LukeFF

During WW2 even that supposedly mighty russian empire (USSR) had to rely almost entirely on USA and its lend-lease to not get steamrolled into oblivion by Germany, people seem to forget that. Not in small part due to a good old russian tradition of killing everyone intelligent enough to actually wipe their ass and leaving the rest.

Another interesting tweet
 

Well his second thread isn't exactly accurate, as we absolutely have and account for manufacturing deviations between howitzers, and have several processes to identify these differences. We also have differences between the efficiencies of our propellants and the weight of our shells, which is why we segregate them into similar lots and track the differences between the various lots... that's probably the main difference between western and Soviet equipment, not necessarily purely a quality thing (though it plays a factor) but the fact that we more accurately account for those differences... looking at the Tabular Firing Tables of a Soviet D-30 and comparing it to ours, the amount of data they used was noticeably less. We have extremely detailed firing tables that account for many different variables, and I'm not sure if more recent Russian howitzers have improved, but I would argue that's a bigger factor then it being purely a manufacturing issue. Not every Russian howitzer is from the 1980s with completely shot out tubes, but if you have incomplete firing tables you will not be as accurate.

Hello, Misha! Glad to see you again! Are you going to rant about Battlefront morally corrupted westerners on your blog again? Just asking.
Regarding your usual wild imagination let me remind you that expelling illegal aliens is not a crime.
Do You know what constitutes a major crime against humanity? You know like Nazi style crime with Nurnberg tribunal?  Russian torture and execution chambers set up in LDNR to pacify and russify local Ukrainians. 
We talked about it back then but for some reason you seems to be uninterested in this topic. Wonder why?
 
 

We had pre-war re-integration law project, which also was a case for Russia to blame Ukraine in plans of "military resolve of Donbas question", though this plan never said about it. But now reality is completely other and re-integration will be conducted in more tough way. Looking at resistance/SOF actions in Melitopol, Kherson, Luhansk oblast, we will not stop even before phisical elmination of collaborants during occupation and in liibaration process, those who now became "city mayors", "oblast administrations", "police" etc. Voices of HRW will be no more interest. I hope all, who met occupants will have a time to leave with them to their beloved Russia. All other must be condemned according to passed law about collaborationiosm. After 2014 almost all officials, those, who agitate for LDPR and stayed on UKR-controlled territories, were not punished and this also played own role in significant pro-Russian moods even on Ukrainian-controlled part of Donbas. 
Russians, who came to Crimea for living will go away. Some of them wrote before a war, that even if UKR take back Crimea it will be forced to give them UKR citizenship (and all cherry on tops, like visa-free trips), because in other case this will be violation of human rights. No-o-oo, pals. Don't even dare to dream about this. Also we must to establish "non-citizen" passports like in Baltic states. All who was convicted in unloyality to Ukraine or was condemned for collaborationism must receive such passport.
There is a movie "Atlantis" was produced in Ukraine in 2019 about problems, which will raise after liberation of Donbas 
   

We call this "auto-cannibalizations" and it is the last gasp of any professional military.  If this is true and widespread, particularly if they start to pull people out of their training system, then Russia is really throwing it all in an a final gambit.
This war is interesting as this entire last phase has been the Russians figuring out what losing looks like, while Ukraine tries to figure out what winning looks like.

This is big exaggregation. As told Zeleban many of locals are indifferent. They are also passive. They are not so much pro-Russians, like Soviet-nostalgy. Somebody said "Russia seized Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk not beacuse the majority of locals were pro-Russian, but because it didn't care". Many of pro-Ukrainain people couldn't leave occupied territories by many reasons. Especially in Crimea, when real number of referendum participators was about 35%. Many of that information, which I post here from occupied territories is information from local social networks users, which with risk to their lives continue to write about situation. And some of them already arrested by LDPR "security".  
Real example of indifference of Donetsk citizen - this story of 2015. The owner of car-service in May 2014 told to his friend, which suggest him evacuate togeter to Kyiv and move business to there: "I don't care who's flag will be over the city. All will be need in my service here. I got my income in hryvnas, but If Russians come - nothing will change for me, thay just will pay me in rubles. If Americans come - they will pay me in dollars. Even if Chineese come, I will get money anyway, but in yuans". But since some month to his car-service came DPR fighters fron some Russian Caucasian repuplic and told him "Now it's our business, go fu...k away"

