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What is the most powerful flying bug? This poll is closed. |
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15 | 3.71% |
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115 | 28.47% |
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12 | 2.97% |
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67 | 16.58% |
| dragonfly |
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94 | 23.27% |
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14 | 3.47% |
| 🐝 |
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87 | 21.53% |
| Total: | 404 votes | ||
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Orange Devil posted:Yeah even in hindsight I still think being very skeptical and not believing that Ukraine was about to be invaded in February 2022 was very reasonable. I'm fully aware this might be cope on my part since i also never thought Russia would invade in Feb. 2022 (i thought it was a terrible idea and still do), but given a lot of what we've learned after the fact I've started to believe the US "prediction" of invasion was pure luck. They kept saying it was going to happen based just on the troop buildup at the border, and then it eventually actually happened. I'm not sure they had an additional insight into it beyond the troop buildup, especially since Putin himself didn't appear to make the final call until like a week prior.
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Jul 12, 2023 14:30
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good lord
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Jul 12, 2023 14:31
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Orange Devil posted:How long did it take the countries in WW1 to scale up to industrial wartime production? Ask FF, but around 12-18 months from the start of the war, most of it is the British at least waited until the Spring of 1915 before going all in. But yeah there has been a ton of stuff occurring in the background in Russia that the West has ignored because it isn't good news, either for Ukraine or themselves. VoicesCanBe posted:I'm fully aware this might be cope on my part since i also never thought Russia would invade in Feb. 2022 (i thought it was a terrible idea and still do), but given a lot of what we've learned after the fact I've started to believe the US "prediction" of invasion was pure luck. The fact that they had been "predicting" an invasion at multiple points (probably based on the satellite intel on its own) lulled some posters in the Eurasian thread into thinking it was a complete impossibility. That, coupled with mud and limited force strength, made it seem unlikely, if not ridiculous. to some I would argue the tension in the republics as well as the peace process clearly dying made it more of a possibility and when Putin gave him speech there was a real possibility of war even though it was unclear exactly how it was going to unfold (a more limited engagement in the Donbass with Russian forces "threatening" Kiev" or how it turned out with the Russians spreading themselves on the maximum front possible). Ardennes has issued a correction as of 14:39 on Jul 12, 2023 |
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Jul 12, 2023 14:33
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https://www.wsj.com/articles/japan-accuses-australia-of-betrayal-in-fight-over-natural-gas-exports-56887a93 Well, if only there was a neighbor that could sell you LNG japan
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Jul 12, 2023 14:35
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show me your war face
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Jul 12, 2023 14:36
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genericnick posted:In the sense that armies prepare for the last war it makes a lot of sense. After all, they didn't have to fight a battle of Tbilisi, they just had to park a few tanks a couple miles out. Of course it doesn't speak for the quality of the Russian leadership that it took them most of a year to figure out a workable plan B. The non working plan B was to make the offer worse by formally annexing a bunch of oblasts and pull Kiev back to the negotiation table before the offer gets worse. Adding: If I'm not getting my timelines mixed up both Minsk treaties were agreed on directly after Russia stepped up support to Donetsk so also here there is precedent of Ukraine folding under pressure. Overall, still pretty dumb but not crazily so. Ardennes posted:I don't think it took a year to figure it out, it took just that long to get the wheels in motion. Russia simply wasn't prepared for a large-scale conventional war, and it took months to get everything together behind the scenes. It was lucky for them that most of the MIC was still intact but dormant, but it still took months to actually get it in gear. Eh, it was plainly obvious that they'd need to do a partial mobilization and while they certainly needed to do quite some preparation for that it shouldn't take six month to find a few hundred thousand pairs of socks.
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Jul 12, 2023 14:36
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Nix Panicus posted:It wasnt really a gamble, it was a show of force to bring Zelensky to the negotiating table to work out a deal that probably included Ukrainian neutrality and a return to the Minsk agreement. And it worked, right up until the West came running in with promises of unlimited support and then Ukraine murdered their own negotiator. Then it became a full scale invasion that, yeah, Putin probably hadn't really planned for.
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Jul 12, 2023 14:42
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Jul 12, 2023 14:42
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genericnick posted:Eh, it was plainly obvious that they'd need to do a partial mobilization and while they certainly needed to do quite some preparation for that it shouldn't take six month to find a few hundred thousand pairs of socks. You need to update the registries, get the commissars into action for a much larger intake than normal, have some training facilities, and then give them more than socks but actual gear and eventually heavy equipment. In the fall, a lot of newly mobilized reservists were missing parts of their kit still and I think the heavy equipment has still been coming. All those repair plants and yards need time to get going, and if anything, 6 months just starts the process. Otherwise, you can get a force together with minimal training and equipment but you went up with what the Ukrainians did/are doing.
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Jul 12, 2023 14:42
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OctaMurk posted:The Ukrainian government is absolutely full of nazis who thirst for Russian blood, but I'm sure they'll surrender in a day or two to a show of force by an army designed for colonial expeditions,
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Jul 12, 2023 14:43
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OctaMurk posted:The Ukrainian government is absolutely full of nazis who thirst for Russian blood, but I'm sure they'll surrender in a day or two to a show of force by an army designed for colonial expeditions, Well some of them were ostensibly Russian agents that were supposed to smooth out the process but um....
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Jul 12, 2023 14:45
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Orange Devil posted:How long did it take the countries in WW1 to scale up to industrial wartime production? Until 1916, in terms of artillery shell production, machine gun production, providing enough cavalry mounts and other horses. I have a copy of the Economics of World War I but I won't be able to read it before my 10 o'clock.
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Jul 12, 2023 14:47
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Ardennes posted:You need to update the registries, get the commissars into action for a much larger intake than normal, have some training facilities, and then give them more than socks but actual gear and eventually heavy equipment. In the fall, a lot of newly mobilized reservists were missing parts of their kit still and I think the heavy equipment has still been coming. To connect this to the WWI chat, read up on Kitchener's Army. There have been some really great books about it lately. Now, one interesting thing, is compared to the Old Contemptibles of the Edwardian Army, who had expected to police India and found themselves in the trenches in the winter of 1914-15, and who did all of the fighting until Kitchener's men were trained, a move that was deeply unpopular at the time, the New Army/Kitchener's Mob fought better, had higher morale, and generally explain Britain's success in 1916. It took a long time to raise, train and equip the New Army and they were kept out of battle in the difficult and mostly static fighting of 1915, a time where the professional, long-service regular force of the finest soldiers in the world had incredibly low morale and didn't exactly cover themselves in glory. Counterintuitively, giving the newly recruited men time to prepare made them more effective at the front that soldiers who had been there for over a year, when they finally arrived.
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Jul 12, 2023 14:53
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Ardennes posted:I would say Pirgozhin meeting with Putin is enough on its own. Even if you want to spin it as a "labor dispute" you probably wouldn't have it that quickly, but less everything else that didn't match up (the Chechens, the shootdown, Mcdonalds runs etc). Putin is as much a creature of liberalism as other world leaders. He appears to have genuinely thought his neighbor wasn't that ideologically committed and wouldn't commit suicide to spite him. In the context of what happened in Georgia, or even Ukraine in 2015, it wasn't that much of a gamble.
