Russian invasion of Ukraine

[delbert]

Drones need to be able to avoid being jammed, if they're controlled remotely they can be jammed, if they're preprogrammed to avoid jamming then any change in the situation between being programmed and reaching the target makes them less effective or even useless.
There are ways around this, they can be be designed to hunt for preselected targets and then be preprogrammed with flight information so they loiter until either a target becomes available or they run out of power, however even these can be spoofed with decoys and or camouflage.
Saying all that, they are a massive game changer in so far as posing yet another threat that has to considered and then countered........

[Hummer_I_mean_Hammer]

Just whack an AI in them and let them choose which Sarah Connor it wants to kill.

[sendô]

Anyway, it looks like it's going to be us and the French propping up Ukraine after Trump comes in and pulls the plug.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce8dz0n8xldo

I hope he means by selling them lots of weapons that we can make a bundle on rather than funding their war with money we don't have.

[dasnutnock3]

I hope he means by selling them lots of weapons that we can make a bundle on

I wouldn't count on it.

rather than funding their war with money we don't have.

Seems far more likely.

[sendô]

That extra tax money needs to go somewhere I suppose.

Perhaps I can buy some shares in BAE Systems or Raytheon.

[Hummer_I_mean_Hammer]

That extra tax money needs to go somewhere I suppose.

Perhaps I can buy some shares in BAE Systems or Raytheon.

You can't. It'd ruin your working class vibe.

[Billydinho]

The optics of that Starmer Macron inspection suggest to me we are being geared up to go to war.

[MB]

Just whack an AI in them and let them choose which Sarah Connor it wants to kill.

The Ukrainians have already done that with machine guns on land drones. Drive it out to a contested part of the line, point it in the general direction and it uses image interpreting AI to decide when it is Ivan coming over the hill...

[MB]

The optics of that Starmer Macron inspection suggest to me we are being geared up to go to war.

Just posturing mate. Make them think we would if push came to invading Poland.

I hope he means by selling them lots of weapons that we can make a bundle on rather than funding their war with money we don't have.

At least the funding for this should come from the frozen Russian money. Think the EU deal to borrow against the interest is all but done.

Tango man will have no problem with US weapons going over if they are bought and paid for.

[damiant]

I reckon tango man will say, Crimea is Russia now accept it and move on or else we will pull all funding

[MB]

Just under 2,000 Russian casualties yesterday up from the circa 1,200 a day which have been reported for the last month or so.

Seems Vlad is desperate to lock in as much land as he can before the weather puts a pause on things. Makes you wonder what Trump has told him as well.

Meanwhile Ukrainian and US reports of nearly 50,000 troops (including the North Koreans) ready to counter attack against the Kursk salient

Going to be a bloody few weeks i fear.

[Dimension Diver]

Trump's election was probably a grim day for Ukraine, but on the bright side, the Russian military is as useless as ever. The Kursk incursion looks like a brilliant move in retrospect. Real rope-a-dope stuff.

https://twitter.com/ninaselyna/status/1857920548321288459

A bit of optimism amidst the worries:
- russian frontline losses are unprecedented—record-breaking since the war began. They’re filling ranks, but resources won’t last forever; their advances will soon stall
- In just a week, russians lost 90 pieces of equipment in Kursk with no gains. Our defenders continue to capture POWs and dismantle their units
- russian oil refineries face bankruptcy and halt production—even without our "drone debris" !
- orcs see they are losing, so putler seeks aid from impoverished nations despite having far greater resources than we do
- Next year may bring an end to this war with russia collapsing and everything will be Ukraine!
#WarDay997 #SlavaUkraini #HeroiamSlava

[MB]

North Korean involvement plus Iran puts Trump in a difficult position.

Ukraine has now become a South Korea and, remains, an Isreal problem.

South Korea especially could see some interesting kit coming Ukraine's way.

Ultimately it won't tip the balance and it will end up in a peace deal of some kind but probably means Trump will not be as pro Russia and ending it at all costs as some speculate.

Recent reports on calls Trump has had with Ukraine and allies support this.

Bad, but maybe not as bad as some think.

[DublinDave]

Biden authorises Ukraine to use US long-range missiles to strike Russia - reports
published at 18:45
18:45
Breaking
US President Joe Biden has given the green light for Ukraine to use long-range missiles supplied by the US to strike Russia, according to US media reports.

There is no formal confirmation by the White House or the Pentagon of the move which would be a major change of US policy.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has been urging for months for these restrictions on long-range missiles to be lifted, allowing Ukraine to target locations inside Russia.

Stay with us for more updates on this.

From the BBC.

Too little too late..? At least it may stop the attacks on the Ukrainian power infrastructure.

