Russia's War Against Ukraine

[undercovergeek]

Not sure if he is helping his cause with the porn glasses, foreign legion kepi and finger splint look.  But it is unique

... , or, what it means to everyone out there.

WTH are porn glasses

[Uberhaus]

I can't reccommend internet searching for a definition.

[Crossroads]

PerunAU with a review of the Operation Spiderweb on Russian strategic bombers:

Good watch, as always, reminding us, for instance, that there was nothing illegitimate about these strikes. The nuclear treaties do not in fact require Russia to store their bombers in broad daylight, and they had resigned from those treaties even if it had. These platforms were used to strike Ukraine, and the reduction of these airframes was a service to NATO as well.

[Crossroads]

While all eyes have been on Iran, Russian casualties have now surpassed the 1 000 000 mark. Such utter madness.

https://x.com/DefenceHQ/status/1933073278408478992

One million casualties yet the Kremlin doesn't blink. The war remains invisible to many ethnic Russians in the big cities. For them, if anything, better job opportunities and wages in war industry. Instead, there's seemingly an endless and continuous supply of cannon fodder from impoverished regions populated by ethnic minorities, lured by bundles of freshly printed rubles. Insane.

Meanwhile, North Korean casualty rates have reportedly are in excess of 50%, too:

https://x.com/DefenceHQ/status/1934233503824068952

Grim reports highlight a dire shortage of prosthetic limbs in Russia even after a 50% increase in deliveries in 2024, totaling up to 150,000+ limbs compared to 2023.

https://x.com/DefenceHQ/status/1934913093668102597

[JasonPratt]

At this point I expected Nork casualty rates to be in excess of 500%. 

[Crossroads]

At this point I expected Nork casualty rates to be in excess of 500%. 

Indeed, the casualty figures must include double and triple casualties as well, as soldiers have returned to front. In NORK case, five times sounds about right. They are skilled soldiers from all that is reported, so might live to be hit another day again.

[Jarhead0331]

Some interesting footage of Russian armor getting knocked out. The section showing small drones bricking T-90s starts around the 2:30 mark. These tanks seem to be extremely vulnerable.

[JudgeDredd]

Tommy cookers.

Man...they go up like match boxes

[Jarhead0331]

Russians have never been particularly good at coming up with vehicle designs that are protective of the crew.

[undercovergeek]

How on earth do the Bradley and APC drive past each other? 🤷�♂️

[Crossroads]

Groundhog Day coming up again, this time in Alaska.



https://bsky.app/profile/kateinkharkiv.bsky.social/post/3lvyv2crx2s2i

Another recurring theme beyond the ever-shifting deadlines is the demand for an immediate ceasefire, followed by negotiations. Ceasefire first, remember?

Expect to see a carousel of unrealistic and constantly changing demands before any ceasefire is "agreed upon." Or, given Ukraine's recent successful strikes on Russian oil refineries, perhaps their version of a first step towards "ceasefire" will be to stop targeting infrastructure, something Russia continues to hit indiscriminately.

And if a ceasefire is eventually agreed to, it will likely be a Russian-style ceasefire, as Darth Putin defines it: "You cease, we fire."

Not holding my breath.

  

[JudgeDredd]

Never gonna happen. The only way there will be a ceasefire over there is if NATO/EUROPE/WHOMEVERTHE****STILLGIVESA**** kicks that twat out of Ukraine.

Ukraine aren't voluntarily ceding territory (and why the AF should they) and Russia is demanding the territory already taken because - you know - explanations at home about how he managed to **** up so bad and get so many of his young men and women killed.

[Crossroads]

National Review with a rather good overview about the cr@p Russia spews out day after day:

While I was gallivanting through Spain, Russian state television hosted Bogdan Bezpalko. He works for Vladimir Putin on the Russian Federation's Council for Interethnic Relations. He's a piece of work, although I must admit that "work" was not the first four-letter word that came to mind when I wrote that sentence.

Here's what Bezpalko had to say:

What do we want? We want Ukraine, as a state, to cease to exist, for its military potential to be completely destroyed, that the political class that has always turned the Ukrainian state into an anti-Russia, that it, too, disappear. That these people leave, so softly put, somewhere in emigration, or somewhere else, far away. But in any case, so that it would never be possible to create another anti-Russia from Ukraine in the coming decades and centuries. This is our goal.

