registerme
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Post by registerme on Jul 2, 2022 10:53:13 GMT
More oversimplified binary thinking. 'Limited' impact is not the same as 'zero' impact is it? Should we stop sending Ukraine bullets because each bullet has a 'limited' impact and won't be a game changer!?The discussion started out about whether Ukraine was getting the kit it needs to change the direction of the war. And whether the West - esp. non-US nations - even has enough of the right kit in the cupboard. That is the context of the discussion. And alongside that, for all the trumpeting of what is being sent, that is different from it necessarily getting the right equipment to change the facts on the ground. Not quite sure how/why you have diverted it into a 'but does that mean we shouldn't send anything'. Re. 'bullets' comment. Bullets are needed for guns. Those are needed and intended for an entirely different role than artillery, ATGMs, tanks, etc. Since the use case and the intended effect is different, any parallel is a false one. But obviously you know that. Bottom line is that right now and for the forseeable, Ukrainian forces need and are asking for heavy weapons to counter Russian artillery. Some of what is being lauded about being sent in response to that request - in this case by the UK - is not going to allow it to do that. I don't disagree with what you're saying, but you're assuming it has to be destined for the eastern front. For all we know it could be positioned on the border with Belorussia, and might allow for the transfer of other assets east. As good as an M777 / Caesar / PzH 2000? Of course not. Useless? Unlikely.
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registerme
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Post by registerme on Jul 1, 2022 22:09:45 GMT
Given how the Soviet Union stole food from Ukraine before WW2 and starved many people there to death. It cannot be a surprise that the Russian federation is doing the same again today. I'm not sure "many" does appropriate justice to, give or take, four million*. Four. Million. People. * Wikipedia states 3.5m-5m. I only got half way through Timothy Snyder's Bloodlands. It's rare that I don't finish a book. I couldn't cope with it. I suppose there's no way to stay sane and write such a book without remaining utterly emotionally detached from the subject matter. As a reader I failed on that score. There's plenty of reason to hate in that part of the world .
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registerme
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Post by registerme on Jul 1, 2022 21:17:53 GMT
Not sure how keen I am on the UK being called out by the CCP. Hard to argue that it's not a well aimed dart though.
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registerme
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Post by registerme on Jul 1, 2022 16:21:10 GMT
He does mention it. No, they don't use NATO standard ammo.
EDIT: Here's the quote - "The British version of the gun uses non-standard ammunition which is not interchangeable with Nato-standard rounds. The guns will need a logistics train all of their own, dependent entirely on the UK for re-supply".
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registerme
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Post by registerme on Jun 30, 2022 19:51:14 GMT
First i have no military background, no experiance or knowledge to back my thoughts. However it seems to me the question is if the improved range and accuracy of the Ukraine's artillery can inflict such a big relative attrition rate on the Russian guns that the huge reserves of Russian shells are unusable. Ukraine has to win the artillery war, but that may not be a straight numbers game, more a question of effectiveness. The rather unsavoury, but accurate, term is "rate of exchange". I heard some general or other a day or two ago stating that Ukraine was achieving a very favourable rate of exchange in terms of artillery duels. But what he didn't say was what the rate of exchange would need to be for Ukraine to come out on top. I suspect that HIMARS / MLRS will not be used in artillery duels. They'll be used to strike command and control, airfields, and logistics hubs. Short term that means Ukraine will bleed more. Longer term it should significantly degrade Russia's capabilities. But how short is short, and how long is long?
