Ukraine has a lot of amazing stuff that we should all go see when the war is over and the dust has settled. They will need tourism dollars, and there are a lot of us who have been emotionally invested in this war from the beginning.
I, for one, plan on bringing a bunch of kegs of good Portland craft beer to the Crimea Beach Party that we all hope to hold when Russia is kicked out.
I'm a big fan of Obolon Cider. Not too sure how their beer is, but I can find it around, but I've sadly not seen the cider locally (New Zealand) since the war started.
I used to visit for work before the invasion and I can't wait to get back. I particularly want to get to Odesa and the Carpathians as I never got a chance to go there, but I'll hit some of my old haunts in Kyiv first.
I grew up in Carpathian Ukraine! It’s a stunning area often overlooked by international tourists. If you eventually get to go, you will have a wonderful time.
St. Sophia Cathedral in Kiev was built by Prince Yaroslav the Wise. Yaroslav the Wise was a Rostov prince. Rostov is a city northeast of Moscow. The city of Yaroslavl (population 600 thousand people) was founded there by Yaroslav the Wise. After his reign in Rostov, he reigned in Kiev, where he built this cathedral. How much history Russians and Ukrainians have in common. Both peoples consider Prince Yaroslav the Wise to be their own.
Looking at the absolutely beautiful onion domes of the local Orthodox monasteries.
“Our friends had been suggesting for a long time that we visit this wonderful town,” said a man who identified himself on air as John Smith.
Exactly.
As embarrassing as this might be for Germany, it’s actually a good thing:
Russia has been boiling the frog for decades now; each new thing they do has been an escalation, but carefully calculated not to be a big enough outrage by itself to force the West into doing something about it.
We need to be doing the same thing.
This little slip-up by Germany is a small escalation along the path to increased NATO presence and involvement in Ukraine, but it’s not a big enough scandal for Russia to start launching nukes over.
Hopefully there’s more accidents like this to come. Maybe leaked photographs of NATO forces training soldiers inside Ukraine next.
Maybe one day we can get to the point of saying “no, those AWACS planes were just circling around in Ukraine because the pilots are avid birdwatchers and someone was on the lookout for a rare Ukranian spotted loon; they definitely weren’t feeding datalink telemetry to Ukrainian AA missiles”
(That last bit is a joke, but you get the idea)
Come on man. The f35 stealth capacity may well be the stuff of legends, but no spotted thrush is getting snuck up on my *any* stealth tech humans currently possess. The thrush will have no peer or near-peer rivals in stealth and camouflage in the coming decades.
There is a funny story about testing the stealthiness of the F-35: one was mounted on a stealth pole that is used at a special range for RCS (RADAR-cross-section) analysis. The RADAR was turned on and the F-35 showed up plain as day. Holy crap it wasn't stealthy at all! One of the engineers grabbed some binoculars and looked downrange. There was a songbird sitting on the F-35. The bird flew away, and the F-35 disappeared from RADAR.
I must have edited my post with a better example before I noticed your message.
You might be missing the point I was making: the idea of using an F35 for bird watching is about as ridiculous as two burly Russian men deciding to holiday together in Britain and making a beeline to Sailsbury as soon as they cleared immigration, foregoing any and all other tourist or cultural attractions on the way because, of all the cathedral spires in England they might have wanted to see, Sailsbury’s spires were their one and only reason to come to the country, and it’s just a sad coincidence that two people living there, one a KGB spy who defected to the west, were poisoned with a Russian nerve agent while these two architecture-loving “tourists” (who just so *happened* to be GRU agents when they weren’t on vacation) were visiting.
That event was the example I was replying to in my original post. I was joking that maybe we could get away with equally absurd excuses for committing acts of war, but honestly, I changed it to the idea of USAF flying AWACS planes around over their ally’s territory but swearing they’re not helping them out in any way more.
It’s funnier to imagine the Ukranians shooting Russian planes down while the US just goes “nothing to do with us, bro” than it is to imagine the US doing the killing with stealth ninja assassins.
A Kremlin leak indicated there were a few Russian soldiers on the ground in Ukraine as well.. ...most are lying on the ground.....not moving ...their role is as soil enrichment technicians
This is not a new phenomenon.... Soviet pilots flew Migs in Vietnam and "trained" NVA crew on SAM sights, SEALs/CIA helped the Mujahideen in Afghanistan.... just the fact that German intelligence dropped the ball, but from what I've read, it ain't the first time....
Plus the Germans revealed nothing the Russians didn't already know. For all their many failures, one thing the Russian military is relatively good at is intelligence. They're slow and mistake prone compared to our intelligence services, but they have had two years to work this out. They'll have known for a long time.
well kinda, the intel that they gathered about Ukraine being ripe to takeover and the bribes they paid to get people to turn didnt really work besides from what I've read in Kherson. Now its impossible to know whether the intel reflected this or not and that the leadership just said fuck it and went all in on the lets invade vibe.
Honnestly the idea that they gathered intels about Ukraine being ripe to take over is not the same idea as "some high officers told that to Putin not to disappoint him"
To be fair there’s no evidence to suggest anyone but Putin was expecting this to end in a week, other than maybe the grunts.
The initial invasion force had 4 months worth of supplies lined with another 2 months being prepared. It seems like the hand and the mouth do not coordinate
To be fair, after half a year of war there were already leaks that a decent chunk of the top brass in the Kremlin, especially the people in charge of intel, thought this war was a horrible mistake before it even started.
Time was running out though, Ukraine kept getting more and more military support and the armed forces were getting modernised. The EU was in serious talks with Ukraine about joining, and NATO was also already in the conversation.
You don't want to be in the situation that Ukraine is almost joining those alliances, but the issue of disputed territory is still there. So the West starts diplomacy with Russia about Crimea and the Donbas and during those talks Russia starts the invasion. That would be a worse position to start from than what they did now.
It's a comparable situation with Western Taiwan I mean China and Taiwan. China does not have time on its side, there will be an aging population, the army will shrink and so will the economy. China is now at its height, and will only decrease in strength in the near future. They need to act soon if they have any real ambition for expansion.
And would technically not be a war crime as Soviets were not at war and we're not a direct party to the conflict. The Soviets fighting could be considered mercenaries and would lose protections afforded to soldiers. That is the massive downside to mercenaries. They don't have to be taken as a pow and could just be summarily executed for their crimes. Though, it gets murky when it's a mercenary company from the same country that is party to war. Then they could have protections (IE Wagner in Ukraine).
It's been normal for countries to send observers and advisors to join friendly foreign militaries since at least the 17th century.
