Maquisard manqué

"A study done after the war found that 37 percent of all armor unit casualties occurred when the crew member was outside of the vehicle."
Which is a good reason to keep the crew inside - either with the British tea, or the Russian toilet (T-14).
Overall creature comforts provide some temporary relief from boredom and hardship, raising morale, which is "three times more important than the type of ATGM used" - according to Napolean (not his exact words  )

Don’t think Brexit has any influence on that. The Uk hasn’t felt the need to consult the Eu on most adventures.

I’ve had pet ducks.  That’s normal behavior for migratory waterfowl.

Wot? Obvs it’s round! It’s a disc - with greenwich in the centre. You didn’t think it was a square did you? Numpty.

Many in Ukraine call Russia as Mordor, but.. no. What a f....g Mordor? Putin too ugly and paltry to be compared with evil lord %) Putin's Russia is Numenor of Ar-Pharason times ) Cult of Melkor (like a temple of War in Russia), cultivating of hate to West and it Lords, opression of Faithfuls and offering them as sacrifice to Melkor, Great Armament, Great Invasion to Valinor and... if you read Silmarillion, you should know  If not, you should read it after LoTR 
PS. Before 7 years in medieval re-enactment I about 6 years was a Tolkien-fan, participated in LARPs etc, was an archer  

Wot? Obvs it’s round! It’s a disc - with greenwich in the centre. You didn’t think it was a square did you? Numpty.

oh great, now we have one of those 'round earth' people on the forum.  It's obviously flat and the sun goes around.  I know this because it was clearly demonstrated by a cartoon video on youtube, so it must be true. 
But seriously, I do wonder if the level of deliveries to UKR has stepped up recently.  Those reservists being trained probably need just about everything to come in from the outside world.

Ahah, thanks, you make me blush ) I would be a hero, if did this from Chernihiv or Kharkiv, but Kyiv was relatively safe place, despite heavy sounds of artillety and MLRS and sometime missiles booms in the sky 

Probably total rubbish, if the picture is anything to go by.

I predict Russia will basically turn into North Korea by the end of this. Belligerent, paranoid, insular, and brutal to its own citizens out of fear of what would happen if it  loosens the screws.

Not sure this was posted yet:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-61038811
Based on reputable, serious news outlets, it feels like every area, village, town of occupation has seen the Russian army live up to pretty much the worst that’s been said about it. Obvs the quoted link isn’t from such a source but it’s shocking (so yes until validated it could be propaganda- but the fact I now doubt it, why shouldn’t I given What else they’ve done, is most important - well to me anyway!).
At the risk of re-raising the bigger racist debate, but really to say I regret giving the benefit of the doubt, I can only see a small difference between this institutionalised violence, thuggery and carelessness for human life and what the Nazis did. Frankly I fear it might only take competence for the Russian army/state to replicate such systematisation.
@kraze, sorry. Pretty sure you’ve said as much.
I’m still (always) for a Marshall plan option but only for the sake of the future generations of Russians. This current lot appear largely poisoned, despite the protest attempts by some. This is helping me understand the frustration and bewilderment western soldiers & journalists (I.e. Gelhorn) felt when faced with the cynicism and denial of many Germans post 1944.

Don’t think Brexit has any influence on that. The Uk hasn’t felt the need to consult the Eu on most adventures.

I wonder if the Ukrainian farmers have started stenciling tanks, bmps and AA vehicles on the engine housings of their tractors yet?

Don’t think Brexit has any influence on that. The Uk hasn’t felt the need to consult the Eu on most adventures.

Not sure this was posted yet:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-61038811
Based on reputable, serious news outlets, it feels like every area, village, town of occupation has seen the Russian army live up to pretty much the worst that’s been said about it. Obvs the quoted link isn’t from such a source but it’s shocking (so yes until validated it could be propaganda- but the fact I now doubt it, why shouldn’t I given What else they’ve done, is most important - well to me anyway!).
At the risk of re-raising the bigger racist debate, but really to say I regret giving the benefit of the doubt, I can only see a small difference between this institutionalised violence, thuggery and carelessness for human life and what the Nazis did. Frankly I fear it might only take competence for the Russian army/state to replicate such systematisation.
@kraze, sorry. Pretty sure you’ve said as much.
I’m still (always) for a Marshall plan option but only for the sake of the future generations of Russians. This current lot appear largely poisoned, despite the protest attempts by some. This is helping me understand the frustration and bewilderment western soldiers & journalists (I.e. Gelhorn) felt when faced with the cynicism and denial of many Germans post 1944.

