There was a tank mechanic offering up tidbits of advice on how to disable a tank a few days ago.
It's an interesting thread.
What's weird to me is that I think Putin had already completed his basic objective for Ukraine before he undertook this stupid invasion. Like, we hear Ursula Von Der Leyen make emotional pronouncements about wanting Ukraine in the EU, but we also suspect that when it comes down to bureaucrats sitting at long tables examining the situation a little more dispassionately and checking Ukraine's real eligibility that scepticism about the possibility creeps in. Similarly with NATO, there have been pronouncements made and action plans drawn, but NATO surely cannot consider a country with territory occupied by NATO's biggest rival. That's just too much of a headache.
All Putin had to do was keep the Crimea, which the international community was broadly willing to overlook and let the Donbas situation bubble on in perpetuity. Ditto Georgia. No NATO, nor EU for them. Putin could have kept on in the background, nipping at the west and being generally sneaky.
Although, this is all moot if he really just wanted Ukraine anyway.
If they are subscribing to Russian media then they will just blame the west.
Exactly, he had a buffer from NATO if that's what Russia really wanted. But it isn't - this is good old fashioned nationalism, Russian Nationalism in this case, expanding the territory on the basis of supposed shared nationality.
Yeah, but propaganda doesn't fill your belly or allow you to maintain a decent overall standard of living.
Just with his fingertips too
Blame doesn't fill empty stomachs.
True but it can cause you to misplace the blame for that hunger and lower standard of living
When I looked at this at first I didn't see the straps in the background holding up the bomb!!!!
Still feckin balls of iron those Ukrainian lads, anyone who invades their homeland is inviting a world of pain and from what I can see on social media they are delivering it in spades. Some really horrible pics and videos today of dead Russians.
Casually thrown over his shoulder like a bag of spuds!
It can, but if it gets bad enough, then it doesn't matter who's to blame because of the reality of what the populations faces.
Interesting opposition view from Russia here.
Hopefully everything that has happened recently will make us get our head out of the sand when it comes to defense. We are a tiny country sure so its not like we can make a big difference militarily. But there is no question defense spending should be raising to at least 1% of GDP IMHO.
Yeah I came across a post by an Iraq vet who specialised in training for street warfare, the advice was eye-opening to say the least. Hopefully the Ukrainians and reservists are getting decent training
Very interesting alright, looks like a load of ****
Its utter nonsense. NATO has been bordering Russia in the Baltics for almost 20 years and Ukraine was nowhere near joining so the history element of that is just silly.
As to the prognostications - its possible, but as things stand I don't think the sanctions will ease up if he tries to force that through as the "new normal".
More reasons to start boycotting Chinese made tat!
"Don't believe anything until it's denied by the Kremlin".
You're right there, there was zero prospect (and still is zero) of EU membership for Ukraine for at least another 20 years, and that would've been if reforms started before the conflict. Corruption is endemic there and it would take at least a generation of hard diligent work to root it out to a level that would be tolerable. Maybe Putin's calculus was on longer time horizons, but no one knows what countries will have come and gone in the next 20.
NATO were never going to admit either a member that was in active conflict with, let's be honest here, its main adversary. So that aim was also achieved.
I cannot really see what the strategy in Ukraine was. It seemed to depend on the West remaining paralysed through indecision and internal conflict. The Russians should have wargamed the scenario of a united West, but it looks like they didn't. There is nothing quite like an external common threat to put internal divisions aside (at least temporarily).
Waste of money. If we are invaded it would only be by a major power. If they are invading it’s because they are in a desperate situation. No matter how much we spend our big military hardware would be wiped out in minutes and if we resist they won’t hesitate to go for large scale extermination of the population.
Try click Translate
Time to boot this muppet out tbh
The Russian War Currency - Ruble - is tanking
He might want to check. Think the whole western world is on the front of this.
He can just fcuk off back to Putin.
That's simplistic. He has gone into a paranoid tailspin about all of this and suddenly Russia in under enough threat to invade Ukraine. Partition is highly unlikely and Ukraine will fight physically to make sure it doesn't happen. He might get those enclaves in the east but very little else. As time goes by so too does the possibility of Kyiv not being taken.
What’s the crack with the adverts ? Getting more and more odd!!
Haha they're laughing at my comment in Russia apparently Drummer 😂
Huge Antonov AN-124 leaving Bulgaria for Rzeszow, Poland. You can only imagine the amount of gear loaded into this. One of the biggest aircraft in the world and one I've had the pleasure of sitting in.
Maybe Mr. Filatov could explain why he has so many employees? Maybe he should send them home for their own safety, if he's so concerned?
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