Huba

APS is not remotely a cure all, but I really do think that tanks/IFVs without it are borderline unviable on the modern battlefield. 

It all depends on the velocity and mass of the fragment when it hits that cast iron block. Cast iron is not particularly resistant to penetration, especially small fragments of a very dense metal that is traveling at a very high velocity after being ejected by the explosive power of a HIMARS. I remember when I used a cast iron fry pan for target practice, set on edge at 100 yards using a 30-06 1956 Czech Mauser K95. I put eight rounds of 30-06 “silver tip” hunting rounds (not even full jacketed) completely through it without knocking it over. Don’t judge by size, judge by impact energy, and cast iron isn’t very resistant to impact energy.

That's true. However, this is something that UKR has been advocating for since very early in the war and is not getting from the Western allies. It is still quite likely such missiles will not be provided at all.  In light of the stubborn opposition among the allied countries, I am wondering why UKR are not trying to create an ersatz long range strike capability in the form of Shaheed style drones. Ukrainian drone strikes happen, but in small numbers (some MUGIN drones, some converted photographic recon drones from 1970s), aimed mainly at factories in Russian countryside and governement infrastructure in Moscow. They clearly are intended to create morale effects. 
On the other hand, if the UKR stopped those penny packet attacks for some time and instead gathered say 100 cheap kamikaze drones to be launched as a single go e.g. at the Feodosia airfield, that could conceivably saturate the Russian defences and smash e.g. 20+helicopters. Would it not be more valuable than even a month's worth of pretty pictures of explosions on the Internet? Of course not all targets are suitable for cheap kamikaze drones -  bridges are not, but airfields without strongly fortified hangars, ammunition dumps, POL storage areas, could be attacked in earnest, not just for laughs. I think that Shaheed clones could be manufactured in the Ukraine without significant problems, even using distributed manufacturing techniques like the Japanese in WWII. This and mortar bombs - I am wondering why we are not seeing more of them.

It is about a big piece of the foriegn policy blob, and the Russians of course, wanting to panic the West into settling. What we need to do is demonstrate we are on a short steep path to producing 250,000 rounds of 155 a month, and a great deal else besides. Let the Russian ponder there losses going to a thousand a day, every day, as Ukraines go to 25. They are about to forcibly conscript virtually every person in the Russian prison system who can walk a couple of laps of the prison yard. 
Ukraines answer needs to be "So what are you going to do in three months when they are all dead?" 
Edit: It will be very funny if the next batch of meat for the grinder is newly unemployed prison guards.

Nolan taking notes on practical effects for the next movie in the quantum mechanics cinematic universe.

Meanwhile, in Russia:
That is a chunky, visible, photogenic mushroom cloud.

This attitude is not surprising at all, and has probably occurred for millennia. My Father. Who was also a Marine told me that when the MarineCorps 5th Division was formed, and Veterans from the battle for Guadalcanal were transferred in as a core group, most of them would find ways to get out of training for the “next” operation because they were already highly experienced at jungle war fair. Unfortunately for them, the training was for a relatively barren island named Iwo Jima! Many died because of the skipped training since it wasn’t the jungle fight they knew.
s.

Of course in this one the US is supporting the not-terrible-regime, so there is that.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_support_for_Iraq_during_the_Iran–Iraq_War
I dunno, I do not believe that Russia or the RA are some monolithic juggernaught that can keep taking punishment indefinitely - hell, we came within inches of a freakin coup, even if it was more likely an accidental one, in Jun.  Russia has basically torn off the steering wheel but there will be a point when economic ruin and dead Russians will stack up.
Beyond that a ZOS or some other UN BS might be an option but it won't stop the missiles or UAVs.  So to answer your question the best way to make Russia fail faster is what we did not do in the 80 - stop buying the oil and gas.  Hell we can't even agree to kick them out of the Olympics.  But in order to do any of this we would have to negotiate with a new reality ourselves.  The one where hard power and war are going to be at the forefront of diplomacy instead of sweeping up the "dust of empires".
I think it is still too soon to call the UA offensive a bust.  We have been here before, pecking and pinching, then one morning "whammie."  If it completely fails then there will definitely be some tough conversations. 

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1686076915952599044.html

Apparently there is a civillian freight ship, sailing under the flag of Sierra Leone, heading towards a Ukrainian port. 
 
