Russian Invasion of Ukraine

[The Sisko]

1 hour ago, Riggo-toni said:

Gotta wonder if the ones fleeing to Armenia are going to get conscripted to fight against Azerbaijan....

Pssst! Hey, Ivan. I’m waiting for ya whether you’re wearing a Russian uni or an Armenian one. All the best.

 

Your friend,

Baraktyar

[Gurgeh]

5 hours ago, The Almighty Buzz said:

 

Totally possible because I was just guessing.  But if I were in charge, I wouldn't hand weapons to the people I essentially kidnapped.  I'd rather hand them a spoon and hand the prior cook a gun.  He has probably had more military experience and I didn't just kidnap him.  

 

From the sound of it, in some places they're recruiting anyone they can get their hands on because the local leaders want to get in Putin's good books. And the guys doing the recruiting aren't the ones doing the fighting, so if when things go badly when the new recruits arrive on the battlefield, well, that's someone else's fault.

 

I read that the conscripts in Kursk (next door to Ukraine) were told they'd be given two weeks of training and then shipped out to fight. If true, that is insanely short, and would indicate a desperate and urgent need to fill in gaps in defense, as I can't imagine troops with 2 weeks of training would be much use in attacking anything.

 

A more sensible option, if anything about this could be called sensible, would be to spend the winter months training the conscripts as the conditions in Ukraine during the winter will make it difficult for anyone to gain much ground. But the Russians don't have the facilities to train such large numbers of recruits, and probably lack anything but the most basic equipment for most of them.

 

[DCSaints_fan]

54 minutes ago, Gurgeh said:

 

From the sound of it, in some places they're recruiting anyone they can get their hands on because the local leaders want to get in Putin's good books. And the guys doing the recruiting aren't the ones doing the fighting, so if when things go badly when the new recruits arrive on the battlefield, well, that's someone else's fault.

 

I read that the conscripts in Kursk (next door to Ukraine) were told they'd be given two weeks of training and then shipped out to fight. If true, that is insanely short, and would indicate a desperate and urgent need to fill in gaps in defense, as I can't imagine troops with 2 weeks of training would be much use in attacking anything.

 

A more sensible option, if anything about this could be called sensible, would be to spend the winter months training the conscripts as the conditions in Ukraine during the winter will make it difficult for anyone to gain much ground. But the Russians don't have the facilities to train such large numbers of recruits, and probably lack anything but the most basic equipment for most of them.

 

Right now the Russian army is on the defensive.  They need guys immediately to plug the gaps.  If the rains come enough to make the ground muddy, would slow down the offensive but that could be a few weeks out.

As for the winter, if its cold enough so that the ground freezes over, you can definitely launch an offensive.  In WW2, the Soviet Union would launch all its counter offensives in winter until 1944 (Bagration)
 

[Barry.Randolphe]

But if they don't have the resources to keep the soldiers warm, what good will waiting to mount an offensive in the winter do? The soldiers were getting frostbite in March and were burning all their fuel to keep warm, which led to lower morale and dumping equipment that the Ukrainian farmers quickly repurposed

Edited September 24, 2022 by Barry.Randolphe

[Gurgeh]

9 hours ago, DCSaints_fan said:

Right now the Russian army is on the defensive.  They need guys immediately to plug the gaps.  If the rains come enough to make the ground muddy, would slow down the offensive but that could be a few weeks out.

As for the winter, if its cold enough so that the ground freezes over, you can definitely launch an offensive.  In WW2, the Soviet Union would launch all its counter offensives in winter until 1944 (Bagration)
 

 

I think many people don't realise how cold it gets there, the big problem is frostbite even for armies that are used to fighting in those conditions:

 

“From my own experience, I will say that during a severe frost — about minus 20 Celsius to minus 30 Celsius (or -22 F)  — the optimal time for a serviceman to stay outside is no more than 90 minutes,” said Petro Oleksiuk, 27, who served as junior sergeant ... in the Ukrainian army...

