sburke

what planet do you live on where "good Christian boy" precludes bizarre sexual behavior? For all their ranting about gay drag queen groomers, the worst groomers I've seen are these "good Christian leaders". anyway I doubt this idiot is gonna get hit with the full ton of bricks. He wasn't passing to a foreign intelligence agency or trying to sell them, just being really stupid.

yeah I guess that is why it is plural, but then referencing the October parade in 1941 comparison falls a little flat. journalists...

Putin cancels Victory Day parades as Ukraine invasion continues to unravel (yahoo.com) The cancellations are officially due to security concerns related to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. However, numerous commentators have speculated that Moscow is also increasingly short of tanks and is understandably eager to avoid highlighting the scale of the losses suffered by the Russian army in Ukraine. Whether the real reason is security issues or equipment shortages, the decision to cancel this year’s Victory Day parades represents a painful blow for Vladimir Putin that hints at the grim reality behind Moscow’s upbeat propaganda portrayals of his faltering Ukraine invasion. ... These unfavorable circumstances will make Putin’s job all the more difficult as he attempts to strike the right note in this year’s Victory Day address. With little to look forward to, he is likely to seek inspiration from the glories of the past. However, comparisons between World War II and Russia’s present predicament may not prove very flattering. At the height of the Nazi advance in late 1941, Moscow famously staged the annual October Revolution parade on Red Square with the might of the invading German army located a mere few miles away. In contrast, Putin is evidently now unable to defend Russia against the far more modest threat posed by a country he expected to conquer in just three days. Throughout the Putin era, Victory Day has served to showcase Russia’s resurgent strength, but this year’s holiday may become a symbol of his regime’s growing weakness.

only one? Clearly you need to get into some more trouble.

More infighting in Russia? Blogger who called Vladimir Putin ‘soft on Ukraine’ sought by Russian authorities (yahoo.com) A prominent Russian blogger who has accused Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, of losing the war by being too soft on Ukraine may be facing criminal charges for “discrediting” the army. ... Now he appears to have been accused of “discrediting the Russian armed forces”, a criminal offence usually levelled at anti-war activists that can lead to a fine or a prison sentence if committed twice. On Friday, the authorities reportedly launched a preliminary investigation into Girkin after a private citizen from Moscow filed a complaint, according to several Russian media outlets quoting unnamed police officials. Police in St Petersburg earlier this week were approached by a woman identified as Tatyana who claims she watched Girkin’s online show on March 20 and found his remarks to be offensive to the Russian army, the media outlet Mash reported. The hour-long show that day saw Girkin accuse Putin of “behaving like a doormat, not the president of a country with a millenia-long history” and suggesting he blew the chance to capture Kharkhiv and Odessa in 2014 “practically without a single shot”. He also blasted the Russian leadership for dragging their feet on the offensive in eastern Ukraine.

Steve did you get a deal on a used Russian tank? Russian tank captured by Ukrainian forces turns up at Louisiana truck stop (yahoo.com) A Russian tank used in the assault on Ukraine has mysteriously appeared at a truck stop in the US. The T-90 tank is thought to have been captured last September by Ukraine’s 92nd Separate Mechanised Brigade, after being used in fighting in the Kharkiv region of north west Ukraine. The combat vehicle was left on a low loader in the parking lot of a restaurant in the state of Louisiana. Local reports suggest that after the truck towing the tank broke down, the vehicle was left at Peto’s Travel Center and Casino in Roanoke, Louisiana, next to US Interstate 10.

AG: Guardsman to be charged with removing classified info (yahoo.com) sucks to be him...

whoa hold on there. my tinfoil hat has stopped alien messages from infecting my brain. prove it hasn't!

never underestimate people's capability of bolstering their alternate reality

Kherson isn't a good comparison as it was pretty much the main hub at the front line. Melitopol is fairly deep in the Russian rear and may consist of mostly rear area personnel. Pure conjecture there, but if true those folks would be more susceptible to panic if the UA has a breakthrough and suddenly these guys find themselves under attack. An unlikely event but it is something to dream about if we are gonna put together an early Christmas list. As to Warsaw there is some contention that the Red Army deliberately let it fail though Glantz seems to be of the mind it was launched too early and the Red army was unable to do much. Likely there is a bit of truth in both.

the one other factor that could way into that is if UA can infiltrate units into Melitopol in advance. Defending an urban are for the Russians could be problematic if they don't actually fully control the urban area.

well, the criminals too stupid to either get caught or not have connections to the higher up criminals.

no it wasn't me, I was just opening a window so he'd have some fresh air.. oh wait you meant add him to the oligarch list umm okay

Explosion occurs near aircraft plant of Russian Defence Ministry in Voronezh (yahoo.com) Residents of the Russian city of Voronezh report hearing a loud explosion near the runway of a military aircraft plant. Source: Latvia-based Russian media outlet Meduza; local Telegram media channels Details: The Telegram channels share footage of a fire that allegedly started near the plant. At the same time, the city council denies everything. They say there have been no emergencies. The press service of the Emergency Situations Ministry in Voronezh Oblast also reported that there were no calls for fire and rescue units. Background: The Voronezh Aircraft Plant fulfils orders from the Russian Ministry of Defence, including the maintenance of the so-called Doomsday Plane, a flying command post of the Russian president.

