I read the Putin assault team is upset about long-range U.S. rockets being delivered to Ukraine. They claim it is adding fuel to the fire. Well...yeah. Ukraine is fighting a fire Russia ignited with a controlled burn courtesy of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
The whole war reminds me so much of the German invasion of Russia back in WWII-and the Russians made damn sure that they had scorched earth all the way to Stalingrad. Even though they suffered tremendously, they endured against the enemy for months without much in the way of supplies or manpower.
They've completely forgotten what it feels like to be the invaded country and instead wish to be the invader. They learned nothing, and those who don't remember the past do indeed repeat it.
It appears that when they've lost they've doubled down so that they look like they're winning, but I bet their soldiers aren't saying the same thing.
Or at least the top military brass think so..according to reports they're very unhappy and they've been trash talking Putin in public. I just wonder how long they'll be allowed to be in the military once he hears about it?
"They've completely forgotten . . ." and/or they completely lack the empathy required to see from another's perspective. Which seems to be characteristic of the authoritarian types in the U.S. too: men who can't empathize with women, white people who can't empathize with people of color, native-born who can't empathize with migrants fleeing violence and/or poverty in their home countries.
You mentioned the 20 percent of Russians killed in action.The numbers of soldiers who were wounded in action tends to be a multiple of those KIA, typically three to five times the numbers of those killed outright. Caring for those wounded takes additional manpower that clogs up supply trains, and further dampens morale. The Russians are well aware that their opponents are being supplied by an aroused NATO that is acting like the Western Allies of the summer and fall of 1944, that they are short on everything, and that they're not the Wehrmacht. The longer they stay, the more they get nibbled to death. Foraging parties get attacked; and the next thing that happens are punitive expeditions that themselves get attacked and eliminated. This will be guerrilla warfare conducted remotely by drones and target-sensing artillery. The scenario will begin to resemble sci-fi movies where aliens attack by stealth without warning. Anything that generates heat or microwave radiation becomes a target for smart munitions guided by infra-red and microwave sensors, and all you need is someone with a smartphone able to transmit targeting coordinates to a remote launch site. Russia does not enjoy air superiority, and they lack experience in coordinating close air support. CAS has been America's, and by extension NATO's ace-in-the-hole since 1944, and what used to be dedicated Forward Air Controllers assigned to forward units can now be almost anybody manning a remote consol. The problem is no longer taking ground, but holding it. Holding ground requires a large and essentially static occupying force. That means exposure to hostile action anywhere and at any time, and complete air supremacy. Everyone is under siege in a general sense, or the target of direct attack. Landline communications can be cut. Anyone or anything that generates microwave energy can now attract beam-riding munitions that can take out whole units on a few minutes notice.
From the beginning of this obscene Russian atrocity I have been puzzled by the number of pundits and commenters who seem to lament Russian incompetence and inability to win territory. “If only the Russians did…” (fill in the blanks). Or, “Why did the Russians do…..” I think we should celebrate everything they’re doing wrong, and not point out their tactical blunders. I realize it can fun to be an armchair general, but it obscures the horrors on the ground being lived by both sides. The Russians are brutal barbarians, have always been, and maybe even more so in this war as its demoralized army realizes they’re losing. Hooray for the brave and smart Ukrainians. Russia deserves an ignominious defeat, and let it be soon.
LBJ's "Hearts and minds" statement springs forth to me. Ukrainians have ample, Russians lack both. All future intercourse shall be biased accordingly, for generations, by astute observers and their offspring.
Using the Ukrainian numbers you cited: 1,300 tanks destroyed and 3,000 APCs destroyed. A Russian tank has a crew of three. A Russian APC carries nine soldiers. That number of vehicles represent 30,900 Russian soldiers either killed, wounded or traumatized.
In his classic “The Visual Display of Quantitative Information”, Edward Tufte uses as an example Charles Minard’s map of Napoleon’s advance into, and retreat from, Russia. It is considered by many to be the finest informational graphic ever created, charting the size and location of the doomed and shrinking army over time, with a parallel chart of temperature — just in case you were wondering how those tattered remnants felt as they slunk back across the freezing steppe to Paris. I wonder if some modern graphic artist can similarly capture the relentless shredding of the Russian army today.
War is a horrible thing. I understand that. But the Russians are barbarians. Nazi equivalent. Americans may have occupied Iraq for some time. That was not all good maybe not good at all but Americans in battle are NOT barbarians. Our military is governed by a strict code of conduct the violation of which is the rare exception
I think you’ve sanitized our military. There were plenty of barbaric things going on. There were noble things to. Depends on so much. This is Putin’s war. Generalizing that the Russians are barbarians may be too broad a stroke and unfair. What is happening in Ukraine is all Putin’s direction. Those soldiers are hostages to the directives of a crazy man.
As noted by Lucian, Putin is calling the shots from Moscow - I would assume from that 25-foot table where no one dares question a word he utters. What else could his military brass expect than ineptness and ignorance from a crazed lunatic with a background in spookery. What does he know of strategy other than sneakery and destruction?
