Russian Invasion of Ukraine

[Kulindahr]

Happy Easter. The Kremlin announced the routine spring conscription of the next 150,000 rrrzzznz to die in Ukraine

Since Ukraine has demonstrated the ability to reach Russian ships in their Black Sea ports, I want to see that warships/boats number grow by a dozen!

BTW, is there any indication that the loss of nearly 15k "vehicles" has crimped Russia's logistics situation?

 

[rareboy]

Obviously the losses of vehicles and equipment still plague the rrrzzn forces...but unlike the first 12 months of the war, Rzzzia has since been able to shift production to vehicles to be used in war and has found other suppliers including China, North Korea and Iran to supply lighter vehicles.

With the complicity of companies in US, China and Turkey, the Kremlin is now able to circumvent the shortage of electronics because of sanctions....Rzzia is now fully engaged in a war economy.

This is why strikes against vehicle plants, plastics plants etc. are so critical.

In the last month, rrrzzia has lost a shit ton of equipment pushing forward at the front...but we no longer hear of it stopping their advance as long as they throw it all at one or two areas.

 

[rareboy]

UA launched a major attack on a rrrzzzian air base in Morozovsk. and other airfields. According to sources within the GUR, Ukrainian drone attacks likely caused serious damage to at least 3 Tu-95MS strategic bombers at the Engels-2 airfield, resulting in the death of seven Russian servicemen, including potential bomber pilots. Another target, the military airfield in Yeisk, also suffered damage, with at least four Russian servicemen killed and two Su-25 aircraft completely destroyed. Additionally, an airfield in Kursk was reportedly damaged.

None of this has been confirmed by rrzzzia or satellite, but it definitely will hurt.

 

[Kulindahr]

UA launched a major attack on a rrrzzzian air base in Morozovsk. and other airfields. According to sources within the GUR, Ukrainian drone attacks likely caused serious damage to at least 3 Tu-95MS strategic bombers at the Engels-2 airfield, resulting in the death of seven Russian servicemen, including potential bomber pilots. Another target, the military airfield in Yeisk, also suffered damage, with at least four Russian servicemen killed and two Su-25 aircraft completely destroyed. Additionally, an airfield in Kursk was reportedly damaged.

None of this has been confirmed by rrzzzia or satellite, but it definitely will hurt.

Those bombers aren't cheap. I wonder how replaceable they are.

 

[rareboy]

In the end...no corroboration of the damage.....

When they are hit, they aren't replaceable that easily.

Today UA took down 17 out of 17 Shaheds. But the west dithers on and rrrZZZian troops are permitted to nibble away at the front.

 

[Kulindahr]

I heard a guy on the tube saying that "the siege of Crimea has begun". His point was that with a third of Russia's Black Sea fleet transferred to the submarine division and Russia's fear of using the Kerch bridge for military supplies, Ukraine has forced Russia to use mainland routes for supplies and reinforcement, which puts the Russian logistics system at very high risk.

He also pounced on politicians who apply circular reasoning by withholding new aid and then blaming Ukraine for being very conservative in the operations, then using that lack of movement on the front as an excuse to withhold aid.

 

[Kulindahr]

But the west dithers on

Well, the Republicans in the U.S. dither on.

I'm expecting another appeal from the NRA to donate to sending a million rounds for infantry again -- or I should say I'm hoping to hear that appeal because I want to toss in my contribution. The website Truth About Guns also organized the sending of a million rounds for the infantry, and . . . there was a third one but I can't remember which organization it was; maybe Gun Owners of America.

The point here is that all three of those are definitely right wing, yet the politicians they vote for are playing politics with Ukrainian lives by withholding the very things their constituents are donating their own money for!

 

[rareboy]

Working our way to the 4000 mark.

 

[rareboy]

And apparently the GUR set fire to a ship in Kaliningrad.

 

[rareboy]

and today...just more of the same.

rrrZZZia is determined to level Kharkiv...a city of 1 million people. Even though it can't occupy it, it wants to leave only scorched earth in the zone between Ukraine and rrrXXia.

 

[Norri]

Was anyone else surprised by Zelensky’s signing into law a lowering of those eligible for the draft from 27 to 25? They are supposed to be a fight for the very existence of their country but those 18-26 were not needed? I’m surprised Trump or some other republican has never mentioned this, it’s a bad look and to me inexplicable.

 

[rareboy]

I'm not sure why it is a bad look for Ukraine?

They also need to make sure that they aren't sending every young man off to be killed.

The fact that they must conscript because the west is always pinning their hands behind their back instead of doing everything to make it possible to win the war with fewer casualties is inexplicable and a very bad look.

 

[opinterph]

They are supposed to be a fight for the very existence of their country but those 18-26 were not needed?

The 25-year-old draft age law was passed last summer, but is unpopular among Ukrainians. Nothing prohibits citizens at age 18 from signing up for the military voluntarily. The additional troops are needed to provide relief for existing forces – many of whom have been fighting non-stop for 2 years.

Another problem is that Ukraine lacks the funds to pay as many new conscripts as it needs.

Zelensky signs law lowering draft age to 25 in bid to boost military ranks (The Washington Post; April 2, 2024)

 

[rareboy]

Another plateau reached in the elimination of rrrZZZnz. Countdown toward 500K.

 

[Norri]

I'm not sure why it is a bad look for Ukraine?

They also need to make sure that they aren't sending every young man off to be killed.

The fact that they must conscript because the west is always pinning their hands behind their back instead of doing everything to make it possible to win the war with fewer casualties is inexplicable and a very bad look.

I would have thought that once invaded it was all hands on deck rather than exempting some and adding an extra burden for others. Also before you starting asking others to help shouldn’t you be doing all you can to win? If nothing else shouldn’t they be training the kids because you don’t know what might happen next.

Evidently the draft is very unpopular in the Ukraine not liking it is understandable but it’s their country who do they think should be doing the fighting?

I agree the west should give better weapons quicker if they expect any kind of victory but I’d be wary of sending anything that could do real damage inside Russia. If your people don’t want to be drafted a quick end to the war is necessary.

 

[TX-Beau]

Is it really true that people under 25 are NOT volunteering? Is there some exodus of young people from Ukraine to avoid fighting that requires compulsion? We all had to sign up for the draft at 18, but that doesn't mean we were unwilling to defend ourselves otherwise.

Not being drafted doesn't mean you're not fighting; it just means you volunteered. I am also extremely confident that Ukraine intends to continue fighting for itself.

 

[Norri]

I fear that not drafting the kids as policy and the draft being unpopular among the population probably means that the current government is as corrupt as those that governed before them and when many Ukrainians contemplate the Russians vs. their current rulers it’s just like Pete Townshend said ‘meet the new boss same as the old boss’.

 

[rareboy]

I'm not sure what you mean?

You could draft every person over the age of 18, but if you don't have the resources to train all of them and don't have the weapons or ammunition to send them to fight, it is a pretty useless gesture.

I don't see how this even remotely smacks of 'corruption'.

 

[rareboy]

And this is one of the reasons why PutinCo. may win.

The west just can't stop buying oil and gas from rrrzzzia.

France's increased purchases of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG), totaling over €600 million this year, at the same time as President Emmanuel Macron positions France as a staunch defender of Ukraine.

France leads the EU in LNG imports from Russia, arguing the purchases are necessary for energy security and bound by complex contracts.

 

[Kulindahr]

They are supposed to be a fight for the very existence of their country but those 18-26 were not needed?

I recall sometime back coming across an explanation that they don't want to send anyone into battle who hasn't had children. That may seem strange when they're fighting for survival, but thinking in the long term it makes sense.