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VladimirTarasov

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Posts posted by VladimirTarasov

  1. 3 minutes ago, Battlefront.com said:

    They had more heavy support as well as direct support from some of the best Russian soldiers that exist.

    That sounds like some really bad propaganda coming from the Ukrainian side... 

    6 minutes ago, Battlefront.com said:

    Sure, the Ukrainian Army sucked (on the whole) in 2014.

    They sucked, but their units weren't really that worse than thrown together locals, operating under say Russian advisers... Majority of the units were barely trained, motivation is what kept them working most of the times. And let's not forget Ukraine sent in not only motor rifle troops but VDV units as well. Let's not throw away the laws of war... If the DPR was better it would have done better than they did during the time. Ukraine did heavily outnumber the separatist forces. 

    8 minutes ago, Battlefront.com said:

    They should be proud that despite all of Ukraine's major problems within its military that it was able to hold out for 4 months no matter what Russia threw at it.

    You see... If Russia actually through forth a legitimate motor rifle battalion into that battle It'd be over way quicker than 4 months. The battle for the airport is more different than you'd expect. we're talking about something the size of a legitimate airport. It could have gone way faster if it was a legitimate Russian unit that undertook the task. 

    Sure the Ukrainians were able to repel small platoon attacks during the initial raids however not much to be proud of, the Defender has certain undeniable advantages... Anyways there were pauses and ceasefires which dragged out the battle longer than it should have. Then of course once the separatists controlled the terminal, the Ukrainians launched a final assault if you remember. DPR repelled that as well, which ensured the victory of the DPR... So it's not a small victory you make it out to be, it was hard fought for and a symbolic victory. 

  2. 3 hours ago, JUAN DEAG said:

    Thanks for sharing. That's unfortunate that they cannot return to Russia once the war is over, at least as long as Putin is in power. Apparently, it is still difficult to get citizenship for people that came from Russia or Belarus that joined Ukrainian volunteer battalions, even though Ukrainian parliament simplified laws to allow Russian and Belorussian volunteers to become permanent Ukrainian citizens.

    I'm glad they can't, the government isn't the only thing that's holding them back from coming. 

  3. @JUAN DEAG Okay I know this, but typically this aggressive patrols are followed by offensive plans. I don't even see a counter-offensive being launched by the DPR. It just doesn't fit in correctly. What was there that couldn't be identified by drones... The Ukrainians at the start of these hostilities; state that there was assault. I've still yet to see any evidence that there was; now it's that the rebels attacked with small arms. There are many ways intelligence could have been gathered in this situation... The high light from Soviet Army: Operations and Tactics, are not for every case. In this case it would make no sense to recon like this if you aren't going to gather intelligence for an offensive... 

    Reasons being:

    1) You just initiated a battle

    2) You are risking much more than the worth for this scenario

    25 minutes ago, JUAN DEAG said:

    Besides, Ukrainian comrades sometimes exaggerate like in the video with the National Guardsman. 

    Of course, every side exaggerates. But some things aren't exaggerated obviously. I'm willing to go by Ukraine's casualty count, but I'm still very skeptical of the DPR launching an attack first... Anyways, time will tell. 

  4. 13 minutes ago, JUAN DEAG said:

    Considering that no evidence was found that the diversionary group was GRU or any other regular Russian force, locals and Russian paramilitaries don't always make the best decisions. DPR/LPR probably learned a valuable lesson about not trying to be Rambo with their reconnaissance. Though, Russian doctrine does favor aggressive CRP (combat recon patrol):

    Yes I know of this, but that's not what our Ukrainian colleagues have been proposing, they said there was an actual offensive. Even then, if the recon unit was sent forth to reveal positions, why are there claims that an offensive has been repelled because that would be a feint... 

    15 minutes ago, JUAN DEAG said:

    If he exists, then he has a weird habit of changing sides periodically and with no pattern except that of training and skill. :)

    Rarely I have my doubts, but that's for another forum :D.  

    17 minutes ago, JUAN DEAG said:

    I assume this is because in real life the dust, explosions, and loud noise is a lot more intense than it looks in a computer game.

    That too, but the concentration and shear violence from it is enough to take down buildings fairly quickly. In CMBS, SOMETIMES of course not all the times; buildings take quite a beating and the defenders or attackers inside even come out surviving sometimes. 

