Arming Ukraine

Timothy Nelson5 said:

Ukraine War - Combat Footage from Kyiv Area gives Closer look AT Armament of Ukrainian AT Squads

It’s a decent little clip, I suppose. It shows a small group of American soldiers engaged in combat near Kyiv, pretty much decked out with every kind of anti-tank launcher you can imagine...

They have everything. Our guys back in the Gulf War weren't even close to this level of gear.

Sam Alvarez4 said:I touched on this just a few days ago.

Regarding Borell's interview yesterday in Versailles: she discussed arming Ukraine and how they're coordinating everything through Brussels.

The requests from Ukraine are clear—they need heavy weaponry, specifically anti-tank missiles, and plenty of fuel too.

To manage this, Borell has a dedicated team of 200 officers pulled from all over Europe to sync up Ukraine's needs with what various nations can actually provide...
The group is led by a French admiral and an Italian general.

The whole operation is funded via EU funds.

"In Brussels, my department maintains a military staff. We have a French admiral and an Italian general leading a team of 200 officers from across the European militaries to handle this work. They bridge the gap between supply and demand. The member states provide the hardware, and we cover the costs."

I think this is actually quite significant. It shows that the support for Ukraine isn't just some chaotic, "send whatever you have lying around" situation—though I suppose some of that happens too—but there is a real effort to send exactly what the Ukrainians are asking for most urgently.

But there’s another layer of support here, which might be just as vital as the actual weapons:

Intelligence.
The Ukrainians are getting constant, real-time data from satellites, signals intelligence, various intel assessments... even airborne warning systems like the Airborne Warning and Control System provide them with the locations of Russian aircraft.

Timothy Nelson5 said:I think this is actually quite significant. It shows that the support for Ukraine isn't just some chaotic, "send whatever you have lying around" situation—though I suppose some of that happens too—but there is a real effort to send exactly what the Ukrainians are asking for most urgently.

But there’s another layer of support here, which might be just as vital as the actual weapons:

Intelligence.
The Ukrainians are getting constant, real-time data from satellites, signals intelligence, various intel assessments... even airborne warning systems like the Airborne Warning and Control System provide them with the locations of Russian aircraft.

This marks the first time the EU is arming a single nation, which really shows how much they view this crisis as a genuine threat to Europe.

We're talking about an EU fund established last year, with a budget for 2021-2027 sitting at roughly $6 billion.
Outside of that EU fund—meaning through bilateral deals—each country can still send whatever they choose, but they'd be footing the bill themselves from their own budgets.

Information is just as precious as weaponry. You simply can't have one without the other...

Ukraine has officially put in a request for more help with those S-300 systems. This comes right on the heels of word coming out of Washington, D.C. that they're actually looking into it

OSINTdefender
@sentdefender
The Ukraine Government has Officially Requested The delivery of additional S-300 Air Defense Systems and their Missile Reloads fra Former Soviet Block Countries or Countries Who purchased them during / after The Cold War

https://twitter.com/sentdefender/sta...24572834824194

Carl Lee27 said:Ukraine has officially put in a request for more help with those S-300 systems. This comes right on the heels of word coming out of Washington, D.C. that they're actually looking into it

OSINTdefender
@sentdefender
The Ukraine Government has Officially Requested The delivery of additional S-300 Air Defense Systems and their Missile Reloads fra Former Soviet Block Countries or Countries Who purchased them during / after The Cold War

https://twitter.com/sentdefender/sta...24572834824194

Honestly, this is nonsense, and there is no way it’s going to help Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggression. It won't change anything; it's just shooting into the void because nobody actually wants World War III.

The S-300 is a defensive air defense weapon and a single missile costs about a million dollars. The Russians are just waiting for one to be activated so they can send out specialized missiles designed specifically to take out radar surveillance and guidance systems.

The S-300 is expensive hardware, and I'll say it again: in a conflict with Russia—who know exactly what an S-300 is—this kind of aid is completely negligible.

Americans seem to struggle with making decisions for themselves, so they come up with all these half-baked ideas. While the Americans are busy dreaming up these blunders, we certainly aren't having any dull moments over here in the States.☕

My comment on this video at the link below got stuck



"Also some of the combatants appear to be armed with locally-uncommon M16 rifles aswel"

Did our shipment arrive yet?👍

An American military base near the Polish border, or more likely, a staging ground used for funneling all those weapon shipments and donations into Ukraine.☕


"Just a quick reminder that Russia warned the USA and the West yesterday about the consequences of sending weapons to Ukraine. 'Corresponding convoys will become legitimate targets for the Russian armed forces,' stated Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov."

