Russo-Ukrainian War 2014-23 and Invasion

[mongers]

Vladimir Kara-Murza is a brave man to have gone back to Russia to face certain prosecution, as indeed he was sentenced to 25 years in prison yesterday.

[Legbiter]

Ukrainians repel a vatnik assault on their trench line on the flanks of Bakhmut and counterattack to clear stragglers. One vatnik even gets close enough for a grenade toss before being demilitarized. Contains footage of several vatniks shot at fairly close range.

[DGuller]

This video doesn't look that encouraging, to be honest.  Yes, they defended against that attack, but I imagine that many such battles end with a total wipeout for the guys in the bunker.  Given the green armbands, these seem to be territorial defense people, and most of them need to be given the same order five times before they comply, and the orders are meant to protect the whole group from being flanked.  I'm sure they're doing the best they can, and all of them are doing a much better job than I would do in that situation, but based on this video I can't see how Ukraine isn't suffering terrible casualties as well in Bakhmut.

[Legbiter]

This video doesn't look that encouraging, to be honest.  Yes, they defended against that attack, but I imagine that many such battles end with a total wipeout for the guys in the bunker.  Given the green armbands, these seem to be territorial defense people, and most of them need to be given the same order five times before they comply, and the orders are meant to protect the whole group from being flanked.  I'm sure they're doing the best they can, and all of them are doing a much better job than I would do in that situation, but based on this video I can't see how Ukraine isn't suffering terrible casualties as well in Bakhmut.

He's doing what NCOs are supposed to do. Take charge and order the privates around. Otherwise they would have just hunkered down and been fragged by the vatniks. He's also running on pure adrenaline. They didn't lose a man repelling that attack.

As to casualties, yeah that's stating the obvious. A modern high intensity war between peer-opponents will have that  

[PDH]

He's doing what NCOs are supposed to do.

And what Russian NCOs can't do.

[Razgovory]

He was certainly brave.  I would have just cowered in the bunker.

[crazy canuck]

That was INTENSE

Amazing that he could keep his shit together, keep everyone organized, keep himself alive, and save the position. 

[Legbiter]

That was INTENSE

Amazing that he could keep his shit together, keep everyone organized, keep himself alive, and save the position. 

Yeah.

Also they're under constant (highly inaccurate) artillery bombardment. Russian artillery support seems to be at least as dangerous to the vatniks as it is to the Ukrainians.

[Sheilbh]

Reports Ukrainians have a bridgehead over the Dnipro near Kherson and may have taken a small town on the other side.

Obviously handle with care etc.

[Josquius]

Reports Ukrainians have a bridgehead over the Dnipro near Kherson and may have taken a small town on the other side.

Obviously handle with care etc.

Being reported on all the papers  sites 

The counter attack in a completely unexpected place? (as expected sort of)
Though reading up seems its just limited strikes against Russians shelling kherson.

[Tamas]

Apparently last week China's ambassador to France said in an interview (in reply to whether Crimea belongs to Russia in his opinion): "Even these ex-Soviet Union countries do not have effective status, as we say, under international law because there's no international accord to concretise their status as a sovereign country."

China has since disowned this remark, but I always find such gaffes revealing. The fact that at the moment he thought nothing of saying that means that in his circles this is an accepted way of thinking/conversation.

[Sheilbh]

Yeah. Ambassadors summoned in all Baltic countries. I think it would have been a nice moment of solidarity in Europe/the West to do the same to make it absolutely clear that it's unacceptable to cast doubts on the existence of the Baltic states. They're not just a dubious "post-Soviet" space.

[Grey Fox]

The Baltic states should open embassies in Taiwan as apparently sovereignty is not a requirement anymore.

[Josquius]

The Baltic states should open embassies in Taiwan as apparently sovereignty is not a requirement anymore.

IIRC wasn't one of them already on the brink of that after really pissing China off in recent years and then standing up to them rather than caving? Latvia maybe? Could be Lithuania.


I've no idea what the hell the Chinese guy was even trying to say there. It made no sense.

[Admiral Yi]

I've no idea what the hell the Chinese guy was even trying to say there. It made no sense.

He was saying borders and sovereignty are negotiable.