Ukraine War Upd. EXTRA: Prigozhin, Wagner Corruption, F-16 Details, & US Politics
Table of Contents 📖
| Topic ID | Topic Title | Timestamp |
|---|
"These renewed troops of Ukraine's armed forces zombified and unified through Gaysex, along with cult members ready to sacrifice themselves. This is what they're preparing for us in the spring of 2025."
Hello Team!
Jonathan shares a light-hearted story from a New York Times article about Ukrainian soldiers on the front lines near Bakhmut playing the video game World of Tanks on their phones during downtime. As someone who has played the game himself, Jonathan can attest to its addictiveness.
Return to top⤴️
Wagner PMC Update
- Yevgeny Prigozhin is currently in Africa, claiming Wagner PMC is conducting operations to make "Russia even greater on all continents and Africa even freer"
- While Prigozhin is away, Wagner is reportedly being looted by its managers and employees back in Russia, with millions of rubles stolen each month through various scams
- The Russian MOD and GRU are trying to muscle in on Wagner's lucrative operations in Africa, diverting resources away from Ukraine to replace Wagner
- The main conflict between Prigozhin and the MOD now appears to be over control of African/Middle East client states and resource markets rather than the war in Ukraine
Russian Artillery in Ukraine
Key points from a RUSI report on Russia's artillery in Ukraine:
- Russian artillery units stay far behind front lines, only approaching to conduct fire missions then withdrawing quickly
- When their system works, Russian targeting cycles can be as fast as 3 minutes (near physical limit)
- Lancet drone munitions are often insufficient to destroy targets, with Ukrainian crews able to hear them approaching and survive hits
- Russians have relearned the value of massed artillery fire over precision munitions to ensure lethality
- Despite shortcomings, Russian artillery remains formidable and can make up for deficiencies in their combined arms operations
US Politics and Ukraine Support
Jonathan shares a comment from an American viewer about tepid support for Ukraine among Republicans, especially isolationists:
- This is a return to pre-WWII Republican isolationism, being tired of the US acting as "world police"
- Isolationists see Ukraine as corrupt and believe in Putin's "spheres of influence" model
- Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is appealing directly to isolationists
- A possible path to victory could be a ticket with an establishment Republican like Chris Christie and Ramaswamy as VP to draw in MAGA supporters without alienating moderates
Jonathan notes the problematic history of "America First" rhetoric and its past association with Nazi sympathizers and the KKK. He also criticizes Tucker Carlson for spreading Russian talking points.
Return to top⤴️
F-16 Fighter Jets for Ukraine
Details on the F-16 fighter jets being provided to Ukraine by European allies:
- 60+ F-16 AM/BM Block 20 MLU jets from Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway will be donated as they are replaced by F-35s
- MLU (Mid-Life Update) upgrades give these older jets greatly enhanced capabilities in radar, avionics, electronic warfare and expanded weapon options
- Most significant for Ukraine will be the AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles allowing them to shoot down Russian jets and cruise missiles at long range
- F-16s represent a major leap in capabilities over Ukraine's current MiG-29/Su-27 fighters
- In the future, Ukraine may be allowed to purchase the latest F-16V Block 70/72 variants, superior to anything Russia has
Russian Propaganda Comparing Ukraine to Sparta
A former Putin advisor, Sergey Markov, made an outlandish claim on Russian state TV that the US and UK are planning to use psychological techniques to turn the Ukrainian military gay by 2025, comparing it to ancient Sparta. He alleges they will be "zombified and unified through gay sex" to be ready to fight Russia. Jonathan notes the absurdity of this propaganda and questions if anyone actually believes such claims.
Return to top⤴️
Wrap up
Jonathan thanks viewers for watching, asks them to like, subscribe and share the video. He expresses appreciation for the financial support from viewers via Buy Me a Coffee, PayPal and other methods, acknowledging several by name.
Return to top⤴️
