Russia

Again, a spokesman for Putin says the tyrant is open to discuss a ceasefire in Ukraine. This is the second time Putin has offered to talk, both times after one of his ill-fated offensives was crushed. Last time President Z responded "no thanks" and instead said if Putin wants the fighting to stop, he had only to withdraw his invaders. President Z, Ukraine, has not yet responded to this latest overture.

To me, and others, this shows weakness by Putin. He knows he is losing the war and needs to change something. Most likely his asking only for a "cease fire" is a temporary reprieve so he might rebuild his shattered army. Of course, Putin can accomplish somewhat of a cease fire by halting his attacks and instead hunker down in a strictly defensive posture. The onset of the winter weather and Ukraine's exhausted army will not be much of a threat to the Russians for many months. Putin wanted/needed a huge success in Ukraine for domestic political reasons as he is facing reelection. One YouTuber remarked, Russian voters can vote for Putin or no one else as only his name will appear on the ballot. So, he should be "re-elected." :rolleyes: But beyond the fake election, Putin is losing support from the Russian populace. They were fed total BS and bought the lies put out by Putin's propaganda machine. Of course, so did some in the West who should have known better. Like that laughable BS about Ukraine being a NAZI country. Turns out the only NAZIs could be found in the ranks of Putin's friends, especially the Wagner Group. Anyway, the harsh reality of war, and a war they are losing, is coming home to roost for the average Russian citizen. And, they don't like what they see.

Ukraine has officially adopted December 25th as "Christmas Day" severing ties to the Russian Orthodox calendar that sets January 7th as Christmas Day. This is another move, albeit a symbolic one, showing Ukraine's desire to be part of the West and no longer affiliated with Russia. The Russian propagandists condemned this move saying it shows the "regime in Kyiv" has lost its way and needs to be removed from power.

BTW, if you're into Napoleonic history, then you know the significance of the Russian calendar being two weeks behind the rest of the western world. Napoleon knew it and used it to his advantage. Too bad the goofy Austrians didn't make the connection.

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Originally Posted by dawg80

Russia announces plans to invade and annex Uzbekistan, a small, former Soviet state, but now a sovereign nation. Uzbekistan has called out its army to guard the border, saying NO WAY! will they simply allow the Russkies to walk in.

Meanwhile, the average Russian citizen is openly complaining about the lack of power, electricity, it is now winter and it is COLD! Brrrrr... Too bad, this is what you get having Putin as your "leader."

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To justify their evil invasion of Uzbekistan, Russian propagandists are trying to make the case that Ukraine is supporting, supplying, and influencing Uzbekistan to....to do what, remain a peaceful, sovereign nation? The Uzbeks are not bothering anyone, especially Russia, who, BTW, remains an important economic/trade partner for Uzbekistan. To help try to make their case, and this is comical, Russian propagandists showed on a Russian TV network boxes and crates with Ukrainian addresses on them claiming this proves the Ukrans are supplying Uzbekistan. These crates were supposedly "found" in Uzbekistan. Well, even if true, so? They don't say what was supposedly in the crates, but it sure wasn't military-related, because as a Ukran TV personality said, "we don't have enough of our own, we certainly aren't shipping ammo to other countries."

Unfortunately, for all the good folks involved, Putin has total control of the Russian media, and! also the major TV networks in Uzbekistan too. The president of Uzbekistan called an international press conference, wanting foreign journalists there so the Putinites could not squash his message, and in it he spent a good 20 minutes recounting how Uzbekistan willingly and stupidly sold its TV networks to a Russian oleograph who owned a Russian TV network. Now Uzbeks are subject to Russian propaganda. The Uzbek government is using local newspapers as a means to counter the barrage of propaganda flooding into people's homes via the Russian-controlled TV networks. Of course, the Putinites are claiming the current Uzbek government are all NAZIs and Russia will come in and save the people from them. Same BS they tried in Ukraine.

On its own, Uzbekistan stands no chance against a concerted Russian invasion.... well, the world thought the same thing regarding Ukraine...as it has a tiny army, which is really a police force. Maybe Putin and his generals won't assume an easy victory like they did in Ukraine and hit the Uzbeks really hard and where it matters. Why is Putin threatening this invasion? Easy, he needs a victory of some kind that he can present to the Russian people for the upcoming election. Look at me, Putin will say, I deliver victories for Mother Russia, vote for me! He sure doesn't have a victory in Ukraine.

