in a statement on its website.

But Russia said some Ukrainian forces were still holed up at the Soviet-era coke plant, once one of Europe's biggest, in Avdiivka, which is key to Russia's aim of securing full control of the industrial Donbas region.

 
I know this is from the Daily Express but I have heard this from other sources. Its funny that when the chips are down sometimes the most unexpected countries come to the fore. With all respect to Denmark, they are not known for taking a leading position on Military matters.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen announced that Denmark would transfer all of its artillery to Ukraine, calling on other European states to provide further support. "They need them more now", she added, speaking at the 7th Ukrainian Lunch in Munich, organized by the Ukrainian Victor Pinchuk Charitable Foundation, Ms Frederiksen said there is not enough urgency in the Munich Security Conference debates about transferring weapons that Ukraine needs immediately. She said European leaders blame productions problems for not providing more supplies.

Europe must take responsibility for its own security, the Danish PM added, saying: "We need to do more."

Announcing the artillery donation, she said: "Ukraine is asking us for ammunition and artillery now. We, Denmark, have decided to transfer all our artillery to Ukraine. So, sorry, friends, there is military equipment in Europe, it is not only a matter of production.

"We have weapons, ammunition, air defence systems, which we do not use yet. They must be handed over to Ukraine."

Anton Gerashchenko, former Advisor to Internal Affairs Minister for Ukraine, responded on X: "Thank you, Denmark!
 
This article from The National Interest deserves to be read in full:

Imagine that two years ago—before Putin invaded Ukraine—someone had come to the US with a credible proposition to hobble Russia's military threat to Europe for the decade ahead without the loss of a single American soldier. How much would Americans have been willing to invest in that initiative?

A quarter of our $800 billion dollar defense budget? A tithe a year for several years?

Imagine further that the proposal would also:

-Awaken our European NATO partners to the reality of bloody, large-scale combat in the 21st century—motivating them to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in building their own defense capabilities?

-Persuade two of the most militarily capable European nations—Finland and Sweden—to join NATO and thus significantly enhance its deterrent strength.

-Deliver to Putin a huge strategic failure—by decisively defeating his attempt to capture Kyiv and essentially erase Ukraine from the map.

-Persuade the nation with the most important economy in Europe—Germany—to eliminate its dependence on Russia for cheap energy and begin building up its own military forces.

-Revitalize the transatlantic alliance in a sustained coordinated campaign to defeat Russian aggression by arming and funding Ukraine and weakening Russia by imposing the most -comprehensive economic sanctions in history.

And if that were not enough, even arousing the individual who has the most sway with Putin, China's Xi Jinping, to warn him both privately and publicly against any "threat or use of nuclear weapons"—thus strengthening the "nuclear taboo" that has emerged over the past 78 years since nuclear weapons were last used in war.

Had such a proposal been offered, it would have seemed unbelievable and likely dismissed as too good to be true. But if we examine what has actually happened over the 24 months since Putin invaded Ukraine, one incandescent fact is impossible to deny. Thanks to Ukrainians' remarkable courage, determination to fight for their own freedom, and resilience, the adversary whom the US threat matrix had ranked as the second most capable military power in the world has been. Putin's forces failed in their lightening attack aimed at capturing Kiev. Ukraine's military recovered more than half of the territory Russia seized in the first chapter of the war. And Ukraine has fought Russia to a standstill at which it has been unable to make any significant advances for more than a year.

The US is fortunate to have our nation's most insightful Russia watcher now serving as Director of CIA. Bill Burns has analyzed Putin for decades and dealt with him directly over the years he served as US Ambassador to Moscow. Last month, Burns summarized as the telling bottom lines in this war: "At least 315,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded, two-thirds of Russia's prewar tank inventory has been destroyed, and Putin's vaunted decades-long military modernization program has been hollowed out." Without the loss of the life of a single American soldier, Putin's military threat to NATO has been substantially diminished.

As we admire and thank the brave Ukrainian soldiers who have been killing and dying on the battlefield, we must also recognize that their success would not have been possible with the vital lifeline of arms, ammunition, and money from the US and Europe. Over the past two years, the free world has given Ukraine some $230 billion in aid, with the US providing $45 billion in military assistance and $30 billion in non-military (humanitarian and financial) aid and the Europeans giving $50 billion in military aid and $114 billion in non-military aid.

Last month, the EU voted an additional $54 billion for Ukraine. On Monday, the Senate passed legislation appropriating another $60 billion in military and economic aid that should allow Ukrainian warriors to fight Russians to a point where it will be in a position to negotiate with Russia to end this war.

Members of the House of Representatives now face a fateful choice. Those who fail to vote to provide essential assistance to Ukraine will be remembered for having snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

It goes without saying that I agree completely.
 
Glider said:
Announcing the artillery donation, she said: "Ukraine is asking us for ammunition and artillery now. We, Denmark, have decided to transfer all our artillery to Ukraine. So, sorry, friends, there is military equipment in Europe, it is not only a matter of production.

"We have weapons, ammunition, air defence systems, which we do not use yet. They must be handed over to Ukraine."

Anton Gerashchenko, former Advisor to Internal Affairs Minister for Ukraine, responded on X: "Thank you, Denmark!
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A noble example, but how many artillery shells would Denmark have? ten, maybe twenty thousand?
 
cammerjeff said:
While not disagreeing with your post you are aware that France has not been a full NATO member sense the 1950's.
They do contribute to the defense of western Europe, but IMO they should not be held to the same spending comparisons of a full NATO member.
Just my opinion others may vary.
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France was out of the integrated NATO command in 1966.
It reintegrated in 2009 so is now a full member state.
 
Admiral Beez said:
A noble example, but how many artillery shells would Denmark have? ten, maybe twenty thousand?
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Obviously I and no one on the Forum has any idea of the numbers. However, in some ways that isn't the point. The point is that they are willing to give everything they have, and rely on production to make up any shortfall. If other countries including the UK did that, the situation might change in short time.
 
GTX said:
mickryan.substack.com

The Fall of Avdiivka

Implications and Russia's Next Moves
mickryan.substack.com mickryan.substack.com
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I don't believe Avdiivka was critically strategic, notwithstanding the italics below. And Russia took over 30,000 casualties.

en.wikipedia.org

Battle of Avdiivka (2023–2024) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

Avdiivka is one of the most fortified settlements in Ukraine and has been described as a "gateway" to the nearby Russian-occupied city of Donetsk. Ukraine's control of Avdiivka had prevented Russia from using Donetsk and its resources as a communications hub and prevented Russian breakthroughs on this axis.
 
Glider said:
Obviously I and no one on the Forum has any idea of the numbers. However, in some ways that isn't the point. The point is that they are willing to give everything they have, and rely on production to make up any shortfall. If other countries including the UK did that, the situation might change in short time.
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Some info on what the Czechs have found.

"So far, we have found half a million 155 mm shells and 300,000 122 mm shells, which we will be able to ship to Ukraine in a few weeks, if we can find the funding for it. We will turn to our partners in the USA, Germany, Sweden...", - Petr Pavel President of Czech Republic, 17 Feb 2024, at the Munich Security Conference.
 
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