Search results

Ian talking with someone from the US who went to Ukraine to train them. Not super detailed but interesting.

Requires permission from every nation along the flight path, and would be Ukrainian fighters launching from a NATO military base. Really, really, not as simple as just having some pilots show up and fly the planes off. Hell, if you are willing to go for sheer audacity, you could actually have...

They want fully modernized and top of the line F-16s. Not the ones that have been flown basically to destruction, which is a lot of the US inventory. They would probably have to come from National Guard stocks, and that involves the state government as well and another layer of politics and...

No, it's really not. What has to happen is: 1) Poland is willing to lose the planes, and is requiring that the US provide replacements. Which means the US needs to pony up 20+ air frames. This is a non trivial exercise for the US. 2) The planes are stripped of NATO gear. It would actually...

Well yes, Poland gave the US what it said it wanted and the US suddenly realized that turning dreams into reality was really hard and they didn't want to do it anymore. 1) Poland wasn't going to give up a decent part of its air force without compensation, and the US wasn't willing to provide...

The claim that the FSB is tipping off Ukraine about assassination attempts against Zelensky is highly dubious. Ukraine loses nothing by spouting it, and it's impossible to credibly prove/disprove.

You don't need the average person to fight, or to be willing to fight. What you need is a relative handful of people willing (and equipped) to fight and then a general population that is neutral in those fighters favor. You need locals willing to tell the fighters where Russian forces are and...

Yeah, no. They are eight days into a war that none of the initially deployed units knew was coming. The Russian air force has been largely absent. Russian heavy artillery has been (relatively) absent. Russia tried some thunder runs hoping to get lucky, those largely failed. That does not...

Look at the post right above yours. I had a brain fart while sleepy.

Three AM posting, my apologies.

Not really. Transnistria will join Russia. It gives a much more natural and clear border and removes the future opportunity for Russia to try and grab it off. Essentially, Russia will make the play (probably "invited" by the local puppets) and the West will let it pass.

Is Graham's statement accurate? Yes. One of the only truly viable paths for this to end "peacefully" is for Putin to be removed from the equation and then for the west to take the opportunity to tell Russia that if their troops leave, all will be forgiven and we can just forget that this whole...

29% of the worlds wheat exports flow through the Black Sea and are sourced from Russia and Ukraine. Ukraine is not going to be planting this year, wheat planting season is in April and there is zero chance that the situation is stabilized to the point where farms are being planted at scale by...

Except that Russia will start by just, largely, ignoring the cities. They want the border (and river) crossings along with securing their lines of supply back to Russia proper. Once they have the nation's borders sealed, they will basically start surrounding cities and telling them that if they...

Oh, the occupation will be hell for Russia. That doesn't change the fact that once Russia at least nominally takes the major cities and seals the borders, Russia's won. Putin will gladly let the people who want to flee into the EU leave, which will substantially reduce a lot of the issues with...

Well yes, absent NATO military intervention Ukraine is going to lose. Zelensky is fully aware of this fact. The thing is, the NATO nations are also fully aware that if they directly engage Russian forces then Russia will see it as WW3 with all the attendant consequences and issues. US forces...