they are not really dead
… they just became part of the sunflower growth cycle
Martyrs can’t lead, though. If this results in confusion and a lack of active direction it could badly hurt Ukraine.
If true, that’s probably the best news out of Russia so far for Ukraine. He’s committing to overextending.
It might not be good news, but the best among bad.
The Western world simply cannot accept this, ever. Whether we fight directly or indirectly, this is just not tolerable.
Where’s the news in that headline? His threats basically amount to “or else…” or “just you wait and see”.
French President Macron seems to be the only Western leader with direct access to Putin.
I wouldn’t say that only Macron is talking is a bad thing, though. Less possibility of a convenient “misunderstanding” than if four or five heads of government were talking to Putin. I doubt he’s saying anything the rest of the EU or NATO would disagree with.
not if europe/usa signs a defense agreement with western ukr. and arm/train them to the hilt
He just lost a game of eeny meeny miny moe with Biden, Johnson, and Scholz.
I am no pilot by any means, but as I understand it, the A-10 is highly vulnerable to SAMs and the convoy has lots of SAMs. And even if “pilot training is minimal,” this is a war that’s going to end in weeks and that convoy had to be hit yesterday. Transferring A-10s right now won’t save Kyiv from the convoy.
What I do wonder, though, is that the U.S. has been known to fly some Fulcrums (bought from Moldova) at its bases in Nevada, for aggressor training. Could the U.S. donate those Fulcrums to Ukraine right now? I believe it was 8 or 12 Fulcrums.
Yep, that area is known for its sunflowers; Hungary as well and probably other countries in the region. In fact, my daily cooking oil is sunflower oil and it’s made in Ukraine.
I’m a gardener. I look up flowers and such all the time. I KNOW I looked at African Sunflowers a couple of weeks ago because I want to try them again this year. I was actually expecting my last five or six sunflower searches to come up before anything pertaining to the war, so was surprised at the search engines response.
Man, that image of the bogged down convoy is like food porn to military enthusiasts. I hate to think of what fantasies they entertain when stuck in a traffic jam.
You mean the convoy that hasn’t been able to move forward for nearly four days now, and is taking heavy losses from Ukrainian attacks? 
Kyiv is already saved from the convoy.
In the CSIS video upthread, Eliot Cohen suggests that we should stop calling it a convoy and start calling it what it is: a traffic jam.
So, yesterday I was driving to work and was stopped by some jackass that pulled halfway into the road. When I finally got a look, the left front tire was shredded in such a way that I’m not sure how it was on at all, as it was completely unseated from the rim and flopping around at an angle. I can’t even figure out how it happened or why the owner thought it was a good idea to even try to drive on it, since it was probably destroying the wheel entirely. Anyway, that’s about my mental picture of what that northern column must be looking like by now.
of course my opinion is just as good as yours - but I see the ukr. as way more committed to stickin it to the man … as iraquis, etc…
plus, those Uks. seem to weigh on avg. 30kg more than your iraqui …
so they cover both the “I want AND I am able to” dimensions of insurgency
Suggestion/question: If Ukraine is still capable of hitting the convoy with its jets, then would donated CBU-105s do the job? Those bombs only need to be dropped in the vicinity, right, no further guidance or input from the pilot needed? If I’m not mistaken, dropping them from, say, 5,000 feet or so would typically get dozens of hits per bomb, with most of the smart-skeets finding a target vehicle and hitting it.
add on Q: what is the typical pilot to plane ratio for those type of combat vehicle? (iow: if you have 100 A-10s - how many certified pilots would you have?)
… also, I am sure you’d find lots of skilled ex-pilots in Ukr. that you could upskill … obv. focussing on ex air-force staff … there should be a few 100s around, right?
I agree you’d not want to withdraw actively flying pilots for obv. reason
I thinks Zelensky is smart enough to let the others do the leading … I am pretty sure he knows that he is imensely important as an identification and crystalization figure, but my guess is that he (rightfully) handed over most of the country to his military leaders.