Russia

Putin is trying to grab as much ground...i.e. success...as he can hoping this will encourage Trump to pull support saying it is hopeless; Ukraine will ultimately lose anyway. Recently Russian forces took a small village, Velkya Novo, a town of fewer than 500 residents, a farming community. It took Russia over 3 weeks of concerted effort and they lost a total of 6,500 troops (killed/wounded) and over 20 armored vehicles. Ukrainian losses were 17 KIA and 40 wounded. One tank was damaged but was retrieved and is expected to be repaired. Despite the one-sided results in losses, Russia claimed a big victory and showed on national TV their troops waving the Russian flag in front of the town's post office. The spinsters hailed it as a huge success and a sign that Putin, er, Russia is winning the war. Ukrainian forces withdrew about a mile and have occupied prepared defenses, awaiting the next slaughter of hapless Russian pigs to commence.

This type of happening reminds me of the British commander after they "won" the Battle of Bunker Hill. The losses by the Redcoats were so high that the British general quipped, "another such victory as this will ruin us."

Poland's army has been authorized to use lethal force to defend their borders. The worst is the 350-mile border with Belarus. Russia, and their puppet ally Belarus, have purposely been transporting muslims and others from Africa and other third-world countries and depositing them on Poland's border for the expressed purpose of destroying Poland and from there the rest of Europe. Not just the criminal thugs but just the mere presence of lowlife, uneducated, entitled migrants will erode European society. This has been publicly proclaimed by Russia. It's part of their plan to eventually take over Europe. They know the presence of these scumbag migrants will bring whole societies down. We've seen it happen here.

The Polish army is being too nice though. There have been isolated incidents of actual gunfire and the number of illegals trying to cross the border who have been shot (killed? wounded?) is not known. Mostly it's rock-throwing and the use of wooden poles trying to knock down the barbwire fences and to also attack Polish soldiers. The Pole have responded mostly with non-lethal force, such as rubber bullets, pepper spray, fire hoses, and throwing the rocks back. Stupid-ass "human rights" organizations are crying foul. Tough chit!

MOTION-DETECTOR MACHINEGUNS on the border. Period. End of story.

Enlistments at the Moscow recruiting center is down 80%. This has been the highest-paying, largest center for the Russian morons signing up for payment and being shipped off to die in Ukraine. If this holds and if this reflects what is going on, or rather not going on, at the other centers then Putin is about to run out of fresh meat to feed into the meat grinder. With the withdrawals of the North Koreans, or those left, Putin is getting low on cannon fodder. Putin has already run out of true military vehicles; his silly effort to revise World War II era tanks and other equipment is not working very well. The Russians have to cannibalize at least 6 tanks for parts just to get one operational. And even then, the survivability of the WWII tank is not good on the modern battlefield.

The NKs tried one last hoorah of an attack about two days ago. It was a small engagement of 150 NK infantry attacking a trench manned by just 7 Ukrainians. It was another bloodbath for the NKs. Not a single Ukran (of the 7) was even wounded and the NKs lost 35 KIA, 60 wounded, 15 taken prisoner. The NKs can't seem to understand that attacking at night is NOT a good idea. The Ukrans have night vision, the NKs do not.

The Russian advance south of Pokrosvk has ground to a halt. The losses have piled up and the ground is so muddy from the recent thaw, the Russians have to slog across open ground and are getting (or were) slaughtered by artillery and drones. Looks like it'll be late spring/summer before the Russians can hope to renew the push to take Pokrosvk.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dawg80

Putin is trying to grab as much ground...i.e. success...as he can hoping this will encourage Trump to pull support saying it is hopeless; Ukraine will ultimately lose anyway. Recently Russian forces took a small village, Velkya Novo, a town of fewer than 500 residents, a farming community. It took Russia over 3 weeks of concerted effort and they lost a total of 6,500 troops (killed/wounded) and over 20 armored vehicles. Ukrainian losses were 17 KIA and 40 wounded. One tank was damaged but was retrieved and is expected to be repaired. Despite the one-sided results in losses, Russia claimed a big victory and showed on national TV their troops waving the Russian flag in front of the town's post office. The spinsters hailed it as a huge success and a sign that Putin, er, Russia is winning the war. Ukrainian forces withdrew about a mile and have occupied prepared defenses, awaiting the next slaughter of hapless Russian pigs to commence.

This type of happening reminds me of the British commander after they "won" the Battle of Bunker Hill. The losses by the Redcoats were so high that the British general quipped, "another such victory as this will ruin us."

