How Hot is Ukraine Gonna Get?

[JonS]

56 minutes ago, dan/california said:

So we agree Russia has extraordinarily little on its escalation ladder that does not include WMD, and their new Chinese owners seem rather down on using those.

Interesting that you see this as a opportunity, rather than a problem.

You know that old saying, "when the only tool you have is a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail"? Well, what's (almost) the only tool Putin has left? This is one of those cases where being 90% correct about someone's intentions isn't even close to good enough.

Edited December 30, 2023 by JonS

[JonS]

36 minutes ago, Vet 0369 said:

Well, to be fair, the U.S. did sign a treaty (George W. Bush) with Ukraine to protect them from foreign invasion

Well, to be extra fair, if you're referring to the Budapest Memorandum, no part of that sentence is accurate.

Edited December 30, 2023 by JonS

[JonS]

14 minutes ago, Vet 0369 said:

So was Adolf Hitler!

Noooo, not really.

[Lethaface]

5 hours ago, Haiduk said:

Ukrainian MLRS "Vil'kha" have been struck Belogorod about hour or less ago. Russians claimed AD intercepted 20 missiles, but locals write after explosions the electricity and water were cut off in several districts. Reportedly there are wounded after impacts in residental areas.

Good. Now hopefully some of the new drones are ready to roll against oil & gas infrastructure and Russia can eat some of it's cookies. 

[OBJ]

42 minutes ago, Vet 0369 said:

Well, to be fair, the U.S. did sign a treaty (George W. Bush) with Ukraine to protect them from foreign invasion after they destroyed their nukes after the dissolution of the USSR (or CCCP). Did the U.S. intervene with the Russian invasion of Crimea and other Ukrainian regions? NO! So, why would Ukraine or Ukrainians trust in anything the U.S. says, especially when the individual who made the decision on what to do, or more important, what NOT to do, was the Vice President of the U.S, and is now the President of the U.S. named Joe Biden!

Thanks Vet, we agree on many things but maybe not this one.

I did a little research. I have heard a lot about this agreement without knowing anything myself. Apparently what was signed in 1994 was an agreement in which the US, Russia and the UK offered 'assurances' not to attack or coerce the minor countries, including Ukraine. I cannot find a commitment to defend the minors from aggression. If there is a bad faith actor in this it looks like Russia to me.

Assuming Wikipedia is a reliable source in this context: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budapest_Memorandum

"The memoranda, signed in Patria Hall at the Budapest Convention Center with US Ambassador Donald M. Blinken amongst others in attendance,^[3] prohibited the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States from threatening or using military force or economic coercion against Ukraine, Belarus, and Kazakhstan, "except in self-defence or otherwise in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations." 

https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-trilateral-process-the-united-states-ukraine-russia-and-nuclear-weapons/

https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-trilateral-process-the-united-states-ukraine-russia-and-nuclear-weapons/

https://www.npr.org/2022/02/21/1082124528/ukraine-russia-putin-invasion

https://www.newsweek.com/fact-check-did-ukraine-give-nukes-russia-us-security-guarantees-1765048

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/05/science/ukraine-nuclear-weapons.html

[dan/california]

1 hour ago, OBJ said:

Thanks Vet, we agree on many things but maybe not this one.

I did a little research. I have heard a lot about this agreement without knowing anything myself. Apparently what was signed in 1994 was an agreement in which the US, Russia and the UK offered 'assurances' not to attack or coerce the minor countries, including Ukraine. I cannot find a commitment to defend the minors from aggression. If there is a bad faith actor in this it looks like Russia to me.

