"All of Vlad's forces and all of Vlad's men, are out to put Humpty together again." (3 Viewers)

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Maybe they've swallowed too much of their own propaganda and some believe they're dealing with untermenschen.
"Those ragtag colonials will never stand up to a real army."
 
Russia possibly already taking steps to punish Finland for even considering joining NATO:

More now on the suspension of electricity exports from Russia to Finland, which followed rising tensions over Helsinki's announcement of its plan to join Nato.

RAO Nordic, a subsidiary of the Russian company Inter RAO, said non-payment was behind its decision to halt electrity supplies.

The company said they had not received funds since 6 May and described the situation as "exceptional", adding that it is the first time it's happened "in over 20 years of our trading history".

It did not specify whether this was due to the impact of sanctions but added, "we hope that the situation will get improved soon and the electricity trade with Russia could resume".

Meanwhlle, the Finnish grid operator Fingrid said it did not anticpate any problems with supply as a result of the suspension.

It said it would make up the shortfall by generating more power domestically and increasing imports from Sweden.


Love the response from Finland, "Meh...we'll work with our buddies and it'll be ok."
 
Interesting update on Russian casualties from the BBC. It was published on their Russian language site so most of us will likely have to get Google to translate it:

Ðллеи на кладбиÑÐ°Ñ Ð¸ ÑоÑни оÑиÑеÑов: ÑÑо извеÑÑно о поÑеÑÑÑ Ð Ð¾ÑÑии в УкÑаине - BBC News Ð ÑÑÑÐºÐ°Ñ ÑлÑжба

Ðа оÑнове оÑкÑÑÑÑÑ Ð¸ÑÑоÑников Ð ÑÑÑÐºÐ°Ñ ÑлÑжба Ðи-би-Ñи ÑÑÑановила, ÑÑо подÑвеÑÐ¶Ð´ÐµÐ½Ñ Ð¸Ð¼ÐµÐ½Ð° Ñже 2336 ÑоÑÑийÑÐºÐ¸Ñ Ð²Ð¾ÐµÐ½Ð½ÑÑ, погибÑÐ¸Ñ Ð² Ñоде боевÑÑ Ð´ÐµÐ¹ÑÑвий в УкÑаине. ÐÑо поÑÑи в два Ñаза пÑевÑÑаеÑ...
www.bbc.com


In case the translation doesn't work well, here's a brief summary of the findings:

Since the start of the war, our team has been following and verifying reports of losses among Russian troops fighting in Ukraine by following official announcements, local media reports as well as social media and speaking to the relatives of Russian servicemen.

Up to this moment BBC News Russian has been able to verify the deaths of 2,336 Russian servicemen. We have been able to establish their names, ranks and military units where they served.

This is nearly twice the latest official figure released by the Russian Defence Ministry in March.

It is likely that the real figure of the Russian military in Ukraine is far higher than we have been able to establish. But our data analysis helps to see the trends of what is happening with the Russian army fighting in Ukraine.

Nearly 20% of all confirmed military casualties are officers. This proportion has remained unchanged for the past three months. Experts say that Russian officers may have to risk more on the frontline because of persistent problems with communications.

Over 25% of all losses are paratroopers and marines. These units are often used in reconnaissance and storming operations. However they often don't get enough operational support and evacuation opportunities for the wounded.

Most of the casualties, confirmed by us, came from the least developed and economically deprived regions of Russia. There are only three confirmed deaths of servicemen from Moscow, even though the capital makes up almost 9% of the Russian population.

Ukrainian authorities now say that nearly 27,000 Russian soldiers have been killed.
 
It comes down to simple mathematics. The Russian and DNLR forces deployed in occupied Ukrainian territory are far to small as to fully control the occupied areas and hold&attack at an almost 1000km contested front-line from Kharkiv down to Kherson. Not even mentioning the remaining 600 km of "peaceful" front-line up north from Kharkiv to the Belarus border.