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Jul 12, 2023 15:04
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I don’t think it was a “screw up “ . it almost worked
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Jul 12, 2023 15:06
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At very least, the Russians seemed to have been regularly rotating their soldiers, but even besides the reservists, they have potentially 2-3 corps of new volunteers that need to be equipped/armed along with the fact that the DNR/LNR had to be properly trained/armed (or demobilized). Basically, they have to make an entirely new force of hundreds of thousands using a combination of new or repurposed equipment. Yeah, it is just going to take time, and if anything, it isn't surprising that Russian advances are still quite piecemeal. That said, while the Russians have finally been acting like this is a real war, the Ukrainians have been grinding down their forces to a nub with the hope that the West will do something more than a couple F-16s and they are still waiting. Nix Panicus posted:Putin is as much a creature of liberalism as other world leaders. He appears to have genuinely thought his neighbor wasn't that ideologically committed and wouldn't commit suicide to spite him. In the context of what happened in Georgia, or even Ukraine in 2015, it wasn't that much of a gamble. It was still born out of bad/intel advice since even this thread could tell the Ukrainian army of 2022 wasn't that of 2015 even if still mostly using Soviet equipment. The military is if had been in the loop from the get-go would have balked at the plan because they need they could only get so far into the country before the Ukrainians got the reserves into gear. Ardennes has issued a correction as of 15:10 on Jul 12, 2023 |
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Jul 12, 2023 15:07
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nato did get some Nordic counties admitted, but I think the USAs position as the global hegemon has taken some huge hits due to this war. Russia shook off the sanctions.
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Jul 12, 2023 15:11
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euphronius posted:nato did get some Nordic counties admitted, but I think the USAs position as the global hegemon has taken some huge hits due to this war. Russia shook off the sanctions. It has been a general loss for the US, it is just that the Russians didn't aim to put themselves on the wrong foot. It just sort of worked out for them (Russia has been working to protect itself from sanctions but I don't think they thought that the US would have gone that extreme or they would have fully pulled their reserves). It is just that certain things that were supposed to hurt/cripple Russia boomranged such as forcing them to put up their own domestic industry and unwind some liberal policies. In addition, while the war was suppose to end Russia as a military power, it really doesn't seem to be the case. Ardennes has issued a correction as of 15:23 on Jul 12, 2023 |
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Jul 12, 2023 15:17
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Xinhua News just dropped a new RTS cutscene. https://twitter.com/XHNews/status/1678673918192922624?s=20 Reuters officially declares Zelensky "rizzless... asked to leave the party." https://twitter.com/Reuters/status/1679128757162868738?s=20 Pener Kropoopkin has issued a correction as of 15:30 on Jul 12, 2023 |
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Jul 12, 2023 15:27
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Good news for Ukraine - UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak confirms that Ukraine will and should be a member of Nato. https://www.theguardian.com/world/l...f08ce64897eb01b 29 min ago Bloomberg asks if Sunak sees Ukraine joining Nato within a year of a ceasefire. Sunak says: “What the summit represents is a very significant moment on the journey towards membership and when conditions allow, membership will happen. “I think that is very clear from today’s summit that people’s view is Ukraine will and should be a member of Nato. That’s what you’ve heard loud and clear coming out of this summit.”
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Jul 12, 2023 15:41
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Slavvy posted:
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Jul 12, 2023 15:42
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Finally, the good news for Ukraine is back
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Jul 12, 2023 15:43
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SplitSoul posted:https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jul/12/uk-defence-secretary-ben-wallace-suggests-ukraine-could-say-thank-you Reminded of putlers complaints about the high hat attitude
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Jul 12, 2023 15:46
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Jul 12, 2023 15:48
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really queer Christmas posted:Finally, the good news for Ukraine is back this thread is the last place that posting good news for ukraine is legal on the forums...hosed up if you ask me
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Jul 12, 2023 15:49
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Jul 12, 2023 15:52
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Anyway, the Ukrainian counter offensive failed, spectacularly. As Girkin would put it. Avdeevka will be the big thing to look out for. It's exactly what the news kept saying Bakhmut was. If the Russian army keeps advancing on it, and if Ukrainian army can't stage another defense there, well it's not a good sign. Either they can't even do that much anymore, or they're changing their strategy.
