Русский корабль - иди нахуй

[The Dog 44059]

 

[BamaATL 16593]

11 minutes ago, The Dog said:

 

You know, I'm beginning to think it might be a bad idea to put your cafeteria head in charge of a group of mercenaries, but maybe that's just me.  

[atomheartbevo 89685]

4 minutes ago, BamaATL said:

You know, I'm beginning to think it might be a bad idea to put your cafeteria head in charge of a group of mercenaries, but maybe that's just me.  

He will actually be careful about any tea he drinks.  Honestly didn’t have him on the bingo card for trying to start shit with Putin.  

[MagicSoccerSpray 1732]

 

 

[Gatorubet 30245]

11 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

He will actually be careful about any tea he drinks.  Honestly didn’t have him on the bingo card for trying to start shit with Putin.  

it is possible that he’s going after the MOD and not Putin. 

[Gengs1 2583]

Russian pilots in the next mission briefing room 

 

[MagicSoccerSpray 1732]

2 hours ago, tx ind said:

They’ve been fucked for the last 80 years

 

 

This guys up-talking kills me. Almost can't handle watching his videos.

[Gatorubet 30245]

1 hour ago, MagicSoccerSpray said:

 

This guys up-talking kills me. Almost can't handle watching his videos.

Without his amazing big brain insights, I never would’ve known that the Chechens might have a better chance this time, now that Russia has lost all of its military supplies and troops

[MagicSoccerSpray 1732]

 

[SimonBolivar 10958]

Popcorn.gif

[BamaATL 16593]

Can't all be good news, unfortunately, unconfirmed, was a fuel depot at an airport.  No word on casualties that I have seen, though I am venturing that there are least injuries.  Hopefully, just fuel, but its a big boom

 

[The Dog 44059]

Twitters broke but this is good:

16 minutes ago, BamaATL said:

Can't all be good news, unfortunately, unconfirmed, was a fuel depot at an airport.  No word on casualties that I have seen, though I am venturing that there are least injuries.  Hopefully, just fuel, but its a big boom

 

 

ETA - it’s from Iran not Ukraine. Russia disinfo op (although there was a missile strike the video is from Iran)

Edited May 13, 2023 by The Dog

[BamaATL 16593]

19 minutes ago, The Dog said:

Twitters broke but this is good:

It’s old Soviet fuel oil that they don’t use.

They've almost lost as many colonels today as they have shot down their own aircraft.  

[Chad Fuck 17684]

5 minutes ago, BamaATL said:

They've almost lost as many colonels today as they have shot down their own aircraft.  

[Slacks 6821]

On 5/12/2023 at 2:50 PM, Orange&White said:

You are severely under-representing the drug and alcohol addicted Information Technology community that resides here, sir.

Edited May 13, 2023 by Slacks

[The Dog 44059]

 

[BehoId, The Underminer! 11669]

Pope Francis and Zelenskyy meet. 
 

Quote

Zelensky Meets Pope and Meloni in Italy to Bolster Ukraine’s Support

The Ukrainian president’s talks with the pope and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni came at a potentially pivotal moment in the war against Russia, as Kyiv’s forces make advances near the key city of Bakhmut.

May 13, 2023Updated 3:38 p.m. ET

 

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine met Pope Francis in the Vatican on Saturday.Vatican Media, via Reuters

Weeks after Pope Francis bewildered the Ukrainian government with talk of a secret peace mission, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine met Francis in the Vatican on Saturday, part of a whirlwind visit to Rome that included talks with Italy’s president and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, both of whom offered their full support.

Mr. Zelensky’s discussions in Rome of war and peace come at a potentially pivotal moment in the fight against Russia, as Ukrainian forces make advances near the key eastern city of Bakhmut ahead of a widely anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive, and as Germany announced its largest military aid packagefor Ukraine since the war began, saying it would provide 2.7 billion euros worth of weapons.

Italy added to that momentum, with Ms. Meloni, who greeted Mr. Zelensky warmly before a 70-minute meeting, affirming her staunch support of Ukraine’s war effort.

