# Russia invades Ukraine {2022-02-24} (Part 2) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** ukraine-invasion, breaking-news\ **Created:** [October 29, 2022, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972 "2022-10-29T17:49:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 158
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2023, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/3195 "2023-03-25T16:45:57Z")
Shaped-charge warheads have a lot of empty space in them. And the front of the warhead is just a thin aerodynamic shell with a contact trigger to set off the fuse. Not as much mass as it looks. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2023, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/3196 "2023-03-25T16:50:36Z")
And I forgot to say, that now that Xi is playing with Central Asia, Putin may be trading away his eastern buffer zones by trying to increase his western ones. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2023, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/3197 "2023-03-25T17:01:52Z")
Aside from planes, [Ukrainians also have been using helicopters effectively, in contrast with the Russians.](https://www.thedefensepost.com/2023/03/23/us-combat-helicopter-operations/amp/) And Putin’s in [no danger of being arrested in Hungary.](https://apnews.com/article/putin-arrest-ukraine-war-hungary-72fe1c977619b87b4c0b87c502b4a8e3?utm_source=RecoReel&utm_medium=articlePage&utm_id=Taboola)Big surprise. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2023, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/3198 "2023-03-25T17:38:53Z")
> [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](#): > > Shifting spheres of influence in Asia as Xi invites the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan to the first China-Central Asia summit: > > [MSN](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/xi-snubbed-putin-after-their-summit-calling-a-meeting-of-central-asian-countries-as-part-of-an-audacious-power-play/ar-AA18Zdrl) Wow, that was quick. He barely finished talking to Putin. I think Xi could actually make some headway on this front. > [@gnoitall](#): > > Forbes article about Ukraine’s homegrown suicide drone capabilities. > > [Russia Braces For Attack By 50,000 Ukrainian Kamikaze Drones, Seeks Shotguns](https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidhambling/2023/03/24/russia-braces-for-attack-by-50000-ukrainian-kamikaze-drones-seeks-shotguns/) That seems like a lot of cash to lay out just for the drones. I wonder where the warheads are coming from. I know RPG rounds are ubiquitous, but that’s a lot of rounds. > [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > And Putin’s in no danger of being arrested in Hungary. I read South Africa has said the same thing, along with a couple of smaller countries. Still, Putin’s world is getting smaller. I don’t think anyone will end up arresting him, he will just be denied entry to those countries. ---
**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 25, 2023, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/3199 "2023-03-25T19:32:43Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > And Putin’s in [no danger of being arrested in Hungary.](https://apnews.com/article/putin-arrest-ukraine-war-hungary-72fe1c977619b87b4c0b87c502b4a8e3?utm_source=RecoReel&utm_medium=articlePage&utm_id=Taboola)Big surprise. Whistling past the graveyard I think. Hungary shares a 50-mile border with Ukraine, only a little less than Slovakia. If Ukraine falls they would be next on the Russian Empire (Revised)'s march west. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2023, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/3200 "2023-03-25T19:51:50Z")
Putin will place [tactical nukes](https://www.npr.org/2023/03/25/1166089485/putin-russia-tactical-nuclear-weapons-belarus) in Belarus. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2023, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/3201 "2023-03-25T20:02:14Z")
A gesture of desperation. They want to signal displeasure with the West’s continuing assistance, but they’re afraid (or incapable) of doing something truly destructive (i.e. detonating nukes or other WMDs), so they’re left with relatively meaningless symbolic moves like this. ---
**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 25, 2023, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/3202 "2023-03-25T20:05:16Z")
It would not surprise me if Russia’s tactical nukes are like the apocryphal atomic hand grenade: So heavy it can be heaved only 50 yards, with a destruction radius of 100. ---