Assuming Wikipedia is a reliable source in this context: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budapest_Memorandum

"The memoranda, signed in Patria Hall at the Budapest Convention Center with US Ambassador Donald M. Blinken amongst others in attendance,^[3] prohibited the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States from threatening or using military force or economic coercion against Ukraine, Belarus, and Kazakhstan, "except in self-defence or otherwise in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations." 

https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-trilateral-process-the-united-states-ukraine-russia-and-nuclear-weapons/

https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-trilateral-process-the-united-states-ukraine-russia-and-nuclear-weapons/

https://www.npr.org/2022/02/21/1082124528/ukraine-russia-putin-invasion

https://www.newsweek.com/fact-check-did-ukraine-give-nukes-russia-us-security-guarantees-1765048

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/05/science/ukraine-nuclear-weapons.html

Which may true on the facts , but that interpretation is also going to kill the nuclear non-proliferation regime deader than dead. Every regime outside of the most solid parts of the U.S. alliance system, and maybe quite a few of them inside it, will conclude that the only guarantee of not being on the menu is their own deliverable nukes. So not pushing Russia completely out of Ukraine is going to greatly increase the risk of. a nuclear exchange down the road. except it will be between Vietnam and China, at least at first, just to site one case of long term disagreeableness that isn't currently on the boil. Never mind the five places where things ARE passing 97 Deg C as we speak.

My opinion, worth what you paid.

I can totally see Poland and the Baltics combining on a crash program among a great many others.

Edit: I don't think the Poles would go for it unless a certain Orange someone got elected, but if he does...

 

Edited December 30, 2023 by dan/california

[Battlefront.com]

4 hours ago, M.Herm said:

Yanukovych was elected. Thats democracy.

Not my point.  Yanukovych was Russia's puppet who failed to stay in power by murdering his own people (that is not democracy).  His fleeing to Russia was the end of a series of diminishing attempts to keep Ukraine firmly in Russia's orbit.  Which meant Russia had to either give Ukraine incentives to stick with Russia or it meant using naked force.  Russia, being an imperialistic dictatorship, chose the latter.

That is my point.

As for Yanukovych being elected... he was according to the corrupt, Russian dominated political system that Ukraine had been struggling to reform for decades.  The Soviet Union had elections by the people too, but hardly democratic.

Steve

[Battlefront.com]

4 hours ago, Beleg85 said:

Significant Russian hybrid warfare in the Baltics, involving large Russian minority there is entirely possible, though, at least from point of view of Kremlin. There are some preliminary conditions for destabilization efforts there.

For sure there's a lot of harm Russia can do to the West.  Even going back to what it's done over the previous 20 years is bad enough to want Putin's regime to collapse.  Because, quite frankly, the West didn't really figure out a way to address it until this war.  I don't want to find ourselves back in a position of Russian assassins killing people on NATO soil and having nothing done about it to maintain cheap oil and proceeds from money laundering.

4 hours ago, Beleg85 said:

Also, still don't get what "dealing first with Ukraine" we discuss here actually means. It's largest European country, currently smeared in Russian (and own) blood up to the belt. Even if West make massive geopolitical and moral mistake of ditching them entirely and force to froze the conflict (hipothetically), Russia will need hundred of thousands of soldiers to keep an eye over their newly captured lands anyway. In fact they already recognized this need by their recent reforms of military districts. In that scenario, one of most positive for Kremlin, Ukraine still drains its military resources heavily and bounds most of effective muscovite force in the south. For years, decades perhaps they will be trapped with unresolved problem of smaller, but vengeful enemy watching for any sign of their weakness, like bloody honey badger half stuck with its teeth while gnawing your leg. Going head-on against NATO in such geopolitical conditions would be pure suicide.

Agreed.  I said it just before the war and I said it in this thread numerous times in the beginning.  Launching this war was a regime ending event for Russia.  There won't be a Chechnya scenario of Moscow being able to control Ukraine by paying a single ethnic group to ruthlessly keep the population in line.  Plus, I've pointed out that various circumstances may cause Moscow to scale back the bribe money to Kadyrov's clan.  And if that happens, well, when loyalty is effectively leased it isn't permanent.

Steve

[Lethaface]

6 hours ago, Carolus said:

Eh, there wouldn't even be need of invasion. They would likely happily join a Russian bloc, along with Serbia, if Putin proposed it.

Austria didn't get even the weak denazification process Germany experienced after WW2. Its political institutions are weak and riddled with corruption, and half the population would gladly embrace the kind of reactionary conservativism Putin is preaching. If you go to a rural taverns in Austria, it is not unlikely to find SS and swastika flags hanging casually in the backrooms where the "local patrons" meet with local politicians, as of recently sometimes next to Russian flags. 

