WSJ: Scholz blocks transfer of Taurus missiles to Ukraine due to fear of Russia. ⚡️WSJ: Scholz blocks transfer of Taurus missiles to Ukraine due to fear of Russia.German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has prevented the transfer of Taurus long-range missiles because he fears it will lead to a confrontation with Russia, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Sept.…— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) September 27, 2023
it's about time ... The Army’s Landstuhl Regional Medical Center has quietly started admitting Ukrainian Army soldiers who were wounded in combat, most of them American volunteers. link former US Amb. to UKR: “Big picture, it’s in our interest for Ukraine to win,” he said. “To achieve that, we should be doing whatever we can. Part of that is weapons. Part of that is financial support. And part of that is taking care of wounded.”
A few days ago Russian air defense successfully shot down one of the most advanced aircraft in the world. Unfortunately, it was a Russian Su-35S.
And as is standard, it went into a flat spin as it went down and pancaked then burned. Flat Russian Su-35 outside of Tokmak after being downed in a friendly fire incident by Russian air defenses. pic.twitter.com/oS7shE9ky6— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) September 30, 2023
Today has potentially been a bad day for Ukraine. First there is the US Congress passing a 45-day spending extension that does not include funding for Ukraine. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news...nment-shutdown-congress-senate-kevin-mccarthy Not only that, but a pro-Russia right wing party is on the way to winning a plurality in Slovakia’s parliament. https://apnews.com/article/slovakia-parliamentary-election-15902118682938d08c24ff7d0269656a The good news is that, reportedly, part of McCarthy’s agreement to get the House Democrats and the Senate to pass the House’s bill was that a stand alone Ukraine funding bill would be voted on when the House returns to session. Also, the Pro-Russian party only won about 24% of the seats, so there is a chance they won’t be able to form a government, or will have to align with parties that want to continue supporting Ukraine.
The Sept 28 report from ISW says that the Russians have reduced the use of Ka-52 helicopters on the Zaporizhia front after they proved to be a deadly threat a few months ago. As is usual in war, when you make a move the other side makes a counter move. It isn't mentioned in the report, but a serious threat against properly utilized attack helicopters is actually artillery. It you are flying low and far away, SAM systems of any kind will have a hard time finding you. But if you are spotted by, say, a drone, hiding behind a treeline or building won't save you from indirectly fired shells.
Because @Bootsy Collins you weren't talking about hitting rail infrastructure or construction or repair equipment but about hitting - and killing - the people doing the construction or repair work on that infrastructure. Blowing up locomotives, tracks, rail bridges, switching and marshalling yards, etc. is entirely legitimate, as is the equipment used to (re)build it, but targeting the individuals doing the work is - in the literal meaning of the the word - questionable. If they're Russian military engineers and soldiers, then - unless you're MTG or Code Pink - there's no problem at all. If they're press-ganged local civilians or civilians with Russian soldiers mixed in, then it's a Russian war crime (first, by kidnapping civilians and second, by using them as human shields) more than a Ukrainian one. In any case, Ukraine has a notably different attitude to human life in general than Russia (compare their treatment of POWs) and the lives of their own people in particular so I'd imagine they'd be be extra-precise with their targeting in that scenario - an FPV drone rather than an artillery shell, for example. The real question is with quislings, greedy collaborators or Russian civilians who voluntarily sign up to do that work. Then, you're into the weeds of military and international human rights law and the idea proportionality, which boils down to whether the number of civilians killed in a given attack is "excessive" when compared to the military advantage gained from destroying a particular target. Since they agreed to work on a building a military target, voluntarily placed themselves in or around it and did so during wartime, a prosecution would have a hard time making a case.
These days, I wouldn't be inclined to dismiss their support. I mean, Given Matt Gaetz's relationship with his, ahem, "son" you could say NAMBLA have a member of congress already.
How is it different from killing workers at a drone plant? They're civilians, yes, but they're defense workers.
The drones are purely military use. (Hitting a plant where they make civilian use drones would likely be a war crime). The railways aren’t. (If they were purely military railways it’s different).
It’s not a war crime to hit dual use facilities. In this case, hitting a railway that the military is using is not a war crime… Hitting machines that are repairing the rail line, as likely not a war crime. This is particularly true with Russia as they have military units whose job us to repair rail lines..