Russia Masses Military Equipment Near Ukraine Borders: A Prologue to WWIII?

[spartan max2]

7 minutes ago, Occult1 said:

Ukraine war: Russia destroys aircraft repair plant near western city of Lviv

Russian missiles have hit an aircraft repair plant near Lviv in western Ukraine, a city that has become a safe haven for people fleeing the war.

Emergency vehicles raced to the site of the strike, just 6km (four miles) from the city centre, after three loud explosions were heard early on Friday.

[...]

"There have been air raid alarms here every morning, but now the strikes are actually landing," Valentin Vovchenko, 82, told the AFP news agency from Lviv. "We fled Kyiv because of the attacks but now they've started to hit here."

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60791471

There are reports that the Ukrainian air capabilities have been totally degraded beyond repair.

Reading your own article, you understand this is a bad thing, yes?

Quote

Russian missiles have hit an aircraft repair plant near Lviv in western Ukraine, a city that has become a safe haven for people fleeing the war.

 

You have any thoughts on the 80% of homes Russia destroyed ?

Quote

https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/officials-say-80-of-homes-destroyed-in-mariupol/

 

Edited March 18, 2022 by spartan max2

[Myles]

12 minutes ago, spartan max2 said:

Reading your own article, you understand this is a bad thing, yes?

 

 

 

Yeah, it is tough to find anything positive in any of this action.  If I had to stretch, I guess its good that they aimed at strategic sites instead of residential areas this time.   That is quite a stretch for a positive though.

[Occult1]

51 minutes ago, spartan max2 said:

Reading your own article, you understand this is a bad thing, yes?

 

I absolutely agree.

There are reports that the supply food chains of major Ukrainian cities is falling apart.

World Food Programme says supply chains 'falling apart' in Ukraine

''GENEVA, March 18 (Reuters) - A World Food Programme (WFP) official said on Friday that food supply chains in Ukraine were collapsing, with a portion of infrastructure destroyed and many grocery stores and warehouses empty.

"The country's food supply chain is falling apart. Movements of goods have slowed down due to insecurity and the reluctance of drivers," Jakob Kern, WFP Emergency Coordinator for the Ukraine crisis, told a Geneva press briefing by videolink from Poland.''

https://www.reuters.com/world/world-food-programme-says-supply-chains-falling-apart-ukraine-2022-03-18/

There comes a time when Ukrainian forces should lay down their arms and surrender. Or Zelensky should sign an agreement. The population doesn't have to suffer needlessly.

Edited March 18, 2022 by Occult1

[ExpandMyMind]

33 minutes ago, Occult1 said:

Ukraine war: Russia destroys aircraft repair plant near western city of Lviv

Russian missiles have hit an aircraft repair plant near Lviv in western Ukraine, a city that has become a safe haven for people fleeing the war.

Emergency vehicles raced to the site of the strike, just 6km (four miles) from the city centre, after three loud explosions were heard early on Friday.

[...]

"There have been air raid alarms here every morning, but now the strikes are actually landing," Valentin Vovchenko, 82, told the AFP news agency from Lviv. "We fled Kyiv because of the attacks but now they've started to hit here."

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60791471

There are reports that the Ukrainian air capabilities have been totally degraded beyond repair.

Well that was silly. If they take Ukraine they’ll need one of them 

Although, realistically they don’t have anyone skilled enough to do the repairs on their soon to be defunct commercial flight industry.

[spartan max2]

10 minutes ago, Occult1 said:

There comes a time when Ukrainian should lay down their arms and surrender. Or Zelensky should sign an agreement. The population doesn't have to suffer needlessly.

Putin is causing this and your response is that he should not stop invading?

Explain your morals. I  honestly don't understand them.

[spartan max2]

14 minutes ago, Myles said:

Yeah, it is tough to find anything positive in any of this action.  If I had to stretch, I guess its good that they aimed at strategic sites instead of residential areas this time.   That is quite a stretch for a positive though.

My brother who is in military intelligence claims Russia switched back to "cold war" tactics where they just demolish cities and such.

[DarkHunter]

1 minute ago, spartan max2 said:

My brother who is in military intelligence claims Russia switched back to "cold war" tactics where they just demolish cities and such.

