NamEndedAllen
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Posts posted by NamEndedAllen
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2 hours ago, Pete Wenman said:
A positive step! But not a legislative, legally binding act. See statement below:
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/agenda/briefing/2022-11-21/1/meps-set-to-declare-russia-a-state-sponsor-of-terrorism
By declaring Russia a state sponsor of terrorism, MEPs want to prepare the ground for Putin and his government to be held accountable for these crimes before an international tribunal.The debate took place during the October plenary session.
Vote: Wednesday, 23 November
Procedure: Non-legislative resolution
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Apoears far from an official adoption, and not a legally binding measure
https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2022/11/15/meps-mull-declaring-russia-a-terrorist-state-over-brutal-and-inhumane-crimes-against-ukraiThe European Parliament should declare Russia a terrorist state for the "intimidation and destruction of Ukrainians as a nation," according to a strongly-worded resolution being drafted by the centre-right European People's Party (EPP) and seen by Euronews.
At least two other political groups, Renew Europe and the European Conservatives and Reformists, are preparing similar texts, Euronews can confirm, increasing the odds for a formal declaration to be issued by the hemicycle as early as next Wednesday.
The groups plan to put their resolutions, which could be eventually merged into one, to a vote during next week's plenary, where they would necessitate a majority of MEPs to be formally adopted.
Parliamentary resolutions are not legally binding but can carry a heavy symbolic weight. -
40 minutes ago, dan/california said:
Yes, good points throughout. Including:
“Discussions about the desirability of Ukraine negotiating from a position of strength, while its forces are winning, are based on a mistaken premise. Ukraine has liberated nearly half the land Russia has seized since renewing its invasion in February 2022—meaning that Russia still has more than half the territory it illegally occupies. Ukraine has momentum in this conflict, but not yet the upper hand. Its negotiating position is stronger than it was when Russian forces were advancing on additional critical cities and regions, but not yet strong enough to have created good conditions from which to negotiate.”
AND
“Freezing the conflict where it is now invites renewed Russian invasion sooner and badly undermines Ukraine’s ability to prevail in either a renewed hot war or in the new cold war.
Allowing Russia to keep some or all the areas it currently holds also condemns millions of Ukrainians to the ongoing Kremlin efforts to Russify them; to identify, torture, and kill people who still give their allegiance to Kyiv; to abduct Ukrainian children and adopt them forcibly into Russian families; and to continue the ethnic cleansing campaign Putin is pursuing to eliminate the Ukrainian national identity everywhere he can.“
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10 hours ago, Erwin said:
Thanks! Interesting historical perspective to set the stage. Am in the midst of it now.
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1 hour ago, dan/california said:
The Ukrainians have made some mistakes related to this accident at the Polish border. I do not believe they are significant mistakes, but they are perhaps revealing. First and foremost they reveal how stressed the Ukrainian leadership is. Zelensky and his government are fighting an existential war with just barely enough support. The just barely part is because NATO is chicken$##&& and unwilling to further provoke Russia, or other than Poland and the Baltics, take the slightest strategic risk in terms of stock depletion. When something went bang in Poland, in the middle of an attack that was intended to utterly cripple Ukraine's power grid, Ukraine reacted emotionally just this once, instead of playing the rock steady good soldier. Given the possibility of finally getting FULL support instead of the carefully calculated flow they have been given. That careful calculation let's remember guarantees many more months of grinding, brutal war. And a butcher's bill for every day of it. Getting ahead of themselves with a flare of hope we might pull our heads out of our A&%$, and or consider dead and tortured Ukrainians as important as Poles or Frenchmen, was a mistake. But bleep me it was an understandable one.
Ukraine needs more support, it needs five billion a month in financial support without a desperate daily scramble to round it up. It needs two hundred more tubes of 155, and perhaps every round of 155 ammo in Europe. IT NEEDS ATACAMS, and permission to strike rail infrastructure in Russia. It needs several hundred top tier IFVs even more than it needs Leopard/Abrams. Or NATO can start firing cruise missiles in quantity and end this in three days. Or we can keep being chicken$^$# and letting Ukrainians die and freeze.
Opinion is worth what you paid, but I stand by it.
Absolutely. On a day when Ukrainians were being devastated by a deadly rain of terror missile attacks throughout the country - again! - ONE missile in their own defense may have gone off course while trying to stop an incoming Russian attack. And it IS a tragedy. Along with the other thousands of tragedies suffered through Ukraine on that day. Chapter 42 in the far too long book, “Why The Allies Must Decide Winning NOW Is The Way To End This War”.
