"All of Vlad's forces and all of Vlad's men, are out to put Humpty together again." (2 Viewers)

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Stuttgart, eh? We used to play you in football & basketball- tough team. My teen stomping grounds was Frankfurt. FAHS 1957.

Yeah, but I was about 30-40 years behind you…lol

 

[manta22]

Yeah...right. The US President tells the world almost 8 months ago that the US will shut down the Nord Stream pipeline if Russia invades Ukraine. Russia does precisely that and yet it's Russia that actually closes the pipeline....and only THEN does the US go in to blow it up, which they do covertly.

A few questions:

1. If the intent was to covertly blow up the pipeline, why announce it in February?

2. Since you announced it in February, why not claim responsibility now?

3. What does it benefit the US to blow up the pipeline now?

4. How does further weakening Germany's energy situation help achieve the goal of encouraging Berlin to be more supportive of Ukraine?

For #3, US attribution would further harm relations with Germany...and they've been rocky enough over the past 5 years. There isn't a financial justification because the US doesn't produce enough excess natural gas to supply Germany, let alone the other European nations who depended on Nord Stream, nor can the US readily get excess gas to Europe. Germany helped build Nord Stream and so, presumably, it could rebuild "son of Nord Stream" once the conflict is over, so there's no long-term gain for the US.

There are no benefits to the US but there are a whole HEAP of negative impacts if the story is leaked....and there would still be a lot of people in on the secret. You can't conduct a (presumably) military operation like that without bringing in a sizeable number of people. You have the team that executed the mission, the people that planned and commanded it, including decision-makers at senior levels with US European Command and their staff. Then there's the Sec Def and his staff, the President and his staff...that's a lot of people who are in on the conspiracy.

In sum, the entire idea that the US blew up Nord Stream is ridiculous.

Don't believe anything this or anything else he has said. This is as "political" as I can get on this site but it's simply an accurate observation of Joe.

 

[Admiral Beez]

Canada to send 39 Ontario-made armoured vehicles to Ukraine to help war efforts | CBC News

Ottawa is sending 39 London-built armoured combat support vehicles as military aid for Ukrainian soldiers to help during the Russian invasion, Canadian Defence Minister Anita Anand announced Thursday in the southwestern Ontario city.

www.cbc.ca

Too bad it's not the armed variant.

ATGM or 30mm variants would have been better. Though I'm sure the AFU will customize the armament they need atop these unarmed versions.

Ideal for the Ukrainian winter.

 

[Jabberwocky]

OSINT guys and girls having a field day trying to track Russian armour lost & captured in the area north and northeast of Lyman.

Quick count of tanks captured in the past 48 hours:

6 or 7 x T-80BV
2 x T-80U
4 x T-72B/B3

Speculation is that a lot of partially functional/lightly damaged armour was being stored in this area because Russian logistics weren't able to keep up with necessary repairs.

Some OSINT sources are stating more than 100 Russian tanks have been captured since the start of September.
For context, in the previous 200ish days, Ukraine reportedly captured a little under 300 tanks

 

[WARSPITER]

OSINT guys and girls having a field day trying to track Russian armour lost & captured in the area north and northeast of Lyman.

Quick count of tanks captured in the past 48 hours:

6 or 7 x T-80BV
2 x T-80U
4 x T-72B/B3

Speculation is that a lot of partially functional/lightly damaged armour was being stored in this area because Russian logistics weren't able to keep up with necessary repairs.

Some OSINT sources are stating more than 100 Russian tanks have been captured since the start of September.
For context, in the previous 200ish days, Ukraine reportedly captured a little under 300 tanks

I hope the Russian logistics / repair system is fixed soon. The Ukrainians need reliable tanks to capture after all.

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

I hope the Russian logistics / repair system is fixed soon. The Ukrainians need reliable tanks to capture after all.

Lord forbid the contractor should fall short!

 

[GrauGeist]

I hope the Russian logistics / repair system is fixed soon. The Ukrainians need reliable tanks to capture after all.

Or at least have a head start over the Tractor Brigade!

