Russia Invades Ukraine

[Cade]

USA has now disclosed that they sent the long range ATACMs to Ukraine back in March and they're been used twice already.

They just kept it all quiet until the aid package got signed.

 

[Pap]

1 hour ago, Cade said:

Single warhead versions, the big boy ones.

 

 

[Class of 75]

2 hours ago, Cade said:

Single warhead versions, the big boy ones.

Brilliant, hopefully the tide is turning 🤞

[Mikey1874]

14 hours ago, Cade said:

300km range variant of ATACMS approved for Ukraine.

They're already in Germany and Poland so delivery will be swift.

Ukraine has constantly stated (from the start of this year) that they're going to destroy the Kerch bridge over the dates of 7/8/9 May (WW2 victory day in Russia)

And now they actually have an easy way to do it.

They've been smashing Russian air defence all along the front this week, especially long range radar systems.

 

 

 

 

As you said 

 

 

[Mikey1874]

13 hours ago, Cade said:

USA has now disclosed that they sent the long range ATACMs to Ukraine back in March and they're been used twice already.

They just kept it all quiet until the aid package got signed.

 

 

 

[Class of 75]

5 minutes ago, Mikey1874 said:

 

 

Game changer. 

[Pap]

Too little too late, 5 million Ukranian soldiers dead.

[AlimOzturk]

6 minutes ago, Pap said:

Too little too late, 5 million Ukranian soldiers dead.

Never to late 

[The Real Maroonblood]

47 minutes ago, Pap said:

Too little too late, 5 million Ukranian soldiers dead.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-68397525#:~:text=US officials in August put,tens of thousands more injured.

[Pap]

1 hour ago, AlimOzturk said:

Never to late 

 

19 minutes ago, The Real Maroonblood said:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-68397525#:~:text=US officials in August put,tens of thousands more injured.

 

C'mon lads. You know who my post was aimed at

[Jeff]

1 hour ago, Pap said:

Too little too late, 5 million Ukranian soldiers dead.

 

that adds up to 750billion widows. Putin #1

[Cade]

Russians have managed to capture a Leopard 2A6, which is one of the more modern variants.

The tank in question lost a track in a minefield and then got hit by an anti tank missile several months ago.

The crew all survived and made it back to Ukrainian lines.

Numerous firefights over the tank were held over the last few months as both sides tried to recover it.

The Russians finally managed to drag it from the field and have taken it back to Moscow for study.

I'm unsure as to why the Ukrainians didn't just smash it with artillery to deny it to the Russians, but that's by the by.

Don't be expecting knock-offs to come pouring out of Russian factories; they can't even produce their own new tanks, never mind reverse engineering ours.

 

[Jeff]

3 minutes ago, Cade said:

Russians have managed to capture a Leopard 2A6, which is one of the more modern variants.

The tank in question lost a track in a minefield and then got hit by an anti tank missile several months ago.

The crew all survived and made it back to Ukrainian lines.

Numerous firefights over the tank were held over the last few months as both sides tried to recover it.

The Russians finally managed to drag it from the field and have taken it back to Moscow for study.

I'm unsure as to why the Ukrainians didn't just smash it with artillery to deny it to the Russians, but that's by the by.

Don't be expecting knock-offs to come pouring out of Russian factories; they can't even produce their own new tanks, never mind reverse engineering ours.

 

 

It's a trap. Let them have a faulty version

[Mikey1874]

Ukraine under pressure for territory and positions but still doing this sort of thing.

 

 

[Cruyff]

The military aid needs to come soon. It's almost as if the West wants Russia to capture the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts before allowing Ukraine the equipment. Same sort of thing with the missiles and drones. They told Ukraine to stop hitting Russian refineries and any big targets using Storm Shadow or other cruise missiles seem only allowed to be hit if NATO allows. 

 

Ukraine are fighting with one hand behind their backs. If they had given them everything to begin with, they would probably have retaken a lot of the territory they have lost. 

 

The Russians are producing and stockpiling masses of equipment which will allow them to fight at a high intensity for another 4-5 years.

 

I don't see the West continuing to provide that level of support it needs to for Ukraine to recapture all of it's territory. 

 

The west are angling for negotiations and are trying to control the war. They don't want Russia to win but it's clear they don't want them to lose either. 

 

It's quite worrying tbh and I think Russia could start to take a lot of ground in the coming months as it intensifies it's offensive operations. 

[Cade]

Western military goods are finally making it to where they need to be.

 

On the Kherson front in the south west, French supplied gliding bombs are being used to take pressure off the small beach-head and keep a large number of Russian units tied up down there.
As usual, Ukraine is hitting command posts, staging areas, ammo dumps, that kind of tasty target.

In return, the Russians decided to fire a cluster bomb armed ballistic missile at a holiday resort and fitness club in Odesa, killing civilians who were out walking their dogs. 

