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Posted: 3/7/2024 1:19:03 AM EDT
[#1]
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Posted: 3/7/2024 1:19:47 AM EDT
[#2]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Johnny_Utah_88: https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/200198/images__17__jpeg-3151712.JPG  Attached File |
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Posted: 3/7/2024 1:34:17 AM EDT
[#3]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By ITCHY-FINGER: Maybe attach a pair of rocket assisted take-off JATO things for a "terminal phase" the last 100 yards. Would certainly pucker some sphincters on the ship especially if the thing is firing those RU rocket flamethrower things all while blasting Flight of the Valkyrie... Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By ITCHY-FINGER: Originally Posted By Capta: Sea state is probably the biggest issue. They might hit 40 on a flat calm but I bet they can barely do 20-25 in chop. In the 3rd party video where you get a glimpse of one on approach, it probably wasn’t doing more than 15KTs. The other piece of evidence is the frequent videos of them tail-chasing target ships. It makes the most sense if the operators aren’t leading enough and/or the drones aren’t much faster than the target ships. In heavy chop they may even be slower. Maybe attach a pair of rocket assisted take-off JATO things for a "terminal phase" the last 100 yards. Would certainly pucker some sphincters on the ship especially if the thing is firing those RU rocket flamethrower things all while blasting Flight of the Valkyrie... It would just go out of control or come apart. Another alternative which I think has potential is an “awash” or semi-submersible design. Basically designed like a torpedo instead of a boat, for range it runs on the surface, but for the terminal approach it ballasts down and switches over to an O2 tank for the engine. Sea state would impact the performance less, and it would be extremely difficult to shoot them, but visual targeting would get a lot harder. They showed a “tube with a motor” design many months ago, but based on it being electric-only the range would be very short, and it’s probably very slow. |
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WI, USA
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Posted: 3/7/2024 1:39:31 AM EDT
[#4]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Jaehaerys: Let's think about it this way: If you're a Russian, what exactly do you have to be proud of in the last century or so? You got your asses kicked so bad in WW1 that communism looked appealing. You then fought a bloody civil war. You then had to deal with Stalin, who executed, imprisoned, and starved millions of you. You then lived under a corrupt kleptocracy that eventually collapsed under the moral bankruptcy. Oh, yeah, and you beat the Nazis. Notwithstanding the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and the fact that non-Russians did a good share of the dying in the Red Army, that's one of the very few things Russians can look back positively on. The rhetoric surrounding Nazis and the Great Patriotic War is Putin tapping into that. Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Jaehaerys: Originally Posted By Lieh-tzu: They fight because there are Nazis on their land. They must defeat and drive out the Nazis, just like their grandfathers, to save their homeland from hostile foreign forces. Let's think about it this way: If you're a Russian, what exactly do you have to be proud of in the last century or so? You got your asses kicked so bad in WW1 that communism looked appealing. You then fought a bloody civil war. You then had to deal with Stalin, who executed, imprisoned, and starved millions of you. You then lived under a corrupt kleptocracy that eventually collapsed under the moral bankruptcy. Oh, yeah, and you beat the Nazis. Notwithstanding the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and the fact that non-Russians did a good share of the dying in the Red Army, that's one of the very few things Russians can look back positively on. The rhetoric surrounding Nazis and the Great Patriotic War is Putin tapping into that. Nyet, comrade. Stalin was a great leader who broke a few eggs, but made the greatest omelet in world history. No nation was ever greater or stronger than Russia. This is Russia's rightful place; most powerful among nations. Traitors who allowed USSR to break apart can never be forgiven for betraying the Russian nation and people. Putin alone has brought Russia back to primacy in the world, reclaiming Russia's rightful place. By reclaiming our lands, Russia will once again become the most powerful nation, overthrowing greedy, immoral, disgusting capitalist whores, America. It is not just our land we fight for; it is to give all our children a future where Russia is the greatest. Glory to Russia! Glory to Putin! 
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Posted: 3/7/2024 1:39:48 AM EDT
[#5]
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Posted: 3/7/2024 1:43:39 AM EDT
[#6]
Compilation of Breakthrough tanks getting broken through
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Posted: 3/7/2024 2:33:27 AM EDT
[#7]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By doc540: Did you notice in the video how they zig and zagged? It appeared one may have had rudder damage, but the others looked like they were taking evasive action making them harder to hit. Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By doc540: Originally Posted By Capta: Sea state is probably the biggest issue. They might hit 40 on a flat calm but I bet they can barely do 20-25 in chop. In the 3rd party video where you get a glimpse of one on approach, it probably wasn’t doing more than 15KTs. The other piece of evidence is the frequent videos of them tail-chasing target ships. It makes the most sense if the operators aren’t leading enough and/or the drones aren’t much faster than the target ships. In heavy chop they may even be slower. Did you notice in the video how they zig and zagged? It appeared one may have had rudder damage, but the others looked like they were taking evasive action making them harder to hit. Yeah they were doing that in the last video too. Maybe they are drawing fire with the first couple of boats zigzagging around, while other boats go in for the kill. Hard to say, but I’m a bit skeptical. At the ranges we’re talking about the only thing zigzagging is likely to do is slow them down. Plus I doubt they can afford to rely on dedicated “distraction” drones. What happens if they break down or get sunk early? What happens if the ship turns in an unexpected direction? I think they’re probably doing their best to box their targets in instead. I’ve watched all the videos carefully, FWIW. -They are starting to do hammer-and-anvil, so that no matter which way the target turns one drone has a shot. -They’re still getting stuck in tail-chases and I doubt this is entirely intentional. If they only have a fixed forward camera, it would be hard to parallel a ship and get ahead for enough lead. Operators also need more training/experience/SIM time/more cameras to properly lead the ships course. The drones are also IMO not that much faster than the ships in real conditions, and they are also probably limiting their speed during night attacks so their wakes don’t show nearly as much. -Several videos show drones screwing around at very short range instead of going right in for a hit. I can think of a few possibilities. Either - the operator was briefed to go for a certain part of the ship (entirely possible) but then couldn’t figure out what he was looking at, and the zigzagging is the operator “hunting around” to try to figure out where his optimal hit point was instead of just pushing forward for a hit. B)They had a planned attack order that fell apart in practice but operators stuck to it anyway and delayed instead of going right in. I think it’s likely that several drones were disabled at close range that should’ve been hits. -They still have fusing problems and hits aren’t detonating the warhead, or they’re getting partial detonations. Note that in the last attack no large holes were seen. -An article related to the last video specifically mentioned that they tried for several hits on one side to cause off-center flooding and capsize the ship. Once the ship is immobilized this is exactly what they should do. -They seem to have a policy of running into the same hole, which I don’t think is best practice. If the compartment inboard of the hit is flooded anyway you aren’t necessarily going to do a lot more good with another hit there. More hits along the damaged side is going to be more effective. Ships should be able to float with one or two compartments full from one side to the other, but nothing can float with several compartments full on the same side. |
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Posted: 3/7/2024 2:45:06 AM EDT
[#8]
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Posted: 3/7/2024 2:48:07 AM EDT
[#9]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Jaehaerys: Yes, the narrative that was promoted by the Russians after WW2 is relevant here. They highlighted the anti-Soviet, anti-Slavic, and, especially, the anti-Russian elements of Nazi ideology, while downplaying the anti-Semitic ones. The Russians portrayed themselves as being the least likely to collaborate and the most likely to resist the Nazis, in spite of the fact that this wasn't true at all. We now know that, save for the Volksdeutsch (who unsurprisingly collaborated the most) and the Belarusians (who collaborated a little less), there was no particular correlation between nationality and collaboration. Ukraine was also occupied in its entirety by the Nazis for far longer than the 5-10% of Soviet Russia that the Nazis occupied, and millions of Ukrainians were murdered and worked to death by the Nazis. Nevertheless, this hasn't stopped the Russians from portraying themselves as resistors and the Ukrainians as collaborators. All you need to do to understand the Russian view on Nazism is watch the Putin-Carlson interview, in which Putin blames Poland for provoking the Nazis. It was never really about Slavic pain, let alone Soviet pain as a whole. No, it was always about remembering Russian pain and struggle above all else. Jews in the USSR used to get punished for remembering that their family members were murdered at Babi Yar. Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Jaehaerys: Originally Posted By ITCHY-FINGER: Originally Posted By Jaehaerys: The subject of Azov, Pravyy Sektor, and other Ukrainian ultranationalist formations is a complicated one. They use some symbolism that has some questionable meanings, such as Wolfsangels, Sonnenrads, and even just UPA flags. That being said, they aren't invading other countries and ethnically cleansing their populations. Additionally, Azov garrisoned Mariupol for eight years, and there wasn't a single anti-Semitic attack or hate crime in general linked to members of the regiment. Both Azov and Pravyy Sektor posses a number of Russian speakers, and I know Pravyy Sektor has a number of Jews in their ranks. The main conclusion I've come to is that they view the aforementioned symbols as just being a way to insult and piss off the Russians, more than anything. Regardless, the Ukrainian far right has consistently done horrible at the ballot box. In 2019, when they presented a united front, they got 2.15% of the vote. The height of their popularity was during the reign of Yanukovych, whose pro-Russian policies sparked nationalist backlash. Even then, Svoboda only got 10% of the vote. It should also be noted that the Party of Regions deliberately promoted Svoboda and gave them TV time, as they made for a convenient sparring partner. I'd also point out that the people who complain about Ukrainian ultranationalist formations ignore the fact that a ton of far right formations have been fighting for Russia in the Donbas for a decade (Sparta, Rusich, Wagner, Russian Imperial Legion, etc.), and the fact that Russia supports most of Europe's neo-Nazi parties, the leadership of whom came to "observe" the referendums during the annexation of Crimea. For both Russia and Ukraine nazi symbols are generally anti-communist symbols and have little or nothing to do with antisemitism. To them, WWII was not about the