Russia - threadbanned users in OP

If I may...?

That Twitter user is talking out of his derriere! The weapon shown there is a German weapon indeed, a Panzerfaust 3 anti tank weapon. I don't know where he's getting the "scrap" from, because the paperwork shown in the tweet is simply the maintenance record for the weapon, which outlines the inspections and documentation checks for the weapon. The page shown in the second image of that tweet ends with an inspection on December 4th, 2012, however there are numerous additional pages behind it, indicating that the weapon has undergone its regular checks as required.

Generally, modern weapons are designed to last for quite a while, having a shelf life of at least twenty years. Provided the page shown in the Tweet is the first page for the inspection log, which would indicate that the weapon was delivered to the Bundeswehr (the Federal German Defence Forces) in 2005, this weapon would still be below that mark and good to use. You can bet that even some of the Javelins or Stingers that have come in from the States are as old as this Panzerfaust 3. Also keep in mind that Germany sent 1000 of these Panzerfaust 3, together with 200 Stinger missiles, to Ukraine already.

There has been one major issue with weapons deliveries from Germany, and that's with a shoulder-launched surface to air missile called the 9K32 Strela, NATO designation SA-7 Grail. This weapon, while quite a bit older than the Stinger, is generally comparable, if slightly less capable. However, it is a standard-issue MANPADS with the Ukrainian Armed Forces and as such very much in demand. Germany inherited several thousands of these weapons from the East German Nationale Volksarmee (NVA, National People's Army in English), where it had been standard issue. The weapon remained in use with the Bundeswehr until 2012, when it was decommissioned and mothballed.

The weapons were kept in storage and thus remained listed in the Bundeswehr's inventory. However, as Strela was no longer an active weapons system, it didn't see any more active maintenance, unlike systems such as the Panzerfaust 3 or Stinger. I presume that when the request from Ukraine for such weapons arrived, the clerks in the Ministry of Defense simply checked their computer to see if they had any in stock and saw the 2700 missiles listed, which resulted in the positive feedback to the initial request. It was only when soldiers went into the warehouse to check the weapons the day after the request that they discovered what was really going on and that a lot of those missiles were just not safe to use anymore. 700 missiles were completely unsafe, with micro fissures in the propellant casing leading to the propellant partially oxidising, whilst other had severe corrosion issues. A lot of the transport and storage boxes had gotten mouldy, meaning that the warehouses where these weapons are stored are now off-limits to anyone without a hazmat suit. Having said that, 500 missiles that were operational were sent to Ukraine as soon as possible. I'm not sure what"s going on with the remaining missiles, I hope they're getting thorough inspections and the ones that are still usable get sent to Ukraine ASAP.

Whilst I'm thoroughly appalled at the way the government back home in Germany is handling the invasion of Ukraine, there is some perspective needed when it comes to actual military aid. To put it bluntly, Germany doesn't have as much to give as many would think, certainly not when it comes to infantry or man-portable weapons. Ever since reunification, the Bundeswehr has been systematically wound down, with base closures on a massive scale, the radical decommissioning of all Warsaw Pact weapons inherited from Eastern Germany, numerous half-baked "defence reforms" that ended up achieving sweet foxtrot alpha, apart from providing nice payouts to "consultants" and lobbyists for the defense industry. Things reached their lowest point in 2015, when none of the brand-new German 212A submarines were safe to put to sea, a new class of corvette was introduced that did its best to gas its own crew due to a design flaw in the exhaust system, the availability of the Eurofighter Typhoon fleet fell to such a low level that Poland had to cover some QRA missions, and so on. Right now, most of Germany's parachute regiments haven't had a practice jump in years, mostly because they can't find enough serviceable parachutes and harnesses. The Army is equipped with transport helicopters in which the cabin floor crumples when soldiers in combat boots step on them. Things have gotten better since 2015, the submarine fleet is back operational, the issue with the Braunschweig class corvettes have been fixed and the Eurofighter availability has risen to 70-79% of aircraft being available for operations on any given day, but there are still numerous issues that will take years to fix. For all its outward appearances, Germany isn't too far off equipment-wise from the Russian Army.

It's a delight to read subject matter from someone who knows what they're talking about.

Russia can unite all they want -- outside of Ukraine! Let them suffer the sanctions as a wall of NATO infrastructure is placed around them.

Russia can decide what role they want in the world after that, let the EU and West come together.

But we need to get them out of Ukraine first.

On rte news earlier they were saying Mariupol is totally destroyed and it's likely to never be rebuilt.

I wonder would the Ukrainians been better off tactically withdrawing from some of the cities n ambushing out in the countryside.

Then, best get it done now. Give the Moskovites a chance to rebuild and we will face the same situation in lets say 10 years? It's going to happen unless they are either de-nuclearized or neutralised.

Correct but when they are giving an ultimatum to a city that is nearly all rubble now, you have to suspect it will go very bad.

Problem is they'll claim to have given them a chance and that anyone who stayed is an enemy combatant. Anyway, the city will be gone. Seems Putin is doubling down now and just going for destruction.

Its an extremely flat country, mainly arable land with huge swathes of land with zero obstruction. Any army would be sitting ducks. Assault columns that can attack from small areas of cover and retreat are likely the only way to resist in such terrain.

Whilst of far less consequence compared to what Ukrainian citizens are going though, this war is already showing signs of impact of parts of our economy. I'm only a small fish but noticeable drop in sales (discretionary spending) since the latter part of February. It has the likelihood of impacting on many small businesses far worse than Covid.