European Leaders Flock to Kyiv as Ukraine Marks Two Years Since Russian Invasion

Breitbart ^ | 02/24/2024 | BREITBART LONDON

[ChicagoConservative27]

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) – Western leaders descended on Kyiv Saturday to mark the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen traveled overnight to Kyiv by train along with Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

They arrived shortly after a Russian drone attack struck a residential building in the southern city of Odesa, killing at least one person. Three women also sustained severe burns in the attack Friday evening on a residential building, regional Governor Oleh Kiper said on his social media account. Rescue services are still combing rubble looking for survivors.

[ChicagoConservative27]

How do you just fly into a war zone?? 🤔

[AnotherUnixGeek]

Great, maybe those European leaders can pay for Ukraine’s defense instead of bothering US taxpayers to do it.

[JonPreston]

How do you just fly into a war zone??

It's done with Russia's approval. And why wouldn't Russia want the EU to continue pouring $billions into this boondoggle? It's causing their economies to crash while demilitarizing NATO at the same time. Remember, never stand in the way of an enemy intent of suicide.

[rlmorel]

I can see the parties now.

Bone china, glittering silverware, Steamship Round being carved by guys wearing white Toques on their heads, expertly slicing the red meat and placing it professionally on the stark white plates...a quartet playing in the background at just the right volume...

Yeah. I can see it.

[AAABEST]

I thought the female Italian PM was supposed to be Italy’s next best thing - their MAGA pick or some such... yet here she is jetting around doing globaloid stuff with dung-heap Trudeau.

[aMorePerfectUnion]

The globalists run candidates that talk a great game,
convince conservatives they must be one of them,
and govern as the globalists they are.

Cough, Tulsi, cough

[Navy Patriot]

European Leaders Flock to Kyiv as Ukraine Marks Two Years Since Russian Invasion

Now, Vlad, Now!

[AAABEST]

Russia built us a nice black hole to pour all our gear and into with zero plans or an end game.

All Russia needs to do is on its (now-expanded) border and produce arty shells.

[JonPreston]

With open borders and bankrupt economies, Europe and America are engaged in national suicide. All Russia has to do is stand back and watch.

[Empire_of_Liberty]

Putin sure isn’t going to save us. (though I had the same thought as you ;-)

In that TC interview, I got the distinct impression he was very happy with what the West is going through. I think he mentioned preferring Biden to Trump, and that’s probably because Biden is a corrupt putz.

[Texan4Life]

It’s time for Ukraine to stop asking the American taxpayers for Billions to keep their corrupt Ukraine Govt. afloat, and for Ukraine to sue for Peace with Russia.

If the EU wants to fund, on their own, a proxy war with their neighbor Russia, then that’s their call.

[PGR88]

I thought the female Italian PM was supposed to be Italy’s next best thing - their MAGA pick or some such

Indeed, it represents the problem of trusting headlines or breathless MSM narratives for "news." She fell into line quite quickly, didn't she?

It also shows how easily controlled and manipulated Italy is. It is truly a colony of Brussels and the US deep-state.

[varyouga]

“How do you just fly into a war zone??”

In most of Ukraine, you wouldn’t know a war is happening if you dont read. People are living completely normally except for drafting of military age males.

Many facts of the war are up for debate but we do know from BOTH sides that Russia hasn’t advanced more than walking distance in 2 years and couldnt operate anywhere near Kiev without losing everything...

[Zhang Fei]

Ukraine ping

[In most of Ukraine, you wouldn’t know a war is happening if you dont read. People are living completely normally except for drafting of military age males.]

---

The issue is they’re not drafting males under 27. Every single man on the front lines under 27 is a volunteer. That needs to change. Young men have better reflexes and are healthier, more easily trainable, etc.

Then there’s the issue of priorities. Zelensky hasn’t emphasized self-sufficiency in the things Ukraine can make for itself. His emphasis is on Wunder Waffe - long range strike, instead of simple things like howitzer ammo. Ukraine’s defense is suffering from shell hunger, with total shell usage falling to 2,000 a day, mostly from Western aid. A century ago, France alone made 100,000 shells a day, 2 years into the war. From the looks of it, Ukraine can’t manage 1% of that, despite huge advances in manufacturing technology since.

Zelensky’s forte is asking for aid, but his priorities are kneecapping Ukraine’s war efforts. For Ukraine to prevail, it may need a different leader, someone who can make hard political choices.

[Navy Patriot]

Drat that Putin, it looks like he is going to stay out of our way and not Laugh Himself To Death.

[cgbg]

Don’t forget the West’s gender bender insanity.

Russia is laughing so hard they may injure themselves.

[PIF]

From the looks of it, Ukraine can’t manage 1% of that, despite huge advances in manufacturing technology since.
—

Actually, I read that Ukraine has just set up 1 or 2 shell manufacturing plants under the mountains. I don’t have a link - sorry.

[Does so]

FTA:

“...second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion...”

To O’Buydum, it was “an incursion”...

Putin is probably waiting to pick up more “Lebensraum” after THE DEAL is worked out after the 2024 election.

[DUMBGRUNT]

—”Zelensky’s forte is asking for aid, but his priorities are kneecapping Ukraine’s war efforts. For Ukraine to prevail, it may need a different leader, someone who can make hard political choices.”

IMO unless they make many obvious mistakes, leadership can be difficult to judge at the strategic level, during action.
History can clarify the view.

Churchill now considered among the best, was voted out.

—” Young men have better reflexes and are healthier, more easily trainable, etc.”

Not everyone is needed at the tip of the spear.
Sometimes called the”Tooth to Tale” ratio, US WWII ~20%.

Always a need for skilled POGs (People Other than Grunts).

Logistics is one of many reasons the Russians perform so poorly.
“For want of a nail...”

[Zhang Fei]

Ukraine ping

[Not everyone is needed at the tip of the spear.
Sometimes called the”Tooth to Tale” ratio, US WWII ~20%.]

---

Ukraine’s army is, on the face of it, at worst outnumbered 2 to 1. But at Avdiivka, it was 15 to 1. Its troops ran out of ammo. The massive tail was inadequate to the job of supplying the tooth. To have so many not in the military, but also not even self-sufficient in dumb ammunition at 1% of French production levels 100 years ago is insane.

---

https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/17/europe/avdiivka-ukraine-russia-intl/index.html
[On Friday, Maksym Zhoryn, the deputy commander of Ukraine’s 3rd Assault Brigade, said his men were outnumbered 15 to one and that the Russians had sent seven brigades, totalling about 15,000 men, into the fight.]

---

[Logistics is one of many reasons the Russians perform so poorly.
“For want of a nail...”]

---

The Russians aren’t performing that poorly. IMHO, Ukraine is exaggerating Russian death tolls for whatever reason. It’s a tic inherited from being a province of Russia, but it would be nice if Zelensky would come clean. Yet another leadership failure on his part. To exaggerate enemy casualties by a factor of 4 is very Russian, but lulls your own population into complacency.

Re logistics - the Russians are getting enough ammo to take dug-in Ukrainian positions. Logistics is accounting - important, but an afterthought in the typical military, in terms of who gets promoted

The Russians aren’t great there for the same reason Russian infrastructure is crap - it’s under-resourced. The Russian military budget is about the same as the UK’s, but has to maintain a vast junk heap of old equipment and pay for new gear. In quantity terms, maybe as many as 5x the UK’s, in addition to a nuclear arsenal 10x the size.

During the Cold War, they had pretty good logistics. Came down to money. An estimated 20% to 1/3 of the Russian economy was spent on the military, depending on which grossly inflated Russian GDP numbers you believe. In peacetime. It was completely unsustainable.