Get Ya Wig Split
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It's time to end this madness and increase the NATO defense budget to $2TRILLION dollars (4% of GDP). Enough of this bullshit.
Russia-Ukraine War - News and Developments PART 2
- Thread starter waz
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It's time to end this madness and increase the NATO defense budget to $2TRILLION dollars (4% of GDP). Enough of this bullshit.
aviator_fan
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Thats a fair point. If Hizbollah only cares about what its in Lebanon vs. the destruction Israel has caused in the region, they can start with trash collection in the city, and containing inflation, and making sure people with money in the bank are allowed to withdraw their cash. Lebanon has gone from a prosperous nation to a 4th world country, and its under the watch of Hizbollah and other similar parties.
They are their country's worst enemy
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aviator_fan
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I have no way of knowing if this is true and this could be as not credible as the twitter posts of how Russia is all victorious and Ukraine about to collapse (have been seeing those for a year).
I will probably discount most of these claims by 50% (it says 180K casualties)
https://digitaledition.ft.com/article/281578064840391
Putin’s forces ‘advancing, if at all, in metres not kilometres’
Financial Times USA
18 Feb 2023
ROULA KHALAF AND JOHN PAUL RATHBONE
The Russian army is suffering huge losses in Ukraine, shows no sign it has improved its “meat grinder” tactics and is struggling to sustain a faltering offensive that is “advancing, if at all, in metres not kilometres”, UK defence minister Ben Wallace has said. Despite fears that Russia is poised to launch a major attack around the first anniversary of its invasion of Ukraine, Wallace said there was “no evidence of a big massing of Russian forces”.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, Wallace said the best Moscow had managed so far was a series of probing attacks along the front line that had led to high Russian casualties.
Further, Kyiv’s western allies were “more resolved than ever” to help Ukraine repel Rus- sian forces and a sign of that was a strengthening of support of the US, which was now “committed to seeing the conflict through to the end”.
“There is no evidence to date of a great, big Russian offensive,” Wallace said yesterday. “What we have seen is an advance on all fronts, but at the expense of thousands of lives . . . We should actually question the assertion that they [the Russians] can go on.”
There has also been a shift in attitude about military aid among Kyiv’s western allies. This time last year, he said, they were debating whether to send anti-tank missiles to Kyiv. Now they are sending western main battle tanks.
“What has changed is that the US has decided to be more assertive,” Wallace said, citing the near-$8bn of military aid Washington has committed this year.
“Just think about it: we [western allies] have convened twice in the past three weeks [to discuss military aid], at the Ramstein [US air base in Germany] and at the Nato defence ministers meeting this week. That is a big change.”
One bridge that Kyiv’s allies have not yet crossed, however, is the provision of fighter jets to Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made an eloquent plea for “wings for freedom” during a visit to London this month.
But Wallace cautioned that was still a long way off and that the modern fighter jet training the UK had offered to Ukrainian pilots was a “long-term resilience measure for after the war, when Ukraine needs to defend itself”.
Wallace’s assessment comes as Moscow’s invasion approaches its first anniversary next week. Since the start of the war more than 180,000 Russian troops have been killed or wounded and, according to US estimates, two-thirds of its tanks have been lost, he said.
Despite the losses, Wallace said there was no sign the Russian army had altered its “meat grinder” approach, citing reports that 3,000 Russian soldiers had died during a three-day attack last week on Vuhledar in southern Ukraine.
“Recruits are still being shoved into the meat grinder,” Wallace said. “And I am not sure that is sustainable, even for Russia, as 180,000 people have wives, mothers, sisters and friends and it becomes impossible for the scale of loss to be hidden from the Russian people.”
Western officials also believe that Russia is struggling to source weapons and other mater- iel for its war effort. They cite the long gaps between its missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure, and “active rationing” of shells for Russian artillery at the front.
Kyiv’s western allies are similarly struggling to maintain supplies of artillery shells and other munitions and weaponry to Ukraine. However, Wallace said that while Ukraine might be suffering some shortages, this was a timing issue and Kyiv’s western backers had no strategic problem in continuing to supply Ukraine’s war effort.
“There’s always been a sense of shortages on [Ukraine’s] front line, but I don’t see any sign of strategic shortages . . . although there is a bit of a time lag” in getting supplies, Wallace said, adding the challenge was for Ukrainian forces to be precise in using their weaponry.
This is the one thing that unites these parties: to continue support. Lets see where this goes.
www.politico.com
The bipartisan push from Capitol Hill comes after a coordinated U.S.-German decision to send main battle tanks to the front lines. After some wrangling, the U.S. agreed to send Abrams tanks at a future point while Germany will donate Leopard tanks that will enter the field sooner.
