Russian Invasion of Ukraine

[Larry]

11 hours ago, China said:

 

Armenia refuses to host CSTO exercises

 

Armenia will not host Russia-led military exercises this year, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said today, directly contradicting an announcement from Moscow a week earlier. Pashinyan at the same time launched an extraordinary criticism of the Russian military presence in Armenia, saying that it was more of a “threat” than a protection to his country

 

Russia announces "military exercises" in Armenia, anyway. 

[Wildbunny]

3 hours ago, Larry said:

Russia announces "military exercises" in Armenia, anyway. 

Still no Spec Ops.

[EmirOfShmo]

Over 600 bodies transported in truckloads: Russia hides Makiivka losses, fearing rebellion

 

In a new intercepted call released by the Chief Intelligence Department of Ukraine’s Defence Ministry, a Russian occupier tells his wife that the Russian authorities are keeping quiet about the events in Makiivka to prevent a rebellion when in fact, over 600 Russian invaders died there.

Source: Defence Intelligence of Ukraine

Details: In the conversation, the Russian's wife tells her husband that the Russians have been taking corpses out of Makiivka "in truckloads" and that 610 people were in fact killed. She was apparently told that by the relatives of another Russian occupier who was directly involved in transporting the bodies.

Quote: "He personally transported the bodies of these people from Makiivka and from another [settlement]... from the hospital. He says 610 people died in Makiivka. He says, ‘I drove 12 Kamaz trucks [filled with bodies – ed.]’."

In response, the occupier agrees and claims he had already told his wife about it, but she believed what the Russian authorities said.

The Russian soldier’s wife also said Vladimir Putin's New Year greeting for 2023 was the lamest she had ever seen.

 

https://news.yahoo.com/over-600-bodies-transported-truckloads-172100910.html

[China]

‘Land covered in corpses’: Putin’s chef claims Wagner troops hold mining town

 

Near Bakhmut: The outcome of a battle for the eastern Ukrainian salt mining town of Soledar hung in the balance on Wednesday, as Russia’s mercenary Wagner Group claimed to have won control, with fighting focused on the town centre.

 

Kyiv said earlier its forces were holding out.

 

Russian commanders have made the capture of Soledar a key objective in a campaign to take the nearby strategic city of Bakhmut and Ukraine’s larger eastern Donbas region.

 

“Wagner units took control of the entire territory of Soledar. A cauldron has been formed in the centre of the city in which urban fighting is going on,” Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said late on Tuesday, according to Russian news agencies.

 

“The number of prisoners will be announced tomorrow,” he added, giving no further details.

 

Capture of Soledar and its huge salt mines would have symbolic, military and commercial value for Russia. But the situation in and around the town appeared fluid.

 

The British Defence Ministry earlier said Russian troops and Wagner fighters had probably taken control of most of Soledar after four days of advances.

 

But Prigozhin’s comment that fighting continued in the town centre suggested Russian control was incomplete, despite his statement that all of it was in Wagner’s grasp.

 

The Russian state RIA news agency later issued a report saying that Wagner Group took over Soledar’s salt mines following “fierce fighting”. The salt mines are located in the suburbs of the town. Washington has said Prigozhin may want personal control of the area’s mines.

 

If confirmed, it would be Russia’s most substantial gain since last August, after a series of humiliating retreats throughout much of the second half of 2022. Russian forces have been fighting for months to capture the nearby larger city of Bakhmut, a few kilometres to the south-west.

 

But any victory would come at a massive cost, with troops from both sides having taken heavy losses in some of the most intense combat since Russia invaded Ukraine nearly 11 months ago. Kyiv has released pictures in recent days showing what it says are scores of Russian soldiers strewn dead in muddy fields.

 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky did not mention control of Soledar on his evening address. Zelensky repeated his call for more Western weapons, saying Russia was gathering its forces to intensify its campaign. He did not provide details.

 

But Ukraine’s Defence Ministry tweeted later, “Even after suffering colossal losses, Russia is still maniacally trying to seize Soledar - home to the largest salt mine in Europe.”

 

Ukraine said earlier its forces were still holding on to positions in Soledar, withstanding assaults by wave after wave of Russian forces seeking their first battlefield victory for months.

 

Zelensky asked “And what did Russia want to gain there? Everything is completely destroyed, there is almost no life left. And thousands of their people were lost: the whole land near Soledar is covered with the corpses of the occupiers and scars from the strikes,” he said. “This is what madness looks like.”

