Russian Invasion of Ukraine - tactics and logistics

[Copernicus]

[Defend Ukraine meme deleted]

The problem with that cartoon meme is that NATO did not offer to use weapons or send troops to defend Ukraine, and there was considerable hesitation even to offer weapons. Everyone assumed Ukraine would not last long. Ukraine always was alone in defending itself, and all that has been offered have been defensive weapons. Those are being supplied now, perhaps too little and too late, but the cartoon does not portray the threat of global nuclear war if NATO countries were to try to intervene more actively.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Yup. What I see in the big cities and what I see in the more rural areas are very different.

No need to speculate. This is an awesome resource for this

Dollar Street - photos as data to kill country stereotypes

Imagine the world as a street. Everyone lives on Dollar Street. The poorest to the left and the richest on the right. Every else live somewhere in between. Where would you live? Visit Dollar Street and see homes from hundreds of homes from all over the World.

www.gapminder.org

I was thinking of the rural/urban divide I see in China. Your typical tourist never goes into the lower income areas. I've never seen the really poor stuff, but the differences I've seen are tremendous. Even within Shanghai what you see in front isn't always what's behind--most things are behind locked gates so you're not going there unless you're with a local.

 

[DrZoidberg]

Yup. What I see in the big cities and what I see in the more rural areas are very different.

No need to speculate. This is an awesome resource for this

Dollar Street - photos as data to kill country stereotypes

Imagine the world as a street. Everyone lives on Dollar Street. The poorest to the left and the richest on the right. Every else live somewhere in between. Where would you live? Visit Dollar Street and see homes from hundreds of homes from all over the World.

www.gapminder.org

I was thinking of the rural/urban divide I see in China. Your typical tourist never goes into the lower income areas. I've never seen the really poor stuff, but the differences I've seen are tremendous. Even within Shanghai what you see in front isn't always what's behind--most things are behind locked gates so you're not going there unless you're with a local.

That's the entire point of that Web page. The families selected aren't selected at random. They are selected because they are representative. It's precisely to show how normal people, within their income bracket really live their lives.

The Rosling Foundation is a big deal. They have lots of support from all of academia and all governments.

China has no incentive to try to hide reality. In public perception westerners think China is a lot poorer than it really is.

 

[steve_bank]

Tactics Vido of indescrimate use of cluster bombs.

 

[SLD]

The Russians can’t even cross a fucking River. 3 times they’ve failed. Keep trying fuckers.

Bloody river battle was third in three days - Ukraine official

Ukraine claims to have attacked Russian troops as they attempted to cross the Siversky Donets river.

www.bbc.com

utterly piss poor Military skills. If this is the plan they need to fire their planners right now.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

The Russians can’t even cross a fucking River. 3 times they’ve failed. Keep trying fuckers.

Bloody river battle was third in three days - Ukraine official

Ukraine claims to have attacked Russian troops as they attempted to cross the Siversky Donets river.

www.bbc.com

utterly piss poor Military skills. If this is the plan they need to fire their planners right now.

Opposed river crossings are hard. Ukraine has it's act together with artillery, that makes obstacles such as rivers very hard.

 

[Copernicus]

The Russians can’t even cross a fucking River. 3 times they’ve failed. Keep trying fuckers.

Bloody river battle was third in three days - Ukraine official

Ukraine claims to have attacked Russian troops as they attempted to cross the Siversky Donets river.

www.bbc.com

utterly piss poor Military skills. If this is the plan they need to fire their planners right now.

I don't think that the decision to cross that river was driven by military strategy, but by political direction. They are under extreme pressure to make advances, and the generals involved in the planning likely felt that they had little choice other than to follow the orders of their high command, who are dealing with an unstable dictator. Hitler often overrode his generals, making the fateful decision to attack Stalingrad before reaching their major objective of the Caucasian oilfields during Operation Edelweiss. Putin had very definite ideas about what his military could achieve, if it invaded Ukraine, and he has been extremely frustrated by their lack of progress in living up to expectations. Crossing that river was key to making advances even though pontoon crossings in active war zones are extremely risky, especially with good satellite intelligence to spot and report ground activity. They were sitting ducks. Putin is playing with his toy soldiers, and the generals are likely being handed their military objectives under his direction.

 

[SLD]

The Russians can’t even cross a fucking River. 3 times they’ve failed. Keep trying fuckers.

Bloody river battle was third in three days - Ukraine official

Ukraine claims to have attacked Russian troops as they attempted to cross the Siversky Donets river.

www.bbc.com

utterly piss poor Military skills. If this is the plan they need to fire their planners right now.