holocaust or the Jews, as this was just some minor sideshow to them (more Russian/Ukrainian POW's starved to death in the war than Jews died in camps). Basically somewhat similar to the Confederate flag in the USA. 0.00% of folks flying a rebel flag want to own any slaves (or be around black people). Yes, the narrative that was promoted by the Russians after WW2 is relevant here. They highlighted the anti-Soviet, anti-Slavic, and, especially, the anti-Russian elements of Nazi ideology, while downplaying the anti-Semitic ones. The Russians portrayed themselves as being the least likely to collaborate and the most likely to resist the Nazis, in spite of the fact that this wasn't true at all. We now know that, save for the Volksdeutsch (who unsurprisingly collaborated the most) and the Belarusians (who collaborated a little less), there was no particular correlation between nationality and collaboration. Ukraine was also occupied in its entirety by the Nazis for far longer than the 5-10% of Soviet Russia that the Nazis occupied, and millions of Ukrainians were murdered and worked to death by the Nazis. Nevertheless, this hasn't stopped the Russians from portraying themselves as resistors and the Ukrainians as collaborators. All you need to do to understand the Russian view on Nazism is watch the Putin-Carlson interview, in which Putin blames Poland for provoking the Nazis. It was never really about Slavic pain, let alone Soviet pain as a whole. No, it was always about remembering Russian pain and struggle above all else. Jews in the USSR used to get punished for remembering that their family members were murdered at Babi Yar. It’s probably also memory-holing aspects that are too uncomfortable for them. Violent antisemitism is EXTREMELY common and long-lived in Russia. They probably don’t want to acknowledge this as a point of commonality with the Nazis. |
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Posted: 3/7/2024 2:51:42 AM EDT
[#10]
Quote HistoryQuote HistoryI had a guy try to argue with me on Reddit whether HIMARS had done the level of damage we know it has done. I sent him the video with piles of mobiks killed where they stood next to their convoy and left it at that. |
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Posted: 3/7/2024 2:54:11 AM EDT
[Last Edit: Capta]
[#11]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Lieh-tzu: Nyet, comrade. Stalin was a great leader who broke a few eggs, but made the greatest omelet in world history. No nation was ever greater or stronger than Russia. This is Russia's rightful place; most powerful among nations. Traitors who allowed USSR to break apart can never be forgiven for betraying the Russian nation and people. Putin alone has brought Russia back to primacy in the world, reclaiming Russia's rightful place. By reclaiming our lands, Russia will once again become the most powerful nation, overthrowing greedy, immoral, disgusting capitalist whores, America. It is not just our land we fight for; it is to give all our children a future where Russia is the greatest. Glory to Russia! Glory to Putin! Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Lieh-tzu: Originally Posted By Jaehaerys: Originally Posted By Lieh-tzu: They fight because there are Nazis on their land. They must defeat and drive out the Nazis, just like their grandfathers, to save their homeland from hostile foreign forces. Let's think about it this way: If you're a Russian, what exactly do you have to be proud of in the last century or so? You got your asses kicked so bad in WW1 that communism looked appealing. You then fought a bloody civil war. You then had to deal with Stalin, who executed, imprisoned, and starved millions of you. You then lived under a corrupt kleptocracy that eventually collapsed under the moral bankruptcy. Oh, yeah, and you beat the Nazis. Notwithstanding the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and the fact that non-Russians did a good share of the dying in the Red Army, that's one of the very few things Russians can look back positively on. The rhetoric surrounding Nazis and the Great Patriotic War is Putin tapping into that. Nyet, comrade. Stalin was a great leader who broke a few eggs, but made the greatest omelet in world history. No nation was ever greater or stronger than Russia. This is Russia's rightful place; most powerful among nations. Traitors who allowed USSR to break apart can never be forgiven for betraying the Russian nation and people. Putin alone has brought Russia back to primacy in the world, reclaiming Russia's rightful place. By reclaiming our lands, Russia will once again become the most powerful nation, overthrowing greedy, immoral, disgusting capitalist whores, America. It is not just our land we fight for; it is to give all our children a future where Russia is the greatest. Glory to Russia! Glory to Putin! You’re making some GD lurkers hard, dude. Quit it. |
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Posted: 3/7/2024 3:03:47 AM EDT
[Last Edit: Jaehaerys]
[#12]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Capta: It’s probably also memory-holing aspects that are too uncomfortable for them. Violent antisemitism is EXTREMELY common and long-lived in Russia. They probably don’t want to acknowledge this as a point of commonality with the Nazis. Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Capta: Originally Posted By Jaehaerys: Originally Posted By ITCHY-FINGER: Originally Posted By Jaehaerys: The subject of Azov, Pravyy Sektor, and other Ukrainian ultranationalist formations is a complicated one. They use some symbolism that has some questionable meanings, such as Wolfsangels, Sonnenrads, and even just UPA flags. That being said, they aren't invading other countries and ethnically cleansing their populations. Additionally, Azov garrisoned Mariupol for eight years, and there wasn't a single anti-Semitic attack or hate crime in general linked to members of the regiment. Both Azov and Pravyy Sektor posses a number of Russian speakers, and I know Pravyy Sektor has a number of Jews in their ranks. The main conclusion I've come to is that they view the aforementioned symbols as just being a way to insult and piss off the Russians, more than anything. Regardless, the Ukrainian far right has consistently done horrible at the ballot box. In 2019, when they presented a united front, they got 2.15% of the vote. The height of their popularity was during the reign of Yanukovych, whose pro-Russian policies sparked nationalist backlash. Even then, Svoboda only got 10% of the vote. It should also be noted that the Party of Regions deliberately promoted Svoboda and gave them TV time, as they made for a convenient sparring partner. I'd also point out that the people who complain about Ukrainian ultranationalist formations ignore the fact that a ton of far right formations have been fighting for Russia in the Donbas for a decade (Sparta, Rusich, Wagner, Russian Imperial Legion, etc.), and the fact that Russia supports most of Europe's neo-Nazi parties, the leadership of whom came to "observe" the referendums during the annexation of Crimea. For both Russia and Ukraine nazi symbols are generally anti-communist symbols and have little or nothing to do with antisemitism. To them, WWII was not about the holocaust or the Jews, as this was just some minor sideshow to them (more Russian/Ukrainian POW's starved to death in the war than Jews died in camps). Basically somewhat similar to the Confederate flag in the USA. 0.00% of folks flying a rebel flag want to own any slaves (or be around black people). Yes, the narrative that was promoted by the Russians after WW2 is relevant here. They highlighted the anti-Soviet, anti-Slavic, and, especially, the anti-Russian elements of Nazi ideology, while downplaying the anti-Semitic ones. The Russians portrayed themselves as being the least likely to collaborate and the most likely to resist the Nazis, in spite of the fact that this wasn't true at all. We now know that, save for the Volksdeutsch (who unsurprisingly collaborated the most) and the Belarusians (who collaborated a little less), there was no particular correlation between nationality and collaboration. Ukraine was also occupied in its entirety by the Nazis for far longer than the 5-10% of Soviet Russia that the Nazis occupied, and millions of Ukrainians were murdered and worked to death by the Nazis. Nevertheless, this hasn't stopped the Russians from portraying themselves as resistors and the Ukrainians as collaborators. All you need to do to understand the Russian view on Nazism is watch the Putin-Carlson interview, in which Putin blames Poland for provoking the Nazis. It was never really about Slavic pain, let alone Soviet pain as a whole. No, it was always about remembering Russian pain and struggle above all else. Jews in the USSR used to get punished for remembering that their family members were murdered at Babi Yar. It’s probably also memory-holing aspects that are too uncomfortable for them. Violent antisemitism is EXTREMELY common and long-lived in Russia. They probably don’t want to acknowledge this as a point of commonality with the Nazis. For sure. Anti-Semitism has always been a key part of Russian nationalism. White Russian factions carried out pogroms against Jews, and Deniken and other White Russian leaders were convinced that the Revolution was a Jewish coup (not so fun fact: they spread this idea to the Nazis, which aided them in creating their conception of Judeo-Bolshevism). Stalin fanned the flames of anti-Semitism as a means to combat Trotsky and Zinoviev, and he was also planning a large scale operation against the Jews prior to his death. During the Brezhnev era, anti-Semitism was pretty much essentially state sponsored in the USSR, under the guise of 'anti-Zionism.' There's also the fact that examining Nazi Germany and its authoritarianism too closely would've been potentially dangerous from the perspective of the USSR, because that could lead to questions about Soviet crimes and authoritarianism. |
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USA
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Posted: 3/7/2024 3:27:46 AM EDT
[Last Edit: ar-jedi]
[#14]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By voyager3: In a high quality industrial setting this is probably true. For a hobbyist with a soldering iron the lead-free solder is harder to solder right and harder to unsolder. Thankfully, you can still buy leaded solder. The smaller margin for error probably means that in a less than perfect industrial line the chance of making compromised solder joints with lead-free solder is greater. the quality of the pcb plays a HUGE factor in hobbyist benchtop solder rework; those inexpensive quick-turn boards from the likes of pcbway and jlcpcb do not take kindly to ham-fisted DIY antics with a solder iron. boards from shennan, somacis, daeduck, sanmina, etc all are far tougher and absorb a lot more abuse. moreover, successful smt rework in general requires a larger array of tools than most DIYers can afford; as an example, a good hot air rework station uncomplicates a lot of things, as does a quality bench-mounted stereoscope for pre-inspection, site prep work, rework, and post-inspection. ETA ceramic caps cause more problems than soldering. and by "ceramic caps", i mean both the quality of the raw components and the application failure rate due to multiple aspects of manufacturing, transport, and operating environment. good reading https://nepp.nasa.gov/files/29931/NEPP-BOK-2018-Teverovsky-Paper-NEPPWeb-BOK-Cracking-MLCC-TN65668.pdf as well as technical notes such as https://www.vishay.com/docs/45034/soldrecsmmlccs.pdf wherein: 6. Soldering with a Solder Iron Attachment by soldering iron is not recommended. A heat shock may cause a crack in the MLCC chip capacitors, however, if solder iron is used, the following precautions should be taken: A. Preheat the chip capacitor to +150 °C minimum. Use hot plate or hot air flow for preheat. B. Use a low wattage, temperature controlled iron. C. Tip temperature setting ≤ 280 °C and a maximum soldering time of 5 s. D. Use a soldering tip no greater than 0.120" (3.0 mm) in diameter. Apply the transmission of heat through the soldering material. E. When removal of chip capacitor is necessary, a hot air pencil is the preferred tool. |
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Posted: 3/7/2024 3:44:37 AM EDT
[#15]
Hello friends!
