Russia - threadbanned users in OP

There are millions of people still living in Ukraine that don't want to be part of russia. When the russians had troops closing in on the capitol of Ukraine there were mass movements to produce bottles of Molotov cocktails to slow down the advance of russian armor.

What do these 500,000 "soldiers" have that the conscripted convicts of Wagner did not have last month when they expended over 22,000 and lots of military equipment to gain 0.1% of the territory of Ukraine? If they proceed at the same rate the 500,000 may gain about 2.5% of Ukraine before becoming fertiliser and the battle hardened Ukrainian troops take their country back.

Maybe the Reuters report trumps the Bloomberg report?

Bloomberg states 9 months, Reuters by Spring. Different reports, different sources etc....

Looks like you're right on the different launchers. Well either additional HIMARS compatible with them or a completely different launch platform (I think it was tested via a truck launch system)

Let's face it, both reports have as much a clue as we all do on here.

With the exception of the Abrams, the US hasn't announced a weapons package so far in advance. The Bradley's being the biggest behind HIMARS and are due to land in the UK on the 7th Feb.

I just wish they would announce them and the next day we hear reports of ammo dumps going boom well out of standard HIMARS range.

Just on the topic of this 300,000 Russian conscripts that have been training 'in secret' in Belarus, as other posters have mentioned the Russians have burnt their instructor corps in the initial invasion and their subsequent retreat under fire means that the training cupboard is bare (as is the equipment cupboard but that's a corruption issue).

I assume that you've all watched Putin vs the West on BBC?

One of the interesting things (for me) was former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko discussing the Minsk agreement where he went in and bluffed Putin that the Ukrainian army was preparing to launch a massive counter attack on the DPR / LPR forces and with this bold faced lie he forced Putin to call for a ceasefire. This bought the Ukrainian army, which at the time was pretty much at the current level of the Irish Defence Force (and no - this isn't a compliment) to take a breather and subsequently re-organise, re-arm and re-train.

If Putin had pressed home his armies advantage at the 'full of the tide' he would probably have taken Ukraine in a couple of weeks, and this timidity is, I believe what weighed on his mind during his prolonged Covid lockdown. i.e "Why didn't I press home the advantage when I had the chance and opportunity?"

But, as we all know you only get 'one bite of the cherry'! When Putin did go back to 'visit Kyiv' the Ukrainian army his invasion forces met on the city outskirts weren't the same rabble they'd trounced eight years previously in Luhansk / Donetsk and the Ukrainian defenders were more than a match to the elite troops Russia would throw into the cauldron

Looks like it does require new launchers. The Reuters article claiming spring was back in Nov 2022. The Bloomberg one was 14hrs ago. Since its said to be in the latest package, you'd think it should be Spring. Let's hope it is.

Veering hopelessly off-topic: My first car was an Austin Maxi and I well remember having to replace the hydraulic clutch outside at the kerbside ... in the snow!

Loved that car *sniff*

I often wonder the same. I assume that there is a lot happening that is kept very secret and there is , again I assume, a lot of information put out there that is for reasons of deflection - misinformation, disinformation, etc , etc. . For example , the Americans might say that it is going to supply one type of weapons system and the Ru will react accordingly but might then not supply that but a totally different system. Timelines could be also significantly different

politicans in Ireland are way more corrupt

Why do you post such unsubstantiated rubbish? Take a look at this, for instance.

Saab who produces them say otherwise

Busted

A general statement about something being compatible with HIMARS or MLRS or whatever, is not the same as saying 'every HIMARS launcher ever made' It just means the system in general. The link below categorically states these can't be fired from anything the Ukrainians currently have. if you wan't to keep up your insistence that this is wrong, please provide a link.

And as with my lengthy earlier piece, it's clear that part of the problem behind this delay is the US manufacturing stuff from scratch because they don't want them to have the full capabilities inherent in their own inventories.

I suspect that Ukraine will get Gayed Eagles with the range capabilities they need, sooner than this system. Unfortunately those would be vulnerable to interception so they might not be as widely usable.

Yea but it's their human right to behead people. It's discrimination to say otherwise. (Exchange behead with sledgehammer, castrate, anti gay rights, rape, child abduction, molest, bribe, torture,) probably - UN.

I love these prisoner swaps.

Article states they cannot fire into Russia and/or they cannot fire long range missiles (ATACMS), 2 very different restrictions.

I don't think it's officially been cleared up what actual restrictions were added to them.