Former Wagner commander describes brutality and incompetence on the frontline
https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/30/europe/wagner-norway-andrei-medvedev-ukraine-intl
https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/30/europe/wagner-norway-andrei-medvedev-ukraine-intl
Russia & Ukraine
- Thread starter UsualName
- Start date
Even Russia's fake tanks are crap, apparently.
Guess the Russians and their allies don't like the new version of the game where the Russian tanks brew up and pop their tops immediately after being hit with small missiles.
Belarusian KGB adds World of Tanks studio boss to terrorist list
https://www.pcgamer.com/belarusian-kgb-adds-world-of-tanks-studio-boss-to-terrorist-list/
Belarusian KGB adds World of Tanks studio boss to terrorist list
https://www.pcgamer.com/belarusian-kgb-adds-world-of-tanks-studio-boss-to-terrorist-list/
Yep... there are tens of thousands of Russian bodies laying around the front of Ukraine. Of course, Putin and the military has simply declared them as missing so they don't need to pay money to the families.
Naturally we have plenty of videos from Russia of conscripts being chased down on the streets and being dragged to military centers. Putin is desperate to fill the ranks with cannon fodder for his next offense.
Intel Reveals Putin on Thin Ice in Panicked Hunt for Troops
https://news.yahoo.com/intel-reveals-putin-thin-ice-204501806.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall
Yep... and the Russian borders are closed and the men can't leave -- including those with dual citizenships.
'And Russia has begun preventing some workers from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan who hold dual passports from leaving Russia, since they might be needed to fight in Ukraine, according to RFE/RL.'
'“‘You are included in a mobilization list, this is the law, and you have no right to go abroad until February 12,’” one worker recalled border guards saying when they prevented him from leaving Russia.'
Russian crimes are not confined to Ukrainian civilians.
In related news... we found out where all the inflation went for the Russian tanks.
Did Tom Brady pay them a visit?
Ukraine to receive 120-140 tanks in 'first wave' of deliveries - minister
https://news.yahoo.com/ukraine-receive-120-140-tanks-140748667.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall
KYIV (Reuters) - Ukraine will receive 120 to 140 Western tanks in a "first wave" of deliveries from a coalition of 12 countries, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Tuesday.
Kyiv secured pledges from the West this month to supply main battle tanks to help fend off Russia's full-scale invasion, with Moscow mounting huge efforts to make incremental advances in eastern Ukraine.
"The tank coalition now has 12 members. I can note that in the first wave of contributions, the Ukrainian armed forces will receive between 120 and 140 Western-model tanks," Kuleba said during an online briefing.
He said those tanks would include the German Leopard 2, the British Challenger 2 and the U.S. M1 Abrams, and that Ukraine was also "really counting" on supplies of French Leclerc tanks being agreed.
Kuleba gave no timeline for any of the deliveries. Time will also be needed for training with the tanks.
Kuleba said Kyiv was working behind the scenes to win over more countries to supply tanks at what officials say is a critical time in the war.
"... We continue to work on both expanding the membership of the tank coalition and increasing the contributions of those already pledged," he said.
Kyiv plans to launch a major counteroffensive to recapture swathes of territory taken by Russia in the south and east of the country.
The United States has told Kyiv to hold off on those plans until Western military assistance has arrived in Ukraine.
Ukraine is also concerned that Russia could launch its own major offensive in the coming weeks or months.
https://news.yahoo.com/ukraine-receive-120-140-tanks-140748667.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall
KYIV (Reuters) - Ukraine will receive 120 to 140 Western tanks in a "first wave" of deliveries from a coalition of 12 countries, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Tuesday.
Kyiv secured pledges from the West this month to supply main battle tanks to help fend off Russia's full-scale invasion, with Moscow mounting huge efforts to make incremental advances in eastern Ukraine.
"The tank coalition now has 12 members. I can note that in the first wave of contributions, the Ukrainian armed forces will receive between 120 and 140 Western-model tanks," Kuleba said during an online briefing.
