1.@FoxinvestorPlease see my point 1 above (I inserted the wrong...

1.@Foxinvestor
Please see my point 1 above (I inserted the wrong HotCopper name!)





2. From January 2024 - June 2024, Ukraine had significant shortages of battlefield weapons, & air defence weapons, which allowed Russia- which now has c. 470,000 troops in Ukraine- to make some further small territorial gains. Ukraine was often ungunned 10-1 by Russian artillery- but this is now changing.

Russian Military Objectives and Capacity in Ukraine Through 2024 | Royal United Services Institute (rusi.org)

More support was promised for Ukraine on 10.7.24, to resist the brutal Russian invasion- A$65b (inc. $250m from Australia) over the next 12 months.

Australia promises record military aid for Ukraine as NATO calls out China as an 'enabler' of Russia's invasion - ABC News

Russia's invasion has stalled (despite North Korea recently providing c.5 million artillery shells, & c.900 ballistic missiles- & soon, some troops; Iran providing many thousands of drones, & some missiles; & technical supplies from China).


Russia (world top 3 military superpower), thought it would conquer Kyiv in 3-5 days, when it invaded in Feb.2022, & the country over the next month. Dictator Putin & his generals obviously miscalculated, & underestimated the ferocity of the Ukrainians' resistance.
Ukrainians in 1991 voted 92.3% (including majorities in the eastern regions & Crimea, where Russian is the first language) to be totally independent from Russia.

Ukraine is reliving a promise it made on this day in 1991 | Russia-Ukraine war | Al Jazeera


Ukraine (whose land is some of the most fertile in the world, & is usually a top 4 wheat producer) still has very bitter memories of the Holodomor famine in 1932-33, where c.4million Ukrainians died of starvation, illness, mistreatment, executions etc. They also remember their general subjugation by Russia.

The Holodomor famine was caused by Dictator's Stalin's policies, & collectivisaition of farming, (soviet-speak) "extermination of the enemies of the people" (including farmers owning medium or large farms).

Ukraine - Holodomor, Famine, 1932-33 | Britannica