With Ukraine getting switchblade drones soon the Russian artillery wont be safe for much longer.  Interestingly enough an amateur group of drone enthusiast in Ukraine have teamed up with the Ukranian military and they have modified their drones to be able to drop anti-tank grenades, probably RPG warheads, onto the top of Russian vehicles.  Seems they largely operate at night as they have thermal cameras on their drones and have done noticable damage to Russian logistics.

[CrimsonKing]

12 minutes ago, ExpandMyMind said:

Well that was silly. If they take Ukraine they’ll need one of them 

Although, realistically they don’t have anyone skilled enough to do the repairs on their soon to be defunct commercial flight industry.

No doubt...

When all is said and done, Ukraine will have to answer for their own war crimes!...

Surely destroying all those priceless antique tanks is a crime in and of itself! 

[ExpandMyMind]

26 minutes ago, CrimsonKing said:

No doubt...

When all is said and done, Ukraine will have to answer for their own war crimes!...

Surely destroying all those priceless antique tanks is a crime in and of itself! 

You mean the ones they don’t kindly donate? I think Ukraine actually have more tanks and other vehicles now than when this started 

I laughed, but I wasn’t actually joking.

[CrimsonKing]

1 minute ago, ExpandMyMind said:

You mean the ones they don’t kindly donate? I think Ukraine actually have more tanks and other vehicles now than when this started 

I laughed, but I wasn’t actually joking.

scrap iron is also a hot commodity there aswell!...worth more than rubles anyway lol

[Occult1]

Russia's Military Progress Slows, but It Makes Gains in the South and East

''Russia’s recent territorial gains have been mostly in the south and east of the country, including in the areas around Mariupol, according to assessments by Western governments and independent analysts. Russian forces have advanced from the southern city of Kherson, which they have captured, toward Kryvyi Rih, closer to the center of Ukraine.

Russia also continued its assaults on Mariupol from the east and west Thursday, and Friday, its Defense Ministry said Russian forces and Russia-backed separatists were “tightening the noose” around the city. The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Russians were carrying out the “total destruction of civilian infrastructure, housing and livelihoods.”

https://www.yahoo.com/now/russias-military-progress-slows-makes-163515719.html

This seems to conform to the idea that Russia is carving out a buffer zone in the southern and eastern parts of Ukraine. These will become independent territories, under Russia's sphere of influence.

Edited March 18, 2022 by Occult1

[spud the mackem]

On 3/17/2022 at 12:24 AM, susieice said:

Links. Because no. I'm not seeing that.

Agreed , Ukrainians are Not being forced at gunpoint to return , they are being asked if they want to return and volunteer to fight , if they say no , they are being accepted into the U.K. no one is forcing them to do anything . 

[spud the mackem]

On 3/17/2022 at 12:42 AM, Occult1 said:

That's scary.

That means a lot of Ukrainians actually don't want to fight. They would rather flee and would probably welcome the Russian army liberating them.

In that case why did they leave , have you thought that there maybe reasons why they are leaving ,such as ill health ,physical disability , old age , some of your comments are not making sense . 

[Myles]

2 hours ago, Occult1 said:

 

There comes a time when Ukrainian forces should lay down their arms and surrender. Or Zelensky should sign an agreement. The population doesn't have to suffer needlessly.

You mean the Russian troops don't have to kill people needlessly.  

[spud the mackem]

On 3/17/2022 at 1:05 AM, GodIsWearingBlack said:

I disagree.  And I wish I was wrong, 100%. If Russia is backed into a corner, or China for that matter, they'll use nukes.  Even if it's just smaller ones, to send a message.  And the minute that first nuke is fired, WWIII is inevitable.  That's the only reason China are silent at the moment, when Russia is asking for military assistance.  For now, they want to make money, not war.  And if they support Russia, they know there's no going back.  

IMO if Russia decided to use Nukes , their own soldiers would also die if within range ,leaving them without an Army , and maybe subject to attack , which they could not defend . 

[Duke Wellington]

Russian tactics are wrong if the aim to to occupy all of Ukraine (it may not be the aim).

To take over the whole country they needed to use their mobility, to avoid taking towns and cities, to avoid trying to break strong points, and to simply go around them. Going around to grab as much undefended territory as quickly as possible, while leaving behind forces to effectively siege towns and cities and strong points does 3 things.

