Search

Daniel Gugger 888 wrote that he views NATO's aggressive eastward expansion as a personal motivation for Putin to attack Ukraine. NATO has approached Russia for decades; it has expanded eastward seven times since 1999. He also pointed to Aegis missiles in Poland and Romania that can be reconfigured from defense to offensive systems within two minutes, as well as possible NATO troops and missiles along the 2,000-kilometer-long Russian border. As a comparison, Gugger cited the Cuban Missile Crisis. He wrote that the USA had first stationed nuclear Jupiter intermediate-range missiles in Turkey in 1961, which were reachable by Moscow within ten minutes. The Soviet missiles in Cuba were a response to that; the crisis was resolved through a deal in which both sides withdrew their missiles. Today, Ukraine is a similar red line for Russia as Cuba was for the USA in 1962. Gugger disputed that a potential NATO membership for Ukraine was solely based on a voluntary request. He referred to Victoria Nuland and her statement from 2013 that the USA had invested more than five billion dollars in promoting democracy in Ukraine. A year later, a leaked phone call from Nuland surfaced in which she spoke disparagingly about the EU and discussed the occupation of the Ukrainian government after Maidan. Gugger described the change of power as a coup financed by Washington and pointed out that Arseniy Yatsenyuk had become Prime Minister. Additionally, Gugger claimed that since 2014, more than 14,000 people, mostly civilians, had been killed by the Ukrainian army and the Azov battalion in the Donbass. He wrote that residential areas, schools, and kindergartens in Luhansk and Donetsk had been shelled for eight years, and the people there had voted against belonging to Kiev in a referendum in 2014. Putin cited the protection of the Russian population in the region as justification. In conclusion, Gugger asked who benefits from the war. Rheinmetall shares were worth about 90 euros before the war, and now they cost more than 500 euros; the company is reporting record profits in the billions. BlackRock has a direct stake of more than five percent in Rheinmetall and is simultaneously engaged with Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and Northrop Grumman. Gugger also pointed out that Friedrich Merz had been the chairman of BlackRock Germany for many years. He wrote that taxpayers fund weapons while Ukrainians and Russians pay with their lives, and companies and individuals like Sigmar Gabriel receive record dividends. #NATO #Ukraine #Putin (translated)

Torsten Heinrich wrote that the superior firepower of artillery remains necessary because affordable drones cannot carry enough explosives to successfully attack fortifications. Therefore, further acquisitions of artillery systems by the Bundeswehr are justified despite criticism. At the same time, the use of artillery near the front becomes increasingly risky due to the expansion of the death zone. The industry must therefore develop guns designed for regular use of maximum propellant charges and whose barrels can withstand higher prolonged stress. Additionally, they should reach significantly greater distances of about 70 kilometers or more without relying on very expensive specialized ammunition like the “Ramjet 155.” According to Heinrich, artillery requires an affordable fire volume; shells that essentially correspond to tube-launched cruise missiles in caliber 155 millimeters are too expensive for this purpose. Typically, the propellant charge is adapted to the required range, Heinrich wrote: for a target 20 kilometers away, the maximum powder amount does not need to be used when the gun and shell can reach 40 kilometers. A smaller charge saves resources and conserves the barrel. Furthermore, adjusting the bore elevation and powder charge allows for MRSI, meaning the simultaneous impact of multiple shots. #Artillerie #Bundeswehr #Militärtechnik (translated)

Nuñez wants to "increase the available manpower" for the demonstration on October 24, with the BRI, the GIGN, the RAID, helicopters, the Centaurs, water-launching vehicles... in short, heavy artillery. "The nuclear submarines have not yet come out," a senior officer from Place Beauvau jokes... #Off #Off (translated)

Torsten Heinrich wrote that Russia is practically not at the negotiation table and is even expanding its demands. Moscow explicitly rules out a ceasefire unless it is part of a peace agreement. In contrast, Ukraine has offered an immediate and complete ceasefire for more than a year. Although Russia claims to want peace, Heinrich argued, it is seeking victory and is therefore not ready for peace. Heinrich also claimed that Russia has supplied Iran with weapons and target data, and is highly likely directly responsible for the deaths of U.S. soldiers. Furthermore, Russia has reportedly offered bounties for killed U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan. While reduced Russian diesel exports could lead to an increase in fuel prices, he stated that the main cause is the disruptions in the Persian Gulf. Two years ago, Ukraine was on the defensive, Heinrich wrote. After the fall of Avdiivka, Russian troops gained ground in the Donbas and achieved several tactical breakthroughs. At the same time, Ukraine was temporarily cut off from American supply shipments due to the lack of approval from the U.S. Congress and suffered from a severe shortage, especially of artillery ammunition. Meanwhile, Ukraine can now produce enough artillery ammunition for its own needs and has regained the initiative in several front sections, Heinrich wrote. There is discussion about whether it can also take strategic initiative in the next six months. Additionally, an increasing number of Ukrainian weapons are hitting targets in Russia. Heinrich described Ukraine's situation as the best since spring 2023. Heinrich found a statement about the loss of oceans and seas incomprehensible. He humorously noted that Ukraine could rename the Black Sea to "Ukrainian Sea." #Russland #Ukraine #Frieden (translated)

