Rammstein-4: What will happen to the HIMARS systems for Ukraine?

What do such horror stories mean to us?  Nothing. On February 24, the Russian army planned to capture Kyiv and hold a victory parade in Khreshchatyk. In fact, those who were rubbing their hands in anticipation of moving to "liberated" Kyiv — have already reliably gone to their mothers in black bags.

It can already be said for sure that as of July 20, the Russian invaders are reliably stuck in Donbas and are not able to advance closer to Avdiivka and Bakhmut than they are now.

For all 22 years, Putin skillfully used the main argument — to raise the stakes and blackmail by closing the gas valve. Currently, he threatens with nuclear weapons, "doomsday", negotiations with Tehran and something else, and the West refuses to negotiate. The latest example is the restart of "Nordic Stream - 1". He threatened to stop it, but he was unable to do so, because the gas had nowhere to go. And it is needed to earn something for the needs of the domestic market, because you won't be able to juggle orders and "burial" for the purchase of white Zhiguli in exchange for the liquidated occupier for a long time.

The more accurate the strikes of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on warehouses and control points of the Russians in the occupied territories, the closer the next Ramstein is, the more clearly the representatives of Russia began to ask the West for negotiations. It is more likely that Europe, frightened by inflation, cold winter and millions of hungry refugees, will start wringing its hands for this to Ukraine. But so far, primarily the Americans, they are denied these very negotiations. And that is why Lavrov is forced to talk nonsense about "geography".

Stories about the misfortunes of the families of Russian "liberators" are increasingly appearing in the Russian mass media and among their bloggers. And no, there are no calls to withdraw the Russian army from the territory of Ukraine, to repent and pay reparations. But there, with the naked eye, you can see how the internal hatred for each other is growing - they don't pay money, and the neighbors are jealous because they bought a car for the "grave" money. Why didn't they take Kyiv in three days? Where is the Russian anti-aircraft defense? An internal question about the goals of this war is brewing in Russia. To put it bluntly - our goal is Kyiv - the Kremlin leaders are afraid. They can't talk about getting out of the war either, that's why "negative upsurges" and "geographical expansions" are underway. But the truth can no longer be hidden. There are more and more people lying on the burned ammunition depots destroyed by the Armed Forces.

The recent statement of CIA Director William Burns is noteworthy, the same one who warned the Ukrainian authorities for many months in a row about a large-scale invasion, about the threat from Belarus and the landing of the "Hostomel Air Force".

"Putin's view of Americans is that we are always suffering from attention deficit disorder and are distracted by something else," CIA Director William Burns said at a security forum in Aspen.

Burns added that since the beginning of the war, Putin has consistently misjudged both the willingness of Ukrainians to fight and the determination of the West to help.

"I think that even now he is wrong", the head of the CIA said. 

While Putin was destroying the most vulnerable in Ukraine - at public transport stops in Northern Saltivka, in hospitals, in sanatoriums, in sleeping areas - he overlooked an important fact. The world went to war. And unlike Russia, it has not become less democratic. The Western world is taking off its hippie clothes and putting on chain mail. Yes, the knight's armor has rusted in some places, but everyone has a clear understanding that Russia is pure evil and it must be punished.

What conclusions can be drawn from the new Rammstein? Exact lists of military aid will be kept secret - this will save Russia from the unnecessary temptation to pound missiles at key railway points in search of Western weapons. The mode of qualified conversation of professionals will save our Twitters and Facebooks from unnecessary hype that "the USA is draining us" and "Biden is no longer the same". It is also very good that after the public slap of the secretary of the National Security and Defense Council to our advisers of the Office of the President of Ukraine, our General Staff is now discussing the lists of necessary weapons with the Pentagon in secrecy, and they are no longer posted on Mykhailo Podolyak's twitter.

On a positive note, US Defense Minister Lloyd Austin and US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley agree that it is possible to hit the occupiers in their most painful places - Crimea and the Kerch Bridge. And they hinted that the necessary shells for this will be received by the Armed Forces when such a military opportunity arises. Here is how Austin comments on this question:

"What is now on the territory of Ukraine gives them the power they need. Then we will see how the situation on the battlefield will develop and make appropriate decisions". Milley repeated the words of the head of the Pentagon: "Now the HIMARS systems are giving them the success they need".

Next, a clear explanation for those who have already read the fresh Russian fakes about the fact that the Russians supposedly destroyed several HIMARS.

"Ukrainians have excellent gunners. Excellent gunners, as the British would call them. And they act very, very effectively. Today, the HIMARS that we provided them with - and we are not the only country, other countries also provide long-range guns. Great Britain, for example, as well as some other countries provide long-range rocket artillery. Currently, these systems have not been destroyed by the Russians, and I knock on wood every time I talk about it. And they (Ukrainian artillerymen - Ed.) use them very effectively, using high-precision weapons against targets", Chief of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff said. 

And the most interesting thing is how many HIMMARS launchers and projectiles our strategic Western partner gives us. Do you remember how anti-American hysteria in the style of "we are given only four, and that is very little" was actively pumped out in the mass media and social networks last month. At Ramstein-4, it turned out that 12 units had already been transported to Ukraine. It is part of more than 20 pledged by the United States and other allies.

I would like to clarify the widely circulated quote by Mark Milley, which reads as follows: "The issue is not so much the system as the launcher itself, the issue is the ammunition and its consumption, the number of weapons, as well as the amount of ammunition released from HIMARS".Our media exaggerated it as the fact that the USA spares us shells. But in fact this is an incomplete quote, I had to find the press conference and listen to the following theses in order to understand the meaning.  It is worth reminding that in the USA there are only 530 installations for the entire gigantic territory of this country.  And the nuance lies in this.

"We have briefed the minister on what we believe is the level of risk to our own forces in terms of our readiness, capabilities, as well as equipment.

We think everything is fine now.  And if we look ahead to the coming months, we think that everything will be fine. And we're also very, very closely linked through the Department of Defense to the industrial base and production management methods that we have in place to continue to produce these weapons systems.  So it's not so much about the launcher as it is about the ammunition", Milley said.

That is, we are talking about the fact that in the near future the facilities of Lockheed Martin will be engaged in the production of new projectiles, which would be sufficient for the needs of Ukraine. And for the defense of the US itself, especially given the worries about China. There is no question here of any surrender of Ukraine or "the search for peace in the eyes of Putin".

A chic duo - our Armed Forces and American HIMMARS clearly showed where Russia's place is.  No, not at the negotiating table, but on the bench of the international tribunal.  Russia clearly understands that this time is approaching - and it will not be washed away by gas money, highly paid propagandists and even our internal fifth column in power, which silences everyone who does not want to see Russian "good people".

When Lavrov talked about "geography", he clearly said that the Russian Federation cannot "allow that part of Ukraine, which will be controlled by Zelenskyy or whoever will replace him, to have weapons that will pose a direct threat to our territory and the territory of those republics that have declared their  independence, who want to determine their own future". And this is a sure sign that in the near future the Russian occupiers and their families will fly at full speed to escape to Russia via the Kerch Bridge, while it is still intact and does not resemble Swiss cheese.