Posted on 01/26/2022 7:18:41 AM PST by SpeedyInTexas
An 80-tonne shipment of US anti-tank missiles has arrived in Ukraine - just the latest delivery of high-tech weapons aimed at inflicting maximum death and destruction on Putin's forces if he decides to invade.
A plane loaded with 300 Javelin missiles worth some $50million landed in capital Kiev late Tuesday, the third part of a $200million shipment of American military aid that is being sent to help its ally.
The shipment also contained grenade launchers, as well as ammunition and other non-lethal weapons systems, and comes in addition to other anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons already supplied by the UK, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
How dare Russia move troops around within their own borders!
Even the hags on “The View” are talking about “Russian invasion.” It must be a top-secret operation!
you and America are getting played, AGAIN.
Stop being a dupe for a woke DC deep-state who hates you.
“Russia has shown no photos or reports of troop movements.”
Russia releases video of military near Ukraine border.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BlZiFj7jKo
Russia releases footage of fast-paced military drills near Ukraine
Headline: Russia conducts military manuevers within its own borders.
YAWN.
I didn’t realize FR had deep-state propagandists participating
I’m amazed at the Biden Brigades on this forum rooting like it’s their favorite NFL team. Takes me back to the W. Bush years remembering the fights over that wretched choad.
Excellent explanation here of how Ukraine military would not be able to withstand an actual Russian, full military invasion.
Analysis
The West’s Weapons Won’t Make Any Difference to Ukraine
U.S. military equipment wouldn’t realistically help Ukrainians—or intimidate Putin.
By Samuel Charap, a senior political scientist at the Rand Corporation, and Scott Boston, a senior defense analyst at the Rand Corp.
January 21, 2022, 5:12 AM
With Russian forces massed on Ukraine’s borders, the policy discussion in Washington increasingly has focused on what the United States can do to help its Ukrainian partners defend their country. Just this week, the Biden administration has approved deliveries of U.S.-made Stinger shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles to Kyiv, in addition to upping provision of other military equipment. Allies, including the United Kingdom, are providing their own assistance, too.
Ukraine Border Crisis
How Russia, the United States, and Europe are preparing for the possibility of war.
The justification for the aid has varied. Some have made the case that U.S. military assistance to Ukraine can change Russia’s calculus now, possibly deterring Moscow from launching an attack. Others claim that aid to the Ukrainian military can have a real impact on a possible fight with the Russians, making it meaningfully more challenging for the Kremlin to achieve victory and ruling out certain military options Russia might be considering. And there are also voices who call for additional capabilities merely to raise costs for Moscow—that is, to kill more Russian soldiers—so as to create political problems for President Vladimir Putin at home, although without much expectation that Ukraine would prevail.
None of these arguments is convincing. That does not mean security cooperation with Kyiv should cease. It does mean that military assistance is not an effective lever for resolving this crisis.
Since 2014, the United States has provided over $2.5 billion in military aid to Ukraine, following the Russian annexation of Crimea and invasion of the Donbass. U.S. assistance to Ukraine has included the provision of trainers, selected defensive systems (such as counter-mortar radars), and, more recently, Javelin anti-tank missiles. This assistance has principally aimed to improve Ukrainian effectiveness in the relatively static conflict against Russian-backed separatist forces in the Donbass, who are mainly armed with small arms and light weapons, along with some artillery and Soviet-era armor.
Crucially, however, Ukraine has mainly not been fighting Russia’s armed forces in the Donbass. Yes, Russia has armed, trained, and led the separatist forces. But even by Kyiv’s own estimates, the vast majority of rebel forces consist of locals—not soldiers of the regular Russian military. Indeed, the Russian armed forces engaged directly in the fighting only twice—in August-September 2014 and January-February 2015—and with limited capabilities, although both episodes ended in crushing Ukrainian defeats.
Moscow has sought to retain some veil of deniability about its involvement in the conflict, which meant the Russian military never used more than a tiny fraction of its capabilities against the Ukrainians. It applied just enough force to get the job done while avoiding protracted, overt interventions. A wide variety of signature Russian capabilities—including its air force and ballistic and cruise missiles—have not been involved in the fighting at all, even as they have been repeatedly demonstrated in combat operations in Syria.
The nature of the reported Russian buildup suggests the expanded war, if it happens, will differ fundamentally from the past seven years of simmering stalemate. Russia has the ability to carry out a large-scale joint offensive operation involving tens of thousands of personnel, thousands of armored vehicles, and hundreds of combat aircraft. It would likely begin with devastating air and missile strikes from land, air, and naval forces, striking deep into Ukraine to attack headquarters, airfields, and logistics points. Ukrainian forces would begin the conflict nearly surrounded from the very start, with Russian forces arrayed along the eastern border, naval and amphibious forces threatening from the Black Sea in the south, and the potential (increasingly real) for additional Russian forces to deploy into Belarus and threaten from the north, where the border is less than 65 miles from Kyiv itself.
