>

An oversimplification, France didn't even monitor the Ardennes Forest. Had they bothered to do any security via plane, they'd have spotted the Germans along the riverbanks.
If anyone goes into this muck, they'd be spotted via satellite immediately.
St Pete politician demands Putin be charged
 for calling the war a “war,” since others sit in prison for this offense. >

St Petersburg seems to have quite a few politicians with courage and integrity. I hope they will be able to win in the end >

Similar to how Istanbul is comparatively more anti Erdogan, and Budapest is comparatively more anti Orban. Populist leaders often draw their support from smaller towns and rural areas. What little anti Putin sentiment there is is coalesced in the big cities. >

Historically St. Petersburg has been called the "cultural capital" of Russia, with people there generally being a bit more aligned with Europe than the rest of the country. So I think there should be more anti-Kremlin sentiment in St. Petersburg than in Moscow. >

I just woke up and read that as "Neanderthals will give 2.5 billion to Ukraine for infrastructure repairs"  and my first thought was "That's interesting.  Good on Neanderthals" >


"That's interesting.  Good on Neanderthals"

We prefer the designation "swamp Germans", if you wouldn't mind. >

Not just any snail, mind you. It's Archie the Snail. >

It’s actually a decoy snail.
Real snail is in Kiev already. >

The Ukrainian military is significantly stronger today than it was at the start of the war. They literally have more of everything and some weapons they likely only dreamed about. (GMLRS)   
This to me says we need to arm the Ukrainians to the teeth now if the Russians are looking for an off-ramp. Ukraine needs to be in the strongest possible position before this war ends. We need to give them GLSDB, Storm Shadow, F16's etc. >

If I was Ukraine I would immediately start building nuclear deterrents. I know proliferation is bad but it’s the only guarantee against Russian imperialism >

Said this a while ago, but after this war one of two things are going to happen:   

Ukraine joins NATO  
Ukraine builds nuclear weapons   

Ukraine will want a deterrent against future Russian aggression. Those two do that. If another NATO member blocks Ukraine from joining NATO after this war then I guarantee Ukraine will make nuclear weapons. >

This is really nice. Way to go Netherlands! Kudos. >

Truly a case for r/maliciouscompliance >

The BBC did an in depth piece about a young Ukrainian soldier that's been fighting on the front line in Kharkiv. It was incredibly moving, I can't begin to describe the horrors Ukrainians are enduring. 
YouTube - BBC News: The making of a young Hero of Ukraine >

Thanks for sharing >

Smelling a lot of desperation from Russia.
"Belarus offensive bro" America has satellites watching their feeble and fake movements.
"We will raise an army of millions" their last conscription was a disaster and they can barely provide more than fodder running at trenches with rusty AK's.
Flee from Kherson and go all in at Bakhmut? take 500 metres then get their shit pushed in lol 
Energy sector, economy, and sanctions biting "we are fine bro we can go forever"  they had an economy that was a similar size to Italy's... but this was pre invasion and sanctions lol
Kyiv was a feint, Sumy was repositioning, snake island was a goodwill gesture, Kharkiv was a tactical retreat, Kherson they kind of admitted was an ass whooping.
Moskva sunk
Kerch illegal bridge still fucked.
Crimea airfields smashed.
Russia's tactical nuclear bombers hit, and on and on.
All so Putin can cling to power and keep robbing the Russian people, and the sad acts show less fight than Iranian women fighting for freedom. >

Yes, exactly.
I know Russia is proud of their “firehose of falsehood”, but the current rapid switching of narratives feels different.
Russia seems genuinely unable to settle on a political tactic.
It might be due to infighting, but it looks more like panic.
The Russian media and propaganda outlets are panicking and putting out lots of propaganda to counter the military and political losses that keep coming.
In their haste they are losing their cohesion.
This is leading to a large number of disparate messages coming from different agencies that end up conflicting and cutting across each other.
The recruiting guys are putting out videos saying mobilisation is the only way out of poverty as the finance guys are saying the economy is stable.
The Russian propagandists are trumpeting small gains and the media is crying out about troop losses.
Putin is talking about “total war” as his ministers blame Ukraine for not accepting peace.
This isn’t a good look. It’s chaos. >