He said those tanks would include the German Leopard 2, the British Challenger 2 and the U.S. M1 Abrams, and that Ukraine was also "really counting" on supplies of French Leclerc tanks being agreed.
Kuleba gave no timeline for any of the deliveries. Time will also be needed for training with the tanks.
Kuleba said Kyiv was working behind the scenes to win over more countries to supply tanks at what officials say is a critical time in the war.
"... We continue to work on both expanding the membership of the tank coalition and increasing the contributions of those already pledged," he said.
Kyiv plans to launch a major counteroffensive to recapture swathes of territory taken by Russia in the south and east of the country.
The United States has told Kyiv to hold off on those plans until Western military assistance has arrived in Ukraine.
Ukraine is also concerned that Russia could launch its own major offensive in the coming weeks or months.
LOL
Now back to the Russian tank turret tossing contest.
Now back to the Russian tank turret tossing contest.
Putin and his mouthpieces keep threatening nuclear war and other escalations -- which are continually repeated by vatniks on social media. The West is not even paying attention to these threats anymore; the Russian threats are hollow. If Russia attempts to escalate against NATO countries -- everyone knows it means the end of Russia as we know it. Coupled with the reality that Putin's ego is mouthing saber rattling that his military cannot deliver.
The West Calls Putin's Bluff
https://www.newsweek.com/west-calls-putins-bluff-1776840
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kremlin officials have warned multiple times over the 11 months since the invasion of Ukraine started that Western inference could result in an escalation. However, the United States and other Western allies of Ukraine have repeatedly crossed Putin's supposed red lines.
"If the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, we will without doubt use all available means to protect Russia and our people. This is not a bluff," Putin said in September address while the U.S. continued providing Ukraine with more armaments to fight on territory illegitimately annexed by Putin.
More recently, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov provided such a warning about arming Ukraine in December. He said, "Weapon supplies continue, the assortment of supplied weapons is expanding. All this, of course, leads to an aggravation of the conflict and, in fact, does not bode well for Ukraine."
If anything, the weapons coming to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky from the West escalated after Peskov's remarks. This week alone, President Joe Biden took the large step of saying the U.S. will provide Ukraine with 31 M1 Abrams tanks. His announcement came on the same day that Germany confirmed it would give Ukrainian forces 13 Leopard 2 tanks.
Kremlin officials and Russian state-controlled media outlets responded to the news of the tanks with outrage. But George Mason University Schar School of Policy and Government professor Mark N. Katz told Newsweek that the message from the West was clear: Putin's rhetoric wasn't going to cause them to back down.
"Putin's redlines are designed to deter Western states from crossing them, but Putin has not been able to prevent the West from crossing several of them," Katz said.
Lawrence C. Reardon, a professor of political science at the University of New Hampshire, told Newsweek, "There is a growing global perception that Russian leaders resemble the boy that cried wolf."
He added, "When Russian forces are under pressure, Putin indirectly talks about the use of tactical nuclear weapons to defend Russia, especially to defend the newly annexed areas of southeast Ukraine such as the Crimea."
Reardon said that while Western leaders haven't taken Putin's words as fact, they nevertheless likely don't take Russia's nuclear capabilities—or the chance of an angry Putin using them in Ukraine—for granted.
"Thus, the recent hesitance by Berlin and Washington to provide sophisticated tanks is not just related to the difficulty of Ukraine absorbing these tanks into their fighting forces, but also a fear of escalating the conflict," he said. "But western leaders are not crying wolf and no doubt have warned Putin that NATO will rapidly escalate involvement should Putin resort to tactical nuclear weapons."
Katz noted that "Putin and his cronies have already declared that Russia is at war with NATO or the 'Collective West,' not just Ukraine."
"The U.S. and NATO do seem to take seriously the possibility that there are some things Ukraine might do which could result in Putin escalating the conflict," he said.