---

This arrogant display pizzed off the regional Ukrainian commander, so he has launched a counterattack and sent in the 110th Mechanized Brigade, supported by one battalion of the 3rd Assault Brigade, and quickly the Ukrans surrounded the village and cut off the Russians now trapped there. Drone and artillery strikes are reducing the Russian defenders. Let's see them wave their flag on TV now.

Russians continue to bomb their own citizens, the last two appeared to be accidents, although there have been confirmed cases of Putin ordering attacks on villages occupied by Ukrainian troops and still holding Russian civilians. Those bombing attacks killed/injured way more Russian citizens than Ukrans, who had the benefit of being in protected bunkers while the poor ole citizens were exposed to the explosions. These last two appear to be more "oops!" by the goofy Putinites.

One was in the town of Sudzha when two 1,000-pound bombs suddenly detached from a Russian fighter-bomber prematurely and struck apartment buildings in the town. Reports say 11 are dead, 60 injured. The other incident involved a Russian ICBM, a RS-28, dubbed "Satan II," capable of carrying nukes but was fitted with a 2,000-pound conventional warhead and destined for a target in Ukraine. It veered off course and the Russians lost control of it, so they attempted to engage the self-destruct charge which partially malfunctioned taking out the rocket but not destroying the warhead. The 2,000-pound missile became a "dumb" bomb tumbling from 25,000 feet up and eventually striking a town in the Tver region. Reports are 20 dead, many dozens injured, and the toll is expected to rise.

How much longer will the Russian people tolerate this madness?

Ukran drones pound Volgograd (formerly known as Stalingrad)! More of Putin's oil storage/production facilities left burning after a night of attacks. At least 50 drones confirmed to deliver hits on various sites. Russians claim their air defenses shot down scores of drones. Ukrainian sources say they sent 60 and 50 reached their target. There are reports of drones hitting the outskirts of the city so those were the 10 drones "shot down" by the Russians, but they still deliver an explosion when they hit. Initial video shows raging fires at the oil facilities.

Perhaps more importantly Ukraine destroyed a crucial natural gas pipeline exchange station, this southwest of Moscow. It was a pumping station where two large gas pipelines crossed, one runs north-south, the other east-west. Now both pipelines have been severed. Will affect those on the receiving end of the gas delivery. For those heating their homes with the gas, too bad, bundle up.

Back in Ukraine, reports of Russian soldiers left to fend for themselves as cold weather returns to the region. Temps approaching 10F expected over the next few days. Russians lack proper winter gear and shelter, and they dare not build fires that can be seen because the Ukrans will visit them with drones dropping grenades. Hopefully all the Russians will freeze to death sparing Ukraine from having to kill them.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dawg80

Russians continue to bomb their own citizens, the last two appeared to be accidents, although there have been confirmed cases of Putin ordering attacks on villages occupied by Ukrainian troops and still holding Russian civilians. Those bombing attacks killed/injured way more Russian citizens than Ukrans, who had the benefit of being in protected bunkers while the poor ole citizens were exposed to the explosions. These last two appear to be more "oops!" by the goofy Putinites.

One was in the town of Sudzha when two 1,000-pound bombs suddenly detached from a Russian fighter-bomber prematurely and struck apartment buildings in the town. Reports say 11 are dead, 60 injured. The other incident involved a Russian ICBM, a RS-28, dubbed "Satan II," capable of carrying nukes but was fitted with a 2,000-pound conventional warhead and destined for a target in Ukraine. It veered off course and the Russians lost control of it, so they attempted to engage the self-destruct charge which partially malfunctioned taking out the rocket but not destroying the warhead. The 2,000-pound missile became a "dumb" bomb tumbling from 25,000 feet up and eventually striking a town in the Tver region. Reports are 20 dead, many dozens injured, and the toll is expected to rise.

How much longer will the Russian people tolerate this madness?

---

And another self-bombing!! A Russian Ch-22 missile carrying a 2,000-pound warhead malfunctioned after being launched by a TU-22M3 bomber and fell in a rural area in the Lipetsk Oblast. Apparently, it hit near a highway near a small farming community, no reports of anyone killed/hurt. Because none of Putin's airbases closer to Ukraine are safe the Russians had to move all their planes further away, making the attacks more challenging. But one source says that had little to do with this particular incident as it was the Ch-22 Raduga missile that malfunctioned. These Ch-22s are old weapons dating back to the days of the USSR in 1962. However, the Russians have successfully used these missiles on attacks on Ukraine, usually civilian targets of cities/towns because the missile is not accurate enough for precision strikes.