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Jul 12, 2023 15:56
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Putin Is Spending Billions of Dollars to Lose the War in Ukraine Besides costing more than 200,000 men, the war in Ukraine is proving extremely expensive for Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin has had to spend tens of billions of dollars in the war so far but has nothing to show for it. Despite the lack of success, Moscow is spending, even more, this year on its military in a desperate attempt to sustain a losing war. Russia’s 2023 Military Budget and Ukraine War According to the June report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Russia’s 2023 defense budget is around 6.6 trillion rubles, or about $85 billion). But it is likely that Moscow spends more on defense through classified budgets. “Russia’s true military expenditure remains uncertain due to a lack of transparency, including the use of classified budget lines, which account for approximately 22 percent of the Russian Government’s total budget,” the British Military Intelligence assessed in a recent estimate of the war. Ukraine takes up most of Russia’s defense budget. After all, the Kremlin has deployed the majority of its units in Ukraine, weakening Russia’s national security. “In addition, Russia almost certainly faces extra direct budgetary defense costs due to the war, including security expenses in the occupied regions and defensive measures in regions bordering Ukraine,” the British Military Intelligence added. The Russian military, moreover, has suffered such extremely heavy losses in weapon systems that replenishing its stocks with modern systems would require an extremely large amount of money. The new budget is approximately 4.4 percent of the Russian gross domestic product and considerably higher than in 2021, the year before the invasion of Ukraine, when it was 3.6 percent of the GDP. When it comes to the United States and NATO, the official Russian defense budget holds its own. Indeed, with $85 billion, the Russian military would second only to the U.S., though it would be a very faraway second because the U.S. military has a budget of $860 billion. But still, Russia would surpass the West’s major military powers, including Germany ($70 billion), the United Kingdom ($69 billion), and France ($58 billion). Russian Casualties Russian forces on the ground continue to sustain a steady rate of losses every day. Since the Ukrainian counteroffensive began in early June, the Russian forces have been taking an average of more than 500 losses daily. On the 505th day of the conflict, Moscow remains in a tight spot, unable to attack and struggling to hold on to the occupied parts of Ukraine. Overall, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense claimed that as of Wednesday, Ukrainian forces have killed and wounded approximately 235,530 Russian troops.
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Jul 12, 2023 15:58
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Минобороны России posted:
Lostconfused has issued a correction as of 16:08 on Jul 12, 2023 |
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Jul 12, 2023 15:58
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Good news for Ukraine - Australia will donate an additional 30 Bushmaster protected mobility vehicles to Ukraine, taking the total number to 120 (including Australia's previous commitment of 90 Bushmasters) https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jul/12/australia-to-give-ukraine-another-30-bushmaster-military-vehicles Australia to give Ukraine another 30 Bushmaster military vehicles Wed 12 Jul 2023 12.32 BST Australia will donate an additional 30 Bushmaster protected mobility vehicles to Ukraine, Anthony Albanese has announced. The prime minister met with Ukraine’s president, Volodomyr Zelenskiy, on the sidelines of the Nato summit in Lithuania on Wednesday night, where he pledged further military aid to support the country in its fight against Russia. The package builds on Australia’s previous commitment of 90 Bushmasters, taking the total number to 120. Australia has provided more than $710m in military aid, with overall support reaching a total of $890m. Albanese said Australia remained steadfast in its commitment to support Ukraine and said it was proud to provide the additional vehicles “to assist the brave men and women fighting for their home and their nation’s sovereignty”. “Australia will continue to stand with Ukraine for as long as is necessary and we will continue to provide support for Ukraine…” Albanese said after his meeting with Zelenskiy. “We understand that in today’s interconnected world, Ukraine is not just fighting for its own national sovereignty it is fighting for the international rule of law to be applied, and this is a struggle that has implications for the entire world. Zelenskiy expressed his gratitude after the meeting. “Thank you! A powerful new defence package, including 30 Bushmasters,” he wrote on the Telegram app. Australia this week announced a further step in its support for Ukraine – the deployment of an RAAF E-7A Wedgetail aircraft to protect the flow of assistance.
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Jul 12, 2023 15:59
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speng31b posted:this thread is the last place that posting good news for ukraine is legal on the forums...hosed up if you ask me Putin’s puppets have outlawed good news for Ukraine.
