Ukraine related: Was Ukraine Government Is Handing Out Guns To Citizens, What Happened to Gun Control?

I was watching a YouTube Ukraine update video earlier and it prompted me to highlight a clip doing the rounds on Twitter. There's more details on the twitter thread but basically the story is Russians were surrendering to Ukraine forces and were shot dead.

While I've my own thoughts on the subject I'd rather not give them at the moment in case i influence anybody's opinion.

So my question to all is in the heat of battle was this a good call or a bad call?

Please note there's no blood or guts.



 
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Griswalduk said:
I was watching a YouTube Ukraine update video earlier and it prompted me to highlight a clip doing the rounds on Twitter. There's more details on the twitter thread but basically the story is Russians were surrendering to Ukraine forces and were shot dead.

While I've my own thoughts on the subject I'd rather not give them at the moment in case i influence anybody's opinion.

So my question to all is in the heat of battle was this a good call or a bad call?

Please note there's no blood or guts.



Click to expand...


War .. gets ugly .. I know even domestic police accidently kill when they should not, and in some cases purposefully kill those who have fought / injured police ..

In war it is far worse, and there are numerous cases from each nation of surrendering troops being killed .. ( UK, USA, are not above this issue .. nor are other nations .. )
 
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Interesting news if true. More footage in Twitter thread




The underperforming Nazi paramilitary Wagner group have recently opened a centre of technology here. I would guess this to be Razi speak for genocide research and development.

www.theguardian.com

Russia’s Wagner Group opens defence tech centre in St Petersburg

Opening is latest step for private militia’s owner Yevgeny Prigozhin in taking a more public role in shaping Russia’s defence policy
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com


potential suspect seen in area

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kunstler.com

A Smoldering Fuse - Kunstler

We have pretty much burned our bridges at this point. Unless you’re prepared to mindfuck yourself, and gaslight yourself, and confess, and convert, there’s no going back to “normal” society (which we couldn’t go back to anyway, on account of how it doesn’t exist anymore) — CJ Hopkins
kunstler.com
 
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of course, it would imho have been better to have averted this entire war .. so now there's the question in the USA on the costs ..

Moral Hazard to me is the most critical issue if Russia comes out with any sort of win ..





"US spending 5.6% of its defense budget to destroy nearly half of Russia's conventional military capacity seems like an absolutely incredible investment"


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It’s Costing Peanuts for the US to Defeat Russia
November 18, 2022
Timothy Ash

The cost-benefit analysis of US support for Ukraine is incontrovertible. It’s producing wins at almost every level.

Former President Trump, and others in the US including some Democrats as well as Republicans, have criticized continued US support for Ukraine in its war with Russia. They have called for military and financial support to Ukraine to be cut, even ended. They downplay the risk from Russia and argue that the money should be spent at home.

Yet from numerous perspectives, when viewed from a bang-per-buck perspective, US and Western support for Ukraine is an incredibly cost-effective investment. 

Altogether, the Biden administration received Congressional approval for $40bn in aid for Ukraine for 2022 and has requested an additional $37.7bn for 2022. More than half of this aid has been earmarked for defense. 

These sums pale into insignificance when set against a total US defense budget of $715bn for 2022. The assistance represents 5.6% of total US defense spending. But Russia is a primary adversary of the US, a top tier rival not too far behind China, its number one strategic challenger. In cold, geopolitical terms, this war provides a prime opportunity for the US to erode and degrade Russia’s conventional defense capability, with no boots on the ground and little risk to US lives.

The Ukrainian armed forces have already killed or wounded upwards of 100,000 Russian troops, half its original fighting force; there have been almost 8,000 confirmed losses of armored vehicles including thousands of tanks, thousands of APCs, artillery pieces, hundreds of fixed and rotary wing aircraft, and numerous naval vessels. US spending of 5.6% of its defense budget to destroy nearly half of Russia’s conventional military capability seems like an absolutely incredible investment. If we divide out the US defense budget to the threats it faces, Russia would perhaps be of the order of $100bn-150bn in spend-to-threat. So spending just $40bn a year, erodes a threat value of $100-150bn, a two-to-three time return. 

The US military might reasonably wish Russia to continue deploying military forces for Ukraine to destroy. 

Meanwhile, replacing destroyed kit, and keeping up with the new arms race that it has now triggered with the West will surely end up bankrupting the Russian economy; especially an economy subject to aggressive Western sanctions. How can Russia possibly hope to win an arms race when the combined GDP of the West is $40 trillion, and its defense spending amounting to 2% of GDP totals well in excess of $1 trillion when the disproportionate US defense contribution is considered? Russia’s total GDP is only $1.8 trillion. Vladimir Putin will have to divert spending from consumption to defense, risking social and political unrest over the medium term, and a real and soon-to-be present danger to his regime. Just imagine how much more of a bargain Western military aid will be if it ultimately brings positive regime change in Russia.

