Arming Ukraine

https://twitter.com/Orion__int/statu...04542222876673

Check out what the skies over the Ukrainian border look like from the perspective of some NATO flights between March 13th and 31st.

Timothy Nelson5 said:I suppose I agree.

Right now, what really matters for the Ukrainian military is setting up a coordinated network of MANPADS on the battlefield. If they can cover everything up to 3+ km with Stingers and Starstreaks—paired with some decent early warning for Russian aircraft and helicopters—that changes things.

Getting those S-300 and Buk units back up to strength might just be enough to stop the Russians from flying high without worrying about much.

Since they've burned through so many precision bombs and missiles lately (and honestly, not all of them were even that accurate), the Russians might be forced to fly low for tactical strikes, using dumb bombs just to hit something.

That kind of thing would lead to losing quite a few planes and helicopters pretty quickly.
And besides, keeping their existing fleet flight-ready is becoming an uphill battle, I think.

Pilots and ground crews see firsthand that men aren't returning to base; they understand exactly what happened and what needs to be done. Eventually, the aircraft will simply begin to fail, rendering them unflightworthy. It’s typical for a system like this—a systemic failure occurs, and suddenly, nobody is to blame. No sane individual wants to risk their life for the paranoid delusions of some fool who panics if someone sits at a table within ten meters of him.

Timothy Nelson5 said:I suppose I agree.

Right now, what really matters for the Ukrainian military is setting up a coordinated network of MANPADS on the battlefield. If they can cover everything up to 3+ km with Stingers and Starstreaks—paired with some decent early warning for Russian aircraft and helicopters—that changes things.

Getting those S-300 and Buk units back up to strength might just be enough to stop the Russians from flying high without worrying about much.

Since they've burned through so many precision bombs and missiles lately (and honestly, not all of them were even that accurate), the Russians might be forced to fly low for tactical strikes, using dumb bombs just to hit something.

That kind of thing would lead to losing quite a few planes and helicopters pretty quickly.
And besides, keeping their existing fleet flight-ready is becoming an uphill battle, I think.

If the Ukrainians had cruise missiles, the Russians would already be in Moscow looking for their overdue paychecks from Putin.

Terry Barnes9 said:And let's be real, something stinks about all this Western military aid. I mean, look at it—the USA has dumped billions , plus the European Union, Australia... It feels like every single day there's some new headline about another massive shipment being sent over. If that was the case, they should've been sitting pretty in Moscow by now instead of picking up dead civilians off the streets. Something is definitely getting stuck somewhere.

🤣🤣🤣

God help both Ukraine and those of us back home from "experts" like this.

They don't have the slightest clue what they're talking about, yet they act like they could just march right into Moscow if they wanted to...

Timothy Nelson5 said:🤣🤣🤣

God help both Ukraine and those of us back home from "experts" like this.

They don't have the slightest clue what they're talking about, yet they act like they could just march right into Moscow if they wanted to...

Yeah, because that was literally the whole point of my post. 🤦

Nancy Gomez26 said:Pilots and ground crews see firsthand that men aren't returning to base; they understand exactly what happened and what needs to be done. Eventually, the aircraft will simply begin to fail, rendering them unflightworthy. It’s typical for a system like this—a systemic failure occurs, and suddenly, nobody is to blame. No sane individual wants to risk their life for the paranoid delusions of some fool who panics if someone sits at a table within ten meters of him.

There’s going to be obstruction at every single level.
Equipment will fail, pilots will get sick...

But honestly, the pilots... they'll be the ones sabotaging the missions most.

We’ve already seen those Russian attack helicopters just spraying unguided rockets in ballistic arcs... which, frankly, makes things easier for everyone else... and it’ll be the same with these jet fighters... just fly in, dump whatever dumb bombs are on board, and who cares where they land? They might hit a city instead of enemy units, sure, but that’s just how it goes.

Terry Barnes9 said:Yeah, because that was literally the whole point of my post. 🤦

Once those planes arrive, we'll see cruise missiles too. It's almost like Ukrainians are the ones attacking. They're just defending themselves from the occupiers.

Terry Barnes9 said:Yeah, because that was literally the whole point of my post. 🤦

The point is, you don't really have a clue what you're talking about here.

You keep bringing up that $13.6 billion aid package for Ukraine that Congress approved.

First off, most of that money hasn't even left the building yet; a huge chunk of it is just slated for future production.

