War Invasion of Ukraine News Megathread - Thread is only for articles and discussion of articles, general discussion thread is still in Happenings.

President Joe Biden on Tuesday said that the United States will impose sanctions “far beyond” the ones that the United States imposed in 2014 following the annexation of the Crimean peninsula.

“This is the beginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine,” Biden said in a White House speech, signaling a shift in his administration’s position. “We will continue to escalate sanctions if Russia escalates,” he added.

Russian elites and their family members will also soon face sanctions, Biden said, adding that “Russia will pay an even steeper price” if Moscow decides to push forward into Ukraine. Two Russian banks and Russian sovereign debt will also be sanctioned, he said.

Also in his speech, Biden said he would send more U.S. troops to the Baltic states as a defensive measure to strengthen NATO’s position in the area.

Russia shares a border with Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

A day earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops to go into the separatist Donetsk and Lugansk regions in eastern Ukraine after a lengthy speech in which he recognized the two regions’ independence.

Western powers decried the move and began to slap sanctions on certain Russian individuals, while Germany announced it would halt plans to go ahead with the Russia-to-Germany Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

At home, Biden is facing bipartisan pressure to take more extensive actions against Russia following Putin’s decision. However, a recent poll showed that a majority of Americans believe that sending troops to Ukraine is a “bad idea,” and a slim minority believes it’s a good one.

All 27 European Union countries unanimously agreed on an initial list of sanctions targeting Russian authorities, said French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, and EU foreign affairs head Josep Borell claimed the package “will hurt Russia … a lot.”

Earlier Tuesday, Borell asserted that Russian troops have already entered the Donbas region, which comprises Donetsk and Lugansk, which are under the control of pro-Russia groups since 2014.

And on Tuesday, the Russian Parliament approved a Putin-back plan to use military force outside of Russia’s borders as Putin further said that Russia confirmed it would recognize the expanded borders of Lugansk and Donetsk.

“We recognized the states,” the Russian president said. “That means we recognized all of their fundamental documents, including the constitution, where it is written that their [borders] are the territories at the time the two regions were part of Ukraine.”

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Putin said that Ukraine is “not interested in peaceful solutions” and that “every day, they are amassing troops in the Donbas.”

Meanwhile, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday morning again downplayed the prospect of a Russian invasion and proclaimed: “There will be no war.”

“There will not be an all-out war against Ukraine, and there will not be a broad escalation from Russia. If there is, then we will put Ukraine on a war footing,” he said in a televised address.

The White House began to signal that they would shift their own position on whether it’s the start of an invasion.

“We think this is, yes, the beginning of an invasion, Russia’s latest invasion into Ukraine,” said Jon Finer, the White House deputy national security adviser in public remarks. “An invasion is an invasion and that is what is underway.”

For weeks, Western governments have been claiming Moscow would invade its neighbor after Russia gathered some 150,000 troops along the countries’ borders. They alleged that the Kremlin would attempt to come up with a pretext to attack, while some officials on Monday said Putin’s speech recognizing the two regions was just that.

But Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters Tuesday that Russia’s “latest invasion” of Ukraine is threatening stability in the region, but he asserted that Putin can “still avoid a full blown, tragic war of choice.”

Article

 

[Bartolomeow Kittensberger]

Ukraine’s Allies Pressured Berlin Into Allowing Tank Shipments—Then Started Dragging Their Feet​

BERLIN—For months, Germany withstood international pressure to allow neighbors to supply Ukraine with German-made tanks. Yet since Berlin finally yielded last month, only one country in Europe has agreed to dispatch a sizeable contingent.

European allies’ reluctance to make good on earlier signals despite intense lobbying from Berlin in recent days is raising doubt that enough tanks can arrive in Ukraine in time for an expected Russian offensive.

It is also leaving Germany’s government in an awkward position it has sought to avoid: becoming the sole purveyor of a large contingent of Western-made main battle tanks for Ukraine. Since the start of the war, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has made a point of coordinating weapon deliveries with allies.
Europe’s sudden misgivings about supplying Ukraine with tanks reveal that, as with ammunition and heavy artillery, North Atlantic Treaty Organization members in the region have fewer operational tanks that they can spare at a time of heightened geopolitical tension than was originally estimated by experts and officials.

