Kept on separate decks, yes, but within the same barbette. If one goes the other is quite likely as well. Pass through doors hope to minimize this risk. A big worry with the bag guns – more than 8-inch caliber – is spilled propellant from torn bags. The powder handling rooms have wet sumps for instantly dumping them into and I imagine, sailors with wet mops standing by to take care of the spilled grains, which are quite large.
I’ve been to Russia in the early 90s and again in recent times.
I don’t know what it’s like right-right now but, as of 2020 at least, it was a nice place - comparable to Spain but cleaner and more well-run. They seemed to be rotating through cities, cleaning them up and building better more modern infrastructure, etc. one by one as international events would be held there. I don’t know about the rural areas but the cities are nice and the general life of a person was - as said - comparable to living in Spain.
In general, my sense would be that Putin has largely left domestic matters to the reformers who wanted to undo Communism, modernize, and embrace Capitalism. His involvement amounts largely to approving special projects and inserting himself as a fairy godfather sort of figure who comes in to resolve complaints between people (e.g., shutting down an unpopular plan to build a parking structure and, instead, okaying a new, big, beautiful park).
Instead, he focuses mostly on international matters and the military.
I did see a few people (I think all men who seemed like they could have been former military) who were rather visibly protesting Putin and the government, drunkenly and loudly. My feeling - I couldn’t really explain why - was that those people were desperate to get their message across and that they’d been broken in some way. They had seen something or done something that haunted them, and no one around understood it. Their message couldn’t pass over to the others because the rest of everyone only had an experience of a peaceful, lawful nation of general goodness.
But we’re talking less than a handful of folks out of thousands.
In general, though, I would doubt the presentation of the Frontline documentary if it showed anything other than a peaceful and fairly prosperous country.
Thinking about Bucha made me recall various things that I’ve read about WWII and battles on the islands of the Pacific. I think that almost every case of soldiers doing truly horrific things was due to hunger and starvation.
It was cold and the Russian army was about to pull back because they couldn’t keep their people supplied. We know both of those things for sure. While it may turn out that some commander ordered his soldiers to do something horrible, I’m going to guess that the underlying reason for that order was fairly simple. They needed shelter and food, and they had guns. The males resisted and the women hid.
With the way that things are going, the Ukrainian military receiving an infinite supply of rations from the West and Russia on its own and having its train lines into Ukraine cut off, if Russia turns all the houses and apartments into rubble, there’s some chance that members of the Russian army will devolve to cannibalism, near the cities. I realize that shouldn’t be a thing but that would be a plausible outcome, from history, if things get trashed thoroughly enough.
I think we can rely on the idea that Russia will pull back before May 9th not only because it let’s Putin make it all seem like a little nothing expedition but also because things are going to become too gruesome to allow to continue. These guys are coming back to Russia after they’re done there.
Well… something. When you have nothing else to be proud of, you work with what ya got.
the documentary wasn’t about Russia, it was specifically about Putin. 2 vastly different subjects. He and a handful of people are massively corrupt. Whatever gains the people had in freedom from the breakup of the USSR are now at the whim of a dictator. He has enough support legally to do whatever he wants to whoever he wants.
Ah, sorry, that’s probably a fairly reasonable description then.
They made a desert and called it peace.
Are they?
Well, OK, they’ll be allowed back into “Russia” in one sense - internal exile. Not back to the civilized, clean, lawful cities full of light and culture. There is precedent for troops being sent far to the east rather than allowed back to the area around Moscow.
The Russian ambassador says he’s been frozen out. That seems like a counterproductive idea if it’s true.
I would think having thousands of sons and spouses not return or sent off to some Siberian purgatory would be met with a lot more turmoil and protest than those loved ones returning home no matter the physical and psychological damage.
Hmmm. Perhaps it’s the US’s way of reinforcing the idea that Ukraine determines what the response to any Russian peace feelers will be?
As it stands right now, Ukraine is more or less at NATO’s mercy - if the flow of weapons and logistic support stops, Russia might well win with its next offensive. So Russia would like nothing more than to deal with the West in general without Ukraine setting the terms - which might end up with Ukraine being hung out to dry. The Ukrainian diplomatic corps, I expect, is laser-focused on the possibility. If the US deals with Russia’s ambassador especially behind closed doors without Ukrainian representation, there would be a worry that a separate deal might be made not to Ukraine’s advantage. Rebuffing Russian attempts to deal separately, at least without Ukraine’s involvement, is a price to pay for maintaining trust and keeping the alliance together.
https://twitter.com/expatua/status/1516087197920813061
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FQo4hJUWYAkK-zu?format=jpg&name=small
Volodymyr Zelensky says the “Battle for the Donbas” is now underway.
We can now confirm that Russian troops have begun the battle for the Donbas, which they have been preparing for a long time. A large part of the Russian army is now dedicated to this offensive.
No matter how many soldiers are drawn there, we will defend ourselves. We will fight. We will not give up anything Ukrainian.
Google Maps has stopped blurring Russian military sites.
Hopefully, there’s no incentive - I can’t see any reason why the West would stop supplying arms to Ukraine. There is no benefit in stopping.
That explains it. Thanks for the context!
Two things:
- That goes a long way toward explaining Russia’s inability to achieve air superiority. It’s very tough to fly those XPS fighters in winds greater than about three knots;
- Shit. Even Sir Paul McCartney had Wings.
[END]
I was having trouble navigating to that exact location. Searching for this:
JFM8+5XJ Lipetsk, Russia
took me right to the styrofoam planes.
But I’m not a Google Maps master, so maybe no one else had trouble, or maybe my search term won’t work for anyone else.
Why are people calling these styrofoam? It looks like a plane boneyard on the backside of an old runway. They’re parts planes.
That makes more sense than dummied planes. I was calling them styrofoam because someone else used the term, and they really did look like mock-ups breaking apart from weather exposure.