quote:

But the Kharkiv offensive directly involved US military personnel in critical line functions.

Has anyone seen this confirmed anywhere else?

FWIW, I haven't seen it in any of the original ISW reports ( http://www.understandingwar.org ) from which the Asia Times seems to have lifted this wholesale before editing it to suit themselves.

Putin's spent a bunch of time minimizing the Ukrainians in the eyes of the Russians in the course of trying to get them to support his war in Ukraine. He'd have a tough time trying to explain to them that Ukraine's gotten a ton of NATO support, but that the Ukrainians are the ones doing the actual fighting that's resulted in a massive ass-whomping for the Russians. Scuttlebutt is that the RussiaBots are trying to post up every English-speaking volunteer they can get footage of in order to support the idea that the U.S. is actively involved.

Armenia Requests Russian Military Assistance As Fighting Breaks Out With Azerbaijan

https://www.zerohedge.com/geop...n-armenia-azerbaijan

The overnight outbreak of fighting in multiple spots along the Armenian-Azerbaijan border is serious enough for Yerevan to have asked for its powerful ally Russia's help. This has been revealed hours after Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan held a late night telephone conversation with President Vladimir Putin. The Armenian government has since confirmed it has requested Russian military assistance to repel Azerbaijan aggression and shelling, according to a statement (machine translation):

"During the meeting, further steps were discussed to counter the aggressive actions of Azerbaijan against the sovereign territory of Armenia that began at midnight. In connection with the aggression against the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia, it was decided to officially appeal to the Russian Federation in order to implement the provisions of the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, as well as to the Collective Security Treaty Organization and the UN Security Council.

Armenia is basing the request on the Collective Security Treaty Organization pact it has with Russia, and under which Russia previously sent peacekeeping forces to Nagorno-Karabakh after the Fall 2020 conflict.

Independent geopolitical analyst and Russia watcher Clint Ehrlich concludes of the hugely significant request at a time the Ukraine war is raging: "If Russia accepts, we could see a second NATO-Russia proxy war explode."

Of the earlier in the night Putin phone call, the Kremlin said via TASS:

"The Prime Minister gave details about the provocative, aggressive actions of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces in the direction of the sovereign territory of Armenia, which began at midnight and were accompanied by shelling from artillery and large-caliber firearms. The Prime Minister considered the actions of the Azerbaijani side unacceptable and stressed the importance of an adequate response from the international community."

However, it should be noted that during the last major flare-up in fighting between the two longtime rival nations which share a restive border, Moscow was careful to not get too deeply drawn in - only agreeing to help broker a ceasefire and send several hundred Russian peacekeeping forces to oversee the terms of the agreement.

If Moscow does get pulled in, it might be seen in the West as an opportunity to "weaken" Russian forces on a separate front.

More at link

^^^^
With Russia pulling assets from literally every hot spot they are involved in globally, I don’t see them getting too entrenched in this conflict. They are getting their collective ass kicked by a much smaller, less provisioned country despite help from NATO countries. I see possibly giving token aid in the form of what little weapons they can offer but any troops will likely be shunted off to Ukraine to try and recover what they have stolen in 2014.

Retired F-22s should go to Japan, not the boneyard

Pentagon wants to scrap not upgrade the fighters but they can still play a major deterrent role in the Pacific against China

https://asiatimes.com/2022/09/...an-not-the-boneyard/

The Pentagon wants to retire dozens of F-22s rather than upgrade them, with the Department of Defense saying it can use the US$1 billion or so saved to upgrade its forces elsewhere.

But these F-22s are very important and sending them into retirement when they can be a very effective deterrent for others is potentially a major mistake. Japan (like Israel) has long wanted F-22s, which can play a major deterrent role in the Pacific and challenge almost anything China throws at them.

If they are removed from service, these two dozen F-22s will go to the boneyard at the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona. There, they will slowly rot in the sun and some of their parts may be scavenged by the Air Force.

The F-22 is a very capable and very expensive airplane. Brand new, the flyaway cost was $120 million when the first aircraft entered service in 2005. Translated into current dollars, the cost for a new one would be $182 million.

But the per plane cost also should include research and development, which would bring the 2005 cost to $334 million, or $507 million in 2022 dollars.

Calculated that way, the value of the two dozen F-22 aircraft the Air Force wants to retire is around $12.2 billion – assuming they were in good shape, which they are not.