Opposed river crossings are hard. Ukraine has it's act together with artillery, that makes obstacles such as rivers very hard.

Yes. They are hard. But they are essential operations for any well run military. Russia does not have a well run military.

 

[DrZoidberg]

Absolutely amazing that the Russians couldn't grab Kharkiv considering it's a ethnically Russian, and Russian speaking city. If there was any truth to Putin's Nazi story, wouldn't Kharkiv be happy to embrace their ethnically similar liberators?

 

[Bronzeage]

I watched a drone video that was released today. It shows a night battle, if battle is the right word. A Russian BTG was driving down a road with heavy trees on each side. They were approaching a bridge. It appeared the drone was spotting for Ukrainian artillery. Crosshairs focused on a target and a streak appeared from off camera and the target exploded. This continued for about 10 minutes until every moving vehicle was on fire. Men could be seen running through the trees. Where ever a large group was seen, a shell hit. Before the video ended, strikes targeted lone soldiers running through the woods. I'm sure the only survivors were those who ran far enough before all the primary targets were destroyed.

I can't say if this video was genuine, as I have seen a lot of game footage edited to look like drone video, but after seeing the remains of the Russian river crossing, I can imagine this is what it was like.

 

[Jayjay]

If I understood correctly, part of the reason for high casualties for the failed river crossing was that the group of tanks actually got over and into the village on the other side, before the pontoons were blown up. The Russian troops were then trapped on the wrong side of the river with no possibility to retreat.

 

[Jarhyn]

The Russians can’t even cross a fucking River. 3 times they’ve failed. Keep trying fuckers.

Bloody river battle was third in three days - Ukraine official

Ukraine claims to have attacked Russian troops as they attempted to cross the Siversky Donets river.

www.bbc.com

utterly piss poor Military skills. If this is the plan they need to fire their planners right now.

Opposed river crossings are hard. Ukraine has it's act together with artillery, that makes obstacles such as rivers very hard.

Now you're speaking my language! So, it's possible to stand up a bridge in... Maybe 15-20 minutes with a well-trained platoon and good bridging equipment. None of that is very easy when getting shelled.

And for impermanent bridges and wider rivers, it may just not be possible: if they can shell the bridge ends, at the abutments, impermanent bridges will just be blown to pieces.

They could also put a RECORDED! Minefield at the river bank and then dig it up when the conflict is over. Good luck getting anything bigger than personnel across after that!

I'm pretty sure Russia skimps on engineer operations, equipment, and training because it is not aggressive or flashy.

The result is... Well, river crossings that end like this. And there is no way to get conscripts to perform well as army engineers; there's just no investment.

There are a number of ways the Russian army can get across that river, but mum's the word. It's funny watching them fail and I don't want to change that trend!

 

[Black Water]

Greetings! I've heard that following the beginning of combat operations, the Ukrainian government initiated the distribution of weapons among the population to protect against Russia. So, where are these weapons? Right, it's on the internet on various weapons sales sites. Is this a country that needs our help? If many people don't accept their government's assistance and sell these means of protection. Why should we provide some aid to them?

 

[Harry Bosch]

Greetings! I've heard that following the beginning of combat operations, the Ukrainian government initiated the distribution of weapons among the population to protect against Russia. So, where are these weapons? Right, it's on the internet on various weapons sales sites. Is this a country that needs our help? If many people don't accept their government's assistance and sell these means of protection. Why should we provide some aid to them?

Well, do you have a source for that? That's a pretty bold assertion. But the larger issue here is that Ukrainians are running out of ammo and are in need of longer range weapons. The Ukranian weapons have been mostly shorter term defensive weapons designed to take out Russian motor vehicles and tanks and then scoot. But the Russians now are just using long term artillery; then after an area is leveled, they send in the tanks. Ukraine is also in great need for longer term anti-ship missiles. They want to open up their port Odessa in order to start exporting grain (very much needed in the world). But the Russians are blockading the port and bombing the shit out of Ukraine.

 

[Black Water]

Greetings! I've heard that following the beginning of combat operations, the Ukrainian government initiated the distribution of weapons among the population to protect against Russia. So, where are these weapons? Right, it's on the internet on various weapons sales sites. Is this a country that needs our help? If many people don't accept their government's assistance and sell these means of protection. Why should we provide some aid to them?

