UPDATE: CLASSIFIEDS section refreshed, redesigned, searchable: Go take a look
Let's assume that Patriot tech could be incorporated into cheap mass production Ukrainian missiles. That would solve the ballistic missile interceptor shortage in a shorter time scale than is possible now for the middle east.
I think this is the hope IMO. We have shared tech publicly, I suspect more has been shared by us and other allies. Couple that with the Ukrainian innovation and simplicity/bordering on men in sheds approach, and we could see something rapidly produced and in service.
Of course we have negotiated a reciprocal agreement so UK is also getting all the Ukrainian battlefield data, AI / predictive data around where Russia is striking and I assume more.
IMO this is a smart UK move. Positions us well with all sorts of allies, puts USA under some pressure, sends ol' PooTin a message, gives some hope to Ukraine and might, might just speed up the end of this war.
So, the head of the CIA flew to Moscow in a C17 Globemaster and met with Putin. No one knows why. The last time this occurred was in 2021 - to warn Russia not to invade Ukraine.
telling them not to do whatever shithousey they have planned for the baltics?
So, the head of the CIA flew to Moscow in a C17 Globemaster and met with Putin. No one knows why. The last time this occurred was in 2021 - to warn Russia not to invade Ukraine.
Coincidentally, Moscow's stock exchange briefly rose on his arrival and fell back on his departure.
I think the only other thing that isn't speculation is that this meeting could have been undertaken much less publicly had it suited, small private jet, US Embassy car, etc.
I think this is the hope IMO. We have shared tech publicly...
For timeline clarity, chewkw's original BBC link was from the 24th, the day before the Bloomberg report
In brief: UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he plans to travel to the US next month to lobby President Donald Trump to let Ukraine access Patriot air defense missile stocks before winter, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, Aug. 25. Burnham said European leaders may hold another Coalition of the Willing meeting around the UN General Assembly in New York to secure US interceptors and stocks from other countries. Zelensky has asked for 300 Patriot missiles ahead of expected Russian winter attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
http://www.kyivpost.com/post/83056
EU sanctions push collides with Brussels power struggle and Greek shipping anger:
- Kallas’ proposed sanctions expansion faces political resistance amid growing divisions between EU institutions and member states over Russia policy
- Greek opposition is hardening as shipowners and politicians react to Ukrainian drone attacks on Greek-linked vessels in the Black Sea
- Unanimity remains the biggest hurdle, with Athens already having weakened the EU’s 21st sanctions package and likely to scrutinise any new measures closely
http://www.lloydslist.com/LL1158270/EU-sanctions-push-collides-with-Brussels-power-struggle-and-Greek-shipping-anger
Ireland supplies aluminium to Russia. Now Turkey has sent a tanker load of petroleum as well - such great allies 👎
Radcliffe is pro Ukraine- so that’s a plus! Also - the high visibility of the visit is intended to send a message.
Indeed and Britain is still buying Russian white fish via China as well as refined Russian oil and precious metals from India.
Agreed, I wasn't for a moment claiming Britain or other European countries aren't guilty of similar, just sharing a well researched piece of investigative journalism that happens to focus on Ireland. Caolan Robertson acknowledges that this is the tip of the iceberg and is rife all over Europe and the UK.
It has brought great pressure to bear on the Irish government to finally do something about it. It shows what can be done when a bright light is shone on shadowy links to Russia. Hopefully he and others will spread the net wider.
Has anyone else noticed that many of the Reform pro-Russian shills have shifted their attitude recently towards "ooh, it's a tragedy for both sides, let's stop the killing"?
Definitely seems to be an acknowledgement that Putin is not going to win this without a long hard grind, if at all, so they might be planning to cut their losses.
Has anyone else noticed that many of the Reform pro-Russian shills have shifted their attitude recently towards "ooh, it's a tragedy for both sides, let's stop the killing"?
Definitely seems to be an acknowledgement that Putin is not going to win this without a long hard grind, if at all, so they might be planning to cut their losses.
Indeed and Britain is still buying Russian white fish via China as well as refined Russian oil and precious metals from India.
The modern world is massively intertwined and a politician's job is first and foremost to their country.
There are dozens of examples of this and I suppose the nub of it is whether keeping chip shops stocked (or whatever) means that political parties unfriendly to Ukraine gain less of a toehold.
That shouldn't prevent the discussion around the issues and their extent, just to keep those same politician's on the same democratic page as their electorate.