Putin's private MOB boss, Armen Sarkisyan, was hit by a bombing in his Moscow suite of offices and is reported to be in very serious condition at the hospital. This office complex is only 12 miles from The Kremlin in the heart of Moscow. Initial reports blamed (or credited!!! depends on your POV) the Ukrainians saying it was hit on the leader of Putin's private police, as some call his organization. Others scoff at the notion that this is some police force, even a Gestapo-like police force, and instead say it is nothing but one of the factions in the Russian Mafia. If the latter, then it is very possible this was a hit job between mob organizations. Regardless of who is responsible and why, the elimination of this scumbag is good news. Hopefully he won't survive his wounds.

The main lobby area and several offices were obliterated by the powerful explosion and others are reported injured, but no details of who just yet.

Things continue to unravel for poor ole Vladimir. As President Lincoln replied to Generals Grant and Sherman, "then let this thing be pushed." President Trump needs to rally NATO and together push Putin over the cliff. It's not enough to just save Ukraine, Putin and his evil regime need to be utterly destroyed.

Kaboom!!! Incredibly Ukraine has struck a key fuel refinery east of the Urals!! And, it was not just any refinery, it is (hopefully "was) one of two facilities producing "yellow" jet fuel. "Yellow" jet fuel is the name given since the fuel, when refined takes on a yellow color. Critically, this yellow jet fuel has a special viscosity which allows its use at extreme altitudes since it doesn't lose its properties at extremely low temps and low air pressure. Russia has two of these yellow fuel refineries which produce all of such fuel for the Russian military. Russia's military planes, especially their long-range bombers and all of Russia's liquid fuel missiles, including their ICBMs and those Satan, Satan II, and Raduga missiles use this yellow fuel. Of course, Russia has this yellow fuel stored in various places on various bases across the country so there will be no immediate impact on supply running out. Long term though this could matter.

Now, how did the Ukrans pull this off? One source says no way did Ukraine launch the drones that struck it from Ukraine proper. The distance is too great, plus having to cross over the high Ural Mountains would have presented problems. So, it appears with the help of Russian anti-Putin partisans and operatives from the separatist movement known as Khalistan, the drones were smuggled through the country of Kazakhstan, across the Urals, and then assembled and launched from a distance of about 50 miles from the fuel plant.

However they did it...kudos to the Ukran special forces who orchestrated this attack.

This is, without a doubt, the most heavily defended bridge in the world, and in the entire history of the world. That is what a British defense expert/pundit said of Putin's Kerch Bridge, his Crimean bridge. Putin has taken extraordinary steps to protect his engineering "pride and joy."

Ukraine wants to destroy this bridge but do not possess a weapon, any weapon, any delivery system that could possibly do the job. As it stands now it would take a nuke or at least one of those MOAB, "Mother Of All Bombs" type warhead delivered at the weakest point, which is the mid-point of the bridge which is mostly steel, no reinforced concrete, a stretch of about 800 feet. Problem is Ukraine owns neither a nuke or a MOAB and anyway, do not have a delivery system, like a heavy bomber or a missile capable of carrying such a payload.

Here's what Putin has done to protect his prized bridge. He has deployed four full anti-aircraft brigades with missiles, rockets, and rapid-fire cannons and they are deployed, two each on the land side of the bridge. His navy has a frigate and several gunboats fitted with a ton of anti-drone weapons patrolling near the bridge. There is a battalion of attack-helicopters flying patrols around the clock. And now Putin has created and deployed an armored train. Yes, a train fitted with heavy armor and loaded with anti-drone, anti-aircraft weapons. It has 8 cars and is a rolling battery of missiles and guns. The Kerch Bridge is both a vehicle and train bridge.

The bridge itself has become a frickin' fortress. First, it was a well-built bridge. Gotta give the Russki engineers credit for this structure. It would take a lot to topple it. But now, Putin has increased the strength of the structure adding heavy beams and more reinforced concrete as redundant structural support. There are two layers of barriers designed to intercept Ukrainian sea drones from even reaching the huge concrete pillars. There are huge, and I mean HUGE, anti-drone screens made from heavy steel wire mesh that extend up 40 feet and out 30 feet creating a web designed to intercept kamikaze drones. And there is intense security on both ends of the bridge whereby every vehicle is stopped and searched looking for saboteurs. Every person wanting to cross the Kerch Bridge has to be pre-vetted by Russian security police and they must have a special ID card showing they have the clearance to cross the bridge. Those without said ID are arrested and taken off...somewhere.

