Thumpalumpacus
Major
Not to my knowledge, no. That said, simply the act of allowing Russian troops to launch from Belorusian land is itself an act of war, legally speaking.
"All of Vlad's forces and all of Vlad's men, are out to put Humpty together again." (3 Viewers)
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Not to my knowledge, no. That said, simply the act of allowing Russian troops to launch from Belorusian land is itself an act of war, legally speaking.
Jabberwocky
Staff Sergeant
Russia reportedly has plenty of T-62 crews (for some reason). Whether that's because it has a surplus of trained tank crews, or has been training new crews on T-62s I'm not sure. A couple of different posters on Twitter and some military technical forums have stated in the last month or so that Russia still has more trained tankers than it has tanks to crew.
As for the ammunition situation. There's Soviet-era stocks and modern production as well. From what I could find Russia restarted 115mm ammunition production (for HE-Frag) sometime in the mid 1990s, and was still producing it as late as the end of 2005. There's also a bunch of other countries friendly to Russia that produce 115mm ammunition - half of central Asia, Egypt, Iraq, Libya. No idea on numbers, but if they're reactivating 600 tanks (as seems to be the rumour) then they're going to want a lot of ammo - typical load out seems to by about 30-32 HE shell per tank.
It may also be that T-62 has been the training tank for reservists over time so maybe there are a lot of people familiar with them.
ThomasP
Senior Master Sergeant
Interesting bit of info:
9 October 2022 Kyrgyzstan cancels joint military exercises with Russia and Belarus
Kyrgyzstan's defence ministry has decided to abruptly cancel joint military exercises with Russia, Belarus and other former Soviet Union members.
The exercises, named "Unbreakable Brotherhood" were due to be held in Kyrgyzstan this month.
Some 7,000 troops were meant to gather under the banner of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), a six-member military alliance led by Russia.
Hooray for Kyrgyzstan!
9 October 2022 Kyrgyzstan cancels joint military exercises with Russia and Belarus
Kyrgyzstan's defence ministry has decided to abruptly cancel joint military exercises with Russia, Belarus and other former Soviet Union members.
The exercises, named "Unbreakable Brotherhood" were due to be held in Kyrgyzstan this month.
Some 7,000 troops were meant to gather under the banner of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), a six-member military alliance led by Russia.
Hooray for Kyrgyzstan!
buffnut453
Captain
Interesting bit of info:
9 October 2022 Kyrgyzstan cancels joint military exercises with Russia and Belarus
Kyrgyzstan's defence ministry has decided to abruptly cancel joint military exercises with Russia, Belarus and other former Soviet Union members.
The exercises, named "Unbreakable Brotherhood" were due to be held in Kyrgyzstan this month.
Some 7,000 troops were meant to gather under the banner of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), a six-member military alliance led by Russia.
Hooray for Kyrgyzstan!
I'm not sure I'm cheering about this. Is this Kyrgyzstan standing up to The Man or did Putin tell them to cancel because Russia lacked resources to play?
It may be an indicator that Kyrgyzstan is distancing itself from Moscow….but it might not. Regardless, it means Putin can now throw the troops assigned for the exercise into the Ukraine meat grinder.
RogerdeLluria
Staff Sergeant
- 1,325
- Jul 5, 2015
Russia Is Losing Its Clout in Central Asia as Ukraine War Spirals
Central Asian powers are learning that Putin is not the tough neighborhood sheriff he claimed to be.
foreignpolicy.com
Thumpalumpacus
Major
A good overview of what this war is doing to Russia's standing in Central Asia:
Ukraine war fallout: Is Russia losing influence in Central Asia?
Russia’s influence in Central Asia, which it characterises as its ‘near abroad’, is diminishing, especially after a series of military setbacks in Ukraine
ThomasP
Senior Master Sergeant
Admiral Beez
Major
Kazakhstan is now firmly betting its future and security on China, and is moving away from Moscow. With Kazakhstan between it and Russia, Kyrgyzstan also will be looking to China for security and stability.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China–Kyrgyzstan_relations
Furthermore, China does not want seven thousand Russian troops on its border - troops that may never leave, that may encourage some local disgruntled Kyrgyzstani warlord to start up a separatist republic like the Russians pulled in Georgia, Moldova and of course Ukraine. China will be the biggest NIMBY on this score.
I strongly suspect that both Beijing and their 'Stan neighbours encouraged Kyrgyzstan to informally cut military ties with Russia. Russia is a pariah state now, that no one wants to be associated with.
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ThomasP
Senior Master Sergeant
Also, I cannot see any of the 'stans being happy with Putin's constant threats of nuclear weapons use, or even 'just' the invasion of Ukraine. The possible effects of the one and/or the other can not be promoting warm and fuzzy feelings re their own physical or economical safety/security.
buffnut453
Captain
I don't disagree with any of the comments about the 'Stans or about Moscow losing influence. That's a strategic topic and is definitely worth tracking. However, at the operational level, the simple fact is one of Russia's military commitments, for potentially several thousand soldiers, was just removed. That will likely hurt Ukraine in the current fight rather than help it.
