sburke

well that would just as well apply to the entire Russian military.

go ahead and mock me sir! I'll be laughing all the way to the bank when that procurement contract comes in!

well this seems to be Russia's latest story on the car bombing. Interesting as given the details it seems easily verified or not... like passport control and photos at a border crossing. More of the usual just throw stuff out there and not worry about any authenticity.

Churches?!!! Blasphemy! Actually, what made me think of parking garages wasn't cause I thought it out much...(no really!) but thinking back on the fighting for Grozny and how the Chechens dug into an urban environment. granted that was mostly infantry, but the urban environment tends to have a huge impact on tactical behavior as noted in this discussion the limitations on drone use that has been such a huge factor overall. So yeah maybe tanks are really limited in this scope but a covered keyhole position that isn't observable so readily to C4ISR is much more realistic than elsewhere. Doesn't help the tank mass much as yeah they are relegated to being a big ass sniper that to your earlier points still has a logistical trail. So my new proposal to the defense dept. includes an attached gas station to the mobile parking garage,...

pshaw. You are just mad that I proposed the mobile parking garage to the Pentagon first! Damn I forgot about that height thing... must make new design before next procurement meeting! On a serious note you should see this parking garage setup they have in Japan last time I was there. You pull your car up to an elevator, get out, it gives you a code for retrieval and your car just disappears. Would totally mess with my MBT plan.

not really. The bridge piers look to be solid and at least the width of the bridge if not a little wider.

Not true in an urban environment. Parking garages etc provide plenty of opportunity for covered locations. Maybe the Russians just haven't figured that out.

in a famous quote - The chickens come home to roost.

As Attacks Mount in Crimea, Kremlin Faces Rising Domestic Pressures (msn.com)

Ha, now just waiting on confirmation of this one and we'll call it a trifecta Lt-Col Gordeev, the Divisions artillery chief

and not worth risking possible assets in Moscow that could do this.

recent article suggested it is more an inability to ensure the wonderful tale of grateful Russians returning to the motherland. Partisan activity is undermining Russian sense of control.

they better secure those prisoners well cause you know Russia will want them dead. If they can be traced back to Russia that starts leading to an article 5.

Russian intelligence knew that Ukrainians would not welcome Russia, but still told the Kremlin they would, report says (msn.com)

I was referring to him saying we don't have a problem with weird... and yet here I am.

really?

regarding the narrowing of decision space and your statement as to why Putin isn't doing more to try and ease the conflict

Read that. Seems they are still doing a little arse covering. This line in particular I found.. amusing I guess. What freakin progress are they talking about? The debacle at the pontoon crossing? the futile push ay Izyum? They still don't seem to be able to do a full blown holistic assessment of what Russia was actually able to achieve and at what cost.

another sign that Russia is realizing it isn't secure enough in the south. Russia May Delay Annexation Moves as Ukraine Invasion Progress Slows (msn.com)

it is behind a paywall, but the NY times has an interview with Ukrainian partisans and info on the kinds of activities they have been doing. Behind Enemy Lines, Ukrainians Tell Russians ‘You Are Never Safe’ - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

great - now I'm gonna have nightmares.

fortunately, it isn't a card he can play well. It will only seal Russia's fate. Flip the board and no one will play with you again ever. China and India would both balk at this.

Damn, had to go pull the crystal ball out of the attic. my bet is no. Russia after this war will be in no shape to fight anyone for a while and I think we'll find as time goes by Russia will become progressively weaker. In fact the only way I see Russia emerging from this downward spiral is to actually embrace reforms for real. The country desperately needs it.

on the artillery question. Even assuming they have all those shells, and they are the right kind, and they are in good shape AND they are accesssible..... what about the tubes themselves? What is the perspective on how long Russian can keep firing before they are just too worn out and start having technical boom difficulties?

doubtful they are planning anything like that if they intend to tie it into their power grid.