sburke

I hear there is some honkin big bridge down there somewhere

yep Some of them are organized into specific units. How Belarusian Fighters in Ukraine Evolved Into Prominent Force Against Russian Invasion (voanews.com)

Maybe this guy? Lt Colonel Mikhail Orchikov was deputy commander of a motor-rifle brigade 19th motor-rifle division

Ukrainian Civilians Kill Russian Soldiers With Poisoned Cakes: Report (msn.com) loot this

I think we are well past looking at the "logical" thing. Heck the entire war doesn't seem logical, and yet Putin ordered it. The brutality is commonplace. They have openly mistreated people including firing on protestors against the occupation in other Ukrainian cities, bombing hospitals clearly marked as civilian refuge places. While I am angered by the crimes displayed in Bucha, I am not surprised. It is one with the behavior exhibited by the Russian army in the rest of this war, by its activities in Syria and its actions against its own dissidents. As Maya Angelou said When people show you who they are, believe them the first time.

Another one from David Axe at Forbes. This guy actually does good reporting This one is on the 331st Guards Airborne Regiment. To note he points out the unit fought around Bucha and has a history of atrocities. The Ukrainians Have Nearly Destroyed One Of The Russian Army’s Best Regiments (msn.com)

Yep I play them all at various times depending on something that will trigger me. Reading a book, seeing a pic. the trigger may vary.

Gonna take a pretty huge arse barrel to scrape up enough to make up for those losses.

this is actually pretty funny Russia vows to target British weapons as UK missile downs helicopter (msn.com) What the heck does that even mean? "We are going to target them by flying helicopters at them!!"

The problem in the Russian army as noted isn't that there are a few examples, but rather it is systemic. It's like the medieval raids of the English into France during the 100 years war or viking raids in terms of the looting etc. It is a reflection of an army with utterly no discipline. No wonder they fight like.. excrement. They aren't soldiers. They are thugs in uniforms. Adam Kinzinger Shares Video of Russian Soldiers Allegedly Mailing Loot Home (msn.com)

I don't think we know actually how much damage was done to the Russians in retreat. There is certainly a large amount of smashed armor, indications of guys abandoning loot etc. There was a video early on when Russia pulled back from Bucha, the Ukrainians first checked the area by drone and waited a day. Could be a tactical reason, mobility issue., Russian mines and booby traps. I definitely don't think it was a deal that would preserve Russian troops.

You are categorically wrong there. That is exactly what has happened. Russia has not ordered a full mobilization and already has an issue with conscripts refusing to serve in Ukraine. There are very sharp political reasons for that. Will Putin go that far? Possibly. The risks are extreme and likely require he actually declare it a war by Russian statute. Assuming he does that, will it make a difference? Mobilizing even more untrained cannon fodder with military hardware that may not even work? The DPR/LNR guys and the Ossetians have already complained about being used as cannon fodder. Again we are talking about a 300 mile front line. I am not sure how many square kilometers that translates to. The numbers just don't work.

Which history? Afghanistan? WW 1? There is only so long the mythology of Napoleon and WW2 holds. Russia doesn't have any serious allies nor a western alliance providing supplies. They have what they brought and what they brought has been kicked in the face. There is no previous experience in Russia to compare with what is happening now. either way the next week or two should tell the story.

I think you are giving the Russian army far too much credit considering what it was able to accomplish when it was in a lot better shape and had some amount of tactical surprise... and hadn't been massacring Ukrainians till they were white hot with rage against Russia. Russia even if it could force the line back hasn't the troops to hold it and resupply. It is as unrealistic as any of the previous 8 plans Russia has had. Holding a position in a city perforce means you have to take it first.

sorry, we're gonna have to kill you now.

well prepared positions? You realize Izium to Kherson is over 300 miles of front in hostile territory? Comparing the Russian advance to the Dnieper in 1944 to the current situation is so flawed an analogy I don't even know where to start.

In what sense? Ukraine is not surrendering. It could be decisive if UKR forces continue to batter Russia's army as it has, but I think we are well past the point of Russia achieving anything remotely decisive.

More sanctions fallout Sberbank’s U.K. Unit Faces Collapse Amid Russia Sanctions (msn.com)

Question is - what would he do it with? Problem when you go all in is... you went all in. If anything goes wrong your pockets are empty. Maybe some lint, old rubber band, gum wrapper....

another Russian diplomat expelled Bulgaria expels Russian diplomat over alleged espionage (msn.com) Meanwhile in Germany Germany charges army reserve officer with spying for Russia (msn.com) and to further muddy the waters China accused of launching cyber-attacks on Ukraine before Russian invasion (msn.com)

Just made the list today along with Major General Andriy Serytsky Chief of Staff - Deputy Commander of the 36th Combined Arms Army (also seriously wounded) These are the first reports we have on the 35th and 36th CAAs Major Ruslan Petrukhin, a graduate of the Kazan Higher Military Command School and a deputy battalion commander in the 38th Motorized Rifle Brigade <---- also a unit of the 35th CAA

Unless you are Kim Jong-un in which case you shoot them with an anti-aircraft gun.

Agreed, but there is quite a bit more in that article than that poll. Also, despite a response to you earlier I think saying that the poll was anonymous, there is no such thing. They can scrub the data afterwards, but when the poll is done they very much know who said what. To your point that invalidates (mostly) the poll but you can still read between the lines a bit. My former employer had a poll on women in the workplace. They scrubbed that data and then had the folks in charge of that initiative review it. My boss was once of those and even in looking at the "anonymous' responses she identified an individual in my team giving a response that was shall we say, a bit of a stab in the back.

I expect that may be a longer-term knock-on effect. Russia's economic turmoil will have a downstream effect on Belarus. on the other hand, Belarus has significant trade agreements with the Baltic states and others. Lukashenko obviously knows he is not in a good position and the choice not to invade Ukraine was more than likely a recognition that while Putin might have needed him to do it, the cost was more than the cost of refusing Putin. That should have told Putin something if he could get his head out of his posterior cavity.

As Belarusian rail lines break down and trains transporting Russian military equipment into Ukraine grind to a halt, the government of strongman Alexander Lukashenko is making a risky move. It is airing confessions of transport workers involved in the so-called “rail war”, who are admitting to damaging equipment and infrastructure and causing delays. On the one hand, the accounts may strike fear into the hearts of those Belarusians who are opposed to the war, to Mr Lukashenko’s tyrannical regime, and to his close relationship with Russian president Vladimir Putin. But on the other hand, the array of dozens of statements from ordinary trackmen and line workers, rail hands and IT specialists, conductors and engineers showed the depth and breadth of opposition in Belarus to Russia’s war, as well as towards Mr Lukashenko. Belarus at breaking point: How Putin’s war threatens Lukashenko’s fragile grip on power (msn.com)