LukeFF

Typical Russian negligence and incompetence - memorial plaque in honor of the pilot captain Rabazan Radzhabov (31st fighter regiment), who was killed during UKR Tochka-U strike on Millerovo airfield on 25th Feb. On the  background of plaque art designer has placed... UKR Su-27. It didn't bother anyone
 

New York Times huh. Thank you for reminding me why I don't waste money on a monthly subscription to read such "wisdom".
First the appeasers told us that arming Ukraine would not help Ukraine fight this war now, "Ukraine’s battlefield successes could go too far." No winning with these people.
 

Ukrainians cooperate closely with Russia on new cosmonaut program:
 

Well, yes?
Is there a country that doesn't?
It takes a special kind of bias to find a problem with shooting down unknown warplanes flying over your own country during a war that has consumed all your neighbours (and the bombings were due to some top notch navigation among the air crews, not a matter of policy)

In Ukraine the age of persons, liable for military service in wartime is 18-60 years. Many of theese aged soldiers in army jokingly named "diad'ky" (eng. "uncles") and say that "diad'ky are towing all war on their shoulders". Yes, many of them served recently in Ukrainian or even in Soviet army, but this was many years ago and their value not in this. Many of theese 40-45-50+ men are from villages and small towns, where no enough comfort life like in big cities, but hard handwork in agricultural enterprises, on their farms and on their homesteads. Yes, often theese men are addicted to alcohol and have only basic shcool education, but they used to be in hard conditions. They can do everything from anything. They can coock without field kitchen, they can repair any vehicle without special repair unit, they can dig and build blindage without sappers and then made from it not dirty hole, but something like this:   
Many of modern "city generation" - IT, office employees, used to comfort life, which for example can be cool coders or managers, but often can't hammer a nail stright (because they have a money to hire an "uncle" for this), just would be loss at this war without theese "uncles". They are mainstay of infantry, armor and artillery. Youngers maybe fight more effectively, they more capable in command, tactic and application of new toys like drones, but "uncles" give them own experience of real life and skills. 

By the way, staying within Air defence topics, I had very interesting conversation lately with one US soldier who happen to station in my city and was moved from Bahrain. He was very into technical details and claimed that most Iranian drones of Shaheed series can have problems if really deep winter comes, as they were designed to be used in Persian Gulf area only. Reportedly Iranians regularly loose them on tests even in higher parts of Zagros mountains.  There was some specifics details (sorry, I am not tech guy ) about supposedly batteries working bad in very low temperatures, not able to generate enough heat, which may lead to some subsystems switching off. I am curious if he may be right.

That is cheating! Also, I absolutely love it - it's so obvious that I wouldn't ever thought it possible  
 
Also, was that posted here yet? Repost just to make sure:

 

And to add an insult to an anjury:
 

There's been a similar discussion over on the IL2 Tank Crew forums, yep. 😄 Barrel damage is no joke. 

Oh, theese 1941 vibes 😆
Kharkiv front - UKR trophy BMP-3 tows a turret of another BMP-3. Cool "white cross" mark on sidehull - 100 % mockery and humilitation )))
 

There are forums for that stuff. This is a thread tracking a genocidal war against the Ukrainian people. 
Personally  I've zero interest in the Phillies or anything sports spamming up this thread. 

There's been a similar discussion over on the IL2 Tank Crew forums, yep. 😄 Barrel damage is no joke. 

As opposed to just ignoring his posts and not derailing this topic even more? 

I must say that my current life is a paradise compared to what it was at the end of February, beginning of March. Then, in the current situation with electricity, I am daily exposed to artillery shelling and air bombing. I was in my apartment and just moved away from the window, when a 152-mm shell fell right in front of my window, at a distance of about 100 meters. They threw shards of glass at me, later I found one of the shards in my apartment. Miraculously, I didn't come back. But this is a trifle. It all happened so suddenly that I didn't even have time to get scared.
Air bombardment of senior artillery. When you sit in the basement and hear the rapidly growing whistle of a Russian jet engine. With this blood in your veins, you literally freeze with fear, you understand that now he will drop bombs and, perhaps, you will find yourself under the rubble. When the FAB-500 bomb explodes a kilometer away from you. A building in the basement that literally shakes like an earthquake.
But I experienced the greatest fear when, in the conditions of street fighting, I traveled from Irpen (I had the stupidity to wait until the last, hoping that the Russians were not going to my city, because the bridge to Kyiv had already been blown up). As I was walking towards the bridge along the main street on the next street, literally 200 meters away from me, a heavy firefight broke out. I saw tracers flying across the intersection that I had to cross to get to the bridge. I waited until the Russian turned the fire in the other direction, and with all my might ran across the intersection. Despite this, thanks to adrenaline, I had more energy than ever. I ran a mile and a half with large and heavy bags. Normally I wouldn't be able to do this.
 

Like us all, I've been pondering the 'death of tanks' idea, and I can't help thinking that the entire premise of the question is wrong.
On 20 Nov 1917 the British lost 50% of the almost 500 tanks employed At dawn on 8 Aug 1918 the British had almost 600 tanks, but by the 12th that was down to just six (6)! 99% casualties, in 4 days. In late 1939 the Germans lost around 10% of their tanks in a campaign lasting just over a month In mid 1940 the Germans lost 33% of their tanks in a campaign lasting just on 6 weeks. In 1967 the Israelis lost 50% of their tanks in just six days In 1973 the Israelis lost 25% of their tanks in a war lasting 19 days And yet, every one of those battles and campaigns were considered wildly successful.
Tanks have always been vulnerable. They are protected, far more than the PBI wandering around in just a cotton shirt, but that isn't a free pass away from the realities of high-intensity peer-level warfare. The question is - or should be - whether they are effective, and whether they bring capabilities that can't otherwise be realised. The answer to that was, and still is, yes.

As opposed to just ignoring his posts and not derailing this topic even more? 

Gotta love it....
Russian TV: "Hey Ukraine, you missed a few"
Ukraine: "OK, no problem, thanks!"

After yesterday strike at fuel train in Shakhtarsk Russian TV showed reportage how local firemen heroically rescued dozens of tank-cars. Today next three HIMARSes hit the same station where theese resqued tank-cars remained standing. As result of strike next portion of tank-cars were set on fire with fuel tanks of fuel depot on this station. One missile also reportedly hit deploymnet place of "Dizel" tank battalion near railway station, also causing fire.
This second strike took place about 8 hour ago, this fire is burning to this time
 
 
 
 

Next time your CM AFV's optics are yellow or red from damage, this T-80BV will remind you why it's realistic.
 

It does sound pretty reasonable - at face value.
I suspect the cynicism comes from the fact that US practice for decades seems to have been to be willing to shovel pallet loads of money in to 'their' side without much concern for efficient use, and the people who want to cut off the money hose usually frame it in terms of wanting to be responsible with the tax money and to use of effectively.
So it's not the meaning of what he said that gets a reaction. It's people thinking that what he says sounds like the standard 'code' for "let's stop doing this". 

Here's an interesting, if unverified, claim regarding the "Wagner Line":
And also an important voice in the "russia sux' discussion:

Since morning Russia launched already the second wave of missile strikes. Several power infrastructure objects in Khmelnitskyi, Lutsk, Rivne, Kirovohrad oblast and Odesa oblast were hit. Six missiles, heading to Kyiv were shot down over Kyiv and Chernihiv oblasts. Currently Air Forces Command claims 18 shot down missiles - 5 Kalibrs and 13 Kh-101/555 
Today's video UKR fighter launch a missile to intercept something over Odesa oblast, but result is unclear