But Biden appeared to reject sending F-16s to Ukraine last month, though the president later said he’d speak to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Even if Biden elected not to send U.S. F-16s, other Western nations that fly the American-made fighters could send them to Ukraine, though the U.S. would need to approve the transfer.
POLITICO reported the move has picked up steam at the Pentagon. But some argue there’s a greater need for artillery, air defenses and armor for Ukraine.
U.S.-made F-16s have been on Kyiv’s wish list for weapons since Russia’s invasion began a year ago. Lawmakers have also said the U.S. should send F-16s to Eastern European that transfer their old MiG fighters to Ukraine. That move won bipartisan support, though a weapons swap never came.
In their pitch to Biden, the lawmakers argued a decision on F-16s “must be made quickly” given the time needed to train Ukrainian pilots.
Still, they noted many Ukrainian pilots have already trained with the U.S. military in major exercises before the war and argued sending the jets “represents a sound strategic investment in bolstering Kiev’s military capability and bringing this conflict to a just conclusion.”
I will probably discount most of these claims by 50% (it says 180K casualties)
https://digitaledition.ft.com/article/281578064840391
Putin’s forces ‘advancing, if at all, in metres not kilometres’
Putin’s forces ‘advancing, if at all, in metres not kilometres’
Financial Times USA
18 Feb 2023
ROULA KHALAF AND JOHN PAUL RATHBONE
The Russian army is suffering huge losses in Ukraine, shows no sign it has improved its “meat grinder” tactics and is struggling to sustain a faltering offensive that is “advancing, if at all, in metres not kilometres”, UK defence minister Ben Wallace has said. Despite fears that Russia is poised to launch a major attack around the first anniversary of its invasion of Ukraine, Wallace said there was “no evidence of a big massing of Russian forces”.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, Wallace said the best Moscow had managed so far was a series of probing attacks along the front line that had led to high Russian casualties.
Further, Kyiv’s western allies were “more resolved than ever” to help Ukraine repel Rus- sian forces and a sign of that was a strengthening of support of the US, which was now “committed to seeing the conflict through to the end”.
“There is no evidence to date of a great, big Russian offensive,” Wallace said yesterday. “What we have seen is an advance on all fronts, but at the expense of thousands of lives . . . We should actually question the assertion that they [the Russians] can go on.”
There has also been a shift in attitude about military aid among Kyiv’s western allies. This time last year, he said, they were debating whether to send anti-tank missiles to Kyiv. Now they are sending western main battle tanks.
“What has changed is that the US has decided to be more assertive,” Wallace said, citing the near-$8bn of military aid Washington has committed this year.
“Just think about it: we [western allies] have convened twice in the past three weeks [to discuss military aid], at the Ramstein [US air base in Germany] and at the Nato defence ministers meeting this week. That is a big change.”
One bridge that Kyiv’s allies have not yet crossed, however, is the provision of fighter jets to Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made an eloquent plea for “wings for freedom” during a visit to London this month.
But Wallace cautioned that was still a long way off and that the modern fighter jet training the UK had offered to Ukrainian pilots was a “long-term resilience measure for after the war, when Ukraine needs to defend itself”.
Wallace’s assessment comes as Moscow’s invasion approaches its first anniversary next week. Since the start of the war more than 180,000 Russian troops have been killed or wounded and, according to US estimates, two-thirds of its tanks have been lost, he said.
Despite the losses, Wallace said there was no sign the Russian army had altered its “meat grinder” approach, citing reports that 3,000 Russian soldiers had died during a three-day attack last week on Vuhledar in southern Ukraine.
“Recruits are still being shoved into the meat grinder,” Wallace said. “And I am not sure that is sustainable, even for Russia, as 180,000 people have wives, mothers, sisters and friends and it becomes impossible for the scale of loss to be hidden from the Russian people.”
Western officials also believe that Russia is struggling to source weapons and other mater- iel for its war effort. They cite the long gaps between its missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure, and “active rationing” of shells for Russian artillery at the front.
Kyiv’s western allies are similarly struggling to maintain supplies of artillery shells and other munitions and weaponry to Ukraine. However, Wallace said that while Ukraine might be suffering some shortages, this was a timing issue and Kyiv’s western backers had no strategic problem in continuing to supply Ukraine’s war effort.
“There’s always been a sense of shortages on [Ukraine’s] front line, but I don’t see any sign of strategic shortages . . . although there is a bit of a time lag” in getting supplies, Wallace said, adding the challenge was for Ukrainian forces to be precise in using their weaponry.
This is the one thing that unites these parties: to continue support. Lets see where this goes.
Democrats, Republicans join up to urge Biden to send F-16s to Ukraine
House lawmakers argue fighter jets "could prove decisive for control of Ukrainian airspace this year."
www.politico.com
Democrats, Republicans join up to urge Biden to send F-16s to Ukraine
The bipartisan push from Capitol Hill comes after a coordinated U.S.-German decision to send main battle tanks to the front lines. After some wrangling, the U.S. agreed to send Abrams tanks at a future point while Germany will donate Leopard tanks that will enter the field sooner.
But Biden appeared to reject sending F-16s to Ukraine last month, though the president later said he’d speak to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Even if Biden elected not to send U.S. F-16s, other Western nations that fly the American-made fighters could send them to Ukraine, though the U.S. would need to approve the transfer.
POLITICO reported the move has picked up steam at the Pentagon. But some argue there’s a greater need for artillery, air defenses and armor for Ukraine.
U.S.-made F-16s have been on Kyiv’s wish list for weapons since Russia’s invasion began a year ago. Lawmakers have also said the U.S. should send F-16s to Eastern European that transfer their old MiG fighters to Ukraine. That move won bipartisan support, though a weapons swap never came.
In their pitch to Biden, the lawmakers argued a decision on F-16s “must be made quickly” given the time needed to train Ukrainian pilots.
Still, they noted many Ukrainian pilots have already trained with the U.S. military in major exercises before the war and argued sending the jets “represents a sound strategic investment in bolstering Kiev’s military capability and bringing this conflict to a just conclusion.”
aviator_fan
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In the scenario that even if Putin reclaims what Russia had April of last year, where does it strategically land Russia and future prosperity. Its largest and most profitable customer is gone.
It will get squeezed by others as they will know Russia will sell for cheap. And green transition got accelerated. Ruined the country but saved the planet is what he will be known for if nuclear war does not take place.
digitaledition.ft.com
DAVID SHEPPARD
The benchmark gas price yesterday fell below €50 per megawatt hour for the first time in almost 18 months, as traders report growing confidence that European countries will avoid shortages this winter and next.
Helped by mild weather, ample storage and efforts to source alternative supplies, European gas prices have tumbled by as much as 85 per cent since August 2022, when big cuts in Russian supplies led to alarm about possible blackouts. The benchmark, which peaked at more than €300/MWh in August, hit €48.10/MWh yesterday.
“Europe looks like it has successfully weaned itself off Russian gas,” said Henning Gloystein, at consultancy Eurasia Group. He added that gas was “still expensive, but no longer needs to price in the risk of outright shortages”.
The return of prices to 2021 levels marks a setback for Putin before the first anniversary of the Ukraine war on February 24. Moscow’s energy income, which initially soared after the invasion and helped fund its military offensive, has slumped. Russia’s oil now sells at a deep discount and gas prices are no longer high enough to compensate for the country’s drop in export volumes.
The fall in prices has also stoked expectations that EU countries and the UK may experience only a mild recession this year, or could entirely avoid a contraction. The European Commission says the price slide, combined with government and household spending, has boosted the EU’s short-term prospects.
Household bills are unlikely to fall as fast, as suppliers will have hedged gas and electricity for consumers when prices were at much higher levels. But the decline in the wholesale price should eventually feed through to lower bills.
Soaring gas prices had stoked a cost of living crisis and fed into high inflation since Russia initially squeezed supplies in 2021. Moscow then slashed exports in retaliation for western support for Ukraine following the invasion.
Prices remain elevated compared with historical levels of about €10 to €30 per megawatt hour but analysts said that they no longer threatened to trigger a deep recession across Europe.
Gas prices, which last summer were so expensive that they were equivalent to almost $500 a barrel of oil, have now fallen to the equivalent of about $85 a barrel. The Brent oil benchmark was trading at about $82.50 yesterday.
With only six weeks of winter remaining, gas-storage levels in Europe, one of the key metrics for avoiding shortages, stood at about 65 per cent full as of Wednesday, according to trade group Gas Infrastructure Europe. That is well above normal levels for the time of year.
Gloystein said industrial gas demand in Europe has fallen about 20 per cent in the past year without a significant drop in manufacturing output because of greater efficiencies and fuel switching.
Tom Marzec-Manser, at ICIS consultancy, cautioned that the drop in prices may start to stoke demand for gas in Asia, particularly as China’s economy reopens. “This means that, while the TTF [benchmark price] is creeping lower, any fallback to pre-Covid wholesale gas prices is unlikely to happen yet.”
It will get squeezed by others as they will know Russia will sell for cheap. And green transition got accelerated. Ruined the country but saved the planet is what he will be known for if nuclear war does not take place.
