The Gepard twin-cannon system has been in service with the German army since the 1970s and is based on the chassis of the Leopard tank.
German media say there are also plans to deliver about 100 Marder infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine and some old Leopard battle tanks.
Not dissimilar to my late 80's Tamiya-equipped bookshelf.
Meanwhile recent Moldovan election swinging away from pro-russian parties amplified by what Russia has done in Ukraine has got Putin spooked he might lose his hold over Transnistria
FSB/Putin are mad if they think they can coordinate opening up another front in this war tho.
https://twitter.com/michaelh992/status/1518887491016830976
Victimhood is a pretty standard populist trick
Yes, it's the standard right wing playbook - equal pay for women is unfair on men, cycle lanes are 'war on the motorist,' refraining from using the N word is an attack on Great British Culture or whatever.
Pretend you're a poor hard-done-by victim, and then take revenge on the people you resent. It's what Hitler did, it's what the Hutus in Rwanda did, it's what Putin's doing, it's what Trump tried to do, and it's what right-wing commentators across the world enable every day. Whilst accusing everyone else of claiming victimhood, obviously.
It's the only way they can justify their violence.
it’s what Trump
tried to dodid and is still doing
FTFY, but that belongs in the Trump thread.
FTFY, but that belongs in the Trump thread.
funnily enough, I actually said 'did' initially, but I edited the post because I thought some pedant would try to argue the point 😆
With Transnistria, how is Russia supplying their troops there? They obviously can't travel through Ukraine, Moldova and Transnistria are land locked, and the countries to the west of Moldova are in Nato. I have heard there are very large Soviet weapons dumps there, but from what has been shown of old soviet equipment, its not going to be great.
Would Putin's plan be to throw his soldiers in Transnistria to their deaths in the hope of diverting enough Ukrainians away from the Donbas?
One reason, why Russia is finding it so tough to take the Mariupol steel works. That and the incredibly tenacious and courageous defenders. Even if the Russians eventually take this place, the huge resources tied up by it will have been degraded massively and prevented from joining the fight elsewhere. They will write about the Mariupol defenders in the history books.
https://twitter.com/militaryhistori/status/1518871141363949568?t=az-P_lq8kmmF2X84DtejnA&s=19
"They will write about the Mariupol defenders in the history books."
Hopefully for the right reasons. I've read some pretty disturbing stuff about the Azov Regiment.
One reason, why Russia is finding it so tough to take the Mariupol steel works.
Must be really annoying for the Russians that that seems to be about the only bit of military infrastructure they built well.
One reason, why Russia is finding it so tough to take the Mariupol steel works.
Here's what it looks like on the inside. Note how many flights of stairs they have to go down to get to the spot where the civilians and kids are hiding.
https://twitter.com/CanadianUkrain1/status/1517741197611220992
Hopefully for the right reasons. I’ve read some pretty disturbing stuff about the Azov Regiment.
The first thing to remember when reading anything about the Azov Regiment is that it’s a primary focal point in a hard fought propaganda war.
Short France24 article here https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220325-azov-regiment-takes-centre-stage-in-ukraine-propaganda-war
Edit, actually AP but published across multiple outlets
"In 2014 this battalion had indeed a far-right background, these were far-right racists that founded the battalion," said Andreas Umland at the Stockholm Centre for Eastern European Studies.But it had since become "de-ideologised" and a regular fighting unit, he told AFP./quote]
Overall, ultra-nationalist political forces have been on the decline in Ukraine since 2014, said Anna Colin Lebedev at France's Paris Nanterre University.The same cannot be said for Russia.
Thanks @piemonster, I was looking for something similar to post re Azov. However, I do think their likely treatment by the Russians if captured is another factor is their motivation to carry on.
To put things into perspective about the far right in Ukraine, they got around 2.5% of the vote last time around. In France, the far right just got 45% of the vote.
Deleted, duplicate post.
In France, the far right just got 45% of the vote.
I suspect they find it easier to get multi million pound loans from Russian “banks”
“In 2014 this battalion had indeed a far-right background, these were far-right racists that founded the battalion,” said Andreas Umland at the Stockholm Centre for Eastern European Studies.
But it had since become “de-ideologised” and a regular fighting unit, he told AFP./quote]"
Firstly I want to make it clear that I want Ukraine to win this war and I'm no Putin apologist, but I think it's very dangerous to just assume the above quote is entirely correct and blindly work on the premise that our enemy's enemy is our friend. Because that's always worked out really well in the past hasn't it? People who are holocaust deniers don't tend to just alter their views at the drop of a hat.
I've read so many conflicting reports about the Azov I really don't know what to believe any more. There was a report in the Washington Post that essentially said "It was founded to be explicitly Neo-Nazi, but now while lots of folks are aware of it's history, it's not really Neo- Nazi any more. (turnover in the organisation, lack of recruitment, deaths etc)
The BBC a couple of years back were reporting that there are Jewish members (one of the founding members I think) and there's other stuff I've read that has tried to say the while they identify as Far right, in the context of Ukraine that's not necessarily always anti Semitic.
Who knows? I think it's probably safer to assume that it's a far right movement than not. I'm certainly treating anything that says otherwise with suspicion/caution
but I think it’s very dangerous to just assume the above quote is entirely correct and blindly work on the premise that our enemy’s enemy is our friend.
Agree with that, but like Nick says, and as I’d hoped to imply.