Well, do you have a source for that? That's a pretty bold assertion. But the larger issue here is that Ukrainians are running out of ammo and are in need of longer range weapons. The Ukranian weapons have been mostly shorter term defensive weapons designed to take out Russian motor vehicles and tanks and then scoot. But the Russians now are just using long term artillery; then after an area is leveled, they send in the tanks. Ukraine is also in great need for longer term anti-ship missiles. They want to open up their port Odessa in order to start exporting grain (very much needed in the world). But the Russians are blockading the port and bombing the shit out of Ukraine.

Greetings! I've heard that following the beginning of combat operations, the Ukrainian government initiated the distribution of weapons among the population to protect against Russia. So, where are these weapons? Right, it's on the internet on various weapons sales sites. Is this a country that needs our help? If many people don't accept their government's assistance and sell these means of protection. Why should we provide some aid to them?

Well, do you have a source for that? That's a pretty bold assertion. But the larger issue here is that Ukrainians are running out of ammo and are in need of longer range weapons. The Ukranian weapons have been mostly shorter term defensive weapons designed to take out Russian motor vehicles and tanks and then scoot. But the Russians now are just using long term artillery; then after an area is leveled, they send in the tanks. Ukraine is also in great need for longer term anti-ship missiles. They want to open up their port Odessa in order to start exporting grain (very much needed in the world). But the Russians are blockading the port and bombing the shit out of Ukraine.

For sure. https://darknet.rutor.nl/threads/prodam-oruzhie-patrony-ukraina.55230/
Just follow the link, and you will see that a person tries to illegally sell ak-74, that undoubtedly was distributed by the Ukrainian authorities for the protection of the country and fighting Russia, and not for the personal benefit.

 

[TV and credit cards]

Greetings! I've heard that following the beginning of combat operations, the Ukrainian government initiated the distribution of weapons among the population to protect against Russia. So, where are these weapons? Right, it's on the internet on various weapons sales sites. Is this a country that needs our help? If many people don't accept their government's assistance and sell these means of protection. Why should we provide some aid to them?

Came out swinging without a bat.

I’ll betcha Ukrainians are a lot like other folks of other nations. Many will fight. Many will run. Some will try and make money off the situation. Funny how it keeps working out this way time and again. Fucking human nature.

You ain’t seen nothing yet. Wait’ll we start funding the rebuilding of their country.

 

[Elixir]

You ain’t seen nothing yet. Wait’ll we start funding the rebuilding of their country.

TRULY, this^
Especially if it's Russian assets they're pilfering. But even if it's coming from NATO taxpayers, the grift and graft will be epic.

 

[Elixir]

https://darknet.rutor.nl/threads/prodam-oruzhie-patrony-ukraina.55230/
Just follow the link, and you will see that a person tries to illegally sell ak-74, that undoubtedly was distributed by the Ukrainian authorities for the protection of the country and fighting Russia, and not for the personal benefit.

One rifle? One?
Surely you can uncover some container loads of them, right?
In an international conflict, the theft and sale of one rifle is hardly an indicator of widespread corruption. I bet I could do better than that in less than ten minutes if I were so inclined. Even if it was one THOUSAND instead of just one, that would be a less than a drop in the armaments bucket.

 

[Harry Bosch]

Greetings! I've heard that following the beginning of combat operations, the Ukrainian government initiated the distribution of weapons among the population to protect against Russia. So, where are these weapons? Right, it's on the internet on various weapons sales sites. Is this a country that needs our help? If many people don't accept their government's assistance and sell these means of protection. Why should we provide some aid to them?

Well, do you have a source for that? That's a pretty bold assertion. But the larger issue here is that Ukrainians are running out of ammo and are in need of longer range weapons. The Ukranian weapons have been mostly shorter term defensive weapons designed to take out Russian motor vehicles and tanks and then scoot. But the Russians now are just using long term artillery; then after an area is leveled, they send in the tanks. Ukraine is also in great need for longer term anti-ship missiles. They want to open up their port Odessa in order to start exporting grain (very much needed in the world). But the Russians are blockading the port and bombing the shit out of Ukraine.

Greetings! I've heard that following the beginning of combat operations, the Ukrainian government initiated the distribution of weapons among the population to protect against Russia. So, where are these weapons? Right, it's on the internet on various weapons sales sites. Is this a country that needs our help? If many people don't accept their government's assistance and sell these means of protection. Why should we provide some aid to them?

Well, do you have a source for that? That's a pretty bold assertion. But the larger issue here is that Ukrainians are running out of ammo and are in need of longer range weapons. The Ukranian weapons have been mostly shorter term defensive weapons designed to take out Russian motor vehicles and tanks and then scoot. But the Russians now are just using long term artillery; then after an area is leveled, they send in the tanks. Ukraine is also in great need for longer term anti-ship missiles. They want to open up their port Odessa in order to start exporting grain (very much needed in the world). But the Russians are blockading the port and bombing the shit out of Ukraine.

