This might be a little tougher than Putin thought...
- Thread starter Nole Lou
- Start date
You must not have been around during the Nam years. Comical.
Nam was a foreign war clown boy, not an invasion of our country. Can you see the difference?
"After the failed Russian attack, two Russian soldiers* lost their way and went straight into the Ukrainian trench position and were eliminated, apparently close by #Avdiivka ."
"The occupier decided to play hide-and-seek with a kamikaze drone, controlled by the pilots of the 59th brigade.PEGAS was honest, he didn't spy, he let the orc hide, and when he found it, he killed it. "
How Russo-Ukrainian War Could Undermine Moscow’s Missile Exports
The Russo-Ukrainian War has shattered the perception that Vladimir Putin is the leader of a military superpower. In nearly two years of fighting, Russia has been unable to defeat Ukraine despite across-the-board military advantages. Russia outnumbers Ukraine in every category from manpower to armored vehicles to combat aircraft. Yet, the cries of “On to Kyiv” fell flat.
Where Moscow is lacking is in leadership. Putin has managed to saddle the Russian military with leadership so incompetent they rival Publius Quinctilius Varus, the Roman commander who marched three legions into an ambush that everyone saw coming but him. At least Varus paid for his folly with his life.
Concerning arms exports, Moscow is in second place, behind the United States. The distance between these rivals had been increasing before the war. Now, the war threatens to further undermine Russia’s position within the international arms market.
One possible area that Russia could see decline concerns air-launched weaponry. The war found the Ukrainian Air Force (UAF) unable to challenge its Russian counterpart due to its small size and use of obsolete equipment. Still, the UAF has survived and continues (surprisingly) to perform missions against Russian targets.
A unique development of this war is the integration of Western-made weaponry into Ukraine’s Russian-designed combat aircraft. Before the war, companies did not see the integration of Western missiles with Russian aircraft as worth the effort. The process is complicated and expensive and the market benefits are limited. The war could change this equation with the U.S. and Ukrainian governments footing the bill for this integration work.
The AGM-88 HARM was the first Western missile integrated with a Ukrainian fighter aircraft. Although Ukrainian pilots cannot use the HARM to its fullest capability, it enables Kyiv to keep eating away at Russia’s ground-based air defenses. Now, other Western-made armaments are reportedly being integrated with Ukrainian combat aircraft, perhaps including air-to-air and land attack missiles.
Since this process has started, Western defense firms might be inclined to offer this package to other operators of Russian-made fighter aircraft. Victory in some international arms competitions can depend on giving a potential client the widest number of options to choose from. The market for arming Russian aircraft with Western missiles may not be large (at least at first), but it is an option Western companies can propose to potential clients that their Russian counterparts cannot. Western firms could bill this weapons package as another alternative to new aircraft purchases, while exposing these clients to Western-made weaponry and perhaps influence future aircraft choices.
Whether this occurs or not, the war has done considerable damage to the reputation of Russian-made arms. Sadly, the blame for this can be laid at the feet of Russia’s leaders. Rome had some courageous and skillful leaders during the Republic and Empire periods. Unfortunately, the bravery of Roman troops in the Teutoburg Forest could not compensate for their leader’s mistakes.
How Russo-Ukrainian War Could Undermine Moscow's Missile Exports - Defense Security Monitor
The Russo-Ukrainian War has shattered the perception that Vladimir Putin is the leader of a military superpower. In nearly two years of fighting, Russia has been unable to defeat Ukraine …
dsm.forecastinternational.com
The bolded about the AGM-88 is an understatement folks. This is where getting the F-16's online is a game changer.
"There are two Russian armies fighting in their invasion of Ukraine. There is the "second army" of the world with massive numbers of tanks and artillery pieces and soldiers that march with precision on Red Square and look like recruiting posters. This army is supported by a massive industrial base making "near peer" equipment at elevated rates.
Then there is another Russian army invading Ukraine. This one has lost 90% of its professional soldiers ("lifers" in US jargon). It is now filled with soldiers with 30 days or less training. Its officer corps depleted to a frction of the pre-war level. Never well-trained in manuever war or combined arms, this army uses clumsy tactics with little or no situational awareness. Vehicle drivers run over their own troops or into their own minefields. This army's generals order small unit attacks over and over again on the same avenues of approach that were dominated by the enemy the day before.
This second Russian army has blown through a massive amount of its first-line equipment. Older T62s from decades ago are seen in its formations and loss columns, because the first line T80/T72 modern versions are becoming scarce. This army's air defesne has proven far less capable than its published specifcations and has been pciked apart by droens and anti-radiation missiles. Self-propelled artillery seen in vast numbers on paper before the invasion are now repalced with ancvient D30 towed guins, vulnerable to counter-battery fire and drones. The second army is the real one.