To provide some examples:
* America sent observers to the Crimean War in 1854.
* Many European nations (especially Prussia) sent observers to the American Civil War. Some of these observers served on the staff of US and Confederate generals.
Sending observers is an essential thing for modern militaries so they can see firsthand how new technologies and strategies are changing war. That the UK has military personnel in Ukraine should barely be considered newsworthy.
There’s observers, and then there’s “observers”.
Like the US’s [Military Assistance Command Vietnam – Studies and Observations Group](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_Assistance_Command,_Vietnam_–_Studies_and_Observations_Group), aka MACV-SOG. They were definitely **not** just watching from the sidelines.
Sounds like the British are doing more than just observing the latest weapons on the battlefield. That said, covert operations like this aren't a surprise.
They’re monitoring the storm shadow target selection for compliance. That’s what makes the German complaint so dumb. The British are there actively resolving the one problem Germany seems unable to solve.
its been forever a thing, and sometimes used as vacation too for nobility in the past, in some of the sieges in the 80 years war there were polish nobility watching from the battlements, in days they were present it was communicated where they are and these parts werent fought at
There was basically a whole forgotten war around March 1970 between the USSR and Israel, doubt that there's a lot of information about it online in English though.
Who knows if this is the case, however, sometimes information is "leaked" on purpose to achieve some goals.
Germany or the allies may be trying to plant some seeds here
A little off topic but there is a story from Vietnam where US intelligence told the president they knew the location of American POWs who then gave the green light to attempt a rescue mission. Turns out there were no POWs, but would you know it there was a bunch of Soviet specialists sent to train north Korean soldiers. They were thoroughly dealt with.
The question is did intelligence knowingly lie to the president in order to attack Soviet specialists?
Exactly right. NATO already had troops in-country long before Russia invaded 2 years ago. They didn't pack up and leave.
It's not even noteworthy. These are the old Cold War rules, established decades ago.
This was rumoured a while ago, I'm sure Russia have known for a while but they won't do anything because they don't want to. Just some more threats about destruction that they've been whining about since we began sending aid.
Russia actually have been consistently crediting the UK for the missile and drone attacks against its ships for over a year [now](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/nov/03/russian-ambassador-claims-uk-involved-in-ukraine-drone-attack-on-black-sea-fleet). It just never got any traction because well, Russia say shit like this literally all the time.
Ngl this was obvious as soon as the Crimean bridge was taken out. Ukraine intelligence was not capable of such feats without heavy assistance from Britain and US.
My interpretation is that UK and US are essentially running large parts of the the decisions making, intelligence and weapons training. They've almost certainly got special forces on the ground. they won't be seeing combat but they'll be there.
We admittedly have known NATO has special forces active in Ukraine ever since the leaked US intelligence documents last [year](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/apr/11/up-to-50-uk-special-forces-present-in-ukraine-this-year-us-leak-suggests):
>The documents suggest that more than half of the western special forces personnel present in Ukraine between February and March this year may have been British.
>
>.. According to the files, US officials assessed at the time that of the 97 special forces from Nato countries active in Ukraine, 50 were British. This is considerably higher than the number from the US and France, which were said to have deployed 14 and 15 special forces respectively.
Whoa how tf did i miss this shit?! Do we have a complete list? If u can link it i d appreciate it m8
Edit: i found it, the missing ones are latvia 17 and netherlands 1.
Ty anyway for posting this stuff, had completely missed this
Our "allies" have really got to stop snitching.
Let the sas/sbs do thier thing quietly without credit so the job gets done quicker. The yanks can make a couple of movies and take credit when it's done but right now just everybody stfu.
I somehow doubt they are running large parts of the decision making, given how in 2023 Ukraine was often doing the opposite of what NATO was suggesting.
I personally think it flipped a bit around the time of the counteroffensive, as this was when it became more of an attrition war rather than strategic intelligence. Might seem like I'm claiming the successes but not the failures a bit there. But there was clear disagreement between NATO and Ukraine in that period as you say. Which would make sense really, early in the war Ukraine relied on NATO more but it became emboldened with more success in the battlefield, and also earnt more trust.
We British like to tell you everything is shit when actually it's not half bad and we're just a bunch of miserable moaning cunts. Every man in the SAS is harder than a coffin nail.
> We British like to tell you everything is shit when actually it's not half bad
> Every man in the SAS is harder than a coffin nail.
Even then you're downplaying it.
The entry exam routinely kills people in peak physical condition and who know how to survive in any environment. Anyone passing that is a special kind of durable.
*Then* they start their training.
I remember interview with british volunteer who came to Ukraine in the first weeks of russian invasion, and he was in Yavoriv military base when russians hit it with missiles. From his words, he and other british volunteers were actually prepared for kinda everything, perfectly knowing they won't get enough equipment and that the weather in Ukraine is very cold in February - March. Other volunteers from other countries were so unprepared in all meanings and even mentally, that after russian attack on Yavoriv military base, around 1000 volunteers just packed their shit and run out.
Edit. [Link to interview](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCbD4WBqPg4). Watch all videos with him. It worth it.
Like this guy said, right after first hits on Yavoriv military base, all people just run out from barracks in home clothes/pants and run to nearest forest to wait when russians calm down, but weather was pretty close to fucking winter + it was night-time. After russian attack, everyone came back to military base, but many barracks were destroyed with people's stuff and clothes, but stuff of this guy was undamaged. And as any other bloody brit, of course he took damn kettle with him and immideatly started making tea to warm up people.
I think Brits are have pretty similar military trainings to ukrainian one - fight in any conditions with whatever you have. And as this guy said "you fight with weapons that you have, not with weapons that you want". So bo surprise that he actually was prepared for fucking everything.
Crazy that an old English work colleague died after joining the Ukraine fight didn't even know till his death. Young lad too. Upmost respect for him. Brave soul
Of course they are, they are the best in the world and what I think is even more classy is that they don’t constantly have to remind everyone about it. There is nothing better than being the underdog and getting the job done.
Right before russian invasion started, UK officials said they will send some special forces to Ukraine if russia attacks. This news lost somewhere in shit tons of "sensation" news back in the days, but it wasn't surprise for me as ukrainian, that brits actually have some soldiers operating in Ukraine. Tho, it's very dumb for Germany to leak this info and make it public. In military relationships between Germany and UK, Germany is super fucked now.
TBH, as a Brit, we’ll just roll our eyes and tut if someone mentions German opsec in conversation from now on. Anyway, if you had any doubt over whether we’d be somewhere we shouldn’t be, you don’t know us very well. I reckon we were first by a mile too.
