Monty's Mighty Moustache

Sorry, but my inner grammar Nazi won't shut up. This has been misspelled too often!
It's 'Balkenkreuz' (a cross made with beams). Not 'Balkankreuz' (which means cross of the Balkans).

Ok, well things are getting clearer.  Retreating Bradley’s are extracting.  One flies by, second one clearly hit a land mine.  Troops de-bus, no panic the take cover while the gun camera Bradley provides covering fire (ballsy not to simply bail).  Everyone starts popping smoke and troops jump on Bradley to get out of there.
First point shows why it is a bad idea to try to drive back out.  Always push, if you get hit at least you have cleared as far as you got. But I suspect things had gone so wrong they abandoned the mission.  Second troops were controlled and did the right thing post mine strike. Third, no RA artillery. Now I am sure they were very concerned it was going to start dropping but that minefield is not being effectively covered.  Those two videos are four minutes, RA mortars should at least be hammering them - and we are glad they weren’t but that is poor cover of an obstacle.
Lastly, no idea what they were shooting at but obviously in treeline in direction of gun and popped smoke.  So best guess, a recon in force got hit by ATGM from a treeline.  Likely lost breaching vehicles.   At least two Bradleys tried to drive back out (bad) other may have been hit coming or going.  Hit more mines because they were in a Devils OODA loop but that gun Bradley looks like it kept it head and got those troops out because we don’t see a lot of bodies in the Russian videos.  
So bad day in a minefield, looks like most of the troops out alive, so they live to fight again and have proven recon is a dangerous job.  RA still have tank hunting teams and their arty support is questionable (at least in this area).  Hardly a disaster, some AAR points but no need to start calling the Kremlin to discuss terms yet.

The losses are concerning, but a lot of this Ukraine counter-attack force is green and they are still learning, mistakes are going to be made. I would only start to really get concerned if this trend continues.. but I have faith that they are smart enough to make the adjustments required in order to succeed.
This is a very small part of the entire force in action and is in a very concentrated area... I would suggest standing by and letting things play out; I suspect a lot of good news is going to come our way very soon.

Well that is what a minefield breaching operation going very wrong looks like.  
Before everyone freaks out the vehicles that kept pushing are supposed to do that.  Backing out is just asking to die and impossible to do in column, he saw the RA prove this over and over again.  If your breaching vehicle takes a hit - and that appears to be the Leo, you keep pushing even if it means taking casualties.  We would do the exact same thing.  I mean what are the options?  Stop, wait for help or talk things over while the enemy kills you inside a minefield?  Back out along the one cleared path…while the enemy kills you in a minefield?  Nope you push.  Difference between the UA and the RA is that the Leo has a mine plow on the front (which is odd, that is the deep end of clearance, they should be sticking with rollers).  The RA was just straight pushing.
What is interesting is again the lack of any real RA artillery.  No big craters or impact marks.  Vehicles look like they took mobility hits (except that one) and the crews bailed and ran.  When we do these ops each Combat Team would do two breaches and accept that one is going to die.  This is the video from the failed one.
We said this from the start - western kit does not come with magic wizard shields that allow them to float above the ground and drive their enemies before them.  They blow up just the same as Russian kit.  We were always going to see this, and we will likely see more.  Russian info sphere is going to push out any and all of these that it can.  So buckle in and put your helmets on.

You are reacting to fragmentary reports of relatively minor losses. Did you seriously expect the ZSU to break through a prepared defense belt in all locations without losses in a day or so? If ZSU units are still struggling in the first line of fortifications this time next week I would start to get worried but for now just chill and realize you aren't seeing the full picture. 

The One Hundred and Nineteenth Minute
KG Leino -  Die Mitte
The SPWs arrive on station.

KG Perala - das Rechts
The attack continues.

A 251/17 goes boom.

At least one more T34 to deal with!

The poor infantry. The pictures tell the story.

On a positive note the StuG arrives to help, a bit too late, but he has spotted the T34 and it does not appear that he has been spotted in return...

SITMAP

I've updated the blood board with the loss. It's all pretty much academic now. I could try and rush the StuG onto the objective but that doesn't seem like good form to me, and certainly not realistic and I like to play as if I were actually there.

MMM

Not to be fair to the UN - they themselves automatically decided Russia = USSR (which it is and is even more damning to the UN) back in 1991 and gave russians all the same powers and the seat USSR absolutely abused. Because what could possibly go wrong? I guess since Russia now had democratic McDonald's in Moscow and only bombed Moldova right away it was OK.

Furthermore if one of your members supposedly abuses the organization for decades - shouldn't you be doing something about it?

Albania's representative to the UN saying what I think a lot of people are feeling these days about Russia's claims.
Mr.Hoxha put it very eloquently and professionally, but you can tell he has really had enough of listening to all this nonsense.

