Russia has invaded Ukraine

https://twitter.com/ukrposhta/status...Xjx2PfdbHE2W-A

BREAKING: Intelligence: Russia starts arresting the military in Moscow.

According to Ukraine's Defense Ministry's Intelligence Directorate, Russia’s National Guard and police have started arresting military personnel in Moscow. The traffic is blocked in downtown Moscow, according to the intelligence report, and all military units in the city are on high alert. - Kyiv Independent

Coup in progress?

[Jaymoss]

Originally Posted by Mick

BREAKING: Intelligence: Russia starts arresting the military in Moscow.

According to Ukraine's Defense Ministry's Intelligence Directorate, Russia’s National Guard and police have started arresting military personnel in Moscow. The traffic is blocked in downtown Moscow, according to the intelligence report, and all military units in the city are on high alert. - Kyiv Independent

Coup in progress?

would be nice

[joglynne]

Originally Posted by Mick

BREAKING: Intelligence: Russia starts arresting the military in Moscow.

According to Ukraine's Defense Ministry's Intelligence Directorate, Russia’s National Guard and police have started arresting military personnel in Moscow. The traffic is blocked in downtown Moscow, according to the intelligence report, and all military units in the city are on high alert. - Kyiv Independent

Coup in progress?

I certainly hope so. If Russia is to survive there needs to be someone at the helm who actually cares for his country and the people who have, I feel, been hoodwinked and brow beaten into believing his egotistical ravings. So many people dead and so much destruction just because of him.

Probably just Ukrainian psy-ops, messing with the Russians.

Russia claims the Kerch road bridge has partially reopened - only one of the two carriageways actually fell into the sea this morning so they are presumably running the other carriageway for two-way traffic.

But … they won’t allow lorries on it. These now have to travel by ferry. And when you look at photos and video from the scene you have to wonder how safe the section that was right next to the explosion really is. Just because it didn’t actually collapse doesn’t mean it isn’t structurally compromised. Opening the other carriageway for buses and cars is of no military use. It can only be a weak attempt to save face, while putting civilian lives in serious danger in the process.

They were also claiming to be planning to have the rail bridge open again tonight. Again, when you see the damage caused to metalwork on the bridge by the extreme heat of the burning fuel tanks that were sitting there, you have to wonder just how structurally sound the bridge is at that point.

I wouldn’t drive a car or a train over there for all the vodka in Crimea (although that apparently isn’t a huge amount, and they’ve started rationing it).

[pip08456]

Zelensky began his address tonight with this: “Today was a good and mostly sunny day on the territory of our state. The temperature was about 20 degrees and the sun shining. Unfortunately, it was cloudy in Crimea. But it was also warm…”

BREAKING: Russia will respond to the West's growing involvement in the Ukraine conflict although direct conflict with NATO is not in Moscow's interests, Russia's deputy foreign minister said, after U.S President Joe Biden, pledged more aid for Kyiv - Reuters News Agency.

---------- Post added at 12:23 ---------- Previous post was at 12:13 ----------

NEW: Is Russia running out of missiles?

Originally Posted by Sky News

It has been widely rumoured that Moscow might be running out of missiles, despite launching 84 at major Ukrainian cities in one day on Monday.

Michael Clarke, security and defence analyst, says this is evident because Russia has "improvised" their use on several different occasions.

"We've seen missiles slamming into buildings which are sea-based missiles, they're anti-ship missiles carrying a half-tonne warhead against aircraft carriers," he told Sky News.
"We've seen surface to air missiles meant to be anti-aircraft missiles used against ground targets. And the Russians don't have that many, it seems, Kalibr, ship-launch cruise missiles – which they are using, they used a few yesterday.

"But, if they had more, I'm sure they would use more. The problem is that they seem to be running out of the components that they need for these things because they've been under sanctions for quite a long time."

Analysts have said Russia is increasingly reliant on foreign imports for weaponry, but it has relatively few international allies.

Ukraine said yesterday that Iranian-made drones were used in strikes.

Professor Clarke added that the war in Ukraine is the "return of industrial warfare to Europe".
"Whoever prevails in this struggle eventually will be who decides they can mobilise at an industrial capacity," he said.

"For Russia, it is their industrial capacity - for Ukraine, it is ours." - -

LATEST: NATO Secretary General, Jen Stoltenberg said earlier, Russia’s nuclear threats are irresponsible. Defence allies are closely monitoring Russian nuclear forces. Decries Putin is failing, suggesting he started this war, he must end it.

BREAKING: Satellite images show 11 Russian strategic bombers close to Norwegian border.

Russia has moved strategic bomber planes to the Kola peninsula, 32 kilometers from the Norwegian border, according to satellite imagery obtained by Faktisk, a Norwegian fact-checking website.

The images of the Russian Olenya Air Base on the Kola Peninsula near the Norwegian border show an increased presence of long-range strategic bombers, including Tu-160 and Tu-95.

The planes have the capacity to attack targets in the U.S. and all of Europe with nuclear bombs. The planes are usually stationed at Engels Air Base, 720 kilometers southeast of Moscow, Faktisk reports. - Kyiv Independent.

[Pierre]

Originally Posted by Mick

The planes have the capacity to attack targets in the U.S. and all of Europe with nuclear bombs. The planes are usually stationed at Engels Air Base, 720 kilometers southeast of Moscow, Faktisk reports. - Kyiv Independent.

doubt they are there for that purpose. Bombers as a delivery mechanism for nuclear warhead ended in the 60's.

Originally Posted by Pierre

doubt they are there for that purpose. Bombers as a delivery mechanism for nuclear warhead ended in the 60's.

Nobody told the Vulcan bombers in the 70s at Waddington, Scampton, & Akrotiri that, or the Buccaneers at Honington…

Also, the current US arsenal already includes nearly 1,000 gravity nuclear bombs and air-launched cruise missiles with nuclear warheads that can be used by B52s and B2s.

I would assume it's probably sabre-rattling.

Although if they wanted to drop a nuke in the arctic as a show of force then maybe bombers minimise the risk of it going off-target?

[Pierre]

Originally Posted by Hugh

Nobody told the Vulcan bombers in the 70s at Waddington, Scampton, & Akrotiri that, or the Buccaneers at Honington…

Maybe they should have then.

Also, the current US arsenal already includes nearly 1,000 gravity nuclear bombs and air-launched cruise missiles with nuclear warheads that can be used by B52s and B2s.

Once we moved to submarine launched, and land based ICBMs they pretty much became obsolete, bombers may have been held in reserve. But considering that NATO is not a first strike organisation any deployment would be in response to an attack and the world would probably be an inferno before they got airborne let alone over a target.

Originally Posted by Pierre

Maybe they should have then.




Once we moved to submarine launched, and land based ICBMs they pretty much became obsolete, bombers may have been held in reserve. But considering that NATO is not a first strike organisation any deployment would be in response to an attack and the world would probably be an inferno before they got airborne let alone over a target.

In the mid-70s and early 80s, I used to monitor/track Sov TU-95 Bears and TU-22 Backfires running simulated attacks on Europe and Continental U.S. - the consensus was these were Nuke runs, not conventional…

Also, 17 Squadron at RAF Bruggen (Phantoms, then Jaguars, then Tornados) carried Nuclear Bombs in the 70s, 80s, and 90s.

So, if the Brits, the Americans, and the Russians were all planning to use Aircraft to deliver "Buckets of Instant Sunshine/Unscheduled Sunrises" in the 70s, 80s, & 90s, I would posit your initial proposition is counterfactual…