The same goes for the Ukraine - which can choose only a very limited scope of counterattack areas - since they also do not have the forces to hold and attack on the present front-lines without weakening their defense positions at any other point along the contested front-line. And additionally having to secure another 500-600km along the Belarusian border.

Since Mid-End of April the Russians have managed up today to shorten the contested front-line by approx. 150km. and gaining approx. 2000km2. Whilst at the same time making defense for the remaining contested front-line easier for the Ukrainians, but who in turn however have no added "liberated" areas of significance to counterbalance these lost 2000km2.

So on the pure military part it all comes down to who has the better intel/recon along the front-line, in order to take hold of sparse reserves to exploit the enemies weak spots. Whilst the Ukraine reports the gain of approx. 150-200km2 around Kharkiv in the past 1 week, Russia has gained approx. 200-250km2 in the eastern area within the same time period.
 
Jagdflieger said:
I had just checked two sites regarding the Dutch inquiry towards MH17 - and there is no statement as to Russian military having operated that SAM.
If you have a source that states so please kindly let me know.
Click to expand...
It can be found in the reports of JTI and of the prosecution.
Probably, the best video channel devoted to MH17 (in Russian):
JTI's press conference of 2018 where investigators spoke about the origins of that Buk M1.
A lot of information on the site of prosecution:

MH17 plane crash

www.prosecutionservice.nl

The Russian crew of SAM was not included in the list of suspects and their names were not announced yet officially. But there was enough evidence (also obtained indirectly from the suspects) to confirm that Buk M1 was operated by Russian military personnel and not by separatists or "volunteers".
 

Dutch source?

Come on, you know that won't fly. It was not reported by a source under Uncle Putler's control. Besides, as football has shown us in those legendary games against Germany, the Dutch cannot be trusted.

Turning my sarcasm controls off now…
 
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XBe02Drvr said:
Maybe they've swallowed too much of their own propaganda and some believe they're dealing with untermenschen.
"Those ragtag colonials will never stand up to a real army."
Click to expand...
Actually, that is what can be read on the numerous Russian channels/forums today. (I began to monitor them after cruiser Moskva's sinking). According to Russian military experts and their fanbase, the reasons for the "difficulties" are:
1. Several stupid generals/admirals that just happened to be in the key positions. Some battalion commanders and ship captains were stupid as well. But the Russian army as a whole is very smart and heroic.
2. Opposition, "national traitors", plutocrats oligarchs - they undermine the mighty Russian Army from within. Putin was too kind to all that vermin.
3. NATO weaponry, recon, advisors, money.
4. NATO troops. Yes, they are there. Nobody saw them, but they are there of course because Ukrainians can not fight.
5. Clever strategy (no, I'm not kidding). The secret plan was to start light, to wear out Ukrainians, get NATO involved and deliver the final blow to NATO.
6. Because the Russian Army is civilised and does its best to minimise civilian casualties. Otherwise, it would "steamroll Ukraine several times already", as was recently announced by a Russian diplomat.
 
Thanks for the links.
The last link "prosecutionerservice.nl was one of the links I had also checked.
However there is no conclusive proven evidence that the system was manned by Russian military personal. That the system originated from a Russian military unit was known and
doesn't constitute a proof as to who manned it.
The prosecution even stated in it's final address: The defendants were not regular military personnel and it is not known as to who pressed the button.

What I can't find anywhere in those prosecutor files, is as for the question; were these 4 defendants trained/qualified to operate the Buk M1 system?
 

Where's that "crazy/deluded/lock me in a padded cell" emoji when I need it? (BTW, Dimlee, that emoji is directed at the idiots that believe this crap, not at you...I hope you know I trust and value your opinion and insights).

I really love #1. Yes, let's blame the stupid generals/admirals. But we can't blame the man who appointed them. Presumably, these muppets don't believe that Putin has a hand in the selection and appointment of every star-ranking officer in the Russian military?
 

I just read that. He's butthurt that they're accepting Kurdish refugees, apparently.

As I noted above, I've got a very dim opinion of Erdogan. To head off what could be a rant, I'll just say that he's a shitbag.
 
