Russia's War Against Ukraine

[steve58]

Came across this interesting graphic on Twitter that shows American military bases in Europe dependency on Russian fossil fuels.  With Russia cutting off LNG supplies to Europe, I suspect the commanders in Europe are getting more than a little worried about their Strategic and Operational Readiness.



https://watson.brown.edu/climatesolutionslab/research/2022/mapping-us-military-dependence-russian-fossil-fuels

Apologies if it has been previously posted...

[GDS_Starfury]

and heres your helmet video:

https://twitter.com/i/status/1563628411255496704

Stay away from that guy in a head-butting fight...well actually just stay away from that guy in any fight...

I assure you my head is thicker.

[JasonPratt]

Wow, I hadn't even thought of the effect of shutting off the LNG to NATO forces...  #:-) L:-) That could add another strategic constraint for next year, easily.

Meanwhile, tonight's Enforcer news catchup -- pre-produced, not live, for a while due to the accidental copyright strike (no live shows for 7 days). It just started about 30 minutes ago, so I haven't watched it all yet, but when I saw the first visual confirmation of Uk pilots using HARMs, I thought I'd post up early:

Since the broadcast is ongoing as I type, I can't give an exact timestamp (not good at reverse time math!) but it's only a few minutes into the cast. Mig-29 footage is excellent!

[FarAway Sooner]

Steve, the fossil fuel map of US bases is interesting.  I wonder how much of that electrical generation is mission-critical for a warfighting environment?  I honestly have no idea how to measure that, but I'd be surprised if the Department of Defense bureaucrats have much idea, either.

The US energy dependence on Russia and the Middle East has been one of the most sadly neglected areas of US policy for at least two decades now.  There are a lot of reasons why (some good, others bad), but it's simply not been a topic that either political party has been eager to embrace except on very particular issues (e.g., Republicans urging "Drill, baby, drill!"  while Democrats scream "Renewables Now!!!!" at the top of their lungs). 

Like most things that have required some degree of personal sacrifice on the part of American citizens, our politicians have mostly avoided the topic for a long time now.

[GDS_Starfury]

shoot and scoot!

https://twitter.com/i/status/1565005545773404160

[Sir Slash]

Looks like they know what they're doing. 

[GDS_Starfury]

3 maps trying to show whats happening now:

map 1 from soviet milbloggers:


map 2 from twitter osint:


map 3 is some google mishmash:


map 4 is Austerlitz, which makes more sense if you were to zoom out any of the previous maps:

[FarAway Sooner]

Interesting.  I wish any of those maps had a scale.

[JasonPratt]

Looks like the Enforcer's channel has suffered a massive HIMARs strike from Youtube, for whatever reason: depending on what tab you check on his channel, they've left him either one or several videos of the 180ish he had earlier this week.  :-\

So no more updates from there for a while.

[MengJiao]

Looks like they know what they're doing. 

  It looks like the Russians have figured out a cheaper way to get rid of their industrialists -- just throw them out of sixth-floor windows (and note that 5 other industrialists have "committed suicide" in the last few months (from CNN):

The chairman of Russian oil and gas giant Lukoil — which spoke out against Russia's invasion of Ukraine — has died after falling out of a hospital window, state news agencies RIA Novosti and TASS reported Thursday.

Ravil Maganov died at the Central Clinical Hospital west of Moscow, according to the reports, which cite the hospital and law enforcement sources.

"The incident occurred around 07:00 am Moscow time in the Central Clinical Hospital ... The man fell out of the sixth-floor window and died as a result of his injuries," a source told TASS.

Lukoil confirmed Maganov's death in a statement published on its website, saying only that the executive died "following a severe illness" and making no mention of a fall.

"We deeply regret to announce that Ravil Maganov, Chairman of PJSC LUKOIL Board of Directors, passed away following a severe illness," the statement read. "Ravil Maganov immensely contributed to the development of not only the Company, but of the entire Russian oil and gas sector."

Russia's second largest oil company made headlines in early March after speaking out against Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"The Board of Directors of LUKOIL expresses herewith its deepest concerns about the tragic events in Ukraine. Calling for the soonest termination of the armed conflict, we express our sincere empathy for all victims, who are affected by this tragedy," reads a statement from the board of directors to shareholders, staff and customers published March 3.

"We strongly support a lasting ceasefire and a settlement of problems through serious negotiations and diplomacy," added the statement.

Lukoil produces more than 2% of the world's crude oil and employs more than 100,000 people.

RIA Novosti quoted a law enforcement source who said the businessman "most likely committed suicide."

"Yes, we can confirm the fact [of death]. Investigating authorities are working on the spot to establish the causes of the incident," the source said, according to RIA.

At least five prominent Russian businessmen have reportedly died by suicide since late January, according to previous CNN reporting.

[JasonPratt]

I thought I saw a headline this morning that Putin has fired his defense minister?

[Pete Dero]

I thought I saw a headline this morning that Putin has fired his defense minister?

That happened a few days ago.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/08/29/putin-sidelines-defence-minister-kyiv-launches-counter-offensive/
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11156383/Russias-defence-minister-Sergei-Shoigu-lined-Putin-ridiculed-soldiers.html

[Sir Slash]

 :o  In Putin's Russia, you no commit suicide, suicide commits YOU.

[Pete Dero]

At least five prominent Russian businessmen have reportedly died by suicide since late January, according to previous CNN reporting.[/b]

Suicide à la Rommel.

died "following a severe illness".

Allergic to concrete sidewalks ?

[Sir Slash]

It's not the fall that kills you....  ::)