For sure. https://darknet.rutor.nl/threads/prodam-oruzhie-patrony-ukraina.55230/
Just follow the link, and you will see that a person tries to illegally sell ak-74, that undoubtedly was distributed by the Ukrainian authorities for the protection of the country and fighting Russia, and not for the personal benefit.

Sorry, but there's no way I'm going to click on a link for "darknet.rutor" or whatever that is. I don't click on any link that I don't trust. Do you have a secondary source that is more mainstream? But this raises a few questions to me. First off, one person allegedly selling an AK-74 means demonstrates a pattern? I'd recommend a more heightened level of suspicion.

 

[Harry Bosch]

I'm curious if anyone has a theory why there is such an appalling disregard for Russian KIA by Russia soldiers? I've seen countless videos of killed Russian soldiers just lying in the road. Just left there by Russians. It's quite shocking. You don't see Ukrainians leaving their dead in the street. American soldiers don't leave their dead behind. I'll bet most militaries in the world try to tend to their dead.

 

[ZiprHead]

Finland confirmed to ask to join NATO.

https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-europe-61441664?ns_mchannel=social&ns_source=twitter&ns_campaign=bbc_live&ns_linkname=6280e23d01eea2774308eb29%26Watch%3A%20The%20moment%20Finland%20confirms%20%27important%27%20Nato%20membership%20bid%262022-05-15T11%3A23%3A15%2B00%3A00&ns_fee=0&pinned_post_locator=urn:asset:079cb27d-eefe-484d-9c83-f0f5e555c7eb&pinned_post_asset_id=6280e23d01eea2774308eb29&pinned_post_type=share

 

[Bronzeage]

Greetings! I've heard that following the beginning of combat operations, the Ukrainian government initiated the distribution of weapons among the population to protect against Russia. So, where are these weapons? Right, it's on the internet on various weapons sales sites. Is this a country that needs our help? If many people don't accept their government's assistance and sell these means of protection. Why should we provide some aid to them?

That's a fair point.

Unfortunately for the Russians, the story about Ukrainians selling weapons was a ruse fed to Putin's intelligence agencies, along with the idea Ukrainians would welcome an invasion.

Putin accepted the story about selling guns because under his regime, Red Army soldiers will steal any government property that will fetch a few rubles. When this is combined with a decade of falsifying maintenance records and an army used only to suppress Russian citizens, it's little wonder they are doing so poorly.

With Russian casualties approaching 30,000, it seems Ukrainians kept most of their guns close at hand.

 

[TV and credit cards]

I'm curious if anyone has a theory why there is such an appalling disregard for Russian KIA by Russia soldiers? I've seen countless videos of killed Russian soldiers just lying in the road. Just left there by Russians. It's quite shocking. You don't see Ukrainians leaving their dead in the street. American soldiers don't leave their dead behind. I'll bet most militaries in the world try to tend to their dead.

Ukrainians are picking up Russia's dead and storing them in refrigerated train cars wanting to send them back to their families. But I guess there is no response from Russia.
I think the lady with the sunflower seeds idea knew this was going to happen.

 

[Jayjay]

Greetings! I've heard that following the beginning of combat operations, the Ukrainian government initiated the distribution of weapons among the population to protect against Russia. So, where are these weapons? Right, it's on the internet on various weapons sales sites. Is this a country that needs our help? If many people don't accept their government's assistance and sell these means of protection. Why should we provide some aid to them?

You're right! I just bought an S-300 missile defense system and two M777 howitzers on Ebay for a bargain price. Just waiting for delivery.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

I don't think that the decision to cross that river was driven by military strategy, but by political direction. They are under extreme pressure to make advances, and the generals involved in the planning likely felt that they had little choice other than to follow the orders of their high command, who are dealing with an unstable dictator. Hitler often overrode his generals, making the fateful decision to attack Stalingrad before reaching their major objective of the Caucasian oilfields during Operation Edelweiss. Putin had very definite ideas about what his military could achieve, if it invaded Ukraine, and he has been extremely frustrated by their lack of progress in living up to expectations. Crossing that river was key to making advances even though pontoon crossings in active war zones are extremely risky, especially with good satellite intelligence to spot and report ground activity. They were sitting ducks. Putin is playing with his toy soldiers, and the generals are likely being handed their military objectives under his direction.

