Huh? The discussion was about fighter jets. https://bbs.clutchfans.net/threads/ukraine.294682/page-552#post-14489893 I'll ask you again succinctly. Do you support sending more weapons such as fighter jets and tanks to Ukraine?
This is not helpful and Zelensky should be conditioned to not openly give into Putin's nuclear rhetorical back and forth. That being said, sitting in the position that Zelensky is in, he knows that if Putin decides to use a tactical nuclear weapon it will be launched at Kyiv likely resulting in the death of him and/or his family. We have the position we have (never launch preemptive strikes) because we know the US won't be hit first, or if the US is hit first it'll likely be in Montana or wherever we have our arsenal stored in low population areas for this very reason. I'd also note that I'd like to hear the full context of what Zelensky is saying. What is said before and after matters for sure. So I empathize with Zelensky here understanding the position he is in, but I do think NATO should be very clear with him that we need him to lower the nuclear rhetoric if he's to get those tanks, and let Putin be the one who is looking like the lunatic... and privately voice these concerns with the NATO command senior leaders.
Yes it's understandable but not helpful. This reinforces the strategy of being cautious with how we arm Ukraine particularly with giving them weapons that could strike very deep into Russia.
The US, as mentioned by @astros123, is sending the Ground Launched Small Diameter Bomb to Ukraine. In existence for several years, but largely overlooked by Western militaries, it's actually a missile with a 93 mile range and a 250lb bomb. It is inexpensive and relatively easy to construct, and can be fired by the HIMARS system and other similar systems, which Ukraine now has a lot of, with more in the pipeline. My guess is that this currently worries the Russian military more than the tanks do, partly because Ukraine can use these as soon as they get them. The tanks will take several weeks, maybe longer. This is from Popular Mechanics: The Department of Defense is weighing an offer from Boeing (now taken up by our military, thanks to Biden, with no complaints from the Swedish government - Deck) to provide Ukraine with a new rocket-powered glide bomb. The Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb (GLSDB) pairs a 250-pound aircraft bomb with a GPS seeker, wings, and a rocket motor, giving it the range to strike targets more than twice as far as Ukraine’s existing Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (GMLRS). The weapon would allow Ukrainian rocket troops to strike farther and deeper behind Russian lines, laying the groundwork for the eventual liberation of Kyiv’s lost territories. In the 2010s, Boeing and SAAB developed the Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb. GLSDB attaches a rocket motor—the same kind GMLRS rockets use to fire from HIMARS rocket trucks—to the Small Diameter Bomb. The rocket propels the bomb to what must be a considerable altitude, as the GLSDB has a range of 93 miles, more than twice as much as an aircraft-delivered Small Diameter Bomb. Here’s a video of GLSDB in action, from 2015 : This is from SAAB: GLSDB advantages: Increased range Guided artillery Accuracy to within one metre All angle, all aspect attack, even targets behind launch point Multiple rockets to act against many targets, with near-simultaneous impact All-weather, 24/7 capability Terrain avoidance, such as mountains Cave-breaching capability Launchable from hidden or protected positions to avoid detection Programmable impact and delay fuzing for deep penetration or proximity height-of-burst SDB Focused Lethality Munition (FLM) variant for low collateral damage Laser SDB variant for moving target capability
It's funny how angry right wingers and Maga have become towards the CCP (rightfully so) in a matter of days because they invaded our airspace. These folks are so mad that ukraine wants to defend their territory after they've been slaughtered and had their homes bombed by Russia. The amount of hate you feel towards China for violating our airspace isn't 5% of the angry Ukrainians feel towards Russia for what they're doing. Wars galvanize countries and their populations and right wingers are hypocrites.
Joe Biden Offered Vladimir Putin 20 Percent of Ukraine to End War: Report The White House and the CIA have responded to a report that CIA Director, William Burns, offered Russian President Vladimir Putin a fifth of Ukraine's territory to end the ongoing war as part of a peace plan drawn up on behalf of President Joe Biden. A CIA official told Newsweek that claims in the report from Swiss-German newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) that Burns took a secret trip to Moscow in January and that there was a peace proposal put forward by the director on behalf of the White House were "completely false." Last month, Burns traveled in secret to meet and brief Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv, The Washington Post reported. https://www.newsweek.com/joe-biden-vladimir-putin-ukraine-territory-end-war-nzz-report-1778526
China countered by offering southern California to N Korea in exchange of giving up 20% of Ukraine to Russia.
Which part tho... if its only seperatist Donbas without Crimea, that would be a nonstarter for Putin.
