Russia-Ukraine war and related tensions Megathread

[Woody]

Wikipedia has a page on the counteroffensive now:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_Ukrainian_counteroffensive

[Woody]

The weather was better than expected today, Russian aviation is very active right now in the south.

[Woody]

https://twitter.com/emilkastehelmi/status/1667986380125790208?cxt=HHwWgICz2c-x8K...

[Hindsight was 2020]

https://twitter.com/iaponomarenko/status/1668232706247860231?s=12
Lol

[Stranger in a strange land]

Looks like Zaporozhye area will see rain in the next few days.  The mud will slow down any mechanized advances or movements by either side.

https://twitter.com/Eureka_News_ENG/status/1667832637568761856

Russia can always count on General Weather.

You managed to make the General Frost idiotic stereotype sound even more idiotic, even though it seemed impossible.

"General Winter", "General Mud", "General Frost" and now seemingly "General Weather" are euphemisms for poor planning and logistics, and they are chaotic neutrals, not pro-Russian:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_War
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kyiv_(2022)

[Oleg 🇰🇿🤝🇺🇦]

"General Winter", "General Mud", "General Frost" and now seemingly "General Weather" are euphemisms for poor planning and logistics, and they are chaotic neutrals, not pro-Russian:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_War
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kyiv_(2022)

Yes, I know they are not pro-Russian. I'm annoyed by the sheer illogicality of this concept, as if the frost or the mud is a magic from Golden Axe that hits only enemies.

[Storr]

https://twitter.com/officejjsmart/status/1668268469412933635?s=20

[Storr]

Pretty crazy video.

"The Russian barrier squad (blocking unit, anti-retreat forces) shot the retreating Russian soldiers."

https://twitter.com/PaulJawin/status/1668200611307765761?s=20

[Hindsight was 2020]

Pretty crazy video.

"The Russian barrier squad (blocking unit, anti-retreat forces) shot the retreating Russian soldiers."

https://twitter.com/PaulJawin/status/1668200611307765761?s=20

Old habits die hard I see

[pppolitics]

All-in-all, it's early. But Russians are doing everything that they're supposed to do so far. No weakpoints have been exposed and their defensive lines haven't been breached.

Hey look, ISW was talking about you:

Russian sources are likely referring to Ukrainian territorial advances through Russian defenses as capturing ”grey zones” in order to downplay Ukrainian gains and omit reporting on Ukrainian forces breaking through defensive lines.

[Hindsight was 2020]

https://twitter.com/noelreports/status/1668272659438739460?s=12

[Hindsight was 2020]

https://twitter.com/faytuks/status/1668325333320499200?s=12

[Almost Anyone But Biden Or Trump (ABBoT but not Greg Abbott)]

Expert Air Force translators post diary of dissident Russian paratrooper’s Ukraine ordeal

Former Russian paratrooper Pavel Filatyev was so disillusioned with the war in Ukraine that he risked his life to publish an unsparing firsthand account, which can now be read in English thanks to the work of American airmen.

Before the retrospective, titled “Zov,” or “Calling,” was removed from the social media site VKontakte, where it was initially posted in August 2022, Air University scholars copied it.

Then native Russian speakers in a special Air Force language program produced what the service says is the first complete English translation of the 144-page memoir.

“It’s definitely him pouring his soul out,” said Capt. Mihkail Berlin, a Russian language instructor at the Air Force Academy who helped with the translation. “It’s more of a personal journal.”

...

Filatyev’s story stands as one of the few open-source war accounts from the perspective of a Russian soldier.

His descriptions are detailed, jarring and sometimes poetic, while he seethes with rage when critiquing his government for starting “a terrible war” in a country “where most of our relatives live.”

He also directs anger at his fellow citizens for idly standing by and contributing to the corruption that he says permeates every aspect of Russian society.

“I do not know how to convey to millions of zombies with Russian passports that we ourselves are to blame for everything that is happening. It is us,” he wrote.

He is now living in France, where he has applied for asylum. After his eye healed, his choices were return to the war or face prosecution, Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine reported in October. He fled Russia shortly after publishing his memoir.

Worth a look for anyone looking for some reading material.

[Virginiá]

Reinforcements on the way

https://twitter.com/NOELreports/status/1668346557182115840

This is from PDA, so it will arrive quickly.

[Woody]

All-in-all, it's early. But Russians are doing everything that they're supposed to do so far. No weakpoints have been exposed and their defensive lines haven't been breached.

Hey look, ISW was talking about you:

Russian sources are likely referring to Ukrainian territorial advances through Russian defenses as capturing ”grey zones” in order to downplay Ukrainian gains and omit reporting on Ukrainian forces breaking through defensive lines.

>ISW

[jaichind]

https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3721688-ukraine-asks-germany-to-provide-more-tanks.html

"Ukraine's Deputy Foreign Minister Andriy Melnyk has asked Germany to send more German-made tanks to Ukraine."

[Hindsight was 2020]

https://twitter.com/noelreports/status/1668369362422493190?s=12

[Logical]

https://twitter.com/noelreports/status/1668369362422493190?s=12

RESET THE CLOCK.

[Storr]

https://twitter.com/JimmySecUK/status/1668348344752562195?s=20

[American2020]

Mick Wallace on the dry

https://twitter.com/wallacemick/status/1668376850870009858

https://twitter.com/wallacemick/status/1668241478659842049

[Hindsight was 2020]

Mick Wallace on the dry

https://twitter.com/wallacemick/status/1668376850870009858

https://twitter.com/wallacemick/status/1668241478659842049

I absolutely love these “anti-imperialist” tankies whose position is the US should force Ukraine against it’s will to surrender land to Russia.

[GeneralMacArthur]

Posting the rainbow plane meme or saying stupid both-sides American imperialism crap should get you permanently banned from public discourse.  It's such a stupid thing to believe, much less publicly post about.  Yet we not only tolerate our celebrity betters engaging in this behavior, sometimes they're even celebrated for it.

[Storr]

I presume the main defensive lines that Ukrainian forces have yet to reach are better built than the trenches we've seen so far during the offensive. If not, the defending units may struggle.

https://twitter.com/general_ben/status/1668365330429755392?s=20

[Storr]

https://twitter.com/BBCSteveR/status/1668319910349656066?s=20

[CanadianDemocrat]

Reinforcements on the way

https://twitter.com/NOELreports/status/1668346557182115840
This is from PDA, so it will arrive quickly.

The Ukrainians requested 700 Western IFVs, the US should send 400 IFVs such as the Stryker and the Bradley, and other NATO counties could send their own IFVs to get to the 700 IFVs. You need tanks and IFVs to launch a big combined arms offensive.