“We bet on the victory of Ukraine,” said Ms. Meloni, appearing next to Mr. Zelensky, whom she called her “friend” in a news conference at the Chigi Palace, the seat of Italian government, after the meeting. “Our support will be at 360 degrees for all the time necessary, and beyond.”

She said Mr. Zelensky’s decision to begin his most recent sweep through Europe in Rome — he is expected to visit Germany on Sunday — showed that Italy was a “protagonist” in the support of Ukraine, a “victim of a brutal and unjust aggression on the part of the Russian Republic.” She said Italy would continue to supply Ukraine with aid, “also military.”

Mr. Zelensky, who on Twitter had called the visit important for his country’s “approaching victory,” thanked Italy repeatedly for its assistance.

But the centerpiece, and most delicate stop, of Mr. Zelensky’s trip to Rome came as his motorcade rumbled up St. Peter’s Square and he walked through a Vatican entrance flanked by Swiss Guards and, wearing his trademark sweatshirt, shook Francis’ hand before sitting across a desk for a 40-minute meeting.

The pope has sought to position himself as a potential peacemaker in a way that critics, including Ukrainian officials, argue is counterproductive to the achievement not only of Ukrainian victory, but also of a real and just peace.

To preserve the Vatican’s traditional neutrality, Francis, while consistently expressing sympathy for the suffering of Ukrainians, has made often confusing and contradictory remarks about whether he blames President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia for the invasion of Ukraine. After recently meeting with Russian sympathizers in Hungary, the pope has sought to thrust himself into the discussion about the war’s endgame, cryptically speaking about “a mission going on now, but it is not public yet” to bring peace, adding “when it is public I will talk about it.”

Both Russia and Ukraine, overwhelmingly Orthodox, and not Roman Catholic, countries, said they had no idea what the pope was talking about. But the Vatican insisted that a peace plan was in the works. It was not clear if Mr. Zelensky’s visit was part of that plan, or resulted from the Ukrainian leader’s efforts to explain in person why such talk could be detrimental.

“I asked to condemn Russian crimes in Ukraine,” Mr. Zelensky said in a statement after the meeting with Francis, who gave him a bronze olive branch. “Because there can be no equality between the victim and the aggressor. I also talked about our Peace Formula as the only effective algorithm for achieving a just peace. I proposed joining its implementation.”

Asked afterwards on Italian television whether Francis, who had sought to stake out an equidistant position between Ukraine and Russia, could be a peacemaker between him and Mr. Putin, Mr. Zelensky said “with all respect for His Holiness,” Ukraine did not need mediators because “you can’t do mediation with Putin.” He said victory on the battlefield was essential, and coming, and saw no point in speaking with Mr. Putin, who was clearly acting in bad faith. “What are we going to talk about?”

The Vatican said only that the two men discussed the war and Francis assured Mr. Zelensky of his “constant prayer” for Ukraine and its most vulnerable, and that both men agreed on the need for continued humanitarian aid.

On Saturday, even before Mr. Zelensky’s arrival, Francis who abhors the arms trade and who has shown deep anxiety about the suffering caused by the 15-month conflict, spoke about how the war had “brought unspeakable suffering and death.” He added in a tweet a prayer for “paths of encounter and dialogue that lead toward peace, and grant us the courage to trod them without hesitation.”

Mr. Zelensky and Francis met in Rome for an official visit in 2020 before the war. But since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, the pope has declined various invitations from the Ukrainian government to meet Mr. Zelensky in Kyiv.

Francis has stated that, in his hopes of eventually playing the role of a negotiator, he wanted any visit to Ukraine to be in conjunction with a visit to Moscow, but Mr. Putin has repeatedly made it clear that he wanted no such visit.

Francis’ openness to dialogue has also, especially in the beginning of the war, drawn criticism for assuming a neutrality that critics considered morally questionable in the face of clear Russian aggression.

There was no such ambiguity from the Italian government.

Analysts expected Mr. Zelensky to ask for more Italian military support, especially for antiaircraft weapons.

“Today we discussed our cooperation, particularly security and military cooperation,” Mr. Zelensky said at a news conference. “There are very important decisions regarding the protection of our sky.”

