How should west respond to potential (likely) Russian invasion of Ukraine?

[bilby]

Ukraine's actions aren't going to win them any Russian territory, but they do seem to be exposing just how impotent the Russian military apparently is.

Again.

 

[bilby]

Losses in Kursk can't be that large, the Ukrainians would have already collapsed if they had sustained that.

Same for losses in Donbass.

If we are to believe the Russian figures, the entire Ukranian population has been killed twice in the last two and a half years, as part of the two week "Special Military Operation" to take Kyiv.

I am beginning to suspect that the Russians might not be entirely truthful.

 

[TV and credit cards]

Ukraine Takes Down Third River Bridge, Cuts Off Russian Forces

The all-weather span across the Seym River was the last road route out of a growing Kyiv-controlled salient in the Kursk region, but it’s not clear how many Russian troops are now trapped.

www.kyivpost.com

All three bridges are down, cutting off the Kursk area from Russian reinforcements. There may be Russian soldiers trapped within.

Map shows Ukrainian controlled + cutoff area.

And as expected...

AFU service personnel said overall Russian resistance in the Kursk region still appeared to be limited and disorganized. An AFU battalion commander said that in two weeks of combat his formation had yet to encounter any well-organized Russian defense.

...it's a Chinese fire drill.

A Russian prisoner of war, Private Aleksandr Belyaev, a communications operator in Russia’s 17th Motor Rifle Battalion, told Ukrainian military correspondent Yuriy Butusov that his unit had come under rocket artillery bombardments that killed his commander. He said that Ukrainian strikes appeared targeted on Russian headquarters and commanders.

Russian army junior officers and NCOs stationed in forward positions abandoned their subordinates at the start of Ukrainian attacks, with morale among the rank and file in his unit poor, Belyaev said.

Of course.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

...it's a Chinese fire drill.

Someone is old military. I thought about that or FUBAR but decided on clusterfuck so as not to appear presumptuous.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Ukraine just destroyed a third bridge, essentially leaving Russian troops cut off and relying on pontoon bridges to keep them supplied. I hope that they can use those floating bridges to evacuate safely.

It's an interesting dynamic that Russian soldiers never know if they're going to be shot by blocking troops or by Ukrainians. The reason they might be allowed to retreat in Kursk is because the Russian situation is nothing short of a clusterfuck. No one is in charge and there are all kinds of different units involved. Once the Ruskis get their shit together we'll likely see more Russians shooting their own soldiers.

Russia wasn't prepared for war, they don't have units on place to shoot the ones that are retreating.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

Ukraine says their Kursk objective is to set up a cross border buffer to prevent Russian incursions there. With the bridges being destroyed it makes sense. Too bad we're not allowing Ukraine to use U.S. weaponry to the max. They'd be truly threatening if we simply allowed that.

 

[Copernicus]

Ukraine just destroyed a third bridge, essentially leaving Russian troops cut off and relying on pontoon bridges to keep them supplied. I hope that they can use those floating bridges to evacuate safely.

It's an interesting dynamic that Russian soldiers never know if they're going to be shot by blocking troops or by Ukrainians. The reason they might be allowed to retreat in Kursk is because the Russian situation is nothing short of a clusterfuck. No one is in charge and there are all kinds of different units involved. Once the Ruskis get their shit together we'll likely see more Russians shooting their own soldiers.

Russia wasn't prepared for war, they don't have units on place to shoot the ones that are retreating.

These were called "blocking units" during WWII. I don't know what they are currently called, but the names would probably trigger anti-obscenity alarms all over the Russian side of the internet.

 

[Copernicus]

Russia's need for troops to drive Ukrainians out of what barbos has called an unimportant desert area of Russia has become so acute that they have finally called out their force of Space Cadets. No doubt, they'll be equipped with laser guns.

Russia Deploying 'Space Troops' to Defend Kursk​

 

[crazyfingers]

Russia's need for troops to drive Ukrainians out of what barbos has called an unimportant desert area of Russia has become so acute that they have finally called out their force of Space Cadets. No doubt, they'll be equipped with laser guns.

