Russian invasion of Ukraine

[CTID1977]

Is there a reason why Russia haven't targeted zelensky directly either at his home or work?

There were many attempts

 

[CTID1977]

and now likely to become President https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...yer-becomes-presidential-candidate-in-georgia

Thank God Gio didn’t go to the politics. He probably be prime minister now ;)

 

[cleavers]

Is there a reason why Russia haven't targeted zelensky directly either at his home or work?

Ive wondered this for over 1000 days.

There has been no attempt to take out Ukraine's ministry buildings either as far as I know.

 

[Rory Bluelow]

This is good in many ways - acknowledging that the Russians can't be trusted is much better than I thought possible under Trump. There won't be a cliff edge of no-suppirt from the US.

There’s been a few Trump appointments that are hawkish on Putin and Russia. Encouraging.

 

[roubaixtuesday]

Thank God Gio didn’t go to the politics. He probably be prime minister now ;)

We should start a thread on "Ex City player you'd most like to enter politics"

Mario for me.

 

[St.Pauli support]

German media claim Biden can't spend remaining USD 6.5 bn for Ukraine as US stocks are already thin and for problems in logistics, whatever that means.
Shite.

 

[Scottyboi]

German media claim Biden can't spend remaining USD 6.5 bn for Ukraine as US stocks are already thin and for problems in logistics, whatever that means.
Shite.

Yep was just reading that.

The U.S. won’t be able to spend all of the money authorized to transfer arms to Kyiv by Jan. 20, officials acknowledge - Wall Street Journal

The Biden administration doesn’t have enough time left to use the billions of dollars lawmakers have authorized to arm Ukraine, U.S. and congressional officials said, leaving in President-Elect Donald Trump’s hands what to do with the remaining money.

The administration still has more than $6.5 billion left in what is known as drawdown authority, which allows the Defense Department to transfer weapons and equipment to Ukraine from its own stocks, U.S. officials said. The Pentagon has reached the limit of the weapons it can send Ukraine each month without affecting its own fighting capability, however, and is facing logistical challenges in getting the arms to Kyiv’s forces, they said.

The U.S. would have to ship more than $110 million worth of weapons a day, or just shy of $3 billion in December and January, to spend the remaining funds in time. “I would say it’s impossible,” one congressional official said.

What Trump decides to do with the remaining money will have implications for the battlefield and could help determine how much leverage Kyiv has going into any potential peace negotiations with Russia. Trump has said he would end the war, and U.S. officials worry that his incoming administration could choose to withhold weapons to get Kyiv to the negotiating table.

The remaining funds “offer the next administration considerable leverage to stop or suspend shipments to Ukraine,” said Michael Kofman, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a U.S. think tank. “The Trump administration’s first order of business will be to decide what to do with remaining equipment and how best to pursue the next supplemental request to Congress.”

The Pentagon is now aiming to transfer $500 million to $750 million worth of weapons per month from its stocks to Ukraine, said one senior defense official, an increase from the average amount in previous months. But any more than that would require the Pentagon to draw down U.S. inventories to levels that would affect the U.S. military’s own readiness, which defense leaders are unwilling to do.

“We are scraping the bottom of the barrel in terms of easy stuff to send off the shelf,” the senior defense official said.

The upcoming shipments are expected to be largely ammunition and artillery, in part, because they are easier to ship, U.S. defense officials said. Heavier equipment such as armored vehicles or tanks can take months to inspect, test and clean before it can be delivered.

The White House, which until two weeks ago said it was confident it could send the full amount to Ukraine before the end of the administration, is now backing off that claim, but it is arguing that people, not arms, are the major challenge for Ukraine. The Ukrainians “now have healthy stockpiles of the vital tools, ammunition and weapons that they need to succeed on the battlefield,” a senior White House official told reporters Wednesday. “Today, the most pressing challenge for Ukraine is manpower.”

 

[fulabeer]

We should start a thread on "Ex City player you'd most like to enter politics"

Mario for me.

You think they would let him into the Houses of Parliament with his history of fireworks??? ;)

 

[St.Pauli support]

Yep was just reading that.

The U.S. won’t be able to spend all of the money authorized to transfer arms to Kyiv by Jan. 20, officials acknowledge - Wall Street Journal

The Biden administration doesn’t have enough time left to use the billions of dollars lawmakers have authorized to arm Ukraine, U.S. and congressional officials said, leaving in President-Elect Donald Trump’s hands what to do with the remaining money.

The administration still has more than $6.5 billion left in what is known as drawdown authority, which allows the Defense Department to transfer weapons and equipment to Ukraine from its own stocks, U.S. officials said. The Pentagon has reached the limit of the weapons it can send Ukraine each month without affecting its own fighting capability, however, and is facing logistical challenges in getting the arms to Kyiv’s forces, they said.

The U.S. would have to ship more than $110 million worth of weapons a day, or just shy of $3 billion in December and January, to spend the remaining funds in time. “I would say it’s impossible,” one congressional official said.

What Trump decides to do with the remaining money will have implications for the battlefield and could help determine how much leverage Kyiv has going into any potential peace negotiations with Russia. Trump has said he would end the war, and U.S. officials worry that his incoming administration could choose to withhold weapons to get Kyiv to the negotiating table.

The remaining funds “offer the next administration considerable leverage to stop or suspend shipments to Ukraine,” said Michael Kofman, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a U.S. think tank. “The Trump administration’s first order of business will be to decide what to do with remaining equipment and how best to pursue the next supplemental request to Congress.”

The Pentagon is now aiming to transfer $500 million to $750 million worth of weapons per month from its stocks to Ukraine, said one senior defense official, an increase from the average amount in previous months. But any more than that would require the Pentagon to draw down U.S. inventories to levels that would affect the U.S. military’s own readiness, which defense leaders are unwilling to do.

“We are scraping the bottom of the barrel in terms of easy stuff to send off the shelf,” the senior defense official said.

The upcoming shipments are expected to be largely ammunition and artillery, in part, because they are easier to ship, U.S. defense officials said. Heavier equipment such as armored vehicles or tanks can take months to inspect, test and clean before it can be delivered.

The White House, which until two weeks ago said it was confident it could send the full amount to Ukraine before the end of the administration, is now backing off that claim, but it is arguing that people, not arms, are the major challenge for Ukraine. The Ukrainians “now have healthy stockpiles of the vital tools, ammunition and weapons that they need to succeed on the battlefield,” a senior White House official told reporters Wednesday. “Today, the most pressing challenge for Ukraine is manpower.”

Yeah, that's what I couldn't find, thanks!

Very frustrating. I always thought NATO top guns know how to handle the difficult situation but sadly they permanently manage to be far behind the curve.

Politics, I guess. Democratic process and too many different interests are making everything so slow...

 

[KS55]

The bank of Russia has now closed the market for the rouble with its value at 110 to the US Dollar, that is the rouble is worth less than a cent.
The US has sanctioned Gazprom bank and the flow of foreign currency into it has now dried up. They were able to sell gas to Europe as a concession to land locked countries who found it hard to buy bottled gas. That exception has now gone.
The rouble will be suspended from trades until the year end. That will stop it crashing further having lost about 30% of its value in the last three months. In buying much needed technology Russia will use its stock of foreign currency but it cannot do this for ever. Russia still gets Chinese yuan, Indian rupees and UAE dirhams from its oil sales to those countries but not enough to support the economy. Gazprom bank has been a good source of economic data for the west and that data will now dry up.
Tough times for Russians lie ahead.