Running Newsticker for the War in Ukraine

Ha ha funny

 

I was to deploy TDY to Mildenhall when I was with a C-130 squadron but the Soviets invaded Czechoslovakia and we went on alert for some unnamed place until the total invasion of Western Europe did not happen. Six months later I got orders to go on an all expenses paid vacation to Vietnam. Damn those Russians screwing me out of Mildenhall.

 

ah shame....It's nice round there! Some lovely little villages and great pubs!!
It's quite a little American enclave round there...you got Lakenheath just a few miles away as well....

 

Additional deployments.

 

There will be enough.

 

Can anyone get that article to load in full? My usual tricks, proxies, vpn, etc. have not worked.

 

Eighty years ago, the hinge of history swung just north of Ukraine. There, the outcome of World War II in Europe was determined in the largest tank battle ever, a boiling cauldron in what was called the Kursk salient. Raging from July 5 to Aug. 23, 1943, the clash between German and Soviet forces involved what military historian John Keegan termed “tank armadas,” a total of about 6,000 tanks and 2 million troops. After this, Germany never again had the strategic initiative on the Eastern Front, where, 10 months before D-Day, attrition guaranteed Adolf Hitler’s defeat


Today, the outcome of the first major European war since 1945 might turn on tanks, particularly German Leopard 2s. German tanks sealing the defeat of a Russian aggression: History teaches a dark sense of irony.

Every war must end, and this one will end as most do, with less than justice done. But more justice will be done if Ukraine is ascendant when the end comes. Writing in the Financial Times, Lawrence Freedman, author of “Command: The Politics of Military Operations from Korea to Ukraine,” argues that “the only way to persuade Russia that it cannot succeed in its war of conquest is for Ukraine’s armed forces to liberate much more territory. This requires a significant boost to the next offensive.” Which requires tanks.

Ukraine’s allies have been sensibly, but perhaps excessively, worried about provoking Vladimir Putin by crossing this or that “red line” that the Russian president might have drawn in his opaque mind. Since the Russian invasion began 11 months ago, however, about 3,000 Ukrainian soldiers have received training from the U.S. Army in Europe. Contingents of approximately 500 Ukrainian soldiers will soon begin training in Germany on the use of armored fighting vehicles. Other Ukrainian soldiers are heading to Fort Sill, Okla., about 5,800 miles from Kyiv, for training on the Patriot missile defense system.

The “Oklahoma front” in this U.S.-NATO proxy war with Russia is another step in the Biden administration’s delicate incrementalism: The step warns Putin to not anticipate a ceiling on U.S. and NATO material support for Ukraine, short of direct involvement.

And prudence does not mean erring on the side of anachronistic assessments of the Russian menace. Historian Antony Beevor in Foreign Affairs reminds us:

“After 1945, the Red Army’s achievements in winter warfare gave it a fearsome reputation in the West. It was not until the Soviet Union’s ill-planned invasion of Czechoslovakia in the summer of 1968 — the Warsaw Pact forces lacked maps, food supplies, and fuel — that Western analysts first began to suspect that they might have overestimated the Soviets’ warfighting abilities.”

A day after France said earlier this month that it was sending Ukraine armored vehicles that some analysts call “light tanks,” President Biden announced the dispatch to Ukraine of armored combat vehicles. He did so in a joint statement with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who also pledged to send such vehicles. Yet Scholz seems reluctant to provide Ukraine with Germany’s Leopard 2 tanks, of which there are an estimated 2,000 in 13 other European armies. Why hoard these when Ukrainians are eager to use a small fraction of them in the fight against Russia, the only clear and present danger confronting Europe’s militaries?

Ukraine says it needs 300 more tanks for an effective offensive. Britain is said to be planning to send a squadron of 14 Challenger 2 tanks: A spokesman for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says “battle tanks could provide a game-changing capability.” Poland, which has agreed to a $1.4 billion purchase of 116 U.S. Abrams main battle tanks, says it will send about 14 Leopard 2 tanks but will do so “as part of the building of an international coalition.” So, much depends on Germany shedding its hesitancy regarding tanks for Ukraine, which should not suffer today because Germany is haunted by what very different Germans did three generations ago, before and after Kursk.

Astonishingly, some congressional Republicans, being parsimonious where this is least virtuous, profess alarm about the cost of aid to Ukraine. In 2022, this was 0.09 percent of the United States’ gross domestic product.

Eighty years ago, the Soviet Union ground down German forces, using the U.S. lend-lease material, including 183,000 trucks received by the summer of 1943. U.S. lives were saved on the Western Front by U.S. Studebakers on the Eastern Front. Today, sustaining Ukraine’s punishment of Russia’s criminality will radically reduce the threat of future aggression from the only nation motivated by delusions to precipitate a large European war. Purchasing this reduction with the currency of tanks would be a historic bargain.

 

Lucky for US landings in Sicily in Aug43....and massive lend lease..... without that Kursk would've turned out altogether different.

