Russian invasion of Ukraine

[Iphie]

The barrel seems to have been welded shut even though the image is a bit blurry.

Doubtful it were moved there with any expectation of being useful in combat, if the image is recent.

Not to mention there is a lack of any nazi insignia that the Russians put on everything.

Both good points, I just was flabbergasted at the sheer possibility of T-34's rolling into Ukraine in combat roles. (Though at this point I'd not be surprised.)

[Azadina]

Both good points, I just was flabbergasted at the sheer possibility of T-34's rolling into Ukraine in combat roles. (Though at this point I'd not be surprised.)

I wouldn't be surprised if they did that either. RuZZlamist age old tactic is to throw shit at enemy weapons until they just run out of ammunition. In that sense T34's would be "perfect" way to make Ukraine waste their currently precious antitank ammunition.

[zealo]

Both good points, I just was flabbergasted at the sheer possibility of T-34's rolling into Ukraine in combat roles. (Though at this point I'd not be surprised.)

It's entirely plausible they're trying to use it as a decoy, but yeah, it's not going to kill anyone in the state that one seems to be in.

[Corvus]

Both good points, I just was flabbergasted at the sheer possibility of T-34's rolling into Ukraine in combat roles. (Though at this point I'd not be surprised.)

I wouldn't be entirely shocked if a few did turn up, seeing as Putin seems willing to scrape the bottom of the barrel for anything he could throw into the war. As the latest UK MoD report says, much of Russia's reinforcements are adhoc units equipped with obsolete or inappropriate equipment, such as the MT-LB armoured vehicles, which were designed in the 1950s as tractors to pull artillery, and even Russia long considered them as unsuitable for frontline infantry roles, but they are being pushed into that role now.

Oh, and Russia's knockoff McDonalds has run out for fries - and that is from Russian media. The 2021 harvest was a poor one and sanctions have stopped them importing replacement potatoes. Of course the Russian government is all 'Is no shortage of potatoes, comrade.'

[Yunru]

I wouldn't be entirely shocked if a few did turn up, seeing as Putin seems willing to scrape the bottom of the barrel for anything he could throw into the war. As the latest UK MoD report says, much of Russia's reinforcements are adhoc units equipped with obsolete or inappropriate equipment, such as the MT-LB armoured vehicles, which were designed in the 1950s as tractors to pull artillery, and even Russia long considered them as unsuitable for frontline infantry roles, but they are being pushed into that role now.

Oh, and Russia's knockoff McDonalds has run out for fries - and that is from Russian media. The 2021 harvest was a poor one and sanctions have stopped them importing replacement potatoes. Of course the Russian government is all 'Is no shortage of potatoes, comrade.'

Its not just that.

No potatoes = no vodka

[Corvus]

And onto Russian manpower issues - Russian prisoners are being taken out of prisons and sent to fight in Ukrainee (despite those with criminal records being ineligible to sign up), and even the Waffen SS, sorry, Wagner, also recruiting out of prisoners, even offering amnesty to the prisoners. The shtrafbats are making a return.

And then you get this kind of propaganda being aimed at recruiting the young. Remember kids, service guarantees citizenship.

[Poopymonster]

Its not just that.

No potatoes = no vodka

*laughs in Gaelic*

[Logwyn]

Its not just that.

No potatoes = no vodka

Vodka may be distilled from any starch- or sugar-rich plant matter; most vodka today is produced from grains such as sorghum, corn, rye or wheat. Among grain vodkas, rye and wheat vodkas are generally considered superior. Some vodkas are made from potatoes, molasses, soybeans, grapes, rice, sugar beets and sometimes even byproducts of oil refining[33] or wood pulp processing.

[Kaleredar]

And onto Russian manpower issues - Russian prisoners are being taken out of prisons and sent to fight in Ukrainee (despite those with criminal records being ineligible to sign up), and even the Waffen SS, sorry, Wagner, also recruiting out of prisoners, even offering amnesty to the prisoners. The shtrafbats are making a return.

And then you get this kind of propaganda being aimed at recruiting the young. Remember kids, service guarantees citizenship.

Now if I were a Russian criminal being sent to the front lines with little training probably to die… You can bet I’d be running as far the hell away as possible as soon as I could.

[Biglog]

On the T-34, they aren't using those in combat but they might have pulled a few out as decoys. Russia and Azerbaijan both have done the same with WW2 era transport aircraft rigged as UAV decoys to draw out and spot air defenses. It does work, there's a funny video of Russia attacking a non-functional T-34 that was a war memorial in a Ukrainian park after mistaking it for an active enemy tank.

It's also almost embarrassing that Russia is threatening Finland and (lol) now Alaska. It's total and complete denial of the reality of the state of the Russian military, which has become very clear in the past few months. The US military has pivoted away from considering Russia the primary adversarial threat anymore. If anything it shows the desperation in the Russian government to even suggest such a thing would be a feasible. Alaskan citizens have a 65% gun ownership rate too btw, so good luck with that. It's like Napoleon threatening England after Waterloo. Same with the frequent nuclear war threats, delusional as though that would be a one-way attack and Russia wouldn't be an apocalyptic glowing wasteland. Putin has been copying Germany's WW2 playbook so far by claiming most of the Northern hemisphere as Sudetenland, but he should keep in mind what happened to Germany in the later chapters of that book when it overplayed it's hand militarily.

[PhaelixWW]

Its not just that.

No potatoes = no vodka

Only 3% of vodka worldwide is made from potatoes; even in Russia, grains are far more commonly used than potatoes.