Another reason why Ukraine's Western allies may feel emboldened in their support of Ukraine is that Russia for the most part has stumbled in its war efforts, according to Katz.
"If Putin's forces are not doing so well against Ukraine, it is hard to see how they can do better by escalating the conflict by attacking any NATO member," he said.
The West Calls Putin's Bluff
https://www.newsweek.com/west-calls-putins-bluff-1776840
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kremlin officials have warned multiple times over the 11 months since the invasion of Ukraine started that Western inference could result in an escalation. However, the United States and other Western allies of Ukraine have repeatedly crossed Putin's supposed red lines.
"If the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, we will without doubt use all available means to protect Russia and our people. This is not a bluff," Putin said in September address while the U.S. continued providing Ukraine with more armaments to fight on territory illegitimately annexed by Putin.
More recently, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov provided such a warning about arming Ukraine in December. He said, "Weapon supplies continue, the assortment of supplied weapons is expanding. All this, of course, leads to an aggravation of the conflict and, in fact, does not bode well for Ukraine."
If anything, the weapons coming to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky from the West escalated after Peskov's remarks. This week alone, President Joe Biden took the large step of saying the U.S. will provide Ukraine with 31 M1 Abrams tanks. His announcement came on the same day that Germany confirmed it would give Ukrainian forces 13 Leopard 2 tanks.
Kremlin officials and Russian state-controlled media outlets responded to the news of the tanks with outrage. But George Mason University Schar School of Policy and Government professor Mark N. Katz told Newsweek that the message from the West was clear: Putin's rhetoric wasn't going to cause them to back down.
"Putin's redlines are designed to deter Western states from crossing them, but Putin has not been able to prevent the West from crossing several of them," Katz said.
Lawrence C. Reardon, a professor of political science at the University of New Hampshire, told Newsweek, "There is a growing global perception that Russian leaders resemble the boy that cried wolf."
He added, "When Russian forces are under pressure, Putin indirectly talks about the use of tactical nuclear weapons to defend Russia, especially to defend the newly annexed areas of southeast Ukraine such as the Crimea."
Reardon said that while Western leaders haven't taken Putin's words as fact, they nevertheless likely don't take Russia's nuclear capabilities—or the chance of an angry Putin using them in Ukraine—for granted.
"Thus, the recent hesitance by Berlin and Washington to provide sophisticated tanks is not just related to the difficulty of Ukraine absorbing these tanks into their fighting forces, but also a fear of escalating the conflict," he said. "But western leaders are not crying wolf and no doubt have warned Putin that NATO will rapidly escalate involvement should Putin resort to tactical nuclear weapons."
Katz noted that "Putin and his cronies have already declared that Russia is at war with NATO or the 'Collective West,' not just Ukraine."
"The U.S. and NATO do seem to take seriously the possibility that there are some things Ukraine might do which could result in Putin escalating the conflict," he said.
Another reason why Ukraine's Western allies may feel emboldened in their support of Ukraine is that Russia for the most part has stumbled in its war efforts, according to Katz.
"If Putin's forces are not doing so well against Ukraine, it is hard to see how they can do better by escalating the conflict by attacking any NATO member," he said.
Rosstat summed up the results of the 2020 population census and posted the last four volumes, from which it follows that:
More than half a million houses and apartments generally exist without electricity;
12.5 million houses and apartments do not have centralized cold water supply;
11.8 million houses use pit latrines, and 2.6 million have no sewerage at all;
117.5 thousand households exist without signs of a toilet in the house or on the site;
16.7 million people have an outside toilet.
More than half a million houses and apartments generally exist without electricity;12.5 million houses and apartments do not have centralized cold water supply;11.8 million houses use pit latrines, and 2.6 million have no sewerage at all;117.5 thousand households exist without signs of a toilet in the house or on the site;16.7 million people have an outside toilet.