Capt Lightning
Well-known Member
- Location
- Historic Buchan, Scotland
Putin is sinking to a new low by saying that he will allow grain out of Ukraine is sanctions on Russia are lifted. It's not his grain! It's time he was hit even harder.
Countdown to the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Thread starter Irwin
- Start date
These drones are really cool.The US Defense Department is in the process of buying new tank-busting "kamikaze" drones for Ukraine, as part of efforts to help the country fight off Russia's invasion.
The Pentagon is negotiating with company AeroVironment to procure 10 Switchblade 600 drones, a new dive-bombing, armour-piercing tactical drone that explodes on impact, Bloomberg reports.
AeroVironment did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Here's what we know about its killer drones, and what difference they could make in the war in Ukraine.
There are two versions of the Switchblade suicide drone: the Switchblade 300 and the Switchblade 600.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed in April that the Pentagon was sending both variants to Ukraine.
According to Bloomberg, the US has committed to send at least 700 Switchblades to Ukraine, and at least 100 have already arrived. So far, those have been the Switchblade 300, a light single-use drone that fits in a backpack and is designed to attack personnel and light vehicles.
AeroVironment says in a factsheet that the Switchblade 300 cruises at around 100 km/h and carries cameras, guidance systems and explosives to dive-bomb into its target. It can fly for up to 15 minutes and 10 km before striking.
The kamikaze drone uses real-time GPS coordinates and video for "precise targeting with low collateral effects," the company says.
It’s launched from a tube and its small size allows it to take off from a variety of air, sea, and ground platforms. The whole kit - including the payload, launcher, and transport bag - weighs just 2.5 kg.
Unlike most weapons, the Switchblade can also disengage or abort a mission at any time, and then recommit to another target depending on what the operator commands.
This aims to ensure that strikes are precise and can be called off at the very last minute if they endanger civilians or properties nearby.
https://www.euronews.com/next/2022/...amikaze-weapons-and-how-can-they-help-ukraineThese
https://www.google.com/search?q=aer...KAF6BAgDEAg#kpvalbx=_HjWOYrv4I7DI_Qa9rI3wAg18
President Zelenskyy says Putin has to withdraw to pre-war positions before any talks with him.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/worl...-talks/ar-AAXH4vf?ocid=mailsignout&li=BBnbfcL
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/worl...-talks/ar-AAXH4vf?ocid=mailsignout&li=BBnbfcL
JustDave
Senior Member
In other words, he needs grain bad enough to actually buy it from them, rather than steal it from them. How considerate of him.
Russia about to default on some loans to the US. The bond rating is already at junk status.
https://granthshala.com/russia-coul...-us-doesnt-extend-license-to-pay-bondholders/
First loan default for Russia since the Bolshivek Revolution
https://granthshala.com/russia-coul...-us-doesnt-extend-license-to-pay-bondholders/
First loan default for Russia since the Bolshivek Revolution
hollydolly
SF VIP
- Location
- London England
Vladimir Putin has reportedly been given warned he has just three to years to live as Russian intelligence sources become increasingly worried about their ailing leader.
An FSB officer described the Russian president's condition as a 'severe form of rapidly progressing cancer', as speculation ramped up that Putin was suffering with some form of serious illness amid the invasion of Ukraine.
The spy explained the wartime leader has 'no more than two to three years' left and he is also losing his sight, reports the Mirror.
News of the Russian leader's terminal illness emerged as part of a secret message from the Russian agent to fugitive and former FSB agent Boris Karpichkov.
The message warned Putin is refusing to wear glasses over fears it would admit a form of weakness, and he is now lashing out at his subordinates with 'uncontrolled fury'.
The developments come as news of his deteriorating health continues to leak out of Russia from a Telegram channel which claims to have sources inside the Kremlin.
Putin reportedly underwent 'successful' cancer surgery this month and is recovering following advice from medics that treatment was 'essential', according to Telegram channel General SVR.
The news emerged just hours before Putin appeared on state TV meeting with ally Alexander Lukashenko in Sochi, when he was caught on camera awkwardly twisting his feet while the pair sat down for talks.