The Air Force has admitted that the cost of upgrading all the F-22s planned for retirement would be just shy of $1 billion, a fraction of the investment so far.

Only the US has the F-22 and it remains a crucially important air superiority fighter.

The F-22 has a number of advantages compared with the cheaper, more tactical F-35. For starters, the F-22 has a smaller radar cross-section than the F-35, which sometimes is referred to as semi-stealthy. Moreover, the F-22:

is far more maneuverable than the F-35,
has a better thrust-to-weight ratio,
has two engines instead of one (a significant safety factor),
has greater firepower because the F-22 is a much larger platform and,
can operate at a higher ceiling.
Again, it can serve as an air superiority fighter, which the F-35 is not. While the F-35 is among the slowest of modern jet fighters at Mach 1.6, the F-22 is among the fastest at 2.25 Mach.

Where the F-22 is not as modern makes for a shorter list:

It does not have the more advanced electronics and computers of the F-35 and therefore is less suited to netcentric operations, and
It does not carry certain types of weapons (although it can be modified for them).

But by far the most important feature of the F-22 is that it can knock out enemy air defenses and radars, as well as win in air-to-air combat, clearing the way for non-stealth fighters, fighter bombers and conventional bombers to take out enemy assets such as missile launch sites and command centers.

The F-22 is clearly the envy of the Chinese military and China would be hard-pressed to beat off an attack by F-22s.

So the question arises: Why not upgrade the F-22s proposed for retirement and offer them to America’s allies, especially Japan? The full-time presence of F-22s on Japanese territory would make China think twice about its chance to win if, for example, a conflict broke out over Taiwan or the Senkaku islands.

One possible barrier is a 1999 law that said the US was not allowed to develop an export version of the F-22. Of course, the F-22 is already developed and the upgrades would be the same as for the F-22s in the fleet. Even so, the 1999 law is often interpreted as a presumption against any export of the jet.

Originally, that 1999 rider to US defense legislation was to keep our adversaries from getting their hands on the F-22 and exploiting its technology. But China has already stolen all the relevant plans for the F-22. Even so, the Chinese probably still lack technology that would be critical to really competing with the F-22.

Their best try is the Chengdu J-20, which is now deployed but also remains a work in progress. Whatever we really know about it is classified, but most experts say that J-20 engines, among other components, are not nearly as good as the Pratt and Whitney F119 engines on the F-22.

Currently, the J-20 uses Shenyang Lining WS-10C engines, and there is a plan to upgrade to a new engine, the Xian WS-15. But little is known about the reliability of the Chinese engines, or even if they perform as advertised.

In any case, even if the J-20 was as good as the F-22, if US-made F-22s are not in the region it will be a challenge for Japan to stay in the fight. Either the US will have to deploy its own F-22s at all times in Japan, or give Tokyo the ability to match the Chinese by providing F-22s.

For very little money, Japan – if it got the F-22s that are otherwise headed to the scrap heap – would have an equalizer in the region, one of considerable strategic significance.

The US and its allies today are being challenged by China and maintaining the balance of power is proving more and more difficult. A simple amendment to US legislation would enable Japan to get the retired F-22s, assuming, of course, the Japanese want them.

Since they wanted them before, now is the right time for the Japanese to ask for them again.

quote:

Originally posted by wcb6092:
Retired F-22s should go to Japan, not the boneyard

Pentagon wants to scrap not upgrade the fighters but they can still play a major deterrent role in the Pacific against China

...

Interesting to see the Asia Times put out this article, as the usual pro Russia slant isn't evident in it. Perhaps that slant is more writer/ editorial bias and doesn't extend to every article they publish.

IMO the story is both important and relevant enough to warrant its own thread, but I do see why it fits into this thread.

I understand the cost/ benefit calculation of maintaining military hardware when weighed against the limitations of the defense budget but, unless these F-22s are completely trashed and there is a better more capable air superiority fighter in the pipeline, it just makes no sense to mothball these fighters when either the US or its allies can use them.

Thanks for posting the article.

This Canadian supporter of Ukraine initially created this website both to raise funds to support Ukraine civilian and military resources, but also to troll Russia with humorous propaganda. He had hoped to raise @ $500, but in a short time has raised almost $1 M in support, and has helped to fund everything from food and medical supplies to civilian trucks for Ukrainian medical troops on the battlefield, and hopes to help fund the Ukraine rebuild.

