Kraft

Yeah, no way it was West.
I think this really really shows the disconnect in thinking between Russia and the West.
Putin is already saying this is existential war for Russia, he is already saying his objective is to destroy the West, and his people - whether random Russians or weirdos and traitors and useful idiots everwhere in the world - are already believing it. He is already doing everything in his power to do that too - from propaganda to interfering with elections to financing fascist parties to helping Hamas to working with Iran and China to assassinating people in other countries to attacking food to cause famine in Africa because refugee crisis empower Western Fascist to whatever else I have lost track.
Russia already escalated as high as they dared. If they could do worse, if they could do something more despicable, if they could do something more monstrous, they would have done it years ago.
I remember all these red lines - nuclear war if West gives Ukraine Javelins, nuclear war if West gives Ukraine tanks, nuclear war if West gives Ukraine planes, nuclear West gives Ukraine gets HIMARS, nuclear war if Ukraine attacks Russian warships, nuclear war if Ukraine fires missiles into Russia ... So really I think if West shot down Russian plane they would do nothing like every time before.
At the same time, the Western decision makers think (or behave as if they thought) that Russia is a country and not a mafia, and that they are not actually at (hybrid) war with us, and that they can be reasoned with and that keeping some kind of "civilized behavior" with Russia is something that makes sense. This is of course wrong - Russia only understands strength and considers humanity a weakness to be exploited - being civilized or nice only makes you hurt.
So no way it really was West - if West had balls to engage Russia directly, our current conversation topic on this forum would be "do you think the warlord Ivanov will also take south of Moscow?" and not "it's not good that Ukraine is losing ground and people because West decided to not supply them with enough ammo but what can you do, it could be worse".
...
Anyway, one thing I wanted to say: This actually is an existential war for Russia in a way. It is existential for Putin, sure, but as we came to understood during the war and as we discussed a few times, the common (but by no means only) mindset in common Russians is "things are ****, they used to get better and now they don't, but you know what, at least we are a badass empire". They might be even deluding themselves into thinking that things being bad is a voluntary sacrifice for that badass empire. Lot of people are willing to suffer a lot for being part of something they consider greater than themselves.
Being decisively shown that Russia is not in fact a cool badass empire they be proud of even if they don't themselves have indoor toilets might really break their worlds. Whatever comes out of that would not be Russia as we know it anymore. This is not existential war for Russia because they will end up in mass graves or enslaved if they lose (like it is for Ukrainians), but it is existential for the Russian imperial mindset.

Again one UKR soldier of 8th mountain assault battalion of 10th mountain assault brigade against 10 orcs. 
Russian comamnder advices to the squad that one of them to throw in UKR soldier, sitting in the drain a grenade with tear gas (that he calls in radio chat "Cheryomukha" - "bird charry" - known name for series of different tear gases) and the second to shoot him from other side of the drain. But UKR soldier keeps Russians with a fire and Russian commander starts to moke up over own personnel "You have to throw him with grenades! Then you can hide in this positions and a "bird" (drone) can't reach you. You have 10!  Can you at last to finish with a one, who keeps your all! Outflank him!  
But Russians likely see the drone and don't risk to attack decisevely. In last moment Mavic dropped the grenade and teared off one Russian. One more body nearby has seen. Also during the skirmish one Russian soldier was hit with a rifle fire. 
 

By order of Russian MoD, we are tired of not being believed when we say friendly fire downed our planes. Therefore, if you launch AA rockets at target you must video it and upload it to internet so we can prove to decadent and ineffectual west we shot ours down.

Meanwhile, the BSF will be going glub-glub again pretty soon (ie 3-5months)... 
 

I looked over the less interesting questions from the UKR former tanker interview and to see what could still be noteworthy. So, below is part 2.
 

Seth G. Jones, Senior Vice President and Director of the International Security Program at CSIS, will be joined by Eliot A. Cohen, Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy at CSIS; Emily Harding, Director of the Intelligence, National Security, and Technology Program and Deputy Director of the International Security Program at CSIS; and the Honorable Michael Vickers, former Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and CIA operations officer. 

Every western armor maker should be patting themselves on the back for the fact that Ukrainian tankers want more of their stuff for the fact that their survivability increases. We sent 31 M1s to Ukraine, we should send the Marine Corps' M1s to Ukraine. Iraq got 120 M1s!  😭

Is anyone here subscribed to the sarcosaurus substack/feed - The daily emails are pretty in-depth on current situation on ground .  https://xxtomcooperxx.substack.com/

Recently, I noticed that my UKR listening skills have improved noticeably. With the aid of translators and some effort, I can watch and translate UKR videos. So, let check the following interview with UKR AFV expert (former AFU tank officer)
 
 

Theres not just one, not just two, theres three catchy songs about it

7 is official. 

HIMARS strike near Volnovakha allegedly has took a life of colonel Gusein Musayev, commander of 36th motor-rifle brigade. He lined up 2nd motor-rifle battalion, before a visit of major-general Oleg Moiseev, commander of 29th CAA. Our guys slightly hurried up with a strike. 
In Borzia district of Transbaikal region, from where is 36th brigade a mourning is announced

 
Though as became knowingly, this strike got a big resonance, because it aftermath was filmed by cameras of many soldiers, survived after the hit. A week before, on 14th Feb the same incident was near Dokuchayevsk, the town near Volnovakha, but both RUS TGs and local sources have written only about a fact of strike, but losses still unknown. On the range near Dokuchayevsk there were about 300 servicemen

But this is not all. Several hours ago, Russian TGs reported about the same incident with HIMARS on lined up troops on the range in Kherson oblast
Two majors TG
The range. Kherson oblast. Again.
Comrade officers and junior commanders. Please, take responsibility on yourselfs.
 
Callsign OSETN TG  
Today a range again. Kherson oblast. Nobody disn't cancel dolboyebizm [I can't translate this in Englisg equivalent - it means "enormously fu...g stupid way of decision making or a deed]. A Kingdom of God for lads. Khokhols, don't laugh, you will be fu...d at all. 

I think it needs to be repeated everytime the NYT is quoted but their board has russians working on it, that have previously worked for russian state newspapers.
Anytime they quote "anonymous sources" discard the trash article into the next bin.

Nonsense meme🙂

Nonsense meme🙂

Nonsense meme🙂

I think it needs to be repeated everytime the NYT is quoted but their board has russians working on it, that have previously worked for russian state newspapers.
Anytime they quote "anonymous sources" discard the trash article into the next bin.

Nonsense meme🙂

Yesterday Ukrainian Army used HIMARS for attack on 36th Guards Motorised Rifle Brigade, that were in formation at the training ground in Donetsk region. Outcome: > 60 dead

Nonsense meme🙂

They are awefully modeled in SF2.
The muzzle velocity is far too slow and they are less accurate than at4s somehow even though they have proper optics for aiming and rangefinding rather than just iron sights.