 

At the other end of Ukraine, in the north west, the Ukrainians took out 120~ Russian troops as well as a few dozen vehicles and other equipment at a training ground deep behind the lines.

Cluster munition armed ATACMS were used here and absolutely devastated the Russians.

This may have prevented a new offensive in that direction, as the Russians now know their build up of troops has been detected.

 

On the eastern front between Bakhmut and Avdiivka, the Russians continue to inch their way forward, but suffering massive casualties and equipment losses.
Ukraine has had to rely on drones and man portable weapons here due to ammunition shortages for their big guns, but that issue will be sorted in the next week or two.

 

In the south east, the Russians attacked Vuhledar, again. And got totally destroyed, again.

 

In Moscow, the parading of captured Western equipment in Red Square hasn't exactly had the effect that Putin intended. Instead of being triumphant and increasing morale, Russian members of the public are reacting in shock at the gear their boys are having to face. 

 

All eyes are on Crimea this week, with Ukraine still planning to finally destroy the Kerch Bridge on or around the 9th of May (Russian Victory Day, commemorating WW2).

 

One final note is that Russia has issued an arrest warrant for Ukraine's President Zelenksy on unspecified charges. Aye, good luck with that ya dicks.

[Cranston]

On 27/04/2024 at 11:25, Cruyff said:

The military aid needs to come soon. It's almost as if the West wants Russia to capture the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts before allowing Ukraine the equipment. Same sort of thing with the missiles and drones. They told Ukraine to stop hitting Russian refineries and any big targets using Storm Shadow or other cruise missiles seem only allowed to be hit if NATO allows. 

 

Ukraine are fighting with one hand behind their backs. If they had given them everything to begin with, they would probably have retaken a lot of the territory they have lost. 

 

The Russians are producing and stockpiling masses of equipment which will allow them to fight at a high intensity for another 4-5 years.

 

I don't see the West continuing to provide that level of support it needs to for Ukraine to recapture all of it's territory. 

 

The west are angling for negotiations and are trying to control the war. They don't want Russia to win but it's clear they don't want them to lose either. 

 

It's quite worrying tbh and I think Russia could start to take a lot of ground in the coming months as it intensifies it's offensive operations. 

A sensible way forward. The last thing we need are gung ho madmen warmongers dictating the West's approach. Better to tread carefully against the Russians, and keep negotiation lines open to the Russians. This is a very precarious situation, that requires calm cool heads.

[Mikey1874]

1 minute ago, Cranston said:

A sensible way forward. The last thing we need are gung ho madmen warmongers dictating the West's approach. Better to tread carefully against the Russians, and keep negotiation lines open to the Russians. This is a very precarious situation, that requires calm cool heads.

 

Not sure the Russians have agreed in any way to pay compensation, return all kidnapped citizens to Ukraine, and release all prisoners including those sentenced.

 

For example. All the people asking for negotiations are ignoring all these factors. 

 

All the people asking for negotiations want Ukraine to give up territory but haven't stated which territory in their own countries they want to give up. 

[Cranston]

25 minutes ago, Mikey1874 said:

 

Not sure the Russians have agreed in any way to pay compensation, return all kidnapped citizens to Ukraine, and release all prisoners including those sentenced.

 

For example. All the people asking for negotiations are ignoring all these factors. 

 

All the people asking for negotiations want Ukraine to give up territory but haven't stated which territory in their own countries they want to give up. 

I'm sure you'll agree, that none of us want a situation, in which, the war in Ukraine, that has the potential to be contained, escalating into something far far worse. I understand your points, and wish they could be resolved, without more blood shed, but its not simple.

[Cade]

David Cameron: "We have no problem with Ukraine using British supplied ammunition to attack military targets inside Russia"

Putin: "All British military assets around the world are legitimate targets"  

We'll just ignore North Korean, Iranian and Chinese weapons being used against Ukraine, shall we, Mr Putin?

 

Macron: "We might send some French troops into Ukraine to train the Ukrainians in how to use the gear we just gave them"
Putin: "We're running nuclear weapons readiness tests"  

 

 

 

[Cade]

And a new one from the Orcs:

"We will consider every F-16 to be carrying nuclear missiles and act accordingly" 

[Sawdust Caesar]

 

[Mikey1874]

 

[Cade]

For the 2nd year in a row, the Victory Day parade in Red Square featured only a single tank, an ancient T-34/85.

It rolled off the back of a truck just around the corner from Red Square, drove past Putin then went right back on the truck and away to the museum again.

The best thing is that this particular tank is very well known.

It was built in 1955.

In Czechoslovakia.

Refurbed in 1963, then sold to North Korea.
Russia bought it off the North Koreans about 20 years ago because all it's other relic WW2 tanks had broken down beyond repair.