Thumpalumpacus said:
I just read that. He's butthurt that they're accepting Kurdish refugees, apparently.

As I noted above, I've got a very dim opinion of Erdogan. To head off what could be a rant, I'll just say that he's a shitbag.
Click to expand...

I agree.

I even blame Erdogan for the declining quality of Döner Kebabs in Germany. I think the Vaterland should push for their removal from NATO if they don't do something about it.
 
We said, many pages ago, that Georgia should go on the offensive to reclaim South Ossetia. Well, their time may be running out:

The leader of breakaway region South Ossetia has announced a referendum on whether to become a part of Russia.

A statement from the office of Anatoly Bibilov said it was his people's "historic aspiration" to come together with Russia, and the vote would take place on 17 July.

Moscow recognises the region as independent, after a brief war between Russia and Georgia in 2008, and has provided financial support, Russian citizenship for its citizens and sited military bases there.

Georgia maintains that South Ossetia is an occupied territory and previously said that a referendum on joining Russia would be unacceptable.


It will be interesting to see how Georgia responds if, as I expect, the referendum will go ahead and the books will be cooked to a crisp.
 
DerAdlerIstGelandet said:
I agree.

I even blame Erdogan for the declining quality of Döner Kebabs in Germany. I think the Vaterland should push for their removal from NATO if they don't do something about it.
Click to expand...

Having lived for four years in Iran, my only question is how the hell can you screw up a kebab?

**************

Bock to topic:

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered the deployment of 10,500 troops to replace ones who have been previously deployed to Europe.

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby told reporters that the troops will be deployed "in the coming months," adding that the U.S.'s force posture in Europe will remain unchanged.

"These are not permanent moves," Kirby said. "These moves are designed to respond to the current security environment.

"Moreover, these forces are not going to fight in Ukraine, they are going to support the robust defense of NATO allies," he added.

The U.S. in February and March deployed and repositioned thousands of troops to bolster allies in Europe amid Russia's aggression toward Ukraine.

Most recently, Austin deployed additional aviation capabilities to the region, which totaled approximately 200 personnel. Those deployments brought the total number of U.S. personnel in Europe to 100,000.

Kirby said that Friday's deployments will leave that number unchanged, as the deployments are "are one-for-one-unit replacements."

About 500 soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Ky., will replace soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division currently in Europe, Kirby said.

The Second Infantry Brigade Combat Team 101st Airborne Division will also deploy about 4,200 soldiers from Fort Campbell to replace troops from the Third Infantry Brigade Combat Team of 82nd Airborne Division in Poland.

The third Armored Brigade Combat Team First Cavalry Division from Fort Hood, Texas, will deploy another 4,200 soldiers to replace the First Armored Brigade, Third Infantry Division in Germany.

Additionally, the first Armored Division Combat Aviation Brigade of approximately 1,800 service members from Fort Bliss, Texas, will replace the First Air Cavalry Brigade supporting Operation Atlantic Resolve, which has been a rotational deployment for the Army since 2014.

The units being replaced will return to the U.S. after an "appropriate" turnover of responsibilities, which will occur in the coming weeks and into the summer," Kirby said.


Good to see that we're keeping our eyes on the ball.
 
Thumpalumpacus said:
Having lived for four years in Iran, my only question is how the hell can you screw up a kebab?

**************
Click to expand...



Its all in the bread, spices, and sauce my friend. The prices are going up, and the quality is declining.

There is a really good one next to my parents house, but unfortunately I have to fight the school kids every day to get one.
 
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DerAdlerIstGelandet said:


Its all in the bread, spices, and sauce my friend. The prices are going up, and the quality is declining.

There is a really good one next my parents house, but unfortunately I have to fight the school kids every day to get one.
Click to expand...

I grill my own at home (usually beef, sometimes lamb when I can find a good deal), and serve with saffron rice. There's a couple of good places in Austin for this fare, but I hate driving into the city, absolutely hate it.
 
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