Originally Posted By AlmightyTallest:
Drone video of yesterday's strike on Russian training ground.

\uD83D\uDD25BREAKING\uD83D\uDD25

Another one \uD83C\uDDFA\uD83C\uDDE6Ukrainian missile strikes on \uD83C\uDDF7\uD83C\uDDFARussian training ground near village Podo-Kalinovka, left bank of Kherson region.

??| About SIXTY RUSSIAN SOLDIERS WERE KILLED during inspect the training of units that are preparing for useless assaults on the village… pic.twitter.com/57mJ7yAmPh

— Cloooud |\uD83C\uDDFA\uD83C\uDDE6 (@GloOouD) February 21, 2024

Slowmotion of of the video. https://t.co/s0hjW7UF9a pic.twitter.com/k3WaWDnxXU

Def Mon  (@DefMon3) February 21, 2024

Originally Posted By mercersfinest4:
China is currently teetering on the edge economically.

I imagine the threat of sanctions will keep them from doing much more than they currently are.

Also, is it in China’s best interest for Russia to win in Ukraine?  I’m not so sure.  A defeated and bled out vassal state on its border may be more attractive.

Originally Posted By Prime:
Interesting mixed signals.

Transnistria is about to request its annexation from Russia, an opposition politician from Transnistria said. Putin is about to make an announcement in this regard on 29th February

Paula Erizanu  (@paulaerizanu) February 22, 2024

🇲🇩🇺🇦 Information appeared in the media that Transnistria promised to launch a corridor for the export of Ukrainian grain, in return hoping for help from the Kyiv regime in resolving the economic conflict between Tiraspol and Chisinau.

Let us recall that since the beginning of the year, the Moldovan authorities began to impose double taxes on economic agents from Transnistria, thereby undermining the exports of Pridnestrovians. In Chisinau they do not hide the fact that they thereby intend to draw the PMR into their constitutional field.

▪️The other day there was a meeting between the head of the PMR Vadim Krasnoselsky and the Ambassador Extraordinary of the so-called. Ukraine Pauna Rogoveya. Apparently, in the conditions of the most difficult economic situation in Tiraspol, they are trying to negotiate relief in a situation that was created by the Western curators of Moldova in the person of the USA and Great Britain.

▪️At the same time, at the end of last year, the Ukrainians agreed on a reserve grain corridor through Transnistria. For the PMR, relations with Kiev are important in order to restore legal and shadow trade schemes that have been undermined since 2022.

▪️However, Chisinau will also be a serious political gain, since the launch of a grain corridor through the PMR will allow the Moldovan and Ukrainian authorities to carry out customs control at the Transnistrian border.

🔻Faced with a severe economic crisis, pressure from the Moldovan authorities and military threats from neighbors, Transnistria, in the absence of outside support, is sliding into a hopeless situation. And given the assertiveness of all interested parties, we can hardly expect an improvement in the situation in the region, which is being pushed towards escalation.
#Moldova #Transnistria #Ukraine

https://t.me/rybar/57427

Originally Posted By Evintos:
80 years is a number another poster used in reference to the US build up of military arms to oppose the USSR (the entirety of the Cold War era build up). I just responded to his/her 80 years. Fact is, we got less than that as evidenced by the amount of stuff that has been sent and the supposed shortage for our own use. It's simple, we're not sending enough weapons and equipment to Ukraine to actually make a game changing (war winning) difference other than to feel good because the US and EU doesn't want to or fundamentally can't. In order to actually send enough weapons without sending troops, it would mean to potentially compromise our own national defense strategy which leaves us vulnerable to other threats.

The chances that the US government risking that is effectively 0%, thus the option is if US and NATO wants to defeat Russia, the commitment of troops and therefore equipment and fighting alongside the Ukrainians would be necessary as it seems that the only way US and European/NATO equipment would be sent in a large enough quantity (at a fast enough pace) to deal a big enough blow to Russia (to set them back a couple of decades) is to commit troops on the ground WITH equipment. US equipment, in US hands, killing Russian troops. NATO troops with European equipment killing Russians. Do you think that the US and EU would delay equipment to their own soldiers? I don't know about Europe but for the US, not likely.

You and others can choose to go "nah, it's enough for now" but what happens a few months down the line when another request for aid comes from Ukraine? Then another? Then another? At what point do you go, accept, hey, it's not enough because we aren't sending amounts at a level/rate required for Ukraine to win. It wasn't enough the first time, the second time, it won't be enough the third time, the fourth time (I've lost track of how many packages already). Logic is simple - send a big package to begin with, but the US and EU can't. Why? Because the government (both US and European) has done and will continue to do a 3rd order calculus to figure out the ramifications of such actions and it's not in their own national interest to do so.