The total combat losses of the enemy from 24.02 to 23.12 (change since previous):
100,950 (+550) Personnel
3005 (+2) Tanks
5986 (+5) Armored Personnel Vehicles
1984 (+6) Artillery Systems
414 (+1) MLRS
212 (+0) Anti-aircraft Warfare Systems
283 (+0) Aircraft
267 (+0) Helicopters
1698 (+5) UAV operational-tactical level
653 (+0) Missiles
16 (+0) Warships / Boats
4622 (+7) Other vehicles
178 (+0) Special Equipment  
"Beat the occupier! Together we will win! Our strength is in the truth!"
Edit: Fixed tank count >

5005 tanks? >

It's a typo. They were at 3003 tanks yesterday, so this should be 3005 tanks. >

I mean, I get it. Part of the reason the counter offensive in Kharkiv was successful was because of not having journalists running around near the front lines reporting on movements and weapons. >

The death squads to hunt down these people will make the nazi hunters look tame. >


The flow of messages from the fighters at the front line does not stop – appeals come to the military, to the volunteers,” for uniforms, medicines and other kit, she said.
“Who to believe?” she asked. “Reports of the Ministry of Defense or fighters from the front line?”
“You can’t trust anyone. Only I can be trusted,” Putin responded.

Quite the megalomaniac. >

Putin thinks he has the charisma of Rasputin.  He is just a garden variety dictator with beady eyes. >

Wait, does this mean they’re trying to clandestinely do missions in Kyiv? And spend 100 million on it?
Or Kyiv, figuratively speaking—as in the Ukrainian government/military/TRO? >

Pretty sure the latter >

Nervous doctors in both Donetsk and Rostov have refused to operate on Rogozin, “due to the complexity.”  Despite the “buttocks injury” repeatedly described as imbedded shrapnel, but not serious or life-threatening. 
[which given his age, weight, typical Russian health, likely means fears his heart will fail during the operation.]
He’s being flown to Moscow for surgery. >

I read he has shrapnel near his spine, if true then one wrong move and he could end up paraplegic. >

He can join the Vehdehveh veterans. Maybe if Putin gifts him an electric scooter he qualifies as mechanized infantry. >

Get some Wagner hub caps for his scooter and off to Bakhmut he goes. >

And deniers in 20 years will say the theater never existed.  We have seen this all before. >

Same as what happened to my country, Syria. The protestors and rebels against SAA brutality were suddenly "all radical islamists". Russia tried to do the same firehose propaganda saying "all Ukrainians are Nazis" but failed this time. >


and an F-15 fighter jet.

Just one? >

if NATO escorted the plane with too much plane fichters, it would have been obious that there's a important "package" flying.
that's my guess. >

It would be quite common to send them in pairs. Not something that adds suspicion >

The "spy plane" could just be the other f-15 with an EW kit. It came out that the Chinese tried to find Pelosi's plane to Taiwan and they couldn't get through our EW jamming to find it. >

I read another report the other day about Morocco giving tank parts to Ukraine, but this one included a detail I didn't see reported elsewhere:

Morocco will supply Ukraine with spare parts for T-72 tanks and will thus become the first African state to provide military assistance to Ukraine

yes, thank you Morocco!

Besides the spare parts, T-72B Main Battle Tanks modernized by Czech company Excalibur Army and intended for Morocco will be diverted to Ukraine.

Wait, what?

Excalibur Army is currently “focused on a large order for the modernization of up to 120 T-72 MBT, which come from an African country.”
The purchase of “African” tanks for shipment to Ukraine is paid for by the United States and the Netherlands under an agreement totaling 2.2 billion rubles. CZK (slightly more than 90 million euros).

