Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Britain Monday and secured pledges for more military equipment from London, including air defense missiles and long-range attack drones. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also expressed support for giving Ukraine Western-made fighter jets.
According to Sunak’s office, the attack drones have a range of over 200 kilometers (124 miles). Zelensky’s visit came after the British became the first NATO country to provide Kyiv with a longer-range cruise missile, known as the Storm Shadow, that can hit targets up to 155 miles away.
The UK’s pledge to send more arms to Kyiv drew an angry response from Moscow. “Britain aspires to be at the forefront among countries that continue to pump weapons into Ukraine,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
“We repeat once again, it cannot yield any drastic and fundamental influence on the way the special military operation [in Ukraine] is unfolding. But, definitely, it leads to further destruction, further action … It makes this whole story for Ukraine much more complicated,” Peskov added.
Zelensky inquired with the British about the possibility of Ukraine receiving Western-made fighter jets. Zelensky said after his meeting with Sunak, he was feeling “very positive” about creating a “jets coalition,” which he expects to happen “in the closest time.”
While Ukraine has yet to receive a promise of Western aircraft, the British are laying the groundwork for the eventuality. “This summer we will commence an elementary flying phase for cohorts of Ukrainian pilots to learn basic training,” Sunak’s office said. “This training goes hand in hand with UK efforts to work with other countries on providing F16 jets – Ukraine’s fighter jets of choice.”
Sunak said he would help rally other countries to send fighter jets. “Other countries are involved. I’m talking to those leaders, I’ll be doing more of that this week in my international engagements. We’re very keen to build that coalition of countries to give Volodymyr and his people the aircraft support they need,” he said.
Zelensky’s visit to Britain wrapped up a tour of Europe. “Italy, Germany, France, Great Britain… We are returning home with new defense packages. More new and powerful weapons for the frontline, more protection for our people from [Russian] terror, more political support,” he wrote on Twitter.
While in France, Zelensky met with President Emmanuel Macron and was promised more light tanks and armored vehicles. In Germany, Zelensky and Chancellor Olaf Scholz discussed a massive $2.9 billion weapons package that Berlin has announced for Kyiv.
The pale shadow of empire does not go quietly into that dark night.
Our latest arms package sends the arms in ’24.
I bet this package has similar completion dates.
Ukraine shares they will need more arms this Summer.
We may be pressuring them quietly to start talking by these timetables.
Shame on Rishi Sunak and his Government, Shame on the UK, Shame on NATO, shame on all the Western powers.
After Russia hit a munitions dump in Khmelnytskyi there was a Gamma radiation spike. Experts believe that depleted uranium munitions were stored there and this is why as explosions rocked the munitions depot spikes in gamma radiation were observed.
This criminal insanity has to stop.
The only way it will stop is resignation of Biden and his PNAC team and a complete roto-rooter treatment of the American political class.
At the rate this is going, Ukraine will be a radiation buffer zone between East and the west.
like Iraq and Afghanistan
Apparently, the fear of escalation resulting in nuclear war has pretty much disappeared. But since I’ll be dead before I can say “I told you so” everyone can call me an alarmist.
Change the subtitle to reflect reality; “PM Sunak says the UK will help build a coalition to browbeat and coerce Biden into sending US fighter jets to Ukraine”. Because Sunak sure as hell won’t send any of the UK’s, and Cermany has none to send.
Maybe Lithuania and Poland, as they are so supportive of this war, will send some “modern western-made fighter jets”? Oh wait; they don’t have any either, and can’t afford to pay for them. They’ll just jump on the band wagon urging us to donate them to Ukraine, and provide some to them (Lithuania and Poland) for their own use while we’re at it, for free of course. Because they’re “allies”. War mongering, profiteering, selfish “allies”, but still “allies”.
As of 2011 the Polish Air Force has three squadrons of F-16s – and the Poles have just entered into a massive defense contract with South Korea to buy and produce mobile artillery – so they obviously can afford kit too. Whether they want to send as much of their kit as the Estonians is a different matter.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/a118098db2b4d59ed8e92e956c3d24f10a05cbb91ab44787def861c3343557c0.png
Present from Sunak to Zelensky.
If true, this spells “escalation” to direct NATO involvement … and nuclear exchange.
I wouldn’t call the Russian strike an “escalation.” They’ve been striking stuff in Ukraine for more than a year now, including at least three previous attacks on Khmelnytskyi.
The Ukrainians say that the radiation levels in Khmelnytskyi remained “within acceptable limits” after the attack, although of course they could be lying. The “depleted uranium” talk seems to be more linked to the large mushroom cloud associated with the attack. Most people associate mushroom clouds with nuclear stuff, even though any large explosion will produce one.
If gamma levels really did spike, the question is why. Perhaps the strike hit a facility where medical isotopes, reactor fuel or waste, or even weapons-grade nuclear material was being stored. Or perhaps the Russians used a “dirty bomb.”
I was referring to the general burden of the above report, to wit: that which was previously prohibited, long range artillery, rockets, and fighter aircraft, the War Party having softened up and prepared public opinion, is now universally encouraged. Hence, “escalation”, a new level of fighting, with the trend verging toward nuclear exchange.
