Probus

My brother from another mother! 👍👍

As an American I love our Canadian cousins. After all they gave the world Rush. Which to me is the greatest band to ever exist.

This is probably old news, but I thought I would post it just in case:
Illustrates why we need to be giving Ukraine Western tanks, don't you think?

Yes, but they are very enthusiastic about Siberian peasants doing the fighting. They seem to have completely different a view about loading their own rear ends in a fifty year old MTLB to charge AFU with Javelins.

Hang in there Butschi. If there's one nation which has tricks up their sleeve and a will to survive, it's the Germans. You'll find a way and be not just warmer but stronger too before this winter is through. And I'm sure most people on this board are grateful to Germany for their support for Ukraine in these past two seasons. Surely the western alliance isn't coming apart now.

This is the effect of mobilization on the populace:
 
 

He's not far off.  Honestly, if you give into little vlad's nuclear blackmail...this will not be the last time he wields that tool.  Next up the Baltics, or Poland or...well you get the idea.  If you give into little Vlad's nuclear blackmail, next up....North Korea, or Iran when they finally sort out the details of nuclear fission.  This will be the results of not responding and responding hard to Russian threats of nuclear escalation...  Do you want to live in "that" world?  I do not.  

There is no chance in even 20 years that Russia would be able to really threaten Ukraine.  The technology gap would simply be too great. Russian is starting a descent into the dark ages.
I think Ukraine's problem is the crime syndicates that will run Russia.  You'll be dealing with regular criminals versus a criminal state.  Russian industry is collapsing, they have no access to modern electronics, no investment sources. they will have nothing to be able to build a coherent military.  It will be even worse than the problems they have already had and we have seen how that has gutted the Russian armed forces.
They won't be able to keep their air force flying, won't be able to develop high tech missiles or drone technology.  There are only so many decent electronic parts in all the washing machines they are stealing.
I think in essence what @The_Capt and others are trying to say is, you are a captive of your own history.  Russia is what it is and yes it has a long road to go to change.  The dynamic however is now different.  Ukraine is the country that has all the power.  Russia threw its "best" at Ukraine and the UA trashed it.  Russia's main resource is something that has a dying future. The world is moving to greener energy sources.  With no access to investment, no real access to technology, a continuing brain drain and an infrastructure it won't have the resources to maintain Russia may end up looking to Ukraine for help as crazy as that sounds.  Ukraine needs to look to a future without looking over its shoulder at Russia.

Negative.  If Russia goes nuclear, then bank on Russia being sans an air force or navy within hours after that.  If Vlad tosses one, things will get interesting quickly.  Unlike Vladimir's red lines, the west and NATO don't make false threats.  
We all may end up losing in this, but Putin most certainly will be the first loser

Seems we have another UKR attack

Ah ha! Someone is finally catching on!
I think it was either 007 or Spectre, but I'll have a hard time proving it.  Everyone seems to think it was from Russia with love because, for them,  the world is not enough. 😉

What I always find fascinating about these kind of pictures of the Ukrainian military is the quiet professionalism that they seem to emit. That was something noticeable from the first hours of the war. Whatever the situation, they always seem to know exactly what they're doing.
In a few years, these guys will be training us, not the other way around.

Red Skull! Red Skull! Clearly.
 

Yes.

Ah ha! Someone is finally catching on!
I think it was either 007 or Spectre, but I'll have a hard time proving it.  Everyone seems to think it was from Russia with love because, for them,  the world is not enough. 😉

Did you really find my idea that ridiculous?

By the way...

Ah ha! Someone is finally catching on!
I think it was either 007 or Spectre, but I'll have a hard time proving it.  Everyone seems to think it was from Russia with love because, for them,  the world is not enough. 😉

In your posts, the influence of Russian propaganda is noticeable. Obviously, frequent exposure to pro-Russian resources does not benefit the objectivity of judgments

War of Independence, indeed.
My go-to map guy (other than @Grigb) HeliosRunner has taken personal leave for the duration, so I am rooting around for decent maps (non Google).  Pfarrer uses topos, but he also covers them with textboxes and little explosion doodads and Giant Blue Arrows of Doom.  Anyway, will keep looking.  This snip was interesting.... so clearly the Zherebets above Zarichne will NOT make a viable RU defensive line, even temporarily.
 

Good video illustrating you're point:

RU discovered cunning UKR tactic
 

I am going to ignore most of your rant, frankly if anyone were to push that kind of hatred towards any other group they would get tossed off this forum pretty quickly; however, we live in odd times.  
The Russian military and political system are responsible for this war.  I have no doubt some of the population does as well; however to blame an entire people - who you don’t recognize as a people, yet point to them as an evil homogeneous empire that has been a threat for hundreds of years - down to many who have nothing to do with this or actively opposed it, nor had a say in it because Russia lacks a democratic system, is wrong on so many levels.
If in your fractured Russian scenario - the one you are promoting, and I notice no denial of you promoting cultural genocide either btw- Russian elderly, women and children show up on on your borders in a humanitarian crisis I expect you and your nation to be better than the a$$holes we are currently supporting your nation against.  If you cannot do that - and for the record I really do not believe you represent your nation - then why are we even bothering with this whole war?  If a post-war Ukraine is suppressing democracy in re-taken regions, actively supporting civil strife in former Russian fragments (which would have to be in your plan), and let potentially thousands of people die because of their ethnicity (oh wait Russian isn’t a thing, so, how will you tell who to keep out) - the what the hell are we defending here?
If we wanted a brutal regime in Ukraine to ignore human rights and suppress freedoms based on pseudo-ethnicity then why we didn’t we just sit back and let Russia take the damn place?
I stand with Ukraine in this war, but I do not stand with you on this.  We want a Ukraine with a fully functional democracy for all its citizens, a Ukraine that recognizes and operates under international law and respects human rights, regardless of who is suffering.  That is the Ukraine that gets into NATO/EU - with Hungarian arm twisting if need be.  That is the Ukraine we invest hundreds of billions in reconstruction. That is the Ukraine we support and enforce Russian accountability for.
Not whatever nightmare you are selling here.

Gosh golly, there's a war going on?  And this thread is supposed to be about that?  I'll be darned.  Thanks for this update, GrigB.  
So looks like that's the last road that can supply Lyman area?  And I've heard around 2000 troops estimated in the area?  Those 2000 seem to have actually fought hard, so it'll be nice to get them out of the war.  I think we can safely assume their replacements will be less capable and willing.

Sure. Good luck hiding that in the Baltic. Still, thank you for distracting us from all the flirting going on.
It is to be fair very likely that the charges on the pipelines were rigged days ago, and either on timers or remotely triggered. Why be spotted at the scene of the crime when you can have high confidence nobody's going to ask what those strange lumps attached to the pipe are.
But that also means it's possible a surface vessel launched a submersible of some form, or even just divers. How many trawlers have been in that area in the last couple of weeks?
(I almost asked Russian trawlers, but I'm refusing to assume which country was responsible. I could name five that might think they'd heavily benefit, and that's not including the French.)