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"Ukraine's president has sacked the commander-in-chief of the country's armed forces, Valerii Zaluzhnyi."
Popular with the public, General Zaluzhnyi has had several disagreements with his President recently. Stuff happens, but this decision should have been made days ago instead of rumbling on as it has. General Zaluzhnyi will remain part of the team
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-68244813
Tuckers 2 hour+ propaganda video is up on X.
Summarised from what others have said, Putin mostly did his huge snore fest monologues and Ukraine belongs to Russia because of something that happened in the 9th century. Apparently.
According to stats, very few that actually started watching actually finished watching it. The usual suspects are loving it though, I've just pointed out to some far right 'Merican loon that they can expect a British invasion force to retake OUR land. 😆
1. Screw Tucker
2. I was keeping my peace on Zaluzhnyi being moved on as I was very conflicted, I assumed Zelensky had his reasons but it was hard to see what they were and without any real insight it was easy to start being cynical and see Zelensky trying to sideline a political rival possibly at the expense of battlefield competence.
I mean, surely he's a solid steel national hero, they're going to put up statues of the lad!
However, Joe Macdonald a UK volunter currently fighting with the Ukrainians in Kherson had an interesting perspective on this that I haven't heard from the usual media sources, which made we think that maybe this could end up being the right move and that the views of Zaluzhnyi on the frontlines may not be quite as glowing as the ones we're hearing from elsewhere.
The bit about Zaluzhnyi starts 3 minutes in. Fruity language warning for sensitive souls
Time will tell.
Time will tell.
Indeed. Ukraine has replaced one old Soviet with one who is 8-years older
The usual suspects are loving it though, I’ve just pointed out to some far right ‘Merican loon that they can expect a British invasion force to retake OUR land. 😆
😆
Sarah Rainsford's take on the *ucker Carlson piece.... Wheres Steve Rosenberg when you need him? He did a great job with Lukashenko.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68248740
Seems there is more than one apartment complex in Moscow currently on fire. Absolutely no idea if it is related to the war or just the typical 'issues' that Russians seem to face daily. But it seems odd that it is across a few buildings when it is sub zero outside...?
https://twitter.com/P_Kallioniemi/status/1755820074026344694?s=20
Most of the engineers and maintenance staff have been drafted so it really could be either.
Multiple stories coming out about how Russia's electrical grid, gas supply etc are creaking as the people who maintain them are gone.
I think a lot of Russian housing blocks have communal heating etc. from an article I was reading the other day about how cold it currently is there & the problems they have with communal heating systems as there is no money to maintain them.
Maybe one of those communal heating systems has gone up & taken several apartment blocks with it?
The US Senate has made progress in aid to Ukraine.
They voted 67:27 for the Cloture Motion, which caps the time to the final vote to 30 hours. This allows time to discuss amendments before the final vote, which can't be delayed by time-wasting.
A strong Senate final vote will influence the House of Representatives and hopefully US Speaker Johnson; we'll see, I'm not holding my breath on the outcome of their vote
Biden's admin needs this war to stay in the Presidential race. No surprise there if they vote for more aid to Ukraine.
Fingers crossed.
Russia reported that Ukraine had attacked Russian civilian transport ships in the SW Black Sea yesterday (Saturday), which I'm guessing is nearer to the Bosphorus Straits and Istanbul. Russia says that they fought the attack off and no footage has emerged today that I've seen to suggest otherwise
I'm also guessing that the ships are carrying sanctioned goods and/or weapons
Here's some more good news related to sanctions. Specifically the impact on civilian aircraft and the carriers that use them. IIRC, lots of these planes may have been stolen from their owners/lease companies.
Interesting
I suspect that he will be funding a lot of disinfo & pro-russian parties there
Following the Putin interview, I thought this was quite amusing
Mongolian trolling
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Putin also claimed Poland forced Germany to invade it in 1939 🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️. A somewhat self serving view of history 😵💫
Well, things are heating up within the US Congress.
