Ukraine 2

[Kamaji]

Russia (the Soviet Union) was fighting on no one's side but their own. It was to our benefit to feed them arms and supplies to keep the Nazis busy on two fronts (enabling the invasion of the continent and eventual advances across France by thinning out Axis armies), but Stalin was in it for Stalin, and gobbled up a significant chunk of Eastern Europe during and after the war as "Socialist Republics".

[txradioguy]

Russia (the Soviet Union) was fighting on no one's side but their own. It was to our benefit to feed them arms and supplies to keep the Nazis busy on two fronts (enabling the invasion of the continent and eventual advances across France by thinning out Axis armies), but Stalin was in it for Stalin, and gobbled up a significant chunk of Eastern Europe during and after the war as "Socialist Republics".

^^^^ This!!

[DCPatriot]

Russia (the Soviet Union) was fighting on no one's side but their own. It was to our benefit to feed them arms and supplies to keep the Nazis busy on two fronts (enabling the invasion of the continent and eventual advances across France by thinning out Axis armies), but Stalin was in it for Stalin, and gobbled up a significant chunk of Eastern Europe during and after the war as "Socialist Republics".

At the time, the American People wanted no part of fighting Germany in Europe...just like we feel today about 'protecting' Ukrainians from the big, bad Russian bear.  Thus, Lend-Lease.

That was Herman Wouk's POV in Winds of War, and War & Remembrance and was confirmed in two different Stalin biographies I researched back in the Days of Reagan.

[Kamaji]

Putin unleashes the Terminators: Russia's much-vaunted war vehicles are finally deployed as Ukraine continues to obliterate invading tanks with the help of British missiles

By WILL STEWART and RACHAEL BUNYAN FOR MAILONLINE
18 May 2022

Vladimir Putin has finally deployed his 'Terminator' military vehicles in battle in Ukraine as Kyiv continues to obliterate invading Russian tanks with the help of British missiles.

Video shows the much-vaunted armoured vehicles, which are designed to support infantry units fighting in urban areas, in the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine.

The deployment of the BMPT Terminator comes as Russia's invasion of Ukraine has taken a heavy toll on Putin's main army tanks - the T-90M tank - after Ukrainian troops continue to obliterate them with rockets.

Ukraine said this week its armed forces had destroyed Russian tanks deep behind enemy lines in the Donbas region using British-made Brimstone missiles for the first time.

*  *  *

Source:  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10829005/Putin-unleashes-Terminators-Russias-vaunted-war-vehicles-finally-deployed.html

[Kamaji]

Putin unleashes the Terminators: Russia's much-vaunted war vehicles are finally deployed as Ukraine continues to obliterate invading tanks with the help of British missiles

By WILL STEWART and RACHAEL BUNYAN FOR MAILONLINE
18 May 2022

Vladimir Putin has finally deployed his 'Terminator' military vehicles in battle in Ukraine as Kyiv continues to obliterate invading Russian tanks with the help of British missiles.

Video shows the much-vaunted armoured vehicles, which are designed to support infantry units fighting in urban areas, in the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine.

The deployment of the BMPT Terminator comes as Russia's invasion of Ukraine has taken a heavy toll on Putin's main army tanks - the T-90M tank - after Ukrainian troops continue to obliterate them with rockets.

Ukraine said this week its armed forces had destroyed Russian tanks deep behind enemy lines in the Donbas region using British-made Brimstone missiles for the first time.

*  *  *

Source:  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10829005/Putin-unleashes-Terminators-Russias-vaunted-war-vehicles-finally-deployed.html

The so-called Terminator:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMPT_Terminator

Another cats-paw for the Ukrainians to start chewing up.

[Kamaji]

Russian soldier is the first to plead guilty to war crimes in Ukraine: Sergeant, 21, admits shooting a 62-year-old man in the head

By CHRIS PLEASANCE FOR MAILONLINE
18 May 2022

A Russian soldier has pleaded guilty to charges of war crimes after he became the first to go on trial in Ukraine over Putin's invasion.

