Two Russian helicopters exploded near the Latvian border

They were being repaired, then exploded.  No one knows why. 🇺🇦

Edit - two more helicopters were damaged from the explosion, bringing the total up to 4

Russia fired at least 50 cruise missiles at Ukraine in two hours.  44 were shot down, one of them falling in Moldovan territory.  So unfortunately, at least 6 missiles got through.  There have been several explosions near electrical infrastructure in Ukraine

Quote"Russia's assertions are absurd for many reasons, including because such species, even if they could be weaponized, would pose as much a threat to the European continent and to Ukraine itself as they would to any other country."

https://www.axios.com/2022/10/28/russia-ukraine-un-ambassador

Quote from: Unbeliever on October 31, 2022, 12:41:31 AMIf you "never brought nothing" then you always brought something?

😉

A double negative makes a positive only in formal logic.

In real life, negatives stack.

I heard an analyst suggest that the real reason the Russian soldiers are stealing Ukrainian washing machines is so they can disassemble them and desolder/reuse the microchips they contain to repair their war weapons. Interesting.

Also the famous new Su-57, 5th gen fighter has been ghosting in this war. Maybe they know it isn't all that RADAR stealthy. The Indian defense industry did give up on the joint development with Russia a while ago; but I doubt that effort was without spies, LOL.

Quote from: Cassia on November 01, 2022, 01:37:18 PMI heard an analyst suggest that the real reason the Russian soldiers are stealing Ukrainian washing machines is so they can disassemble them and desolder/reuse the microchips they contain to repair their war weapons.

Yes.  That is very likely.  Russia has also been importing a lot of consumer electronics lately, much of it from India and China, almost certainly to salvage the microchips like you said.

Edit - link to article about it

I'm a bit skeptical about the chip thing, unless the Russians want to wash, rinse and repeat a missile launch. All that stuff is application-specific.

Quote from: Blackleaf on October 27, 2022, 06:30:52 PMSo Russia's goal is to...

[Checks notes]

Denazify the non-country known as Ukraine, which is under the control of Israel. Oh yes. If it's one thing Israel is known for, it's Nazis. Nazi Jews everywhere.

I think you'd have to find a Catholic Protestant to explain it.   

Quote from: Dark Lightning on November 01, 2022, 07:46:41 PMI'm a bit skeptical about the chip thing, unless the Russians want to wash, rinse and repeat a missile launch. All that stuff is application-specific.

They're just trying for clean kills.

Quote from: Dark Lightning on November 01, 2022, 07:46:41 PMI'm a bit skeptical about the chip thing, unless the Russians want to wash, rinse and repeat a missile launch. All that stuff is application-specific.

Remember when just about everything made in the 80s-90s used an intel 8051 uC? They cost about $1 and had tons of I/O. I even used them in avionics. I'd bet late Soviet era stuff and Ukrainian washing machine shared at least some parts and heck even if they used FPGA's, they are reprogrammable...and the Russians seem desperate.

In one of the strangest things I ever encountered was when one of my designs was failing factory testing. I narrowed it down to a capacitor that didn't hold a charge. I gave samples to our specialists who took it apart and found that inside this large cap, a smaller, cheaper cap had been soldered. Like those Russian dolls. It was a counterfeit part and our parts buyers got chewed out by the boss.

Russia is officially back in the grain deal  Erodogan somehow made that happen.  Don't ask me how.

So, to recap:

1) Ukrainian drones attacked the Black Sea Fleet near Sevastopol in temporarily-occupied Crimea.

2) Russia slowed down grain shipments and said it was pulling out of the grain deal (and bombarded Ukrainian infrastructure/civilians in "retaliation" for damage to military targets during a war - they initially claimed no damage btw)

3) Ukraine and Turkey and the UN made a separate grain deal without Russia

4) Russia made a ridiculous demand that it'd rejoin the grain deal if Ukraine could guarantee the safety of its Black Sea Fleet, presumably as it actively engages in hostilities against Ukrainian civilians.  It'd be like during WWII, the US asking Japan to guarantee the safety of its bombers.  Words cannot express how strongly this proposal was rejected.

5) Russia declares that any shipping through the Black Sea is unacceptable

6) Russia rejoins the grain deal anyway, seemingly for nothing ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

QuoteThe US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield told CNN she was "delighted" the deal was being resurrected.

"[The deal] is providing needed food to the world, so clearly Russia was finally convinced that they needed to continue this, they can't stand in the way of feeding the entire world," she told CNN This Morning.

I hope that was intended to be either a diplomatic "white lie" or blatantly facetious, because Russia could very much stand in the way of feeding the entire world and their actions so far prove a moderately high commitment to just that.

Another busy day for Ukraine.  800 Russian kia. Over 73k so far.

Russia lost 16 tanks and 24 armored vehicles as well.  These are brutal losses and significantly higher than the baseline. 

Something serious has changed on the frontline lately.

Quote from: Hydra009 on November 02, 2022, 12:32:23 PMRussia is officially back in the grain deal  Erodogan somehow made that happen.  Don't ask me how.

So, to recap:

1) Ukrainian drones attacked the Black Sea Fleet near Sevastopol in temporarily-occupied Crimea.

2) Russia slowed down grain shipments and said it was pulling out of the grain deal (and bombarded Ukrainian infrastructure/civilians in "retaliation" for damage to military targets during a war - they initially claimed no damage btw)

3) Ukraine and Turkey and the UN made a separate grain deal without Russia

4) Russia made a ridiculous demand that it'd rejoin the grain deal if Ukraine could guarantee the safety of its Black Sea Fleet, presumably as it actively engages in hostilities against Ukrainian civilians.  It'd be like during WWII, the US asking Japan to guarantee the safety of its bombers.  Words cannot express how strongly this proposal was rejected.

5) Russia declares that any shipping through the Black Sea is unacceptable

6) Russia rejoins the grain deal anyway, seemingly for nothing ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I hope that was intended to be either a diplomatic "white lie" or blatantly facetious, because Russia could very much stand in the way of feeding the entire world and their actions so far prove a moderately high commitment to just that.

FUCK Putin (a lot) and FUCK Russia (not as much, in a way, they are dupes). It's absolutely sickening, what they are doing.

Russia has declared it's now a "Holy War", LOL.
https://www.aol.com/news/holy-war-russia-now-depicts-090053938.html


Perhaps if the average person didn't believe there's going to be a huge afterlife reunion party with dad, grandma and their long dead pets, people would comprehend how precious their lives are and stop all this useless killing madness.

Poland to refit Ukrainian plane with guided cruise missiles capable of hitting ground targets 300km away

So basically, a Ukrainian plane could potentially hit almost any target in Ukraine.  In comparison, most of the artillery Ukraine is fielding can hit targets <70km away.