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registerme
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Post by registerme on Jun 30, 2022 15:42:02 GMT
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registerme
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Post by registerme on Jun 30, 2022 15:35:13 GMT
In more straightforward terms, will Ukraine have enough weaponry to defend what is currently has to stop any further significant Russian chomping ? I don't think we're in a position to answer that at the moment. It depends on:- * how much stomach both Russia and Ukraine have for the fight * how much support the West can / is willing to supply Ukraine * how depleted Russia's military is * how depleted Russia's capacity for force generation and production of arms is For all the talk of HIMARS, MLRS, Caesars PzH 2000s and the like, there simply aren't very many of them. They can, and will, destroy dozens to a couple of hundred important targets a day. But there's an awful lot of bear sat there in the east. The West doesn't rely on artillery to the same degree as Russia, instead promoting airpower. And we seem to be unwilling to provide Ukraine with sufficient airpower, let alone the training and logistics etc required to support the use of modern Western airpower, in quantity and quality enough to offset Russia's advantages. But for all I know Ukraine has spent the last three months building a reserve of a dozen or so mechanised brigades and will look to throw them into the fight when Russia is most spent. One can hope... If (and I think it's still a big if) Russia "wins" by conquering all of Ukraine, what will they have actually achieved? At enormous cost in blood and treasure they will have killed and maimed thousands of civilians, destroyed much of the infrastructure of the country, have a restive population of 40 million who actively hate them to control, and isolated themselves from most of the rest of the world. I mean Russia has likely already taken in the region of 100,000 casualties (killed and wounded). The latest figures I saw (sorry, no supporting link / evidence) is that ~500,000 Russians have emigrated. In the main those will be young, outward looking, educated people who don't want to live under Putin's murderous regime. Precisely the sort of people Russia can ill-afford to lose. It's... mind-boggling. Putin's initial gambit failed spectacularly. He should have backed off immediately. Instead he doubled down. Ukraine and Russia are suffering most immediately from this lunacy. But the rest of the world is paying for it, and will continue to pay for it, too.
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registerme
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Post by registerme on Jun 30, 2022 14:37:26 GMT
And if Russia isn't moved back to the 2014 borders, what's going to stop them chomping the rest of Ukraine in another five years time?
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registerme
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Post by registerme on Jun 30, 2022 10:06:53 GMT
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registerme
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Post by registerme on Jun 30, 2022 9:58:48 GMT
Russia withdraws troops from Snake Island
The Russian Defence Ministry says it has withdrawn its forces from Snake Island, which became a focus of attention in the first few days of the war when a small group of Ukrainian soldiers defending the island were heard in audio recordings telling a Russian warship to "go to hell". " As a goodwill gesture, [ ] Russian troops have today completed the performance of tasks on Snake Island and withdrawn the garrison stationed there," the ministry said. Ukraine confirms Russian withdrawal from Snake Island
Ukrainian officials have also confirmed that Russian forces have withdrawn from Snake Island, a strategic outpost in the Black Sea. The head of President Zelensky's office, Andriy Yermak, said: "KABOOM! No Russian troops on the Snake Island anymore. "Our armed forces did a great job," he wrote on Twitter. Or the Ukrainian version 'we blew the s**t out of them' www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3518616-russian-invaders-escape-from-snake-island.htmlIt's a metaphor for the whole conflict. Russia lost many troops, much materiel, and achieved nothing other than utterly wrecking the place. Stupid ******* .
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registerme
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Post by registerme on Jun 29, 2022 8:59:12 GMT
Or don't use a fricking tumble dryer! Having slept on it I don't think the above is always fair. If you've limited space and / or no outdoors space, and eg children, it might not be so easy to simply never use the tumble dryer. Who's likely to be in this position? People, quite possibly poor, living in social housing .
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registerme
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Post by registerme on Jun 28, 2022 21:08:45 GMT
44 tips to be tight in a good way (their words not mine)
Some funny, some spine tingling, some just creepy.
34. Homemade firelighters Empty the fluff from your tumble dryer, put it inside old toilet rolls and use them as firelighters for wood burners, BBQ and so on. Or don't use a fricking tumble dryer! Though I must admit I did find myself hooking crystallised honey out earlier tonight with a... skewer. It worked. Kind of. Let's agree it was "sub-optimal". I wish I'd know about the melting trick. I should have thought about it really. I spent a few minutes wondering what you can dissolve crystals of honey / sugar in {blush}.
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registerme
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Post by registerme on Jun 28, 2022 15:27:56 GMT
"Western" forces are rightly criticised, and hopefully held to account, when civilian casualties / collateral damage occur. Putin doesn't give a **** .
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registerme
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Post by registerme on Jun 27, 2022 14:35:47 GMT
Did they credit you at all? EDIT: Paywall so I didn't actually read the article...
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registerme
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Post by registerme on Jun 27, 2022 11:24:03 GMT
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