Russia - worrying?

[gringo]

I don't know where you get these statements from. Five NATO countries border Russia and none of them have made incursions.

   I don't know where you get your interpretations from. I didn't say that any had made incursions. what I did say is that those NATO countries that have joined since 1991 will be complying with Russia's December 2021 proposals/demands and will not be hosting missiles that threaten Russia. This will be via good faith talks or force of arms, but it will be the result of Ukraine/NATO defeat.
    Ukraine has been used by NATO to provoke Russia. Your cognitive dissonance doesn't allow you to accept this truth, but any country asked to host NATO missiles/nukes understands that Russia sees this as an unacceptable threat. When the defeat of Ukraine is official, either via negotiation or surrender, the whole board changes instantly. This is why the West/NATO is still criminally extending this war by pouring in arms and men-it is desperation. Defeat has consequences everywhere-particularly for those who have fomented and escalated the hostilities. They(NATO govts) know that their own populations will turn on them after suffering so much economically for the vainglorious hubris of a corrupt political class. People are dying and suffering in a futile attempt to stop the inevitable.

[Steve_uk]

   I don't know where you get your interpretations from. I didn't say that any had made incursions. what I did say is that those NATO countries that have joined since 1991 will be complying with Russia's December 2021 proposals/demands and will not be hosting missiles that threaten Russia. This will be via good faith talks or force of arms, but it will be the result of Ukraine/NATO defeat.
    Ukraine has been used by NATO to provoke Russia. Your cognitive dissonance doesn't allow you to accept this truth, but any country asked to host NATO missiles/nukes understands that Russia sees this as an unacceptable threat. When the defeat of Ukraine is official, either via negotiation or surrender, the whole board changes instantly. This is why the West/NATO is still criminally extending this war by pouring in arms and men-it is desperation. Defeat has consequences everywhere-particularly for those who have fomented and escalated the hostilities. They(NATO govts) know that their own populations will turn on them after suffering so much economically for the vainglorious hubris of a corrupt political class. People are dying and suffering in a futile attempt to stop the inevitable.

Rather ironic don't you think since Ukraine gave up a nuclear arsenal as a quid pro quo for security guarantees contained in the Budapest Memorandum of 1994 and it was Russia which suspended the new START treaty.

[gringo]

Rather ironic don't you think since Ukraine gave up a nuclear arsenal as a quid pro quo for security guarantees contained in the Budapest Memorandum of 1994 and it was Russia which suspended the new START treaty.

    Ukraine never had nukes. The Soviet Union had nukes and Russia was the successor state to the Soviet Union. Ukraine were not signatories to the NPT (non proliferation treaty) and between 1991 and 1994 were effectively a nuclear power outside the NPT. The Budapest Memorandum (much misrepresented in western msm whose distortions are then repeated by indoctrinated drones) was not "Ukraine giving up it's nukes", as per western msm. You always completely ignore the context of the agreements and memorandums that you invoke. You also repeat verbatim the same distortions and misrepresentations that you have been fed.
    The nukes could not be used by the Ukrainians because they couldn't break the Russian codes. They agreed to sign the NPT and transferred the nukes to be destroyed. The world wouldn't exist today if Ukraine had usable nukes and you should be careful what you wish for in your blind hatred of anything Russia. Ukraine, being the corrupt country that it is, set a price for giving back the nukes. This has since been spun to death in western media and the same one one line repeatedly quoted, "respect the independence...", as if that is the entire Budapest Memorandum.
     Your mentioning of the START treaty demonstrates that you simply repeat MSM headlines. You are like a talking Action Man doll who has about 10 phrases when you pull the string on it's back.
     The US pulled out of treaty after treaty and sabotaged START to such an extent (wanting access to Russian nuclear silos whilst denying quid pro quo access) that the failure of START, as with every other nuclear arms threat reduction treaty, is entirely at the feet of the US.
     Do you believe that Ukraine should have been able to retain nuclear weapons despite being a non signatory of the NPT at the time? Should Russia have given it the codes? What do you think should have happened given the circumstances? A newly independent state that by accident of geography is left holding nuclear weapons.
      Imagine, for instance, if Scotland had voted to leave the UK in 2014. Should Scotland keep it's nuclear missiles based there as part of the UK? Should Scotland become a nuclear armed state in these circumstances? Would Scotland be "giving up it's nukes" by agreeing to transfer for destruction the nukes that it couldn't use? Unless the successor state to the UK-did it ever have nukes to give up?
     Ukraine, "gave up it's nukes" because it couldn't use them. Had Ukraine been able to use the nukes, it would have used them and definitely not agreed to their transfer and destruction. It still extracted a price for this because it is corrupt.