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2 hours ago, dan/california said:
Yes! Amazing perseverance- and mysterious failures by Russia to disrupt. Couple of quotes from the Times article:
“In ways large and small, Ukrainian National Railways, with its 230,000 employees, has been a vital player in this war, helping to keep the nation bound together as Russia tries to tear it apart. The railway has enabled the flight of refugees and of those who are internally displaced, the movement of goods and weapons and the reunions of families.”
AND:
“The longest any train has been delayed is 12 hours, when, in the spring, Russia unleashed a fusillade of missiles at railroad infrastructure, taking out a key power source. Strikes on the lines themselves can often be repaired in under 30 minutes. When bridges are hit, trains can be quickly rerouted.”
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18 hours ago, kevinkin said:
Panzer Leader was not nearly as accurate as the follow on PC games like CMBO. If interested, the there are web sites that will show the board game map and units. That's all we had in those days. During the pandemic, board games of all sorts, game back. They are pretty expensive to publish. I think there are web sites where you can request professional looking playing pieces and maps to combine with your own rules to publish your own game. Players still like the look and feel of board games. I can't go back. FOW and PBEM email mean to much and was the holy grail in the late 80s. I still remember my first PBEM in the early 90s using Wargame Construction Set ... Tanks. We used a bulletin board to post saved game files. Those days really paved the way.
WCT Tanks! I have that, and Rifles, too. As a kid though, I had only one nearby friend who also was interested in wargame board games. I had Avalon Hill’s D-Day and Tactical Ops, he had Afrika Korps. But he didn’t have the patience for the time those games took. Years passed. Decades! After years of solo computer sim and wargaming, I found TacOps. Ventured into the mailing list for it, made friends with someone who made scenarios and reviewed games, and we began PBEM exchanges. First time ever dipping a cautious toe into the wild and dangerous online gaming world everyone knew was filled with horrors! Falcon 4 quickly took over, along with OFP, ArmA, Longbow 2, etc. He went on to design scenarios used in Steel Beasts which we play periodically until this day - and eventually was hired by the Army for such matters. I still fly Falcon, DCS, IL-2 online…and weekly ArmA3 sessions with the same group of long time online friends.
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1 hour ago, Battlefront.com said:
However, accident or not there will be a response. I would not rule out a no-fly zone over Ukraine as it is appropriate for the circumstances. Kinda like taking a toy away from a child after it hurts someone. And if Russia challenges it, well then things are going to get very interesting very quickly.
Agree thoroughly. We are far far from the beginning stages of this war. All parties know a LOT more about one another, than right after the start. It’s important not to excuse the fighting spilling over into NATO nations, with no unmistakable and serious corrective response. No, of course not absurd red herrings - not declaring war, not air strikes in Russia. Those are straw men type arguments. Yes, accidents happen. But when accidents happen, blame is assessed, and penalties imposed. You are the driver, you are responsible and will be accountable for reckless driving, losing control of the vehicle, carelessness. Especially in fatal accidents. Plus, context. This is Russia trying to rain hell on civilians in their homes and workplaces. Russia has a deep responsibility to keep control over their weapons. If they fail, they need more than some harsh words. They killed Poles, in their own country. And we will never really know whether it was an accident. Some US retired military officers on the cable networks tonight have described this as deliberate, deniable, testing of NATO.
So, what makes sense? I agree, no fly zones are a big escalation. NATO would have to cleanse the zone of all Russian SAM and other platforms that could bring down NATO jets - even before any potential ATA encounters. OTOH, long range missiles/artillery. Finally. Just in case of any more accidents. ATACMS. More SAM, defens systems and now. And Russia must pay the family or families who lost loved ones for their losses. Lastly, a clear message about the consequences of any more “accidents”.
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59 minutes ago, Vet 0369 said:
Putin WANTS NATO to respond.
SERIOUSLY doubt that speculation stated as fact. Certainly by now both his military chiefs as well as his inner circle realize the enormous disparity between NATO’s huge weapon and troop superiority. Even *without* NATO doing much more than dipping a toe in the conflict, from afar.
Nonetheless, this might be a time to try to layout the big reach of the Forum’s thinking in some sort of framework. One powerful way to see which way the wind is blowing is scenario planning. I value scenario planning because it keeps four possible futures in view at all times, rather than pinning all one’s attention on one preferred (biased in some way) outcome. I hired firms to assist university and national news network in their executive/board planning work. It offers a framework for placing the blizzard of weekly events into relationships and becomes a better…
TEA LEAVES READER!
