TheOldGuy @TheOldGuy@qoto.org
I am a Democrat who supports Ukraine in their battle against The Russian Z fascist invaders.
I am a 73 year old Covid hermit who
lives on 10 acres in a sparsely populated area of the Ozarks. I heat with wood that is leftover by the lumber industry. When cutting oak for lumber only the trunk is used.
The largest town is population 2992. The county is 13k people scattered over 713 square miles.
Joined Dec 2022
The following is a transcript of an interview with Secretary of State Antony Blinken that aired on May 12, 2024.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Mr. Secretary, I have so many more questions about this, but I have to also ask you about Ukraine because Russia is making this push, as you know, into Kharkiv and the White House says that Russia is expected to increase troop levels. Is this the reality? Is this the cost of the delay in the U.S. delivering weapons to those frontlines?
SECRETARY BLINKEN: Look, there's no- there's no doubt there's been a cost in the months-long delay in getting the supplementary budget request approved and the equipment sent out to- to Ukraine. Just this week, we did a drawdown of about $400 million in defense equipment for Ukraine coming from the supplemental. So we're doing everything we can to rush this assistance out there. Europeans are doing the same. Look, I'm convinced that Ukraine can effectively hold the line in the east, it can continue to press the advantages achieved for itself in the Black Sea, where it's getting as much out through the Black Sea, feeding the world as it did before the Russian re-invasion of Ukraine, as well as to hold Russian forces at risk, including in Crimea to make it more difficult for them to continue this aggression. We've been providing the systems to do that, but it's a challenging moment. We are not going anywhere, and neither are more than some 50 countries that are supporting Ukraine. That will continue and if Putin thinks he can outlast Ukraine, outlast its supporters. He's wrong.
CBS news.
🇺🇦@ukraine_report 🇺🇦🔱 Liz
💥🔥Donetsk Oblast, a Ukrainian FPV munition from the 47th Mechanized Brigade hits a Russian tank, causing a catastrophic cookoff. 👏
⚡️US General: 'Russia will not stop with Ukraine unless they're stopped in Ukraine.’
An autocratic regime like Russia can readily prioritize the expansion of its defense industries over economic well-being to sustain their military actions in Ukraine, along with help from Iran and North Korea, said Lt Gen. Steven L. Basham, U.S. Air Forces in Europe deputy commander.
"Make no mistake. No matter how this ends in Ukraine, Russia will not stop with Ukraine unless they're stopped in Ukraine,” he said.
Katsap cattle in Germany are put in place 😁
Reading another post, I found out those were police who took out the Russian because he was using very bad words
According to The Spectator, the military economy of the Russian Federation, engineered by Putin, remains under sanctions, and its collapse may be imminent, contingent upon actions taken by the West.
The article highlights China's growing dominance as Russia's primary trade partner and technology supplier since 2022, potentially surpassing the EU. Increased military spending has stimulated overall economic growth within Russia. Direct military expenditures as a percentage of GDP surged from 2.7% in 2021 to 6% in 2024.
However, this growth is fueled by government spending on military production, which drives consumer spending and tax revenues. Yet, the funding primarily stems from the export of oil and raw materials. Although the West initially attempted to curtail Russia's export revenues while maintaining the oil flow to Western markets, these efforts have been insufficient.
Russia has successfully redirected its sales to Asia, particularly to India and China, compensating for the loss in European markets. Nonetheless, this shift has resulted in increased costs and complexities in equipment procurement.
The high demand for labor and limited access to Western technologies have led to a decline in labor productivity by 3.6% in 2022, alongside reduced capital investments by companies, anticipating lower profits and higher taxes.
The article concludes that a potential drop in oil prices or further increases in sales costs may diminish state revenues and subsequently military expenditures, ultimately leading to the collapse of the military-driven economic model.
North Korea may supply ruZZia with multiple launch rocket systems.
North Korea has developed a new 240-mm multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) with "guided" projectiles that can be transferred to ruZZia for use in the war against Ukraine as early as this year, writes the South Korean media outlet Yonhap News.
The final tests of the "technically updated" artillery system took place in the DPRK on May 10. They were personally observed by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. A report by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) noted that the tests demonstrated the "destructive power" of the 240-millimeter MLRS.
At the same time, "guided" projectiles for it were tested a month earlier. Officially, they have a range of up to 40 km, but the South Korean Security Research Institute previously admitted that the range of the missile could be 60 km.
According to Yonhap News, North Korea plans to increase the production of new shells and multiple launch rocket launchers in order not only to target them at South Korea, but also to provide them to the ruZZian army.
The US authorities have repeatedly reported that North Korea is transferring weapons to ruZZia for the war in Ukraine. In return, Pyongyang asked for military equipment, as well as advanced military technologies, said John Kirby, coordinator for strategic communications at the US National Security Council. Naturally ruZZia and the DPRK denied these statements.