In short, this war will look nothing like the status quo ante of conflict in Ukraine, and that undermines the first justification for U.S. aid: deterring Russia. The Ukrainian military has been shaped to fight the conflict in the Donbass and thus poses little deterrent threat to Russia; provision of U.S. weapons can do nothing to change that. If Moscow is willing to launch a major war, invading the second-largest country in Europe with a population of over 40 million, all while absorbing tremendous economic punishment from the West, then it is unlikely to be deterred by whatever U.S. military assistance can be delivered in the coming weeks. The only weapons systems that could plausibly impose costs that could change Russia’s calculus, such as surface-to-air missiles and combat aircraft, are ones that the United States would be highly unlikely to provide the Ukrainians. And, regardless, they could not be procured, delivered, and be made operational—to say nothing of getting the Ukrainian operators trained up to use them—in time to have an impact on this crisis. Large, modern systems require extensive training and material support.
Once deterrence fails and a war begins, the Ukrainian armed forces will find themselves in desperate circumstances almost immediately. Ukraine does not have anywhere near enough forces to credibly defend against all the potential avenues of attack, which means it would have to choose between defending a select set of fixed strong points—ceding control of other areas—or maneuvering to engage Russian forces that outnumber them. The line of conflict in the Donbass will be but one of many fronts. The Ukrainian fortifications there may well look like a modern-day Maginot Line: prepared for a frontal attack that may never come and bypassed by the mobile forces of an adversary with more advanced aircraft and more mobile land forces.
https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/01/21/weapons-ukraine-russia-invasion-military/
Why would Putin invade? Even the Ukrainians yesterday said that they aren’t worried about a Russian invasion. This is all an invention of the desperate DemonRATs and their running dog press lackeys. Of course the suckers are buying it and the Generals and Arms Industry are laughing.
He wasn’t going to invade in the first place. Puddin’ Head and the msm are wagging the dog.
I see. Thanks.
And with SecDef Lloyd Austin and General Milley at the top of the military chain of command, what could possibly go wrong?
Your deep state pom poms are strating to fray.
‘The average Russian real disposable income is down 9.3% since 2013. 8 years of no gains.’
You misspelled ‘American Citizen’.
Of course Joe’s real constituency the 175,000 a month foreign invaders entering our Southern border are getting massive boosts in their personal income. Free plane trips to the interior Red States including Free housing, education, medical coverage & a monthly cash (TAX FREE) stipend all thanks to the American Taxpayer. Weather that taxpayer wants to give it or not!
What has happened is that they watched with amazement on what happened in Iraq during the two gulf wars. Set aside Afghanistan..which could have been a advantage to us if they GD useless politicians would have let the military do its thing. 18 months..18 months when Trump was POTUS it was quiet there.
So..they think this will go like the Iraq thing.
Here is what will happen. Biden intends on blustering a war between Ukraine and the Russians. The Russians hold most of the cards. All Putin has to do is CUT OFF all, or nearly all the gas and oil supplied to the Euro nations. Once that happens, its over. The Euro nations will collapse. Just watch what Germany is saying and doing. They already are sending signals they dont want anything to do with this fantasy of Bidens.
Then what will happen in the Pacific Rim? What will Red China do? There, we have a clear case for concern. That area is vital to our interests.
Russia goes into Ukraine, we let Russia take the parts they want, and it will make pig Face Biden look even more worthless than he already is.
Its gone to far, nobody is going to back down and this was caused by floppy paw Obama.
I have not seen anyone, other than myself stress the fact the Russia has been putting naval assets off our coast-more than they had been doing in the past.
Russia can retreat into the interior. We cant. They can nearly surround us, we cant them. Which leaves one thing. Global nuclear war.
Over what? A country that has been giving payoffs to politicians within this country.
Given Ukraine’s history of corruption, how long before those Javelin missiles are fired at Israeli and American tanks in the Middle East?
The Javelin is supposed to work against low flying helicopters, I believe. But I also believe that the Javelin would not be the savior of the invasion, either. Russians have at least 2-3 similar weapons, but not FaF. I think tactics for urban areas won’t be tanks alone. In any case, if they were to be hit hard and lose a crapload of tanks you’d see some of those exotic gases they’re supposed to have... JMO..
I wish it was Mexico instead of Cuba the Russians were partnering with now, since it’s inevitable they partner with someone, so we could finally start defending the border we need to.
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, and Ukraine are already ASPIRANTS to NATO. A NATO Aspirant is a nation who has declared their willingness and want to join NATO. It is not a one-and-done speedy process. The Ukraine started their quest in 2005, for example.
At $167,000 a copy, better not miss!
*** This is getting ridiculous. We are more intent to start this war than Russia or Ukraine, the two supposed combatants! ***
And GOP, and Dem’s here are both cheerleading it. $80,000 per javelin. Our congress is not an example of the good steward.
I am starting to think the UK and US will stop when our governments crash to the ground.
Where were these war drumming Democrats during the entire period of the Cold War? Weren’t they surrender monkeys during those full 40 years?
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