Here we go again-Ukraine once again

[Skybird]

All bridges to Severodonezk have been destroyed by the Russian army. The city now is fully isolated.

And this:

https://twitter.com/nexta_tv/status/...rc=twsrc%5Etfw

https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-energ.../31825742.html

Russia Nearly Doubled Its Income From Energy Sales To The EU During Wartime, Study Shows
Moscow continues to benefit from Europe's energy dependence on Russian oil despite a reduction in sales due to sanctions imposed to pressure it to end its war against Ukraine, according to experts with a Finland-based research organization.
New research by the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) released on April 28 shows that Russia has nearly doubled its revenues from sales of fossil fuels to the EU during the two months of war in Ukraine.
Soaring prices have more than compensated Russia for the loss in sales volume due to sanctions, the research shows.

Ooopsie-poopsie. Thats not going according to the clever formula. And since this is because there is endless delay and no real cutting in imports, this hardly is a surprise if you know how markets work. Which is not too difficult to comprehend

Earlier this day I red that in the days of this war German imports of ores and industrial products from Russia have INCREASED.

And this clever EU and Berlin coalition wants to give us the Green Deal planned economy schemes that save the world? Rette sich wer kann, flee from your saviors!

[mapuc]

When it comes to income Russia made a great thing attacking Ukraine.

When it comes to the military...well things could have gone better.

Markus

[Dargo]

Originally Posted by Skybird

All bridges to Severodonezk have been destroyed by the Russian army. The city now is fully isolated.

And this:

https://twitter.com/nexta_tv/status/...rc=twsrc%5Etfw

https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-energ.../31825742.html

Ooopsie-poopsie. Thats not going according to the clever formula. And since this is because there is endless delay and no real cutting in imports, this hardly is a surprise if you know how markets work. Which is not too difficult to comprehend

Earlier this day I red that in the days of this war German imports of ores and industrial products from Russia have INCREASED.

And this clever EU and Berlin coalition wants to give us the Green Deal planned economy schemes that save the world? Rette sich wer kann, flee from your saviors!

(Severodonezk) They should be able to ferry supplies and ammo across the river on boats, the river is very shallow now all tanks and heavy equipment probably has been moved from the city. How much does this "operation" cost Russia and the decline of its economy?

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by Dargo

How much does this "operation" cost Russia and the decline of its economy?

The question is more what it costs the Ukraine...?!

The Russians, whatever the costs for them are now (low) or will be in the future (hard to assess) - they seem to think they can afford it.

And the ga sprices, as descirbes as such that they earn MORE profit with delivering LESS gas and oil to Eruope. Not bad deal.

Russia prepares to continue the war AT LEAST until Octobre. They have the reserves for that, it seems. Does the Ukraine have the replenishments? Doubts are on order. They get not sufficient Western style weapons, and their ammo stocks for their Sovjet style heavy weapons are dying quickly.

This is the kind of game where the Russians are stronger. Sad, but true.

[Dargo]

Originally Posted by Skybird

The question is more what it costs the Ukraine...?!

The Russians, whatever the costs for them are now (low) or will be in the future (hard to assess) - they seem to think they can afford it.

And the ga sprices, as descirbes as such that they earn MORE profit with delivering LESS gas and oil to Eruope. Not bad deal.

Russia prepares to continue the war AT LEAST until Octobre. They have the reserves for that, it seems. Does the Ukraine have the replenishments? Doubts are on order. They get not sufficient Western style weapons, and their ammo stocks for their Sovjet style heavy weapons are dying quickly.

This is the kind of game where the Russians are stronger. Sad, but true.

Wars cost a lot of money Russia is using/losing a lot of material that they need to replace on the moment factories have problems to make all kind of products to re-arm Russia's army. What did they gain in the last 2 months to make it a win for them? We the west made the wrong choice to sanction oil and gas, it backfired. It all depends on what the U.S. wants; to support Ukraine further or let Russia take over Ukraine.

[Dargo]

President Zelensky called the number of Ukrainian deaths in the battle for the city of Severodonetsk frightening. In a video address, he said that the fighting in the eastern Donbas region is having a major impact on his country's citizens and military. According to Zelensky, his country is facing "absolute evil." Therefore, his military has no choice and must liberate the area to the Russian borders, he argues. The president believes that the battle in the Donbas "will undoubtedly be remembered in military history as one of the most violent battles in Europe."