 Shall we try to raise money for the boys' laptops? PANASONIC is protected from weather and burglary! are in service with the US and Israeli armies. With all expenses, it will cost about 20,000 UAH. or 500 USD We can do it!  Pay Pal: [email protected] We have crypto wallet also We look forward to your help very, very, very much  https://prom.ua/ua/p91408137-noutbuk-panasonic-toughbook.html?utm_source=google_pmax&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=pmax&utm_campaign=Pmax_cpa_noutbuki_5297199152&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAxaCvBhBaEiwAvsLmWJ-NHh-N2ZaIvUWzz2ct-v4f0WwwRurgoltazIP6Q4WazifzPAezuhoC5YMQAvD_BwE  Attached File
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Posted: 3/7/2024 3:57:07 AM EDT
[#16]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Fund_GARISSON: Hello friends! Shall we try to raise money for the boys' laptops? PANASONIC is protected from weather and burglary! are in service with the US and Israeli armies. With all expenses, it will cost about 20,000 UAH. or 500 USD We can do it! Pay Pal: [email protected] We have crypto wallet also We look forward to your help very, very, very much https://prom.ua/ua/p91408137-noutbuk-panasonic-toughbook.html?utm_source=google_pmax&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=pmax&utm_campaign=Pmax_cpa_noutbuki_5297199152&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAxaCvBhBaEiwAvsLmWJ-NHh-N2ZaIvUWzz2ct-v4f0WwwRurgoltazIP6Q4WazifzPAezuhoC5YMQAvD_BwE https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/584249/images_jpg-3151732.JPG I’d like to but I’m tapped out right now. |
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USA
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Posted: 3/7/2024 5:16:48 AM EDT
[#17]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Lieh-tzu: It's the same old story. Twitter restricts certain content from users who are not logged-in users. With the end of Nitter, we now have no way to access such content. Oh well. Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Lieh-tzu: Originally Posted By AlmightyTallest: Try this one. https://x.com/Aerobomber_UA/status/1763854508147315135 It might be you aren't logged into Twitter. It's the same old story. Twitter restricts certain content from users who are not logged-in users. With the end of Nitter, we now have no way to access such content. Oh well. Nitter is gone? Damn... Just make a Gmail account and you have a Twitter login. 
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Posted: 3/7/2024 6:11:56 AM EDT
[#18]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Lieh-tzu: Nyet, comrade. Stalin was a great leader who broke a few eggs, but made the greatest omelet in world history. No nation was ever greater or stronger than Russia. This is Russia's rightful place; most powerful among nations. Traitors who allowed USSR to break apart can never be forgiven for betraying the Russian nation and people. Putin alone has brought Russia back to primacy in the world, reclaiming Russia's rightful place. By reclaiming our lands, Russia will once again become the most powerful nation, overthrowing greedy, immoral, disgusting capitalist whores, America. It is not just our land we fight for; it is to give all our children a future where Russia is the greatest. Glory to Russia! Glory to Putin! Recently I’ve also seen “reunification of the Ukrainian and Russian people” as a stated objective. People are a resource. And while an unacceptable number of them may be nazis, there are solutions for that. |
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Posted: 3/7/2024 6:29:06 AM EDT
[Last Edit: Prime]
[#19]
Many, many pictures at the link.
The fate of the exchange fund: how Russian prisoners live and what they do in Ukraine An exclusive report from a Russian prisoner of war camp Denis Popovych Thursday, March 7, 2024, 08:05  All these people came to Ukraine to rob and kill Ukrainians, destroy our houses, rape our women and steal our children. But here it is no longer the "second army of the world". Moreover, it is not an army at all. It is a crowd of gloomy and very docile men of all ages, dressed in identical blue robes. Among them are both Slavs and residents of the "national republics" of Russia; Yakutia, Tuva, the Far East, Sakhalin, St. Petersburg and Pskov; Orthodox and Muslims; convicts from Russian penal colonies and ordinary mobilized. All of these are Russian prisoners of war who are in a special camp somewhere in the west of our country. "Apostrophe" got acquainted with the conditions of their detention . Before the large-scale Russian invasion, this camp was an institution that housed convicts who had committed minor crimes. However, as Petro Yatsenko, a representative of the Coordinating Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, said, after the start of the Great War, Ukrainian prisoners were transferred to other places of imprisonment, and the colony was repurposed to house Russian prisoners. The staff of the camp are employees of the State Department for the Execution of Punishments, who have undergone special legal training related to the study of normative acts regarding the observance of the rights of prisoners of war. By the way, the Geneva Convention is revered here. On the walls of some buildings of the camp hang boards with excerpts from international documents (in Russian - so that each of the local "sydelians" could read them), which spell out the rights of prisoners of war - what they can count on and what cannot be done to them. According to Petro Yatsenko, some representatives of the "Wagner" PMC, who were recruited from Russian penal colonies and exchanged on the eve of Prigozhin's rebellion, called the conditions in Ukraine a "tourist trip." No one says how many prisoners of war there are. As Petro Yatsenko noted - "enough". They say there is another similar camp also somewhere west of Kyiv. Prisoners are brought here to the west of Ukraine in batches of 20, 30, 50 people from different areas of the front. Some of them have been waiting for exchange for several months, and some have been sitting here for well over a year. First, each new arrival undergoes an initial examination. At least to understand their physical condition. By the way, there are many wounded. Walking around the camp, I saw Russians with amputated limbs, on carts, on crutches, with shrapnel wounds and the effects of frostbite. Such people are placed in a hospital here. During the initial inspection, their military uniforms are taken from the prisoners, washed, disinfected and stored in a special room in bags. Each bag has the name and surname of the owner. He will get his property back when he gets out of here after the exchange. For now, he is given the same blue coat, shoes, personal hygiene items, some other clothes and placed in a two-week quarantine. Quarantine is not medical isolation, psychologists simply talk with the prisoner to understand what to expect from him and what kind of work he is capable of doing. The people here, as mentioned above, are not simple. There were "Wagnerians", there are ex-convicts from "Storm Z", who were serving sentences for serious crimes committed on the territory of the Russian Federation. And suddenly the guy is aggressive and needs special attention. By the way, some characters from the Russian camps tried to establish the prison rules they were used to here, but the local staff quickly stopped these intentions. After passing the perimeter, I saw a building with a large map of Ukraine in 1991 - a very correct reminder, as well as a corridor for lining up - an equally instructive place. Here, prisoners of war are lined up and sent to work, as well as for breakfast, lunch and dinner. This corridor is notable for the fact that one of its sides is decorated with portraits of various Ukrainian hetmans, and the other with portraits of political figures of recent Ukrainian history, including Stepan Bandera, Roman Shukhevych, and Yevhen Konovalts. However, it is pointless to even "reboot" some characters. Russian propaganda brewed such a cool porridge in their brains that, looking at the portrait of Stepan Bandera, they claimed that in front of them was a young Vladimir Putin. The life of prisoners of war in the camp is subject to a clear schedule. Ascent is always at 6 a.m., departure is always at 10 p.m. Everyone should have uninterrupted sleep, which, however, can be interrupted by an air alarm, for example, due to a massive night missile attack. Then the prisoners of war must be taken to the bomb shelter - such are the security requirements. The same should be done if the alarm is announced due to MiG-31 flights. Our visit was not interrupted by alarms, but the officers of the camp staff told us that in these cases, columns of prisoners descend en masse to the storage. The wounded limp on crutches, roll in wheelchairs, some who are unable to move on their own are carried on stretchers by their comrades. A strange sight. The cause of these air alarms is perceived by the Russians in a very peculiar way. "At least they hit us once," some of them say. The schedule of weekdays and weekends differs in that prisoners of war must work on weekdays (we were in the camp on Thursday). What exactly they do here - I was shown later. But both on weekdays and on weekends, prisoners of war are provided with personal time, the opportunity to send religious needs, visit the library, watch TV programs and contact relatives. To put it mildly, to sneeze at the denazification soldiers. For almost two years of the existence of the camp, none of the Russian relatives managed to visit their husbands and sons, even despite the existence of special programs... However, it seems that there was one of the women, but this is rather an exception to the rules. Basically, relatives say something like this: "We see that you are in good conditions and everything." True, they can (and some do) help their men with money, which is transferred to a special account opened for each prisoner of war. The salary that the Russians receive for performing work in the camp also drips in there - about 10 hryvnias per day. With this money, they can buy some goods that are sold in a special shop set up on the territory. Here you can buy coffee, tea, water, cigarettes, sweets, office supplies, socks, underwear, wristwatches and even different types of sausage. Up to 10,000 hryvnias are spent on the maintenance of each prisoner of war every month . They come from the state budget. As you have already managed to understand, each of the Russians gets their hands on a very small part of these funds, and even then they still need to be earned. The rest of the money goes to related expenses, which are one way or another related to their maintenance. But we digress. As I already said, on weekdays the rooms for sleeping and rest were empty. In the sitting room, I saw a large television set on the wall, and under it a stack of New Testaments and a book about the afterlife. There is also a kitchen with a refrigerator, which was filled with various food, and a game room. Chess and backgammon are on the tables. The backgammon is made very skillfully and probably by hand. A lion is skillfully engraved on the box Prisoners of war are sleeping in a nearby room. The large hall resembles the barracks of an exemplary military unit. Neatly made beds, each one has a tag with the name and surname of the person sleeping on it. There is a bedside table next to each bed. There are books on some bedside tables. Prisoners of war have different literary tastes. Here is a book called "Petro the First", here is a Bible, here is a detective by Daria Dontsova, "A Frog with a Wallet", and here is someone smart interested in electrical engineering. All this can be taken here in the library. Books are published by one of the prisoners of war (selected as a result of conversations with psychologists during quarantine). There is a lot of literature here. In addition to fiction publications, there are textbooks on algebra and the history of Ukraine. But detective stories, sports books, as well as the Bible and publications on religious topics are particularly popular. In the hospital for the wounded, you can already talk to the first prisoners of war who are being treated here. They even have a dental office and medical equipment at their service, which you won't find in every central district hospital. It's just not possible to cling to prisoners of war with questioning. If you want to chat, be sure to ask their permission. If you were refused, you must respect this refusal, and if you were allowed, it is highly desirable to record this permission in some way. But most are not against communication. Here is a relatively new "passenger", 30-year-old Dmitry from Pskov. He did not have a military career from the beginning. After a month's training, which consisted, in particular, of digging dugouts, he was thrown into battle, which ended with his capture on January 21, somewhere in the Luhansk region. "We were sent to storm the positions of the Armed Forces, that's how I got captured," said the Russian, lying on the bed and wrapped in a blanket so that only his hands and greenish face with small whiskers were visible. - Why did you come here at all? Earn money? - Yes, - answered Dmytro. - And they promised you a lot? - 190 thousand rubles per month. - Did you manage to get it? - No, only lifts, - said Dmytro. The first and last "salary" was issued to him in the form of shrapnel wounds and frostbitten limbs - currently Ukrainian doctors are restoring them. There are also wounded outside, probably those who were allowed to walk due to their health. Many are crippled. Many have Ilizarov devices on mutilated limbs. Some sit on benches, some just stand by the walls, leaning on crutches or sitting in wheelchairs. Seeing the journalists, they fell silent.  