They're diverting the Moroccan tank delivery to Ukraine.
This seems to me pretty big news, and following these pages daily I don't recall seeing it come up, which I find odd. Did I miss it, or perhaps it's not real? Anyone know more? Any update? They were talking about shipping by the end of the year, meaning this year, or starting immediately. The article I was reading
This also has something to say to the folks saying the US doesn't want to give Ukraine tanks at all, because they were in on buying these. 120 tanks is not a paltry number. >

Thanks for the info! I must have taken that day off, you know, mental heath and all that. Those comments, though... yea. Hmm. Way to derail the point. Kind of glad I missed reading that part. And you are right, more people should see it!
I'll take the liberty of reposting the article you linked to, as it includes more information than mine
They say one delivered every 4 days. It'll take a while to finish the order but the production line is already been directly shipping them to Ukraine, which is great news. >

No, no, no. You're fine. It's almost impossible to see everything posted in these threads, so posting something interesting to make sure it's seen happens constantly. I only commented because my previous post adds more info. >

wait, did i read that right? confiscation of oligarch assets to fund ukraine?? >

Yes. Hitting them where it hurts the most. >

Well said! >

You cant have second wave of mobilization if first one never ended lol >

insert second breakfast joke >

U/Fun_Map_3234 the article clearly and systematically explains how Proctor & Gamble has given lip service that they’re cutting off Russia, but has not. They continue to operate in Russia, maintain multiple factories, employ Russians, pay taxes to the Russian Federation, contribute to Russia’s economy. 
It’s meaningless that they “cut back” and deserve no commendations for such.  Gillette, Tide, Pampers, Comet continue to be produced in Russia, bc Proctor & Gamble value profits over Ukrainian lives. >

Factories are the issue. I never even understood why some Italian fashion brand importing $2k purses to Russia was a problem. It hurts Russia’s forex reserves, helps the European tax base. >

Ok so as I understood with the European exports to Russian, that was wanting to cut off to deprive, that over time, it would cause pressure.
But as long as get tea and sugar and can make their own moonshine, no one will complain.
With this, it’s employing, paying taxes, helping economy, deceiving public. >

I think it’s clear the pressure won’t do anything. De-industrialization has to be the goal. Cut off factories. If anything selling them luxury goods undermines them. 
But 100% P&G must be pressured to close those factories. >

What happened to Dolly_gale and the daily recap? I last heard she was unnecessarily banned? >

It did happen to pcx99. It’s why he set up his own subreddit and would post a link to it instead of a long thread with a lot of links here. >

Well then, get after it Mossad. >

Good to see this, but OOTL: I suppose Zaluzhny is a "Jew-hating nazi" or some other bullshit? I honestly make no effort anymore to keep up with whatever current Kremlin lie is being vomited out. 
But that said keep 'em coming, and keep exposing the lies for the cynical insults that they are. Hateful people doing hateful things. Happy holidays to the good. The others can go fuck themselves. >

thank you. I remember that now. Seems so long ago, another century. This war has changed me. >

our electric company just started rolling blackouts during the winter storm in the US...i'll lose power for 15 minutes and then it will be on for two hours. i can't imagine being in ukraine and  having longer outages, colder temperatures, and much less certainty. >

also a testament to Ukrainian grid engineers capabilities that they are able to keep the lights on at least partially despite their grid constantly getting bombed. >

The Ukrainian grid was designed to withstand a nuclear war. The US grid is designed to make it a nuisance for meth heads to try and steal metal >

Some interesting tidbits:

The president increasingly speaks of Russia in near-religious terms, as a 1,000-year-old civilization waging a holy struggle that will right historical wrongs and elevate him into a pantheon of conquering czarist leaders such as Peter the Great.
Mr. Putin wakes daily around 7 a.m. to a written briefing on the war, with information carefully calibrated to emphasize successes and play down setbacks, according to the former Russian intelligence officer and current and former Russian officials.
He has long refused to use the internet for fear of digital surveillance, Russian and U.S. officials have said, making him more dependent on briefing documents compiled by ideologically aligned advisers.
Battlefield updates can take several days to reach Mr. Putin’s desk, leaving them often out of date, people familiar with the matter said. 