Senator JD Vance (Rep), who was endorsed by Donald Trump in 2022, wrote "The Republican Plot Against Donald Trump" and includes the paragraph, "But, of course, they have an insurance plan even if Trump pulls it off (successful Presidential bid). Though few have noticed, buried in the bill’s text is a kill switch for the next Trump presidency. The legislation explicitly requires funding for Ukraine well into the next presidential term. The Washington Post has already reported this provision was added to control Donald Trump." https://www.theamericanconservative.com/how-congress-is-pursuing-endless-war-in-ukraine-and-trying-to-stop-a-trump-election/ (Apparently the WP noticed as well and told their readers, so a few people are aware)
The article also mentions the possibility of a "discharge petition" in the House of Representatives if the Ukraine Aid bill seems to be well-received, which would weaken US Speaker Mike Johnson (Rep) further. The US Speaker can refuse a bill a vote, but a majority House can over-ride that decision and vote anyway, aka a discharge petition.
He made a couple of questionable decisions last week and lost Republican confidence as a result and is less likely to shoot from the hip on this
I'm still not holding my breath 🙂
Interesting short video (5½ min) from Peter Zeihan. Despite the title, it only briefly covers the Carlton/Putin interview. It goes on to make some interesting comment on implementation (or not) of strategic changes based on combat lessons learned by both sides in the Ukraine war. Also comments on 'bandwith' issues in US foreign policy which are impacting support for Ukraine.
Good news!
"History settles every account," Mr McConnell said in a statement following the vote. "And today, on the value of American leadership and strength, history will record that the Senate did not blink."
👍
The numbers make interesting reading: 70:29 is a small swing towards the bill from 66:33 on the 12th. That's including Reps being mobilised from 67:27 on the 11th. There are 100 Senators (2 per state) and Senator Lummis (Rep) didn't vote on each occasion.
I think the question now is how many Representatives the Rep Senators can turn to vote to fund Ukraine. 1/3 of the Senators are due for election in November along with the House of Representatives, I'm sure that many in both Houses will be looking to their voters around now and thinking about serious politics.
Donald Trump is probably considering his next move carefully, he's got to be more concerned with becoming President than Ukraine because his alternative is surely Prison
The MAGA faction are starting to gear up to replace Mitch McConnel as they see him as insufficiently headbangy. This will probably accelerate that process.
I don't like the guy and his profound cynicism over the last few decades is a big part of why US politics is as stuffed as it is, but McConnel is probably the most accomplished Republican political operator of his generation and hugely influential amongst the GOP's big money donors.
He's clearly chosen a side on Ukraine, if the MAGA faithful come for him as a result then it will be a fascinating showdown.
Praying that Jeffries has a cunning plan to get it past the yahoos in the house, he's not daft but he's no Pelosi, who for all her faults, was a master at this kind of thing.
****ing Mike Johnson, in an era of total pieces of shit he's still somehow floating to the top.
“The mandate of national security supplemental legislation was to secure America’s own border before sending additional foreign aid around the world. In the absence of having received any single border policy change from the Senate, the House will have to continue to work its own will on these important matters. America deserves better than the Senate’s status quo.”
You mean like the bipartisan deal that did exactly that, which you torpedoed literally just days ago because you'd do anything rather than let Biden deliver on the border? Oh hi Rand Paul, demanding the exact same when you voted against that bill. Oh yeah and we see you over there too Lindsey Graham, who strongly supported support for Ukraine until Trump sent out a single misspelled tweet demanding it be a loan, and now says he will oppose all future funding unless it's a loan.
****ing Mike Johnson, in an era of total pieces of shit he’s still somehow floating to the top.
He was the only person dumb enough to want to job after the treason caucus defenestrated McCarthy but still sufficiently boring to actually get into post without spooking the horses.. They'd have nominated MTG if they thought they could get away with it.
For them he's the perfect mix of looking sensible whilst actually being packed to the gills with horrendous opinions and beliefs.
The Russian navy is apparently celebrating another new submarine joining the fleet.
https://twitter.com/KyivIndependent/status/1757669611384733848
One less republican vote in the house against the Ukrainian aid package.