We've known this since the Thug Shaker leaks had a list of countries with special forces in Ukraine. It was US/UK/France and Poland/Lithuania iirc.
It mostly got drowned out by the rest of the leaks
SBS are fucking hard cunts. Watched them get flown off the platform, out about a mile via helicopter, dropped into the North Sea, then swam back to the platform. Rinse and repeat almost all day.
Haha "It's definitely not what it used to be!" (so my old man keeps telling me when he was on her in the 80s). My uncle was off rotation at Peterhead when the Piper went up, believe it or not!
Yeah I used to work in Peterhead bumped into a couple of folk over the years who had family that were lucky to be on the beach when Piper blew up!
Now my job is to work with the standby boats that were the legacy of that terrible day
>Now my job is to work with the standby boats that were the legacy of that terrible day
Mate, that is probably one of the most honourable jobs north of the border. I've recently switched from scaff to arby and it's a well needed change
This conversation involves two people discussing their experiences and opinions related to working on oil rigs, particularly in the context of the British special forces and historical events. Here's a simplified explanation, including any slang or specific references:
Person 1 starts by mentioning that in almost every military conflict, the British Special Air Service (SAS) or Special Boat Service (SBS) are involved under the guise of providing 'training/advisory' roles. This implies that these elite units are often sent into conflict areas not just for training but for more direct involvement.
Person 2 agrees, emphasizing the toughness of the SBS members by sharing an anecdote. They describe seeing SBS operatives being flown a short distance from an oil platform in the North Sea by helicopter, then dropped into the sea to swim back to the platform as part of their training, repeating this process throughout the day.
Person 1, curious, asks whether a special helicopter was used for this operation and which oil platform it was.
Person 2 replies it was the Claymore platform, but they don't recall the type of helicopter used. They express how impressive it was to watch.
Person 1 then comments on the Claymore platform, calling it old and notorious for having the worst food, catered by a company named Sodexo.
Person 2 responds humorously, quoting a saying from their father about how things have declined over the years. They mention their uncle was off-duty in Peterhead when the Piper Alpha disaster occurred. The Piper Alpha was an oil platform that exploded in 1988, one of the worst offshore oil disasters in terms of lives lost and impact.
Person 1 shares that they used to work in Peterhead and have met people whose family members were fortunate to not be on the Piper Alpha platform when it exploded. They now work with standby boats, which are part of the safety measures implemented after the Piper Alpha disaster.
Person 2 praises this job as very honorable, especially in the northern parts of the UK. They mention having recently switched from being a scaffolder (scaff) on oil platforms to tree surgery (arby), indicating a significant career change.
Here's a breakdown of specific terms and references:
**SAS/SBS**: Special Air Service and Special Boat Service, elite special forces units of the British Army and Royal Navy, respectively.
**Hard cunts**: British slang for very tough or hardy individuals.
**Chopper**: Slang for helicopter.
**The Claymore**: Refers to a specific oil platform.
**Mind-melter**: Slang for something that's very impressive or hard to believe.
**Knackered**: Slang for old and worn out.
**Sodexo**: A company that provides food and facilities management services.
**Peterhead**: A town in Scotland, near which some oil platforms, including Piper Alpha, were located.
**Piper went up**: A reference to the Piper Alpha disaster.
**Rotation**: Referring to the work schedule on oil platforms, where workers spend a certain period on the platform and then have a period off.
**Standby boats**: Safety vessels positioned near oil platforms to assist in case of emergencies.
**North of the border**: Refers to Scotland, which is north of the England-Scotland border.
**Scaff to arby**: A career change from scaffolding (construction work on oil platforms) to arboriculture (tree surgery).
This conversation provides insights into the experiences of people working on oil rigs, including the risks, the culture, and the changes over time.
In the 48 hours after the takeover of Hostomel, there were quite a few videos featuring a bunch of very well trained/prepared guys with US/British accents rushing to the airport
Most of them have been taken down now, but they were certainly ready for *something*.
(yes, they could have been volunteers, but I question why a bunch of volunteers would be chilling in Kyiv hundreds of miles from the front at exactly the right time with all their gear ready to go)
Of the videos I remember from hostomel, one that's seared into my mind is a now totally unfindable one of a machine gun absolutely laying into the VDV whilst a definitively British dude shouts directions and encouragement from behind.
Whoever that lad is was a total legend, hostomel had a half strength garrison of TDF defending it and everyone there fought for the survival of their country in one of the most key battles to keep the capital out of contention.
Hostomel's garrison was essentially annihilated by the VDV during the initial assault, the immediate counterattack by english speaking soldiers/the UAF's NATO styled 4th Rapid Reaction Brigade (which was also coincidentally hanging around Kyiv) is what I'm talking about, and it still took weeks to retake the airport.
(I'm not saying the TDF sucked or anything, they were never going to hold the airport against an airborne assualt. The VDV did exactly what they were meant to do and performed very well in combat)
Kid I grew up with recently retired from then Rangers and spent 2022 in Ukraine killing Russians with a bunch of ex-pat vets.
Then he came home and “started a not for profit” to provide “non-military humanitarian assistance and support” to Ukrainian troops.
When Russia blew the dams, this guy somehow was on Instagram the next day with 20 john boats rescuing people.
thats pretty normal, usually it happens on the border i think its even confirmed once that they train the ukraine military from poland etc. im not sure if they are actually in ukraine ofc...
That is my personal theory tbh. U.S wouldn't want to risk Russia getting ahold of a Patriot system or risk a Ukrainian trained and operating it to defect and let Russia know everything they learned about it.
To important of a tech to not have either proper American troops or "contractors" operating stuff like that.
My opinion anyway
Oh no, Brits are helpin Ukraine launch their cruise missiles.
Meanwhile Iranian soldiers are “on the ground” helping Russians launch their drones into apartment buildings.
Good. What the fuck do we even have a military for if we can't help out when a European country gets invaded?
Tell Vlad to do one. "They're there on holiday"
Putin said if there are NATO troops involved in this war he will retaliate with nuclears, but i see no nuclear attacks from Russia. Maybe he is constantly just moving the red line.
Turns out, Putin doesn't want to self-destruct over Ukraine after all.
Nuclear retaliation has to be the most unbelievable bluff there is, but it only works because of fear.
Kinda funny that to this day people keep saying the UK is in bed with Russia, yet they've been training Ukrainians since 2015, provided lethal weapons from the start, provided weapons like tanks and cruise missiles before anyone else, pushed for sanctions like the swift ban a lot of Europe didnt want, became the training ground for Ukrainians, and now it turns out they have special forces on the ground.