Lots in there about how various groups and officials have tried to get accurate information relayed to Putin, only to be denied because it would "upset" him. >

It's really interesting because in a sense Russia's entire claim is a big lie. They claim that they are the Empire of the 'Rus' or all the lands that used the 'Rus' Orthodox Holy text.
Only problem is that was originally the Kyivan Rus, it originated in Ukraine. 'Russia' was only a far Eastern colony formed far after Kyiv had existed for hundreds of years.
'Moscovia' lied to overstate their importance and renamed themselves 'Russia' to claim greater status, but it was always just Moscovia. Like how the German States called themselves 'The Holy Roman Empire' to gain status without any real link.
Losing Ukraine strikes at the heart of the lie, which is why they fight so hard to retake it.
Free Ukraine shows the lie of Moscovia. >


Only problem is that was originally the Kyivan Rus, it originated in Ukraine. 'Russia' was only a far Eastern colony formed far after Kyiv had existed for hundreds of years.

Well, there's a lot more wrong with it than that.  Honestly, what does it even matter where some old empire was governed from?  It's not the basis on which our current borders are decided. >

Gebaseerd >

That pic where they're laughing in the hall -- someone made a joke about Lukashenko. >

"Did you hear Luka is about to invade??" >

No no.. "Luka a Colonel?" >

Small fire at a military unit in Moscow >

Nobody tell em they can vape nicotine instead of smoking it >

I think the real problem is that Russians can ignite themselves due to vodka. >

True. When balls glow like sun from radiation,  sometimes just to hot. >

The really interesting thing is that he is openly saying that. Something is going on behind the scenes. >

19:17 
-- We're at the gas station. Is someone going after coffee and hot dogs?
-- Are you kidding? 
-- Of course I am fucking kidding! We're near Bakhmut! What fucking coffee blyat? >

There's been some early Russian oligarchs -- the ones who helped to get Putin into power -- giving interviewers (most of them in Russian unfortunately). And they've all said that already in his first term he started surrounding himself with sycophants who treated him like an actual emperor >

So... what exactly does liquidated mean in this context?
Russian soldiers killed, I'm guessing. >

Dead. Very dead. >

Like, really, very dead. So dead. >

It's hard to be much more dead really. >

They were killed until they died >

can someone help with this? what purpose does that serve? are they expecting an attack? trying to stop some kind of survaillance? testing air defense? >

Reduces the number of unidentified potential targets for AA to shoot down between Ukraine and Moscow >

Yes, if something’s in the air above this oblast they can assume it’s hostile >

Ukrainians just released a very NSFW video that appears to show one of the elites of Putin's army go to their deaths for him. The video is titled "Attempt by the Russian Naval Infantry". 
The Naval Infantry of Russia are the famous black berets, an elite unit that's kind of like a smaller angrier VDV on steroids. These dudes are well paid and well equipped. They drill for parades and for TV instead of building dachas for the general like the rest of the army. They have their own song prophetically titled "we stand to the death".
The NSFW video shows the black berets heroically dig in in the middle of an open field in full view of the Ukrainians, and then cinematically dying in droves. The battle appears to be the long and painful one for Pavlivka in the Vuhledar direction:

By 9 November 2022, the 155th Guards Naval Infantry and 40th Naval Infantry Brigade participated in an attack on the Ukrainian military garrison in Pavlivka. Members of the unit claimed to have taken roughly 300 casualties, with many of these complaints shared with notable Russian media figures and the unit's garrison. The members went further stating the attacks took place due to their commander's desire to earn bonuses and distinction through awards. >

Naval Infantry?  The same vaunted striped-shirt guys who held the L-shaped House and Pavlov's House and the Tractor Factory at Stalingrad?  The guys who held on by the skin of their teeth and sheer determination in order to repel the Wehrmacht?
Apparently they aren't anywhere as close to capable as their predecessors.  Not even fucking close.  A dishonor to their unit names.  Sucks to be them. >

Yes. I did not want to go that far back into history and equate these dudes to the heroes of old. They lost the right to that legacy the moment they joined a criminal war. 
The commanders are the ones who drank all the coolaid. They sent their men out into the open in the kind of insane machismo we can't expect even from the worst of Stalin's bloodthirsty generals. >

Well they have to earn that legacy today. Something earned in 1940's does not stay if they do not maintain that level of quality. Sounds like they are marginally better than the conscripts. Not elite by true elite standards. >

Move over cope cages, we have the ~~nasty~~ nope nets now. >

At this stage I think everyone at work is looking at this stuff >

I guess he wasn't paying attention at the start of the war.
It still didn't get them Kharkiv. >