Orban has successfully removed democracy from Hungary. He would join without even blinking.

Serbia? Vucic, the current president, was a government minister while Serbia was still in the casual rape camp and ethnocide business. The average Serbian is filled with nationalist revanchism because "NATO attacked us for zero reason at all", "the genocide is a dirty lie but they deserved it" and "we must reunite Yugoslavia". Half of Bosnia is for Serbia basically what Donbas was for Russia, except with a far better point, because there are actually Serbs living there who threaten to genocide the other half of Bosnia every other month.  

Turkey might stay neutral or decide to join. Aggressive, religion-infused nationalism is rampant in the country, Erdogan has removed democratic institutions, and the economy is in the gutters. He might see an advantage in joining the "living piss-poor in dirt-huts but believing in the absolutely superiority of your nation" club of Putin. 

That attitude actually the big connecting factor between all these nations, even when we look at Trumpists in the US. An absolute belief in national superiority coupled with the absolute willingness to be pissed on by corrupt oligarchs. 

I foresee the "GDR separatists of Eastern Germany being liberated by Russia" as more likely than an attack on the Baltics. Russia already has its fingers dug in firmly in these countries, they just need to be connected by a land bridge.

Let's not forget, Russian nationalists don't think in "Ah, of we can't get Kiyv in 2026 we might as well give up". 

Even soft-spoken commenters on Russian politics like Vlad Vexler are very clear on this. "If we don't get Berlin in 2030, we try in 2035. If we don't get Berlin in 2035, we try in 2040...." The whole nation of Russia is building itself for a permanent conflict with the West through all means. Putin's brainwashed children will do it in 2100 and beyond. 

That doesn't mean that Russia will succeed, we just have to be real about their mentality and how many in the West would join them. Even a 5% separatist movement (completely realistic numbers in Austria or Germany, if they could get weapons) that locks shoulders with the Russian Army is a good way to massively disrupt a country.

I wholeheartedly DISagree with most what you are saying.

Erdogan likes to play power politics, nationalist hubris but the Turkish economy is rather deeply intertwined with European Investment. 

It's the economy, stupid. Some extreme rightwing Austrians preferring macho style leadership over the 'woke' variant of the West doesn't mean they'd like to leave the EU and join the rubble union. 

I think Orban isn't much different, when he needs to choose between economy and his 'friend' Putin he will choose the EU Bn and the Nato security/armanents. They all know very well that if they leave the NATO/EU bloc and join Putin, they'll be served on a dinner plate whenever Russia's leader**** has the appetite. 

It's like Wilders from NL, he likes to encroach Russia's/Putin speech because it's popular among some circles and he's a populist; he can't get votes from people who aren't naive about geopolitics. But he's not seriously considering joining the 'Warsaw' pact 2.0. he knows very well it's political suicide.

Now the only countries playing with such thoughts imo are countries like S. Arabia. They have a lot of cash on hand and don't like our ways of telling them off for the way how they're running their country. They like Russian/Chinese attitude better, which don't have any problems taking their money/business without questions asked. 

Nobody knows how the world will look like in a hundred years and we won't be there to observe it, but for the foreseeable future I think even S. Arabia and the likes talk that talk because they feel it's in their interests and they will probably get something out of it, but I don't see them walk that walk the whole 9 yards.

[sburke]

1 hour ago, Battlefront.com said:

Not my point.  Yanukovych was Russia's puppet who failed to stay in power by murdering his own people (that is not democracy).  His fleeing to Russia was the end of a series of diminishing attempts to keep Ukraine firmly in Russia's orbit.  Which meant Russia had to either give Ukraine incentives to stick with Russia or it meant using naked force.  Russia, being an imperialistic dictatorship, chose the latter.

That is my point.

As for Yanukovych being elected... he was according to the corrupt, Russian dominated political system that Ukraine had been struggling to reform for decades.  The Soviet Union had elections by the people too, but hardly democratic.