This. Bunching up where the enemy can drop on you (whether from aircraft or artillery) is basically a form of suicide. Yet Moscow keeps ordering troops to do things that force them to bunch up.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

They could also put a RECORDED! Minefield at the river bank and then dig it up when the conflict is over. Good luck getting anything bigger than personnel across after that!

No--minefields are not able to stop enemy forces, nor are they intended to. Minefields are lethal speed bumps, intended to reduce enemy forces to a crawl and expose him to fire while doing so. You put down a minefield, you observe the minefield and fire upon those attempting to sweep it. And note that minefields can be swept with large bombs--although Moscow seems to have used up the precision guided stuff needed for the purpose. (Look at Desert Storm, that's how we breached the minefield at the border--blast a corridor through it with a few big booms. Normally that would itself be problematic as confining your troops to the safe corridor is normally quite dangerous, but Iraq lacked the ability to exploit the situation.)

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Greetings! I've heard that following the beginning of combat operations, the Ukrainian government initiated the distribution of weapons among the population to protect against Russia. So, where are these weapons? Right, it's on the internet on various weapons sales sites. Is this a country that needs our help? If many people don't accept their government's assistance and sell these means of protection. Why should we provide some aid to them?

Evidence?!

And note that most of what we have been sending has been the heavy stuff that has little other market. I'm sure some of the small arms ended up for sale but that's a minor issue.

 

[Elixir]

Greetings! I've heard that following the beginning of combat operations, the Ukrainian government initiated the distribution of weapons among the population to protect against Russia. So, where are these weapons? Right, it's on the internet on various weapons sales sites. Is this a country that needs our help? If many people don't accept their government's assistance and sell these means of protection. Why should we provide some aid to them?

You're right! I just bought an S-300 missile defense system and two M777 howitzers on Ebay for a bargain price. Just waiting for delivery.

You got TWO M777s?
Dude! Wanna trade one for a Switchblade drone?
Sweet defense system BTW. Been wanting one of those for my garage.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

For sure. https://darknet.rutor.nl/threads/prodam-oruzhie-patrony-ukraina.55230/
Just follow the link, and you will see that a person tries to illegally sell ak-74, that undoubtedly was distributed by the Ukrainian authorities for the protection of the country and fighting Russia, and not for the personal benefit.

Really, now? That seems to be the only post by that guy and he failed to provide the verification demanded. Can you say "scammer"?

And strangely, that post is in Russian. The Ukrainians I know have all refused to use Russian since the war broke out.

 

[steve_bank]

Greetings! I've heard that following the beginning of combat operations, the Ukrainian government initiated the distribution of weapons among the population to protect against Russia. So, where are these weapons? Right, it's on the internet on various weapons sales sites. Is this a country that needs our help? If many people don't accept their government's assistance and sell these means of protection. Why should we provide some aid to them?

Heard where?

It was widely reported that as Russia massed for an invasion Ukrainian civilians began buying guns and getting training.

The Ukrainians went through a revolution to get rid of the Russian puppet leadership, went through the seizure of Crimea, and the presence of Russian military in the border region.

No conspiracy theory was needed to motivate the Ukrainians.

People being what we are, there has undoubtedly been some collaboration and profiteering by Ukrainians.

Welcome Black Water whoever and whatever you really are. Barbos is just no fun anymore.

By the way. I heard Putin is actually gay and has wld sex parties.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

For sure. https://darknet.rutor.nl/threads/prodam-oruzhie-patrony-ukraina.55230/
Just follow the link, and you will see that a person tries to illegally sell ak-74, that undoubtedly was distributed by the Ukrainian authorities for the protection of the country and fighting Russia, and not for the personal benefit.

Sorry, but there's no way I'm going to click on a link for "darknet.rutor" or whatever that is. I don't click on any link that I don't trust. Do you have a secondary source that is more mainstream? But this raises a few questions to me. First off, one person allegedly selling an AK-74 means demonstrates a pattern? I'd recommend a more heightened level of suspicion.

It purports to be a weapons sales site, although the lack of an Onion address makes me suspicious. The guy is offering them in volume (at least assuming Google translated the page properly, I don't know Russian), but apparently has only one post and the thread got closed for a failure to provide verification. Even if the site is what it claims to be this isn't credible evidence of diversion.

 

[steve_bank]

Greetings! I've heard that following the beginning of combat operations, the Ukrainian government initiated the distribution of weapons among the population to protect against Russia. So, where are these weapons? Right, it's on the internet on various weapons sales sites. Is this a country that needs our help? If many people don't accept their government's assistance and sell these means of protection. Why should we provide some aid to them?