Yes, the gear is relatively expensive (it's shipping out of Canada), and Yes, some of the gear is based on false stories later shown to be Ukrainian propaganda.. but it is trying to raise funds for a good cause...and some of the morale patches and stickers are pretty funny...

... I got a chuckle out of this morale patch.


https://www.saintjavelin.com/

Saint Javelin: I do believe I have found my patron at last.
I wonder if I can ask her intercession for anything other than, “In thy mercy, blow that miscreant to flinders, I beseech thee.” Not that that wouldn’t normally be more than enough, but still ….

(Not to mention that I have been seeking a hoodless sweatshirt for some time, so thank you.)

The lower house of the Russian parliament is looking at calling Russian Defense Minister Shoigu into a closed session hearing to explain the disastrous state of the war in Ukraine.

http://www.reuters.com/world/e...-minister-2022-09-15

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:
Saint Javelin: I do believe I have found my patron at last.
I wonder if I can ask her intercession for anything other than, “In thy mercy, blow that miscreant to flinders, I beseech thee.” Not that that wouldn’t normally be more than enough, but still ….
...

I've always been partial to the prayer that actor Mel Gibson gave while portraying Lt. Gen. Harold "Hal" Moore before he led his troopers into the Battle of Ia Drang Valley in the movie We Were Soldiers... but I gotta say, your proposed prayer to Saint Javelin is a little shorter and has a nice ring to it.



https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mLaTyNe8mg0

Hope that sweatshirt works out for you.

[Note: embedded video and hyperlinks found at linked website article.]

===============

'Mass burial site containing 440 graves' found in Izyum after city liberated by Ukrainian forces

The key city had been under Russian occupation for months but was recaptured amid the surging Ukrainian offensive.

Deborah Haynes
Security and Defence Editor @haynesdeborah

Friday 16 September 2022 01:19, UK

A mass burial site containing around 440 graves has been found in the Ukrainian city of Izyum after it was liberated from Russian control, a top police officer has told Sky News.

Ukraine's president confirmed that a "mass burial site" has been found but he said "clear, verified information" would be released on Friday.

"We want the world to know what is really happening and what the Russian occupation has led to," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a nightly video address to the nation.

An image released by his chief of staff showed a number of wooden crosses jutting up from mounds in the earth, surrounded by trees.

"A mass burial was found in Izyum, Kharkiv region," Andriy Yermak wrote.

"Necessary procedures have already begun. All bodies will be exhumed and sent for forensic examination… Russia is a murderer country. A state sponsor of terrorism."

Earlier, Sky News broadcast an interview with Serhii Bolvinov, the chief police investigator for the Kharkiv region, who revealed the discovery of the mass burial site.

He said officers were also aware of a number of other sites elsewhere in the Kharkiv region.


Mass burial site in Izyum, Ukraine. Pic: Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine

Mr Bolvinov and his team, along with prosecutors and other specialists, have the vital task of investigating all suspected Russian war crimes in the villages, towns and cities that have been recaptured by Ukrainian troops in a lightning offensive this month.

Speaking about the Izyum site, the chief investigator said: "I can say that there is one of the biggest burials in one liberated city, which contains more than 440 graves. Some 440 bodies were buried in one place."

Asked if he could say how the victims had died, he responded: "We know that some were killed [shot dead], some died because of artillery fire, so-called mine explosion traumas. Some died because of airstrikes. Also we have information that a lot of bodies have not been not identified yet. So the reasons of death will be established during the investigations."


Investigators collect evidence in Izyum. Pic: Ukrainian Defence Ministry

Separately, Ukraine's Ministry of Defence in a social media post wrote: "Mass graves are being discovered in Izyum after liberation from the russcists [Russian fascists is the term Ukraine often uses to describe the Russian invaders].

"The current largest burial sights [sic] has 440 unmarked graves."

In addition, the head of the national police in Kharkiv region said investigators would inspect a "burial place" on Friday in a city that had previously been under occupation.

Volodymyr Tymoshko did not identify the location, but he said: "By our estimates there are more than 440 bodies."



Izyum is in territory recently reclaimed by Ukraine

President Zelenskyy likened the suffering in Izyum to the atrocities committed by Russian forces in the town of Bucha, just outside Kyiv, and the city of Mariupol, in the south.

He had ventured to the war-shattered city on Wednesday despite it standing close to Russia's frontline. Ukrainian soldiers only recaptured the area days earlier.

