I read in another article that the Russian manufacturer has all the equipment, molds, etc. to produce the "frame" of the car in storage in a warehouse at their plant. They could actually setup all the equipment by late summer. The primary concern is getting engine parts (which were manufactured by another company) for the car. Due to this they are considering creating an electric vehicle and get the electric parts (batteries, etc.) primarily from China. They would try to sell it as a "retro" car with a cool new electric vehicle buzz -- of course probably missing airbags and most other modern safety features. It should also be noted that other proposed plans to convert the factory to manufacturing light trucks needed by the military may cause the plans to manufacture the Moskvitch to be put on the back-burner.
China has its own supply problems FROM Russia. Dependence on Russian Aircraft Engines Could Prompt China to ‘Fix Their … Problem’ https://www.airforcemag.com/china-a...ue-to-dependence-on-russian-aircraft-engines/
This is a senseless war which must be ended the sooner the better. Ukraine has already lost more territory, Donbass, Luhansk, Crimea, Mariupol are all gone. Zelensky fighting to the last Ukrainian life----he will get his wish if he is stupid enough to continue fighting this proxy war for the US. Russia is winning because the terrain favors Russia in the east where it is plains with nowhere to hide. Hiding in trenches----guarantees certain death. Those long range howitzers, rockets, bombs are all highly effective killing Ukrainian soldiers in their trenches with nowhere to hide or go. Reports of mass Ukrainian casualties in the battlefields and mass surrenders or Ukrainians refusing to fight and go to the frontlines. In addition, Russia is destroying those howitzers, ammo, rockets, etc. in military aid NATO is sending. Cut off most of that military aid to East Ukraine and they are finished. That is why they are destroying railways, storage facilities, fuel and ammo depots with missiles. Kissinger is right, Ukraine has to accept the fact that it has lost territories it will not regain. Instead, Zelensky should focus on rebuilding Ukraine minus some of the territories. Russia has won this war which is why CNN, MSNBC and even Fox has very little if any news coverage on Ukraine. All the news are bad for Ukraine.
Russia is rounding up Chechens and forcing them to fight in Ukraine. "The abducted are required to sign a paper stating that they are volunteers to be sent to Ukraine, otherwise they are threatened with fabrication of criminal cases." So business as usual for Russia. Russia Accused of Kidnapping Own Citizens to Fight War in Ukraine Abducted Chechens “are threatened with the fabrication of criminal cases,” if they don’t comply, one rights organization warned. https://www.thedailybeast.com/russia-accused-of-kidnapping-chechens-to-fight-war-in-ukraine
Lukashenko orders new military command for south of Belarus, bordering Ukraine Reuters Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko walk during a meeting in Sochi, Russia May 23, 2022. Sputnik/Ramil Sitdikov/Kremlin via REUTERS May 26 (Reuters) - Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko on Thursday ordered the creation of a new military command for the south of country, bordering Ukraine. "A new front has opened and we can't fail to pay attention to it," Lukashenko, wearing military uniform, told a televised meeting of defence officials. He said the new command had been proposed last year but needed to be set up immediately. "Even before creating it, we are obliged today - quickly, on the run, to work out the defence of our southern borders," Lukashenko said. Belarus is a close ally of Russia and allowed it to launch the northern prong of its Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine from Belarusian territory. Any build-up of Belarusian forces near the border will further stretch Ukraine's military as it defends against Russian attacks focused on the Donbas region hundreds of miles (km) to the east. Belarus said earlier this month it planned to deploy special operations troops in three areas near the border with Ukraine, as Lukashenko talked up the role of Russian-made missiles in boosting the country's defences.
May 25, 2022 https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blo...e-missiles-to-belarusian-border-with-ukraine/ Putin deploys nuclear-capable missiles to Belarusian border with Ukraine By Brian Whitmore Alyaksandr Lukashenka warned the West this week that it was risking World War III by continuing to arm Ukraine, even as he allowed Russia to deploy nuclear-capable missiles on Belarusian territory near the Ukrainian border. In a rambling letter to United Nations Secretary General António Guterres on May 23, the Belarusian autocrat wrote that the West’s “disrespect for” what he called Russia’s “legitimate interests” led to the current East-West tension and “provoked a heated conflict on the territory of Ukraine.” Lukashenka also called on the West to “refrain from the supply of weapons” to Ukraine in order to “prevent a regional conflict in Europe from escalating into a full-scale world war.” In the letter, which was delivered as Lukashenka was meeting Putin in Sochi, he also decried the fact that much of the world views him as a co-aggressor in the war. “We are not aggressors, as some states try to present us. Belarus has never been the initiator of any wars or conflicts,” he wrote. The Belarus dictator’s protestations have repeatedly proven to be hollow given that Lukashenka has allowed Russia to use Belarusian territory as a platform to attack Ukraine, and this time was no exception. With Lukashenka, it is always best to watch what he does rather than listening to what he says. Shortly after warning the West about escalation and protesting that he was not a co-aggressor, Lukashenka proceeded to act like an aggressor and help Putin escalate the war in Ukraine. One day after Lukashenka’s letter, on May 24, the Ukrainian General Staff announced that Russia had deployed a division of nuclear-capable Iskander-M missiles in the Brest region of Belarus near to the Ukrainian border. “There is a growing threat of missile and air strikes on our country from the territory of the Republic of Belarus. The aggressor has deployed a battery of Iskander-M mobile short-range ballistic missile systems in the Brest region, approximately 50 kilometers away from the Ukrainian state border,” the Ukrainian General Staff wrote in a post on Facebook. The missiles have a range of 400-500 kilometers, which puts large swaths of central and western Ukraine within striking distance. Lukashenka also announced the previous week that Belarus had purchased Iskanders and S-400 anti-aircraft missiles from Russia. The missile deployments and sales came as Belarus conducted military exercises near the Ukrainian border and Kyiv warned about increased troop levels and military activity. In a situation report on May 23, the Ukrainian General Staff warned that “the armed forces of the Republic of Belarus are intensifying reconnaissance and additional units are being deployed in the border areas of the Homel region.” The Russian missile deployments to Belarus and the uptick in Belarusian military activity suggests that while the fighting in Ukraine may currently be concentrated in the east of the country, Moscow still intends to pressure Ukraine from the north. The military build-up on the Belarusian-Ukrainian border has been mirrored by similar activity along Ukraine’s nearby northern frontier with Russia. Seven weeks after Russia withdrew from the Chernihiv and Sumy regions in northern Ukraine, Ukrainian officials have recently noted an uptick in cross-border rocket and artillery fire and an increased Russian troop presence. “In any case, we are preparing for a possible reinvasion,” Oleksandr Vadovsky, deputy commander of Chernihiv’s border guards, told The Washington Post. The Russian deployment of Iskander missiles to Belarus also starkly illustrates that despite his claims to the contrary and his half-hearted attempts to distance himself from the conflict, Lukashenka remains Putin’s chief enabler in the war against Ukraine and is very much a co-aggressor. He allowed the Kremlin autocrat to use his country’s territory to stage an illegal invasion of a sovereign and democratic country. Lukashenka let Belarus become a platform for Russia to bomb Ukrainian cities and villages. He is directly responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocent Ukrainian civilians. And now he is allowing Putin to deploy nuclear-capable Iskander missiles near Ukraine’s border. The blood of any Ukrainians who may be killed by those missiles will also be on Lukashenka’s hands and he should be held accountable for it.
As always, it is about Russia's artillery in the east. The western countries finally got around to sending some artillery and even some long range stuff. But the problem is still Russia's artillery. There is lots of it and it is longer range. And the problem is Russia's troops. They have a 20-1 advantage to the Ukrainians over in the east. And yes, the overwhelming number of them are dufuses (dufi?) but do the math. It is still unpretty. So, what I am leading up to, is that it is no longer just about the artillery. The Ukrainians need missiles that reach beyond the longest of their long range artillery so that they can do damage without increasing troop to troop contact and without having to find a way to duplicate all of Russia's artillery capability. So it is about the missiles now (not that it is either/or- the artillery that was brought in and still coming in is still needed). I do not know whether they will get those missiles but that is where the need is and what the next chapter looks like. And previous discussions still apply such as the Ruskies have an enormous advantage with their artillery, but you never know whether they are low on ammunition and have chosen to use most of it in the next month but then will run out/or low. That would not be good. They better have a plan in place for that because there is a lot of ammo and missiles being used by both sides. As I said last week or before, they will be there going into the winter and that will not be pretty for either side. Who will and will not have ammo and missiles and resupply then? Don't know. Related to my point above: U.S. may send long-range rocket systems to Ukraine; Russia captures more villages in Donbas https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/27/russia-ukraine-live-updates.html
