WAR CRIME GIGOLO posted:

As long as Ukraine lays down all arms and turns all air defense off we will negotiate without haste

HonorableTB posted:

we have some bad news about the patriot's capabilities in passive standby mode, mr president

Tai posted:

Still seeing very little of russian footage owning ukraine despite the 160(?) tanks lost now. Usually people back up these claims with evidence...

zone posted:

Since when did the Flintstones become a belligerent party in this war?

Karate Bastard posted:

They are only delivering rear end.

Tai posted:

I am actually surprised tbh that Ukriane hasn't had some form of rear end handed to them on at least one of the fronts they are attacking.

Drone_Fragger posted:

Stones are hard so will deflect apdfs rounds and stop them hitting well, and the (weighty) stones being scattered and smashed will waste a huge amount of kinetic energy. It also spaces out the detonation of HEAT rounds, and I suspect the mass of the stones will mean two-stage heat rounds won't be as effective - They rely on the first explosion pre-detonating the tanks ERA and busting it's spaced slat armour, and the stones won't move as much due to their mass.

Like it's still dogshit, but that's at least going to marginally more effective than the cope of random tree trunks, bits of scrap or nets that's been fitted previously.

HonorableTB posted:

lmao jackson hinkle has gone certifiably insane. he blocked me on twitter a long time ago and he was bad back then but lmao this has to be a bit right?

WAR CRIME GIGOLO posted:

Something to notice is the Kherson and Kharkov offensives were far more brute force in terms of their attack. The newest offensive against melitpol is far more meticulous in its approach. Because it has to be, even if the Russians are just retreating as soon as the party starts. Russia lacks ATGMs compared to the number that Ukraine was fielding at the beginning of the war which stunted the tank advances that Russia conducted.

So with those things in mind, while Ukraine can flex maneuverability they need to be really serious about advances and do so in a manner that is tactically superior to what they did before. I would surmise that in this we will see the counteroffensive last a few months instead of a few weeks like last time.

Partially because kherson and Kharkiv were definitely not War ending victories by themselves. We are kind of at the end stage of this war or the possible end stage depending on what occurs in the counter offensive if melitpol is taken it will basically and permanently cripple the Russian force. As it is the supply hub of the entire occupation. So losing it would be a strategic collapse. The lines would no longer be able to protect themselves and Hasty defenses will not be able to be erected at the speed of which Ukraine can advance. One city can change the entire face of the war and determine the future of Ukraines reconquest of Crimea.

It's going to be slow and low information for a while but keep track of Beryansk. 20 helis were just reallocated to beryansk to shore up the CAS capabilities of the southern front. Kinda tells you what the Russians expect to happen next.

Kchama posted:

So what the hell was with South Africa bringing a huge spec-ops team and a mountain of guns with the president to Ukraine? Like I get the impression is was for nothing good and that's why Poland hosed with them over it.

HonorableTB posted:

"Security detail and associated equipment"

When the US president travels abroad there's an associated military cargo plane that comes too and transports all of that stuff, including the presidential convoy vehicles. For reference, the US details include the personal secret service detail as well as other Secret Service teams whose job it is to secure a perimeter around the president, it leads to things like sniper teams being posted and all kinds of Clancy poo poo.

It's funny more because it was clearly Poland just loving with South Africa for being Putin's stooges rather than anything real, solely because heads of state routinely travel with massive amounts of security and associated equipment and the South African president's stuff was almost certainly routine to the relevant Polish authorities.

They just wanted to dick around with a vatnik, more or less.

Coquito Ergo Sum posted:

In WW2, soldiers of every nation tried to come up with solutions to add extra armor to their vehicles in the form of slapping spare tracks, logs, sandbags, etc.. Most of the measures didn't really work, and added extra strain onto the powertrains. Some nations like US and Germany allowed the practice if it gave the crews more confidence.

George Patton specifically hated the practice and there are pictures of him admonishing crews for putting sandbags on their tanks. He did approve of programs that welded bits of salvaged armor onto tanks, as these applique armor bits were supposedly tested and showed that they provided adequate extra protection. German units used bits of skirt and extra armor to counter anti-tank rifles. These became parts of official upgrade packages and were used up until the end of the war. Soviet units had their famous "bedspring" screens that were designed to counter early HEAT rounds, but I never looked into how effective those were.

I can't talk too specifically about my credentials, but I'll say that modern anti-tank rounds are not stupid enough to be deterred by measures like this.

EDIT: It's worth mentioning that the practice continues to this day. American units in Iraq specifically came up with proactive (extra firepower) and reactive measures (lining their vehicles with salvaged materials) to compensate for their vehicles having inadequate protection. Famously, Phillipine soldiers also nailed wood to their vehicles for use against guerillas. But something like this will not deter a modern chemical or kinetic penetrator beyond something like old RPG-7 or western AT-series rockets.

Carth Dookie posted:

I'm pretty sure it was in our own GIP subforum I recall a story out of Iraq where guys put claymore mines on the front of their humvee as a redneck hackjob explosive reactive armor/crowd clearer. Dummies all got their asses chewed out because if it had actually gone off it would have turned all the occupants of the vehicle into chunky salsa because while yeah, MOST of the damage goes in front of the claymore, you still need to consider SOME backblast.

lifetime supply of Pocky posted:

gotta say, that owns, if just a little

quote:

Russian media: Alcohol consumption among the Kremlin's elite has increased sharply since Putin's arrest warrant was issued in the spring


The increase in alcohol consumption by Russia's economic and political elite represents a broader, parallel trend among the people.

