gregb41352

"P.S.  I had a UH-1 fly over me last weekend.  Forest Service around here still uses them.  Is it just me, or is the thump-thump-thump of its props kinda fun to listen to?"
Not if you were in Vietnam.

"P.S.  I had a UH-1 fly over me last weekend.  Forest Service around here still uses them.  Is it just me, or is the thump-thump-thump of its props kinda fun to listen to?"
Not if you were in Vietnam.

Want to express my appreciation and thanks for this great mod.

It did create some alarm in the US that Orange Putin was alienating our allies though.

Poland is arming!  This is a serious threat and provocation!  Putin must invade now before it's too late!  He is only doing this because he has no choice, since later he will be at the mercy of the culturally and ethnically aggressor-nation Poles! 

oh yes, the great threat of NATO attack on Russia.  We all know how absurd that is. 
1.  NATO could never agree to anything that controversial in the first place, there'd be too many very powerful members who would say "are you crazy?  no way!  we're out!"
2.  NATO is  very much a threat. -- to Russian territorial aggression.  Putin hates NATO because it puts an insurmountable boundary on his violent territorial ambitions.  Must be very frustrating for him to be so thwarted, causing lots of emotional turmoil.  Feelings of helplessness which in turn lead to rage.  I am sure his therapist is helping him work through this. 
3.  NATO is very much a threat. -- to Putin keeping Russians in the dark about how badly his kleptocracy is running Russia
By the way, what the heck is Germany up to?  Is there lots of aid not making headlines?  or are they really being this ridiculous?

4' 8" Drunken fool yells to the whole room 'C'mon, I'll take you all!" never noting most of the patrons of the bar are linebackers on a professional football team.

I really can't imagine how normalization of relations between CEE countries and Russia would look like. Western Europe attempting to go back to "business as usual" will break any European unity that is still left. 

Drunken fool gets in bar fight and is busy getting his faced pounded into the curb outside.  But he still finds the energy to insult some other guy in the bar between impacts.  That's really impressive, really.  What an insane asylum of a country!

What I really hope is that in the same spirit, future UA Air Force is being trained as we speak, and will make a debut in say 3 - 5 months from now. And then Russians will kindly go away or die.

Some words about Lyman. UKR troops reportedly still to hold SE part of the town and the area close to NW outskirts of Lyman around Blue lakes. On this axis Russians have 3-4 BTGs based of 80th tank regiment of 90th tank division, 15th motor-rifle brigade and 30th motor-rifle brigade + battery of 2S7 Pion guns and platoon of TOS-1A
From Kreminna in area of Bilohorivka (yes, again) moved "shortened BTG", probably of 35th motor-rifle brigade - 8 tanks, 12 BMPs, 4 2S3 SP-howitzers. Also 6 PMP sections and two tugboats already there in the forests - Russians again thinking about river crossing

Lol Plan E.
Only 28* more letters to go!
Russian alphabet

Thanks for keeping us in the loop Haiduk, we really appreciate it!

Great posts, everyone.  What a crew this is! 
I am seeing a couple things:
1.  it doesn't matter very much whether RU has BMP1,2,3 or whatever.  It doesn't matter very much whether it's terminators or t62s or what flavor of T72.  What matters the most seems to be artillery.  It's the only thing allowing RU to make its advances.  And it's the main thing that will keep it safe when it digs in to hold all its stolen territory.  So what matters most for Ukraine is having the ability to reduce RU artillery via counter battery and interdicting LOCs to bring up the shells at the req'd rate.  So the donor nations need to send MLRS, switchblades, etc, anything that can reduce RU arty.
2.  Lukashenko is going to attack?  Even more reason for donor nations to pitch in more.  I personally hope Poland will have had enough and will hit Lukashenko's columns if they cross the border (hey, let a fella dream, OK?)
3.  The foot dragging of various powers on military supplies (Germany, others) is frustrating as hell.  But why aren't they at least making up for it by sending non-lethal aid?  Rations, medical supplies, tents, etc?  The damn least thing they could do.

Ukraine was a neutral state up until 2019, 5 years into the war, a war Merkel made sure to swipe under the rug over those years.
I wonder if those many realize that Ukrainian neutrality is off the table forever.

The first rule of White Club is don't talk about White Club.

wait, Ukrainians aren't white anymore?  Gosh, I can't keep up.   First I find out the Irish, Italians, and Poles are now 'white', at least in the US, when they certainly weren't when they came to the US.  And now the Ukrainians aren't white anymore?  Does this White Club have any rules at all?  It's almost as if they are just making it up on the fly -- but that would be ridiculous, right?   I mean, if one's whole world view revolves around this I would expect their would be some scientifically solid basis, right?  I mean, who would just do this based on nothing?  That would be really stupid.

I hope he was poisoned w the same stuff that's been used for all the murders he's done of dissidents outside of Russia.  That would make me smile and sing a happy song. 

The Kurds always seem to get the short end. But one war at a time is an excellent rule, and the one with Russia has to have priority. Bleep I feel bad about that, but Syria is epically unfixable, and Ukraine actually might not be. I do find it more than ironic that Turkey complains bitterly about the way Israel oppresses the Palestinians, and then does something ten or a hundred times worse to the Kurds.
Steve feel free to delete this if you think it will knock the thread off track.

The army might decide it is easier to suggest a new Czar, and blame this mess on the newly departed one....

Sent to both of my senators.  Thanks.
Slava Ukraini !

Sent to both of my senators.  Thanks.
Slava Ukraini !

This is the letter/email I just sent my Congressman, and senators. Fell free to copy and paste to your hearts content. Open to suggestions for the next one.
 
The Biden Administration has generally done a decent job of navigating the war in Ukraine, But some faction in the Administration is apparently still trying split hairs on what support to give and not give Ukraine. Ukraine needs several different kinds of MLRS systems to win the artillery duel that is currently the heart of the war with Russia. According to various news reports the Administration is withholding these because they think it would be too provocative, or that the Ukrainians might launch a few at Belgorod. Just to state the obvious, the Russians are ALREADY mad, they have suffered tens of thousands of casualties due to the combination of western support and Ukrainian courage. They can't get any more upset. the only possible goal now is a complete Ukrainian victory. Send the Ukrainians anything they ask for. Send the MLRS systems, now today, send them better surface to air systems now, today. Biden can't run for a second term on some ugly compromise in Ukraine, He can WIN a second term with the world celebrating Eurovision next year in a liberated Mariupol.

Given that Turkey is NOT demanding that Sweden and Finland deport various Turkish dissidents that reside in both countries I have to say this actually seems workable. Erdogan is a problem for another day, And  the Kurds got bleeped by the last administration. Lets land the Ukrainian thing successfully, and see if Assad is still standing when the dust settles.

Nothing especially 'left' there, Steve, largely stuff we've been observing here for 750 pages now. Good map, though dates compressed, as the author noted: