I was getting worried when yesterday's casualties slipped below 1,000.
Posted on 12/05/2023 8:31:37 AM PST by SpeedyInTexas
Previous day’s thread: https://freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/4201172/posts
Summarizing this war:
A tragedy for Ukraine.
A disaster for RuZZia.
A strategic win for the USA.
“Why Internet Trolls Do What They Do and How to Spot Russian Fakes”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLtBzvw0—0
“Here is the best-kept secret about U.S. military aid to Ukraine: Most of the money is being spent here in the United States. That’s right: Funds that lawmakers approve to arm Ukraine are not going directly to Ukraine but being used stateside to build new weapons or to replace weapons sent to replace weapons sent to Kyiv from U.S. stockpiles. Of the $68 billion in military and related assistance Congress has approved since Russia invaded Ukraine, almost 90 percent is going to Americans, one analysis found.”
https://twitter.com/TheDeadDistrict/status/1730119780873441750
“US to Deploy Anti-Ship Missiles on Subs in 2024 to Counter China”
“‘Maritime Strike’ Tomahawks part of Asia-focused naval force”
“New missiles to be fielded on US submarines after Sept. 1”
“The US Navy plans to begin arming submarines next year with ship-targeting versions of the widely used Tomahawk missile, part of Washington’s push to ramp up military capabilities to challenge Chinese maritime forces, particularly around Taiwan.
The “Maritime Strike” version of the Tomahawk, the RTX Corp. missile traditionally used as a ground-attack weapon, will be fielded after Sept. 1, program manager Capt. Jon Hersey said in a statement. The latest models will be modified with a new guidance system enabling them to “to engage a mobile target at sea,” he said, adding the Navy took delivery of the initial version last year for tests before declaring it combat ready.
Fielding the new version of the Tomahawk — which made its battlefield debut in the early hours of the 1991 Persian Gulf War in Iraq —- would add to a growing US arsenal of ship-attack missiles to complement submarine-launched torpedoes intended to counter China’s numerically superior fleet. While the Navy also plans to start fielding the weapons on surface vessels, those are more vulnerable to China’s land- and sea-based anti-ship arsenal.”
…
“Japan may someday also deploy the new anti-ship version of the missile. The State Department notified Congress this month that Tokyo has been cleared to receive it first ground-attack Tomahawks in a sale valued at as much as $2.35 billion for up to 200 missiles.
“Should Japan also get this weapon, it adds another level of complexity the Chinese will have to contend with,” Sadler said.”
…
“The US anti-ship arsenal now includes the ship-launched RTX SM-6 air defense missile adapted by the Pentagon’s Strategic Capabilities Office and Lockheed Martin Corp.’s Long Range Anti-Ship Missile. It can be launched from the Air Force B-1-B bomber and the Navy’s top aircraft carrier fighter, the F/A-18 E/F.
Separately, the Navy also fields Boeing Co.’s sea-skimming Harpoon anti-ship missiles, and Taiwan is buying at least 400 ground-launched versions for coastal defense. Those type of missiles figured prominently in a series of tabletop war games of a potential invasion of Taiwan by China conducted last year by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.”
No one could have foreseen this. OR NOT.
“The Violent Homecoming of Russian Convicts Freed to Fight in Ukraine”
“Wave of new, brutal crimes comes as former prisoners finish military contracts and go home; ‘thousands of criminals are walking our streets’”
“In early August, police in Russia’s rural northwest were called to the scene of a mass murder. In the charred remains of two homes set ablaze hours earlier, they found the burned, mutilated bodies of six local residents.
News of the massacre shook Derevyannoye, a village of 1,200 people, where sailing boats bob in Onega Lake and the border with Finland is a three-hour drive away. What was most shocking was the identity of one of the two suspects: a repeat offender freed from a maximum-security prison to fight in Ukraine.
Igor Sofonov had been in and out of jail for 20 years by the time he joined Storm Z, a unit of convicts created to bolster Russia’s war effort. If he and others survived long enough to complete their six-month contracts, they were promised their freedom through a secretive program of presidential pardons.
Sofonov survived, and returned to Russia with the remainder of his sentence for drug trafficking erased. He is among around 30,000 enlisted ex-prisoners, many of whom had been serving long prison terms for violent crimes, who have returned home to liberty.”
“A Russian infantry assault group getting hit with conventional and cluster munitions near Stepove by the 129th Territorial Defense Brigade.”
https://twitter.com/NOELreports/status/1731983631868895598
“”Finland will start production of additional artillery ammunition for Ukraine,” Finnish Defense Minister Antti Hakkanen said. “The plans are ready to increase production significantly. The purpose is to support Ukraine even stronger than we already do.””
https://twitter.com/NOELreports/status/1731969862195405051
“Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced the first procedural vote on President Joe Biden’s $106 billion supplemental package for aid to Ukraine, Israel, the Indo-Pacific region and for humanitarian purposes in the Gaza Strip.”
https://twitter.com/NOELreports/status/1731953253292654750
Fav video of the day.
Just Warms the Heart
Highly Recommend
https://twitter.com/bayraktar_1love/status/1731954408299053290
“SBU drones HIT military facilities in Crimea According to sources, this morning SBU drones hit the «Nebo-M» radar system in the Bagerovo area, a helicopter parking lot, the «P-18 Terek» radar system, and the control system of the «Baikal-1M» anti-aircraft missile units near the village Strilkovo.”
https://twitter.com/GloOouD/status/1732066580962361607
Droned
https://twitter.com/GloOouD/status/1731998508461257063
https://twitter.com/666_mancer/status/1732023815079698771
“Rashists got something, but not enough, not enough”
https://twitter.com/666_mancer/status/1732009951390765333
https://twitter.com/666_mancer/status/1732010169767264403
“Where Can Putin Travel? How Arrest Warrants for War Crimes Limit Places He Can Visit”
“Russian President Vladimir Putin is cautious about where he travels abroad these days. To visit any of the 123 countries that are members of the International Criminal Court risks his arrest on a warrant for alleged war crimes in Ukraine. While the warrant has limited Putin’s travels, it’s far from certain that he or other senior Russian leaders will be brought to justice under international law. Meanwhile, the ICC is investigating other potential atrocities. For its part, Ukraine put captured Russian soldiers on trial for war crimes within months of the conflict’s start.”
“Moody’s Cuts China Credit Outlook to Negative on Rising Deb”
“China stepped up usage of fiscal stimulus to aid growth
Such move put downside risks to nation’s economy: Moody’s”
“Moody’s Investors Service cut its outlook for Chinese sovereign bonds to negative, underscoring deepening global concerns about the level of debt in the world’s second-largest economy.
Moody’s lowered its outlook to negative from stable while retaining a long-term rating of A1 on the nation’s sovereign bonds, according to a statement. China’s usage of fiscal stimulus to support local governments and state-owned companies is posing downside risks to the nation’s economy, the grader said.
The change in thinking comes as China’s deepening property rout triggers a shift toward fiscal stimulus, with the country ramping up its borrowing as a main measure to bolster its economy. That has raised concerns about the nation’s debt levels with Beijing on track for record bond issuance this year.”
Ball bearings at work and play.
Russian Su-24M bomber shot down over Snake Island, — Ukrainian Air Force.
The Su-24M was destroyed in the area of Zmiiny Island, which, under the cover of the Su-30SM fighter, tried to launch a missile-bomb attack on the south of Odesa.
”Finland will start production of additional artillery ammunition for Ukraine”
Finland fields Europe’s largest Artillery force. They are major ship builders, and have a skilled workforce for machining and metalwork.
Horrible what has happened to Marinka, Ukraine. Russian Nazis destroy what they can’t steal in their war of choice on Ukraine.
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