You're right! I just bought an S-300 missile defense system and two M777 howitzers on Ebay for a bargain price. Just waiting for delivery.

Aint the Second Amendment great?

 

[Elixir]

appalling disregard for Russian KIA by Russia soldiers

I think it’s a hallmark of Russian brutality and cruelty, well developed and well maintained for centuries for purposes of terror and dread. Why even HAVE soldiers if it’s not ok if they die? Culture…

 

[Jarhyn]

They could also put a RECORDED! Minefield at the river bank and then dig it up when the conflict is over. Good luck getting anything bigger than personnel across after that!

No--minefields are not able to stop enemy forces, nor are they intended to. Minefields are lethal speed bumps, intended to reduce enemy forces to a crawl and expose him to fire while doing so. You put down a minefield, you observe the minefield and fire upon those attempting to sweep it. And note that minefields can be swept with large bombs--although Moscow seems to have used up the precision guided stuff needed for the purpose. (Look at Desert Storm, that's how we breached the minefield at the border--blast a corridor through it with a few big booms. Normally that would itself be problematic as confining your troops to the safe corridor is normally quite dangerous, but Iraq lacked the ability to exploit the situation.)

The point is, it makes the crossing even more costly even if they can manage it.

Minefields can be swept a lot of ways, but not by Russian military assets, is the point.

Their engineer corps sucks ass.

 

[steve_bank]

I'm curious if anyone has a theory why there is such an appalling disregard for Russian KIA by Russia soldiers? I've seen countless videos of killed Russian soldiers just lying in the road. Just left there by Russians. It's quite shocking. You don't see Ukrainians leaving their dead in the street. American soldiers don't leave their dead behind. I'll bet most militaries in the world try to tend to their dead.

What I remember being said during the Cold War was that Russian soldier's life was pretty miserable even brutal. I also read that unlike western armies Russia keeps its soldiers in the dark. No pass down of battle plans or goals. Get in a truck, get out, and go in the direction you are told to. A bit simplistic but that's the idea.

Going back to WWII non commissioned officers were important for battlefield leadership. They could make decisions on the fly as needed. If an officer is killed an NCO is prepared to take over. If a sergeant is killed a corporal is ready. From what I read on WWII that goes back to Eisenhower and the failures in North Africa. He intitiated leadership training down to the lower ranks. If two provate are left the one with more time in service takes over.

From the pictures and reporting the Russians were in a classic rout. Turn tail and run dropping everything including working tanks and ammunition.

I also wonder about education in Russia and how the Russian army compares to western armies in education and general intelligence. How literate are the lower ranks. How well educated is a Russian lieutenant?

 

[Elixir]

Barbos is just no fun anymore.

Hate to say I told you so …

 

[Hermit]

Greetings! I've heard that following the beginning of combat operations, the Ukrainian government initiated the distribution of weapons among the population to protect against Russia. So, where are these weapons? Right, it's on the internet on various weapons sales sites. Is this a country that needs our help? If many people don't accept their government's assistance and sell these means of protection. Why should we provide some aid to them?

Someone named Vladimir had a used T72 for sale last week. Said it needed some repairs and the turret had gone missing, but it was in pretty good nick otherwise. He wanted a hundred bucks for it. I almost bought it, thinking I could flog it to the local scrappy, who used to pay $50 per ton. Luckily, I rang him first to check if he still pays at that rate. He said: "Are you kidding? For the past couple of months I got more Russian scrap metal than I can handle. People are just leaving that shit outside my gate at night and scarper. There's a mountain of that stuff on the footpath now. I don't know where they get so much of it from. And don't bother ringing Sims. They got more than they can handle too."

So, no deal.

 

[Elixir]

DW chose an unfortunate user_name … probably thought PMCs were heroes in the eyes of ‘Murka. Now he done a runner…

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

A Russian columnist recently appeared on television and gave a damning assessment of the situation in Ukraine from Russia's perspective.

Watch the video. This guy is telling it like it is. Completely rational saying it looks very bad for Russia particularly because they are so isolated. Lots of other good stuff. A great read.

 

[Tigers!]

I'm curious if anyone has a theory why there is such an appalling disregard for Russian KIA by Russia soldiers? I've seen countless videos of killed Russian soldiers just lying in the road. Just left there by Russians. It's quite shocking. You don't see Ukrainians leaving their dead in the street. American soldiers don't leave their dead behind. I'll bet most militaries in the world try to tend to their dead.

That has been noted for hundreds of years. Even when the Mongol hordes were ravaging Russia in the 1300s foreign observers noted the Russian disregard for their soldiers. The Novgorod chronicle apparently mentions that.