They and what army? >

I think he's referring to some kind of magical economical goods that Russia can provide but others can't >

I just finished to watch on Oryx Twitter the new Russia Navy's projects to replace Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier.
Pure Christmas copium overdose, straight from the Cope Stream 2 pipeline.
I really believed Russia was a serious country not long ago... >

They have no facilities to build such craft, no large enough drydocks, no readily available engines. Other than to use same design they use for their nuclear icebreakers. I mean France can only afford one nuclear one and Britain two diesel-electric ones. >

Hey, How can I find the old thread? I know it's locked and I can't reply, but I work until midnight most nights and the thread closes before I can get home to catch up on what's been happening. I don't mind the New Thread "Puck Futin" and "Slava Ukraini" but the previous 8+ hours usually have more meat to them. >

look at worldnewsmod posts >

thank you. I kinda feel dumb now. >

I've wondered myself a few times and didn't wanna ask so thanks! >

Why is u/dolly_gale banned? She or he provides amazing information. >

I’m guessing it was some link? She (?) should contact a mod. I’d expect them to try to help since the info was genuinely useful. >

Apparently she/he has been ignored for a week. >

Hmm I did notice I wasn't coming across their posts in this thread lately. >

I'm regards to consumable stock like ammo etc being delivered to Ukraine from the US in the near future, could the new MCX Spear they are introducing play into this? 
What Im wondering is, is there a possibility of large shipments of M4 rifles and ammunition to Ukraine in 2023 or is the timeline for rolling out the new MCX much too slow? I'm assuming the deployment of the new weapons is too long and slow for this to be a factor. >

The XM5 will get rolled to frontline troops veeeeeery slowly and actual adoption will be decided much later, so it's not exactly relevant yet. >

It’s also unlikely to really be fielded in the same numbers the m4 was, in part due to weight and cost and in part because the m4 and other 5.56 platforms perform well enough for most things. >

Wonderful!! >

This may indeed happen over the course of some years, but I think it unlikely to happen imminently.  They have stockpiled spare parts, and will manage to smuggle them through other countries.  Software updates will be relatively trivial to steal/copy from a legitimate customer elsewhere. >


They have stockpiled spare parts

Unlikely. It's standard practice for any telco to have a certain amount of replacement parts on hand, but nobody is "stockpiling", as this represents expensive inventory that isn't doing much normally speaking. I wouldn't be surprised that as the threat of sanctions loomed, additional orders would have been made, but even then they'd only be able to get whatever the manufacturer would have in inventory themselves.

and will manage to smuggle them through other countries.

More likely, but also risky. Generally speaking entities dealing with this type of telecom equipment are heavily regulated and audited. Nokia for example can't knowingly sell parts to someone they think might resell to Russia. So if their books suddenly show a 500% increase of shipments to a new customer in Turkey, there will be questions from external auditors that they have to answer. Same goes for any established Telco in the US/Europe. 

Software updates will be relatively trivial to steal/copy from a legitimate customer elsewhere.

Absolutely ludicrous. These backend systems aren't an appliance you update an app on. Such updates need to be planned out months in advance and often require support from a manufacturer. If you are a large telecom operator, it's very possible you even have custom firmware for certain types of devices. Even if you did get your hands on the codebase, the lack of a support contract is the real problem. >

What, you mean I can’t just go download software updates for cell towers on TPB?  /s
Adding to these excellent points, the idea that the Russians can “stockpile” something valuable without corruption is at this point questionable. >

As a veteran who has spent years overseas, 304 days is a long time to be fighting a war. I hope and pray the international brigade and Ukrainian servicemen and women are able to squeeze out as much R&R as they can. Even a “cozy” deployment like Afghanistan where you knew exactly where you were going, when you were coming back (cause heaven forbid the government pay you overtime if it can afford to) and getting 3 hot meals every day is a Ritz Hotel compared to what the grunts in the trenches of Bachmut are dealing with. 
Just as stressed are all the Ukrainian civilians, the local diaspora living under Russian occupation, the ones freed but hunker down inside subway tunnels to hide from kamikaze drones, and the international diaspora trying to find a home and escape the weasels of human trafficking and other mobsters. The longer this war drags on, the more visible the strain will be on both the military and civilians. >


As a veteran who has spent years overseas, 304 days is a long time to be fighting a war.