1: It isolates towns and cities stopping their industry working, stopping food supplies, and stopping the production of war materials. As regards the food, it means the Russians would just have to wait for the population in a town or city to peace out to get fed. Its even more effective if they cut the water off.

2. Communications get broken stopping the enemy coordinating military units together to mount attacks on a point.

3. It drags defending forces out of strong points and creates disarray as they try to stop the advance.

In my opinion the goal is not to occupy Ukraine. This may be because Ukraine is seen as the same as Russia so they want to avoid proper war. I think the aim is to cause the Ukrainian president to flee and then a pro-Russian leader installed in his place. Its not been announced in Western media yet but the Ukrainian president has been hiding in the US Embassy in Warsaw for over a week.

[Coil]

17 hours ago, susieice said:

I'm wondering how Coil is doing. He hasn't been in the thread for a while now and I hope he's ok. He said he lived north of Kherson iirc.

Everything is fine with me, the enemy was driven away from Mykolaiv and the sirens have not been sounding all day, markets in the city are starting to work more actively, buses have been allowed to go from villages to the city for shopping, but the Russians can try to attack from Odessa and Moldova with ships and landing forces, but the approaches to Odessa are mined .

For the peace of our cities, repelling the attacks of the enemy, our soldiers pay with their lives.

As far as we can judge, over the past week, the Ukrainian Defense Forces managed to bring reserves into battle and repel the attacks of the Russian invaders directly on Mykolaiv  and, which threatened much more danger, on Voznesensk (there was an option for the Russian group to enter the Odessa-Kyiv highway).

After that, our defenders regrouped, and now they are slowly but surely pushing the adversary towards the Dnieper and the Black Sea. The day before yesterday, Ukrainian units reached the administrative border of the Mykolaiv  and Kherson regions, occupying the important settlement of Posad-Pokrovskoe, which belongs to the Chernobaev territorial community. Yesterday and today we moved even further to the southeast.

The Russian 58th Army rolled back to Kherson, where it is now hastily fortifying. The column, which once again tried to reach Voznesensk, was defeated: out of 300 pieces of equipment, at best, thirty survived, and the occupiers dispersed it over settlements. This greatly complicated the task of the Ukrainian Army: ours are on their own land and, of course, cannot but protect the civilians.

Today, the situation in this direction, one might say, has stabilized, and two days ago real hell reigned there.

“In order to slow down the advance of our troops, the enemy has pulled everything that can shoot there. There were also MLRS, and attack aircraft, and howitzers, there was a real fire hell. We gave the right answer. The main thing is that their infantry and armored vehicles are demoralized and not ready to take the fight. They're retreating, retreating!" - told us on March 15 an officer of the Armed Forces of Ukraine .

According to our interlocutor, the civilian population suffers the most: there are many completely destroyed villages in the war zone. The number of villagers killed by the Russian Nazis is probably already in the hundreds. However, the “liberators” themselves have already died so much in this area that the farmers do not have time to bury. And to be completely honest, they don’t bury at all: they prefer to saw equipment. Alas, we also have losses. Significant.

Liberated territories are highlighted in blue:

*snip*

 

*snip*

Edited March 18, 2022 by rashore
2g

[CrimsonKing]

4 hours ago, Coil said:

Everything is fine with me, the enemy was driven away from Mykolaiv and the sirens have not been sounding all day, markets in the city are starting to work more actively, buses have been allowed to go from villages to the city for shopping, but the Russians can try to attack from Odessa and Moldova with ships and landing forces, but the approaches to Odessa are mined .

For the peace of our cities, repelling the attacks of the enemy, our soldiers pay with their lives.

As far as we can judge, over the past week, the Ukrainian Defense Forces managed to bring reserves into battle and repel the attacks of the Russian invaders directly on Mykolaiv  and, which threatened much more danger, on Voznesensk (there was an option for the Russian group to enter the Odessa-Kyiv highway).

After that, our defenders regrouped, and now they are slowly but surely pushing the adversary towards the Dnieper and the Black Sea. The day before yesterday, Ukrainian units reached the administrative border of the Mykolaiv  and Kherson regions, occupying the important settlement of Posad-Pokrovskoe, which belongs to the Chernobaev territorial community. Yesterday and today we moved even further to the southeast.

