Ukraine War Watch Thread

[erowind]

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[firestar464]

Thanks for being a leftist who doesn't call for peace while painting Daddy Russia as the victim. Geez those people make me sick

[firestar464]

Deepfake videos during Russian invasion of Ukraine could undermine trust

https://phys.org/news/2023-10-deepfake- ... raine.html

[funkervogt]

The U.S. and Ukraine are building "Franken weapons" that combine elements of American and Soviet-made weapons systems. Right now, the effort is focused on surface-to-air missile systems.
https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2023/ ... us-for-fr/

This reminds me of Germany's widespread use of captured enemy equipment in WWII. The "Marder" armored vehicle series is the best example:


Machine armies of the future will be supremely efficient at making use of their resources, unbothered by having mishmashes of equipment in their ranks, and able to easily manage the different logistical needs to thousands of different types of vehicles and weapons. You'll see crazy combinations of things like a sleek, futuristic tank that shoots lasers while a robot butler standing on its roof shoots enemies with an antique rifle it stole from a museum.

[caltrek]

Russia Suffers Heavy Losses Near Avdiyivka, UK Says, As Kyiv-Backed Peace Talks Begin in Malta
October 29, 2023

Introduction:

(Radio Free Europe – Radio Liberty via Eurasia Review) Heavy fighting continued around the eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiyivka on October 28, even as representatives from dozens of nations met in Malta to discuss Ukraine-driven peace proposals and while Kyiv and Moscow exchanged accusations of attacks near nuclear-related sites in each country.

British intelligence, in its latest update, said Moscow had likely committed elements of up to eight brigades to the sector around Avdiyivka and probably had “suffered some of Russia’s highest casualty rates of 2023 so far,” appearing to back up remarks by Ukrainian leaders who claimed Kyiv’s forces had repelled multiple Russian attacks in the area.

Earlier this week, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that, since October 11, Russia has suffered significant losses, including at least 125 pieces of armored vehicles and military equipment in and around Avdiyivka.

Battlefield claims in the war cannot be immediately confirmed, and Ukrainian losses in the fighting could not immediately be determined.

Meanwhile, Moscow on October 28 accused Ukraine of deliberately attacking a nuclear-waste facility near the Russian city of Kursk, claiming Kyiv knew the action could have caused a major nuclear disaster.

Read more here: https://www.eurasiareview.com/29102023 ... in-malta/


Map of Ukraine.
Credit: DOD

[erowind]

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[firestar464]

dude I was praising you

[erowind]

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[firestar464]

A warning about @visegrad24

https://visegradinsight.eu/polish-misin ... segrad-24/

[Powers]

A warning about @visegrad24

https://visegradinsight.eu/polish-misin ... segrad-24/

Poland plays for EU (and US), Hungary for Russia and Turkey for both.

[wjfox]

Russia says Ukrainian forces have crossed the River Dnipro but face 'hell fire' and death

Wed 15 Nov 2023 15.02 GMT

Ukrainian troops are trying to push back Russian forces along the Dnipro River in southern Kherson region, the military said on Wednesday, calling for operational “silence” along what it described as a “fairly fluid” frontline.

Ukraine said on Tuesday it had secured a foothold on the Russian-occupied eastern bank of the vast river, for the first time confirming an advance that could open a new line of attack towards occupied Crimea.

A Russian-installed official, Vladimir Saldo, said Moscow’s military had pinned down Ukrainian forces who crossed on to the river’s eastern bank and was raining “hell fire” on them.

[...]

A Ukrainian advance on the Russian-held side of the Dnipro, a formidable natural barrier, would be a big setback for Russia’s occupation troops on the western side of a 1,000 km frontline.

These reports have not yet been independently verified.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/ ... f720c2d390

[firestar464]

Unique weather phenomenon may have helped Ukraine identify and sink Russian ship Moskva

https://phys.org/news/2023-11-unique-we ... ssian.html

[weatheriscool]

[firestar464]

45% are happy to watch Ukraine fall

[caltrek]

Russia Throwing 'Waves' of Men in Battle for Key Frontline City
by Emmanuel Peuchot
November 23, 2023

Introduction:

(AFP) Russia was throwing "waves" of soldiers towards the embattled Ukrainian city of Avdiivka, suffering massive losses in their attempt to capture strategically important territory on the eastern front lines, Ukrainian soldiers say.

Sitting in an indent -- surrounded on almost three sides by Russian forces -- Avdiivka has become a symbol of a grinding war in which neither side has made a decisive breakthrough in more than a year.

But despite having suffered steady losses in troops and equipment, Russia was showing no signs of abandoning its attempt to capture the former coal hub in Ukraine's industrial east.

"The fields are just littered with corpses," Oleksandr, a deputy of a Ukrainian battalion in the 47th mechanised brigade, told AFP.

"They are trying to exhaust our lines with constant waves of attacks," he said, without providing his full name for security reasons.

