Jump to content

dimyh

Legacy Members
  • Posts

    519
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by dimyh

  1. So it goes extremely fast then slows down to hit the target? Like an aerial version of this?
  2. All the stories about the civilian executions is just sickening. Crushes my heart to see multiple instances reported. Below is a link to on video talking about the demographics and lead up to the war. Not familiar with this guy but if he is right on some of these points then that may explain why Putin was so aggro about kicking it off now. Population was aging and would be running out of young men to carry on such campaigns. Still concerned about the post war situation, that Putin will continue to press any advantage to maintain his delusion of a Russian empire. It is going to be years to rebuild, reorganize their army. The only threat he still holds is the nuclear arsenal. I could see him trying to figure out new ways to leverage that threat. Such as threatening to sell nukes to 3rd parties (Iran, Syria) if sanctions aren't reduced. He will be looking for any type of angle to exploit.
  3. Which is more damaging? Having a bad game plan? Or poor execution? Well Russia is demonstrating what happens when you poorly execute a bad game plan. It will be interesting to see what kind of half time adjustments they make.
  4. Wait wait shouldn't it be all gas and no brakes? Oh SHIT you're right! Slow down boys!
  5. Just dragging some nuts across that Ruskie countryside. Slava Ukrani!
  6. Sounds like these are the true heroes fighting for their Motherland. Hope they have Kadyrov and Putin pin some medals on them and they can all marinate in some of that Chernobyl juice.
  7. For all the Surly law dogs out there...you have a Russian counterpart fighting for the Ruskie national guards that refused to invade: On March 24, Pavel Chikov, a lawyer from the international human rights organization Agora, reported that 12 Russian National Guard officers from Krasnodar who were participating in military exercises in Crimea had refused to follow their commander’s orders to join the war in Ukraine. The officers were subsequently fired, though they’ve challenged the decision in court and are seeking to have their employment reinstated. Meduza spoke with Krasnodar-based lawyer Mikhail Benyash, who’s representing the officers in court, about the case and its possible consequences. — When and under what conditions were your clients fired? — On February 25, [Rosgvardia, the Russian National Guard] was getting ready to send my clients to Ukrainian territory, but they refused to leave Crimea. A review was initiated. On March 1, they received contract termination orders due to their failure to carry out orders. They thought about it and decided to go through the courts to get their employment reinstated. 12 people have reached out to us so far, but a lot more have been fired. — Are there legal grounds for reinstatement? To what degree were they required to take part in the “special military operation?” — If there was an armed conflict, an emergency situation, or martial law, the terms of the contract could be changed without their consent for six months. But we don’t have an armed conflict or a war, it’s just a “special military operation.” The law doesn’t say anything about that. You can go there [as a Rosgvardia officer], but only if you agree to it. — Beautiful. — The authorities themselves refuse to call it an armed conflict. Whatever category you choose, that’s what you’ll get. That means everyone who goes there must agree — there’s no point threatening them. And if it is a military conflict, another question immediately arises: who started it? Oops. And nobody wants to answer this question, since there’s a completely different qualification of the actions [in the Russian Criminal Code] — and I don’t mean the soldiers’ actions. That’s why they won’t recognize what’s happening as an armed conflict. — Have there been attempts to put pressure on the objectors? — They’ve been feeling more pressure from the publicity — it’s really difficult for them. These people have gone their whole lives in masks and helmets, and now their names are out there. It’s very traumatic for them. Despite the fact that they’ve done something a portion of society really approves of, other people are harassing them. — So if your clients manage to get their employment reinstated, is it possible that this will set a precedent, and that other contract officers will start refusing to take part in the “special military operation” en masse? — They’re already refusing en masse. It’s just that they used to be afraid that what they were doing was illegal. And now they’ll know there’s a legal basis for this. — Were your clients expecting media attention and the strong reaction they’ve gotten from the public and from their superiors? — I told them there would be some hype [on the local level]. But I’d say the result has surprised me and shocked them. — Are administrative charges used to discourage these kinds of refusals? — In our case, they’ve been scared off by the publicity. But with other soldiers from other cities, they use charges to pressure them. Deputy officers, special department. They scare them with [charges of] “betraying the Motherland.” But they’re all bark. It’s purely to scare them. — Can you give an estimate of the scale of the refusal? — I’m hearing from people all over the country, from Siberia to the North Caucasus. — Why there, exactly? — They want to hear from the person who’s going to court. That means I must know what’s allowed and what’s not. — So the wave of messages came after you got started helping the Rosgvardia officers. — Yes. — Can you give an estimate of