31 minutes ago, Alpha_TATEr said:

Watch: Donald Trump Says as President He’d Settle Ukraine War Within 24 Hours

Fact check: It wasn’t ‘in jest.’ Here are 53 times Trump said he’d end Ukraine war within 24 hours or before taking office | CNN Politics

he's not so good at math or lying.

uh, obviously we need to take him seriously, not literally.

9 minutes ago, JohnSnowsHair said:

uh, obviously we need to take him seriously, not literally.

it was in jest, time to move on.

I see Medvedev has been throwing down some vodka again. There must be a window somewhere with his name on it.

TickCounter

Very Severe Tariffs On Russia Deadline

Countdown timer showing how much time left until Tuesday, September 2, 2025 12:00:00 AM in timezone Chicago, America (UTC-05:00)

Damnit. Would have been funnier if the damn thing embedded

F you Vlad.

NATO unveils lightning‑fast Kaliningrad neutralization plan should Russia attack

NATO allies have developed a plan to neutralize the Kaliningrad region. Modern weaponry will allow it to be done faster than ever before, said General Christopher Donahue, Commander of the US Army in Europe and Africa and Commander of NATO's Land Forces, as reported by Defense News. According to Donahue, the United States and its NATO allies are launching the implementation of the "Eastern Flank Deterrence Line" plan. It is aimed at strengthening ground-based capabilities and enhancing interoperability across the alliance's defense industries. The plan is designed to counter threats from Russia and ensure scalable, global deterrence. "We know what we have to develop and the use case that we're using is you have to [deter] from the ground. The land domain is not becoming less important, it's becoming more important. You can now take down [anti-access, aerial-denial] A2AD bubbles from the ground. You can now take over sea from the ground. All of those things we are watching happen in Ukraine," the general clarified.

Neutralization of the Kaliningrad region

Donahue cited Russia's Kaliningrad region as an example, noting that it is surrounded on all sides by NATO countries. According to him, NATO forces now have the capability to "take that down from the ground in a timeframe that is unheard of and faster than we've ever been able to do." "We've already planned that and we've already developed it," he said. "The mass and momentum problem that Russia poses to us … we've developed the capability to make sure that we can stop that mass and momentum problem."

What else NATO's plan includes

The plan also includes a data-sharing system. NATO has already acquired such a system, Donahue noted, referring to Palantir's Maven Smart System — an artificial intelligence platform capable of processing massive amounts of data to help military commanders make fast, informed decisions. The general also added that NATO wants all systems — whether air defense or long-range fires — to be optionally manned. "We want it to be one system, optionally manned, where we'll be able to take munitions from any country and shoot through them," he said. Additionally, NATO's army aims to lower the cost of weapons. "As a general rule, whatever you're shooting at, whatever your weapon system or munition you shoot at, another adversary's capability, it should be cheaper than what you're shooting," Donahue emphasized.

Threat of Russian attack on NATO

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte previously warned that Russia could be ready to launch an attack on the North Atlantic Alliance within the next five years. Rutte emphasized that Russia's weapons production is progressing at a faster pace than Western countries had anticipated.

11 hours ago, Mlodj said:

F you Vlad.

Yeah, that place is one I'd like gone. Way too close to Gotland.

I was down in Gdansk last summer so just a stones throw away from Kaliningrad. Pretty cool spot on the Baltic and the spot the first shots were fired in WWII. They have an amazing WWII museum there. My wife and I got "stuck" inside there for five hours and it could easily have been longer.

20 hours ago, Mlodj said:

F you Vlad.

The biggest problem with taking it would be the infighting afterwards about which country gets to have it.

1 hour ago, Bill said:

The biggest problem with taking it would be the infighting afterwards about which country gets to have it.

I think losing Kgrad might cross the Russian line in the sand and see the use of tac nukes.

4 hours ago, Mlodj said:

I think losing Kgrad might cross the Russian line in the sand and see the use of tac nukes.

Nah that would be suicidal

5 hours ago, Mlodj said:

I think losing Kgrad might cross the Russian line in the sand and see the use of tac nukes.

