Ukraine Watch...

[BritDownUnder]

Russian state TV threatens nuclear strike on UK and warns of radioactive tidal wave

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4eJvwtQJu4

As I have said before, I didn't vote for our government to cause this sort of threat to the UK.

I see that neutral Ireland seems to cop it quite badly in that video. It's certainly possible that exploding a multi-megaton warhead under the sea might make a tsunami of some sort, though the 500 metre height may be debated. Not sure about the radioactive stuff as in most tsunamis the water does not actually flow with the speed of the wave but just pushes the water next to it and so on.

I like the idea of nuclear torpedoes - kind of sneaky.

All the more reason for the UK to build a more diverse, multi-platform (i.e. sub launched, surface boat launched and air launched) and larger number and yield nuclear deterrent to deter these little dreams. Plus a few dirty bombs for their agricultural heartlands.

[Stumuz2]

US using Ukraine to fight Russia

Tucker may not be your cup of tea, but this video is quite revealing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGvO8b-tiaM

Well, yes.
All western nations will have their specialists there. Where do you think the Nlaw came from? R&D is a hugely expensive business. Imagine getting the opportunity to test and develop your latest killing machines for free.

What is being played out in real time, is the new emerging putative world powers playing their hand at the game of 'power grab'
As we all know on powerswitch, power is energy and resources. Everything else is solidarity and principles or meaningless claptrap.

Tucker Carlson has just got a bunch of politico's together cut'n 'shut a few soundbites and presented them as policy. It's not.

I have asked you this five times now, but to no avail.

Russia has invaded a sovereign state with massive military force. Used rape, war crimes, and the indiscriminate bombing of civilians areas as a terror weapon to further it's war aims.

What would you do? (6)

[Stumuz2]

Russia unexpectedly pays in 'Dollars' bond payment.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/20 ... rgy-apple/

" Russian appears to have dodged its first foreign debt default in a century after the Kremlin tapped domestic dollar reserves in an humiliating U-turn for Vladimir Putin"

Why use your scarce US dollars if you are about to Nuke the world?

[Catweazle]

Why use your scarce US dollars if you are about to Nuke the world?

Because they won't be worth anything soon ?

Who knows, predicting Putins actions is like picking lottery numbers.

[PS_RalphW]

Putin seems to have taken the mantra "war is just politics using other means" and extended it to "genocide is just politics using other means". He seems to think the west is so beholden to Russian oil and gas etc. that he can get away with anything short of actually stopping selling the black stuff, and that everything is negotiable.

(What is currently happening may or may not constitute formal genocide, but that would be a technicality in this tirade).

[adam2]

In the event of nuclear war I would expect ALL paper money to lose most of it its value, roubles, dollars or pounds.

It reminds me somewhat of a "gallows humour" moment in a novel. During what is presumed to be a false alarm of imminent nuclear attack, a family and visitor are sheltering in the home nuclear bunker. Playing cards for money to pass the time. One person is concerned at the amount of money that they have lost/could lose at cards. Then a huge explosion occurs and the lights go out. "Forget it, I think that the dollar just depreciated" !

Wealth under those conditions would be in the form of food, water, clothing, blankets, ammo, and other important physical goods. POSSIBLY gold but remember that you cant eat gold and neither will it keep you warm. Remember the "Three Bs" beans, bullets, blankets.

[Catweazle]

Remember the "Three Bs" beans, bullets, blankets.

In the UK a Berkefeld is a worthwhile substitute for bullets.

https://www.andrewswater.co.uk/british-berkefeld/

[PS_RalphW]

UK reports Russia has 22 battle groups massed to the North of Donbas in preparation for a push south to cut off the Ukrainian defence.

[Stumuz2]

Quite amazing how low tech the fighting has become.
Old hand thrown anti tank grenades being repurposed with a 3 D printer
https://twitter.com/ChrisO_wiki/status/ ... 4127603712

[PS_RalphW]

22 battle groups against a civilian drone and a 35g fragmentation grenade. Who will win?

[Stumuz2]

22 battle groups against a civilian drone and a 35g fragmentation grenade. Who will win?

But it will be a war of attrition. I don't think the Ukrainians will be daft enough to engage in any large scale battles. They are fighting for their homeland, the Russians have the disadvantage of invading and securing an unfriendly populace.

Vietnam and Afghanistan are good examples of the massive costs of occupation.

[adam2]

Remember the "Three Bs" beans, bullets, blankets.

In the UK a Berkefeld is a worthwhile substitute for bullets.

https://www.andrewswater.co.uk/british-berkefeld/

Agreed, I have one and several spare filters. This will remove radioactive fallout particles from water. Prepare in depth for something as critical as water. Bottled water, AND a gravity water filter, AND chlorine tablets, which are useless against fallout but good against bacteriological contamination.

[Catweazle]

Quite amazing how low tech the fighting has become.
Old hand thrown anti tank grenades being repurposed with a 3 D printer
https://twitter.com/ChrisO_wiki/status/ ... 4127603712

Low cost, not low tech.

We should be gearing up to send boat loads of drones out there, they can literally fly in the window of an occupied house and explode.

[UndercoverElephant]

Looks like there is a major Russian offensive tonight - all over Ukraine. Might be a critical point in the war, either if Ukraine buckles or if this new offensive fails to change much.

[mr brightside]

Liz Truss said in her Mansion House speech this week:

"The war in Ukraine is our war – it is everyone’s war... because Ukraine’s victory is a strategic imperative for all of us,
We are doubling down. We will keep going further and faster to push Russia out of the whole of Ukraine.".

One thing I'm seeing a lot of now is people publicly showing their support for the war. The term Slava ukrani is on people's cars, it has replaced their forum signatures, people are flying the ukrainian flag high and proud from their cars and their houses. I was driving to a run on Monday and saw one guy whose car was basically a rolling shrine to Ukraine.

The MSM have got the public behind this war to the point where Liz Truss can spout about UK involvement like that and seem to be a champion of freedom and democracy. There doesn't seem to be a concerted counter effort to push the issue of this being another US proxy war, and until there is our involvement may only deepen.