QuoteVideo released by Ukrainian Ground Forces on Tuesday showed destroyed Russian vehicles in Sumy region.
QuoteVladimir Putin warned he would cleanse Russia of the "**** and traitors" he accuses of working covertly for the U.S. and its allies. He accused the West of trying to destroy Russia. Putin spoke in a televised video conference from a residence outside Moscow on Wednesday. (Russian with English subtitles, video source is RU-RTR)
QuoteUkrainian soldiers inspected a damaged village on Tuesday in the Kyiv region retaken from Russian forces.
QuoteDeutschland öffentlich zu brüskieren, hilft niemandem. Die Regierung mag zu zögerlich in ihrer Unterstützung sein und das kann man ihr vorwerfen. Aber an der Frage, auf wessen Seite sie in diesem Krieg steht, gibt es keine Zweifel. Die Absage wird es Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz nicht erleichtern, sondern erschweren, mehr Hilfe zu leisten. Wenn er jetzt der Forderung des ukrainischen Botschafters nachkommt, in die Ukraine zu reisen, fällt er damit dem Bundespräsidenten in den Rücken.
Es sollte auch nicht ganz vergessen werden, dass Deutschland nach den USA vor dem Krieg der zweitgrößte Geldgeber für die Ukraine war. Wer Deutschland öffentlich brüskiert, riskiert auch, dass sich die Stimmung in der Bevölkerung wendet.
Quote from: Alexander Müller (FDP)Everything is secret.
Quote from: MeltingMan on April 13, 2022, 16:39:33The justification given was always that 'we also have to talk to these states'. We now see where this has led. In other words: he should actually take responsibility and give up his office, because he stands for a different time. To say 'we were wrong and just carry on' is grotesque.
QuoteThe 43rd Artillery Brigade demonstrated the work of the 2S7 "Pion" self-propelled artillery.
Quote from: MeltingMan on April 23, 2022, 10:27:25But we don't want to be drawn into the conflict, and I think I can speak for many Germans on that. The opponents have to work this out among themselves.
QuoteMore than half of the M777 howitzer artillery units promised to Ukraine by the Pentagon have been delivered, according to US Defence officials.
QuoteZmiinyi Island, or Snake Island, is where Ukrainian soldiers reportedly told a Russian warship crew to go "f***" themselves early in the war, a story that was commemorated by a postage stamp released in April.
QuoteWorld Embroidery Day, known locally as Vyshyvanka, takes place in Ukraine on 21st May. The holiday promotes the tradition of creating and wearing embroidered Ukrainian clothes known as vyshyvanka.
Quote from: WikipediaThe FH155-1 field howitzer is a wheeled field howitzer with a caliber of 155 mm that was developed in the late 1960s for the armies of various European NATO countries. About 500 pieces were produced in Europe until 1982, and Japan also produced the weapon under license.
QuotePro-Russian forces blast Ukrainian city defences with Hyacinth-B field guns near the city of Avdiivka.
QuoteThe Russian 2S4 Tyulpan 240mm mortar carrier only has a range of about 9.6 km and has to be near the front line.
QuoteThe General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between 24th February and 22nd July, Russia had lost about 39,000 personnel, 1,704 tanks, 3,920 armoured combat vehicles, 863 artillery units, 251 multiple launch rocket systems, 113 air defence systems, 221 warplanes, 188 helicopters, 713 drones, 167 cruise missiles, 15 warships, 2,781 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 72 units of special equipment.
QuoteThis footage released by the Kastus Kalinouski Regiment, a regiment of Belarusian fighters fighting for Ukraine, shows pro-Ukrainian forces firing a 12.7-mm Browning M2 machine gun at Russian positions.
QuoteThe blasts early Monday struck the airbase near the city of Engels, more than 600 kilometers inside Russian territory.
QuoteRussia seems to need allies to invade Ukraine.
QuoteFreddy Versluys has a big warehouse full of second-hand tanks for sale. The German-made Leopard 1 tanks have brought him into the spotlight over the past few days, as he has engaged in a public battle with Belgian Defence Minister Ludivine Dedonder over the possibility of sending them to Ukraine.🤑 'Kriegsgewinnler'...not very flattering, I'll admit. It's time they came to the front. That's what they were designed and built for. Now they have to prove themselves.
