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Russia / Ukraine thread

they still haven't destroyed ukraine's soviet era air defense systems.

and they literally know everything there is to know about those.
I guess the plan is to just let the ukrainians shoot them at russian aircraft until they run out of missiles instead of doing iron hand shit. great plan.

The VVS basically has limited training in SEAD. It's been a huge miss the whole war, sure they have used some KH-31P to success, but they do not own the air space because they can't. Most of the losses of Ukrainian SAM systems are from artillery or BVR precision strike weapons spotted by drones, not antiradiation missiles from aircraft.

What is Russia's capability with regards to precision munitions?

Russia has all the normal precision strike weapons, cruise missiles, air launched hypersonic missiles and ground/ship based hypersonics, laser guided bombs, etc. The problem is they are almost depleted and their rate of production isn't anywhere near where they need to be to keep operational tempo. When was the last time they launched an Iskander? Last year?

This might be semi unrelated, or it might be right on point, because I only heard the tail end of it today on Glenn Beck's radio show, but he was saying something about how if the US ended up in a war, we'd be out of ammunition in a matter of DAYS, maybe last a week or two. I don't know if he was referring to if we jumped into this war, or if he meant like WW3, but was also talking about our strategic oil reserves being so depleted as well. I also don't know if he meant like bullets, or bigger ammo for tanks, ships, etc.. maybe someone else heard it all or knows more on the topic?

We spent 20 years fighting people living in caves. If they had massed in numbers that would have depleted our precision strike inventory, we would only have been at war for a few minutes. Instead we put money into SpecWar, intelligence, and maintaining presence on the ground, not bulking up to fight a peer adversary.

With the existential threat China is becoming our shipping industry is being bolstered by billions in infrastructure funding and now our munitions supply will start to see the same. Hard to supply the world with nuclear subs and artillery shells at a moments notice. It's something you have to gear up to do.

There are scenarios that say the first few days of war with China would deplete all forward deployed stocks of precision strike weapons. Of course we would also loose half the submarines that would be deploying many of them so some of that is moot.
 
This article is a week old . . . . .


Wagner Group leader calls for end to Russia’s ‘special military operation’​

“Putin’s Chef” says Russia accomplished its mission.

BY NICHOLAS SLAYTON | PUBLISHED APR 19, 2023 11:14 AM EDT

Yevgeny Prigohzin, the leader of the Kremlin-linked Wagner Group, unexpectedly called for an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine. Prigozhin said the time was right to stop trying to seize more Ukrainian territory, consolidate control of what it has in Ukraine’s east, and end the fighting.


The remarks, published in a lengthy blog post on Friday, April 14 see the oligarch-turned-PMC leader ramble about the importance of the contested city of Bakhmut, denounce the “deep state” inside of Russia, call for an end to the “special military operation” as Russia calls the war and then claim a strong Ukrainian counteroffensive would be beneficial as it would rally Russian forces.

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“The ideal option would be to announce the end of the special military operation and declare that Russia has achieved all of its planned goals — and, in some respects, we really have achieved them,” Prigozhin said in the more than 3,000-word blog post.

It’s a bold claim and call to action for Prigozhin, who has not been particularly dovish since the war began. He has regularly shared videos from what he claims are the front lines, showing Wagner contract fighters as well as many corpses and funerals. The Wagner Group leader, known as “Putin’s chef” for his many catering businesses, has also heavily criticized the official military’s handling of the war, and said that it is denying his fighters ammunition — which includes convicts pulled from prisons to the front lines.

He also mentioned the recently leaked U.S. intelligence documents about the war in Ukraine but downplayed their impact and relevance.

Prigozhin’s calls for the war to end don’t mention ceding any of the lands already under Russian control. He does not call for trying to take the contested areas where Russian forces are fighting. However, his position on ending the ongoing war in Ukraine is more about his anger with what he sees as a divided Russia and inept military leaders. He opposed any negotiations and said that once settled into controlled lands, he hopes a Ukrainian counteroffensive will be launched to hit Russian fortifications. Why? The “best scenario for healing Russia” is that a major Ukrainian attack will rally Russia into a united front.

His opinions play into his ongoing feud with the Russian military, but amid his bold call for ending the fighting, and claims that a deep state is trying to undermine Russia’s ability to wage war, Prigozhin offered some surprising comments about the state of the front lines around the city of Bakhmut. Most importantly, he fully expects to lose the city in the Ukrainian counteroffensive.

“The troops ready for the counteroffensive are in the areas of concentration — they have enough of everything,” Prigozhin wrote. Fighting around the city has destroyed much of it and settled into trench warfare with neither side able to muster a combined-arms push to break the other side’s lines. But the Wagner Group leader says Ukraine has all of what it needs now, including fighters and ammunition. He had pushed to take the city and had been gaining ground, partly to boost the prestige of his organization, but his blog post bluntly said that Wagner cannot hold Bakhmut.

In fact, in an apparent effort to save face, he downplayed the importance of the city, saying “the capture of Bakhmut itself will not ensure a short-term victory over Ukraine, the road to the Dnieper, or even the capture of Donbas.”
 
So which Irate4x4 member is this?
 
So which Irate4x4 member is this?
wonder if we ended up sending them our old stockpile of the 155 shell that drops a bunch of mines
they were getting old enough that they were gonna be paying to destroy them years back, but...

just saying, lots of those mines may very well have US manufacture stamps on them
 
wonder if we ended up sending them our old stockpile of the 155 shell that drops a bunch of mines
they were getting old enough that they were gonna be paying to destroy them years back, but...

just saying, lots of those mines may very well have US manufacture stamps on them
we did.
the french sent some too I believe.
 