 

Ukraine's interior minister among at least 16 killed in helicopter crash in Kyiv region

A helicopter crash near a kindergarten in the Ukrainian city of Brovary has killed at least 16 people, including Ukrainian Interior Minister Denis Monastyrsky, according to officials.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/18/euro...uWJDKTfMWI1DB4sFjZqX+ULIa&bt_ts=1674032540557

 

Ukraine Conflict Updates
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, January 18, 2023

Click here to read the full report.
Key Takeaways

• Russian President Vladimir Putin’s speech commemorating the siege of Leningrad continued to illustrate that Putin remains uncertain about his ability to significantly shape the Russian information space.
• Putin’s speech is likely part of a larger informational effort to wrap the "special military operation" inside the greater Russian national mythos of the Great Patriotic War (the Second World War) to increase Russian support for a protracted war and mobilization.
• Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov augmented these efforts to increase Russian support for a protracted war by explicitly and ludicrously claiming that Ukraine and the West are pursuing the genocide of the Russian people.
• Putin continues efforts to reinvigorate Russia’s defense industrial base to support a protracted war in Ukraine.
• Putin and Lavrov continue to deny Ukrainian sovereignty and outright reject direct negotiations with Ukraine.
• Wagner Group financier Yevgeny Prigozhin is becoming increasingly bold in his verbal attacks against the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) and the Kremlin.
• Prigozhin and other notable voices in Russia are carving out a new space to criticize Russian President Vladimir Putin without fear of retribution.
• Russian forces continued limited counterattacks to regain lost positions near Kreminna.
• Russian forces continued offensive operations near Soledar, Bakhmut, Avdiivka, and Donetsk City.
• The Russian MoD continues to attempt to downplay the role of the Wagner Group in claimed tactical advances in the Soledar area.
• Ukrainian officials have indicated that Russian forces are concentrating in Zaporizhia Oblast, possibly for a large defensive or offensive effort.
• Russian forces’ increasing use of incendiary munitions to conduct what appear to be otherwise routine strikes in southern Ukraine supports ISW’s recent assessment that Russian forces likely face a shortage of conventional artillery rounds.
• Ukrainian and Russian sources continued to indicate that Russian authorities are likely preparing for a second wave of mobilization. . . .

Ukrainian and Russian sources continued to indicate that Russian authorities are likely preparing for a second wave of mobilization. Pskov Oblast Deputy Artur Gaiduk claimed on January 16 that the Kremlin responded to his inquiry on the status of mobilization, stating that the call-up of mobilized persons has ended but that Putin’s initial partial mobilization decree remains active.[66] The Ukrainian Main Military Intelligence Directorate (GUR) reported on January 18 that military recruitment centers are increasing recruitment efforts among older men and migrants from former Soviet republics.[67] The Ukrainian Resistance Center that Russian military recruiters in North Ossetia are mobilizing people who struggle with drug addiction.[68] Russian lawmakers submitted a bill to the Russian State Duma on January 16 to defer mobilization for farmers, entrepreneurs, and other small business owners.[69]

Russian authorities continue to struggle with and crack down on insubordination and desertion within Russian forces. A Russian source reported on January 18 that Russian authorities conducted a manhunt for a Russian military servicemember who escaped from his unit and traveled through Voronezh to Lipetsk Oblast.[70] The source claimed that the soldier opened fire on police and died in the shootout.[71]Russian authorities charged eight mobilized personnel from Kaliningrad Oblast with desertion after the personnel traveled from Luhansk Oblast to Podolsk, Russia, via taxi and bus with their weapons.[72] An Omsk Oblast military court sentenced one mobilized servicemember to six years in a strict regime penal colony for assaulting and threatening to kill his commander.[73] A Russian source claimed that police in Lipetsk Oblast had to intervene with 200 military personnel who rioted due to the lack of heat on the train transporting them to the front lines.[74] Radio Free Kavkaz reported on January 15 that Dagestani contract personnel of the 136th Guards Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade of the 58th Combined Arms Army of the Southern Military District refused to fight in Ukraine or follow their commander’s orders, and left Ukraine for their permanent base in Buynaksk, Dagestan.[75] . . . .

 

U.S. Warms to Helping Ukraine Target Crimea

 

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Ironically when I met my future wife after Vietnam a military hospital ( she was a nurse at the hospital) I found out that her great grandparents came from the Mildenhall area. Sadly she never had any contact or connection with her extended family outside the US.

 

14 is not that many, but over 250 tanks have already been delivered by other European nations and Germany and Finland are talking about sending Leopard tanks

U.K. Sending 14 Challenger 2 Tanks, Ammo to Ukraine, Foreign Minister Says
https://news.usni.org/2023/01/17/u-...2-tanks-ammo-to-ukraine-foreign-minister-says
The U.K. is sending 14 Challenger 2 main battle tanks, self-propelled artillery and thousands of rounds of ammunition to Ukraine with the goal of helping troops push back against Russian troops in the eastern and southern parts of the country, U.K.’s foreign minister said Tuesday.