Yeah, I know. Sarcasm doesn’t always read as such in text. “Escalation” is always the term a particular side uses for what the other side does that it would call “responding/reacting” if it did that thing itself.
You’re a good pomo.
Well, that’s a new one. I don’t think I’ve ever been called a post-modernist before.
In fact, I quit a job about eight years ago specifically because the outfit was headed down the pomo trail and I was unwilling to follow.
Best guess: You have no earthly idea what the term means.
I thought maybe he was suggesting you were a pomegranate at first
Heh.
Well, one of us doesn’t, anyway.
” “Escalation” is always the term a particular side uses for what the other side does that it would call “responding/reacting” if it did that thing itself.”
You see nothing but an instrumentalist difference between a true and false narrative.
“You see nothing but an instrumentalist difference between a true and false narrative.”
Incorrect.
I see that states always use false narratives to justify/excuse their actions.
There’s a difference. Unlike post-modernists, I recognize that words actually mean things.
And apparently unlike you, I recognize that all regimes lie, all the time.
And the reporters and analysts (Dave DeCamp, Scott Horton, etc.), If they determine it to be an escalation by one side? or just states?
On the “reporter and analyst” side, “escalation” and “provocation” are almost always either journalistic laziness or tells as to which aggressor the person using them supports/opposes.
So you hold their is no semantic or narrative truth from the state or individuals. I’m sorry but that is the core tenet of pomo. Apparently you’re a natural.
Experts believe that depleted uranium munitions were stored there and this is why as explosions rocked the munitions depot spikes in gamma radiation were observed.
The theory is that as depleted uranium munitions hit their target they reach 6000 degrees C (10,832 degrees Fahrenheit) and burn up. However when they are destroyed in this manner they do not burn up and give off spikes of gamma radiation.
I agree that the gamma ray radiations levels were not excessive so i like you dont want to overstate the danger. Having said that, this is gamma radiation and any increase is very very dangerous.
For the record medical isotopes are not gamma radiation. If it was weapons-grade nuclear material the levels of gamma radiation would be through the roof.
I can only repeat…..Experts believe that depleted uranium munitions were stored there and this is why as explosions rocked the munitions depot spikes in gamma radiation were observed.
“For the record medical isotopes are not gamma radiation.”
Incorrect. More than 80% of nuclear medicine procedures use the gamma emitters molybdenum-99/technicium-99.
Mo-99 decays by emitting a beta particle (an electron). About 88 percent of the decays (red line) produce Tc-99m, which subsequently decays to the ground state, Tc-99g, by emitting a gamma ray.
You are correct. But i doubt the decay to Tc-99g can occur in an explosion? I am not an expert.
My original statement “medical isotopes are not gamma radiation” is not technically correct and i got called on it, good discussion.
I will ask again (since I got no answer the first time).
Could you please refer me to the rules of this ‘forum’?
That is three posts that I have had censored and I would like to at least understand why.
Well, at least you’re sticking with a number instead of just rolling dice each time (the actual number is one — as of the first time you claimed three, the number was zero).
You asked about the guidelines the first time right after, and right UNDER, the last time I posted them, so I considered the question already answered. But here they are for a second time:
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1) like it or not, pal…I have had at least 3 (THREE) posts of mine taken off the board.
You don’t agree?
Guess how much I care?
The answer would be: a little…but not much as I have little respect for you.
2) As for you posting the rules above my post?
Well obviously I did not see it.
Why would I ask for the rules if I had read your post that listed them?
TWICE?
Jeeeeeez.
I don’t read EVERY post. In fact, with the sad state of the hyper-Pro Russian posting’s lately here? I rarely read more than a handful of them.
3) why don’t you post the rules/guidelines in an obvious place so that everyone can see them without you having to post them?
Or does that make too much sense?
4) thank you for FINALLY answering my request.
As I typed before – you speak more like a troll than a mod.
Helping little and stirring up excrement whenever you can.
Have a nice day.
“1) like it or not, pal…I have had at least 3 (THREE) posts of mine taken off the board.
You don’t agree?”
It’s not that I don’t agree. It’s that I know. What I don’t know is whether you have poor memory, are not good at counting, or are just not very honest. But no big deal which of those is the case.
“Guess how much I care?
The answer would be: a little…but not much as I have little respect for you.”
You’re not required to have respect for me.
“2) As for you posting the rules above my post?
Well obviously I did not see it.
Why would I ask for the rules if I had read your post that listed them?
TWICE?”
Failure to read on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part.
“3) why don’t you post the rules/guidelines in an obvious place so that everyone can see them without you having to post them?”
For the same reason I don’t e.g. move into the White House and start issuing executive orders — I’m not in charge of Antiwar.com.
“As I typed before – you speak more like a troll than a mod.”
Yes, you certainly did type that, and those certainly are words.
“Have a nice day.”
You too!
Disqus appears to have restored my upvote counter two days ago while shutting down my posting history thread.