  5. 22 minutes ago, Haiduk said:

    Partialy encircled (mostly by fire, than phisically) was only about a platoon sized group on some of middle positions. This happened 19-20th Dec. Further special forces unit (SSO) arrived and have mopped up terrain. When group made own work and prepared to go back, one mortar shell have impacted nearby and slightly wounded two SSO-guys. Overall losses I, think quiet high for about two combined companies (part of recon platoon, part of 3rd coy of 1st battalion, part of 1st coy of 25th battalion), which have participated in this battle. 

    Thanks for the info, very interesting to know. 

  6. 1 hour ago, JUAN DEAG said:

    Maybe they were worried about unnecessarily losing equipment to hidden Ukrainian SPG-9, NSV, and ATGM teams. Also, tracked vehicles like tanks make a ton of noise and would ruin the element of surprise, which appears to be the objective of LNR/DPR troops.

    Not going to matter if the goal was to capture the objective... Heavy artillery attack with BMP Tank combo would be way more effective than just sending in some guys through the ground. If you think it was a probe to just take out some targets, then instead of risking soft infantry, it'd be better to initiate an artillery duel. I mean let's put ourselves in the shoes of the commander, you'd rather dismount your troops and send them on soft ground through a forest to attack, or would you rather send your armored vehicles and get some cohesion going. 

    1 hour ago, JUAN DEAG said:

    Don't forget the snow fall and the dense fog that can be seen in the videos. I suspect that this was just supposed to be a surprise attack on Ukrainian positions to maybe wound and kill some guys in a "diversionary reconnaissance group" fashion and then melt into the fog before the Ukrainians can respond, but it went bad and the Ukrainians took the initiative to take enemy positions further south and the situation just spiraled out of control from there.

    Could be a possibility, but highly unlikely, what's weird to me is the DPR hasn't launched a counter-offensive yet. They have enough forces to effectively try to do something, but they aren't. Weird IMO, maybe because most of this battle is in the neutral zone. 

    1 hour ago, Haiduk said:

    To hit platoon strongpoint with howiyzers from 10-15 km even with UAV correction is very expensive task, wich need hundreds of shells.

    IMO also depends on the observer and unit's training, as well as the artillery systems used. Ukrainians and DPR/LPR have used artillery very effectively before, God is on the side with the best artillery. 

    1 hour ago, Haiduk said:

    heh,if enemy artillery has the same accuracy and shells dispersion like in CM, our first line already would be completely grounded

    I actually think the CM artillery should be more destructive than it is now, I've observed real Russian artillery fire missions and those things look accurate and devastating. I'm sure Ukrainians have used the artillery effective as well. 

    1 hour ago, Haiduk said:

    18 KIA, 38 WIA

    Sounds realistic considering the intensive bombardment from both sides.

    1 hour ago, Haiduk said:

    10 or 11 soldiers and about 40 were injured

    I have a question, didn't Ukrainian soldiers get encircled at one point, and some attempts to break them out failed? How come the losses are so low. 

  7. 10 minutes ago, HerrTom said:

    Doesn't this support Steve's thought that it was a probe?  Perhaps reminiscent of infiltration tactics in the WW1 than a mechanized offensive.  Beyond that, the terrain from what we've seen doesn't seem very conducive to armoured vehicles - especially Soviet ones with their limited depression.

    A night probe without armor could have maybe worked, however sending infantry during even low light settings on open terrain, at most with a forest to cover them is wrong. Even with the low depression of soviet armor, the terrain here could have been used. Steve's theory that the Kremlin wanted to test DPR guys isn't stupid at all, but it just doesn't fit during this time. Russia has alot to lose from turning the oven on for the conflict, speaking politically. 

  8. 2 hours ago, kinophile said:

    Strictly speaking, in English,  'Loyalist'  applies in a civil war context, which the Donbass War is not.

    True, totally not. 

    2 hours ago, kinophile said:

    I believe @Haiduk felt this guy was too removed from events and sources,  and overdramatic in his pessimism. I can't say myself. 

    I think he summed it up pretty good IMO. I am not having a bias in this battle because it's for no reason, whoever launched the offensive I'd say are wrong in doing so. But the claimed assault didn't look like any normal Russian/DPR assault to me, there would be images of burnt out tanks and BMPs already on the open fields. 

