Russia Invades Ukraine

[Dave from down under]

The difference is that these might be more capable…

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wagner_Group

[Suranis]

Frankly, unlikely. They were sent off to crapholes to terrorize people who could not Fight back. The Russians sent in their Spez natz troops, the best troops they had, at the start of the war and those elite troops got annihilated.

I don't think a Unit used to chasing around gangs in Africa and propping up dictators will be much use against an organized professional army. Besides, they are only around 5000 troops according to that.

And, here's the real kicker, it is a safe bet that the Ukrainians will be very eager to tangle with them and humiliate yet another Russian terror unit like they have all the others. Once the fear is gone, all you have are bullets and targets.

[Volkonski]

[Volkonski]

[Kendra]

[Phoenix520]

Holy shit! It is!

He taught at the Defense Language Institute and he says he has many Ukrainians friends. He couldn’t sit and watch any longer. He joined about 30 days ago.

[Frater I*I]

Shit, now I'm gonna seriously rethink "my 45 year old, bad habit ass is too out of shape to be combat effective" thinking....

[Lani]

Nance appears briefly in the video, then is interviewed starting about 6.5 minutes in.

[AndyinPA]

I thought Americans had been asked not to do this.

[Dave from down under]

It is illegal for Australians to do so... (updated ->) depending on how they do it..

https://www.sbs.com.au/news/dateline/ar ... /zt9120jap

"In Australia, it’s illegal for citizens to fight for non-state armed groups in foreign conflicts, although it is legal to join a foreign nation’s formal military forces."

[Dave from down under]

"While U.S. citizens can go abroad to enlist in a foreign military, they could be in legal trouble if they’re “recruited or hired” in the U.S., which may be why Ukraine is having volunteers sign contracts when they arrive"

https://www.militarytimes.com/flashpoin ... s-hurdles/

[Chilidog]

meanwhile, Tucker Carlson is microwaving his testicles….

[raison de arizona]

An extract of the interview Lani posted above.

[Gregg]

Shit, now I'm gonna seriously rethink "my 45 year old, bad habit ass is too out of shape to be combat effective" thinking....

I can probably figure out one of those big honkin eggbeaters the farmers captured. Ya wanna go?

[pipistrelle]

https://www.patreon.com/posts/50-days-of-war-65234296

Russia claimed they achieved their objectives in western Ukraine and will now be able to concentrate on what was ostensibly the entire purpose of their "special military operation" - liberating Donetsk and Luhansk.

Unless their objectives in western Ukraine were to lose tens-of-thousands of troops, have thousands of military vehicles destroyed and/or captured, and get at least 8 of their generals killed, I'm going to have to go out on a not-so-precarious limb and say that Russia is lying.

What is *actually* happening on the ground is that Russia is in a forced reset phase known as reconstitution. Essentially, what this means is that is that individual units of the Russian army have been so severely degraded that they're no longer combat effective. Now, the ground commanders who haven't yet been found by Ukrainian snipers have the unenviable task of trying to turn the surviving men and materiel into whole, functional units.

This news is causing a lot of premature victory laps on Twitter. Russia has definitely been knocked around, but they aren't ready to give up yet. They're reassessing and attempting to redefine what a victory would look like at this point. To be clear: this doesn't mean they've lost, and it doesn't mean they're out of options. Most importantly, it doesn't mean now is the time to let up on military aid - if we can funnel enough aid into Ukraine quickly, there's a legitimate chance for a full rout of Russian forces in the east.

The next section is on tactical nukes.

[Volkonski]

[raison de arizona]

[Frater I*I]

Shit, now I'm gonna seriously rethink "my 45 year old, bad habit ass is too out of shape to be combat effective" thinking....

I can probably figure out one of those big honkin eggbeaters the farmers captured. Ya wanna go?

Tell me what gate to meet you at...

[Volkonski]

[Lani]

Snowden is very quiet.








Then he finally shows up briefly.

[raison de arizona]

[AndyinPA]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/us ... li=BBnb7Kz

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is making it easier for refugees fleeing Russia’s war on Ukraine to come to the United States from Europe while trying to shut down an informal route through northern Mexico that has emerged in recent weeks.

A program announced Thursday will streamline refugee applications for Ukrainians and others fleeing the fighting but will no longer routinely grant entry to those who show up at the U.S.-Mexico border seeking asylum, as thousands have done since the invasion ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin began almost two months ago.

The U.S. says it expects to admit up to 100,000 refugees from Ukraine and about 15,000 have come since the Feb. 24 invasion, mostly through Mexico. Starting Monday, that route will no longer be an option except in extreme circumstances, officials said.

[John Thomas8]

[humblescribe]

I am somewhat surprised that Putin would invade a neighboring nation and expose the hapless, disorganized, anachronistic, and inefficient military and navy to the world. Sure, perhaps he was misled by his trusted military advisors, but maybe he should have had a look-see himself somewhere in Siberia to see just how good his troops were before initiating this assault? Watch their war games to get a taste of the Russian attack?

I think Napoleon could have beaten back this army with impunity. (But maybe not in winter.)

[Suranis]

I am somewhat surprised that Putin would invade a neighboring nation and expose the hapless, disorganized, anachronistic, and inefficient military and navy to the world. Sure, perhaps he was misled by his trusted military advisors, but maybe he should have had a look-see himself somewhere in Siberia to see just how good his troops were before initiating this assault? Watch their war games to get a taste of the Russian attack?

I think Napoleon could have beaten back this army with impunity. (But maybe not in winter.)

Honestly, he probably had no idea his troops were crap. They had done fine in dealing with Ukraine in 2014... the thing is the Ukrainians had seen that too, so they had been massively improving their army, whereas Putin had fired the guy trying to reform the Russian army in 2012. There was no need to improve his armed forces up till now.