Scenario planning is simply telling stories about the future. Throwing out all kinds of possibilities, from mundane to outlandish. Like we have here. Ukraine takes back all its territories. Russia collapses into feuding warlord territories. Nuclear war breaks out between NATO and Russia. Or a grinding, endless stalemate develops and the Western Allies get tired of pouring money and equipment into it. Futures are stories. Choose four! And decide what the two biggest uncertainties are that could influence these to actually happen.
These are Critical Uncertainties. They are divergent thinking, brainstorming, imagining. But based on solid knowledge of matters about the question at hand. Like the knowledge base of the vast experience on this forum. They become our “scenario logics”: two axes that differentiate our four stories about possible futures. For example, one axis could be direct NATO/Russian confrontation, from none to total war. The other axis could be Ukraine Winning - Losing. The Uncertainties are key, and in practice would emerge from considered discussion and debate, and then voting for the top two.
The meat is the “critical indicators” for each future:
*How much sophisticated military aid does Ukraine get? *Putin’s political standing. * * *USA election/political outcomes. * * * *Specific battlefield events.Lastly, watch for events - early indicators that put more or less weight on each indicator in one quadrant (future) or another. In this way, we aren’t led by the nose by each day’s news flood. A picture begins to emerge. A story unfolds in more detail A different one fades.
Scenario planning serves as a framework for the plethora of events we see, including the external forces, beyond Ukraine and Russia. What to think of each one, such as China’s Xi and Biden together, warning Russia not to use nuclear weapons. Kherson surrendering. Mobilization. No ATACMS, no Western tanks, Kerch bridge. USA elections. And now, missiles killing civilians in Poland.
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57 minutes ago, kevinkin said:
I believe the map and scenario were inspired by the Panzer Leader scenario Road to Wiltz. Many of the older guys played that one many times and it became a favorite.
Thanks for that information, @kevinkin. Much appreciated. I didn’t know it was based on a Panzer Leader scenario. Regrettably, I never played it. Not knowing anything about how it would play out, I advanced cautiously, taking the hilltops in advance but finding no one home. At the outskirts I finally uncovered several guns and AFV back at the rear exit line - at center and right corner. Knocked them out. Three PzIVs and Stugs methodically hunting down the central avenue. Over on the far left, PzIVs and a Stug have knocked out several half tracks, and a foot infantry unit on the edge. The main body is just now reaching the T intersection at city front, beginning turns to the left side for less opposed exit. Lost one empty truck that was probing over on the far right in the city outskirts.
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From CNN's Tim Lister
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said about 10 million Ukrainians are without electricity Tuesday night after waves of Russian missile attacks earlier in the day.
In his daily video address, Zelensky said,
"In many cities and regions of our country, there are again emergency power cuts. About ten million Ukrainians are without electricity. Most of all — as of this moment — in Kharkiv, Zhytomyr, Kyiv and Lviv regions."
Zelensky added that Lviv and some other cities suspended the supply of heating and that there also were issues with the internet and other modes of communication.
Across much of Ukraine, temperatures are marginally above freezing.
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4 minutes ago, Beleg85 said:
Cliffnotes: deliberate targeting of a government building, causing three deaths, which did not lead to war. Sane people know that accidents happen,
That was a case of incredible precision weapons missing (or not?) a target within a small area in one city. This is in another freaking COUNTRY. After months of claiming we will defend every INCH of NATO soil.
I do appreciate your reminder to stay calm and not overreact. But can we not feel the water getting warmer and warmer and warmer? Recall all the other “accidents” and denials, as well as the ongoing cyber warfare waged against all Allied nations. Even now. In my opinion, humble as it may be, there comes a time when a clear and strong reaction must be made, that even “accidents” - perhaps *even* accidents will absolutely not be tolerated.
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1 hour ago, JonS said:
... by not supplying the Ukranians with any military materiel.
Or deciding SOMEDAY to actually win. As in game over, Russia is defeated and gone. No more pussyfooting that “they didn’t mean it”, or “only civilians were killed”, or they might attack us with their mighty ferocious devastated military”, “or the best, “Ukraine can attack Russians with our weapons, but only in Ukraine because Russia is sacred.”
We’ve had lengthy debates about nukes here, and lengthy discussions about how much Ukrainian territory is wise to regain so as not to upset the fragile Russian psyche. We’ve applauded the delivery of much Western or compatible Soviet weapon systems to keep Ukraine fighting, while lamenting the lack of war winning weapons - even those that would only be used within Ukraine; however intrinsically bizarre that rule is. Speaking of which, Russia gets to lay waste to the largest entirely European country without compunction while Ukraine is saddled with a variety of rules it must follow in order to remain in favor. And it must demonstrate that it can have some victories too. “Don’t back slide, or show lowered morale while you are being tortured and bombed into freezing rubble, and saways remember those Brit stiff upper lips in WWII - you must too! Or we might get tired of supporting you and demand appeasement of Russia.”
