Russian invasion of Ukraine

Even basic stuff like small arms ammunition, when I was in the 70s it was carefully handed out on range days and we had to sign for how much we got. Then we had to give any unused back after counting it out.

Back in the good old days of the 20th century I was enrolled in the artillery, but managed to get out of most of it by applying for exemptions etc (won't bore you with the details). However, my mate did the full course and could tell me about how every artillery drill was just faking it, loading empty shells etc, down to the point of having a recruit shouting 'boom' to simulate firing. In his X months of enlistment he shot live artillery rounds on one single occasion.

My dad spent 15 years on Polaris submarines and only got to fire one missile in all that time. Shocking.

Committing and doing are not always the same though. That 2% spending is agreed on but not followed.

To be fair this is about safety protocol and not about stock level. You need to ensure nothing is left in the weapon and rounds aren’t nicked. It’s still done this way.

One of Cycliste's Swiss colleagues allegedly mislaid a tank while doing compulsory military service. They drove it into a forest, and camouflaged it as part of an exercise. They then left it in the forest, probably to go to lunch - lunch is treated as srs bsns in Switzerland - and when they went to find it again it turned out they'd camouflaged it just a little too well. I'm assuming someone found it eventually. And not a Ukrainian farmer with a tractor.

Trollolololol

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Whatever the actual cause, I hope this dude’s informed analysis is close to the truth (regarding the russian chemical plant explosion):

https://mobile.twitter.com/Spoonamore/status/1517510440598843394

I saw that a major Russian aeronautical research institute also burned down within 24 hours of the chemical plant.

Once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, three times is enemy action…

Der Spiegel is reporting that the US are supporting the Ukrainians with a new type of small top secret drones.

Five Russian army recruiting offices have also caught fire. Coincidentally.

That's young Russians doing it delaying forced early enlistment IMO

Burning up any records with their names on them.

The Dmitrievsky chemical plant fire is expected to have significant repercussions for Russian supply chains, especially the arms industry.

Is there any good articles about it? Would be interesting to read a proper analysis

Comment 2399 upthread?

The Twitter link? A good summary but would be interesting to read something more long form

Maybe have to wait for the US Sunday papers' opinion pieces?
I'm guessing that many in 'the know' might not want any publicity that might cause a visit from Putin's Cathedral enthusiasts.

Fill yer boots

https://twitter.com/RUSI_org/status/1517455385073967104?s=20&t=DOQ9X9bk7zoTi46MNy8Z7Q

Putin abandons hopes of Ukraine deal and shifts to land-grab strategy
https://www.ft.com/content/a16c4ecd-e835-4e71-a12d-c7bec9f34d7c

Vladimir Putin has lost interest in diplomatic efforts to end his war with Ukraine and instead appears set on seizing as much Ukrainian territory as possible, according to three people briefed on conversations with the Russian president.

Putin, who was seriously considering a peace deal with Ukraine after Russia suffered battlefield setbacks last month, has told people involved in trying to end the conflict that he sees no prospects for a settlement.

“Putin sincerely believes in the nonsense he hears on [Russian] television and he wants to win big,” said a person briefed on the talks.

Though Moscow and Kyiv agreed their first draft communique at a meeting in Istanbul in late March, talks stalled after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of committing war crimes against civilians in cities such as Bucha and Mariupol.

Putin said peace efforts were at a “dead end” and was infuriated after Ukraine sank the Moskva, the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea fleet, according to two of the people.

“There was hope for a deal. Putin was going back and forth. He needs to find a way to come out of this a winner,” one of the people said.

After the Moskva sank, “Putin was against signing anything. [ . . . ] after the Moskva he doesn’t look like a winner, because it was humiliating,” the person added.

,,,,,

And the cost of maintaining a landgrab? he’ll be gatekeeper to a bombed out wasteland russia cannot afford to rebuild, subject to random incursions and losing a few thousand troops a month.
That’s no victory.

Try explaining that to Putin. It’s a complete nightmare scenario.

He probably thinks it gives him sufficient leverage to make negotiating worthwhile again

Vladimir Putin has lost interest in diplomatic efforts to end his war with Ukraine

This reads like such BS. As if he ever had any interest in real diplomacy.

Maybe if he had captured and killed / imprisoned Zelenskyy within the opening days of the war and installed a pro Russian government then, I imagine he may have been happy to have a ‘chat’.

Oil depot on fire in Bryansk. I’m guessing that the list of strategic targets is pretty much endless and they’ll keep catching fire somehow.

So this whole thing, this war, all these deaths, and the food and energy shortages and recessions all around the world, this whole thing has been caused by Trump https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium.HIGHLIGHT-how-d-c-emboldened-putin-according-to-key-trump-impeachment-witness-1.10716729