https://edition.cnn.com/2024/11/08/politics/biden-administration-american-milita...





Natasha Bertrand Haley Britzky Oren Liebermann
By Natasha Bertrand, Haley Britzky and Oren Liebermann, CNN
3 minute read
Updated 1:30 PM EST, Fri November 8, 2024


The Biden administration has lifted a de facto ban on American military contractors deploying to Ukraine to help the country’s military maintain and repair US-provided weapons systems, particularly F16 fighter jets and Patriot air defense systems, an official with direct knowledge of the plan told CNN.

The new policy, approved earlier this month before the election, would allow the Pentagon to provide contracts to American companies for work inside Ukraine for the first time since Russia invaded in 2022. Officials said they hope it will speed up the maintenance and repairs of weapons systems being used by the Ukrainian military.


“It is worth noting that there already are a wide array of American companies who have personnel in Ukraine fulfilling contracts for the Ukrainian government, so this will not lead to a substantial increase of employees of US companies working on the ground in Ukraine,” the defense official said.

tallowood wrote on Nov 9^th, 2024 at 10:02am:



Were they maintenance workers or mercenaries?

tallowood wrote on Nov 9^th, 2024 at 10:30am:



Sounds like a good job for you.

Anyway some recent information about casualties.

Russia and Ukraine exchanged bodies of servicemen in a telling proportion — 37 to 563.

According to Mash, the exchange took place in the area of ​​Gomel, Belarus, on the border with the Chernigov region of Ukraine. Russia transferred 563 bodies to Kyiv and received 37 bodies. According to the information, the total number of already identified bodies of soldiers and officers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, stored in morgues in the south of Russia awaiting exchange, has exceeded 4,000.
All this time, the bodies were placed in Block "X" — a room with cold shelves for storing remains in numbered special packages.

Also on October 18, 501 Ukrainians were exchanged for 89 Russian dead.
A total of 1,064 and 126 dead.

And this is how Strana_UA reported on the exchange:
Quote:


The ratio of approximately 8.5 Ukrainians to 1 Russian dead is close to 10:1 ratio mentioned by US Col. Dougal Macgregor in interview posted here few weeks ago.

Bobby. wrote on Nov 9^th, 2024 at 11:21am:


There are ways to estimate approximate numbers from secondary sources such as published obituaries, video/photo evidence of action, of funerals, size and temp of military cemeteries growth, reports of bodies exchange, declared mobilization requirements, etc.
Then after you get the data converted into information do comparison and interpolation, etc.

Results for November 6, 2024:

· In the Kupyansk direction, the Russian Armed Forces liberate the village of Kolesnikovka
· In the Kurakhovo direction, the villages of Stepanovka, Antonovka and Maksimovka have been liberated. The Russian Armed Forces are attacking and advancing forward on a broad front from the south of the city of Kurakhovo.

AFU losses:

Personnel – 1830
Armored vehicles – 11, including:
Tank – 3
BBM – 5
BMP – 2
APC – 1 «M113»
Auto – 18
Art – 13, including:
SPG «Krab» – 1
SPG М109 «Paladin» – 1
D-20 – 1
D-30 – 3
Msta-B – 2
MT-12 «Rapira» – 1
FH-70 – 1
L119 – 1
М119 – 1
M777 – 1
EW station «Anklav-N» – 2
MiG-29 – 1
Damage was inflicted on the infrastructure of military airfields, a workshop for the production of unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as energy and fuel infrastructure facilities used to supply the Armed Forces of Ukraine
Ammunition depot – 4
“Hammer” (UAB) – 8
HIMARS (rs) – 4
UAV – 23

Quote:


That sounds more like Obama 10 years ago then Trump now.

Quote:


Indeed, Volodymyr Zelensky is shocked by Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election and fears that US aid to Ukraine will be cut off. This was stated by Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico, speaking on the "Saturday Dialogues" program of the public broadcaster "Slovak Television and Radio".