Politics Ukraine / Russia

Some salty dog pirate mention cheap and easy drones? How about one made out of cardboard?

It will not sink a ship, but it could take out a tank, among other things.

 

USA should be learning a lot from this war.

 

https://en.defence-ua.com/news/war_in_ukraine_driving_us_army_ew_development-7607.html

 

"The list of American security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of Russia’s “unprovoked and brutal invasion” is impressive. What is more impressive is that $21.9 billion in U.S. military aid has been dominated by largely second-string gear, comprised of unpopular or lower-tech systems that were, in many cases, on the way to the scrapyard.
As Congress gears up to constrain the Biden Administration’s relative largesse, it is worth emphasizing that the aid, to date, is neither excessive nor threatening to U.S. national security.

In fact, U.S. military support to Ukraine has cost less than what Congress is paying to procure two Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) class nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. In total, taxpayers will put some $26 billion into the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) and the USS John F. Kennedy (CVN 79). In comparison to these troubled flattops, the $21.9 billion for Ukraine appears to be a far more effective return on investment."
https://www.forbes.com/sites/craigh...-surplus-into-fearsome-force/?sh=41644861370a

 

Posting this to refute any claims that somehow USA is hurting their own military capability by helping Ukraine.
"While the numbers and lists of gear are impressive, America hasn’t given very much that might impact America’s security in any substantial way. We’ve handed over a lot of former Russian or otherwise obsolete equipment, including 45 Russian-built T-72B main battle tanks and 20 Mi-17 helicopters. Much of the gear sent to Ukraine was headed for either the scrapheap or to other allies.

To a general audience, armored personnel carriers sound impressive. The fact that America gave Ukraine some 200 M113 Armored Personnel Carriers sounds like a big deal. But military experts know that America stopped building these tracked utility vehicles about 25 years ago and is busy stripping them from the U.S. force.

Other surplus gear has gone to Ukraine. During America’s counterinsurgency conflicts, the Army procured lots of M1117 Armored Security Vehicles—a wheeled armored car—between 1999 and 2014. More appropriate for military constabulary duties than full-scale conflict, the U.S. has already been drawing down the vehicle inventory, so the 250 sent to Ukraine won’t be missed. To give an idea of where Ukraine sits in terms of donations, the U.S. gave 200 of these vehicles to Columbia in 2020. Over 700 were produced for the Afghanistan Army and 400 went to the Iraqi armed forces. At least, in Ukraine, these vehicles are directly supporting U.S. goals.

Some fancy militarized-sounding gifts have centered around mobility. A grant of almost 300-400 “Tactical Vehicles” may impress a general audience, but they’re all just military trucks built to carry between 2.5 or 5 tons.

American taxpayers gave Ukraine 477 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles (MRAPs). Built for a grinding counterinsurgency, the U.S. military has been so eager to shed the heavy, hard-to-maintain vehicles it has handed them out to police departments all over the United States."

 

IMO, the US is not doing enough...from what I understand, though they have contributed the most, but the US is still only using 5% of our military budget on Ukraine.

 

I always feel better after listening to General Ben.
General Ben Hodges responds to pessimistic view (coming from USA) of Ukraine's offensive.
He feels they are doing well considering the lack of air support and lack of long range missiles that they need desperately. He thinks their tactics of going slow with small groups of infantry are the correct ones.

As he says, Ukraine should be given enough long range rockets so that they could attack multiple targets in Crimea every day, not twice a month.
Reminds that war is a test of wills. Ukraine has the will, does the West? Also a test of logistics, which he thinks Ukraine is doing well at.
He finds it amazing that after 18 months of war, russia has not been able to hit a single train or convoy bringing arms from Poland into Ukraine.

 

9


Agree 100%

The US would never fight a war under the restrictions impossed by the politicians. Sadly, it is the innocent people that will suffer the most.

I miss the good old days when the leaders, regardless of title, lead their people into battle. Most wars lasted only a few days. Plus the inept politicians selectively culled themselves out of a job
.

 

Here's to World War None.

 

Anton Gerashchenko
@Gerashchenko_en

It's August. People outside of Ukraine are on vacations or getting ready for school. And then the news from Ukraine come. I know it's painful to read many of them as they are tragic and traumatizing. The war has already been going on for a very long time. We don't know when and how it will end. So I thank each of you who are not tired of Ukraine. Each of you who stands by us in our grief. Each of you who supports us. Each repost helps. It helps us speak up and be heard.

 

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy said that not only should Russia keep occupied areas, the US should not want Putin to fail.

I sure do.

 

@SarahAshtonLV

Official: President Zelenskyy confirmed that female pilots are training to fly the F-16 jets in Denmark.
(BTW, Sarah Ashton is an American volunteer medic in Ukraine who now does official podcasts for the army. One thing she says she loves about Ukraine is they never ask her what it's like to be transgender, they just ask her about the war.)

 

For anyone who thinks that the people of eastern Ukraine love russia, here is video of people in a recently liberated (by Ukraine) village. The sad thing is that once Ukraine liberates a village, it will be destroyed by russian artillery, so these people will be evacuated.

 

Wow, that was a very touching and very telling video...thanx for sharing.