In Stunning Shift, WaPo Admits Catastrophic-Conditions, Collapsing-Morale Of Ukraine Front-Line Forces
"Some allies are slow rolling weapons" Garry Kasparov @Kasparov63 · May 27 Replying to @Kasparov63 Ukraine is bleeding, without the weapons it asked for. Putin is rushing to annex more Ukrainian territory, issuing passports and currency, killing and deporting thousands and bringing in Russians, as he's been doing for 8 years in occupied Crimea and Donbas. 2/13 Garry Kasparov @Kasparov63 · May 27 The profiteers and appeasers, working with or for Putin, like Kissinger, join the false "peacemakers" in France and Italy to send more Ukrainians to the hell of Russian occupation, dozens of Buchas to come. Who are they to tell Ukrainians how to live and die? 3/13 Garry Kasparov @Kasparov63 · May 27 Putin knows the weapons will get there, in less than a month, so he is desperate to push the story of a stalemate, to get a ceasefire he won't honor. Under that cover he will consolidate territory, continue annexation, and liquidate any resistance. He's done it before. 4/13 Garry Kasparov @Kasparov63 · May 27 Some allies are slow-rolling weapons deliveries, afraid of Ukrainian victory. If Ukraine makes more progress pushing Russia back, Western leaders might lose their coveted "peace for our time" moment and not be able to rush back to Russian gas & oil. 5/13 Garry Kasparov @Kasparov63 · May 27 Ukraine needs air cover, while allies point fingers and play hot potato with who needs what permissions to provide jets and other weapons. Do they want the carnage to end, or just cover it up, postpone more, guaranteeing it will be worse next time? 6/13 Garry Kasparov @Kasparov63 · May 27 Macron hoped Zelensky would be a Marshal Pétain for Ukraine, but he's turned out to be more a De Gaulle. Ukrainians don't want to live in a Vichy Republic under Putin's fascist regime. So they fight like hell for their nation--and for Europe and the free world. 7/13 55 1,172 6,905 Garry Kasparov @Kasparov63 · May 27 But Europe is not fighting like hell for Ukraine. The "union" is not united, not standing for the values of its founding. A war for life & liberty has no room for friendly deals with aggressor dictators. What do France, Italy, Hungary say they stand for in doing so? 8/13 35 941 5,704 Garry Kasparov @Kasparov63 · May 27 The Putin Rescue Team is unashamed even after the horrors of Mariupol and Bucha. Editorials still call for off-ramps and deals with a war criminal. If only these appeasers, safe and sound and well-fed, had a tenth of the courage Ukrainians have under fire. 9/13 25 963 5,818 Garry Kasparov @Kasparov63 · May 27 Putin pushing for a deal is a sign to keep the pressure on, to destroy his invading army and to bankrupt him and his mafia. US leadership is required to keep turning the financial screws, to show them things will not improve until Ukraine is whole and free. 10/13 35 1,054 6,006 Garry Kasparov @Kasparov63 · May 27 Stop thinking about concessions Ukraine can make. They are paying a terrible price in blood, with decades of rebuilding to come. They are paying for years of weakness and corruption of the European nations that eagerly did business & diplomacy with their invader. 11/13 33 1,228 6,490 Garry Kasarov @Kasparov63 · May 27 Ukraine needs every weapon they ask for without hesitation. The free world is lucky to have a brave and skilled Ukrainian military on the front line of a war they never wanted, a war the West tried to pretend did not exist. They aren't a proxy, they are a partner. 12/13 65 1,765 9,529 Garry Kasparov @Kasparov63 · May 27 Bankrupt Putin & his regime. Give Ukraine what it needs to win. Shame anyone who would rescue Putin from suffering the consequences of his murderous war. Ukraine must choose, and as long as they choose to fight we must fight with them. Glory to Ukraine. 13/13
Time is running out on the Ukrainians and Russia just used thermo barrick ammo rounds on Ukraine soldiers. Very explosive and it burns. They will be encircled then, annihilated if the trend continues. Zelensky better sign a peace deal now. Later on, he might end up losing Mykolaiv and Odessa too so, Ukraine will lose all its ports and access to the sea. Russia will destroy most of the weapons sent by the US and NATO because they can easily spot it with spy satellites and drones. Very hard to hide howitzers and rocket artillery systems due to its huge bulk. You have to transport by train which they can attack or transport vehicles which are very slow moving. That is why Russia is attacking railways and fuel depots. You still need fuel for the huge trucks hauling those heavy military equipment as well as your tanks. Here is what the Ukrainian soldiers have to deal with. Reports some Ukrainian soldiers refusing to go to the frontlines. Others have surrendered. https://www.yahoo.com/news/video-shows-huge-explosions-ukraine-125750437.html