Steve

Putin is about to get elected again.  Democracy is alive and well in Russia.  

[Letter from Prague]

13 hours ago, The_Capt said:

So now you are doubling down and suggesting that "as soon as Ukraine loses this war it will gleefully turn on its former allies in the West and support a Russian invasion of the Baltics"?

Russia is already conscripting Ukrainians on the occupied territories. Why would that be any different on any newly occupied territories?

...

Also, all the NATO stuff is nice, as long as NATO holds. Treaties are cool, but Czechoslovakia had a lot of treaties at the beginning of 1938. Not so much by the end. We will have to see whether we would see repeat of that situation for the Baltic states, if Russia isn't stopped well enough.

[Letter from Prague]

8 hours ago, Carolus said:

Austria

Orban

Serbia?

Turkey

You're missing Slovakia on the list. Don't forget that Slovakia joined Hitler in WW2, just like Hungary, and currently elected a heavily corrupt mafia-style pro-Russian anti-EU government.

Meanwhile Romania I wonder about - from where I'm standing they're trying to be rather Western and one of the stronger, effective and reliable NATO nations and are pretty heavily armed with modern NATO hardware (tho that seems to be more aimed at "if Serbia starts **** again" rather than Russia up until recently). And since they aren't "core Soviet territory" unlike Baltic states and Poland and Germany, I'm thinking the Russian Empire would try to setup some kind of "neutrality".

Bulgaria would probably stay passive as they have been, but they are also heavily pro-Russian.

[Zeleban]

Continuation of the Ukrainian officer’s memories of the battles for the Sil station, in the Soledar area, which took place in January 2023

We decide to make a carousel with RPGs (constant shelling of the target while one RPG shoots, the other reloads and immediately replaces the first) and destroy the garages from which the bastards attack. Leo and Cook take turns running up and shooting, dismantling garages. The bastard attack is starting to die down after all this fuss. I am making a request, I need ammunition. MORE AMMUNITION. MUCH MORE.

The duty officer on the walkie-talkie says no, save the ammunition. I say "Come on, you come here and show how the hell to fight here without ammunition." Silence. The battalion commander gets in touch "- Everything will be fine, wait."

I call an additional company officer, I ask to send water. Just plain water. It's hard to lick ice. At first he says that we don't have it ourselves. I say go to Slavyansk for water.

"Archaeologist" remains at point D. I say to the commander of the point - put two people on the corner. This will be enough, and I will leave to replenish the ammunition and rest. Because it would be difficult to run and attack all day. Of course they will give a **** about it. This will become our nail, because of this we will have big problems.

An armored personnel carrier arrives filled to the brim with ammunition and water. The battalion commander asks "Is this ammunition enough for us?" I look at this ****ing pile of EVERYTHING, I answer "- Yes, we are happy." I tell Doc to come to me for ammunition, there is enough for everyone. God, that water was delicious.

A handful of fighters came with the armored personnel carrier. At first I was told that fixiki should come. That's what we called mother****ers, which the company officer kept with him. However, they say we are here by accident, we are from Smoke's platoon. This is the platoon that got hit the day before.

I say guys, I'm not asking you to fight, but I need war mules, I need you to drag some of this ammunition to my position. Of course, they began to refuse, but a couple of persuasive speeches to their company commander and vice versa convinced them to help.

Next, I ask the commander of the armored personnel carrier, are you charged? "Raccoon" kindly answers - yes. Then I invite you to work in battle. He doesn't mind. We go out to the flank of the attacking bitch. It was getting dark, but we didn't care. Jumping out for a couple of seconds, I show the gunner where to shoot with my hands. And here the 30mm starts to work. This is already an argument. In addition, he fires at the enemy PKT and AGS. This is the end of the scum attack. For some time.

We return to the station. APC takes combat mules. And the commander tells me to wait for reinforcements. A platoon of Poltava soldiers should come to me. First I think what I will do with these guys. Because it is difficult to move people safely. From point D, Doc reports an hour later that he was again surrounded by fire from houses D3 D4.

