War

Russia’s military potential is declining after defeats in Ukraine
91,968 views Jun 11, 2022 The Russian army's rating in the world is rapidly declining. Former and current U.S. and NATO Defense Department officials claim that they overestimated its potential. The Kremlin has spent huge amounts of money on the military. However, the Russian military could not stand up to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Our correspondent found out why the enemy army failed to achieve lightning success in Ukraine.

Bagginski said:

I remember those…always thought electronics (which meant vacuum tubes in those days) was highly mysterious; now I collect old tubes for my amp

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If you ever cant find the valve or tube you are looking for, drop me a mssage, I might have it

The French sent 8 of these and Macron said recently they are gonna send more, this batch showed up pretty quick.

Ukrainian Army Uses New Caesar Long-Range Howitzer Supplied By France
967,356 views Jun 10, 2022 A Ukrainian artillery unit in the Donbas region uses the latest long-range artillery import, the French Caesar howitzer. The self-propelled 155mm gun

Finally: Ukraine Use Krab Howitzer To Destroy Russian Artillery
373,481 views Jun 1, 2022 The gun of the Krab can fire all standard 155mm NATO projectiles with a range to 40 kilometers. An automated loading system enables the gun to fire with a …
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The boat
7 days ago
Polish made "KRAB" Howitzer, is a combination of so efficient South Korean drive and suspension system, produced legally in Poland, and also an abandoned British project of the turret with the German 155 mm NATO standard, produced in Poland gun. All that stuff is perfectly integrated with the Polish developed and made electronic circuits and computer software. "KRAB" is a solid piece of a very mobile, long range and effective artillery on the trucks !!!!

Crabs are basically a British gun from the Paladin (tried and tested) on Korean chassis (rock solid). The thing is, the vehicle has ultra-modern fire control and electronics, which take these already superb components to the next level. It's pinpoint. I am sure the Orcs will love the receiving end.

Interesting read.


"the United Nations Mercenary Convention, which came into force in October 2001, was ratified by only 35 countries. These include Italy, Ukraine, Germany, Poland, and Saudi Arabia. Countries like the US, UK, and Russia that actively use PMCs did not ratify the convention.

So, as to whether mercenaries are legal or not? The answer to this is – it depends on the country in question. The use of PMCs and mercenaries is legal in countries that did not sign the UN treaty. Additionally, if a professional soldier is hired by a sovereign nation to fight for them, then they are legal to that country. But if they are captured by the opposing country’s government or any other country that’s a party to the UN Treaty, then they would be considered illegal."

Lucky Luke said:

Interesting read.


"the United Nations Mercenary Convention, which came into force in October 2001, was ratified by only 35 countries. These include Italy, Ukraine, Germany, Poland, and Saudi Arabia. Countries like the US, UK, and Russia that actively use PMCs did not ratify the convention.

So, as to whether mercenaries are legal or not? The answer to this is – it depends on the country in question. The use of PMCs and mercenaries is legal in countries that did not sign the UN treaty. Additionally, if a professional soldier is hired by a sovereign nation to fight for them, then they are legal to that country. But if they are captured by the opposing country’s government or any other country that’s a party to the UN Treaty, then they would be considered illegal."

Are Mercenaries Legal? - Laws101.com

For many people, the profession remains somewhat of a mystery. Is mercenaries legal? This article will explore the answer to this question in depth.

laws101.com

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So an immigrant who comes to a country and joins the army is considered a mercenary, his new citizenship might not be recognized. Most foreign fighters in Ukraine signed up for the regular Ukrainian army directly, they were not working for a contractor. Some countries offer citizenship with service, the Brits captured were already living in Ukraine, married to Ukrainians. There are people serving in the US military who are not citizens.

Russia gradually seizing territory in and around Sievierodonetsk: UK
Russian forces are pushing deeper into areas around the city of Sievierodonetsk in Ukraine’s east, British military intelligence said, taking advantage of its larger numbers to overwhelm Ukrainian defenders and gradually seize territory.

The latest update from the United Kingdom’s defense ministry also said Russia is deploying more units and troops to Ukraine amid heavy fighting in the Donbas, the industrial heartland of the country that has been the focus of the Russian war effort for more than a month.

According to the intelligence update, Russia is sending in third battalions from its combat brigades, which are usually held in reserve. The third battalion is likely to help replenish troops for the longer term in Ukraine.

