Ukraine - Russia Conflict
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Sweden's JAS-39 Gripen Fighters Still On The Table For Ukraine
There are no immediate plans to transfer the jets to Ukraine but a new aid package gives Sweden that option.
www.twz.com
Ok . Thanks for this .
Zelensky's barely served his first term . Why would he quit when he's the hero assuming we've the CF soon ?
There's going to be no permanent CF as long as Putin's there. I'd extend this argument to the Siloviki as well which means even with Putin gone & the Siloviki intact , the latter playing a role in deciding a successor , it's still the same thing.
You've stepped on a tiger's tail. There's a price to be paid for both - riding a tiger ( China ) & stepping on a tiger's tail .
I can't believe a member as well informed as you're is penning this. Please check for NATO expansion during Clinton's presidency in the mid to late 1990s & then what followed during Bush's presidency. What do you think sparked off the war against Georgia ?
NATO should've been dissolved as soon as the communist bloc in Europe collapsed. Right now it is following a natural progression of all such defensive alliances which over a period of time metamorphose into a threat .
The mafia in Italy is a good example of this . From a defensive alliance formed by the citizens of a town or a group of villages who'd hire mercenaries or raise a band from their own financing them besides providing other resources once the external threat is eliminated & the organisation isn't disbanded in time , it has a remarkable tendency to turn upon it's own .
That's how mercenaries in the past behaved . That's how the Mafia behaves. The Chinese triads are also a good example of this phenomenon. That's precisely what NATO has become . From a defensive alliance , having incorporated all it's former enemies it's now threatening those who aren't part of this arrangement like Russia today & God knows whom tomorrow ?
I mean I can see now why US presidents from Clinton onwards deliberately kept Russia outside its security alliances while extending it to Russia's former allies in spite of Russian leaders repeatedly requesting the US to take Russia into whatever security alliances they formed or NOT eliminate the buffer between Russia & NATO.
Putin's literally gone on record earlier & especially just as the war in Ukraine began that Russia was repeatedly snubbed by the US. Now the US could well incorporate Russia into its security architecture . Russia wouldn't have been a yes man like most of US's European allies but then the US is also engaging France. Russia'd probably be a more recalcitrant ally than France. However that wasn't to be .
As long as Russia had N weapons & was deliberately kept out of Europe's security alliances & calculations , the continuing existence of NATO could be justified & thereby NATO's continued dependencies on the US for both security & diplomacy for without an independent security policy , you can't have an independent foreign policy. UK as usual played its part of the US poodle extremely well being the Trojan horse in the European economic , diplomatic & security set up.
France made feeble attempts to create an independent EU with its own independent foreign policy in alliance with Germany followed by one would expect an EU armed forces distinct from NATO eventually . It was too little too late.
A few days ago I'd made a post on Russian paranoia regarding its borders given its history & how NATO or the US & UK has tapped into it exploiting it to the hilt to perpetuate the US line in NATO while claiming Russia poses a threat to the rest of Europe to Paddy & the usual suspects in this very thread. As usual it went over Paddy's head which isn't suprising in the least while his brothers in arms chose to keep their counsel.This is important if you want to understand Russia's security matrix & calculations.
Beginning 18th century as part of the Great Northern wars Charles XII of Sweden invades Russia to be followed by Napoleon Bonaparte of France who with his Grand Armee launched the invasion of Russia in the 19th century eventually reaching Moscow & burning it to the ground followed by our favourite failed Austrian artist & ex German corporal's invasion of Russia in the 20th century. In between there was the Crimean War where Christian countries allied with a Muslim Sultanate - the Ottoman Turks to defeat Russia.
And Russia's supposed to be a threat to the rest of Europe !! Well , NATO's or rather the US has executed its plans to a T. Just that when you play such a high stakes game you don't settle for a draw but a win. A win here against Russia isn't the deposition of Putin , it has to be a Russia without the Siloviki & minus N arms , hopefully dismembered otherwise what you've created is a wounded tiger. That's exactly what Russia's today.
Answered this one above.
Answered this one too .
If Russia runs out of conventional arms do you actually think it'd let itself be overwhelmed by Ukraine ? It's an honest question.
Once NATO enters this war it's not going to be a skirmish or a conventional war I can tell you that much . Whatever made you think otherwise ?
I'm afraid your reading of the situation is completely mistaken.
The whole developed world's running on empty then except China & the US.
If CCP didn't plan for its invasion of Taiwan now or 2 decades from now it could divert resources to boosting consumption at home & measures on boosting its TFR.
Arguably both are long term projects but this is the right time to get into it as even at current TFRs China'd still have anywhere between 700-800 million if not more by the end of the century.
Granted it'd be highly skewed in favour of the elderly but since E Asian societies have never encouraged immigration the only way ahead is what I began this paragraph with .
However the CCP has decided otherwise. Their priorities in the next few years would be retaking Taiwan & with trade relations deteriorating sharply & swiftly with the west this'd complicate issue for the CCP back home given the implications on the economy which means they'd double down on Taiwan so as to mobilize the country to back its efforts. Nationalism always has sold in China particularly given their recent history.
China may not want to support Russia nor would Russia like to be beholden to China but if China's making a move in Taiwan they'd need as many diversions as they can . A lot depends on how fast trade relations deteriorate with the west.
With the west piling up trade sanctions against China & China's EV industry running beserk in China but more specifically in the western markets sooner rather than later it'd sink the entire western automobile industry.
I'm not sure the west especially the EU can hold out too long. Once a trade war kicks in you'd see China openly defying the west on Russia which it has been cautious not to do till date .
What sort of relationship can one expect between Russia & China ? Look at the Lend Lease agreement between the US & the former Soviet Union to get an idea. Both sides were on opposite sides of the political spectrum yet a common enemy bound them together. It'd be the same this time around. Long term Russia & China will never have a stable relationship.
As far as the US goes as long as the US doesn't face up to a peer competitor & has been shaken up to its core which doesn't necessarily mean a loss but more a Pyrrhic victory like the former super powers - France & UK in WW-2 it'd continue in the same vein as it has been since the end of the cold war.
The US isn't against immigrants but unskilled / low skilled immigrants hit the most vulnerable in the society. At the other end of the same society you've the elite with a completely different set of issues like wokeism , feminism etc ever since the counter culture movement of the 1960s .
This has systematically collapsed the cohesion & consensus within the elite groups which over the decades has turned what began as a gap into an unbridgeable chasm. As long as the economy is in relatively good shape things chug along however irreconcilable the differences. Otherwise who knows what form can it take ?
It helps to note that entities which are indestructible from the outside begin decaying from within .
They're a 150 million strong country. That should get them in the top 10. Ukraine has less than a third of Russia's population .
As I remarked Russia would immediately get down to building up its war fighting abilities once a CF is in place. If things evolve the way I've written they'd get Chinese assistance which'd be a huge boost to their efforts.
Yes , they weren't competing between themselves for land . However at the other end of the spectrum you ought to be considering the US & its allies & their assistance & alliance with the Soviet Union during WW-2. War & dire necessities make the strangest bed fellows.
China has much more to lose by antagonising the west in aiding Russia as of the present. However things aren't going to remain static for a long time.
An episode of the evacuation of a Russian tank, presumably a T-55A, near the village of Vodyanoy. It is unknown what kind of combat vehicle is conducting the evacuation. It is possible that it is also a T-55 tank with a dismantled gun, or a VT-55A tracked tractor created on the basis of a T-55 tank. At the time of the evacuation, Ukrainian artillery is actively working. The evacuation of equipment was carried out by a Russian serviceman with the call sign "Petrovich", as reported, he has carried out about 30 evacuations of damaged equipment.
Episode of the breakthrough of the Russian airborne assault unit of the 106th Tula Airborne Division on the BMD-2, to the village of Snagost, Kursk region of Russia. The video was filmed on September 9, 2024, at that time, the village was controlled by the Ukrainian army. The BMD-2 was not alone, six BMDs, three tanks and several infantry fighting vehicles were used. The column of military equipment advanced from the village of Kornevo, towards the village of Snagost, passing through the checkpoints of the Ukrainian army, the column divided into three parts and entered the village of Snagost. For three days, the units held a circular defense, waiting for the main forces to arrive. Presumably, this is not the first group to enter the village.
A powerful fire and explosions have broken out at the Russian 107th arsenal of the Main Missile and Artillery Directorate in the Tver Region. The video shows what is believed to be footage of a fire, although this has not yet been officially confirmed. Recently, the ammunition depot in Toropets has been the target of attacks by Ukrainian drones several times. Unofficially, the fire was caused by fallen debris from a Ukrainian drone. The 107th arsenal was used to store various ammunition, including 122-mm rockets for the Grad MLRS and 82-mm artillery mines, and there may have been missiles as well. It is worth noting that the construction of the 107th arsenal in 2018 was overseen by Deputy Minister of Defense of Russia, General of the Army Dmitry Bulgakov. At that time, Dmitry Bulgakov said that an arsenal for storing missiles and ammunition that meets the highest world standards would be put into operation in Toropets. Currently, General of the Army Dmitry Bulgakov has been detained in a criminal case of corruption. According to the latest information, the Governor of the Tver Region Igor Rudenya has decided to partially evacuate the population from the city of Toropets, where work is underway to extinguish a fire and repel an attack by drones. The administration of the Toropets Municipal District announced an evacuation to the city of Zapadnaya Dvina by bus. A hotline for local residents on evacuation issues has been opened.