"Russia leaves death everywhere," Mr Zelenskyy said. "It must be held accountable for that. The world must hold Russia to real account for this war."

Sky News has not yet visited the makeshift burial site in Izyum, but journalists have been invited to travel to the area on Friday.

Mr Bolvinov was speaking from an undisclosed location in Kharkiv city after the police station where he and his officers work was hit in Russian missile strikes earlier in the week.

Still hard at work despite the disruption, he described how the discovery of the mass burial site had affected him.

"For me, it was especially shocking and horrific and this is a crime against humanity. It shouldn't be like this in a civilised world in 2022. This is such a horrendous story and unpleasant from any angle. I am confident that the evil will definitely be punished."

The task faced by investigators in Kharkiv is potentially even more difficult than at previously liberated areas such as parts of the Kyiv region and further north, where cases of suspected torture and murder have been documented during Russian occupation.

Russian forces only controlled parts of the Kyiv region and further north for about a month. By contrast, some parts of Kharkiv were under Russian control for more than five months.

It means many of the victims have been dead for much longer, making forensic examination of bodies to ascertain cause of death more challenging.



Outskirts of the city of Izyum in eastern Ukraine. File pic

As well as identifying victims and cause of death, the police officers are gathering evidence such as DNA to help build prosecution cases against the perpetrators.

Mr Bolvinov said he was confident that the work his team and others were doing would culminate in Russia and even President Vladimir Putin facing international criminal charges.

"I definitely believe that," the top investigator said.

"I believe in the truth. I believe that our daily painstaking work will have results - convicting those responsible for this war for criminal responsibility."

“Russians are calling Ukraine to surrender before even being drafted into the military as moral within Putin's ranks collapses, Kyiv has claimed.

Andrii Yusov, spokesman for the Ministry of Defence, said men who are fearful of the draft have been getting in touch with a surrender hotline to check how to give up safely before they are called to the frontlines.

Meanwhile videos have emerged showing a newly-recruited tank commander who has been told he will deploy to the Kherson frontline in just two days without so much as firing a shot on a training range.

More footage captures two troops sitting in a field in Ukraine and complaining that they have been abandoned by their commanders without food or water, and that they would be better off fighting for the other side…”

DailyMail article about the miserable morale of Russian conscripts.
https://mol.im/a/11254299

I wonder if any of the monster intellects in this retarded Biden administration have even given a moment's thought to what would happen internationally if Russia collapsed even partially due to all this BS. Never mind, they're too busy playing pocket pool.

Looks like someone put a end to Nordstream 2 pipe line. Tucker Carlson is showing vids of biden stating he would put a end to it if Russia invaded Ukraine. 3 under surface explosions on the pipe line and huge methane gas field has surfaced. Its getting messy over there.

Did Biden just take out the Nordstream pipeline?

In a “June article in “Sea Power”…the Americans brag about the experiments in the field of underwater drones that they set up in the BALTOPS 22 exercises – precisely in the area of ​​Bronholm Island.”

I hope that the truth will out on this. The amount of logistics, materiel, personnel indicates it was done by some country’s military at a high level, not a rogue unit.

But who?

Interesting analysis from C&C ...

It’s an international whodunit fraught with nuclear possibilities! Let’s do some sleuthing. It’s World War Clue.

The Crime: yesterday, deep in the Baltic Sea, in NATO-controlled waters, BOTH of Russias natural gas pipelines were blown up, at depths of 70-90 meters, or about 300 feet deep — far deeper than scuba divers can go. So far, nobody has taken credit for what is obviously a well-planned, perfectly-executed, deeply-resourced terrorist attack.



https://www.coffeeandcovid.com...ost&utm_medium=email

Report I just heard stated that the explosion and leak is safely OUTSIDE Danish waters, clearing sabotage for a bad actor without incurring the wrath of NATO countries.

Not exactly sure what "NATO controlled waters" even means.

Sure seems like something Biden would do, and Putin would never do.

Because this was one stupid fucking move.

Unpredictable what happens next.

Europe is so screwed this winter.

While EU may be screwed this winter, it won't be because of explosions on N1 and N2 pipelines. They were inactive, reportedly, and just holding full without delivering.

I certainly don't expect that the EU was going to start buying Russian NG anytime soon, and likely not in the next decade or more, did you?

And to the think that "Putin would never do" this is curious. Generally, he's been quite unpredictable, and provably never afraid to cut off his nose to spite his face.