Ms. Meloni has remained solid in her defense of Kyiv and she warned about a widespread “propaganda” effort by Russia to distract from the fact that it had invaded Ukraine. She said that Ukraine’s independence was the only acceptable outcome, and that peace could not be attained “with surrender” by Kyiv.

She called for the withdrawal of Russian forces and the end of its aggression, which she described as “dangerous for all of Europe and all the nations of the world.”

But Ms. Meloni, who appeared next to Pope Francis on Friday at an event about bolstering the Italian fertility rate, also had to manage her neighbor in the Vatican across the Tiber River, saying that she supported the efforts of the pope, adding, “we are very happy for this initiative.”

Mr. Zelensky thanked Ms. Meloni for Italy’s role in defending Ukraine and accepting so many of its refugees.

But as Mr. Zelensky seeks to shore up concrete support of bullets, missiles and other arms for his country’s defense, he has also sought to win over the pope. Despite the pontiff having no divisions, as Stalin once famously noted, he still exercises a moral authority that Mr. Zelensky wants more clearly on his side.

Supporters of Ukraine worried that the pope’s eagerness to play a constructive role was making him a pawn of Mr. Putin and the Russian Orthodox Church, which has sought to give religious legitimacy to the invasion.

Adding to Ukrainian concerns were the pope’s kind words for Aleksandr Avdeyev, for years the Russian ambassador to the Holy See, whom he has praised in the past. On the flight back from Budapest he called Mr. Avdeyev “a great man, a man comme il faut, a serious, cultured and balanced person.”

On Saturday, the Italian newspaper Il Messaggero reported that Francis had met this past week with Mr. Avdeyev and may have given him a letter to take back to Mr. Putin. That close relationship vexed Ukraine’s ambassador to the Holy See, Andrii Yurash, who recently met with top Vatican officials to express Kyiv’s concerns that the Russian Orthodox Church was trying to gain “legitimacy” through its relationship with the Vatican for “obvious aims of Russian propaganda.”

The Vatican has actively tried to engage with both sides, working on prisoner releases and promising the Ukrainians that it would do what it could to help return children taken by Russia.

In May 2022, Francis wondered in an interview with the Corriere della Sera, an Italian newspaper, whether “NATO barking at Russia’s doors” may have “facilitated” anger from the Kremlin that led to the invasion.

On Saturday, Ms. Meloni, at least, made it clear that the Italian government saw the blame resting fully on Russia, and that the only acceptable peace was one that met Ukraine’s conditions.

“We are not so hypocritical as to call peace,” she said, anything that “resembles an invasion.”

 

[Deej 76800]

10 hours ago, NeverMarryAStripper said:

Russian pilots must be really shitty if they’re getting shot down by the Russian air defense

It's like the aggy spring game. 

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12301]

So somebody tell me how a full-on panic withdrawal plays out in Russia amongst the elite/propagandists…?

[Mullet Free 40]

3 hours ago, The Dog said:

Twitters broke but this is good:

 

ETA - it’s from Iran not Ukraine. Russia disinfo op (although there was a missile strike the video is from Iran)

Where did you see that it was from Iran?

[BamaATL 16593]

7 minutes ago, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

So somebody tell me how a full-on panic withdrawal plays out in Russia amongst the elite/propagandists…?

The coup won't be bloodless? 

Neither will the civil war and dissolution.  

All are guesses on my end, but those who can leave will flee to Dubai or quite frankly anywhere to get the hell out there.  My best guess is several republics if not many in far reaching areas of Eastern Russia will establish independence bloodlessly, and with backing from China.  Anything to west of the Urals will be ugly, and very violent.  What you have are a bunch of warlords like Kadyrov who will fight each other in factional conflicts.  Someone will attempt to centralize power in Moscow, but this will fail miserably because of the dog eat dog nature of what Putin has set up.  You will see mass starvation and an explosion of gang violence in Moscow and St. Petersburg without western aid and intervention (which may well not be possible).  Without centralized power of resources (of which Moscow and to a lesser extent St. Petersburg derives its wealth via financial control) poverty will explode in what will ultimately becomes small duchy's.  