---

“The fact that there are so few operational battle tanks and that they are so incompatible with each other should be taken as an alarm signal in Europe,” said Nico Lange, a former senior defense official in the German government and now a senior fellow at the Munich Security Conference.

Britain and France, which have the biggest armed forces among European NATO allies, have around 220 tanks each, but it is unclear how many are actually battle-ready, according to GlobalFirepower, an online database. Germany has a similar number of tanks, with government surveys showing that less than half of them can be deployed because the rest are in need of repair. By contrast, Russia started the war with over 12,000 tanks, while Ukraine had nearly 2,000.

A Leopard tank is loaded onto a Canadian aircraft.PHOTO: CANADIAN FORCES/VIA REUTERS

So far, only Germany and Poland have approved substantial deliveries of tanks for Kyiv—around 200 and 74, respectively, including a mixture of new and older models. Canada has committed four modern German-made tanks.

The U.S. did pledge to supply 31 of its Abrams tanks but U.S. officials now say it might take up to two years before they arrive on the battlefield. Britain has committed 14 of its Challenger 2 tanks and said they would be delivered by the end of next month, while France is set to send AMX-10 RC armored-fighting vehicles, which move on wheels rather than tracks but are often considered light tanks because of their heavy firepower.

When Germany said last month that it would authorize allies to re-export German-made tanks to Ukraine after weeks of resisting the demand from Kyiv and other European capitals, the move was expected to unleash a slew of commitments by neighbors to dig into their own stocks of Leopard 2s, which military experts consider one of the best-performing tanks in the world, and of the older Leopard 1s.

There are more than 2,000 Leopard 2 tanks in European stocks, yet besides Berlin only Warsaw so far has committed to send any of them to Kyiv, along with 60 other tanks based on Soviet models, while Lisbon has pledged three. Germany has pledged to send 14 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine by next month, and to provide another five on standby as spares. It also authorized the export of 178 older Leopard 1 tanks that the government had sold back to private companies.

Mr. Scholz, who only yielded after President Biden also committed to donate U.S. tanks, has been calling his European counterparts in an effort to secure commitments, German officials said.

The diplomatic push notched its first success on Tuesday when the Netherlands and Denmark committed to help finance the purchase of around 100 decommissioned Leopard 1 tanks that are now owned by German companies Rheinmetall AG and FFG mbH. The Leopard 1 was decommissioned in Germany two decades ago but private firms and other governments still own an undisclosed number of the older tanks.

Under the agreement, the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany will jointly finance the refurbishment of the tanks and provide training for Ukrainian crews. The two smaller nations will, however, not send any of their own tanks to Ukraine, officials said.

France has ruled out sending any of its just over 200 main battle tanks, known as Leclercs, with officials citing technical and logistical difficulties. Ukraine’s Defense Ministry responded by producing a video asking for Leclercs that went viral on social media.

Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa told parliament on Thursday that his country was carrying out maintenance on Leopard 2 tanks and would deliver three vehicles in March.

Among the other countries that initially signaled they might send tanks to Ukraine if Germany allowed it are Finland, Sweden, Belgium and Spain. Those countries haven’t so far made any commitment, although officials from some of them have said they would work together with allies on training and financing.

The Spanish government was assessing how it could help the tank initiative, Defense Minister Margarita Robles told reporters last month.

“While it is true Spain has Leopards, the vast majority of those which could be delivered, need to undergo an upgrade,” she said at the time. Her spokeswoman didn’t reply to a request for comment.

A spokesman for the Belgian government said the country had no tanks to give, while a senior Finnish official said that Helsinki would be part of the Leopard 2 cooperation in some way, without providing any detail. The official said that Finland, which shares a 1,300-kilometer-long border with Russia, has a policy of not revealing what kind of aid it sends to Ukraine.

A senior NATO official said Finland signaled it would most likely hold direct tank deliveries until it officially joins the alliance, a move that is currently being blocked by Turkey. Even after it becomes a member, Finland, which has around 240 tanks, would only be able to spare a few, the official said. The Czech Republic has committed 90 Soviet-era tanks.

The intense political negotiations over sending U.S.-made Abrams and German-made Leopards to Ukraine briefly threatened the unity of the NATO alliance. WSJ’s Shelby Holliday looks at what went down and the challenges ahead for the U.S. and its allies. Illustration: David Fang
“Germany will likely have to be the biggest contributor to the European tank initiative, because it has the largest combined stock owned by the industry and the armed forces among the countries willing to participate,” said Minna Alander, a research fellow at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs.

