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

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Every time that Medvedev, and every other Putler mouthpiece, says Russia has the right to defend itself the Ukrainian spokespersons, and many others, need to quote him and add and everyone except Russia says that Ukraine has that same right.
 
If you can this is worth listening to. Its a report from the BBC which has concentrated its reporting on one unit of the Russian airborne forces. It traces the history of the 331st Regiment from just before the start of the campaign to the current day. The total estimated casualties including the wounded is between 4-500 in this one unit.
However what impressed me was the way the details have been compiled using Russian sources and the access the team were obviously given at least at the start of the campaign, by Russia.

BBC Two - Newsnight, Revealing the hidden casualties of one elite Russian regiment in Ukraine
 
Every time that Medvedev, and every other Putler mouthpiece, says Russia has the right to defend itself the Ukrainian spokespersons, and many others, need to quote him and add and everyone except Russia says that Ukraine has that same right.

Yes, the hypocrisy is astounding, much as their appeal to international law as I noted above. The fact they think no one notices this bullshit says more about them, and their attempt to gaslight the world, than it does about anyone else.
 
re the permanent stationing of NATO forces in Finland.

I believe this refers to an agreement made sometime back in the '80s or '90s(?) between the US/NATO and the Soviet Union/Russia Federation involving basing large units of potentially offensive nature at bases close to the border(s). In other words, there would be no permanent basing/infrastructure of extra-national division(?) or larger sized combat units within a given distance of the border. Advance notice would be given when such large units would move to and engage in training maneuvers/exercises near the border(s). The idea was to remove the ability of large surprise attacks into the other's territory.

A US/NATO alliance division sized base of operations, with all of the required support personnel and materiel/supplies to enable the unit to operate in an effective war making manner for any period of time, would constitute a violation of the agreement. I do not remember in detail what the actual definition of the prohibited infrastructure was.

Sorry, but I do not recall what the name of the agreement was, or specifically when it was made.
 
COMINT/HUMINT reports indicated that the Snake Island occupation troops were failing in morale due to lack of supply (including drinkable water) and due to inability to perform any offensive operations. Basically they could only sit there and get hit by Ukrainian artillery and airstrikes. This was potentially due to get even worse now that HIMARS/MLRS are entering the war.

However, there is some truth to the Russian occupation of Snake Island accomplishing something useful. It denied the Ukrainian forces a forward base for their Neptune missiles, which could reach as far as the entry-waters to Sevastopol harbour. Due to the successful invasion of the southern parts of Ukraine (including the off-shore islands in Kherson Oblast) to the north and northwest of Crimea, Snake Island is the only location available to the UAF within the range of the Neptune.
 
More on snake island, now that Russians are gone, Ukraine disclosed some "war porn".
Never heard of Bohdana 155mm before.

I was surprised that a Ukrainian gun was 155 mm and not 152. Thought it was a mistake, so I searched a bit.
2S22 Bohdana is a Ukrainian designed self-propelled howitzer, and its the first using standard 155 mm NATO ammo. It seems that Ukraine was already considering switching to NATO standards, which clearly has been accelerated by the war.

Unfortunately there is a single piece of this experimental weapon and its not clear that they can produce more.

 
And the West, at least, "the eastern" West, is dependent on the outcome of the battles in Ukraine.
 
Ukrainian missiles (and any other expensive equipment) can not be based on the island because they will be targeted by Russian missiles. And Ukrainian air defence is too weak to protect the island. Actually, it was well understood by Ukrainian military planners who never tried to make a permanent base there. Until someone (rumours say - the president who overrode General Staff) decided to set the permanent garrison and complement the border guards with Marines. Wrong decision, IMO.
 
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While Russian keeps threatening countries to kick their arse, maybe they should start with something small to achieve a true victory.

