Ukraine

[perrykneeham]

Ukraine's getting tooled up.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-68848277

[mids]

Also $26 billion for Israel. Good.

[voice]

Thanks to the democrats, more Republican's voted against the bill (at Trumps behest) than voted for it. The Pro-Putin caucus in the house GOP is livid mind, Speaker Johnson may not survive without Democrats keeping him in his job.

[flatandy]

It's completely clear that Trump is still having his tantrum about Zelensky selling him out and telling everyone that Trump basically threatened Ukraine's existence if they didn't fabricate evidence against Hunter Biden. Which means that the Trump Caucus in the House is doing Trump's work in trying to wreak vengeance against Ukraine.

It's excellent that this got through. It's also potentially very good news that Johnson might need Democrats from here on out. He might bring up to vote all the bipartisan things that most of the House wants but most of his party don't. He obviously wouldn't put through any Democrat bills, but might do the standard "functioning government" thing of paying the debt and so on.

Mostly, though, it's great for Ukraine.

[voice]

At this point he's Speaker In Name Only, if he wants his job, he has to do what Jefferies tells him to do, in some respects, or face the traitors caucus ousting him. He's quite an odious extremist and I'm not sure the dems will in fact save him. Another dysfunctional week in the life and times of this least productive congress.

[voice]

The Ukes have been attacking Russian oil facilities quite successfully over the last week, at least five have been hit

www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68888835

[flatandy]

Smolensk is also quite a way north from Ukraine. That means the Russian or Belarus air defences aren't in great shape against drones.

[perrykneeham]

It makes you wonder if the Ukes are playing the repositioning game, making the Russians reconfigure their air defences and making their layout either more dispersed or better-known, or both. Just in time for the new US systems to pitch up.

[flatandy]

It's also always good strategy to keep f**k**g up supply lines and logistics rather than fighting an actual frontline war when you have less manpower than your opponents.

[voice]

Not looking good for the Ukes, slowly getting beaten back as Russia launches renewed attacks, not in this article, but I read elsewhere a few weeks back, the Russians are throwing men forward in WWI type attacks and simply spending the lives of their conscripts to overwhelm the Ukes

Can't help but think even when the US kit arrives it won't be enough.

www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68916317

[mids]

Biden'll probably deliver the Mulberries to the Ukes and the missiles to the Pals.

[voice]

Ivan getting desperate.

www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68968256

[perrykneeham]

"Six RAF Eurofighter Typhoons sit on the taxiway, engines roaring on two, as the ground staff hurry about, adding the finishing touches before take-off.

In the distance, a cloud of dust rises in the summer haze over the construction site of the second runway, 3.5km (2 miles) long, beside the first. The hot northerly wind buffets the new hangars and the old.

Mihai Kogalniceanu (MK) airbase takes its name from the village nearby, itself named after a 19th Century liberal politician.

Now, it is the unlikely setting for what is turning into the biggest Nato base in Europe, bigger even than Ramstein in Germany."

www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c977wggg4pgo

Interesting in the light of what Nigel Farage had to say about NATO antagonising Russia, something which I have heard from others, but don't agree with.

[voice]

Farage using the wife beater defence on Putin's behalf is not the least bit surprising

[perrykneeham]

The return of some old friends ....

www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cjk3ryyk412t

Cruise on.

[voice]

Ukes go on the offensive.

www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm2n9y4nm3lo

Bold

[perrykneeham]

"On Wednesday evening, Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Honcharenko said the Ukrainian army had established control over the Sudzha gas hub, a major gas facility involved in the transit of natural gas from Russia to the EU via Ukraine, which has continued despite the war.

It is the only point of entry for Russian gas into the EU."

[perrykneeham]

Johnny Uke has made a second into Russian territory. Strong work, and I wonder what's changed that has allowed this bold change of strategy.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cm2n77mvrz4t

Of course, the Russians will have to reposition and stretch their resources, which will present further opportunities. Surely even the Russian public will be wondering howthefuck this has happened. Maybe the strategy is to get the population questioning what they're being told.

[perrykneeham]

Ah, economic warfare ....

www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/08/12/ftse-100-markets-latest-updates-inflation-interest-rate-cut/

[voice]

This is quite funny, the Ukes are leaving reviews of restaurants in the Kursk region in the Kursk region