War
- Thread starter captainmorgan
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DIY-HP-LED
Well-Known Member
The point is, to the extent those defensive positions are manned, which might not be much, the troops are untrained mobiks for the most part who can't maneuver and the generals who call their shots are over a hundred miles away. The defensive works look impressive but remember a machine can dig a lot of trench line a day, we tend to associate these things with manual labor, but these days machines can do the work quickly. It looks impressive from the air, but I've never seen more than a few Russians in a trench when drones are killing them. I see miles of defensive works and few Russians manning them and those who do will be frozen in position cut off and unable to follow orders even if they received them. Their logistics have been largely cut off and they are low on ammo, once the Ukrainians get into their rear they should collapse quickly.
Quick Explainer: Russia Might be Screwed if Ukraine Advances Another 10 Miles
It appears to have been a relatively quiet day and night on the Velyka Novosilka sector on June 14-15. Earlier reports of the liberation of Urozhaine proved to be false. Fighting reportedly continued on the left and right flanks of the battlefield, but...www.dailykos.com
10miles huh......
I see the main issue for advancing Ukranians being the lack of air support and having little air defence to cover them,the Russian air force won't have the reservations they have had attacking deep into Ukraine which is more heavily defended,Russian attack helicopters have returned to the fray and jets have been attacking advancing troops also,Ukraines limited air force will be a much larger issue in this phase and a 100 piloted F-16's at this moment are probably the first thing on their wish list that could be providing air cover and challenging the Russian air force over the battlefield,this bares watching as the heavily maligned Russian air force may now begin showing up.
DIY-HP-LED
Well-Known Member
The Russian missile and drone attacks on their cities has forced them to keep a lot of ground-based AA defense in the rear to defend them. One thing they have going for them though is the Russians have shitty untrained pilots and they are not very accurate with GPS units tapped to the dash. The Ukrainians have enough AA defense to keep them largely away and they are using mostly dumb munitions. They will probably kill as many of their own troops as Ukrainians, they don't do combined arms very well, if at all.
I think for what the Ukrainians are trying to do drone air superiority is more important, cheap commercial ones can clean out trenches in front of minefields before they are stormed allowing sappers to clear the mines. We've seen them reduce Russians in trenches using dropped grenades and suicide drones on videos many times. Defensive trenches are not much use if there is no one left alive to defend them. Using machines to dig them, the Russians have far more trenches than troops to man them. I suppose the ariel photos impressed Vlad, a backhoe or a specialized trench digger can dig miles of trenches a day and make it look like the work of thousands. It's mostly the mines slowing things down but the further to their rear they get the thinner the mines should be.
DIY-HP-LED
Well-Known Member
Ukraine’s counteroffensive is now underway. Here’s what’s happened so far
printer
Well-Known Member
Just how rational is Russia?
The timing could hardly have been better. Just as the New York Times published yet another opinion essay arguing that Russians rationally perceived NATO enlargement as a genuine threat to their security and therefore embarked on war with Ukraine, the authoritative Russian policy journal, Russia in Global Politics, ran its own piece decisively illustrating that the Russians are either irrational or that their rationality is not of this world.
The article in question was authored by Sergey Karaganov, identified as “Doctor of History, Honorary Chairman of the Presidium of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy.” His words speak for themselves. Here are a few of his particularly noteworthy comments, as translated by the journal, with a few corrections made by me.
Who started the war? Desperate Western elites, of course. Karaganov writes, “The deep, even the main reason for the Ukrainian crisis, like many other conflicts in the world, and the general increase in the military threat is the accelerating failure of the modern ruling Western elites created by globalization in the last decades.”
What has Karaganov been reading? The U.S. economy is still the world’s largest; the European Union and NATO are still remarkably effective. True, American politics are dysfunctional, but somehow U.S. and E.U. elites manage to govern societies that are models of democracy and abundance for much of the world.