In short the wealthy will flee or run the risk of being caught up in all this, or worse, be made dead.  Ordinary European Russians will suffer, immensely.  Asian Russians will have an opportunity to forge a new path, albeit under the sponsorship of mostly likely China.  

All of this is my best guess, and quite frankly, I'm sure I'm also wrong on at least some of it, as well as I am sure I am insanely wrong on at least some of it.  I'm not wrong on the elite and wealthy having escape plans already formulated and them fleeing.  

[Gatorubet 30245]

3 minutes ago, BamaATL said:

The coup won't be bloodless? 

Neither will the civil war and dissolution.  

All are guesses on my end, but those who can leave will flee to Dubai or quite frankly anywhere to get the hell out there.  My best guess is several republics if not many in far reaching areas of Eastern Russia will establish independence bloodlessly, and with backing from China.  Anything to west of the Urals will be ugly, and very violent.  What you have are a bunch of warlords like Kadyrov who will fight each other in factional conflicts.  Someone will attempt to centralize power in Moscow, but this will fail miserably because of the dog eat dog nature of what Putin has set up.  You will see mass starvation and an explosion of gang violence in Moscow and St. Petersburg without western aid and intervention (which may well not be possible).  Without centralized power of resources (of which Moscow and to a lesser extent St. Petersburg derives its wealth via financial control) poverty will explode in what will ultimately becomes small duchy's.  

In short the wealthy will flee or run the risk of being caught up in all this, or worse, be made dead.  Ordinary European Russians will suffer, immensely.  Asian Russians will have an opportunity to forge a new path, albeit under the sponsorship of mostly likely China.  

All of this is my best guess, and quite frankly, I'm sure I'm also wrong on at least some of it, as well as I am sure I am insanely wrong on at least some of it.  I'm not wrong on the elite and wealthy having escape plans already formulated and them fleeing.  

….and bad people will buy nuclear weapons from them during the shit. Which is why the west will intervene and help them with $$ and food in exchange for nukes. 

[Born to Run 6569]

….and bad people will buy nuclear weapons from them during the shit. Which is why the west will intervene and help them with $$ and food in exchange for nukes. 

We need to send in Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis!

[SquishMitten 10408]

7 hours ago, Gatorubet said:

Margarita said to keep that talk in the kitchen. 

How amazing would it be if we knew where he was, but we’re just waiting for him to do a live broadcast…then boom

[Deej 76800]

Putin will go to his grave knowing he destroyed Russia. 

I'm good with that. 

[Parliament 14260]

32 minutes ago, BamaATL said:

The coup won't be bloodless? 

Neither will the civil war and dissolution.  

All are guesses on my end, but those who can leave will flee to Dubai or quite frankly anywhere to get the hell out there.  My best guess is several republics if not many in far reaching areas of Eastern Russia will establish independence bloodlessly, and with backing from China.  Anything to west of the Urals will be ugly, and very violent.  What you have are a bunch of warlords like Kadyrov who will fight each other in factional conflicts.  Someone will attempt to centralize power in Moscow, but this will fail miserably because of the dog eat dog nature of what Putin has set up.  You will see mass starvation and an explosion of gang violence in Moscow and St. Petersburg without western aid and intervention (which may well not be possible).  Without centralized power of resources (of which Moscow and to a lesser extent St. Petersburg derives its wealth via financial control) poverty will explode in what will ultimately becomes small duchy's.  

In short the wealthy will flee or run the risk of being caught up in all this, or worse, be made dead.  Ordinary European Russians will suffer, immensely.  Asian Russians will have an opportunity to forge a new path, albeit under the sponsorship of mostly likely China.  

All of this is my best guess, and quite frankly, I'm sure I'm also wrong on at least some of it, as well as I am sure I am insanely wrong on at least some of it.  I'm not wrong on the elite and wealthy having escape plans already formulated and them fleeing.  

 

[atomheartbevo 89685]

1 hour ago, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

So somebody tell me how a full-on panic withdrawal plays out in Russia amongst the elite/propagandists…?

Are you talking about the strategic repositioning of Soviet Russian forces to defend the Motherland from NATO?