Most European countries “either don’t have enough tanks to start with—Denmark has only 44 Leopard 2 tanks and the Netherlands has 18 that it leases from Germany,” said Ms. Alander, “or have limitations due to own needs, as in the case of Finland with its long border with Russia.”

 

[AgendaPoster]

New EU sanctions will target Putin's propagandists, von der Leyen says​

New European sanctions against Russia will include new export bans worth more than 10 billion euros ($10.7 billion) and will take on Russian president Vladimir Putin's propagandists, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters on Thursday.

"We will target Putin's propagandists because their lies are poisoning the public space in Russia and abroad", von der Leyen said during a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

The new sanctions "will further starve Russia's military machine and shake the foundations of its economy", she added.

New EU sanctions will target Putin's propagandists, von der Leyen says | Reuters | Ghostarchive

ghostarchive.org

Sanction Feline and Autism!

 

[Unarmed Gunman]

That will never happen and 2014 confirmed it.

Notice how the beginning of that statement was "It's a moot point now"? None of this matters. The US wanted to back Russia in a corner and we did. Now Ukrainians are paying the price to fatten the wallets of Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman etc.

The thing that might have pushed the hook noses was the transfer of several Su-35s in exchange for some basic bitch drones to Iran. I don't know what's worse. The fact Russia can't build such simple machines while Iran could figure it out or the fact Russia had to to transfer 70+ modern fighters to close the deal.

Isn't the Su-35 their version of the F-35, the one the US pimps out to all of our allies too? And just like the US doesn't let anybody near our F-22's Russians don't let anyone near their Su-57's.

Russia is losing ground while its army operates like headless chickens.

Oof.

Anyways, my sympathies go out to the Ukrainian people who really didn't deserve to end up as a ragdoll in this proxy war. It's not looking good.

 

[Astro Galactic Megalul]

SBU claims to have caught a collaborator giving Russia positions of energy infrastructure objects in Kiev, he's an employee of a railway company.
Everything is in the article, use machine translation if you must: https://www.5.ua/kyiv/sbu-vykryla-p...koryhuvav-raketni-udary-po-kyievu-298803.html

He's facing 15 years, somehow not hanging. Truly a civilized European country.

 

[MG-34]

Isn't the Su-35 their version of the F-35, the one the US pimps out to all of our allies too? And just like the US doesn't let anybody near our F-22's Russians don't let anyone near their Su-57's.

The Su-57 is the Russian analog to the F-35. That being said Su-35 will be the most capable Fighter Aircraft in the Iranian inventory.

Some disturbing footage showed up. A BMP running over its own dismounts.

Spoiler: NSFW

 

[Astro Galactic Megalul]

The Su-57 is the Russian analog to the F-35. That being said Su-35 will be the most capable Fighter Aircraft in the Iranian inventory.

Some disturbing footage showed up. A BMP running over its own dismounts.

Spoiler: NSFW

View attachment 4477409

That really sucks for them. I guess it's due to inexperience and panic, seems like it could be an ambush. In which case, we see another benefit to ambush tactics when fighting Russians. This is them, I assume (judging by the white bands).

 

[Useful_Mistake]

SBU claims to have caught a collaborator giving Russia positions of energy infrastructure objects in Kiev, he's an employee of a railway company.
Everything is in the article, use machine translation if you must: https://www.5.ua/kyiv/sbu-vykryla-p...koryhuvav-raketni-udary-po-kyievu-298803.html

He's facing 15 years, somehow not hanging. Truly a civilized European country.

Can you write the article out? I clicked on the page, and its completely broken for me, everything is essentially a white page:

No text no matter how far I zoom out (or where I look)

 

[LORD IMPERATOR]

Notice how the beginning of that statement was "It's a moot point now"? None of this matters. The US wanted to back Russia in a corner and we did. Now Ukrainians are paying the price to fatten the wallets of Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman etc.

You keep repeating this line from February of 2022, even though now, a year later, it's the Russians who are paying the price while the Ukrainians are getting new presents from Santa Claus.

Can you Russiaboos come up with something new?

Oof.

