Cont: The Russian Invasion of Ukraine (2)

[Aridas]

To poke at a story of some past events being unveiled...

The drone operators who halted Russian convoy headed for Kyiv

The unit’s commander, Lt Col Yaroslav Honchar, gave an account of the ambush near the town of Ivankiv that helped stop the vast, lumbering Russian offensive in its tracks. He said the Ukrainian fighters on quad bikes were able to approach the advancing Russian column at night by riding through the forest on either side of the road leading south towards Kyiv from the direction of Chernobyl.

The Ukrainian soldiers were equipped with night vision goggles, sniper rifles, remotely detonated mines, drones equipped with thermal imaging cameras and others capable of dropping small 1.5kg bombs.

“This one little unit in the night destroyed two or three vehicles at the head of this convoy, and after that it was stuck. They stayed there two more nights, and [destroyed] many vehicles,” Honchar said.

The Russians broke the column into smaller units to try to make headway towards the Ukrainian capital, but the same assault team was able to mount an attack on its supply depot, he claimed, crippling the Russians’ capacity to advance.

 

[BobTheCoward]

I don't care if Russian citizens think Kyiv was a feint or get lied to how much is lost. Russian decision makers know. Putin knows, and I bet he hates it.

 

[The Great Zaganza]

You can tell whether Kyiv was a feint by the amount of equipment the Russians brought there compared to what they take home.

 

[angrysoba]

One thing that does concern me, somewhat, is that when I have seen photographs of the funerals of Ukrainian servicemen, at each funeral there is often someone waving a red and black OUN flag.

Most of the photographs that I have seen, have been from funerals at Ukrainian Greek Catholic Churches. Looking back through some of the biographies of past and present members of OUN/far-right-wing groups, two things seem to have a very big crossover, most of the far-right seem to be Ukranian Greek Catholic, and a very large number seem to be associated with Lviv.

Here is an example.

 

[Aridas]

A bit of a side note of some relevance.

1/Every day Republicans find new ways to make it as hard as possible for the United States to help Ukraine.

Senate Republicans just blocked the confirmation of Biden’s nominee to oversee DoD logistics - in other words, the transfer of weapons to Ukraine.

2/And FYI Republicans have no objection to the actual nominee. He’s a career civil servant who is non-controversial and unquestionably qualified. They are objecting just to make life as miserable as possible for Biden.

Just another bit of evidence among so very much evidence that (far too much of) the Republican party political establishment favors Putin over the US. Putin had no problem sanctioning leaders of all parties in, for example, Canada, but sanctioned no Republicans in the US.

 

[Vixen]

SuPo, the Finnish intelligence service, gave a press conference yesterday saying Russia is the number threat to Finland's security right now and warned that we should all be nice to the Russians as the Russian Embassy has asked them to report to them any signs of unfriendliness from the Finnish people. Russians are by far the largest ethnic minority in Finland, with 32,000 of them. I am not aware of any tensions with the Russian contingent. It is little wonder nobody trusts them when they come out with stasi-style nonsense like this.

The idea that Putin will be reasonable and retreat to just stick to Donetsk and Luhanska should there be a peace agreement indicates that people still don't get that Russia has no code of honour.

If in retreat, it needs to be beaten back into its own borders. Decisively.

 

[Vixen]

Russian tanks are being mullahed by British anti-tank weapons.

Ukrainian forces claimed a decisive victory over the 4th Guard tank division in a small town near the Russian border this week.

The armoured unit, famed for fighting in Stalingrad and liberating Poland from the Nazis in the Second World War, was deployed at the start of the invasion of Ukraine.

<snip>

But production delays mean Russia does not have enough of the tanks to send. Uralvagonzavod, its main manufacturer, first said deployable T-14s would be delivered in 2018 but they seem unlikely to be ready until next year.

The older models being deployed in Ukraine have proved vulnerable to missile launchers donated by Britain and its allies.

The latest update by the armed forces of Ukraine said 597 Russian tanks had been destroyed. About 40 per cent are estimated to have been on the receiving end of NLAW missiles.

So desperate is the situation for Russian tank crews that some have been documented welding cages onto their vehicles to improve protection.

THE TIMES

Experts are saying Russian tanks are 'over-appreciated'.

A British army artillery source, who asked not to be identified, said the war has demonstrated significant problems with tanks in modern warfare.

Tanks are being “popped open like a tin of beans” by cheap portable missile systems, the source said. “This entire exercise has been a good confidence booster for western infantry anti-tank capability.”

ibid

Big boys toys big embarrassment.

 

[Aridas]

Russian tanks are being mullahed by British anti-tank weapons.

THE TIMES

Experts are saying Russian tanks are 'over-appreciated'.

ibid

Big boys toys big embarrassment.

To poke at the mention of NLAW and a bit of amusement... When I read that, I had a bit of a flashback to fun had with missile launchers in Battlefield Vietnam while the song "I fought the LAW (and the LAW won)!" played.