It is the second time Putin has been filmed making the odd movement, which was caught on camera during a meeting with Tajikistan's president a week ago, and comes off the back of rumours that he is suffering Parkinson's.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...dly-progressing-severe-cancer-FSB-claims.html
An FSB officer described the Russian president's condition as a 'severe form of rapidly progressing cancer', as speculation ramped up that Putin was suffering with some form of serious illness amid the invasion of Ukraine.
The spy explained the wartime leader has 'no more than two to three years' left and he is also losing his sight, reports the Mirror.
News of the Russian leader's terminal illness emerged as part of a secret message from the Russian agent to fugitive and former FSB agent Boris Karpichkov.
The message warned Putin is refusing to wear glasses over fears it would admit a form of weakness, and he is now lashing out at his subordinates with 'uncontrolled fury'.
The developments come as news of his deteriorating health continues to leak out of Russia from a Telegram channel which claims to have sources inside the Kremlin.
Putin reportedly underwent 'successful' cancer surgery this month and is recovering following advice from medics that treatment was 'essential', according to Telegram channel General SVR.
The news emerged just hours before Putin appeared on state TV meeting with ally Alexander Lukashenko in Sochi, when he was caught on camera awkwardly twisting his feet while the pair sat down for talks.
It is the second time Putin has been filmed making the odd movement, which was caught on camera during a meeting with Tajikistan's president a week ago, and comes off the back of rumours that he is suffering Parkinson's.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...dly-progressing-severe-cancer-FSB-claims.html
hollydolly
SF VIP
- Location
- London England
He's certainly got the look of someone who is on steroids, compared to his usual slim self..
JustDave
Senior Member
It was about a month ago, I heard someone speculating on this, although there was no hard evidence at the time. The only reason I remembered this was because the speculation did explain, if only in part, why Putin got such a crazy idea to invade Ukraine, especially considering how ill prepared Russia was to start a war. I suppose, with a time limit before him, Putin doesn't have a lot to lose. He was going to be dead or replaced, and he had one last shot at a legacy. But the way the Ukraine is kicking his ass, granted with a lot of outside help, this legacy could go down in history as a major bone headed flop. Of course, it could escalate into a global catastrophe. Wars can do that too. But then there wouldn't be much left to leave a legacy to.
hollydolly
SF VIP
- Location
- London England
Oh yes I'm totally aware of all of this... the speculation here about Putins' health began at the beginning of the year..
hollydolly
SF VIP
- Location
- London England
Oh sheeee---yit 
this is going to set the cat among the pigeons..
Two British men captured by pro-Russian rebel forces in Ukraine have been sentenced to death and are set to face a firing squad after a sham three-day trial, sparking outrage from the UK and its Western allies.
Aiden Aslin, 28, and Shaun Pinner, 48, were convicted last night of being 'mercenaries' for fighting with Ukrainian troops weeks after they were captured by Russian forces during the siege of Mariupol.
They appeared behind a metal cage at a court in territory occupied by the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic in eastern Ukraine as the verdict was read out today.
Ex-British Army soldier Pinner stared at the ground and appeared distraught and close to tears, while former care worker Aslin remained composed. A third man, Moroccan national Saaudun Brahim, was convicted alongside them.
It is understood Aslin's mother Ang Wood found out about the draconian sentence while watching the TV news at the family home in Newark, Nottinghamshire.
The pair were captured by Russian forces after becoming surrounded in the port city of Mariupol in April. They have since been paraded in various videos with visible injuries and appeared to read from scripts.
Tonight, MP Robert Jenrick said: ‘This disgusting Soviet-era style show trial is the latest reminder of the depravity of Putin's regime.'
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...-forces-sentenced-death-fighting-Ukraine.html
this is going to set the cat among the pigeons..Two British men captured by pro-Russian rebel forces in Ukraine have been sentenced to death and are set to face a firing squad after a sham three-day trial, sparking outrage from the UK and its Western allies.
Aiden Aslin, 28, and Shaun Pinner, 48, were convicted last night of being 'mercenaries' for fighting with Ukrainian troops weeks after they were captured by Russian forces during the siege of Mariupol.
They appeared behind a metal cage at a court in territory occupied by the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic in eastern Ukraine as the verdict was read out today.
Ex-British Army soldier Pinner stared at the ground and appeared distraught and close to tears, while former care worker Aslin remained composed. A third man, Moroccan national Saaudun Brahim, was convicted alongside them.