Russia is taking a beating with future military leaders and equipment being destroyed. Excellent result. This will make their military weaker than any time in recent history. How can they every recover? Add to this sanctions- like not insuring any Russian commerce- and you will see that Putins War is the work of a mad man rumored to have cancer or future of lead poisoning from a bullet or two from an Oligarch. An early retirement seems very feasible...
The oligarchs are all laying low after the list of Putin’s thugs assassinations just in 2022 is stunning/ all died suspicious deaths and most on vacation I. Their luxurious villas in other countries. That silenced any uproar... so don’t count on the oligarchs!
30 years from now, in every high school history class and at every university there will be a trove of videos made by ordinary Ukrainians with cell phones that will tell a story of atrocity sadistic violence and barbaric warfare Russian propaganda will never defeat. This war is at the dawn of smart rockets drones and soon enough small handheld devices that even a green grunt can use to coordinate forward movement and safe occupation of territory. Primitive assaults with brute force tanks and shells or rockets will be self-defeating. Vladimir Putin will be remembered as the last gangster to wage indefensible war in Europe.
When Hitler invaded Russia he claimed they were subhuman and needed to be destroyed.
Never forget, when Russians from the far East invaded Germany, they saw some things for the first time...like toilets and forks. Those conscripts have to wonder what they have destroyed and for what purpose.
Did you see the Ukrainian that Nicole Wallace interviews on Deadline Whitehouse describe how conscripts who had camped out in a Ukrainian home drank olive oil, thinking it was wine? He showed pictures of the bottle and the two half full wine glasses. For him, it was a joke. I would imagine a slug of olive oil wasn't all that funny to the conscripts. Probably cleaned them out in more ways than one!
A great analysis. The Russians are angry that Ukraine is getting all this help in the way of weapons and because of the sanctions that have been placed on them. They thought they'd have an easy target and apparently didn't expect the anger and animosity towards them. But they started it, they brought all this upon themselves yet appear to be oblivious to their own wrongdoing and think they are being unfairly hated and despised. never mind the atrocities being committed against civilians as well as the turning their villages and towns into rubble as so well described by Lucian..
I read the Putin assault team is upset about long-range U.S. rockets being delivered to Ukraine. They claim it is adding fuel to the fire. Well...yeah. Ukraine is fighting a fire Russia ignited with a controlled burn courtesy of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
I hope the Ukrainians include a salutation.
The whole war reminds me so much of the German invasion of Russia back in WWII-and the Russians made damn sure that they had scorched earth all the way to Stalingrad. Even though they suffered tremendously, they endured against the enemy for months without much in the way of supplies or manpower.
They've completely forgotten what it feels like to be the invaded country and instead wish to be the invader. They learned nothing, and those who don't remember the past do indeed repeat it.
It appears that when they've lost they've doubled down so that they look like they're winning, but I bet their soldiers aren't saying the same thing.
Or at least the top military brass think so..according to reports they're very unhappy and they've been trash talking Putin in public. I just wonder how long they'll be allowed to be in the military once he hears about it?
Complete with extremely profane language: https://news.yahoo.com/top-russian-military-brass-caught-113411408.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall
"They've completely forgotten . . ." and/or they completely lack the empathy required to see from another's perspective. Which seems to be characteristic of the authoritarian types in the U.S. too: men who can't empathize with women, white people who can't empathize with people of color, native-born who can't empathize with migrants fleeing violence and/or poverty in their home countries.
Wow. That's some conversation. I wonder if they are still alive.
You mentioned the 20 percent of Russians killed in action.The numbers of soldiers who were wounded in action tends to be a multiple of those KIA, typically three to five times the numbers of those killed outright. Caring for those wounded takes additional manpower that clogs up supply trains, and further dampens morale. The Russians are well aware that their opponents are being supplied by an aroused NATO that is acting like the Western Allies of the summer and fall of 1944, that they are short on everything, and that they're not the Wehrmacht. The longer they stay, the more they get nibbled to death. Foraging parties get attacked; and the next thing that happens are punitive expeditions that themselves get attacked and eliminated. This will be guerrilla warfare conducted remotely by drones and target-sensing artillery. The scenario will begin to resemble sci-fi movies where aliens attack by stealth without warning. Anything that generates heat or microwave radiation becomes a target for smart munitions guided by infra-red and microwave sensors, and all you need is someone with a smartphone able to transmit targeting coordinates to a remote launch site. Russia does not enjoy air superiority, and they lack experience in coordinating close air support. CAS has been America's, and by extension NATO's ace-in-the-hole since 1944, and what used to be dedicated Forward Air Controllers assigned to forward units can now be almost anybody manning a remote consol. The problem is no longer taking ground, but holding it. Holding ground requires a large and essentially static occupying force. That means exposure to hostile action anywhere and at any time, and complete air supremacy. Everyone is under siege in a general sense, or the target of direct attack. Landline communications can be cut. Anyone or anything that generates microwave energy can now attract beam-riding munitions that can take out whole units on a few minutes notice.