As we previously reported, UN experts confirmed at the end of April the use of ballistic missiles produced in North Korea against Ukraine. In particular, they found that on January 2 of this year, Kharkiv was hit by a missile of the Hwasong-11 series. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) reported that since the end of last year, the Z-military has fired more than 20 North Korean weapons on the territory of the country. As a result of these attacks, at least 24 civilians were killed, more than a hundred were seriously injured, the SBU claimed.
Source
@freerussia_report
The huge sunspot has increased to 200 thousand kilometers. Tomorrow, May 12, there will be high solar activity
NASA is observing the giant sunspot AR3664, which continues to grow. Now this area of increased activity is 15 times the size of our planet and continues to grow, writes Space com.
🔍 AR3664 has already become so gigantic that it can be seen from Earth even without special equipment, using only dark glasses to observe the solar eclipse.
🔍 Very active explosive energy release processes (solar flares) and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) occur on the surface of a sunspot.
🔍 These powerful bursts of energy into space can reach Earth and cause widespread power outages, interfere with radio communications and navigation signals, disable satellites, and cause enhanced aurora displays.
‼️ NASA expects high solar activity to occur today and tomorrow. All weather dependent people should take care of themselves.
📹 VideoFromSpace/Time Lapse was created based on three days of observations of the surface of the Sun, making it possible to understand how quickly the sunspot evolves.
My mother is also waiting for me, she wants me to return from that war as soon as possible. I don't call her that often, but I know how she feels, how she wants to hug me.
My mother is a strong woman! But often she can't hold back her feelings either, especially when mothers bury their children... No, tears are not weakness, tears are love.
Thank you, my dear, for raising me the way I am, so that today, in my post, I could cope with incredibly difficult challenges. And I also adopted other virtues from you: kindness, sensitivity, justice - I try to do as you taught!
❗️Low bow and respect to all mothers who are waiting for sons and daughters from the front line. I know how difficult it is for YOU to live with anxiety in your heart, how you react to literally every call.
Let's not forget the mothers whose children have gone to eternity. They really need our attention, support and love.
Honor the fallen Heroes!
Honor mothers!
➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖
🇺🇦 Air Force Commander Lieutenant General Mykola Oleschuk
@ukrainejournal
Those cicadas are really loud here. Luckily inside I don't hear them
From "The Analyst":
KHARKIV FRONT ISN’T DOING SO WELL
My contacts are telling me this afternoon that the Kharkiv front is not as stable as Ukraine is claiming and that the Russians are behaving in a random way that’s making it difficult to determine how to deploy defenders. Without knowing what the Russian objective is, (I presume the worst, as they repeatedly stated in endless conversation on state TV, the aim is to reduce Kharkiv to rubble), the forces available to Ukraine are struggling to contain the situation. Four more border settlements have been reported as captured and confirmed as such.
I don’t think Russia has the forces to make it all the way to Kharkiv, but I do wonder is they’re trying to push closer to bringing more artillery to bare and cause as much mayhem as they can, while stopping any more of those ludicrous cross border raids that drew their attention to the area so effectively. Either way, when the Ukrainians say things are ‘difficult’ that’s an almost British level of understatement.
Syrskyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine:
The situation at the front remains tense.
The enemy is actively attacking our units in several directions with the aim of advancing deep into the territory of our state.
The units of the Defense Forces are fighting fierce defensive battles, the attempts of the Russian invaders to break through our defenses have been stopped. Our intelligence, artillery, units of unmanned systems are working.
We know the enemy's plans and react flexibly to all his actions. To strengthen the defense, all necessary measures are taken and decisions, including personnel, are promptly made.
This week, the situation in Kharkiv Oblast has significantly worsened. Currently, there are ongoing battles in the border areas along the state border with the Russian Federation.
The situation is difficult, but the Defense Forces of Ukraine are doing everything to hold defensive lines and positions, inflict damage on the enemy.
In the Kupyansk, Siversk, Lymansk, Pokrovsky directions, fierce battles continue, the situation is changing very dynamically. In some areas, the enemy has partial success, in others - the Defense Forces push the enemy and improve their tactical position.
In the Kramatorsk direction, the enemy does not stop trying to take possession of the city of Chasiv Yar, continues offensive actions east of the city. Unsuccessfully tries to restore the lost position in the Klishchiivka area.
Despite the difficult situation at the front, units are being rotated for the rest of the servicemen and the restoration of the fighting capacity of the brigades.
Together to victory!
Glory to Ukraine!
I am a Democrat who supports Ukraine in their battle against The Russian Z fascist invaders.
I am a 73 year old Covid hermit who
lives on 10 acres in a sparsely populated area of the Ozarks. I heat with wood that is leftover by the lumber industry. When cutting oak for lumber only the trunk is used.
The largest town is population 2992. The county is 13k people scattered over 713 square miles.
Joined Dec 2022
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