It is understood Aslin's mother Ang Wood found out about the draconian sentence while watching the TV news at the family home in Newark, Nottinghamshire.
The pair were captured by Russian forces after becoming surrounded in the port city of Mariupol in April. They have since been paraded in various videos with visible injuries and appeared to read from scripts.
Tonight, MP Robert Jenrick said: ‘This disgusting Soviet-era style show trial is the latest reminder of the depravity of Putin's regime.'
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...-forces-sentenced-death-fighting-Ukraine.html
Nosy Bee-54
Senior Member
Won't surprise me if suitcases of US$$$$ are being passed around by Ukrainian officials. No different than what happened in Afghanistan. Ukraine is the second most corrupt country in Europe. Guess who is #1? Russia!. Two peas in a pod. I guess it's not popular to seize yachts and jets from Ukrainian oligarchs!
https://tradingeconomics.com/country-list/corruption-index?continent=europe
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2015/feb/04/welcome-to-the-most-corrupt-nation-in-europe-ukraine
Nosy Bee-54
Senior Member
I think this is called: Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.Oh sheeee---yit
Two British men captured by pro-Russian rebel forces in Ukraine have been sentenced to death and are set to face a firing squad after a sham three-day trial, sparking outrage from the UK and its Western allies.
Aiden Aslin, 28, and Shaun Pinner, 48, were convicted last night of being 'mercenaries' for fighting with Ukrainian troops weeks after they were captured by Russian forces during the siege of Mariupol.
They appeared behind a metal cage at a court in territory occupied by the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic in eastern Ukraine as the verdict was read out today.
Ex-British Army soldier Pinner stared at the ground and appeared distraught and close to tears, while former care worker Aslin remained composed. A third man, Moroccan national Saaudun Brahim, was convicted alongside them.
It is understood Aslin's mother Ang Wood found out about the draconian sentence while watching the TV news at the family home in Newark, Nottinghamshire.
The pair were captured by Russian forces after becoming surrounded in the port city of Mariupol in April. They have since been paraded in various videos with visible injuries and appeared to read from scripts.
Tonight, MP Robert Jenrick said: ‘This disgusting Soviet-era style show trial is the latest reminder of the depravity of Putin's regime.'
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...-forces-sentenced-death-fighting-Ukraine.html
Tish
SF VIP
- Location
- Rural N.S.W. Australia
Oh, so the surgery didn't work?
This story will put mustard on your hotdog.
Back in 1999, I had just flown into LAX from Denver. My next flight was supposed to be nonstop back home to D.C. I was even on the plane and seated in the cockpit when I got a call from the dispatcher asking me to come to the office. When I walked into his office and looked at him, I knew this wasn’t going to be good for me.
He told me there was a plane sitting at the gate waiting to leave, but they don’t have a Captain and would I take the flight. The Captain that was supposed to take the flight is still about 15 minutes from the airport and this other flight is already about 45 minutes late leaving. I asked where is it going. He says Anchorage. I have never flown there and how am I getting home tonight? He says, “Well, you’re not and the other bad news is that you have to make a stop in San Francisco.”
I agreed like I always did. I was one of those people that do whatever you have to do for the betterment of the company. We fly using what is called waypoints. It’s like flying in steps to get where you are going. This flight had 4 waypoints on it. I had just left waypoint number 3 when I saw an unrecognizable blip on my radar. I had no idea what it was and before I could call traffic control, they called me and told that I had wandered into Russian airspace. I told the controller that I thought I was just buzzed by a Russian mig. The controller gave me a new heading to get me back to U.S. airspace and I did it very quickly. That was the last that I saw of him or her. Scared the crap out of me.
Commercial planes cannot talk to military planes and we can’t even tell if we have been painted or what is called being locked on as a target. We had no way of knowing if we were or not, but I wanted to get back into U.S. Airspace pronto.
Back in 1999, I had just flown into LAX from Denver. My next flight was supposed to be nonstop back home to D.C. I was even on the plane and seated in the cockpit when I got a call from the dispatcher asking me to come to the office. When I walked into his office and looked at him, I knew this wasn’t going to be good for me.