 

[Copernicus]

A Russian columnist recently appeared on television and gave a damning assessment of the situation in Ukraine from Russia's perspective.

Watch the video. This guy is telling it like it is. Completely rational saying it looks very bad for Russia particularly because they are so isolated. Lots of other good stuff. A great read.

OK, that has gone viral in the Western press, so poor retired Colonel Mikhail Khodaryonok is probably in for a world of hurt. I haven't been able to find much on his background, but he has been a "defense commentator". Possibly, this very candid admission of Russia's failures is some kind of deliberate attempt by the press to begin questioning the course of the war, which pretty much seems doomed at this point. Russia is in a losing position, and, as Khodaryonok said, the US is in the process of flooding Ukraine with new weaponry. The moderator kept jumping in on Khodaryonok, questioning the preparedness and professionalism of all of those Ukrainians willing to fight. Khodaryonok claimed that Ukraine could field a million more people ready to fight and that they would become seasoned troops as time went on. At the same time, he pointed out that Russia could not replace all of the equipment it lost quickly and that fighting morale was on the side of Ukrainians defending their homeland. IOW, Khodaryonok was pretty much saying what commentators in the West have been saying about the turn that the war has taken. Khodoryanok ended by saying that Russia's isolation in the world had to end. I wonder if more commentators with his perspective will be allowed on state-controlled TV.

 

[TV and credit cards]

A Russian columnist recently appeared on television and gave a damning assessment of the situation in Ukraine from Russia's perspective.

Watch the video. This guy is telling it like it is. Completely rational saying it looks very bad for Russia particularly because they are so isolated. Lots of other good stuff. A great read.

I liked Kodaryonok’s pushback against the moderator’s comments about conscripts and professionals. She doesn’t seem to understand that this professionalism starts in training and a strong desire to learn, practice, and excel at everything that is taught. It’s all about morale. If morale is high, your forces will look to overcome obstacles, be they food, equipment, clothing, or sleep. There is camaraderie and a winning attitude from the very beginning.
On the other side when you force a very young man just starting out in life to fight in a foreign land with no purpose and no motivation, he will see every obstacle as an opportunity to avoid doing his job. He will keep his head down, do just what he has to do to keep himself alive and get back home.
If you’re going to treat your forces like cannon fodder, leaving their bodies to rot in foreign fields, if you’re going to treat them like their life has no value, then you need to convince them of the same.
Aside from being a thug and keeping himself in power, Putin really doesn’t know what the fuck he’s doing, does he? It’s all coming home to roost now.

 

[steve_bank]

In North Africa Patton instilled discipline, pride, morale, and professionalsim into a rag tag American army, after Kasserine Pass where the Americans ran away in a rout by the Germans.

The iconic optimistic smile and persona on Eisenhower's face was crafted and practiced. He believed leadership was an acquired and teachable skill.

He was afraid that any hint of doubt in how he presented himself could spread through the army. There is the clip of his sending off paratroopers on B Day sniling and shaking hands..

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

A Russian columnist recently appeared on television and gave a damning assessment of the situation in Ukraine from Russia's perspective.

Watch the video. This guy is telling it like it is. Completely rational saying it looks very bad for Russia particularly because they are so isolated. Lots of other good stuff. A great read.

OK, that has gone viral in the Western press, so poor retired Colonel Mikhail Khodaryonok is probably in for a world of hurt. I haven't been able to find much on his background, but he has been a "defense commentator". Possibly, this very candid admission of Russia's failures is some kind of deliberate attempt by the press to begin questioning the course of the war, which pretty much seems doomed at this point. Russia is in a losing position, and, as Khodaryonok said, the US is in the process of flooding Ukraine with new weaponry. The moderator kept jumping in on Khodaryonok, questioning the preparedness and professionalism of all of those Ukrainians willing to fight. Khodaryonok claimed that Ukraine could field a million more people ready to fight and that they would become seasoned troops as time went on. At the same time, he pointed out that Russia could not replace all of the equipment it lost quickly and that fighting morale was on the side of Ukrainians defending their homeland. IOW, Khodaryonok was pretty much saying what commentators in the West have been saying about the turn that the war has taken. Khodoryanok ended by saying that Russia's isolation in the world had to end. I wonder if more commentators with his perspective will be allowed on state-controlled TV.

I'm personally shocked that Russia is failing to make in-roads here. They regrouped for what seemed to be a planned incursion, but that regrouping failed. And yes, Ukraine's benefit is that Ukrainians are fighting to save Ukraine. They can be hungry, cold, uncomfortable, but their goal is to save their country. The Russian military doesn't have that drive. They are just hungry and uncomfortable.