The foreign ministry is focused on helping Ukraine end Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ambitions to take Ukraine by force, James Cleverly told an audience at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Cleverly spoke at CSIS while in Washington, D.C., to meet his American counterparts at the State Department.

 

Boris Pistorius and Friday's Ramstein meeting prediction....will Germany agree to send Leo 2 tanks to Ukraine....No. Will Germany agree to allow licenses for other countries to send Leos....yes

 

US Considering Helping Ukraine Target Crimea. The New York Times reports that the Biden administration is considering providing Ukraine the weapons it needs to target the Crimean Peninsula according to officials familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity. Crimea was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014. The US was initially wary of the idea at the start of Russia’s invasion in February over fears of escalation and due to the belief that Ukrainian forces were more needed elsewhere. Now, Washington is starting to believe that if Ukraine can threaten Russian control of Crimea, Kyiv’s position in future negotiations will be strengthened. Targeting bases and supply routes in Crimea is also likely to support Ukrainian operations in southern Ukraine. The Biden administration has yet to give long-range missile systems to Ukraine to target Russian installations in Crimea, but it is moving in that direction with deliveries of weapons that will help Ukraine go on the offensive, demonstrated by recent shipments of Bradley armored vehicles. New York Times

 

US Pulling Equipment from Israel, South Korea to Supply Ukraine. US and Israeli officials say the Pentagon is transferring arms and munitions from its Israeli stockpiles to Ukraine. Separately, the Pentagon has also asked its force in South Korea to likewise transfer military equipment to Ukraine. UK Forces Korea maintains that the transfer will not impact the US military operations in South Korea. The US transfers are part of efforts to maintain Ukraine’s access to ammunition to ensure it can resist Russia’s invasion. Both Israel and South Korea have not supplied weapons to Ukraine out of fear of damaging relations with Russia. CNN New York Times Reuters

 

Germany Says No Longer Dependent on Russian Energy. German Finance Minister Christian Lindner told the BBC that Germany is no longer reliant on Russian energy imports. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Lindner said Germany has successfully diversified its energy portfolio following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, specifically citing Germany’s new liquefied natural gas terminal in the North Sea. Germany previously imported half of its gas and a third of its oil from Russia. Despite the positive development, Lindner added that Western countries moving away from Russian energy should not compete with each other on green subsidies. BBC

 

Germany Says US Must Transfer Tanks to Ukraine Before it Sends its Own. German officials say that Berlin will not ship its Leopard battle tanks to Ukraine nor allow European allies to do so until the US agrees to send American-made tanks to Kyiv. The condition comes despite willingness by several European countries, including Poland, Finland and Denmark, to send the German-made tanks. The Pentagon has said the US is unlikely to give its Abrams tanks to Ukraine any time soon, with officials warning that the system is too hard to maintain and train on to be helpful to Ukraine. Politico appeared to confirm this caution with its report that the next US military aid package to Kyiv will include Stryker armored vehicles, but not Abrams tanks. The issue of tanks is likely to dominate discussions at the end of this week between US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his new German counterpart Boris Pistorius, as well as at the German-hosted meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group. Politico Reuters Wall Street Journal

 

Poland May Transfer Tanks to Ukraine Without Permission From Berlin. Despite Germany’s reluctance on tank transfers, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said Thursday that Warsaw may transfer German-made Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine whether or not Berlin allows it. Transfers of the Leopards usually require permission from Germany. Speaking in Davos, Morawiecki said Poland has offered Ukraine 14 of the tanks and is willing to “do the right thing ourselves.” He added that Poland has already given 250 older T-72 tanks to Ukraine and is calling on Western partners to follow suit. CNN Wall Street Journal

 

Wagner Head Attacks Russian Government Over Failure to Ban YouTube. The founder of Russia’s Wagner group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, blasted the Kremlin on Wednesday for failing to block the video sharing platform YouTube in Russia. Prigozhin said on Telegram that 40% of videos on Youtube are anti-Russian, though he did not provide evidence for his claim. He added that Moscow has yet to ban Youtube despite moves against other foreign media since it is supposedly widely used by ordinary citizens and by the opposition to President Vladimir Putin. Prigozhin’s comments mark the latest clash between Wagner and the Russian government. Reuters

 

Putin Says Russian Military-Industrial Might Ensures Victory in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that Russia’s powerful military-industrial complex makes Moscow’s victory in Ukraine “inevitable.” Speaking at a factory in St Petersburg that produces air defense systems, Putin said Russian military equipment output is rising even despite high demand. He also claimed that Russia manufactures the same amount of anti-aircraft missiles as the rest of the world combined, and three times more than the US. Putin’s praise of Russia’s defense industry contradicts his recent, public outburst at a trade and industry minister over issues with key military contracts, especially with fighter jets. BreakingDefense Reuters

 

Reminds me of Vietnam. "Hell no! We won't go!"


Ukraine war: Serbia uproar over Wagner mercenaries

 

The Pootster might not have much more time.
The Hill
Circling Valkyries over the Kremlin