     Would you trust those in control in Ukraine to act responsibly with nuclear weapons?

[David1819]

Wagner boss openly defies Kremlin Ukraine 'Nazi' narrative

https://www.euronews.com/2023/03/24/wagner-boss-openly-defies-kremlin-ukraine-nazi-narrative

[David1819]

'NATO IS TREMBLING' - RUSSIANS ARE PREPARING ANCIENT T-34 FOR A FIGHT

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bNE3fbCYEQ

[Roch]

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/f/britain-supply-infamous-depleted-uranium-shells-ukraine

[gringo]

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/f/britain-supply-infamous-depleted-uranium-shells-ukraine

   An insane escalation and provocation. Russians have warned UK against it and are pissed. Western "leaders" are self evidently servants of someone/thing other than the public they supposedly serve at this point. Any number of crises to deal with domestically-too many to list-that remain unresolved and/or ignored completely that require the governments undivided attention. Arming Nazis in Ukraine shouldn't make the top 100.
     In fact, it is exactly this pattern of behaviour by successive UK (and other) compromised governments that leads to the litany of domestic problems, that are too numerous to list.

[David1819]

Putin’s propaganda about depleted uranium missiles

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebvfpqsSy2c

[gringo]

     What more to add?

Next-Generation Air Dominance.
The US Air Force's budget request for FY 24 is a banger. In it they envision retiring no fewer than 310 combat aircraft, including some of their most critical types, with no replacements immediately to hand. The aircraft they envision eventually procuring for replacements are generally old models. This is with historically high funding on what could be the eve of World War Three.

The USAF wants to retire no less than half of its E-3 Sentry fleet in FY 24, claiming that the aircraft is expensive to fly and antiquated. These 1970s-era 707-based AWACS aircraft will be replaced at some point in the 2030s by 1990s-era 737-based E-7 Wedgetails. The fact the USAF apparently let its premiere battle command and early warning platform degrade into obsolescence and may be replacing it with an off-the-shelf system approaching its 30th birthday speaks volumes.

More absurd is the fact the USAF wants to retire its 33 oldest F-22s (claiming they're "not combat-coded") and replace them with... F-15s. You heard that right. New F-15s. The Air Force in fact envisions retiring its F-22 fleet entirely in the next decade. They envision a sixth-gen fighter entering service at some point in the distant future, but these jets will likely be replaced by F-15s because there is a functioning assembly line for F-15s right now and Boeing has amazing lobbyists. An F-22 production restart is of course absolutely out of the question.

These two budget items are emblematic of my theme lately - the modern West doesn't make things and struggles to develop technology successfully. Here you have a critical system becoming obsolete overnight and being replaced by another old system, and one of America's national trump cards being retired and replaced by the exact same jet it was itself intended to replace in the 1990s. Meanwhile the leaders responsible for this fiasco are fantasizing about science fiction weapons coming online decades from now.

- Alcibiades[/i]

[gringo]

    On the same subject as the above, ie. US/NATO lagging in weapons tech because of the bloated and corrupt weapons industry in the West. Some time back in 2021 the gap in missile and air defence was discussed on this thread.

We are entering, have entered, a multipolar world. Dollar trade is falling and will not long be replaced by countries trading in their own currencies again. This is happening now and will only accelerate. In terms of military power there is nothing the Western powers can do to defeat even Iran now, never mind China and Russia.
     It is an observable reality that US/UK and the rest of their merry band of war criminals, otherwise known as NATO, have spent decades arming, preparing and strategising for war against weaker powers. As such they have built a military machine that can destroy the militaries of weak defenceless countries.
Whilst they have been on a 20 year rampage of unprecedented war crimes invading and subjugating weak but resource rich or strategically important countries, China, Russia and Iran have outplayed them and are turning the tide.

