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Russian warship successfully intercepted Ukrainian naval drone.
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Interesting chitchat about wagner
With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion.
Steven WeinbergComment
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Yeah, the poor Ukainians are certainly in dire trouble - I mean, who cares about that they routed the russians in the Kyiv area, later in the Kharkiv and the Kherson areas, that was all just russian magic in their defense strategy - now the russian armor is dug in and easy targets decimated on a daily basisOriginally posted by Berzerker View Post
With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion.
Steven WeinbergComment
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The Russian advance on Kiev was designed to get Zelensky to deal and the retreat was part of the draw down process. In Kherson the Russian general withdrew so his forces wouldn't be trapped if eastern escape routes were cut off, like when the dam up river failed. I dont know what happened in Kharkiv, maybe the Russians forgot to bring shovels.
Here's some polling on Americans
approve or disapprove of Biden's handling of Russia
43 approve - 81 Dem, 75 liberal, 51 moderate, 38 independent, 14 conservative, 11 Rep
56 disapprove - 18 Dem, 24 liberal, 48 moderate, 61 independent, 85 conservative, 87 Rep
55 to 45 want to end funding for the war
Who are these people who keep supporting wars for 1-2 years and then changing their minds?
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Can you provide a source? The recent polls I have seen are very supportive of Ukraine.
JMJon Miller-
I AM.CANADIAN
GENERATION 35: The first time you see this, copy it into your sig on any forum and add 1 to the generation. Social experiment.Comment
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Russia may now have changed to use tankers to intercept those naval drones.
(Guardian live coverage)Ukraine claims responsibility for attack on Russian tanker near Crimea
Ukraine has taken responsibility for the drone strike on a Russian tanker in the Kerch Strait, according to a security service source.
“Overnight the [Ukrainian Security Service] SBU blew up the ‘SIG’, a large oil tanker of the Russian Federation that was transporting fuel for Russian troops,” the source told Agence France-Presse.
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Would be funny if Ukraine established a naval blockade in the Black Sea without much of a surface navyBlahComment
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Google Earth shows nearly half of tanks and armored vehicles have been taken out of storage at major open-air depot in Buryatia
By studying the most recent Google Earth photos from Vagzhanovo, a major open-air military storage depot in Russia’s Buryatia, The Moscow Times has concluded that more than 40 percent of the tanks and other equipment stored at the depot before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine have been taken out of storage.
The publication reports that around 3,840 pieces of armored equipment appeared on Google Earth photos taken five months before the invasion. By May 2023, this number had shrunk to 2,270. This means that 1,570 tanks and armored vehicles have been taken out of storage over the past 1.5 years. Most of them (32 percent of the original number) left the depot after Russia’s President Vladimir Putin declared mobilization in September 2022.
The Russian Defense Ministry’s equipment conservation guidelines describe four categories of storage conditions, ranging from heated and ventilated depots for the most valuable equipment to open-air depots like Vagzhanovo. According to the military expert Pavel Luzin, who spoke to The Moscow Times, the latter are used for storing what “no one would miss.”
Judging by several photos posted by former Vagzhanovo staff on the social media, “no one would miss” the Soviet T-62 tanks, produced in the USSR in 1962–1975. When taken out of storage, some of them are refurbished with new armor, engines, optical and electronic systems, and thermal cameras. Others are disassembled into spare parts.
According to Luzin, refurbished T-62s are sometimes used as artillery. Another expert, who spoke to The Moscow Times anonymously, points out that old Soviet tanks are also used as armored vehicles to support the infantry.
In its first year of full-scale war with Ukraine, Russia lost about half of its modern tanks, as reported by the U.K.-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). The analysts at Oryx estimated that Russia had lost over 2,200 tanks in the same period.
Attached FilesBlahComment
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no doubt they are beginning by withdrawing the most badly damaged and least salvageable vehicles from storage and the 60% that remain include the best ones!Comment
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Seeing some reports of a small beachhead on the east bank of the Dnipro north of Kherson."I am sick and tired of people who say that if you debate and you disagree with this administration somehow you're not patriotic. We should stand up and say we are Americans and we have a right to debate and disagree with any administration." - Hillary Clinton, 2003Comment
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So the big offensive hasn't gone as everyone wanted (well except for Russia of course). Is it now a stalemate? A war of attrition? Can either side change the existing line of contact by much? Is the West seeing the beginning of "Ukraine fatigue" due to lack of progress? Is public support for supplying Ukraine beginning to lag in the U.S.?
Or...do we have it all wrong?
Russia is obviously mobilizing obsolete armor to replace its horrific armor losses in the war. Ukraine has captured hundreds of Russian frontline tanks. 50 more Leopards were just committed to Ukraine from Belgian storage. 31 M1A1's are about to be delivered. The balance of power in armor is shifting toward Ukraine.
Russia has drastically decreased the usage rate of 152mm howitzers. They have increased the use of 120mm mortars. This is due to ammunition shortage. Ukraine has received hundreds of 155mm howitzers from the West. Cluster munitions being deployed are both plentiful for this weapon and highly effective against the type of defense Russia has implemented. Not to mention that just U.S. production , which was at 12,000 shells per month, will be up to 80,0000 shells per month by years end of regular HE rounds.
Ukraine benefits from interior lines of supply. It is much easier for them to move men and material around the LOC. Ukraine continues to degrade Russian Ground Lines of Communication (i.e. supply lines) by drastically reducing what can come up from Crimea. Moscow is 775 miles from Tokmak. Even Rostov-on-Don is well over 200 miles.
Long range weapons used by Russia are being utilized against mainly civilian targets. One would have to assume that Russian intelligence on high value targets is limited. Ukraine is beginning to receive longer range Western weapons and benefits from Western satellite intel that allows hitting high value targets. Russian missile production is estimated at about 25-30 missiles per month.
About the only advantage that Russia is maintaining is manpower (quantity has a quality of its own??). However, the Russian SOP is to move out of entrenched positions and fight in front of them when attacked. Ukraine's prioritizing conservation of force is leading to 3:1 to 10:1 casualty advantage for Ukraine. Russia has recruited over 221,000 soldiers this year and conscripted 300,000 last year. They did not have anywhere near the ability to even basically train this many soldiers prior to the war. It is likely that the vast majority of these are being sent to battle with little training. Ukraine, otoh, is having large number of troops trained in NATO countries.
Daily we hear where Ukraine has advanced "100 meters" here or there, so the momentum is still forward and the initiative is still theirs.
What does all of this mean? To me, it means that now, more than ever, is the time to pour weapons and training into Ukraine. It would be almost impossible if Russian lines were not strained by these events. I believe it is only a matter of time before that stress becomes to much and we begin to see large collapses along the front.
The West likes a winner. When this happens, all the questions will go away. Is it weeks or months? Who knows? But strong support from the West make it inevitable. Let's hope the political will holds."I am sick and tired of people who say that if you debate and you disagree with this administration somehow you're not patriotic. We should stand up and say we are Americans and we have a right to debate and disagree with any administration." - Hillary Clinton, 2003Comment
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a stalemate means more dead people, but at least Russia will continue bleeding... money well spent I hear
war would end fast if we stopped paying for it, Ukraine would deal and let Crimea and the Donbas go. I dont think they want to be ruled by Kiev anyway, ya know.Comment
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