😭
 
 

LOL, this is obviously just the 1st Gen prototype that will evolve into the Mobile Parking Garage (MPG). The MPG will allow the UA to phase out almost all other direct fire platforms (AFV, IFV, APC, etc). The next video will showcase the infantry dismount models that resemble out houses and telephone booths. The crew served weapons are humbly based on wood sheds for rural operations and kiosks for urban tactical options!   

Oh, sh....t. 3:30 of night now and next mass ballistic strike on Kyiv was 20 minutes ago. It was VERY loud and reportedly over left-bank districts of the city. About two dozens explosions. Preliminary Iskanders, launched from Klintsy area, Briansk oblast. Looks like all were intercepted. I think, more details will be at the morning. Well, I should try to sleep after THIS.

Does anyone in the world give a rat's **** for the 'poor' Saudis?
I mean, Crimea a River ...

This is residental building in Kyiv, being struck by Shakhed this night. 1 killed woman (she came to balcony to look how AD work and in this monent the drone hit the house) and 22 injured settlers. 

The city was attacked yesterday three times throughout of 24 hours (Shakeds + Kh-101, then Iskanders, then Shakheds again). Most dangerous attack Russians conducted at 11:00 of morning, when many people already were on streets on foot, in cars or in public transport. 11 ballistic missiles and cruise missiles Iskander-M/ Iskander-K where launched. My "aerophobia" of Feb2022 turned back, when I heard multiple missile sounds over my house. Well, then I read theses were Patriots... They intercepted all missiles again, but their upper stages have been falling on streets, full of people. In was a God's lucky and protection - that only one citizen was wounded with these parts
Here is how vere lucky, those, who drove along the road, when part of Petriot fell
So, let Moscow burn. No mercy. 

About attack on Moscow. Brilliant blow, which had not military sence and not such moral punch, but an action to grow more "uncertainity" and to cause more cracks both between influent figures and inside Russian society.
Here is a map of drone crashes and impacts
 
In yellow square is a location of Putin's residence in Novo-Ogariovo. Also many impacts were in elite suburbs of Moscow - Rubliovka, Barvikha, Greenfield were lives "fat of the land". Many of Russians adore Putin, but have "class hate" on oligarchs and very rich inhabitants of theese elite suburbs, where average check in local restaurant can be more than month salary of usual Russian citizen somewhere in province. 
So we have:
1. GUR fueled much more the withstanding of Prigozhyn and MoD. Now Prigizhyn in very brutal manner has spoke out not only about stupid generals, who passed this UAVs, but also against authotity officials , "who are doing nothing and just sit in own comfort armchairs on theit asses, smeared with expensive elite cremes" 
2. Reaction of usual Russians on the strike on elite "oliarch" suburbs was mostly malevoilent. This reaction was so mass, that Solovyov was forced to scold own compatriots for such position
 
 
Average-class elite cottage in Rubliovka, hit by drone
 
3. Most of Russian (so-called) liberals, follwers of Navalnyi, completely showed own imperial inside covered with exclaims "why us?". Who had illusions, but they obviously agaist Putin, but they are the same chauvinists and imperialists. 
From other probable targets: 
Reportedly the distillery was hit in Ostachevo, suburb of Moscow
Russian ballerine Volochkova, posted a storys where told she heard explosions nearby her home, where military unit is located. OSINT community has found this place near Nikolo-Uriupino town - this is m/u 11105-2 - the base and stores of one of battalions of 1st engineer-sapper brigade (deployed in Murom city) 
 
And about "attack on innocent civilans". These "innocent civilians" voted for Putin and all pro-Kremlin parties or where just indeifferent ("we are out of policy"). But indifference of millions born dictature of one. But all they - "vatniks and enough number of "indiffernet liberals", all they wanted a "small victorious war" to feel own imperial "greateness". They wanted "to repeat" and reach Berlin and Atlantic as they have seen this in stupid TV-animations . So, time to pay bills. This is even not allied carpet bombing of German cities, settled by "innocent Germans" in WWII. This is just an opportunity to feel the snickering Moscow, what feel Ukranians in own cities, when they hear almost each night explosions in the sky or on the land. 