Second, the war has served to destroy the myth that Russian military technology is somehow comparable to that of the US and West. Remember that Ukraine is using only upgraded second generation US technology but is consistently beating whatever Russia’s military can deploy. Wars are shop windows for defense manufacturers; any buyer in their right mind will want the technology made by the winner. Putin’s misjudgment has merely provided a fantastic marketing opportunity for its Western competitors. 

Note also that the war is also pushing NATO partners to quickly increase spending to the 2% of GDP and above target. Given the US’ technological advantage in defense equipment, a sizeable share of this additional military outlay will be spent on US equipment. 

The Ukrainians are also showing remarkable innovation in their own defense, improving the performance of equipment in battlefield conditions, which again brings technological advantages to the US defense sector.

Third, the revelation that Russia’s defense industry is something of a Potemkin village also generates other strategic and diplomatic wins for the US. Countries eager to secure defense capability to meet their own threats – think of Turkey, India, Pakistan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia — might have opted for cheaper, “value” Russian defense offerings. However, with the quality/capability of this equipment now being questioned because of poor battlefield performance, they will likely be vying to acquire a better US kit. But this will require improved diplomatic relations. This is currently evident in the improved US–Pakistan relationship, with Pakistan securing upgrade kits for its F-16s.

Fourth, helping Ukraine beat Russia surely also sends a powerful signal to China that the US and its allies are strong and determined when challenged on issues of core importance. This may raise questions in the minds of Xi Jinping and the People’s Liberation Army generals about their ability to win a conflict against countries armed with US/Western military technology, for example in Taiwan. Surely Russia’s difficulty in winning the war in Ukraine will cause second thoughts in China about the wisdom and perhaps the viability of efforts to conquer Taiwan.

Fifth, the war in Ukraine is encouraging and accelerating the energy transition in Europe, but also Europe’s diversification away from Russian energy. Europe is desperately trying to source alternative energy supplies, and US liquefied natural gas (LNG) is proving to be the obvious beneficiary. 

In conclusion, on so many levels, continued US support for Ukraine is a no-brainer from a bang for buck perspective. Ukraine is no Vietnam or Afghanistan for the US, but it is exactly that for Russia. A Russia continually mired in a war it cannot win is a huge strategic win for the US.

Why would anyone object to that?

Timothy Ash is a Senior Emerging Markets Sovereign Strategist at RBC BlueBay Asset Management. He is an Associate Fellow at Chatham House on their Russia and Eurasian program.

The opinions in this article are those of the author.


ref:
cepa.org

It’s Costing Peanuts for the US to Defeat Russia

The cost-benefit analysis of US support for Ukraine is incontrovertible. It’s producing wins at almost every level.
cepa.org cepa.org
and
 
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Attacks on civilian infrastructure continue as Russia declared terrorist state.

www.rte.ie

Russian strikes force Ukraine to shut nuclear plants

Russia has rained down missiles across Ukraine, forcing shutdowns of nuclear power plants and killing civilians, as Moscow pursues a campaign to plunge Ukrainian cities into darkness and cold as winter sets in.
www.rte.ie www.rte.ie

www.rte.ie

EU Parliament's website targeted by cyber attack

The European Parliament's website and internal systems have been targeted in a cyber attack. European Parliament President Roberta Metsola tweeted to say that a "pro-Kremlin group" had claimed responsibility.
www.rte.ie www.rte.ie
 
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samplenhold said:
Interesting read.

Ukraine war: How Germany ended reliance on Russian gas - BBC News
Click to expand...

Good article .. good to see when push comes to shove the Germans can move ..

".. up on Germany's windswept North Sea coast, engineers have just finished building - in record time - the country's very first import terminal for liquified natural gas (LNG).
LNG is natural gas which is cooled to liquid form to reduce its volume and make easier to transport. It's then converted back to gas form upon reaching its destination.
Germany is rightly notorious for its ponderous bureaucracy; this kind of project would normally take years, but the authorities slashed away at red tape to enable completion in under 200 days."
 
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Check out this bullshit. Apparently a special lesson from special project fear courtesy of the regime.



I also found this from same source

 
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The mighty European country Latvia dismantled the pedestrian bridge across the Sinyukha River in the area of the Friendship Mound at the junction of the borders of Belarus, Latvia and Russia. This was announced by the official representative of the Polotsk border detachment Denis Glebko.
Now Russia and Belarus will not be able to attack Latvia, there is no bridge! :eek:
 
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