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Gurgeh]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/11/ukraine-military-denies-russian-forces-have-captured-soledar

 

Footage posted from Soledar by a Ukrainian soldier from a drone unit – identified by the call sign Maygar at 10am on Wednesday – suggested heavy clashes were continuing but Ukrainian forces were still holding positions...  Accounts from Ukrainian soldiers on that sector of the front suggested Russia had moved Wagner fighters from Bakhmut to focus solely on the battle for Soledar.

 

...While western military analysts have geolocated Wagner units in the centre, where there has been heavy fighting for the main administrative building, Russian claims to have taken the south-west of the area – where Ukraine had recently been mounting a defence close to the saltmines – appeared more questionable.

 

...Some prominent Russian military bloggers have urged caution about the situation in Soledar and said intense combat in the centre and outskirts continued during the night.

The Institute for the Study of War was also cautious over the Russian claims, noting that the fall of the city might prove to be of limited value in the fight for Bakhmut.

“Even taking the most generous Russian claims at face value, the capture of Soledar would not portend an immediate encirclement of Bakhmut. Control of Soledar will not necessarily allow Russian forces to exert control over critical Ukrainian ground lines of communication into Bakhmut,” the US thinktank said.

[China]

Who is Valery Gerasimov?

 

Russia has appointed Valery Gerasimov as its overall commander of forces for the war in Ukraine.

 

The 67-year-old previously played key roles in Russia’s seizure of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and in Moscow’s game-changing military support for President Bashar al-Assad in the Syrian Civil War.

 

Read more on his appointment here.

[Larry]

And the Redskins hired a new kicker.  

 

[China]

 This must be true....

 

Putin 'to name chosen heir this year then retire to palace with pole dancing room'

 

Vladimir Putin will soon step down and retire to his £1billion “Bond villain” lair on the Black Sea, according to his former speechwriter.

 

Abbas Gallyamov, who worked for the Russian leader between 2000 and 2010, says Putin will hand the top job over to a carefully-chosen successor before retiring to his notorious Black Sea palace.

 

Putin’s controversial bolt-hole extends for 16 storeys underground, reveals one of the builders involved in its construction, and includes a dedicated pole-dancing room for the tyrant's entertainment.

 

Click on the link for the full article

 

 

[Larry]

3 hours ago, China said:

Putin’s controversial bolt-hole extends for 16 storeys underground, reveals one of the builders involved in its construction, and includes a dedicated pole-dancing room for the tyrant's entertainment.

Internet bear-riding memes not withstanding, he's too old to be pole dancing. 

[China]

Massive fleet of Russian warships mobilised sparking fears of fresh Ukraine assault

 

A massive fleet of Russian warships and submarines has been mobilised, sparking fears of a fresh assault on Ukraine, it was revealed tonight.

 

At least six warships, including two huge land assault vessels laden with troops, make up the armada making ready for battle from the Black Sea.

 

Among them are the Pyotr Morgunov landing ship, which is the largest amphibious assault ship in the Black Sea and cruise missile- laden submarines.

 

It could signal a new operation, perhaps another attempt at attacking southern Ukraine, or even an attempt to form a land bridge with Moldova breakaway state Transdnistria.

 

Or experts also believe it may be Moscow is preparing to protect its fleet from Ukraine’s long-range missile teams firing at military targets in Russia.

 

Click on the link for the full article

 

From a more reputable source:

 

 

Sudden Surge In Russian Navy Ships And Submarines In Black Sea

 

Ukrainian forces will be monitoring a sudden movement of Russian warships and submarines out of their base of Novorossiysk. The naval base, near the Kerch Bridge, is further from Ukrainian controlled coast than the famous base at Sevastopol. Yet the unusual movement may be important.
 

This morning Russian Navy ships and submarines left their base at Novorossiysk, in the Black Sea, en-masse. This is highly unusual and may indicate ongoing operations.

 

Sources seen by Naval News confirm the exodus. The group included the Project 11711 Ivan Gren class landing ship, Pyotr Morgunov, the largest amphibious ship in the Black Sea.

 

It also contained all three Project 636.3 Improved-Kilo class submarines which were present at the base. Analysis suggests that other warships were also sailing, leaving only a few warships and support vessels in the port. It is likely the most empty that Novorossiysk has been in many months.

