War

so this is where those Iranian arms went........

With Russia beaten and broken, Ukraine, Poland and Germany could be the anchors for future European defense. I don't expect the quality or equipment of the Russian military to improve any time soon, to reform the army they must first reform the regime and that means getting rid of Vlad and his cronies. Until they reform, most of their military budget will be lost to corruption from the top to the bottom in the kleptocracy and all their best technical talent will leave, if it hasn't already.

DIY-HP-LED said:

With Russia beaten and broken, Ukraine, Poland and Germany could be the anchors for future European defense. I don't expect the quality or equipment of the Russian military to improve any time soon, to reform the army they must first reform the regime and that means getting rid of Vlad and his cronies. Until they reform, most of their military budget will be lost to corruption from the top to the bottom in the kleptocracy and all their best technical talent will leave, if it hasn't already.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1709466779515285969

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Beaten and broken? They seem to be holding most of the land they had since loosing Kherson. Ukraine needs aviation.

printer said:

Beaten and broken? They seem to be holding most of the land they had since loosing Kherson. Ukraine needs aviation.

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They are not beaten yet but will be and the glide bombs are an issue, if the American GPS glide bombs are having jamming and accuracy problems, I imagine the Russians are having the same issues only worse. The difference is the American glide and GPS guided munitions are designed to blow up harmlessly in the air when they lose the target lock, and the Ukrainians want to change this.

It will take a while and the war will go at the pace the Ukrainians set from here on out and it's been that way since their offensive began. The Russians tried a few diversionary attacks that ended in disaster for them, but generally are being pushed back beyond their minefields. In war things can sometimes be a slog and sometimes things can change a lot in a day or two. They have reduced the Russian artillery to the point of parity and are setting the conditions for major advances before winter or the fall rains by cutting logistics IMO.

By the time the Ukrainians are done with the Russians, Europe will be able to handle its own defense with Germany and Poland building up their militaries in a serious way. With this war and the other ones, it will spawn around Russia's borders, I don't expect they will have much military equipment left, nothing compared to the vast stores of equipment and munitions they inherited from the Soviets and not much capacity to produce modern arms.

Nice to see how much the have to give.

China distances from Putin as Xi prepares for potential war over Taiwan | Frontline

10,166 views Oct 5, 2023 Frontline | The War in Ukraine and Global Security
"The PLA highly regarded the Russians are really as among the world's finest. They have a very similar doctrine, some similar organisation as the play, but it didn't work very well at all in Ukraine."

Xi Jinping is reforming China's military to move away from Russia and it's doctrines as they prepare for a potential war with the US over Taiwan, Dr Joel Wuthnow from the Center for the Study of Chinese Military Affairs

How about if the US have a vote and annexes Taiwan? That would settle the argument.

At least 51 killed in Russian strike near Kupiansk, Ukraine says
At least 51 people have been killed in a Russian strike that hit a grocery store near Kupiansk Thursday, Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said, adding that the latest fatality came after one of the injured people died while receiving treatment.

The death toll may rise as the rubble is still being cleared, according to Dmytro Chubenko, a spokesperson with the Prosecutor’s Office in Kharkiv region.

Shortly after 1 p.m. local time, Russian forces shelled a cafe and shop in the village of Hroza in the Kupiansk district, according to Oleh Syniehubov, head of the Kharkiv region military administration. Hroza is about 40 kilometers (24 miles) from the frontlines near Kupiansk.

The strike appears to be the deadliest against Ukraine's civilian population since an attack on Kramatorsk railway station early in 2022. It's unclear what weapon was used. Ukrainian officials have used different terms to describe the attack.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, who is on a visit to Spain, called the attack "a demonstrably brutal Russian crime — a rocket attack on an ordinary grocery store, a completely deliberate terrorist attack."

"Russian terror must be stopped. Anyone who helps Russia circumvent sanctions is a criminal. Everyone who still supports Russia is supporting evil. Russia needs this and similar terrorist attacks for one thing only: to make its genocidal aggression the new normal for the whole world," Zelensky said.

"According to preliminary findings, the facility was hit with an Iskander [missile]," Klymenko said.

Some background: The Iskander is a ballistic missile with a relatively short range that depending on configuration carries a warhead of between 500 and 700 kilograms (about 1100 to 1500 lbs). Russia has extensively used it against Ukraine, causing substantial civilian casualties.

printer said:

How about if the US have a vote and annexes Taiwan? That would settle the argument.

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They are quietly shifting trade away from China and building up its Asian tiger economy neighbors, ringing China with allies, and by acting like assholes in the region, the Chinese are helping with this a lot. Apple for instance has been gradually moving production out of China and so have their Taiwanese contractors, and production has become even more automated requiring fewer workers. Elon has battery deals though and that will give him and Tesla an edge, at what price we have yet to find out.

Inside Apple’s and Samsung’s Supply Chain Shift Away From China | WSJ

950,806 views May 30, 2023 #WSJ #Samsung #Apple
China has long been the manufacturing hub for tech giants like Apple and Samsung. But now, a range of geopolitical factors are pushing technology companies to spend billions to relocate their operations to places like India, Vietnam and Latin America.

WSJ takes an inside look at the strategies behind Apple and Samsung’s manufacturing moves from China amid shifting global supply chains.

How the U.S. Is Investing Billions to Compete With China’s Lithium Supply Chain | WSJ U.S. vs. China

343,676 views Sep 30, 2023 #WSJ #China #Lithium
The U.S. used to be a global leader in lithium processing, but it lost its market control to China in the early 2000s. Since then, China has developed its own lithium supply chain, controlling 55% of the market. Now, the U.S. is trying to secure its own supply in a race for independence.

Lithium is a critical component in batteries and the world’s transition to green energy. Demand for the light metal has surged and is expected to reach nearly 2.5 million metric tons by 2028.

WSJ explores China’s major supply chain vulnerability and the U.S.’s long road to build its own.

The only place Putin is winning is in Washington DC with the maga republicans, thanks to Trump and cutting funding for Ukraine is central to their agenda and it is driven by Trump. Soon his Russian money connections may be uncovered in NY with the order by the judge to reveal his secret investment partners and many suspect the money has a Russian origin. If Trump loses his NY businesses, then Putin might lose some of his hold over him, I doubt kompromat would have any impact at this point. Donald is fighting mightily for Vlad and bending maga republicans to his will, none in the house dare to oppose him and it looks like he is endorsing Gym Jordan for speaker and Gym's first priority is to kill funding for Ukraine and shut down the government for Trump.

From media reports and gag orders it sure looks like Trump might end up in jail pending trial, he is likely to defy the NY court order to reveal his secret partners, if they are Russians. Though the Saudi's might have replaced the Russians as his financers, it's hard to believe Jared got billions and Donald got nothing from them.