Dedonder has said the government has explored the idea of buying back tanks to send them to Ukraine. But she has blasted the prices quoted as "unreasonable" and "extremely high". Tanks sold for 10-15,000 euros each are being offered for sale at 500,000 euros, despite not being operational, she has said.
QuoteTwo Ukrainian brothers turned cannoneers fire German-made howitzers in the Donbas frontline.
QuotePoland has delivered its first Leopard tanks to Ukraine, the country's president and its defence minister told a meeting of the National Security Council on Friday (February 24).
QuoteRussland schickt offenbar Panzer aus der Zeit des Kalten Krieges in den Angriffskrieg gegen die Ukraine. Das legen Beiträge russischer Militärblogger im Messenger-Dienst Telegram nahe, die das Kriegsgerät in Bewegung zeigen.
"Russlands antike BTR-50 Transportpanzer wurden aus den Lagern geholt und auf dem Weg in die Ukraine gesichtet", schreibt der Militärblog "Defence Blog".
QuoteThe President of Ukraine held a meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia:1f62e:
QuoteThe bloc aims to deliver 1 million 155-millimeter artillery shells to Ukraine in the next 12 months as well as replenish EU stocks.
QuoteREPORT: U.S. PROBING SWISS BANKS COMPLIANCE WITH SANCTIONS;:smth023
Quote from: MeltingMan on March 30, 2023, 19:55:36Bakhmut is becoming the Verdun of the East.
QuotePutin's defeat to be expected in October - an interview with military expert Keupp
In an interview with ZDFheute live, military expert Keupp paints a disastrous picture of the Russian army. He expects Ukraine to win in October. Is the Russian army in such bad shape that it suffered a defeat in October's war of aggression against Ukraine? Military expert Marcus Keupp assumes this and explains the reasons live in an interview with ZDFheute:
According to estimates by military analysts, Russia will soon have lost 10,000 heavy weapon systems and tanks, according to Keupp. That is a rate of attrition that Russia cannot sustain. "It's actually only a matter of time before they run out of reserves."
QuoteThe state-owned Swiss armaments company RUAG would like to be able to export 96 Leopard 1 main battle tanks. The decision should come soon.
QuoteA huge dam in the Russian-controlled area of southern Ukraine has been destroyed, unleashing a flood of water.
Ukraine's military and Nato have accused Russia of blowing up the dam, while Russia has blamed Ukraine.
Thousands of people are being evacuated from communities in the surrounding areas, with fears that any flooding could be catastrophic.
Quote from: UlrichUkraine's military and Nato have accused Russia of blowing up the dam, while Russia has blamed Ukraine.
Quote from: P. RonzheimerSome questions almost annoyed him [Zelenskyy].
QuoteBugayevka befindet sich in der Region Woronesch. Deren gleichnamige Hauptstadt haben die Wagner-Söldner zumindest teilweise unter ihre Kontrolle gebracht, wobei sie offenkundig auf nicht allzu viel Gegenwehr russischer Soldaten und Sicherheitskräfte gestoßen sind.https://www.t-online.de/nachrichten/ausland/id_100197278/russland-180-soldaten-von-putin-ergeben-sich-wagner-soeldnern.html
Prigoschin: "Wir sind Patrioten"
Anzeichen für eine Attacken der russischen Armee auf die Wagner-Söldner geben bislang lediglich Luftangriffe, etwa auf ein Öl-Depot in Woronesch. Das berichten mehrere Militärblogger und Beobachter der Lage in Russland. Auch ein Wagner-Konvoi nahe der Stadt soll getroffen worden sein, wie ein Reuters-Journalist beobachtete.
Prigoschin und seine Wagner-Truppen proben seit Freitagabend den bewaffneten Aufstand gegen die Militärführung in Moskau. Berichten zufolge haben sie dabei neben Woronesch auch die Stadt Rostow am Don unter ihre Kontrolle gebracht. Inzwischen ziehen die Söldner weiter nach Norden, in Richtung Moskau.