 

 

[Cade]

Russia has opened another front, in the north-east, attacking south over the Russian border towards Kharkiv.

Several villages have been shelled by the Russians and Ukraine is evacuating civilians all along the border region.

Ukraine says it's repulsed all the attacks so far and hasn't lost any ground.

 

In other news, Ukraine managed to hit another oil refinery deep within Russia, this time penetrating 1,500km (900 miles) behind the lines.

Again, it was a light aircraft which had been packed with explosives and converted into a large kamikaze "drone".

Due to the slow speed of the aircraft, it must have been flying for almost half a day to reach its target.

Half a day, all the way across Russia without being spotted or intercepted.

[Mikey1874]

 

[Jeff]

think heading towards Kharkiv will be a huge error by the Russians at this stage

[Cade]

They've not got enough capability to take Kharkiv, it's a massive city with a population well over a million.

They're just trying to tie up large numbers of Ukrainian defenders away from their push in the Donbas.

[OBE]

7 hours ago, Sawdust Caesar said:

 

 

Sanctions kicking in, good breaks on the lead car, paper mashie on car 2 and 3...long, long may it continue...😁

[Mikey1874]

Even while nations, including the EU are talking about 'stealing" Russian frozen assets to give to Ukraine, we could offer one small step towards a solution. Help bring Russia to the negotiating table.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let Russia back into Eurovision next year. 

[Cruyff]

17 hours ago, Cade said:

They've not got enough capability to take Kharkiv, it's a massive city with a population well over a million.

They're just trying to tie up large numbers of Ukrainian defenders away from their push in the Donbas.

Yep. They know the Ukrainians are thinly spread and they'll have to pour resources into defending that axis. 

It's also to create a buffer zone between Beograd and Ukrainian artillery. 

They'd need 100,000 troops and massive firepower to take Kharkiv. It'll be a fortress. The Ukrainians will have fortified the area surrounding the City. 

 

But don't be surprised if this is just the first move by the Russians before beginning offensives in the Donbas or in another area. 

[Cade]

Putin has reshuffled his war cabinet in a bit of a surprise.

 

Sergei Shoigu is out as defence minster after 12 years in the job, he's being moved to secretary of the security council.

He's being replaced with Andrei Belousov, who is an economist, perhaps in a move attempting to stop the massive corruption in the Russian army.

Nikolai Patrushev, the current secretary of the security council, will be moving to a new post but nobody knows what.

 

On the ground in Kharkiv, the new Russian offensive has hit the Ukrainian meat grinder with predictable results.

There's a trail of blackened and burning tanks, vehicles and bodies strewn all the way back to the border.

 

In Donetsk, Ukraine killed several high ranking officers in a HIMARS strike on a restaurant, where they had gathered to celebrate Victory Day.

 

In Crimea, Ukraine used ATACMS to take out a huge radar installation, killing the commanding officer in the process.

 

In Belgorod, Russia, an apartment block was struck by an explosions and partially demolished. Russia immediately blamed Ukraine until video footage showed the explosion coming from the north, so it was likely a Russian missile (or even an FSB false flag, as they did before the Chechen war)

Russian munitions falling short in Belgorod region is not an uncommon event but this time instead of hitting a field or a road it hit a building.

Edited Monday at 17:26 by Cade

[Cade]

Russia's Belbek airbase in occupied Crimea was visited by ATACMS last night.
So far the damage runs to 

1 mig-31 plane
3 su-27 planes
1 S300 anti aircraft system
1 S400 anti aircraft system

11 dead

[Footballfirst]

Reports of an attempted assassination attempt on Solvakian PM Robert Fico.  

 

Despite Slovakia's EU membership, he is widely considered to be pro Russian, anti sanctions and unwilling to supply arms/support to Ukraine.

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-europe-69016687

 

Edited Wednesday at 14:05 by Footballfirst

[Ulysses]

10 minutes ago, Footballfirst said:

Reports of an attempted assassination attempt on Solvakian PM Robert Fico.  

 

Despite Slovakia's EU membership, he is widely considered to be pro Russian, anti sanctions and unwilling to supply arms/support to Ukraine.

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-europe-69016687

 

 

He was at first reported to have injuries that weren't life threatening, but the latest update says that they are.  Also reports that the shooter has been detained.

[escobri]

Could be plenty  🍿 this summer. Shoul keep the war fan dans happy on here.

[Footballfirst]

1 hour ago, Ulysses said:

 

He was at first reported to have injuries that weren't life threatening, but the latest update says that they are.  Also reports that the shooter has been detained.

A couple of video clips in this tweet that shows Fico being helped into a car and the other showing the guy being restrained.

 

 

[Cade]

Belbek airbase in Crimea has been hit by even more ATACMS overnight, as well as another airbase a bit further south AND the submarine base at Balaklava.

