The Brink of War?

[Moses]

Your information is incorrect, and the tanks are not museum pieces.

What Slovenia is donating to Ukraine are M-55S tanks, a modernized version of the Soviet T-55. The tanks have new guns - 105 mm Royal Ordnance L7 with a thermal insulation jacket, one of the most successful tank guns of all time. The tower and hull have been covered with additional reactive armor, which has changed the silhouette of the tanks to bringing it closer to modern ones. The M-55S have received a digital ballistic computer and gun stabilization, a Fotona SGS-55 sight with a laser rangefinder, as well as a LIRD-1A laser radiation detector linked to the smoke grenade launcher IS-6.

In terms of mobility, the M-55S has been motorized with a new 600 hp Diesel engine, which replaces the V-12 water-cooled diesel developing 580 hp of the original T-55. To improve the cross-country mobility of the tank, the suspension has been replaced and now each side consists of five rubber-tired road wheels, with a drive sprocket at the rear, an idler at the front, and four return rollers. The new 580 mm wide track has been fitted with replaceable rubber pads and to reduce driver fatigue a hydraulic steering system has been installed.

The armament is an 105 mm L7 gun (36 rounds), a 7.62 mm machine gun (2800 rounds), and 12 mm machine gun (250 rounds). The L7 tank gun is compatible with a wide array of ammunition types, including High Explosive Anti-Tank-Tracer and High Explosive Squash Head-Tracer rounds.

This is part of the so-called chain swap, which Germany uses to supply arms to Ukraine. Slovenia will send 28 M55s tanks to Ukraine and receive 40 German military trucks.

To read by letters: Ukraine has no 105mm shells.

[Dragonman]

To read by letters: Ukraine has no 105mm shells.

I am not sure what you mean by the message in the quote above, but I doubt that Ukraine's supporters would be supplying billions of dollars worth of equipment if Ukraine did not have the necessary ammunition, e.g.,

"New aid package for Ukraine includes 105-mm ammunition, HIMARS – Pentagon," (https://mil.in.ua/en/news/new-aid-pa...mars-pentagon/).

"Ukrainian servicemen start using 105mm L119 howitzers" (https://mil.in.ua/en/news/ukrainian-...119-howitzers/)

"The foreign weapons that enable Ukraine to hold out against Russia" (https://www.lemonde.fr/en/les-decode...5997794_8.html)... "The United Kingdom also announced the delivery of 36 105mm howitzers, while Washington promised 20.)

"New Ammo For Ukraine? US Could Supply Excalibur Munitions To Kiev To Target Dug-In Russian Positions & Command Posts" (https://eurasiantimes.com/new-ammo-f...ery-munitions/) ....and sixteen 105mm howitzers (36,000 rounds of ammunition.

Russian military supplies, despite the reactivation of thousands of aged tanks, don't seem plentiful, either:

"Russia buying weapons from North Korea for Ukraine war, U.S. intelligence says" (https://www.washingtonpost.com/world...apons-ukraine/) - "Russia's Defense Ministry is preparing to buy “millions of rockets and artillery shells” from North Korea as it runs low on weapons... The North Koreans have denied this is true, but...

"Iran sends first shipment of drones to Russia for use in Ukraine" (https://www.washingtonpost.com/natio...a-ukraine-war/) ..."Russian cargo planes left Tehran 10 days ago with UAVs, some of which have already malfunctioned, U.S. and allied officials say."

and "Russia Can’t Fight a War and Still Arm the World. How the Country’s Shrinking Weapons Exports Could Change the Middle East" (https://www.foreignaffairs.com/russi...till-arm-world).

and "Putin seeks to 'make Ukraine run out of bullets before Russia runs out of soldiers' (https://www.dw.com/en/putin-seeks-to-make-ukraine-run-out-of-bullets-before-russia-runs-out-of-soldiers/a-63220424)..."A security expert told DW that Russian forces are spent, explaining how the partial mobilization could be a one-shot chance against Ukraine. A successful defense may depend on the West's timely supply of further weapons."

[Dragonman]

To read by letters: Ukraine has no 105mm shells.

Perhaps you mistyped "Ukraine" for "Russia" in the above quote?

Ukrainians capture Russian ammo, weapons, vehicles in Kharkiv Oblast (https://kyivindependent.com/national...kharkiv-oblast, September 12) “When the Russians fled, they left behind stockpiles of mines, grenades, portable rockets and multiple types of fighting vehicles. Under the pressure of Ukrainian warriors, the Russian occupiers are fleeing and leaving behind entire arsenals," Vladyslav Abdula, spokesman for the Kharkiv Region Department of the Security Service of Ukraine wrote on Facebook. "We know what to do with them and will definitely use them as intended — against the enemies."

“How Ukraine’s Counteroffensives Managed to Break the War’s Stalemate” (https://www.usip.org/publications/20...wars-stalemate). “ (In the weeks leading up to the Ukrainian counteroffensives, the Ukrainian military used HIMARS to destroy Russian ammunition depots and to kill Russian military leadership — two resources that are very difficult for Russia to replace and are necessary for their military to be effective.”

“Ukraine, using captured Russian tanks, firms up its lines. Ukraine is now deploying captured Russian tanks to solidify its gains in the northeast amid an ongoing counteroffensive” (https://abcnews.go.com/International...lines-90193508). “Earlier this month, Ukraine launched its counteroffensive, pushing into territory around its second-largest city of Kharkiv. Videos and photos showed Ukrainian troops seizing tanks, ammunition and other weaponry left behind by Moscow in an apparently chaotic withdrawal.”

[cdnmatt]

Well, looks like Xi Jinping is now under house arrest and a military coup is underway with a 80km long military convoy headed towards Beijing to secure the city. India has also begun voting against Russia in the UN, so looks like Russia is quickly running out of friends. I guess they always have Syria to fall back on.

