Vet 0369

Thank you for the edit. I didn’t realize that it stopped being referred to as “The Ukraine” in 1991 after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Obviously, 40 plus years of correctly calling it “The Ukraine” is a difficult habit to break, especially for someone my age.

Why is he wearing a civilian sport jacket? Was he captured while wearing it, or was his uniform ruined or destroyed so the capturing Ukrainians gave him something to wear? Being captured while wearing civilian clothing, even over his uniform, allows the Ukraine to execute him as a spy under the Geneva Conventions.

Yes, corruption exists everywhere at different levels. As far as I’m concerned, the most visible corruption in the U.S. are called “political action committees (PACs)” and “Lobbyists.”

The Norwegian people treated us the same way when we were there for NATO Operation Teamwork in September, 1976. It is an enormous morale boost to feel the population appreciates your presence. Not like SanFrancisco when I returned from Fleet Marine Force, Pacific (FMFPac) in 1971.

OK, I can accept that. I was assuming they were leaving from Kyiv, ergo my statement. That makes second possibility stronger as far as I’m concerned.

Excellent! Just like the Dutch/Belgian “Ghost Train” in WWII!

I for one will never assume that someone is “incapable” of doing anything. If you gives monkey a typewriter, it’s bound to hit the right key sometimes. For those of you who are too young to have used a typewriter, it was the keyboard that we used before they were connected to computers.

Well, since the post that I quoted said that “11 diplomats and the Belarus Ambassador have LEFT THE COUNTRY” (cap emphasis is mine), I’m assuming that the Belarus Embassy is not “relocating” to Lvov.

Perhaps it isn’t the UKR forces that are killing those high-ranking officers. Perhaps it’s Putin’s own “Operatives” killing them for their failures, or to eliminate the threat of a coup, “ala Stalin?”

While I can completely understand your evolved feelings about NATO, as I understand it, NATO has it’s hands are tied by it’s own charter. It cannot enter a conflict between non-NATO members. I believe that Libya was a different situation. I think that NATO was able to set up the “no-fly zone” and intercede because the Government of Libya bombed a U.S. air carrier over Scotland. That would undoubtedly have triggered an “Article V” of the NATO Charter, allowing such an action. What really infuriates me, as a U.S. Citizen, and one whose family has lived within 15 miles of where we live now, for just shy of 400 years, is how the U.S. failed to abide by it’s 1994 agreement to protect Ukraine in 2014 by the weasel words of “well, we can’t be sure the little green men are Russian.” What really worries me is that the SAME person that handled that response is handling this invasion of Ukraine when there is no doubt of the aggressor, and STILL refuses to meet it’s obligations of the 1994 agreement. That disgusts me.

Two possibilities: (1) The diplomatic staff and Ambassador don’t want to become “collateral casualties when the Russians “try” to raze Kyiv, (2) There is about to be a “change of Government” in Belarus.

This might be a bit difficult to prove the west made a “secret” deal with The Soviets/Russians since it’s like “secret” right?

Thank you Sir, or Ma’am.

Russian/Soviet aircraft were designed to use rough/unimproved airfields. Their helicopters routine use a rolling takeoff under most conditions, and especially when heavily loaded. Based on my 50+ years in aviation and aviation maintenance, I expect, and assume, that those frictions and stresses that are experienced during takeoff and landing are much worse than simple low speed towing when basically at empty weight.

Why was the “STOP” sign on the bar at 1:20 or so, in English? Do Russians use the word “STOP” also?

I must admit to being a bit confused by this. First, was he using a Go-Pro or something to record this since the Ka-50 is a single seat, or is the Ka-52 a pilot and a weapons officer like the Mi-24? Also, what was that string or line that was tied across the poet window/door at about 1:40 in the video?

Well, while playing CMBS AS THE u.S. against a friend playing Russians, I found the Tunguska to be deadly against my ravens and or the drones.

I don't. Having served in the USMC Air Wing, and worked with Flight Test Pilots and Flight Test Engineers in the FAA for more than 20 years, I know for a fact that if a Pilots or aircrew, either Military or FAA Flight Test don't fly a certain number of hours every month, they lose their flight pay incentive. for that month. That also applies to during war. I don't know if Russia or others use that system or not, but I rather suspect it does. Besides, every good leader knows that you don't ask {or order} any subordinates to do anything you're not willing to do yourself. Just because they're Russians doesn't mean they aren't good leaders.

I have Steve, I also owned and played the Avalon Hill game in the late 70s. Are you talking about the preemptive attack or Rico firing his nuke because they weren’t supposed to take any back? Amazing that the author, Robert A. Heinlein also wrote “Stranger in a Strange Land,”which became the Bible of the “Counter-Culture” revolution (i.e. Hippies). I just can’t “Grok” it.

It’s obvious isn’t it? Ukraine has attacked Belarus. Now Belarus must fight back in Ukraine. Sarcasm!! It’s either a false flag or the military in Belarus has become fed up with the “Pretender.”

I might be mistaken here, but don’t winds in Ukraine mostly blow from west/north west to east/south east as they do in most of the northern hemisphere? If Russia nuked Ukraine, where would most of the initial fallout be deposited? Not north in Poland, or anywhere east, unless they chose that specific wind direction.

Biden won’t follow that playbook because midterm elections are occurring next year. At this point in time, Democrats control the Executive Branch, and both the House and Senate of the Legislative Branch. He has to walk a very fine line to avoid losing the Senate (50-50 split with the Vice President being the tie breaker) and the House super majority of Democrats. To lose either one would virtually doom any agenda the President has.

Well, one major thing we don’t know is what the Ukraine Government is actually thinking about for “conditions for ceasefire.” Russia is regularly putting it’s conditions out for ceasefire, but one doesn’t see anything of the sort from Ukraine. That is a very effective move on the part of Ukraine.

Russia will suffer economic sanctions only until it hits the bottom lines of corporations in the west. Then, those corporations will pressure their governments to remove the sanctions. ”The Capitalists will sell us the rope we use to hang them, Nikita Kruchev”

And how well will this work to deter Russian aggressions in the future based on the U.S. track record on how well it “protected” Ukraine as it said it would when Ukraine divested it’s nukes? In all honesty, even as a moderate in the U.S. I don’t feel any U.S. promise to protect Ukraine will be worth the paper it’s written on. When a country provides a promise to do something, subsequent political decisions shouldn’t be allowed to override those promises.