 

Recently Pyotr Morgunov has been to carry supplies from Russia to Sevastopol following the October 8 2022 Ukrainian attack on the Kerch Bridge. Although Russia has managed some repairs, the bridge remains at limited capacity. So the Russian Navy’s landing ships have been pressed into service as transports. However the simultaneous sailing of the submarines suggests that this may be more than a resupply mission.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

The sooner they get those Patriot batteries in place the better:

 

Russia-Ukraine live: Russian strikes hit cities across Ukraine

 

 

Russian missile strikes targeted critical infrastructure in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Lviv on Saturday, according to officials.

A Russian strike also hit a residential building in the east-central city of Dnipro, according to officials, killing five and wounding 27.

 

Click on the link for more

[CousinsCowgirl84]

28 minutes ago, China said:

The sooner they get those Patriot batteries in place the better:

 

Russia-Ukraine live: Russian strikes hit cities across Ukraine

 

 

Russian missile strikes targeted critical infrastructure in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Lviv on Saturday, according to officials.

A Russian strike also hit a residential building in the east-central city of Dnipro, according to officials, killing five and wounding 27.

 

Click on the link for more

I think I read they are only getting one battery. If that’s the case it seems like it is more of a target than a real asset.

 

Though I don’t really know anything about patriot defense. I just imagine it can only protect at best one city and can only defend against a certain amount of weapons and should be fairly easy to locate on a battlefield. 

[China]

8 minutes ago, CousinsCowgirl84 said:

I think I read they are only getting one battery. If that’s the case it seems like it is more of a target than a real asset.

 

Though I don’t really know anything about patriot defense. I just imagine it can only protect at best one city and can only defend against a certain amount of weapons and should be fairly easy to locate on a battlefield. 

 

They are getting one Patriot battery from the US, and another one from Germany.

 

Link

[China]

UK to supply tanks; Russian missiles hit across Ukraine

 

U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Saturday promised to provide tanks and artillery systems to Ukraine, amid renewed missile attacks by Moscow targeting multiple Ukrainian cities for the first time in nearly two weeks.

 

Five people were killed and 39 wounded in the southeastern city of Dnipro, where a Russian missile strike destroyed a section of an apartment building, regional Gov. Valentyn Reznichenko said. Photos showed a large gap in the nine-story building.

 

Infrastructure facilities were also hit in the western Lviv region and Ivano-Frankivsk regions, in the Odesa region on the Black Sea and in northeastern Kharkiv. Kyiv, the capital, was also targeted.

 

Sunak made the pledge to provide Challenger 2 tanks and other artillery systems after speaking to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday, the British leader’s Downing Street office said in a statement.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Gurgeh]

6 hours ago, China said:

UK to supply tanks; Russian missiles hit across Ukraine

 

U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Saturday promised to provide tanks and artillery systems to Ukraine, amid renewed missile attacks by Moscow targeting multiple Ukrainian cities for the first time in nearly two weeks.

 

Five people were killed and 39 wounded in the southeastern city of Dnipro, where a Russian missile strike destroyed a section of an apartment building, regional Gov. Valentyn Reznichenko said. Photos showed a large gap in the nine-story building.

 

Infrastructure facilities were also hit in the western Lviv region and Ivano-Frankivsk regions, in the Odesa region on the Black Sea and in northeastern Kharkiv. Kyiv, the capital, was also targeted.

 

Sunak made the pledge to provide Challenger 2 tanks and other artillery systems after speaking to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday, the British leader’s Downing Street office said in a statement.

 

Click on the link for the full article

 

There's a few countries that would very much like to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, and there are ten times as many Leopard 2s out there as Challengers. But none of the countries can do so without the Germans agreeing to it, and they've been dragging their feet for weeks, so hopefully this will nudge them into action.

 

And on the crazy front:

 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/14/ex-russian-president-suggests-japanese-pm-should-ritually-disembowel-himself-dmitry-medvedev-fumio-kishida

 

Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has accused Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida of shameful subservience to the US and suggested he should ritually disembowel himself...Rather than demanding US repentance, Kishida had shown he was “just a service attendant for the Americans”. He said such shame could only be washed away by committing seppuku – a form of suicide by disembowelment, also known as hara-kiri – at a meeting of the Japanese cabinet after Kishida’s return.

[Larry]

PM should suggest that Medvdev throw himself out of a window. 

[DCSaints_fan]

1 hour ago, Gurgeh said:

 

There's a few countries that would very much like to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, and there are ten times as many Leopard 2s out there as Challengers. But none of the countries can do so without the Germans agreeing to it, and they've been dragging their feet for weeks, so hopefully this will nudge them into action.

