Welcome home, fellow Gator.

The Gator Nation's oldest and most active insider community
Join today!

War in Ukraine

Discussion in 'Too Hot for Swamp Gas' started by PITBOSS, Jan 21, 2022.

  1. gogator7444

    gogator7444 GC Hall of Fame

    3,051
    939
    1,858
    Nov 24, 2021
    Buffalo NY
    I agree on the right now point but this isn't going to end soon & the sooner the US & others train Ukranians on this (and sounds like this has been started now), then the sooner that point becomes moot & Ukraine can go on the attack to get them ALL the way out.

    It does boggle the mind that even in deep "haven't been used in 30 years" stockpiles there isn't anything that's similar enough to send. Conversely, hard to believe in an era where the Navy uses XBOX type controllers there isn't something that would be familiar enough to use.

    And again with as much stockpile as the US has there should be a greater, faster effort to get Ukraine what it needs from the Soviet bloc folks and backfill in with the US stuff. This isn't the 1800s where things take months to move around.
     
  2. reboundgtr

    reboundgtr VIP Member

    1,681
    385
    1,808
    Oct 14, 2017
    Jawja
    I think the Guards Tank units are their best. Tanks are now more vulnerable even with infantry screens.
    Russias combined arms operations are abysmal from my pov.
     
    • Agree Agree x 1
  3. gogator7444

    gogator7444 GC Hall of Fame

    3,051
    939
    1,858
    Nov 24, 2021
    Buffalo NY
    • Agree Agree x 4
  4. gogator7444

    gogator7444 GC Hall of Fame

    3,051
    939
    1,858
    Nov 24, 2021
    Buffalo NY
    More from CNN live

    "Cheney, who serves on the House Armed Services Committee, also said she disagrees with White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan about negotiating with Russian President Vladimir Putin. "No, I wasn't satisfied with what I heard," she said in reference to Sullivan’s interview with Tapper earlier in the program. "I think that that it's crucially important that United States be clear that we are absolutely committed to Zelensky's victory. We should not be talking about, as Jake Sullivan did just now, improving Zelensky's position at the negotiating table. This is about defeating Russian forces in Ukraine."

    She also knocked the Biden administration over the supply of weapons to Ukraine, saying “we need to be doing right now is doing much more much faster to provide them with the equipment that they need.”

    She said the United States should be more involved in the sea of Azov to keep aid going to Ukraine, saying “we ought to be doing much more to help keep the shipping lanes open to ensure that the Ukrainians are not continuing to suffer from the kind of economic blockade that the Russians are attempting to impose now," she said.

    "I think the West and NATO has got to understand that Putin's defeat in Ukraine is a fundamental national security interest for us.""
    ......
    Bravo!
     
  5. uftaipan

    uftaipan GC Hall of Fame

    8,917
    2,100
    1,483
    May 31, 2007
    Fresno, CA
    It sure appears that way. But at some point they are going to figure out how to advance along broad fronts with a rolling barrage of artillery in front of them. You only advance a few kilometers per day and you destroy more stable terrain than you would like, but it neutralizes the effect of man-portable weapons.
     
  6. uftaipan

    uftaipan GC Hall of Fame

    8,917
    2,100
    1,483
    May 31, 2007
    Fresno, CA
    She is correct. Sullivan needs to be out on his ass. He doesn’t know what he’s doing, and he’s advising the President very poorly.
     
    • Agree Agree x 2
  7. VAg8r1

    VAg8r1 GC Hall of Fame

    20,864
    1,735
    1,763
    Apr 8, 2007
    That strategy may be somewhat effective against Javelin missiles which have a range of around 2500m (2.5 km). Not sure about the "switchblade" drones which have a range of around 40km (25 miles).
     
    • Agree Agree x 1
  8. uftaipan

    uftaipan GC Hall of Fame

    8,917
    2,100
    1,483
    May 31, 2007
    Fresno, CA
    You still need line of sight for that 2500m. A deliberate advance under a rolling barrage tends reduce visibility. You are correct, of course, about the drones. What limits their effectiveness is the broad front aspect. They are much better employed against a long column along an avenue of approach.

    And not for nothing, but we’re talking about tactics, not strategy ;)
     
    Last edited: Apr 10, 2022
  9. vaxcardinal

    vaxcardinal GC Hall of Fame

    7,108
    1,076
    2,043
    Apr 8, 2007
    Having an Xbox type controller doesn’t mean the equipment is as easy to use as an Xbox.
     