Putin is pure evil and must be stopped. I cannot fathom why so many in the West want Ukraine to capitulate, give in to this madman. The world has lost its moral compass. Hitler is burning in Hell and watching all of this and asking himself, why didn't the world react like this to him? He could have been master of Europe and perhaps even Russia too, if England had agreed to a treaty and those "bastards" in the US just minded their own business.

Putin loses two more fighter-bombers, one SU-30 and another SU-34. Gotta love the Putin propagandists, they have no shame. They claim the SU-30 was shot down and both crewmen lost, but they died heroes because they shot down 4 F-16's and damaged 6 others in a dogfight. One Russian plane vs. 10 US-built fighters. Only...the 18 F-16's sent to Ukraine by Norway have yet to actually see combat. The SU-30 was downed by a US-built weapon though, a Patriot Missile.

Other news is not so good for the Ukrans. After over 9 years of trying, the Russians have taken the town of Marinka, along the eastern front. Ukrainian officials made it official with the announcement the last of their troops who have been fighting there have been withdrawn to a new position about 3 miles west. The past 3 months Marinka has been the site of very intense Russian attacks. They have lost over 4,000 soldiers, 200+ armored vehicles, including about 40 tanks, three attack-helicopters, and dozens of artillery pieces, just in the recent months. Their total losses over 9 years are 5X those numbers. The Russians proudly played footage shot from a drone passing over the town showing some soldiers (survivors) planting a Russian flag on a building. There is literally nothing left in the town. Every structure, 100%, is either completely destroyed are severely damaged and barely standing. There is no infrastructure, no power, no running water, no working sewer system, and the streets are clogged by debris from collapsed buildings. This is what 9 years of war will do to a town.

But, for Putin and his thugs, this is a victory. Marinka is one of 5 towns the Russians have stepped-up their attacks on and around the past 6 months+. The others are Borova, Bakhmut, Avdiivka, and Krynky. Putin has a "victory" he can crow about. Guess this will assure his re-election.

The Ukrans have also announced they are constructing defensive works further west, about 8 miles from Marinka. There is a major highway that runs along a river and series of lakes and marshland that connects Marinka to another important town. Pundits think the Russians will now try to push along this highway further west. But it will be treacherous and very costly. There is no cover for most of the 8 miles, just open ground, and Ukran drones and artillery will extract a heavy price on Russian forces trying to advance on this highway.

Yes, the Russians lost lots of soldiers and equipment taking Marinka, but there is no way to spin this in a positive way for Ukraine. This represents a setback along the eastern front. Much like the Wagner Group capturing Bakhmut and ever since the Russian regulars being able to hold it and even counter-attacking this is a loss for the Ukrans. Today is another day!

Tidbits...

A Putin opposition politician, Alexi Navalny, who was poisoned in an assassination attempt by Putin thugs, is on his way to a Siberian prison for daring to speak out against the war in Ukraine and for announcing he was going to run for president of Russia. Putin couldn't have any of that nonsense so Navalny was convicted on "trumped-up" charges and has been sentenced to 20 years in prison. Here opposition leaders to the evil regime are just removed from state ballots and falsely charged in a variety of cases. In Russia the regime knows how to remove opposition.

Another Russian navy vessel bit the dust last night. This one another amphibious assault ship. Blown up by a Ukran Storm Shadow cruise missile while "safely (LOL)" anchored in the port of Feodosia. This ship and several others were relocated from Sevastopol when that port became unsafe for Putin's fleet. Guess the Russkies will have to seek another "safe" port.

An estimated 40 Russian soldiers were buried alive when Ukran commandos blew up the entrance to a tunnel they were digging in an attempt to get under Ukrainian defenses. The Ukrans said they have been monitoring the Russkies' progress in this feat of engineering, waiting for the right moment to strike and destroy the tunnel. Yesterday 40 Russian soldiers were seen entering the tunnel, these were not engineers, but armed soldiers, so the Ukrans decided now was the time. Pundits say those Russians most likely survived the explosion but will slowly suffocate to death. The Russians, for their part, quickly withdrew their engineers after the attack, making no effort to try to rescue the trapped soldiers. Must be great to be a soldier in Putin's army, eh.

Putin is pizzed at Latvia for their announcement that their public schools will no longer teach Russian, but will instead, start teaching English to their youngsters. Good for them. Poor ole Vladimir, his dreams of a Soviet empire are crumbling all around him.

Oh! and this bit of news, according to one source, the Chicoms have begun their own propaganda efforts "preparing the Russian population for the inevitable Chinese takeover." Guess Russian public schools will need to start teaching Mandarin to their students.