I understand that he ignored my words. At first, I catch battle madness and want to run into that house with a night vision device and work there alone. Then I still think, not an option - night vision with a collimator I have one. These are already stupid combat nuts.

I think of a better plan. We take two boxes of pencils (frag shots for RPGs) and a bunch of disposable RPGs. All the same, there is a lot of ammunition. We will go to the depot. I pass with night vision, check whether there is no one. Purely.

Sitting behind the wall of the house, in complete silence we start spinning charges and loading up disposable RPGs.

A shell from a tank flies right into the roof of the depot a couple of meters from us. The depot is 15 meters high. A beautiful explosion blooms in the dark. Everyone is impressed, but we continue our work. A couple more shells are flying, but already further from us.

Dark as in the ***. I am attaching a magazine with tracers. I enter the span. Next to me are Jackson and Leo with RPG. The idea is simple. I highlight with tracers the floor to be shot at, and then we start firing charges to the left and right at each window.

Edited December 30, 2023 by Zeleban

[Zeleban]

Laser tag with tracers starts working. Between them, I run up and shoot with my own hands from disposable RPGs. I get a concussion when I accidentally step near the nozzle of Jackson's RPG. I start burping. I shoot with an RPG, I burp again. I take another and continue. Many RPGs misfire. But RPGs work like clockwork. Having spent all the ammunition, we go to the station.

I ask, well, have we suppressed the enemy? Yes, it's normal. While I am at the station, I fall a couple of times. I don't even remember that. After some time I come to my senses. I'm back together. Two APCs filled with people arrive. They brought me 20 men from Poltava. I ask, are the armored personnel carriers charged? I want to check the attack again. No. There was no time. The second armored personnel carrier worked in another place. They work only as transport. Okay.

I line up the men of Poltava, I ask "- your combat experience?" We were under fire and so on. I immediately describe the situation to them - we fight at short distances, kill the enemy when you see them. I say I will use you in the mix with my boys. While you are mostly in reserve. I will thaw it in the morning.

No one is against it. I bring them to the house. Anyway, nothing will fly there at night.
I get stuck in my hole. I take off almost everything. Despite minus 10 degrees of frost. Despite the night, the frost begins to subside. My boots and clothes are soaked through with sweat. In the morning I plan to attack again and clean the buildings. I'm starting to fall asleep.

Every dream I hear Doc's report " - No. We are no longer there. We left for the station." I scream speechlessly into the void "- AAAAAAAA."

[G.I. Joe]

Thomas Newdick on The War Zone: Russia's "New" Jet Trainer Design is a 1990s Throwback

This seems to support two themes that have been hinted at a lot in this thread since the early days: 1) the Russian Air Force already had a severe pilot shortage before February 24, 2022; and 2) their training system is a bit of a bleepshow...

(Also a good case in point of sanctions working with the singular lack of support from Czechia for the V-VS' L-39 fleet...)

Edited December 30, 2023 by G.I. Joe

[Zeleban]

On 11/30/2023 at 4:24 PM, Zeleban said:

A map is attached to the description of the battle, but I can't post its version with a translation. Therefore, the spontaneous translation is indicated on this map:

вокзал - station;

депо - depot;

наші контратаки - our counterattacks;

атака бтр - APC attack;

Д - point D;

Г - point G;

А,С, В - corresponding points;

атака птуром - ATGM attack;

зона вогню пкмом - PKM firing zone;

Атака на 1 взвод - Attack on 1 platoon;

Переміщення підарів - Relocation of bastards;

 

The battle map for this post is the same as for the previous one

[Zeleban]

Video 1 - chill out between battles on D2

Video 2 - Working Muraha with Johnny

[Zeleban]

Continuation of the description of the battles for the Sil station

I demand to give me a radio. I listen to the report, how it was difficult for Dok's group, they said there was no water, no ammunition either. Although I said go and fill yourself with ammunition. They did not even have three hundred (wounded). Okay. At least you warned me that you were going to leave mother****ers. I swear while I listen like a ****ing grandfather, and I understand that everything - the Russians have already come to my rear.

I demand to give me a radio. I listen to the report, how it was difficult for Dok's group, they said there was no water, no ammunition either. Although I said go and fill yourself with ammunition. They did not even have wounded. You should have warned me you were going to leave mother****ers. I swear while I listen like a ****ing grandfather, but I understand that the Russians have already come to my rear.

I get in touch with the company commander "- I ask you to allow me to go behind the rail and align with everyone else." The first thought, what would I do in this situation - I would put a couple of machine gunners under the wagon and no one would be able to run over the rail. If this thought occurred to me, it is obvious that one should not expect stupidity from the enemy. In response, the company commander burps a short "- Hold on."

What? hold on? ****. Then, after five minutes, he adds "- There will be a counterattack in the morning."

 I start to get dressed and think about what to do with this ****ing situation. Well, damn, let's attack hill J. Due to the peculiarities of the terrain, this damn point was on the same level as the third floor of house D1. And the edge of the road passed right under this house and turned to the left, and therefore, controlling it, I made it impossible to enter my district.

Realizing that time is short and considering the importance of this event, I am gathering a team of six of my fighters. I'm going to the people of Poltava. I'm lining up everyone. I say, well, gentlemen, our affairs have suddenly turned into ****. We have to attack. I don't know if the Russians took the hill or not, but if we don't take it, we'll be screwed for sure.

I select an additional eight men, headed by their senior sergeant, a German. And in complete silence we sneak up in twos to the line of attack. I took the initial position in a small cemetery, created conditions for crossfire, the front four of our fighters burst into buildings.

We occupy two houses on the hill without a fight. This is luck. Appointing the senior "Jurist" to help him, I leave the real Rambo - Leo. This is the guy who ran out and shot at the tank with an unloaded PSRL. In this mess, he only asked "- Where to shoot, boss." This is what I am saying that warriors are not born, my sweet ones, they become in war.

I assigned fire points and tasks, I do additional reconnaissance of the street on the left, with Jackson. I give the order to bring ammunition to the point and go back. In place of our boys, who went to point J, we disperse the Poltava men along the front line.

In the morning, I plan to assemble another assault team and conduct an attack on D1 with support from Hill J.

[Zeleban]

No longer undressing, I hide in the basement and kill myself for a couple of hours. By morning, the frost gradually recedes, and the sun, which shines so wonderfully, does not come out. A leaden gloomy sky completes the ****ing layout on the battlefield.

We are preparing without haste. Carefully. The battle will clearly be for our lives. While I'm preparing the group, a report comes from the Archaeologist boys that the bastards are attacking from their side of the village and one group has penetrated the railway. Damn, I'm already in full circle judging by the reports. ****ing company commander. A helicopter is working in the background.

I move my group to point C. I take out Poltava boys to replace my boys with whom I plan to attack. In addition, I select two of the most experienced fighters from Poltava to join my group. While moving between the points, the SPG with the tank starts shooting. The sense of fear is already so dulled that I walk at full speed without paying attention to the explosions. One of the explosions a few tens of meters away sends a fragment in my direction. He passes right in front of my nose. I feel the heat on my skin and realize that a little more and my face would be ripped off. Yes, a typical ****ing mistake. Indifference is the flip side of panic in war. I concentrate and begin to fall through the force when I hear a whistle.

I took the commander of a platoon of boys from Poltava and gave him three more boys, I set up an ambush in the house of G on the flank. My forces are too stretched and anything is possible. I instruct them to work from the middle of the room (letting the bastards get closer) across one room of G's house. The factor of surprise and all that, we throw bed nets on the windows for camouflage. In the background, the machine gun starts firing again at point A, and reports are being made that guys in camouflage uniforms are already advancing. The games are over.

Video 1 - "I am not a coward at all, but it seems to me that we are completely surrounded"

Video 2 - "Here are my stormtroopers, the fiercest guys, and we're going to kill mother****ers"

Edited December 30, 2023 by Zeleban

[Bulletpoint]

15 hours ago, Zeleban said:

Actually, the “reluctance” you described above is a consequence of fear. Exactly the same reluctance may arise after Russia attacks other countries. This is why more and more countries are no longer believing in the United States. It is precisely because of this “reluctance”

I think the reason is more that the US political system and leadership seems more and more dysfunctional and unpredictable, and that their economy is unsustainable because it is based on an ever increasing mountain of debt.

