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

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Good account of a veteran Ukrainian tank commander.


Paywall free here: https://archive.is/PkNIW

"Poltava recalled a defining moment when he was a young officer serving under contract with the Russian military in Georgia. During the Russian intervention to annex the Abkhazia region, he was approached by an older Georgian man who asked him what he was doing there. "I'm standing there, a young officer, and I say, 'I'm defending the motherland,'" Poltava recalled. "He looks into my eyes. 'Son, where is your motherland? Where are you from?' I say, 'I'm from Kharkiv, Ukraine.' And he says, 'And this is Poti, Georgia.' And he spits in my face. It was like a smack. I was taken aback. And then I thought, 'Really, what am I doing here?'"

"Fighting against the Russian Army has made him reflect on the many untruths he was taught at the Soviet military college, including that Soviet tanks were superior to the American Abrams tanks. "Now we are facing them and we see it's like heaven and earth," Poltava said, "and we understood how much they brainwashed us." "We were always told that the U.S. and NATO were our enemy, and it turned out the opposite," he said. "Those who we thought were our friends stabbed us in the back."

This awakening to the foundational lies and farcical ineptitude that is Russia is the biggest risk to Putin and Russia's prestige and hold on Bellarus, Chechnya, Georgia, the 'Stans and the far east. Ukrainians can see first hand that Russia is a broken scrap heap of a nation, and these other nations above will soon test the same shackles.
 
I was skeptical when Giorgia Meloni won the Italian elections because her affiliation, and honestly I'm still not a fan of many of her politics. But I must admit she was a grateful surprise regarding Ukraine.

There are English subtitles but it's worth turning-up the volume even if you don't understand Italian.

View: https://twitter.com/Biz_Ukraine_Mag/status/1638842670863863810
 
There are English subtitles but it's worth turning-up the volume even if you don't understand Italian.
There's a reason effective populist leaders can tug on our baser emotions. How else could il Duce encourage 235,000 Italians to fight in the Soviet winter, and at least 114,500 die, all for essentially nothing? At least, Varus thought he was sending his legions into the Teutoburg Forest for a useful purpose. This time around I'd be glad if Meloni sent Ariete MBTs to Ukraine. It's got the same gun as the Leopard 2 and Abrams, but is significantly lighter, only 7 tons more than a T-90, so may be useful on bridges.


View: https://twitter.com/Maks_NAFO_FELLA/status/1618918624756133888?s=20

I wonder if the armour is Chobham-like composite? It looks tough enough and I can envision the below pic with UAF colours flying.

ks_during_an_exercise_at_Capo_Teulada_October_2022.jpg
 
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Anyway, good luck to Putin trying to visit Hungary.
The only way to get there without flying over an ICC country is ...... (yes you know it) ...... flying over Ukraine. :rofl:
 
Anyway, good luck to Putin trying to visit Hungary.
The only way to get there without flying over an ICC country is ...... (yes you know it) ...... flying over Ukraine. :rofl:
Seems that Hungary's politicians have a short memory regarding Russia...
 
Ukraine is a war of attrition. Besides burning through NATOs supply of antitank missile and surface to air systems, the Russian are losing armored vehicles at a fast pace. Being the masters of making do with what is available, the are now pulling tanks out of museum and modernize them as much as possible. Marvel at the arrival of the greatest Russian MBT.
 

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I'm still struggling with the whole "Rome Statute had not been built into the Hungarian legal system." What's the point of signing up to a statute if you're not going to actually implement it? I thought "signing up to" meant you had to implement it. Am I missing something?
Orban is a Putin puppet, going to great lengths a year ago to assure everyone that Russia would not attack Ukraine and in it's wake, working overtime to downplay his buddy's "special operation".

He also has a track record of being a pain in the ass to the EU in regards to issues with sanctions against Russia.
 
Good account of a veteran Ukrainian tank commander.


Paywall free here: https://archive.is/PkNIW

"Poltava recalled a defining moment when he was a young officer serving under contract with the Russian military in Georgia. During the Russian intervention to annex the Abkhazia region, he was approached by an older Georgian man who asked him what he was doing there. "I'm standing there, a young officer, and I say, 'I'm defending the motherland,'" Poltava recalled. "He looks into my eyes. 'Son, where is your motherland? Where are you from?' I say, 'I'm from Kharkiv, Ukraine.' And he says, 'And this is Poti, Georgia.' And he spits in my face. It was like a smack. I was taken aback. And then I thought, 'Really, what am I doing here?'"

"Fighting against the Russian Army has made him reflect on the many untruths he was taught at the Soviet military college, including that Soviet tanks were superior to the American Abrams tanks. "Now we are facing them and we see it's like heaven and earth," Poltava said, "and we understood how much they brainwashed us." "We were always told that the U.S. and NATO were our…..

Ukrainians can see first hand that Russia is a broken scrap heap of a nation, and these other nations above will soon test the same shackles.
Nice turn of phrase. Think I'll steal it.
 
WEST OF SOLEDAR, Ukraine, March 23 (Reuters) - Ukrainian troops, on the defensive for four months, will launch a long-awaited counterassault "very soon" now that Russia's huge winter offensive is losing steam without taking Bakhmut, Ukraine's top ground forces commander said on Thursday.

The remarks were the strongest indication yet from Kyiv that it is close to shifting tactics, having absorbed Russia's onslaught through a brutal winter and prevented Moscow from claiming its first victory since last August.

Russia's Wagner mercenaries, trying to capture Bakhmut in the longest and bloodiest battle of the war, "are losing considerable strength and are running out of steam", Kyiv's ground forces commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said in a social media post.

"Very soon, we will take advantage of this opportunity, as we did in the past near Kyiv, Kharkiv, Balakliya and Kupiansk," he said, listing Ukrainian counteroffensives last year that proved turning points in the war, recapturing swathes of land.

Reuters journalists near the front line north of Bakhmut saw signs consistent with the claim that the Russian offensive in the area could be flagging. At a Ukrainian-held village west of Soledar on Bakhmut's northern outskirts, the intensity of Russian bombardment had noticeably lessened compared to a Reuters visit nearby just two days earlier.

"It was really hot here a week ago, but in the last three days it has been more quiet," said a Ukrainian soldier who used the call sign "Kamin" or "stone".

"We can see this in the enemy's air strikes. If before there were 5-6 air raids in a day, today we had only one helicopter attack and it was too far and so ineffective," said the soldier, a member of an anti-aircraft unit in the 10th Mountain Assault Brigade.



It looks like Russia's push on Bakhmut has culminated unsuccessfully.
 

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