No apologies for being blunt. This how many MONTHS of relentless war crimes, crimes against humanity,, sheer mass human suffering? And no ATACMS? No official designation of Russia as a Terrorist State? I sincerely appreciate the finely reasoned abstractions about the need for caution, carefully laid out here by our best minds. I really do. And the absolutely admirable and correct defense against demonizing all Russians, because many are not demonic and doing so lowers us to their level.
But there comes a time…do you doubt it?
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The massive missile attacks on civilians in Ukraine and Poland come after THIS:
From CNN’s Masrur Jamaluddin in Bali, Indonesia and Xiaofei Xu
President Volodymyr Zelensky presented a 10-point peace plan to end Russia's invasion of Ukraine in a video speech to G20 leaders in Bali on Tuesday, according to a transcript shared by the Embassy of Ukraine in Indonesia.
The steps includes a path to nuclear safety, food security, a special tribunal for alleged Russian war crimes, and a final peace treaty with Moscow, according to a transcript of the speech.
He also urged G20 leaders to use all their power to “make Russia abandon nuclear threats” and implement a price cap on energy imported from Moscow.
Foundation for victory: In the address, Zelensky compared the recent liberation of the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson to the battles leading to the Allied defeat of Germany in World War II.
“It is like, for example, D-Day — the landing of the Allies in Normandy. It was not yet a final point in the fight against evil, but it already determined the entire further course of events,” Zelensky said in the address.
“If the victory will be ours in any case, and we are sure of it, then shouldn't we try to implement our formula for peace to save thousands of lives and protect the world from further destabilization?”Zelensky also called on Russia to stop bombing Ukraine’s energy infrastructure as winter approaches. “Let Russia prove by its rejection of terror that it is really interested in the restoration of peace,” he said.
Moscow has been isolated at this year’s G20 summit as multiple Western leaders vowed not to have any contact with its Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who is in attendance on behalf of the Kremlin.
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4 hours ago, Harmon Rabb said:
But from a Western perspective it looks like RU is doing everything in its power to prove that President Zelenskyy is right, that Russia is a dangerous terrorist state
And yet no nation yet has formally officially designated Russia as a terrorist state. Will missiles killing Polish citizens not count either? Now whose frog is being boiled??
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From CNN, 40 minutes ago.
41 min ago
Baltic states express solidarity with Poland after rockets or missiles reported to land on Polish soil
From Antonia Mortensen and James Frater
The Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed concern about reports of two missiles or rockets landing in a farm in Poland near the Ukrainian border.
"Latest news from Poland is most concerning. We are consulting closely with Poland and other Allies. Estonia is ready to defend every inch of NATO territory," the ministry tweeted.
“We’re in full solidarity with our close ally Poland,” it added.
Latvian Defense Minister Artis Pabriks said that "Latvia fully stands with Polish friends."
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said that the country is "keeping a close contact" with Poland.
"Lithuania stands in strong solidarity with Poland," he tweeted," adding that “every inch of NATO territory must be defended!”
AND AN HOUR + AGO,
Polish government official says national security meeting was called due to "emergency situation"
From CNN's Tim Lister, Emmet Lyons and Antonia Mortensen
A government spokesperson in Poland says a meeting of national security officials Tuesday night was called "due to the emergency situation."
He added that details would be released after the meeting.
The meeting follows reports that two missiles landed on a farm in eastern Poland, near the Ukrainian border.
A Polish official told CNN that nothing was confirmed yet and the investigation into the incident was continuing.
There's been no confirmation from Polish authorities that Russian missiles landed on Polish territory.
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15 minutes ago, Probus said:
would Russia have to target something in Poland.
Like, human beings?
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In a fit of fevered retro gaming, I started up CMBO for the Wild Bill’s “Wiltz” scenario. And adding in ye olde MDMP 1 & 2 mods and sone winter troop and vehicle mods. In my defense, I had started the beautiful CMFB “Road To Wiltz” but before moving past the first few turns, got intrigued by the mention of the CMBO inspiration. I’d never played it. That is one LOOOOONG map!