Russian troops handed four-hour life expectancy inside Ukraine’s bloodiest frontline Ukrainian soldiers have reportedly said they sometimes have to fight for 10 hours in a row, as the conflict intensified in Bakhmut. By THIBAULT SPIRLET 09:19, Mon, Feb 6, 2023 | UPDATED: 15:19, Mon, Feb 6, 2023 In the struggle for the eastern city of Bakhmut, Ukrainian troops contend that they are up against a zombie-like army up to ten times as big as theirs. Bakhmut has once again become one of the epicentres of the war, being one of the few front lines in Ukraine where Russia remains on the offensive. Fierce battles are also raging in Vuhledar in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region as Russia intensifies pressure before the first anniversary of its invasion of the country, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said. Fierce fighting has turned the well-liked tourist site into ruins, with its 80,000 pre-war residents reduced to about 7,000 brave people who have chosen to stay despite the area being levelled by carpet bombing and hollowed out by artillery fire. The conflict has become so deadly in the east, a Ukrainian journalist who spoke to soldiers in the city's front lines of combat reportedly claimed they told her: "The average lifespan for mobilised fighters in Bakhmut is four hours." Despite repeated Russian offensives, locals have remained resolute in their decision to stay, with Bakhmut-born Nadiya Burdinska telling France24: "Only a dummy wouldn’t be afraid." She added: "Everything is possible… if God wants it, I’ll stay alive." There is no phone service, most cars have been destroyed, and Russia has relentlessly targeted their energy and service infrastructure. Most residents have been without running water for over a year. Ukrainian soldier Andriy told CNN: “We were fighting for about 10 hours in a row. And it wasn’t like just waves, it was uninterrupted. So it was just like they didn’t stop coming. It was about 20 soldiers on our side. And let’s say 200 from their side." He compared fighting the convict army to a zombie movie scene, adding: "They’re climbing above the corpse of their friends, stepping on them." Andriy said that a machine gunner was astounded to discover that when he shot at them, they kept moving until they bled out. "It looks like it’s very, very likely that they are getting some drugs before they attack," he said. Petro Voloschenko, a Ukrainian soldier, told the AP about the fighting: "Right now, there aren't enough words to explain it; it's hell on earth." The 44-year-old Voloschenko is a native of Kyiv and has spent several months in the city, calling it "a symbol of Ukrainian invincibility." "Bakhmut is the heart of Ukraine, and the future peace of those cities that are no longer under occupation depends on the rhythm with which it beats.” Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Wagner and Putin's lapdog, shut down rumours that Ukrainian soldiers were fleeing the city by making a rare admission of reality in a Telegram post. He confirmed in a statement: "The Ukrainian armed forces are not retreating. They are fighting up to the last ditch… there are fierce battles for every street, every house, every stairwell". The British defence ministry stated that Russia has made “small advances” in its quest to encircle the city but military analysts claim Bakhmut is close to a tipping point. The fierce fighting comes as Ukrainian officials are bracing themselves for what it believes would be a Russian spring onslaught to mark the anniversary of its invasion of Ukraine on February 24. 500,000 conscripted soldiers are reportedly gathering on the border in preparation for an assault on the eastern and southern fronts, according to sources from Ukraine's military intelligence. https://www.express.co.uk/news/worl...ancy-Bakhmut-donbas-east-front-lines-lifespan
[Voice of Ukraine]Germany to transfer 178 Leopard-1A5 tanks to Ukraine The Leopard 1a5 is a 1980's upgrade of older 1960's era tank, but still newer and more advanced than most of the trash Russia puts out there.
That article doesn't verify that there was a deal just that a German newspaper said a deal was offered and that it was rected by by Russia and Ukraine. Even if the deal existed it doesn't sound like the US was unilaterally making the offer and that Kyiv was not only consulted but had veto power over it.
They also discussed a similar deal with Zelensky. It wasn't a formal offer, merely brought up in an attempt to gage whether either side was at a point where they were willing to negotiate peace. Neither side was, so they moved on.
If a peace deal is negotiated with Russia with the US or whomever as an intermediary that gives Russia any sort of land it'll be in exchange for Ukraine being given the security of NATO to ensure their safety. Ukraine will never be safe if they either aren't part of NATO or fully secure Crimea. So yeah.... not tomorrow but in the near future if China decided to invade the US, our territory, or an ally I would expect Ukraine to be fighting alongside our troops. Ukraine has recently enlisted like 2 million recruits. They don't have NATO ready weaponry at the moment, but if they are part of NATO they'll have the trained fighting force to be a powerful ally for sure, and they'll have an obligation to fight with us. .... That being said, it would be best if Ukraine was to be able to take back the East and Crimea without a peace treaty negotiated with the US as an intermediary. That's best for everyone, and in that case of course Ukraine won't have the obligation to fight alongside the US if we are attacked... but I suspect they would want to possibly.