THE KREMLIN'S elite have fallen into increasingly serious alcohol abuse as Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine puts increasing pressure on them, reports the independent Russian online media Vorstka .

Its anonymous sources close to the Kremlin tell of extensive and deepening alcohol use among prominent government and business leaders.

According to an extensive article published by Vorstka, the situation has worsened especially since March, when the International Criminal Court (ICC) said it was preparing two war crimes charges against Russia and issued an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin .

Ukraine's counterattack has also pressured many in the Kremlin to open the bottle cap.

THE ALCOHOL LIMIT FOR ONE person has been increased from one bottle to two at official state celebrations organized by the Kremlin, a political strategist with connections to the Kremlin tells Vorstka.

"Not all persons belonging to the presidential administration started their day with a glass of vodka. Now I know more and more people are doing this. And some start their day with a bottle instead of a glass," says another unnamed source.

Many officials, politicians and governors are late for more and more meetings, skip them or arrive drunk. According to the article, some use illegal drugs in addition to alcohol.

ONE OF the sources interviewed by Vorstka describes a typical day for the governor of a region in central Russia. According to the interviewee, the governor was considered an alcoholic even before the latest twists and turns of the war, but now he has "completely messed up".

The days begin with the governor's subordinates having to look for this in their hands wherever the evening happened to end. An employee has even been appointed exclusively for this task.

Next, the governor is transported to the workplace if his presence is needed. Throughout the working day, the governor drinks "only cognac". He attends several meetings, but he sits quietly "like a snowman".

The governor in question usually goes to a local restaurant or spa after lunch, where the late evening begins again.

ACCORDING TO VORSTKA, THE FAVORITE DRINKS OF THE KREMLIN party crowd have included cognac, champagne and wine. Nowadays, hard liquors have also been added to the list. According to the article, the elite drink "a lot and all mixed up".

A drink order from a catering company serving the Kremlin included vodka imported from abroad for five million rubles, or more than 50 thousand euros at the current exchange rate, Vorstka says.

This means that Putin's speeches last summer, in which he urged both the elite and the people to moderate their drinking, have been ignored by the Kremlin elite. At the time, the Russian news media Meduza reported on Putin's hints to curb alcohol consumption .

Putin himself is known for at least some degree of abstinence from alcohol.

THE INCREASE IN ELITE alcohol consumption represents a broader trend in Russia.

The state regulatory agency for alcohol sales, Rosalkogolregulirovanie, said at the beginning of June that the production of mild alcoholic beverages has increased by 23 percent this year.

At the same time, the demand for strong alcoholic beverages has decreased. However, according to the expert interviewed by Vorstka, this is probably due to the fact that people can no longer afford to spend as much money on booze. Instead, many have started cooking pontika.

According to Vorstka, the Russian Ministry of Health has planned to respond to the increase in alcohol consumption with new restrictive measures, such as raising the age limit for alcoholic beverages to 21 from the current 18 and prohibiting the sale of alcoholic beverages between eight in the evening and eleven in the morning.

French Ambassador Maurice Paleologue, 14 January 1917 posted:

I am obliged to report that, at the present moment, the Russian Empire is run by lunatics.

155th Naval Infantry Brigade,WW2 posted:

“This isn’t war,” Mikhail said, struggling to speak through heavy, liquid breaths. “It’s the destruction of the Russian people by their own commanders.”

HonorableTB posted:

certified Cringe (TM)

https://www.hs.fi/ulkomaat/art-2000009662881.html

zone posted:

HonorableTB posted:

zone please remind me, are you russian/in russia? I don't remember

zone posted:

I live in India.

HonorableTB posted:

Gotcha! If you're open to it. would love to talk to you some time about indian politics and political history, has been an area of interest for me for a while and i don't know nearly enough about it as i'd like.

beer_war posted:

https://twitter.com/DerAktenfresser/status/1669970899284443137?s=20

I'm not a weapons knower, but even I can tell that's not a Bradley.

HonorableTB posted:

certified Cringe (TM)

https://www.hs.fi/ulkomaat/art-2000009662881.html

zone posted:

Any time.

HonorableTB posted:

the complaint is russia is getting its poo poo kicked in and they dont like it

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/05/29/two-weeks-at-the-front-in-ukraine

Two Weeks at the Front in Ukraine, a good article.

mllaneza posted:

I would appreciate an effortpost on any aspect of Indian politics you care to make. I watched this recently and it's only whetted my appetite. I'd be interested in any critique on the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CMVbASedPk

Great channel btw, they're paired with The Operations Room. Ops breaks down what happened, and the Intel Channel goes into the whys.

zone posted:

https://twitter.com/NOELreports/status/1670135688098922497
"We never refused negotiations, as long as Ukraine hands over all the territory we invaded and more to us." gently caress off baldy.

beer_war posted:

https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/06/widespread-use-torture-russian-military-ukraine-appears-deliberate-un-expert

Torture bad.

Karate Bastard posted:

What does TASS mean? I mean I understand rear end, but what does the T stand for?