danfrodo

note to Kraze -- nice posts, please keep it coming.

YES YES YES YES. Anything to create 'safe zone' on Ukrainian soil. This does a lot of things I like. Helps the displaced persons. Ensures that there can be at least some kind of rump 'free ukraine' going forward. It could provide safe area for transit of weapons (tough luck if putin doesn't like this). It could provoke russian attack on western forces, which I very much welcome. yes, bring it, Putin, please give us an excuse.

Great points folks, thanks for sharing all these excellent insights. While we talk about the ferocity and effectiveness of a Ukrainian resistance movement, we must also remember who's on the other side. Putin will murder people in the thousands if he thinks it will quell unrest. He'll use the police, he'll cut off electricity, fuel, food, internet, cell phones. It'll be like the 1930s. Take a good look at the monster we are dealing with, he'll stop at nothing. This has the possibility to be ongoing mass murder of Ukrainians. I think NATO needs to intervene w air power based on humanitarian grounds, due to Russian actions both now and for what the future holds if Putin 'wins'.

If Putin starts a nuclear war, I doubt there's any point in having his family survive. They'd be killed the first time they came out in public by whoever was around. Does he think if he survived he'd stay in power? He'd hopefully be shot when he tried to order the nukes launched.

This is great news! I hope there's a big supply. And so Erdogan is doing this? Crazy times. The interesting thing is that while downed drones are a loss, there's no loss of the skilled pilot. This is a real game changer. If areas are too hot for jets one might still be willing to sacrifice some drones for the goal of destroying some fuel convoy or taking out a temporary bridge or maybe just blocking a road w a big hole. All that matters is how many drones you can bring up & how fast as long as the pilots are kept safe. I am still in favor of using the enormous humanitarian crisis as excuse to make safe zone in western Ukraine centered around Lviv. It's a defensive zone that certainly could cause fight, but I would welcome that. US could send it's drones to help keep the zone safe, thereby keeping US personnel out of it while still helping the cause. Ukrainian aircraft, drones and supplies would come out of the zone, infuriating Putin, but hey, F U Putin. See how many of your pilots or tanks want to take on western military power.

casus belli, if true

Notable he's playing these games w Sweden & Finland, non-NATO states, and not w Baltic states, which could give NATO pretext for intervention. Very telling. So the idiot is completely consumed w his Ukraine fiasco and thinks he's gonna scare Finland & Sweden w invasion or attacks right now? WTF did he think would happen when he launched this invasion? Of course Sweden and Finland want to join NATO now, all because of him.

So it sounds like russian hacker attacks on NATO infrastructure would be an excuse to intervene? Please please please be that stupid, Putin. Right now, if NATO air forces intervened, those russian columns would look like the highway of death from kuwait 1991. We don't need to send in ground forces, the russians are all sitting right out in the open. We attack the AD assets then smash them. Gawd Damn I am getting angrier by the day.

I just looked over the posts from the my overnight. Thanks all, great stuff. Some thoughts: Can we please start using NATO drones to knock out russian convoys? Just say that we gave new drones to the Ukrainians. Russians will know we are lying, so what? Russians funding far-right fascists in western nations -- no way! But on the other hand, it's so beautiful: nazis and bolshies holding hands, finding romance through their common love of racism, oppression and authoritarianism. Maybe a movie in the works? A rom-com starring Vladimir Putin and (place fave fascist here) looks like continued success, at least locally, for the blue & gold side. And another airborne attack crushed? is that verified? Makes my little heart go pitter patter.

Belarus getting hit w sanctions, including some senior military commanders. A populace that was already trying to overthrow their leader is now going to have their economy wrecked. I am not a gambler but I'd be "the under" on how long he can hold out after this.

I sure hope these can be put into Ukrainian service ASAP!