As seen from the EU, that is way more worrying than whether Russia takes over eastern Ukraine. This is also why the level of support has dwindled after it became clear that Putin couldn't take Kyiv. The people in power are probably quite ok about where the front line goes at the moment.

Edited December 30, 2023 by Bulletpoint

[Zeleban]

I gathered my combat team and loaded them with ammunition, we are going to kill the enemy group in the area of the railroad tracks. We sneak along the street between points J and P. A man comes out of one of the houses, we briefly exchange words. He says that no one entered his street. Not bad. I say hide in the basement, because the business smells like ****. He hides back.

I send a couple of people to watch the railroad and send a couple forward to check the farthest house standing on a hill under the cover of a machine gun. The yard of the house is clean. We pull into the yard and begin to cover the sectors. The house is located on a hill and it controls the entrance to the railway line, as well as the entrance to the village. We sit down and start waiting.

Meanwhile, the Kraken's counterattack begins (Kraken - a separate intelligence and subversive unit of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine). An artillery duel is taking place all around. The machine gun begins to work at point B. At this moment I receive a report - Jurist 300 (wounded). Appointing East as senior on the point, taking Jackson and Foma with me and going to inspect point J to understand the situation and appoint a new senior. Between the two points there is a street and a small wasteland with dry grass. While we are moving, the mortars are pinpointing the point with the bastards to fire at them.

After the situation with Muraha (was wounded by friendly fire before that), I swear at the mortars:

" - But you won't hit where you need to. Here, everyone is standing too close together." They are offended.

"- Let's see. Make me take back my words"

They put a shell right in the house with the bastards.

" - Oh ****, I take my words back."

We start moving across the field. Bullets whistle when we run over. The territory is shot, but it doesn't matter. Jurist

got a lot of shrapnel on his legs and his second number too. Both were bandaged. The Professor (another conscript) was sitting next to them, he supports the boys with a calm voice, and at the base he was usually the most intimidating...

I am appointing an evacuee group of the healthiest guys from Poltava. I take PKM myself. The plan is as simple as three pennies. At first I run across the wasteland, I with a machine gun and two samurai who came with me. Then we shoot so intensively that none of the scumbags even stick their noses out. The evacuee team is running and we are "riding into the sunset". What could have gone wrong?

 

 

[Zeleban]

We run across the field to the first house. We sit down and start knocking in the direction of the bastards. The Evac group starts moving across the field.

This is where the battle for the Darwin Award begins. The guys with the wounded man went to the center of the wasteland and stopped standing at full height. The field itself is fifty meters long. I shout to them to get out of there quickly, they do not hear. At that moment, a fragment flies into Foma's hand and slightly scratches Jackson. At the same time, I rush to the evacuation group.

I run up, grab the Jurist and start dragging them along the way, I wonder what the hell you stopped here. They cry because they are tired. **** fifty meters.

We take a couple of steps and the most tearful person is hit by a machine gun. We fell. I am trying to drag Jurist further. He is a heavy boar.

A bullet flies into his leg. He is almost unresponsive. The next one hits me in the chest. I laugh in my mind. The armor withstood the impact. After a couple of seconds, I get hit in the back. Takes the breath away. I feel how the back is filled with blood. I try to reach with my hand. It doesn't work. The first thought pierced the lungs and it looks like I will die here in the ****ing grass. It gets dark in the eyes. I broadcast into the radio melodramatically - "I'm 300. That's all." And I lose consciousness.

After a while, I hear Jackson calling me. When I give it, I say that I have come to my senses, he shouts "- Can you crawl?" I start crawling all over the grass like a ****ing cobra. I draw my rifle all the time. It seemed an absolute farce to drop a rifle on the battlefield. In the background, Jackson is shooting with a PKM. Everything is exploding and gunshots ring out. Valhalla brand concert.