Sergeant Vadim Shishimarin, 21, answered 'yes' when asked by a judge in Kyiv today whether he was guilty of shooting a 62-year-old man in the head in the village of Chupakhivka during the first week of the war.

He now faces life in prison under penalties spelled out in the section of the Ukrainian criminal code that addresses the laws and customs of war.

*  *  *

Source:  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10829335/Ukraine-war-Russian-soldier-pleads-GUILTY-war-crimes.html

[Kamaji]

Russia loses ANOTHER colonel... who had been sent into the field to replace the previous one Ukraine killed: Officer dies in river-crossing ambush

By WILL STEWART FOR MAILONLINE
18 May 2022

Vladimir Putin has suffered another grievous blow after he lost his 42nd colonel in his bloody war in Ukraine.

Colonel Denis Kozlov, 40, was the second commander of the 12th Separate Guards Engineers of Keningsbersko-Gorodokskaya Red Banner Brigade to die in the conflict.

Kozlov had replaced Colonel Sergei Porokhnya, 45, who was killed in Ukraine on 14 March.

But the officer was among Russian troops to perish on May 11 in a failed advance across the Donets River at Bilohorivka, west of the city of Lysychansk, in the Donbas region, after Ukrainian troops successfully ambushed them.

*  *  *

Source:  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10828505/Russia-loses-colonel-sent-field-replace-previous-one-Ukraine-killed.html

[Kamaji]

Russia loses ANOTHER colonel... who had been sent into the field to replace the previous one Ukraine killed: Officer dies in river-crossing ambush

By WILL STEWART FOR MAILONLINE
18 May 2022

Vladimir Putin has suffered another grievous blow after he lost his 42nd colonel in his bloody war in Ukraine.

Colonel Denis Kozlov, 40, was the second commander of the 12th Separate Guards Engineers of Keningsbersko-Gorodokskaya Red Banner Brigade to die in the conflict.

Kozlov had replaced Colonel Sergei Porokhnya, 45, who was killed in Ukraine on 14 March.

But the officer was among Russian troops to perish on May 11 in a failed advance across the Donets River at Bilohorivka, west of the city of Lysychansk, in the Donbas region, after Ukrainian troops successfully ambushed them.

*  *  *

Source:  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10828505/Russia-loses-colonel-sent-field-replace-previous-one-Ukraine-killed.html

At least there'll be plenty of promotional opportunities for any junior officers still left alive at the end of the Ukraine invasion.

[catfish1957]

At least there'll be plenty of promotional opportunities for any junior officers still left alive at the end of the Ukraine invasion.

And I am guessing they are getting a valuable lesson on how not to wage war.

The one best thing that will hopefully come out of this thing, is that Russia will finally realize that their days as the USSR are long gone, and that expanding borders will not be in their best interests.  Second best?  The Chicoms are watching closely, and their planned imperialistic dreams will be with great cost if they persue them.

[txradioguy]

And I am guessing they are getting a valuable lesson on how not to wage war.

The one best thing that will hopefully come out of this thing, is that Russia will finally realize that their days as the USSR are long gone, and that expanding borders will not be in their best interests.  Second best?  The Chicoms are watching closely, and their planned imperialistic dreams will be with great cost if they persue them.

And you can bet that the Taiwanese General Staff is looking very closely at the tactics the Ukraine forces are using to put the beat down on Russia as well.

[catfish1957]

And you can bet that the Taiwanese General Staff is looking very closely at the tactics the Ukraine forces are using to put the beat down on Russia as well.

Great point.  And I am guessing the Chicoms are realizing that their window of opportunity will likely end with Biden's presidency.  Hopefully January 20, 2025.

[txradioguy]

Great point.  And I am guessing the Chicoms are realizing that their window of opportunity will likely end with Biden's presidency.  Hopefully January 20, 2025.

Your lips to Gods ears.

[Cyber Liberty]

The so-called Terminator:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMPT_Terminator

Another cats-paw for the Ukrainians to start chewing up.

