Ukraine War: "20 months of war for a used car."

The Something Awful Forums > Main > General Bullshit > Ukraine War: "20 months of war for a used car."

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(Thread IKs: weg, Toxic Mental)

redshirt: Aug 11, 2007

And heyo, look at the leader of Copslyvania on the Red Carpet!

# ? May 4, 2024 00:40

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? Jun 5, 2024 21:06

zone: Dec 6, 2016

https://twitter.com/Maks_NAFO_FELLA/status/1786468797395693955
Are you going to shut up?

# ? May 4, 2024 01:19

LRADIKAL: Jun 10, 2001; Fun Shoe

https://store.meidastouch.com/products/muga-hat
these guys legit?

# ? May 4, 2024 01:26

Rad Russian: Aug 15, 2007; Soviet Power Supreme!

LRADIKAL posted:

https://store.meidastouch.com/products/muga-hat
these guys legit?

Looks like fake copy of NAFO who actually donate profits to Ukraine:
https://nafo-ofan.org/products/nafo-muga-snapback-hat

# ? May 4, 2024 01:29

Tai: Mar 8, 2006

zone posted:

https://twitter.com/Maks_NAFO_FELLA/status/1786468797395693955
Are you going to shut up?

lol you aren't leaving cos you want that sweet sweet euro

# ? May 4, 2024 01:57

ZogrimAteMyHamster: Dec 8, 2015

zone posted:

https://twitter.com/Maks_NAFO_FELLA/status/1786468797395693955
Are you going to shut up?

# ? May 4, 2024 03:42

Comstar: Apr 20, 2007; Are you happy now?

Khanstant posted:

Reckon we oughta just replace Russian government with a global council set by the G7 and UN. Russia obviously can't be trusted to self govern.

You could call it a global defence...initiative.

Not sure who plays the part of the Brotherhood of Nod. I guess it would be the Republican party.

# ? May 4, 2024 04:01

To be fair...: Feb 3, 2006; Film Producer

zone posted:

https://twitter.com/Maks_NAFO_FELLA/status/1786468797395693955
Are you going to shut up?

Sometimes a man is just in search of a wedgie.

# ? May 4, 2024 05:05

Mumpy Puffinz: Aug 11, 2008; Nap Ghost

zone posted:

https://twitter.com/Maks_NAFO_FELLA/status/1786468797395693955
Are you going to shut up?

Then leave idiot. Worked out fine for the UK. What are you? A pussy?

# ? May 4, 2024 05:09

Mulva: Sep 13, 2011; It's about time for my once per decade ban for being a consistently terrible poster.

Comstar posted:

You could call it a global defence...initiative.

Not sure who plays the part of the Brotherhood of Nod. I guess it would be the Republican party.

Kane did nothing to deserve that comparison.

# ? May 4, 2024 05:11

Avirosb: Nov 21, 2016; Everyone makes pisstakes

Mulva posted:

Kane did nothing to deserve that comparison.

You sure about that?

# ? May 4, 2024 06:24

Alan Smithee: Jan 4, 2005; A man becomes preeminent, he's expected to have enthusiasms.

Enthusiasms, enthusiasms...

https://packaged-media.redd.it/qow7...703333fe76f#t=0

# ? May 4, 2024 11:09

Jasper Tin Neck: Nov 14, 2008; "Scientifically proven, rich and creamy."

Anders Puck Nielsen isn't making a video this week, so he made this week's newsletter free.

He says Ukraine's three major problems over the winter and spring have been a lack of ammo, a lack of personnel and a lack of fortifications.

Passage of the US aid package alleviates the first, but Ukraine has to solve the two latter as well. Efforts to enable a draft and troop rotation system are underway, which is critical to keep up morale. Currently troops have no avenue to get demobilised except either on a stretcher or in a coffin, which understandably makes people less likely to enlist.

The lack of fortifications partly reflects the overconfidence Ukraine's backers had in the difference the previous aid packages could make and partly a need to convince a domestic audience that the military was serious about going on the offensive.

I'll add that Mike Koffman from War on the Rocks has on numerous occasions spoken about how Russia has separate engineering brigades tasked with building fortifications, while Ukrainian units have to choose between fighting and digging. It might be a good idea to take a page from the Russians on this one.

If equipment availability is an issue, there's a win-win solution. Construction in Europe has cratered, so European governments could easily set up a program to buy a few thousand tracked excavators off the market, paint them olive green and ship them to Ukraine. They'll find a lot of use in the eventual reconstruction as well.