This is 28-year-old Oleksandr from Sakhalin. He can only stand on crutches. He was captured on September 23 last year, about six months after he joined the service under a contract for 195,000 rubles a month. - And I worked as a loader in a store and felt great. I wasn't going to join the army, Oleksandr says willingly. - But no one asked me. A summons came and they took it away. - That is, how they took it, - I am surprised. - Your partial mobilization was supposed to end on November 4, 2022. Putin talked about it. Oleksandr shrugged, making it clear that despite Putin's public assurances, mobilization in places like Sakhalin continued into 2023. Moreover, the former porter was not particularly stressed by combat and special training - immediately after the Military Commissariat, the boy was provided with a rifle and sent straight to the front, where he was eventually captured near Avdiivka...  During further communication with the prisoners of war, I became convinced that we do not always correctly imagine the situation with the Russian mobilization. For example, in Ukraine, for some reason, it is believed that recruits for the army are mainly somewhere in the Russian hinterland, in the same Pskov or Sakhalin, but nobody is touched in Moscow or St. Petersburg. The fate of 25-year-old Oleksandr from St. Petersburg refutes this stereotype. He was taken on October 6, 2022, in the midst of an "official" partial mobilization. For a month, they were driven through the training ground, and then pushed near Kreminna (it was quite "hot" there in the fall of 2022), and then near Kurdyumivka on the even "tougher" Bakhmutskyi direction. From near Kurdyumivka, after a year of service, he moved to much safer conditions for life and health in a Ukrainian prisoner of war camp.  Conversations with some of the prisoners of war can burn a certain number of nerve cells. Here is a 20-year-old boy, Kyrylo. He got into the unit "Storm Z" from the correctional colony #8 somewhere in the Far East. There he was serving a sentence for a double murder and robbery. However, recruiters from the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation promised him full rehabilitation for six months of service. Why not go, if you also pay for it. According to Kirill, from 105 to 220 thousand rubles per month. He fought in the Vugledaru area, where, repelling a counterattack by units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, he got surrounded and ended up here. According to Kirill, the procedures in "Storm Z" are no different from the procedures in "regular" Russian units. "Our combatant was a prisoner," the boy notes. - When you return home after the exchange, what will you tell your family about the war? - War is bad. - And only? You attacked us. - We defended our country. - From whom? Did someone attack you? There was no clear answer to this question. The boy, whose fate was much better now than it could have been in the Far Eastern VK-8 or in the trenches near Ugledar, was taken away. Then we were shown the production.  Prisoners also end up here as a result of psychological selection. Specialists find out even the place from which, so to speak, everyone's hands grow. Here we see a workshop for the production of wicker furniture - tables and chairs. Robots are made by many people by hand and are made to order by companies that pay money and place them in different places. Including in correctional institutions and even in a camp for keeping prisoners of war. So, if you buy a wicker chair somewhere, know that it could have been made by a captured Russian soldier.  We walk along the working lines and meet our compatriot, a resident of the Luhansk region, 44-year-old Yevhen. He was captured as a result of the counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kharkiv region and has been here since the fall of 2022. His wife stayed at home. - Are you waiting for an exchange? - Yeah. He was one of those mobilized in the so-called "corps of the people's militia". He has been sitting here for a year and a half and most likely he will stay until the end of the war. The Russians do not need these for exchange. The same Kirill from "Storm Z" has a much better chance of getting home. By the way, there are also those mobilized from the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Life has taught some people almost nothing. One of the residents of the Donetsk region said that he was forced to surrender because he was left without ammunition, and the soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were already going to throw grenades at him. "I was defending my land!", - confidently, in spite of everything, he claimed... Time to have lunch. A column of prisoners of war lined up in the same small corridor, timidly pressing their heads into their shoulders under the stern gaze of Stepan Bandera, who looked at them either from a portrait or from heaven. With their hands folded behind their backs and hunched over, they stomped into the dining room to wash their hands and eat. Prisoners of war cook for themselves (again, the result of psychological selection). They even have their own bakery here. This time, borscht, millet porridge with natural meat cutlet and salad were served for lunch. Fish and potatoes were expected for dinner. I tasted the food. The portion is solid and filling. Of course, it's not a Kyiv restaurant, it wouldn't hurt to salt the borscht, but there's nothing to spoil those who came to conquer your country. They say that every second person here (who is not injured and not being treated) is overweight. And here I will put an end to my story. In order not to anger the reader, who, having reached this place, will probably ask - why the enemies who came here to rob and kill, eat from the belly for our money and also receive medical care, which you will not find in every district center. Not to mention the condition in which our boys return from Russian torture camps. Not to mention how many of our prisoners were shot in general... The questions are valid. But war has customs and rules. And if we violate them by responding to Russian prisoners of war with the same coin, then how will we differ from our enemies? We need anything to bring home our boys who were captured by the Russians. And we need to show that we are a humane European country that still needs to be helped. After all, good must always win over evil. https://apostrophe.ua/ua/article/society/2024-03-07/sudba-obmennogo-fonda-kak-jivut-i-chem-zanimayutsya-v-ukraine-plennyie-russkie/56878 |
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USA
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Posted: 3/7/2024 6:31:56 AM EDT
[Last Edit: 4xGM300m]
[#20]
 Field upgrade of the T-72B3. Some such upgrades may look strange, for example, installed on the sides and rear of the turret UKBTM patented boxes block the commander's view. But for a vehicle that does not go on direct aiming it is not critical. The already traditional elimination of holes on the Kontakt-5, the factory mede cope cage and the "Lesochek" ECM redesigned against drones completes the picture. 
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USA
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Posted: 3/7/2024 6:47:48 AM EDT
[Last Edit: 4xGM300m]
[#21]
    As a result of two ATGM missiles hitting a Ukrainian M2A2 ODS-SA "Bradley" infantry fighting vehicle in the Avdiivka direction One of the missiles hit the onboard ARAT dynamic protection units, which completely contained the attack. The other only caught the blocks on the machine's turret. The infantry fighting vehicle remained on the move, none of the crew members were injured Bradley repost. Am I the only one who thinks something isn't right about these pictures respectively the description?  |
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Posted: 3/7/2024 6:49:27 AM EDT
[#22]
Zelensky’s nightly address went on as usual, and notably, did not mention the assassination attempt.
Today - in Odessa. Meeting with the Prime Minister of Greece. The main issue at the talks with the Prime Minister of Greece was, of course, our defense, our capabilities in active actions and defense. Air defense is an absolute priority. As in negotiations with other partners. There are enough air defense systems and the ability to produce weapons for defense in the world. Weapons are needed here to save people's lives. Solutions are needed now – not someday, but for the people who endure terrorist attacks every day and every night. Thank you to everyone who fights for our people and country. Thank you to everyone who works for Ukraine and in Ukraine. Thank you to Odesa - to everyone who protects our Odesa, who protects the city, to everyone who works in the city and provides jobs for people. Thanks to everyone in the world who helps! We will definitely persevere. And we will protect normal life. https://t.me/V_Zelenskiy_official/9693 |
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Posted: 3/7/2024 6:55:24 AM EDT
[Last Edit: Prime]
[#23]
In Kazan, the Higher Tank Command School on the Orenburg Highway caught fire.
According to “Baza”, barracks are burning on the territory of the school, the fire is spreading to the roof. The fire was assigned a fire rank of 2. Firefighters are on the scene https://t.me/groupzarya/48719 Video Fire in a tank school on the Orenburg highway in Kazan. Previously, the barracks storeroom is on fire. https://t.me/mash_iptash/6422 The Higher Tank Command School is on fire on the Orenburg Highway in Kazan. This was reported by the Baza telegram channel. “In Kazan, the Higher Tank Command School on the Orenburg Highway is burning,” the material says. It is noted that the barracks are on fire. The fire was assigned a fire rank of 2. Special services are working on the spot. Telegram channel 112 writes that the fire occurred in a room on the second floor. https://ura.news/news/1052741048 Firefighters do not have enough water to extinguish the tank school on the Orenburg highway - they ask Vodokanal to increase the pressure. The fire was localized, the area was 140 square meters: 120 on the roof, 20 in the barracks storeroom. People were evacuated from the building. https://t.me/mash_iptash/6424 Small fire, probably out or controlled already, but clearly as the Ukrainian TG channels like to say….”concerning”. |
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Posted: 3/7/2024 7:03:52 AM EDT
[#24]
Interesting breakdown of the tracer-laden Kunikov footage that was posted recently.