**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 25, 2023, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/3203 "2023-03-25T20:09:24Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I wasn’t aware that drones could lift so much mass. I’ve handled RPG-7 warheads. They’re not that heavy. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2023, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/3204 "2023-03-25T20:13:09Z")
I wonder if they are like the falling apart ammunition that was issued. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2023, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/3205 "2023-03-25T20:47:19Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I wasn’t aware that drones could lift so much mass. I saw a video today of a DJI Mavic being loaded with a hand grenade. The Mavic is barely bigger than a dinner plate, and can carry 1 kg. A US M67 fragmentation grenade is only 400g. Some grenades are as light as 180g. The Mavic I saw had a 3d printed holder for two grenades. To load them, you pull the pin on the grenade then clamp it into the holder, which holds the lever in place. Over the target the pilot uses an RC control to release the latch on the grenade holder. The grenade falls away, the lever flips off, starting the fuse timer, and they plan the drops from an altitude such that the timer doesn’t go off before the grenade hits the ground. The whole setup is less than $1,000. 50,000 of the things is only $50 million, which is really cheap for an entire weapons system that is devastating to personel over a wide geography, can be used while keeping the operator relatively safe, and can be reloaded with cheap surplus grenades or old RPG warheads. If anyone tries to shoot them down with missiles, the drone they kill is a small fraction of the price of the misdile used to kill it. In comparison a single ‘Excaliber’ artillery shell is about $120,000. Drones are a big force equalizer. If I was leading a small country’s military, I’d be building a drone corps, holding school competitions to build drone skills in future soldiers, etc. That’s what Ukraine did. The first drone attacks in the war were done by hobbyists who had been building and testing weaponized drones since the Crimean invasion. The main thing you lose with payload is range and duration. There are over-the-counter ‘hobby’ quadcopters that will carry 5kg. That’s 12 grenades or a couple of RPG-7 warheads. Radio-controlled payload releases can be home made or you can buy them for about $50. A really cheap long-distance ‘smart bomb’ can be made with a normal long-range R/C airplane with a short-range kamikaze drone strapped underneath it. Hobbyists can build an R/C plane that will fly at least 100m. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of those attacks deep inside Russia were done that way. Strap a Switchblade 300;or a cheap drone loaded with explosives under an R/C airplane, carry it into the target zone and release it. Another pilot loiters the drone looking for a target while the RC plane flies home. ---
**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 25, 2023, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/3206 "2023-03-25T21:02:21Z")
Quadcopter drone with multiple bombs for carpet bombing: > > > > 🇺🇦 Ukraine Weapons Tracker @UAWeapons ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2023, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/3207 "2023-03-26T02:13:20Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > A really cheap long-distance ‘smart bomb’ can be made with a normal long-range R/C airplane with a short-range kamikaze drone strapped underneath it. Hobbyists can build an R/C plane that will fly at least 100m. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of those attacks deep inside Russia were done that way. Strap a Switchblade 300;or a cheap drone loaded with explosives under an R/C airplane, carry it into the target zone and release it. Another pilot loiters the drone looking for a target while the RC plane flies home. Do you not worry that the Russians read the Straight Dope? ---
**Author:** ![Ssounder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d07c76/32.png) [@Ssounder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ssounder)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2023, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/3208 "2023-03-26T02:20:36Z")
All they can do is slap their forehead because they missed the fact that the age of drone wars is here and they didn’t get the memo. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2023, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/3209 "2023-03-26T02:21:24Z")
I think the Russians understand the posdibilities. This is all over -the-counter stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2023, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/3210 "2023-03-26T02:26:35Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Hobbyists can build an R/C plane that will fly at least 100m. 100 meters isn’t much of a help. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2023, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/3211 "2023-03-26T18:14:37Z")
I’m hoping that was supposed to be “miles”. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2023, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/3212 "2023-03-26T18:45:11Z")
Hence the suicide moniker… ;o) ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2023, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/3213 "2023-03-26T18:46:41Z")
Kilometers? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2023, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/3214 "2023-03-26T18:47:24Z")
1000 meters? Let’s start a pool. Dibs on kilometers. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972.md?page=157) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972.md?page=159)