Russia - threadbanned users in OP

johnnyskeleton · 21-12-2022 2:58pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120021638#Comment_120021638

Well they study it and try to replicate it, but in a very lazy and non-committal way. Russian military structures are more or less those of the Red Army in WWII. Their tactics are to amass huge numbers of men and artillery, blast forward in two unrelenting pincers to try to encircle them and then keep blasting until they surrender. Brutal, but it was effective at a time when they had millions of men but no advanced equipment. Such a structure does not have room for individual sub commanders making in field decisions, selecting targets or adapting to changed circumstances, and so the centralised commander issues orders and they have to be obeyed, or you get shot. This is the tactics of choice if you have to suddenly conscript a load of soldiers without proper training and favour large stockpiles of equipment over smaller amounts of the latest and best.

NATO by contrast rely on smaller, smarter units working towards an understood goal using their own judgment, maneuver tactics, speed and precision to achieve them. To do this, you need to have professional, long term, dedicated and smart soliders with modern equipment. You also need to have a much larger number of NCOs and officers who take responsibility rather than blindly following orders. Finally, you need to have a large number of support and logistics personnel and accurate intelligence.

Russia tried to adopt NATO tactics at the start of the invasion, but without providing the structural reforms and equipment necessary. They had a complete logistical and support failure, and their intelligence, while good by WW2 standards, was not sufficient for modern warfare. The result was that their attempt to mirror NATO tactics simply didn't work and they resorted to the old reliable - blast away until the enemy is all dead. It's brutal, and can be effective if you have several million equipped men, but doesn't work for the size of forces they have in Ukraine.

Incidentally, a significant ex post facto explanation from Russian supporters for their failures to date is that they never actually intended this to be a full scale invasion, and so they didn't fail to take Kyiv etc. The "evidence" for same is that if they did wish to carry out such an operation, they would have needed millions of men and they compare it to Barbarossa (3-5 million men) or the Battle of Berlin (1 million with more to follow). John Mearshimer repeats this line a lot. But what it misses is that this implicitly acknowledges that the Russian armed forces are still stuck in the WW2 era. What they don't mention is that Russia tried to recreate the 2003 invasion of Iraq where the US used a very fast combined arms invasion and had effectively destroyed the clunky old Iraqui army within a month, using similar numbers of ground troops.

odyssey06 · 21-12-2022 3:04pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120021457#Comment_120021457

That's a large part of the reason Russia is there, but really it is about not losing Ukraine from its orbit, even if it didn't have those resources. Something which it has no right to demand, especially in light of treaties it has signed with Ukraine.

It doesn't necessarily follow that's why the US and EU is giving so much support, for the reasons here.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120021434#Comment_120021434

astrofool · 21-12-2022 5:16pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120021829#Comment_120021829

Belarus attacking also brings Belarus itself into play, Ukraine will be able to retaliate directly against a non-nuclear armed country. Poland could have the tanks outside Lukashenko's office by the next morning.

It's why Belarus attacking won't happen and isn't being taken seriously bar a few wish-casters.

johnnyskeleton · 21-12-2022 5:19pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120022372#Comment_120022372

Well they attacked from Belarus in Feb, so can potentially do so again now, without it dragging Belarus into the war.

Hobgoblin11 · 21-12-2022 5:44pm

Reports of Liga(Wagner) mercenaries being deployed near Krupeyki village in Belarus to stage a provocation on the border

we may be looking at some sinister actions to....

https://twitter.com/HromadskeUA/status/1605588112972791808

Markcheese · 21-12-2022 5:54pm

To some extent the provocation stuff Is kind of bullshit ,

Ukraine and Russia are at war , Belarus has been assisting and allowing Russian attacks on Ukraine , Ukraine will have no problem going for a first strike if it suits them , it's not like in February when Ukraine was doing everything ( prob too much ) to not escalate and inflame the situation ,Ukraine wasn't mobilizing ,wasn't mining the borders ,wasn't deploying troops to the border..

At this stage what are the Russians going to do that they're not already doing ,

At the most they allow the Belarussians to spread the we were attacked narative - theyll spread that anyway if it suits ,

If there are Russian troop and armour build ups near the Ukrainian border there'll be hi-mars strikes in response..

farmingquestion · 21-12-2022 5:57pm

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/12/21/russia-nord-stream-explosions/

But now, after months of investigation, numerous officials privately say that Russia may not be to blame after all for the attack on the Nord Stream pipelines.

“There is no evidence at this point that Russia was behind the sabotage,” said one European official, echoing the assessment of 23 diplomatic and intelligence officials in nine countries interviewed in recent weeks.

Some went so far as to say they didn’t think Russia was responsible. Others who still consider Russia a prime suspect said positively attributing the attack — to any country — may be impossible.

