Will Putin Invade Ukraine?

[Hydra009]

[Hydra009]

[Cassia]

I bet Russians get upset when a Su-30 goes down because it is the backbone of the Russian air force. They don't have many of the newer Su-57s yet. Even a single-engine F16 could take one down if it has the latest RADAR/missile upgrades.

When I helped design airborne weather RADAR with windshear detection for passenger airliners, the horizontal and vertical antenna scans were accomplished with electro-mechanical motors. I was just starting the groundwork on an electronically scanned, phased-array weather RADAR when I retired. It borrows from the fighter jet targeting RADAR technology. They steer their beam without physically moving the antenna, a huge advantage.

[Hydra009]

There's also footage of Russian troops discovering two Russian soldiers tied to poles who died of exposure.  Apparently, the unit retreated without them - either they were in a rush and forgot them accidentally or intentionally.  Either way makes no difference.

And also footage of two Russians soldiers trying to cross a frozen lake or river - taken by Ukrainian drone, so it's thermal vision like Predator.  But the ice cracks and they go for a swim.  This is one of those things that you either think about and prepare for or don't prepare for and think about it the rest of your life.  This one is definitely the latter.

[Cassia]

If Russia is pulling sailors to fight on the frontline, well doesn't that ring a certain historical bell....

[Hydra009]

Russian military billboards are looking slightly different now...



1) Weebs are absolutely NOT going to pass basic training.
2) Those characters would never support a land-grab invasion/genocide.

So here are some characters that would fit right in with Putin's war machine:


(bloodthirsty psychopath)


(mercenary who deliberately starts/exacerbates war, delights in murder and senseless destruction)


(man-eating monster)

[Hydra009]

Today in Ukraine, there was some sort of electrical grid disruption between Ukraine and Moldova and Romania, causing blackouts.  Power has since been restored.

Ukraine crushes Russian assault in Pokrovsk direction, destroys 4 platoons

According to the Spartan brigade's own report on January 31, the enemy deployed around 90 assault troops in the attack.

"The enemy attempted an offensive in the Pokrovsk direction. Using the cover of fog, they tried to advance with cars, motorcycles, and ATVs," the report said.

Ukrainian units repelled the attack together, completely stopping the enemy advance. In one day, nearly four Russian platoons were destroyed.

Specifically, Ukrainian forces eliminated 80 enemy assault troops, wounded two, and captured another two. They also destroyed 10 ATVs, 4 motorcycles, and 6 enemy vehicles.

Ukraine strikes Russian AA, Command and Control, and logistics

One of the most notable targets was russian Tor-M1 short-range air defense system hit near the settlement of Kamianka in the temporarily occupied part of Luhansk region.

A command post for unmanned systems was destroyed in the area of Rivnopillia, alongside a material and technical supply depot near Voskresenka. These targets are critical for sustaining russian drone operations and frontline logistics.

Putin syndrome: Russian spy satellite destroyed by space debris

The spacecraft's behavior aroused suspicion from the very beginning: the satellite regularly changed positions along the geostationary belt and remained in close proximity to foreign communications satellites for a long time.

Experts associate such maneuvers with the performance of radio-technical reconnaissance and signal interception tasks.

[Hydra009]

A frequent issue is the unauthorized use of Starlink by Russia for their drones.

Ukrainian defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov reached out to Elon Musk to come up with some sort of joint solution. 

Together they came up with a plan:

1) Starlink will no longer work at the high speeds drones travel at within Ukraine's internationally-recognized borders
2) Unless that Starlink system is registered with Starlink.

Presumably, this is succesfully preventing the Russian military from using Starlink while continuing to allow the Ukrainian military to use it.

[Cassia]

A frequent issue is the unauthorized use of Starlink by Russia for their drones.

Ukrainian defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov reached out to Elon Musk to come up with some sort of joint solution. 

Together they came up with a plan:

1) Starlink will no longer work at the high speeds drones travel at within Ukraine's internationally-recognized borders
2) Unless that Starlink system is registered with Starlink.

Presumably, this is succesfully preventing the Russian military from using Starlink while continuing to allow the Ukrainian military to use it.

We'll see. Musk makes many promises.

[Hydra009]

This is pretty typical combat footage.  The tactics seem crazy but the Russians are just following orders and working with whatever they have, which isn't a lot.  Most Russian units don't have the equipment or training or discipline or proper fire support to do assaults with a very high chance of success.  Instead, they're throwing what they have at Ukrainian lines and sometimes, they're able to overwhelm the Ukrainians and advance, but mostly it ends disastrously for the Russians.

[Cassia]

Wow....Russian suicide mission accomplished. I'll never understand these people. Such a dystopian attitude. A lab instructor of mine was a Soviet defector. He told me, "Russians are nuts, you have no idea." I am starting to see what he meant. He wasn't talking about Igor Tchaikovsky, Leo Tolstoy or dancers of the Bolshoi. He was talking about the typical ones.

[Hydra009]

We'll see. Musk makes many promises.

I completely understand your skepticism.  But every now and then, something very good happens for Ukraine, even from people who are "under the question" so to speak.

There is real evidence of Russian units losing their comms due to Starlink outages, while the Ukrainians are able to register and keep using Starlink.

[Hydra009]

As the Ukraine-Russia-US talks end, Ukraine and Russia swap 157 prisoners

Most of them had been held for years.  The swap included a guy who was errenously considered killed.

[Hydra009]

A Russian general was shot several times

Not clear if it was an assassination attempt or just Moscow being Moscow.  He's a pretty high-profile negotiator for Putin so I imagine there is no shortage of people he's wronged.

[drunkenshoe]

Yeah, I've just seen it^. Apperantly, he was behind of some nerve agent attack in 2018.