It looks just as susceptible to Javelins as the rest of the tanks.

[Hoodat]

The Russia that starved millions of Ukrainians in the 1930s? That "Help"?
No wonder Ukraine was desperate enough to dance with the Devil to get out from under the Stalinst yoke.

When war broke out in Summer 1941, the Soviet response was to conscript as many Ukrainians as possible (beginning at age 16), put them in uniform, and throw them at the advancing German units with zero training.  These Ukrainian formations suffered 97% casualties.

The Soviets also enacted a scorched-earth policy throughout Ukraine in the wake of their retreat.  The Dneproges hydro plant was destroyed without informing the civilian population of the impending flood that would occur.  Critical factories (along with their workers) were relocated east of the Urals, never to return.  Anyone considered to be Ukrainian intelligentsia was murdered by Red Army troops, many of whom were crammed into basements and buried alive.  Low lying areas were flooded with zero regard for civilians living in those areas.  And wounded Red Army soldiers were murdered where they lay instead of evacuating them eastward.

A year earlier, before the German invasion began, Stalin had already conducted his own political purge of Ukraine.  Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian citizens who were deemed a threat to the Soviet regime were arrested and shipped to Siberian gulags where most died at the hands of Stalin's brutality.

And let's not forget the Ukrainians in 1939 who volunteered for military service in the Polish Army and fought against their own German invasion after Stalin had helped provide training for those same   Wehrmacht units.

So yes, this false dichotomy being offered of choosing Germany over Russia is an outright lie.

[Smokin Joe]

It looks just as susceptible to Javelins as the rest of the tanks.

Three different types of 'kill', there.
Mobility kill: disables movement of the vehicle. essentially turns it into a pillbox.
Weapons kill (rare): usually but not always takes out some or all of the crew, but disables the main weapons systems, vehicle remains mobile.
Total Kill: destroys the vehicle and kills the crew.

I am sure the Ukrainians will find a weak spot.
It is just an up-armored souped-up BMP.

[Kamaji]

It looks just as susceptible to Javelins as the rest of the tanks.

Supposedly, the newest version, based on the Armata tank, has armor that will protect against the Javelin:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMPT_Terminator#BMP_T-15_(%22Terminator_3%22)

However, I would point out that the Ukrainians have apparently already succeeded in destroying at least one of the new Armata tanks, so the armor may not be all that's its supposed to be.

[Kamaji]

When war broke out in Summer 1941, the Soviet response was to conscript as many Ukrainians as possible (beginning at age 16), put them in uniform, and throw them at the advancing German units with zero training.  These Ukrainian formations suffered 97% casualties.

The Soviets also enacted a scorched-earth policy throughout Ukraine in the wake of their retreat.  The Dneproges hydro plant was destroyed without informing the civilian population of the impending flood that would occur.  Critical factories (along with their workers) were relocated east of the Urals, never to return.  Anyone considered to be Ukrainian intelligentsia was murdered by Red Army troops, many of whom were crammed into basements and buried alive.  Low lying areas were flooded with zero regard for civilians living in those areas.  And wounded Red Army soldiers were murdered where they lay instead of evacuating them eastward.

A year earlier, before the German invasion began, Stalin had already conducted his own political purge of Ukraine.  Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian citizens who were deemed a threat to the Soviet regime were arrested and shipped to Siberian gulags where most died at the hands of Stalin's brutality.

And let's not forget the Ukrainians in 1939 who volunteered for military service in the Polish Army and fought against their own German invasion after Stalin had helped provide training for those same   Wehrmacht units.

So yes, this false dichotomy being offered of choosing Germany over Russia is an outright lie.

[txradioguy]

Supposedly, the newest version, based on the Armata tank, has armor that will protect against the Javelin:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMPT_Terminator#BMP_T-15_(%22Terminator_3%22)

However, I would point out that the Ukrainians have apparently already succeeded in destroying at least one of the new Armata tanks, so the armor may not be all that's its supposed to be.

