"All of Vlad's forces and all of Vlad's men, are out to put Humpty together again." (4 Viewers)

[ThomasP]

My bet would be that the Ukrainians do not want to actually destroy it. The RF mined the bridge [for demolition] on the 2nd or 3rd day of the war, in case they could not hold the Kherson side of the river and had to stop the UAF from following them during a retreat. The psychological threat of its destruction is significant in terms of eliminating the escape routes for the RF.

 

[GrauGeist]

The bridge being constantly repaired is also consuming manpower that is much needed elsewhere.

I agree that it's not being destroyed on purpose. The Ukrainians have proven to be very accurate in the destruction of other bridges, this bridge could easily be taken out and I suspect will be if the situation warrants it.

 

[wlewisiii]

Oh, boy. I don't know that this is for real, but I find it all too easy to believe:

 

[J_P_C]

Oh, boy. I don't know that this is for real, but I find it all too easy to believe:

hard to believe how complex technological process needs to be used to create such piece of hardware

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

Why is that bridge still standing? It must be a critical target.

The heaviest warhead any MLRS rocket carries is 500-lb penetrating HE, but because they're on the longest-ranged variant, Ukraine likely doesn't have them. It would still probably take multiple hits to drop the bridge.

 

[Admiral Beez]

Oh, boy. I don't know that this is for real, but I find it all too easy to believe:

And yet with such rubbish hardware the Russians hold 20% of Ukrainian territory. Good enough is good enough.

 

[Snautzer01]

And yet with such rubbish hardware the Russians hold 20% of Ukrainian territory. Good enough is good enough.

No it isnt. Gains are payed in blood and losses of material. Remember 3:1. Russia will not run out of men just yet but it will on hardware. That was not the glorious plan. And winter will come. Souds familiar? They are not soviets not even by a long shot. Gains without depth are dangerous. Ask Paulus.

 

[Glider]

No it isnt. Gains are payed in blood and losses of material. Remember 3:1. Russia will not run out of men just yet but it will on hardware. That was not the glorious plan. And winter will come. Souds familiar? They are not soviets not even by a long shot. Gains without depth are dangerous. Ask Paulus.

I think that in some major ways Russia is running out of men. Not in the physical actual number of people in the population, of even the number who qualify as being in the reserves, but in the number he can actually use.
It looks as if those in the occupied areas are being bled dry. There are all sorts of forced conscription being used and people having papers confiscated and then enlisted. There are a lot of people from fairly remote areas of Russia being enticed into the forces due to the lack of other opportunities to earn money. They are also paying a heavy price and people are started to complain.
Comparatively very few of the people serving and being killed or wounded in the fighting have some from the large cities. It's only a guess I know but I think that he knows that if he tried to use these population areas for recruits, then his reign will be in severe trouble. They tend to be more liberal and have more access to technology.
There has to be a reason why he has done everything he can to avoid enlisting people from these districts and that's my guess as to why

 

[MiTasol]

Oh, boy. I don't know that this is for real, but I find it all too easy to believe:

Very likely to be real. It all comes down to the inspectors at the end of each process.

If you want a good example of how bad some companies inspection processes are find the ATSB report on the A380 engine failure near Singapore. The faulty Rolls Royce engine oil tube that caused that was WAY more off centre than that gun barrel.

Investigation: AO-2010-089 - In-flight uncontained engine failure Airbus A380-842, VH-OQA, overhead Batam Island, Indonesia, 4 November 2010

It is worth reading the whole report to see how close they came to a fuel and electrical fire inside the wing and other catastrophic situations. It is also worth noting that the RR Trent continues to have oil leaks and the RR records are not that crash hot.

Safety investigations & reports

One would expect the most basic visual inspection would note that the wall thickness varied from 1.42 to 0.348 and that the hole was way off centre.

 

[wlewisiii]

 

[Greg Boeser]

It will be interesting to see who originated the shipment, and who arranged the logistics - one or both actors will be in serious trouble.

We came across stuff like this all the time when I was in Iraq. The UN "Oil for Food" program was rife with corruption.
Plus, Turkey and Syria and Iran weren't exactly trustworthy partners. Never mind Russia or France.

 

[J_P_C]

 

[Dimlee]

First Gepards are in Ukraine according to local sources.

Total order is 30 and the problem with ammunition production was reported as resolved.
Hopefully, they will help to shoot some cruise missiles.

 

[SaparotRob]

First Gepards are in Ukraine according to local sources.

Total order is 30 and the problem with ammunition production was reported as resolved.
Hopefully, they will help to shoot some cruise missiles.

...and look cool while doing it.

 

[Crimea_River]

Well I hope the Russians don't find a way to remove Zelenskiy and replace him with a friendly puppet. A dowry of Western arms would bring a smile to Putler's mug.

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

Well I hope the Russians don't find a way to remove Zelenskiy and replace him with a friendly puppet. A dowry of Western arms would bring a smile to Putler's mug.

I wonder how long said "friendly puppet" would last in power ...

 

[Crimea_River]

True.

 

[Admiral Beez]

Well I hope the Russians don't find a way to remove Zelenskiy and replace him with a friendly puppet.

The window for that has closed. The national mood is firmly anti Russian. Certainly Zelenskyy can be killed, but Ukraine isn't a Russian-like autocracy or dictatorship - there is no metaphorical head of the snake to cut off. Ukraine has a functioning democratic government. Ruslan Stefanchuk, the chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliamentary body, and a close ally of Zelenskyy would take office if Zelenskyy was unable to perform his duties, with limited powers as "acting president" until a new election is conducted. If both these guys die, then Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal will administer the state until the President and chairman are replaced. There is an established succession process - no Russian puppet is getting in again - 2014's expulsion of Putin's man Viktor Yanukovych saw to that.

 

[Crimea_River]

What about the heads of the military?

 

[Admiral Beez]

What about the heads of the military?

Unlike the UAF and its successfully targeting of over a dozen generals, the Russians seem to be purely inept at liquidating their opposing generals.

Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Lieutenant General Valerii Zaluzhnyi looks pretty solid.