Russia loses election to three UN bodies over Ukraine (yahoo.com) UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Russia lost elections to three United Nations bodies this week, a sign that opposition to its invasion of Ukraine over a year ago remains strong. The votes in the 54-member U.N. Economic and Social Council follow approval of six non-binding resolutions against Russia by the 193-member U.N. General Assembly. The latest — on Feb. 23, the eve of the first anniversary of the invasion — called for Moscow to end hostilities and withdraw its forces and was adopted by a vote of 141-7 with 32 abstentions. In the ECOSOC votes, Russia was overwhelmingly defeated by Romania for a seat on the Commission on the Status of Women. It lost to Estonia to be a member of the executive board of the U.N. children’s agency UNICEF. And it was defeated by Armenia and the Czech Republic in secret ballot votes for membership on the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice.

the info in the leak isn't an attack plan, it is more the outfitting/supply resource plan. This could give Russia some perspective on the possible scale of an offensive. If it is an intentional leak, it could be an attempt to provoke Putin to go full bore on mobilization with all that potential risk for Russia.

this is getting really old and is a complete derailment of the thread. Unless you think Ukraine has no right to decide its own future what the heck are you going on about? If you do feel that Ukraine has no right to make any decision on its future that Russia does not approve of then go somewhere else. Enough already. Calling the Ukrainian fight to defend its right to self-determination from a barbaric aggressor state "choosing to become a party to various and sundry conflicts" is insulting to all our Ukrainian members of this forum who are currently part of a fight to defend their country's right to exist.

US, Britain walk out at UN on Russian wanted for war crimes (yahoo.com) UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States, Britain, Albania and Malta walked out on Russia's envoy for children's rights - whom the International Criminal Court wants to arrest on war crimes charges - as she spoke by video to U.N. Security Council members on Wednesday. Britain and the United States blocked the informal meeting on Ukraine, convened by Russia to focus on "evacuating children from conflict zones," from being webcast by the United Nations. The diplomats left the U.N. conference room where the discussion was being held as Russian Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova spoke. U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., Linda Thomas-Greenfield, told reporters that the United States joined Britain in blocking the webcast so Lvova-Belova did not have "an international podium to spread disinformation and to try to defend her horrible actions that are taking place in Ukraine." The International Criminal Court last month issued an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin and Lvova-Belova, accusing them of illegally deporting children from Ukraine and the unlawful transfer of people to Russia from Ukraine since Russia invaded on Feb. 24, 2022.

Putin sacks top general over disastrous failed assault (yahoo.com) Vladimir Putin has fired one of the top generals leading Russia's forces in Ukraine, after an attack on the eastern town of Vuhledar ended with dozens of tanks being destroyed. General Rustam Muradov was sacked in the aftermath of the failure, the Moscow Times reported, citing officials in the Russian defence ministry. Michael Kofman, a military analyst, told the newspaper: “Muradov had the Russian military repeatedly attacking in small mechanized formations through minefields, across open terrain. And they accomplished nothing in Vuhledar.” The battle for Vuhledar, some 100 miles south west of Bakhmut, is said to have been one of the most embarrassing defeats suffered by Moscow in the entire war, with Russian forces reportedly losing 130 armoured vehicles.

I am still on the fence about what would constitute a knockout punch. I don't think the UA has to drive all the way to the 2014 border or even fully split the front. A significant offensive that forces Russia to give up a decent amount of territory after all the lives Putin has spent for a few blocks of Bahkmut is gonna look really bad. Something on a similar scale to Kharkiv for example is gonna induce serious internal stresses for Russia. If the UA can pull off a significant enough advance to drive home the point again that Russia is losing this war does it constitute enough to force the cracks in the Russia state? What does that do for China's position? What do the other states that make up the Russian empire do with that dilemma after all the lives they have spent marching to Moscow's tune?

don't smoke and drive Russian armoured cars "drive over the speed limit" on Kerch Bridge: minus 5 Russian cars – Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (yahoo.com)

Thank god we are done with Trump discussion. That can’t impact Ukraine until at earliest Jan 2024 and by then we are hopefully in a whole different place militarily. The big discussion then will be (I hope) the financial support for reconstruction.

I’m with Jon. Giving up territory undermines the whole point of supporting Ukraine, the defense of a rules based order. A temporary option for ceasefire and continued negotiation is one thing, but a full settlement giving Russia legitimized ownership should (and from Ukraine’s stated position) not be on the table. At best there should be a timeline for Russian withdrawal and perhaps a vote under neutral party control AFTER a complete Russian withdrawal. Also included in those terms, war crimes trials and compensation for the pain and loss inflicted on Ukraine. Let’s face it, Russia isn’t likely to agree to any terms acceptable to Ukraine. Any negotiation will likely only happen with a clear Russian military defeat.

Just think, if they join this summer it could become AUKUST in august!

Did you catch Belarus and Russia are banned from world hockey? https://nhl.nbcsports.com/2022/02/28/iihf-bans-russia-belarus-from-play-2023-world-juniors-to-be-moved/#:~:text=The International Ice Hockey Federation announced it has,was to be played in Novosibirsk and Omsk.