Anyways, my sympathies go out to the Ukrainian people who really didn't deserve to end up as a ragdoll in this proxy war. It's not looking good.

Not looking good for Russia. Which again, you refuse to recognize, with you repeating talking points that got stale half a year ago.

And again, Russia could've just chosen NOT to invade, and they'd get richer off the oil and gas trade, and they might've become a first-world power with all the EU money lining their coffers. Now? They'll be lucky if China gives them some pity in the economic front instead of just taking Siberia from them.

 

[Astro Galactic Megalul]

Can you write the article out? I clicked on the page, and its completely broken for me, everything is essentially a white page:
View attachment 4477541
No text no matter how far I zoom out (or where I look)

СБУ викрила працівника "Укрзалізниці", який коригував ракетні удари по Києву

Працівник "Укрзалізниці" працював на російські спецслужби. СБУ викрила зловмисника, який коригував ракетні удари по Києву.
В обмін на інформацію про пересування українських військових ешелонів з озброєнням та боєприпасами – росіяни обіцяли зраднику керівну посаду в одній з окупаційних адміністрацій на тимчасово захоплених територіях України.
Також ворожий поплічник намагався передати росіянам координати енергооб’єктів у Києві. Проте співробітники СБУ вчасно викрили ворожого агента й затримали в Чернігові. Йому загрожує до 15-ти років за ґратами або довічне ув'язнення з конфіскацією майна.

СБУ викрила співробітника Укрзалізниці, який працював на фсб і коригував ракетні удари по Києву

Служба безпеки викрила російського агента у лавах державного акціонерного товариства «Укрзалізниця».

Ним виявився діючий посадовець Регіональної філії «Південно-Західна залізниця», якого спецслужба рф залучила до негласної співпраці після повномасштабного вторгнення.

У разі захоплення регіону загарбники обіцяли своєму поплічнику лояльне ставлення та керівні посади в окупаційних адміністраціях.

Зловмисник перебував на постійному зв’язку з кадровим співробітником фсб, який координував його розвідувально-підривну діяльність проти України.

Насамперед агресора цікавили розвіддані про час та місце пересування військових ешелонів з озброєнням та боєприпасами ЗСУ.

Крім цього, ворожий поплічник намагався передати окупантам координати об’єктів енергогенеруючих підприємств у Києві.

У разі отримання розвідувальних відомостей рашисти планували використати їх для підготовки та проведення серії прицільних ракетних ударів по українській інфраструктурі.

Втім, співробітники СБУ спрацювали на випередження – своєчасно викрили російського агента, задокументували його злочинну діяльність і затримали у Чернігові.

Під час обшуків правоохоронці виявили смартфони із доказами законспірованого листування з представником російської спецслужби.

Наразі слідчі Служби безпеки повідомили ворожому агенту про підозру за ч. 2 ст. 111 Кримінального кодексу України (державна зрада, вчинена в умовах воєнного стану).

Вирішується питання щодо обрання міри запобіжного заходу у вигляді тримання під вартою.

Триває розслідування для притягнення до відповідальності всіх організаторів та учасників російської агентури.

Зловмисникам загрожує покарання – до 15 років ув’язнення або довічне позбавлення волі з конфіскацію майна.

Заходи з викриття злочину проводили співробітники оперативних підрозділів та слідчі СБУ за процесуального керівництва Офісу Генерального прокурора.

There's a Telegram link for it, that should work. Some pics in there too, including texting from his phone as evidence: https://t.me/SBUkr/7021

Found an article in English: https://odessa-journal.com/the-ssu-...he-fsb-and-corrected-missile-strikes-on-kyiv/

The security service exposed a Russian agent in the ranks of the state joint-stock company “Ukrzaliznytsia”.


He turned out to be an active official of the South-Western Railway Regional Branch, with whom the special service of the Russian Federation was involved in secret cooperation after a full-scale invasion.


In the case of capturing the region, the invaders promised their henchman loyal treatment and leadership positions in the occupation administrations.


The attacker was in constant contact with a personnel officer of the FSB, who coordinated his intelligence and subversive activities against Ukraine.


First of all, the aggressor was interested in intelligence about the time and place of movement of military echelons with weapons and ammunition of the Armed Forces.

In addition, the enemy henchman tried to give the occupiers the coordinates of energy-generating enterprises in Kyiv.