 

https://www.coffeeordie.com/lessons-winter-warfare

 

[China]

As Russian Losses Mount in Ukraine, Putin Gets More Involved in War Strategy

 

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has thrust himself more directly into strategic planning for the war in Ukraine in recent weeks, American officials said, including rejecting requests from his commanders on the ground that they be allowed to retreat from the vital southern city of Kherson.

 

A withdrawal from Kherson would allow the Russian military to pull back across the Dnipro River in an orderly way, preserving its equipment and saving the lives of soldiers.

 

But such a retreat would be another humiliating public acknowledgment of Mr. Putin’s failure in the war, and would hand a second major victory to Ukraine in one month. Kherson was the first major city to fall to the Russians in the initial invasion, and remains the only regional capital under Moscow’s control. Retaking it would be a major accomplishment for President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine.

 

Focused on victory at all costs, Mr. Putin has become a more public face of the war as the Russian military appears increasingly in turmoil, forcing him to announce a call-up this week that could sweep 300,000 Russian civilians into military service. This month, Moscow has demonstrated it has too few troops to continue its offensive, suffers from shortages of high-tech precision weaponry and has been unable to gain dominance of Ukraine’s skies.

 

But American officials briefed on highly sensitive intelligence said that behind the scenes Mr. Putin is taking on an even deeper role in the war, including telling commanders that strategic decisions in the field are his to make. Although Mr. Putin has accepted some recommendations from military commanders, including the mobilization of civilians, his involvement has created tensions, American officials said.

 

The officials said that Mr. Putin’s rejection of a military pullback from Kherson has also led to a decrease in morale among Russian troops who have been mostly cut off from their supply lines, and who appear to believe they could be left stranded against Ukrainian forces.

 

Click on the link for the full article

 

 

[China]

 

[China]

Russia's Mobilized Troops Being Given Old, Rusty Guns: Ukrainian Official

 

Russia's mobilized soldiers have been given old and "rusty" weapons as they gear up to bolster the invasion of Ukraine, according to an official.

 

Anton Gerashchenko, adviser to Ukraine's minister of internal affairs, posted a video on Twitter reportedly showing Russian soldiers handling firearms which appear to have rusted due to age.

 

Gerashchenko, who frequently posts clips reportedly showing Russia's struggling military campaign, shared the footage with the caption: "The mobilized in Russia are given rusty weapons in addition to plastic bags.

 

"They are told that this is for 'hands memory,'" he added, in an apparent reference to claims the guns will not be used during actual conflict, but to help soldiers get used to the weight and feel of the weapons they will be issued with.

 

Newsweek has been unable to independently verify the authenticity or origins of the video.

 

Newsweek has contacted the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment.

 

The clip emerged after Gerashchenko shared another video online appearing to show Soviet-era tanks being brought out of storage in order to be deployed once more in the ongoing invasion of Ukraine amid reports of a number of setbacks in recent weeks for the Kremlin.

 

"Old Soviet tanks taken out of conservation by Russia - with no protection against modern weapons," Gerashchenko said while sharing a TikTok video of the tanks.

 

"And new Russian conscripts (also with no protection against modern weapons and a modern army - we've seen what they fight in). Perfect combination, doomed for success, I would say."

 

The video arrived after the U.K. Ministry of Defence reported in May that Russia may have moved 50-year-old T-62 tanks from "deep storage" to be deployed for use by the Southern Grouping of Forces' (SGF) area of responsibility.

 

"The T-62 will almost certainly be particularly vulnerable to anti-tank weapons and their presence in the battlefield highlights Russia's shortage of modern, combat-ready equipment," Britain's MoD added in a May 27 update on the Ukraine conflict.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

[China]

Ukraine war: Hundreds arrested as Russian draft protests continue

 

Hundreds of people have been arrested by authorities as protests against Russia's new "partial mobilisation" continue across the country, an independent rights group has said.

