Posted on 02/26/2022 3:23:46 PM PST by Roman_War_Criminal
” panicking the country, firing missiles at residential buildings ‘at random’ to ‘intimidate’ the Ukrainians, trigger mass army desertions, national surrender, and Zelensky’s flight from the country”
“IOW terrorism”
It looks like the Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv, will be the first to suffer the fate of Russian desperation (siege, bombardment, starvation, etc), as an example to the others.
The Russian assault on the city failed, and they have encircled it and begun shelling it, while the assault forces appear to be moving on to reinforce the effort against Kiev.
The Russians recently destroyed a natural gas utility in Kharkiv, which many residents rely on for heat. Rockets (not precision weapons) are hitting residential areas. The thermobaric TOS-1 version of their MLRS were moved across the border toward Kharkiv today.
Another grim night.
To put the relations between Ukrainians and Russians in perspective....it’s a lot like the relationship between Irish and English.
Ireland: Potato Famine
Ukraine: Holomodor
Ireland: Gaelic (though most Irish speak English as their first language)
Ukraine: Ukrainian (though most Ukrainians speak Russian as their first language)
And the disputed areas in the Eastern part of the country are a lot like Ulster.
And apparently Putin is intent on being Cromwell!
Well Putin does have a rather Round head. Putin as the Lord Protector of Ukraine— gonna have a hard a@@ time selling that to anyone in the country. As Cromwell “protected” Ireland.
Later, another English king dug up Cromwell’s body from the grave and stuck in a gibbet and put the skull on a pike— absolutely weird.
“If the Russians don’t have a large stock of smart bombs, they surely have a bunch cold war dumb bombs that can be unloaded.” [glorgau, post 37]
Soviet (and later, Russian) Frontovaya Aviatsiya has always been much more closely tied to ground forces. They have never developed the level of close air support, interdiction, and long range strike capabilities the Western Allies placed so much emphasis on. And they never built up much of an ultra-long-range strike force of manned bombers - not the way the United States and the UK did, during and after World War Two.
Their reserve stocks of “dumb” (unguided) munitions are not very big. And they don’t have many big airframes to carry such weapons to a target.
Once nukes start dropping others will use theirs. This has always been the fear. The stigma against their use will be gone.
You got me I don’t know what Putin thinks. For all I know he expected a long drawn out, bloody, and ultimately unsuccessful military incursion into Ukraine.
Whether to squeeze the toothpaste tube in the middle or the end?
😜😬😂
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