He isn't sworn in yet, the NY3 seat is still officially vacant. The US Speaker normally leads the swearing in after the biennial elections, but I'm not sure who controls it in this case.
One report says that swearing-in could be as early as this week, but it might have to wait until the end of the month for the next recess.
In any case this is a wake-up call to Representatives that the voters won't put up with their nonsense and hopefully a "yea" vote is in the offing
Just realised that I replied to the George!Santos! thread on this one, still it's relevant...apols
One less republican vote in the house against the Ukrainian aid package.
To be pedantic, it's actually one more Democratic vote. AFAIK, Santos had already been booted from the house so Republicans had lost his vote. This just gives that vote to the Democrats, so a net gain of 2 votes. The Republican majority has fallen from 5 to 3, if 2 Republicans vote with Democrats, that's a majority.
these drones are going to change a lot about naval warfare
https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1757676612588314719?t=bnhbLXq2bNXofqDmkgSdfA&s=19
The Russian navy is being picked off one by one, Ukraine has reopened its sea grain exports. Russia has been denied the Black Sea. All this by a country without a navy. Outstanding!
The Republican majority has fallen from 5 to 3, if 2 Republicans vote with Democrats, that’s a majority.
There are timing issues as well. One Rep is off with long-term health problems, another was in a car crash (literal, not political); (real) examples of what can change a vote
Still too early to be holding your breath 🙂
These swarming naval drones are making large ships look very vulnerable.
I'm sure the boffins are working hard on solutions - surely those gattling cannon AA things I've seen in the past could take them out, or was that old tech and replaced with expensive missles? Or something that could blind the cameras / knock out the communications so they can't be piloted.
Imagine if the houtis were to get there hands on this tech - if they can take out warships, tankers and freighters will be a piece of cake.
One Rep is off with long-term health problems,
Im sure BBC mentioned that one was wheeled in wearing a hospital gown....
what's worrying is that if russian warships cant stop these drones, what happens when Iran/ houthis get them?
edit : What's dt78 said!
my BILs ship is currently patrolling for houthi drones & missiles in the red sea, will be interesting to hear his thoughts
BBC reporting on the Caesar Kunikov being sunk https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-68292602 .
I thought it was interesting how I never saw the BBC report on the Ivanovets being sunk though, seemed pretty confirmed since there was a video of it sinking but perhaps not confirmed enough for them or not a big enough story?
Edit : BBC have mentioned the Ivanovets briefly at the bottom of the article on the Caesar Kunikov.
Interesting.... The video of this latest naval done attack. You don't see any bullets hitting the water like in the previous sinking. Does that mean the Russians were completely clueless that they were about to be sunk?
I would have thought that radar or whatever the ships use would be able to pick up something the size of a jetski or small speedboat.
Once the Houthis get hold of this tech we're in WW3 territory. Makes US and UK support of Isreal seem foolish.
Saying that, one of the main pipelines in Iran is currently burning.
As an aside.... Did anyone see the Ukraine Special Forces taking out Wagner mercenaries in Africa?
This is the kind of small, fast moving craft that the frankly terrifying Phalanx CIWIS systems on US and many NATO ships are for. The US has been pretty sharp on this kind of thing since the USS Cole incident in Y2K and I'd bet good money that these systems are already being tweaked with suicide USV's in mind.
Russia hasn't really faced this kind of threat before and their close-in systems clearly aren't sufficient, they have some catching up to do.
Obviously civilian shipping is a whole different matter.
I would have thought that radar or whatever the ships use would be able to pick up something the size of a jetski or small speedboat.
The very obvious thing is to send multiple drones from different directions at once. The radar systems may be limited in how many targets they can track and engage at the same time.
On the drone footage, you can see that they are shooting at them, just not hitting.
The state of the Russian Navy is good.
Maybe the radars are not operated or maintained very well?
From looking on the web, a similar UK RFA ship has Phalanx cannon fitted. These are "stand alone" and have their own sensors. They can fire 75 rounds per second, so you would think they would be able to sink a relatively slow drone.
According to wiki, the latest upgrades in 2015, were to improve the system against small surface targets.