 

[buffnut453]

Interesting video of Ukrainian artillery in action near the front line. Shoot and scoot is the approach du jour:

 

[buffnut453]

From the weekend but this gives an idea of the exodus from Russia across the Georgian border:

 

[RogerdeLluria]

According to the Associated Press:
More than 53 thousand Russians entered Georgia;
To Kazakhstan 98 thousand;
More than 43 thousand to Finland.

And the exodus continues

Over 194,000 Russians flee call-up to neighboring countries

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — It took Vsevolod four days to drive from Moscow to Russia's southern border with Georgia. He had to abandon his car at one point and continue on foot. On Tuesday, he finally finished his 1,800-kilometer (1,100-mile) journey and crossed the frontier to escape being called...

apnews.com

 

[GrauGeist]

I understand that the majority of Russians leaving the motherland are legitimate citizens who want no part of Putler's Volkssturm decree, but how many amongst them are FSB who'll eventually start "separatist" movements?

Back in 2014, just before Russia invaded Crimea and the Donbass due to the "unrest", Estonia arrested several FSB members that were trying to create a similar situation there.

I would think close scrutiny and caution should prevail with all who cross those borders.

 

[at6]

View attachment 688876​

Like Hitler, Putin is sending old men to war.

 

[at6]

More outstanding recruits:

View attachment 688882

Heartbreaking photos of Russian mobilisation

Being blessed with Holy P*ss Water straight from the Patriarch's pee pee.

 

[at6]

View attachment 688888Yep, this guy don't look like a warrior. Seems a rather odd recruit.

Volunteer? Criminal? Some one that goes in the place of someone else?

Is hard to belive that there aren't more able men to be called to arms.

When did Curly leave the Three Stooges?

 

[at6]

Which is on the Rhine. The river forms the eastern border of the city.

Strasbourg used to be my teenage stomping grounds when I lived back in Stuttgart. We would go their to party on weekends sometimes. I have a few NSFF (Not Safe For Forum) stories I could tell…

Please oh please tell us !!!!!

 

[Torch]

Which is on the Rhine. The river forms the eastern border of the city.

Strasbourg used to be my teenage stomping grounds when I lived back in Stuttgart. We would go their to party on weekends sometimes. I have a few NSFF (Not Safe For Forum) stories I could tell…

Great sauerkraut there. Best I've ever eaten.

 

[RogerdeLluria]

Who Sabotaged the Nord Stream Pipelines? – The Daily Sceptic

Who sabotaged the Nord Stream pipelines? There are four prime suspects: Russia, the U.S., Poland and Ukraine. We consider the evidence for and against each country having done it.

dailysceptic.org

According to this article main suspects are: US, Russia, Poland and Ukraine

 

[RogerdeLluria]

Russia’s Stripped Its Western Borders to Feed the Fight in Ukraine

But Finland and the Baltic states are still leery of Moscow’s long-term designs.

foreignpolicy.com

 

[RogerdeLluria]

"The United Nations Security Council will convene on Friday at the request of Russia to discuss damage to two Russian gas pipelines"
Will Russia blame US? After all, they are experts on making-up false evidences and present them with a straight face even when a child knows its fake.

UN Security Council to meet Friday on damage to Nord Stream gas pipelines

The United Nations Security Council will convene on Friday at the request of Russia to discuss damage to two Russian gas pipelines to Europe that has caused gas to spew into the Baltic Sea.

www.reuters.com

 

[Admiral Beez]

Interesting video of Ukrainian artillery in action near the front line. Shoot and scoot is the approach du jour:

I'm amazed that they can hit the target. How is this accomplished? The gun crew can't see the target, so is there a drone or forward spotting team in communication with the gun crew? Presumably they fire three shells and then run, one over/under, another under/over and then a direct/close hit? Once they run, do they then aim for the same target as before, with the same spotters? I found this online. Finding the killing the FO must be an imperative?

Then there's this modern tech. I wonder what Ukraine is using.

Artillery Target Acquisition - blue bird

BlueBird UASs provide advanced support for artillery units – locating targets and transferring their coordinates to the firing unit.

bluebird-uav.com