The first army is the myth that Putin may still nourish, but - more importantly- the delusion that drives Western media to claim the war is a "stalemate" or that Russia can fight a long-war as it grows "stronger" deploying non-existent modern equipment and trained troops. The first zdrmy only appears in RedSquare films. The second one shows up in daily clips from the battlefield. THese clips seldom reported or published in Westgern popular media. The same media - ignorant of the battlefield reality- dutifully reports the lines on the map and concludes there is a stalemate. It feeds a narrative that more "resistance is futile" (Russians are the Borg). The scenario for the first army described is that Russia will never give up its occupied territories without a fight to the bitter end. The second army has lost effective control of Sevastapol and is losing its land bridge to Crimea due to long-range artillery fire and partisan warfare.
In this real world scenario, Russia has lost much of its basic war objectives and is relying entirely on a political effort to break Western will to supply Ukraine. The Russian losses, verified by third-parties, in the real world are staggering and accelrating. These have consumed the best Russian equipment and their best troops. The comments below have links to multiple sources and information describing this "second Russian army" - the real one. It is clear that Russia's only hope is to break Western will, which cannot be allowed to happen. Ukraine does not need a piece of paper that crates "peace" (they alreayd got one of those in Budapest). Ukraine just needs ammo, as Presdient Zellensky famously said. " #RussiaLosingBadly#UkraineMustWin
We won't even have to wait for Festivus for a milestone number like we did last year. The daily number of troops WIA/KIA the last few weeks has been averaging a little over 1000. They've been averaging well over 500 per day since the invasion began.
In the main 8 years of the Vietnam war we averaged less than 80 WIA/KIA per day. During our worst year we averaged less than 200 per day. A war that became untenable to maintain to our population.
Long story short, when will this Russian madness end? I know Putin and other high-level Russians don't care about the numbers. But you'd think the moms and dads of Russia would care at some point.
In addition, it appears that more intelligent military advisors have either convinced Putin that the use of nukes would have more negative than positive repercussions or the Russian nuclear threat doesn't exist.
I wouldn't claim it "doesn't exist".
Just think it is "substantially overblown".
US has spent more $$ on maintaining its nuclear arsenal, annually, than the entire Russian military budget. And we've now seen how ineffective the mainline Russian military is - much of that $$ that purportedly went to new tech and tanks actually got funneled to oligarch/military leader mansions and yachts.
"Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius visited the Leopard2A6 maintenance center in central Lithuania, where German and Portuguese tanks from Ukraine are maintained and repaired."
Wow
Returning to duty after a limb amputation?
Makes sense. A soldier that has lost an arm has less body weight and therefore can charge the Ukrainian lines quicker. In addition, he makes for a smaller target.
I worked there quite a bit. Was there during some of the Maidan protests and took pics.
No, but I'm in contact most every day with friends. Some have had harrowing experiences and one had his sil lose an arm. It's kinda personal.
Putin is using old Soviet military strategy. It's similar to rope a dope. He has more expendable crewmen than Ukraine.
Not sure what I enjoy more ...an airborne turret or a couple orcs flying through space?
A lot of videos today.
"FPV kamikaze of #Ukraine attacks Russian logistics truck convoy. Video from Ukrainian FPV. Also included in the reward is a new video of Russian soldiers after the attack."
"An Aeroflot Boeing 737, flying from Moscow to Yerevan on the morning of December 18, made an emergency landing at Sheremetyevo airport.The pilot decided to return to the starting point due to a failure of the1/front landing gear, an informed source told Channel Five. This is the 6th incident involving planes of Russia's largest air carrier since the beginning of the monthThe Federal Air Transport Agency indicated a few days ago that since At the start of the year, 670 aircraft failures had been recorded, so that makes it 671 now.After this statement from the ministry, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin fired the deputy head of the Federal Air Transport Agency, Georgy Bakharev."
"FPV kamikaze of #Ukraine attacks Russian logistics truck convoy. Video from Ukrainian FPV. Also included in the reward is a new video of Russian soldiers after the attack."
"An Aeroflot Boeing 737, flying from Moscow to Yerevan on the morning of December 18, made an emergency landing at Sheremetyevo airport.The pilot decided to return to the starting point due to a failure of the1/front landing gear, an informed source told Channel Five. This is the 6th incident involving planes of Russia's largest air carrier since the beginning of the monthThe Federal Air Transport Agency indicated a few days ago that since At the start of the year, 670 aircraft failures had been recorded, so that makes it 671 now.After this statement from the ministry, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin fired the deputy head of the Federal Air Transport Agency, Georgy Bakharev."
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- Sep 13, 2002
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Unfortunately, Ukrainian hospitals are pretty similar. But you can get a full hip replacement for $5,000.
Moldova does not have much of a military, but the max I have heard is 1500 Russians in Moldova. That number is most likely high, and I cannot imagine they are elite troops, or that they are well supplied. It's high time for Moldova to invite the Russians to leave. Start with subtle pressure, and appeal directly to the soldiers stationed there that they'd have a comfortable life until the war in Ukraine ends if they lay down their arms, and give up that massive stockpile of Soviet era shells.
