Warfare Russia/Ukraine War

[TheKiwi]

I've gotten a new understanding on how my parents' generation saw the world back in the cold war days. Being born in the early 80's I've not been around to realize how the world would have been taken out in 90 mins or so in a nuclear exchange. I had some certain worrying thoughts on the matter around 9/11 and the aftermath. As of now, the thing is, I've become somewhat uneasy with the almost weekly nuclear threats from the Kremlin.
...

I grew up in the 1970's and 80's with the constant knowledge that the world was only one US or USSR mistake away from being destroyed. It's quite the weight on the back of the mind. The lifting of that weight in the 1990's was massive!

 

[TheKiwi]

Another failed state trying to inflate it's standing among it's peers by being having it's already crippled economy annihilated through sanctions

The U.S. ambassador to South Africa accused the country of providing weapons to Russia.

The American ambassador to South Africa told reporters that Washington is confident a Russian ship picked up a load of weapons and ammunition near Cape Town in December.

www.nytimes.com

Colour me skeptical. While South Africa is a decent sized military supplier (25th in the world from recollection), pretty much everything they produce is set up to western specifications. e.g. 155mm shells, not 152, 7.62x51 ammo, not 7.62x54, etc. And while they do produce a decent set of vehicles, that's not the kind of thing that goes unnoticed on the battlefield.

 

[Hiryu2.0]

The Red Army continues to retreat at Bahmut. They retreated north of Khamorove to the Berhivka reservoir to take up a "more favourable position".
This effectively abandoned their efforts to encircle Bahmut by removing direct pressure from the supply route through Khamorove.
After the Russian territorial losses around Klychivka, the road from Chasiv Yar can now be safely accessed.
After the events of the last few days, it seems that the Russian command now wants to focus on defence in preparation for the upcoming Ukrainian offensive and at least to hold the areas currently under their control.
More Prigozhin videos lambasting the Russian military are expected this weekend.

 

[Hiryu2.0]

The Graveyard of Command Posts: What Chornobaivka Should Teach Us about Command and Control in Large-Scale Combat Operations

To fight and win on the modern battlefield in large-scale combat operations, Army command posts must become more flexible, agile, and resilient while not sacrificing effectiveness.

www.armyupress.army.mil

 

[muck]

Germany is preparing a military assistance package to Ukraine worth €2.7 billion. According to weekly 'Spiegel' it will comprise additional Marder infantry fighting vehicles, Leopard 1 tanks, Gepard self-propelled anti-air guns, IRIS-T surface-to-air missile systems, and mine-protected vehicles for infantry mobility and cargo transport. Reconnaissance drones as well as ammunition will also be supplied. (Source, German, Paywall)

 

[PegAsus]

I've gotten a new understanding on how my parents' generation saw the world back in the cold war days. Being born in the early 80's I've not been around to realize how the world would have been taken out in 90 mins or so in a nuclear exchange. I had some certain worrying thoughts on the matter around 9/11 and the aftermath. As of now, the thing is, I've become somewhat uneasy with the almost weekly nuclear threats from the Kremlin.

I mean, should/would the russian army be decisively defeated in the battlefield by the seemingly close Ukr offensive, what other option for Putin and his cronies there are than facing the rifle squad or doubling down on the destruction? What other cards to play to keep up with the appearancies? The "special operation" would have been called off by a year/months ago by any sensible command structure, the like of which we're not seeing.

Would Putin actually be mad enough to go forward with the unthinkable, and would his (no doubtedly carefully selected and apparantly loyal) underlings actually carry out such an order or just pop a couple to the cranium instead?

This fear is my mind too, but the current situation, reminds me of a bully in my childhood, who swears he would kill me if he gets me some day. Even if there is a great danger, how long do you want to be taken hostage by such statements? At some point, the threat is uttered once too often and you simply don't believe it anymore, or you become a fatalist and say to yourself, then I'll just take my chances... I think the danger exists, but on the other hand I don't believe that the riffraff that has gathered around Putin is willing to be vaporised for his sick ideas....

 

[brics]

Gas and electricity hit the lowest price in two years and oil is only kept artificially high through price-fixing by dictatorships.

Prices hit the bottom, biggest export markets not buying, selling oil below cost price, state revenues

Using fosil fuels as a weapon, master strategy

That's just plain wrong.

 

[Fluff]

Colour me skeptical. While South Africa is a decent sized military supplier (25th in the world from recollection), pretty much everything they produce is set up to western specifications. e.g. 155mm shells, not 152, 7.62x51 ammo, not 7.62x54, etc. And while they do produce a decent set of vehicles, that's not the kind of thing that goes unnoticed on the battlefield.

The SA politicians would need to dumb as F*** to do this. But aren’t they one of the most corrupt governments? So probably just $$. SA did have a strong arms manufacturing, but most has gone by now, as they have no real enemy or competitor. Maybe they had old soviet shells captured in Angola? Who knows, can’t really be much, in the greater scheme of things.

 

[Fluff]

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[Mike1976]

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[Mike1976]

The SA politicians would need to dumb as F*** to do this. But aren’t they one of the most corrupt governments? So probably just $$. SA did have a strong arms manufacturing, but most has gone by now, as they have no real enemy or competitor. Maybe they had old soviet shells captured in Angola? Who knows, can’t really be much, in the greater scheme of things.

I'm thinking more along the lines of non-kinetic equipment like comms being (re-)exported.

Or perhaps they're even more stupid than we think by serving as a mule for another sanctioned country like Iran, Best Korea or Venezuela.

SA as you say is corrupt as f*ck. The ANC is stupid enough to do it out of ideology and votes, and for $10k here and there so is every single politician and public servant.

 

[Fluff]

I'm thinking more along the lines of non-kinetic equipment like comms being (re-)exported.

Or perhaps they're even more stupid than we think by serving as a mule for another sanctioned country like Iran, Best Korea or Venezuela.

SA as you say is corrupt as f*ck. The ANC is stupid enough to do it out of ideology, and for $10k here and there so is every single politician and public servant.

It’s possible, but I’m sure the yanks will have warned manufacturers to watch for unusual orders. China has clearly got the message, only idiots would risk their future business plus never transmitting through USA, for a few million $$. Russia might think a few thousand radios might help, but they are dreaming.

 

[Hiryu2.0]

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[Telmar]

SU 34 shot down in friendly fire...

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[Mike1976]

SU 34 shot down in friendly fire...

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Yes, but is it a crow or is it a B-2 sized crow

Anyways
"Glorious Russian air defence downs two Apaches, two F-35s "

 

[Hiryu2.0]

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[Mike1976]

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[Hiryu2.0]

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[Mike1976]

Russian media is speculating that the four aircraft may have been shot down by a Ukrainian SAM or a Mig-29. Sounds more like coping to me to account for a SAM operator being even more drunk than usual and thinking he was going to become a Hero of the RF by beating back a massive Ukrainian air armada

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In reality the Ghost of Kyiv went to the dealer, pinky-swore he was only taking the F-22 for a test drive round the block and hoofed it

 

[Hiryu2.0]

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In the army, the term "self-hit measuring sub-unit" was used pejoratively: idiots in general, alcoholic boiler fitters, competitive staff of the external facilities management company, etc.
Today the term has taken on a new meaning.