# ? May 4, 2024 12:29

Zeromus: Dec 11, 2004

Jasper Tin Neck posted:

Anders Puck Nielsen isn't making a video this week, so he made this week's newsletter free.

He says Ukraine's three major problems over the winter and spring have been a lack of ammo, a lack of personnel and a lack of fortifications.

Passage of the US aid package alleviates the first, but Ukraine has to solve the two latter as well. Efforts to enable a draft and troop rotation system are underway, which is critical to keep up morale. Currently troops have no avenue to get demobilised except either on a stretcher or in a coffin, which understandably makes people less likely to enlist.

The lack of fortifications partly reflects the overconfidence Ukraine's backers had in the difference the previous aid packages could make and partly a need to convince a domestic audience that the military was serious about going on the offensive.

I'll add that Mike Koffman from War on the Rocks has on numerous occasions spoken about how Russia has separate engineering brigades tasked with building fortifications, while Ukrainian units have to choose between fighting and digging. It might be a good idea to take a page from the Russians on this one.

If equipment availability is an issue, there's a win-win solution. Construction in Europe has cratered, so European governments could easily set up a program to buy a few thousand tracked excavators off the market, paint them olive green and ship them to Ukraine. They'll find a lot of use in the eventual reconstruction as well.

https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-fortifications-8a72981dfdb755de6f8011b13f4d062e

quote:

...In Chasiv Yar, a strategic hilltop town in Donetsk, the lack of fortifications helped turn the tables in Russia�s favor.

In mid-March, Ukraine�s 67th brigade was rotated in to hold positions roughly 3 kilometers from the town. �I would be hard-pressed to describe them as �positions,�� said a Ukrainian serviceman who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the failings candidly.

He expected dugouts, a labyrinth of trenches and firing positions, but what he found were a series of pits, barely large enough to hide in during artillery barrages.

Under fire, �soldiers would climb out of pits and start digging in each other�s direction so that there is at least some connection between them,� he said. The soil was so sandy that whenever shells struck, the trenches they dug crumbled.

With nowhere to take cover and no means to match the Russian barrages, they retreated 2 kilometers back. Over 100 Ukrainian soldiers were killed or are missing, he said.

�We lost department commanders, platoon commanders, company commanders and sergeants,� he said. �That is, we lost the entire skeleton of the brigade.�

The unit�s withdrawal in early April led to it being disbanded by Ukraine�s General Staff. The brigade was blamed for the loss, but commanders said they never had the resources to succeed.

# ? May 4, 2024 13:29

zone: Dec 6, 2016

https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1786677730043388279

# ? May 4, 2024 13:52

Pot Smoke Phoenix: Aug 15, 2007; Smoke 'em if you gottem!; Dinosaur Gum

https://x.com/NOELreports/status/1786741208720576552

# ? May 4, 2024 14:21

hazardousmouse: Dec 17, 2010

Zeromus posted:

https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-fortifications-8a72981dfdb755de6f8011b13f4d062e

I remember they were so proud of their fortifications a year and a half ago. How did they forget their own lessons in such a short time?

# ? May 4, 2024 15:29

Oscar Wilde Bunch: Jun 12, 2012; Grimey Drawer

hazardousmouse posted:

I remember they were so proud of their fortifications a year and a half ago. How did they forget their own lessons in such a short time?

https://youtu.be/MYQCb3qrBpo?si=fp7KiiF159pJK-md

Probably because they foolishly trusted us to keep the equipment supplies up.

# ? May 4, 2024 15:47

zone: Dec 6, 2016

https://twitter.com/NOELreports/status/1786732477593055482

# ? May 4, 2024 15:48

pro starcraft loser: Jan 23, 2006; Stand back, this could get messy.

It's kinda crazy how poorly Russia treats its troops and still gives them guns with ammunition that can actually fire*.

*Guns, ammo, and quality may vary

# ? May 4, 2024 16:05

Dwesa: Jul 19, 2016; Maybe I'll go where I can see stars

zone posted:

https://twitter.com/NOELreports/status/1786732477593055482

did not even bother to specify the charge, I bet they just wanted to put his funny picture somewhere to appease the chief cumguzzler, lazy as always

# ? May 4, 2024 16:05

redshirt: Aug 11, 2007

pro starcraft loser posted:

It's kinda crazy how poorly Russia treats its troops and still gives them guns with ammunition that can actually fire*.

*Guns, ammo, and quality may vary

Makes me think back to those magical days when the Hot Dog Man made a speed run to Moscow. But, alas...