Rumors are flying that F-16 Falcons are flying over Ukraine and may be responsible for the Russkies losing 8 jet fighter-bombers over the past 10 days. No confirmation on this either way. Ukran officials are still saying it has been Patriot Missiles taking out the Russian planes. Guess we'll know fairly soon.

Russians lost two ships in the recent attack at Feodosia. The targeted ship was stuffed with ammo, supplies, equipment meant for Russian forces, and when it went kaboom! the explosion was so large it also destroyed another ship anchored nearby. Gotta love the Ukran spin-masters with the headline: "Putin loses 20% of his Black Sea fleet!" Technically that is true since the Russians had 10 ships in the Feodosia port and lost two of them. But, it is not true re: the whole Black Sea fleet as there are two other ports where Putin has parked some of his navy ships, out of harm's way? Well, not so much it seems.

The Ukrans have also built and launched a new sea drone, a larger version of their drones they have been attacking Russian ships with. This one packs more explosives and can hit speeds up to 70mph. Being larger makes them easier to detect and to attack, but these sea drones also sport a small machinegun designed to defend itself against Russian drones. It looks like a Gatlin gun with a short, maybe 30" barrel(s). No reports if these larger sea drones have actually been used yet.

The Ukrans have gained some ground near Horolivka, and the Russians a little ground in other places along the front. Nothing significant in any of the cases.

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Originally Posted by dawg80

Putin loses two more fighter-bombers, one SU-30 and another SU-34. Gotta love the Putin propagandists, they have no shame. They claim the SU-30 was shot down and both crewmen lost, but they died heroes because they shot down 4 F-16's and damaged 6 others in a dogfight. One Russian plane vs. 10 US-built fighters. Only...the 18 F-16's sent to Ukraine by Norway have yet to actually see combat. The SU-30 was downed by a US-built weapon though, a Patriot Missile.

Other news is not so good for the Ukrans. After over 9 years of trying, the Russians have taken the town of Marinka, along the eastern front. Ukrainian officials made it official with the announcement the last of their troops who have been fighting there have been withdrawn to a new position about 3 miles west. The past 3 months Marinka has been the site of very intense Russian attacks. They have lost over 4,000 soldiers, 200+ armored vehicles, including about 40 tanks, three attack-helicopters, and dozens of artillery pieces, just in the recent months. Their total losses over 9 years are 5X those numbers. The Russians proudly played footage shot from a drone passing over the town showing some soldiers (survivors) planting a Russian flag on a building. There is literally nothing left in the town. Every structure, 100%, is either completely destroyed are severely damaged and barely standing. There is no infrastructure, no power, no running water, no working sewer system, and the streets are clogged by debris from collapsed buildings. This is what 9 years of war will do to a town.

But, for Putin and his thugs, this is a victory. Marinka is one of 5 towns the Russians have stepped-up their attacks on and around the past 6 months+. The others are Borova, Bakhmut, Avdiivka, and Krynky. Putin has a "victory" he can crow about. Guess this will assure his re-election.

The Ukrans have also announced they are constructing defensive works further west, about 8 miles from Marinka. There is a major highway that runs along a river and series of lakes and marshland that connects Marinka to another important town. Pundits think the Russians will now try to push along this highway further west. But it will be treacherous and very costly. There is no cover for most of the 8 miles, just open ground, and Ukran drones and artillery will extract a heavy price on Russian forces trying to advance on this highway.

Yes, the Russians lost lots of soldiers and equipment taking Marinka, but there is no way to spin this in a positive way for Ukraine. This represents a setback along the eastern front. Much like the Wagner Group capturing Bakhmut and ever since the Russian regulars being able to hold it and even counter-attacking this is a loss for the Ukrans. Today is another day!

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Russian pundit is screaming for the Russians NOT to take the bait and advance west out of Marinka. The Ukran 79th Brigade, one of the elite units, gave up the town...which is really a spot on a map as there is no more town to speak of...and retired to prepared positions, inviting the Russians to follow...please. It is flat, open ground.

Russians take back ground north of Bakhmut. The lines are essentially where they were right after Prigozhin declared victory and removed his thugs from the Bakhmut area. Well, north of the city, because south of Bakhmut the Ukrans are still holding the ground they liberated over the past 6 months or so. Of course, the price was high for the Russians in terms of losses, but Putin doesn't care about that kind of stuff. Putin doesn't care because Russian soldiers don't care about their own lives either. It's amazing how these fools, day after day, continue to willingly "march" into battle, well, into slaughter and they don't change their tactics; they have to know what's going to happen to them. Maybe this explains it:

The Russian soldier has a spiritual tie to the land, to Mother Russia, as if he is a part of the ground. He has no concept of retreat and will stand and fight until he dies where he stands. There is no instruction in the art of the tactical withdraw. He simply does not know and has never been trained how to retreat. There is no doctrine in the Russian Army of the concept of retreat.