Nah, he’s not in as much control of the country as most think. If they did a full mobilization they’d have a much easier time in Ukraine, but there’s reasons why they don’t, and they’re all internal.

Putin fears escalation more than we do. If he had the internal support for tac nukes, he would have used them already.

14 hours ago, Mlodj said:

I think losing Kgrad might cross the Russian line in the sand and see the use of tac nukes.

The only real chance Russia would have in fighting against a united NATO front is the use of chemical/nuclear weapons. There is no way in hell they could defeat NATO (with a normal US administration) conventionally. They probably couldn’t have pulled it off during the Soviet years, although that wouldn’t have been such a sure thing for NATO as it is now (if completely united).

8 hours ago, Bill said:

Nah, he’s not in as much control of the country as most think. If they did a full mobilization they’d have a much easier time in Ukraine, but there’s reasons why they don’t, and they’re all internal.

Putin fears escalation more than we do. If he had the internal support for tac nukes, he would have used them already.

The real question about escalation is how crazy Putin and his supporting cast are. If their mindset turns into that craziness that Hitler had at the end of WWII, then the whole planet will at risk. Use of nukes, regardless of who uses them, will probably put an end to us all. That type of escalation will be hard to reverse.

11 hours ago, Bill said:

Nah, he’s not in as much control of the country as most think. If they did a full mobilization they’d have a much easier time in Ukraine, but there’s reasons why they don’t, and they’re all internal.

Putin fears escalation more than we do. If he had the internal support for tac nukes, he would have used them already.

Ukraine knows him better than we do and it's very clear that's what they think.

11 hours ago, Frankfurteagle89 said:

The real question about escalation is how crazy Putin and his supporting cast are. If their mindset turns into that craziness that Hitler had at the end of WWII, then the whole planet will at risk. Use of nukes, regardless of who uses them, will probably put an end to us all. That type of escalation will be hard to reverse.

Authortarians of the 20th Century are not authortarians of the 21st. With Hitler, it was about ideology and political power. With the lot today, it's about money.

Putin isn't a political leader who does criminal things; Putin is a criminal who does political things. If there's one constant amongst criminals, it's that they value their own well-being first and foremost. If he knows he will lose, he won't play the game.

8 hours ago, dawkins4prez said:

Ukraine knows him better than we do and it's very clear that's what they think.

Yeah they've crossed about 50,000 of Russian red lines and Russia just sits there and sucks on it.

Almost 7 million citizens have fled the country, and no less than 230k criminal cases have been opened for desertion since the war started.

"More soldiers have deserted the Ukrainian army than there are fighting men in today’s British, French and German armies combined.

8 hours ago, lynched1 said:

Almost 7 million citizens have fled the country, and no less than 230k criminal cases have been opened for desertion since the war started.

"More soldiers have deserted the Ukrainian army than there are fighting men in today’s British, French and German armies combined.

So what. There are always those that flee from fighting, Trump included. What point are you trying to make?

Why are you even responding to a guy with extra chromosomes who doesn't source this claim?

8 hours ago, DrPhilly said:

So what. There are always those that flee from fighting, Trump included. What point are you trying to make?

No point.

Based on your preferences I considered some including yourself, might not have had access to that information.

Do with it what you choose.

4 hours ago, JohnSnowsHair said:

Why are you even responding to a guy with extra chromosomes who doesn't source this claim?

Settle down inbred, no one called for a **** job.

8 hours ago, lynched1 said:

No point.

Sums up your entire posting history

Only 43 days till sanctions start.

17 hours ago, DrPhilly said:

Sums up your entire posting history

Yet here you are.

Take some time. You should have questions to ask of yourself.

LINK

"The stocks, especially our own Patriot systems, are now pretty much exhausted.” With those few words, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock exposed the rising pressure on European air defense stocks as the United States, Germany, and Switzerland race to rebalance Patriot missile shipments for war-torn Ukraine’s skies. The U.S. Foreign Military Sales (FMS) system normally a stately, years-long process has become a tool for swift, high-stakes diversion, disrupting procurement plans across the continent.