"ooh, it's a tragedy for both sides, let's stop the killing"?
That's been the current US administration line for a couple of years
Hungary has designated Russia as a threat,
"In brief: Led by Prime Minister Péter Magyar, Hungary’s new government officially classified Russia as a “threat” in a document submitted for the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, marking a sharp break from its previous Kremlin-aligned policy under former PM Viktor Orbán."
An interesting move by the Kremlin.
Oligarchs must be feeling a chilly wind; their private para-militaries have been signing contracts with the MoD since 2023 and international sanctions make repairs difficult.
Reuters reported yesterday that none of Lukoil's largest refineries in Russia are producing,
"Now the Kremlin has added another response: if the state decides an owner failed to adequately protect a facility from Ukrainian drones – or took too long to rebuild it – the government can take control of the owner’s assets.
Signed on Monday, Aug. 24, Decree No. 604 applies when security measures are missing, deemed ineffective, or repairs are judged too slow."
Sweden is getting serious about Russian business leaders,
"The Swedish Army has asked the country’s government to seize Russian-owned property near an underground naval base on the Stockholm archipelago, SVT reports."
Sweden has also arrested two executives from Kubal, a Rusal-linked smelting company that's supplied from elsewhere in the EU.
Sweden alleges sanctions evasion and have frozen €5mn in company assets, which I think is to do with a tax investigation.
The Swedish state has been targetted by hybrid attacks, but individuals retain business links. Hopefully Willard can supply some context? 😊
http://militarnyi.com/en/news/swedish-army-wants-to-seize-russian-property-near-musk-base/
It appears that three and possibly a fourth drone with a warheads were used three weeks ago to target Antonov transport aircraft housed in Leipzig Airport.
I'm going out on a limb here, but RDX (hexogen) explosive isn't a garden shed job, unless an enterprising gardener had a bit left from WW2 😉
"Leipzig/Halle Airport in eastern Germany is used by the Germany military and Nato allies for the transport of military goods and also serves as a base for Ukraine's Antonov Airlines - which carry most of the country's aerial cargo."
"German law enforcement authorities have discovered a third drone and new evidence in the case involving an attempted terrorist attack at Leipzig Airport."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cyvlg4q48l3o
http://militarnyi.com/en/news/attempted-sabotage-of-an-124-ruslan-germany-discovers-third-explosive-laden-drone/
A dozen or more Russian Rassvet (Starlink analogue) satellites haven't reached their desired orbits, with two currently at risk of burning up in our atmosphere.
The satellites cross Ukraine up to four times a day, but are only in position for stable comms two or three times.
"In brief: Two of Russia’s Rassvet satellites – the country’s answer to the US’s Starlink – are falling and risk burning up in the atmosphere, according to a cosmonaut researcher. Intelligence suggests that Russia aims to put 292 satellites in orbit by 2027 – while the number falls short of Starlink’s over 7,800 in orbit, analysts warned that the existing few dozen still provide regular albeit brief coverage over Ukraine."
http://www.kyivpost.com/post/83164
The Swedish state has been targetted by hybrid attacks, but individuals retain business links. Hopefully Willard can supply some context?
This is an election year for us, with the country going to the polls in under a month (early voting is now in progress), so an increase in hybrid attacks is not unexpected, especially given how tight the election seems to be between the "right -> far-right" group and the center/center-left group. SVT has reported ( https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/proryskt-trollnatverk-riktar-in-sig-pa-svenska-valet) that pro-Russia troll/bot factories are spreading misinformation and that is not surprising.
In terms of physical attacks to back up the cyber ones, I have not heard much about this, but the news has been full of other stuff for the last week or so. Something like that seen in Germany with the drones _would_ be reported heavily.
The article linked above about Muskö back up what I think the BBC reported about it and makes a lot of sense. From memory, the owner is a Russian/Swedish dual national, so might make things a touch more complicated, but the risk of a place like that being used to report on or disrupt naval activity by the Russians (either willingly or under duress) must be considered high.
The next couple of weeks will almost certainly see a ramping up of botnet/cyber activity against Sweden and I fully expect the troll factories to be posting a lot of garbage on social media in the run up to the election.
Thanks Willard, it seems that I have to get Swedish news prompts from Ukraine!
...politician's...