Ukrainian society will curse and even overthrow anybody, who will agree to trade our lands for peace.  
There is no matter about relatively big part of Russia-TV zombified unloyal population, which wanted of Russia coming. Most of them will never rise a weapon by own will, because their passive soviet mentality.
Westerners always have rational point of view, which mixed with modern pacifism of many intellectuals. So, from here all this  messages to our government and president - "we support you, of course, but Russia is stronger and bigger anyway, your desperate resistance only caused new and new deaths and destructions. You have to save a lives first of all and stop the war. Rest can be resolved by negotiations ... Somewhere. And we want to trade with Russia - huge market, but your foolish resistance is just spoiling our idyll"
But for us, slavs, the question of "land of our fathers" will be always irrationally sacred. We can lost lands only after military defeat or betrayal of our leaders, but even in this case we will fight back early or later. 
All, who  incline our country to peace with concessions just don't understand, that this only  approve Russia in it neo-imperial ambitions. And through several years they again will come to "liberate" other Ukrainian territories. And not only Ukrainian. I bet if Russia invade to Baltic states, there will be discussions around "5th article" and many continental European countries will be search ways to avoid direct involvement. 
So, now the West has a chance to finish off with rashism, neo-imperialism and revanchism by our hands and our blood. We have 600-year experience of wars with Moskovia, so nobody can do it better. So, just give more weapon and ammunition and we will drive aspen  stake in the heart of neoSoviet walking dead, risen from own grave. All other hints about peace, "not humilitate Russia" summon question is really western world based on own claimed values, or this is just beautiful hypocritical words, which cover ugly face of rationalism, real politic and business as usual

Enemy artillery destroyed a section of the second bridge to Siverodonetsk. Their artillery tried to do this more than a week, could hit bridge several times, but only slightly damaged it. And now they have success. The last bridge remained, but it was in bad conditions already before a war. This puts again a question of city defense expediency. 
The defense of Siverodonetsk is obviously political decision, so in society there is many criticism about this and demands to Armed Forces Command "don't listen Zelenskyi and to withdraw our guys to Lysychansk immediately". Though, looks like Siverodonetsk like and Rubizhe previuosly now playing a role of "meat grinder". Main forces, that ae storming the city and villages around are not Russians, but 2nd and 7th motor-rifle brigades of LPR + some battalions of conscripts rifle regiments. Russians probably represented with Kadyrov's forces and 31st air-assault brigade. 
Inside the city our troops hold industrial zone and quarters around it. LPR/Russians occupies NE and E parts of the city. All other space is just a place of artilery and airstrikes and deadly "counter-strike" games, as told commander of "Legion of Freedom" - one of the unit, holding the city. This is volunteer unit under Nationmal Guard comamnd, mostly of members of political moderate nationalist party "Svoboda" ("Freedom")

 

I've just passed to this page and read THIS. Guys, I though this was just a joke, but now my heart is melted down and I can't reject this gift. Though, I feel myself awkward... and also huge gratitude to all of you and Kinophile personally for idea     

You are only telling half the story to match your narrative.  The UNSC passed 3 resolutions to get Serbia to stop killing people (a fourth after the bombings)  and then passed 1244 which authorized a direct ground intervention by NATO (KFOR).  Further, NATO nations tried to get a resolution but were blocked by China and Russia as you note above...why?  Because Serbians were ethnic cleansing again which everyone still remembered from 1995.  This followed the precedent set in 1995 of NATO airstrikes to protect UNPROFOR, which led to UNSCR 1031 and the NATO ground intervention of IFOR.
Making a link back to US politics and "expansion" in Kosovo makes zero sense - just as it does for Libya frankly.  For Libya, UNSCR 1973 was put forward by France, Lebanon and the UK...what in the hell does this have to do with "Congressional approval"?  1973 was a classic Chapter VII, and again, Russia and China were on the SC and let it go.  Kosovo and Libya were interventions to try and stop repeat humanitarian offenders and dictators from doing worse - not some Rub Goldberg attempt by NATO to rule the world as a puppet of the US.
France intervening without the US - you have heard about Mali (Op Serval)?  In fact there were more: https://www.okayafrica.com/french-military-in-africa/
I can say NATO is a defensive alliance - the history of the Alliance has been defensive from the beginning.  NATO has done interventions on behalf of the UN and failing that, with the support from the international community.  To  make all this some self-centered US political issue is frankly insulting to all the nations and its military members who participated on those missions.
Finally, we know NATO is not a US puppet because it stayed out of Iraq in '03 (which did not have UN cover) and only went into Afghanistan when it did.  This is not the behaviour of a "puppet alliance doing the bidding of a US president who can't rule the planet based on domestic political landscape".  Russia is paranoid...because they are Russia, and no one likes/trust them because of history.  And Putin just took out a big red marker and underlined that dislike/trust for the next 50 years by unilaterally invading a neighbor.  And attempts to play "pick-and-chose" history to create a justification for Russian behaviour is just wrong.   
 

Now that is just nonsense. Even with the military expenditures, the US would have the ressources for that, easily. The political will / ideology is just not there.