[taust68]

The thing with this is why would Biden suddenly give permission now to fire long range missiles into Russia, also it obviously isn't Biden so who is exactly giving permission

[The Old Man of Storr]

Could it be that the Biden Administration have given the green light for Ukraine to use American long range missiles to use as leverage during any forthcoming peace negotiations ?

Nice game of Chicken - just what we all wanted for Christmas .

Be interesting to see how Russia react now .

[alf git]

Weapons free

Just in Kursk for now it would seem.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/202 ... ke-russia/

Biden allows Ukraine to use long-range missiles to strike inside Russia
US president signs off on deploying ATACMS rockets, raising expectations that Britain may authorise similar use of Storm Shado see
Joe Biden has given approval for Ukraine to strike targets within Russia with US-supplied long-range missiles for the first time.

In a major policy shift just weeks before he stands down, the US president signed off on the use of ATACMS rockets within the Kursk region.

Mr Biden’s decision will raise expectations that he is also set to drop his opposition to the use of British-made Storm Shadow missiles within Russia.

Donald Trump, the incoming president, has vowed to scale back support for Ukraine and has said he will push Kyiv to sue for peace with Moscow.

David Sacks, a close ally of Elon Musk and major donor to the Trump campaign, criticised the decision as anti-democratic.

“President Trump won a clear mandate to end the war in Ukraine. So what does Biden do in his final two months in office? Massively escalate it,” he wrote on X.


US officials told The New York Times that Mr Biden had changed his mind after North Korea sent troops to support Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

The decision comes after Volodymyr Zelensky spent months urging Britain, the US and France to allow him to use long-range missiles on Russian soil.

Sir Keir Starmer is known to be in favour of the use of Storm Shadow missiles, as is Emmanuel Macron, the French leader. But Mr Biden, who has a veto because the targeting system for the rockets is US-supplied, has until now resisted pressure to give his consent.

Ukraine captured several settlements in the border region of Kursk in a surprise offensive in August, which it is now defending against Russian counter-attacks.


However, analysts close to the Kremlin have said that Putin will not begin negotiations until Ukrainian troops have been ousted from his lands.

Sir Keir will hope that Mr Biden’s decision could unlock the use of Storm Shadow missiles in Ukraine before Mr Trump enters the White House.

Downing Street was last night waiting for full details of the US decision.

James Cartlidge, the shadow defence secretary, told The Telegraph: “This is a very significant move by the US and one that I very much welcome.

“I hope this will now lead to Ukraine being granted full freedom of operation for all the weapons they’ve been supplied with, including Storm Shadow.

“I’m particularly pleased that the US appear to be responding directly to the supply of thousands of North Korean troops joining the Russian side, confirmed by the US state department this week as being actively engaged in battle in Kursk, a strategic escalation that we have to respond to.”

Mr Biden’s decision will also heap pressure on Germany to drop its opposition to supplying Ukraine with its long-range Taurus missiles, which Mr Zelensky has repeatedly asked for.

The Prime Minister and the outgoing US president are expected to meet in Rio de Janeiro this week as both attend the G20 summit.

Ahead of the meeting, Sir Keir said he was “going to make shoring up support for Ukraine top of my agenda as we go into the G20”.

He warned: “Recently we’ve seen the addition of North Korean troops working with the Russians, which does have serious implications.

“I think on the one hand it shows the desperation of Russia, but it’s got serious implications for European security and for Indo-Pacific security.

“That’s why I think we need to double down on shoring up our support for Ukraine and that’s top of my agenda for the G20.

“There’s got to be full support for as long as it takes and that certainly is top of my agenda, shoring up that further support for Ukraine.”

Russia launches huge attack
Sir Keir would not be drawn on the potential use of Storm Shadows within Russia, saying that he was “not going to get into discussing capabilities”.

He added that he had no intention to speak with Putin, who will not be at the summit, with Russia represented by its foreign minister Sergey Lavrov.

Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, has been heavily criticised after he decided to hold a phone call with the Kremlin leader last week.

Mr Biden’s decision to authorise the use of long-range missiles came just hours after Russia launched one of its largest aerial bombardments of the war.

In an attack lasting several hours, the Kremlin launched about 120 missiles and 90 drones against targets across Ukraine, killing at least nine people.

Mr Zelensky said the assault was aimed at further crippling his country’s energy grid, which has been relentlessly targeted by Moscow.

“The enemy’s target was our energy infrastructure throughout Ukraine,” he said. “Unfortunately, there is damage to objects from hits and falling debris.”

[alf git]

Be interesting to see how Russia react now .

By continuing to target the civilian population i should think.

[The Old Man of Storr]

Reading now that the US have stated that US missiles can only be used in Kursk - BBC .

[Puff Daddy]

President Putin was in my dream last night.i cannot recall any of the detail, now, only he wasn't very nice. Should I begin to worry, do you think ?