Russia just launched a series of devastating attacks against civilians across several major cities targetting residential buildings, a market, a maternity ward, etc.

The purpose of the attacks is to terrorize and brutalize civilians to accomplish some sort of political goal - like giving away Ukrainian land at "peace" talks.

But how can you negotiate with terrorists?  Or expect such a state to abide by agreements it has shown to be willing to violate?

Russian rocket flew through Polish airspace

The Russian tank support vehicle with twin 30mm cannons looks fierce as hell, but why would the barrel recoil suppressors vent into each other? The barrels wiggle so much, I bet a Bradley with one accurate gun would chew it up at longer ranges.

Trust your eyes, not clickbait.

Quote from: Cassia on December 29, 2023, 03:36:43 PM
The Russian tank support vehicle with twin 30mm cannons looks fierce as hell, but why would the barrel recoil suppressors vent into each other?

I've seen quite a few of those blowing up.  The name is the scariest thing about it.

Russian military design is baffling - tanks with autoloaders which sounds nice until they explode and toss the turret and kill all the crew, heavy cruisers with ludicrous amounts of weapons that can't be properly maintained with a high risk of explosion, attack helicopters overloaded that start wobbling (admittedly, that last one is an operator issue), etc.

I was just reading about how Russia's air attack backfired, by garnering more support from the EU, the UK, and the US.

Quote from: Unbeliever on December 29, 2023, 10:21:09 PMI was just reading about how Russia's air attack backfired, by garnering more support from the EU, the UK, and the US.

The UK did pledge a few hundred missiles for air defense, and that's good, but that'll only just barely cover the next couple similar attacks.  Imho, I'd only call it a backfire if both American and EU aid packages went through as a result.  Sadly, cautionary/stymied support isn't enough.

Quote from: Hydra009 on December 30, 2023, 12:50:10 AMThe UK did pledge a few hundred missiles for air defense, and that's good, but that'll only just barely cover the next couple similar attacks.  Imho, I'd only call it a backfire if both American and EU aid packages went through as a result.  Sadly, cautionary/stymied support isn't enough.

Yeah, it is always too little, too late. The upcoming US election might be the end of much of the support (especially the valuable intelligence) if the tangerine nightmare wins. If an anti-Putin commander wins, I think a huge step-up in support is in order to finally break the Ruskies' idiotic invasion.

I'm pretty sure "the tangerine nightmare" is not going to win. But I could be wrong. It's a bit concerning to me that he has even the slight possibility of becoming our president again.
I expect the GOP to do very badly all around.

Quote from: Unbeliever on December 30, 2023, 11:13:47 AMI'm pretty sure "the tangerine nightmare" is not going to win. But I could be wrong. It's a bit concerning to me that he has even the slight possibility of becoming our president again.
I expect the GOP to do very badly all around.

I hope so. It's impossible for Ukraine to strategize not knowing how much ammo they will get over time next year. Russia is getting buttloads of ammo and drones from the bad guys in China and Iran as they increase their own weapon production numbers. Europe has more at stake than the US does, so they better get on it if they don't want Putin as their next-door neighbor.

HIMARS has been busy lately.  The most recent engagement was the destruction of a Russian counter-battery radar worth $250 million usd.  It had just arrived, too.

In the past few days, they also hit a drone control station


a self-propelled howitzer


and an AA vehicle

I hear that Russia's "unbeatable" missile is, well, beatable after all! 🤣

Closer than you think, awake longer than you:  Russian fighter-bomber burns in Russian airbase through sabotage actions

QuoteA Russian Su-34 fighter jet was lit on fire overnight on Jan. 4 at the Shagol airbase in Chelyabinsk, Russia, Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR) said, publishing a video of the burning plane.

QuoteChelyabinsk is located almost 2,000 kilometers east of the Ukrainian border.

Quote from: Hydra009 on January 04, 2024, 08:54:53 AMCloser than you think, awake longer than you:  Russian fighter-bomber burns down in Russian airbase through sabotage actions

It can't be too hard to buy off a few Russians either.