If there's one European NATO country that might need it's tanks soon, it's definitely Poland. Striping active units of equipment means no continuity of training (and basically of existence) of those units, this can't be allowed, not in the frontier country.
We already signed a contract for new M1s that we are paying market price for, but those will be delivered around 2025. TBH the allegation that Poland wants to somehow profiteer out of Ukraine's predicament is quite insulting.
 

I find the Russian position you posit to be flawed and ignorant - which doesn't mean that the Russians don't believe it, just that it doesn't hold up to scrutiny.
NATO's members are individual countries. The US can choose to invade Afghanistan or Iraq, can send troops into Panama, can try and assassinate the leader of Cuba but none of those are NATO actions. None of them oblige other NATO members to participate and no other NATO members took part in some of those activities. Conflating individual countries with a defensive pact between multiple countries would be childish of the Russians.
Incidentally the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is not just 'Britain', is still Great (ask the Ukrainians) and did not occupy and loot countries at will. We introduced terribly civilised cultural practices like cricket to them, helped them exploit and profit from their natural resources then set them free as independent nations capable of making their way in the modern world. We're nice like that. (The sods have responded by continually beating us at cricket.)
If Russia is scared of the US that may be reasonable: The US is the only country capable of posing a material nuclear threat to them. In no way does it excuse their belligerence towards their neighbours, let alone invading one of them. That's colonial expansionism, something the argument you presented portrayed as a bad thing.
 

And you don't exactly see EU countries reinforcing Baltic borders much. Only one country does that and it's the one overseas.
Not to mention that most European countries refuse to do that "2% minimum of GDP" thing (actually only UK and Poland do it). And it's possible that certain countries would rather happily trade with the enemy as it steals territory from their allies.
Hence why any military alliance without US and UK in it isn't worse a damn.

About Turkey in NATO. Erdogen's Turkey is not quite the same country as the Turkey of president Bayar in 1952 when they first joined. You can't blame 1952 NATO for not 'Minority Reporting' the government of Turkey 70 years in the future.

You know, had the invasion not occurred, i would have largely agreed with you, but....since the invasion has occurred, and suddenly everyone in Europe (aside from the Balkans), must confront the idea of war and military conflict once more, with EE feeling pensive about the faithfulness of its Western European allies, NATO serves to defend Europe, and especially Eastern Europe. 
For all the idea of Russia suffering massive damage in Ukraine, lets not underscore the fact Ukraine has been severely damaged. No state in EE wants to suffer any of that, and NATO remains the best guarantee at warding off Russian threats. 
The damage Russia is inflicting on a nation of 44 million people, with hundreds of millions suffering side effects from the economic damage of the food conflict does not endorse your viewpoint. 

And even more CAESAR goodness:
 

Until someone figures out how to annul Russia's ability to nuke any invading force...as is their stated doctrine...then any idea that Russia is legitimately under military threat is absurd. This is about a oligopoly/fascist system that is under *political* threat because it isn't able to produce an attractive governing model. That is *not* NATO or Ukraine's fault or problem.

More pics of that busted D-20:




 

Thanks ) Just became some more of work, my wife turned back and often occupies PC because her work, also it's hard to live three months 24/7 as war news translator, so I took small vacations 

Russian TG tells the lack of infantry forced Russians to use personnel of recon companies and battalions to participate in actions like usual infantry. This causes additional losses of specialiized troops, so Russian units soon can be limited in the tactical recon. Russian command puts an ultimatum for recon units commanders - either their soldiers go to the battle like usual infantry or this commander have to retire. As the author told on this screen, his familiar recon battalion commander chose to retire. 
Members of LostArmour discussion boards also told about lack of capable infantry both in Russian troops and LDPR. All last success maintained mostly by PMC, remained motivated VDV and Spetsnaz, which more and more plays a role of VDV. Most part of "line infantry" day by day is losing own motivation.  

@Vanir Ausf B @Fenris @SeinfeldRules
Thinking back to the video and some additional information. It is stated in the video that the commander seen towards the end commands 6 CAESAR (battery?) and that his unit allegedly destroyed 80 Russian guns.
From a professional point of view (which interests you), we see on the video that the coordinates of the target are indicated manually on the gun calculator (the computer at the front, the CALP) (3: 05). The gun then automatically calculates its angle and direction of fire based on its coordinates thanks to the inertial navigation system. In the French army, there is no need to enter them manually because the coordinates are transmitted automatically. A nod to the previous exchanges we had regarding integration (radio etc)

PS : by continuing and with a bit of luck, I will be able to sell a CAESAR to Steve 😂

Russia Vows to Take More of Ukraine if West Provides Long-Range Missiles (msn.com)
Baghdad Bob is back