Cont: The Russian Invasion of Ukraine part 8

[SpitfireIX]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_equipment_of_the_Indian_Army

I'm seeing a LOT of Soviet and Russian flags in the equipment origin column. Especially tanks.

Their Air Force operates Soviet/Russia, French, and home built planes. But they operate more Soviet/Russian than anything else.

It's true I didn't consider armored vehicles, which are mostly Soviet models. However, if you look at tube artillery, which is what the Russians need most, it's mainly 155s and 105s. India's only current Soviet-caliber guns are 130s, which are obsolete. In fact, they've converted almost half of their 130s to 155s.

As for infantry weapons, the Indian Army mainly uses 5.56 at the moment, though they have recently begun reequipping with new 7.62 Soviet assault rifles.

In any case, even apart from the issue of secondary sanctions, I doubt that either China or India are going to be eager to trade away significant amounts of artillery or ammunition, considering the rates of shell consumption we've seen in Ukraine.

 

[lobosrul5]

It's true I didn't consider armored vehicles, which are mostly Soviet models. However, if you look at tube artillery, which is what the Russians need most, it's mainly 155s and 105s. India's only current Soviet-caliber guns are 130s, which are obsolete. In fact, they've converted almost half of their 130s to 155s.

As for infantry weapons, the Indian Army mainly uses 5.56 at the moment, though they have recently begun reequipping with new 7.62 Soviet assault rifles.

In any case, even apart from the issue of secondary sanctions, I doubt that either China or India are going to be eager to trade away significant amounts of artillery or ammunition, considering the rates of shell consumption we've seen in Ukraine.

For both China and India, their more important trading partner is the West, compounded by the fact that Russia could economically implode at any time.

Also, reading up on India's AF they might be going with a new fighter built in India but designed and licensed by Lockheed. The backbone of their AF right now is the SU-30, but that will change in the coming decade.

https://www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/products/f-21.html

 

[theprestige]

The Ukraine War Has Found the Machinery of Western Governments Wanting
RUSI








The rest of the article is good too

Talk about looking a gift horse in the mouth!

Ukraine is allied with a bunch of disparate and often fractious liberal democracies. There is no politically-tenable "fast track" decision-making process for these governments. The same virtues and vices that make these nations supremely capable of giving Ukraine substantial support in its time of need... Those same virtues and vices make these nations slow to decide and slow to act on such matters.

Dark Brandon cannot actually wave a magic wand of dictatorship, and whip western civilization into a frenzy of unquestioning, coordinated blitzkrieg on Ukraine's behalf.

Pretty soon, Ukraine will be joining western Europe in full. And when they do, they won't want it any other way.

 

[TurkeysGhost]

Talk about looking a gift horse in the mouth!

Ukraine is allied with a bunch of disparate and often fractious liberal democracies. There is no politically-tenable "fast track" decision-making process for these governments. The same virtues and vices that make these nations supremely capable of giving Ukraine substantial support in its time of need... Those same virtues and vices make these nations slow to decide and slow to act on such matters.

Dark Brandon cannot actually wave a magic wand of dictatorship, and whip western civilization into a frenzy of unquestioning, coordinated blitzkrieg on Ukraine's behalf.

Pretty soon, Ukraine will be joining western Europe in full. And when they do, they won't want it any other way.

Tend to agree. Ukraine should be grateful that the West has enough anti-Russia sentiment to be concerned about their plight at all. It's not like fighting a just war is all it takes to get the West to pull out the wallet

 

[Dr.Sid]

Well .. to large extent the wallet was pulled ages ago. All that tech was built to fight Russians. Now it can do what it was made for. On foreign soil, with foreign soldiers. Win-win.

 

[theprestige]

Tend to agree. Ukraine should be grateful that the West has enough anti-Russia sentiment to be concerned about their plight at all. It's not like fighting a just war is all it takes to get the West to pull out the wallet

Well .. to large extent the wallet was pulled ages ago. All that tech was built to fight Russians. Now it can do what it was made for. On foreign soil, with foreign soldiers. Win-win.