Read more here: https://news.yahoo.com/russia-throwing ... ounter=1

[weatheriscool]

[caltrek]

And Still, Ukraine
by L. Michale Hager
November 29, 2023

Introduction:

(Counterpunch) Israel’s seven-week campaign of retribution for the October 7 massacre has killed untold thousands of Palestinian women and children in Gaza. It has also diverted world attention from Ukraine, where the 22-month trench war drags on into stalemate with no end in sight. The common denominator between the two wars is President Joe Biden, who stokes both conflicts with taxpayer-funded offensive weapons.

Now that Israel’s war presents a competing claim for U.S. military support, will America be able to sustain arms shipments to Ukraine for the promised “as long as it takes?” How can Biden satisfy both Zelensky and Netanyahu when both conflicts could last many more months, if not years? The rising number of casualties in both conflicts calls out for ceasefire, in both Israel and Ukraine.

When Putin sent his tanks toward Kiev in February 2022, Ukraine faced an existential threat. U.S./NATO arms aid for Ukraine supported justifiable self-defense to prevent a Russian government take-over. That defense succeeded.

When Russia shifted the battleground to Ukraine’s southern and eastern border regions, the conflict changed from a war of national survival to an ongoing battle for long-disputed territory. In the contested regions, languages and national allegiances are mixed. This “second war” has brought the number of Ukrainian war dead to over 70,000 (as of August 31). A recent New York Times article cited increasing Ukrainian losses. Is it morally just for the U.S. to keep fighting a proxy war with Putin’s Russia when it’s the Ukrainian soldiers who are dying?

Only President Zelensky will decide when to accept mediation of a ceasefire, a first step toward the negotiation of a long-term peace agreement. To date however, he seems unwilling to modify his top war goals of expelling Russian troops from disputed territory and recovering Crimea. An end to the flow of weapons and ammunition might prompt the Ukraine leader to accept that a David and Goliath battle is unwinnable over time.

Read more here: https://www.counterpunch.org/2023/11/2 ... ukraine/

caltrek’s comment: The major problem for me in coming to any final conclusions is the lack of knowledge or what may be going on behind the scenes. Specifically, is the U.S and its allies encouraging or discouraging a negotiated settlement? Is Russia willing or unwilling to entertain such a settlement?
It is reasonable that any permanent settlement that Ukraine seriously consider should provide for its future security from an invasion down the line when Russia has had a chance to regroup and rebuild its military capacity. Due to its size and nuclear capabilities, Russia has less to fear in that respect.

[raklian]

[wjfox]

Russia Throwing 'Waves' of Men in Battle for Key Frontline City
by Emmanuel Peuchot
November 23, 2023

Introduction:

(AFP) Russia was throwing "waves" of soldiers towards the embattled Ukrainian city of Avdiivka, suffering massive losses in their attempt to capture strategically important territory on the eastern front lines, Ukrainian soldiers say.

Sitting in an indent -- surrounded on almost three sides by Russian forces -- Avdiivka has become a symbol of a grinding war in which neither side has made a decisive breakthrough in more than a year.

But despite having suffered steady losses in troops and equipment, Russia was showing no signs of abandoning its attempt to capture the former coal hub in Ukraine's industrial east.

"The fields are just littered with corpses," Oleksandr, a deputy of a Ukrainian battalion in the 47th mechanised brigade, told AFP.

"They are trying to exhaust our lines with constant waves of attacks," he said, without providing his full name for security reasons.

Read more here: https://news.yahoo.com/russia-throwing ... ounter=1

[Yuli Ban]

Does not seem to me Ukraine will win. All West demoralized and abandoning them, and Ukrainians are recognizing they've been had.


I called it almost 2 years ago. I've no idea why anyone trusts America anymore. You'd think after we stabbed Gaddafi, Saddam, the Mujahideen, etc. in the back, people would've learned by now.
Perhaps there was a hope that this time would be different? But it seems to me more like Congress wanted to boost its warchest and try to deplete Russian stocks— which backfired since Russia is manufacturing loads more weaponry, is virtually immune to Western sanctions now, no longer abides by a critical nuclear treaty, and has a patriotic war to mythologize to boost an already macho warrior culture. Sure it didn't go particularly well, but few wars do.

On one hand, you don't want to think Congress was that stupid and there had to be an ulterior motive for all this beyond just the usual geopolitical posturing. Maybe Israel came first in defense priority? But it's hard to deny that it certainly feels like the UN hedged its bets on a quick Russian collapse once the quagmire settled, and when that didn't happen either, it's more become a slugfest trending towards a bitter armistice.
Can't say that the media blitz portraying this like Ukraine has been on the verge of overrunning the Kremlin for the past 18 months won't break some brains when it's suddenly being reported that there's a ceasefire on Russian terms soon. It'll at least be neat to see how people rationalize news of what's essentially defeat when it's all been tales of glorious victories so far.