Based on this, we must make our plans, to carry out military construction, to expand, as recently signed, an order of the Russian president, our armed forces. To create art brigades of special power to break through the front. And if there is an opportunity to strike, if there is an opportunity to destroy military potential, destroy it. Let them be a little afraid of us.

They relaxed there, playing soccer in Europe. They no longer consider Russia a threat to them in any way, even though they shout about it all the time. In fact, neither in Finland nor in Germany, nor in Italy, does anyone believe that Russia is capable of launching, for example, a nuclear strike. The Americans, in principle, allow it. But Finland, Italy, and Germany are very far away from the United States.

A nuclear cloud will not reach New York or Seattle. And if these states are hit with our weapons, as an instrument of pressure on our country, then the Americans will sit down with us and negotiate and divide the world again. Just as they once did, as a result of World War II, as a result of the Tehran-Yalta-Potsdam conferences.

I mean, quite something isn't it. And this is not an exception, this is the rule what their talks shows discuss with solemn faces day after day. It is nice to see this reported.

The article continues:

Outside of a few of us who pay close attention to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the world didn't notice Bezpalko making these bonkers threats against Ukraine and the West.

Had the rest of the world noticed, most of it would have yawned. Most people would shrug it off as the usual saber-rattling on Russian state television. The Russian airwaves are always full of regime propagandists, frothing at the mouth, demonizing Ukraine and pledging to vanquish anyone who dares stand in the way of the regime. Russian state television hosts threaten nuclear tsunamis; pledge to conquer "Berlin, Bonn, and Paris"; predict that Trump's cabinet will "quickly dismantle America, brick by brick"; and so on.

It would be easier to dismiss this as meaningless raging propaganda if every day and every night Russia wasn't bombing civilians in Ukraine. See, the Russians aren't just threatening to kill as many Ukrainians as they can; they're actually doing it.

As for that nuclear sabre rattling, the click bait news seem to fall to it time after time. I am not saying NR did this here, quite the opposite. I saw a neat article describing the four levels of said narrative, and what should be our reaction to it. Unfortunately I can't find it, but it was something like this:

At first level, the Kremlin related talking heads talk about using nukes. Our reaction should be to call out their cr@p.

At second level - and even this has not happened yet - Putin himself would talk about using nukes. Granted, he has sort of hinted at that, but not really said the N word as far as I recall. Our reaction should be the same at to first level threats: call him out. But we're not there yet.

Third and fourth levels would be more serious, I recall third level was to see actually some kind of (call for a) preparation for nuclear military exercises of sorts. And the fourth level of saber rattling would be to see such exercizes being run.

But as said, we're still at Level One and I, as did NR (hear hear) call out their sh*t. Beyond that, nothing to see here.

[JudgeDredd]

I have my doubts that NATO is one functioning piece at the moment.

I think Russia knew this. Trump way back when (and perhaps other presidents?) had mentioned his dislike of NATO being overly funded by the US. Fair point - not disputing countries haven't pulled their weight - but it's music to Russia's ears to hear NATO has cracks.

Just like the UK leaving the EU (I fully believe Russia helped in that campaign), it showed cracks in Europe. I believe the hope for that would be that other countries in Europe to follow the UK.

All conjecture...but knowing what Putin wants (a Union of Soviet Socialist Republics again), makes sense he'd want to see a broken NATO and a broken Europe.

If Russia does go down the Nuke road, I imagine they'd try out a tactical nuke in Ukraine first - test the water...see where the US/NATO/Europe stand when it happens. Then he can take an educated guess on whether he'd get away with one on a European city.

[Crossroads]

If Russia does go down the Nuke road, I imagine they'd try out a tactical nuke in Ukraine first - test the water...see where the US/NATO/Europe stand when it happens. Then he can take an educated guess on whether he'd get away with one on a European city.

But they are not going out that road. Nukes are a weapons system that cannot be used, such is the stigma around them. Tactical nukes aren't even that powerful, the impact can be replicated by massive artillery and MRLS fires.

But that they (ie the talking heads) talk about that with such leisure should be condemned.