Sievierodonetsk in the Luhansk region has become the epicenter of the war, which has dragged on for more than 100 days. Russian forces hope to seize the city and gain a key foothold over the eastern Donbas, with the inevitable goal of establishing a land bridge over to the Crimean Peninsula.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday said the fate of eastern Ukraine was being decided in the battle for Sievierodonetsk.

“This is a very fierce battle, very difficult. Probably one of the most difficult throughout this war,” Zelensky said in an address.

Ukraine last week launched an effective counterattack, taking back territory in the southern part of the country around the Kherson province.

Still, fighting around Sievierodonetsk continues amid steep losses and casualties for both sides. Russia last week began using more troops for ground operations from the independent and Russian-backed separatist force Luhansk People’s Republic to blunt the impact on its army.

Leonid Pasechnik, who heads the Luhansk People’s Republic, told The Associated Press the city is contested but they had managed to hole up most Ukrainian troops in the industrial part of the city, including inside a chemical plant.

Pasechnik said Ukrainian fighters should “make a decision” to surrender because Russia would eventually emerge victorious in the city.

“We will achieve our goal in any case. We will liberate the industrial area in any case. We will liberate Sievierodonetsk in any case,” he told the AP.

I’ve seen analyses suggesting that the number of casualties acknowledged for ‘soldiers’ of the ‘people’s republics) since 2/24 add up to MORE than their starting troop strength. Makes me wonder how many Ukranians are being forced into the fight by threats to family - or guns pointed at them by “their own side”, a la our unhappy Russian conscripts.

I’ve also heard that the Russian Peoples Republics of Donbas aren’t nearly as popular with their residents as they are with their Russian-backed spokesmodels, so I tend to discount much of the rhetoric coming from script-readers.

Ha - and of course there are exceptions to this, too: Putin-approved opinion sources in Russia are currently pushing Pooti’s Peter-the-great-ness & the inevitable rise of Imperial Russia to the pinnacle of the world…and I do *NOT* discount *that*. I take it very seriously indeed.

Update from Ukraine | They Want to Take Kharkiv Again

printer said:

I have a few. One day I'll take a picture of the preamp tubes.

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Looking at that makes me wish I had an old Princeton or DR….

Who am I kidding? I’d be happy with a new-built old Champ

Bagginski said:

Looking at that makes me wish I had an old Princeton or DR….

Who am I kidding? I’d be happy with a new-built old Champ

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I bought most of these when I thought my hobby would be building amps. Then I learned how to build guitars and the amp building went to the back burner. Then health began to suck and the next bunch of years trying to grow a good CBD plant. No luck with a CBD only plant that produced well. Now I am at the point where I think it might be best to have maybe a half dozen amps (different sizes) and stick to guitar making.

Interesting watch:
Great to see that the American population are finally becoming made aware of the truth of their governments actions.

printer said:

I bought most of these when I thought my hobby would be building amps. Then I learned how to build guitars and the amp building went to the back burner. Then health began to suck and the next bunch of years trying to grow a good CBD plant. No luck with a CBD only plant that produced well. Now I am at the point where I think it might be best to have maybe a half dozen amps (different sizes) and stick to guitar making.

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I kinda did that inside out: accumulated tools, books, woods, a workshop on my way to building guitars in my retirement…I ended up giving it all to some young local luthiers after I lost my house. Playing with my Valve Special (EL84/12AX7), I developed an urge to try a 6V6 core eventually, while falling in love with early Fender sounds.

I’d gleefully dive into a build of one or more of the tweed-era honeys, except for the same reasons blocking me from doing almost everything else these day: no privacy, constant noise/interruption, no space to do it in. If my attention span hadn’t been actively eroded for so many years I could handle the noise & the rest, but the lack of a space to work in & the needless constant interruptions are the breakers

Wanted: Ex-KGB to follow Ben (my GSP) around and pick up his poops. No need to fly them anywhere as I have a big pile in the woods. Doesn’t pay well but free room and board. Your welcome to bring your stripper wife. Only successful candidates will be notified. PS send pics of stripper wife.

Budley Doright said:

Putin's bodyguards collect his poop on trips abroad and take it back to Russia with them, report says

President Vladimir Putin's excrement is taken back to Russia in special packets carried by his bodyguards, two investigative journalists said.

www.businessinsider.com

Wanted: Ex-KGB to follow Ben (my GSP) around and pick up his poops. No need to fly them anywhere as I have a big pile in the woods. Doesn’t pay well but free room and board. Your welcome to bring your stripper wife. Only successful candidates will be notified. PS send pics of stripper wife.