 

Hey all, just had a few minutes to go through the posts.  Thanks for the great info to keep folks like me informed. 
Looks like UKR really pushing now.  Spent 2 months attacking, shaping, more shaping more attacking, to get in best position possible. We've seen a huge amount of RU materiel go up in smoke, that has to help though might not be noticable the first few days.  After that RU arty shortages, if real, might become more apparent.  Also, RU wisely put lots of mechanized units up north plus a lot of arty -- Thanks Putin!  Fingers crossed for the next week or two.  Every UKR casualty is such a terrible tragedy, but hopefully they can cause RU collapse and end this damn war.
Now, back to day job, dang it.

Ukrainian units of 35th marines brigade and 7th battalion "Arey" of Ukrainian Volunteer Arny (of Dmytro Yarosh) libereated Staromajorske village  (V.Npvosilka salient)
Yesterday situation map for this sector

Like I just said...
 

This kind of humorous and minor thing can gain ground and change minds. Some of it is covered in this book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/153412252-how-to-start-a-revolution
A sentiment that is entirely understandable.

GUR Assesment of curernt Russian missile stocks

The Chieftain's comments and some slides from "the conference on armored vehicle design" he attended. Some big hitters presenting
surprisingly interesting and informative video. Also on Ukraine-related matters:
some top-pick screenshots (Especially Ukraine related):
Ukrainian colonel presentation (some comment picks):
- Ukraine replacing lots of donated equipment antennas with anti-jam variants
- Old tanks like T-55 ext. have their place and are effective at what they do
- Ukraine battle management system is a combination of "Delta" a browser-based battle management system similar to US systems in combination with Discord servers.


 

BREAKING 
https://twitter.com/TheDeadDistrict/status/1683308783131324418?t=osX1KMxU2ZAoHrB0ikxv6Q&s=09
 
 
 
 

One of the main precepts of the USMC “Human Relations” training” after the U.S.. Army massacre at Mai Lai was that the primary drive for most of Humanity is food, shelter, and security, and that they don’t care who rules them as long as that “drive” is satisfied. I would venture to say that, IMHO, most of the world population fall into this category, especially the Russian population most of whom never made it out of “Serfdom”. No matter what the “ideology” claimed. It is very difficult to affect a regime change when the people who are being ruled pretty much don’t care who is ruling them.

Also the rail bridge in this section is much higher above the water than the road part, which almost hugs the surface, making it much harder to damage with the same quantity of explosives.

I'm reading a book I found in my local library which contains citations from letters home, stories from soldiers and quite a few poems as well. This book is surprisingly good and I'll buy it when I've read this copy from the library.
https://i.ibb.co/G2h40SC/Screenshot-20230716-205839-Firefox.jpg
Among the poems is one written by a man named Charles Pritchard Clayton which I think could have been written by a Ukrainian serving on the front today if any of them writes poems.

Dedication Before Battle

Legions of better men than I
Have died that freedom I might have
Shall I, because I dare not die,
Condemn my son to be a slave?

My life is forfeit to the past,
No favour will I ask or give.
But, steeled in purpose to the last,
Gladly to die if freedom live.

A People's cruise missile; a flying Volkswagen. Now we just have get Putin in front of the Peoples Court. If the thing has a battlefield benefit, maybe they can farm production out. I remember back in the early 90's the radio controlled a/c group I belonged to was thinking off the cuff about placing charges on larger model and if they could be used a terror weapons. Little did we know how things would evolve. 
 

The V1 vibes are ridiculously strong with this one.

Hey Aragorn!  Hopefully he didn't do too much damage.  He's had outbursts like this before.
The pressure is probably a big factor in his words.  Zelensky has watched as NATO 'escalatory' aid increases have kept UKR from damaging RU as much as would have been possible w more aid, earlier.  Imagine the stress he is under! 
Not that NATO et al haven't been generous, but they have sometimes pissed around too long on things that ended up being delivered anyway.  3-4 months left in the campaign season -- why are we just be giving ATACAMS now??  Why not to help start the offensive season??  It's is sooooo much in interest of the world to have Putin lose so we need stop slow walking important weapons systems.

I think that is only part of the calculus.  China invading Vietnam didn't generate this kind of response.
other factors
1.  It is Europe.  Too close to home for NATO
2. It's impact strategically is much more important to the US and NATO than the consequences of a war in SE Asia.
3.  The Ukrainian victory at Maidan and continuing to hold out against Russian aggression was a cause the west could support.
4.  The long term goal of fostering democracy in Ukraine did not have a counter part in Vietnam.
 
If this had been Russia invading Belarus I don't think there would have been the same western response.  The Ukrainians themselves set the conditions that made this a viable option for the west.

Zelensky got straightened out a bit since yesterday it seems.