Bottom line is...this bridge ain't going anywhere any time soon. Ukraine will probably never possess the weapons needed to take it down. The US could! China probably could! Maybe the UK, France, Germany could. But Ukraine lacks the means. Ukraine has even stopped sending drones to harass traffic on the bridge. Their drones can't penetrate the wire-mesh screens, so it is a waste of resources to send drones.

So! this is why we are seeing a change in strategy by Ukraine. Putin built incredible defenses around his favorite bridge but had to strip defenses elsewhere, like around his key oil facilities and ammo supply depots. The Ukrans have been enjoying success in those attacks. The ever-clever Ukrans stay a step ahead of poor ole Vladimir.

Being reported by a usually reliable source that Putin tried to quietly place a 10% tariff on some goods coming in from China. But, the Chicoms detected it and are not happy with ole Vladimir. These goods/products were bring sold to Russia at costs or a tad above costs in an attempt to help Putin and his struggling economy. If this is true...and I am waiting for other sources to confirm this...then it'll be interesting to see what China decides to do.

Russia's economy is collapsing. The war will soon be three years old (February 24, 2022) and Putin did not plan, take steps, to accommodate for such a protracted conflict. He thought he'd conquer Ukraine in 3 months. Now it is approaching 36 months and with the sanctions against it (even with all the cheating that has been occurring) Russia's economy is on the brink of a total depression. It's GDP has increasingly been shrinking. Compared to 2021, the last full year without war, Russia's GDP has dropped 2.3% in 2022, 5.6% in 2023, 7.7% in 2024, and after one month in 2025, if trends hold, could be 11.2% in 2025. China, India, Iran, North Korea have all openly been buoying the Russian economy, and many western nations, especially the EU, have been violating the sanctions through "shadow" sources. Trump has mentioned slamming sanctions on all those nations supporting Putin's economy. Well, better be careful there, because some American companies have also been guilty of violating the sanctions, so Trump will have to slam the USA too!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dawg80

Putin's private MOB boss, Armen Sarkisyan, was hit by a bombing in his Moscow suite of offices and is reported to be in very serious condition at the hospital. This office complex is only 12 miles from The Kremlin in the heart of Moscow. Initial reports blamed (or credited!!! depends on your POV) the Ukrainians saying it was hit on the leader of Putin's private police, as some call his organization. Others scoff at the notion that this is some police force, even a Gestapo-like police force, and instead say it is nothing but one of the factions in the Russian Mafia. If the latter, then it is very possible this was a hit job between mob organizations. Regardless of who is responsible and why, the elimination of this scumbag is good news. Hopefully he won't survive his wounds.

The main lobby area and several offices were obliterated by the powerful explosion and others are reported injured, but no details of who just yet.

Things continue to unravel for poor ole Vladimir. As President Lincoln replied to Generals Grant and Sherman, "then let this thing be pushed." President Trump needs to rally NATO and together push Putin over the cliff. It's not enough to just save Ukraine, Putin and his evil regime need to be utterly destroyed.

---

This dude, Sarkisyan, didn't survive his injuries. Good riddance. And now it is being reported it was a suicide bomber, an Armenian, who waited in the lobby of the building until Sarkisyan stepped off his private elevator. kaboom!

But another source is saying it was a Ukrainian hit from a special forces team. Not a suicide bombing but a planted bomb remotely detonated.

Sarkisyan was the founder/leader of the Arbat Group, a Wagner type private military organization.

More kabooms over night as Ukraine continues its relentless attacks on Putin's oil industry. The oil storage facility in Krasnodar was struck again. Early reports say another 8 storage tanks are blazing away. This facility is huge, had over 120 large oil storage tanks, plus some refinery capacity. It has both a ground pipeline to carry oil and oil by-products to the interior of Russia, and more importantly a port for loading oil tankers as part of Putin's international oil trade. So far, Ukraine has destroyed 44 of those large oil storage tanks, and damaged other aspects of the site.

Three other oil facilities and one army ammo depot were hit last night.

Lone Ukrainian Leopard II tank took on two Russian convoys...

