Russia attacks Ukraine

[MeltingMan]

She is the queen of the battlefield, according to Stalin. These recordings prove it. The first Leopard 1 should arrive soon.

[MeltingMan]

The Mod 56 has a number of unique characteristics for a weapon of its caliber, including the ability for its crew to manhandle the gun (due to its light weight), and the capability of being used in the direct fire role. Being a pack howitzer, it is designed to be broken down into 12 parts, each of which can be transported easily.

[MeltingMan]

Note the Suwalki Gap at 4:50.

[MeltingMan]

Seen often, but the music is really    this time.

[MeltingMan]

According to a media report, the armaments group Rheinmetall is preparing another export of Leopard main battle tanks to Ukraine.

The company has acquired around 50 older Leopard 1 tanks from the Belgian company OIP Land Systems, the newspaper Handelsblatt reported, citing industry circles.

The "Handelsblatt" reported that the tanks should now be re-equipped at the German locations of the Düsseldorf Rheinmetall Group for use in the Ukraine.

Ultimately, around 30 of the remanufactured tanks could be delivered.

[MeltingMan]

Ukrainian artillerymen are becoming more and more precise considering where Luhansk is on the map. They know how fatal it is when only one of those heavy mortars is overlooked. I was impressed by the dense forest and the two rows of trees. I understand why Putin cares so much about the region when he says: "You'll never get Donbass back."

[MeltingMan]

News from Bakhmut - the place seems almost forgotten or what is going on there. It is now the case that Western-design tanks that have been hit are towed away, examined and, if possible, repaired. 

The video shows an exercise of 3 fighter tanks Leopard 1 in a sharp shot on the Klietz military training area. Between the practice phases, Lieutenant General Andreas Marlow explains a lot about the elements of the exercise and their participants.

[dsanchez]

Zelensky losing support...

[MeltingMan]

Military reconnaissance personnel of the West group of troops in the Kupyansk direction identified fortified strongholds in which manpower and military equipment of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were hiding. After receiving the command to destroy the detected targets, the crew of the Tyulpan self-propelled mortar immediately moved to an unprepared firing position. At the same time, the drone operators indicated a safe route for the mortarmen, and air defense crews covered them from attacks by Ukrainian MLRS and attack drones.

Russia has so far reactivated 50 vehicles of this type. With the current loss rate, you can easily draw on the reserves well into the next decade. How much land area Ukraine will have lost by then can only be guessed at. How does the West plan to make up for its inferiority on the battlefield? Current images of Leopard tanks being disabled show that the Ukrainians also have to learn. The Bundeswehr's crash courses alone are not enough.

[MeltingMan]

UKRAINE WAR: Large mobilization! Ukrainian army wants to draft an additional 500,000 men

First of all, Mr. Z. should stand for re-election. Otherwise he runs the risk of becoming a dictator and that doesn't help anyone. This war is a tragedy - undoubtedly. It's not about predicting defeat. Russia is superior in almost all respects. There is nothing to interpret. It is good that talks will soon take place in neutral Switzerland. I hope both sides are aware of their responsibility, because the fate of hundreds of thousands of people is at stake here. The mass use of combat drones on the Ukrainian side can only mean that artillery ammunition is being saved or, in fact, is not available. There is also a certain amount of pipe wear. Is Russia ready to negotiate over Crimea? It almost seems so, because they obviously cannot hold on to Donbass and Crimea at the same time. That's the weak point. A rotation procedure for frontline soldiers is mandatory.

[MeltingMan]

As the Green politician Schäfer announced, the 18 Leopard-2 fighting tanks delivered in March last year are very few. On one hand, there are no spare parts, on the other hand, there were mistakes in Ukraine during repair attempts. In a letter to the armaments companies Rheinmetall and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, Schäfer called for quick remedy. Above all, the missing spare parts would have to be procured. Before Christmas, the green politician had visited a repair workshop in Lithuania together with Defense Minister Pistorius.

Leopards prefer to hunt... warthogs.  There are also successes that are rarely reported (see below). Shouldn't Ukraine be enabled to produce the Leo 1 under license... or Poland or Lithuania in the face of Russian air superiority?

One of the Leopard 1A5 tank crews interviewed by French news AFP in November 2023 indicated they had already seen combat, having been able to hit Russian targets from 3.5-5km distance and inflict casualties without the Russians being able to strike back.[77]

 

[MeltingMan]

Commander Roman and his crew are deployed at the front with a Leopard 2 tank. During a battle they come under heavy fire and are massively damaged. The German-made tank still brings them to safety. The soldiers show ntv exclusively their mistreated military equipment.

The pictures prove it: the Leopard 2 is too heavy for the Ukrainian terrain. So it wasn't very wise to turn away ten Leopard 1s, especially since the cry for weapons from Kiev continues. I don't like the whole sound from there. Added to this is the attitude of the West as a whole and the reporting, not just in the private media, which fluctuates between conscious exaggeration and self-fulfilling prophecies. Citizens really have other concerns! If cruise missiles are actually supplied by the West, it is only a matter of time before missiles fall on Warsaw, Berlin, etc. Seriously... 

[MeltingMan]

Volodymyr Zelensky has named Oleksandr Syrsky as the new commander in chief of Ukraine's armed forces. Syrsky was the commander of the ground forces and one of the two men tipped to suceed Valery Zaluzhny in the months of speculation about the possibility that Zaluzhny would be dismissed.

You don't hear anything from Sergij Osachuk. 

In this context, I have to think of 1916. The German Reichstag approved the war loans, also with the approval of the party, which today provides the Chancellor. As a result, the First World War was only extended. In July 1918, the German Reich had the greatest extent. In this respect, the sentence is correct that an empire properly rears up again before it goes down. We know what happened after the ceasefire. The list of (Soviet-)Russian interventions after 1945 is long and ... apparently forgotten. The West not only has the chance, but the obligation to do it better now.

[Ulrich]

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68255302

US talk show host Tucker Carlson's interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin began with a rambling half-hour lecture on the history of Russia and Ukraine.

Historians say the litany of claims made by Mr Putin are nonsense - representing nothing more than a selective abuse of history to justify the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Regardless of the historical realities, none of Putin's assertions would form a legal justification for his invasion.

[MeltingMan]

Tucker Carlson's interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin began with a rambling half-hour lecture on the history of Russia and Ukraine.

This interview is welcome Campaign assistance for Mr. Trump. If R. Reagan were still alive, I'm sure he would find the right words.