QuoteYevgeny Prigozhin calls it his "March of Justice". Vladimir Putin says it is a "criminal escapade" and an "armed mutiny". One senior Russian commander has called it "a coup".https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66007017
Whatever you call it, the Wagner chief has gone for broke to try to topple Russia's military leadership.
This had been brewing. For months there has been very public infighting between Wagner and Russia's ministry of defence over how the war in Ukraine has been fought.
QuoteA video has emerged of Prigozhin telling a deputy defence minister and a general in Rostov on Friday that until the two main military figures come and talk to him, his mercenaries will block off the city and head for Moscow.https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66006880
There are reports of a military helicopter being shot down and of a Wagner convoy heading north up the M4 motorway in the Voronezh region north of Rostov.
Prigozhin's quarrel is not with Russian soldiers in Ukraine, but with the "clowns" leading them, he argues. Several generals have appealed for him to calm down, but that seems too late.
QuoteYevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner mercenary group, is to leave Russia for Belarus after calling off his troops' rebellion
Putin's full speech today: "Kiev and their Western masters wanted to see Russian soldiers kill each other. They wanted to see Russian servicemen and civilians die and ultimately to see Russia defeated and the Russian society split apart, in a bloodbath." pic.twitter.com/E9jDm7tbUK
— sarah (@sahouraxo) June 26, 2023
Quote from: WELT-NachrichtenHARD CRITICISM OF NATO: "A cheek to say Ukraine should be more grateful"
Quote from: WikipediaThe 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.
Quote from: Stuttgarter ZeitungAccording 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.
QuoteThe 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.
QuoteMilitary 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.
Quote from: WELT nachrichtenUKRAINE WAR: Large mobilization! Ukrainian army wants to draft an additional 500,000 men
Quote from: Deutschlandfunk, 02.01.2024As 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.
Quote from: WikipediaOne 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]
QuoteCommander 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.
Quote from: France 24 EnglishVolodymyr 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.
QuoteUS 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.:unamused:
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.
QuoteTucker Carlson's interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin began with a rambling half-hour lecture on the history of Russia and Ukraine.
QuoteClergy in Russia who speak out against the invasion of Ukraine risk losing their freedom. The Russian Orthodox Church officially supports what the Kremlin describes as a "special military operation."
QuoteOver twenty years ago, the former secretary general of Nato, George Robertson, visited Moscow and held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
QuoteIn an interview that has so far only been partly in public, Pope Francis comments on the continuing war in Ukraine. Without calling the country, he calls Ukraine to "Courage to the White Flag" and negotiations. The full interview will be broadcast on March 20.
Quote from: MeltingMan on March 11, 2024, 11:18:47[ and negotiations.
Quote from: MeltingMan on March 12, 2024, 12:41:45As far as I know, Turkey has signaled that it will act as a mediator. A greater gift cannot be given to Mr. Erdogan, who will not run again.
QuoteTurkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose NATO-member country has sought to balance its close relations with both Ukraine and Russia, offered during a visit on Friday from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to host a peace summit between the two countries.
Erdogan, who has repeatedly discussed brokering a peace deal, said at a news conference in Istanbul following his meeting with Zelenskyy that he hoped Russia would be on board with Turkey's offer.
"Since the beginning, we have contributed as much as we could toward ending the war through negotiations," Erdogan said. "We are also ready to host a peace summit in which Russia will also be included."
QuoteWhy are there no negotiations with Putin? This question is not as simple as it may appear. Nevertheless, there are two main reasons.https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/08/04/why-there-will-be-no-negotiating-with-putin-a82021
The first reason, the "image of the war," is obvious, but Putin does not understand it, and no one can explain it to him.
The second reason, which is much more significant, is structural: Putin lacks the ability to take on binding commitments. In reality, it's precisely this structural reason that impedes negotiations.