People (politicians especially) shouldn't pretend like a measly $60 billion package RIGHT NOW is the war winning amount, because it isn't. Don't bury your head in the sand. Look at the whole picture not just what you want to see. Below are some recent articles. The reality is staring you in the face and the totality of the actions of US and EU/NATO thus far is the truth. Actions are meaningful, not words. The sense of urgency from Europe, simply is not there. If they actually cared, they would get their asses into high gear. They are not doing so because at the moment, they're more concerned about which of their "military industrial complex" gets the bulk of the purchase orders, which of course is in their own national interest. Our (US) and their (EU) national interests, while somewhat aligned with Ukraine, is nevertheless not in the best interest for Ukraine.

EU Military Aid for Ukraine Held Up by Germany and France

France Is Struggling to Pay for Ukraine Aid as Budget Stretched

German opposition to reform of EU fund risks delaying arms to Ukraine

EU Acknowledges Months of Delay for Ukraine Ammunition Pledge
Bloc to meet only 52% of objective for March 2024 delivery <-- months delay for already pledged equipment.

Bulgaria delays promised military aid to Ukraine

Ukraine's Zelenskyy says foreign aid delays are making life 'very difficult'

EU grapples with future of military aid for Ukraine


Compare it to, "HAHA no more microchips for Russia!" and what the propaganda said about Russia running out of equipment and manpower, they still manage to find or buy enough of it (and it actually being delivered). The reality shows - Shahed drone attacks, the FPV drones attacks, the FAB bomb strikes, the Iskander missile strikes, so on and so forth continues.

The US, EU could've passed a single $500 billion aid package at the beginning of the '22 invasion and it likely would have passed due to the immense amount of global support at the time and not have to worry about passing another aid package, having only to worry about fulfilling the delivery, but they didn't. For a reason.

Originally Posted By Lieh-tzu:

Dear Presidents Sandu & Iohannis:

Please take action to resolve the Transnistria problem immediately and expel all Russians and Russian agents from the territory. And transfer all the inventory of the Copasna armory to Ukraine.

Thanks,
The free world

The German Bundestag has voted by a majority in favor of a draft resolution calling for the delivery of long-range missiles to Ukraine.

Taurus cruise missiles are not explicitly mentioned but they fit the description.

382 MPs out of 668 present were in favor, 284 were against, and 2 more abstained. The document says that long-term military support for Ukraine "includes the supply of the necessary additional long-range combat systems and ammunition" so that it "could launch targeted strikes against strategically important facilities located in the deep rear" of Russian forces.

The decision is now up to Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Long-range missiles are one of the key weapons needed by Ukraine on the battlefield.

Originally Posted By AlmightyTallest:
NSFW.

DARWIN AWARD?? A russian decided to warm up next to his burning friend, but the friend turned out to have an interesting surprise...\uD83D\uDE08 pic.twitter.com/QASdhJTkWu

PS01  (@PStyle0ne1) February 22, 2024

Originally Posted By Prime:

I saw that earlier on TG and was so horrified I just put the tablet down and found something else to do

Guy’s like “fuck it, might as well warm up, make some lemonade out of this situation”.

Originally Posted By Prime:
I saw that earlier on TG and was so horrified I just put the tablet down and found something else to do

Guy’s like “fuck it, might as well warm up, make some lemonade out of this situation”.

Originally Posted By _disconnector_:
Wait a sec - a GMLRS has a certain flight time right?  How on earth did the UA targeters know that all of those dudes would gather in those exact spots at those exact times?  Especially the first vid - that didn't look like a pre-planned gathering of troops.

I think our guys have someone WAY inside to score like that . . . or those weren't GMLRS.

Originally Posted By AlmightyTallest:
This could just mean more HIMARS ammunition as well.

??The German Bundestag has voted by a majority in favor of a draft resolution calling for the delivery of long-range missiles to Ukraine.

Taurus cruise missiles are not explicitly mentioned but they fit the description.

382 MPs out of 668 present were in favor, 284 were…

— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) February 22, 2024

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GG8mPjuXwAE9guN?format=jpg&name=small

Originally Posted By AlmightyTallest:

??\uD83C\uDDFA\uD83C\uDDE6Himars destroys \uD83C\uDDF7\uD83C\uDDFARussian UAV operators ZALA in Kherson region pic.twitter.com/9bToxpEBjH

— \uD83C\uDDFA\uD83C\uDDE6Ukrainian Front (@front_ukrainian) February 22, 2024

This almost looks like GLSDB with enhanced lethality pellets.  You can see the round come in slowly from the left side and seem to glide at a shallow angle to the target.  Big airburst too.