Thread image created by yours truly, depicting Iran and Pakistan very impolitely not asking whether America, on the other side of the planet, is okay with them transporting gas around.
The Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline has long been obstructed by American involvement in the region. Iran completed its section of the pipeline quite quickly, but Pakistan has been unable to finish its construction for a decade due to the fear of falling afoul of American sanctions on Iran. The United States has repeatedly tried to pressure Pakistan to give up the project and obtain gas from other countries instead. Recent articles on the state of the pipeline are contradictory, with some stating that Iran or Pakistan have given up on the pipeline while American sanctions persist. Pakistani officials reject this framing, saying that they are still working with Iran to try and get the project completed somehow. Nonetheless, Iran is becoming increasingly frustrated and is threatening a legal battle and a demand for reparations.
Meanwhile, back in Niger, the $13 billion under-construction pipeline connecting Nigeria and other West African countries to Spain and Italy will likely face delays due to the sanctions applied by the West and ECOWAS on Niger. Those following the European gas fiasco will be aware that while Spain and Italy have been impacted by the energy crisis, they have been very busy making deals with African countries to replace their Russian gas, and thus stand a better chance than Germany of making it through the crisis with their industries somewhat intact. The coup has thrown a wrench into their plans, though they can still obtain some gas from northern African countries.
And, last but not least, America tried for years to stop the construction of the Nord Stream pipelines between Germany and Russia, which culminated in them deciding to blow them up late last year.
All in all - the United States really does not like it when countries build up energy infrastructure and gain some independence from them.
Here is the map of the Ukraine conflict, courtesy of Wikipedia.
This week's first update is here in the comments.
This week's second update is here in the comments.
This week's third update is here in the comments.
Links and Stuff
The bulletins site is down.
Examples of Ukrainian Nazis and fascists
Examples of racism/euro-centrism during the Russia-Ukraine conflict
Add to the above list if you can.
Resources For Understanding The War
Defense Politics Asia's youtube channel and their map. Their youtube channel has substantially diminished in quality but the map is still useful.
Moon of Alabama, which tends to have interesting analysis. Avoid the comment section.
Understanding War and the Saker: reactionary sources that have occasional insights on the war.
Alexander Mercouris, who does daily videos on the conflict. While he is a reactionary and surrounds himself with likeminded people, his daily update videos are relatively brainworm-free and good if you don't want to follow Russian telegram channels to get news. He also co-hosts The Duran, which is more explicitly conservative, racist, sexist, transphobic, anti-communist, etc when guests are invited on, but is just about tolerable when it's just the two of them if you want a little more analysis.
On the ground: Patrick Lancaster, an independent and very good journalist reporting in the warzone on the separatists' side.
Unedited videos of Russian/Ukrainian press conferences and speeches.
Telegram Channels
Again, CW for anti-LGBT and racist, sexist, etc speech, as well as combat footage.
Pro-Russian
https://t.me/aleksandr_skif ~ DPR's former Defense Minister and Colonel in the DPR's forces. Russian language.
https://t.me/Slavyangrad ~ A few different pro-Russian people gather frequent content for this channel (~100 posts per day), some socialist, but all socially reactionary. If you can only tolerate using one Russian telegram channel, I would recommend this one.
https://t.me/s/levigodman ~ Does daily update posts.
https://t.me/patricklancasternewstoday ~ Patrick Lancaster's telegram channel.
https://t.me/gonzowarr ~ A big Russian commentator.
https://t.me/rybar ~ One of, if not the, biggest Russian telegram channels focussing on the war out there. Actually quite balanced, maybe even pessimistic about Russia. Produces interesting and useful maps.
https://t.me/epoddubny ~ Russian language.
https://t.me/boris_rozhin ~ Russian language.
https://t.me/mod_russia_en ~ Russian Ministry of Defense. Does daily, if rather bland updates on the number of Ukrainians killed, etc. The figures appear to be approximately accurate; if you want, reduce all numbers by 25% as a 'propaganda tax', if you don't believe them. Does not cover everything, for obvious reasons, and virtually never details Russian losses.
https://t.me/UkraineHumanRightsAbuses ~ Pro-Russian, documents abuses that Ukraine commits.