Anna wrote that the control of a single billionaire over technology at the front is a matter of life and death and should not be in private hands. Elon Musk promised in March 2025 that the Starlink terminals in Ukraine would never be shut down. On the night of October 14, SpaceX introduced a speed limit for the military Starshield package: above 160 km/h, the terminals would lose connection. The Ukrainian armed forces were not warned, and several missions were disrupted. Serhii Beskrestnov, an advisor to the president on defense technology, confirmed this on Telegram. According to activist Sternenko, normal Starlink terminals continued to function. Anna also referred to a report from Reuters stating that Musk ordered the shutdown of Starlink over parts of Ukraine in September 2022. This resulted in reconnaissance drones failing and artillery losing target assistance. SpaceX and the Ukrainian authorities have not confirmed the cause and extent of the latest incident. #Ukraine #SpaceX #Starlink (translated)

Dr. Rainer Kraft, Member of the Bundestag, wrote that the number of 14,000 deaths in the Donbas between 2014 and 2022 refers to all those killed on both sides, military and civilian. Citing a UN report, he mentioned about 3,400 civilian casualties, around 4,400 deaths among Ukrainian security forces, and about 6,500 among armed groups, which he classified as Russian army personnel without insignia. Approximately 75 percent of the deceased were members of the armed forces. According to Kraft, the number of civilian casualties decreased from 2017 onward after the intense fighting in 2014, with a total of 25 civilian casualties recorded in 2021. He compared this number to the casualties from Russian attacks within 24 hours and stated that the total number of armed forces members killed from 2014 to 2022 is now reached in less than ten days. Kraft rejected the claim that Ukraine "massacred" 14,000 residents of the Donbas. In his view, the deaths were the result of a terrorist intervention on Ukrainian territory, involving Russian soldiers, agents, tanks, and artillery without insignia. #Ukraine #Donbas #Russland (translated)

Torsten Heinrich referred to new videos of Ukrainian mechanized operations and reports from the Third Army Corps about the use of artillery. He asked whether this meant that systems other than drones may not all be outdated after all. #UkrainischeArmee #Artillerie #Militäroperationen (translated)

Denkewel commemorated the Fall of Antwerp in 1914. He wrote that the Schlieffen Plan became bogged down, after which the British expeditionary force and Antwerp came into view. Heavy artillery, including the Dicke Bertha, forced the Belgians into a strategic retreat, according to him. https://t.co/Js8wFhTTfH #ValVanAntwerpen #geschiedenis #België (translated)

Goedemorgen. Vandaag herdenken we de Slag bij Palikao tijdens de Tweede Opiumoorlog in 1860, tussen een Brits-Frans leger en de Chinese Qing-dynastie. De Mongoolse cavalerie werd weggevaagd door de moderne Brits-Franse artillerie. Peking werd ingenomen, Keizer Xianfeng vluchtte. https://t.co/XJmj3GwIlk #geschiedenis #TweedeOpiumoorlog #Palikao

Le canon Bohdana, initialement condamné à la destruction par Kiev pour éviter qu'il ne tombe entre les mains russes, est devenu un élément essentiel de l'artillerie ukrainienne, mais son avenir est menacé par le manque de commandes gouvernementales. #ArtillerieUkrainienne #Bohdana #Défense

Een Nieuw-Zeelandse toerist veroorzaakte chaos op het Parijse Gare du Nord toen hij probeerde om met een Britse artilleriegranaat uit de Eerste Wereldoorlog in zijn koffer op de Eurostar te stappen, wat leidde tot de ontruiming van de vertrekhal en de komst van explosievenexperts, voordat hij uiteindelijk een boete kreeg en het gevaarlijke souvenir moest achterlaten. #toerisme #vakantie #veiligheid

Norwegen hat seine militärische Präsenz in der Arktis erhöht, indem es die Finnmark-Brigade an der russischen Grenze mit zusätzlicher Artillerie, Flugabwehr und Kommunikationseinheiten ausstattet, um auf Bedrohungen und Angriffe zu reagieren und die Koordination mit NATO-Operationen zu verbessern. #Norwegen #Arktis #Nato

Norwegen hat seine Militärpräsenz in der Arktis durch den Ausbau der Finnmark-Brigade nahe der russischen Grenze verstärkt, indem ein Artilleriebataillon, eine Flugabwehrbatterie und eine Kommunikationskompanie hinzugefügt wurden, um auf mögliche Bedrohungen zu reagieren. #Norwegen #Arktis #NATO

"Satellitenaufnahmen zeigen eine wachsende Startinfrastruktur für Russische Einweg-Angriffsdrohnen der Geran-Familie, einschließlich der Fähigkeit, schwerere und leistungsstärkere Varianten zu starten. Schlagkräftigere Drohnen mit schwereren Gefechtsköpfen (100kg +) würden die Notwendigkeit verringern, weitaus teurere und in geringerer Stückzahl vorhandene ballistische Raketen und Marschflugkörper einzusetzen, um Ziele zu bekämpfen, die außerhalb der Einsatzmöglichkeiten der Geran-2/Shahed-136 liegen." Anmerkung: Russland hat hier eindeutig "the edge." Für die NATO bedeutet dies sich mehr auf weitreichende Flugabwehrkanonensysteme zu konzentrieren (Kaliber mindestens 35 mm und aufwärts, ausgestattet mit Sprengbrandmunition HEITPF-T), bis zur klassischen Flak-Artillerie mit moderner großkalibriger Flak, als teure Raketen dafür einzusetzen. https://t.co/Db6G6WphXP #Russland #Drohnen #Sicherheit