kevinkin

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/bill-clinton-reveals-blames-himself-211859904.html A good idea that just needed much better support. I think the US forgot that they actually took the nukes after a few years. Or that supporting Ukraine's security without them was critical. And when they did think about it, the powers that be did not want to piss Putin off thinking they could bring Russia into the fold with enough time.

Done deal: https://apnews.com/article/nato-finland-russia-ukraine-membership-enlargement-c703d23a8423d89577d5b752d69d76eb

That may be, but when the fighting stops, Putin will try to claim victory in some perverted way. Even if he loses all occupied territory to a cease fire, he will claim Russia stood up to the west, and is now closer to China (as close as China wants actually) and prepared to be a leader in the contest against the west. This is all silly to us, but the Russian people might just eat it up. The question becomes how much more Ukrainian blood is worth not giving Putin any level of victory in his sick mind. Soon we will find out how really bad off the RA is. In the end, it's up to Ukraine to tell us when is enough. But over our shoulder, we need ensure they continue combat in a way that does not burn themselves out. "Bullet not bodies"

https://mwi.usma.edu/what-is-russias-theory-of-victory-in-ukraine/ The Russian regime’s narrative surrounding victory in Ukraine is flexible, opportunistic, and subjective, focusing primarily on the perception of the Russian people that the achieved victory justifies the costs of the war. It is not aimed at the West. An ultimate manifestation of a Russian victory would lie in a deal agreed upon with the United States that seals Ukraine’s future and secures Russian security interests for the long term. This would give the Russians their desired recognition as a world power, create additional strategic depth, and demonstrate successful resistance to Western economic and military power, ultimately bringing the desired multipolar world closer. The Russian geopolitical narrative, catalyzed by the classic security paradox with the West, will thus prove to be a self-fulfilling prophecy. It will be the dreamed-of situation, whereby Russia can declare victory in Ukraine, but not concerning the “radical” military-political objectives in the confrontation with the West. That struggle is perpetual, continuous, existential, and an integral part of Russian strategic culture.

Well the point is the same My one laptop doesn't type the r. It's on the shelf now.

But there is a big difference in that Ukraine is in a war where they are losing their youth at an alarming rate when you combine that with the ongoing population issues they faced before the war. Japan just announced incentives to raise families and they are not at war. I do believe that Ukrainians will return and perhaps given incentives too. But how many will be young men of child bearing age? If a large number, how will will they return and assimilate into a warrior class that stayed and fought the war? I am positive on Ukraine's future, but the road is a lot more than rocky.

If that is so, and I happen to agree, did the west have a better long term solution not involving a war like we are seeing? Turning Ukraine into an armed western camp might have been a deterrent. But short of that, Russia was on course for a WW1 type finale even with all types of "talks" and "sanctions". Maybe if the entire world turned them into a complete pariah and stop all relations, this would not have stopped the enviable. So maybe what is playing out is one of the most illogical logical events in history. It's as if Russian is addicted to self destruction. But like an addict, they know they are, but continue addictive behavior because they can't figure out there is a brighter side to life.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11929855/Extremely-high-number-Russian-troop-deaths-Ukraine-war-linked-alcohol-abuse-MoD-says.html In a stupor, let's hope they start attacking to the east. There are not enough jail cells in the world to incarcerate these baboons.

I think you would bar coded them if you could! LOL.

Can't imagine what the Platinum Level will hold. Overall, a solid way to go about the mod.

More on magnetic detection: https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/article-736139

A long feel good story that confirms a lot: https://coffeeordie.com/lessons-russia-ukraine/ Good mix of human interest the military themes.

"And it is increasingly likely that plenty of the main battle tanks from Europe and the United States will go up in smoke, along with their crews." Does the writer actually think that NATO is teeing up its armor (albeit old) for failure? I think the interesting discussion is how will they be used on the battlefield. They are coming. Ukraine is not returning them to the sender.

And by enabling them you can win without fighting (area denial) which is the ultimate form of maneuver warfare i.e. preemption. Why fight with my kinetic weapons tried behind my back?

https://weapons.substack.com/p/leopards-challengers-and-abrams-tanks "The trouble with our" "friends is not that they're ignorant; it's just that they know so much that isn't so." Talk about taking technical details out of operational context.