  10. vaxcardinal

    vaxcardinal GC Hall of Fame

    7,108
    1,076
    2,043
    Apr 8, 2007
    Also need to train on how to maintain the equipment
     
    • Agree Agree x 1
  11. gogator7444

    gogator7444 GC Hall of Fame

    3,051
    939
    1,858
    Nov 24, 2021
    Buffalo NY
    Maybe the Russians need to be denazified

     
    • Informative Informative x 1
  12. uftaipan

    uftaipan GC Hall of Fame

    8,917
    2,100
    1,483
    May 31, 2007
    Fresno, CA
    Yes. That is part of the logistical element. Obviously, it’s an entirely different group of soldiers who maintain the equipment versus those who operate it.
     
    Last edited: Apr 10, 2022
  13. gogator7444

    gogator7444 GC Hall of Fame

    3,051
    939
    1,858
    Nov 24, 2021
    Buffalo NY
    Not entirely. However, the reasoning behind that via research was that it made it more intuitive for modern soldiers because it was something they were used to...versus several different sticks, knobs, etc. Kind of like the modern version of making a grenade ball shaped for WW2 because they figured every American boy could throw a baseball. So no, not necessarily easy. But have you SEEN some of these games like Fortnite? Holy smokes watching my son play & fly through heads up displays, weapon changes, etc. It's not exactly simple.

    Edit to add -- I will say that's probably why the drones are easier to send than the tanks. Have never been in a tank so assuming way more to learn. Drones are probably closer to video games in a way.
     
  14. vaxcardinal

    vaxcardinal GC Hall of Fame

    7,108
    1,076
    2,043
    Apr 8, 2007
    So grenades are round because of American baseball?
     
  15. danmann65

    danmann65 All American

    485
    126
    1,898
    May 22, 2015
    American grenades are. German grenades in WW2 were nicknamed potato mashers.
     
  16. gogator7444

    gogator7444 GC Hall of Fame

    3,051
    939
    1,858
    Nov 24, 2021
    Buffalo NY
    BEANO T-13 grenade - Wikipedia

    "The concept for the BEANO hand grenade was that a spherical grenade the size and weight of a common baseball would be effective in the hands of American troops. The designers believed that by emulating a baseball, any young American man should be able to properly throw the grenade with both accuracy and distance."

    Edit - bold wasn't added by me :) but yes this is one example. Ironically my son is the one that taught me this LOL
     
    • Informative Informative x 3
  17. gogator7444

    gogator7444 GC Hall of Fame

    3,051
    939
    1,858
    Nov 24, 2021
    Buffalo NY
    :emoji_joy:
     
    • Funny Funny x 1
  18. uftaipan

    uftaipan GC Hall of Fame

    8,917
    2,100
    1,483
    May 31, 2007
    Fresno, CA
    Actually, that’s how I heard it.
     
  19. gogator7444

    gogator7444 GC Hall of Fame

    3,051
    939
    1,858
    Nov 24, 2021
    Buffalo NY
    There it is...
    Russia has defaulted on its foreign debt, S&P says - CNN

    "Russia has defaulted on its foreign debt because it offered bondholders payments in rubles, not dollars, credit ratings agency S&P has said.

    Russia attempted to pay in rubles for two dollar-denominated bonds that matured on April 4, S&P said in a note on Friday. The agency said this amounted to a "selective default" because investors are unlikely to be able to convert the rubles into "dollars equivalent to the originally due amounts."

    Moscow has a grace period of 30 days from April 4 to make the payments of capital and interest, but S&P said it does not expect it will convert them into dollars given Western sanctions that undermine its "willingness and technical abilities to honor the terms and conditions" of its obligations."
     
    • Like Like x 1
  20. gogator7444

    gogator7444 GC Hall of Fame

    3,051
    939
    1,858
    Nov 24, 2021
    Buffalo NY
    This should be reversed :mad: cnn live

    "In an economic update of the region, the World Bank said Sunday that Ukraine’s economy is expected to shrink by an estimated 45.1 percent this year, “although the magnitude of the contraction will depend on the duration and intensity of the war.”

    Anna Bjerde, World Bank Vice President for the Europe and Central Asia region, said the "magnitude of the humanitarian crisis unleashed by the war is staggering. The Russian invasion is delivering a massive blow to Ukraine’s economy and it has inflicted enormous damage to infrastructure.” She added:

    Ukraine needs massive financial support immediately as it struggles to keep its economy going and the government running to support Ukrainian citizens who are suffering and coping with an extreme situation.”

    World Bank forecasts that Russia’s economy will contract by 11.2 percent in 2022 following tough sanctions."