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Likes: ... Ukraine has been re-purposing captured or damaged Russian tanks since the start of the war. Both armies use mostly the same Russian weaponry.Originally Posted by bsm2
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... Ukraine has been re-purposing captured or damaged Russian tanks since the start of the war. Both armies use mostly the same Russian weaponry.
President Joe Biden has authorized the transfer of 17 Russian built Mi-17 helicopters originally purchased for the Afghan army by the USA to Ukraine. These helicopters were outside of Afghanistan undergoing maintenance when the local gov't fell to Taliban forces. At least five of these helicopters were in Ukraine at the start of the war.
Ukraine have Russian WW2 weapons and new Russian tanks are still not used.
Another big failure for Russia in its invasion of Ukraine: Ukraine’s army shared a video on Wednesday showing the destruction of a valuable Russian radio jammer hidden among farm buildings in Kharkiv.
The afgan army didnt need any of this junk since we left all the best stuff there for them.
... you should not comment on something you obviously know nothing about.
The Russian Mi-17 is very popular with armies around the world due to it's relatively low cost, reliability, ability to operate in difficult environments, lower tech and flexible mission assignments.
By contrast, US helicopters are much more expensive and much more difficult to maintain and few if any were left repairable after the US exit.
That is why the USA decided to procure these helicopters for the Afghan army.
Helicopters are useless against the Russian Air Force. What the Ukraine wants are MIGS.
After Slovakia handed over the T-72M2 tanks that were previously in service to Ukrainian units a few days ago, it became known that these vehicles had already been transferred to the Donbas. A video shared by many users in twitter on which Slovakia T-72M2 tanks can really be seen.
Information about the transfer of T-72M2 tanks by Slovakia was unofficial. However, the fact that this equipment was transferred to Ukraine became known just a few days ago. Nevertheless, if it was assumed that the tanks would be in the central part of Ukraine, it turned out that they were promptly transferred to the eastern direction
Putin signs law scrapping upper age limit to enlist in Russian military, says Russian state media
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law scrapping the upper age limit for Russians and foreigners to join the military as contract service members, according to Russian state news agency TASS.
Russia’s State Duma passed the bill on Wednesday but Putin's signature was needed for it to become law.
Previously, citizens aged 18 to 40 and foreigners aged 18 to 30 could enlist in the Russian military.
The changes were drafted by the head of the State Duma Defense Committee, Andrei Kartapolov, and his first deputy, Andrei Krasov. According to TASS, they believe the abolition of an upper age limit will attract specialists in areas such as medical support, engineering and communications.
The explanatory note to the draft law also notes that the use of high-precision weapons and military equipment requires specialists and they gain the experience by the age of 40 to 45.
The changes in law come amid serious Russian casualties in Ukraine, where Moscow is waging what it euphemistically calls a "special military operation."
Russia also has a system of military conscription. The Kremlin initially said draftees would not serve in Ukraine but subsequently acknowledged they were serving in combat.
U.S. seizes Iranian oil cargo near Greek island - sources
LONDON/ATHENS, May 26 (Reuters) - The United States has confiscated Iranian oil held on a Russian-operated ship near Greece and will send the cargo to the United States aboard another vessel, three sources familiar with the matter said.
It was unclear whether the cargo was impounded because it was Iranian oil or due to the sanctions on the tanker over its Russian nexus. Iran and Russia are facing separate U.S. sanctions.
The Iranian-flagged ship, the Pegas, was among five vessels designated by Washington on Feb. 22 - two days before Russia's invasion of Ukraine - for sanctions against Promsvyazbank, a bank viewed as critical to Russia's defence sector.
The vessel's Russian owner Transmorflot was subsequently designated on May 8. The tanker, renamed Lana on March 1 and flying the Iranian flag since May 1, has remained near Greek waters since then. It was previously Russian-flagged.
A source at Greece's shipping ministry said on Thursday that the U.S. Department of Justice had "informed Greece that the cargo on the vessel is Iranian oil".
"The cargo has been transferred to another ship that was hired by the U.S.," the source added, without providing further details.
The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on what it described as a Russian-backed oil smuggling and money laundering network for Iran's Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force, even as Washington tries to revive a nuclear deal with Iran.
A spokesman for the U.S. Department of Justice declined to comment on the oil seizure.
Russian officials did not respond to requests for comment.
The confiscation was confirmed by a separate Western source familiar with the matter, who said the cargo was transferred onto the Liberia-flagged tanker Ice Energy, which is operated by Greek shipping company Dynacom.
A source at Dynacom confirmed that a "transfer of the oil was underway from the vessel to Dynacom's Ice Energy, which will then sail to the United States".
Iran's IRNA state news agency reported on Wednesday that its foreign ministry summoned the charge d'affaires of Greece's embassy in Tehran following the seizure of the cargo of a ship which was "under the banner of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Greek waters and he was informed of the strong objections" of Iran's government.
Greek government officials could not confirm the information.
IRNA quoted Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization as saying the tanker had sought refuge along Greece’s coast after experiencing technical problems and poor weather, adding that the seizure of its cargo was "a clear example of piracy".
The Ice Energy on Thursday reported its position as anchored close to the southern Greek island of Evia, ship tracking data on Eikon showed.
In 2020, Washington confiscated four cargoes of Iranian fuel aboard foreign ships that were bound for Venezuela and transferred them with the help of undisclosed foreign partners onto two other ships which then sailed to the United States.
Those seizures took place after a U.S. district court issued an order for the shipments' cargoes in a civil forfeiture case.
Greek authorities last month impounded the Pegas, with 19 Russian crew members on board, near the island of Evia's coast.
They said the ship was impounded as part of EU sanctions on Russia for the invasion of Ukraine. However, the vessel was later released due to confusion about sanctions on its owners.
U.S. advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), which monitors Iran-related tanker traffic, said the Pegas had loaded around 700,000 barrels of crude oil from Iran's Sirri Island on Aug. 19, 2021.
Prior to this load, the Pegas transported over 3 million barrels of Iranian oil in 2021, with over 2.6 million of those barrels ending up in China, according to UANI analysis.
U.S. President Joe Biden's administration has been engaged in indirect talks to restart a 2015 Iran nuclear deal former President Donald Trump abandoned, under which world powers lifted international financial sanctions on Tehran in return for curbs on its nuclear program.
While talks had appeared close to resurrecting the deal in March, they stalled over last-minute Russian demands and whether Washington might drop the Revolutionary Guards from its terrorism list.
Washington's Iran envoy said on Wednesday the chances of reviving the nuclear deal were shaky at best, and Washington was ready to tighten sanctions on Iran.
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