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How Hot is Ukraine Gonna Get?


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1 hour ago, Jiggathebauce said:

Speaking of blaming the CIA, as battlefront's resident worker democracy advocate I am sad to report that certain tendencies on social media are buying a narrative:

-That ISIS is a cia proxy,

-That like Beleg noted, the US warning is seen as confirmation of that,

-And that further evidence of them being puppets is that ISIS is not attacking Israel at the moment.

 

There are truly embarrassing people who identify with the movements.

 

 

image.thumb.jpeg.ebbb25e507b75dc9c1c85934f04fa184.jpeg

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2 hours ago, Jiggathebauce said:

Speaking of blaming the CIA, as battlefront's resident worker democracy advocate I am sad to report that certain tendencies on social media are buying a narrative:

-That ISIS is a cia proxy,

-That like Beleg noted, the US warning is seen as confirmation of that,

-And that further evidence of them being puppets is that ISIS is not attacking Israel at the moment.

 

There are truly embarrassing people who identify with the movements.

Add countries of former Third World as consumers of such narrations; notion that United States is behind every jihadi movement on the planet is not fringe there at all and will find very fertile ground. Middle East, India, large swaths of Africa, some South America... likely guys meeting at Valdai club are now more important as points of referance for Putin than contrarians in the West. Syrian Girl and similar global vatnik propagandists are just a cherry on top of that, appealing to roughly the same people they always did.

 

It seems Coke Plant is still not safe place for Russians despite being captured long time ago.

 

Edited by Beleg85
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2 hours ago, Kinophile said:

 

 

This is now the second use of an articulated platform (the other was mine laying).  It is interesting that none of the commercial designs NATO countries have been acquiring are articulated.  There's definitely pros and cons to this approach, but maybe for a light platform more pros than cons.  Something to keep an eye on for sure.

Steve

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1 hour ago, Kinophile said:

 

 

Speaking of stupid people!  OK, so this is a source I don't think anybody should consider reliable.  I mean, holy crow... Russia hasn't bothered trying to do anything to justify their actions since just after the war started.

Anyway, if I were part of the ISIS-K planning team I'd be pretty pissed about not getting full credit.  So pissed that I'd immediate start up a plan for a new attack explicitly designed to ensure the world that the glorious warriors of god are understood to be calling the shots.

Steve

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40 minutes ago, Battlefront.com said:

The problem for Putin is that if he needs to whip up the population to do something about the domestic terrorism problem, is he then going the story that the ISIS-K paid the CIA to direct Ukraine to then hire out ISIS-K to carry out the attack? :)

Steve

Very likely something like this will emerge one day. And this will be the end of ISIS as true edgy islamists.

They don't know in what dump they just stepped in. What is their ideology of silly millenaristic sect  compared to Black Hole of Russian reality ? ;)

1 hour ago, billbindc said:

The downsides to a political regime held together by fear, duct tape and conspiracy theories...

Blue jumper or winter jacket they say...

media-libraryRfq3JY-image.webp

 

Edited by Beleg85
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1 hour ago, Beleg85 said:

Very likely something like this will emerge one day. And this will be the end of ISIS as true edgy islamists.

They don't know in what dump they just stepped in. What is their ideology of silly millenaristic sect  compared to Black Hole of Russian reality ?

During the Cold War every terror group had some sort of affiliated, at differing ranges of course.  Two can play at this game really..and they often did.  Terrorism during the Cold War had the following strategic plays between the powers:

- Blame Game - accuse the other team of supporting terrorism

- Excuse Abuse - kinda what Russia is trying to play now..use attack or threat as a reason for X.

- Claymore - keep pointed away from me and at them

- Enemy of my enemy - weird one night stands

- Intelligence collection - eyes and ears in strange nooks and crannies

- Proxy foxy insurgency - rashes and sores in countries of opposing interest.  Sometime they even went all the way if conditions were right.