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Posted: 3/7/2024 7:17:35 AM EDT
[#25]
Residents of Cherepovets report an explosion in the area of the local metallurgical plant. He was early in the morning. It is possible that there was a UAV attack
https://t.me/vchkogpu/46400 Severstal, which owns the plant in Cherepovets, insists that "in the morning, a technological incident occurred in the blast furnace production. There were no injuries. One of the units was taken out for previously planned repairs" Local residents talk about the sound of a powerful explosion. https://t.me/vchkogpu/46401 |
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Posted: 3/7/2024 7:18:13 AM EDT
[#26]
As part of Putin's election campaign, the governor of the Lipetsk region, Artamonov, intimidates residents of the districts ... with Putin's anger. At meetings with the population in the Terbunsky, Volovsky districts and in the Stanovlyansky district, the head of the executive branch said that if voters do not show a high turnout and the maximum level of support for the current president, then subsidies and subsidies from the federal budget will be reduced in the Lipetsk region. The consequence of this will be a reduction in municipal development programs.
Similar things were said at meetings in the new microdistricts of Lipetsk, where the population’s dissatisfaction with transport problems, poor amenities and utility problems is evident. https://t.me/vchkogpu/46407 |
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Posted: 3/7/2024 7:26:36 AM EDT
[#27]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Saltwater-Hillbilly: Also happens with the rubber- and petroleum-based stuff in a lot of places. It isn't the jacketing or the taste, the like gnawing on wire because it feels good. Decades ago ma bell used power cable with fabric outer jacketing, the fabric was treated with rat poison, they still chewed it, and you would find dead rats in the battery room. |
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Posted: 3/7/2024 7:31:49 AM EDT
[#28]
~0500ET
⚠️The enemy launched an Kh-31P missile over Odeshchyna. The missile lost its combat capability near the coast - OVA https://t.me/povitryanatrivogaaa/80657 |
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Posted: 3/7/2024 7:51:18 AM EDT
[#29]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Capta: Collaborator who organized the Russian “referendum” in Zaporhizhia reported by Ukraine to be liquidated. #GUInforms ❌ Svitlana Samoilenko, the organizer of Putin's pseudo-elections, was liquidated in Berdyansk 👉 GUR of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine informs - on March 6, 2024, in the temporarily occupied Berdyansk, a collaborator of Samoilenko Svitlana Volodymyrivna, who organized Putin's pseudo-elections in the occupied territories of the Zaporizhia region, was liquidated. 🤝 After the enslavement of the city in 2022, the woman voluntarily went to cooperate with Muscovites and received a place in the Russian occupation administration. ✔️ The so-called military commandant of Berdyansk, Colonel Bardin of the Russian Federation, "appointed" Svitlana Samoilenko to the position of "deputy mayor for economy, agriculture and finance". ☝️ The woman's husband and adult son also serve the Russian occupiers. ❗️ Due to the fact of the cooperation of Svitlana Samoilenko with the Russian army of occupation, the law enforcement agencies of Ukraine opened criminal proceedings under Part 5 of Article 111-1 of the Criminal Code. 👤 During the preparations for the pseudo-elections, Putin's Svitlana Samoilenko sought to curry favor with Muscovites: she intimidated and terrorized Berdians, forcing them to participate in illegal fake voting. https://t.me/DIUkraine/3559  ??????????? ?????? ??? ???????? ?? ????? ??? 🫡 On the anniversary of its creation, the International Legion of the Russian Federation calls to its ranks 🦉 Today, March 7, is the anniversary of the creation of the International Legion of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine! 🤝 The Legion united volunteers from more than 50 countries of the world who, after a full-scale invasion, came to the aid of Ukrainians and began to fight with the troops of terrorist Russia. 👥 In the ranks of the GUR unit are experienced fighters, veterans of special operations forces and other military units from the USA, Great Britain, Australia, Denmark, other countries of Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America. ⚔️ The defense of Kyiv, battles in Kharkiv Oblast, Mykolaiv Oblast, Kherson Oblast, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk Oblast - Legion soldiers took part in all hot spots of confrontation with Moscow and continue the brave fight against the enemy. 🔥 Congratulations to the brothers on the anniversary! 💪 We strengthen the fighting brotherhood, continue the battle for the victory of good over evil! 🫡 Glory to the soldiers of the Legion! 🇺🇦 Glory to Ukraine! https://t.me/DIUkraine/3560 |
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Posted: 3/7/2024 8:00:29 AM EDT
[#30]
 Whenever possible, learn from the mistakes of the enemy. What does this photo and this good Russian teach us? That the first aid kit on the back is bullshit. Why? Because you won't use it. And your friend won't help you remove it. Why? Because situations are different. We will analyze one of these, especially since there is an example. This is a typical first-aid kit, which is full in the army, and in the enemy's as well. It can be quickly removed from the armor/RPS, because it is held on fastex and velcro. Just click, pull and it's in your hands. It is convenient to use everything inside. But, of course, if you can reach it. Probably, this already good Russian expected that at any moment his comrade would help her to shoot, because he performs tasks in a group of 5-6 military personnel (who, by the way, are all already good). But the situation was such that all his comrades were already 200 or 300. He decided to run away. Then he received injuries to his legs and the front part of his body, and there was no one around. So there was no chance to escape, because it was simply impossible to reach the first-aid kit. Yes, he could try to remove the plate carrier, and get access to the first aid kit, but it's all time and effort. He did not have time. And it seems that you can remove the plate carrier as well. We used this, so the result is natural. Learn from the enemy's mistakes, not your own! (c) Yurii Gorskyi American infantryman https://t.me/usinfantryman1/16558 |
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USA
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Posted: 3/7/2024 8:07:36 AM EDT
[Last Edit: 4xGM300m]
[#31]
On topic of the chinese AI problem we discussed a few pages ago:
Ex-Google engineer charged with stealing AI secrets A former Google software engineer has been charged by the US with stealing trade secrets about artificial intelligence (AI) while secretly working for two Chinese companies. Linwei Ding, also known as Leon Ding, was indicted in California on four charges and arrested on Wednesday. The Chinese national allegedly stole more than 500 confidential files.  I'm wondering how much they will help Russia with AI and why we haven't seen more chinese weapons in Ukraine. |
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Posted: 3/7/2024 8:50:10 AM EDT
[#32]
Russian cope from what used to be Wagner
Columnist for the American magazine The National Interest Peter Suchiu called Ukraine a “tank graveyard” in light of the destruction of Western armored vehicles provided to Kyiv in the conflict zone. As he noted, “in less than a week, Ukraine saw three M1 Abrams tanks destroyed, reportedly by Russian guided anti-tank missiles.” “Ukraine has become a graveyard of tanks, and whether the US military wants to admit it or not, three M1 Abrams tanks became just new corpses on it. They burned like any other tanks and like thousands of tanks before them,” Suciu emphasized. 😎 https://t.me/rsotmdivision/14328 The creator of PMC Blackwater Erik Prince on the war in Ukraine. We need to end this war, because Ukraine is now demographically collapsing. She is already grinding down the next generation of her living force, which will have nothing to replenish. Ukraine has a shortage of people, and the Western defense resource is ridiculous. In a normal war, the Russian bear cannot be defeated. So let it be better to have an ugly world than such a beautiful war. Freezing hostilities, leveling the front and the acceptance stage. Let them take Crimea, Donetsk and Lugansk, whatever they want. The American taxpayer is not at all obliged to allocate another hundred billion dollars to Ukraine. Moreover, there is corruption there. And especially since there is still no result." https://t.me/rsotmdivision/14336 |
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OK, USA
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Posted: 3/7/2024 8:51:43 AM EDT
[#33]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Jaehaerys: The subject of Azov, Pravyy Sektor, and other Ukrainian ultranationalist formations is a complicated one. They use some symbolism that has some questionable meanings, such as Wolfsangels, Sonnenrads, and even just UPA flags. That being said, they aren't invading other countries and ethnically cleansing their populations. Additionally, Azov garrisoned Mariupol for eight years, and there wasn't a single anti-Semitic attack or hate crime in general linked to members of the regiment. Both Azov and Pravyy Sektor posses a number of Russian speakers, and I know Pravyy Sektor has a number of Jews in their ranks. The main conclusion I've come to is that they view the aforementioned symbols as just being a way to insult and piss off the Russians, more than anything. Regardless, the Ukrainian far right has consistently done horrible at the ballot box. In 2019, when they presented a united front, they got 2.15% of the vote. The height of their popularity was during the reign of Yanukovych, whose pro-Russian policies sparked nationalist backlash. Even then, Svoboda only got 10% of the vote. It should also be noted that the Party of Regions deliberately promoted Svoboda and gave them TV time, as they made for a convenient sparring partner. I'd also point out that the people who complain about Ukrainian ultranationalist formations ignore the fact that a ton of far right formations have been fighting for Russia in the Donbas for a decade (Sparta, Rusich, Wagner, Russian Imperial Legion, etc.), and the fact that Russia supports most of Europe's neo-Nazi parties, the leadership of whom came to "observe" the referendums during the annexation of Crimea. Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Jaehaerys: Originally Posted By fervid_dryfire: Originally Posted By Lieh-tzu: Originally Posted By KaerMorhenResident: There is going to be a lot of hype about the Russian gains in the months ahead, but keep in mind this is their offensive and of course Ukraine gained a lot of territory back in early 2023 when Russia was going into its defensive posture. So, I think it's important to put this stuff in context and that obviously there will be some gains by the Russians, perhaps even one large gain of territory. However, it's one thing to take ground and another thing to hold it as Ukraine is discovering after its 2023 pick-ups. I have to say I'm impressed by the Azov Battalion's performance time and time again. Say what you will about their political beliefs, but that's one Hell of an ground force. I think we may have seen the very first instance of CAS by the Russians (possibly SU-24s) though (I"ll go find the name of the town again where I think it occurred). The Russians are definitely getting slightly better at combined arms and have fairly decent coordination, they're not being push overs right now at all. The Russians are taking, as I think would be expected during an offensive, a fair number of loses. It's a bit vague though what the actual kill ratio is looking like at this point. Interesting point, it appears that some UK and U.S. International Legion voluteers may have been taken prisoner. If so, that's extremely unfortunate and I hope they are treated fairly under the Geneva Convention. Yeah, the nerve of those guys wanting an independent Ukraine so badly they'd fight, kill, and die for it. Fuck that noise, right? I'm sure you're being obtuse on purpose, so I'll just say it outright: I don't care if there is ANY link to Nazism- neo or otherwise- in the Azov battalion; the members of that battalion are *clearly* doing what they are doing because of their fundamental anti-Communist, anti-Russia, pro-Ukraine beliefs...all of which are beliefs that can be held by people who have never been Nazis. The subject of Azov, Pravyy Sektor, and other Ukrainian ultranationalist formations is a complicated one. They use some symbolism that has some questionable meanings, such as Wolfsangels, Sonnenrads, and even just UPA flags. That being said, they aren't invading other countries and ethnically cleansing their populations. Additionally, Azov garrisoned Mariupol for eight years, and there wasn't a single anti-Semitic attack or hate crime in general linked to members of the regiment. Both Azov and Pravyy Sektor posses a number of Russian speakers, and I know Pravyy Sektor has a number of Jews in their ranks. The main conclusion I've come to is that they view the aforementioned symbols as just being a way to insult and piss off the Russians, more than anything. Regardless, the Ukrainian far right has consistently done horrible at the ballot box. In 2019, when they presented a united front, they got 2.15% of the vote. The height of their popularity was during the reign of Yanukovych, whose pro-Russian policies sparked nationalist backlash. Even then, Svoboda only got 10% of the vote. It should also be noted that the Party of Regions deliberately promoted Svoboda and gave them TV time, as they made for a convenient sparring partner. I'd also point out that the people who complain about Ukrainian ultranationalist formations ignore the fact that a ton of far right formations have been fighting for Russia in the Donbas for a decade (Sparta, Rusich, Wagner, Russian Imperial Legion, etc.), and the fact that Russia supports most of Europe's neo-Nazi parties, the leadership of whom came to "observe" the referendums during the annexation of Crimea. I object to you referring to Nazis or Nazi ideology as "far right," but I am in agreement with all else. |
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Posted: 3/7/2024 8:53:50 AM EDT
[#34]
The “Syrsky Line”
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Posted: 3/7/2024 8:56:48 AM EDT
[#35]
Shouvalov
In long-term hostilities, you can always observe a seesaw, when at first one side accumulates strength and holds the defense, so the attackers are exhausted and a return game takes place. When one of the parties runs out of steam, it may not have time to respond within its window of opportunity. There is no desire to harp on the truisms, as it were. I now want to talk about a really important, but unmentioned factor in the current hostilities. The factor is absolutely mirror one for us and for the enemy. There are things in which our and Ukrainian military are similar to the point of indistinguishability, so we will now analyze the bad things using the example of the enemy, pretending that everything is completely different with us. Everyone remembers that rats are the first to escape from a sinking ship. But rats are much more honest than some people. And when the army has problems, the rats are the first to run. In the pre-NWO period there was such a contingent in the DPR army - fifteen thousand strong. As soon as big battles began, they disappeared with lightning speed. But we will move on to the example of the Ukrainian military; it is easier to point to them. At the beginning of the Northern Military District, many officers left the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Rats, a ship - everything is classic. But instead of them, a significant number of those who were ready to fight with us seriously entered the army. Still, in spirit they are no less Russian than we are, so there is nothing particularly surprising. Having gotten rid of the rats, the enemy has actually already modernized and adapted his army. But then there was the black autumn of 2022, the expectation of an enemy counter-offensive and our dark thoughts. And here the rats took revenge, crowding into the enemy’s command niches in numbers sufficient for us. Now we are preparing a strategic offensive. Not the tactical one, which is already underway, but the strategic one, which has not yet happened at all. And I watch with sadness as the rats begin to leave the enemy command ranks. But here, with the expectation of big and easy victories, the situation is somewhat different. The rat factor plays too big a role in this war. And now he can play against us. We can’t talk about it, because rats, of course, are found only among the enemy’s hands, but we don’t have that, never have, and can’t have it. There are no rats, but there is a factor. Did I inadvertently offend anyone? The war rests on the shoulders not of the whole army, but only of a small part of it. Yes, not only in the army this is how things are, this is how everything is arranged everywhere. The closer you are to the front, the higher the percentage of those on whom everything rests, because here you either fight or die. The higher the hats fly above their heads, the more rats appear in command positions. I'm talking about the enemy, don't think anything like that. And the more rats in command positions, the harder it becomes. And the hat, no matter how high you throw it, begins to fly down. Caps fall faster than you can move a noticeable distance. Forbidden to be mentioned, Surovikin did not know how to throw his hats up - he built a defensive line. General Popov also didn’t know how to throw his hat. Yes, many worthy people have not learned this art. Therefore, we are now, like a sponge, saturated with those who throw their hats up higher than others. The enemy had rats, and we had respected hat-throwers. Don't get confused. And it is this understanding that weighs on me most of all. It doesn’t frighten - here it’s already boring and uninteresting to be scared, you just can’t get rid of the feeling of heaviness in your chest. In the meantime, the rats are successfully leaving the enemy ranks. Naturally, they are not running towards us. Well, tell me: why do we need other people’s rats? And the rat factor may again become virtually decisive in future hostilities. On the other hand, if something doesn’t work out for us now (it doesn’t happen here that “something doesn’t work out,” but I’m just in case), then the rats will again rush into the enemy’s command ranks. And we will begin a period of healing for our ranks. In some ways we are similar to the enemy, this must be admitted. https://t.me/shouvalov/194 |
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OK, USA
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Posted: 3/7/2024 9:08:51 AM EDT
[#36]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By AlmightyTallest: The Russian invasion in one image. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GIBsztTXkAAykYA?format=jpg&name=900x900 Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By AlmightyTallest: Originally Posted By iggy1337: Originally Posted By AlmightyTallest: NSFW
WOW  Thanks for that one. cant even fathom why a Russian private doesn't just gtf out of dodge. The Russian invasion in one image. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GIBsztTXkAAykYA?format=jpg&name=900x900 *Every* link I have clicked on so far for that clip, has been a dead page. 
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Posted: 3/7/2024 9:12:11 AM EDT
[#37]
Ref: FIghterBomber’s Kotov video.
And what do we see here? Yes, there is fire from heavy weapons, but the accuracy is low. There is no coordination. How to increase it? Separate watch on the bridge with a UAV: in the event of a threat, the crew informs in advance and reports the situation using warning means. On which side and where do the backs go? Next is the spotlight, which constantly holds its back. Calculations on a PC: they fire tracers at their laser attached to a machine gun at a long distance 0 to 400m, at a direct shot (see table of excesses). Setting up aerosols (smoke) Equipping all small arms with thermal imagers. (Yes, yes, you will have to ask volunteers and people, and they will help without any problems or red tape). Well, yes. If, in order to get to the training ground, a sailor and his commander have to fill out paperwork for a week, then such an approach in modern realities should be called disruptive. People have to shoot a lot. Train a lot. Without red tape and brain fucking. We need training back targets reduced in size by half. Inexpensive, modellers can do it. And most importantly, if they hit it, then they will definitely hit it big. Ship protection is a set of measures where detection plays one of the leading roles. Life in the navy has never been easy, but a sailor’s ingenuity has always overcome all problems and difficulties. Victory loves preparation. So we will win. https://t.me/rustroyka1945/16051 https://t.me/BattleSailor13/7865 |
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Posted: 3/7/2024 9:12:30 AM EDT
[Last Edit: Prime]
[#38]
In connection with the sinking of another ship of the Black Sea Fleet by Ukrainian naval unmanned boats, “Sergey Kotov” decided to express his opinion as an armchair expert on this matter.
