Sanctions against Russia

[Bruce Tuncks]

I've been wondering about Germany. Why did they reckon Russian gas was better than nuclear ? Gas is a CO2 emitter while nuclear is not.  Germans might well be cold this winter as a result of reliance on Russian gas.

Were they so overpowered by the Greens that they acted stupidly? And what are the green's wanting?  I wonder if they are not motivated by wanting to do as much damage as they can.

France has more nuclear electricity than anybody, and they are very well placed now to be as independent as they want.

 

[facthunter]

The well meaning Angela Merkel Over reacted and got out of Nuclear too early and they TRUSTED Putin too much. France has a long running involvement with Nuclear and have done it quite well. THAT doesn't make it the answer for todays times. Any calls for bids/ tenders on building it have unit costs for the electricity Produced way up and there's always the waste and risks... Nev

[Bruce Tuncks]

The money is the only argument I care about. And what if most of the money is bureaucratic "compliance" stuff?

Nuclear these days can be made quite safe, and I can't see why putting spent stuff back in the mine is bad. 

Mind you, I thought better of the Japanese than to build a nuclear power station on a tsunami coast. We wouldn't do that would we.

[willedoo]

I often wonder if Merkel and Putin had a form of love/hate relationship, possibly due to a shared East Germany link. They are both fluent in English, German and Russian, so had no trouble conversing in each others languages without interpreters. Putin's German skills are no doubt related to his long term KGB East German posting, and Merkel's Russian probably due to her being East German.

[willedoo]

I was reading some comments from Ben Hodges, former U.S. commanding general of forces in Europe, and he said he expects the Ukrainian push to re-take Crimea to start in January or February. Taking Crimea is a big call and would certainly stir things up a bit. I think they would have to rely on the Russian forces collapsing and withdrawing, as it would be hard to invade if it was heavily defended. Apart from the sea, the only access is via three bridges, with only two coming from Ukraine.

 

If Crimea was lost, it's hard to imagine the Kremlin regime surviving. It would be hard to gloss that one over to the Russian public. If Ukraine held Crimea, it would only be a matter of time before they took back the Donbass. I wonder if next year, we will finally get to see the demise of Putin.

[kgwilson]

Zelenskyy has consistently said that Ukraine will take back ALL of Ukraines territory including the Crimean peninsular. The Winter is beginning to set in with snow falling in many parts. Ukraine needs to keep the pressure up.

 

The only area that Russia seems to be holding the line is in Donetsk region with the Wagner group. Ukraine though keeps repelling their attacks and nothing is gained. The Ukraine 72nd brigade has some of their best and most experienced soldiers and every time the Russians gain some ground they get blasted with artillery & tanks & withdraw as they did yesterday when they advanced on the town of Pavlivka.

 

Personally I think the next prize is Crimea & this will be  the fatal blow to Putin. He is running short on long range missiles & Ukraine has already slowed access via the Kerch bridge. Another decent attack on the bridge could easily put is out of action for enough time for Ukraine to take Crimea back. Ukraine has already won on the battlefield, their morale is high and Russia has lost and their morale rock bottom. The West needs to keep the supply of equipment and weapons going though or things could easily change. Logistics and supply will allow Ukraine to win. They have already shown that they can totally stuff up the Russian supply lines & this will continue while all Russia can do is fire missiles at Ukraine's civilian infrastructure.

[red750]

  Newsweek:

 

Invading Russian forces have lost an estimated 2,600 combat soldiers in less than one week as the country struggles to retain its foothold in Ukraine.

 

According to combat loss statistics shared by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry Friday, Ukrainian forces killed approximately 350 Russian soldiers on Friday alone. The total represents the slowest day of casualties this week.

 

Since Monday, Ukrainian soldiers have killed an estimated 2,600 enemy troops including a high of 710 on Tuesday, bringing the total number of Russian dead to 83,460 since the Russian invasion of the country commenced in February.

 

Russian losses this week also included several tanks and armored vehicles, while Ukrainian forces reported the shooting down of several dozen drones and cruise missiles bound for various targets around the country.

 

On Tuesday alone, Ukrainian forces shot down an estimated 73 cruise missiles in a fraught week that included an inadvertent strike on a target in Poland, killing two and escalating tensions on both sides.

 

 

[red750]

Russia has borrowed its largest amount of cash ever in a single day to raise funds for the Ukraine war, British defence chiefs have said.

 

On Wednesday, Russia’s finance ministry borrowed $13.6billion (£11.4billion) as it conducted its biggest ever debt issuance in a single day in order to continue Vladimir Putin’s faltering invasion.

 

In its latest intelligence report, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) warned that the money raised is a “key mechanism to sustain defence spending”.

 

While the amount raised suggests confidence in the current fiscal climate, the ministry is likely “anticipating an increasingly uncertain fiscal environment over the next year”, the MoD said.

 

The ministry added: “On November 16 2022, Russia conducted its largest ever debt issuance in a single day, raising RUB 820 (USD $13.6billion).