- Money!  Yup sometimes they just made money together

- Golden Oldies - subversive warfare, active measures and general f#ckery

And we are headed right back to it…but now with Internet!  The good news is that groups that got too out of control got clipped by both sides, which led to another play - Weird Buddy Roadtrip Comedy.  This was when the superpowers actually cooperated to take out really crazy.
 

 

 

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2 hours ago, billbindc said:

The downsides to a political regime held together by fear, duct tape and conspiracy theories...

Is it really a conspiracy theory started and doing the rounds in Russia though or is it Gerashchenko "extrapolating" from a theory put out by Nexta? Nexta don't seem to be attributing the theory to someone else. If it is from Nexta, it will be interesting to see if it takes hold in Russia and the impact it has on the sale of blue sweaters there.

 

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7 minutes ago, Offshoot said:

Is it really a conspiracy theory started and doing the rounds in Russia though or is it Gerashchenko "extrapolating" from a theory put out by Nexta? Nexta don't seem to be attributing the theory to someone else. If it is from Nexta, it will be interesting to see if it takes hold in Russia and the impact it has on the sale of blue sweaters there.

 

As I understand it, it's circulating in Russia but Nexta's jumping in with both feet to amplify it. 

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57 minutes ago, The_Capt said:

- Blame Game - accuse the other team of supporting terrorism

- Excuse Abuse - kinda what Russia is trying to play now..use attack or threat as a reason for X.

- Claymore - keep pointed away from me and at them

- Enemy of my enemy - weird one night stands

- Intelligence collection - eyes and ears in strange nooks and crannies

- Proxy foxy insurgency - rashes and sores in countries of opposing interest.  Sometime they even went all the way if conditions were right.

- Money!  Yup sometimes they just made money together

- Golden Oldies - subversive warfare, active measures and general f#ckery

And we are headed right back to it…but now with Internet!  The good news is that groups that got too out of control got clipped by both sides, which led to another play - Weird Buddy Roadtrip Comedy.  This was when the superpowers actually cooperated to take out really crazy.
 

This would make fantastic mini-series if done right, which current Hollywood naturally won't be able to do. Especially Proxy Foxy episode seems interesting.

But hey, lately Lukaszenko is in the "Swagging villain from 60-ies" mood that Putin can only try to mimick, so maybe he could be main antagonist:

 

Edited by Beleg85
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55 minutes ago, Beleg85 said:

This would make fantastic mini-series if done right, which current Hollywood naturally won't be able to do. Especially Proxy Foxy episode seems interesting.

But hey, lately Lukaszenko is in the "Swagging villain from 60-ies" mood that Putin can only try to mimick, so maybe he could be main antagonist:

 

He was named Alexander Lukashenko. The World will remember him by another name...POTATOFACE. 😄

 

potato.jpg

Edited by Harmon Rabb
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6 hours ago, Beleg85 said:

Very likely something like this will emerge one day. And this will be the end of ISIS as true edgy islamists.

They don't know in what dump they just stepped in. What is their ideology of silly millenaristic sect  compared to Black Hole of Russian reality ? ;)

To paraphrase a very famous philosophical question...

If someone commits an act of terrorism in a country that doesn't care, is it really an act of terrorism?

Steve

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4 hours ago, Offshoot said:

Is it really a conspiracy theory started and doing the rounds in Russia though or is it Gerashchenko "extrapolating" from a theory put out by Nexta? Nexta don't seem to be attributing the theory to someone else. If it is from Nexta, it will be interesting to see if it takes hold in Russia and the impact it has on the sale of blue sweaters there.

 

Heh... well, someone on Twitter already posted exactly what I was thinking:

Quote

Has anybody taken the time to think maybe these guys are undercover FSB there because of the advanced warning from the US about an attack and are talking about closing the doors to the auditorium to keep the shooters out from the crowd? Just a thought

Yup.  If the guy pictured in the theater really is the FSB agent in other videos, then the most plausible reason for him being there was either because they were trying to monitor this (and likely other) places based on US intelligence warning *OR* he was just there as part of routine autocratic security state duties.  I mean, does anybody think the FSB doesn't have agents showing up at public events just in case they need to jot down some names of "traitors"?