     

  9. 1 hour ago, Battlefront.com said:

    Vladimir, you know I do not think of you this way :D  While I think you still have a very flawed understanding of the nature of this war and the extent to which your government is responsible for it, you no longer deny that it is heavily involved.  I can work with that :D

    Sounds good :D 

    1 hour ago, Battlefront.com said:

    I've seen from the start that some of the loudest critics of Ukrainian information being of poor quality are also the ones who spread and defend even more laughable stuff from the DPR/LPR/Russian side.  "Haha... Ukraine says they killed 50 DPR patriots!  Ukrainians lie so much!  We all know the truth is that they lost 200 men and the DPR has one guy that stubbed his toe!"

    DPR/LPR side has some bad sources where they claim outrageous stuff. I personally do not follow these sources.. However, I will go by Ukraine's claims for their own casualties even though I think they'd hide the total number of losses till say a later date which could happen. It's not that hard to hide losses for a while. Ukraine has done it and so has DPR/LPR, I think we can both agree hiding losses for a limited period of time could be helpful in a war effort, be it propaganda or so the other side doesn't know how effective they've been. 

  10. 2 hours ago, JUAN DEAG said:

    You're in the Russian military right? Can you explain to me what a typical preparatory barrage looks like and for how long does it extend for? What area does it cover?

    Was, if I am now I can't tell you anyways (just kidding) I was in the VDV but I've observed our regular motor rifles as well. A regular barrage varies on the target; for the sake of this post let's say a village was the target. A battalion usually has at least a battery of artillery with them, and if it is an important objective the brigade HQ can get some BM-21s to wreck havoc, as usually we rely on heavy fire support to smash through enemy defenses.

    I wasn't an FO, but I can tell you it doesn't really matter how long you are shelling if you will be assaulting, it can be as fast as 3-5 minutes where you can totally smash defenses into pieces with concentrated fire, and usually just before the barrage is over an assault begins. You need to be specific with the artillery systems used, we have many variants in service. 

    2 hours ago, JUAN DEAG said:

    How effective is artillery against infantry in trenches? Are trenches dug to Soviet standards? Are there any specific tactics for the placement of trenches?

    I know I am not Haiduk but I can tell you how it is. Since world war 2, artillery would pose a threat to trenches, however as long as it didn't hit inside the trench (and Russian standards of trenches are pretty narrow) you should be fine. Air burst can ruin your day. It's better to use mortars against such targets, air burst or not it's way better from what I've observed. (not personally but you get what I mean) You can check separatist totally not rebellion army's videos there's quite a few style of trenches they use however they are usually narrow and dug into the ground deep. 

    2 hours ago, JUAN DEAG said:

    I think it's just the winter look that's giving you the Debaltsevo vibes. Also, the recent positions that the Ukrainians took are only 7 km from Debaltsevo.

    Probably. 

  11. 3 minutes ago, JUAN DEAG said:

    I don't think panzersaurkrautwerfer is talking about hospitals that are used as firing positions because in that case it is justified to target the hospital. The issue comes from bombing hospitals that are used for hospital-ing. Especially when Russia denies this:

    https://www.bellingcat.com/news/mena/2016/11/09/fact-checking-russias-claim-didnt-bomb-another-hospital-syria/

     

     

    Look without going off topic, this can be debated back and forth. I think we'll both agree that there are many evidences that the opposition uses Mosques, Hospitals, Schools for military purposes. I'll list some so people who don't follow up don't think I'm BSing.

    https://twitter.com/MIG29_/status/812427435518136320

     

  12. 4 minutes ago, panzersaurkrautwerfer said:

    Hospitals, aid convoys, and markets too!  LOLZ!

    Corrections, hospitals where the enemy has been hoarding ammunition and arms, as well as HQs. Aid convoys? No just no. Markets? Re: hospital cases. You know how much last hospitals there were in East Aleppo? like 30. Let's get a grip on ourselves. I mean don't treat your neighbors so harsh, we're basically next to each other. You guys have gone through the same process with terrorists using urban environments, including hospitals and schools as military zones. 

    We've also targeted enemy tanks, armored vehicles, trench systems, tunnels, bunkers, ect. ect. My favorite one would have to be enemy HQs. 

  13. 10 hours ago, Battlefront.com said:

    Sometimes it is better to start with no experience than to start with the wrong experience.  No specific examples to make here, just stating that as a basic truth to consider.