Send a copy of this to Putin. . . Along with a photo of Mussolini, strung up like a ham hock.
hell yeah!
From the beginning of this obscene Russian atrocity I have been puzzled by the number of pundits and commenters who seem to lament Russian incompetence and inability to win territory. “If only the Russians did…” (fill in the blanks). Or, “Why did the Russians do…..” I think we should celebrate everything they’re doing wrong, and not point out their tactical blunders. I realize it can fun to be an armchair general, but it obscures the horrors on the ground being lived by both sides. The Russians are brutal barbarians, have always been, and maybe even more so in this war as its demoralized army realizes they’re losing. Hooray for the brave and smart Ukrainians. Russia deserves an ignominious defeat, and let it be soon.
Oh Lucian... I wish I could get everyone to read what you write.
LBJ's "Hearts and minds" statement springs forth to me. Ukrainians have ample, Russians lack both. All future intercourse shall be biased accordingly, for generations, by astute observers and their offspring.
Using the Ukrainian numbers you cited: 1,300 tanks destroyed and 3,000 APCs destroyed. A Russian tank has a crew of three. A Russian APC carries nine soldiers. That number of vehicles represent 30,900 Russian soldiers either killed, wounded or traumatized.
In his classic “The Visual Display of Quantitative Information”, Edward Tufte uses as an example Charles Minard’s map of Napoleon’s advance into, and retreat from, Russia. It is considered by many to be the finest informational graphic ever created, charting the size and location of the doomed and shrinking army over time, with a parallel chart of temperature — just in case you were wondering how those tattered remnants felt as they slunk back across the freezing steppe to Paris. I wonder if some modern graphic artist can similarly capture the relentless shredding of the Russian army today.
I have seen that chart and it’s pretty fascinating!
The charting of the temperature was a very important aspect of that charting. He weather isn’t a part of this invasion.
Your report gives me hope. That's what I need.
War is a horrible thing. I understand that. But the Russians are barbarians. Nazi equivalent. Americans may have occupied Iraq for some time. That was not all good maybe not good at all but Americans in battle are NOT barbarians. Our military is governed by a strict code of conduct the violation of which is the rare exception
I think you’ve sanitized our military. There were plenty of barbaric things going on. There were noble things to. Depends on so much. This is Putin’s war. Generalizing that the Russians are barbarians may be too broad a stroke and unfair. What is happening in Ukraine is all Putin’s direction. Those soldiers are hostages to the directives of a crazy man.
As noted by Lucian, Putin is calling the shots from Moscow - I would assume from that 25-foot table where no one dares question a word he utters. What else could his military brass expect than ineptness and ignorance from a crazed lunatic with a background in spookery. What does he know of strategy other than sneakery and destruction?
Russia is taking a beating with future military leaders and equipment being destroyed. Excellent result. This will make their military weaker than any time in recent history. How can they every recover? Add to this sanctions- like not insuring any Russian commerce- and you will see that Putins War is the work of a mad man rumored to have cancer or future of lead poisoning from a bullet or two from an Oligarch. An early retirement seems very feasible...
The oligarchs are all laying low after the list of Putin’s thugs assassinations just in 2022 is stunning/ all died suspicious deaths and most on vacation I. Their luxurious villas in other countries. That silenced any uproar... so don’t count on the oligarchs!
30 years from now, in every high school history class and at every university there will be a trove of videos made by ordinary Ukrainians with cell phones that will tell a story of atrocity sadistic violence and barbaric warfare Russian propaganda will never defeat. This war is at the dawn of smart rockets drones and soon enough small handheld devices that even a green grunt can use to coordinate forward movement and safe occupation of territory. Primitive assaults with brute force tanks and shells or rockets will be self-defeating. Vladimir Putin will be remembered as the last gangster to wage indefensible war in Europe.
Another great column that no one else could have written.
When Hitler invaded Russia he claimed they were subhuman and needed to be destroyed.
Never forget, when Russians from the far East invaded Germany, they saw some things for the first time...like toilets and forks. Those conscripts have to wonder what they have destroyed and for what purpose.
Did you see the Ukrainian that Nicole Wallace interviews on Deadline Whitehouse describe how conscripts who had camped out in a Ukrainian home drank olive oil, thinking it was wine? He showed pictures of the bottle and the two half full wine glasses. For him, it was a joke. I would imagine a slug of olive oil wasn't all that funny to the conscripts. Probably cleaned them out in more ways than one!
A great analysis. The Russians are angry that Ukraine is getting all this help in the way of weapons and because of the sanctions that have been placed on them. They thought they'd have an easy target and apparently didn't expect the anger and animosity towards them. But they started it, they brought all this upon themselves yet appear to be oblivious to their own wrongdoing and think they are being unfairly hated and despised. never mind the atrocities being committed against civilians as well as the turning their villages and towns into rubble as so well described by Lucian..