 

[Wildy]

To poke at the mention of NLAW and a bit of amusement... When I read that, I had a bit of a flashback to fun had with missile launchers in Battlefield Vietnam while the song "I fought the LAW (and the LAW won)!" played.

So I'm not the only one who thinks of that song when they talk about NLAWs.

 

[jimbob]

So I'm not the only one who thinks of that song when they talk about NLAWs.

https://scrutable.science/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=3204#p115826

 

[Andy_Ross]

The governor of Ukraine's northern Chernihiv region said he saw no let-up in Russian attacks despite a promise by Moscow to scale down military operations there.

Governor Viacheslav Chaus said on his Telegram channel, "Do we believe in it [the promise]? Of course not".

Chaus said Russian forces have been "carrying out strikes on [the city of] Nizhyn, including air strikes, and all night long they hit [the city of] Chernihiv."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/wor...44077e5fbc655faa01f6ec&pinned_post_type=share

Edited by xjx388: 

Edited to make content quoted from elsewhere clear.

 

[jimbob]

The governor of Ukraine's northern Chernihiv region said he saw no let-up in Russian attacks despite a promise by Moscow to scale down military operations there.

Governor Viacheslav Chaus said on his Telegram channel, "Do we believe in it [the promise]? Of course not".

Chaus said Russian forces have been "carrying out strikes on [the city of] Nizhyn, including air strikes, and all night long they hit [the city of] Chernihiv."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/wor...44077e5fbc655faa01f6ec&pinned_post_type=share

https://twitter.com/EliotHiggins/status/1509095150462582785?s=20&t=1Hg-xQuFpianP8oShRk9pQ

Eliot Higgins
@EliotHiggins
If you want to see how Russia uses peace talks and ceasefires just look at Syria. They're only ever used to reorganise and prepare for the next offensive.
10:08 AM · Mar 30, 2022·Twitter Web App

Edited by xjx388: 

Edited to match moderated content.

 

[Andy_Ross]

Syrian fighters are being offer £5,000 a month to fight on the front line for Russia in the war against Ukraine, the BBC has learned.
One Syrian soldier who’s volunteered to fight said he believed Russia was carrying out a massacre in Ukraine, but it was also helping poor Syrians who couldn’t afford to eat.

He said he'd volunteered because of the money on offer. His family doesn’t want him to go, but he was told that they would be paid £37,000 if he was killed.
He said he knew of at least 200 people who had volunteered.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/wor...43f21e4f71af55b4616208&pinned_post_type=share

Edited by xjx388: 

Edited to make content quoted from elsewhere clear.

 

[The Great Zaganza]

Syrian fighters are being offer £5,000 a month to fight on the front line for Russia in the war against Ukraine, the BBC has learned.
One Syrian soldier who’s volunteered to fight said he believed Russia was carrying out a massacre in Ukraine, but it was also helping poor Syrians who couldn’t afford to eat.

He said he'd volunteered because of the money on offer. His family doesn’t want him to go, but he was told that they would be paid £37,000 if he was killed.
He said he knew of at least 200 people who had volunteered.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/wor...43f21e4f71af55b4616208&pinned_post_type=share

Odd.
Why isn't Russia offering to pay them in Roubles?

 

[Andy_Ross]

Odd.
Why isn't Russia offering to pay them in Roubles?

They wouldn't be able to find enough large wheelbarrows.

 

[Dave Rogers]

They wouldn't be able to find enough large wheelbarrows.

In fact it would be easier to pay them in wheelbarrows.

Dave

 

[jimbob]

In fact it would be easier to pay them in wheelbarrows.

Dave

Nah, the Ukrainian farmers would probably take those as well as the weaponry.

 

[Mike!]

Odd.
Why isn't Russia offering to pay them in Roubles?

It's a misinterpretation, they're going to pay them 5000 pounds of Rubles a month.

 

[Klimax]

For the record here are numbers on mobilization by Ukraine:
https://twitter.com/Z5Hg67qAoYhBwUS/status/1509064622002913280

150 - 200 thousand is the first stage of mobilization. These are exclusively those people who have experience of combat operations. First, almost ready for operations at the front.

https://twitter.com/Z5Hg67qAoYhBwUS/status/1509064764122673155

The second turn of 1000 - 1200 thousand is the second turn of mobilization. These are people suitable for the army but without experience. This queue is just beginning.

https://twitter.com/Z5Hg67qAoYhBwUS/status/1509064838806482950

The third stage of 3500 - 4000 thousand is the third stage of mobilization. These are all people potential for war between the ages of 18 and 60.

I don't Russians will be able to hold anything on Ukraine.

 

[alfaniner]

So I'm not the only one who thinks of that song when they talk about NLAWs.

I'm a bit ashamed to admit that I almost always read Donbass as "Dumbass". I blame Red Forman.