kyle04

Fair comment, although countries are sending aid on an individual basis rather than under the NATO umbrella (the current Russian narrative). It seems Ukraine will have to rely mainly on the US for supply of heavy weapons, although the M777's are being sent without the computer aim adjustment systems apparently due to the US risk assessment of some of these being captured, which is fair enough I suppose. Despite many notable battlefield successes for Ukraine this conflict is drifting towards a WW1 type stalemate at the moment. If the Russian losses were only half of what they are so far it would be deemed to be a failure by most western armies, but they keep throwing in more and more men and equipment, and totting up their list of war crimes on a daily basis. All Putin needs is his gas money, which is still flowing in.

Zalensky : “The end will be through diplomacy,” he told a Ukrainian television channel. The war “will be bloody, there will be fighting but will only definitively end through diplomacy”. “There are things that can only be reached at the negotiating table,” he said.” We want everything to return (to as it was before)” but “Russia does not want that”, he said, without elaborating. Zalensky has looked a lot more stressed in videos lately, the scorched earth policy Russia is employing is taking it's toll it would seem. Russia want to destroy as much of Ukraine as possible, not because of any military strategy bit out of a vindictive rage, even when they are forced to withdraw from a battle zone. As for the Russian gas . the Germans find themselves in a position where they have few options, and their "aid" to Ukraine frankly has been pitiful (15 anti aircraft units - to be delivered in July for example - really?). The cowardly French are living up to all expectations as well, could NATO rely on these bastards to pull their weight if the shit hit the fan?

My method for the traditional "spud ice" recipe I believes saves even more energy. While the ice is solidifying in the freezer, place the potato on top of the heat exchanger at the back of the freezer. with a little practice and careful selection of potato (maris piper preferably), the two will be ready at the same time. I learnt this from a friend whos uncle use to be in the SAS, and used this technique on may occasions in the field, a;though you'll never find it in any military manual.

Or read a book by candlelight wearing 2 jumpers, most of us have had to make lifestyle changes, I've had to turn my Champagne fridge down a couple of degrees, the tipple is now not quite as it should be but I like to set an example.

If people are struggling with heating bills, why don't they just move to a warmer country? Fuck me it's not rocket science.

It seems our brave ex Colonel from the live Russian TV debate has altered his stance somewhat, now saying on TV that Ukraine can't counterattack the Russians (all is well etc). I wonder how long it took the FSB to knock at his door after the first debate.

Upside down ?

I don't think the US will be sending a lot of their best stuff, still a couple of hundred more M777 artillery pieces would be welcome, these are mostly mothballed in US warehouses anyway so might as well ship them. They out-range the Russian guns and Ukrainians certainly know how to use this equipment. The conflict seems to be moving more towards artillery exchanges with drone scouting. This type of behaviour will be good for Russian morale, old news I know :

Didn't really get the point of Eno's ramble, the video is nearly 6 weeks old though, still, more up to date than much of Johnnybots offerings. I think many people who have educated themselves about the Russia/Ukraine relationship during the war , to whatever degree, have not changed their view and roundly condemn Russia's actions. I've yet to hear one convincing argument that justifies Russia's brutal assault on an independent country, which incedentally was deliberate from the start and not a result of a mission creep situation. Yeah blame the Nazi's, oh no , NATO, that's it NATO are out to get us. Grow up.

Is he the only Russian military figure with any sense? I suppose it's a blessing that people with his acumen aren't involved in any decision making. Host Skabeeva looked as though she'd just been dumped by a boyfriend.

Well at least Putin's won something in this war !

I think that's what Putin is counting on. soft westerners having to go without a holiday because energy/fuel prices are so high.

I remember after the start of the conflict Zalensky publicly offered to meet Putin, saying something like "sit down with me, what is it you want?". He was ignored as Putin thought he was going to win easily. Move on a few weeks and both parties now have no room for manoeuvre, despite Macrons attempts to portray himself as a later day Kissinger (after sending a significant amount of lethal aid to kill Russians). The only chance for any kind of peace is if Russia withdraw all it's forces from Ukraine and cease aerial bombardments from Russia. Even then Ukraine won't have gained anything it didn't already have on Feb 23rd, and the country is shattered.

More than likely a cut and paste link to an article written by a disgruntled anti-western "historian" trying to plug another tedious book.

I think at the moment both sides "terms" for a settlement would be completely incompatible with each other. Russia want the Donbas and the southern land corridor as well as continued control of Crimea, which is totally unacceptable to Ukraine, who want all their land back. There's no middle ground here it seems. Add in the behaviour of the Russian army in this war which has fuelled a burning hatred that will last for generations. As for getting rid of Putin, hopefully God may intervene soon, but his replacement could be another Soviet nutter. I think if Ukraine keep going the Russian army could collapse completely, there's numerous stories of Russian soldiers refusing orders or turning on their commanders, and Putin has openly criticised his soldiers recently.

As I've echoed previously, the French don't change do they? Macron really is a preening sniveling wanker, even by French standards. Remember France is one of only two European country to have nukes, the western tip of the NATO nuclear deterrent. Zalensky should have sent him back to Moscow with Ukraines terms of the Russian surrender!

Overkill against a T72, they do the job for you almost.

I don't think that Russia have the necessary forces to take Odesa, as well as striving to control the Donbas, even if their army performed properly, which it clearly isn't and unlikely to in the near future, they have less than 100 BTG's in the country now and that number is diminishing rapidly. They haven't made any progress at all around Kherson. Their navy in the Black Sea has been shown to be vulnerable to missile attacks, although still capable of imparting some serious damage. They continue to lose men and equipment on a daily basis, and much of the Western supplied material has yet to be put into service. The re-taking of Kharkiv by UA is important as it frees up a lot of forces to fight in other areas. The observation that the LPR troops were abandoned by Russia in the north is an indication of how this could play out should Russia implement a "Special Tactical Withdrawal" from the country, not too good for their morale, although given that Russian troops are happy to leave their own dead and wounded on the battlefield it's not surprising.

In at No.5 then, just because of Shakespeare/ Olivier? (Yes I'm out of my depth here admittedly). OK, Edward Longshanks surely??

Still a king though. OK we'll put him at No.10 in the list. Henry V ? Taught those French a damn good lesson.

Nah, Alfred for me. does Winchester have a statue of the queen? I think I've proved my point.

The first survey was conducted just a couple of days after the invasion (91% support), small pool though only 2000, don't know if that's normal with these polls. I think Zalensky could not have done more for his country. Faced with the mighty Russian army about to storm into Kyiv at one point he could have just fucked off, De Gaulle style, but he stayed. Given his background that took balls and mirrored the fierce patriotism Ukrainians have, particularly where Russia/USSR is concerned. Macron has recently pissed on the "Ukraine to join EU" fire, saying with a country like Ukraine it could take years, ie, fuck off. The French don't change do they. Recalling De Gaulle, after the liberation of France he said to the US general Patton, I would like all of your troops out of my country ASAP. To which Patton famously replied, "does that include all those lying in your cemetaries?"

I think most Ukrainians are busy with other matters at the moment.

Watch out for Patrushev, head of security council and ex FSB in the mould of Putin. Was reportedly to be put in temporary charge when Putin was to have surgery recently. If Putin goes to hell some time soon I don't think the Russian compaign would continue for very long. a military coup wouldn't surprise me either given how many shit sandwiches their top brass have had to consume in recent weeks.

China voted against this at the UN by the way, in case anyone thought they were starting to play nicely.