"All of Vlad's forces and all of Vlad's men, are out to put Humpty together again." (7 Viewers)

[GTX]

The battle over borscht

A lot of ink has been spilled trying to understand why Russia invaded Ukraine, but who’d have thought that soup had anything to do with it? What’s the back story, and why is the soup such an important part of Ukraine’s national identity? We spoke with a chef, a historian, and a Ukrainian emigré...

www.gzeromedia.com

 

[GTX]

Kateryna's workplace has become Mariupol's last pocket of resistance against Russia

The sprawling Azovstal steelworks has become the last pocket of Ukrainian resistance in the southern port city of Mariupol. Kateryna Kitrish used to work there.

www.abc.net.au

 

[wlewisiii]

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

Again: Potemkin military.

 

[vikingBerserker]

Yikes! That would certainly explain the high failure rate. It makes you wonder what condition their Nuke ICBMs are in.

 

[SaparotRob]

I was thinking the same. I'm guessing if only 5 percent work, the world will still have a bad day. I hope Putin hasn't relieved all the sane folks watching those things.

 

[wlewisiii]

Again: Potemkin military.

Yep. Don't throw away you Commodore C-64! It would be a step up for them!

 

[SaparotRob]

Too late.

 

[wlewisiii]

This though is just WTAF???

 

[Admiral Beez]

I was thinking the same. I'm guessing if only 5 percent work, the world will still have a bad day. I hope Putin hasn't relieved all the sane folks watching those things.

If NATO could figure out which 5% they could take them out. But it does make the overall anti-ICBM shield easier to contemplate when the targets are fewer.

 

[buffnut453]

This though is just WTAF???

Maybe it was a Ukrainian Special Forces mouse? If so, award him the Dicken Medal.

 

[buffnut453]

Russia finally provides figures on Moskva casualties...but there seem to be some odd maths at play (Source: BBC):

One sailor died and 27 more are missing after the Russian warship Moskva sank last week, according to RIA news agency citing Russia's defence ministry.

It adds 396 other crew members were rescued from the Moskva, which was the flagship of Russia's Black Sea fleet.

Russia says a fire onboard caused ammunitions to explode and the vessel sank as it was being towed in a storm. Ukraine says it hit it with missiles.


So 1 dead and 27 more missing = 28 casualties

If 396 crew were rescued, that gives us 424 sailors aboard.

Crew complement of the Moskva was 510....so what of the ghost 86 sailors? Now, it's possible Moskva was not at full crew complement...but that would be over 16% of the ship's crew. That seems like a dangerous degree of under-manning, particularly when you're in a war...errr, I mean, special operations zone.

Am I missing something?

 

[Greg Boeser]

Wouldn't surprise me at all. Reports indicate tanks are undermanned. Why wouldn't ships be too? What was it Rummy said? You go to war {special military exercise} with the military you have, not the military you wish you had.

 

[buffnut453]

Wouldn't surprise me at all. Reports indicate tanks are undermanned. Why wouldn't ships be too? What was it Rummy said? You go to war {special military exercise} with the military you have, not the military you wish you had.

Yes, but there are Slava class ships in the Kola and in the Far East. Given the amount of planning and prep time, one would expect they'd steal from those vessels to ensure the Black Sea Fleet was fully combat ready? Maybe????

 

[Admiral Beez]

Crew complement of the Moskva was 510....so what of the ghost 86 sailors?

I wonder if the complement normally includes Russian marines. They might have been taken off to fight on land.

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/r...te-black-sea—and-it-makes-us-navy-wary-190435

Make that four.

 

[GrauGeist]

It seems that the Russian sources cannot agree on any one story with the Moskva.

First, the ship didn't sink. Then it did sink.

It wasn't attacked, it had an accident. Then it *may have* been attacked.
It was attacked in an "act of war".

All crewmen were rescued. Some crew were rescued. Most may have been rescued.

A few may have died. Some died.
One died.

Let's wait a few days and see what new spin they come out with. Should be interesting.

 

[buffnut453]

It seems that the Russian sources cannot agree on any one story with the Moskva.

First, the ship didn't sink. Then it did sink.

It wasn't attacked, it had an accident. Then it *may have* been attacked.
It was attacked in an "act of war".

All crewmen were rescued. Some crew were rescued. Most may have been rescued.

A few may have died. Some died.
One died.

Let's wait a few days and see what new spin they come out with. Should be interesting.

Agreed…..and if only one died, was that the captain? Apparently he was killed in the explosion.

You really have to wonder about any organization that is so paranoid about "messaging" that it will spout any old lies just to not be seen as failing. I know all governments lie….but the Kremlin takes it to an entirely new level.

 

[wlewisiii]

 

[Admiral Beez]

Wouldn't surprise me at all. Reports indicate tanks are undermanned. Why wouldn't ships be too? What was it Rummy said? You go to war {special military exercise} with the military you have, not the military you wish you had.

The Russians are using garbage weaponry, tactics, training, planning and logistics, but they've still managed to take much of eastern Ukraine. With their superior weapons, tactics, training and motivation the Ukrainians have not yet found a counter to the mass of the Russian effort. They may be useless, but the Russians are winning so far.

If I was the Ukrainian CNC I'd be worried about that salient in the east. If the Russians can find the tanks and the gas they can drive south and north (once Mariupol is dealt with) and cut off a large portion of Ukraine's army. Lots of ifs there I admit.

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

Yep. Don't throw away you Commodore C-64! It would be a step up for them!

Complete with PEEK and POKE graphics thanks to C-BASIC.