OVD-Info said 724 people were detained across 32 different cities on Saturday.

 

Widespread demonstrations have broken out since President Vladimir Putin announced plans to draft 300,000 men to fight in Ukraine.

 

Unsanctioned rallies are banned under Russian law.

 

But Mr Putin's move to draft civilians into the military has sparked large scale protests in urban areas, with more than 1,000 people being detained at demonstrations earlier this week.

In Moscow, news agency AFP reported witnessing one demonstrator shouting "we are not cannon fodder" as she was arrested by officers.

 

And in St Petersburg, Russia's second city, one man told reporters: "I don't want to go to war for Putin."

 

Seventy-year-old Natalya Dubova told AFP that she opposed the war and confessed she was "afraid for young people" being ordered to the front.

 

Some of those arrested on Saturday reported being handed draft papers and ordered to report to recruiting centres while being held by security officials. The Kremlin defended the practice earlier this week, saying "it isn't against the law".

 

Moscow has also approved harsh new punishments for those accused of dereliction of duty once drafted.

 

Mr Putin signed fresh decrees on Saturday imposing punishments of up to 10 years imprisonment for any soldier caught surrendering, attempting to desert the military or refusing to fight.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

 

[dfitzo53]

I'd watch that ghoul swing from a tree on Pay-per-view.

[Switchgear]

[China]

Staff Of Aeroflot & Other Russian Airlines Receive Conscription Notices

 

Staff at several Russian airlines and airports have started to receive their conscription notices following President Vladimir Putin's order for a partial military mobilization. We take a closer look at this developing story below.

 

Many employees from at least five airlines, including flag carrier Aeroflot, and 10 airports in Russia have been given their military conscription notices after President Putin ordered a partial mobilization of Russia's military reserves.

 

Airline and aviation staff reportedly received their notices just a day after the mobilization order was announced. In Russia, the majority of pilots serving under commercial airlines are also reserve officers trained in military flight schools or privates who have completed military service.

 

According to Russian newspaper Kommersant, a source in Aeroflot Group revealed that around half of the employees across the group's three airlines, including Pobeda Airlines and Rossiya Airlines, could be drafted into action.

 

Sources from three other airlines have estimated that around 50-80% of their staff could be drafted. Aeroflot has since set up teams to compile a list of employees and their different specialties.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

 

[DogofWar1]

Putin is carrying out like 5 ethnic cleansing for the price of one.

 

Send the minorities into a meat grinder to try and kill the Ukrainians.

 

Generally speaking, violence is bad, but the pushback against mobilization is turning violent, and that's probably the only thing that will get people's attention in the Kremlin.

[The Sisko]

11 hours ago, China said:

Staff Of Aeroflot & Other Russian Airlines Receive Conscription Notices

 

Staff at several Russian airlines and airports have started to receive their conscription notices following President Vladimir Putin's order for a partial military mobilization. We take a closer look at this developing story below.

 

Many employees from at least five airlines, including flag carrier Aeroflot, and 10 airports in Russia have been given their military conscription notices after President Putin ordered a partial mobilization of Russia's military reserves.

 

Airline and aviation staff reportedly received their notices just a day after the mobilization order was announced. In Russia, the majority of pilots serving under commercial airlines are also reserve officers trained in military flight schools or privates who have completed military service.

 

According to Russian newspaper Kommersant, a source in Aeroflot Group revealed that around half of the employees across the group's three airlines, including Pobeda Airlines and Rossiya Airlines, could be drafted into action.

 

Sources from three other airlines have estimated that around 50-80% of their staff could be drafted. Aeroflot has since set up teams to compile a list of employees and their different specialties.

 

Click on the link for the full article

Draft a bunch of pilots who don't want to be there, then give them a really expensive vehicle they can use to GTFO. Sounds like the Russian lend lease military hardware program for the Ukrainians will now include aircraft.