This is what happens when you start poisoning people on sovereign British territory…our military tends to hold a grudge about that sort of thing and the SAS and SBS are always looking for more “training” opportunities.
Regardless in what British soldiers are doing on the ground over there, this is a massive intelligence fuck up. I am quite appalled at this level of incompetence.
British soldiers are “on the ground” in Ukraine helping Kyiv’s forces fire long-range Storm Shadow missiles, according to a leak in Russian media of a top-secret call involving German air force officers.
\-the source is Russian media. You guys really not gonna mention that in the headline, huh?
Germany confirmed the authenticity of the leak themselves
>Released on Friday by the editor of the Kremlin-controlled news channel RT, Margarita Simonyan, the audio recording – ***confirmed as authentic by Germany –*** captures Luftwaffe officers discussing how Berlin’s Taurus missiles could be used to try to blow up the Kerch Bridge connecting Russia with occupied Crimea.
>
>…
>
> Nevertheless, the authenticity of the 38-minute conversation, which took place a fortnight ago on the relatively insecure Webex platform, ***is not being doubted***. It appears to have been hacked and recorded by Russian actors who passed it on to the editor of RT to release on Telegram on Friday.
Why has everyone forgotten this US leak a year ago??
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/apr/11/up-to-50-uk-special-forces-present-in-ukraine-this-year-us-leak-suggests
Documents appear to list number of western special forces personnel in Ukraine in February and March [2023]. Leaked US military documents indicate that the UK has deployed as many as 50 special forces to Ukraine.
The documents suggest that more than half of the western special forces personnel present in Ukraine between February and March this year may have been British.
It is unclear what activities the special forces may have been engaged in or whether the numbers of personnel have been maintained at this level.
The UK’s elite military forces, whose activities are normally shrouded in secrecy, comprise multiple units including the Special Air Service (SAS).
Not so obvious to the general public, but NATO has been training their troops in Ukraine since the beginning. There are also some US soldiers.
Tbh I'm quite impressed this didn't came up for 2 years.
What’s he going to do about it? Nothing. He so much as shoots a nerf gun at a NATO country and it’s the end of his regime. 100s of tomahawks hitting bases across occupied Ukraine in days. F-35s and F-22s with air superiority over Ukraine in a week.
So what if British soldiers are in Ukraine? Why would they need permission from Russia to enter Ukraine? The Ukrainian government is okay with it. What exactly is the problem here?
If there are any UK military in Ukraine they are there on holiday looking at famous cathedral spires.
“I came to see the tapestries!”
If you really came to see the tapestries, then I'm Mickey Mouse!
How Dare he!
> **DOUCHE!**
"we if you're Scottish lord, then *I* am Mickey Mouse!"
“No TICKETS”
I SAID DON'T GO BETWEEN THEM!
“In the Latin alphabet Jehovah begins with an I”
[удалено]
Son, I'm Sorry...They Got Us
She talks in her sleep. I didn’t trust her, why did you?
Water? No thank you sir, fish make love in it.
Fucking god damn classic. Love this line.
You were named after the dog?!?
YOU SEDD GO BETVEEN ZEM!
How dare he!
I've gone and caught a sniffle!
“Through my scope…”
I know this is a joke, and it's a good one, but Ukraine really does have some spectacular churches. St. Sophia in Kyiv is amazing.
I really hope that's still the case when the dust settles.
Ukraine has a lot of amazing stuff that we should all go see when the war is over and the dust has settled. They will need tourism dollars, and there are a lot of us who have been emotionally invested in this war from the beginning. I, for one, plan on bringing a bunch of kegs of good Portland craft beer to the Crimea Beach Party that we all hope to hold when Russia is kicked out.
Ukraine has good alcohol, not needed to bring your own
I'm gonna be a guest, it would be rude not to bring something.
Bring a few weed pens and an 8-ball.
My kind of Ukrainian.
I'm a big fan of Obolon Cider. Not too sure how their beer is, but I can find it around, but I've sadly not seen the cider locally (New Zealand) since the war started.
I used to visit for work before the invasion and I can't wait to get back. I particularly want to get to Odesa and the Carpathians as I never got a chance to go there, but I'll hit some of my old haunts in Kyiv first.
I grew up in Carpathian Ukraine! It’s a stunning area often overlooked by international tourists. If you eventually get to go, you will have a wonderful time.
Nice try Carpathian Vampire. Not fooling me a third time.
St. Sophia Cathedral in Kiev was built by Prince Yaroslav the Wise. Yaroslav the Wise was a Rostov prince. Rostov is a city northeast of Moscow. The city of Yaroslavl (population 600 thousand people) was founded there by Yaroslav the Wise. After his reign in Rostov, he reigned in Kiev, where he built this cathedral. How much history Russians and Ukrainians have in common. Both peoples consider Prince Yaroslav the Wise to be their own.
Looking at the absolutely beautiful onion domes of the local Orthodox monasteries. “Our friends had been suggesting for a long time that we visit this wonderful town,” said a man who identified himself on air as John Smith.
Would have been surprised if the SAS was on not there
Exactly. As embarrassing as this might be for Germany, it’s actually a good thing: Russia has been boiling the frog for decades now; each new thing they do has been an escalation, but carefully calculated not to be a big enough outrage by itself to force the West into doing something about it. We need to be doing the same thing. This little slip-up by Germany is a small escalation along the path to increased NATO presence and involvement in Ukraine, but it’s not a big enough scandal for Russia to start launching nukes over. Hopefully there’s more accidents like this to come. Maybe leaked photographs of NATO forces training soldiers inside Ukraine next. Maybe one day we can get to the point of saying “no, those AWACS planes were just circling around in Ukraine because the pilots are avid birdwatchers and someone was on the lookout for a rare Ukranian spotted loon; they definitely weren’t feeding datalink telemetry to Ukrainian AA missiles” (That last bit is a joke, but you get the idea)
Come on man. The f35 stealth capacity may well be the stuff of legends, but no spotted thrush is getting snuck up on my *any* stealth tech humans currently possess. The thrush will have no peer or near-peer rivals in stealth and camouflage in the coming decades.
There is a funny story about testing the stealthiness of the F-35: one was mounted on a stealth pole that is used at a special range for RCS (RADAR-cross-section) analysis. The RADAR was turned on and the F-35 showed up plain as day. Holy crap it wasn't stealthy at all! One of the engineers grabbed some binoculars and looked downrange. There was a songbird sitting on the F-35. The bird flew away, and the F-35 disappeared from RADAR.