 

“This is important for Russia as debt issuance is a key mechanism to sustain defence spending, which has increased significantly since the invasion of Ukraine.

 

“Russia’s declared ‘national defence’ spending for 2023 is planned at approximately RUB 5 trillion (USD $84billion), a more than 40 per cent increase on the preliminary 2023 budget announced in 2021.”

They added: “Debt issuance is expensive during periods of uncertainty.

 

“The size of this auction highly likely indicates the Russian Ministry of Finance perceives current conditions as relatively favourable but is anticipating an increasingly uncertain fiscal environment over the next year.”

 

It comes as Russia claimed to have “successfully” carried out flight tests of its giant Satan-2 hypersonic missile.

 

No launch details were given in the announcement by the Russian defence ministry, which came amid speculation that the missile’s development was running behind schedule. Western sources are yet to verify the report.

 

The missile, officially named the RS-28 Sarmat, is as big as a 14-storey tower block and Russian propagandists regularly threaten to use it against Western enemies, especially the UK and US.

Meanwhile, investigators confirmed that “gross sabotage” ruptured the Nord Stream pipelines earlier this year after finding explosive traces on the Baltic Seabed.

 

The pipes, a major route for Russian gas supplies for Europe, were damaged in September. Russia has denied it vandalised the pipelines.

 

After suffering major setbacks in Ukraine, Russia has carried out multiple missile strikes which have allegedly destroyed almost half of the country’s energy system.

[facthunter]

Just imagine how much a REAL WAR would have cost. This is only fora Special Military Operation  that grew out of "Exercises". Yeah, Right!?.   Nev

Edited November 20, 2022 by facthunter

[Jerry_Atrick]

Imagine how much more if they paid their 300,000 mobilised troops

[Yenn]

I remember nthe Viet nam war and the Yanks had very high body counts, which proved they nwere winning the war. Funn that they suddenly colapsed and got out in a hurry.

I don't see body count as anything more than an exercise i statistics, or in other words lies.

The Ukrainian infrastructure has been mauled badly and it is going to be terribly hard for those trying to survive in the cities and towns, where the electricity is knocked out, water freezes and food is in short supply. Meanwhile we sit on the sidelines and just hope that Ukraine can hold out.

[willedoo]

Ukraine's deputy defence minister has said they expect to liberate Crimea by the end of December. It might be wishful thinking but time will tell. If they can take back significant ground in Kherson region, they might stand a chance. The further to the south east they can push, the more of Crimea comes into Himars range.

 

Despite being accused of being totally mad, Putin is still rational. He knows he can't defeat Ukraine on the battlefield, so is desperate for a negotiated cease fire on his terms. He thinks that by targeting civilian energy infrastructure through winter, Ukraine will be forced to negotiate and he at least gets to keep what he has now. It would be good to see Ukraine take Crimea in the meantime. It might silence some of the people in the west calling on Ukraine to cede territory in a negotiated settlement. Ukraine has the momentum now; why would they want to lose it and appease Putin. A breather is exactly what Putin wants, so he can reorganise and come back stronger.

[rgmwa]

Hard to see how they could take an area the size of Crimea in such a short time and in winter, but good luck to them if they think they can pull it off.

[Bruce Tuncks]

It's awful how the russians can target inside ukraine from russia with impunity. You would hope that they get just returns one day.

[willedoo]

Turkish drone manufacturer Baykar say they are still on track to have their second plant up and running in Ukraine within two years. They will manufacture the Bayraktar Kizilema, a heavy combat drone, at the Ukrainian plant. The Kizilema uses Ukrainian Ivchenko engines.

 

[willedoo]

Since 2014, Ukraine has taken down thousands of statues of Lenin. This one in Odessa was replaced with Darth Vader in exactly the same pose.

 

[facthunter]

There's no similarity with what Lenin Believed and what Poutain does.  Nev

[red750]

In Ukraine, hunting Russian tanks with American FGM-148 Javelin missiles.

IT'S ALMOST CRUEL??????????????????? 

 

 

 

[willedoo]

I think that might be from a CG video game.

[red750]

As sent to me, including text.

[rgmwa]

If it's real then it's frightening enough just to watch, let alone being a crew member in one of those tanks or trucks knowing that a missile ambush could come at any time.

[kgwilson]

It looks too perfect to be real.

[willedoo]

1 hour ago, kgwilson said:

It looks too perfect to be real.

Apparently it's been doing the rounds on Twitter for a while, and is from Arma 3 gameplay. Here's a clearer version; the footage in question starts around 1.49.

 

 

Edited November 21, 2022 by willedoo

[Old Koreelah]

I recall being excited to watch wartime footage of planes being shot down, but was sickened by the carnage inflicted on Saddam’s retreating troops in Gulf War 2. Video game or reality, we’re watching frightened young men die.

[facthunter]

tt was just a Turkey Shoot.. Nev