Then Karaganov goes off the deep end: “This weakening infuriates not only the imperial-cosmopolitan elites (Biden and Co.), but also frightens the imperial-national ones (Trump).” Infuriates? The mild-mannered Biden? Trump, who may not even know where much of the world is? “The West,” concludes Karaganov, “is losing the ability it had for five centuries to suck out wealth from the whole world, imposing, first of all, by brute force, political, economic orders and establishing its cultural dominance.” Karaganov doesn’t seem to understand that China’s and India’s rise does not entail a reduction in the West’s ability to “suck out wealth” or, more accurately, to make wealth. One is also tempted to resort to a tu quoque argument: How did Russia become the largest country in the world, if not by brute force?
As if this weren’t enough, Karaganov gets even deeper: “I have been studying the history of nuclear strategy for many years and have come to an unequivocal, albeit not quite scientific-sounding, conclusion. The appearance of nuclear weapons is the result of the intervention of the Almighty.” Please note that Karaganov isn’t joking. What is one to say about a supposedly serious analyst who genuinely believes that God works in such incredibly mysterious ways? Worse, just why did the good lord decide to communicate this knowledge to none other than Karaganov?
The world is a mess, thanks to the West, but Russia can save it if it does two things. First, it needs to dream big: “The confrontation with the West in Ukraine, no matter how it ends, should not distract us from the strategic internal movement — spiritual, cultural, economic, political, military-political — to the Urals, Siberia, the Great Ocean.” Cynics might call Karaganov’s aspirations nothing less than imperialism masquerading as “the urgently needed formulation of the ‘Russian dream’ at last — the image of that Russia and the world that one wants to strive for.” If that image of Russia and the world is anything like what Russia has done to Ukraine, then heaven help us all — although if God is as fiendish as Karaganov makes him out to be, even miracles won’t do the trick.
So far, most of these statements sound at best absurd, at worst muddleheaded. But it’s the core of Karaganov’s piece that shows just how unhinged he and his fellows are. His second recommendation for saving the world from desperate Western elites involves acting big: “We will have to restore the credibility of nuclear deterrence by lowering the unacceptably high threshold for the use of nuclear weapons, prudently but quickly moving up the deterrence-escalation ladder.”
So, what exactly does he have in mind? Karaganov goes way beyond the Russian military doctrine of de-escalation via escalation. “Things can even go as far as warning compatriots and all people of good will about the need to leave their places of residence near objects that could become targets of nuclear strikes in countries providing direct support to the Kyiv regime.” That’s all the countries involved in the Ramstein process — over 50 at last count.
Now consider what Karaganov has effectively stated: He wants to threaten most of the developed world and one-quarter of the world’s states with nuclear war. And he’s confident he can get away with it, because “Only if a madman sits in the White House … will America decide to strike at the ‘defense’ of the Europeans, incurring a response, sacrificing a conditional Boston for the sake of a conditional Poznan.” Once again, tu quoque comes to mind: What happens if a madman sits on Russia’s Council on Foreign and Defense Policy or in the Kremlin?
To what degree are Karaganov’s deeply disturbed views reflective of those of the powers that be in Russia? We don’t know, except that his authoritative role on the Council suggests that he is no lone wolf. Serge Schmemann of the New York Times characterized Karaganov as “a prominent Russian political scientist whom I have known for almost 20 years in covering Russia and have interviewed many times as a window into Kremlin thinking.”
Some Western policymakers and analysts believe that Russia isn’t irrational, that its rationality is unlike that found in the West. Whatever the case, just how does one talk to people who completely misunderstand geopolitical realities, truly believe that nuclear weapons are a product of divine intervention, aspire to create a messianic Russia, and believe that destroying Poznan and other European cities isn’t to start World War III but to prevent it?
thehill.com
The timing could hardly have been better. Just as the New York Times published yet another opinion essay arguing that Russians rationally perceived NATO enlargement as a genuine threat to their security and therefore embarked on war with Ukraine, the authoritative Russian policy journal, Russia in Global Politics, ran its own piece decisively illustrating that the Russians are either irrational or that their rationality is not of this world.
