Ukrainian forces use captured thermobaric rocket vehicle to annihilate russian forces near Izium

Extra crispy orcs

Lone Ukrainian tank distracted and delayed Russian convoy long enough for artillery to partially destroy it, triggering a retreat

The first few minutes are on the Bucha Massacre so skip that if you don't want to hear about it again, but at 4:10 he starts talking and showing images about the living conditions of these Russian conscripts; that they live in parts of the world where a lot of the things they are looting (toilets, T.V.s, radios, washing machines, etc) are things that they either don't have or, just as likely, have never even seen in their lives.

Literally a 10th-world country.

I knew Russia lagged a bit on the ol' tech race, but I didn't think it was quite so bad.  I mean, they have Instagram influencers and teens with cell phones and the Moscow metro is nicer than any subway system I've ever seen (I've only seen D.C. and Atlanta), so they're not North Korea level.  Though with these ever-ramping sanctions (and ever-increasing war crimes), they might get there someday.

Quote from: Hydra009 on April 05, 2022, 11:04:14 PMI knew Russia lagged a bit on the ol' tech race, but I didn't think it was quite so bad.  I mean, they have Instagram influencers and teens with cell phones and the Moscow metro is nicer than any subway system I've ever seen (I've only seen D.C. and Atlanta), so they're not North Korea level.  Though with these ever-ramping sanctions (and ever-increasing war crimes), they might get there someday.

Eh, I think they maybe are North Korea level... just on a much larger scale. The levels of brainwashing are disturbingly cultish like NK's and Moskva is sorta the Pyongyang of the old Soviet "Republic" - a gilded husk of a fortress ruling over vast expanses of wasted potential. 

For a pariah state, North Korea sure has quite a few like-minded countries.

Glory to the heroes:  Meet Charcoal

QuoteIn a message shared by the Ukrainian army, Charcoal vowed to punish Moscow's forces. "We must take them all out!" she said.

"These people are not human beings. Even the fascists were not as vile as these orcs. We must defeat them," she added.

Hungary's Pro-Putin regime says it has no problem paying for Russian gas with rubles

Gotta feed that russian war machine.

Welp, pretty sure the cost of Russian tanks and other military gear to their arms-export market will have to be discounted in the future. Just saw a report that an anti-aircraft missile battery was taken out by a drone. Geez. Russia is the world's second-largest arms exporter after the US.

In positive news, the new war map looks much, much better for Ukraine:



No more convoys to the NW and east of Kyiv.  No more battle for Sumy.  No more siege of Chernihiv.

Just from the looks of things, Kharkiv and Kherson are going to be the news a LOT in the near future. 

US to lend-lease military equipment to Ukraine

We've only ever used this policy once before: against Hitler.

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Quote from: Hydra009 on April 07, 2022, 09:17:47 AMUS to lend-lease military equipment to Ukraine

We've only ever used this policy once before: against Hitler.

This sounds like the right track.  I hope we go all in and don't start fucking the thing up, as our leaders often do.  This Putin Puttering shit has got to stop.

It's a positive step and also an indicator of Ukraine's chances: we wouldn't land-lease unless we believed the receiving country could win the war, and Ukrainian forces absolutely can win.

Russia has regrouped its forces and is proceeding more cautiously now, but it has already lost a lot of its equipment and skilled personnel.  Throwing more tanks and cadets at Ukraine does not solve its problems.  Especially since the Ukrainians are constantly buoyed by new shipments of aid.  They now have Switchblade drones and the training to use them, so any future Russian convoys are in for a big surprise.

Still, this isn't a done deal for Ukraine - they need more armor and artillery to retake their cities.  If the US expedites this, they absolutely could retake every last square kilometer of their territory.

Russia threatens Finland, says they would destroy their country if it joins NATO

Russia threatens Japan, says it has the right to annex Hokkaido