"All of Vlad's forces and all of Vlad's men, are out to put Humpty together again." (7 Viewers)

[SaparotRob]

Thanks Wes. I wasn't enough of an insomniac.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

For what it's worth, I'd be yelling "stop this mental masturbation and stop this evil now! " too, if I were in Dimlee's place.

I agree. I would too. And I honestly feel for him and his fellow Ukranians. I wish we could do much more.

 

[SaparotRob]

I miss the griping about Covid.

 

[XBe02Drvr]

I miss the griping about Covid.

Tempest in a teapot. Now we're on to the big stuff.

 

[SaparotRob]

Someone did let that Japanese demon out.

 

[Glider]

What struck me about this video was the guns, all lined up close to each other, without any attempt to dig them in. They were simply asking to be knocked out

 

[SaparotRob]

Hubris or inexperience?

 

[SaparotRob]

What struck me about this video was the guns, all lined up close to each other, without any attempt to dig them in. They were simply asking to be knocked out

Hopefully some of that stuff is useable and finding new homes.

 

[wlewisiii]

Hubris or inexperience?

Both?

 

[Escuadrilla Azul]

 

[FLYBOYJ]

View attachment 660396

Funny but sadly true

 

[Dana Bell]

Two observations:

Putin doesn't have to believe anything he's saying - he just has to believe that there are others in the West who do believe it.

Second, I can guarantee that I will never see a nuclear war break out with Russia. Of course, I make that guarantee because I live 2.5 miles from Ground Zero: the Pentagon. If a nuclear war breaks out, I won't be here to see it...

Just some cheery thoughts for the day,



Dana

 

[FLYBOYJ]

From Twitter:

"91165" in better days

It looks like some of the helicopters were painted prior to this "military action."

"39th Helicopter Regiment based at Dzhankoy Air Base, Crimea"

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

Has the Russian military really forgotten ALL the lessons from their experiences in Afghanistan?

Another thing that's been rattling around in my head about institutional memory is -- where did the WWII lessons from the Red Army go? How do you forget logistics in a country this large? Didn't they keep better maps so that airborne units aren't captured asking for directions?

Zhukov would be making assignments to penal battalions en masse in this clusterfuck.

 

[FLYBOYJ]

Some more from Twitter:

Mi-35M (RF-13017)

https://t.me/dvish_alive/9128

t.co

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

Someone did let that Japanese demon out.

Who? Who- who?

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

Funny but sadly true

I read an op-ed in Bloomberg this morning arguing otherwise. Here's the gist, but the full article is worth the read:

If the "no limits" partnership announced between China and Russia on the eve of the Winter Olympics amounted to a blueprint for a new world order, it's already looking a little frayed around the edges. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has left Beijing struggling to straddle a line between its cardinal foreign-policy principle of respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, and support for an ally. That discomfort has set off a flurry of speculation over what China knew about President Vladimir Putin's intentions.

Whatever the conclusion, it doesn't look flattering for Chinese President Xi Jinping. Russia's aggression has led to international isolation, galvanized a united front of opposition across Europe, the U.S. and beyond, and sent ripples through financial markets. Even a pro-Russian autocratic leader such as Hungary's Viktor Orban has agreed to back sanctions against Moscow. Was Beijing aware of Putin's plans and went ahead with its pact with Russia regardless, hitching itself to a country that was about to turn into a pariah? The alternative explanation is that Putin kept his hand hidden. If that's the case, it hardly helps to burnish Xi's reputation as a master strategist steering China's path back to greatness, in a year when he will seek a precedent breaking third leadership term.

[...]

Did Xi Jinping Get Played by Putin on Ukraine?

From the awkward public discourse to its failure to evacuate citizens in danger, all signs point to the likelihood that Beijing was kept in the dark about the invasion.

www.bloomberg.com

Granted that the above is an opinion piece, it makes some good points and I tend to agree with the author, that the Russians weren't transparent with China. China's courting of Putin is probably going to come to an end as a result of this invasion. Putin will be having his hand out for help, but I think the Chinese are pretty irked that he's galvanized the democracies, and placed them into the position of arguing for their own "territorial integrity" while having to address Russia's lack of respect for that principle after they had such a grand public pronouncement. They don't like looking like fools and this will be no different, I think.

 

[wlewisiii]

 

[The Basket]

Javelin goes boom.

 

[wlewisiii]

And as the Russians continue to be opposed, they're getting more vicious.