The article in question was authored by Sergey Karaganov, identified as “Doctor of History, Honorary Chairman of the Presidium of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy.” His words speak for themselves. Here are a few of his particularly noteworthy comments, as translated by the journal, with a few corrections made by me.
Who started the war? Desperate Western elites, of course. Karaganov writes, “The deep, even the main reason for the Ukrainian crisis, like many other conflicts in the world, and the general increase in the military threat is the accelerating failure of the modern ruling Western elites created by globalization in the last decades.”
What has Karaganov been reading? The U.S. economy is still the world’s largest; the European Union and NATO are still remarkably effective. True, American politics are dysfunctional, but somehow U.S. and E.U. elites manage to govern societies that are models of democracy and abundance for much of the world.
Then Karaganov goes off the deep end: “This weakening infuriates not only the imperial-cosmopolitan elites (Biden and Co.), but also frightens the imperial-national ones (Trump).” Infuriates? The mild-mannered Biden? Trump, who may not even know where much of the world is? “The West,” concludes Karaganov, “is losing the ability it had for five centuries to suck out wealth from the whole world, imposing, first of all, by brute force, political, economic orders and establishing its cultural dominance.” Karaganov doesn’t seem to understand that China’s and India’s rise does not entail a reduction in the West’s ability to “suck out wealth” or, more accurately, to make wealth. One is also tempted to resort to a tu quoque argument: How did Russia become the largest country in the world, if not by brute force?
As if this weren’t enough, Karaganov gets even deeper: “I have been studying the history of nuclear strategy for many years and have come to an unequivocal, albeit not quite scientific-sounding, conclusion. The appearance of nuclear weapons is the result of the intervention of the Almighty.” Please note that Karaganov isn’t joking. What is one to say about a supposedly serious analyst who genuinely believes that God works in such incredibly mysterious ways? Worse, just why did the good lord decide to communicate this knowledge to none other than Karaganov?
The world is a mess, thanks to the West, but Russia can save it if it does two things. First, it needs to dream big: “The confrontation with the West in Ukraine, no matter how it ends, should not distract us from the strategic internal movement — spiritual, cultural, economic, political, military-political — to the Urals, Siberia, the Great Ocean.” Cynics might call Karaganov’s aspirations nothing less than imperialism masquerading as “the urgently needed formulation of the ‘Russian dream’ at last — the image of that Russia and the world that one wants to strive for.” If that image of Russia and the world is anything like what Russia has done to Ukraine, then heaven help us all — although if God is as fiendish as Karaganov makes him out to be, even miracles won’t do the trick.
So far, most of these statements sound at best absurd, at worst muddleheaded. But it’s the core of Karaganov’s piece that shows just how unhinged he and his fellows are. His second recommendation for saving the world from desperate Western elites involves acting big: “We will have to restore the credibility of nuclear deterrence by lowering the unacceptably high threshold for the use of nuclear weapons, prudently but quickly moving up the deterrence-escalation ladder.”
So, what exactly does he have in mind? Karaganov goes way beyond the Russian military doctrine of de-escalation via escalation. “Things can even go as far as warning compatriots and all people of good will about the need to leave their places of residence near objects that could become targets of nuclear strikes in countries providing direct support to the Kyiv regime.” That’s all the countries involved in the Ramstein process — over 50 at last count.
Now consider what Karaganov has effectively stated: He wants to threaten most of the developed world and one-quarter of the world’s states with nuclear war. And he’s confident he can get away with it, because “Only if a madman sits in the White House … will America decide to strike at the ‘defense’ of the Europeans, incurring a response, sacrificing a conditional Boston for the sake of a conditional Poznan.” Once again, tu quoque comes to mind: What happens if a madman sits on Russia’s Council on Foreign and Defense Policy or in the Kremlin?
To what degree are Karaganov’s deeply disturbed views reflective of those of the powers that be in Russia? We don’t know, except that his authoritative role on the Council suggests that he is no lone wolf. Serge Schmemann of the New York Times characterized Karaganov as “a prominent Russian political scientist whom I have known for almost 20 years in covering Russia and have interviewed many times as a window into Kremlin thinking.”
