Russia-Ukraine War (Threadbanned in op)

on your last point that at least makes some sense, in some sense yes as in with all the surveillance and chatter and what not, but if it has no staying power it will count for nothing in a few months , wont the "middle finger" have difficulty being resupplied or having time to dig in properly, Im not sure why you need a "Mexico" analogy? it's simple enough to understand on its own terms

It's not me that's saying it. We're already seeing the benefits and they keep on coming.

Yep. Might be too early in the day for the old sarcasm detectors. I was referring to the post saying that it's a very expensive exercise for Ukraine. It looks too be turning into a solid investment. The airfield was potentially hit from drones launched from within Kursk.

Wasn’t discussed yet but the silence from US, Germany etc is deafening

Starting to look like Biden knowing he is on way out have a thumbs up

Also reports of all restrictions on weaponry use in Russia lifted which might explain todays spontaneous combustion of an airfield far behind the lines

This is great because it calls Russia's bluff. Yes they can get the territory back but are they willing to utterly raze Russian villages to do so? They don’t seem to have any other offensive tactics.

of course they are…. this is Russia we are dealing with… not some civilised country.

They couldn't care less about some sh1tty town/village near the border.

Chatter that there was more than one column destroyed last night.

Also, confirmation from Ukraine on the airfield hit in Lipetsk.

Ukraine says it hit Russian military airfield in Lipetsk region | Reuters

"Several sources of ignition were recorded, a large fire broke out and multiple detonations were observed," Kyiv's military said on the Telegram messaging app.Russian Su-34, Su-35 and MiG-31 warplanes were based at the airfield, it said.A security source told Reuters that the attack was carried out by drones as dozens of planes and helicopters stood on the airfield, as well as a warehouse containing 700 guided bombs.

There is no alternative in urban fighting against a determined or half determined opponent but ending up leveling it, that applies to retaking the Ukrainian towns as well. It's the same in every war.

so, if vatniks are contracted for special military fcukup in Ukraine, is their contract void if military fcukup happens on ruSSia territory?

Lipetsk-2 Airport seems to be a major staging point for attacks in Ukraine, given the aircraft types stationed there relatively recently, plus the usual carefree ammunition dump out in the fields towards the town.

Here is an overview of the field itself:

NASA published details of fires picked up by satellite a number of hours ago. Note the position of the fires with respect to the V-shape of the runways.

We can now zoom in on that position and we find the ammunition dump that was attacked last night. Please note the carefree and usual manner in which the Russians stack bombs and munitions out in the open in clear lines, similar to how we would stack gas cylinders.

In one section, you can clearly see the online of munitions hidden underneath the tarpaulin.

These are not to be confused with the white drop-tanks which you can spot scattered around the airfield itself.

Lipetsk-2 continued..

There are also some noteworthy aircraft types stationed here.

We see 5 of the latest "5th Generation" SU-57 parked up.

An older Su-27 from the Falcons Aerobatic Team, still in its demo colours:

And an assortment of older types, including SU-24 bombers, with their wings swept back for parking

It's unclear when Google Earth was updated, but they are relatively recent and I find it extraordinary that such an important airfield, so close to the front, would not have had more robust defences. If Ukraine take the field, it will be a monumental coup, and will most likely result in the "relocation" of whichever aircraft are left. I imagine local bloggers will notice a major uptake in flights OUT of this airbase soon if it is clear that Ukrainian forces are advancing on it.

We live in interesting times.