Switzerland’s experience is a case study in this new reality. In 2022, Bern procured five Patriot batteries from Raytheon, between 2026 and 2028, as part of a broad modernization including 36 F-35 fighters. But on July 17, Swiss authorities revealed that Washington had told them: some of those Patriots, still waiting in production queue, would go to Ukraine. The Swiss Defense Ministry said the precise number of systems impacted and rescheduled delivery schedules are still to be determined, and the Federal Council continues to evaluate the full extent of the impact. The disruption mirrors a comparable action a year ago, when Switzerland’s purchase order for PAC-3 MSE interceptors Patriot’s most sophisticated missile was also postponed in order to assist Kyiv’s pressing requirements as Ukraine’s defense ministry confirmed.

The FMS process, as the Swiss announcement observes, entrusts the U.S. government with broad powers to redirect defense exports according to changing priorities. That flexibility, once a seldom-used clause, has become a backbone of NATO’s collective response to Russian missile threats. The consequence: European allies are compelled to shift their own defense readiness, embracing short-term vulnerability in return for fortifying Ukraine’s shattered air defense system.

Germany, which has used up its own Patriot inventory, has stepped up to plug the hole by offering a $5 billion buy of two new systems from the United States, which will be transferred to Ukraine. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius termed the cost approximately $1 billion per system, based on interceptor load as an unavoidable expense in the face of "unprecedented pressure” on Ukraine’s air defenses. The agreement, currently being negotiated with Washington, signals a transition away from American grant aid toward a commercial sales model, as European nations increasingly pay for Ukraine’s most advanced military equipment according to German Major General Christian Freuding.  In the center of the rush is the engineering capabilities and limitations of the Patriot system. The MIM-104 Patriot, which has been operational since the 1980s and has been upgraded repeatedly, integrates the AN/MPQ-65 phased-array radar with a family of interceptors, among which the PAC-3 MSE stands out. The PAC-3 MSE incorporates hit-to-kill capability, utilizing kinetic energy instead of explosive warheads to kill incoming targets. Its maneuverability and sophisticated seeker provide the capability to engage ballistic and cruise missiles, but recent battlefield reports out of Ukraine revealed weaknesses: Russian Iskander-M missiles successfully avoided and destroyed numerous Patriot batteries, including radars and launchers, in high-profile attacks throughout 2024 with video verification.

The challenge is exacerbated by sheer rate of consumption. Lockheed Martin, which produces the PAC-3 MSE, has increased production from 350 to 550 missiles a year at its Camden, Arkansas plant with a goal to hit 650 by 2027. Boeing, which makes the missile’s seeker, has boosted its own capacity by 30% in preparation for runaway demand. Aerojet Rocketdyne, which makes the solid-rocket motor, has raised output more than 60% since 2021, manufacturing propulsion systems in a new 51,000-square-foot building. Even with these steps, supply bottlenecks for critical materials and components continue, risking to slow replenishment of allied as well as U.S. stockpiles as executives at Lockheed and Aerojet Rocketdyne have outlined.  The European nations are also not idle. The Netherlands, Spain, Romania, and Germany have joined forces to buy 1,000 PAC-2 GEM-T missiles, much of whose production is occurring in Europe. Raytheon is growing its supplier pool and opening new integration and test sites with MBDA in Germany to achieve output growth from 20 to 35 missiles a month by the end of 2027. These cross-border initiatives are part of a wider realization: the days of just-in-time buying are behind us, replaced by a hunt for "magazine depth” and industrial toughness.

For Switzerland, the Patriot diversion is not just a procurement hassle it calls into question the timing and integration of its entire air defense refresh, including its F-35 fleet. For Ukraine, every battery diverted is a crucial defense against the next Russian drone and missile salvo. And for the transatlantic alliance, the Patriot shuffle is a preview of a new, more transactional age of defense cooperation one bounded as much by supply chain dexterity and industrial policy as by battlefield results.