Such a development of events was laid down at the very beginning of the Northern Military District in February-March 2022, when it was decided to abandon the suppression of Ukrainian air defense and gaining air supremacy. As a result, this led to the fact that, among other things, we were unable to control the airspace and territory of Ukraine, as well as the surface space of the Black Sea adjacent to the coast of Ukraine, using aviation means of radio engineering, optical and optical-electronic reconnaissance. Although, for the sake of objectivity, it should be admitted that there are practically no such aviation technical reconnaissance equipment left in service with the Russian Aerospace Forces compared to Soviet times. The Russian space group is incapable of this due to its small numbers. Unlike Ukraine, which receives the intelligence information it needs from NATO countries around the clock in a 24x7 mode using NATO space, aviation and other sources, and from a vast territory right up to the Urals. And it is not without reason that as soon as Long-Range Aviation aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces take off from an airfield in the Arctic to launch a cruise missile attack on military targets in Ukraine, the alarm is already declared there. We don’t have anything like this and won’t have anything like it in the coming decades. Therefore, we are not able to timely reveal the production sites of unmanned marine boats, their warehouses, their delivery to the Black Sea shore for launching, subsequent launch of engines and movement to designated targets. As a rule, they can only be detected visually a few kilometers from our ships. Please note that when Ukraine launches maritime drones, the exact location of our ships, located hundreds of kilometers away, is unknown and it cannot enter their coordinates into the on-board computer of the unmanned boat. Moreover, as a rule, they move and maneuver. Ukraine does not have such information, since there are no appropriate detection means. But NATO has such information, which monitors their location around the clock using satellites and has information about their location with an accuracy of several meters. Therefore, after launching and starting the engines, the control of the unmanned boats is taken over by specialists from the NATO satellite constellation, and they then independently issue target designations to the boats, control them along a route of hundreds of kilometers, and launch the boats into the target area with a subsequent attack via video. I do not rule out that for NATO members, attacks on Russian ships in the Black Sea have turned into a kind of computer game, and there may be queues of people wanting to use a joystick to sink a Russian ship. After all, it is impossible to catch them doing this. I consider it unlikely that Ukraine will be involved in attacks on Black Sea Fleet ships using unmanned boats. Full-scale tests of attacks on ships using unmanned boats are extremely useful for NATO specialists as they provide invaluable information on their use and, accordingly, the development of methods to combat them. For example, in the Red Sea with Houthi drones. Therefore, today the Black Sea Fleet has practically no technical capabilities to combat unmanned sea boats. In addition to all-round massive fire from heavy machine guns in all directions. We cannot strike the NATO satellite constellation - this is the third world war. This means we need to look for options to make NATO realize that such “computer games” will not bring them any good. At one time, Khrushchev succeeded in this during the Caribbean crisis. https://t.me/blackcolonel2020/1265 |
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Posted: 3/7/2024 9:13:59 AM EDT
[#39]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Capta: It would just go out of control or come apart. Another alternative which I think has potential is an “awash” or semi-submersible design. Basically designed like a torpedo instead of a boat, for range it runs on the surface, but for the terminal approach it ballasts down and switches over to an O2 tank for the engine. Sea state would impact the performance less, and it would be extremely difficult to shoot them, but visual targeting would get a lot harder. They showed a “tube with a motor” design many months ago, but based on it being electric-only the range would be very short, and it’s probably very slow. Well sure. But you are being practical while I was thinking of only dramatic twitter vids  The semi-sub idea is interesting. Like a U-Boat but tiny and unmanned. I guess all that would need to be out of the water is a periscope/camera for steering along with an antenna. Assuming a combo of ICE for surface and electric engines for sub-surface. Unless they make some snorkel device that works in big waves to avoid complication. Maybe some AI for if/when connection is cut and it just seeks the big floaty thing. I can imagine folks back in 1914 looking at the development of U-Boats, torpedo's, airplanes, etc. and marveling or maybe scoffing unable to imagine the developments 50 years later with nuke-powered subs and jets. |
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Posted: 3/7/2024 9:15:39 AM EDT
[#40]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By fervid_dryfire: *Every* link I have clicked on so far for that clip, has been a dead page. It’s not.  |
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Posted: 3/7/2024 9:18:49 AM EDT
[#41]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Lieh-tzu: Nyet, comrade. Stalin was a great leader who broke a few eggs, but made the greatest omelet in world history. No nation was ever greater or stronger than Russia. This is Russia's rightful place; most powerful among nations. Traitors who allowed USSR to break apart can never be forgiven for betraying the Russian nation and people. Putin alone has brought Russia back to primacy in the world, reclaiming Russia's rightful place. By reclaiming our lands, Russia will once again become the most powerful nation, overthrowing greedy, immoral, disgusting capitalist whores, America. It is not just our land we fight for; it is to give all our children a future where Russia is the greatest. Glory to Russia! Glory to Putin! They are taught in school that Russia won WWII single handed and that the West has stolen most of their tech and copied it. Facts and true history be damned if you dont know about it. Heck, some Norks believe Kim shoots 18 holes-in-one every time he plays golf. The point is they ARE proud and nationalistic and have not been poisoned by woke self-hatred. China probably more so. |
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Posted: 3/7/2024 9:19:23 AM EDT
[#42]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Capta: I’m OK with that, Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Capta: Originally Posted By doc540: Is it ok if you've been taught since a toddler to still believe that killing Communists is a patriotic act? I’m OK with that, I was fed that with mother’s milk. Mom and Dad met in the US Navy and were both WWII Veterans. My Grandma was a John Birch Society member. We had close family friends that were Cuban Revolution refugees. |
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Posted: 3/7/2024 9:23:03 AM EDT
[Last Edit: Prime]
[#43]
 
Notable excerpt-  
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Posted: 3/7/2024 9:30:02 AM EDT
[#44]
Crazy ass combat save coming out Ukraine. No one told us for a year that Gio was wearing our helmet when they got hit by a Kornet.
Thankful that he’s safe and well today, and that he finally reached out to us so we could replace the helmet under warranty for him. We’ve got a couple dozen of these now (that we know about), but this one hit closer to home since Gio was with Yuri, and Yuri has been one of our primary contacts at @FunkerActual throughout the war in Ukraine. In the Instagram post he made, Gio mentioned that the only thing running through his head while he thought he was dying was Romans 8.18, so I’ll leave that here for y’all as a send off. “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” Romans 8.18 (NIV)    
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Posted: 3/7/2024 10:09:28 AM EDT
[#46]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Prime: Many, many pictures at the link. The fate of the exchange fund: how Russian prisoners live and what they do in Ukraine An exclusive report from a Russian prisoner of war camp Denis Popovych Thursday, March 7, 2024, 08:05 https://apostrophe.ua/uploads/image/f5342f88de03225b9159779e4b5212b5.jpg All these people came to Ukraine to rob and kill Ukrainians, destroy our houses, rape our women and steal our children. But here it is no longer the "second army of the world". Moreover, it is not an army at all. It is a crowd of gloomy and very docile men of all ages, dressed in identical blue robes. Among them are both Slavs and residents of the "national republics" of Russia; Yakutia, Tuva, the Far East, Sakhalin, St. Petersburg and Pskov; Orthodox and Muslims; convicts from Russian penal colonies and ordinary mobilized. All of these are Russian prisoners of war who are in a special camp somewhere in the west of our country. "Apostrophe" got acquainted with the conditions of their detention . Before the large-scale Russian invasion, this camp was an institution that housed convicts who had committed minor crimes. However, as Petro Yatsenko, a representative of the Coordinating Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, said, after the start of the Great War, Ukrainian prisoners were transferred to other places of imprisonment, and the colony was repurposed to house Russian prisoners. The staff of the camp are employees of the State Department for the Execution of Punishments, who have undergone special legal training related to the study of normative acts regarding the observance of the rights of prisoners of war. By the way, the Geneva Convention is revered here. On the walls of some buildings of the camp hang boards with excerpts from international documents (in Russian - so that each of the local "sydelians" could read them), which spell out the rights of prisoners of war - what they can count on and what cannot be done to them. According to Petro Yatsenko, some representatives of the "Wagner" PMC, who were recruited from Russian penal colonies and exchanged on the eve of Prigozhin's rebellion, called the conditions in Ukraine a "tourist trip." No one says how many prisoners of war there are. As Petro Yatsenko noted - "enough". They say there is another similar camp also somewhere west of Kyiv. Prisoners are brought here to the west of Ukraine in batches of 20, 30, 50 people from different areas of the front. Some of them have been waiting for exchange for several months, and some have been sitting here for well over a year. First, each new arrival undergoes an initial examination. At least to understand their physical condition. By the way, there are many wounded. Walking around the camp, I saw Russians with amputated limbs, on carts, on crutches, with shrapnel wounds and the effects of frostbite. Such people are placed in a hospital here. During the initial inspection, their military uniforms are taken from the prisoners, washed, disinfected and stored in a special room in bags. Each bag has the name and surname of the owner. He will get his property back when he gets out of here after the exchange. For now, he is given the same blue coat, shoes, personal hygiene items, some other clothes and placed in a two-week quarantine. Quarantine is not medical isolation, psychologists simply talk with the prisoner to understand what to expect from him and what kind of work he is capable of doing. The people here, as mentioned above, are not simple. There were "Wagnerians", there are ex-convicts from "Storm Z", who were serving sentences for serious crimes committed on the territory of the Russian Federation. And suddenly the guy is aggressive and needs special attention. By the way, some characters from the Russian camps tried to establish the prison rules they were used to here, but the local staff quickly stopped these intentions. After passing the perimeter, I saw a building with a large map of Ukraine in 1991 - a very correct reminder, as well as a corridor for lining up - an equally instructive place. Here, prisoners of war are lined up and sent to work, as well as for breakfast, lunch and dinner. This corridor is notable for the fact that one of its sides is decorated with portraits of various Ukrainian hetmans, and the other with portraits of political figures of recent Ukrainian history, including Stepan Bandera, Roman Shukhevych, and Yevhen Konovalts. However, it is pointless to even "reboot" some characters. Russian propaganda brewed such a cool porridge in their brains that, looking at the portrait of Stepan Bandera, they claimed that in front of them was a young Vladimir Putin. The life of prisoners of war in the camp is subject to a clear schedule. Ascent is always at 6 a.m., departure is always at 10 p.m. Everyone should have uninterrupted sleep, which, however, can be interrupted by an air alarm, for example, due to a massive night missile attack. Then the prisoners of war must be taken to the bomb shelter - such are the security requirements. The same should be done if the alarm is announced due to MiG-31 flights. Our visit was not interrupted by alarms, but the officers of the camp staff told us that in these cases, columns of prisoners descend en masse to the storage. The wounded limp on crutches, roll in wheelchairs, some who are unable to move on their own are carried on stretchers by their comrades. A strange