Russia's War Against Ukraine

[GDS_Starfury]

I kinda like this meme

[JasonPratt]

Yep, says everything necessary about the Russian defensive quandary: they MUST fight on the first line of defense, and so use their second and third lines for reserves to push forward, because if Ukraine gets to even the second line (much moreso the third) the last main supply route for Russian Crimea occupiers goes poot.

Once the crumbling starts, it's gonna escalate. There are no defenders left in the 2nd and 3rd line to amount to anything.

[GDS_Starfury]

and it other surprising news, South Africa gives putin the middle finger over his grain "gifts".

The South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa, said at Putin's Africa party:

"We did not come here to ask for any 'gifts' for the African continent".

"As we listened to your [Putin's – ed.] speech today, when you were responding to some elements of our proposals, we noted the following. In particular, you were talking about grain. We proposed to implement the Black Sea Grain Initiative, we talked about the need to open the Black Sea, we said that we would like the Black Sea to be open to world markets."

[JasonPratt]

Step 1: shut down Ukrainian grain again.
Step 2: COMRADES OF THE WORLD, DO YOU NEED GRAIN, LIKE REALLY REALLY BADLY?!
Step 3: profit?
Step 5: win?



(Note: originally I typed "5" by accident, but then I let it stand because I laughed when I saw what I had done.)

[FarAway Sooner]

Dude, Charlie Sheen would approve of that last post!

[Gusington]

WINNING...Russian style. Which really means...not winning, so much. And forgetting a step.

[ArizonaTank]

nice piece from Forbes on repair and refit of damaged Leo IIs

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/ukrainian-tank-losses-diminish-as-polish-technicians-save-more-and-more-damaged-leopard-2s/ar-AA1exmj4?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=b602e69c2d7d43bbb2a752c73a6b41bf&ei=13

[SirAndrewD]

Still not a lot of info if the UAF is really in Verbovne but the live map did reflect it's contested. 

Many others are not updating because of OPSEC.  This is a critical moment and the Russians don't need any more help.

There was a counterattack attempt at the UAF gains on the trenches, but, you guessed it, the Russians got pasted by their own mines and couldn't advance.  UAF arty did the rest.

[Crossroads]

and it other surprising news, South Africa gives putin the middle finger over his grain "gifts".

The South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa, said at Putin's Africa party:

"We did not come here to ask for any 'gifts' for the African continent".

"As we listened to your [Putin's – ed.] speech today, when you were responding to some elements of our proposals, we noted the following. In particular, you were talking about grain. We proposed to implement the Black Sea Grain Initiative, we talked about the need to open the Black Sea, we said that we would like the Black Sea to be open to world markets."

Given that China depends on quite massive grain import, and that they would likely not appreciate a grain price hike at all, and also given that Russia bombed Ukrainian grain storage waiting to be exported to China, and in the process, they actually managed to hit the Chinese embassy in Odessa, well, Xi is not a happy man either, I'd bet.

[GDS_Starfury]

if you think about it, it's kinda funny that everyone always seems to hit the chinese embassy.

[Jaedegader]

I kinda like SPAM meme   Links to online casino's gets you banned !!

The statement encapsulates the Russian defensive predicament succinctly: they are compelled to engage in the first line of defense, reserving their second and third lines as backup to advance further. If Ukraine breaches even the second line (let alone the third), it could jeopardize the crucial supply route for the Russian forces occupying Crimea.

Once the initial defenses falter, the situation is bound to escalate rapidly, as there are no significant defenders remaining in the second and third lines to mount any effective resistance.

[GDS_Starfury]

https://twitter.com/i/status/1685567044073488384

[Windigo]

Still not a lot of info if the UAF is really in Verbovne but the live map did reflect it's contested. 

Many others are not updating because of OPSEC.  This is a critical moment and the Russians don't need any more help.

There was a counterattack attempt at the UAF gains on the trenches, but, you guessed it, the Russians got pasted by their own mines and couldn't advance.  UAF arty did the rest.

Because having maps of their own minefields would just not be russian (at this point in time anyway)

[Gusington]

Have to love Zelensky's style: "Today is the 522nd day of the so-called 'Special Military Operation', which the Russian leadership thought would last a couple of weeks," he said.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66352765

[JasonPratt]

Some ironic echoes of Barbarossa there! -- which Hitler also thought would last three weeks (on two weeks of supplies)!

It would be nice if history didn't repeat itself and go several years of Putler's three week war. But if it did more totally repeat, then Ukraine would be chugging along to see if they could reach Moscow before the western allies...