 Whilst the US/UK NATO have spent 20/30 years bogged down in increasingly attritional wars, the bogging down being helped along by Iran, Russia and China, all who have played roles to keep Empire bogged down in conflicts that they expected to end swiftly. Yemen, Syria, Venezuela have all been able to resist. This time has allowed the same countries to prepare for a defensive war against a predictable enemy.
     Aircraft Carrier Groups are now obsolete against modern air defence and missile tech. Russia and China are so far ahead in missile tech that it is literally a game changer. NATO cannot win. Their multi billion dollar aircraft carriers negated by missiles that cost a few thousand dollars. Likewise their military bases. 30,000+ US troops in Guam would be instantly killed. Every military base would be instantly vulnerable in any attack against China, Iran, Russia. NATO are equipped for the wrong war against the wrong adversaries and would be readily defeated if they fight those that are prepared for them. It's over.  They are in check everywhere on the board.

    In response to the above was the usual bullshit. I would say that analysis was accurate. The tech gap was disputed and minimised. US won't "allow" this gap to persist bla bla. David even linked to articles which he claimed showed successful hypersonic missile tests by the US. He also described how new US supercarriers anyway would be immune to these missiles. It's hilarious;

 David-   Back in 2005 the RAND think tank suggested that the next generation of carries have energy dissipating armour systems and electric armour. So I'm guessing the new carriers have this? We can only speculate as a lot of this is classified (since I cannot find any details). I also anticipate that these carriers will get upgraded with a system to intercept the hypersonic missiles that consist of directed-energy weapons like high energy lasers, microwaves or rail guns.

    Normally I'd say that is somewhere between hope and wishful thinking. But that is way below even wishful thinking. It's below fantasy. Lasers, rail guns. Anyway last week this;

https://asiatimes.com/2023/04/us-hypersonic-failure-reveals-a-glaring-weakness/

    Late last month, South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on the failed second flight test of the ARRW. It said that although the ARRW was successfully launched from a B-52H bomber off the coast of southern California, with its warhead successfully separating from its booster and continuing flight, the data link transmitting in-flight telemetry information failed.

SCMP says that the data link failure resulted in the loss of data that could have helped the Pentagon understand the ARRW’s flight characteristics and that the flight team behind the test is working to determine whether the failure was caused by a faulty data link or a flaw in the ARRW’s warhead.

The report also said that the failed ARRW test was the second of four planned tests that had aimed to show the weapon had early operational capability and was thus worthy of putting it into production.

The ARRW’s first test succeeded. Last December, Air & Space Forces Magazine noted that the ARRW was launched from a B-52H bomber off the coast of southern California, with the missile accelerating to hypersonic speed, separating from its booster, flying at speeds beyond Mach 5 and detonating in the target area.


Late last month, South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on the failed second flight test of the ARRW. It said that although the ARRW was successfully launched from a B-52H bomber off the coast of southern California, with its warhead successfully separating from its booster and continuing flight, the data link transmitting in-flight telemetry information failed.

SCMP says that the data link failure resulted in the loss of data that could have helped the Pentagon understand the ARRW’s flight characteristics and that the flight team behind the test is working to determine whether the failure was caused by a faulty data link or a flaw in the ARRW’s warhead.

The report also said that the failed ARRW test was the second of four planned tests that had aimed to show the weapon had early operational capability and was thus worthy of putting it into production.

The ARRW’s first test succeeded. Last December, Air & Space Forces Magazine noted that the ARRW was launched from a B-52H bomber off the coast of southern California, with the missile accelerating to hypersonic speed, separating from its booster, flying at speeds beyond Mach 5 and detonating in the target area.


    Western missile tech, air defence and EW systems remain decades behind Russia, China et al. The writing has long been on the wall for anyone prepared to read it. The wrong tools for the wrong enemy in the wrong war.


       

   

[gringo]

     Russia first deployed hypersonic missiles in 2019. US have yet to develop never mind produce and deploy any. US air defence and EW is likewise decades behind Russia. NATO weapons industry is too corrupt and not fit for purpose to catch up.
     The attempts by the West to isolate Russia has to be the most spectacular foreign policy failure in my lifetime. Completely failed and achieved the opposite- the increasing isolation of the Western/NATO/EU blocs from Asia and the Global South, as well as the ongoing collapse of the entire dollar reserve currency system. 