He told me there was a plane sitting at the gate waiting to leave, but they don’t have a Captain and would I take the flight. The Captain that was supposed to take the flight is still about 15 minutes from the airport and this other flight is already about 45 minutes late leaving. I asked where is it going. He says Anchorage. I have never flown there and how am I getting home tonight? He says, “Well, you’re not and the other bad news is that you have to make a stop in San Francisco.”
I agreed like I always did. I was one of those people that do whatever you have to do for the betterment of the company. We fly using what is called waypoints. It’s like flying in steps to get where you are going. This flight had 4 waypoints on it. I had just left waypoint number 3 when I saw an unrecognizable blip on my radar. I had no idea what it was and before I could call traffic control, they called me and told that I had wandered into Russian airspace. I told the controller that I thought I was just buzzed by a Russian mig. The controller gave me a new heading to get me back to U.S. airspace and I did it very quickly. That was the last that I saw of him or her. Scared the crap out of me.
Commercial planes cannot talk to military planes and we can’t even tell if we have been painted or what is called being locked on as a target. We had no way of knowing if we were or not, but I wanted to get back into U.S. Airspace pronto.
Nosy Bee-54
Senior Member
Article 47:Oh sheeee---yit
Two British men captured by pro-Russian rebel forces in Ukraine have been sentenced to death and are set to face a firing squad after a sham three-day trial, sparking outrage from the UK and its Western allies.
Aiden Aslin, 28, and Shaun Pinner, 48, were convicted last night of being 'mercenaries' for fighting with Ukrainian troops weeks after they were captured by Russian forces during the siege of Mariupol.
They appeared behind a metal cage at a court in territory occupied by the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic in eastern Ukraine as the verdict was read out today.
Ex-British Army soldier Pinner stared at the ground and appeared distraught and close to tears, while former care worker Aslin remained composed. A third man, Moroccan national Saaudun Brahim, was convicted alongside them.
It is understood Aslin's mother Ang Wood found out about the draconian sentence while watching the TV news at the family home in Newark, Nottinghamshire.
The pair were captured by Russian forces after becoming surrounded in the port city of Mariupol in April. They have since been paraded in various videos with visible injuries and appeared to read from scripts.
Tonight, MP Robert Jenrick said: ‘This disgusting Soviet-era style show trial is the latest reminder of the depravity of Putin's regime.'
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...-forces-sentenced-death-fighting-Ukraine.html
1. A mercenary shall not have the right to be a combatant or a prisoner of war.
https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/ihl/WebART/470-750057
Tish
SF VIP
- Location
- Rural N.S.W. Australia
Holy Cow that is scary.
I never knew how big those planes were until that night. I thought my first officer was going to crap his pants when he saw the missiles on the side of the plane. Very intimidating to say the least.
The Russians had accidentally shot down a Korean airplane full of passengers back in 1983. The plane had accidentally wandered into Russian airspace, avoided the warnings and acted suspiciously. I remembered when that happened and I knew that I needed to get back inside U.S. airspace immediately. The Russian plane never fired any warning shots at us. I’m not or ever was a fighter pilot, but I know when a plane enters another country’s airspace, they will sometimes fire like a sparkler at the encroachers as a warning shot. We never got any warnings. We just hauled a$$ back inside U.S. airspace and the incident was over. The state department wasn’t even alerted.
I also remember when the U.S. shot down an Iranian (?) passenger plane from a ship killing all onboard the plane. I think it was determined that the plane’s Captain made several mistakes by not observing the warnings that the ship’s commander had sent to the plane. I’ll have to look it up and reacquaint myself with that incident.
Here is what I found. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_Air_Flight_655
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How much of that $40bil that the U.S. sent to Ukraine actually reached it’s intended destination? We haven’t heard much from Ukraine since we sent the money.
Tish
SF VIP
- Location
- Rural N.S.W. Australia
I have to ask, does this happen often?
Warrigal
SF VIP
- Location
- Sydney, Australia
They are not mercenaries. They are members of the Ukrainian military and have been since before the invasion. One is married to a Ukrainian woman.
This is what it is really all about -
hollydolly
SF VIP
- Location
- London England
48-year-old Shaun Pinner, from Watford.... lives in my county just 20 miles from me....
hollydolly
SF VIP
- Location
- London England
I hope this is means the end of the war, and not a calm beofre the storm...