I think the idea was Plan C included taking a large swath of Eastern Ukraine and annex it (Plan A was shock and awe Ukraine via a build up into giving up, Plan B was to march towards Kviv and then have them give up). Now it seems they can't even do that, not remotely. Had Putin just annexed the areas he recognized, all would have been well and he could have continued to slowly incur on Ukraine. But maybe illness "forced" Putin's hand.

This is one of the worst invasions since Bay of Pigs and we knew when to give that up immediately. Putin is playing Risk and keeps rolling 1's and his huge advantage of numbers has dwindled. Their economy can only manage for so much longer, this was supposed to happen quickly and now it appears that it never will happen and Russia needs to figure out just how much longer they can keep this up because the longer they don't advance, the less of Ukraine they get to keep.

 

[Copernicus]

...This is one of the worst invasions since Bay of Pigs and we knew when to give that up immediately. Putin is playing Risk and keeps rolling 1's and his huge advantage of numbers has dwindled. Their economy can only manage for so much longer, this was supposed to happen quickly and now it appears that it never will happen and Russia needs to figure out just how much longer they can keep this up because the longer they don't advance, the less of Ukraine they get to keep.

At this point, it is hard to see how they can give up. If they just stop fighting now, there is no guarantee that Ukraine will stop trying to regain its lost territory. The potential for Putin suffering a humiliating defeat has begun to worry the governments of France, Germany, and Italy:

EU's leaders are softening on Putin 'humiliation' as USA hardens towards war​

Macron has said that he prefers some kind of "face-saving solution" for Putin rather than total defeat. One of the reasons, of course, is that Europe depends so heavily on Russian oil and gas, which is far less of a concern to the UK, Canada, and the US. The UK defense ministry has estimated that Russia has lost about a third of its committed ground forces in Ukraine already:

UK: Russia has likely lost one-third of ground combat forces in Ukraine​

That sounds sensational and is likely an exaggeration, but Russia has not committed its entire military and still has plenty of reserve to throw into the invasion. The question is how long this can go on. Putin still seems to have a solid hold on power, and it isn't at all clear how any subsequent Russian government would deal with this mess if Putin were to suddenly be removed from power.

Nobody deals well with humiliation, but the main driver of this war appears to be the humiliation that Putin and Russian nationalists still feel over the collapse of the Soviet empire. They wanted to regain their self-image as the dominant power in eastern Europe, but their image is now lower than it ever was in the past. What the EU leaders worry about is how that feeling of humiliation will fester after the fighting stops in defeat.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Problematic to "save face" when you started it, and the only way to "save face" is to give them territory they have no right to, and should owe money to Ukraine for the damage. Indeed, Russia is the weakest it has looked in a long time. There is little that can be done to make Russia not look like a giant bag of dumbasses.

 

[Elixir]

Oddly, when the Soviet Union broke up, my feeling toward the Russian people was like "proud of y'all" not some kind of "gotcha!".
Apparently that's not how Pootey and his ilk thought they were being viewed.

 

[Copernicus]

Oddly, when the Soviet Union broke up, my feeling toward the Russian people was like "proud of y'all" not some kind of "gotcha!".
Apparently that's not how Pootey and his ilk thought they were being viewed.

Putin was a KGB counterintelligence officer in East Germany at the time the Wall came down. His life was devoted to serving and protecting the Soviet Union, which fell apart. He took it as a personal failure and felt betrayed in much the same way that Hitler felt betrayed by the humiliating end of WWI for Germany. A lot of Russians felt the same way Putin did, but they were powerless to stop it. Putin's life is no longer devoted to the Soviet Union, but Russia. This war is getting revenge on the West for himself and like-minded Russians, who have felt a renewed sense of national pride since he took power. They are likely to feel even more betrayed and humiliated, if Russia is forced to concede much at the end of this war. They will desperately want to keep what gains they have made, and they will not accept that this was all their fault.

 

[steve_bank]

Hitler was also motivated by revenge over WWI and the treaty. He also carried a grudge for not being propmoted to officer in the war.

I believe the French surrender was taken in the same rail car that the Germans surrounded in.

East Germany was particularly brutal under the Soviets. I member the videos of people shot trying to cross over. East Germans got creative in ways to get out.

 

[DrZoidberg]

A Russian friend sent me this. He says Putin's spell has been broken. Nobody is buying his bullshit anymore. It seems like the governments threatening statements about Finland and Sweden are making people worried Russia will be in endless wars.

That's what he says