re: Latest Updates: Russia-Ukraine Conflict

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Meh. I'll take that deal. Imagine all the ships, planes and armies we could put in the Pacific if we didn't have to defend Europeans from Russia?

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So you’re advocating for continuing to help Ukraine destroy the Russian military so that they are no longer a threat.

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I'm advocating we leave NATO.

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Are you worried about China and the USA getting into a war? If so then unless you are retard then you want the USA in NATO. France and Britain add 3 aircraft carriers, 20 nuclear submarines, and a lot of surface ships with advanced air defenses including anti-ballistic missile capabilities. Those French and British ships are interoperable with US Navy systems. The rest of Europe brings a lot of troops and planes to the fight. Not to mention the economic damage that China would suffer if it lost the USA and the EU as trading partners at once. China has been trying to secure its ties to Europe with it’s one road one belt initiative. They know that they need Europe as a trading partner if they want to have any hope in a war involving the USA. Only a retard or someone who has not thought about it would advocate for the USA leaving NATO if they were concerned about a war anywhere in the world.

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I don't really have a problem helping Ukraine out a bit. Although the Europeans should be covering a much bigger portion of the pie.

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The majority of the 300 billion USD worth of frozen assets that the Biden administration is considering trying to use to fund the war (something that I have been advocating for over 18 months) are held by Europe. If that happens then Europe would give Ukraine around 270 billion in frozen Russian assets compared to the USA giving them around 30 billion. Europe is also increasing its aid in 2024 so they are picking up more and more of the tab despite what the PT board would have you believe.

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They'd probably come fight with us in a war with China but we'd have fly all of their troops and gas up all their boats and planes to get any kind of measurable help from them.

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Aguendo that that is true: giving soldiers a ride to the party is a VERY low price to pay for troops on the ground and it is something we are equipped to do. I guarantee if Putin could just pay for transportation and in return get tens of thousands of well-trained troops with high-quality kit and machines he would be the top travel agent in the world right now.

The same people who want to leave NATO are the same people who go to bed at night and worry about having to learn Mandarin and Cantonese. The fact they can not see the first helps prevent the second lets me know they are not capable of thinking in big-picture terms.

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Glad to hear it. It's about time. We'll see how long it lasts if US support begins to waiver.

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Ukraine has fought this war for almost 2 years cost of 150 billion USD or so. If Ukraine gets 300 billion USD then they would be able to buy the stuff they need to fight for another 3 and 1/2 to 4 years.

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Ukraine gets 300 billion USD then they would be able to buy the stuff they need to fight for another 3 and 1/2 to 4 years. They should probably buy the stuff they need to win it in 1 year instead of fighting a stalemate for 4

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300 billion would buy a lot of F16s, HIMARS, helicopters, and Leopards.

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The same people who want to leave NATO are the same people who go to bed at night and worry about having to learn Mandarin and Cantonese. The fact they can not see the first helps prevent the second lets me know they are not capable of thinking in big-picture terms.

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dingdingding

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Aguendo that that is true: giving soldiers a ride to the party is a VERY low price to pay for troops on the ground and it is something we are equipped to do. I guarantee if Putin could just pay for transportation and in return get tens of thousands of well-trained troops with high-quality kit and machines he would be the top travel agent in the world right now.

The same people who want to leave NATO are the same people who go to bed at night and worry about having to learn Mandarin and Cantonese. The fact they can not see the first helps prevent the second lets me know they are not capable of thinking in big-picture terms.

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Nah

Any conflict with China will be primarily and air and naval conflict. Europe isn't going to join the fight. Even if they wanted to their Navies are small. They won't completely cut off China economically either whether we're in NATO or not. That's a pipe dream. We'll have to fight China with Japan, South Korea, Australia and maybe the Indians and a fe2 other Oceania countries. Europe will be on the sidelines like usual.

Today, the Department of Defense (DoD) announced additional security assistance to meet Ukraine's critical security and defense needs.

This package utilizes assistance previously authorized for Ukraine during prior fiscal years under Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA).

The capabilities in this much-needed package, valued at up to $250 million, include:


Additional munitions for National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS);
Stinger anti-aircraft missiles;
Air defense system components;
Additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS);
155mm and 105mm artillery rounds;
Tube-Launched, Optically-Tracked, Wire-Guided (TOW) missiles;
Javelin and AT-4 anti-armor systems;
More than 15 million rounds of small arms ammunition;
Demolitions munitions for obstacle clearing;
Spare parts, medical equipment, maintenance, and other ancillary equipment.

ISW Update

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Key Takeaways:

Ukrainian drone footage published on December 27 showed another Russian execution of Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) near Robotyne in western Zaporizhia Oblast.

Russian forces recently advanced in western Zaporizhia Oblast and retook positions that Ukrainian forces had captured during the summer 2023 counteroffensive, likely after Ukrainian forces withdrew to more defensible positions near Robotyne for the winter.

The destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant (KHPP) dam on June 6, 2023, reportedly postponed a Ukrainian crossing of the Dnipro River that was likely intended to support Ukrainian counteroffensive operations.

Ukrainian Tavriisk Group of Forces Commander Brigadier General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi described continued Ukrainian battlefield challenges and requirements for future territorial advances during an interview with BBC published on December 27.

Ukrainian officials highlighted the Ukrainian defense industrial base’s (DIB) increased production in 2023 and offered projections of Ukraine’s domestic drone production capabilities on December 27.

Russian forces launched another series of Shahed-136/131 drone strikes against Ukraine overnight on December 27.

Satellite imagery from the successful December 26 Ukrainian strike on a Russian Black Sea Fleet (BSF) vessel in occupied Feodosia, Crimea indicates that the strike damaged the surrounding port infrastructure.

Russia maintains its maximalist objectives in Ukraine and is uninterested in good faith negotiations despite reports that Western officials are becoming more amenable to eventual Ukrainian negotiations with Russia to end the war.

The Russian state-owned Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) found that Russians are increasingly less trusting of Russian state TV and are turning to social media and the internet for news.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on December 27 in a likely effort to maintain Russia’s critical trade relationship with India.

Russian forces made confirmed advances near Bakhmut, Avdiivka, Donetsk City, and Verbove as positional engagements continued along the entire line of contact.

A Russian insider source claimed that Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin has created his own private military company (PMC).

The Ukrainian “Cyber Resistance” movement obtained information about a Russian deputy commander of the 171st Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (51st Air Defense Division) committing sexual crimes against minors in occupied Ukraine.

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