[Skybird]

Currently I cannot see the Ukraine being able to launch a major counteroffensive to retake the now fought-over areas. They apparently lack the heavy weapons, the ammunition, and their troops must be even more exhausted than that of the Russians. And these troops are outnumbered, too, get no rest, and now are hard to be rotated in and out. They say the war has degenerated into trench warfare like in WW1. Well, that emans: you do not get any rest at all. And has its toll.

When the battle for Donbass began, they wrote the Ukraine has its best and most experienced troops in there. And they are getting chewed on all time over, have high losses.

They get their best combat units degraded currently.

The Russian firepower currently has overwhelming superiority in the battlezone. Its a question of maths. Artillery superiority is 5:1 to 7:1, write some sources, others go as high as claimning 15:1 superiority. No army can endlessly survive getting hammered by such superior firepower.

Can those 12 Dutch and German Panzerhaubitzen 2000 make a difference? They may be precise, and still, its only 12 pieces of artillery. Can these really make themselves being felt by the Russians like 120 howitzers? I admit I have doubts. Those American triple-sevens may count more, because there are so many more of them.

I think currently the war is no longer going so good for the ukraine, the surprising victories of the first weeks are over. Maybe that better warfoghting will come back in the future - but for that THEY NEED MORE WEAPONS, and AMMO.

The front, said the ukrainian generals yesterday, has a total length of 2400 km. Thats more than twice as long as Germany's length in North-South direction.

[Skybird]

The deputy head of the Ukrainian military intelligence service, Vadim Skibitsky, told the British "Guardian" on Friday that the Ukrainian artillery almost only uses NATO ammunition with a caliber of 155 millimeters. The somewhat smaller calibers according to the Russian standard (152 millimeters) are hardly available anymore, he said. As a result, the corresponding artillery pieces are also losing their usefulness. "Everything depends on what the West gives us," Skibizki is quoted as saying in the Guardian.

The statements cannot be verified. Ukraine's civilian and military leadership communicates very skillfully to emphasize its demand for more support. However, Skibizki's descriptions coincide with other reports.
(...)

It is true that there are also defense companies in NATO countries that produce ammunition for weapons to Russian standards, for example in Slovakia or Bulgaria. But obviously the capacities are not sufficient for the enormous consumption on the battlefields of eastern Ukraine. Skibizki of the Ukrainian military intelligence service says that his country's armed forces ship 5,000 to 6,000 artillery shells every day.

Ukraine has hardly any production capacity of its own, although the country had a significant arms industry before the war. The Russian army targeted it right after the war began. As early as the end of March, Olexi Arestovich, an advisor to President Selensky, said that the Ukrainian defense industry had been virtually destroyed.
(...)
Presidential adviser Arestovich, for example, recently said his country needs at least 60 multiple launchers to halt the Russians' slow but steady advance. That is many times what Washington and London have pledged so far.

From the Ukrainian point of view, however, the biggest problem remains the imbalance on the battlefield. According to intelligence officer Skibitsky, there are ten to fifteen Russian artillery pieces for every Ukrainian artillery piece in eastern Ukraine. This probably includes a lot of obsolete equipment. Nevertheless, the Russian superiority is overwhelming.


Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

https://www.nzz.ch/international/kam...aus-ld.1688267

[mapuc]

^^ Reminds me of some article I read at noon.

Ukraine has called on the west to supply 300 rocket launchers, 500 tanks and 1,000 howitzers before a key meeting on Wednesday amid concern in some quarters it is pushing its demands for Nato-standard weapons to the limit.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...tillery-supply

Markus

[Skybird]

The Ukrainian armed forces use many Soviet-designed weapons systems. But supplies for them are drying up. This makes support from Western armaments all the more urgent.

When Ukraine was finally supported with heavy weapons for its defensive struggle in the Donbass, the initial focus was on older stocks from former Warsaw Pact member states: tanks from Poland, howitzers from the Czech Republic, rifled guns from Estonia. Even the ring exchanges, through which Germany aims to provide indirect assistance to Ukraine by supplying Western armaments to its NATO partners in the east, effectively mean that older Eastern European military equipment is reaching the front lines.

The reason for this approach is obvious: The Ukrainian armed forces, many of whose existing equipment dates back to Soviet times, are familiar with this armaments technology. The weapons supplied therefore require no additional training for Ukrainian troops and are compatible with the systems the Ukrainians already have in service.

This also applies to the ammunition. This is because Soviet or Russian artillery pieces cannot be loaded with NATO projectiles due to their different calibers. An important part of the U.S.-coordinated arms assistance to Ukraine therefore consisted of procuring ammunition and replacement material for the Ukrainian army from allied or friendly countries worldwide. But this is becoming increasingly difficult.

The deputy head of Ukraine's military intelligence service, Vadim Skibitsky, told the British Guardian on Friday that Ukrainian artillery was almost exclusively using NATO ammunition with a caliber of 155 millimeters. The somewhat smaller calibers according to the Russian standard (152 millimeters) are hardly available anymore, he said. As a result, the corresponding artillery pieces are also losing their usefulness. "Everything depends on what the West gives us," Skibizki is quoted as saying in the Guardian.

The statements cannot be verified. Ukraine's civilian and military leadership communicates very skillfully to emphasize its demand for more support. However, Skibizki's descriptions coincide with other reports.

The AFP news agency quotes a U.S. government official as saying that it is almost impossible to find material compatible with Russian technology. He is likely referring to those markets to which the U.S. and its allies have access. Russia, the largest producer, does not make its armaments available to the enemy.

It is true that there are arms companies in NATO countries that produce ammunition for weapons to Russian standards, for example in Slovakia or Bulgaria. But obviously their capacities are not sufficient for the enormous consumption on the battlefields of eastern Ukraine. Skibizki of the Ukrainian military intelligence service says that his country's armed forces ship 5,000 to 6,000 artillery shells every day.

Ukraine has hardly any production capacity of its own, although the country had a significant arms industry before the war. The Russian army targeted it right after the war began. As early as the end of March, Olexi Arestovich, an advisor to President Selensky, said that Ukraine's defense industry had been virtually destroyed.
Crass imbalance on the battlefield

This means that Ukraine is even more dependent on Western equipment for the artillery fight in the Donbass, which is increasingly turning into a battle of attrition. Although training for Ukrainian soldiers and trainers has been underway for weeks in several Western countries, handling the unfamiliar systems is sometimes a challenge.

But the biggest problem from the Ukrainian perspective remains the imbalance on the battlefield. According to intelligence officer Skibitsky, there are ten to fifteen Russian artillery pieces for every Ukrainian artillery piece in eastern Ukraine. This probably includes a lot of obsolete equipment. Nevertheless, the Russian superiority is overwhelming.

Presidential adviser Arestovich, for example, recently said that his country would need at least 60 multiple rocket launchers to halt the slow but steady Russian advance. That is many times what Washington and London have pledged so far.

The fight is also exacting an ever-higher blood toll. President Selensky said last week that 60 to 100 Ukrainian servicemen and women were falling every day. His adviser Mikhailo Podolyak on Thursday even spoke of 100 to 200 dead a day. Reports from the front seem to confirm the high casualties. On the Russian side, too, the war is likely to claim many, perhaps even more, victims. Both warring parties are silent about the exact death toll.

https://www.nzz.ch/international/kam...aus-ld.1688267

[Jimbuna]

UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss says she will do "whatever necessary" to free two Britons sentenced to death after fighting in Ukraine.

Aiden Aslin, Shaun Pinner, and a Moroccan, Saaudun Brahim, deny charges of being mercenaries.

They were sentenced this month by the self-proclaimed Donetsk People Republic in eastern Ukraine.

Meanwhile, all bridges to the embattled Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk are destroyed.

The evacuation of civilians – and troops - and the delivery of supplies is increasingly difficult.

Russia's military is likely to have made small advances in the Kharkiv region for the first time in several weeks, the UK says.

[Jimbuna]

Show us clear support - Zelensky to Germany

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to show clear support for Ukraine.

In an interview with German broadcaster ZDF on Monday night, Zelensky said Germany should not try to balance its interests between Ukraine and its relationship with Russia.

"We need from Chancellor Scholz the certainty that Germany supports Ukraine," he said. "He and his government must decide: there can't be a trade-off between Ukraine and relations with Russia."

There has been speculation Scholz could make his first trip to Kyiv since the start of the war later this week.

The chancellor defended Germany against accusations it wouldn’t deliver weapons it promised for Ukraine.

Before modern weapons could be delivered, Ukrainian soldiers needed to be trained how to use them, he said last night.

Leading politicians from across Germany's political spectrum accuse Scholz of acting as a brake on arms deliveries.

[Jimbuna]

[Jimbuna]

[Rockstar]

On the New York Times homepage the word "Trump" appeared 10 times, "Ukraine" appeared 5 times.

On the Washington Post homepage the word "Trump" appeared 12 times, "Ukraine" appeared 5 times.

On the Wall Street Journal homepage the word "Trump" appeared 9 times, "Ukraine" appeared 3 times.

The Google Trends graph for Ukraine has fallen to near zero.