Or the last dead Russian. The U.S. has little choice in the matter--we're only providing weapons, ammo, and advice, plus humanitarian aid. The decision to fight on belongs to Ukraine and Russia alone.
Ukraine reversed some of Russia's advances in the Avdiivka area, regaining ground lost since Dec. 1st. Russia made some advances in other areas. Ukrainian Forces advance near Avdiivka, heavy fighting ongoing near coke plant and in industrial area – ISW
An official from Poland believes Russia could attack NATO within three years. I suspect he's being a little pessimistic. It would likely take at least 7-10 years for Russia to rebuild enough to take on European countries, much less the U.S. Putin is stupid, but not that stupid. Polish official: Russia could attack NATO within 3 years
Finland decides to lead the way in boosting production of artillery shells for Ukraine. Minister: Finland plans shell production boost to arm Ukraine
Perhaps realizing that it’s not a great idea to see every Ukrainian die, in a futile attempt to weaken Russia, US applying tough love to force Ukraine to the negotiating table … https://www.moonofalabama.org/2023/...ne-towards-negotiations-with-russia.html#more
I'd read in the past that fighting is tough in the Spring due to mud from melting ice and snow. I wonder how the winter weather affects the fighting over there. I guess it doesn't get as frigid as some parts of Russia though.
That is true. For whatever reason, though, the mud tends to be worse in the fall than the spring. Don’t know why.
My seasonal terrain understanding: Fall gets muddy because "the trees have stopped drinking". When trees and other vegetation are full of folliage and doing their thing, they suck up all the water. When they go dormant in the fall - the fall rains simply saturate the ground. The winter can actualy improve / ease overground transportation options and routes as roads, fall mud, and swampy areas freeze. Of course - snow can negate this advantage. The spring eventually sees the opposite effect as the fall, but not before the frost comes out of the ground. The frost thawig is a huge soupy mess that doesn't get fully alleviated until those trees get thirsty once again.
Spring weather is apparently a good time to lay down Top Secret minefields, and then wait for later in the year when your own troops advance across them with no idea they are there and get blown up. It's like Russian Roulette, but with landmines. It keeps the troops on their toes--literally. The games also help lighten the mood. Russians are masters at war strategy . . .
What a pathetic joke of a post. The idea of Russia beating the combined forces of the U.S., Europe, and NATO when no actual soldiers from these organizations/countries are fighting, and their latest and greatest weapons are not in use, is completely absurd. And no, Russia is STILL not winning the war at this time. At the rate they are gaining ground (and losing it in other places), and spending money on their war machine, Russia may be broke before they get anywhere near Kiev.
One interesting detail about the Abrams tanks we sent to Ukraine is that they are designed for use in muddy conditions. It's doubtful that 31 tanks could make a huge impact on the war, of course, but they could make things interesting if there was terrain and weaker defenses in part of the front to encourage their use. I am perplexed as to why the U.S. has not provided 200 or more of these tanks, since we have 10,000 of them.
Same. The original timeline for invading the Soviet Union was supposed to jump off about two months before it did in June 1941. This was designed to start after the spring mud and accomplish accomplish objectives before the fall mud. However, Mussolini suffered an embarrassing defeat when he tried to invade Greece (without consulting Hitler), and Yugoslavia had a coup that put in a slightly less Nazi-friendly regime. Hitler then had to divert resources to subjugating Greece and Yugoslavia. Who knows what might have happened if the Germans had stuck to their original timeline? Probably the same thing in the end, but you never can be certain.
Ukraine shot down a Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer over the western part of the Black Sea. A Patriot missile is suspected, but shorter range missiles might have been used. The Su-24 was suspected of trying to use a glide bomb to attack Odessa. Ukraine is claiming that if they shoot down another 59 aircraft over this area, then the Moskva will become an aircraft carrier. Russian Su-24 Shot Down Over Black Sea Points To Tactical Shift
You hit on a very interesting perspective for those that wonder "what if" regarding Barbarossa. To site your example: What if Hitler had secured the Balkans and delayed invasion until early spring 1942? What if Hitler focused on knocking Britain out before attacking Russia? What if Hitler directed the Wermacht to go straight on to Moscow instead of turning the bulk of his armored forces to Kiev? Guderian has an interesting perspective in his memoirs that if industrial production had simply concentrated more on providing spare parts and of course upgrading the panzers to larger caliber guns he would have taken Moscow in 41. I could go on, and for any readers of this post I'm not suggesting any sympathy for the Nazi war machine, but these questions are often considered by the military historian, in that the subject of WW2 is an extensively written about subject. And I have barely touched on the what if scenarios. One aspect I find particularly interesting is that Hitler, after the stunning victory in France, and soaking in the adoration of millions of Germans, considered himself an unbeatable military genius, never mind fall gelb was Mansteins plan. Here's another what if, imagine if Germany never attacked Russia at all, or delayed it and developed heavy water technology? Really stunning to think about just how precarious the current time line hung in the balance in 1941. Sorry to get away from mud, but the early 40s really is an interesting and pivotal point in history. I of course, believe the Nazis got everything they deserved in the end and am supremely happy that odious regime did not last 1,000 years, rather 12. Regrettably it was not shorter.
Russians are using drones to kill wounded Russians who are trying to surrender to Ukraine. Presumably, Russia is using more of its ammunition on Ukrainians than on Russians, but with this incompetent Russian military, you never know. Russian forces are killing their own wounded with drones to stop them from surrendering, Ukrainian officials say