As for the guy's alleged bad advice of locking the doors, it could be a) it wasn't a dumb idea generally, just not the right idea for this situation, b) he's not trained for this sort of thing and didn't make the right call, or c) there's other information being omitted that complicates/cancels the simplified portrayal of his actions.

It's not wrong to be skeptical of coincidences, but it is dumb to presume there's only one explanation for them.  Context matters.

Steve

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1 hour ago, Battlefront.com said:

Heh... well, someone on Twitter already posted exactly what I was thinking:

Yup.  If the guy pictured in the theater really is the FSB agent in other videos, then the most plausible reason for him being there was either because they were trying to monitor this (and likely other) places based on US intelligence warning *OR* he was just there as part of routine autocratic security state duties.  I mean, does anybody think the FSB doesn't have agents showing up at public events just in case they need to jot down some names of "traitors"?

As for the guy's alleged bad advice of locking the doors, it could be a) it wasn't a dumb idea generally, just not the right idea for this situation, b) he's not trained for this sort of thing and didn't make the right call, or c) there's other information being omitted that complicates/cancels the simplified portrayal of his actions.

It's not wrong to be skeptical of coincidences, but it is dumb to presume there's only one explanation for them.  Context matters.

Steve

All details aside, the most important thing is that Putin is losing control of the narrative. That could matter.

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38 minutes ago, dan/california said:

All details aside, the most important thing is that Putin is losing control of the narrative. That could matter.

Yeah, which is why I was interested in the origin of the conspiracy theory. If it started in Russia and becomes prevalent there, what does it say about Russians' trust in Putin's administration? If Gerashchenko and Nexta, who aren't exactly reliable sources, are feeding grist, then it is just icing.

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France has pledged to provide Ukraine with 78 Caesar self-propelled howitzers in the near future, along with an increased supply of ammunition.

French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu has confirmed that Paris will soon be able to deliver 78 Caesar self-propelled artillery systems to Ukraine, in addition to boosting ammunition shipments, according to Associated Press.

 

Fingers crossed.

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7 minutes ago, Carolus said:

Good stuff. There have been a bunch of destroyed M777 lately. Caesars will not be just replacements, but upgrades.

I fear that currently any new artillery capabilities like new howitzers or finally getting enough ammo for them, will not be anywhere close to the impact it made last year. As currently Russia has ISR capabilities allowing it to target the artillery effectively, it won't be able to do counter battery and support missions as good as it could in the past. 

The biggest indicators for this issue is HIMARS and Patriot being both hit recently. This would not be possible last year. From my perspective the priority has changed and now the wonder weapon is C-UAS capabilities on regional scale. If Ukraine will be able to successfully remove the enemy UAS, it will unlock all the other weapons to be effective enough to provide force multipler on a scale allowing for actual winning the war. All of the stuff, which is below air force is now locked by overwhelming ISR+drone/ballistics/whatever precision weapon you have. As winning by air force superiority is not an option, enemy drones needs to be beaten. Currently we have something like mutual destruction in regard to drone saturation and its effects on anything on the ground. With longer ranges, this drone dead zone extends far behind the frontline. Reliable, cheap, scalable and currently non-existent C-UAS technology needs to be implemented. Spending time and money on anything EW based is also waste of resources until it literally fries the insides of the drone. Looking at current developments, autonomous seems to be casual at the end of current year so lack of manual control due to EW will not be an issue. 

When drones will be done, artillery and all the other fancy stuff will shine again. Ukraine can't afford to wage war on equal terms in regard of technology so there is no option to just produce more drones than Russia to overwhelm it. It needs to actually fight the enemy drones to achieve its own drone superiority and all the other forces just after that.

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