Bearstronaut

It would also be no surprise to me if UA pilots had started training months ago and it was only announced because some indication got out that it was happening.

Nah, we just take a dim view of people using deadly nerve agents in one of our cities. Bang out of line.   
Edit: by which I mean the average Brit probably didn't have much of an opinion on Putin. After that they did, and it wasn't a good one. 

I think it's sufficiently certain that the benefits of attempting such a thing would have to be firstly cast-iron guaranteed (which the history of "marches on Moscow" doesn't seem to encourage optimism for) and, secondly, worth the risk. I suspect that "those in charge" will consider that a long-term containment of Moscow will be "enough" and that the chances of actually forcing an unconditional surrender on Russia are so slender, and the cost of attempting it so high as to make the non-zero risk of total annihilation unacceptable. 

I wish I discovered CM during COVID Lockdown when I was "Working" from home! 

Welcome to the CM addicts self-help forum. If you have questions or need help with anything this is the place to ask. 

Seeking to take out AD is probably a decent strategy to be fair.

A line from the US Army's Creed of the Non-Commissioned Officer is "Officers of my unit will have maximum time to accomplish their duties: they will not have to accomplish mine." Take of that what you will.

A line from the US Army's Creed of the Non-Commissioned Officer is "Officers of my unit will have maximum time to accomplish their duties: they will not have to accomplish mine." Take of that what you will.

A line from the US Army's Creed of the Non-Commissioned Officer is "Officers of my unit will have maximum time to accomplish their duties: they will not have to accomplish mine." Take of that what you will.

I don't know when the Ukrainian counter-offensive will kick off but I wouldn't put too much stock in what Zelensky has to say about it. The Ukrainians have to maintain OPSEC so it's not like Zelensky is gonna go around saying "Our forces are fully ready and the offensive is imminent."

I don't know when the Ukrainian counter-offensive will kick off but I wouldn't put too much stock in what Zelensky has to say about it. The Ukrainians have to maintain OPSEC so it's not like Zelensky is gonna go around saying "Our forces are fully ready and the offensive is imminent."

A poorly maintained or non-functioning early warning ballistic missile early warning system in a paranoid and belligerent country like Russia is highly ominous.

Any argument that this was a false flag has to address the following:
1. What political/propaganda goal is be served by demonstrating the weaknesses of the Russian capitol's defense?
2. What response to this supposed escalation would it justify that Russia isn't already doing?
Until someone provides very compelling answers to those questions, assume it is what it looks like...some patriotic Ukrainians poking Putin in the eye for propaganda value. 
 

It makes Putin look so weak and the turbopatriots are already frothing at the mouth as a result. 
I think the 2 guys were just shielded by the cupola and it was a hand grenade level of explosives. Just a demonstration by Ukraine/pro Ukrainians 

God, that's some really evil, dystopian s**t. 

So that is about 833 casualties per day, Jan-Apr 23.  That is approx half of the daily rate of WW1 on the western front when things got going.  That is double all the KIA in 80s Afghanistan in 4 months.
What we do not know is how much of this was cannon fodder and how much as enablers and operational level capabilities.  

Hello ChatGPT, who is John Kettler?   John Kettler is a name that is associated with conspiracy theories and alleged government cover-ups. He claimed to be a former Defense Department contractor and intelligence analyst who had insider knowledge of secret government programs, extraterrestrial life, and advanced technologies. He gained a following online by sharing his theories and information through his website, blog, and social media accounts.
However, it is important to note that there is no independent verification of his claims, and many of his theories and stories have been debunked by experts and fact-checkers. Some have also raised questions about his background and qualifications. Therefore, it is advisable to approach any information or claims made by John Kettler with skepticism and critical thinking.

35Ts are immensely useful to the Army. Sure, a lot of their garrison duties could be done by civilians, but almost every single one of those civilians is a former 35T. In the field, forget about it. You aren't going to have middle aged civilian contractors out working on classified systems with a maneuver brigade during combat operations. As someone who used the systems the 35Ts maintained, they were some of the most important people out there. Also, not everyone joins the military to kick in doors and shoot people in the face. I did nerd stuff too but I was no less a soldier than any 11B. I had to meet the same standards of behavior and physical ability that they did.

Line of Actual Control - Wikipedia

As did the American Civil War until I was literally 40 years old.

The other big thing about this war is that no one thought it would go this way.  Even if Big Mil Contracting had the ability to stage such manoeuvres the community of expertise that could make a prediction that this war would turn out as it did, with high accuracy, is almost non-existent.  In fact, most of the experts - both mil and academic - were predicting a pretty short sharp  "Russian-win" affair and long insurgency; we definitely saw it through our own lens of experiences over the last 20 years.
So unless this profiteering cabal was somehow hooked into some serious counter-thinking, and were willing to bet the political capital they would need to spend on that, well the idea kind of falls apart.  It would have been an extremely high risk wager that Ukraine would somehow be a larger western market after a Russian intervention.  That gets pretty "out there" very fast.  I mean if a company has that level of accurate predictive analytics, why go through the bother of a war?  They basically could own any market they want already.
No, this was a sad scared little man with way too much power and no real feedback loops.  He decided that for "reasons" the time was right to show that he was a still a "big boy" and talked himself into a really bad plan - he has been "digging upward" ever since.  His military ran headlong into 21st century warfare, even though this is really a very early version of it, and got crushed pretty badly.  It is now all about simply trying to stay in power and staying alive.
No star chambers or CIA plots, just people doing "people".

The Russian organization Gulagu conducted interviews with two former Wagner commanders detailing repeated war crimes and brutal treatment of their own men. One talks about shooting children and the other mentions executing any civilians found in an occupied area. Full on Einsatzgruppen stuff. The full interview is available on YouTube but as of yet I don't think anyone has translated the entire thing. I've found some translated snippets on Twitter however.
 

35Ts are immensely useful to the Army. Sure, a lot of their garrison duties could be done by civilians, but almost every single one of those civilians is a former 35T. In the field, forget about it. You aren't going to have middle aged civilian contractors out working on classified systems with a maneuver brigade during combat operations. As someone who used the systems the 35Ts maintained, they were some of the most important people out there. Also, not everyone joins the military to kick in doors and shoot people in the face. I did nerd stuff too but I was no less a soldier than any 11B. I had to meet the same standards of behavior and physical ability that they did.

35Ts are immensely useful to the Army. Sure, a lot of their garrison duties could be done by civilians, but almost every single one of those civilians is a former 35T. In the field, forget about it. You aren't going to have middle aged civilian contractors out working on classified systems with a maneuver brigade during combat operations. As someone who used the systems the 35Ts maintained, they were some of the most important people out there. Also, not everyone joins the military to kick in doors and shoot people in the face. I did nerd stuff too but I was no less a soldier than any 11B. I had to meet the same standards of behavior and physical ability that they did.

35Ts are immensely useful to the Army. Sure, a lot of their garrison duties could be done by civilians, but almost every single one of those civilians is a former 35T. In the field, forget about it. You aren't going to have middle aged civilian contractors out working on classified systems with a maneuver brigade during combat operations. As someone who used the systems the 35Ts maintained, they were some of the most important people out there. Also, not everyone joins the military to kick in doors and shoot people in the face. I did nerd stuff too but I was no less a soldier than any 11B. I had to meet the same standards of behavior and physical ability that they did.