So no evidence the Russians blew up Nord Stream. It made no sense for them to do so. It makes far more sense that the US did it, they had far more to gain than Russia.

josip · 21-12-2022 6:02pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120022502#Comment_120022502

But the US also had far more to lose. So it doesn't make sense.

cnocbui · 21-12-2022 6:08pm

https://twitter.com/oleksiireznikov/status/1605495774690742273?cxt=HHwWgsCordP57scsAAAA

Fu*k.

cnocbui · 21-12-2022 6:15pm

⚡️The United States allocates $1.85 billion in additional military assistance to Ukraine, it includes Patriot air defense systems, - Blinken

Finally, great news.

Shout out to Israel for its consistency; 17 generators. The UK is only providing 900.

Gatling · 21-12-2022 6:28pm

So we all know about the forced deportations of Ukrainans especially Ukrainian children to Russia to be forcibly adopted,

Here's a report showing Russian soldiers searching orphanages to steal children from so they can be taken back to Russia to be indoctrinated to fight for Russia...

How the hell is the International community and the UN staying silent .

https://news.sky.com/story/cctv-shows-chilling-moment-russian-fsb-agents-and-soldiers-hunt-for-ukrainian-orphans-12772595

cnocbui · 21-12-2022 6:38pm

Russia's Oil Exports Collapsed Since G-7 Sanctions Began

Country’s volumes plunged by more than half in week to Dec. 16

(I'd post a link, but Bloomberg...)

Meanwhile, it looks like no one is brave enough to tell Putrid.

Putin Pledges Unlimited Spending to Ensure Victory in Ukraine

Russian president tells military to achieve results in Ukraine

Defense minister calls for expanding army to 1.5 million

Unlimited spending based on unlimited income, not to mention unlimited amounts of cannon fodder.

The cold war concluded with a ratcheted up arms race which the US could afford, but which broke the USSR financially. How's it go?: 'Those who fail to learn from history, are doomed to repeat it.'

That applies equally to the west, this time we need to put the boot in and finish them off. They clearly aren't fit to run their country so it needs to be run for them, like Japan post WW2.

Gatling · 21-12-2022 6:39pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120022614#Comment_120022614

Imagine the look on Putins face if the Ukrainans went into Belarus and announced they were annexating half of Belarus to protect ukraine

cnocbui · 21-12-2022 6:50pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120022599#Comment_120022599

I think it's a matter of priorities and solving one problem at a time. It can only be addressed once the active fighting has ended and the return of the children can be made part of some agreement such as the kidnapped being used as currency to pay for the lifting of sanctions. Unfortunately I think it highly likely those children will mostly be abused in the meantime, such is the base nature of Orcs. I don't really want to to think about it as it's an utterly terrible situation where nothing can be done about the suffering at the moment.

Larbre34 · 21-12-2022 7:58pm

Stephen Fry and John Boyne 🤣

Nice one Vlad, you'll do wonders for their Kindle sales.

And yet '1984' is still the most read title in Russia at the moment. If Putin isn't worried, well, he ought to be.

He's probably banned Margaret Attwood as well, but I can see a scenario develop which ends with Putin hanging by his neck from the wall of the Kremlin by this time next year, just like in 'The Handmaid's Tale'.

Hobgoblin11 · 21-12-2022 8:06pm

President Zelensky arrived in U.S.

https://t.me/V_Zelenskiy_official/4477

Gatling · 21-12-2022 8:16pm

One president Meets an Amazing president

https://twitter.com/spook_info/status/1605642547258396675?s=20&t=V_falfjW9ZHVXeYp8ow1UA

https://twitter.com/cepa/status/1605642634470379520?s=20&t=zGK5Iii7fwWn_Vip5ExU-Q

roosterman71 · 21-12-2022 8:31pm

There'll be someone on shortly whinging about him not wearing a suit

Furze99 · 21-12-2022 8:32pm

I presume Solovyov has an escape plan too, for when inevitably he needs it.

Headshot · 21-12-2022 8:37pm

I feel a tear or two listening to Zelensky at the moment

Larbre34 · 21-12-2022 8:50pm

Joe Biden failing to know that Time Magazine is a global publication is peak Grandad Joe.

But you're right about Zelensky.

It occurs to me, that all these windbags around the World spend their lives ass-kissing and shilling and working grimey junior jobs, with the aim of leading their Countries. When in fact, all it takes, is for a person to be utterly selfless, to put the people first, to put the Constitution and the integrity of the Country first and to never say die.

Slava.

Gatling · 21-12-2022 8:58pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120023047#Comment_120023047

Probably the first time in 300 + days he's felt safe from attacks and assassinations

Crocodile Booze · 21-12-2022 8:58pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120022932#Comment_120022932

Right...... so they can't take a few dusty towns a few km from their own borders and they're going to take Paris. I imagine the French are trembling alright.