Russia-Ukraine war and related tensions Megathread

[Woody]

Another Russian-Iranian kamikaze drone has destroyed yet again an ammunition depot in Odessa. The explosions lasted a few hours.

https://twitter.com/thedimsol/status/1574278642527608833
https://twitter.com/Ghost132607472/status/1574151831881654278

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

It's incredible that shootings at army recruitment offices could be seen as a welcome sign.

It is, isn't it?

[No War, but the War on Christmas]

gotta hope some of these "conscripts" aka slaves for vlad the demon go full revolt on the russkie govt kidnappers coming to take them to this insane war

Even if it doesn't happen during the war... Imagine all these angry conscripts coming back to their home towns and regions...Likely unpaid by a faltering government that's likely traumatized them and their families.

Ooof. Vlad may have just dug his own grave.

[CumbrianLefty]

Another Russian-Iranian kamikaze drone has destroyed yet again an ammunition depot in Odessa. The explosions lasted a few hours.

Enjoy this while it lasts, if the report upthread is correct.

[TiltsAreUnderrated]

Rasputitsa is likely to hinder - possibly halt - all offensives next month, for several weeks.

https://www.twitter.com/Osinttechnical/status/1574209052632092675
This will give soldiers some reprieve/training time. Given how many of the newly mobilised need (refresher) training, Russia may benefit more from this if they stop attempting offensives.

Russia’s advantage in tracked vehicles may also allow them to navigate the mud better, but they screwed that up last spring.

[Person Man]

I don't even understand why Russia would want to send untrained civilians into battle. They are far more likely to be a liability than anything else, and a waste of resources. Even people assigned to administrative & logistical jobs need some basic training, particularly when they are regularly losing not-insignificant patches of territory to the AFU's frenzied thrusting into Russia's rear (occupied areas)

You know it’s not about that.

[Storr]

A long line of vehicles at the Russian-Georgian border:

https://twitter.com/markito0171/status/1574349184345554946?s=20&t=DXrti13wPA...

[Badger]

https://twitter.com/Andrew__Roth/status/1574272320071426049?s=20&t=dVYAl_CQk...

If this happens more than once, then s*** has officially just gotten real.

[Storr]

If this is what the government is officially admitting, the real number is definitely higher:

https://twitter.com/meduza_en/status/1574121847641149440?s=20&t=DXrti13wPAHC...

Meanwhile:

https://twitter.com/KevinRothrock/status/1574357098049294338?s=20&t=ScdBInl8...

https://twitter.com/maxseddon/status/1574315511596335104?s=20&t=ScdBInl8kC_E...

[Storr]

https://twitter.com/Andrew__Roth/status/1574272320071426049?s=20&t=dVYAl_CQk...

Maybe the shooter was inspired by last night's broadcast:

https://twitter.com/francis_scarr/status/1574388699730690049?s=20&t=DV-N4VZs...

[Tintrlvr]

If this is what the government is officially admitting, the real number is definitely higher:

https://twitter.com/meduza_en/status/1574121847641149440?s=20&t=DXrti13wPAHC...

Meanwhile:

https://twitter.com/KevinRothrock/status/1574357098049294338?s=20&t=ScdBInl8...

https://twitter.com/maxseddon/status/1574315511596335104?s=20&t=ScdBInl8kC_E...

To be fair, didn't Ukraine do the same when the war started? And I think it's still in effect as I have friends with relatives in Ukraine who are currently unable to leave for border-control reasons. Obviously Russia is situated differently than Ukraine in this war, but "no exit" isn't something new.

[Torie]

The battle for Lyman for map junkies. The most interesting bit is that Lyman is being defended by elite Russian troops with their best weapons. If so, that might explain the rush of munitions to towards the area from Russia to the east.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sumU60P55YY

[Badger]

So to be clear, Putin's mobilizing an army that's poorly-fit, poorly-trained, poorly-equipped, incredibly low morale, not cohesive at all, and sending them into battle in a war he's already losing, to fight suicidal last-stand battles based on a strategy that Putin himself pulled out of his ass?

Bring it on lol

I share your contempt of Putin and look forward to the Russian army being routed thoroughly, but I am somewhat sympathetic for these folks being mobilized. Unlike the other Russian army soldiers up to now for whom I've been quite vocal about having a f*** around and find out policy towards their lives and hoping every one of them becomes a casualty or pow until they leave ukraine, these poor bastards desperately don't want to be in this war, and it is only a necessary tragedy that many of them will be maimed and die because of Putin's Hitler like megalomania

[Badger]

I don't even understand why Russia would want to send untrained civilians into battle. They are far more likely to be a liability than anything else, and a waste of resources. Even people assigned to administrative & logistical jobs need some basic training, particularly when they are regularly losing not-insignificant patches of territory to the AFU's frenzied thrusting into Russia's rear (occupied areas)

It probably goes without saying, but logic has been thrown out the window when it comes to this war, not unlike several Putin's critics recently.