Kiev (Kyiv)... today
Residents of Kyiv were out in their droves on Saturday to make the most of 34 degree temperatures, with hundreds enjoying the sunshine on the city's central beach - just weeks after Ukraine's capital came under siege from Russia's invading armies and rocket strikes levelled buildings and killed civilians.
Pictures from the banks of the Dnieper river that courses through Kyiv showed people lounging in the sun, swimming in the water and playing games of volleyball, with the city's skyline seen across the river.
Earlier this year, the same view of the city would have featured smoke rising above the skyline as Russian shells bombarded Kyiv and Ukrainian defenders fought to keep their would-be conquerors from reaching its centre.
Kiev (Kyiv)... today
Residents of Kyiv were out in their droves on Saturday to make the most of 34 degree temperatures, with hundreds enjoying the sunshine on the city's central beach - just weeks after Ukraine's capital came under siege from Russia's invading armies and rocket strikes levelled buildings and killed civilians.
Pictures from the banks of the Dnieper river that courses through Kyiv showed people lounging in the sun, swimming in the water and playing games of volleyball, with the city's skyline seen across the river.
Earlier this year, the same view of the city would have featured smoke rising above the skyline as Russian shells bombarded Kyiv and Ukrainian defenders fought to keep their would-be conquerors from reaching its centre.
Nosy Bee-54
Senior Member
The Pontiff speaks:
'We see what is happening now in Ukraine in a certain way because it is closer to us and pricks our sensibilities more,' the Pope said in his comments last month.
'But there are other countries far away - think of some parts of Africa, northern Nigeria, northern Congo - where war is ongoing and nobody cares.
And this is bad for humanity, a calamity. You have to think that in a century there have been three world wars, with all the arms trade behind it!' he continued.
While condemning 'the ferocity, the cruelty of Russian troops, we must not forget the real problems if we want them to be solved,' Francis said, including the armaments industry among the factors that provide incentives for war.
Francis said that several months before President Vladimir Putin sent his forces into Ukraine, the pontiff had met with a head of state who expressed concern that NATO was 'barking at the gates of Russia' in a way that could lead to war.
Francis then said in his own words: 'We do not see the whole drama unfolding behind this war, which was perhaps somehow either provoked or not prevented'
Asking himself rhetorically if that made him 'pro-Putin,' he said: 'No, I am not. It would be simplistic and wrong to say such a thing.' He added: 'I am simply opposed to reducing complexity to distinction between good and bad'.
'The war in Ukraine has now been added to the regional wars that for years have taken a heavy toll of death and destruction,' Francis says in the message.
'Yet here the situation is even more complex due to the direct intervention of a 'superpower' aimed at imposing its own will in violation of the principle of the self-determination of peoples,' he said
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...rancis-suggests-war-Ukraine-way-provoked.html
'We see what is happening now in Ukraine in a certain way because it is closer to us and pricks our sensibilities more,' the Pope said in his comments last month.
'But there are other countries far away - think of some parts of Africa, northern Nigeria, northern Congo - where war is ongoing and nobody cares.
And this is bad for humanity, a calamity. You have to think that in a century there have been three world wars, with all the arms trade behind it!' he continued.
While condemning 'the ferocity, the cruelty of Russian troops, we must not forget the real problems if we want them to be solved,' Francis said, including the armaments industry among the factors that provide incentives for war.
Francis said that several months before President Vladimir Putin sent his forces into Ukraine, the pontiff had met with a head of state who expressed concern that NATO was 'barking at the gates of Russia' in a way that could lead to war.
Francis then said in his own words: 'We do not see the whole drama unfolding behind this war, which was perhaps somehow either provoked or not prevented'
Asking himself rhetorically if that made him 'pro-Putin,' he said: 'No, I am not. It would be simplistic and wrong to say such a thing.' He added: 'I am simply opposed to reducing complexity to distinction between good and bad'.
'The war in Ukraine has now been added to the regional wars that for years have taken a heavy toll of death and destruction,' Francis says in the message.
'Yet here the situation is even more complex due to the direct intervention of a 'superpower' aimed at imposing its own will in violation of the principle of the self-determination of peoples,' he said
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...rancis-suggests-war-Ukraine-way-provoked.html