ThomasP
Senior Master Sergeant
Possibly, but hopefully the open demonstration of lack of support for Russia in its invasion of Ukraine etal will more than make up for any forces freed up for use by Putin.
buffnut453
Captain
Not often we post about roadworks on this forum...but I thought this was really cool. Got to admire the sort of national spirit that results in such devotion to duty across virtually every sector of the country:
A major road bombed out in Ukraine's central-eastern city of Dnipro has been rebuilt overnight, local officials have said.
They have posted two pictures showing the Kalynova street just after a Russian missile strike on Monday and how it looks after major works on Tuesday.
"We worked all night with gritted teeth," Dnipro Mayor Borys Filatov says.
"We will restore everything and rebuild everything. But our hatred will live for centuries," he adds.
Dnipro's Kalynova street after a Russian missile strike on Monday (left) and how it looks now
A major road bombed out in Ukraine's central-eastern city of Dnipro has been rebuilt overnight, local officials have said.
They have posted two pictures showing the Kalynova street just after a Russian missile strike on Monday and how it looks after major works on Tuesday.
"We worked all night with gritted teeth," Dnipro Mayor Borys Filatov says.
"We will restore everything and rebuild everything. But our hatred will live for centuries," he adds.
Dnipro's Kalynova street after a Russian missile strike on Monday (left) and how it looks now
buffnut453
Captain
This has to be the cherry on the cake of hypocrisy. In Russia, it's illegal to call the Special Military Operation a "war"...unless you're the Foreign Minister. I bolded the text for emphasis. Slip of the tongue, perhaps?
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has given an interview to state TV channel Rossiya 1, in which he insisted that the US have long been involved in the war in Ukraine: "It seems to me that the Americans have been participating de facto in this war for a long time," Lavrov said.
Commenting on the possibility that Turkey could host talks between Russia and the West, Lavrov said Moscow would be willing to listen to any suggestions and that Turkish President Erdogan and President Putin might discuss this during a meeting in Kazakhstan later this week.
Lavrov also said that those who continually speculate about a nuclear war allegedly being caused by Moscow should realise their responsibility for what they are saying, and that Putin has "repeatedly said that in our nuclear doctrine we regard this as an exclusively retaliatory measure".
Lavrov added that Russia will not turn down a meeting between President Putin and US President Biden at a forthcoming G20 meeting and would consider the proposal if it receives one.
There have been reports that both Putin and Ukraine's Zelensky will attend the G20 summit in Bali on 15-16 November, although this has not been confirmed by either the Russian or the Ukrainian governments.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has given an interview to state TV channel Rossiya 1, in which he insisted that the US have long been involved in the war in Ukraine: "It seems to me that the Americans have been participating de facto in this war for a long time," Lavrov said.
Commenting on the possibility that Turkey could host talks between Russia and the West, Lavrov said Moscow would be willing to listen to any suggestions and that Turkish President Erdogan and President Putin might discuss this during a meeting in Kazakhstan later this week.
Lavrov also said that those who continually speculate about a nuclear war allegedly being caused by Moscow should realise their responsibility for what they are saying, and that Putin has "repeatedly said that in our nuclear doctrine we regard this as an exclusively retaliatory measure".
Lavrov added that Russia will not turn down a meeting between President Putin and US President Biden at a forthcoming G20 meeting and would consider the proposal if it receives one.
There have been reports that both Putin and Ukraine's Zelensky will attend the G20 summit in Bali on 15-16 November, although this has not been confirmed by either the Russian or the Ukrainian governments.
Admiral Beez
Major
I wonder if those seven thousand troops ever existed. Perhaps Russia was close to canceling the move itself.
Admiral Beez
Major
IIRC, Zelenskyy hasn't left Ukraine since the war began. I doubt he'll leave until it's over. And Putin can't risk another humiliation of being made to wait for other heads of state to see him.
Thumpalumpacus
Major
Of what quality are these troops? Are they a few combined arms BTGs, an active infantry division, or something else? That will have bearing on what impact they may have in Ukraine.
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vikingBerserker
Lieutenant General
They have not shifted all their troops to the war, not too long ago they had a joint military exercise with China, I assume they just used local troops. I suspect that is what they would have done again.
Admiral Beez
Major
It's the same as when enraged by the RAF bombing Berlin, Hitler redirected his bombers from hitting strategic targets (aircraft factories, radar stations, etc.) and towards London in an attempt to terrorize the British people. This achieved nothing of the sort and served only to deplete Germany's arsenal whilst leaving Britain's war industry to ramp up production unmolested.
For a supposedly smart chap, Putin is repeating many of history's worst blunders. The Internet Classics Archive | The Art of War by Sun Tzu
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GrauGeist
Generalfeldmarschall zur Luftschiff Abteilung
This is a trait amongst dictators, allowing emotions to supersede Generals.
The other problem that plagued Germany, is the lack of accurate intel. They were doing alot more damage to the British than they realized during the BoB and while the shift to terror-bombings was deplorable, it was actually a blessing for the RAF, who were able to build back their numbers while at the same time, inflict unsustainable losses on the Luftwaffe.
We are seeing pretty much the same thing play out now with Ukraine - Russia does not have an infinite supply of missiles and targeting civilian "infrastructure" (schoolyards, apartment buildings, hospitals, etc.) is having little effect on the Ukraine's ground forces.