Some of the military in Ukraine have been fighting since 2014, so that's even longer (more than 2 World Wars combined) >


I assume this is cause they’re running out

Maybe. But given the entire line is trench warfare now perhaps tanks don’t have the value they they did earlier when they tried to blyatskrieg so I imagine the ones remaining aren’t as necessary or desired in combat. >

I don’t think that is enough to explain these numbers. I’d be interested to see how much of Russias losses are in offensives versus sitting in a trench. We don’t have that data, but it’s possible to make a good guess.
Losses in general are less when your troops are in pre-made defensive positions. We see lots of drone dropped grenade videos, but I’m assuming they don’t represent the bulk of Russian losses.
I also agree with you that tanks are used mostly for offensive pushes.
However, the increasing numbers of Russian troops being killed every day is not a sign of more defensive posturing from Russia. 
If Russians were staying in their trenches more, there would be less troop losses, and in that case, I’d agree with you, the increased ratio of troops vs tank losses would indeed reflect the conflict moving to trench warfare.
But that is not what is happening. Instead, Russia’s increased troop losses suggest it is continuing to constantly launch attacks. 
The majority of Russias losses is continuing to be in offensives and the RATIO of men to tank losses has increased as well.
Rather, it seems that Russia has changed the make up of its offensive pushes. With more men and less tanks.
Why? It might be because they hate mobliks and the Russian leaders want them to die, but that seems farfetched (except possibly with regard to penal companies). Despite the rhetoric, I don’t believe Russian generals see huge troop losses as a desirable outcome.
No, the far more likely scenario is Russia is not willing to let up the pace of attacks for political reasons (read: Putin is panicking), but they don’t have the resources to equip them as well (read: the Russians are running out of equipment).
The current deaths seem to be more a reflection of them attacking with less well equipped units.
Russian losses have varied previously in this war. They were greater in the start of the war, and reduced over the first 6 months, but the RATIO of lost tanks vs men has been relatively stable.
This ratio has changed significantly now, and it seems to be due to the Russian army being less well equiped. >


We see lots of drone dropped grenade videos, but I’m also assuming they don’t represent the bulk of Russian losses either.

I'd imagine they're an extremely small proportion, but damn... the stories that spread through RU troops about them must be insanely demoralizing. >

"Hmm.. da, let's put mobilization centre." - some dumb vatnik /s >

I knew Putin was a lot of things but I never expected him to be such a whiny little bitch. >

He knows his days are numbered. >

Now, he is just trying to the best of his effort to pin the monumental defeat on everyone else. I think it was yesterday or so he said that the Russian military was receiving everything they asked for. So, any lack of success was not his fault. >

My mom recently called me a coward for not coming back to Russia and answering the call of duty. I was like no thanks I'm in no mood to die for a fascist regime. >

I found him!! The smart russian!! >

There are millions of smart Russians.  Most of them aren't currently in Russia >

Yeah I know. Brain drain for 20 years really hit russia hard. >

Europe is tired of Orbans shit. He will get in line. >

Europe was tired of this for ages but Hungary buddied up with Poland to stop any actual action bring taken. Hungary (Orban's) pro russia stance alienates his only real ally.
This is much overdue >

The amount of information that goes around in this war and gets stored is insane. It will not bring back the dead or heal the wounded, but we will know who was guilty of war crimes and can prosecute them whenever they’re caught >

I find it difficult to believe that Carlson, a weekend flannel-wearing poser who can’t peel an orange with his bare hands, is really a believer in an authoritarian prepper takeover. But he’s also a junk food heir and doesn’t need the money. He’s obviously a xenophobic fascist for its own sake, which is just weird. >

He likes to perform, and he's found a large fanatic audience. "Believe" has a lot less to do with it for a lot of these people. They're like professional wrestlers. >

On the other hand, believing that an army could not pass through a forest screwed France twice, so better be prepared in any case.