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[brewer bob]

All hail the goat, destroyer of invaders!

A Ukrainian goat has been hailed a national hero after it triggered a string of Russian grenades around a hospital in Zaporizhzhia, injuring at least 40 Russian soldiers.

Russian forces were setting up a tripwire and had pinned grenades around the edge of a local hospital in the village of Kinski Rozdory, placing the trap as a “circular defence”, according to Ukraine’s chief intelligence directorate.

The goat, who had escaped from a farm, is said to have headed straight for the boobytrap, with the Russian munitions exploding in a chain reaction, injuring dozens of soldiers who were waiting in ambush.


A goat on a destroyed Russian tank on display in Saint Michaels Square in Kyiv, Ukraine.
Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Ukraine’s defence intelligence said:

“As a result of the goat’s ‘chaotic’ movements, the animal ‘disposed of’ several grenades. As a result of a chain reaction, several [Russians] sustained injuries of varying degrees of severity.”

At least 40 Russian soldiers are thought to have been injured. The condition of the animal is not currently known.

The goat has since been hailed as “the Goat of Kyiv”, a reference to the mythical pilot, the Ghost of Kyiv, who is credited to have downed as many as 40 enemy planes during Russia’s invasion of the capital.

I sure hope the goat didn't die with the bang, though I'm pretty sure he didn't survive.

[bloop_bleep]

What a way to go...

[EuchreJack]

...yeah, goats have always been the bane of pretty much anyone that places wires.

[King Zultan]

...yeah, goats have always been the bane of pretty much anyone that places wires.

Ain't that the truth, I've yet to see a fence that could stand up against a determined goat.

[Random_Dragon]

Russian aircraft have launched missiles on Ukraine while in Belarusian airspace, in an apparent attempt to try and force Belarus into the war.

[heydude6]

Interesting, I thought Belarus was already in this war. They just weren't being officially acknowledged.

This is either just Russia being desperate, or a non-story. If Belarus is already part of this war (since Russian troops use it as a staging area), then firing missiles from their airspace is completely unremarkable.

[Random_Dragon]

My guess is they're probably not wasting the lives of their men to the degree Putin wants them to.

[Strongpoint]

Belarus... Their failure in the summer of 2020 costs so much Ukrainian blood. It is how it works, when one nation decides against fighting for freedom, another nation will have to. If Ukrainians chose not to fight, Poles (or Kazakhs or citizens of Baltic States or...) would face the same choice X years later.


And yep, Belarus territory was used for strikes from day 1, Belarus keeps their forces at the border forcing us to keep precious reserves there. With Belarus being neutral it would be a very different war.

[Duuvian]

https://www.19fortyfive.com/2022/06/ukraine-wants-it-the-patriot-missile-defense-system-has-gone-viral/

Spoiler: From above link (click to show/hide)

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby has stated that the Patriot systems would require American soldiers on the ground and that training Ukrainian personnel on the advanced-capability interceptors was not an option.

https://www.defenceconnect.com.au/key-enablers/9819-pentagon-approves-taiwan-request-for-patriot-missile-training

EDIT to be fair as that spoiler may be out of date
(Link below, don't know why the link is malfy, will have to copy and paste complete link to read)     Posted On Saturday, 21 May 2022 03:59
https://www.armyrecognition.com/defense_news_may_2022_global_security_army_industry/us_agrees_new_$40_billion_military_aid_to_ukraine_including_patriot_missile_systems.html
https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2022/06/26/7354832/
Above link's headline: Ukraine hopes to expedite supply of air defence systems agreed with its partners – Zelenskyy
Sunday, 26 June 2022, 23:04

[Strongpoint]

Patriots are unlikely, NASAMS (American-Norwegian SAM based on modified air-to-air AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles) are expected soonish.

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/06/26/politics/us-missile-defense-system-ukraine-coming-announcement/index.html

In response to requests by Ukrainian forces, other military assistance is also likely to be announced this week, including additional artillery ammunition and counter-battery radars. Ukrainian officials have asked for the missile defense system, known as a NASAMS system, given the weapons can hit targets more than 100 miles away, though the Ukrainian forces will likely need to be trained on the systems, a source said.

[brewer bob]

So, I guess Erdogan finally decided to allow Sweden and Finland to join Nato:

Turkey lifts objections to Finland and Sweden’s Nato bid

Ankara had previously blocked the Nordic countries from joining the alliance over concerns about arms exports and terrorism

A last minute agreement has been reached between Turkey, Finland and Sweden to allow the two Nordic countries to become Nato members on the eve of the military alliance’s summit in Madrid.

Nato said a trilateral deal had been reached at a meeting between Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President Sauli Niinistö of Finland and the Swedish prime minister, Magdalena Andersson, in the Spanish capital.

After a period of intensive negotiations, Jens Stoltenberg, Nato’s secretary general, said on Tuesday evening: “I am pleased to announce that we now have an agreement that paves the way for Finland and Sweden to join Nato.”

“Turkey, Finland and Sweden have signed a memorandum that addresses Turkey’s concerns, including around arms exports and the fight against terrorism,” he added.

I'm a bit worried what this'll eventually mean to the Kurds we have (especially those who are politically active and oppose Erdogan's regime).

Edit:

Especially this part of the deal is not at all good:

The Nordic countries said they confirmed that the PKK was a proscribed organisation and, in a key concession, would “not provide support” to the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union party (PYD) and People’s Protection Units (YPG) groups that have been active in the fight against Islamic State in Syria. Finland and Sweden affirmed in the deal there were no national arms embargoes relating to sales to Turkey and all three countries said they would work together on extradition requests.

Joining Nato isn't worth it to make promises not to support the groups who were key in fighting against ISIL.
(We might just as well make deals with Putin. Don't really see much difference between him and Erdogan.)

Edit 2:
Here's the joint declaration.

[EuchreJack]

Erdogan isn't the leader of NATO.

It helps to remember there are various levels of cooperation.
Unfortunately, some people are gonna get fucked (but isn't that what government is for?), But probably more those that run afoul of the domestic laws than those who avoid getting into trouble.

[brewer bob]

Unfortunately, some people are gonna get fucked

Yes, this seems to be a reoccurring theme with Kurds, no matter what.

[King Zultan]

But why would you hate Kurds when they are an important part of making delicious cheese?

[Loud Whispers]

Yes, this seems to be a reoccurring theme with Kurds, no matter what.

I never realised how true this was until I was reading Xenophon writing about how on their march through the mountains they were attacked by Kurds, who mistook them for forces loyal to the Persian Emperor, with aforementioned Emperor trying to conquer the Kurds on a perennial basis

2,400 years of "will you stop invading FOR ONE SECOND"