This observation was made by a British Army officer on detached duty to the Russian Army during the Napoleonic wars. This was written in 1807. This officer watched with horror as Napoleon's army slaughtered the Russians in a series of battles even as it was obvious, or should have been obvious, to the Russians they were beaten, and retreating would save the army. Fast forward to World War II and we see the Soviets losing hundreds of thousands, mounting to MILLIONS of soldiers, in fighting the German invaders. Again, no consideration for the average soldier, all mere cogs in the military machine, expendable. Perhaps this explains this phenomenon we are seeing in Ukraine today.

More war crimes by Putin. Deliberate attack on civilian area, no military facilities anywhere close. Early reports say 18 killed, 130 injured, including children. Collateral damage and civilian casualties are bad enough when trying to hit a military target, but the wanton criminal attack on civilians is pure evil.

But, this is Putin in all his despicable glory.

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Originally Posted by dawg80

More war crimes by Putin. Deliberate attack on civilian area, no military facilities anywhere close. Early reports say 18 killed, 130 injured, including children. Collateral damage and civilian casualties are bad enough when trying to hit a military target, but the wanton criminal attack on civilians is pure evil.

But, this is Putin in all his despicable glory.

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Official report from Ukran officials, the Russians attacked with 158 missiles and drones. Of those 114 were shot down resulting in 46 getting through to various cities, including Kyiv. A maternity hospital was targeted and hit in the city of Dnipro. No update on total casualties, but all appear to be civilians.

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Originally Posted by dawg80

Official report from Ukran officials, the Russians attacked with 158 missiles and drones. Of those 114 were shot down resulting in 46 getting through to various cities, including Kyiv. A maternity hospital was targeted and hit in the city of Dnipro. No update on total casualties, but all appear to be civilians.

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To avoid Ukran anti-aircraft (anti-missile) defenses along the Belarus border, the Russians sent cruise missiles over Poland on their way to Kyiv. Reports don't say how many cruise missiles there were, but probably 20+, based on past Russian missile attacks. A flight of Polish F-16s detected the Russian missiles as they approached the Poland-Belarus border and reported to their HQ. They were ordered to track but not engage the missiles until further orders. The Polish F-16 pilots report, as of this morning, they could have easily, at any time, destroyed the missiles. And four separate times they requested permission to do so. After the Russian cruise missiles crossed over Poland the Poles' HQ feared the missiles either mostly intact or debris would fall on Polish towns putting civilians at risk, if shot down. So, the Polish Falcons escorted the Russian missiles all the way to the Ukrainian border, whereupon Polish AF command said they were now a Ukrainian problem, so let them go. The Poles did alert the Ukrans of the approach of the cruise missiles, and as a result, only 6 of the missiles made it through defenses and struck civilian targets on the outskirts of Kyiv.

By contrast, also yesterday, Polish F-16s forced a Russian military cargo plane to turn around after it requested permission to cross Polish airspace on its way to Kaliningrad. This marks the first time EVER the Poles have denied the Russians permission to use their airspace to reach Kaliningrad. This shocked the Russians as heretofore such permission had been routine.

President Z responded to Putin's overture for a cease fire, he said "Nuts!" No, he did not quote the commander of Bastogne, but he might as well had, as he completely rejected Putin's request.

Canada is sending some anti-aircraft systems to Ukraine. Norway and Sweden have announced more supplies to come too. India has sent some artillery shells to Ukraine. But, the Ukrans are short on much-needed ammo.

Turkey denies passage of two minesweepers donated by the UK to Ukraine, citing the 1936 edict denying the use of the two passages into/out of the Black Sea to warring nations. Stupid Brits! Should have sailed the ships into the Black Sea under the British flag and then donated them to Ukraine. Erdogan is playing games. Turkey continues to block Sweden's official membership in NATO, plus other crap, because Erdogan wants to get his hands on US-built F-16 Falcons, which we refuse to sell to him. Turkey has practiced genocide against several peoples, like the Armenians and the Kurds, and have engaged in human-rights violations placing Turkey on the "naughty" list, thus certain US technology is denied them.

It is tempting to advocate for NATO to kick Turkey out in favor of Sweden and several other nations, like Armenia, that Turkey blocks. But as chitty as Turkey is an "ally" they would be far worse as an enemy. Thus these politics make for strange bedfellows.

