My grandfather brought home a German bullet from WW1. Maybe I have it around somewhere. I do have his hat identifying his machine gun unit. Perhaps a donation is in order?
Interesting article. We see mostly Ukrainian successes. But on the front-lines, they are outmanned, outgunned, no supplies and no communication. they still fight gallantly, but seems like just a matter of time before they are overwhelmed in the east. “Stuck in their trenches, the Ukrainian volunteers lived off a potato per day as Russian forces pounded them with artillery and Grad rockets on a key eastern front line. Outnumbered, untrained and clutching only light weapons, the men prayed for the barrage to end… The volunteers were civilians before Russia invaded on Feb. 24, and they never expected to be dispatched to one of the most dangerous front lines in eastern Ukraine. They quickly found themselves in the crosshairs of war, feeling abandoned by their military superiors and struggling to survive.” Despite the hardships, his men have fought courageously, Lapko said. Pointing at Khrus, he declared: “This guy here is a legend, a hero.” Khrus and his platoon, his commander said, have killed more than 50 Russian soldiers in close-up battles.”
Ukraine still receiving heavier armaments. Two different types of self propelled artillery…. One type of M109 self-propelled artillery mounts arrive in Ukraine, fleet of 155-mm artillery being replenished
More mainstream media now report on the huge damage the Russian artillery is causing to the Ukrainian frontline troops. Even the New York Times joined in: Under the fire of Russia’s long-range arsenal and facing a desperate need for ammunition and weapons, Ukrainian forces remain outgunned on the long and pockmarked eastern front, according to military analysts, Ukrainian officials and soldiers on the ground. Just one engagement on Thursday and Friday on a small swath of the line, in a forest north of the town of Sloviansk, sent about a dozen Ukrainian soldiers to a military hospital with harrowing shrapnel wounds. “You ask how the fighting is going,” said Oleksandr Kolesnikov, the commander of a company of soldiers fighting in the forest, interviewed on an ambulance gurney outside a military hospital in Kramatorsk. “There was a commander of the company. He was killed. There was another commander. He was killed. A third commander was wounded. I am the fourth.” Another example from the Washington Post: “Seventy people from my battalion were injured in the last week,” said a soldier and ambulance driver just outside the hospital gates who identified himself only as Vlad, 29. “I lost too many friends; it’s hard for me. I don’t know how many. … It’s getting worse every day.” The night before, he said, the shelling was so loud he hardly got any sleep. “It’s all artillery bombing down,” he said. “All the wounded are coming from shrapnel. Most guys in the trenches haven’t even seen the enemy face-to-face.”
I'm not a veteran, but from my readings, and I've read volumes, being continuously shelled is by far the worst experience for a soldier. Men simply break.
Ukraine suffers on battlefield while pleading for US arms Having now regrouped, Russian troops are making incremental but steady progress in their campaign in the east and are regularly employing heavy flamethrowers and long-range artillery that Ukrainian forces lack, leaving Kyiv on the back foot. Though Ukrainian resistance has made the fight a slog for Russian forces, Moscow is inching closer to encircling Ukraine’s biggest strongholds in the Donbas region, while fighting on territory contiguous to Russia with easier supply lines.
It was probably very effective at driving the Russians from Kharkiv although the Ukrainians clearly need more and the advanced MLRS systems that we are sending Ukraine will make a difference. Howitzers Proving Very Effective Against Russians, DOD Official Says > U.S. Department of Defense > Defense Department News Ukraine may soon get US long-range MLRS rocket system Keep in mind that the Russians still have numbers.
I think it will help, but artillery duels tend to be a numbers game. And in pure numbers Russia is always going to outgun Ukraine. Unless Ukraine can achieve air superiority (not really in the cards; they are blessed to continue to have contested skies versus Russian domination of the air), I don’t know what Ukraine can do about Russia’s artillery advantage. Their best strategy seems to be trading space for time, maximizing Russian casualties, and praying either for foreign intervention or Russian collapse on its home front.
The biggest mistake has been allowing the Russians to regroup. Germany, France, and others flinching have absolutely hurt....even our own somewhat slow response (some of these items should've been sent way earlier) have allowed Russia to breathe. Unfortunately I think the time to crush Russia passed and all Putin has to do is outlast & hope Ukranine comes to the table to give up its territories like France & German want. The waffling on the airplanes, waiting on long-range, and a tiring & wavering "united" front don't bode well for Ukraine. Or the world.
Looks like “no” on long range missiles. Biden rejects Ukraine long-range rocket request as Russia advances
Was just about to post on that can anyone in that administration decide on a stance/course? Feels like someone says something then it's walked back, then it's changed, then changed again.
Yep, Either we want Ukraine to win this and he a free country or we do not. If we allow Ukraine to fail, that opens up cans of worms all over the planet. The Ukrainians have the will to fight, they just need the means to do so.
Right as right can be except, in my opinion, the idea that Ukraine can win if we just give them the right stuff. I think we are seeing just about the maximum that Ukraine is capable of with generous supplies alone. The “right stuff” they need to win at this point is a professional, combat-tested navy and air force. I only know one in the world of each that could make a decisive difference at this point.
As discussed way upthread, there are of course risks of escalation to a place none of us want if US and or NATO forces become directly involved. There is very little doubt what those forces would do to the forces Russia is throwing at Ukraine. In that eventuality, are we willing to take the risk that Vlad doesn't start lobbing nukes at us or even escalating with conventional targeting of our assets or territory?