I didn't follow this discussion, just stopping by to say: Come on, that is a bit cheap and you usually do much better than that. 😉 I think in this context by "winning the election" almost everyone meant "becoming president". Also, saying he did not win in the primary election is stretching the truth a bit. With 49.5% Erdogan had the most votes and almost managed to achieve an absolute majority. That is quite a feat if you compare it to, say, Macron, who got only 27.8% in the primary election in 2022. The primary election isn't meant to be won outright, that's what the runoff is there for, and it it doesn't make the winner any less democratically legitimized. True, 52% vs 48% isn't a large margin but if you go by popular vote, looking at the last two decades, almost all US presidents won by a similar or even smaller margin. Biden vs Trump was 51% vs 47%, Trump vs Clinton 47% vs 48% (!), Obama vs Romney 51% vs 48%, Obama vs McCain 53% vs 46%, Bush vs Kerry 51% vs 48%.
You are right about the tricks Erdogan pulled off, though I'm not too sure how much if a role they played. Germany has a large Turkish community and people here have free access to all sorts of information. They still voted 67% for Erdogan.

An excellent example is the relationship between Britain and Germany in the lead up with WW1.  By all rights: diplomatic, economic and political Germany and Britain should have been allies in WW1; however, the Kaisers very ill advised pursuit of naval parity with Britain led to a costly arms race that shaped relations between these two nations.  
Arms races can be the spark that trigger conflict moving into a violent collision stage, but “war” is not binary, it is a process on a spectrum.  Arms races can be considered preliminary moves or shaping that may or may not lead to open warfare.  The counter example is the Cold War where the US effectively won the conflict without direct military collision by forcing their opponent to spend more economy could sustain.  Here the arms race was the war.  
As to the current situation with China, the issue is less arms race and more one of “who is willing to sacrifice?”  China is hungry, aggressive and smart (as opposed to Russia who only had the first two).  The US is highly divided, entitled and very self absorbed.  It is also extremely powerful and rich but whether it can focus that power and will remains the central unanswered question of the early 21st century.  I do not think an arms race will doom the US and China into a conflagration, but it definitely is part of the intensification of competition between these two powers.  The biggest threat to the West right now is not Chinese arms, it is US apathy versus extremism.

why are we holding Ukraine to a different standard than ourselves?  The US military and police forces are riddled with white supremacists.  Hell our congress has more than a few.  And now those in congress are complaining the pentagon is too "woke" in trying to reduce the presence of white supremacists.
I would prefer these political forces be gone, but the sad reality is there is still a lot of it in this world.  That some of them would show up in this war isn't the least surprising, but it is not representative of the UA and I feel this is a lot about nothin.
Funny thing is the US politicians who are most opposed to the US funding this war are the ones who'd be least offended by fascist symbols.

It's getting complicated.
 

It would be difficult to find a part of the front that is more distant on exterior lines from where the big fight is likely to be and it's being done in a way that Russia, caught up in the coils of its own propaganda, cannot ignore. Somebody in Kyiv decided to demonstrate the concept of initiative in the most humiliating way possible for Moscow.

I would say do it straight away, you’ll quickly find the limitations of the AI frustrating. It can make for a good fight if they scenario designer is really good but even then it can only react so much to trigger points.
Playing against a human you will learn very quickly, and if you ask around you will find there are folk who will gladly hold your hand through it and provide feedback on what you’re doing as you play. Have a look around the Discord servers and the Few Good Men website and you’ll find plenty of people to play with. 

Ok let’s play “How Many Reasons Why Russia May Open Up Negotiations That Are Not An Immediate Sign Of Defeat” - all the College Boys chime in.  I will start:
- Shifting the strategic narrative/reframe the war in an attempt to demonstrate that they are the reasonable ones and start down a road to victimology that may appeal to certain political parties in the west who have their heads in warm dark places while they listen to “experts” with big mics, empty heads and a serious lust for more money and power.
- To create uncertainty in the European alliance and NATO as some nations just want this to be over and renormalize. 
- A ploy to pull China into this in some sort diplomatic tag team. China enters the side of “Putin the Reasonable” and leverages it towards a win for them both.
- The Russians simply stall for time in a hope to slow down the UA in a hope for a battlefield reverse.
- To play up to a domestic audience, with never any real intention of ceasing the conflict.
- Because Putin is finished and we wind up negotiating with a bunch of separate goons, none of whom actually represent the Russian people.
- Putin is not finished but wants us to believe it and over reach.  Link to playing for time and dumber political machines moving into power.
- Random irrational objectives that we can only guess at.
Now just for you - go look up Dunning-Kruger and think about it for awhile. And did you just walk into Steve’s house and tell him to shut up and sit down?  Seriously, how does that get right on any political spectrum?  And we are at Ignore.

This guy has written UKR troops inside Bakhmut received an order to withdraw from last position "Plane" in the city. Similar posts or hints about this I have seen on some other accounts
Prigozhyn claims he will begin withdrawal of PMC Wagner from frontline for R&R  from 25th of May. Part of most experienced merceneries will be moved to Sudan. In Ukraine in semi-seriously / semi-jokingly discussed theme that after the war we can establish own PMC, which will be moved to Africa to chase and destroy Wagners and Russian influence in Africa