Financial Times
News, analysis and comment from the Financial Times, the worldʼs leading global business publication
European gas price hits 18-month low
▶ Benchmark falls below €50 level ▶ Mild weather boosts storage ▶ Setback for Moscow
DAVID SHEPPARD
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The benchmark gas price yesterday fell below €50 per megawatt hour for the first time in almost 18 months, as traders report growing confidence that European countries will avoid shortages this winter and next.
Helped by mild weather, ample storage and efforts to source alternative supplies, European gas prices have tumbled by as much as 85 per cent since August 2022, when big cuts in Russian supplies led to alarm about possible blackouts. The benchmark, which peaked at more than €300/MWh in August, hit €48.10/MWh yesterday.
“Europe looks like it has successfully weaned itself off Russian gas,” said Henning Gloystein, at consultancy Eurasia Group. He added that gas was “still expensive, but no longer needs to price in the risk of outright shortages”.
The return of prices to 2021 levels marks a setback for Putin before the first anniversary of the Ukraine war on February 24. Moscow’s energy income, which initially soared after the invasion and helped fund its military offensive, has slumped. Russia’s oil now sells at a deep discount and gas prices are no longer high enough to compensate for the country’s drop in export volumes.
The fall in prices has also stoked expectations that EU countries and the UK may experience only a mild recession this year, or could entirely avoid a contraction. The European Commission says the price slide, combined with government and household spending, has boosted the EU’s short-term prospects.
Household bills are unlikely to fall as fast, as suppliers will have hedged gas and electricity for consumers when prices were at much higher levels. But the decline in the wholesale price should eventually feed through to lower bills.
Soaring gas prices had stoked a cost of living crisis and fed into high inflation since Russia initially squeezed supplies in 2021. Moscow then slashed exports in retaliation for western support for Ukraine following the invasion.
Prices remain elevated compared with historical levels of about €10 to €30 per megawatt hour but analysts said that they no longer threatened to trigger a deep recession across Europe.
Gas prices, which last summer were so expensive that they were equivalent to almost $500 a barrel of oil, have now fallen to the equivalent of about $85 a barrel. The Brent oil benchmark was trading at about $82.50 yesterday.
With only six weeks of winter remaining, gas-storage levels in Europe, one of the key metrics for avoiding shortages, stood at about 65 per cent full as of Wednesday, according to trade group Gas Infrastructure Europe. That is well above normal levels for the time of year.
Gloystein said industrial gas demand in Europe has fallen about 20 per cent in the past year without a significant drop in manufacturing output because of greater efficiencies and fuel switching.
Tom Marzec-Manser, at ICIS consultancy, cautioned that the drop in prices may start to stoke demand for gas in Asia, particularly as China’s economy reopens. “This means that, while the TTF [benchmark price] is creeping lower, any fallback to pre-Covid wholesale gas prices is unlikely to happen yet.”
A.P. Richelieu
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You have not provided a single source proving that Europeans delivered Chemical Weapons so far.
What we know:
European have delivered medical equipment and raw materials.
The US Intelligence Service suspected Iraq was developing Chemical Weapons.
Viet
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It’s worse. The entire 155th marine infantry brigade is wiped out. They are Russia’s most elite brigade they were stationed in the far east. 5,000 men. If they are the best but cannot overcome Ukraine defence then Russia invasion will end in catastrophe and disaster.
Viet
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Putin is deeply disappointed. His hand, leg, body shaking.
At the meeting in Moscow Lukashenko says Belarus will not enter the war, unless Ukraine attacks the country.
That translates to: hey that’s your war not mine. Don’t drag me in.
At the meeting in Moscow Lukashenko says Belarus will not enter the war, unless Ukraine attacks the country.
That translates to: hey that’s your war not mine. Don’t drag me in.
Hack-Hook
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well Hezbollah provide many services in southern Lebanon that usually in other countries are provided by the government. but as effective as Lebanon government is .....
about Golan when SAA sit and do nothing
what you expect Hezbollah do?
I'm not aware of any medical equipment used in building thabun and Sarin
and european built the factory that produced those gases so they knew what they built and i provided documents that they failed to write in shgipping manifest the chemical agents they sold to iraq and that it tell tell sign of they knew what they were used for .
and when the undeniable evidence of use of chemical weapons by saddam against civillians provided to unsc usa protected iraq and tried to blame Iran for it
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That a question or a fact? Cause why they sending tanks then if they believe Ukraine is lost?
You act like Russia is fighting alone when you have North Korea and Iran helping them. If Russia has inexhaustible supply and resources and take huge losses, then why back then when it was a superpower, lost Afghanistan during the 1980s with only 15k losses?