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12301]

20 minutes ago, Parliament said:

 

Haha came to post that

[Schulz2.0 28957]

 

[Schulz2.0 28957]

 

[The Dog 44059]

 

[The Dog 44059]

 

[BamaATL 16593]

9 minutes ago, Bevo said:

 

 

 

The Washington Post gets its info. primarily from Democrats. So when I see it trying to change the image of Zelensky, I wonder whether the changed image is true or whether there is a reason to change the picture. I would say that the US wants to push back on the supply of offensive weapons such as F16s and ATACMS. Maybe they want to set the stage for a negotiated settlement between Ukraine and Russia. Maybe, we want a bit of de-escalation as well. I think the war will end favorably for Ukraine but, I don't like this talk one bit.

In thinking about this, I don't have a problem with Zelensky saying this things or even having them explored.

1.  If I were leading a country and it was being attacked, would I have the desire to attack that country back?  Yep

2.  If mercenaries were killing my soldiers and citizens and I had a chance to fuck them up on another country's soil would I consider it?  Yep

3.  If my neighbor was openly undermining support for my country in favor of the attacker and quite frankly was compromised due to oil, would I consider blowing up their access to that?  Yes I would

 

I know all if this is painting with a broad brush, and I understand the slow play on long range weapons, but to be honest, I think the Ukrainians thinking this way and even putting together plans is understandable.  They have been attacked, and their people are being murdered.  For me, all bets are off in a situation like that.  The good news, is that he was persuaded to not pursue these objectives in order to get munitions and weapons, which shows him to be rational.  

Our objective, and NATO's as a whole, is to keep the peace but support a war.  That's sort of fucked up to be honest, but given all the circumstances is understandable.  At the same time, that means Ukraine and its objective (mainly to survive and win) won't always align in a nice and pretty way.  Theirs is a struggle for existence, while ours is a struggle for stability (right, wrong or indifferent).  Those two things are always going to be congruent.  

[MissingInAction 25103]

If all of these reports are true I would say Zelensky is acting in the best interests of his country. 

Can't imagine being in his position of constantly having to lick the balls of western leaders to save his country.

Forced to play politics while children are being slaughtered, and "adopted" by the enemy.

Jfc. 

Edited May 14, 2023 by MissingInAction

[Steel Shank 9426]

Gloves are off. Ukraine needs to go for the throat.

[atomheartbevo 89685]

1 hour ago, Bevo said:

The Washington Post gets its info. primarily from Democrats. So when I see it trying to change the image of Zelensky, I wonder whether the changed image is true or whether there is a reason to change the picture. I would say that the US wants to push back on the supply of offensive weapons such as F16s and ATACMS. Maybe they want to set the stage for a negotiated settlement between Ukraine and Russia. Maybe, we want a bit of de-escalation as well. I think the war will end favorably for Ukraine but, I don't like this talk one bit.

On the one hand, the US would love to see Russia knocked way the hell down, Putin out of power, and somebody like Navalny quickly taking over and transitioning Russia to a a nation not obsessed with recreating the Soviet Union and exploiting its smaller neighbors.  It would stabilize Europe, which is our largest trading partner, and frees up resources we have committed there that would better be utilized elsewhere, and clears our plate to focus on the Chinese, and arguably might benefit us in the Middle East and would definitely help in Africa.

On the other hand, I'd imagine that the spooks in the CIA, DIA, etc., are scared shitless that if things develop too fast and Russia's military in Ukraine completely collapses, and Putin's hold on power collapses, then instead of somebody like Navalny "peacefully" coming to power quickly and stabilizing the country, there's going to be a dozen Kadyrov's and Prigozhins fighting each other.  There could be somebody (oligarchs looking to reclaim their fortunes? or military officers) taking over nuke bases/weapons and selling them off to the highest bidders as well, and we'll end up with one or more Yugoslavia-like situations in some of the outer republics, maybe a few Azerbaijan vs Armenia flare-ups, China moving into Siberia, etc., all of which would also complicate the nuclear issue.

There's no way we'd have the ability to secure Russia's nukes.

It's a nightmare scenario that could spawn a dozen new Tom Clancy books.