Putin's handling of this war has degenerated from bloodthirsty and imperialistic at the start, farcical afterwards, and now just downright kafka-esque

[Gass3268]

Arson attacks on draft offices.

https://twitter.com/maxseddon/status/1574295637092229121?s=20&t=SP2vX0UPGzHL...

[Storr]

https://twitter.com/DefMon3/status/1574093348796760064?s=20&t=HbtK6gFJpJEuyb...

https://twitter.com/DefMon3/status/1574093353276375040?s=20&t=HbtK6gFJpJEuyb...

He has a valid point:

https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1574367403995435008?s=20&t=HbtK6gFJ...

[DINGO Joe]

In the latest episode of the sitcom "Putin",  Putin's wacky next door neighbor comes over to give Putin some unsolicited advice

https://twitter.com/Kremlinpool_RIA/status/1574315133194600448


Sorry, haven't seen an English tweet of this yet, but Luka, without prompting, tells Putin to not worry about everyone fleeing Russia because he had people flee Belarus too.  Don't worry, they'll come back someday.


Luka remains a master troll.

[Lord Halifax]

In the latest episode of the sitcom "Putin",  Putin's wacky next door neighbor comes over to give Putin some unsolicited advice

Should be titled Poo-Teen

[Helsinkian]

Edward Snowden has been granted Russian citizenship and can now be drafted.

[Darthpi – Anti-Florida Activist]

Edward Snowden has been granted Russian citizenship and can now be drafted.

[Person Man]

In the latest episode of the sitcom "Putin",  Putin's wacky next door neighbor comes over to give Putin some unsolicited advice

Should be titled Poo-Teen

Poutine?

[Storr]

https://twitter.com/michaeldweiss/status/1574411176615739392?s=20&t=HbtK6gFJ...

[NOVA Green]

Looks like some (54) military recruitment centers or administrative offices have been set on fire since the start of the war, with (17) of these incidents occurring since the mobilization was announced:

Google translation from the text above the map.

Since the beginning of the war in Russia, 54 military commissariats and administrative buildings have been set on fire.

17 cases occurred in the last five days after Putin's announced mobilization

https://twitter.com/mediazzzona/status/1574078370312327171?s=20&t=4OUgxaGjY7...

[NOVA Green]

And another attack on a recruitment center reported today:

Also the shooting suspect at the other incident, previously reported upthread, apparently made his own crude firearm.

A Russian man opened fire at a military-recruiting station in Siberia, critically wounding its commander, hours after another man rammed a car into the entrance of a different recruitment center then set it afire with Molotov cocktails.

The shooting suspect in Monday’s attack, identified by authorities as Ruslan Zinin, is unemployed, and his mother told an independent media outlet that he wasn’t subject to a mobilization order but was upset that a close friend had received one.Mr. Zinin was arrested shortly after the shooting. State-run news service RIA Novosti circulated a picture of the weapon used in the attack that was crudely fashioned from a block of wood, a pipe and a common pipe strap. The commander of the recruiting station is in critical condition, the regional governor’s office said.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/russian-military-recruitment-centers-attacked-amid-mobilization-pushback-11664190066?mod=hp_lead_pos7

[Virginiá]

Great article about matériel losses in the Kharkiv offensive

https://kyivindependent.com/national/hundreds-of-russian-vehicles-weapon-systems-seized-during-kharkiv-counterattack

And for us nerds, a configurable data chart:

https://datastudio.google.com/reporting/dfbcec47-7b01-400e-ab21-de8eb98c8f3a/page/p_gqerfsjkyc?s=tWeosgYXPTU

According to combined daily lists by Oryx, from Sept. 1 to 23, Ukrainians captured over 100 tanks, close to 200 infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers, over 20 command & control vehicles, and dozens of artillery pieces. Close to 100 trucks and jeeps were also taken, along with some more specialized vehicles.

In addition, huge stockpiles of ammunition were taken. While there are no confirmed numbers for how much was acquired, Janovsky’s best guess is that Ukraine may have claimed “hundreds” of anti-tank weapons and “tens of thousands” of artillery rounds.

These are only visually proven loses, so actual losses are probably higher, and based on some tweets I saw today, are still rolling in.

Going by the chart, Russia lost (destroyed, captured or abandoned) a total of 1,037 pieces of equipment in the Kharkiv offensive, so weapon systems, vehicles, etc. Likewise, Ukraine lost a total of 100 pieces of equipment, including 26 tanks and 36 infantry fighting vehicles. So Ukraine came out massively ahead and captured enough operational (or soon to be operational) equipment to fuel a whole new offensive.