Russia and Ukraine

[Leonardo17]

Due to "disagreement with the command and authority" of Russia, "Silver" then said he threw a grenade down a ventilation shaft into where his commander was sleeping.  The incident took place near the town of Ocheretyne in Donetsk Oblast.

https://kyivindependent.com/defected-rus...commander/

   These are complicated issues because the FSB is still a highly effective intelligence service. Maxim Kuzminov (the guy who defected with his helicopter last year) was in Spain with a fake ID. He decided to contact his ex-girlfriend and that was apparently what got him killed:
 
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68337794
 
   Incorporating them into the Ukrainian armed forces is also problematic because they can end up providing information back to Moscow or even sabotaging the operations of the UAF.
 
    It must be a terrible headache for secret services to deal with these people once they have defected. I don’t think you can just keep them in Ukraine either because many of them are probably psychologically unstable.
 
   But on a human level this “I want to live” project is a new thing that is very well adapted to the reality of this war. This isn’t just Russia vs Ukraine. This is the Russian regime against its own people and the people of Ukraine.
 

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Ukraine is currently stretching Russian air defenses, having already destroyed some 56 S-300 units. So I think they are preparing the ground for a battlefield with more F-16’s attacking Russian aircrafts and ground units.

Article


 
Plus: they probably have other plans with the Kursk Region. The Ukrainian Army has still very limited resources. So they would not simply send their troops to that region if they didn’t expect some major gains in return. 

[Thumpalumpacus]

Ukraine has confirmed the loss of its first F-16 fighter and one of its pilots in a crash during a combat mission earlier this week. The incident is a significant blow for the Ukrainian Air Force, which has so far only received a small number of the jets, and more importantly, only a handful of combat-qualified F-16 pilots.

In a post on Facebook, Air Command “West” of the Ukrainian Air Force confirmed that Oleksiy Mes died last Monday, August 26, but not before he shot down three Russian cruise missiles and a single one-way attack drone. This was part of an attempt to repulse a major Russian missile and drone attack directed against Ukraine, the largest of the war so far, which you can read more about here.

The aircraft type Mes was flying was not initially named but was subsequently confirmed by the Ukrainian General Staff as an F-16, adding that the same type shot down four Russian cruise missiles during the same raid.

https://www.twz.com/air/ukrainian-pilot-...-f-16-loss

[Deesse23]

[Thumpalumpacus]

I wouldn't want to be anywhere near this bastard:





Of note is the fact that i's being deployed in Zaporizhzhia

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

Armenian Mic Drop

It’s tough to build an empire when some of the kids won’t play.

A key Russian ally said it doesn't feel the need to engage with the Collective Security Treaty Organization, a group widely considered to be Vladimir Putin’s answer to NATO, after snubbing it for almost a year.

Experts told BI earlier this year that Armenia’s actions have damaged what Putin hoped to achieve through the alliance, which is to project the image of Russian power.

Boru

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

I wouldn't want to be anywhere near this bastard:





Of note is the fact that i's being deployed in Zaporizhzhia

I’ve been near a thermite burn (a demonstration, nothing dangerous), and I agree completely. That shit is terrifying.

Boru

[Thumpalumpacus]

I’ve been near a thermite burn (a demonstration, nothing dangerous), and I agree completely. That shit is terrifying.

Boru

Artillerymen use it to melt -- melt -- the breechblocks of their guns if forced to abandon them on retreat. Anything that can melt 200 lbs of steel in a couple of minutes is nothing I want any part of.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

I’ve been near a thermite burn (a demonstration, nothing dangerous), and I agree completely. That shit is terrifying.

Boru

Artillerymen use it to melt -- melt -- the breechblocks of their guns if forced to abandon them on retreat. Anything that can melt 200 lbs of steel in a couple of minutes is nothing I want any part of.

The demo I saw was a rail track being repaired. They built a ceramic mould around the breach, filled it with steel shot. When they ignited the thermite, it took, if memory serves, well under a minute to melt the shot and fill the mould. 

Thermite is one of those things best left to professionals.

Boru

[Deesse23]

Thermite, another terrifying technology brought to you by german engineering. Thankyouverymuch.

[pocaracas]

Thermite, another terrifying technology brought to you by german engineering. Thankyouverymuch.

Had it not been brought to us by German engineering, it would have eventually emerged from the US or Russian war labs.