Apologies everyone for the stray '
In my defence I edited the sentence and missed that
Whilst I agree we shouldn’t be buying Russian fish - supplying aircraft grade aluminium for Russsias war machine is somewhat egregious. Also - Pepsi never left Russia, they just changed its name to a Russian sounding brand- they paid the Kremlin $235million in tax last year - boycott their products! 😉
A dozen or more Russian Rassvet (Starlink analogue) satellites haven't reached their desired orbits, with two currently at risk of burning up in our atmosphere.
I mean it's a long sniper shot, but if anyone's got the ingenuity to take the shot it's Ukraine....
There are two ISW reports for the 27th:
Russian Occupation Update, August 27, 2026, which reports on the administration of Ukraine's civilian population in the occupied territories
http://understandingwar.org/research/russia-ukraine/russian-occupation-update-august-27-2026/
and
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, August 27, 2026, which is what I normally refer to here.
This one includes scenarios surrounding the visit by CIA Director John Ratcliffe to Moscow.
My own assessment is that the various frontlines are largely stable with massive resources being thrown by Russia into the so-called "fortress belt" cities of Slovyansk (northern end) and Kostyantynivka (southern end) for costly, slow advances there.
http://understandingwar.org/research/russia-ukraine/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-august-27-2026/
Ukraine has received Patriot interceptors and is reporting numbers of successful interceptions of ballistic missiles once more.
Russia has also started to use the new, longer range, Iskander-M ballistic missile. Its range is thought to be around 550km (from 390km), although the programme wants to achieve 1000km bringing Ukraine's more western cities such as Lviv into range and fulfilling the codename Iskander-1000.
More digital signature and other info for Raytheon to add to the Patriot library,
"On the night of August 27, Ukrainian air defenses shot down seven Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles."
http://militarnyi.com/en/news/ukraine-intercepts-russian-iskander-m-kn-23/
https://militarnyi.com/en/news/russia-9m723-2-iskander-1000-against-kyiv/
I'm guessing that European warships providing air defence for Ireland during its EU Presidency meetings is connected with the war in Ukraine. Ireland last held the Presidency in 2013, before Russia attacked Crimea in 2014.
The RAF has formally provided air defence since an agreement was signed in the 1950s and informally before that.
The request for a naval presence lasts for the current six-month Presidency from July to Dec.
Caher, do you know more?
"European warships are reportedly expected to continue providing air defence during major events for the remainder of Ireland’s EU presidency. According to the report, next week’s meeting of EU defence and foreign affairs ministers in County Wicklow will be supported by a Royal Navy air defence warship operating in the Irish Sea."
"Gallagher summarised the forthcoming British deployment on X, writing: “Next week, at Ireland’s request, a Royal Navy warship will provide air defence during a meeting of EU ministers in Wicklow. But, to comply with the Irish Constitution, the ship must remain outside Irish territorial waters.”"
"The Irish Times also reports that the French frigate Aquitaine was stationed in Dublin Bay, just outside the 22-kilometre limit, on 1 July while dozens of European heads of government were visiting Ireland. The ship reportedly provided air defence while Irish military aircraft and naval vessels were also deployed to secure the area."
http://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/royal-navy-warship-to-provide-air-defence-for-ireland/
“Next week, at Ireland’s request, a Royal Navy warship will provide air defence during a meeting of EU ministers in Wicklow. But, to comply with the Irish Constitution, the ship must remain outside Irish territorial waters.”"
Talk about having your cake and eating it! Cheeky barstools. 🤣
But, to comply with the Irish Constitution, the ship must remain outside Irish territorial waters.”
Like they have the navy to stop us...
I'm interested because it helps to "take the temperature" of current threats, v pre-Crimea, Iran, etc.
The naval support may have been a standard operational procedure for decades of international events, thanks 👍
“Next week, at Ireland’s request, a Royal Navy warship will provide air defence during a meeting of EU ministers in Wicklow. But, to comply with the Irish Constitution, the ship must remain outside Irish territorial waters.”"
Talk about having your cake and eating it! Cheeky barstools. 🤣
I'm not 100% sure on their reasoning, is there perhaps some historical context as to why they might want the British Military to keep it's distance maybe?
Although this does read like it's down to their long standing neutrality
Either they want protection or they don’t 🤷🏻♂️
Either they want protection or they don’t 🤷🏻♂️
We most certainly don't want British protection especially given the 900 years of murder and genocide the English then Brits visited on us. A simple bit if googling would tell.its not just British warships its all warships Article 15 of the Irish Constitution, only the Irish Parliament (Oireachtas) can authorize or maintain military forces on Irish territory.
I'd like us to beaf up our military as part of a European defence force.