Interesting times ahead. I still wonder what's going on in China, but military blackout from Beijing at the moment. Hopefully some information comes out in the next few days.

[Moses]

Well, looks like Xi Jinping is now under house arrest and a military coup is underway with a 80km long military convoy headed towards Beijing to secure the city. India has also begun voting against Russia in the UN, so looks like Russia is quickly running out of friends. I guess they always have Syria to fall back on.

Interesting times ahead. I still wonder what's going on in China, but military blackout from Beijing at the moment. Hopefully some information comes out in the next few days.

As all other your "news" it is fake. Western news-media are full of such fakes.

Exactly that "news" has been started from Youtube post of Canadian Chinese dissident 2 days ago. You are so "fast" )

Here how it started on Sep 24:



Then Newsweek repeated it,

Meanwhile Xi already appeared on public.

[Dragonman]

Meanwhile Xi already appeared on public.

In fact, Chinese media and officials have commented "No comment" on the reports that XI has been overthrown, and made no comment on his whereabouts. Nor has he been reported reliably to have appeared in public.

It is probable that he and those who accompanied him to Samarkand are in quarantine as everyone entering the PRC has to go into quarantine.

[cdnmatt]

Seems like Putin may have shot himself and Russia in the foot with the whole mobilization thing. Latvia has even declared a state of emergency due to how many Russians are flooding into the country, let alone what's going on at all other exit points in Russia, and there's lots of them.

Putin already scared off a good amount of the skilled labor during the beginning of the war, and now he's scaring off literally every male in their 20s or 30s. Who exactly is going to make the next generation of Russian babies? The ones supposed to be making the babies are already out of country, or are going to get called up to the front line to get killed.

This really doesn't look good for Russia.

[Dodger]

What amazes me is just how effective the Kremlin is when it comes to controlling the media, and ultimately, the people. Based on how many average Russian's have been in the dark regarding the reality of what's going on right next door to them lays testament to these abilities.

No wonder the average Russian citizen has remained neutral over the war with their neighbors for the past 7 months. They literally believed that this whole thing was a Special Military Operation focused on "Nazi's" - remaining totally oblivious to the fact that their Emperor had launched a full-fledged war for the purpose of taking over their neighbors sovereign country. Simply amazing, and at the same time scary, just how much power the media and state sponsored propaganda has on an entire population.

Along with Putin's so-called "partial mobilization" comes a reality that's impossible for the Russian media to hide and that's the stories that will now avalanche back from the front lines to the general population about the horrors of war...the REAL death counts...the Russian militaries total lack of control...lack of supplies...and of course the lack of any resemblance of leadership on a battlefield they have been dragged onto forcibly.

This has already inflamed the "Mothers" of Russia". Remember that old saying "Hell hath no fury like a women's scorn".

I've listened to countless interviews with young Russian boys who have either escaped across one of the borders or hopped a plane to dodge Putin's draft - and every single one of them says the same things, e.g., they don't know why the Russian military is attacking their neighbors, they don't want to be part of it, and they'd rather leave Russia than be imprisoned for their refusals to support Putin's war.

A tyrant like Putin will never admit defeat. Unfortunately this will probably cost many more people their lives on both sides of the border before this thing is over. I don't believe Putin is insane enough to start a nuclear war for the simple fact that he's too intelligent (yes, even insane people can be intelligent) to know that he, his family, and his legacy, would immediate be turned to dust if he were to make that fatal mistake.

I hate to imagine what will happen next, but I can see massive missile strikes on civilian targets conducted for the purpose of unleashing his anger on people he blames for his failed strategies...while he continues his "fake annexations" in a desperate attempt to walk away from this thing with at least something he can paint as a victory.

I still believe that this thing will end when, and only when, Russia stops him. I think he knows that too. I also think that's what NATO and the West are banking on. He's alone on his island surrounded by shark-infested waters and the clock is ticking.

Stay tuned folks...this is sure to have a humdinger of an ending.

[cdnmatt]

Yep, I think Putin calling the mobilization spelled the beginning of the end for him. Previously, this war was just something Russians watched on TV while they patriotically waved the flag, but now the war is real and has arrived at their door step as mobilization orders go out. There's even loads of reports of university students getting their orders, so this "partial mobilization" thing is pure bullshit.

I'll even go as far to say it wouldn't surprise me if another 1991 comes about, especially in eastern Russia. Folks in eastern Russia are about 6000kms away from the front lines, and simply don't give a shit about the war. However, they do very much care about the degrading oil pipelines and fields since all the Western oil companies pulled out and they don't have the tech to maintain that infrastructure.

Wouldn't surprise me if various provinces in eastern Russia decided "fuck this", seceded, declared independance, and began to re-negotiate with Western oil companies like Halibutron, Slumbergiegh, ExxonMobil, Shell, et al... and get them to come back in to help service their oil fields. If you're going to secede and declare independance, now is kind of the time, as quite obviously Russia doesn't currently have the military man power to do anything about it.

As for the nuclear strikes, I don't know, I can't predict what an insane person is going to do. He must be intelligent enough to know that if he fires a nuke, NATO will have no choice but to fully engage and go all the way into Moscow.

I guess let's see what happens.

[Dodger]

All we're seeing on the news here is a mass exodus of people fleeing Russia to escape the war.

It's not only young military-age boys that are fleeing, it's teachers, doctors, taxi drivers, lawyers and builders – ordinary Russians who have no appetite for war. And although they say they don’t agree with the government, they believe there’s nothing they can do to force Putin to change course.

I can't help but thinking about all those young blond-haired boys running across those friendly borders looking for a place to sleep. I sure I was there to lend a helping hand.