"All of Vlad's forces and all of Vlad's men, are out to put Humpty together again." (2 Viewers)

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Putin said the talks are at a dead end, according to a New York Times headline. Does that mean he thinks he can take Eastern Ukraine? That's too much of for him to get away with.
Any stirrings in Georgia or Chechnya?
 
Putin said the talks are at a dead end, according to a New York Times headline. Does that mean he thinks he can take Eastern Ukraine?
I say yes, and he's right. The Ukrainians can only play defence. Notice they only retook northern Ukraine after the Russians departed, for the most part intact.

Putin's goal now is to take all of the Donbas and Mariupol and to connect Crimea to the Donbas. This is entirely feasible.
 
you should consider fact that Ukrainians opinion in this matter is slightly different - final result may be far from Putin's wishes - already is quite distant from his initial sick dreams.
 
I think it's worth remembering that Finland are working closely with Sweden and there is a good chance that if Russia takes any direct action against Finland then Sweden will come to their aid. If they don't then there is a serious risk that Russia would tackle them first.

Finland and Sweden have some seriously impressive equipment. It certainly is at least as good, if not superior to the equipment that the Ukraine is having to use. Leopard 2 supported by F18 fighters, and Hawk in the GA role. Possibly Gripen as well.

It should also be worth remembering that the Best Russian forces have almost certainly been in action and will have suffered significant losses.
 
Here is my thought about NATO involvement in this crisis. If we accept definition of war forged by Clausevitz : War is merely the continuation of policy by other means. For me it means that actually we are already in war with russia. Some of NATO countries already accepted this fact and directed serious resources to support Ukraine, but some are trying to pretend that this is not a case.
 
It is headed by an "ambassador" (also called "permanent representative"), who acts on instructions from his or her capital and reports back to the national authorities.

This is tiresome. They act on behalf of their own government, so their national interests come first. NATO acts based on the requirements of its own members, so NATO's "politicians" are NOT specifically NATO's, but those of member states acting in accordance with the collective wishes and agendas of member states. Call them politicians, call them ambassadors, diplomats, call them what you will, but NATO itself is a gathering of individuals representing the interests of member states. If a member state's agenda was different to the collective wishes of those at a NATO meeting, the NATO stuff comes second, you can guarantee that.

Again, Jagdflieger, just because a NATO member state acts, does NOT necessarily mean it is directly or always linked to NATO.
 
The Ukrainians lack the offensive capability to take territory. They need more tanks, heavy artillery, etc. You don't retake territory with MANPATS.
You're forgetting that the Ukrainians have retaken areas seized and held by Russians before the withdrawl from the Kyiv suburbs.

And they have more than just man portable weapons.
Just recently, their armored brigade tore a Russian armored column apart.
 
I want to share your optimism, so I will. Go get them Ukraine.
So do I, but unfortunately the Russians seem to have relearnt the lessons of the past. Concentrate your forces, ensure that you logistical tail is as short and secure as possible. Make sure your airpower is as close to the front line as possible and then wear your opponent down with superior firepower before striking.

The one pressure that may assist the Ukrainian forces is if Putin wants a big success for April 9th.
 

Kind of like ICAO…lol
 
Regarding the Ukrainian need for arty -- I heard the news on the way home from work that the US has sent another $800 million in equipment.

Following a call with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President Joe Biden announced Wednesday his administration is authorizing an additional $800 million for weapons and ammunition for Ukraine, including artillery and armored personnel carriers, as it braces to defend itself from an expected new Russian offensive.

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby walked reporters through the aid package in an afternoon press briefing, saying it includes "new capabilities that we have not provided to Ukraine."

"We committed from the very beginning even before the invasion, to helping Ukraine be able to defend itself. This is a piece of that. And this is representative of the kinds of capabilities that the Ukrainians themselves have asked for and said they need as this fighting now gets focused on the eastern part of the country," he said.

"How that gets interpreted by the Russians. you can ask Mr. Putin and the Kremlin," Kirby added.



IIRC, it includes 16 heavy howitzers, 40,000 rounds for them to shoot, and counter-battery radars to help defend against Russian arty. It also includes an unstated number of APCs and "additional helicopters". According to the Pentagon spokesman interviewed, this package was specifically tailored for the expected upcoming offensive, and it also includes training some Ukrainians outside of Ukraine to operate the systems -- mainly the artillery and its accompanying radar. This directly addresses A Admiral Beez 's concerns mentioned upthread, though in numbers I think we'd all like to see increased.

fresh news - cruiser "Moskva" has been hit with Ukrainian Neptun system missile... - than looks like most potent ship of the Black Sea fleet has been eliminated from combat

Gosh, I hope this is true.

Multiple Ukrainian sources have claimed that the nation's armed forces have hit the Russian cruiser Moskva in a guided-missile attack in the Black Sea.

"It has been confirmed that the missile cruiser Moskva today went exactly where it was sent by our border guards on Snake Island!" claimed governor of Odesa Maksym Marchenko, referring to the cruiser's involvement in an attack on a Ukrainian border post. "Neptune missiles guarding the Black Sea caused very serious damage to the Russian ship."

Independent confirmation may be difficult: weather in the region is poor, with heavy cloud cover, rain and winds of about 18 knots. Moskva was last observed departing Sevastopol on April 10.

If true, the attack might be the most audacious strike yet attempted by Ukraine's coastal-defense forces. A previous Ukrainian strike at the port of Berdyansk damaged one Russian tank landing ship and sank another, resulting in an apparent loss of a shipment of munitions. But Moskva is an entirely different kind of warship: she is the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet, a Slava-class guided missile cruiser.

If the strike is confirmed, it would suggest that Ukraine's anti-ship missile inventory is capable of penetrating heavy air defenses. Among Soviet-era vessels, Moskva is the hardest of targets, possessing three fire-control radars, two search radars, two heavy antiaircraft cannons, six 30mm CIWS cannons, 20 short-range surface-to-air missiles and 64 long-range air defense missiles.


 


Further to the above:

The Pentagon said more specifically that the aid package includes 11 Mi-17 helicopters, 300 Switchblade drones, 200 M113 armored personnel carriers, 18 Howitzers and 40,000 artillery rounds, 10 counter-artillery radars, 500 Javelin missiles, unmanned coastal defense vessels and protective equipment in the event of a chemical or biological weapons attack.

 

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