sight. The cause of these air alarms is perceived by the Russians in a very peculiar way. "At least they hit us once," some of them say. The schedule of weekdays and weekends differs in that prisoners of war must work on weekdays (we were in the camp on Thursday). What exactly they do here - I was shown later. But both on weekdays and on weekends, prisoners of war are provided with personal time, the opportunity to send religious needs, visit the library, watch TV programs and contact relatives. To put it mildly, to sneeze at the denazification soldiers. For almost two years of the existence of the camp, none of the Russian relatives managed to visit their husbands and sons, even despite the existence of special programs... However, it seems that there was one of the women, but this is rather an exception to the rules. Basically, relatives say something like this: "We see that you are in good conditions and everything." True, they can (and some do) help their men with money, which is transferred to a special account opened for each prisoner of war. The salary that the Russians receive for performing work in the camp also drips in there - about 10 hryvnias per day. With this money, they can buy some goods that are sold in a special shop set up on the territory. Here you can buy coffee, tea, water, cigarettes, sweets, office supplies, socks, underwear, wristwatches and even different types of sausage. Up to 10,000 hryvnias are spent on the maintenance of each prisoner of war every month . They come from the state budget. As you have already managed to understand, each of the Russians gets their hands on a very small part of these funds, and even then they still need to be earned. The rest of the money goes to related expenses, which are one way or another related to their maintenance. But we digress. As I already said, on weekdays the rooms for sleeping and rest were empty. In the sitting room, I saw a large television set on the wall, and under it a stack of New Testaments and a book about the afterlife. There is also a kitchen with a refrigerator, which was filled with various food, and a game room. Chess and backgammon are on the tables. The backgammon is made very skillfully and probably by hand. A lion is skillfully engraved on the box Prisoners of war are sleeping in a nearby room. The large hall resembles the barracks of an exemplary military unit. Neatly made beds, each one has a tag with the name and surname of the person sleeping on it. There is a bedside table next to each bed. There are books on some bedside tables. Prisoners of war have different literary tastes. Here is a book called "Petro the First", here is a Bible, here is a detective by Daria Dontsova, "A Frog with a Wallet", and here is someone smart interested in electrical engineering. All this can be taken here in the library. Books are published by one of the prisoners of war (selected as a result of conversations with psychologists during quarantine). There is a lot of literature here. In addition to fiction publications, there are textbooks on algebra and the history of Ukraine. But detective stories, sports books, as well as the Bible and publications on religious topics are particularly popular. In the hospital for the wounded, you can already talk to the first prisoners of war who are being treated here. They even have a dental office and medical equipment at their service, which you won't find in every central district hospital. It's just not possible to cling to prisoners of war with questioning. If you want to chat, be sure to ask their permission. If you were refused, you must respect this refusal, and if you were allowed, it is highly desirable to record this permission in some way. But most are not against communication. Here is a relatively new "passenger", 30-year-old Dmitry from Pskov. He did not have a military career from the beginning. After a month's training, which consisted, in particular, of digging dugouts, he was thrown into battle, which ended with his capture on January 21, somewhere in the Luhansk region. "We were sent to storm the positions of the Armed Forces, that's how I got captured," said the Russian, lying on the bed and wrapped in a blanket so that only his hands and greenish face with small whiskers were visible. - Why did you come here at all? Earn money? - Yes, - answered Dmytro. - And they promised you a lot? - 190 thousand rubles per month. - Did you manage to get it? - No, only lifts, - said Dmytro. The first and last "salary" was issued to him in the form of shrapnel wounds and frostbitten limbs - currently Ukrainian doctors are restoring them. There are also wounded outside, probably those who were allowed to walk due to their health. Many are crippled. Many have Ilizarov devices on mutilated limbs. Some sit on benches, some just stand by the walls, leaning on crutches or sitting in wheelchairs. Seeing the journalists, they fell silent. https://static.apostrophe.ua/uploads/image/aaae0ea3ce2002546cece57296c591f3.jpg This is 28-year-old Oleksandr from Sakhalin. He can only stand on crutches. He was captured on September 23 last year, about six months after he joined the service under a contract for 195,000 rubles a month. - And I worked as a loader in a store and felt great. I wasn't going to join the army, Oleksandr says willingly. - But no one asked me. A summons came and they took it away. - That is, how they took it, - I am surprised. - Your partial mobilization was supposed to end on November 4, 2022. Putin talked about it. Oleksandr shrugged, making it clear that despite Putin's public assurances, mobilization in places like Sakhalin continued into 2023. Moreover, the former porter was not particularly stressed by combat and special training - immediately after the Military Commissariat, the boy was provided with a rifle and sent straight to the front, where he was eventually captured near Avdiivka... https://static.apostrophe.ua/uploads/image/5a83a112d0876ec7fc42d159799c9526.jpg During further communication with the prisoners of war, I became convinced that we do not always correctly imagine the situation with the Russian mobilization. For example, in Ukraine, for some reason, it is believed that recruits for the army are mainly somewhere in the Russian hinterland, in the same Pskov or Sakhalin, but nobody is touched in Moscow or St. Petersburg. The fate of 25-year-old Oleksandr from St. Petersburg refutes this stereotype. He was taken on October 6, 2022, in the midst of an "official" partial mobilization. For a month, they were driven through the training ground, and then pushed near Kreminna (it was quite "hot" there in the fall of 2022), and then near Kurdyumivka on the even "tougher" Bakhmutskyi direction. From near Kurdyumivka, after a year of service, he moved to much safer conditions for life and health in a Ukrainian prisoner of war camp. https://static.apostrophe.ua/uploads/image/23dea465d3bb17dcfa5938b3b75504dc.jpg Conversations with some of the prisoners of war can burn a certain number of nerve cells. Here is a 20-year-old boy, Kyrylo. He got into the unit "Storm Z" from the correctional colony #8 somewhere in the Far East. There he was serving a sentence for a double murder and robbery. However, recruiters from the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation promised him full rehabilitation for six months of service. Why not go, if you also pay for it. According to Kirill, from 105 to 220 thousand rubles per month. He fought in the Vugledaru area, where, repelling a counterattack by units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, he got surrounded and ended up here. According to Kirill, the procedures in "Storm Z" are no different from the procedures in "regular" Russian units. "Our combatant was a prisoner," the boy notes. - When you return home after the exchange, what will you tell your family about the war? - War is bad. - And only? You attacked us. - We defended our country. - From whom? Did someone attack you? There was no clear answer to this question. The boy, whose fate was much better now than it could have been in the Far Eastern VK-8 or in the trenches near Ugledar, was taken away. Then we were shown the production. https://static.apostrophe.ua/uploads/image/0896fcacbdac8c100445a4bdcb45aab8.jpg Prisoners also end up here as a result of psychological selection. Specialists find out even the place from which, so to speak, everyone's hands grow. Here we see a workshop for the production of wicker furniture - tables and chairs. Robots are made by many people by hand and are made to order by companies that pay money and place them in different places. Including in correctional institutions and even in a camp for keeping prisoners of war. So, if you buy a wicker chair somewhere, know that it could have been made by a captured Russian soldier. https://static.apostrophe.ua/uploads/image/b05ef0a53da7bf965dbd2a38449ce1c1.jpg We walk along the working lines and meet our compatriot, a resident of the Luhansk region, 44-year-old Yevhen. He was captured as a result of the counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kharkiv region and has been here since the fall of 2022. His wife stayed at home. - Are you waiting for an exchange? - Yeah. He was one of those mobilized in the so-called "corps of the people's militia". He has been sitting here for a year and a half and most likely he will stay until the end of the war. The Russians do not need these for exchange. The same Kirill from "Storm Z" has a much better chance of getting home. By the way, there are also those mobilized from the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Life has taught some people almost nothing. One of the residents of the Donetsk region said that he was forced to surrender because he was left without ammunition, and the soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were already going to throw grenades at him. "I was defending my land!", - confidently, in spite of everything, he claimed... Time to have lunch. A column of prisoners of war lined up in the same small corridor, timidly pressing their heads into their shoulders under the stern gaze of Stepan Bandera, who looked at them either from a portrait or from heaven. With their hands folded behind their backs and hunched over, they stomped into the dining room to wash their hands and eat. Prisoners of war cook for themselves (again, the result of psychological selection). They even have their own bakery here. This time, borscht, millet porridge with natural meat cutlet and salad were served for lunch. Fish and potatoes were expected for dinner. I tasted the food. The portion is solid and filling. Of course, it's not a Kyiv restaurant, it wouldn't hurt to salt the borscht, but there's nothing to spoil those who came to conquer your country. They say that every second person here (who is not injured and not being treated) is overweight. And here I will put an end to my story. In order not to anger the reader, who, having reached this place, will probably ask - why the enemies who came here to rob and kill, eat from the belly for our money and also receive medical care, which you will not find in every district center. Not to mention the condition in which our boys return from Russian torture camps. Not to mention how many of our prisoners were shot in general... The questions are valid. But war has customs and rules. And if we violate them by responding to Russian prisoners of war with the same coin, then how will we differ from our enemies? We need anything to bring home our boys who were captured by the Russians. And we need to show that we are a humane European country that still needs to be helped. After all, good must always win over evil. https://apostrophe.ua/ua/article/society/2024-03-07/sudba-obmennogo-fonda-kak-jivut-i-chem-zanimayutsya-v-ukraine-plennyie-russkie/56878 Very interesting. Thanks for taking the time to post this. I was an EPW Camp guard in DS #1 although it was out in the desert and not at a permanent facility like in the article. There were usually 2-3 of us inside an enclosure with around 400 Iraqi EPW. We are unarmed and had to interact with them. We typically had 1 or 2 English speakers that we delegated commands to for the occasional work details etc. They got the same MRE's that we did and 10 cigarettes per person, per day. They were generally very cooperative, compliant, and happy to be there .vs out in the desert being bombed. *One night being bored I asked our terp to bring out there strongest, fittest guy. A few minutes later this guy that looked like Charles Bronson, buy young and fit like a gymnast, shows up. I challenged him to a pushup contest. After demonstrating pushups to him we get started. I grunted out 50 something before coming to rest but not putting knees down. A small crowd had build up on the other side of the wire and they all yelled that I had stopped. Ok whatever. Then Charles Bronson gets to work but gets a few less than me. Handshakes and pats on the back were exchanged along with whatever extra MRE's we had. Things eventually got crazy in the "First Annual Iraqi Olympics" and eventually the command showed up in a HMMV worried about a riot after hearing multiple enclosures erupting in cheers after beating us in barrel races... |
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Posted: 3/7/2024 10:09:35 AM EDT
[#47]
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Posted: 3/7/2024 10:11:27 AM EDT
[#48]
DPICM counterbattery.
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Posted: 3/7/2024 10:12:59 AM EDT
[#49]
1 hr. ago.
 
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Posted: 3/7/2024 10:14:40 AM EDT
[#50]
30 minutes ago.
 
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