The Russian 58th Army rolled back to Kherson, where it is now hastily fortifying. The column, which once again tried to reach Voznesensk, was defeated: out of 300 pieces of equipment, at best, thirty survived, and the occupiers dispersed it over settlements. This greatly complicated the task of the Ukrainian Army: ours are on their own land and, of course, cannot but protect the civilians.

Today, the situation in this direction, one might say, has stabilized, and two days ago real hell reigned there.

“In order to slow down the advance of our troops, the enemy has pulled everything that can shoot there. There were also MLRS, and attack aircraft, and howitzers, there was a real fire hell. We gave the right answer. The main thing is that their infantry and armored vehicles are demoralized and not ready to take the fight. They're retreating, retreating!" - told us on March 15 an officer of the Armed Forces of Ukraine .

According to our interlocutor, the civilian population suffers the most: there are many completely destroyed villages in the war zone. The number of villagers killed by the Russian Nazis is probably already in the hundreds. However, the “liberators” themselves have already died so much in this area that the farmers do not have time to bury. And to be completely honest, they don’t bury at all: they prefer to saw equipment. Alas, we also have losses. Significant.

Liberated territories are highlighted in blue:

*snip*

 

*snip*

Thanks for the information,stay safe 

[CrimsonKing]

31 minutes ago, spud the mackem said:

Agreed , Ukrainians are Not being forced at gunpoint to return , they are being asked if they want to return and volunteer to fight , if they say no , they are being accepted into the U.K. no one is forcing them to do anything . 

As I mentioned previously,the man who holds 3 of the 4 World heavyweight boxing titles put off his training for his next fight and returned home to Ukraine to fight the Russians...that takes serious balls for lack of a better word

[spartan max2]

4 hours ago, Coil said:

Everything is fine with me, the enemy was driven away from Mykolaiv and the sirens have not been sounding all day, markets in the city are starting to work more actively, buses have been allowed to go from villages to the city for shopping, but the Russians can try to attack from Odessa and Moldova with ships and landing forces, but the approaches to Odessa are mined .

For the peace of our cities, repelling the attacks of the enemy, our soldiers pay with their lives.

As far as we can judge, over the past week, the Ukrainian Defense Forces managed to bring reserves into battle and repel the attacks of the Russian invaders directly on Mykolaiv  and, which threatened much more danger, on Voznesensk (there was an option for the Russian group to enter the Odessa-Kyiv highway).

After that, our defenders regrouped, and now they are slowly but surely pushing the adversary towards the Dnieper and the Black Sea. The day before yesterday, Ukrainian units reached the administrative border of the Mykolaiv  and Kherson regions, occupying the important settlement of Posad-Pokrovskoe, which belongs to the Chernobaev territorial community. Yesterday and today we moved even further to the southeast.

The Russian 58th Army rolled back to Kherson, where it is now hastily fortifying. The column, which once again tried to reach Voznesensk, was defeated: out of 300 pieces of equipment, at best, thirty survived, and the occupiers dispersed it over settlements. This greatly complicated the task of the Ukrainian Army: ours are on their own land and, of course, cannot but protect the civilians.

Today, the situation in this direction, one might say, has stabilized, and two days ago real hell reigned there.

“In order to slow down the advance of our troops, the enemy has pulled everything that can shoot there. There were also MLRS, and attack aircraft, and howitzers, there was a real fire hell. We gave the right answer. The main thing is that their infantry and armored vehicles are demoralized and not ready to take the fight. They're retreating, retreating!" - told us on March 15 an officer of the Armed Forces of Ukraine .

According to our interlocutor, the civilian population suffers the most: there are many completely destroyed villages in the war zone. The number of villagers killed by the Russian Nazis is probably already in the hundreds. However, the “liberators” themselves have already died so much in this area that the farmers do not have time to bury. And to be completely honest, they don’t bury at all: they prefer to saw equipment. Alas, we also have losses. Significant.