[Corvus]

Russkies are starting to send Dad's Army into the war. If any of them in that 'volunteer' unit are under 50 I'd be surprised.

[Iphie]

Russkies are starting to send Dad's Army into the war. If any of them in that 'volunteer' unit are under 50 I'd be surprised.

Sheesh...well, I guess it's one way of combatting the demographic timebomb...(of course by having their young killed they are also making it worse...)

[Poopymonster]

Sheesh...well, I guess it's one way of combatting the demographic timebomb...(of course by having their young killed they are also making it worse...)

Don't worry, there will be lots of Russians born in Ukraine around Xmas.

[Breccia]

Only 3% of vodka worldwide is made from potatoes; even in Russia, grains are far more commonly used than potatoes.

Huh. Every day's a school day.

While most of this CNBC article is about Russia...well, as shown here in the last couple days, bringing in brainwashed children, grandfathers and convicts...

“Russia is moving reserve forces from across the country and assembling them near Ukraine for future offensive operations,” the U.K. Defence Ministry wrote in a tweet on Saturday.

“Despite President Putin’s claim on 07 July 2022 that the Russian military has ‘not even started’ its efforts in Ukraine, many of its reinforcements are ad hoc groupings, deploying with obsolete or inappropriate equipment,” it said.

it also shares what we knew was coming: Russia is just flat-out arresting people for speaking out.

In an example of Russia’s tight control over dissent, a Moscow city councilor was imprisoned Friday with a sentence of seven years for what authorities described as spreading “fake information” on the war in Ukraine.

One lawyer said that this is the first instance of anyone being sent to jail under Russia’s law, established shortly after its invasion of Ukraine began, that criminalized “deliberate dissemination of fake information about Russia’s army.” “Fake information” by Kremlin standards is anything that contradicts the government’s reports.

The councilman, Alexei Gorinov, was discussing a children’s drawing contest at a local meeting that was filmed and later put on Youtube, according to Reuters. He remarked, “What kind of children’s drawing contest can we talk about for Children’s Day ... when we have children dying every day?”

“They took away my spring, they took away my summer, and now they’ve taken away seven more years of my life,” Gorinov’s supporters quoted him as saying during his sentencing, Reuters reported.

I'm interested both in Putin's actions in flat-out jailing an elected official for expressing his opinion, and the fact that an elected official expressed that opinion in public. Those ammo depots aren't the only thing that could explode in Russia -- possibly literally, possibly figuratively.

[Corvus]

The Gerkin is whining that the much vaunted s400 is unable to deal with himars despite advertising it could, and that over the last week it has caused a lot of very heavy losses.

https://www.reddit.com/r/UkrainianCo...m_source=share

The amusing part is that he thinks russia isn't using its full might. Yeah they kind of have....

[Iphie]

I'm interested both in Putin's actions in flat-out jailing an elected official for expressing his opinion, and the fact that an elected official expressed that opinion in public. Those ammo depots aren't the only thing that could explode in Russia -- possibly literally, possibly figuratively.

Well you know, with putin actually on record that there will be an operational pause because "the troops need rest and recuperation", and the dutch news saying that a lot of professional soldiers in the russian army are trying to get out because they either don't trust the leadership, don't want to die or are 'conscientious' objectors (don't ask me HOW that works in the russian mind after 4 months.), I'd say you're right.

Notably russia is also banging that negotiation drum again so you know, there may be rumblings there. (I know that russian negotiations are a ruse at best but at some point they'll need to get serious about it so there's a non-zero percent chance it'll happen sooner rather than later.)

[Fugus]

Notably russia is also banging that negotiation drum again so you know, there may be rumblings there. (I know that russian negotiations are a ruse at best but at some point they'll need to get serious about it so there's a non-zero percent chance it'll happen sooner rather than later.)

Didn’t Zelinsky already say that he wasn’t going to give up any land during any negotiations?

Wouldn’t that basically spell out that there is nothing to negotiate over unless Ukraine actually starts occupying Russian territory?

[Breccia]

Notably russia is also banging that negotiation drum again

About that:

It's also almost embarrassing that Russia is threatening Finland and (lol) now Alaska.

I get threatening Finland, even if it's hilarious from the point of view of anyone who isn't Russia. Russia has proven they have a zero point zero percent chance of taking on Finland alone, let alone beating them before the EU and US arrived to express their dissent. Not even Russia believes Russia can take Alaska. Even if they tried, the US would stomp them flat with T-51b troops and probably launch every weapon we have while every nation on Earth, even China, cheers as Russia is reduced to fine powder.

So yes, that has to be saber rattling, and a dull saber at that. It's not even a credible bluff. Russia must be desperate for a way out that doesn't look like the abject, humiliating defeat they've been soaking in for the last few months.

[Iphie]

Didn’t Zelinsky already say that he wasn’t going to give up any land during any negotiations?

Wouldn’t that basically spell out that there is nothing to negotiate over unless Ukraine actually starts occupying Russian territory?

I'm not entirely sure what the exact position is now, I mean I recall Zelinskyy saying back to the borders of feb 24, so that would mean Crimea remains in russian hands, as well as parts of the Donbass, but that was a while back so that may have shifted a bit, but what I said wasn't about him or Ukraine it was about russia. In the end both need to get serious and realistic about the negotiations, yes, and I don't advocate land for peace ( I do think that a demand of a withdrawal before the negotiations is probably not going to work, though.), but at some point they'll need to talk for real.