Despite Putin's constant "nuclear war red line" of ATACMS being used in Crimea, there is no immediate indication that WW3 happened overnight without anybody noticing.

 

Thanks to their new front opened in the north of Kharkiv, Russia is losing more than 1,500 men per day at the moment.

There are also reports of another build-up of Russian equipment in Belarus, so that points to yet another front being opened in the north-west, across the Belarus border.

Seems that the Russians are trying to stretch the Ukrainians along the entire length of their border with both Russia and Belarus.

We'll see what the international reaction is to Belarus once again allowing Russia to invade through their territory.

In the south, Ukraine is slowly taking full control of the numerous islands of the Dnieper delta, to push the Russian forces firmly over onto the left (east) bank of the river. 
 

Denmark is delivering F-16s this month.

[Lone Striker]

Meanwhile Putin's touched down in Beijing.   

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-asia-69001137

 

If by some miracle Trump is able to stand & win in November,   half of the world's nuclear states will have a dangerous dictator in charge of their nuclear launch codes.  Rather than actually use them, the alternative may well be a mutually agreed carve-up of various parts of the world they used to own.    Putin & Xi would love that approach.

 

 

[indianajones]

29 minutes ago, Lone Striker said:

Meanwhile Putin's touched down in Beijing.   

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-asia-69001137

 

If by some miracle Trump is able to stand & win in November,   half of the world's nuclear states will have a dangerous dictator in charge of their nuclear launch codes.  Rather than actually use them, the alternative may well be a mutually agreed carve-up of various parts of the world they used to own.    Putin & Xi would love that approach.

 

 

 

How is Trump a dictator? 

[Cade]

The personnel make-up in Putin's delegation was interesting.

All economists, bankers and oligarchs.

This was a begging mission, probably selling natural resource rights to China for a few Yuan (not rubles).

The Russian economy is being burned at both ends in an attempt to win the war quickly.

They're betting on getting their hands on the Ukrainian grain harvest, the ports and all the factories.
Ukraine was always the breadbasket, brain and industrial heart of the USSR and they're desperate to get that back.
 

Another, larger Russian offensive further in the north-west, in the Sumy region is widely expected. And there's the previously mentioned forces assembling in Belarus. Putin's trying to double the length of the front to totally surround Ukraine on every possible border, north, east and south.

 

[Watt-Zeefuik]

12 minutes ago, indianajones said:

 

How is Trump a dictator? 

 

If he goes through with what he's saying he'll do on the campaign trail, the word will be apt.

 

See "Project 2025."

[loveofthegame]

10 hours ago, Watt-Zeefuik said:

 

If he goes through with what he's saying he'll do on the campaign trail, the word will be apt.

 

See "Project 2025."

 

Indeed. This is a huge year for the world. Quite scary in all honesty. Let's hope Sleepy Joe finds a way to win (not that he is in any way perfect)...

[Cade]

Russia accuses the UK of "being an active participant of the war with Russia" 
Russia also warns the USA that "you are playing with fire" 

Russia once more warns The West of escalation, despite Russia being the only ones to have ever escalated anything and who have just this week opened a new front and are preparing to open two more. 

 

Meanwhile, the Ukrainians have launched a huge wave of drones against the Black Sea Fleet port of Novorossiysk and the coastal fuel refinery in Tuapse, causing major damage.

Russian air defence seemed to be totally ineffective.

 

Airbases in Crimea were hit again, including Kerch, at the foot of the bridge.

 

The Russian advance towards Lyman in the north-east seems to have ground to a halt and Ukraine has re-taken some trench networks.

 

The new Russian offensive in Kharkiv is also slowing in pace and grinding to a halt.

 

Estonia becomes the first nation to pass a law allowing frozen Russian assets to be liquidated and given to Ukraine.
A Croatian judge has ruled that Ukraine's seizure of the $200million super yacht "Royal Romance" previously owned by the Oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk was legal. The yacht will now be sold off in a Dutch auction house.

Edited yesterday at 14:33 by Cade

[Boab]

7 hours ago, loveofthegame said:

 

Indeed. This is a huge year for the world. Quite scary in all honesty. Let's hope Sleepy Joe finds a way to win (not that he is in any way perfect)...

The fact Trump is even in the running is terrifying. People are, obviously, looking East for potential threats.

Try looking West !

[Cade]

Clowns to the left of me
Jokers to the right

Here I am

Stuck in the middle with EU

 

 

[Cade]

ATACMS is pretty accurate, likes.

 

Satellite imagery of the Belbek airbase, Crimea.
18 burned out fuel trucks at top left, 2 cruise-missile firing MIG-31s destroyed at their stands (these are not being made any more)  

1 SU-27 hit by cluster munitions and destroyed. (these are also not being made any more)
1 MIG-29 damaged (must be damaged as all functional aircraft were evacuated to other bases)