Yep. Not only have we already paid for a lot of the stuff we're now sending to Ukraine, but sending it to fight Moscow is pretty much peak "getting our money's worth".

And I suspect that in some (many? most?) cases it would actually cost us more to decommission and dispose of these weapons, than it does to let Ukraine actually use them. I bet that if the US actually tried to get rid of its cluster munitions stockpile some other way, the effort would get bogged down in a billion dollars' worth of environmental impact reports and lawsuits.

 

[jeremyp]

Keep on going til #1, you'll like it.

That makes three T-34's we can send back to Russia.

The Tank Museum has also got a T-54.

 

[pzkpfw]

https://euromaidanpress.com/2023/08...-largest-storage-site-since-ukraine-invasion/

More than 40% of old Soviet tanks and armored vehicles have been removed from Russia’s biggest known military equipment storage base in Buryatia since the invasion of Ukraine began, according to new satellite images analyzed by The Moscow Times.

Much of what's left looks a bit "incomplete", or very old.

 

[steenkh]

At one point in 1941 over 50% of the medium tanks in Russian service were lend lease and the air force relied on Hurricanes as the main fighter.

I am in no position to dispute this, but I am surprised that the lend-lease organisation was able to gear up to that extent when the war in Russia only started in June that year.

 

[Andy_Ross]

I am in no position to dispute this, but I am surprised that the lend-lease organisation was able to gear up to that extent when the war in Russia only started in June that year.

Russia lost a huge number of tanks in the first month's of the invasion.

 

[Andy_Ross]

More drone activity over Moscow including

One of Russia’s main military optics manufacturers, the Zagorski plant was rocked by a huge explosion that blew up out windows many street blocks away. Cause unknown, but the plant makes optics for missiles and aircraft, as well as night-vision goggles and scopes.

Video in link

https://twitter.com/yarotrof/status/1689197904185978880?t=VY4_JR5cY9DvSwctrmrvIQ&s=19

 

[Jack by the hedge]

The factory was already on Wikipedia's list of mystery fires that have happened in Russia since they started their war. To have two such smoking accidents is beginning to look like carelessness.

 

[Andy_Ross]

The Russian Federation has lost at least half of its elite airborne forces who were sent to war in Ukraine in 2022.
According to UK MOD post on twitter.
The number is at least 15,000 Russian paratroopers.

Twitter thread here
https://twitter.com/DefenceHQ/status/1688064194665455616?t=ic6Xltb2MHLirTzEIh9Jzw&s=19

 

[a_unique_person]

Von Clausewitz has little use for feints, but I think even he would agree that if you're going to make a feint, it should at least draw away some of the forces you are actually fighting, instead of activating fresh forces from an as-yet latent enemy.

Putin is hoping for a response that includes as many dead Belarusians as possible. The crocodile tears will be the best ever.

 

[Mike!]

Putin is hoping for a response that includes as many dead Belarusians as possible. The crocodile years will be the best ever.

The Year of the Croc?

 

[a_unique_person]

The Year of the Croc?

Doh. Tears.

 

[gnome]

I'm feeling a kind of satisfaction in noticing the thread's gone to part 8 and Ukraine is still kicking.

 

[Reformed Offlian]

The factory was already on Wikipedia's list of mystery fires that have happened in Russia since they started their war. To have two such smoking accidents is beginning to look like carelessness.

Perhaps, in addition to sending drones to the Ukraine, we should make an exception to sanctions and sell more cigarettes to Russia. Finally, a chance for Big Tobacco to do something good for the world!

 

[a_unique_person]

I can't get over the ruthless destruction of anything of value that Putin indulges in. The human suffering for his vanity project is monstrous.

 

[lobosrul5]

https://twitter.com/MilitaryLabb/status/1689239872827965440

25 Rushkies captured by a Ukrainian raid across the Dnipro, including a Major.

Denys Davidov in his video last night, reported Ukraine looks to have expanded their bridgehead there.

Urozhaine has been partially taken by Ukraine.

https://twitter.com/MilitaryLabb/status/1689008877285621761