In the case of receiving intelligence information, the Rashists planned to use it to prepare and carry out a series of targeted missile strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure.

However, the SSU employees worked ahead of time – timely exposed the Russian agent, documented his criminal activities, and detained him in Chernihiv.

During the searches, law enforcement officers found smartphones with evidence of conspiratorial correspondence with a representative of the Russian special service.

Perpetrators face up to 15 years in prison or life imprisonment with confiscation of property.

How does one rip pics from TG?
Just FYI, the alleged texts between collaborator and FSB contain grammatical errors from FSB side. It doesn't really mean anything, because siloviki are often unintelligent goblins.
There's a gopnik-to-silovik pipeline, some end up working in FSB.

 

[Useful_Mistake]

How does one rip pics from TG?

Desktop app needed, IIRC

 

[Spicey McHaggis]

Isn't the Su-35 their version of the F-35, the one the US pimps out to all of our allies too? And just like the US doesn't let anybody near our F-22's Russians don't let anyone near their Su-57's

The Su 35 is merely an upgraded Su 27 flanker. The US equivalent would be some of the upgraded F 15s. It's a 4th generation fighter with no stealth characteristics.

As to the su 57, they've already tried exporting it, and tried to get India on board with joint development. It's in no way comparable to the F 22. Hell, it's barely even a stealth fighter, the Russians own published data gives it a bigger radar cross section than even first generation American stealth aircraft.

 

[LORD IMPERATOR]

What boys are those?
Did you look at the make up of that army lately?
If you think the nogs, the fags, the troons and the fembois let alone the bitches led by bolsheviks of the troon/gayfag/dangerhair/ape varieties will defend anything let alone be successful doing so you are in for a surprise.
You do troll on another level gotta give you that.

I'd sooner trust a tranny hopped up on drugs with an assault rifle than the average Russian or Chinese conscript. At least I can just tell them that the other guy called them fat and they'll charge in to kill them. Your average Russian conscript doesn't want to be there, and is poorly equipped, while the Chinese soldiers are spoiled "little emperors" according to the people who train them.

The whole "independence" shtick thing is a fucking scam, they can only be "independent" under Moscow rule, like very other "independent" subject of the federation*.

It's a lot less like "independence", and more "under new management."

 

[Pocket Dragoon]

BMPT "Terminator" gets melted. This is the first confirmed combat loss of these vehicles.

I wonder if it was one of these assholes:

This video shows a guy with the bear paw mark of RU 3rd Army Corps which indicates this BMPT belongs to them. https://t.me/DKulko/209

Translated from Telegram: "Impressive footage of real battles with the participation of the BMPT "Terminator", filmed by a drone and 360° cameras. It strikes from all types of weapons, mowing the Kremensky forest along with the enemy's fortifications. Reporting by Dmitry Kulko."

Edit: It really wouldn't surprise me if the Ukrainians have been actively hunting these things, especially given their status & exposure in Russian media. And it equally wouldn't surprise me if they'd been located the same way, with those Russian PR videos. They pretty much advertised exactly when & where those BMPTs were fighting, and from the destruction video if doesn't look like they left the original AO.

Edit- additional frontline news:
Near Vulhedar/Pavlivka

Spoiler: 31 destroyed tanks & APCs, 1 assault

Spicy news:

Spoiler: Russians drone-dropping K-51 CS-gas grenades

That last one has Ukebros all worked up about Geneva Convention violations, which I figure is entirely by design; either as a Ukrainian-made video to pump up their support base in NATO & the internet, or it's a Russian one made to goad Ukrainian troops into doing likewise, so it'll provide Ivan an excuse to get ze gas.

I figure they've been itching for a reason to soak Ukrainian trenches or a hospital in sarin, chlorine, VX, or fucking Novichok, especially given their history with that sort of shit in Syria.

 

[Pocket Dragoon]

Starlink semi-cancels Ukraine

WASHINGTON, Feb 8 (Reuters) - SpaceX has taken steps to prevent Ukraine's military from using the company's Starlink satellite internet service for controlling drones in the region during the country's war with Russia, SpaceX's president said Wednesday.

SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service, which has provided Ukraine's military with broadband communications in its defense against Russia's military, was "never never meant to be weaponized," Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX's president and chief operating officer, said during a conference in Washington, D.C.