Let them come, I say! ☕

A US Air Force C-17A heading out from Rzeszów just finished dropping off some much-needed supplies for the Ukrainians. https://t.co/OscVpTlIHC

Carl Lee27 said:Let them come, I say! ☕

A US Air Force C-17A heading out from Rzeszów just finished dropping off some much-needed supplies for the Ukrainians. https://t.co/OscVpTlIHC

Looks like the US Air Force might finally be sending those Starstreak Ukrainian systems. 😬

Maybe even some kamikaze drones from America, including those versions specifically designed to take out tanks...
Just keep them coming, Joe!

The Biden admin. is considering providing Ukraine with U.S.-made killer drones—cutting edge guided missiles that could accurately target Russian tanks and artillery positions from miles away, two Congressional officials briefed on the matter tell @NBCNews. https://t.co/ZCaSnvrOxI

Carl Lee27 said:Maybe even some kamikaze drones from America, including those versions specifically designed to take out tanks...
Just keep them coming, Joe!

The Biden admin. is considering providing Ukraine with U.S.-made killer drones—cutting edge guided missiles that could accurately target Russian tanks and artillery positions from miles away, two Congressional officials briefed on the matter tell @NBCNews. https://t.co/ZCaSnvrOxI

The 'grasshopper' strikes me as an incredibly simple, effective, and low-cost tool.... Weaponry of this nature has the potential to shift entire battlefield doctrines. Imagine if China started mass-producing these and flooding the market; plenty of players would find themselves in a tight spot very quickly.

Andrew Miller102 said:Honestly, this is nonsense, and there is no way it’s going to help Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggression. It won't change anything; it's just shooting into the void because nobody actually wants World War III.

The S-300 is a defensive air defense weapon and a single missile costs about a million dollars. The Russians are just waiting for one to be activated so they can send out specialized missiles designed specifically to take out radar surveillance and guidance systems.

The S-300 is expensive hardware, and I'll say it again: in a conflict with Russia—who know exactly what an S-300 is—this kind of aid is completely negligible.

Americans seem to struggle with making decisions for themselves, so they come up with all these half-baked ideas. While the Americans are busy dreaming up these blunders, we certainly aren't having any dull moments over here in the States.☕

Well, CNN is reporting that they are actually moving on that right now. Personally, I’d bet my bottom dollar that negotiations have been happening behind the scenes for a while, even if they're making it sound like everything is just starting... you know? My gut feeling is that the Americans have been negotiating since it became crystal clear that Ukraine wasn't going to fall anytime soon, and once they felt confident enough, Zelenskyy finally got the green light to make the formal request.
They're talking about Starstreaks, wasps, S-300s... and even the SA-12 (S-300V)? I'm not entirely sure where those are coming from. Maybe they're getting them from Egypt, maybe as part of some deal involving the F-15s?

Quote : additional Air defense Systems ara being Sen to Ukraine

US official says as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy prepares to ask Congress for further military aid to his country , The US and its NATO allies ara already sending several surface-to-air missiles Systems to Ukraine to aid in its defense.

US official , Thes additional Systems include The Soviet-era SA-8, Patriot, SA-12 and SA-14 mobile air defense systems.

These systems don't reach quite as high as the Patriot missile system that Ukraine is asking for, but they definitely pack more punch than those Stinger shoulder-fired missiles they were given before, meaning they actually have a shot at taking down cruise missiles.

Apparently, these systems are coming from NATO partners and are already "on the way," according to that senior US official. We don't really know yet how the countries providing them are going to get their own stock replenished.

https://edition.cnn.com/europe/live-...46049c66028f40

America is supplying the Patriot missile system to Ukraine.

https://twitter.com/Charles_Lister/s...m2AfkrZnw&s=19

Here is the breakdown of what is actually included in this $800 million package of American aid.

https://twitter.com/natsecwatson/sta...9fO1nvieg&s=19

Stinger missiles, along with roughly 800 Javelins and a fleet of Switchblade "suicide drones"—though it remains a bit murky whether we're talking about just the 300 anti-personnel units or including the 600 anti-tank versions with a range of 25 miles, not to mention the exact total counts involved.

Carl Lee27 said:Well, CNN is reporting that they are actually moving on that right now. Personally, I’d bet my bottom dollar that negotiations have been happening behind the scenes for a while, even if they're making it sound like everything is just starting... you know? My gut feeling is that the Americans have been negotiating since it became crystal clear that Ukraine wasn't going to fall anytime soon, and once they felt confident enough, Zelenskyy finally got the green light to make the formal request.
They're talking about Starstreaks, wasps, S-300s... and even the SA-12 (S-300V)? I'm not entirely sure where those are coming from. Maybe they're getting them from Egypt, maybe as part of some deal involving the F-15s?