[DCSaints_fan]

4 hours ago, The Sisko said:

Draft a bunch of pilots who don't want to be there, then give them a really expensive vehicle they can use to GTFO. Sounds like the Russian lend lease military hardware program for the Ukrainians will now include aircraft.

 

Yeah and if they can get a jet to Ukraine they can make a nice cool $1 million USD, although the practicality of doing that might be difficult.  Would have to tell Ukraine ahead of time, who would have to communicate to all their forces not to shoot it down, and would have to be careful that the Russians don't get wind of it.

[Switchgear]

https://www.newsweek.com/russian-man-lit-himself-fire-protest-putin-draft-1746397

 

A Russian man reportedly lit himself on fire in protest of President Vladimir Putin's mobilization announcement to draft some soldiers to fight in the ongoing war with Ukraine.

 

In a Telegram post, local Russian news outlet YA62 also shared the video and wrote that the man lit himself on fire at the "Ryazan bus station" and "shouted that he did not want to participate in a special operation in Ukraine."

 

While Newsweek was not able to independently verify the authenticity of the video, the Russian newspaper, Novaya Gazeta, reported that the man who set himself on fire had burns over 90 percent of his body.

 

In addition to reports that a man setting himself on fire, another incident occurred earlier on Monday with a man shooting a Russian draft office in protest of the mobilization.

In a post on his Telegram channel, Igor Kobzev, the governor of the Irkutsk region, wrote, "A young man fired at the military registration and enlistment office.

 

 

 

[TheGreatBuzz]

1 hour ago, DCSaints_fan said:

 

Yeah and if they can get a jet to Ukraine they can make a nice cool $1 million USD, although the practicality of doing that might be difficult.  Would have to tell Ukraine ahead of time, who would have to communicate to all their forces not to shoot it down, and would have to be careful that the Russians don't get wind of it.

 

Their better option would to be to fly to an independent, third country.

[DCSaints_fan]

1 hour ago, The Almighty Buzz said:

 

Their better option would to be to fly to an independent, third country.

Would be much harder to do, possible if they launched from Crimea.  But it would be immediately obvious if they were not headed towards Ukranian airspace.

[TheGreatBuzz]

2 minutes ago, DCSaints_fan said:

Would be much harder to do, possible if they launched from Crimea.  But it would be immediately obvious if they were not headed towards Ukranian airspace.

 

I haven't looked closely at where they have been launching from but I think it would be doable from some bases.  Especially if it is large groups of them leaving.

[DogofWar1]

 

Allegedly Putin might announce the annexation on the 30th, but unsure if the Council has to meet before he does that.

 

If the annexation gets delayed I wonder if it's bc Russia realized they panicked after the UKR counteroffensive and has now worked themselves into a really dumb corner.

 

Russia's mobilzation which would defend the new territories is an absolute mess across the board.  So there's no one to bolster defenses, and so if they annex the places super fast, before they properly reinforce things, all they've done is promise to defend a place they can't defend.

 

After NATO/US/UKR didn't blink, and Russia's "allies" have largely come out against the referendums, might be giving them pause to try and figure out their next move.

[Dan T.]

 

[CousinsCowgirl84]

2 hours ago, DogofWar1 said:

 

Allegedly Putin might announce the annexation on the 30th, but unsure if the Council has to meet before he does that.

 

If the annexation gets delayed I wonder if it's bc Russia realized they panicked after the UKR counteroffensive and has now worked themselves into a really dumb corner.

 

Russia's mobilzation which would defend the new territories is an absolute mess across the board.  So there's no one to bolster defenses, and so if they annex the places super fast, before they properly reinforce things, all they've done is promise to defend a place they can't defend.

 

After NATO/US/UKR didn't blink, and Russia's "allies" have largely come out against the referendums, might be giving them pause to try and figure out their next move.

I was looking at as a possible pretense for nuclear weapons; despite being in agreement with those who say it doesn’t make strategic sense for Russia.