Some facts:
UK left the EU not NATO. EU has 27 members. NATO has 30 members. The EU has no say on what weapons member states' supply Ukraine.  
  Last fact:
     5. Increased bureaucracy for UK, that has created "friction" with moving goods around EU, is a direct consequence of Brexit agreement with EU. Friction would not exist without occurrence of Brexit.

Not sure this was posted yet:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-61038811
Based on reputable, serious news outlets, it feels like every area, village, town of occupation has seen the Russian army live up to pretty much the worst that’s been said about it. Obvs the quoted link isn’t from such a source but it’s shocking (so yes until validated it could be propaganda- but the fact I now doubt it, why shouldn’t I given What else they’ve done, is most important - well to me anyway!).
At the risk of re-raising the bigger racist debate, but really to say I regret giving the benefit of the doubt, I can only see a small difference between this institutionalised violence, thuggery and carelessness for human life and what the Nazis did. Frankly I fear it might only take competence for the Russian army/state to replicate such systematisation.
@kraze, sorry. Pretty sure you’ve said as much.
I’m still (always) for a Marshall plan option but only for the sake of the future generations of Russians. This current lot appear largely poisoned, despite the protest attempts by some. This is helping me understand the frustration and bewilderment western soldiers & journalists (I.e. Gelhorn) felt when faced with the cynicism and denial of many Germans post 1944.

The russian federation invaded another country, vast numbers of human beings are now dead, maimed, traumatised and/or refugees.  This wouldn't have happened to any of them if the russian federation had not invaded.
Q.E.D.

Initially when confronted by the war crimes Russia was committing in Bucha, I was reminded of stories of the Katyn Forest massacre in WWII, murders of Polish cadets to undermine the future leadership of Poland. But with the increase in attacks on civilian populations that have no military value, I'm reminded more of the Japanese behavior in WWII...an officer enforced brutality to keep troops in line and also encourage ruthlessness on both sides so no one can expect mercy. Maybe the point is to enrage Ukrainians to shoot prisoners on sight and keep Russia's low morale conscripts from surrendering. Or maybe they really are just orcs.
 
I don't have any answers, I guess I'm just trying to understand this pointless sadism that doesn't assist in any military goals. Hollywood can't write bad guys this horrible.

and to think the Sherman got a bad rap.

I have to agree here. I think its a big reason why the US has, more or less, stayed free of these kinds of events during the war on terror. Its a multivariable issue for sure, but NCO control, discipline, and overall unit/institutional culture are all really important here. The US is emblematic of the west in this regard, but probably not especially unique. Strong NCOs and Jr officers can keep control over their soldiers, discipline and high unit morale keeps soldiers in check in necessary ways. 
I also wonder how much violence is an important factor in this, especially re: unit culture and a means of enforcing intraunit discipline. A big component of western NCOs and officers is that they establish strong authority through personality and leadership skills, but in the Russian Army violence is far more common and acceptable. NCOs use violence as a tool to enforce compliance, and theyre willing to beat a soldier up to do it. In the US that would be, AFAIK, basically unheard of. In fact the stereotype I've heard is quite the opposite. If someone wants to correct me there I welcome it. But it seems to me like a kind of cultural training. The NCO beats me up, kicks my ass, uses violence to get me to comply. So when I have to get this civilian population under control, I become the victimizer myself. 
IIRC the last time violence was more commonplace in training was during Vietnam, and we did see outbreaks of this kind of violence with My Lai and (allegedly) Tiger Force. And of course in the mid-century, the regular pre- and post-WWII Army was more brutal, and during Korea in particular you saw US troops engage in more violence against civilian populations. During WWII itself, training regiments were modified to speed up training and work with drafted manpower, decreasing violence and along with it creating a different kind of soldier. An interesting dynamic perhaps. 

What the economists who aren't dazzled by the topline number are saying is that supporting the ruble now is going to make things far worse in terms of inflation and other economic damage later. As usual, Putin is robbing Pyotr to pay Pavel. 

On the pro-Russian side, there's some stories going around that the satellite imagery showing the bodies in Bucha might be fake. This is mostly based on this "analysis" from "Southfront", claiming that none of Maxar's satellite had their orbits going over the region during the dates mentioned on the pictures: https://southfront.org/more-evidence-more-doubts-about-bucha-massacre/ .
I looked into that, and as expected, it's a poorly-made fake counting on people being too lazy to check the satellite tracks themselves, which can be easily done by using tools like this one: https://in-the-sky.org/satmap_worldmap.php
On each of the dates, March 21 & March 19, Maxar's satellites (specifically WorldView-1 & GeoEye-1) passed directly over Kyiv.

Don’t want to give the teacher an apple but well said Steve. And it’s not to detract from the evils that Russia is doing in/to Ukraine.