So it seems that reports of a second sinking of a major Russian warship (the Admiral Someone) did not pan out.
Now there are reports of a Russian bridging attempt over the Siverskyi Donets being smashed with many losses. I am awaiting firmer reports.
Russian orcs looted ancient gold artifacts from a museum in Melitopol.
as always - to be read with a grain of salt, but there is some good information (that passes the common-sense-criterion) in this thread:
e.g.
2. Internal conflicts within occupied Kherson Oblast between ‘local administration’ and FSB/GRU - the claim of readiness to join Russia today was necessary to look ‘good’ for Moscow.
(bolding mine:)
when I heard putin’s V-day speech I felt the same … that was not a “I am going all in and punch everybody in the face as hard as i can” speech, rather a “why cant we all get along”
is reality kicking in in moscow?
The pictures indicate at least 20 Russian vehicles were trapped and destroyed. More may have retreated from the Russian side of the destroyed pontoon bridge.
This force could have overrun small Ukraine towns. I’m glad it was stopped at the river.
I’m concerned the Russians will announce a cease-fire. The missiles and artillery stop.
That leaves Ukraine a difficult position. Do they let Russia keep all the captured territory? Or restart the war with offensive operations?
Right now I don’t believe Ukraine has a battalion that could retake Khershon or Mariupol. Prolonged artillery strikes are Ukraine’s only option.
It seems like Ukraine can engage small Russian forces and drive them out of towns. Retaking a city requires battalion level operations.
Mariupol will be very difficult to liberate given its location. Kherson, on the other hand, is one I’ve been wondering about. It’s on the front lines, not very far from the held by Ukraine Mykolaiv. The distance is about the same as from Kharkiv to the Russian border, and Ukraine seems to doing pretty well in retaking that area. It seems, based on the maps, like it would be a good spot for an offensive.
I could see starting with Mariupol. It’s already bombed-out and the people gone. Ukraine could attack it.
It’s an important port and can be rebuilt.
I haven’t read anything about Russian defensive positions in Mariupol.
Stored away in a box somewhere, I have that game. Also Wizard. I don’t remember if I have Melee or Chitin or G.E.V. I think I may have one of them.
I made this up back when we played Ogre. Give me a break. I was a kid.
I’ve got me an Ogre with forty-nine tracks
A-way, hey, blow him away!
I’ll charge your formation to make my attack
And a-way, hey, blow him away!
Except that it’s deep in southern Donetsk oblast, near the Russian border, and Ukraine has no way of getting their forces there at the present time. It’s not at all close to the front lines.
But by concentrating on disrupting access/supply routes, couldn’t Ukraine make the holding of such territory awfully costly over the long run? Sure, it is a port. But aren’t ships loading/unloading sitting ducks?
Everyone hates seeing Russia get away with grabbing territory. The port cities are a critical part of Ukraine’s economy.
Right now Ukraine is focused on clearing the area around Kharkiv.
A Russian stalemate is quite an achievement. I’m not sure what’s the next step?
Ukrainian forces are making advances.
And within an hour of the good news, Putin puppet Nikonov stated that if Finland offers their soil for a NATO military base, Finland will be painted as a military target, including a target of Russian nuclear weapons. NATO’s rebellious expansion means Finland has to accept every kind of risk, the fuckface told the Russian press.
Obviously it’s Ukraine’s decision, but they wouldn’t be in a difficult position, in my opinion. They’ve moved from small-scale offensive maneuvers to larger ones in the past couple of weeks, notably around Kharkiv and Izyum, and near Kherson. I can foresee the Kherson area receiving more attention to help reduce the intermittent bombing of Odesa.
Ukraine has additional weapons now that will help them attack in depth, including long-range artillery and drones to disrupt supply lines in rear areas, while infantry and tanks push the front lines and MANPADs and donated fighters help reduce the threat of air strikes.
Not to mention that Ukraine repeatedly asked for a cease-fire early in the conflict while negotiations were going on, and Russia refused. Diplomatically, there’s no reason for Ukraine to stop fighting.
And within an hour of the good news, Putin puppet Nikonov stated that if Finland offers their soil for a NATO military base, Finland will be painted as a military target, including a target of Russian nuclear weapons.
Then Finland will have no choice but to host nuclear missiles aimed at Moscow.
I’m not sure this has Finland overly worried, given their history with the Soviet Union and Russia’s actions in the past decade or so. It’s not like Finland wasn’t already on Russia’s nuclear-target list.
finland is well prepared for anything russia can think of throwing at them. they have an extensive underground shelter system.
Why is anyone still pretending they can survive a nuclear war? Once the nukes start flying between NATO and Russia, everyone’s dead: Finland, Sweden, China, Australia, Chile… it doesn’t matter where the missiles are stationed, or where they’re aimed.
Russia’s threats are so empty they’re ridiculous. Oooh, they’ll nuke Finland! That only means the Finns will die slightly faster. It’s practically a perk.
Considering the crushing incompetence and corruption of Russian logistics and maintenance that’s been revealed, I wonder how many of their nuclear ballistic missiles are even operational. Each step requires consistent maintenance and testing. How many of their missiles are capable of launching? Of those that can launch, how many are capable of flying thousands of miles? Of those that can launch and fly thousands of miles, how many can actually hit their targets? Of those that can launch and hit their targets, how many can actually properly detonate? I understand even 10% or lower success rate could result in millions of deaths most likely, but that could be a far cry from MAD.
More photos of the failed Russian river crossing, with a count of lost equipment:
IMHO it’s because that’s part of the song and dance that nations have to go through in order to prevent the nukes from flying in the first place.