The last thing I'll say about this almost-coup is that a certain company missed a golden opportunity to come out with a "you're not you when you're hungry" commercial

"Will Putin invade the Ukraine?"

Yes.

Far from the first time this sort of red-on-red incident has happened.  One time, it was from a "flamethrower" unit, a MLRS which fires rockets equipped with incendiary/thermobaric warheads.  Needless to say, not great for morale.

Reportedly, even though a lot of the Ukrainains received abbreviated Western training and maybe didn't even have prior combat experience prior to volunteering in these counteroffensive brigades, they still operate more akin to NATO forces than anything else.  This means proper communications and tactics.  Incidents still happen, but it's not a common thing.

This is a far cry from Russian forces, who typically have a lot less to work with.  And the skewed casualty lists don't do them any favors.  From what I've seen so far, the Ukrainian military receives less casualties than the Russian invaders and those injuries are much less likely to be lethal.  This means that Ukraine hangs on to more of their seasoned veterans, while Russia...not so much.  And all else being equal, rookies are more likely to make these sorts of mistakes than the vets.

Thus, Russian forces are far more likely to self-denazify, saving Ukrainians the headache while creating further vulnerabilities along the frontline.

Russian General Sergei Surovikin arrested by Putin regime in connection to Wagner march on Moscow

You might remember Surovikin for being in charge of Russia's war in Ukraine from November 2022 to January 2023, when he was replaced by Gerasimov.  Embarrassingly, he had to give Kherson back to the Ukrainians as a gesture of goodwill, which explains his brief tenure.

Evidently, the Ukrainians no longer have to hunt him down, because Putin did their work for them.  Dictators tend to be helpful like that.

He's just one of a number of military officials who may have supported Wagner's march on Moscow.  So hopefully, Putin will fall into a dictator's habits and start a roundup, further hollowing out Russia's leadership, perhaps to Ukraine's favor.

Another reason why Ukraine will win:


They're willing to endure great hardships and things that would terrify most people in a calm, deliberate manner.

Because they fight for each other.  The Russians do not.

Edit - here's him on a happier day:

Skill issue

Despite all my rage, I am still just a vatnik in a cage



Welded to the hull, not the turret, so the turret has a very limited range of motion.  :/

It's amazing that such an engineering marvel found its way into Ukrainian hands [/sarcasm]

Jeez. They must have hella big mosquitos.

Quote from: Hydra009 on June 29, 2023, 11:00:38 AMDespite all my rage, I am still just a vatnik in a cage

Welded to the hull, not the turret, so the turret has a very limited range of motion.  :/

It's amazing that such an engineering marvel found its way into Ukrainian hands [/sarcasm]

That's gotta be just for when they are sitting around for long periods. Otherwise, can they really be that stupid?

When people are in a dangerous situation and distressed, they often do irrational things that give them psychological relief, even if they aren't effective.  Imho, these cope cages are no different than people hoarding toilet paper during covid - it makes them feel safe even though it does very little to provide actual safety.

Putin hopes that Wagner "didn't steal much" of the money the Kremlin spent on them

Prigozhin in Minsk:



I mean, they're mercenaries.  It's not like they responsibly put that cash in a bank and then give it back to you when you ask politely.  I'd imagine they spend it all on gear and supplies and whatever's left on vodka and women or gambling.  That money is long gone!

Infighting looms between Russia's FSB (counter-intelligence) and Ministry of Defense

Quote"Our assessments indicate that this has become an open conflict between the competing factions within the Kremlin," said Chernyak.

"It's likely to result in physical eliminations of representatives from the competing side."

Translation: "meat's back on the menu"

QuoteChernyak added that high-ranking Russian officials recognize that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin's hold on power is slipping, and they are attempting to leverage this to increase their own influence.

"Putin is no longer able to maintain control or balance these factions; both the FSB and the Ministry of Defense recognize this as an opportunity to secure a political victory," he said.

So...this is a thing.

His cult of personality people say that Putin is an 11-dimensional chessmaster.  I dunno, it doesn't look like he has yet mastered two dimensions.  Perhaps he is using a marker because he already ate the crayons.

Not to brag, but I could draw better than that.  Granted, not much better, but at least it wouldn't look like Clayface on shrooms. 

At least Hitler could have theoretically quit his day job to pursue an artistic career.  No such luck for Mad Vlad, surrounded by sycophants who would applaud anything.  Russia is becoming more like North Korea by the day.