Most modern tank design still puts the bulk of the armor on the top, front and sides of the turret. The thinnest armor from what I understand is still towards the rear of the tank where the power pack (engine) is located. It could be that's where the Ukrainians are aiming the Javelins.

The first ever recorded kill of an M-1 Abrahams was in 2003 in Iraq. An anti tank fire team waited until the tank had passed by them popped up and fired their missile into the back of the vehicle destroying it. The crew escaped though.

Oh and the missile the Iraqi's used was the 9M133 Kornet  anti-tank guided missile. It was a missile system the Iraqi's weren't supposed to have but mysteriously did and it coincided with the departure of Russian military advisers two weeks prior to the start of the ground war.

[mystery-ak]

Putin Takes Hands-On Control of Russia's Floundering Donbas Offensive
 By Charlie McCarthy    |   Wednesday, 18 May 2022 08:39 AM

Russian President Vladimir Putin has taken a hands-on approach with his troops' efforts to capture Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, it was reported Tuesday.

Putin and the head of Russia's armed forces, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, were getting involved in low-level decisions affecting the movements of units containing as few as 700 to 1,000 soldiers, The Telegraph reported.

"We think Putin and Gerasimov are involved in tactical decision-making at a level we would normally expect to be taken by a colonel or a brigadier," a source told The Telegraph.

The source added that Gerasimov remained "up and running" despite claims he had been demoted after a series of military failures in Ukraine.

The Telegraph said that Western officials attributed the Russian military's slow progress in the Donbas to the Kremlin's micromanagement of the war in Ukraine.

more
https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/vladimir-putin-russian-troops-donbas-offensive/2022/05/18/id/1070326/

[Hoodat]

[Hoodat]

[Hoodat]

[bilo]

Russia (the Soviet Union) was fighting on no one's side but their own. It was to our benefit to feed them arms and supplies to keep the Nazis busy on two fronts (enabling the invasion of the continent and eventual advances across France by thinning out Axis armies), but Stalin was in it for Stalin, and gobbled up a significant chunk of Eastern Europe during and after the war as "Socialist Republics".

Applying this same strategy to today using the tactic of supplying weapons to Ukraine weakens Russia's ability to aggressive seize territory of it's neighbors and destroys Russia's ability to wage conventional war in the future. The best part is the USA does not have to put American soldiers at risk to neutralize Russia.

[Hoodat]

'I had to stay below ground for more than 60 days'

Laura Bicker - BBC, Dnipro  |  4 hours ago

Katerina closed her eyes and took a breath when I asked about her husband, a fighter, who is still thought to be in the maze of tunnels beneath the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol.

She'd been calm and composed until now. She too spent more than two months in one of the bunkers under the vast industrial facility with her two sons where the bombardment felt like it would never end.

"The missiles were so heavy it felt like the bunker walls were moving and the rooms themselves became smaller," she told me.

"Sometimes there was a one-hour break and we hoped maybe that's it. Maybe that's the end of it. But no. They carried on."

Behind us, her two boys, aged 6 and 11, were playing with guns made from paper and duct tape.

"They are adapting to being outside again," said Katerina.

"Seeing them running around in the sun again is the best feeling in the world."

She remembers all three of them being "blinded by light" as they finally emerged after two months in their dark refuge under the steel plant.

As the two boys duck and dive behind the trees in the park, they pretend they're fighting Russians. At one point they drop to the ground and shout 'cover your ears'. One gives the shout of 'all clear' and they stand up and get going again.

It's haunting to watch.  .  .

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61494853

[bilo]

Great point.  And I am guessing the Chicoms are realizing that their window of opportunity will likely end with Biden's presidency.  Hopefully January 20, 2025.

FWIW, I think the Chinese expansionism is going to get worse because they know their system is collapsing and only nationalistic fervor will keep unrest down. China is in a severe economic contraction. They have a big demographic problem not only in disparity between the number of males and females, but also in the aging of the population. On top of these problems they are lacking in sufficient agriculture to feed their populous. They need to expand, or die.