Quote : additional Air defense Systems ara being Sen to Ukraine

US official says as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy prepares to ask Congress for further military aid to his country , The US and its NATO allies ara already sending several surface-to-air missiles Systems to Ukraine to aid in its defense.

US official , Thes additional Systems include The Soviet-era SA-8, Patriot, SA-12 and SA-14 mobile air defense systems.

These systems don't reach quite as high as the Patriot missile system that Ukraine is asking for, but they definitely pack more punch than those Stinger shoulder-fired missiles they were given before, meaning they actually have a shot at taking down cruise missiles.

Apparently, these systems are coming from NATO partners and are already "on the way," according to that senior US official. We don't really know yet how the countries providing them are going to get their own stock replenished.

https://edition.cnn.com/europe/live-...46049c66028f40

Anthony Hill5 said:America is supplying the Patriot missile system to Ukraine.

https://twitter.com/Charles_Lister/s...m2AfkrZnw&s=19

Here is the breakdown of what is actually included in this $800 million package of American aid.

https://twitter.com/natsecwatson/sta...9fO1nvieg&s=19

That’s really all there is to it. Just give them every modern MANPADS available that's easy to operate, along with the more complex Soviet-era air defense systems the Ukrainians already know how to handle or can be trained on quickly. I truly hope this equipment reaches them soon so they can actually put it to use...

Carl Lee27 said:It looks like the 600 version might be on the way too, since they're mentioning its effectiveness against armor. The numbers being cited seem pretty modest, though... I suspect they're probably shipping out significantly more behind closed doors.
https://twitter.com/paulmcleary/stat...rGGYucwvw&s=19

Sending over a small batch of those nasty loitering munitions could just be a signal to Russia about what happens if they decide to escalate things by ramping up indiscriminate bombing and civilian casualties. Maybe. It’s hard to say for sure.

I honestly suspect a good chunk of that gear is already sitting right there on the border between Poland and Ukraine. Heck, it might even be inside Ukraine already, just waiting for the green light to actually get deployed. You know how it goes—they’re probably just waiting on a specific number to set the limit, like instead of saying "here's a thousand," they say "let's start with maybe a hundred" just to be safe. 😁
It’s the exact same deal with the S-300 stuff; once Zelenskyy makes a request to Congress, word on the street is those systems are practically in Ukraine by the very next day. They spend weeks prepping everything behind the scenes, and then they only drop the news once the job is done so the Russians can't use it as leverage or intercept the shipment.
It’s been a pretty pleasant surprise from the Biden administration, too. After the whole mess in Afghanistan, everyone was skeptical and doubting if anything could work, but they seem to be handling the situation in Ukraine about five levels better than before.

Timothy Nelson5 said:Sending over a small batch of those nasty loitering munitions could just be a signal to Russia about what happens if they decide to escalate things by ramping up indiscriminate bombing and civilian casualties. Maybe. It’s hard to say for sure.

Yeah. This is gonna be a tough, super tough, game changer. It’s kind of like how planes were back in WWII, or maybe even more massive, like gunpowder and rifles.

The Russians are planning to set up artillery ambushes outside cities to try and bully people. I guess that's basically their only strategic move left. But honestly? They have zero way to defend against this. ZERO. Just one suicide drone or one heavy artillery piece at a time. We'll see which runs out first.

The Americans are sending these drones launched from man-portable mortars 6.2 miles toward the target. I think Ukrainian special ops teams are already doing something similar using "dumb" mortars.

Russia is totally screwed.

And that's just talking about the Switchblade 300! 😁

If they can actually mass-produce and ship the Switchblade 600 with a Javelin warhead and that kind of range 50 miles.... wow. It's a total mess for them.

PS: I guess the biggest headache here is just production speed. Since it's all new tech, we're looking at small batches and all those typical growing pains and stuff...

Isn't providing this kind of heavy weaponry basically direct American involvement in the war at this point?

If the Russians start shelling NATO members, they'll have the perfect excuse to trigger a nuclear conflict where nobody wins—not even Russia.🙂

The next logical step would be for Americans to acquire dozens of Bayraktars from Turkey, paint them in Ukrainian colors, and start flying them on missions over Ukraine. It isn't at all impossible to fly them undetected...