As for the minesweepers denied Ukraine, well that is just dumb since Turkey's economy is suffering from the restrained trade occurring on the Black Sea, in part because the Russkies have mined most of the shipping channels. You would think Erdogan would welcome the Ukrans clearing some of those shipping channels of mines. But that would be your mistake, because THINKING is not what Erdogan is doing.

For a supposed modern, advanced country, Russia sure is backasswards!

First, Russian fighter-bombers are ordered to attack anti-Putin rebels who are holding a village in the Belgorod province. But! the goofy Russian pilots attacked the wrong town, striking another town about 6 miles from their target. This attack resulted in 2 civilian deaths and 12 injured and some houses/buildings destroyed. To make matters worse, Russian troops in that town thought the planes attacking them were Ukrainian, so they called for an anti-aircraft attack. This attack, conducted with missiles, resulted in more collateral damage, another civilian death and 4 more injured. And, in another town about 15 miles away, the spent boosters of the Russian antiquated missiles fell onto houses. No injuries reported, but a chunk of a missile crashed through the roof of a house and impaled in the bed of a child. Luckily the child was in another part of the house and thus not injured (or killed). Immediately the father of the house, who happens to be a captain in the local civil defense unit, called HQ and also alerted the media, claiming a Ukrainian missile has struck his house and must be a dud, or else might explode at any minute, and requested a bomb disposal unit.

Well, as if this three-ring circus was not enough, Russian media and several Putin propagandists on their blogs/YouTube Channels immediately decried the Ukrans as terrorists saying they are attacking civilian targets. Never mind that that is exactly what Putin is doing and has been doing for 2 years now. Anyway, those media and spin masters ended up with egg on their face when the Russian military calmly, and accurately, reported the object was part of a spent Russian missile and they apologized for the damage to the house. So far, there has been no retraction from Putin's propagandists.

Meanwhile, the anti-Putin forces who were never attacked, posted in social media all kinds of funny memes further embarrassing the silly Russians, who only succeeded in bombing themselves.

The front, all 600 miles of it, has stabilized over the past couple of weeks and as a result, there really is no news on a day-to-day basis. For instance, Thursday the Russians launched an attack, losing a tank, two APCs, and about 20 soldiers KIA, but "captured" some ground, which was a strip of woods between two farmers' fields. Yesterday, the Ukrans attacked and took those woods back, with the loss of two wounded, and the Russians suffering 3 KIA and 6 captured. The Russians have enjoyed some successes, such as the taking of the remains of the village of Marinka, but...now what? If they try to advance further west, they'll be walking into a prepared trap the Ukrans are HOPING they will do. One thing is very clear, and is continuing, the Russians are still suffering way more losses in equipment, materials, and men than the Ukrans are losing.

But! here comes the game-changer...according to the Putin spin-masters, anyway. The Russians are introducing the revamped T-80 tank, now designated the T-80BWM tank, with a new engine, more armor, and better electronics. This new T-80 has a 1,250hp engine, with more torque in the low gears to allow it to negotiate muddy, boggy, snowy ground. The engine is also said to be 40% more fuel-efficient. That'll make algore and the rest of the green lunatics happy! It has a gas-turbine engine. The Russians say it will be more than a match for the Leopard II. Okay! guess we'll see as the first of these new T-80 tanks are now arriving in Ukraine. The Russians announced about 8 months ago the opening of a new factory to build the new T-80 tank and it is expected to turn out 100 tanks per month once fully operational.

In the bigger picture, the war in Ukraine is a classroom and the whole world had better be learning from it. The tank is going the way of the battleship of WWII. In the late 1930's the world thought the battleships, with their big guns, were the most powerful ships. But, the world soon learned it was the aircraft carriers, and the battleship was nothing but a big and easy target. Today, the tank has become a relic of a past time. It is a death trap for the crews. So far, the better tanks, such as the German-built Leopard II and the British-built Challenger, and we assume/hope the American-built Abrams, are all superior tanks. The Leopard II has already demonstrated how tough it is, surviving some direct hits from Russian missiles that utterly destroy the Russian-built tanks, primarily the T-72, which is the most numerous tank, used by both sides. The US-built Bradley Fighting Machine has also proven to be very tough as it too has survived some direct hits from anti-tank weapons.

The drone is the new weapon of now and for the future. The Ukrans, to their credit, have taken the drone from a science to an art form! And, there is no, none, nada, Ukrainian government program or facility designing, engineering and building drones. Their whole "drone industry" is a volunteer endeavor, driven by army officers on the ground who saw the need, and supported by enterprising small businesses who are working closely with the Ukran military. It is an amazing story, one that needs telling in more detail once the war is over.