Sanctions against Russia

[facthunter]

it's great when you can have a war and not even admit or declare it. Lie to the UN and chair it' Break every supply agreement Use trade as a weapon. Threaten to Obliterate England etc etc.  Nev

[Litespeed]

War , politics by other means 

 

When the weapons appear the law falls silent.

 

 

 

 

[willedoo]

The drone attacks on Russia's oil and gas infrastructure is starting to take effect. Their energy ministry announced that the damage has caused a 37% drop in petrol exports and a 23% drop in diesel exports. Seven facilities have been hit so far this year.

[nomadpete]

Those export losses might give Putler a mild worry but are unlikely to bother the punters much.

 

Until there are queues of cars waiting to buy their ration of petrol, the plebs will not really wake up to the folly. So far, the only impact on the important punters has been  a creeping awareness of the numbers of crying widows.

[facthunter]

Put in doesn't care about property and LIVES lost. He makes sure He's SAFE. Nev

[willedoo]

The Netherlands has pledged another six F-16s to Ukraine, bringing their contribution so far to 24. A nice squadron round figure.

[onetrack]

I saw where the G7 is nearing agreement on what to do with the US$300B in Russian frozen assets. Hopefully, it will all be used to rebuild Ukraine.

 

https://www.ft.com/content/d206baa8-3ec9-42f0-b103-2c098d0486d9

 

[willedoo]

Ukraine's President Zelensky has signed a decree to establish a new branch of the armed forces named the Unmanned Systems Forces.

[willedoo]

Drones are making a big impact on the way warfare is carried out. This BAE Systems T-650 all electric heavy lift drone is still at the concept stage. The photo shows a model in the medivac role.

Basic specs are:

     Maximum payload: 300kg
     Range without payload: 80km
     Range with max. payload: 30km
     Maximum speed: 140kmh

 

 

[Marty_d]

Jeez, you'd think they'd put a clear window for the poor bugger inside it.   

[facthunter]

Better you DON'T KNOW what's happening?  Nev

[onetrack]

Ukrainians: (to injured mate) - "You'll be right, mate! We're sending you back in a drone to a field hospital, so you can get fixed up! You're safe!"

 

Russians: "Oh, look!! There's one of those new bloody Ukrainian drones!! BOO-OO-OOMM!!!! I GOT IT!!!" 

[kgwilson]

If it is taking a casualty from the front line back to a medivac centre you can guarantee it will hug the ground to avoid being seen by the enemy or radar & it will know how to avoid objects and change course at will to avoid detection.

[willedoo]

Ukraine is really ramping up domestic production of drones, especially small FPV drones. There's a lot of civilian volunteers assembling them at home.

[spenaroo]

On 07/02/2024 at 1:21 PM, willedoo said:

Drones are making a big impact on the way warfare is carried out. This BAE Systems T-650 all electric heavy lift drone is still at the concept stage. The photo shows a model in the medivac role.

Basic specs are:

     Maximum payload: 300kg
     Range without payload: 80km
     Range with max. payload: 30km
     Maximum speed: 140kmh

 

 

Going to make for an interesting MASH reboot

 

"attention all, drones incoming" - cue theme music

[onetrack]

Russia has had a massive explosion at a missile factory. Despite all the photos of a massive explosion and fire, the Russians immediately denied any fire or explosion. Then a little later, they admitted there had been a blast, but it was a "scheduled test of an ICBM rocket engine".

 

 

 

Edited February 9 by onetrack

[willedoo]

Ending weeks of speculation, Zelensky sacked military commander General Zaluzhny and replaced him with Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi. Zaluzhny was awarded the top 'Hero of Ukraine' award on his way out.

[onetrack]

He got replaced because he failed to get worthwhile results, just like everyone in top military positions does. In WW2, hundreds of top commanders were abruptly relieved of their command when they failed to get the required and expected results. Some were obviously too concerned about protecting the lives of the men under them.

 

General Sir John Monash was deeply upset about the loss of lives of men under him, but he ensured, with superb and meticulous planning, that all his military operations were successful and casualty losses were minimised. The men under him loved him, they were in awe of his competence and leadership ability.

 

Zaluzhny would have done well to study up on John Monash's career and modus operandi, just as Gen. George Patton studied up on every successful military leader dating back to Greco-Roman times, to the point where he suffered from severe eye strain.

One of Pattons leadership points was, "Select leaders for accomplishment, and not for affection". The armies of both Ukraine and the U.S. need more Pattons and Monashs.

[willedoo]

After the failed counter-offensive and taking into account the lack of equipment and men, Zaluzhny decided on a plan of active defence. That really only leads to a stalemate (which it currently is) and I can see how the political wing would be frustrated with the lack of success. The new bloke, who was the ground forces commander, will be attempting a bit more offensive action. His plans also include trying to rotate front line troops more often to give them a rest, and also highlighting striking logistics behind the lines using technology and intelligence.

 

It will be interesting to see how long Zelensky himself lasts. One problem for him is further mobilisation (conscription) which he is reluctant to do as it's not publicly popular. From a purely military standpoint they need to do it, but it's politically risky for Zelensky. As far as the stalemate goes, the politicians want answers and progress. It might be a fresh change; there's no doubt Zaluzhny would be getting a bit worn out by now.

[onetrack]

A fresh set of eyes and a new mind will pick up opportunities to seriously hit and demoralise the Orcs, that Zaluzhny missed. Fully 75% of War effort is based on demoralising the enemy, the psychological upper hand is critical, if you want to win Wars.

This is where the Nth Vietnamese won, they demoralised the Americans over 10 years - even though on paper, the Americans should have walked in and demolished the NVA within months.

[facthunter]

No one has conquered Afghanistan. The Yanks used/helped the Mujahedeen to kick them out. No wonder Russia hates the US..   Nev

[kgwilson]

The US has an uncanny knack of alienating the local populations wherever they are involved and that is not only in a hostile situation and it is not only political. Remember to "over paid, over sexed and over here" complaints during WW2. Not many countries want them there but they are often tolerated because of the economic benefits bringing money in to their economies.

[Litespeed]

14 hours ago, facthunter said:

No one has conquered Afghanistan. The Yanks used/helped the Mujahedeen to kick them out. No wonder Russia hates the US..   Nev

Yes they used the Mujahideen and that would piss Russia off. 

 

But as per usual their meddling created a nightmare of global proportion, they helped create Al Qaeda and they trained and armed the Taliban.

 

In reality they Russians should be very happy overall for all the chaos, blood and treasure the US has befallen on themselves. I doubt Putin gave a damn about the body count of locals, as long as the US bleed.

[facthunter]

Like many of HIS ilk He cares not how many die as long as he isn't one of them. He's super RICH because he's a CROOK and a power seeking LIAR.   Nev

[willedoo]

Here's a photo of one of the tandem Maxim machine gun units the Ukrainians are using to shoot down suicide drones. They're well suited to the role with water cooling enabling extended firing time. In February of 2022, they reactivated 30,000 Maxims from storage. Not bad for a design from the 1880's. These ex Soviet variants are chambered for the 7.62x54R rimmed cartridge. I would imagine their short range would limit them to being a last line of defence against low flying drones.