Let's be clear about where this is probably going. If nothing 'breaks', Putin will surround and pound those cities. he will 'win the war'. Then he'll have eternal insurgency where he murders & starves Ukrainians like it's the 1930s. But there's equally good chance that the Russian side 'breaks' -- meaning the forces just refuse to push the fight, up to and including mutiny. Or there's a coup. But without that break, it's very very bad for Ukraine. Of course, Aragorn & I want to see NATO coming over the hill like the Rohirrim in Lord of the Rings #2 and change the whole equation. Even NATO air strikes would be crippling to the Russians since the mud keeps them roadbound. And let's all pray for rain! Forecast is still above freezing every day for next week, though some of it sunny.

my Gawd, they are children

Some ridiculous stuff I am seeing from various sources. First, that this is the fault of the west because NATO expansion, etc. Utter bulls-t. If the Baltic states weren't in NATO, then Putin would be sending troops there. There is zero chance NATO would attack russia, now or in any conceivable future unless Russia did some seriously crazy s--t. Putin is doing this because he wants more land and (perceived) power. Putin has had every chance to show the west he's a safe and cooperative neighbor and trading partner. but he's continually shown he's dangerous and can't be trusted. It's like blaming victim for being raped because she looked too good and that triggered the rapist, who just couldn't help himself. (I actually heard Paul Harvey say this once, back in my youth. Last time I listened to Paul Harvey. I could say same thing about him: you chose to flaunt your rolex and your cadillac, why are you surprised you were robbed and assaulted?)

Putin cares about Putin. And Putin thinks doubling down is the only way forward, for whatever reasons in his own head. But this whole thing has been so stupid from the start. The only way Putin ever goes down is getting the population, elite and military against him. And voila! He's on his way to that! Genius! Unfortunately, that's a big army the Ukrainians have to stop. Very big. I wonder how far the new weapons are in the logistical pipeline. Gonna need a lot of ATGMs & stingers. Gonna need a lot of rations.

Good, drop these pointless legal-points-by-imbeciles discusssions. For Putin all these points are all just excuses for taking over territory, and that's what he cares about. Which is some serious 1939 level stupidity. I dunno, maybe spend all that energy making your country better, ya f-ing murderous psychopath?

I am with Aragorn on this. Lots of success so far, but Putin is now throwing in reserves. He can't afford to lose. I'm worried. I sure hope those ATGMs and stingers get there in time. With the mud, if they can destroy vehicles from a distance to block roads, would sure slow things down. and also could savage any supply columns following along through thin advance corridors. Hopefully the advance in the far NW will stumble across the Polish border and bring NATO more into the fight. yeah, sounds crazy but I want NATO to move into western Ukraine.

yes, that's the 'insane' part of insane courage. And lighting a molotov in your car?? Yeah, insane courage.

Insane courage!

I wonder how much these logistical attacks, both from air & ground are helping? We see anecdotal evidence, like above, and I hope it's helping to slow Russians down and hurt morale (like running low on food). RUssian plan was clearly to bypass a lot of areas and so hopefully getting attacks on convoys that would require lots of those BMPs to play guard duty along increasingly lengthened lines.

Jeebus F-ing Kristo. Workday today, so couldn't read all the new overnight posts. But what a bunch of f-ing garbage. I see a post where someone says something like "no one thinks russians should have rights" -- the only group not thinking russians have rights IS THEIR OWN GOVT. How can someone say such stupid sh-t?? I am kinda pissed at this excellent thread getting polluted w pseudo-knowledge history crap and semantic bulls-t. I came here for news on the war but have to sift through a bunch of brainwashed propaganda instead.

thanks for that Zveroboy. ( I'm out of likes for today) ELVIS: I think we might need an increase in our likes allowance?

I don't know art, but I know what I like. It's really important that these f-ing monsters, wherever they may be, are shown clearly that the cost is much higher than anything they hoped to gain.

yeah, that sounds too good to be true, so it'd be nice to somehow verify this. But I guess if I were in a mutiny I might not video it. Unlike certain folks I've seen, maybe these soliders wouldn't commit treason and then paste it all over facebook.

interesting pointsBeonTheGrave. I suppose it's telling that russians don't seem to have the gear and or training for night fighting. Without that they'd just get ambushed easier -- so hopefully they will try that. Though in the cities the lights are still on, so would seem they could push into urban areas at night.