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Jul 12, 2023 16:01
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UK defense secretary says NATO is "struggling" to keep ammunition flowing to Ukraine From CNN's Natasha Bertrand in Vilnius, Lithuania UK Secretary of Defense Ben Wallace said NATO countries "are struggling to find ways" to keep ammunition supplied to Ukraine as Russia's full-scale invasion continues past 500 days. "Huge amounts of munitions are being fired and used," he said at a panel during the NATO summit In Vilnius, Lithuania. Wallace told CNN on Wednesday that because of the shortages, he understands why the US opted to provide controversial cluster munitions to Ukraine in an attempt to fill the gap. But he said that since the UK has adopted a ban on those munitions, it cannot promote their use in any way. “At one level, I understand the military requirement that the Ukrainians were facing,” he said. “And the United States is not a signatory to that treaty, so it frees them up to do what they feel is right.” “They are just finding ways around the challenge,” Wallace said. But, he added, “we've signed the treaty, we feel that we can't champion the use of (cluster munitions). We can't propose them. We can't promote them. We can't support them. We can't assist them, and that is the bounds of them.” US President Joe Biden told CNN last week that the US is “running low” on ammunition stockpiles that it can send to Ukraine, which is a reason why Biden decided to send the munitions. The provision of the cluster munitions is temporary, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said last week, until the US can ramp up its production of unitary ammunition. Wallace said the broader question of a stockpile issue is a serious concern because of the amount of supplies Ukraine has needed to carry out its counteroffensive. “The supplying of equipment to Ukraine has been huge, vast. I think they prepared 12 Brigades for this offensive — two brigades is bigger than most people's armies, right? 12 effectively armored brigades prepared for this counteroffensive, mainly out of gifted equipment and donations," he said. “All of us have had to struggle stimulating our supply chains, some of which went to sleep,” he added. Wallace also said a big specific challenge they see with Ukraine is its ability to shut down runways being used by Russian planes. The long-range Storm Shadow missile that the UK has provided “is a deep-strike weapon, but it is not designed to destroy runways,” he said, so the UK is trying to find ways to help Ukrainian troops improve that capability.
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Jul 12, 2023 16:01
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Pener Kropoopkin posted:Xinhua News just dropped a new RTS cutscene. gently caress yeah
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Jul 12, 2023 16:01
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if the spring 2022 negotiations succeeded then imo ukraine would have legit 'won' the war, i.e. repelled a superpower in conventional combat, with minimal concessions
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Jul 12, 2023 16:03
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https://twitter.com/davidvolodzko/status/1677472309047877632?s=20 Turns out this guy's grandpa was polishing the cocks of German horses before the Soviet Union raised him to sapience. quote:Last weekend, I ventured to Fremont to look at one of its landmarks, a bronze statue of Lenin. I was there having lunch at Dumpling Tzar, where they serve pelmeni, which is and always has been my favorite dish. As a boy, I hand-made pelmeni with my babushka Alla, my hands and face covered in flour as we worked in the cold of my grandparents’ basement in Paterson, New Jersey. My grandfather Josef, a horse rancher-turned-engineer, had come to the United States as a refugee after escaping a Nazi concentration camp. The only thing worse, he said with bitterness in his voice, was the Russia Lenin had built. This is from a recent article where he's complaining about the Lenin statue in the Seattle Times. https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/dear-fremont-we-need-to-talk-about-lenin-and-your-statue-of-the-genocidal-tyrant/
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Jul 12, 2023 16:04
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Good news for people who like making comparisons between Hitler and Lenin - David Josef Volodzko likes making such comparisons too. https://twitter.com/davidvolodzko/status/1678251544666578950
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Jul 12, 2023 16:06
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literally lmfao
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Jul 12, 2023 16:07
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Pener Kropoopkin posted:https://twitter.com/davidvolodzko/status/1677472309047877632?s=20 what a loving dork lol
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Jul 12, 2023 16:07
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[Hitler megathread] Hitler was the lesser evil
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Jul 12, 2023 16:08
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