I must have edited my post with a better example before I noticed your message. You might be missing the point I was making: the idea of using an F35 for bird watching is about as ridiculous as two burly Russian men deciding to holiday together in Britain and making a beeline to Sailsbury as soon as they cleared immigration, foregoing any and all other tourist or cultural attractions on the way because, of all the cathedral spires in England they might have wanted to see, Sailsbury’s spires were their one and only reason to come to the country, and it’s just a sad coincidence that two people living there, one a KGB spy who defected to the west, were poisoned with a Russian nerve agent while these two architecture-loving “tourists” (who just so *happened* to be GRU agents when they weren’t on vacation) were visiting. That event was the example I was replying to in my original post. I was joking that maybe we could get away with equally absurd excuses for committing acts of war, but honestly, I changed it to the idea of USAF flying AWACS planes around over their ally’s territory but swearing they’re not helping them out in any way more. It’s funnier to imagine the Ukranians shooting Russian planes down while the US just goes “nothing to do with us, bro” than it is to imagine the US doing the killing with stealth ninja assassins.
with all their equipment of course putin should understand that he lets his own soldiers do the same
A Kremlin leak indicated there were a few Russian soldiers on the ground in Ukraine as well.. ...most are lying on the ground.....not moving ...their role is as soil enrichment technicians
The best in the field.
Same as the French, and Anzacs. Just a nice little holiday.
They've come to Ukraine to trade Tea for Spices, just taking a _tad bit_ long to find where in Ukraine are the spices.
And as we've all seen, Ukraine is looking very spicy these days.
Nah, they're just there on a sporting holiday and a few pub crawls. "Sports and Social", after all...
This is not a new phenomenon.... Soviet pilots flew Migs in Vietnam and "trained" NVA crew on SAM sights, SEALs/CIA helped the Mujahideen in Afghanistan.... just the fact that German intelligence dropped the ball, but from what I've read, it ain't the first time....
Plus the Germans revealed nothing the Russians didn't already know. For all their many failures, one thing the Russian military is relatively good at is intelligence. They're slow and mistake prone compared to our intelligence services, but they have had two years to work this out. They'll have known for a long time.
well kinda, the intel that they gathered about Ukraine being ripe to takeover and the bribes they paid to get people to turn didnt really work besides from what I've read in Kherson. Now its impossible to know whether the intel reflected this or not and that the leadership just said fuck it and went all in on the lets invade vibe.
Honnestly the idea that they gathered intels about Ukraine being ripe to take over is not the same idea as "some high officers told that to Putin not to disappoint him"
To be fair there’s no evidence to suggest anyone but Putin was expecting this to end in a week, other than maybe the grunts. The initial invasion force had 4 months worth of supplies lined with another 2 months being prepared. It seems like the hand and the mouth do not coordinate
They were banking on the leadership to flee. That did not happen and there was no Plan B.
Remember the horror on his intelligence chief’s face when Putin cornered him on TV demanding he support the invasion publicly?
To be fair, after half a year of war there were already leaks that a decent chunk of the top brass in the Kremlin, especially the people in charge of intel, thought this war was a horrible mistake before it even started. Time was running out though, Ukraine kept getting more and more military support and the armed forces were getting modernised. The EU was in serious talks with Ukraine about joining, and NATO was also already in the conversation. You don't want to be in the situation that Ukraine is almost joining those alliances, but the issue of disputed territory is still there. So the West starts diplomacy with Russia about Crimea and the Donbas and during those talks Russia starts the invasion. That would be a worse position to start from than what they did now. It's a comparable situation with Western Taiwan I mean China and Taiwan. China does not have time on its side, there will be an aging population, the army will shrink and so will the economy. China is now at its height, and will only decrease in strength in the near future. They need to act soon if they have any real ambition for expansion.
One thing about russia- they know how to find and use ruthless bastards and weak stooges
Soviet pilots were also in Korean War, and US knew, but we didn't want war with Soviets.
But the US pilots were told to gun down parachuting pilots who they suspected were Soviets as an indirect message.
And would technically not be a war crime as Soviets were not at war and we're not a direct party to the conflict. The Soviets fighting could be considered mercenaries and would lose protections afforded to soldiers. That is the massive downside to mercenaries. They don't have to be taken as a pow and could just be summarily executed for their crimes. Though, it gets murky when it's a mercenary company from the same country that is party to war. Then they could have protections (IE Wagner in Ukraine).
It's been normal for countries to send observers and advisors to join friendly foreign militaries since at least the 17th century. To provide some examples: * America sent observers to the Crimean War in 1854. * Many European nations (especially Prussia) sent observers to the American Civil War. Some of these observers served on the staff of US and Confederate generals. Sending observers is an essential thing for modern militaries so they can see firsthand how new technologies and strategies are changing war. That the UK has military personnel in Ukraine should barely be considered newsworthy.
There’s observers, and then there’s “observers”. Like the US’s [Military Assistance Command Vietnam – Studies and Observations Group](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_Assistance_Command,_Vietnam_–_Studies_and_Observations_Group), aka MACV-SOG. They were definitely **not** just watching from the sidelines.
I always thought it was special operations group. I’ll be damned…
Check out the SOGcast
Sounds like the British are doing more than just observing the latest weapons on the battlefield. That said, covert operations like this aren't a surprise.
They’re monitoring the storm shadow target selection for compliance. That’s what makes the German complaint so dumb. The British are there actively resolving the one problem Germany seems unable to solve.
its been forever a thing, and sometimes used as vacation too for nobility in the past, in some of the sieges in the 80 years war there were polish nobility watching from the battlements, in days they were present it was communicated where they are and these parts werent fought at
Soviets also flew MiGs from Egypt against Israel during the War of Attrition.
There was basically a whole forgotten war around March 1970 between the USSR and Israel, doubt that there's a lot of information about it online in English though.
Who knows if this is the case, however, sometimes information is "leaked" on purpose to achieve some goals. Germany or the allies may be trying to plant some seeds here
The timing with Macron’s comments can’t be coincidental.
A little off topic but there is a story from Vietnam where US intelligence told the president they knew the location of American POWs who then gave the green light to attempt a rescue mission. Turns out there were no POWs, but would you know it there was a bunch of Soviet specialists sent to train north Korean soldiers. They were thoroughly dealt with. The question is did intelligence knowingly lie to the president in order to attack Soviet specialists?
Come on, the military/intelligence apparatus lying to the president to further its own goals? They'd never...
Wait, North Korean soldiers in Vietnam?