The difficulty lies in the fact that negotiations with Putin are currently pointless because he cannot make any meaningful commitments. He can make promises in words, but in reality, these promises are worthless. Over his 20-year rule, he has promised practically everything — his signature is on the border treaty with Ukraine, for example. And he violated all of it. Over the past two years, he has broken almost every promise he made. Again, Putin himself may not even know about this. I suspect it would be a terrible risk for his subordinates to remind him of what he said a month, a year, or even a week ago. But everyone else knows that he breaks all of his promises. No matter how pragmatic and cynical a negotiator might be, what is the point of such negotiations?
Quotewhat is the point of such negotiations?
Quote from: MeltingMan on March 14, 2024, 11:07:46The most Ukraine can do is prolong the war. Who wants that anyway?
Sahra Wagenknecht is the leader of Germany's leading left-wing political party. Glad to see her, especially in today's Germany, clearly call out the insanity on Ukraine:
— Arnaud Bertrand (@RnaudBertrand) March 18, 2024
"When the pope speaks out against this madness, saying that Kiev should negotiate rather than drive the... https://t.co/GToN7ZXliv
Quote from: UlrichAnd imho, especially in Germany, we do know how important it can be not to trust a powermad dictator...)
Quote from: MeltingMan on March 19, 2024, 18:49:17... I am of the opinion that we should refrain from using terms like "right and left of center" as long as the conflict lasts and spreads.
Quote from: UlrichWhy? I certainly won't go voting for extreme right because of any conflict anywhere. Plus, my comment was not about "left vs. right", it was about the term "leading left-wing party", which is just wrong (on the verge of "fake news" almost)!
Quote from: MeltingMan on March 21, 2024, 10:43:14The coming elections will show it. :1f636:
Quote from: WikipediaAt the hostage-taking in the Moscow Dubrowka Theater on October 23, 2002, 40 to 50 armed people, who even attributed themselves to the separatist movement of Chechnya, made 850 people into their violence and asked for the withdrawal of the Russian troops from Chechnya.
After the hostage-taking in Moscow had already lasted two and a half days, special units of the Russian domestic intelligence company FSB pumped a gas mix of Carfentanyl and Remifentanil [1] into the ventilation system of the theater and stormed the building minutes later. The anesthetized terrorists were killed by the special units by head shots. 130 hostages died, 5 by the hostage-takers, 125 due to inadequate medical treatment from the consequences of gas use. [2] [3]
Quotetagesschau.de: Bei den geopolitischen Fragen ging es zwischen Scholz und Xi unter anderem um Chinas Position im Krieg gegen die Ukraine. Hier sagte der chinesische Präsident gegenüber Scholz, China sei keine Partei in diesem Kontext. Ist das nicht eine reichlich beschönigende Darstellung?
Shi-Kupfer: In der chinesischen Übersetzung hieß es, China sei keine direkt involvierte Partei. Aber in der Tat beschönigt das die Unterstützung Russlands durch China, sei es durch die Ausweitung des Handels mit Russland, sei es durch Lieferung von zum Beispiel Drohnen, Flugzeugmotoren oder anderen Maschinenteilen, die für Kriegsgerät wie Raketen verwenden werden, was Russland dabei hilft, in diesem Konflikt durchzuhalten und so dazustehen, wie es jetzt dasteht. Das vertuscht China mit dieser Formulierung und ist etwas, worüber die chinesische Regierung nicht offen spricht.
tagesschau.de: Welche Strategie verfolgt China in diesem Krieg?
Shi-Kupfer: Der Krieg verläuft aus Sicht der chinesischen Regierung in ihrem Interesse. Ein anhaltender, nicht eskalierender Konflikt bindet die US-amerikanische und die europäischen Regierungen und beschränkt ihre Möglichkeiten, sich mit der spannungsgeladenen Lage im Südchinesischen Meer zu beschäftigen - mit den Ansprüchen, die China zudem auf Taiwan und weitere Regionen erhebt.Wenn der Ukraine-Krieg weiter eskalieren und die Sanktionen gegen Russland noch härter würden, könnte China wegen seiner Unterstützung für Russland noch stärker ins Visier geraten. Ich möchte zwar der chinesischen Regierung nicht absprechen, dass sie auch an einem Friedensschluss interessiert ist. Aber unter geopolitischen Gesichtspunkten missfällt der anhaltende Konflikt China sicher nicht.