# ? May 4, 2024 16:41

TulliusCicero: Jul 29, 2017

zone posted:

https://twitter.com/Maks_NAFO_FELLA/status/1786468797395693955
Are you going to shut up?

Then leave fuckhead

Good riddance

# ? May 4, 2024 17:43

Blistex: Oct 30, 2003; Macho Business
Donkey Wrestler

hazardousmouse posted:

I remember they were so proud of their fortifications a year and a half ago. How did they forget their own lessons in such a short time?

They assumed that the west would keep weapons coming and that the front would continue to roll in their favour. The lack of artillery shells and missiles meant that they no longer had the advantage, coupled with Russia getting their drone game in order meant that they were also having their vehicles and troops attacked on the regular.

Prior to the slowdown, Ukraine was out ranging Russia with artillery, tanks, and drones. Now some of those advantages have been negated due to shell starvation and lancets having a ramped up production line.

When you assume that your offensive will continue to make ground you tend to let the defensive aspect of your plan go the wayside.

# ? May 4, 2024 18:21

Jasper Tin Neck: Nov 14, 2008; "Scientifically proven, rich and creamy."

hazardousmouse posted:

When you assume that your offensive will continue to make ground you tend to let the defensive aspect of your plan go the wayside.

That and as said, after the fall of the Soviet Union, Ukraine's dedicated engineering units were slowly whittled down to only four engineering regiments with most of their equipment sold off. Some have been rebuilt, but there is a larger issue.

DefenceUA posted:

The doctrine of application of engineering troops was also left without updates, which is another and perhaps the main element of this complex problem.

Because as of today, the responsibility of creating defensive lines rests on the shoulders of commanders in charge of combat brigades.
---
"When I arrive at the spot, I get neither a map nor a proper rationale. Usually, they say: 'You need to dig from the stump over here to the windbreak over there.' But it doesn't work that way. The defense must be integral. It must have depth, and the enemy must not be able to go around it. But the infantry engineers just don't know how to plan and I have to do it myself or simply dig where I'm told to, because your job is to shut up and do the work," Corsair wrote.
---
Furthermore, the military does not have any equipment to create concrete structures at all, this is common for armies in many countries, including NATO, because working with concrete materials is a full-fledged construction and it is carried out by civilian companies under special contracts. And in general, such works are only possible on the third line of defense, where the enemy cannot reach yet.

That third line is drawn by the specific brigade in charge of the area, and it must be accounted that the "statutory" depth of a brigade's defense is 6�12 km, with all the associated difficulties. As a result:

"Once again, where does this third line of defense have to be made? None of the brigades in the east has submitted their project."
---
Meanwhile, russia sent private construction companies in to create defense lines, they built ready-made concrete shelters and dug foxholes, trenches and ditches in accordance with a single master plan. The Kremlin has the money to fill any unfilled gap with rubles and apply the apparatus of coercion, and therefore solved this problem.

This is an area where money, concrete, training, and ordinary construction equipment goes a long way, so it's an issue European allies are well suited to lend a hand in.

# ? May 4, 2024 20:47

Mumpy Puffinz: Aug 11, 2008; Nap Ghost

zone posted:

https://twitter.com/NOELreports/status/1786732477593055482

did they think their soldiers would run up to him and want a selfie?

# ? May 4, 2024 22:00

shadow puppet of a: Jan 10, 2007; NO TENGO SCORPIO

Looks like Russia decided to wisely decommission and strip down to parts another of its Su-25 while mid-flight over Donetsk. And those hapless "crests" could do nothing about it. Ha! foolish "crests.".

# ? May 4, 2024 22:43

zone: Dec 6, 2016

Reportedly, 2 Iskander TELs and an ammo warehouse for the same were demilitarized near Luhove on the Crimean peninsula last night.

# ? May 4, 2024 23:24

Burns: May 10, 2008

Youd think UA would focus on smashing up Russian attacks at the front.

# ? May 4, 2024 23:32

Runa: Feb 13, 2011

Burns posted:

Youd think UA would focus on smashing up Russian attacks at the front.

Honestly if it was a strike and not local sabotage it depends on whether it was the most efficient use of the munitions in question.

Obviously you're not going to send cluster munitions to a warehouse deep behind enemy lines but if you can identify and hit a high priority target using a missile that would probably be wasted in an anti-personnel or anti-armor role, may as well go for it.

It may well just be a case of trying to get as much bang for their buck with the limited supplies they have.

Runa fucked around with this message at 23:49 on May 4, 2024

# ? May 4, 2024 23:44