"However, Ukrainians have leveraged it in ways that were unintentional and not part of any agreement," she said. Speaking later with reporters, Shotwell referred to reports that the Ukrainian military had used the Starlink service to control drones.

Ukraine has made effective use of unmanned aircraft for spotting enemy positions, targeting long-range fires and dropping bombs.

"There are things that we can do to limit their ability to do that," she said, referring to Starlink's use with drones. "There are things that we can do, and have done."

Using Starlink with drones went beyond the scope of an agreement SpaceX has with the Ukrainian government, Shotwell said, adding the contract was intended for humanitarian purposes such as providing broadband internet to hospitals, banks and families affected by Russia's invasion.

"We know the military is using them for comms, and that's ok," she said. "But our intent was never to have them use it for offensive purposes."

SpaceX has privately shipped truckloads of Starlink terminals to Ukraine, allowing the country's military to communicate by plugging them in and connecting them with the nearly 4,000 satellites SpaceX has launched into low-Earth orbit so far.

Governments including the United States and France have paid for other shipments of Starlink terminals on top of those funded privately by SpaceX.

Russia has attempted to jam Starlink signals in the region, though SpaceX countered by hardening the service's software, Elon Musk, the company's chief executive, has said.

Asked if SpaceX had anticipated Starlink's use for offensive purposes in Ukraine when deciding to ship terminals into conflict zones, Shotwell said: "We didn't think about it. I didn't think about it. Our starlink team may have, I don't know. But we learned pretty quickly."

Starlink had suffered services outages in Ukraine late last year, for reasons SpaceX did not explain.

Asked if those outages were related to SpaceX’s efforts to curb offensive use of Starlink, Shotwell said: “I don’t want to answer it because I’m not sure I know the answer.”

 

[AgendaPoster]

@Useful_Mistake Considering the site is quite broken and the videos nearly impossible to watch, would you say it would be appropriate to have them uploaded to something like imgur while Jersh figures it out? Trying to download or watch any of the videos is basically impossible regardless of VPN location. Streaming from other websites works much better.

 

[East_Clintwood]

And just like the US doesn't let anybody near our F-22's Russians don't let anyone near their Su-57's.

lelfuckingno, Russia was originally planning/hoping to export hundreds of the things, except between the Crimean invasion, India publicly dropping out of the deal while shit-talking it, and production being an absolute joke, foreign interest in buying it is basically non-existent now.

 

[No. 7 cat]

IOC anger at threaten Ukrainian boycott

Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), has reacted quite harshly to Ukraine's intentions to boycott the 2024 Olympic Games in France. He even hinted at the possible punishment for Ukrainian athletes.

Source: Bach's letter to Vadym Huttsait, President of Ukraine’s National Olympic Committee, dated 31 January, which was published on Twitter by German journalist Hajo Seppelt

Details: According to the information, Bach writes in response to Huttsait’s letter dated 26 January, in which he says that the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine is considering boycotting the Olympics if Russian and Belarusian athletes take part in them.

Quote from Bach: "Threatening a boycott of the Olympic Games which, as you inform me, the NOC of Ukraine is currently considering, goes against the fundamentals of the Olympic Movement and the principles we stand for, in this respect, the NOC of Ukraine certainly does not enjoy the support or solidarity of the vast majority of stakeholders of the Olympic Movement. And as history has shown, previously boycotts did not achieve their political ends and only served to punish the athletes of the boycotting NOCs."

Details: Bach noted that although the final decision on the admission or non-admission of Russians and Belarusians to the Olympic Games has not yet been made, Ukraine has already sent out its position to other states, which puts pressure on them.

At the same time, the IOC president claims that the overwhelming majority of countries perceived this position as "extremely regrettable".

Bach stressed that the exclusion of Russian and Belarusian athletes from the Olympic Games would be discrimination against them, and this does not comply with the principles of the International Olympic Movement. He added that the UN Human Rights Council also spoke out against such a ban.

The IOC president also called Ukraine's statements that the International Olympic Committee supports war, murder and destruction false. "Such statements cannot be the basis for any constructive discussion," Bach said.