Yesterday a "seek and destroy" Ukrainian unit composed of three Leopard II tanks and two Bradley Fighting Machines had attacked Russian positions, destroyed two Russian tanks and various other vehicles and were returning to the safety of their own lines when one of the Leopards experienced engine trouble. Thinking they were close enough to their own lines, and thus relatively safe, the commander of that tank told the other vehicles to keep going and he pulled his Leopard II into a patch of woods for cover near a crossroads. As the crew was working on the engine, making some repairs, a Russian convoy appeared hurrying down the road coming from the east. Using the intelligence provided by a Ukran recon drone the vehicles in that convoy were identified as mostly troop-carrying trucks, some civilian vehicles also carrying troops, one APC and two tanks, T-62s. The Ukran tank commander was alarmed but not panicked because he knew his Leopard II was far superior to anything in that Russian convoy. Then he got an alert from a Ukrainian drone recon unit that another Russian convoy was heading his way from the south, this one included two T-80 tanks and two BTR-80s, a rubber-tired assault vehicle armed with a lethal 75mm anti-tank gun. And several other vehicles as well.

The Leopard II tank commander radioed his buddies in the other vehicles who had just headed north up the road, and a kamikaze drone unit chimed in saying they were dispatching drones to aid the surrounded Ukrainian tank. Even with help on the way, this tank commander knew he and his crew were in a tight bind. In fact, he admits, he did not expect to survive the fight so resolved to inflict as much damage as he could. The actual combat video, just released, is awesome. Some of the video was shot by the tank crew, but most of it was recorded by a Ukran recon drone hovering overhead and guiding the tank commander and also the approaching relief.

Knowing the convoy coming from behind him, from the south, was the most dangerous, the commander turned his Leopard II to face it first. Two Ukran attack drones, armed only with anti-personnel light grenades, swooped in to distract the Russian tankers. It worked. They flew low over the tanks causing the Russians to open the hatches and man their mounted machineguns to engage the drones. Then, bam! the lead tank exploded in a fireball. The Russians assumed it was one of the drones, so they focused on them, then, another boom and the second T-80 was gone. Only then did the Russians realize their peril. It was the hidden Leopard II doing the killing. The BTR-80s fired blindly into the woods where they thought the Ukran tank was, but they missed. By now the other Russian convoy had reached the crossroads and immediately the two T-62s supported by Russians in "golf carts" carrying hand-held anti-tank rocket launchers sped toward the battle scene. The Ukran tank commander spun his turret around fired at the advancing T-62s but his shell struck the first "golf cart" went straight through it and hit the second "golf cart" just behind, the shell exploded in the second cart. He reloaded but by now the two T-62s had turned off the road into the woods for cover. To get a shot he'd have to advance out into the open, so he turned his turret back to engage the still advancing BTR-80s, one of which fired getting a direct hit on the Leopard II's frontal armor. The 75mm shell glanced off. The Leopard then took out that BTR-80 with a perfectly placed shot. The other BTR-80 thought better of it and quickly fled the scene. Now only concerned with the two T-62s, who could destroy his tank with their 105mm cannons, he moved onto the road, was immediately hit square on by a Russian hand-held rocket fired from the road ditch by Russian infantry. No damage to his tank. In quick succession the Leopard II scored hits on both T-62s setting both on fire and causing their crews to abandon the tanks. A Ukran drone then eliminated the Russian infantry threat in the ditch and by then the air was filled with dozens of Ukrainian attack drones, causing both Russian convoys to turn tail and flee.

In less than 15 minutes of actual combat, the Leopard II destroyed 4 Russian tanks, one BTR-80, two "golf carts" and their occupants, and halted the advance of two Russian convoys.

By then the Leopard II's companion tanks and Bradleys had returned. The tank commander is seen, about 30 minutes later, engaged in some banter with his buddies and then it strikes him what he and his crew had just gone through. He sits down on the ground, his hands shaking, his buddies consoling him. The reality of what he and his crew had just gone through left him shaking. The human side of war...

Putin is trying to revive his crippled naval fleet. Russians announced the return of the Admiral Nakhimov, a 28,000-ton battlecruiser, officially in the Kirov class of heavy cruisers. By definition a "battlecruiser" is between a battleship and a heavy cruiser in size and in function. Historically, the battlecruiser was used to hunt and destroy enemy cruisers. The most famous battlecruiser was the HMS Hood, sunk by the Bismarck, a true battleship. The Germans had their own fleet of battlecruisers, namely the Graf Spee, Scharnhorst, and Gneisenau.

The Admiral Nakhimov is domiciled in the Baltic Sea and is no immediate threat to Ukraine. However, tensions are rising in the Baltic. The Nakhimov carries 80 anti-ship Oinks cruise missiles, and a variety of other offensive and defensive weapons. This is seen as an anti-NATO move.