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1 hour ago, Haiduk said:
recall a words of Cyryl Budanov, chief of GUR, which he said in the summer - "we have a plans to be in Northern Crimea up to first half of winter "
Whether excellent disinformation, like the big push was going to be Kherson, not a two pronged offensive…or part of the larger unfolding drive for all Kherson Oblast and beginning of munching on Crimea - ZSU is clearly not completely pulling in horns and resting. Possibly the Svatove and Kremmina front really has been a large pinning feint aimed originally at Kupiansk that wildly succeeded. But the Kherson/Crimea and land bridge objectives were the primary objectives all along.
No matter what, they are keeping the Russians guessing. Not just us. Consider the looming appearance of a large tranche of better trained mobiks at the front lines, a cold winter in allied Europe and a colder battered Ukraine…and the bizarre gaffes from USA military like Milley claiming publicly that Ukraine couldn’t possibly win the war. Urgency for continuing momentum and major victories is not crazy!
I could not believe Milley going tankie and announcing that Ukraine could not win! Comfort to Putin, urging him to even greater atrocities.
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42 minutes ago, LongLeftFlank said:
In the so far successful efforts to keep Russian terrorist invaders off balance, AND to secure another critical junction here, the noise coming out of Kherson and the Mykolaiv Oblasts could serve as “confusion to our enemies”. Delaying some of the intended deployments away from Kherson. Odds are that no matter what is going on, the Ukrainian military planners had not stopped their work with the Kherson victory. It would be only a step towards accomplishing further efforts. Which are unfolding as planned in at least one of their scenarios.
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On 11/13/2022 at 12:21 AM, RockinHarry said:
Yep agree. I´d recommend playing ARMA3 (and Iron Front AIO Mod for WW2 1944 eastern and western front) to see something like that happen. Can´t recall if even GT Mius has any such implementations, but it´s long time since I launched this game so IDK. It´s still beeing updated and improved til today and devs likely keep doing so.
ArmA3 is quite strict in enforcing this. In our weekly co-op sessions, courageous attempts to heal a fallen comrade before taking out the threats
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1 hour ago, The_MonkeyKing said:
what is going on?
Very strange rumor mill
As stated earlier by one who knows his WWII history, the Soviets kept establishing bridgeheads across rivers where the Germans had just crossed in retreat. Always keep the defense off balance and deny a secure new line. The ZSU obviously are very well aware of this. If the units in the region still have sustainable combat power remaining, we ought not to be surprised by any attempts to deny the Russians from solidifying another strong Kherson oblast defense. Bigger picture of “To what end?”: eliminating the land bridge, dividing Russian forces. Maintaining momentum, initiative.
Or, just good propaganda!
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32 minutes ago, OldSarge said:
Over the weekend, I had an opportunity to do a little profiling and in my case the load issue pointed to the intro.wmv file in the HQS mod.
Once removed, and with the CM folders on the exclusion list, each of the titles now load up fairly quickly from the first time on.
HTHGood to hear. In the few instances Defender or another AV has interfered with any of my programs, the issue has been *mod* related. (except for poor old Longbow 2!).
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3 hours ago, Battlefront.com said:
I'm going on this rant just as a reminder that the West's nutjobs get airtime and followers despite having unfettered access to accurate information, including that the people they are listening to aren't reliable.
Steve, this guy and some of his Fellow Travelers are sooooo close to acting as foreign agents, and I’ll bet he hasn’t registered as one for Russia (yet). Another wrinkle is the fact that he and those of his ilk are arguably unable to distinguish between fantasy and reality. Which can be an actionable diagnosis. Accordingly, I’ve begun to consider him and some of these other nut jobs you referred to be a danger to themselves and/or to others. Certainly if we were at war, this would be the case. But we are not, despite being so intimately involved in one. However…what if Russia were finally declared a terrorist state? As it most certainly is. The war crimes now being unearthed in Kherson pound another nail in that ugly coffin, and underscore the scope of terrorist crimes not seen since perhaps Pol Pots’ regime. Support for a terrorist state might be an easier row to hoe. Hopeless, I know. Freedom of speech. And yet…
How Hot is Ukraine Gonna Get?
in Combat Mission Black Sea
Posted
Well said. Though it is helpful to have the legal points brought up and clarified for our edification. Focusing pages of debate on one such incident in a brutal genocidal war with literally thousands of equal or in most case far worse circumstances by the invader feels as if it only furthers the propaganda/PR value for Russia. I for one do not expect Ukrainian forces to be perfect in defense of their homes and families, especially after all this time and horror. I do expect that reckonings will come AFTER the war. At least in the West, where our shared values strongly incline us to. My support for defending Ukraine against this illegal invasion is not so thin and weak as to be shaken by this.