“scores of war games & my own experience as US nat’l intel officer for Europe suggest…there are really only two paths toward ending the war: one, continued escalation potentially across nuclear threshold; other, a bitter peace imposed on defeated Ukraine” theguardian.com/commentisfree/…
“Scores of war games carried out by the United States and its allies in the wake of Russia’s 2014 invasion of Ukraine make it clear that Putin would probably use a nuclear weapon if he concludes that his regime is threatened” theguardian.com/commentisfree/…
.@CChivvis: “Based on war games I ran in the wake of Putin’s 2014 invasion, a more likely option would be a sudden nuclear test or a high-altitude nuclear detonation that damages the electrical grid over a major Ukrainian or even Nato city.” theguardian.com/commentisfree/…
I’d be interested in hearing from expert Indian and Chinese voices on likely responses from those countries to Russian limited nuclear use in Ukraine or elsewhere, including demonstration strikes. Diplomatic game-changer?
"On the country’s [Poland's] highways, police vehicles are escorting military transport trucks to the border, with other convoys slipping into Ukraine via snow-covered back roads through the mountains." wsj.com/articles/nato-…
"The allied effort is buttressed by ordinary citizens in Europe and the US, who say they are buying hunting-grade gear online...and funneling it to friends headed into Ukraine. In Warsaw, a 67-year-old woman is in charge of smuggling night-vision goggles" wsj.com/articles/nato-…
"There hasn’t been a Western arms push of such speed and scale in Europe since President Harry S. Truman asked Congress to send $400 million in military and economic assistance into Greece and Turkey in the first months of the Cold War," wsj.com/articles/nato-…
"the Soviet war against Finland is universally seen as a fiasco...Stalin's secret goal was to conquer the country...yet Finland remained an independent and sovereign state [and] the losses the Finns inflicted on the Red Army were far out of proportion..." muse.jhu.edu/article/241169…
"...fresh sources, archival and memoir, suggest that although the Soviets fell short of their political goals and performed dismally in combat, the Red Army was far more militarily effective than appreciated by the Soviet...leadership [and] Adolf Hitler" muse.jhu.edu/article/241169…
'Contemporaries such as news correspondent Alexander Werth and Soviet generals...viewed the Winter War in overly pessimistic terms. Later, historians... followed the initial trend... reporting only the negative aspects of Soviet military efficiency" muse.jhu.edu/article/241169…
.@KofmanMichael on @WarOnTheRocks podcast today points to "increasingly more complex [air] operations" by Russia & says that its sparing use of precision munitions might be down not to low stocks but that "Russian military is likely afraid this will escalate into a regional war"
"We've seen them [PGMs] use quite a bit in Syria...there's a sizeable chance that the stockpile they have—both satellite or laser guided PGMS—is largely being reserved for either later on this conflict, or more specifically for [the] potential of having to deal with NATO forces."
.@KofmanMichael: "we're learning some things about the Russian military that we definitely overestimated. But on the other hand I have big worries because we always swing to analytical extremes in our community. ...this war so far, it has strong 1939-1940 Winter War vibes"
So two weeks in, Russia has unilaterally moved down to: the Nazis can stay if they say no to Nato and hand over territory. Certainly not the final word on this. reuters.com/world/kremlin-…
Surreal stuff. "We really are finishing the demilitarisation of Ukraine. We will finish it. But the main thing is that Ukraine ceases its military action. They should stop their military action and then no one will shoot," he said. reuters.com/world/kremlin-…
Kremlin demand that Ukraine forgo right to join any bloc is incompatible with Helsinki Final Act and Paris charter. Were Ukraine to agree to such terms (not impossible), it would also have bad implications for other EU or Nato aspirants.
A week into the war, these are the sort of questions that experts are now beginning to ask. rusi.org/explore-our-re…
"Russian fast jets have conducted only limited sorties in Ukrainian airspace, in singles or pairs, always at low altitudes and mostly at night to minimise losses from Ukrainian man-portable air defence systems (MANPADS) and ground fire." rusi.org/explore-our-re…
"most VKS [Russian air force] pilots get around 100 hours’ (and in many cases less) flying time per year – around half of that flown by most NATO air forces. They also lack comparable modern simulator facilities to train and practise advanced tactics" rusi.org/explore-our-re…
Jaw-dropping. Borrell says EU military package may include "supplying fighter jets" for Ukraine's air force, EU has spoken w/ Ukrainian foreign minister "about the type of jets the Ukrainian military needs" & there are "member states...able to supply them" bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
"Mr. Borrell said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has asked for jet fighters that his country’s air force can operate. Those planes would be Soviet-built models, mainly MiG and Sukhoi jets." wsj.com/livecoverage/r…
To be honest I find it hard to imagine how EU is going to get fighter jets to Ukraine in a relevant time-frame, how Ukraine would train the necessary pilots, and how a fleet would survive Russian strikes over time. Europeans certainly not going to allow sorties from NATO soil.