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The_MonkeyKing

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Posts posted by The_MonkeyKing

  1. 6 minutes ago, Huba said:

    This is a very interesting detail, pertaining to our previous discussion about conscripts. It is indeed what he says there @Grigb? It makes sense IMO, sending conscripts would be unnecessarily aggravating I think, assuming enough of former contract soldiers can be rounded up.

     

    Why would they use actively serving conscripts? They are in the middle of their training. They, so to say graduate when they leave the army. After this they have "soldiers professional degree" and can be called up in mobilization.

    Using actively serving conscripts would be highly non-standard and very politically sensitive. Closest thing is going to be last years conscripts getting called up.

  2. 16 minutes ago, Huba said:

    There's more. At this point I imagine interesting stuff must be happening on Finnish border near St. Petersburg, as it is basically the only way out. @The_MonkeyKing anything about it in local media?

     

    The mobilization doesn't threaten the Finnish border. This is because Russia is keeping a very close eye on the border (as always). There is absolutely no crossing the border for Russians without Russian governments consent. Russia is not letting people who are included in the mobilization across. (only thread in the future would be Russian mobilized refugee crisis like in Poland. These people would not overlap with draft dodgers)

    But of course authorities are adjusting accordingly. In keeping with Finnish tradition details are not disclosed.

    More generally the visa situation has not caused any noticeable changes on the border.

     

  3. 47 minutes ago, Huba said:

    This seems very relevant to the discussion of "average russian" innocence, and how it is perceived in different countries. I absolutely second Latvian approach here. Yeah, it won't buy them much sympathy from RU public opinion, pro and anti-war alike, but in the long term forcing RU civilians to face the music is the only way forward.

     

    Russian draw dodgers as refugees is a complicated subject.

    • We do not want to give protection to the Russians powerful classes while main population suffers.
    • If we "evacuate" the opposition from Russia who is left to drive change?
    • We want to protect any possible Russian opposition if they face impossible odds.
    • humanitarian reasons.
    • pretty wanted migrants. Working age somewhat well off people.
  4. 8 minutes ago, FancyCat said:

    Ehh maybe if the mobilization occurred at the start, sure, but it's happening after the defeat at Kharkiv, after months of the best of the Russian military being ground down to dust. The VDV, 1st Tank Guards Army, are dust. You don't think the news of people refusing contracts or trying to get out does not defuse in the age of the internet? They were getting only half enlistment goals with incentives.

    Draft dodging is also as old phenomenon as war itself. There are tried and tested methods. Especially so in a totalitarian surveillance state.

    Only thing that has helped to stop this in history is a collapse of the homefront that compromises the operation of the state/government. 

  5. Well, Russia is going to solve its manpower problem.

    And to anybody talking about morale ext. look at history. War has been fought by men who do not want to fight for millennia. There are well tried and tested "methods" for this. Yes, it is not as efficient but often good enough.

    As long as the home front doesn't collapse from the inside.

  6. We have to keep in mind Russia will do and say anything at anytime when it suits it.

    Even if they legally speaking fully annex whole Ukraine they can a week from now state "just kidding" and do the opposite. Remember Russia still claims most of the past Soviet Union territory anyways.

    So, at worst this just a tool to do partial mobilization to survive another day. More piecemeal and half-assed solutions.

  7. Ukraine receiving its most western and modern tank:

    aand its a T-55 :D

    They are getting close to top of the line thermals, firing computer, laser warning systems, 105mm APFSDS-T with these babies. I say these are almost identical as sending modernized Leopard 1.

    Similar case in Finland. We still have a battalion of modernized T-55 in reserve even when we scraped all the T-72 twenty years ago.

  8. 8 minutes ago, sross112 said:

     

    Has anyone else noticed the lack of ATGMs on the IFVs? I was always under the assumption that almost every Russian BMP had one and I've seen very few of them in pics and videos. If I'm wrong and just having an elongated situational awareness fail, please point it out to me. If I'm not, any idea why they aren't there? 

    In Finland (and many other countries) we removed them from the vehicles and they are used by anti-tank formations. IFV doctrine in Finnish terrain has very little use for IFV launched ATGM. Way more cost efficiency to have them in dedicated AT-formations.

    This is a  matter of doctrine and what is the most fitting and cost effective solution for any specific country. (no idea why Russians don't have them mounted though)

  9. 1 hour ago, dan/california said:

    I HATE watching Ukrainians lose a round. The ride on top thing seems to be a combination of how awful Soviet/Russian IFVs are to ride inside, and the risk of land mines thought to be as high or higher than small arms fire. 

    In Finnish military there is also some doctrine for tank riding. This is riding on an MBT.

    Tank riding is done when closing in with the enemy. Around last kilometer or so only. Only done in dense terrain (or one terrain feature away from danger) and only when the enemy contact line is well known. Infantry dismounts according to premade plan in a safe location and continues on foot with the tanks.

    This is when IFVs are not available for one reason or another. For example the final closing in with the enemy. In Finland likely scenario would be a planned prepared assault in a very dense forest with a very small road(s). No room for the IFVs to come with the tanks and LoS is so low the tank riding is safe (when enemy positions are known). Also because of the short LoS the infantry is also needed close to the tanks.

  10. For a change Ukrainians showing their incompetence.

    some pointers:

    • tracks are way too close to each other
    • there should be a single track keeping the point so only it gets ambushed
    • there should have been some recon element to notice this in advance  (fails to notice everything, I give that)
    • seems like a split rout/defense. absolutely no control over these forces
    • good example on the challenges of riding on top of the IFV. No cover from small arms fire and absolutely no maneuvering under small arms fire. Also command and control of the infantry squad(s) breaks up completely under fire.

    In this situation point tanks should pop smoke, notify the company and dismount to closest available "cover" and engage in hasty defense. After this the whole point platoon does hasty defense and the company commander makes a fast decision on what to do. Common options: disengage or push though with the 2. and 3. platoons. And in either case the enemy position receives immediate fire from the battalion mortars.

    at least this is how it would go in the Finnish military.

  11. 3 minutes ago, Grigb said:

    It is already happening. They are hitting infrastructure targets. But it seems at the moment they switched to hitting dam infrastructure that can affect Inhulets river. It says two things to me:

    1. RU are bad at destroying UKR crossings with weapons
    2. They are very nervous regarding Bridgheads and possibility UKR breakthrough there. 

    Luckily Russia is quite sort on cruise missiles and the like. Also Ukraine air defense is way better now than ever. They might not be very capable of "plunging Ukraine into darkness" as they say...

  12. 26 minutes ago, The_MonkeyKing said:

    Mad burns going around.

    For the Americans; Usula is little like the prime minister of European Union.

    Her "roots" come from Germany, from the Merkel administration. Making the burn even hotter.

    In general I have been starting to wonder what is the actually definitions of the limitation at this moment?

    Armored vehicles that look like western and have manned turrets? :D
    (because we already have remote turret western APCs and PT-91 is a modern tank made in the west that just looks eastern)

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