Russia Deploying 'Space Troops' to Defend Kursk​

From the link

The Space Troop "consists of personnel from security and logistics companies, engineers, mechanics, some officers, and servicemen from a Russian spaceport. There are also personnel from special warehouses of the Aerospace Forces and radar stations in Russia's Voronezh region,"

A crack suicide squad sounds like to me.

 

[Elixir]

A crack suicide squad

? They probably wish they could commit suicide by crack.

 

[ZiprHead]

Ukraine says their Kursk objective is to set up a cross border buffer to prevent Russian incursions there. With the bridges being destroyed it makes sense. Too bad we're not allowing Ukraine to use U.S. weaponry to the max. They'd be truly threatening if we simply allowed that.

I figured it was just a bargaining chip. You go home, we go home.

 

[laughing dog]

Losses in Kursk can't be that large, the Ukrainians would have already collapsed if they had sustained that.

Same for losses in Donbass.

If we are to believe the Russian figures, the entire Ukranian population has been killed twice in the last two and a half years, as part of the two week "Special Military Operation" to take Kyiv.

After all that, they still haven’t won against a force of nobody?

 

[Henry-Finland]

View attachment 47315

I thought Barbos wanted to discuss inflation?
Let me clarify what this is about:

• The official inflation rate is 9%. This is also what the Western media keeps repeating, as they simply echo what Western economists calculate. And they base their calculations on the figures provided by Russia.
  
  
• In the same way, they report on wage increases, which are due to a shortage of workers in the military industry. These average figures don't take into account the ordinary people living in places without military industry.
  
  
• We could also ask how much "inflation compensation" pensioners and families with children receive?
  The answer: They don't get any compensation because Putin lost half of the social fund when the West froze Russia's bank assets. (Putin is so stupid that he did not tell the Central Bank's Nebullina that he wanted to begin a war..., as he wanted to be remembered as a modern "Peter the Great".)
  And the remaining billions in the social fund have gone to the military industry. Or more accurately, to pay the bills of the oligarchs’ military industries plus their bribes.
  
  Why are bribes being paid even though there is a shortage of military supplies in a middle of war? Can’t the FSB prevent this even during wartime? The answer is simple:

1. If the oligarchs aren't paid "extra," Putin wouldn't stay in power.
2. The ones working in the FSB are among the biggest recipients of these bribes.

Look at the "Products" column for inflation. (Strangely the price of vodka is not mentioned).
The prices of ordinary food items have risen by approx. 25-30% in a year. And prices keep rising, and inflation is spiralling out of control...

 

[Harry Bosch]

Ukraine says their Kursk objective is to set up a cross border buffer to prevent Russian incursions there. With the bridges being destroyed it makes sense. Too bad we're not allowing Ukraine to use U.S. weaponry to the max. They'd be truly threatening if we simply allowed that.

I figured it was just a bargaining chip. You go home, we go home.

Seems pretty reasonable to me!

 

[Tigers!]

I am beginning to suspect that the Russians might not be entirely truthful.

No! I simply refuse to believe that.

Pst: Don't tell Barbos

 

[Henry-Finland]

20 Aug: UNBELIEVABLE FOOTAGE:
Drunk Russian Helicopter Pilots BURN TO ASHES OWN GROUND FORCES​

 

[Henry-Finland]

Begin a new hobby:
- Also teach your children and grandchildren to assemble a Kamikaze-FPV drone for the Ukrainian army.
- Or you and the guys can establish a club and make these.
There are two Ukrainian videos (with English subs) that teach everything you need to know. (Not about the explosives though.)
If you are interested - I can put the videos here.
This video is not one of the videos, but gives a picture of the assembly process.

 

[Elixir]

After all that, they still haven’t won against a force of nobody?

Makes them hard to spot, and harder to hit!

 

[Henry-Finland]

In this (14 minutes) video professor Gerdes tells about:
Banking, Kursk, India, Hundreds of fake media outlets (from Russia), etc.

 

[bilby]

View attachment 47326

Reminds me of this great scene from the 1955 classic movie, The Colditz Story: