'Resistance inside Russia is growing' — Su-27UB jet set alight in Krasnodar Krai, Ukraine's HUR claims

https://kyivindependent.com/russian-su-27ub-fighter-jet-catches-fire-in-apparent-act-of-resistance-ukraine-military-intelligence-says/

I think Russia's recruits are increasingly "bottom of the barrel" type, as in generally unfit but have to do. People prefer to work in the armament factories where salaries are similar but no risk of dying within weeks of enlisting.

So those who enlist tend to be either those who don't have anything to lose anyway or people who join because they're out of other viable options. Both of those lead to low morale and especially low discipline, which Russian soldiers are increasingly proving in the field.

I agree....

Hopefully Ukraine has the will to continue though.  

They certainly have the will, their problem is more running low on manpower.

However, considering the low discipline and morale of newer Russian recruits, if Ukraine would manage to reverse the trends on the frontlines then this could result in morale and discipline absolutely tanking in the Russian lines, turning any retreat of them into a rout. This is probably the biggest hope of Ukraine ending the war in their favor without continuing fighting for another decade or so.

Ukrainian Defense Forces Eliminate Commander of Russia’s 83rd Regiment in Velykoburluk Sector

https://militarnyi.com/en/news/ukrainian-defense-forces-eliminate-commander-of-russia-s-83rd-regiment-in-velykoburluk-sector/

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This one was a Colonel... 

As part of the recently announced trade deal, Ursla Von Der Leyen announced the US will replace Russia as Europe’s major fuel supplier, including LNG, oil and nuclear fuels.

Shouldn’t be a big surprise that that was a part of the negotiations, as its a win-win for both sides. Id figured the EU would use such an offer to help placate Trump. Also pro-Russia leaders like Orban and Fico will lose leverage as Trump is not likely to be keen on them continuing to try and get sanctions exemptions now.

USA wins again!  

Russia gets ....... to drink away their problems

This isn't really anything new, it's the EU giving Trump a fake win so he can brag about it but it is something already being done, like when he announced deals with Canada for them to do something they already signed off on in Biden's term but Canada said let Trump take the credit instead, Lol. The EU has already been rapidly replacing Russian energy supplies with American ones in recent years, therefore spending billions on American supplies. Imports did drop recently but I assume that's due to a move towards renewables.

As of March 2023, the USA was the biggest supplier of crude oil to EU and 18% of the EU's crude imports came from America. In the first quarter of 2024, most (17.1%) of the EU's imports of petroleum oils came from America. In July 2024, America provided almost half (47.4%) of imported liquefied natural gas to EU and purchased in the first nine months of 2024 were more than 5x higher than during the first 9 months of Trump's first presidency.

Data from 2021 to 2024 shows that Russia dropped from 150.2 billion cubic metres in 2021 to 51.7 in 2024. While America increased from 18.9 billion cubic metres in 2021 to 45.1 in 2024. The United States was the largest supplier of LNG to the EU, accounting for almost 45% of total LNG imports. Imports from the US in 2024 were more than double what they were in 2021.

We'll probably sadly still have countries importing from Russia because Trump didn't really announce anything new, we already were transitioning over to American energy supplies to replace Russian ones but some are still and will still drag their feet, Trump just threw out a bunch of bullshit numbers to make it seem like a bigger deal, likely to try to distract from the Epstein stuff.

• We have stabilised on a single 15% tariff rate for the vast majority of EU exports. This rate applies across most sectors, including cars, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals. This 15% is a clear ceiling. No stacking. All-inclusive. So it gives much-needed clarity for our citizens and businesses. This is absolutely crucial.
• Today we have also agreed on zero-for-zero tariffs on a number of strategic products. This includes all aircraft and component parts, certain chemicals, certain generics, semiconductor equipment, certain agricultural products, natural resources and critical raw materials. And we will keep working to add more products to this list.
• On steel and aluminium, the EU and the US face the common external challenge of global overcapacity. We will work together to ensure fair global competition. And to reduce barriers between us, tariffs will be cut. And a quota system will be put in place.
• We will also increase our energy cooperation. Purchases of US energy products will diversify our sources of supply and contribute to Europe's energy security. We will replace Russian gas and oil with significant purchases of US LNG, oil and nuclear fuels.
• US AI chips will help power our AI giga factories and help the US to maintain their technological edge.

Statement by The EU President on the Deal With The United States

US AI chips already were going to be used for this AI shit since companies like Nvidia are already the #1 supplier so that's nothing new. US oil, LNG and nuclear fuel already was on its way to replacing Russian energy and some already has replaced Russian energy as the EU's main supplier so again that is nothing new, it would have increased naturally as they continue to wean themselves off Russian shit.

The only actually new thing in here that wasn't already being done is the zero for zero tariffs on a certain amount of strategic products, now that is actually beneficial to both sides so that's nice. It's also something the EU tried to do years ago but Trump refused, Lol. The EU wanted a zero for zero deal for years now.

There's nothing about Trump's random numbers he threw out like EU supposedly agreeing to buy $750bn worth of energy from the USA (Lol?) or EU supposedly making a $600bn investment into the US (Lol?) or EU buying hundreds of billions of USD in military gear. Now of course EU will increase spending on American energy and military equipment but those things were happening regardless but likely not at those numbers.

Poland is spending billions on American equipment and that's been happening for years now, and we'll likely spend a few billions on behalf of Ukraine but some of the major economic powers of the EU have already refused to do that for Ukraine and themselves, France being one of them, France isn't suddenly going to start spending tens of billions on US equipment, UK is out of EU, Spain doesn't seem interested, Germany has a lot of its own homegrown military and Merz seems a bit reluctant to rely on America. Where are these hundreds of billions going to come from? And over what timeframe?

In 2024, the EU imported $441.56 billion worth of energy products from all countries they import from so how is EU meant to be spending $750bn worth of energy from the USA alone? Lol. What is the timeframe on this $750bn? Is this across multiple years? Because that's the only way the maths works, it would be literally impossible for 1 year, extremely unlikely across 2 years unless EU cuts off all importers and switches to American exclusive, still extremely unlikely across 3 years. Alongside this, EU energy imports have naturally been decreasing YoY.

And finally, a $600bn investment? Into what? When? Lol. By what countries?

Trump is now saying he will reduce the 50 day deadline he gave to Putin to end the war for face secondary sanctions, stating he believes he already know’s Putin’s answer.

I mean, well, most of already knew that answer, but still have to see if Trump actually follows through,