Here we go again-Ukraine once again

[Jimbuna]

[Jimbuna]

(Reuters) - Russia has begun using its new T-14 Armata battle tanks to fire on Ukrainian positions "but they have not yet participated in direct assault operations," the RIA state news agency reported on Tuesday, quoting a source close the matter.

RIA said that the tanks have been fitted with extra protection on their flanks and crews have undergone "combat coordination" at training grounds in Ukraine.

The T-14 tank has an unmanned turret, with crew remotely controlling the armaments from "an isolated armoured capsule located in the front of the hull."

The tanks have a maximum speed on the highway of 80 kilometres (50 miles) per hour, RIA reported.

In January, British military intelligence reported that Russian forces in Ukraine were reluctant to accept the first tranche of the tanks due to their "poor condition."

It also said that any deployment of the T-14 would likely be "a high-risk decision" for Russia, and one taken primarily for propaganda purposes.

"Production is probably only in the low tens, while commanders are unlikely to trust the vehicle in combat," the British military said.

"Eleven years in development, the programme has been dogged with delays, reduction in planned fleet size, and reports of manufacturing problems."

The Kremlin ordered production of 2,300 of the tanks - first unveiled in 2015 - by 2020, but this was later stretched to by 2025, according to Russian media reports.

The Interfax news agency reported in December, 2021, that the state conglomerate Rostec had started production of some 40 tanks, with an anticipated delivery after 2023.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world...fe522ecc&ei=51

[Skybird]

On paper the T-14 looks extremely impressive.

On paper the status and capabilities of the Russian army also looked extremely impressive.



We will know soon enough.

[Jimbuna]

Another one bites the dust.

A wealthy pro-Putin MP with secret links to the UK was found dead with no explanation inside his home in Russia.

Nikolay Bortsov, 77 is the latest prominent Russian figure to die after a string of mysterious deaths.

Bortsov had previously been sanctioned by Britain due to his support for Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine.

A leak in 2019 revealed that the multi-millionaire had secretly obtained "indefinite leave to remain" status in the UK.

This was despite of him being an ally of Putin and a support in the Russian parliament, the State Duma.

The MP was discovered dead at his home in the Lipetsk region of Russia with no cause given.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world...81c3cafc&ei=19

[Jimbuna]

[mapuc]

^ So Russia want a deescalation of the crisis between USA and Russia-That's easy, Russia just have withdraw it's troop from Ukraine and pay for the damage they have done in Ukraine and to the Ukrainian people.

Markus

[Jimbuna]

That would be a death sentence for Putin.

[August]

[mapuc]

^.....or turn the war into a WWIII

Markus

[August]

Originally Posted by mapuc

^.....or turn the war into a WWIII

Markus

We'll find out.

[Skybird]

The obvious becomes more and more undeniable: France plays a double game against Ukraine. And by that becomes a real danger to Europe'S policy.

https://www-dw-com.translate.goog/de..._x_tr_pto=wapp

If Macron's statement on Taiwan was a serious accident, the recent development is a total disaster for French diplomacy and France's standing in the free world. It can be heard from Paris that the Foreign Ministry was shocked by Macron's actions and - once again - had to clean up the pieces. Macron is currently under massive pressure domestically because of his pension reform and would like to use foreign policy "success" to show the French that they have a strong man at the top who can speak to China's president on an equal footing.

I never trusted Macronman. His cape is just too big and pompous for me. His and Scholzchen's endless telephone talks with Putin never convinced me either. And this story now is exactly the kind of underhandedness that I always expect from this Frenchman. He may think he is great, but truth is: NOBODY in Europe speaks to China on an equal footing. The onyl ones the Chinese take serious, are the US.

[Jimbuna]

[Jimbuna]

[Jimbuna]

[Jimbuna]

Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke by telephone on Wednesday with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskiy for the first time since Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year, after months of pressure from Kyiv for such talks. Xi told Zelenskiy that China would send special representatives to Ukraine.