Some Western policymakers and analysts believe that Russia isn’t irrational, that its rationality is unlike that found in the West. Whatever the case, just how does one talk to people who completely misunderstand geopolitical realities, truly believe that nuclear weapons are a product of divine intervention, aspire to create a messianic Russia, and believe that destroying Poznan and other European cities isn’t to start World War III but to prevent it?
Just how rational is Russia?
The Russians are either irrational or that their rationality is not of this world.
thehill.com
DIY-HP-LED
Well-Known Member
You see lots of machine dug trenches but very few Russians manning them, and it looks like drones could take out a lot of the Russian troops manning the trenches before anybody storms them and clears the mine fields in front of them without getting shot at.
doublejj
Well-Known Member
Kremlin decides that goal to "demilitarise" Ukraine has largely been achieved
Kremlin decides that goal to “demilitarise” Ukraine has largely been achieved
Dmitry Peskov, press secretary of the Russian dictator, has said that the task of the aggressor country on the so-called“demilitarisation” of Ukraine has allegedly been largely fulfilled.
www.pravda.com.ua
Good points,bet Vlad wishes he had all the airborne and Spetznaz forces killed in the Hostemel airport battle trying to secure the airfield to cargo in reinforcements to drive on Kyiv,THOSE were the toughest,proudest ,best trained forces Russia could muster and they were squandered,I said at the time it will take yrs. to replace those highly trained units that were respected by the West. It's been shown again and again conscripted troops suck,especially in this scenario,if Mother Russia were invaded I'd expect a more motivated Ivan to show up. I just hope the West can maintain support even if setbacks occur, to bail out would vindicate Putin's strategy and add another stain to the anals of history.
Roger A. Shrubber
Well-Known Member
"Indeed, Ukraine was heavily militarised at the time of the beginning of its [special military operation, as the Russian Federation calls the war against Ukraine – ed.]. And, as [Russian President Vladimir] Putin said yesterday, one of the tasks was to demilitarise Ukraine.
Kremlin decides that goal to "demilitarise" Ukraine has largely been achieved
Kremlin decides that goal to “demilitarise” Ukraine has largely been achieved
Dmitry Peskov, press secretary of the Russian dictator, has said that the task of the aggressor country on the so-called“demilitarisation” of Ukraine has allegedly been largely fulfilled.
In fact, this task is largely completed. Ukraine is using less and less of its weapons. And more and more it uses the weapons systems that Western countries supply it with."
...so using their own weapons = militarized....but using NATO weapons even more effectively = demilitarized?
Roger A. Shrubber
Well-Known Member
printer
Well-Known Member
But Putin recently said they were destroying 25% of the tanks a week. In a month they will all be gone."Indeed, Ukraine was heavily militarised at the time of the beginning of its [special military operation, as the Russian Federation calls the war against Ukraine – ed.]. And, as [Russian President Vladimir] Putin said yesterday, one of the tasks was to demilitarise Ukraine.
In fact, this task is largely completed. Ukraine is using less and less of its weapons. And more and more it uses the weapons systems that Western countries supply it with."
...so using their own weapons = militarized....but using NATO weapons even more effectively = demilitarized?
DIY-HP-LED
Well-Known Member
DIY-HP-LED
Well-Known Member
Huge explosion at Russian ammo dump, more than 50 reported to be killed
The ammo dump that was targeted by Ukraine in Kherson Oblast near Crimea appears to have been placed at or near the railway station in town. That makes this attack a two-fer, because not only has a large cache of ammunition been destroyed, Rykove is a...
www.dailykos.com
doublejj
Well-Known Member
The Russians Packed A Robotic T-55 Tank With Explosives And Rolled It Toward Ukrainian Lines
www.forbes.com
The Russians Packed A Robotic T-55 Tank With Explosives And Rolled It Toward Ukrainian Lines
The vehicle-borne improvised explosive device, or VBIED, didn't get very far. It apparently struck a mine then ate a Ukrainian anti-tank missile.
www.forbes.com