Liberated territories are highlighted in blue:

*snip*

 

*snip*

I'm glad you're still here 

[Helen of Annoy]

Contrary to Russian propaganda spammed in this thread, it's Russians that are already proverbially prone to surrender, because Russian morale, logistics and tactics are disastrous. 

 

Ukrainian forces are also taking a lot of captives, because of the same reasons mentioned above.

So for example, Melitopol mayor was exchanged for 9 Russians. In other words, Ukraine has plenty of Russians for exchange.  

 https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3431846-melitopol-mayor-exchanged-for-nine-russian-pows.html

 

[spartan max2]

4 hours ago, Coil said:

Everything is fine with me, the enemy was driven away from Mykolaiv and the sirens have not been sounding all day, markets in the city are starting to work more actively, buses have been allowed to go from villages to the city for shopping, but the Russians can try to attack from Odessa and Moldova with ships and landing forces, but the approaches to Odessa are mined .

For the peace of our cities, repelling the attacks of the enemy, our soldiers pay with their lives.

As far as we can judge, over the past week, the Ukrainian Defense Forces managed to bring reserves into battle and repel the attacks of the Russian invaders directly on Mykolaiv  and, which threatened much more danger, on Voznesensk (there was an option for the Russian group to enter the Odessa-Kyiv highway).

After that, our defenders regrouped, and now they are slowly but surely pushing the adversary towards the Dnieper and the Black Sea. The day before yesterday, Ukrainian units reached the administrative border of the Mykolaiv  and Kherson regions, occupying the important settlement of Posad-Pokrovskoe, which belongs to the Chernobaev territorial community. Yesterday and today we moved even further to the southeast.

The Russian 58th Army rolled back to Kherson, where it is now hastily fortifying. The column, which once again tried to reach Voznesensk, was defeated: out of 300 pieces of equipment, at best, thirty survived, and the occupiers dispersed it over settlements. This greatly complicated the task of the Ukrainian Army: ours are on their own land and, of course, cannot but protect the civilians.

Today, the situation in this direction, one might say, has stabilized, and two days ago real hell reigned there.

“In order to slow down the advance of our troops, the enemy has pulled everything that can shoot there. There were also MLRS, and attack aircraft, and howitzers, there was a real fire hell. We gave the right answer. The main thing is that their infantry and armored vehicles are demoralized and not ready to take the fight. They're retreating, retreating!" - told us on March 15 an officer of the Armed Forces of Ukraine .

According to our interlocutor, the civilian population suffers the most: there are many completely destroyed villages in the war zone. The number of villagers killed by the Russian Nazis is probably already in the hundreds. However, the “liberators” themselves have already died so much in this area that the farmers do not have time to bury. And to be completely honest, they don’t bury at all: they prefer to saw equipment. Alas, we also have losses. Significant.

Liberated territories are highlighted in blue:

*snip*

 

*snip*

I have a really personal question. So it's fine if you do not want to answer. It is only my curiosity.

1) why do you not flee 

Or 2) why do you not fight.

I have no judgment against either answer. I'm just curious. I have no idea how I would react in your situation. 

[CrimsonKing]

11 minutes ago, spartan max2 said:

I have a really personal question. So it's fine if you do not want to answer. It is only my curiosity.

1) why do you not flee 

Or 2) why do you not fight.

I have no judgment against either answer. I'm just curious. I have no idea how I would react in your situation. 

Not answering for Coil,but I think some people just prefer to exist without shells flying at them...and that's ok too.

[+and-then]

25 minutes ago, Cookie Monster said:

Ukraine is seen as the same as Russia so they want to avoid proper war.

?  By standing off and literally pummeling civilian areas into rubble?  It seems to me that their goal is to CRUSH the spirit of Ukrainians so that they'll give up.  Any war can be won when they, at least short term, can kill everything, indiscriminately.  .  They'll take control of cities but holding them without bringing in FAR more troops, is a pipe dream.  Especially if the rest of the world is working to help Ukrainians survive and fight back.  I recall a line from an old movie, might have been RED DAWN, where an officer was discussing such brutal tactics and said "Every time we shoot, the revolution grows"  

[CrimsonKing]

On another note,I was reading earlier of supposed plans of China to take Taiwan...

Someone please answer,we US shipped all of our industrial might overseas to China...how the hell can we sanction them,and can we afford to even try?