It has been rumored that Mrs Petrov at the corner of 25th and Lodi uses White Detroit beetroots in her Borscht
and after seeing Putin without his shirt stated she'd see better pecs on her chicken "Sofia"


The Russian forces could be led by acting General "Junior Sargent Ivan Ivanov" now the highest ranking military soldier not wounded.

Leading the 1st and 2nd Motorized Rifles Battalions with a Tank Regiment in reserve and supported by the 2nd Self Prepared Artillery Battalion they should be able to storm the small farm house in 30 days, or 35 days if her front gate is closed.

It has been rumored she owns an old single shotgun and an iron frying pan so casualties would be expected to reach 10%. 20% if her cat "Mildred" is home.
 
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July 1 (Reuters) - As Russia's military continues to pound Ukraine with missiles and other lethal weapons, Western nations have responded in part by targeting Russia's defense industry with sanctions. The latest round came on Tuesday, when the United States issued new sanctions on some arms makers and executives at the heart of what it dubbed Russian President Vladimir Putin's "war machine."

But a Reuters examination of companies, executives and investors underpinning Russia's defense sector shows a sizable number of players have yet to pay a price: Nearly three dozen leaders of Russian weapons firms and at least 14 defense companies have not been sanctioned by the United States, the European Union or the United Kingdom. In addition, sanctions on Russia's arms makers and tycoons have been applied inconsistently by these NATO allies, with some governments levying penalties and others not, the Reuters review showed.


Among the weapons moguls who have not been sanctioned by any of those three authorities is Alan Lushnikov, the largest shareholder of Kalashnikov Concern JSC, the original manufacturer of the well-known AK-47 assault rifle. Lushnikov owns a 75% stake in the firm, according to the most recent business records reviewed by Reuters.

The company itself was sanctioned by the United States in 2014, the year Russia invaded and annexed the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea. The EU and UK leveled their own sanctions against Kalashnikov Concern this year.


The company accounts for 95% of Russia's production of machine guns, sniper rifles, pistols and other handheld firearms, and 98% of its handheld military machine guns, according to its website and most recent annual report. Its weapons include the AK-12 assault rifle, an updated version of the AK-47, some of which have been captured from Russian forces by Ukrainian soldiers. The Kalashnikov Concern also produces missiles that can be fired from aircraft or on land.


A former Russian deputy transport minister, Lushnikov once worked for commodities tycoon Gennady Timchenko, a longtime friend of Putin. The United States sanctioned Timchenko in 2014 following Russia's invasion of Crimea, naming him as a member of the Kremlin's "inner circle."

Neither Lushnikov, Timchenko or the Kalashnikov Concern responded to requests for comment.

It's the same pattern with Almaz-Antey Concern, a Moscow-based defense company specializing in missiles and anti-aircraft systems. The company has been sanctioned by the United States, EU and UK, but CEO Yan Novikov has not been punished.

Almaz-Antey's website displays the motto "Peaceful Sky is Our Profession." The company makes Kalibr missiles, which Russia's Ministry of Defense has credited with destroying Ukrainian military installations.

[...]

Other companies in Russia's defense industry identified by Reuters that have not been sanctioned by the United States, EU or UK include the V.A. Degtyarev Plant(ZDEGI.MM), a facility 165 miles northeast of Moscow that makes machine guns, anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons that are sold to the Russian military. Its weapons include the Kalashnikov PKM and PKTM machine guns, as well as Kord rifles and machine guns, some of which are mounted on armored vehicles.

[...]

Also not sanctioned is the Klimovsk Specialized Ammunition Plant, south of Moscow, where "world-famous cartridges" for pistols and Kalashnikov assault rifles are produced, according to an archived version of its website. Neither is the Novosibirsk Cartridge Plant, an ammunition manufacturer that calls itself "one of the leading engineering enterprises of the military-industrial complex of Russia."



Additionally:


* The RIA news agency quoted Russia's defence ministry as saying on Friday that Russian forces had captured an oil refinery in the Ukrainian city of Lysychansk.


* Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield accounts.


 

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