And half of that is humanitarian aid, which honestly has nothing to do with actual military operations.
When you look at the military side, it’s a mixed bag—we're talking everything from helmets and body armor to MREs, jet fuel, and spare parts for various hardware.

It isn't just a shipment of Javelins, Stingers, and drones. All of that stuff is necessary for an army to function.

As far as I can tell, maybe $2 or $3 billion in total military assistance has actually made its way into Ukraine so far.

Just for context, the total value of the arsenal Russia is using to attack Ukraine is probably somewhere between $70 and $100 billion directly, and then there's likely at least that much more indirectly...

swiftjackal11 said:That might have worked back in 1945, but in the age of McDonald's, it’s going to be a much harder sell.☕

Some Russ are still stuck in 1945...

Christian Torres3 said:Some Russ are still stuck in 1945...

That's why they're struggling so much in Ukraine. They thought they'd roll into Kyiv in three days, but they can't even take Mariupol in 38.

Timothy Nelson5 said:The point is, you don't really have a clue what you're talking about here.

You keep bringing up that $13.6 billion aid package for Ukraine that Congress approved.

First off, most of that money hasn't even left the building yet; a huge chunk of it is just slated for future production.

And half of that is humanitarian aid, which honestly has nothing to do with actual military operations.
When you look at the military side, it’s a mixed bag—we're talking everything from helmets and body armor to MREs, jet fuel, and spare parts for various hardware.

It isn't just a shipment of Javelins, Stingers, and drones. All of that stuff is necessary for an army to function.

As far as I can tell, maybe $2 or $3 billion in total military assistance has actually made its way into Ukraine so far.

Just for context, the total value of the arsenal Russia is using to attack Ukraine is probably somewhere between $70 and $100 billion directly, and then there's likely at least that much more indirectly...

Fine, thanks for the info. I already knew the rest. I don't get why you have to be so aggressive about it.

I honestly don't understand why NATO has been dragging its feet so much when it comes to delivering air defense and advanced weaponry to Ukraine...
It's not like they need some massive, interconnected logistics network to deploy mobile weapon systems..

swiftjackal11 said:If the Ukrainians had cruise missiles, the Russians would already be in Moscow looking for their overdue paychecks from Putin.

They actually have

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neptune_(cruise_missile))

So, who exactly should we blame for this situation?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kh-55#Former_operators

Ryan Morales4 said:I honestly don't understand why NATO has been dragging its feet so much when it comes to delivering air defense and advanced weaponry to Ukraine...
It's not like they need some massive, interconnected logistics network to deploy mobile weapon systems..

Weapons aren't cheap—they're incredibly expensive, and when you factor in all the messy, overlapping interests at play, isn't it pretty obvious why things move the way they do?

587 headed back to Russia

🤦

darkrider55 said:587 headed back to Russia

🤦

Just take a moment to look at this

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soumar_(missile) and tell me—why on earth would they say it "returned to Russia"?

The pervasive corruption within Ukraine, fueled by Russian strategic interests, is frequently weaponized by Putin loyalists to argue that the nation doesn't deserve sovereignty—as if being plagued by the same systemic rot they themselves export somehow invalidates its right to exist.

It’s pure doublethink.

To's the thing about Ukraine—they haven't really had solid leadership since the fall of the USSR. Honestly, they might even be in a worse spot than we are... 🕺

slyfox43 said:The pervasive corruption within Ukraine, fueled by Russian strategic interests, is frequently weaponized by Putin loyalists to argue that the nation doesn't deserve sovereignty—as if being plagued by the same systemic rot they themselves export somehow invalidates its right to exist.

It’s pure doublethink.

I mean, didn't you Americans essentially order them to either destroy those weapons or send them back, simply because they weren't allowed to serve as a distribution hub for old USSR stockpiles?

Dana Robinson4 said:I mean, didn't you Americans essentially order them to either destroy those weapons or send them back, simply because they weren't allowed to serve as a distribution hub for old USSR stockpiles?

Ukraine in 2001 was a completely different nation than the one we see in 2022.

That shift is precisely why they’ve been targeted for invasion and genocide.

It’s also why anyone who isn't totally brainwashed by propaganda is standing behind them.

The way this society continues to advance despite constant pressure from those sub-Russian Neanderthals and the massive criminal enterprise known as the "Russian world" serves as proof that Ukraine will outlast this whole mess.