They ditch Putin and install a government willing to end this then we need to help Russia immediately (as we help to rebuild Ukraine).
I think this sort of thing is worth exploring, because it might have merit.
As to the Russian air force, I tend to believe it’s a matter of logistics, maintenance, perhaps incompetence, and a bit of poor planning based on inflated estimates of their own success that have had them scrambling to get on track for a greater challenge than they expected. Unlike Syria, where they could set the pace of sorties and operate in an essentially benign air defense environment, in Ukraine the enemy is actually shooting back with substantial weapons, the tempo of operations is far higher, and the troops involved across the board are a broader representation I’m guessing of the whole military than the probably hand-picked bunch that was supporting the Syrian ops.
If I had to guess, I’d say a culture of corruption, fear, and posturing created a system where bad news never made it up the chain of command, and they went into this fight thinking they were in a lot better situation than they actually were.
Timex
5850
Some video of that nuclear facility being attacked.
Another daily update from General Mick Ryan:
Thrag
5852
If things get any worse it will be downgraded to CCCP.
Rimbo
5853
I found the article he linked to here to be the best part of this: The Fight for Ukraine - Comment is Freed
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/03/russia-cat-ban-ukraine-war/
The federation, which considers itself “the United Nations of Cat Federations,” said in a statement that it was “shocked and horrified” that Russian forces had invaded Ukraine and “started a war.” Known as FIFe (for its French name, Fédération Internationale Féline), it said that the measures were decided Tuesday and that officials could not “witness these atrocities and do nothing.”
…
“No cat belonging to exhibitors living in Russia may be entered at any FIFe show outside Russia, regardless of which organization these exhibitors hold their membership in,” said the organization, which spans almost 40 countries.
I have a theory on the missing Russian air force that I haven’t seen posted anywhere yet: I think they don’t have any ammo or fuel.
And yeah, that’s been suggested by others, but not for the reason I am positing. I think that the Russian leadership didn’t actually think they would have to use any air-power to take Ukraine, and the buildup of 300+ aircraft – much like the buildup of 150K troops – was simply to convince the Ukrainians that they had no choice but to surrender. Russian leadership never thought that they would really use the planes, so they didn’t bother with the expensive (and explosive!) logistical “tail” necessary to actually EMPLOY those aircraft in combat.
Hell, it’s possible that there are no PILOTS as they may have used the same group of guys shuttling back and forth on transports to ferry all the planes to the Ukrainian border.
If my theory is right, then the reason they haven’t been used until the last couple days is that they were waiting for a bunch of supply trucks to arrive with the ammo and/or pilots that no one thought they would need. Of course, as those supplies start arriving, we should start seeing more and more of those planes in action.
The first person that came to mind when I read about the bombardment was John Travolta.
Slightly different theory - the Russian Air Force is combatting two problems right now with combat missions:
- They have limited communications with ground forces, and flying near a combat zone puts both them and their ground forces at risk of friendly fire (in both directions).
- They have essentially no high altitude smart weapons - so any air to ground assault requires flying low with old fashioned gravity bombs and manually targeted weapons. Low enough to be targeted and destroyed with portable infantry based surface to air weapons and thus risking their very expensive fighter-bombers.
Yes, by all accounts they lost 3 aircraft today.
Read a book, Lindsay! Brutus is not exactly an enticing example, as he ended up having to off himself after finding himself on the losing side of the resulting civil war. How about Caligula’s assassin instead … no, he was killed. Commodus’s assassin? Also killed. Caracalla’s? Ditto. Elagabalus’s assassin … ummmmm. Yeah, there’s a pattern here.
But wait, what about Nero? Instead of assassinating him, the Senate named him a public enemy, after which he fled and killed himself. See, following proper rules and procedures works! (Occasionally.)
Thrag
5861
Russian
Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine @verkhovna_rada
‼ ️Air defense on March 3 destroyed three more planes of the Russian occupiers. The Su-30SM, Su-34 and Su-25 of the Russian occupiers went into the red. Enemy helicopter losses are being clarified
And so the backsliding begins.
No, South Korea. We have defended you and supported you. Do not sell to Russia. Hold the line for a month or two.
What will the kpop stans do now?
vyshka
5865
So remember Elon Musk sending the starlink terminals?
Has anyone besides Nexta reported that Korea story?
Timex
5866
I was thinking, lots of people are worried about what China might do in the event of Russia going into an escalating war with the west.
I don’t think China would take Taiwan in that situation. I think it’s actually much more likely they would take over eastern Russia.
They get to be on the winning side of the war, and also get to steal a ton of natural resources from Russia along the way.
And I don’t think in that situation, anyone is going to stop them.
It is seems to me that some communication/internet is way better than none.
