# Russia invades Ukraine {2022-02-24} (Part 1) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** ukraine-invasion, breaking-news\ **Created:** [February 24, 2022, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037 "2022-02-24T08:30:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 132
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2022, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/2621 "2022-03-17T13:00:23Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > This was something we also worried about as the Soviet Union disintegrated. It was also one of the reasons for the now-maligned deal for Ukraine giving up the nukes on its territory, if I remember correctly. There was concern that the newly independent Ukraine would not have the resources, both financial and personnel, to be able to maintain the nukes and keep them secure. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2022, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/2622 "2022-03-17T13:02:31Z")
This just in: Russian state TV reports that the four reportedly-killed Generals actually died from long-standing cardiovascular disease. /s ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2022, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/2623 "2022-03-17T13:05:07Z")
Special heart event. ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2022, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/2624 "2022-03-17T13:09:46Z")
It’s _not_ all doom and gloom. I thought the guy actually gave a pretty balanced analysis. Compared to much of the reporting we’ve seen, though, it seemed to look more objectively than the vast majority and didn’t pull any punches in pointing out Russian successes (e.g. a cache of 100’s of Ukrainian AT weapons captured near Donbas, successfully installing fuel line for northern offensive running to Byelorussia for fuel resupply, etc.) as well as their obvious shortcomings and outright failures. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2022, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/2625 "2022-03-17T14:21:41Z")
A most excellent NSFW anti-Putin comic > **Click to see link** > > [https://i.redd.it/48uly0c8iwn81.png](https://i.redd.it/48uly0c8iwn81.png) ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2022, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/2626 "2022-03-17T14:34:11Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#): > > four reportedly-killed Generals actually died from long-standing cardiovascular disease. Reminds me of some sci-fi short story (probably in one of the _Dangerous Vision_ books) of a prison where the new warden explains his predecessor died of a heart attack. At the end of the story, he explains that it was really an attack on his predecessor’s heart (some form of projectile). ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b77776/32.png) [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_was_in_Saudi)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2022, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/2627 "2022-03-17T14:56:26Z")
Apparently, Nasa has a live map of fires around the world. It has some utility. [-=Link=-](https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/map/#d:24hrs;@24.9,49.4,9z) ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2022, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/2628 "2022-03-17T14:57:49Z")
Too bad they gave him a Western tank. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2022, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/2629 "2022-03-17T14:58:21Z")
Kinetic lead poisoning. Anyway I’m not seeing the difference. Dead is dead whether from stress or more direct means. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2022, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/2630 "2022-03-17T15:07:57Z")
> [@Folacin](#): > > Reminds me of some sci-fi short story (probably in one of the _Dangerous Vision_ books) of a prison where the new warden explains his predecessor died of a heart attack. At the end of the story, he explains that it was really an attack on his predecessor’s heart (some form of projectile). That reminds me of the news report about a pharmacist in West Virginia around five years ago who shot an armed robber. People commented, “He saw that the robber had a metal deficiency.” ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2022, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/2631 "2022-03-17T15:08:17Z")
> [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](#): > > Apparently, Nasa has a live map of fires around the world. It has some utility. All the fires in Kaliningrad that stop right at the border are weird. Googling it, the last time it happened, NASA said it was agricultural fires, but it’s weird that they stop right at the border, and it isn’t a geographical coding issue either where different entities that report upward to an aggregator have different criteria since this heat map is coming from NASA. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2022, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/2632 "2022-03-17T15:55:35Z")
I’m impressed that the former Soviet states are speaking out against Russia. They realize Putin could turn on them next. > [@](#): > > **Uzbekistan has called for a diplomatic resolution of the conflict in [Ukraine](https://www.theguardian.com/world/ukraine) and said it would not recognise Moscow-backed separatists in the self-proclaimed republics in Luhansk and Donetsk,** Reuters reports. > > The Uzbek foreign minister, Abdulaziz Kamilov, told parliament that while Uzbekistan wanted to maintain good relations with both [Russia](https://www.theguardian.com/world/russia) and Ukraine, it opposed the war. His remarks signal the strongest anti-war statement to come from Russia’s former Soviet allies so far. ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2022, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/2633 "2022-03-17T16:13:13Z")
Arnie: > ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2022, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/2634 "2022-03-17T16:23:16Z")
Random question: In the photo of Ukrainian artillery below - what is the “tongue” protruding from the bottom of the muzzle brake? Seems too small to mitigate any ground effect from the muzzle blast. Any current or former cannon-cockers out there know? [![](https://images.dailykos.com/images/1049140/story_image/GettyImages-866701606.jpg?1647470335) ](https://images.dailykos.com/images/1049140/story_image/GettyImages-866701606.jpg?1647470335) ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2022, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/2635 "2022-03-17T16:26:15Z")
Wow.   ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2022, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/2636 "2022-03-17T16:26:15Z")
CNN article does a good job of explaining China’s delicate balancing act during this war. They won’t condemn Russia but they’re quietly supporting the West. Several people here have commented always acts in its own interests. They rarely take strong public positions on International politics. > **[4 ways China is quietly making life harder for Russia | CNN Business](https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/17/business/china-russia-sanctions-friction-intl-hnk/index.html)** > > China is quietly distancing itself from Russia's sanction-hit economy. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2022, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/2637 "2022-03-17T16:28:56Z")
When I zoomed in it looked like a pintle, so you could haul the gun around barrel-first, but that seems like a bad idea to me. Pintle hitch and pintle: [![](https://www.etrailer.com/static/images/pics/f/a/faq168-pintle-and-lunette_2_500.jpg) ](https://www.etrailer.com/static/images/pics/f/a/faq168-pintle-and-lunette_2_500.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2022, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/2638 "2022-03-17T16:33:38Z")
The link below describes a Russian howitzer that looks very similar, and it is indeed a tow connection. > **[D-30 122 mm 2A18 towed howitzer technical data fact sheet pictures video |...](https://www.armyrecognition.com/russia_russian_army_vehicles_system_artillery_uk/d-30_122_mm_towed_howitzer_technical_data_sheet_specifications_information_pictures_video.html)** > > D-30 122 mm towed howitzer Russia technical data fact sheet pictures video ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2022, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/2639 "2022-03-17T16:42:32Z")
Seems weird to me, but I guess it works for the Russians. Thanks to you both! ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2022, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/2640 "2022-03-17T16:43:18Z")
> [@](#): > > A large tow linkage is fixed to the muzzle; in transport the barrel serves as a trail. > **[122 mm howitzer 2A18 (D-30)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/122_mm_howitzer_2A18_(D-30))** > > The 122-mm howitzer D-30 (GRAU index 2A18) is a Soviet howitzer that first entered service in 1960. It is a robust piece that focuses on the essential features of a towed field gun suitable for all conditions. The D-30 has a maximum range of 15.4 kilometers, or over 21 km using rocket-assisted projectile ammunition. > With its striking three-leg mounting, the D-30 can be rapidly traversed through 360 degrees. Although no longer manufactured in the nations of the former Soviet Union, the D-30 is s... [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037.md?page=131) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037.md?page=133)