I have listened and read about the Ukrainian pilots, but the NATO pilots said they were not proficient and did not have the time to switch form the old Soviet-style fighters to the F-16. You can believe whomever you want @Vada Bloom but most of the people in the know that I have contact with say that most, if not all, of the F-16s are being flown by mostly retired NATO pilots who have spent as much as three years in training to master the aircraft.
That’s an easy decision. I’m sure your sources are better than the media so I’m going to believe you.
Ukraine may have pushed things too far this time. There are reports that Ukraine, using NATO weaponry, deliberately targeted one of the largest high-rise apartment buildings in Russia in an attempt to emulate a 9-11 type attack. This deliberate targeting of civilians by Ukraine using western armaments is being declared to be terrorism by Russia and Russia has mounted a monstrous against Ukraine. News of the Ukrainian attack has been censored on Western media and the internet, but is still available on X/Twitter. Perhaps this is tied to the detention of the owner of Telegram in an attempt to limit the spread of this news, as many who follow the war use Telegram as a resource. France has detained the owner of Telegram, who reportedly has joint Russian-French citizenship. Russia is demanding an explanation form France as to why this man was arrested, but France has not responded. If you want info on this, search X as it may not be available elsewhere.
Here is an RFK ad on Ukraine. I don't know when it was recorded, but it was recently sent to me. https://x.com/i/status/1830272648871567477
I hope that Ukraine is ultimately able to force the Russians back to their own territory. Ukraine voted to be a sovereign and independent nation. It seems that the Russian goal is to obliterate Ukrainians, Ukrainian history, culture, identity, and turn Ukraine into a province of Russia. Putin has correctly been labeled a "war criminal."
During war, the other side is highly likely to label their opponents. We shouldn't trust either of them, and neither are worthy of our support, but I'd rather be allied with Russia than Ukraine.
Did anyone see the story that the Russians destroyed a weapons training facility in Ukraine? It was supposeldy run by the Swedish government and military to train the Ukrainians on using an advanced Swedish surveillance drone to guide attacks deep into Russia. According to reports I saw, a number of Swedish trainers, Ukrainian military students and Ukrainian military officials were killed in the strike by an advanced Russian missile system.
I would rather be allied with Ukraine. It shares (or aspires to share) American values: democracy, free press, freedom of religion, etc.
We have a lot in common with Ukraine. They are imprisoning political opponents, censoring the media and forbidding the transmission of unfavorable news about the war outside the country. They cancelled elections, banned political parties in opposition to the government. They even have the equivalent of Brown Shirts/FBI imprisoning the families of political opponents who get outside the country. Sounds a lot like Hitler, but, of course, the Nazi Party lives on in Ukraine and is one of the things Russia claims it is fighting against. We are trying to emulate what Ukraine is doing by imprisoning political opponents, jailing people for prolonged periods of time without trial, no-knock raids on white-collar criminals who are politically supporting opposing politicians, and on and on. Of course, Ukraine is farther down the road thna we are yet, but we are just getting warmed up. Should Harris get the White House, it will only get more extreme. Hitler took a decade to really get going, so what does the future hold for us?
Good morning to all- Mr. Alaska- In response to the very last question of your post, I will say that the future holds for us basically the same as past and present. We will complain, bitch, argue and get on with life. We will do the best can and we will, in general, prosper to one degree or another. Hell, we survived the four years of the worst and most chaotic President- D tRump, I mean, and we're still here complaining, bitching, and arguing. The rest of your post is, in my opinion, dismissable and inaccurate. you all be safe and keep well- Ed
Putin is 71 and some reports indicate he is in poor health. With any luck he will take his Soviet style tactics to the grave with him, and new leadership will move Russia into a less belligerent posture. If only Ukraine can hold on that long.
People have been saying Putin is sick and dying for several years now. He certainly is better than Biden. At least he can speak in full sentences without notes or a teleprompter. There are some indications that NATO is getting ready to strike Moscow in an attempt to take him out. Ukraine just doesn't have the resources. The problem may be, however, that Putin is the person keeping the lid on things. Should he go, the West would have to get some kind of "Color Revolution" going so they could take over the country before it fell into the hands of someone who is willing to use Russia's huge stockpile of nuclear and other unconventional weaponry. It could be that Putin dying would open Pandora's Box.
I don't see any equivalence between the current Ukrainian government and the Nazi regime. The Putin regime does have some similarities: Putin murders or imprisons anyone who opposes him.