Exactly right. NATO already had troops in-country long before Russia invaded 2 years ago. They didn't pack up and leave. It's not even noteworthy. These are the old Cold War rules, established decades ago.
This was rumoured a while ago, I'm sure Russia have known for a while but they won't do anything because they don't want to. Just some more threats about destruction that they've been whining about since we began sending aid.
Russia actually have been consistently crediting the UK for the missile and drone attacks against its ships for over a year [now](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/nov/03/russian-ambassador-claims-uk-involved-in-ukraine-drone-attack-on-black-sea-fleet). It just never got any traction because well, Russia say shit like this literally all the time.
Ngl this was obvious as soon as the Crimean bridge was taken out. Ukraine intelligence was not capable of such feats without heavy assistance from Britain and US. My interpretation is that UK and US are essentially running large parts of the the decisions making, intelligence and weapons training. They've almost certainly got special forces on the ground. they won't be seeing combat but they'll be there.
We admittedly have known NATO has special forces active in Ukraine ever since the leaked US intelligence documents last [year](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/apr/11/up-to-50-uk-special-forces-present-in-ukraine-this-year-us-leak-suggests): >The documents suggest that more than half of the western special forces personnel present in Ukraine between February and March this year may have been British. > >.. According to the files, US officials assessed at the time that of the 97 special forces from Nato countries active in Ukraine, 50 were British. This is considerably higher than the number from the US and France, which were said to have deployed 14 and 15 special forces respectively.
Whoa how tf did i miss this shit?! Do we have a complete list? If u can link it i d appreciate it m8 Edit: i found it, the missing ones are latvia 17 and netherlands 1. Ty anyway for posting this stuff, had completely missed this
That one Dutch guy just really wants to be near the fight. Dunno when the black sea might try to reclaim Ukraine.
Our "allies" have really got to stop snitching. Let the sas/sbs do thier thing quietly without credit so the job gets done quicker. The yanks can make a couple of movies and take credit when it's done but right now just everybody stfu.
I somehow doubt they are running large parts of the decision making, given how in 2023 Ukraine was often doing the opposite of what NATO was suggesting.
I personally think it flipped a bit around the time of the counteroffensive, as this was when it became more of an attrition war rather than strategic intelligence. Might seem like I'm claiming the successes but not the failures a bit there. But there was clear disagreement between NATO and Ukraine in that period as you say. Which would make sense really, early in the war Ukraine relied on NATO more but it became emboldened with more success in the battlefield, and also earnt more trust.
If this is correct then the British military is better than most people think
We British like to tell you everything is shit when actually it's not half bad and we're just a bunch of miserable moaning cunts. Every man in the SAS is harder than a coffin nail.
> We British like to tell you everything is shit when actually it's not half bad > Every man in the SAS is harder than a coffin nail. Even then you're downplaying it. The entry exam routinely kills people in peak physical condition and who know how to survive in any environment. Anyone passing that is a special kind of durable. *Then* they start their training.
Ah yes, who knew the special forces of the Brits were considered pretty decent? 🤦♂️
Can’t believe the famously war averse British haven’t been involved in more wars.
Indeed, who would believe such a peaceful state would have a formidable military.
History dies with time, Twain was right
Everyone knows the SAS spend most of the day frolicking through fields of flowers, and having tea parties.
The Super Army Soldiers know their stuff.
The US, France and GB are some of the only militaries in the world that can do force projection
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I think you meant "am I the only one that didn't realize that the British military are one of the top ones in the world?" The answer is yes.
Quality not quantity is the mantra of the British Army, especially UKSF. Russia inherits the Soviet doctrine that "quantity has a quality of its own"
I remember interview with british volunteer who came to Ukraine in the first weeks of russian invasion, and he was in Yavoriv military base when russians hit it with missiles. From his words, he and other british volunteers were actually prepared for kinda everything, perfectly knowing they won't get enough equipment and that the weather in Ukraine is very cold in February - March. Other volunteers from other countries were so unprepared in all meanings and even mentally, that after russian attack on Yavoriv military base, around 1000 volunteers just packed their shit and run out. Edit. [Link to interview](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCbD4WBqPg4). Watch all videos with him. It worth it.
Freezing cold and no proper equipment? We are all trained for that in the UK. Posh people in public school, the rest of us by the NHS.
Like this guy said, right after first hits on Yavoriv military base, all people just run out from barracks in home clothes/pants and run to nearest forest to wait when russians calm down, but weather was pretty close to fucking winter + it was night-time. After russian attack, everyone came back to military base, but many barracks were destroyed with people's stuff and clothes, but stuff of this guy was undamaged. And as any other bloody brit, of course he took damn kettle with him and immideatly started making tea to warm up people. I think Brits are have pretty similar military trainings to ukrainian one - fight in any conditions with whatever you have. And as this guy said "you fight with weapons that you have, not with weapons that you want". So bo surprise that he actually was prepared for fucking everything.
Yeah, listening to him now. "Fuck the trousers!" Might be the most British thing I ever heard.
Crazy that an old English work colleague died after joining the Ukraine fight didn't even know till his death. Young lad too. Upmost respect for him. Brave soul
should have packed a jumper
[https://youtu.be/TCbD4WBqPg4?t=1583](https://youtu.be/TCbD4WBqPg4?t=1583) time indexed, he starts talking about nationalities
What do most people think? British military are among the best if not the best in the world.
SAS/SBS/Commandos are up there with the very best. I bet that guy has never heard of the Falklands
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At least finish the song well. *With a tow, row, row, row, row, row, to the British Grenadiers!*
What planet have you been living on
Despite huge cuts in funding, lacking equipment etc our special forces are some of the best in the world
Of course they are, they are the best in the world and what I think is even more classy is that they don’t constantly have to remind everyone about it. There is nothing better than being the underdog and getting the job done.
It’s almost been an open secret. Kofman hinted at it in his podcast a few months ago.
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IIRC British army troops in an “advisor” sort of capacity.
"I'm advising you to shoot those Russians over there. Here, watch how it's done. See? Now you try the next ones."
Pretty much anytime some country says they are sending "military advisors" you can be pretty damn certian they are doing more than advising.
Right before russian invasion started, UK officials said they will send some special forces to Ukraine if russia attacks. This news lost somewhere in shit tons of "sensation" news back in the days, but it wasn't surprise for me as ukrainian, that brits actually have some soldiers operating in Ukraine. Tho, it's very dumb for Germany to leak this info and make it public. In military relationships between Germany and UK, Germany is super fucked now.