This should go well....

It said Russia reserved the right to retaliate - a comment that suggested that Moscow might use the alleged incident to justify a further escalation in its war with Ukraine.

"Two unmanned aerial vehicles were aimed at the Kremlin. As a result of timely actions taken by the military and special services with the use of radar warfare systems, the devices were put out of action," the Kremlin said in a statement.
 
This should go well....

It said Russia reserved the right to retaliate - a comment that suggested that Moscow might use the alleged incident to justify a further escalation in its war with Ukraine.

"Two unmanned aerial vehicles were aimed at the Kremlin. As a result of timely actions taken by the military and special services with the use of radar warfare systems, the devices were put out of action," the Kremlin said in a statement.
Short of nuclear, I'm curious what sort of escalation this would lead to? Aren't both sides already trying really hard to kill each other? We'd have to be crazy to believe that Russia hasn't already been trying to kill Zelensky on the sly.
 
yeah, it doesn't really make a lot of sense that an advancing army would place mines in front of themselves... or behind themselves.


they've been using the 155 shells to drop mines behind the advancing russian vehicles, and then when they retreat back along their path they find some mines that weren't there an hour ago.

It really is an asshole munition.
 
they've been using the 155 shells to drop mines behind the advancing russian vehicles, and then when they retreat back along their path they find some mines that weren't there an hour ago.

It really is an asshole munition.
It's fawked, but it's also war. I can't think of a single weapon that's used to kill people more efficiently that isn't horrible. Both sides drop regular artillery shells on retreating forces for example.
 
Sandy, retreating forces are the best ones to shell. They are concentrated and usually dont fire back as effectively as advancing ones. They retreat to gain or regain some tactical or strategic advantage. To live to fight and kill another day. War is kill or be killed, no more no less. The direction an army goes does not change its status as a target. This is basic savagery going back to pre and protohuman apes and hominids.

Surrendering troops, no, off limits to target. Hopefully.
 
Sandy, retreating forces are the best ones to shell. They are concentrated and usually dont fire back as effectively as advancing ones. They retreat to gain or regain some tactical or strategic advantage. To live to fight and kill another day. War is kill or be killed, no more no less. The direction an army goes does not change its status as a target. This is basic savagery going back to pre and protohuman apes and hominids.

Surrendering troops, no, off limits to target. Hopefully.
and they're also usually in a panic.

they are doing exactly what they're intended to do, just that all landmines are asshole munitions. remotely delivered ones that appeared right after you just drove through that road or field are just particularly dickhead, but really effective.
 
With a lazy keyboard guess, those shell delivered mines are on the surface or have some impact signature ? Running at night on road I can see a big problem with not seeing the mines. In any event cheap and potentially effective death from above, at the feet.
 
With a lazy keyboard guess, those shell delivered mines are on the surface or have some impact signature ? Running at night on road I can see a big problem with not seeing the mines. In any event cheap and potentially effective death from above, at the feet.
shell bursts over the area, disperses mines.
mines are supposed to have self destruct timers so they don't persist forever and become a danger to non combatants or your own advancing troops later on.

The nine mines in the M718
projectile have long self-destruct
times, whereas the M741 contains
mines that have short self-de-
struct times. The kilJ mechanism
is a plate or P-charge. Two P-
charges are included per mine,
making terminal effects in-
sensitive to mine orientation.
This 5-pound mine provides
both belly and track kills against
known armored targets and it is
the basic antiarmor mine utilized
in the other deli very systems.
Once the mine has been devel-
oped and can operate in the vio-
lent environment associated with
tube artillery setback and angu-
lar acceleration, it is easier to
design the mine for less violent
conditions of ground, air and
rocker dispensing.
 
It's fawked, but it's also war. I can't think of a single weapon that's used to kill people more efficiently that isn't horrible. Both sides drop regular artillery shells on retreating forces for example.
you're starting to get it

there are no war crimes, only victors and losers
war itself is the crime
 
shell bursts over the area, disperses mines.
mines are supposed to have self destruct timers so they don't persist forever and become a danger to non combatants or your own advancing troops later on.
to add to the UXO concerns, the shell we had in stockpile were tested years back to have an extremely high failure rate on the time delay mechanism
like 20% or more of them were failing a decade ago
 
you're starting to get it

there are no war crimes, only victors and losers
war itself is the crime
I've always understood that. I just don't want Russia to be the victors.

I don't think they're the bad guys because they invaded. I already wasn't a fan of Russian policy prior.
 
Someone just got their tax returns, another $300 million:

 
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Someone just got their tax returns, another $300 billion:

Who else besides me is loving all this taxation without representation? This kinda spending should be on a fucking bond referendum or something like it was back in the day, not just write a check. :shaking:
Beyond that, during the last election during all the mud slinging weren't they claiming Ukraine was corrupt as shit? Biden's family had ties, Trump did bad shit apparently, and now we just fucking throw money at them like drunken sailors. (and that's an insult to drunken sailors). I'm so fucking sick of all this shit..
shutting up now, before i get into the whole debt cieling and all that shit.
I got laid off at Christmas from a job i thought I could retire from, so I know good and damn well how I can't spend more than i take in, how fucking hard is that concept?
 
I got laid off at Christmas from a job i thought I could retire from, so I know good and damn well how I can't spend more than i take in, how fucking hard is that concept?
don't worry about it bro, you've been a free-range tax slave all your life, just like the rest of us

easiest way to avoid getting fucked is to make less money
make less and spend less
 
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