[gringo]

     Russia first deployed hypersonic missiles in 2019. US have yet to develop never mind produce and deploy any. US air defence and EW is likewise decades behind Russia. NATO weapons industry is too corrupt and not fit for purpose to catch up.
     The attempts by the West to isolate Russia has to be the most spectacular foreign policy failure in my lifetime. Completely failed and achieved the opposite- the increasing isolation of the Western/NATO/EU blocs from Asia and the Global South, as well as the ongoing collapse of the entire dollar reserve currency system.

    Western/NATO "strategy" in every war relies on "air supremacy". They have no strategy beyond that. Russia, China and Iran have all removed this possible "strategy" from the board. NATO were all in on air supremacy & shock and awe. They have no other strategy nor the tools for any other strategy. It's over.

[David1819]

Finland to formally join Nato within days

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/mar/31/finland-to-formally-join-nato-within-days-nato-announces

[gringo]

Finland to formally join Nato within days

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/mar/31/finland-to-formally-join-nato-within-days-nato-announces

   NATO are well and truly exposed as a paper tiger. The addition of Finland will hardly have Russia, China, Iran et al quaking in their boots. NATO have been removed from their perch as the dominant military power in the world. It is done. Finland doesn't alter that. The bigger picture is that the world is turning its back on Western/NATO exploitation and joining the SCO, BRICS+, ASEAN en masse.
 
https://twitter.com/i/status/1642097150283730945

    Above is the Zambian opposition leader addressing Kamala Harris on her pathetic tour of Africa in an attempt to turn the tide. This is the reception the US is receiving all over Africa and South America. The world has had enough of US/NATO. Russia and China have provided the tools and means to end Western colonialism once and for all. It's a done deal. NATO will "run interference" for as long as possible to delay the birth of the multi-polar system but lack the means to prevent it.
    The multi-polar bloc is growing at such a pace that it is out of Western/NATO control. Finland doesn't alter that equation.

     "A country that has killed so many of our leaders in Africa and other parts of the world. The killers of Patrice Lumumba, those who toppled Kwqame Nkrumah, those who killed Nasser, those who killed Muammar Ghaddafi- today are coming to teach us about democracy. A country that has been built on brutal force, on enslavement of other human beings, on the humiliation of Africans, the exploitation of Africans, the plunder of Africa is today coming to teach us about democracy.
      If you have no respect for the dignity of others, if you have no respect for the sovereignty of other countries-you cannot claim to be a champion of democracy"
   
     When African leaders are addressing the US Vice President as above, directly, I think it's safe to say that Western colonialism is at the end of the road. Western wealth is based on the plunder of weaker countries. Those weaker countries now have options and means to resist Western exploitation and plunder. It is over.
     

   

[David1819]

   NATO are well and truly exposed as a paper tiger. The addition of Finland will hardly have Russia, China, Iran et al quaking in their boots. NATO have been removed from their perch as the dominant military power in the world. It is done. Finland doesn't alter that. The bigger picture is that the world is turning its back on Western/NATO exploitation and joining the SCO, BRICS+, ASEAN en masse.
 
https://twitter.com/i/status/1642097150283730945

    Above is the Zambian opposition leader addressing Kamala Harris on her pathetic tour of Africa in an attempt to turn the tide. This is the reception the US is receiving all over Africa and South America. The world has had enough of US/NATO. Russia and China have provided the tools and means to end Western colonialism once and for all. It's a done deal. NATO will "run interference" for as long as possible to delay the birth of the multi-polar system but lack the means to prevent it.
    The multi-polar bloc is growing at such a pace that it is out of Western/NATO control. Finland doesn't alter that equation.

     "A country that has killed so many of our leaders in Africa and other parts of the world. The killers of Patrice Lumumba, those who toppled Kwqame Nkrumah, those who killed Nasser, those who killed Muammar Ghaddafi- today are coming to teach us about democracy. A country that has been built on brutal force, on enslavement of other human beings, on the humiliation of Africans, the exploitation of Africans, the plunder of Africa is today coming to teach us about democracy.
      If you have no respect for the dignity of others, if you have no respect for the sovereignty of other countries-you cannot claim to be a champion of democracy"
   
     When African leaders are addressing the US Vice President as above, directly, I think it's safe to say that Western colonialism is at the end of the road. Western wealth is based on the plunder of weaker countries. Those weaker countries now have options and means to resist Western exploitation and plunder. It is over.
     

   

What else is happening in Tankie fantasy world?