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No shit!

Considering how critically short of infantry troops the Russians are, the fighting in the cities of the east must chewing them up fast. Their rate of losses should increase as they attack because of the long range NATO artillery the Ukrainians are increasingly using, most casualties are caused by artillery.

These guys in the the city are bait, used to draw the Russians and their supporting equipment into range of Ukrainian mortars and guns, there is nothing left to defend. The Ukrainians are losing up to 200 men a day, but it must be a slaughterhouse for the Russians, using the tactics that the do. Ukrainian drones must be circling over the Russian positions like buzzards, calling the shots for the artillery. If the objective was to break the back of the Russian army, this is the spot to do it, the Russians need to capture the last city in the Oblast and are motivated by hubris. The Ukrainians might withdraw from the east if they are gonna be encircled, but the Russians will pay dearly for any ground they gain. In any case the Russians are paying a far larger price than the Ukrainians in terms of lost troops and equipment simply because they are attacking and not defending, while using predictable idiotic tactics. As the Ukrainians deploy more western weapons and supporting systems, those Russian loses should increase even more.

The Ukrainians predict the Russians will reach the point of exhaustion around 120 to 130 days after the start of the war. So if they are right, we should see some signs in a couple of weeks, but really cracks have been appearing for quite sometime now. If they capture the last of the Oblast in the east they will probably go defensive and entrench themselves, they won't have a lot of choice after the next couple of weeks of fighting.
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Putin is using 'old Soviet methods' of warfare in Ukraine | Askold Krushelnycky
561 views Jun 13, 2022 "Russians are still very much using old Soviet methods of just hurling masses of people forward, regardless of how many will be killed." Times correspondent Askold Krushelnycky explains the differences between Russian and Ukrainian approaches to war on the ground.

Budley Doright said:

Putin's bodyguards collect his poop on trips abroad and take it back to Russia with them, report says

President Vladimir Putin's excrement is taken back to Russia in special packets carried by his bodyguards, two investigative journalists said.

www.businessinsider.com

Wanted: Ex-KGB to follow Ben (my GSP) around and pick up his poops. No need to fly them anywhere as I have a big pile in the woods. Doesn’t pay well but free room and board. Your welcome to bring your stripper wife. Only successful candidates will be notified. PS send pics of stripper wife.

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So he has a poo bag man?

Bagginski said:

I kinda did that inside out: accumulated tools, books, woods, a workshop on my way to building guitars in my retirement…I ended up giving it all to some young local luthiers after I lost my house. Playing with my Valve Special (EL84/12AX7), I developed an urge to try a 6V6 core eventually, while falling in love with early Fender sounds.

I’d gleefully dive into a build of one or more of the tweed-era honeys, except for the same reasons blocking me from doing almost everything else these day: no privacy, constant noise/interruption, no space to do it in. If my attention span hadn’t been actively eroded for so many years I could handle the noise & the rest, but the lack of a space to work in & the needless constant interruptions are the breakers

Click to expand...

My house is sinking into the ground so I have to get some foundation work done. I am going to have to gut the basement down to bare walls. When it is all done I will have to rebuild the basement, more time wasted. I have enough wood for building 50 guitars, hoping to build 5 now.

Lucky Luke said:

Interesting watch:
Great to see that the American population are finally becoming made aware of the truth of their governments actions.

Click to expand...

Just another Putin-inflator…YMMV but I have *no* interest in (or patience with) Kremlin narratives…especially from ‘Americans’. FTR Putin’s nuclear extortion is the outcome of nuclear proliferation that has ALWAYS existed since those weapons & their technology spread: the possibility that an international bully would destabilize and/or invade other nations, using the threat of a nuclear end-game as a ploy to ‘ease’ their path to conquest.

The only options are to just *let* Russia do what Putin wants while we sit on our hands…or support the survival chances of their targets while working to disrupt their free hand in the affairs of other nations.

As someone who regularly suffered nuclear nightmares from age 8-19, a nuclear exchange has never been off the table: now that Putin has made it plain he’s “the *real* Hitler”, we need to be cold as ice…not another slushy puddle on the road to his czarist dreams