There is a lot of electric power to be deployed: https://www.powermag.com/dod-picks-bwxt-to-manufacture-project-pele-prototype-nuclear-microreactor/ The question is how close to the front these reactors can safely do so. Certainly they would become primary targets. But when deployed well to the rear, they lose a lot of the potential (play on words) benefits to tactical formations. Not to mention the risk associated with leaks anywhere they are stationed. So, the jury is out. They could be stockpiled as a continency if the enemy goes ahead and deploys their own. No sense in fighting behind the 8 ball.

A bit more on the cloak and dagger front: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/american-reporter-arrested-russia-suspected-spies-caught-rcna77503

For now, stay in motion and never stop within range of the enemy's drones. Out range their drones with efficient airframes and longer battery life. Control the forward edge of the battlefield with a minimum of troops specially trained for ISR. ISR on steroids. Design new hardened and networked enabled outposts for these warriors. Outposts on steroids that can be moved intact from place to place. To capture ground, use short concentrated armored strikes at locations that can not fail to work. Escort ISR troops to new forward positions and get out of the way. R&D long term technology solutions since the enemy will adapt. Hunter killer drones, EW drones, drone swarms are all on the table. Reduce the weight of everything - every gram is important. Send commandos behind lines to capture enemy drones and operators. Reverse engineer and understand enemy tactics. Dangerous but worth it.

For a long time it has been computer simulation of human behavior under fire and it stopped there. Soon, it will be computer simulations of computer behavior under fire. Software simulating a computer system that is behaving in response to other computer system(s). With those systems responding to other computer systems farther down the pecking order. Not sure, but is this analogous to the infinity mirror?

We might see some increased NATO activity in the far north and in the Black Sea to run interference. At a low but regularly paced level. As much as the west worries about his nukes, Putin's has to have all sorts of "what ifs" on his tiny mind. And more problems Russia faces the more they can't handle them. Out OODA loop the bastards at the operational and higher level. Pretty sure we are almost there now.

Looks like the main battle to consider happened here: https://www.google.com/maps/@50.5814874,4.6416857,3918m/data=!3m1!1e3 Does not look like the are changed too much other than the town getting larger over time. Urban sprawl. Good tank country for a rather large meeting engagement.

Great start, but given the terrain and wear and tear on AFVs, the company will be difficult to keep in the field even without combat losses. I am not sure where the critical mass lies from a fixing and replacement POV. Perhaps the tactic will be a much higher tech version of the flying columns from last year. And a company like that will become the fist of a lighter force with well stocked trains following behind. Perhaps a sequence: Engineers break in; infantry secure; NATO AFVs breakthrough; T-64s + infantry etc. secure; NATO AFVs exploit and look for juicy gaps in the RA defenses. Rinse and repeat.

Good stuff ... thanks.

Putin strikes back after the Russian spy was arrested in Brazil: https://apnews.com/article/wall-street-journal-reported-russia-arrested-cd511a94a3fe0ce604df6648ef5adec5 Gershkovich is the first American reporter to be arrested on espionage charges in Russia since September 1986, when Nicholas Daniloff, a Moscow correspondent for U.S. News and World Report, was arrested by the KGB. Daniloff was released without charge 20 days later in a swap for an employee of the Soviet Union’s United Nations mission who was arrested by the FBI, also on spying charges. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11920799/Russian-spy-posed-Brazilian-student-Johns-Hopkins-gain-intel-Americans-DOJ-says.html https://www.axios.com/2023/03/26/doj-russian-national-invasion-of-ukraine https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/mar/26/us-indicts-alleged-russian-spy-sergey-cherkasov-who-tried-to-infiltrate-icc-in-the-hague A wrinkle is this: China and Brazil just signed a currency deal.

My Demo scenario is also coming along and I think I am understand the mod better. That map is so interesting I may just move the first "real" scenario to that sector and design the rest in chronological order. But first things first. Let's make sure the demo looks the way the mod is supposed to present the units. I played the scenario this morning and it needs balancing, but it's just a demo.