Both sides are fighting a propaganda war so you shouldn’t just blindly work on anyones premise as being true.
I'm certainly not doing that piemonster. As I stated in a post earlier in this thread, propoganda is a tool of war used by both sides, always has been, always will be.
It looks like events in Transnistria are worth watching over the next few days. Some speculation the Russians are trying to open a second front there. They don’t seem to be making a lot of progress in East Ukraine so it is hard to see how that would benefit them, but it is hard to know what is really happening on the ground so who knows…
It looks like events in Transnistria are worth watching over the next few days. Some speculation the Russians are trying to open a second front there.
They got thrashed in Kyiv. They are struggling in Donbas, quite likely about to see their army broken. Any talk of opening a new front is just propaganda aimed at building support within Russia, probably a hail-Mary for recruiting cannon fodder. Russia does not have any military resources capable of launching a new front.
Russia does not have any military resources capable of launching a new front.
Do they have enough troops based there to force the Ukranians to pull troops back from the Donbas to deal with them? Just a thought.
Russia's stuck advancing 5 battle groups in the east and south, adding a 6th in the west with even worse supply lines is madness.
So they'll do it.
So they’ll do it.
Here's hoping
As I said a month ago, taking all the south coast was always a likely aim for Russia. Ukraine still existing, but cut off from the coast while Russia simultaneously complains about them trading more and more with the EU and makes them landbound by forming a "New Russia" to the South, is a likely next stage after this latest advance by Russia cools down for a while. When that temporary "end" to military operations does come... it's not just Ukraine that'll be holding its breath to see when and where the next advance comes. Moldova, Romania, Slovakia, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia... they won't feel safe.
I think i read there are 1500 russian troops posted to transnistria
Reading around I get the impression Tranistrians are/were pretty happy with their lot
It looks like events in Transnistria are worth watching over the next few days. Some speculation the Russians are trying to open a second front there
Don't underestimate the need for a victory at the May 9th parade.
Reading around I get the impression Tranistrians are/were pretty happy with their lot
You've read that they "pretty happy" to get drawn into the Ukraine war? Or just "pretty happy" with Russian, er, support for independence from Moldova?
And Moldova, I suspect are/were pretty happy to let them get on with it.
I very much doubt that the troops in Transnistria are capable of more than offering a brief distraction and maybe make Ukraine have to send some reserves in that direction. So it remains to be seen whether this is a false flag to give the pretext for this, or Ukraine acting pre-emptively to make such a move less likely.
If they really want to take and keep Odesa, rather than just flatten it, then troops and supplies from Transnistria come into play.
Reading around I get the impression Tranistrians are/were pretty happy with their lot
Worth watching bald's YouTube video:
If they really want to take and keep Odesa
Whether this remains a realistic aim is another matter. They won't be able to take it without flattening pretty much the most historically significant city in Eastern Europe.
If Russia took control of the South of Ukraine and cut off access to the black sea, the remaining country would be crippled economically.
Worth watching bald’s YouTube video:
That's as intense as a rural North Wales pub. Great video.
the remaining country would be crippled economically
Is that not the aim? To deny a neighbour economic success?
That’s as intense as a rural North Wales pub.
That takes me back to a day in Llwyngwril pub. Wales were playing England. I and the soon to be mrs_oab were the only English in the pub. 😨
If Russia took control of the South of Ukraine and cut off access to the black sea, the remaining country would be crippled economically.
For the Ukranian's losing any land now means living with the ogres that caused all this. And the threat of more war on the whim of that ogre.
It is literally life and death.
And the threat of more war on the whim of that ogre.
There is now no way to avoid that now though, is there? Short of other countries getting involved to protect Ukraine, nothing will keep them safe from future Russian attacks.
I think they've got this from a Polish news source here https://www.onet.pl/
The comments section is probably colourful
Hours after a Polish news outlet reported that Russia had cut off the gas to Poland, Gazprom PJSC said payment was due today. It didn’t say what would happen if payment wasn’t made but President Vladimir Putin has previously warned that supplies would be halted if his terms weren’t met.
Re Transnistria
Expired arms, tepid fighters: Russian ally Transnistria may have little to offer for Putin’s war
Transnistria is a distraction, I think
By which I mean wildly guess
Pretty sure it's already been called a distraction by a senior Ukrainian Army member.
So Germany is sending 'tanks' (see journalist definition of tanks above) to Ukraine. Does anyone else feel like there is going to be a slow escalation until we are actively engaging with Russian troops?
Nope
"Don’t underestimate the need for a victory at the May 9th parade."
Given that Putin has told us this would be the case there could be a chance that the new iron curtain will be drawn pretty much where respective forces are positioned on May 8th.
I imagine that the positions won't change much from where they are now, given the Russians performance thus far, potentially a bit more territory in the East gained but the Russians don't seem to be making enormous progress there thus far.
Always thought that most of the Ukranian capability would be kept in the South West in order to preserve Black Sea access at all costs.
The current Russian positions are going to leave them very exposed with a long and porous "border" which will be difficult to defend and much of the land behind the border accessible to short range weapons of which the West will continue to pour into Ukraine..
Given that Putin has told us this would be the case there could be a chance that the new iron curtain will be drawn pretty much where respective forces are positioned on May 8th.
Well he can draw it across Ukraine if he likes but don't expect Ukraine to say "OK".