    Experience from I believe 50 aircraft, plus special forces on the ground is really going to make Russia focus on COIN and MOUT? The amount of Russians in Syria cannot be compared to the amount that was in Afghanistan or Iraq by coalition forces. If Russia is going to smash the Baltics it's not gonna matter much if we did operations in Syria... Our forces are still very much geared for conventional war. The Syria experience was not only good for logistics but also for air force command. And mind you the war in Syria isn't much of a coin environment, rebel forces operate like conventional forces as well. Well... Minus the part where they blow their selves up for military success.  The RuAF has targeted other things other than apartment blocks lol... 

  14. 27 minutes ago, Battlefront.com said:

    Given how unhappy the people of Donbas are whenever Russian artillery hits their houses, factories, shops, schools, and hospitals I'm not surprised. 

    Seriously, with the thousands of structures destroyed in this conflict so far, why highlight one specific one?

    Steve, I'm just high lighting it because it's about the current event. No need to almost bash in my brains for that. :D 

    29 minutes ago, Battlefront.com said:

    Yup, I saw this too.  This had been a quiet sector of the front for a while and so apparently Ukraine didn't have stuff in position ahead of time.  Then again, soldiers tend to gripe about everything so it has to be taken with a pinch of salt.  Certainly I've seen plenty of griping on the Russian side throughout this conflict.

    Well it's still something. As I've suspected the Ukrainians are lacking in some areas still. Might be his particular unit however I'd expect the front line troops to be equipped better. 

    34 minutes ago, Battlefront.com said:

    I'd expect something too.  Ukraine scored a pretty good, even though small, victory so far.  As I said before I can't see Russia letting it go unpunished.  Gotta teach those pesky Ukrainians they can't have their land back :D

    They were able to penetrate some lines of the defense however that's not really a victory... They still need to go further to exploit the success. It does however show they can launch offensives and be successful at it somewhat. Putin's demonic army still has LOS to Ukrainian positions from those posts according to videos online. Ukrainians need to take those positions and I'd label this a success on their part. 

  15. 3 minutes ago, panzersaurkrautwerfer said:

    It's just a statement about the kinds of targets the Russian Air Force has been hitting.  You yourself saw this, and Aleppo bears witness to it.

    In any event it's experience sure, but it's in the vacuum of still putting MIG-29s into the ocean, significantly less flight hours even with a lifted optempo, and an aging airfleet.  If I change the air freshener in my car, the car is somewhat improved. But it does nothing to fix the oil filter, low coolant and dead hobo in the trunk.  

    I'll ignore the dead hobo part for the sake of your well being ;) well aside from losing a few aircraft most of them due to stupid mistakes the Russian intervention in Syria was a success speaking strictly militarily. It has showed some of our weaknesses once again, but also it helped us gain valuable knowledge in the long run. I won't go into the politics of course, but I'd think militarily Russia has enjoyed success in Syria. 

    The ageing air fleet is true for a portion of it, Russia is still trying to modernize its fleet. It wont be like the US air force of course... But we're working with what we have. Also flight hours actually vary... Nothing to criticize active Russian pilots in Syria there for. One plane from the SU-24 series had I believe a 100 stars which marks ten strike missions each. 

  16. Quick update: it appears Ukrainians have shelled and hit a church(hopefully not on purpose), locals aren't happy about it. 

     

    Watched a video of a volunteer from the 25th battalion complain to the government about why the battalion is lacking needed logistical vehicles* for evacuating the wounded and dead... They're using personal vehicles apparently. He said ladas and minivans were being used... Poor guys even if I'm not with the Ukrainian side I still feel bad for them. Anyways looks as if the lines have been stabilized... I'd expect a counter-attack from the separatists sooner or later. 

  17. 1 hour ago, John Kettler said:

    This is a useful, though overblown in title, look at Russia's military situation, especially as it applies to training and force modernization. Also of note is the value Russian operations in Syria have in terms not just of combat experience but of the opportunities to battle test new capabilities. The accompanying photo is a very strong argument showing why Su-27 series birds shouldn't cuddle!

    https://www.yahoo.com/news/m/01834b09-0af5-3ac0-8764-c15b503aabc9/ss_russia%26%2339%3Bs-military-still.html

    Regards,

    John Kettler

    A SU-27 crashing into another SU-27 on a frozen runway does not show any lacking in the Russian training... It happens lol... Yahoo to get insight? Yikes...

    But good thing you mentioned Syria; the MoD said 83% of the VKS aircrew has been rotated into Syria. So actually a very large portion of the Russian air force is being constantly rotated into Syria to gain combat experience and training from it. 

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