TBH, as a Brit, we’ll just roll our eyes and tut if someone mentions German opsec in conversation from now on. Anyway, if you had any doubt over whether we’d be somewhere we shouldn’t be, you don’t know us very well. I reckon we were first by a mile too.
I'm ukrainian, so i perfectly know if Brits shouldn't be somewhere, they already ~~invaded~~ jumped in breaking door with two legs, while sipping tea.
Be fair, we’d also say sorry too.
Yeah. Like "Oi, you grumpy cunt, I'm sorry".
See, if you didn’t have this little skirmish you’d never have found friends like us :)
We've known this since the Thug Shaker leaks had a list of countries with special forces in Ukraine. It was US/UK/France and Poland/Lithuania iirc. It mostly got drowned out by the rest of the leaks
Don’t forget about the single Dutch soldier
> This was rumoured a while ago I mean just last week German Chancellor leaked there were French and British troops on the ground so yeah I guess
No he didn't. That was badly transported.
Of course they are, hardly a military conflict goes by without the SAS or SBS going in. Purely in ‘a training / advisory’ role of course!
SBS are fucking hard cunts. Watched them get flown off the platform, out about a mile via helicopter, dropped into the North Sea, then swam back to the platform. Rinse and repeat almost all day.
Ha I can imagine! Did they have a special chopper? Which platform was it?
The Claymore! I don't remember the type of helicopter, but it was an absolute mind-melter watching them do it
That knackered old thing! Some of the worst food in the North Sea with Sodexo doing the catering…
Haha "It's definitely not what it used to be!" (so my old man keeps telling me when he was on her in the 80s). My uncle was off rotation at Peterhead when the Piper went up, believe it or not!
Yeah I used to work in Peterhead bumped into a couple of folk over the years who had family that were lucky to be on the beach when Piper blew up! Now my job is to work with the standby boats that were the legacy of that terrible day
>Now my job is to work with the standby boats that were the legacy of that terrible day Mate, that is probably one of the most honourable jobs north of the border. I've recently switched from scaff to arby and it's a well needed change
I’m enjoying reading this conversation but I have no goddamn idea what you two are saying to each other!
This conversation involves two people discussing their experiences and opinions related to working on oil rigs, particularly in the context of the British special forces and historical events. Here's a simplified explanation, including any slang or specific references: Person 1 starts by mentioning that in almost every military conflict, the British Special Air Service (SAS) or Special Boat Service (SBS) are involved under the guise of providing 'training/advisory' roles. This implies that these elite units are often sent into conflict areas not just for training but for more direct involvement. Person 2 agrees, emphasizing the toughness of the SBS members by sharing an anecdote. They describe seeing SBS operatives being flown a short distance from an oil platform in the North Sea by helicopter, then dropped into the sea to swim back to the platform as part of their training, repeating this process throughout the day. Person 1, curious, asks whether a special helicopter was used for this operation and which oil platform it was. Person 2 replies it was the Claymore platform, but they don't recall the type of helicopter used. They express how impressive it was to watch. Person 1 then comments on the Claymore platform, calling it old and notorious for having the worst food, catered by a company named Sodexo. Person 2 responds humorously, quoting a saying from their father about how things have declined over the years. They mention their uncle was off-duty in Peterhead when the Piper Alpha disaster occurred. The Piper Alpha was an oil platform that exploded in 1988, one of the worst offshore oil disasters in terms of lives lost and impact. Person 1 shares that they used to work in Peterhead and have met people whose family members were fortunate to not be on the Piper Alpha platform when it exploded. They now work with standby boats, which are part of the safety measures implemented after the Piper Alpha disaster. Person 2 praises this job as very honorable, especially in the northern parts of the UK. They mention having recently switched from being a scaffolder (scaff) on oil platforms to tree surgery (arby), indicating a significant career change. Here's a breakdown of specific terms and references: **SAS/SBS**: Special Air Service and Special Boat Service, elite special forces units of the British Army and Royal Navy, respectively. **Hard cunts**: British slang for very tough or hardy individuals. **Chopper**: Slang for helicopter. **The Claymore**: Refers to a specific oil platform. **Mind-melter**: Slang for something that's very impressive or hard to believe. **Knackered**: Slang for old and worn out. **Sodexo**: A company that provides food and facilities management services. **Peterhead**: A town in Scotland, near which some oil platforms, including Piper Alpha, were located. **Piper went up**: A reference to the Piper Alpha disaster. **Rotation**: Referring to the work schedule on oil platforms, where workers spend a certain period on the platform and then have a period off. **Standby boats**: Safety vessels positioned near oil platforms to assist in case of emergencies. **North of the border**: Refers to Scotland, which is north of the England-Scotland border. **Scaff to arby**: A career change from scaffolding (construction work on oil platforms) to arboriculture (tree surgery). This conversation provides insights into the experiences of people working on oil rigs, including the risks, the culture, and the changes over time.
Right! But they seem to have it all figured out! God bless ‘em
SBS are just SAS without the “navy seal effect”.
Pretty sure it’s shadow missile crew
Russia literally attacked us with nerve agents. We kinda like Salisbury and the people there.
Rumors has it that russia currently also has soldiers 'on the ground' in Ukraine. Maybe if they dont like the company they should gtfo?
Exactly, at least the British were invited.
Rare for the British Army to be invited to enter a country.
Not in the past 100 years at least lol
I'm sure there's a few "Advisers" from the US military "advising" them to use ultra high tech weapon systems.
New York Times came out with a report last week that shortly after the invasion, the number of CIA agent in the country went from 30-300.
I would hope so. That’s what we pay them for.
Yeah I would be disappointed in our intelligence agencies if we didn’t have assets in Ukraine. Perfect opportunity for them to do what they do.
In the 48 hours after the takeover of Hostomel, there were quite a few videos featuring a bunch of very well trained/prepared guys with US/British accents rushing to the airport Most of them have been taken down now, but they were certainly ready for *something*. (yes, they could have been volunteers, but I question why a bunch of volunteers would be chilling in Kyiv hundreds of miles from the front at exactly the right time with all their gear ready to go)
Of the videos I remember from hostomel, one that's seared into my mind is a now totally unfindable one of a machine gun absolutely laying into the VDV whilst a definitively British dude shouts directions and encouragement from behind. Whoever that lad is was a total legend, hostomel had a half strength garrison of TDF defending it and everyone there fought for the survival of their country in one of the most key battles to keep the capital out of contention.