the number of requests you’ve gotten? — In the range of 200. One person generally reaches out on behalf of a group and asks whether they can get their jobs in the service back. I tell them that from a legal perspective, they should be able to. But given what’s going on here in Russia, we’ll have to see. — What’s motivating the officers who refuse to take part in the “special military operation?” — It’s very simple. People don’t want to kill or to be killed. When they first got hired, their contracts were about something slightly different. On top of that, Rosgvardia worked differently. These guys can’t shoot surface-to-air missiles, they can’t operate tanks. What are they going to do against a trained army? And with what, a club and a shield? Their job is to disperse Navalny supporters, and they’ve done a great job at that. This is something different. I want other officers to know: refusing to kill people isn’t a crime. It’s not shameful. It’s all right. If someone says no to an order that requires him to kill someone, he can fully count on our protection. Me and the lawyers from Agora will defend him. — Aren’t you scared they’ll start pressuring you, too? — What, do you think I haven’t been pressured by them before? Two weeks ago, they kicked my door down. You should see what they did to it. It’s like a hippopotamus chewed it up.
  8. Yeah defense spending is going to be crazy. And we are not even factoring the need to up spending for some obvious gaps in our 21st C playbook. Clearly we have a tractor gap that we need to rectify pronto!
  9. Check out this YT channel with various interviews of random Russians. Most of the younger ones appear to be more aware of the propaganda (and plenty just being oblivious youth) while it is the few older ones that skew into that hardline narrative. While there is a bunch of complicit acceptance it helps to understand that they are not all brainwashed.
  10. Appreciate all the updates that you and Worldwide provide. I don't pretend to understand EU politics but y'all help me get an idea on how the general mood is with the populace. We know the will of the Ukrainians is strong...the bigger doubt is if the EU can stay united on sanctions and match that resolve. Putin miscalculated on the severity of the initial EU response but he's not wrong in that the weakest link still lies in Germany not wanting to give up their cheap gas. Here is an article from the FAZ talking about the Ukrainian ambassador to Germany and some of his troubles trying to get them on board with the cause:
  11. Interesting article trying to confirm Russian KIA counts based on posthumous medals. It only follows the first week of action but aligns with some of the Ukrainian numbers. https://informnapalm.org/en/medal-count-osint-analysis-of-real-russian-losses-for-the-first-week-of-hostilities-in-ukraine/
  12. @956 Worldwide @Shady Ray Any updates on the general public perception in Germany/EU at the moment? We are past the initial shock phase and was curious how strong their sanction sentiment was running. Would love to see a quick Russian capitulation but this could easily become a multi year economic struggle. Definitely need EU on board and committed if we are ever going to bury this neo-Soviet nonsense.
  13. Here is a RT propaganda piece giving a nice view of port and this ship's capabilities before going kaboom. This is definitely going to fuck with RU's supplies around Mariupol.
  14. May be wishful thinking but if UA can defeat these pockets in detail do they have enough time to reinforce Mariupol? That is my biggest concern at this point is if Russia can link up Crimea and Donbass then just sit back trying to get favorable peace terms. Assuming that they can slowly consolidate some logistical supply lines on that eastern front and continue with punitive artillery fire on Kyiv, Odessa, etc. Which seems most consistent with what's in Putin's playbook.
  15. Bring out yer dead! Actually a nice story about exchanging dead Russians for captured Ukrainians. Also surprising that the Russians don't have any ID'S or dog tags. Simply appears to be dehumanizing about it all. https://kyivindependent.com/national/how-ukraine-swaps-living-soldiers-for-dead-russians/
  16. Expecting various non-NATO countries to 1-on-1 the few Russian merc allies is pure fantasy. But I wonder if some NATO military exercises in Poland on the Belarusian side might help tie up their forces. Lukashenko has been waffling since the start about committing his troops but they have been a lingering threat as another invasion front. While I don't think we would actually do anything in Belarus just being there could give Luka enough of a pucker factor to keep him on the sideline.
  17. Reports that some tracks have been sabotaged in Belarus. Not sure if it's true or the extent of the damage but hopefully they have enough of a resistance force to start fucking up more of the Ruskies logistics.
  18. Drone use capability was decisive in the recent Armenia vs Azerjimmyjohhnytommybahami war. Russia's inability to control the air and instead rely on a slow moving tank doctrine has been a gigantic mistake. Especially working in a large flat plains with very little coverage or concealment.
  19. Amen. That's the crux of the issue for my view of Russian expansion vs American expansion: people want to join NATO and are not forced to join NATO. Putin is still married to that old Soviet mindset of might makes right. If they weren't such assholes for such a long time then maybe those ex-Warsaw pact countries wouldn't be running to the west for support.
  20. Pretty gnarly clip of another Zed getting blown to hell. Literally bodies in trees if there were any trees nearby.
×
×
  • Create New...