Russia's War Against Ukraine

[GDS_Starfury]

Awesome.

Looks like several potential encirclements coming.

the last few days have had some of the most gruesome footage of the war.

[SirAndrewD]

Yeah, I've been seeing that.  A lot of it on both sides. 

They're fully stuck in now. 

[GDS_Starfury]

did you catch the russian video of all the dead UK troops and at the end they all get up because the dipshit didnt stop rolling footage?

[GDS_Starfury]

still LOVE this!

[SirAndrewD]

did you catch the russian video of all the dead UK troops and at the end they all get up because the dipshit didnt stop rolling footage?

I didn't.  I'll have to dig for it, that sound hilarious.

[JasonPratt]

did you catch the russian video of all the dead UK troops and at the end they all get up because the dipshit didnt stop rolling footage?

I didn't.  I'll have to dig for it, that sound hilarious.

I don't think I've seen that yet, but I saw an almost equally hilarious bs Russian video of dead Uks (supposedly) who supposedly washed up on shore (river or coast, don't recall, probably river) with crisp US $100 being pulled out of their wallets. Which should have been watersoaked. The 'bodies' were lying around like actors 'playing dead' on stage, too, the way you're taught to do so for long stage scenes so you can rest carefully while breathing unseen.

[Windigo]

Been on vacation since the 25th of August so I had no access to the forum until today.

A lot has changed since the 25th. You all should go back and read what was said.

I think the Ukraine has surprised a lot of us with its new two front war.

[SirAndrewD]

I think the Ukraine has surprised a lot of us with its new two front war.

It's impressive. 

We all knew it had to come though.  If their goal was to take back territory, the only way they were going to do it was taking the fight to the Russians. 

I am shocked they've accomplished two fronts on their attack, but I think that the Kharkiv counteroffensive is one of opportunity more than planning. 

The Russians have been putting everything they can into supporting the 49th Army on the wrong side of the Dniper.  They know if they collapse there, a large portion of the 49th isn't coming home and that can't be hidden.   What we've seen is that the forces around Kharkiv have largely been bolstered by conscripts and 3rd line garrison forces, so why not go at them?  They're performing about how we'd expect them to. 

I think at this point the lesson is to never underestimate the Ukrainians.

[Windigo]

well it seems the soviets are getting the shit kicked out of them right now.

Damn straight!

If they pull it off, the Ukraine will be able to roll the orcs up and kick their asses back to the borders in the north.... I wonder if the Soviets can supply the Crimea by sea?

[JasonPratt]

I wonder if the Soviets can supply the Crimea by sea?

I wonder if the Soviets can supply anything by any method at this point!

[Windigo]

I think the Ukraine has surprised a lot of us with its new two front war.

It's impressive. 

We all knew it had to come though.  If their goal was to take back territory, the only way they were going to do it was taking the fight to the Russians. 

I am shocked they've accomplished two fronts on their attack, but I think that the Kharkiv counteroffensive is one of opportunity more than planning. 

I think at this point the lesson is to never underestimate the Ukrainians.

That's a lot more operational flexibility on the UAF's part than what the Soviets can handle apparently.

Supposedly the tip of the spear for this 40-50 km push was 15 tanks??? Geebus.

[FarAway Sooner]

did you catch the russian video of all the dead UK troops and at the end they all get up because the dipshit didnt stop rolling footage?

One thing that's surprising to me is how utterly the Russians have lost "the social media theater" of the Ukraine War.  The Russians basically owned every second of the Social Media Theater during the US 2020 Presidential Election campaign.  They couldn't have scripted either side's actions (or the proliferation of inflammatory information and misinformation on both sides) any better.

But the Internet is now utterly populated by video clips glorifying the Ukrainian resistance and (as near as I can tell accurately) lionizing the Ukrainian fighters.  All we see from Russia on the social media front new is Keystone Kops.  For all I know, half of those sloppily produced videos are being produced by Ukrainian-sympathetic groups to ridicule the Russians.  We live in The Deep Fake Era, and the Internet's only reliable quality filter is "Does it make for a compelling audience experience?"

I'm not saying that all the pro-Ukrainian stuff is made up.  I just can't believe how the Russians were basically able to define the US Presidential election in the eyes of most US voters in both parties, but they can't find their way out of a wet cardboard box in Ukraine.

Apologies if this post turns the thread in any way political.  I'm happy to delete any mentions to the US Presidential election if anybody wants me to.  This thread is too valuable to risk spoiling it.

[GDS_Starfury]

well it seems the soviets are getting the shit kicked out of them right now.

Damn straight!

If they pull it off, the Ukraine will be able to roll the orcs up and kick their asses back to the borders in the north.... I wonder if the Soviets can supply the Crimea by sea?

not with Harpoons and a resurgent UKAF.

[GDS_Starfury]

all those tasty rail lines......   :dreamer:

[FarAway Sooner]

I have no sense how far behind enemy lines a railroad line or station had to be before artillery made it effectively useless.  But there's no question that advances like this can really disrupt supply lines.

It sounds like there is some encouraging (if still somewhat vague and speculative info) coming out on recent Ukrainian advances.  We'll see if that continues, or if we start getting confirmations from more authoritative sources (the UK Ministry of Defense seems to be leading other governments to the punch by 24-48 hours in terms of announcing "good news", but the US DoD has been surprisingly specific on a number of occasions as well).  But the good news from other sources seems to be accelerating.

Yesterday, I heard an analyst on FoxNews say something to the effect of, "We've seen some tactical developments that should be encouraging to any supporter of Ukraine.  But at the operational level, things still favor the Russians.  They're largely fighting where the Russians want to, the way they want to (i.e., the Ukrainians attacking entrenched Russian positions), when they want to."

We can hope that these tactical gains translate into something more.  Every success at the operational level starts with success at the tactical level.