Pro-Ukraine
Almost every Western media outlet.
https://discord.gg/projectowl ~ Pro-Ukrainian OSINT Discord.
https://t.me/ice_inii ~ Alleged Ukrainian account with a rather cynical take on the entire thing.
Last week's discussion post.
Challenger 2s have finally been spotted on near the frontlines. They've been equipped with some shoddy looking cope cages. I believe both the Challengers and Strykers are being deployed near Robotyne. This is probably from the 82nd Air Assault Brigade that Ukraine has been keeping in reserve in order to exploit a breakthrough in the Russian lines. They're instead being deployed to try and breakthrough the first Russian line of defense. I think that Robotyne is the first and currently only place that Ukrainians have actually gotten within sight of a dragon's tooth.
https://twitter.com/snekotron/status/1691543627439185920
Edit: German Marder IFVs have also been spotted and there's video of a Stryker being hit.
CW: Video of Styker being hit.
https://twitter.com/vicktop55/status/1691522859456139264
Edit2: Forbes - Ukraine’s Powerful 82nd Brigade, Once Held In Reserve, Has Finally Joined The Counteroffensive
now that the shoe is on the other foot, they'll start calling them 'dorsally oriented slatted armor' or some shit instead of cope cages
could have just acknowledged it was a decent idea to begin with
That cage is really interesting. It's obviously solely to prevent quadcopter drones that would land on the top and then pierce the weaker top armour. If they can't get any closer before detonating then they will not be able to pierce.
Genuinely good idea that forces you into having more expensive drone equipment to attack with that can deal with this kind of thing.
Some of the Leopard 2s might have survived for a bit longer if they had added proper cope cages on top. The armor on top in front of the turret is absurdly weak.
It's interesting to think about what a weakness this is. All you need is a pierce-capable explosive shape charge and a remote detonator. You simply land the charge on target and boom.
These cages are exactly what you need to prevent that. We're watching the development of a new problem in tank design in realtime, eventually we will see something specifically designed to handle this problem. Like a bubble of wiremesh or something.
The next obvious step is to simply target the underside of the vehicle. Flying quadcopter landmines.
Soviet anti-tank dogs but robots this time.
ground effect drones!
idk what a challenger 2 is, and i didn't click the link, but i can only assume it is a NATO missile named after the space shuttle challenger.
British main battle tank. Western wunderwaffen, the Challenger 2 is considered one of the best Western MBTs, so it'll be fucking hilarious to see it get dumpstered.
By who exactly? I can only imagine Britbongs and Britophile anglo writers.
Nobody else considers a 75-ton monster with a rifled cannon and a spotty unreliable engine even remotely adequate for a 21st century battlefield, lol.
Is it the best tank for sex trafficking or money laundering purposes? Most important considerations in anglo culture
Of Western tanks, mind. It's far more modern than the Abrams is, and supposedly tougher than the Abrams and Leopard 2, with a good main gun (despite being rifled). Compared to anything Soviet or post-Soviet it's laughably overbuilt and we already saw Leopard 2s getting clowned on, I imagine a Challenger 2 will be equally dunked.
Is that the tank that is so heavy that it has to function as a submarine if Ukraine is ever going to cross a body of water wider than a stream?
That'd be the Abrams but I'm sure the Challenger 2 is overweight to the same degree
Big Serge and RWA are thinking that Robotyne will be abandoned soon by Russia. Held out for over two months when it was probably planned to be overran in the first few days, essentially as well as it could have gone for Russia
Britain no longer has the ability to produce shells for the Challenger's gun. They don't use the NATO standard barrel either, so basically when they're out, they're out.
Edit: the source for my claim. The original link is dead, so I guess we'll just have to take the wiki article's word for it.
lol. lmao
Britain in a fucking nutshell. Weight is kilos unless it's people, in which case it's stone or pounds and ounces for babies; fluids are ml unless it's milk (excluding plant milk) or you're ordering it from a pub, in which case it's in denominations of pints: distance is taught in km but all roadsigns are in miles, etc.