Background:

• President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other Ukrainian leaders call on the international community to prevent the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in the 2024 Summer Olympic Games, as their countries are participating in an armed attack on Ukraine.
• Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee, is willing to "explore the possibility" of allowing athletes from Russia and Belarus to participate in international sports, even though this could lead to a boycott of the competition by Ukraine. He suggested that Russians and Belarusians should perform under a neutral flag.https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2023/02/9/7388706/

Source: Ukrainska Pravda

 

[Useful_Mistake]

@Useful_Mistake Considering the site is quite broken and the videos nearly impossible to watch, would you say it would be appropriate to have them uploaded to something like imgur while Jersh figures it out?

Imgur tends to block any traffic from KF so that's not exactly recommended. I'd suggest something like anonfiles.com if you have upload difficulties

 

[Fanatical Pragmatist]

Actually, no. Iranians are of Persian/Indo-European stock, and Iran literally means "Land of the Aryans". Add in the Sunni vs. Shi'ite thing and of course the Arabs are going to back Israel.

That aside, pretty much sums it all up.

Even with the Sunni vs Shi'ite thing, majority Shi'ite Azerbaijan also does not like Iran and would rather temporarily get in bed with Israel.

Isn't the Su-35 their version of the F-35, the one the US pimps out to all of our allies too? And just like the US doesn't let anybody near our F-22's Russians don't let anyone near their Su-57's.

No, the Su-35 is more comparable to the heavily upgraded export F-15s (F-15I, F-15SA or "F-15EX Eagle II").
A 4th generation, twin-engine air-superiority fighter with upgraded avionics and some air-to-ground capability.
(this is of course assuming that Su-35s PESA radar is as capable as F-15E+'s AESA radars)

Fun story, India was actually slated to be a projected partner in Su-57 acquisitions but dropped out because they didn't like the final product that Sukhoi came up with; instead dropping out of the partnership to focus on their own domestic stealth fighter project.

That being said, the fact you don't seem to know your basic fighters apart really calls into question if you are remotely as knowledgeable as you claim to be when making your usually "RuSSiA iS tOtEs WiNniNg u GuYz!11" propagandic nonsese...

EDIT: Damnit it's like everyone else said the same thing I was gonna say before I said it.

I'd sooner trust a tranny hopped up on drugs with an assault rifle than the average Russian or Chinese conscript. At least I can just tell them that the other guy called them fat and they'll charge in to kill them. Your average Russian conscript doesn't want to be there, and is poorly equipped, while the Chinese soldiers are spoiled "little emperors" according to the people who train them.

Except even acknowledging this line of commentary is just playing into their hands.
Anyone who has spent more than an hour around US active duty soldiers (shit, or even Nasty Girls for that matter) knows the average grunt is AT WORST an illiterate redneck or barely-functional hoodlum, while this shared delusion amongst Vatniks and Twittertroons alike that the US armed forces are made of Tranny Brigades is patently false.

Now I'm not saying that having even token troons in POG positions is a good thing - its certainly not - but the idea that the average American fighting soldier is a chemically castrated mentally unstable genderfreak is dumb.

 

[Ghostse]

The Su-57 is the Russian analog to the F-35. That being said Su-35 will be the most capable Fighter Aircraft in the Iranian inventory.

Some disturbing footage showed up. A BMP running over its own dismounts.

Spoiler: NSFW

View attachment 4477409

There were lots of issues with this with tanks in Vietnam; soldiers use Tank as cover, tank decides to move, humans are squishy.
I'm guessing the worst parts are clipped because I just see legs - those could have been corpses present before they got there.

The Su 35 is merely an upgraded Su 27 flanker. The US equivalent would be some of the upgraded F 15s. It's a 4th generation fighter with no stealth characteristics.

As to the su 57, they've already tried exporting it, and tried to get India on board with joint development. It's in no way comparable to the F 22. Hell, it's barely even a stealth fighter, the Russians own published data gives it a bigger radar cross section than even first generation American stealth aircraft.

Huge upgrade for Iran, but not on a global scale. Given their current advanced fighter is the F-14 (and thanks to these fucks we'll never get to see civilian F-14s in airshows. thanks obama Carter.) and they only have about a dozen, 70 even 3rd gen fighters (plus missles) is a huge boost.

The major change up is that if the deal goes through and planes show up, this would render prohibitive any Israeli strike on Iran nuclear capabilities. Given the distances involved and the weapons needed, even 3rd gen fighters would pose a threat. They wouldn't need to shoot down any planes to stop the mission, just make them burn fuel in evasive manuvers.