We don't have much room to criticize Germany given we aren't willing to part with the even the older M1A1s, thousands of which are sitting in storage.

[LD0506]

11 hours ago, DCSaints_fan said:

We don't have much room to criticize Germany given we aren't willing to part with the even the older M1A1s, thousands of which are sitting in storage.

 

There's a whole political dance going on internationally vis-a-vis supplying first rate armor to Ukraine. Anguishing over it is part of the play, Germany is loathe to give the appearance of a militaristic interventionist because of historical angst. The US has been trying NOT to be leading the charge in Ukraine, again for political appearances. This was scripted for the winter season, when adding a ton of tanks would be more strain on logistics than help at the front.

 

Marders and Bradleys are on the way, they are meant to pry open the door a lil more. The Brits sending Challenger2s is a move along these lines as well. Everybody is bearing weight of their own self-inflicted baggage and it interferes with strategic decisions, it's just a reality in international dealings.

 

Behind the scenes the Swiss need to get off the pot and supply ammo for the Gepards, Germany needs to permit Leopard transfers and the US has to find a way to allow itself to supply excess last-gen equipment (older Abrams, A10s, fighter aircraft), but at a time and manner to support active offensive operations in the spring.

 

Right now armor isn't what they need, the Ukes are facing massed waves of infantry like some Battle of  the Somme reboot and artillery, particularly ammunition, is the priority since they cannot deploy the entire range of integrated combined arms tactics that the West employs ( think first gen CAP protecting A10/ helicopter close support, JSOWs on lines of advance, etc.). Our doctrine is such that the Abrams cover the Bradleys mopping up the remnants, we haven't had American armor leading the charge since breaking out of the hedgerows of Normandy.

[TheGreatBuzz]

1 hour ago, LD0506 said:

we haven't had American armor leading the charge since breaking out of the hedgerows of Normandy.

 

Desert Storm?

[TradeTheBeal!]

Russia has chosen to fight a war of attrition and exhaust itself purely of its own volition…and there’s no reason we should not oblige them.  In the short term, that’s a tough spot for Ukraine.

 

But in the long term…

[LD0506]

1 hour ago, TheGreatBuzz said:

 

Desert Storm?

 

Air power swept them off the field, the rest was mopping up. The rare tank-vs-tank engagements were woefully one-sided and still supported by our combined arms doctrine. Racing across France, outrunning the fuel and infantry support? I may be wrong (ask my ex) but that's the last one that really comes to mind.

 

But whatever, the American military builds huge machines of logistics and support in addition to whatever frontline troops are deployed. I hope we see this happen in Ukraine.

 

This could be World War Last. There is a storm of speculation going on but the question that keeps me enthralled is what happens AFTER Russia cracks? So much of the horse**** in the world has been them ****ing with us, us ****ing with them, or both selling to both sides. If that dissipated or disappeared a whole universe of other options become possible.

[Corcaigh]

Ukraine issues video to Russian soldiers to explain how to surrender to a drone.

 

https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-army-video-tells-russians-how-to-surrender-to-drone-2022-12

[GhostofSparta]

4 hours ago, LD0506 said:

This could be World War Last. There is a storm of speculation going on but the question that keeps me enthralled is what happens AFTER Russia cracks? So much of the horse**** in the world has been them ****ing with us, us ****ing with them, or both selling to both sides. If that dissipated or disappeared a whole universe of other options become possible.

Well the Republicans have been itching for a (cold? hot?) war with China since at least W's 2000 election (probably earlier, but since I was in HS when W was elected I don't remember much before that time), so I'm guessing that's next.

[LD0506]

7 minutes ago, GhostofSparta said:

Well the Republicans have been itching for a (cold? hot?) war with China since at least W's 2000 election (probably earlier, but since I was in HS when W was elected I don't remember much before that time), so I'm guessing that's next.

 

Imagine if Russia changes/evolves, and China then decides not to play Chicken: Superpower Level

I was intel, it's about the spectrum of possibilities

We're approaching a historical singularity

Weird **** happens

[PokerPacker]

6 hours ago, GhostofSparta said:

Well the Republicans have been itching for a (cold? hot?) war with China since at least W's 2000 election (probably earlier, but since I was in HS when W was elected I don't remember much before that time), so I'm guessing that's next.

China's just a distraction for the Republicans.  In reality, once the Russian bribes have dried up, they'll cozy up to China's bribes and find a new foreign bogeyman.  North Korea, perhaps?