Crawling out, I say cut off the clothes. I see a small hole in my shoulder. It begins to flow from the back. There is a finger-sized hole in the scapula. The sensations were surprisingly pleasant. It reminded me of opening a tap with hot water. With one difference - my life was leaking out of me.

The bullet partially damaged the shoulder joint. She broke the acromial bone, partially dislocated her collarbone, drilled fifteen centimeters into the flesh and came out with a broken shoulder blade behind. High.

I give instructions to Jackson, don't go there (while he tampons me with a bandage). Find a rope and use it to pull the boys out. You are in charge now, and I was late for the evacuation. When I go outside, it starts to whistle. I pretend that the house is behind me and start to crawl through the houses in the direction where the railroad will be shorter. I took the rifle off the safety so that they would at least shoot in the direction of the scumbags and let them kill me so that I would not be taken prisoner.

The point where the Archaeologist's boys are supposed to meet me is just behind the building where a group of Russians was climbing in the morning. **** I start jumping over the railway sleepers. Every step causes such pain that it seems now I will lose consciousness. Towards the end, the bullets start whistling again, but I quickly hide behind the building.

"Varta" goes to the meeting. That's what I was thinking, the evacuation came quickly for me. I won't lie, my pants were full of joy. My surprise was all the greater when she drove past me.

[Zeleban]

Disappearing among the buildings, sitting down so that his back was covered by the building and placing his rifle in front of him, he began to wait. After some time, the guys came after me and took me to a nearby street where they set up a medical center. The doc (not the guy who gathered from the point without warning) kindly gave me a new tamponade, began to take painkillers, and put a bandage on top. At that moment, it became clear over the radio that the counterattack had failed. After being kicked, the boys from Kraken retreated.

At this time, position A began to be destroyed by direct fire. Two 300. After some time, one 200. a boy from Poltava was hit in the neck by a fragment. The boys asked to retreat.

The company commander yelled for them to mount lower. So that you understand, from point A down to point J there was just a slope, and the houses were already destroyed - without trenches, it was already real madness.

In the meantime, an armored personnel carrier "Nine" flew into Sil, it will be the last armored personnel carrier that will be able to ride here. Jackson tried to explain to the company commander that there was nothing there. Do not neglect personal reconnaissance. Maviks and maps do not help, if you have not walked in this area.

Realizing that a little more and it will most likely turn into an unorganized retreat. I took a deep breath, grimacing in pain. I took the walkie-talkie and told the company commander:

"There is no position there. It will not be possible to gain a foothold and hold on to that point. I take all the responsibility on myself, we align on J-P Street.” Came out on the walkie-talkie on Nine "Evacuation minus. I'm staying.”

 

Video - "It's my turn to be holed. This is Doc, he's stitching me up.."

[Ales Dvorak]

12 hours ago, Carolus said:

Serbia? Vucic, the current president, was a government minister while Serbia was still in the casual rape camp and ethnocide business. The average Serbian is filled with nationalist revanchism because "NATO attacked us for zero reason at all", "the genocide is a dirty lie but they deserved it" and "we must reunite Yugoslavia".

Vučić looks like a pro Russian, but in reality he is Western lackey.

"we must reunite Yugoslavia".

With whom?

[poesel]

9 hours ago, kimbosbread said:

Time to submit to Swiss hegemony, methinks. Switzerland makes better planes, guns, wine, cheese and pretty much everything else compared to Germany.

EDIT: I bet the Swiss could put together nuclear weapons in half the time the Germans could.

Wine? I'll give you a Merlot from the Tessin (Ticino) but that is all.

The guns are nice, but you can't use them anywhere else, it seems.

The model that Switzerland runs on can only be run by one country in Europe, and only a small one. Copying that anywhere else would lead to total failure.
Also, the Swiss have shot themselves in the foot wrt their relationship with the EU lately. Let's see what will come of it.

Since we are already in the Alps: I'm wondering if there will be some pressure on Austria to join NATO. The power of the post WW2 agreements to stay neutral seems to wane.