Russia has a history of things rapidly falling apart, but the one time it happened when they had nuclear weapons, it was fairly peaceful (outside of some dead Baltic residents the Russians killed) and they were able to keep their nukes secured. 

If Russia implodes now, there's no way it's peaceful.

I'm in the camp that wants to see Ukraine curb-stomp Russia, but I wonder if Washington is scared shitless that Russia will fall apart and those nukes won't be easily secured.  Counterpoint: Putin is paranoid and the nukes are secured in just a few locations with highly-loyal/stable security personnel.  The last thing he needs it a Chechen getting one and driving a truck into Moscow with one.

Edited May 14, 2023 by atomheartbevo

[NorthLoop 14210]

1 hour ago, Steel Shank said:

Gloves are off. Ukraine needs to go for the throat.

[Steel Shank 9426]

Fuckin a

[atomheartbevo 89685]

[atomheartbevo 89685]

Ukraine's water drones have improved considerably....the funny thing is, this could be misinformation (I doubt it, but you never know) and it would still force the Russians to devote resources to protecting against it, and probably limit the movement of their ships.

https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2023/05/innovative-submarine-drone-is-ukraines-new-weapon-against-russian-navy/

Quote

Ukraine is becoming known for using unconventional naval vessels against the Russian Navy. It's 'maritime drones', which are robot boats loaded with explosives, have helped shape the war in the Black Sea. Now a new maritime drone has been revealed, one which operates like a small submarine.

Quote

One of the new weapons on show when Brave1 was officially launched is of particular interest from a navy perspective. It is a small robotic submarine, the Toloka TLK-150 maritime drone.

Quote

But the resulting void in ythe northern Black Sea is far from being a Ukrainian lake. The Russians can still operate there to launch missiles, or to support ground operations if the need arrives. And Ukrainian vessels, even the small USVs, can be picked off by Russian aircraft. So it is perhaps natural that Ukraine is developing robotic submarines, known formally as uncrewed underwater vehicle (UUV).

 

Quote

The TLK-150 is the first indigenous UUV revealed. The design is unconventional, showing its homegrown nature. It has larger stabilizers than other UUVs and much wider spaces propulsors (propellers). This may not be a bad thing, and it shows that it is not a mere copy of anything going before. This small weapon complements the now famous uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) which already threaten the Russian Navy in its main base at Sevastopol.

 

[KYHorn 17074]

 

 

[KYHorn 17074]

Additional info about the Storm Shadow

 

 

[KYHorn 17074]

The competing narratives are interesting here 

 

Additional info on that strike. I don't know anything, but that seems really close to the front lines

Edited May 14, 2023 by KYHorn

[tx ind 7013]

8 hours ago, NorthLoop said:

[Agent 13 314]

49 minutes ago, KYHorn said:

Additional info about the Storm Shadow

 

 

[elfenix 34266]

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12301]

Also, I really didn’t like WP’s line of questioning re: leaked info. 

They’re interviewing a guy who has the responsibility of 44 million lives in his hands and trying to hit’em with a gotcha moment. Really poor form IMO.

[elfenix 34266]

On 5/12/2023 at 5:11 PM, The Dog said:

 

 

On 5/12/2023 at 5:21 PM, atomheartbevo said:

I'm mesmerized. That feels like some kind of 60s lounge music/emcee selling me on a weapons system.

 

On 5/12/2023 at 5:54 PM, Pato del Muerto said:

Same, and I don’t have the slightest damn clue which rep selection is the most correct choice. 

the correct choice was completing the rep cycle

[Captainant 27678]

My favorite air combat sim folks have got ya covered if you're wondering what Storm Shadow's (probable) capabilities are

Ukraine is gonna sweep the leg on russia's logistics and really powerfully shape the battlefield to their advantage.

 

Not to mention, Ukraine is making extensive use of MALD drones to make it even harder to detect and intercept the actual threat

 

Edit: these guys did also test Patriot v Iskander a couple months ago and found that Patriot could do the job. Then we see it happen in reality. Crazy stuff that a heavily modded videogame is able to get such an accurate result 

Edited May 14, 2023 by Captainant

[Schulz2.0 28957]