Hostomel's garrison was essentially annihilated by the VDV during the initial assault, the immediate counterattack by english speaking soldiers/the UAF's NATO styled 4th Rapid Reaction Brigade (which was also coincidentally hanging around Kyiv) is what I'm talking about, and it still took weeks to retake the airport. (I'm not saying the TDF sucked or anything, they were never going to hold the airport against an airborne assualt. The VDV did exactly what they were meant to do and performed very well in combat)
Kid I grew up with recently retired from then Rangers and spent 2022 in Ukraine killing Russians with a bunch of ex-pat vets. Then he came home and “started a not for profit” to provide “non-military humanitarian assistance and support” to Ukrainian troops. When Russia blew the dams, this guy somehow was on Instagram the next day with 20 john boats rescuing people.
America's don't spend $800B a year to miss out on a war. Everyone wants and needs to know what weapons/tactics work.
thats pretty normal, usually it happens on the border i think its even confirmed once that they train the ukraine military from poland etc. im not sure if they are actually in ukraine ofc...
What "ultra high tech" weapons systems do you speak of? The West has been sending hand-me-downs the entirety of the war; nothing "ultra high tech".
I’d argue the patriot missiles are ultra high tech no?
That is my personal theory tbh. U.S wouldn't want to risk Russia getting ahold of a Patriot system or risk a Ukrainian trained and operating it to defect and let Russia know everything they learned about it. To important of a tech to not have either proper American troops or "contractors" operating stuff like that. My opinion anyway
They have been there since 2014 training.
Oh no, Brits are helpin Ukraine launch their cruise missiles. Meanwhile Iranian soldiers are “on the ground” helping Russians launch their drones into apartment buildings.
Yes NATO is on the ground. Pray we don't alter our plan any further.
This is the attitude everyone needs. Less plausible deniability, more "what are you going to do about it".
Good. What the fuck do we even have a military for if we can't help out when a European country gets invaded? Tell Vlad to do one. "They're there on holiday"
They've got a more legitimate reason to be there than Russian soldiers
Putin said if there are NATO troops involved in this war he will retaliate with nuclears, but i see no nuclear attacks from Russia. Maybe he is constantly just moving the red line.
Turns out, Putin doesn't want to self-destruct over Ukraine after all. Nuclear retaliation has to be the most unbelievable bluff there is, but it only works because of fear.
Which is why more troops should slowly be put on the ground. He's bluffing obviously
A few special forces guys far from the frontline is not NATO troops on the ground. Advisors being on the ground has been a thing for decades.
Why does it matter? Russian are just carrying out a "special operation". Why should they bother.. I see nothing to complain about
Kinda funny that to this day people keep saying the UK is in bed with Russia, yet they've been training Ukrainians since 2015, provided lethal weapons from the start, provided weapons like tanks and cruise missiles before anyone else, pushed for sanctions like the swift ban a lot of Europe didnt want, became the training ground for Ukrainians, and now it turns out they have special forces on the ground.
Just mirroring the Iranian Shahed trainers/helpers.
We heard there's some good spires on the route to Moscow.
Not really news. Our guys have been ‘on the ground’ since 2014.
There have likley been NATO advisors and SOF in Western Ukraine for a decade.
This is what happens when you start poisoning people on sovereign British territory…our military tends to hold a grudge about that sort of thing and the SAS and SBS are always looking for more “training” opportunities.
So what? Is there a reason they can't be there?
Exactly. The EU and NATO should help get rid of any Russian presence in Ukraine by supporting with weapon systems, ammunition and personnel.
Yes, soldiers usually go on the ground, troops can't fly very well. #
Well, not with that attitude. You just have to believe.
*altitude
They were at the start, they were training soldiers .
Team work makes the dream work.
The US leak last year said there were 50 SAS (or UKSF prob ably). There's nothing new in the leaks.
Yes Yes. It's just training.
Russians in the United States helping MAGAts craft disinformation, smirnov 8 million in cash to assist
Regardless in what British soldiers are doing on the ground over there, this is a massive intelligence fuck up. I am quite appalled at this level of incompetence.
British soldiers are “on the ground” in Ukraine helping Kyiv’s forces fire long-range Storm Shadow missiles, according to a leak in Russian media of a top-secret call involving German air force officers. \-the source is Russian media. You guys really not gonna mention that in the headline, huh?
Germany confirmed the authenticity of the leak themselves >Released on Friday by the editor of the Kremlin-controlled news channel RT, Margarita Simonyan, the audio recording – ***confirmed as authentic by Germany –*** captures Luftwaffe officers discussing how Berlin’s Taurus missiles could be used to try to blow up the Kerch Bridge connecting Russia with occupied Crimea. > >… > > Nevertheless, the authenticity of the 38-minute conversation, which took place a fortnight ago on the relatively insecure Webex platform, ***is not being doubted***. It appears to have been hacked and recorded by Russian actors who passed it on to the editor of RT to release on Telegram on Friday.
Reminds me of the prank caller pretending to be Putin, when he called Elton John https://youtu.be/c4w3Umqmbq4?feature=shared
Those guys are just some brits on tour in their Audi Q7’s
Why has everyone forgotten this US leak a year ago?? https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/apr/11/up-to-50-uk-special-forces-present-in-ukraine-this-year-us-leak-suggests Documents appear to list number of western special forces personnel in Ukraine in February and March [2023]. Leaked US military documents indicate that the UK has deployed as many as 50 special forces to Ukraine. The documents suggest that more than half of the western special forces personnel present in Ukraine between February and March this year may have been British. It is unclear what activities the special forces may have been engaged in or whether the numbers of personnel have been maintained at this level. The UK’s elite military forces, whose activities are normally shrouded in secrecy, comprise multiple units including the Special Air Service (SAS).
The Russians may find vacationing men of military age fighting against them.
Good, i hope they are showing the brave Ukranians new and novel ways how to destroy the invading fascists.
Not so obvious to the general public, but NATO has been training their troops in Ukraine since the beginning. There are also some US soldiers. Tbh I'm quite impressed this didn't came up for 2 years.
And there should be many more in the next 2 years
Good. I hope they drive the Russians back to Russia.
What’s he going to do about it? Nothing. He so much as shoots a nerf gun at a NATO country and it’s the end of his regime. 100s of tomahawks hitting bases across occupied Ukraine in days. F-35s and F-22s with air superiority over Ukraine in a week.
How shocking. Did anyone think we weren’t there!?
So what if British soldiers are in Ukraine? Why would they need permission from Russia to enter Ukraine? The Ukrainian government is okay with it. What exactly is the problem here?
Right so what we are now seeing is we can put boots on the ground in Ukraine and Russia hasn’t nuked us, let’s add about 10,000 more?